Meet the Thousand

In the dark of the forest many identical feet were making steady progress toward their target. They moved silently, mindlessly, like scores of ants following a trail of pheromones laid by a single intelligent puppeteer. They moved incessantly, uniform in their nature, darkly identical like the phalanxes of ancient battles. They were majestic in their terrifying ordered way.

On the shores of a lake ten souls slept fitfully, oblivious of the dark mass ever moving towards them, intent only on one purpose, drawing closer, as inevitable as the setting sun…

"Run!" Espio's sharp senses only gave them a moment's warning. The group snapped awake and all began running in different directions as a swarm of black shapes appeared from the fringes of the trees. Most escaped, either into the air or on swift feet, but somehow Shadow found himself left behind. Knuckles looked back over his shoulder as he ran after the blue blur that had been Sonic to see a member of the Thousand lift a heavy branch into the air and swing it at a flaming Shadow's head. It hit him and he went down. Unbidden Knuckles feet slammed into the sandy earth. With just that moment's hesitation he was surrounded. He saw no option but to fight his way to Shadow. He turned and plunged his fists into the Thousand's identical faces. He was making slow progress alone amongst so many, his angry fists little match for fragile bones. In such numbers the Shαdøws' major advantage, their speed was taken away. Then as he drew close to the ring of enemies surrounding Shadow something grabbed his foot. Knuckles tried to jump away, but in the firm hands of many of the Thousand, something twisted, and finally snapped and shattered. The Shαdøw released him and he fell heavily to the ground. All he could do was drag himself to Shadow's side as a ring of the Thousand swiftly surrounded them.
Shadow groaned irritably and opened his eyes. He looked up at Knuckles "Just once I'd like to wake up and not see your face…"
"It's better than waking up alone isn't it?" Knuckles whispered only for his ears, holding him against the ground. "Stay still"
Shadow looked around as far as his position would allow.
"I was hoping you wouldn't wake up at all… we're trapped" His voice as ever betrayed little emotion. "I think they will kill us"
Shadow could see a ring of his selves around them
"Where are the others?"
"Fled"
"Why not you?"
"I couldn't…" He paused then pointed down at his foot, horrifically mangled. "I'm not fast enough to run away"
"I'm sorry"
"It's ok"
They heard one of the Shαdøws move forward. Knuckles cowered down on the ground against Shadow so neither of them would have to watch their own ends.
"The red one protects us" a very dumb version of Shadow's voice said
Shadow and Knuckles dared to open their eyes and move apart enough to see.
"They think I'm one of them" Shadow whispered
"That's the only reason they haven't killed us"
"But why?" One of the Shαdøws asked
"He seems only to protect that one" Another said
"Why?" the fist one asked, addressing Shadow
"Because he is my friend" Shadow said sitting up
"We are the Thousand we have no friends"
"Then you are weak" Shadow growled, taking hold of Knuckles' hand. He noticed the black fire crackling around Shadow's limbs, although this time he wasn't burnt. "And you will be destroyed"
"That's the one we want! Get him you mindless fools!" Shadow's voice hissed loudly in a language only he could understand.
Shadow lifted up his free arm, and out of it came a blast of black flame. The Thousand were parted and they ran. Knuckles was moving fast, the world was moving more quickly than he could keep up with. Then suddenly he was shoved to the floor and Shadow came back into focus.
"Stay here"
Was all he said before he disappeared again in a black streak.

