((CW: Blaze's part just has parasite stuff. Sonic and Shadow's part has some cursing and frank discussions of sex.))

Blaze kept running. Her legs stung with exertion, her chest felt like it was stabbed with a million needles, but she couldn't stop. No way. If she stopped, she'd be caught. If she was caught, she'd be cornered. If she was cornered, they'd stick her with that black goop. And then….

She realized she had no idea what the black goop actually was. She didn't care. Her instincts told her it was no good, so it was no good, and she'd fight against it like any other enemy.

Her stomach began to hurt, and she knew she couldn't make it much further. Looking behind her, she didn't see Amy or Silver anywhere…maybe she'd lost them? She wasn't fast, but neither were they…and if Silver was really set on stopping her, he would have used his psychokinesis on her.

Come to think of it, why hadn't he used it back there? Blaze was stronger than Silver, and both of them knew it, so why did he hold her back with brute force?

She pulled out her cell, tapping at the screen frantically as she tried to call Sonic. He'd know what to do, she thought. He always found a way to help out his friends - but when she only got voicemail, she cursed under her breath. Of all the times to be incommunicado. "Sonic, it's Blaze. You have to get to Empire City right away. Something's wrong with Amy and Silver. They've got this…thing. I don't know how to describe it, it's–"

She felt something twinge in her skull, and she dropped the phone.

It all seemed so silly to her now. She had felt so worried and anxious even just a few minutes ago, but it had immediately faded away. It almost felt like when she was on some kind of drug, but that was crazy - she never put herself on anything. It was more like…she realized how strange it was to be scared of something, just because you didn't know what it was. It was true, Amy and Silver were acting really weird, but that didn't mean they were acting worse. In fact, they seemed pretty satisfied with themselves. Maybe it's not something that she would have chosen for herself, but if they were happy….

The image of the black goop came back to her. The visceral feeling of it crawling on her made her feel nauseous.

It's gotten to me, she realized. That horrible, disgusting, perfect, beautiful thing has gotten in my head.

She wanted to think about something else.

The sunlight poked around the side of the alleyway, and for some reason, the thought that Amy and Silver would still be after her slipped from her mind. With baby steps, she wandered out of the tunnel, letting her arms dangle at her sides. She looked around her with a strange curiosity. She had walked through this town so many times, but now it was as if she was seeing through new eyes. The buildings were dark and familiar, touching something in her mind but not quite registering. Recognition? Some inner imperative? She'd think of it eventually, but right now, she just wanted to keep moving. As she wandered in circles, she trailed her hand on the walls and felt the rough grooves of brick, looking outward into the street. About half of the others on the street had the same dazed, peaceful look that she was sure she wore now. Their movements were clean and precise, without even one bumping into another. If it were even a few hours ago, that would have struck her as bizarre - Empire City was a bustling town, filled with an eclectic mix of people - but now, this seemed more logical. Why would anyone interfere with anyone else? They all had the same goals, after all.

She was lost, she realized. She didn't care about that. It was inside her head. She didn't care about that either. And she…liked it? Yes, she liked it. This is what she's supposed to feel. This is how she's supposed to be. It squirmed inside of her like warm oatmeal with a spoon, and she realized why Amy had looked so lovingly at the black. If she only had a little inside of her and it felt this good, imagine what it would have been like to have so much of it inside her, integrating with her systems, coursing through her blood and making her feel so good in her Head. If she'd only known, she wouldn't have destroyed it so callously. A twinge of something like regret came through her, thinking of how much of the black was wasted in her prior haste. How it had twitched and shrunk under her heat. How it had fallen to the ground, disconnected, limp, isolated. Sadness, but not for long, struck in her head. It was past. She had so much to do now that she was part of….

Part of what, exactly?

She stopped. When she stopped fighting it, her body flooded with sensation. Her skin itched from the inside, like a warm buzz, but Blaze thought it felt great. She let herself close her eyes and breath deeper, riding the waves inside of her blood and the pressure on her mind. Her head throbbed with her heartbeat, and something wonderful was growing inside of it. Other sets of vision, other sounds, other textures, other bodies came into her head one at a time like lights turning on in a house. If only she realized it could have been like this before! Like a web, so could feel how she connected to everyone else. How she was never alone, never had to fear anyone else. Everything inside of her sparkled. This is home, she realized. This is Home.

