Is it better to love a friend, to hate an enemy? All people care about those dear to them far more than any others... but is that truly right? Shouldn't all life be equal? Or can a friend's happiness mean more than another person's life?
Tails looked down on the bed where Shadow lay, and over to the settee at Sonic. He was more worried about Shadow, really; although Sonic's trip through time had taken a lot out of him, he just needed to rest and get some energy back - it was Shadow whose life he feared for. Sonic had returned Shadow from the dead, in a way, but that rescue had come almost too late. Now that Tails had seen the full extent of Shadow's injuries, he wasn't sure what would become of him, of whether he would survive at all. He didn't want to move him, but didn't really think he should stay there... for what kind of care could Tails provide? He knew more about mechanics than medicine, knew how to repair vehicles, not people. And if Shadow didn't survive, he feared Sonic would return to his dark mood...
Was that selfish? Shadow was alive, and he didn't know whether he cared more that Shadow lived, or that Sonic came back to being his normal self. Was that... selfish? Uncaring? Why did Sonic's happiness matter more than Shadow's life? Was it dangerous, was it... bad... to care about someone so much?
No! Sonic was his best friend, and he didn't even know Shadow. He'd rather... rather... what would he rather? No matter how hard he tried, it came back to this, to whether it was really right to care more for Sonic than Shadow. What would Sonic think, what would he want... what would he do?
Why was he even thinking about this? Right now, both concerns were the same thing! But, some part of his mind kept saying, what if they weren't? He shook his head and turned back to Shadow. Quite apart from the difficulty of getting him there in the first place from this out-of-the-way location, the problems of actually sorting out everything with a hospital would be immense - because Shadow was dead, and everybody knew it. There would be a huge amount of attention almost immediately; nobody could keep a secret like this, so the press - and anyone else who was even remotely interested - would find out and turn up. There was no way he'd be able to keep everyone away. And what if the military decided they'd go after Shadow now, while he couldn't fight? Tails wasn't sure what their reaction would be, but it was one possibility. Or, what if Robotnik took what would no doubt seem to be a golden opportunity? Because he would, Tails was almost certain.
Perhaps, then, it would be best if Shadow stayed there, in the workshop, quiet and safe and away from harm. Few people came to visit Tails in this remote little place. And yet... and yet...
Frustrated by his inability to decide on the best course of action, Tails spun around and started pacing up and down the little room. His thoughts chased each other round in circles, getting no further than his pacing took him. Back and forth. Back and forth.
Back and forth.
Back and forth, soft footsteps making enough noise so that he almost missed the near-silent whisper.
"Maria..."
Tails frowned and looked again at Shadow. He was, Tails knew, Sonic's equal in almost every area - Sonic's almost exact double, but with different memories and thoughts, a different mind. If he could expect Sonic to recover unaided, then Shadow would, too. The problem was, he wasn't sure - both whether Sonic would be able to recover unaided from something like this - though he thought he would - and whether Shadow still had that same will to live, no matter what, that had brought Sonic through several near-fatal encounters. Without that will to live, Shadow might just slip away, even if he could have recovered, and Tails didn't know him well enough to tell whether or not he had it. But he desperately hoped - for both Shadow and for Sonic - that he did. Because if not, then he wasn't sure that there was anything that could save him.