Terribly sorry for not getting this up in awhile. I've been very busy with school and papers and having to deal with a very stressful situation. Sorry again. This should tide you over until I get the next part written! :D

            A soft groan rose in his throat. Slowly opening his eyes, Shadow stared at the ceiling, watching the overhead fan blades spin slowly. He blinked, groaning again. Something moist was sitting like a brick on his forehead. Moving was an interesting concept. He could move, but his body was so stiff and sore that it took time. After pulling his arm out of the blanket that covered him, the ebony hedgehog placed his hand over his forehead, feeling the texture of the damp washcloth. Removing it, Shadow held onto it tightly as he moved his hands to his sides. Palms down, he pushed himself into a sitting position, wobbling slightly. Where am I?

            Crimson eyes scanned the room. It was a single room, relatively open, with a chair near the bed that he was sitting in. A small nightstand was to his left, with a lamp sitting on it. There was a small bowl filled with water next to it. Shadow slowly placed the washcloth back into the bowl, watching it sink. He winced and looked down at himself.

            His white tuft of fur on his chest looked fine. Whoever took tissue from him had left that alone. There were bandages on both of his arms, around his wrists and biceps. Another bigger bandage had been applied to his right side, just over the ribs. He didn't really want to look at his legs, but he moved them over the side of the bed, and moved the blanket away. His shoes were gone, but it didn't matter to him at the present moment. Bandages covered his ankles and thighs. Shadow touched his neck to find another piece of gauze there.

            Slowly placing both feet on the floor, Shadow pushed down with his palms again to get himself standing upright. He wobbled a little and grabbed the nightstand to stabilize himself. His head was spinning.

            " Ugh…"

            Without warning, hands took hold of his shoulder and arm. Shadow gasped and quickly grabbed one of the wrists as it held him still. His head stopped spinning and he realized that he was sitting down on the edge of the bed. He slowed his breathing to calm down. The hands on his skin didn't leave. Blinking, Shadow looked up to meet bright emerald eyes. Familiar emerald eyes.

            " Sonikku…" Shadow moaned.

            The azure hedgehog smiled.

            " You really shouldn't try walking for a few days, Shadow. Or at least without some help until you regain your strength."

            The black and red striped hedgehog groaned a little. Sonic pushed him backwards.

            " Here. Lie down."

            Shadow didn't really have a choice in the matter. He did what he was told, with a gentle shove from Sonic, and sighed deeply. There was a small scraping noise from the chair as Sonic sat down and leaned forward, glancing at the weak hedgehog in front of him. There were tons of questions that he wanted to ask Shadow, but he knew that now was not the time. It would have to wait. Especially since he had no idea how long Shadow had been held captive.

            " How are you feeling?" He asked, frowning a little. Stupid question, considering what he must have gone through…

            " My body is… well, not responding to things that I want it to…"

            Sonic nodded.

            " That should go away within the day."

            " Where are we?"

            " We're in the living quarters of Tails' workshop in Mystic Ruins."

            " Mystic Ruins?"

            " It's the forest area outside of Station Square…"

            Shadow thought about the name of the city. It didn't sound familiar, but then again, he hadn't really paid any attention to the name of the city that he had been in when he was freed. He didn't fret over it at the moment.

            " What happened to me?" He questioned.

            Sonic frowned slightly. He seemed reluctant for a second but spoke up soon after.

            " I found you at a GUN Lab."

            " A GUN Lab?"
            " Yeah…I was doing some scouting around and heard that there were reports that officials had found a 'Fugitive' from the ARK incident and was taking to the GUN Labs for testing…"

            " Testing? For what?" He winced at his wounds.

            " I didn't have time to grab the chart. I found yo---" Sonic paused, face paling a little. " Ahem. I found you when I raided the Lab to see what the reports were talking about. You were in a stasis tube of some kind. Anyway, I got you out and ran like hell to get you out when the alarm sounded. Luckily for us, their security sucks so we got out with no problem."