Turning, she saw the library. She couldn't remember what a library was, but when she saw a group of children go inside, she knew she had to follow. There were people in there…and books. Books that she could read. And even though she knew everything the other bodies knew and felt everything that the other bodies felt, there was so much more behind this haze in her head that she couldn't quite get at. Maybe if she looked through what was inside, she would remember what she had lost. Maybe something in there would help her know where she was. Maybe she could unlock useful knowledge that would help them all move forward.

But there was something else she had to do first.

"I still think it's a bad idea to have you here."

Sonic, Shadow, and Rouge met in front of the spot preparing to blast their way in. The bartender, for one, took kindly to Rouge's advancements - while she left it in no uncertain terms that she would be doing absolutely nothing with him after the three of them finished their business in his secretive back room, something about the way she walked, moved, and spoke to him made him want to do her favors. Call her a flirt, or a tease, or even a seductress, but the fact of it was that Rouge knew how to take advantage of dimwitted guys who were only after one thing. Everything had been moving so smoothly, too. The bar was full of people, but they were all so drunk they hardly noticed the famed pair of hedgehogs, waiting in the corner while Rouge worked. He was tucked away, and luckily, barkeep had a spare key. And there were only two guys in there, he said. Easily dealt with. Piece of cake.

But now that they were in front of the door, Shadow stood by and got cold feet? Rouge, for one, was not having it. Not after all her effort.

"And you were outvoted by both of us, so shut it!" she hissed. "You're going to get us noticed, and I for one want to take care of this quickly so I can go home!"

Shadow screwed his face into an angry expression, giving Sonic a pointed look before turning to Rouge and whispering. "Sonic can't get out of here in time if he has to run, and I for one am not going to carry him out. What if the Doctor holds him hostage, or he gets stuck? He is only putting himself, and the mission, in danger."

"And like I said earlier, if he wants to be here, then you of all people aren't going to stop him. Do you want to be here, Sonic?"

Sonic flashed a thumbs up, and Shadow rolled his eyes. "You talk like Sonic is some paragon of good judgement." He hunched forward, as though he wanted to stare through the door.

"Then he'll be quiet and follow orders, and we'll all be okay. Capisce? Now brace yourselves. We're going to go in."

Rouge grabbed her ill gotten key and slowly, deliberately, put it in the lock and twisted. The group of three knocked the door open, bracing themselves for a fight or second defensive measure, but got startled by what they saw.

Namely, the Doctor, completely unarmed and talking to a nearly exact replica of Sonic.

Rouge got over her surprise right away and shot the Doctor with a tranquilizer dart. He fell hard to the ground - still awake, barely, but obviously dazed and not in a position to move. Shadow came behind with her, beginning to put restraints on him before any surprise robots could come out of the woodwork. Not like there would be much room for it - this room seemed to be more of an underground cellar, with just a few chairs and a few wine racks and stray bottles - but with the Doctor, they never knew.

Sonic, though, didn't move an inch. Much as he hated to admit it, Sonic knew Shadow had been right. He wasn't helping at all. In fact, he stood stock still instead. I thought I would be ready for this, Sonic thought. It's been so many years. I thought I could handle it. But he's right there…Scourge… after all this time….

He didn't wear his added years quite like Sonic did. No tired expression, no calming of his temperament. He was still wearing sunglasses indoors, probably for the same reason he did when the two really knew each other. It looked cool, he had said once. There was nothing else.

The green hedgehog's grin spread wide across his face. Sonic thought immediately of the Cheshire Cat from a book Shadow lent him - wild grins before leading the lead character astray - but that wasn't quite right. No, this was more like a normal cat, bearing its teeth to a mouse before it bit it in two. With a sinking feeling, Sonic realized that Scourge also wore the same leather jacket as two years ago - more worn, with some weird patches, but probably still with that same smell of smoked meat and alcohol that used to drive him so crazy. He pictured being strangled with the sleeves, or worse, tied up while he had his way….

"Blue! Long time no see!"

