Shadow tried to act reserved. He was an ultimate life form even if he was just 1 year old. But Maria's excitement was so infectious. The young girl was so eager to show him something.

"Come on Shadow, hurry up!" She was smiling as stood at the door that was normally closed for him.

The hedgehog looked at her suspiciously. Despite looking like an 8-year-old, he was still a soldier in training. They tested him all the time. "I can't leave the testing area."

"Yes, you can. Grandpa said that it is safe for you to explore ARK" She pointed at the mechanical door. "Normally doors wouldn't open with you being around."

That sounded logical. Maria wouldn't be able to change the door's behavior on her own but it didn't feel right. He didn't get an order. He always needed to get an order if he was doing something that was outside of his usual routine.

"I'll confirm your statement with the professor." The young hedgehog turned around to go find the professor.

"Wait!" She ran past him to get to the console on the wall. She put in her login information and tried to contact someone. After a few seconds, the face of the professor showed on the screen. "Grandpa, tell Shadow that he can go with me."

Gerald Robotnik blinked seeing Maria on the screen and his project behind her. He was holding documents in his hands. He was busy but seeing his granddaughter always put a smile on his face. "Shadow, from now on you are allowed to explore unrestricted areas of space colony ARK."

"Understood." The hedgehog acknowledged.

The girl smiled widely. "Thank you, grandpa."

"You are welcomed. I forgot to tell him this morning. You two have fun and don't get into trouble. I'll talk to you later." He said before he disconnected.

"See, I told you." She ran past him again and Shadow followed.

The hedgehog was vigilant. He was entering a new area and he didn't know what dangers could hide behind every corner. In his mind, he was making a mental map in case he would need to run away to the testing area. He had enough chaos energy stored that he could chaos control to his room if he had to.

Then he saw it, a massive window. There was something different about it. Shadow was used to windows that let him see into another room. The one in front of him was different, there was just a blackness outside of it. Maybe the room on the other side didn't have lights turned on. Maria was waving at him to get closer.

The hedgehog was tense as he was approaching an unfamiliar window, ready to jump away at any sign of danger. But as he was getting closer there was a splash of color showing at the edge of the window and it was getting bigger. Shadow glanced towards Maria who was smiling at him and kept encouraging him to get closer. She was an untrained child so if she felt safe it should be fine.

The blue marble in front of him was jaw-dropping. In an instant he recognized it. It was Earth. He was at the edge of the space colony ARK.

"Do you like it?" The young girl asked excitedly.

Shadow was taught about it but it was the first time seeing it. It was the place where all humans came from but he didn't know much more than that. In his current situation that wouldn't provide any tactical advantage. But it was beautiful.

"Why is it so blue?" He asked without thinking.

"Because it's covered in water."

The hedgehog's eyes went wide. "Why would humans spill so much water? It's such a waste."

Maria giggled softly. "No, silly. It's naturally on the surface of the planet. It's where we got our water. Everything here came from Earth. We just have to be careful with it because it would be a long trip to get a replacement."

Shadow put his gloved hand on the window. "Do I come from earth too?"

She smiled. "No, you're very special. There is no one like you on Earth."

"""

"Shadow! Shadow! Do you hear me?" Wade looked very worried as he waved his hand in front of the hedgehog's face.

Did Shadow freeze again? He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead to deal with a sudden headache. He needed to find a way to control those episodes as soon as possible. It could be deadly for him if one of them happened during his assault on G.U.N.'s headquarters. The memory took him by surprise but at least this time he knew what triggered it.

When he opened his eyes, the hedgehog was looking at a small stream in front of him. It was so unnatural. The water should stay inside of pipes, having it flow freely was just… wrong. It was his oldest memory so far and answer one question that he had. Shadow had different body shapes at different stages of his life. Which meant that there was a good chance that he would grow up and get stronger. It was something worth considering in his plans.

"Are you okay?" Wade relaxed a little since Shadow was moving again.

There was no point in answering the human. Wade kept asking the same questions since Shadow learned about the other projects… other kids. The hedgehog didn't say a single word to the human. He was fine. He was always fine so why did Wade keep asking? The only solution was to keep walking and ignore the annoying human. Because of their situation, Wade would follow him. That was how they ended up deep in the forest.

Shadow had to admit that it was surprising but it didn't change anything. He still needed to get more information about them to know if they would threaten his plans. So why wasn't he asking? It was the reason why he let the human follow him. He could explore the surrounding area, fulfill Wade's obligation to make sure that Shadow was safe, and learn about Wachowski… kids.

That didn't sound right. Projects shouldn't be kids. Shadow was many things, a soldier, an ultimate life form but being a kid wasn't one of those things. It didn't matter what humans seemed to think. Laws changed while he was asleep but it didn't change who he was and what he needed to do.

