4 - We'll Play Again Soon

Shadow found himself shoved into the ground from the force of the punch. The force of the attack knocked him for a loop a little, making him feel dizzy. He never thought an enemy would be able to hit him silly before. Fighting off the small headache that was starting to form in his head, he groaned as he sat up and pushed himself up off of the ground with the palms of his hands. He got in position to fight once again, glaring straight ahead at the person standing beside the giggling green hedgehog menace.

He...honestly couldn't believe his eyes.

Mobius' hero, the savior of it's world's citizens, a person who has saved the same world numerous upon numerous of times...Was now standing beside Mobius' new threat, not as an enemy, but an ally. Engulfed in deadly dark aura, negativity was radiating off of him. His former cobalt, royally blue fur, was now even deeper than before. It wasn't peaceful like the color represented, no. It was no longer a color of harmony, but a color of power, unforgiving spitefulness, and even depression. In fact, it was almost completely black, like his own fur. His once bright lime green eye, was now a dim, dark swampy-like color. And one of them even seemed to be faded away, like his eye was almost completely glowing white. The wavelengths of his chaos energy were so large, he could feel it. His quills were raised upwards, just like his Super form, but it wasn't. It was something worse.

No, this couldn't be faker. It just couldn't.

"Who are you?" Shadow hissed dangerously. He then darted his eyes to Scourge. "Explain."

The emerald furred hedgehog covered his mouth with a 'teehee'. "I'd love to introduce you two!" He walked a little in front of the dark fellow hedgehog and wrapped his arm around his shoulder and pulled him closer. Like he was his old buddy. He grinned cheek to cheek, pressing him even closer to his body. A little too close for comfort in Shadow's opinion. In fact, was he blushing? He even looked a little shy, looking away with slight bashfulness. But his eyes, they looked so lost. He looked slow, almost. Like his brain wasn't functioning properly. "This, is Dark Sonic. Probably the most edgy you'll ever see Blue. Probably even edgier than you, Stripes."

That son of a bitch. Shadow thought, growling at his little insults. "What the hell is this!?" He shouted. "Answer me!"

"Geez, calm down." Scourge frowned. He sighed and pressed his own cheek into the dark hero's muzzle, pouting like a child. "It's just a dark form, that's all. Apparently if my research that was stolen from Baldy-McFat-Ass is correct, Blue turns into this when he's super mad. Rage mixed with chaos energy, and bam! Dark Sonic."

I don't understand. Faker had another form other than Super Sonic? I already know about that 'werehog' incident, but he can no longer achieve that form due to complications I wasn't here for. But, if he had this, what other forms does he have? I wonder if Tails knows about this... Shadow scoffed and narrowed his eyes. This was starting to become one huge complicated mess. But the better question was, why was Scourge so attached to Sonic like that? Didn't he despise him? At least, that's what he assumed for any enemy that threatened Mobius. Well, now that he thought about it, that seemed a bit close-minded.

The Anti-Sonic put his hand on top of Dark Sonic's head, lightly ruffling it. Almost soothingly. "After a little physical and mental torture, with the help of the person who gave me these powers, I forced Blue to turn like this."

"So basically, you brainwashed him into turning Dark? Thanks to the chaos energy needed to perform that feat, you were able to change him instantly."

"Yup!" Scourge said delightedly with a cute tilt of his head. "Totally. But I gotta say, it was a little hard. He was one stubborn bastard, I'll tell ya that. But, that's to be expected from the Hero of Mobius. The guy who backs down from no one, who doesn't give up his freedom to anyone, right?" He smirked directly at Shadow.

"I see." The black and red hedgehog clenched his teeth. "No wonder he looks so braindead." That's what it was. He didn't just brainwash Sonic into turning into this...thing, but he brainwashed him into being infactuated with Scourge as well. That's why he seemed as if he was blushing by him just being close. Now that, was fucking gross. But why the hell would he do that?

"I have a crush on Blue too, you know."

That evil little bastard. That's what this was all about. He didn't want to kill Sonic or get rid of him, he wanted him for himself.