Knuckles stared after him from where he knelt on the floor. He could see a tide of black and red heads moving away from them along a grassy plain fringed by trees. He could hear the distant cry of confusion of Shadow's voice. Then he heard a familiar beating noise. Knuckles looked up to find Rouge flying in on his position. She dropped to his side
"Knuckles come on we have to go"
"But Shadow…"
"We can't do anything for him! He's on his own out there!"
"But…" Knuckles looked back. The general chaos seemed to be growing. As he watched a black form rose out of the masses.
"Knuckles please!" Rouge begged
"But…" He glanced between Rouge and Shadow's direction.
"There's nothing we can do for him… Please Knuckles, we're still in range"
Helplessly he grabbed her hand and she hauled him into the sky. As they flew Tails joined them grabbing his legs then Charmy took his other arm. Knuckles turned to look back. Shadow had risen further above the black tide, suspended in a fiery blue ball… Blue, it went blue with fear. Knuckles could still see his motions though he was too far away to see his expression. He brought his arms up from his side and crossed them over his chest, and finally tilted his head towards the sky. There was a huge blue flash followed by a roar. The blast wave spread out, Knuckles saw it draw closer, until it reached where they were. They were all thrown forward through the sky, though as the wave hit they were enveloped in a white sphere. The blast wave passed and all four of them were left unharmed. Exhausted Shadow fell from the sky, and the remaining members of the Thousand stormed his helpless body.

When he awoke his body was cold, wet and ached all over. His mouth tasted of metal, his whole world smelt of it. Distantly he could hear metallic clanks. For a moment everything was so dark he wasn't sure if his eyes were open. Then slowly he began to be able to discern shapes around him, and to his horror, walls.
"Kn-Knuckles? Where are we?" he asked softly, but got no response "Knuckles, please answer me… my memory… I don't remember where we are… Can you hear me? Rouge? Sonic? Can anyone hear me?" he paused for a moment "Please answer… I-I don't like this" he was afraid to say he was scared. Then slowly the memories started to come back. He recalled rising above the Thousand, an almighty crash and then nothing, just darkness. His vision was beginning to clear; he could see a shaft of light pooling on the ground, instinctively he crawled towards it. He managed to discern a door. He climbed shakily to his feet and walked up to it. He peered between the bars of a window.
"Hello?"
A face making a hissing noise was suddenly pressed up against the bars. His face. Shadow jumped back, slamming up against the opposite wall. The red eyes glared at him for a moment, still hissing and spitting like a cat. Then turned and moved away again. Shadow felt himself start to panic. The Thousand had captured him! He was trapped! Dark shapes seemed to flitter through the light. The footsteps seemed closer. There were monsters here, in this room with him. Blue and green fire ripped out from his body unbidden. He had to keep them back, keep them away. He curled into a ball and pushed himself into the corner and burned everywhere around him.

The door opened. Shadow bolted towards it, but was roughly apprehended by a shape he recognised. As he struggled against the metal hands that he had allowed to carry him, hands he'd trusted he found himself crying out.