Shadow wasn't asking about them because he didn't need to. He was just better than them. He was made to be perfect. They were just some random accidents. So why was his mind so cloudy?

"Cool shoes," Wade said casually.

It was such a weird comment that it made Shadow stop and look back at the human.

"You started skating and you seemed to hover an inch off the ground. I didn't know that they could do that." Wade said with a weak smile.

Did he really do that? The hedgehog was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice. It was refreshing to see the human doing something else than worrying about him. But at the same time, Shadow didn't like his curiosity. Was he a spy working for G.U.N.? Shadow used chaos control to show the homan that he wouldn't get lost. Wade pounced on the opportunity to ask about the hedgehog's range. It was vital information if someone wanted to hunt him. For a moment Shadow was ready to defend himself. He didn't trust the human but quickly realized that human was too stupid to be a spy.

Wade was supposed to be Shadow's only option outside of the military. It would be much easier to just pay the human so he would refuse to take the hedgehog. In that case, Shadow would have to stay at G.U.N.'s facility. Wade's insistence on following the law eased the hedgehog's mind. He was making sure that Shadow could stay with him.

Shadow looked at his custom-made mostly white shoes with black and red accents. His golden inhibitor rings resting on them. "They make me faster."

Wade's smile grew and Shadow knew that he made a mistake. "How do they work?"

"I don't know." The hedgehog lied but it was an easy way to end the conversation.

"That is a shame but I'm sure that Tails would be able to figure it out," Wade said happily.

"Tails?" Shadow lifted his eyebrow. Something deep inside him was screaming to just walk away. But it was easier to ignore that voice when the conversation already started. "Humans don't have tails so I guess Tails is one of them."

Wade smiled nervously as his eyes looked for any sign of distress on the hedgehog's face. "Yes. He's very smart and likes building gadgets." The human paused to see how Shadow was taking it. "Do you still want to meet them today?"

"Yes." Shadow furrowed his brow annoyed.

"There is nothing wrong with waiting a few days until you settle in," Wade said with the same sad and painfully infuriating expression as before.

Shadow saw the pity and his anger bubbled to the surface. He didn't need those useless feelings that the human was invoking in him, the feelings that made it difficult to breathe. He was fine and Wade was the one who was making it worse. But luckily Shadow still had his anger.

"I told you already that I'm fine. So stop insisting that I'm not." Shadow said with a growl.

"Buddy, we have been walking for over two hours and you haven't said a word since you learned about them. You ignored everything that I said and you scared me when you spaced out a few minutes ago." Wade took a deep breath. "I'm sorry that I told you. I should have waited a few days."

Was it that long? It only felt like a few minutes but when Shadow looked around he wasn't sure how he got there. Wade's house should still be in the range of his chaos control so it wasn't a problem. Shadow was bluffing when he showed Wade his powers. It took a lot of effort to do it and it was using a lot of his stored chaos energy. Chaos energy was very scattered so normally it would take him days to recharge. But for some weird reason, Shadow already felt fully rested.

"You were asking stupid questions." The hedgehog deflected.

Wade was judging him but it wasn't in the way his superiors did. What the human was doing was much more personal. He didn't care about Shadow's strength or combat ability, things that the hedgehog was proud of. No, Wade cared about the least important thing, the hedgehog's feelings. It was something that should be dismissed and pushed to the side until he would finish his mission. The feelings that Wade's stupid annoying face was dragged to the light. He could ignore that constant dull pain in his chest but the human was actively making it worse. Was that Wade's plan to make him miserable and unable to fulfill his promise to Maria? No one knew about it and the human was too stupid to think of something that complicated.

"You really should take it easy. We'll set up the meeting for another day."

"No, I need to meet them today!" Shadow said angrily.

"Why?" Wade asked softly.

"Because…" Nothing came out after that. Why? "Because…" Words were stuck in the hedgehog's throat and Shadow wasn't sure what he wanted to say.

He would love to claim that he couldn't tell Wade that he wanted to gather information on his potential enemies, so he was thinking about a convincing lie. That wasn't the case. Something dark and amorphous was tugging at his mind, screaming to get out. Was it always there or was it something new? He couldn't tell, but suddenly it was so obvious.

"Because…" That was ridiculous. He was a soldier. He should be able to say something, anything. Why did he need to meet them so badly? Why was it so painful to explain? Shadow clenched his fist to stop his hands from shaking.

Wade quickly got on one knee so he would be on eye level with the hedgehog. "Ok, buddy. You don't have to tell me. Don't try to force it."

Wade wanted to put his hand on the boy's shoulder but Shadow flinched away before he was able to do it. The human's behavior was so odd. The hedgehog couldn't tell what was going through Wade's head and he hated how much it affected him.