"I see you thinking super hard over there, Stripes. Don't accidentally blow a gasket in that big ol' brain of yours. You're still figuring it all out. You're pretty smart, gotta say." Scourge complimented with a sneer. Ignoring this, Shadow took another good look at Sonic's body. He almost gasped at the sight. There weren't any bruises that resembled a beating. If anything, Scourge probably made Sonic think he physically harmed him by hand. No, instead, he had bruising similar to someone who became victim to electricity. It scarred his body horribly. It was only in once place, but it was an eyesore for the former hero. Right on his legs, but mostly in between his thighs. Scourge probably did that so he couldn't run. Perhaps a cruel ironic joke.

Shadow could tell it was healing, but not quick enough for his tastes.

"Welp," Scourge began. "Now that we've settled that, how's about we finish this?"

Shadow tightened his form, readying his body and preparing it for battle. If he had to fight faker one more time in order knock some damn sense into him, he had no problem with that.

With a shockwave resonating throughout the trees, both evil hedgehogs darted towards Shadow. At high speed and force, they both came fast with flying attacks coming left and right. Shadow definitely could not keep up with both at the same time, so instead of fighting back or even trying to block anything, he made a sonic boom away from them, right into a small path surrounded by trees up ahead that led to a tiny meadow inside. A little unsatisfied with Shadow's move, they ran to follow.

Lucky for Shadow, Scourge was obviously getting tired. He could notice that he was laying a little low behind him, while Dark Sonic was hot on his trail. The navy blue hedgehog stomped his foot into the ground, giving him leverage to jump up high and spike one of his legs down as an axe kick. Shadow thankfully saw what he was planning quickly, and dived away from his foot. Once he landed, it made a large crack into the ground.

He prayed to Maria, and thanked her that he didn't get hit by that. If he had gotten hit, it would have destroyed his spine. No doubt about it, that form was strong. Probably as strong as Super Sonic. Meaning, he couldn't fight this battle hand-to-hand. He was beaten by physical strength and speed tenfold. But speed and strength weren't always the shoe-in victories for these kinds of battles.

Little did they know, Shadow had a plan for that.

Right as Sonic landed, he was getting a too close for comfort. His sneakers were moving right behind his hover boots, and he was close enough to lay a good hit. He threw a punch, almost nailing Shadow right in the back. If he hadn't swiftly moved to the side, that would have literally been off with his head. Dark Sonic threw another punch, and another and then another. Shadow was shockingly quick enough to dodge all of them. Something wasn't right. He was almost positive that this form was supposed to be a lot quicker than this. Perhaps under Scourge's control, it wasn't at it's full potential?

However, that didn't mean he wasn't pulling any punches. He realized how much he underestimated Sonic. Either he got stronger by normal means over the years, or he was holding back all this time. But, nevermind that for now. He couldn't keep dodging forever!

Shadow looked back at Sonic and yelled, "Chaos control!"

In a flash of green light, he was gone.

He was now much farther away from them than before, getting better distance for his plan. He was on one of the tree branches, watching cautiously.

"I don't fuckin' think so!" He heard Scourge shout behind him.

In a dark blue flash, both he and Dark Sonic were right in front of him. His ruby eyes shrunk red when he saw their fists fly right into his face. They both uppercut the ultimate lifeform up into the air like a ragdoll. They both had chaos controlled to warp in front of him, and they did it once again to get higher in the air above him. Dark Sonic swung his leg into Shadow's head. He pummeled down, with Scourge hurrying below him to swing his leg into him as well. Shadow shot off like a bullet from the impact into a tree, breaking through it. Sonic appeared below him again and elbowed him right in the abdomen that made his body fly upwards.

They were basically playing kick ball with him. Elbows included.

Scourge landed swiftly on a tree branch, and held his arms out for Shadow to land into his arms from Dark Sonic's hit. He caught him and looked up at the dark hedgehog who floated above them with a grin. Huh. He forgot he could fly. Shadow was bleeding from his mouth and face, and he was squeezing his eyes shut from the pain. "Heya Blue! Wanna play pinball?" With that, he threw Shadow into the air again, and began to curl himself up in a ball.