"Omega let me go! Please if our alliance meant anything to you!"
"There was no alliance, we had a mutual goal"
"Omega you betrayed me!"
This time the fire that ripped out from Shadow's body was red and black, and strong enough to begin to melt even Omega's hands. He dropped him. Shadow fell to the ground, still burning, somewhat surprised. He slid along a metal surface. He was about to get up and run when a metal pike impaled him through the shoulder with a sickening and final cracking sound.
"Ugh…Ugh…" Shadow heard himself say as his eyes widened and his body caught alive with pain. The fire around him flickered for a moment then went out. Through streaming vision Shadow looked up.
"So it is true…" an echoing voice said "My, my Project Shadow you have made a mess of my plans. No matter, you will soon be my slave, like all the rest." The voice laughed "Look at them!" Still impaled on the pike Metal Sonic lifted him up, making Shadow gasp in agony. He refused to allow himself to cry out. Shadow's mind swam but Metal Sonic's other hand on the back of his head forced him to look. He was on the airbase again, though it was on the ground. Below on one of the lower decks some of the Thousand were working, building something, like mindless machines, ripping parts from the Airbase to build whatever it was they were creating. Shadow felt sick, but it was the sight, more than the pain.
"The rest of these clones were far less remarkable than you, mindless creatures, lacking your… spark. Nevertheless they are useful cannon fodder." Metal Sonic struck one of the Shαdøws standing nearby. It fell and scurried away, whimpering like a dog "Stupid creatures, lacking speech or any intelligence, most of them" He pointed to one to their left, along the deck they were standing on "some are not even fully formed"
As Shadow squinted through the pain he realised the one Metal Sonic was pointing at had no arms.
"I killed one or two myself as they came out of stasis. Useless whelps, deformed freaks"
Shadow was furious. He wanted to burn, but couldn't.
"They are not innumerable; your constant efforts to destroy them have become quite annoying" Metal Sonic laughed "It is surprising how far government money can stretch when it goes to build weapons… The only thing greater than the military's budget is their impatience." Shadow knew Metal Sonic was talking about him somehow, but he didn't understand what he meant. The pain was growing so strong he could think of nothing else. Metal Sonic lifted him up, so that he was held off the ground. He wanted to scream, it felt as though his arm would be ripped apart.
"Should I throw you to them Project Shadow? They would all like a chance to destroy you. I've made them hate you you see, but your reputation has led many of them to fear you" Metal Sonic paused "Slaves! Look upon that which you fear, the Ultimate Life Form, Chaos Controlled, see how it writhes weakly in my grasp. You no-longer need to fear it. Our work is nearly complete…" Shadow was too weak to care what he said. Below some of the smarter Shαdøws cheered, the dumber ones eventually joined in. Metal Sonic swung Shadow down, retracting the pike from his body, which seemed to hurt more than when he'd put it in.
"Take it back to the cell…" He heard him say, and then he was aware of his body sliding wetly along the deck…