Shadow was acting like a fool and letting the human manipulate him. He should change that. The dark inky monster was screaming as his pride as a soldier was holding it in place. It shouldn't be tough to negotiate with such a simple human.

"I'll tell you why I spaced out if you'll let me meet them today," Shadow said calmly, distracting Wade with an offer rather than answering an uncomfortable question.

The hedgehog enjoyed the look on Wade's face. A momentary shock that quickly turned into excitement. It was almost too easy since the adult didn't hide at all what he wanted. He could turn crumbs of information about himself into favors from the human. Wade opened his mouth to hastily agree but then he stopped. Something had changed and suddenly all the excitement disappeared. His eyes became very sad as his expression turned more thoughtful.

"No," Wade said firmly.

"What?" Shadow blinked.

"I want you to trust me and know that you can talk with me. I don't want you to try to score points with me." Wade was so disgustingly soft with him. As if the hedgehog was a precious toy that was going to break at any moment. That disrespect made Shadow want to chaos control away but he needed to set up the meeting with Wachowskis.

"What is the difference? You'll learn something, I get something that I want and everyone wins in the end. That sounds fair to me." Shadow kept his face neutral. Maybe Wade would listen to Shadow's reasoning.

"You're wrong. We would both lose." Wade said as he looked Shadow deep in the eyes.

A shiver ran down the hedgehog's back. Shadow was no stranger to being watched. And as far as he remembered, he never had too much privacy. He stayed in rooms with big windows so scientists could check on him whenever they wanted. He was constantly watched, recorded, and tested. But what Wade was doing was different. Shadow didn't feel like he was being watched. Someone has seen him.

Instinctively Shadow's hand shot to his chest trying to cover the dull pain and emptiness inside it. The hedgehog gripped his white fur as if that would stop the emptiness from escaping. The hedgehog was in the spotlight and he couldn't breathe. However, he already knew how to fix that.

"You really are stupid," Shadow said angrily as his neutral mask dropped and he took a shallow breath.

Wade's gaze didn't falter but something flickered in the human's eyes. Was it recognition? What did he see?

"It isn't a nice thing to say." Wade looked to the side at the stream nearby and the weight that was crushing Shadow's chest lessened. "Would you be honest with me?"

"I wouldn't lie." Shadow crossed his arms and lifted his chin. The hedgehog intended to tell the male a vague answer, nothing too personal but enough to keep him interested.

"That's not what I want and it isn't what you need." The human said sadly.

"And you are an expert on what I need after knowing me for only a few hours." Shadow's words were dripping with sarcasm.

It was subtle but Wade's head lowered and his jaw clenched. It was so satisfying to see his words affecting Wade. It served him right for what he was doing to Shadow. Wade had to be a step away from being angry himself and Shadow was going to enjoy their shouting. But that didn't happen. The human just took a deep breath.

"Do you want to meet them so bad?" Wade glanced at the boy.

"Yes," Shadow said as the darkness roared at the edge of his mind.

"Ok. I'll tell them to visit us tomorrow," Wade said as he pulled out his phone.

"I want to meet them today," Shadow growled.

"And I want you to meet them next week." Wade typed on his phone. "But I can see how much you want it. So we'll take it easy today and you'll meet them tomorrow."

Shadow blinked. Did the hedgehog win? It seemed like it. He got the meeting date closer to what he wanted than what the human wanted and Shadow didn't need to tell Wade anything about himself. So why didn't it feel like winning? Wade just let him win. Victor was a victory so how did the human manage to spoil even that?

The phone pinged, bringing the hedgehog back to reality. "Ok, Tom confirmed that they'll visit us tomorrow."

"Good." Shadow's mouth felt dry and the darkness seemed to grow.

An awkward silence filled the space between them. They could hear the nearby stream and birds. Wade checked his watch to move the conversation along.

"We should get back." Wade looked at the hedgehog. "Do you know where our home is?"

"Our home?" Shadow said out loud without thinking. It was such a bizarre concept. He only needed a room and a place to sleep. Wade said it so casually.

"Our house." Wade corrected after noticing a weird expression on Shadow's face. "You'll be staying with me for some time so it's your house too."

That was unsettling too but something was even worse, he wasn't sure where he was. Shadow was a soldier and should have learned the lay of the land as they were walking but he had other things on his mind. He felt like a failure but couldn't let the human know. The whole point was to prove to the human that he didn't need him. So the hedgehog confidently pointed in the direction where they came from.

"Are you guessing or do you know?" Wade asked and when it had become clear that the hedgehog wasn't going to answer, he pointed in a different direction. "Our house is there. Do you see those peaks? Green Hills is located between them. If you are completely lost, they are your landmarks."

Shadow stayed quiet as Wade continued explaining where their house was located and how paths in the forest were marked. The next time they would go on a walk he would prove to the human that he doesn't need him.