The spiky green ball rammed into Shadow's back the next minute, shooting him towards Sonic once again. He curled up and did the same as his partner, a dark blue, almost black ball bouncing right against Shadow. They both came towards him like hurdling spiked dodge balls, beating him in every single direction. Left, right, up, down, diagonally, all directions possible. They came down upon him like hail on a metal roof, marbles slamming against a hardwood floor. They didn't stop or let up. They kept on going, battering Shadow's body in the air for minutes.

"Ding ding!" Scourge laughed as he uncurled himself and landed hard onto the forest floor. Dark Sonic landed beside him, watching as Shadow helplessly fell down onto his back in front of them. "Well that was fun."

"..." Dark Sonic didn't reply, he only continued to stare at the ebony hedgehog's broken body. He felt a hand cup his behind, and pull his body closer. He made a sharp gasp and looked somewhere else, shuddering from the touch.

"Hey," Scourge whispered provocatively. "No one's around, and I'm pretty sure Stripes ain't gettin' up for a while..." He rubbed his sharp fingers against his bottom more, squeezing his furred flesh. "Wanna..You know." He lowered his eyes suggestively towards the other, making him tremble against him.

"M-Mnn.." He tried to mutter something, but it didn't come out right.

"What's that? Gonna have to speak up, Blue."

"..I-I-" He stopped in mid sentence and flinched. He looked at Shadow again, to see him chuckling darkly. He was struggling to pick himself up, but that didn't stop him. Scourge groaned in exasperation. He thought Shadow would at least give them a few minutes before he got up again.

"Hahaha." Shadow shook his head with a foolish smile on his face. Look at him, in such a pathetic state. Oh he'd have one hell of a story to tell GUN. He managed to get up on one knee, and held out one hand. He looked directly in Scourge's eyes and muttered one little thing.

"Chaos Fibers."

"Chaos wha-? Oh shit!" Scourge hollered as he felt his entire body get yanked down harshly with his arms tightly pinned behind his back. He couldn't move anything, not a muscle. He couldn't even squirm. It was like his entire body was paralyzed. He looked over his own frame, and saw that once again, Shadow had him wrapped in wires that were made out of chaos. But, these were thicker. Stronger. It had him pinned down, and it felt like a hundred bricks were stacked on top of him. He couldn't use his brainwashing ability on Shadow, he was way too tired to use that right now. He could only hope that Dark Sonic would snap through it-

"Chaos Drain!" Shadow cried, closing his fist tightly.

"Damn!" Scourge closed one of his eyes shut tightly, feeling the pain travel throughout his body. His power was being drained, and it felt like hell. If he wasn't exhausted before, he sure as hell was now. But then, his focus went less on himself, and more on Sonic once he heard him scream in pain. He tried looking up, and saw that Sonic was trying to fight the damn things off, but it was only making it worse for him. He tried moving towards Shadow, but he just fell to his knees and tossed his head back in great agony. He then made a long, drawn out gasp, and fell face-forward.

He was writhing in the ground, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. His mouth was agape, like he was trying to scream more, but nothing would come out except for strangled noises. His legs tried kicking, trying to get away from it all. His body trembled violently, trying so desperately to get free. Dark blue chaos power roared from his body. It shook the ground below them, showing just how frustrated and angry he was for being captured. Shadow never meant for it to cause him this much pain. He watched, almost horror-stricken at what he was doing to him. It was like he was having some kind of over-dose. Was he killing him-

"Quit it!" Scourge yelled. "Get those fuckin' things off of him! You're killing him!" For the first time, the bastard was actually taking things seriously. He looked legitimately worried. Dark Sonic shoved his forehead into the ground, spit drooling from his mouth, puking onto the grass.

Shadow released his hold on the wires, and they dispersed from Scourge and the former hero. "Your damn brainwashing ability," He spit blood from his mouth as he held a hand up to his side that was currently killing him. "With that, his new form and my chaos fibers, it was way too much on his body. That's the only thing I can think of." He concluded as he looked down at Sonic's figure. Once he let him go from his binds, he shivered on the grass, not moving from his position. He was gripping the strands of grass into his fingers.

