He's not entirely sure what feels different, what it is that's setting off alarm bells in his head. Little flares going off in his head simply screaming pay attention to me!

He's been… wherever he is, long enough to learn how to ignore those.

So, it's different, this time around, but that doesn't matter. It never does.

He can't help the purr that rumbles in his chest when he sees who walks into the cell (a clone, only another clone). Shadow slams against the wall next to the cell, flattening against it as a large group of guards go storming past.

He can't help the smirk that overtakes him, a slight eye roll that he makes sure isn't seen, even as he sits up and adjusts the cuffs to be less chafing. Another faux escape. He didn't mind them, but he would prefer it to be the real thing. (A little part of his mind still whispers: what if this is the real thing, every time it happens. What if he doesn't realize that it's real when it is.)

"Heya Shadow." He greets jauntily, keeping his voice low, "Long time no see."

Shadow jumps, eyes wide as his quills splay out in an attempt to look more threatening. He grins wider at the display, he doubted he'd ever see Shadow so taken off guard for real.

"Sonic." Shadow practically breathes his name, walking towards where he's waiting on his cot for the game to start, continuing forward until his hand is just a hair away from cupping his muzzle.

He takes the final step, leaning his head into the touch without any remorse. They weren't real, but they were the closest he would get out here.

Shadow takes his inch and pushes it another mile, his other hand coming up to cup his head, staring at him like he's something precious, fingertips gently combing through his fur.

He can't help but gaze back, taking in every detail that's there for him to take. Shadow actually looks roughed up already, fur mussed and dirty, his stripes are duller than usual. There's a chunk gone from his ear and his lips purse for a second as a pang of sympathy sweeps through him, clone or not.

He wants to keep watching, keep looking, and just hold until this is taken from him again, but a heavier breath from Shadow, likely the cue from Infinite, reminds him of where he is and what he needs to do.

"We should get going."

Red eyes snap back to his face, from where they'd been roaming, seeming like they'd been taking him in just like he had been. That was a ridiculous thought. Infinite's illusions weren't that good. That was part of the reason these games even happened.

"You're right." Shadow's voice comes out short, he stays where he is, knelt on the ground, hands hovering over the energy cuffs on his leg. "Do you know how these work?"

His hands tighten, untrimmed claws cutting through his gloves and into his sheets as he tries to keep anything from showing on his face. Of all the loaded questions he'd been asked…

"Nope." He grins, swiping a finger underneath his nose, "Not really ever a whiz guy myself." He waits for the approving look from the clone. The reminder that he had a part to play and that he was doing it well.

Shadow simply nods, face set with determination.

Energy starts to build around his hands, the illusion of chaos energy sparking in the air. "I don't know how much time we have then." And then Shadow puts his hands on his cuffs and he barely keeps from kicking him.

He's going mad. That's the only excuse. He can feel the warmth of the chaos energy, so close to his skin, the snap of it as it's barely held under control.

It's not though.

It's not there.

It's not real.

He breathes in sharply through his teeth, a harsh noise that has Shadow's ears flicking even as he continues to focus on the cuffs.

"You're doing well." He praises, and there it is, the reminder that this was another game, "Almost done."

He grits his teeth, ears folding back as he pointedly looks away.

The gasp that leaves him is completely involuntary, as the feeling of the cuffs leeching away from him, finally fades.

Shadow is right in front of him a moment later, hands gently holding his face again. "-nic." His voice ebbs into hearing, "We have to go."

"Mhmm." He can only hum, as he feels his throat starting to close around his words. He takes the hand that Shadow offers him and finds himself stumbling, even as Shadow continues to balance him and pull him along.

They've made it all the way out of the cell blocks when he can feel the clot in his throat loosen enough that he could talk, if he absolutely needed to.

Instead, he squeezes Shadow's hand tighter and pulls ahead, making his way down illusioned halls he'd traveled dozens of times by then, with a different illusion rescuing him every time. He knows exactly what the path to freedom was. Infinite had drilled that into his head plenty of times.

"...Sonic." Shadow's voice comes out unsure, and he almost slows.

Instead, he tightens his grip and speeds up, feeling the chaos in the air now and pushing the question of how Infinite had accomplished that out of sight out of mind. He was always stopped right before the hangar. Always at the end, right before freedom.

And true he was probably still in his cell, or the cell block, pacing around empty-eyed, but this time he could at least try to get there.

The doors in front of them whoosh open and Shadow helps to pull him into the hanger, out of view of the cameras that switch on at the motion.

He can't help the smile, the need to drink in the setup of the hanger. If anything maybe he could use this information someday.

Shadow- Infinite, doesn't give him much time to take it in, gripping his wrist tighter and pulling him along the edge of the wall. There's an insanely small ship, big enough for maybe five crew members total, and Shadow pulls him inside without hesitation.

There's a stranger in the ship, who immediately starts barking out status updates and orders into a microphone while they flip through the switches on the console.

Shadow works to strap him into his seat, talking to him quietly the whole time, even if he can't quite understand what he's saying. When he finally does manage to tune back in, after Shadow has finished with him and is strapping himself in, he realizes that Shadow's not saying much of anything important. Just… talking.

Just filling the silence, like he used to when Shadow was having a hard time remembering what was real and what wasn't.

"Oh."

He finally gets his throat to work, as the ship starts to shake as they shoot out of the station.

"F-k."

Shadow falls silent, simply watching him. Even the stranger in the front starts talking in a lower tone.

He can feel dampness on his cheeks, and can't help but find it ironic that this is what breaks him.

"Chaos. This is the real thing this time." He can't look at Shadow, can't face him. "You're the real thing this time."