He was beset by a strange emptiness. A reverent silence had fallen over the group as they moved along. Knuckles found himself to be the only one to believe that the Thousand could possibly have spared Shadow's life, that in itself only increased his despair. He resented them for their apparent lack of grief. Some even seemed to have received news of Shadow's removal with relief. As he limped painfully along with Rouge and Sonic close at either side he found himself wondering if he was kidding himself, if everyone else was so certain of his death. He also began to wonder why he cared so much…

"So you're Project Shadow… You're not what I imagined. You don't seem any different to me or any of the Thousand"
Shadow, curled up in a small black and red ball did his best to ignore the voice; he lay with his back towards the door, looking at the damp walls.
"But I saw you making fire; we have to make Omega new arms. You should have melted him. I hate him" The voice stopped "Can you hear me Project Shadow? Are you sleeping?... Does it hurt?" his voice asked.
Shadow didn't respond. The shape outside his door tottered for a moment.
"I've never been hurt that bad… when I came out they just tested me and then shut me away again. Next thing I knew I was here. Here I've not known real pain. One of us got crushed when a metal beam fell on him… He was screaming… like an animal… he didn't have language… he was so hurt master just killed him. In front of us all" The voice paused "I think master is cruel"
Shadow's mind started to work. Maybe sympathy with this creature could be to his advantage.
"It does hurt" he croaked
"Will you die?"
"I don't think so"
"That's good"
Shadow uncurled a little "But I may die of old age before they let me out of here"
"As may I. I am trapped here just as you are"
"Hardly. There are so many of you here Metal Sonic wouldn't miss one that just slipped away"
"But where would I go then? I know nothing of the world. I would die in that forest; I do not know how to hunt, to feed myself… I know the theory but not the practice, so it is with everything with me. I am a brain and nothing else. Each of the Thousand has their strengths, I would almost rather be one of the nameless stupid ones, at least they can take care of themselves, unlike me"
"Do any of you have names?"
"No, most are so stupid they would not remember them. But I am different, not like the many. So I call myself Apolloi."
Shadow smiled and shifted so he could be seen through the gaps in the bars "They taught you Ancient Greek too?"
"Yes. They gave me brains and nothing else. I am not strong or fast nor can I make the fire or stop time"
"I'd give that all up if it meant people would stop hunting me"
"I long for the power to break free, to be able to exert my own will, instead of being a slave. I want to see the world. I've known nothing but my pod and this airbase. I'm tired of living under master's fist. If I was strong like you I would kill him, and set the others free"
"And then they would use their freedom and kill you" Shadow said dryly "The world is a dark and terrifying place, you may not find it as wonderful as you imagine"
"Terrifying or not I would like to see it and I would still kill master for hurting us, for making us his slaves" Apolloi said angrily
"Don't you think I'd kill him if I could?"
"You mean you can't?" Apolloi asked "Then where is the hope for those like me? Who will set us free if you cannot?"
"My power has turned inwards, I can't make fire now anymore than you can, without it my body is frail and weak, I am vulnerable until my wounds heal"
"Are you afraid?"
Shadow didn't answer.
"None of the others are willing to admit they know what fear is. I always wondered if that was something we get from you or something they decided to give us later… I know what fear is… I am consumed with it every time Metal Sonic looks at me… as though he can see my anger and hatred in me, and knows I am disloyal, if he did he would destroy me for it. But I grow so angry I cannot control it. A volatile temper is nothing but frustrating if you don't have the strength to act upon its impulses"
"A volatile temper is dangerous if you do. I have done terrible things in my rage"
"Then our tempers are something we share"
"It appears so Apolloi"
"What else do we share?"
"I don't know… I remember very little of my past, on the ARK, before I came to Earth, even less of it spent here."
"I think I was born on the ARK, or at least, I was removed from my pod on the ARK. You can't really call it being born can you? That was where I was tested… and rejected and sealed away again. Like I said. Next thing I knew I was here"
"You were born on the ARK… was my Maria there?"
"I do not know, I saw only two scientists before I was put back into stasis. They were looking for something I did not have. They were looking for another version of you… From what I know you had something wrong with you that made you a bad weapon."
"I think I was too difficult to control. I had too much free will"
"Yes, perhaps that is why they made the others dumb beasts… then I don't understand how I came to be… If they wanted something easy to control the best way would have been to make it a fool. Why plug in every learning program they had? I have so much knowledge in my head I could almost tell you how you were made. Sometimes my head is so full I feel as though I don't have room to think! All that knowledge and the one question I want answered most I cannot! Why was I created?"
"We are weapons-"
"I know that! Why did they make me smart?!"
"They probably tried every permutation they could think of… Maybe they hoped you could answer their questions for them"
"That just makes me a breathing calculator"
"And me a living flame thrower, I'd rather be a calculator. A calculator never hurt anyone… They made us to be weapons, like they make machines, that's something we have to come to accept… none of us were ever loved, and none of us ever will be."
"I do not even know what love is. To me it is a word, and nothing else. I cannot understand the magnitude other creatures place upon it"
"I thought I knew what it was… but now I'm not so sure"
"That is why I want to see the world. We could find out together… If I let you out… will you take me with you?"
"Yes. If you set me free, I'll be forever in your debt"
"I ask only for your companionship and tuition until I can stand on my own"
"If you set me free I'll give you whatever you ask for Apolloi… but… can you do it?"
"Can I do it?" Apolloi actually laughed "I have an IQ greater than our creator and Metal Sonic put together… a little door isn't going to stand in my way… I'll be back Shadow"