Scourge sighed. He had a feeling something would go wrong, just not like this. Shit, this really wasn't good. No doubt they'd make him revert somehow. He had to get outta here. He had a warp ring on him, so it wouldn't be a problem-

"Sonic!" A familiar voice called. Tails ran as quick as he could towards the three, and ended up stumbling down from his injuries. Behind him, Knuckles came just in time to help him up and walk him carefully. "S-Sonic...!" He called again in a gasp when he saw his older brother on the forest floor. He was no longer moving, just panting heavily. "O-Oh no..!" Tails shook his head slowly. "Not again..!" He breathed unsteadily.

Shadow's ear flinched at this. Again? "Tails, both of you, leave this instant!"

"Oh boy." Scourge rolled his eyes. Here we go...

The red echidna made several sounds of pure shock. "The hell-!? What the hell happened to you? Both of you!" He gently let Tails down and rushed to Sonic's side. He knelt down on one knee and held out his hand for him to grab. "Get up!"

"No!" Tails cried. "Knuckles! Don't-"

"-Stay away from him!" Shadow warned.

Knuckles' purple amethyst eyes went wide as Dark Sonic reached up not for his gloved hand, but his face. His palm seized his muzzle tightly, glowing a dark color. Mobius' former hero bellowed with a strong and inflamed cry, a monster howling in utter rage. His power would totally wreck his cranium into oblivion. His aura alone was making trees fly away from the ground. Tails held onto the ground below him securely as he watched in sorrow, while Scourge just smirked to himself. Shadow cursed to himself and sprinted towards the hedgehog. He wrapped his arms around Dark Sonic from behind and tightly held on, pulling him away from Knuckles. Thankfully Dark Sonic was way too tired to fight back, so he just snarled and let Shadow take him away. "No! NO! Get off of me!" He growled. "Get..Off!"

"Quit this damn nonsense right now, faker!" Shadow harshly ordered.

"No! You don't understand! If I-" He tried to get his hands free. "If I don't do what he says, I'll-!"

"And since when do you give a damn about what anyone says!?" Shadow angrily shouted back.

"..!" Dark Sonic's struggles ceased automatically once he said that. The absurd power that resonated from Sonic's body decreased alarmingly.

Knuckles was grabbed and pulled away by Tails protectively. He quickly realized what was going on. Scourge must have been controlling Sonic. He didn't know why he was in this scary form, but regardless of anything, they needed to snap him out of this. Scourge meanwhile was watching it all, simpering with his arms crossed over his scarred chest. As Tails kept his hold on the guardian, the elder felt that the younger was acting really timid. His body was shaking. He looked down at Tails and asked the frightened vulpine what was wrong. "Tails, what's up with you?"

Tails wouldn't respond. He just continued to stare at Dark Sonic, extremely worried.

Knuckles squinted his eyes. "You know why Sonic looks like that, don't you?"

At that, Tails gulped. Shadow noticed the fox's behavior, all while still trying to keep his hold on the other hedgehog. With a grunt, he asked for the fox to tell what he knew. "If know something Tails, say it!"

"Yeah," Scourge cracked a grin. "If you know somethin', say it, kid." He threatened. It was a pressuring threat. He wanted Tails to say it.

The orange fox looked down with clenched teeth, almost not wanting to tell the story.

The round-bellied hedgehog ruffled the top of the kitsune's head softly, smiling gently. It was about a year after he found the little guy following him in West Side Island. He seemed so fragile and nervous about everything. He lacked confidence and his self-esteem was literally nonexistence. He was glad that he met him. If he didn't, the little guy would have either starved, or continued to have been tortured by those bullies. They thought him being super smart with two tails was weird.

Tch, weird?

Two tails was friggin' awesome in his opinion. He could fly with them! And super smart too? That wasn't lame at all! At first he didn't want Tails around him considering he was a little annoying at first, being kinda clingy. But once he realized how hard his life was and that he just wanted someone to look up to, he had no choice. Besides, he was the only person he ever met that could keep up with his speed. This kid was going places, and he'd help him get there one step at a time.