            Shadow closed his eyes, trying to remember anything that might come to him. He could remember hearing the alarm go off…but not much after that. His hand gripped his arm.

            " Then what?"

            " You weren't in the best of shape. So I ran as fast as I could to get you here where Tails could help me take care of you. He helped out as best he could, but we couldn't handle trying to help you with all the poisons that they pumped into you. So he managed to track down Rouge to help, and Knuckles was scouting around Mystic Ruins, so he also helped."
            " What happened?"

            " Rouge gave you a remedy to get the toxins out of your body. You were convulsing and throwing up a lot… Gave Tails a nice concussion in the process too."

            Shadow made a face. So that was what the taste in his mouth was…

            " I gave Tails a concussion?"

            " You kicked him pretty hard into a wall."

            " I'll have to apologize to him then…" His stomach gurgled a plea for food.

            " We can always discuss this later…Hungry?"

            The dark hedgehog nodded. He hadn't eaten anything decent in days, perhaps weeks, since he didn't know how long he had been in the stasis tube.

            " I'll get you something to eat." Sonic said, standing up. " I'll see what Rouge says about what you can and can't have. Don't want you to get sick to your stomach."

            The azure hedgehog departed from the room, leaving Shadow alone. He scanned his surroundings again. Sonic had told him that he was in Mystic Ruins, mainly Tails' workshop. Shadow shook his head. He had no idea where this place was. When he was released, he had only really explored the city, Prison Island, and ARK. There was much that he did not know about the world, due to his imprisonment within the GUN stronghold. Perhaps now he would be able to view the world and lead somewhat a normal life. Well, any life that was normal for a black hedgehog with red stripes.

***

            Sonic returned quickly, true to his nature. He held a box of crackers and a sandwich.

            " Sorry. It's all you can have until we know for sure that you won't get sick off of it. Well, according to Rouge…"

            " Oh quit your bellyaching, Sonic the Hedgehog and stop trying to blame me for everything." A feminine voice called after him. " After all, that means more food for you, doesn't it?"

            The white female treasure hunter appeared in the doorway and leaned on the doorframe, folding her arms and smiling sweetly. She was dressed in her normal revealing pink and black outfit, with matching high heels.

            " How are you holding up, Shadow?" She asked.

            Sonic had handed over the food to his dark doppelganger. Shadow was stuffing his face with the crackers, trying to appease his large appetite. Rouge smiled.

            " Don't eat too fast, or you'll get sick again."

            Shadow swallowed. His stomach seemed pleased now.

            " I'll live." He stated, munching on another cracker.

            Sonic looked back at the female bat.

            " I told him about how he needs to take it easy for the next couple of days unless assisted."

            " Good."

            The black hedgehog was still eating. He polished off the sandwich and put the crackers aside, staring at the two of them with his scarlet eyes.

            " Now...what?"

            " Well, you need to rest. Get some sleep. We'll check on you later." Rouge said, tapping her foot a little. " I'll go see what the boys are up to." And with that, she departed.

            Sonic sighed and gave Shadow a small smile.

            " She's right, you know. There's not much that you can do right now except rest."

            He nodded. This was true. He could barely stand without his head telling him that he needed to sit down again.

            " Don't worry. You'll get your strength back in time. I can always help you out if you need to stretch your legs. Cuz, I know that I'd be going insane with having to just sit there for days…" The azure hedgehog made a face. " Anyway, rest up. I'll be back later."

            Sonic made his way for the door as Shadow laid down again. He sighed quietly to himself as he tried to relax. Everything still hurt, but at least his stomach was appeased. Sonic lingered in the doorway for a moment, looking back. He made a small frown, then left. His look went unnoticed to the striped hedgehog though. Shadow was too busy watching the ceiling fan blades spin. He sighed again and closed his eyes.

Once again: Legal Stuffies: SEGA owns Sonic, Shadow, and crew!

Please tell me what you think. I know this isn't the most exciting chapter, but it will get a little better. I just wanted to get something up for you to read. :D