Flower: This story is nearly finished now! And wowee! I nearly have 100 reviews!!!

Chaos: Oh, and, er, I never meant for this to be Shadouge...what have I done? What have I done?!!

...................................................

Three days later

Amy fiddled with the bandages, untying them. Sonic was sitting blankly on the bed, unmoving. He had been like that since...well, at least the screaming had stopped, except in his sleep. And he talked. And ate. In fact...he was normal, apart from the long silences.

Catching up, she supposed. Reliving what had happened in the caves. If only he could run...get some exercise...that would be good for him. But there was no way without being able to see.

She undid the last knot, gently unwound the bandages from his head, then stepped back quickly and picked up a handmirror.

...................................................

He snapped out of the daydream to feel the bandages coming off. What was?...Oh, yes, it must have been three days. Already? Then the ties were gone. He heard Amy step back and pick up something; his hearing was sharper than ever.

Slowly he opened his eyes. He couldn't see...it was all white. "The bandages are gone, right?" he asked. He couldn't feel them...a seed of doubt planted itself in his mind.

..................................................

Amy looked at him worriedly, and waved a hand in front of his face. No response.

"Oh...oh dear..." She said unhappily. He looked up at her words, but his green eyes looked straight through her.

...................................................

He couldn't see...why couldn't he see?! He looked futilely, and then Amy said, "Oh...oh dear..." The seed grew. No...no, it couldn't be...no!

"No...No!" he said sharply, disbelievingly, looking up. Then...then...a faint hint of shadow. Was it? No, as quickly as it had been there, it was gone. Panic rose in him...he couldn't be blind...no! No, no, no!

He didn't...he couldn't...he wouldn't be able to run. He would need a guide...his freedom was being destroyed before his eyes. He'd live a hundred years in the caves, anything but this.

It was like when he first remembered the caves. He went into shock.

.....................................................

Amy put the mirror on the bedside table, blinking equally disbelievingly. He couldn't be...she felt like she herself had gone blind, though...she couldn't begin to imagine what he was feeling. She sat down on the bed by him, putting her arm around his shoulders, offering what little comfort she could. "I'm so sorry..." she muttered. He was staring straight ahead, eyes unseeing. He didn't move.

She sat with him for half an hour. Then she looked at her watch and squealed.

"Aah! Oh, sorry, Sonic, I promised Cream that I'd fetch Cheese and Chocola from Chao Kindergarten...um, I'll be back in...," a calculated glance at the ceiling, "...two hours. I'm so sorry...See you!"

With that she ran for the door, snatched a dark coat off the peg, and disappeared. Sonic looked after her for a while, expression unreadable, then looked down. A small tear appeared in his eye, then another.

He blinked automatically as they slid down his cheeks, silently crying. Finally, he stopped. He felt a bit embarrassed, but...it made him feel better. And nobody had seen.

He looked up with a sigh, and then down again. Wait...it was...darker? He looked up. Lighter. Down. Darker. There...there was a difference! Not like before...

................................

An hour later, things were focusing. He could see up to a metre away, just the end of the bed. Yes, yes, yes! Thank you, he prayed silently, staring at the ceiling, thank you, thank you, whoever you are up there.

Then he looked again. He saw the bedside table, and on it...what was that? He squinted hard, and picked it up. Aha! A mirror!

Waittaminute...he raised it with a frown. Was he...? In the light, the mirror showed clearly his face, with the still-dirty fur and tearstreaks. He looked down at himself, pulling away the bedcovers. His jaw dropped, and he stared in shock, then vaulted out of the bed.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!" he yelled, in combination from the state of his fur, and the fact that his legs had given out. He struggled up again, wobbled, and then went to the side-bathroom as quickly as he could.

............................

In Night Babylon, Rouge was leaning on the doorframe again. But, for once, she wasn't bored.

Shadow was back from the hospital, at last. Though he had healed faster than anybody expected, like Sonic, he kept trying to escape, unlike Sonic. So they kept him back, to make sure.

Now the black hedgehog was doing tricks. The Chaos Emeralds were finally back to normal after their energy drain, and Shadow was doing a light show. Apparently he had leaned on Ark.

The green Chaos Emerald whirled and twirled in the air, leaving streaks of green light wherever it went. Shadow threw and caught it expertly, creating beautiful patterns in the air.

Combined with the red Chaos Emerald and Chaos Spear, it was like a mini firework. So long as she didn't go too close.

Finally, he finished, swiping the gems from mid-air, and leaving a flower- shape hanging in green, red and yellow light. She smiled. "Wow, Shadow...that was really good."

Shadow smiled a rare smile in return, and twirled the emeralds. "Well, they are gems, after all. Gems sparkle anywhere."

Rouge's smile faded. "Are you going away again?" Shadow lowered the emeralds and studied her face for a minute. He owed her his life...

He stepped forward to join her in the shady doorframe, then said quietly, "I think I'll stay, for a while."

She smiled again.