Today, they had just finished building their house on the island. He put his plane beside it. Tails tugged on Sonic's glove, and suggested they should look for the chaos emeralds. Those shiny gems that seemed really powerful. Sonic agreed by nodding his head with a smile. He didn't talk much, but it was fine with him.

After hours and hours of searching, the two managed to find all of them. They had previously stashed the emeralds away on the island separately. They found where they hid them and took them back to their new house. Tails was so happy that he found three of them. Sonic was gonna be so proud of him. He ran his little legs over to their meeting point and put down the emeralds on the ground. He felt something wet hit his little nose, making him look up. It was cloudy. It was going to rain soon. Sonic would definitely make it before then, though-

What in the world...? What was that egg-like flying machine doing here? Why was it flying over their house? Tails blinked slowly, scratching his head.

Wait, there was someone inside it. Why were they smiling at him like that?

The small blue hedgehog stepped in front of their house, and stopped all of his movements. He dropped the remaining chaos emeralds on the ground, and clenched his fists tightly. Tails...he was on the ground passed out. Blood was everywhere. There were scars tattered all over his body. He wasn't moving. It didn't sound like he was breathing. Not a twitch, not a groan, nothing.

It was like, he was dead.

Sonic dropped to his knees, gripping his fingers into the sand. Why? Just, why? What did he do to deserve this? It was just a little kid, even younger than he was! Why did he deserve to die?

He heard the familiar sound of some kind of flying machine. Not an airplane but-

"There you are." The doctor grinned.

Of course. He did it.

He did it all.

He hurt Tails.

That piece of scum.

Useless waste of human flesh! Human garbage!

Before the little Mobian knew it, he couldn't control himself. He just found himself screaming in anger and launching towards the human in the sky flying that weird egg-shaped aircraft. He just started swinging and beat him. And beat him. And beat him. Blood was caked on his fists, his flying machine was malfunctioning. Then, he heard Tails' voice.

"S-Sonic..! Stop it!" He weakly called.

But he ignored it. Soon, he was destroying everything in his way. Their new house, nearby flora-

"Stop!"

There it was again.

Then he heard the snapping of a bone.

"O-Ow..! Wait, s-stop it! Please! You're hurting me..!"

That horrified pained tone made him stop everything. He got away from the human who was now on the ground, and rushed to Tails. Tails was crying, tears all over his face, running down his fuzzy cheeks. Did he make him cry?

He scanned over his body, and realized one of those wounds wasn't there before. His arm was twisted in a weird way, now broken. Did...Did he do that?

"Y-You're going to...kill him. S-Stop it!"

Tails grabbed the hedgehog's hand and pulled him closer with his good arm. He managed to get it wrapped around Sonic, hugging him tightly. He never thought he would see Sonic look like this, and hurt him. Such a dark color, so evil and mean, hurting another person so badly. But he didn't care, it didn't matter how scared he was of him right now. He just wanted his buddy back. "P-Please snap out of it."

The normal bright blue color of his fur returned, and his pretty green eyes came back. He looked so ashamed of himself for scaring and hurting the little one like this. Once he became normal, Tails smiled brightly. He was so happy his buddy came back to him. "P-Promise me. Promise me you won't do something like that again. Okay?" He asked softly. Sonic, with watery eyes, nodded quickly.

He never wanted his little brother to see him like that ever again.

He would never hurt him again.

"Ow the edge.." The green hedgehog mumbled under his breath.

Knuckles darted his eyes to Scourge. "..Seriously, shut the hell up!"

"I made him promise me to never turn into this, and never hurt anyone like that ever again." Tails sniffed. "I see that promise was broken, obviously." He roughly wiped his nose. The blood, Eggman screaming his head off for someone to get Sonic off of him, Sonic breaking his arm. He remembered it all, and he thought he'd never have to remember it again. Why was this day just so screwed up!? "Right Sonic?" He said louder with furrowed brows.