Sonic shivered. Normally Scourge masked how similar the two of them sounded - he liked to make his voice sound artificially rougher, whereas Sonic was more gentle with his. But this familiar greeting, as negative in intent as it was, sent shivers down his spine. The inflection, the tone, even the cadence of his words matched Sonic' own speech exactly, creating an eerie feeling. It almost felt like looking into a mirror, only to see your reflection move on its own. "Now, what are you doing? Not talking to me for two years, only to barge in right as I'm about to land such a sweet deal?"

Shadow also looked taken aback, but for a wildly different reason. "Sonic…are you related to this guy?"

Scourge laughed, slamming his open palm down on the table. "Nah, but I can see why you'd think that. The resemblance is uncanny, isn't it? I was a little taken aback myself, when we first met!"

Shadow turned to Sonic. "Didn't you tell me that you didn't know who your family was?"

Sonic narrowed his eyes at Scourge, trying with everything he could muster to mask how freaked out he was from this trip down 'memory lane.' "No, believe me. We got tested. No relation. Just a really weird coincidence."

"Really happy coincidence, you mean. Least, that's what you told me when we first met!"

"Goes to show how wrong I was."

The Doctor was trying to speak, his words coming out slurred from a heavy tongue. "You're making a big mistake! You don't understand what we're–"

And he got gagged by a piece of cloth. Where had Rouge been hiding that thing? No, you know what, he didn't want to know.

Scourge let out a cackling laugh. "You were the one that came on to me, remember! We were both kids! We were both drunk! And we both liked what we saw! Come on, you can't tell me it wasn't good for you!"

Sonic stammered, his eyes unconsciously darting to Shadow. He noted with a sense of dread that Shadow looked on with a neutral expression on his face. "You can't do this–"

"What, scared of your new 'hero' reputation? Maybe it's time you let people see you aren't so flawless after all. Almost makes up for the money I'm about to lose 'cause of you."

"Cut it out!"

Shadow narrowed his eyes at the stranger in the room. "I don't think anything you could say could change what I think of Sonic. Go ahead. Tell me."

"Did he tell you he's a fucking queer?"

Silence. "What?"

"Yeah! I know, right? I mean, it's obvious when you really think about it. I find it so hard to believe that in all the time you've known him, he hasn't given you a look or even a pass at least once! I mean, look at you!"

"Leave him out of this…" Sonic said, but it came out so quietly that he'd be surprised if anyone heard it. His throat suddenly felt really dry, like he was more likely to croak than talk.

"And what else? Oh yeah – your true blue dude and I screwed! Did the two man tango! Made the beast with two backs! Did the horizontal naked dance!"

"Stop."

"And let me tell you," Scourge continued, standing up and starting to walk towards Shadow, "this guy is really something else when you get him in bed. Goody two shoes here likes it hard and rough! I swear, he bit me so hard that it drew blood and practically left bruises where he grabbed me!" He sidled up next to Shadow, who was tighting the restraints on the Doctor, and began to trail his finger up and down his arm. "Maybe it's some pent up aggression thing from constantly having a stick shoved up his ass, but when he lets loose, whoa, you've got to look out, cause he will take you for a ride!"

"I said stop," Sonic said, a little louder.

"But the worst was after it was done. He was so affectionate, you know? Cuddling and kissing everywhere, whispering things in my ear like some romance novel character. And I was like, dude, we just fucked, nothing else is gonna come out of this. Calm he was like, yeah, but I can take it fast and slow, so I can wait. How corny is that shit?"

"Stop!"

"So when he finally fell asleep, I just went out. He looked so funny, shivering in the bed like needs someone so clingy? What kind of baggage is that?"

"Scourge, STOP!"

The room fell silent. Scourge kept his grin on his face, but it wavered. Sonic was not amused at all, not one bit, and held back from looking at Shadow' face for any kind of reaction. The last thing he needed around this guy was to look unsure of himself, even if that was ultimately the truth. "Scourge, you are talking about things you have no right to talk about. It was a mistake. We both said it was a mistake. It's just the past, right? And we have nothing left to talk about here except for the present."

"What present? You whined to me about leaving you behind, then abandoned me for two years!"

"Well, for starters, you're working with my literal arch nemesis? What's he even paying you for, anyway?"

Scourge laughed and leaned back. "Well you got me there. I'm not gonna say shit, but a guy's gotta do what it takes to keep eating in this town, right?"

