Aww you guys really like this so far huh? I can tell by all the reviews, thankies! Real sorry about the delay, I'm one of those unlucky ones who went and caught the flu. @@''

Anyways here it is, chapter 2!

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Knuckles jogged half way around the island and stopped short as he first caught sight of a black lump crumbled on the ground. He slowly walked over and felt his breath catch in his throat as his eyes fell on the midnight black and blood red quills. Shadow! The black hedgehog's chest was barley raising and his breathing was quite labored.

Moving quickly now, Knuckles reached over lightly and pulled Shadow into his arms. It surprised him at how light Shadow really was. Making sure that Knuckles had a firm grip on Shadow he made his way into his modest home and then into his room. In there he gently laid the hedgehog on his own bed. Knuckles put a gloved hand over Shadow's forehead and frowned when it was quite clear that he had a fever.

Knuckles went into the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth pausing long enough to wet it in some icy cold water. He walked quickly back and placed the cloth upon Shadow's head. Now that he had a moment Knuckles peered down and looked at Shadow closely. He couldn't see how anyone could have mistaken Sonic for Shadow. The only way that could have happened was that perhaps they had seen Shadow at night and was just basing it on the fact that he could move fast so it was automatically thought that it was Sonic. Actually it'd probably be too difficult for a human to spot Shadow in the dark without some sort of aid, after all his fur was a deep and dark midnight black color that blended well with the night.

He hated to admit it but there was little more that Knuckles could do for Shadow now. He could not give him any medicine because he didn't know exactly what was wrong with Shadow. All that was left to be done now was wait and hope that Shadow didn't slip into a coma. It wasn't a pleasant thought at all! Feeling slightly restless now, Knuckles got up from the chair that he had just sat down in and walked over to the window.

Luckily the weather was its normal sunny self. Seeing how the Angel Island was so high up even the smallest of rain showers could end up being as strong as hurricanes at times. Generally it wasn't that bad though and when it did get like that Knuckles would take the Master Emerald and lock himself in the house until the bad weather had passed. Knuckles hoped that it would stay like this for as long as it could. He had enough to worry about as it was, let alone any storms!

Tearing himself from the window Knuckles looked back over towards Shadow. It surprised him at how bad he wanted to see Shadow's eyes and see something other then a straight line on his face. It was probably because he couldn't stand to see others hurt or in pain. There was no other explanation, was there? He was beginning to get confused with his own feelings.

"For both of our sakes Shadow I hope you make it from this in one piece." Knuckles said softly as he left to go check on the Master Emerald. Even if he had a sick charge to look after on the island he still couldn't forgot about his other responsibilities.