Dark Sonic blinked a few times, finding himself becoming completely still. He watched the few tears from Tails' muzzle fall down onto the grass below them. He looked so disappointed, so sad and even angry with him. Never once did he see Tails look so distraught and upset at him. Yes, as best friends and practically siblings who previously used to live together every single day when they were younger, they had arguments from time to time. They were angry at each other sometimes. There were times where Sonic had to put his foot down as an adult which would hurt Tails' feelings, of course from being the child in the relationship. One time, they even fought, with Sonic losing because he wanted to hold himself back and refrained himself from hurting Tails and breaking their promise. From time to time, they did have problems. But they never lingered. They always made up soon after.

Never once, did Tails ever look like this because of Sonic. Never.

"You promised me! You said you'd never turn into...into this thing! You promised!" He yelled.

Dark Sonic's eyes twitched. What he was saying to him, why did it seem familiar? Were these the people Scourge wiped from his mind, that he labeled as unimportant? So why..

His eyes were now red vortexes, swirling like a hypnotic disc.

Shadow flinched at this. Why the hell were his eyes like that?

"Snap out of it, Sonic! Please!" Tails cried.

"P-Please snap out of it!"

"Please, Sonic!"

"Aahh!" Dark Sonic put one of his free hands to his head, gripping it tightly. He had the worst headache imaginable. It hurt like hell, he could barely react by screaming. Something wasn't right, something wasn't working. This pain was too much, he wanted it to go away.

"Ah geez." Scourge interrupted the emotional moment and yawned. He held up his hand and snapped his fingers. Once he did that, Dark Sonic made a huge pained gasped and fell limp in Shadow's arms. His fur quickly turned from navy blue, to regular cobalt. His dark green, almost white eyes faded back into their normal bright lime green. He turned back to normal right before their eyes in just a flash. The now royal blue hedgehog's head fell against Shadow's blinding white chest fur.

Tails fell down again from trying to run over to his big brother. He scrambled to get back up and quickly went to his side. He watched in amazement and awe once he realized he had his buddy back. He was back to normal. He was so happy and relieved, his eyes grew even glossier. He sniffed, and smiled brightly. Knuckles put a hand on his shoulder, looking down on him with a small smile of his own. Shadow saw how elated and relieved the kitsune became when he realized Sonic was okay. He didn't realize how much they cared for each other. It reminded him of himself and Maria, just a little. He looked down at Sonic, who had slowly closed his eyes not too long ago. He was panting very heavily, and sweating too. Gross.

Shadow struggled to pick him up, thinking that it was best to carry him instead of having him lay slumped against him like some doormat. He winced at his wounds, his injuries screaming at him. He was only regenerating now, and it was going pretty slow. Knuckles saw him having difficulty, so he asked if he needed help. "Uh, you want me to carry him?"

"I got it." Shadow said almost possessively, managing to sweep Sonic off of his feet, literally, and holding him up bridal style.

"We gotta get him home." Tails said worriedly. Out of them all, including Scourge, Sonic had it the worst in this ordeal. Chaos knows what he did to him while he was under his capture. "The only problem now is," He trailed off, turning to the green hedgehog who stood about a yard away. Knuckles held up his fists and moved forward towards him.

"I can still fight. I can take him." Knuckles smirked.

"Alright ginger-face, let's not get ahead of yourself, kay?." Scourge just rolled his eyes while picking at his ear.

"You lost, anyway."

Scourge raised a brow at this. "Lost?"

"You lost Sonic, someone you were trying to use as a weapon. Well looks like it didn't work." His smirked only widened when he saw Scourge hold a hand up to his face to pinch the bridge of his nose. His frustration made his statement true. He was a fool for thinking he could control their friend like some kind of mind-slave.

The green hedgehog sighed. "You're so-" Then he burst out laughing, holding his stomach tightly from how hard he was cackling. "Unbelievably wrooong!" This reaction made Knuckles scowl. Scourge sighed blissfully, wiping away a tear. "Okay redhead, pay attention." He advised nicely. "I let Blue go from my control. Kinda why I snapped my fingers a second ago. I never meant for Blue to get hurt so much during this. I underestimated Stripes. Oh yeah, and the power of 'looove', or whatever bullshit the kid pulled over there."