"Somehow," Sonic said with venom, "I never thought that'd be a problem for you, Scourge. You always got what you needed, and it was never enough. You only took more because you could."

Scourge looked at him, then pulled away his sunglasses. The piercing blue eyes dug into him, throwing him internally off balance. "See, blue, that's the difference between you and me. You pretend that you don't want things that you do, and feel disappointed that you don't get them. You have to drink first to admit that even after all this time, you just want someone to touch you. Kiss you. Drive you into the fucking mattress. And is it so terrible when I give you what you need so badly? And then you give me nothing in return but a pain in my ass! You're pathetic. And I'm done. Have fun with your new toy."

Scourge started to walk away, but Sonic found himself overcome with an anger he hadn't felt in years. His face flushed red, and without even realizing it, he threw a punch. A brawl ensued that, to the outside eye, it was remarkably fast; blurring of movement of punches, kicks, throws, metal, even pulling quills filled the room with a turquoise haze. The two narrowly missed the furniture, Sonic not wanting to actually kill or even seriously hurt Scourge, and Scourge not wanting to break his things. The few times Sonic could let his focus leave the fight, he looked back to Shadow Shadow. Shadow, holding back the Doctor's now unconscious body. Shadow, staring open mouthed at the scuffle where Sonic was clearly holding back, but somehow also losing. Shadow, using the fight as a distraction as he and Rouge took the Doctor out of the room. Shadow, no longer there, leaving an empty corner of the room hollow and cold.

A hard hit sent Scourge flying back, the wind knocked out of him, and let Sonic have a much needed breather. He shook out his stinging hand, letting his fingers relax and replenish, then stared at the empty corner. Mission accomplished. Shadow got the Doctor. He was about to be taken in. Justice would be served, and the world would be spared certain disaster.

So why was he so scared about going back home?

He realized he had never considered if Shadow and Rouge would just leave without him. It seemed appropriate - they were the real agents, and they were the only ones that really had clearance to take him back. But that also meant that likely, the last time Shadow would see him was punching his doppelgänger in a shady bar basement after he admitted to fucking him while drunk. What if Shadow never came back? What if he had ruined any chances for a real relationship with him? Not the romantic kind - he doubted he could ever even broach the question - but something more than this awkward acquaintance, rival, occasional partner in justice role. He felt a sense of melancholy as he caught his breath. They took him out, and after this fight, Sonic would be done too. It was over, then. The books. The visits. The coffee. All of it.

Scourge was right about one thing, he realized. If he wanted something from Shadow, he would have to buck up and say so. Otherwise, he would have no chance - and frankly, it might already be too late.

And that terrified him.

Scourge was back on his feet, running full tilt at him. Sonic braced himself, putting the metal of his crutches between him as a sort of barrier…but he never felt the impact. Instead, Scourge's eyes lost all focus, and he tumbled to the ground. Another dart was stuck in his side - one Sonic didn't hear being thrown.

"I told you that you were getting in over your head."

Sonic turned around, his eyes widening. Shadow! He was back, holding the dart gun, and waiting in the doorway.

"Honestly, why would you start a fight right now when we had what we wanted?"

"He was–"

"Not worth it." Shadow crossed his arms. "Rouge already left with the Doctor in the helicopter. GUN got you and me a car. You ready to leave?"

Sonic let out a long exhale, then smiled. He moved around Scourge's collapsed body, making a mental note to tell the barkeeper he was down here… or maybe, he thought with a smirk, to lock him down here in the cellar. "Are you kidding? I can't get out of here fast enough."

((AN: I wanted to point out something that I do in my fics that is apparently pretty controversial. Lots of people who write things on here seem to be under the impression the Shadow calls Sonic 'faker' a lot, and hardly ever calls him by his actual name. This is one of those things that I think got so pervasive in fanfiction that people think it's canon…or at least, it keeps spreading around. It's not really based on anything - if you look at the 'faker' cutscene in SA2:B, Sonic is actually the one who calls Shadow 'faker,' to which Shadow replies, "I think you're the fake hedgehog around here." The words aren't used in that kind of context again. What's more, in that game and many others, Shadow calls Sonic by name multiple times. And yet, this idea persists, to the point where apparently I get PMs for 'being OOC.' So there it is. I've explained myself. Have a pleasant day.))