Apolloi was gone so long Shadow began to doubt he was coming back. He'd slipped back into sleep before he heard a voice.
"Project Shadow?" His own voice whispered "Wake up Project Shadow" Shadow lifted his heavy head to look. The sun was now shining brightly behind what he assumed must be Apolloi's head. "I'm sorry I took so long. Master made me do some of his sums for his machine." Shadow heard a scratching noise as Apolloi began work on the lock "We will have to be fast. Master will be coming for you soon. If he finds me here he will kill me, the fate that awaits you is far worse" The lock clicked "If I am killed I have asked my friend Epsilon to help you. You are not totally alone here; you have allies even among the ranks of the Thousand"
The door gave one final click and swung open.
"Hurry" Apolloi pleaded
Shadow was out the door almost before he had finished speaking. Shadow grabbed Apolloi by the hand. As he moved searing pain reminded him of his injury, and his vulnerability. Suddenly they heard a hiss then a loud cry, like a bird of prey.
"We've been seen!"
"Run!" Shadow shouted
Shadow dragged Apolloi along behind him. They ran fast, as fast as Shadow could go with the wound impeding him. As he ran he felt it tear open and warm sticky blood dribble down his chest and onto his stomach. They came quickly to the edge of the Airbase and Shadow again found himself jumping heedlessly off it. Together they fell. They crashed to the ground, both with stifled yelps. Shadow heard something within Apolloi snap. They both lay dazed on the forest floor for a second then were up and racing away again. Injured and with Apolloi in tow Shadow was slowed a great deal. The Thousand quickly rallied under Metal Sonic's command were catching them. Soon they were surrounded. Apolloi beside him was struggling for breath, clutching what was clearly a broken arm tight against his chest. Shadow wondered if he thought the price of freedom was worth it. Then suddenly the members of the Thousand running through the trees launched an attack, faster than Shadow's blurring mind could react to. Instantly Apolloi seemed to be in the way, shielding him, taking the main force of the impact. Nevertheless his body slammed into Shadow and they tumbled the ground rolling with their speed.
"Chaos Control!!!" Shadow screamed as he and Apolloi came to a halt in a swirl of dust.
The Thousand were frozen, some of them in mid air, ready to strike. The one who had attacked them was unmistakably dead, his neck broken by the sheer speed at which the attack had been issued. Apolloi lay by Shadow's side, moving slightly, included in Shadow's Chaos Control. His breathing was gurgling, and laboured. Shadow staggered to his feet to move to where he could see him.
"Apolloi…"
The Black Hedgehog looked up at him with dull eyes.
"Shadow… are we free?"
"You will be soon my friend"
He looked down on Apolloi's broken form; under normal circumstances he would have been able to heal him. As it was his body was too focused on mending itself. On Apolloi's arm Shadow noticed something, a number. 178-314, clearly he'd been on the ARK for long enough for them to do that to him.
Apolloi looked up at him and sighed "Flee Project Shadow; you bring hope to many as long as you are free… I am dying, leave me here. They will kill me; my curiosity has always led me to wonder what death will be like. Please… my final wish… If you meet Epsilon… spare him, he has blue eyes… now… run… with… sound…" Apolloi's voice failed to a gurgle of blood.
Shadow didn't want to go, but he knew he had no choice; Chaos Control was about to fail him.
"Forgive me Apolloi?" He whispered before turning running into the frozen world.

They were walking along solemnly, in silence, Sonic and Knuckles side by side. Then the next thing Sonic knew Knuckles wasn't there anymore.

Knuckles fell. He seemed to fall into eternity. Then all of a sudden his relentless plunge ended and he was floating in an eternal realm of stars and light. Cool air rustled his fur, smelling sweetly of mountains and ice. For a moment he felt sure he'd died and gone to heaven. Then he was aware of eyes on him, a frowning face, as though questioning his presence in this tranquil world. Then there was a thud.

"Knuckles are you ok?!" both Sonic and Tails' voices were calling to him.
He was laid face down on the floor.
Knuckles groaned "Whoa! What just happened?... did something… someone hit me? Knock me out?"
"Huh? No-one hit you Knux"
"We've all got more sense" Espio said "It would be nothing short of suicide!"
Knuckles sat up on his elbow, his head spinning.
"Well that was weird. For a moment… I wasn't here."
Eggman frowned at him and came to his side.
"Where were you love?" Rouge laughed
"I don't know… just not here… it was like… I fell out of the world… out of time… out of… everything."
"Wow! What was that like?" Amy asked
"Err… amazing… it was like I was floating in eternity… but there was someone there with me…"
"Who?" Vector asked "Do we know them?"
"I dunno… whoever it was they were just… surprised to see me"
Sonic lifted him back to his painful feet muttering "I wish you'd stop doing that Knuckles, all this blacking out… this must be the third or forth time. You keep scaring the hell out of us!"
"Sorry Sonicu… I don't mean to"
"How's your leg holding up?" Rouge asked softly
"Sore… but its bearable" Sore was an understatement. He was only managing to walk by blocking off every feeling coming from his right leg.
"Any sign of infection?" Eggman asked him
"Mercifully no, though I don't know how… don't look a gift horse right?"
With that Knuckles limped on and the others followed, Sonic staying close beside him to offer support when he needed it, which was more regularly than he would have liked.

