-Shadow-
I awaken very slowly, savouring the peace between sleep and wakefulness. How long has it been since I could do that…? Too long, is all I know. Too long… As I slowly drift back into the realm of reality, I feel myself lying on something soft, softer than I've felt in a while. I move my gloved hand slightly, feeling the surface around it. I'm lying in a bed, but the only proper bed we have is Sonic's… That's right, Sonic's awake… that's why I've been able, just this once, to sleep without having to wake until I'm ready. Slowly, I open my eyes, looking about me. A room with decorated lampshade, flowery paper on the walls - a room in one of the few houses that survived the destruction of the old city, one of the smaller ones that Robotnik built over rather than through. Sonic sits on the edge of the bed, looking down at me.
"Shadow?" His voice contains both worry and relief. I sit up, swing my feet to the floor. I feel better than I have in a long time - better, I think, than I have since all this began. But this room isn't the one I was in before… isn't any of the ones in our old hideout. So we must have moved. I wonder how long I've slept for, decide to ask Sonic.
"I'm fine, Sonic - I feel much better now. How long have I been asleep?" I push the covers aside with my mechanical left hand. While I feel pressure, it's not sensitive enough to feel any but quite rough textures, and the feelings of heat and cold are denied me. I tap a couple of the fingers against the thumb, the slight metallic tapping the only sound produced by the movement. Sonic glances to the source of the noise before replying.
"About two days, now. As you can tell, the others decided to move anyway, and I figured it'd be best to let you sleep."
A voice calls from the doorway.
"Too right you did - and you'd barely let anyone else near him, either, would you?" It's Chess. She steps into the room and grins at Sonic, who looks slightly embarrassed. "Now, Sonic, while everything's quiet here, why don't you take advantage of it and get Shadow to fill you in on everything you've missed? I have to go help Tails with something; he's whizzing about tinkering so much it looks like he needs a third hand!" With that she leaves. She sounds more cheerful than any of us have in a long time. It's as if Sonic's awakening has brought new hope to us all.
Sonic has evidently decided to do as she says, because he asks,
"Shadow… what happened? How did Robotnik get so powerful?" He glances to my arm again. I think it disturbs him more than he wants to admit, even to himself. I close my eyes for a moment, remembering… then I open them again. I'll tell Sonic everything I can.