The birds started squawking again. Apolloi looked up at the light of the dappled canopy and mused this was the first time he'd ever been in a forest, the first time even that he'd felt grass against his back. He hoped Shadow would be long gone by now. He sighed softly, there were footsteps around him; he was surrounded by several very angry looking members of the Thousand. The leader growled an angry command in what served them as a language and they leapt forward to rip Apolloi to pieces, but by then he had already breathed his last.

Shadow ran through the forest as fast as his weakening body would carry him. He ran blindly, not really sure where he was going, uncertain of the direction even. He simply followed his feet. All he wanted to do was get away from the Thousand. His feet seemingly of their own accord however were taking him on a straight line towards the rest of the group. After running for what felt like an eternity and noticing neither sight nor sound of them he thought it safe to slow, though he didn't stop. Staggering forward he could do nothing but rely on his body to heal his wounds.

Knuckles was staring at Shadow and he was staring back, neither willing to make the first move. The robot, Omega was down and unresponsive, Tails was retrieving Sonic from the water, Rouge was hovering high above, keeping out of the way. There was no heart in this conflict; at least Knuckles' heart wasn't in it. He cared too much for Rouge to want to fight her, and now as he stared at Shadow he was consumed with the most bizarre sensation. His whole body was tingling, like a thousand tiny ants were crawling around inside him, nibbling at him and whispering to his brain, spawning ideas and memories he'd rather not recall. He'd felt this feeling before, and it frightened him. Shadow too seemed to be fighting some kind of internal battle, otherwise he would have attacked by now.
"Do you remember me Shadow?" Knuckles found himself asking, it didn't make any sense, but he asked anyway, a large part of Knuckles desperately wanted him to say "yes".
"…-"he seemed about to speak
"Yah!" Sonic ploughed in from the side with as much speed as he could get on the small platform, sending him flying through the air, he hit one of the metal crates on the island, slid down to the floor, and didn't get up again.
"Shadow!"
Knuckles went to run towards him but Sonic got in his way.
"Hey, you're on our side remember?" He snarled "We have to finisher her, can you do that or not?"
"Uh… Can't we just leave her; we've won Sonic, just end it!"
Behind them Rouge swooped down to where Shadow lay.
"Shadow are you alright?" He heard her say… He wanted to turn and go to them, drawn by a force he found impossible to explain, but he knew he shouldn't. With great effort he turned his back on Shadow and Rouge and walked away. Mercifully Sonic and Tails followed.

He sat up and blinked a few times. The others were still gathered around the campfire, a few sleeping, most awake, staring dejected into the flames. Sonic grinned at him and welcomed him back to the waking world. Judging by the position of the sun he'd been asleep for some time. He didn't care though; he didn't seem to have much to be awake for. Just as that thought went through his mind he noticed something. The tingling sensation had followed him from sleep, and it was growing stronger, spreading out from his chest.
"Shadow?" He asked
Some of the group turned sympathetic faces to look at him, others looked away, and a few remained staring into the flames.
"He's gone Knuckles" Tails said softly, reaching for him from where he sat "he's not coming back"
Knuckles didn't seem to hear him. He got to his unsteady feet and stared fixatedly at a point in the trees.
"Knuckles its ok… are you still asleep?" Tails tried again
"Shhh!" He said suddenly "Did you guys hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"A groan, and footsteps"
"No"
"Wait… I sense something" Espio said
The tingling sensation intensified, just as the bushes shook and something walked through. Knuckles went to run forward, but Sonic got in his way.
"This could be one of the Thousand. He has to prove it" Sonic snarled
The black hedgehog looked around the group, finally finding Knuckles' eyes.
"Knuckles…"
"Prove you're the Shadow allied to us!" Espio said
"Ugh…" He waved on his feet. Knuckles went to push forward but was restrained. "I- I a-awoke alone… l-like you said Knuckles, and I'd have given heaven and earth and all that lies between to see your face."
The others stared at Knuckles who had been rendered speechless, he felt as though someone had kicked him in the gut and might have collapsed had Sonic not been so close. The tingling sensation seemed to be consuming him
"Sh-Shadow?"
"I remember the moon, when it was whole"
Knuckles finally forced his way free of Sonic and to everyone's astonishment ran forward and hugged him.
"I thought I'd lost you again…" He whispered softly, only for Shadow's hearing. Only after a moment did he step back, embarrassed, the tingling sensation eased.
"Uh… It's good to have you back"
Saving him much of the mortal embarrassment many of the others ran forward and did the same, Shadow submitting almost happily. Even some of the older ones embraced him, until finally only Sonic and Knuckles were left on the fringes, Sonic scowling darkly.
"Careful how you chose your friends Knuckles"
Knuckles frowned at him "What?"
"You heard me. You're dancing with a demon and you're going to get hurt"
"Are you accusing me of not knowing how to handle myself?"
Sonic said nothing.
"You've got some nerve calling him a demon. You're not exactly a saint yourself. And frankly it's not up to you who my friends are, you are not my Master"
"Well I'm supposed to be your friend, and if I meant anything to you you'd listen to me, I know more about Shadow than you, I'm only trying to protect you, but you don't want to hear it!"
With that Sonic stormed off.

Shadow slept, without telling anyone where he had been or how he had come to return to them. Eggman treated what had been a severe and particularly cruel injury, but it seemed miraculously to be healing on its own. Sonic and Knuckles spent the night on opposite sides of the campfire trying not to look at one another. Then finally as Knuckles gazed at the flames, listening to the giggles of the younger ones, and trying to ignore his pain, Sonic looked up, and their eyes met. Sonic tried to look away again, but couldn't knowing Knuckles had spotted him. Knuckles rose to his unsteady feet, nodded his head to the side and Sonic was obliged to follow.

Away from the campfire the air was unpleasantly cool. Knuckles and Sonic stood together, Knuckles waiting for Sonic to speak first.
"Why do you like it?"
"Why do you like Tails?"
"You like him too!"
"We're not talking about me"
"I like Tails because he's my friend!"
"Why can't Shadow be your friend?"
"Because it's Evil!"
Knuckles couldn't believe what he's just heard. "What'd you say?"
"It's Evil!"
"Why?"
"It tried to kill me!"
"You provoked him! And Shadow had no idea that was going to happen, he was as scared as any of us!"
"No. On the ARK and on that island… before it blew up, we fought, it tried to kill me!"
Knuckles was too tired for an argument… he desperately wanted everyone to look after everyone else… just in case he wasn't there to make sure…
"Please Sonic don't do this to me!" he rubbed his face in his hands "We don't even know if that was the same Shadow and even if it was he can't remember that!" Knuckles sighed "You never could stand anyone to be better than you, neither of us could. For us to become friends one of us had to yield. That was me Sonic. Now I follow where you lead, somehow I can't imagine it being the other way round" Knuckles frowned "I backed down because I grew tired of fighting with you. I got tired of… being alone" His frown deepened even further "You wont be able to do that with Shadow, he isn't going to back down. You have to compromise, or you will destroy each other." His frown faded a little "I don't think I can stand loosing either of you, and I won't ever forgive you if you put me through that. Shadow will fight you if he's forced. And I don't rate your chances." With that Knuckles turned and limped away.