"What, you planned this too!?" Knuckles exclaimed.

"Kinda!" Scourge cupped the sides of his muzzle kindly. "Though, didn't expect to get this tired. Things didn't go exactly as planned, but regardless, I did see this all coming. I planned on returning Blue back to you, but I also didn't plan for him to be reverted back to his normal self so quickly." Scourge turned around, his back facing the four males as he began stepping away. "After all, I don't officially make Blue mine until I've taken control of everything. It's just like I said before," He eerily reminded them once more, turning to them with his creepy crystal clear blue eyes. "This is all. Just. Foreshadowing." He took his glasses from out of his quills and placed them on top of his eyes. When did he get those back? He pushed them up in a rather nerdy way, and made his voice a little lower. More, seductive. Like some kind of sultry librarian or teacher. "Now class, can anyone tell me where you think I'm headed off to? Whoever answers correctly gets five extra participation points, and perhaps a little extra credit." He winked.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean!?" Knuckles grumbled.

"HA!" Scourge laughed again, pulling his glasses from his face and back on his head where they belonged. "Shit, fuckin' with you guys is so fuckin' priceless! Ha!" He walked away from them, pulling out something small. Something that looked like a ring that Sonic would grab while on his adventures. But, different. In a literal flash of bright light, the hedgehog was gone from their sight.

"With a weird question like that, he was probably daring us to follow him. But, a warp ring?" Tails whispered. "How did he get one so small?"

"Piece of trash." Knuckles mumbled under his breath. "Let's go, we're getting out of here."

As Shadow stared down at the lifeless hedgehog that laid in his arms, he knew he'd have all the answers to their questions. They just had to be patient.

"I'll get a damp cloth." Rouge volunteered as she left the speedster's room. The guest room was claimed as Sonic's room whenever he would visit. It had blue walls, hardwood floor, with basic necessary furniture inside of it. Such as a dresser and a closet. Sonic didn't really personalize it that much. Currently, Sonic was laying in bed, biting his lip tightly as sweat rolled down his forehead. He felt very hot, and he was having a terrible fever. Shadow was leaning against the wall of his room with his arms crossed. He watched him curiously, wondering what hell he had to go through before making it back here. It was already almost evening, and everyone was having a rough day.

Amy was asleep on the couch after passing out from her horrible 'fake' headache Scourge gave her. Knuckles didn't linger, and went to go right back home to his M.E., worried Scourge might be after it. He wasn't as injured as they thought, and said he'd be able to go back home no problem. That the master emerald would end up healing him anyway. He said he'd come back as soon as he could to make sure things were okay.

Rouge ended up having to take care of Shadow, Tails and Sonic. She wasn't an expert doctor, but with her time in GUN, she knew how to handle simple wounds. Shadow had some knowledge as well, so once she finished up with him, he helped her take care of the others. Shadow carried Sonic all the way upstairs to his room. He actually carried him all the way back to Tails' house, even with injuries. It kind of baffled everyone as to why he would go through the trouble, especially being so beat up.

Now, Shadow was in the hero's room, watching over him as he slept. When he carried him earlier, he felt his chaos energy deplete to a very dangerous level. That was his fault. He hated to admit it, but if Scourge hadn't stopped him, he could have really messed him up. Perhaps even put him in a coma, or worse, death. The consequences of Sonic's dark form, with Scourge's brainwashing and Shadow's Chaos Drain, forced Sonic to pass out into a deep sleep. Knowing him, it wouldn't take too long for him to wake up. But he definitely would be out for a couple of days. Even if he miraculously woke up, he would probably be too tired to stay up.

As Shadow looked over him, he thought about what his anti-self said to him.

...He had a crush on him.

Well, he wasn't completely wrong.

Over the years, Sonic warmed up to the ultimate life form. At first, they were strictly bitter rivals, only working together when necessary. But after the Eclipse Canon fiasco on top of the whole Black Doom madness, Sonic started to hang around Shadow more. He always seemed to intend to make Shadow more adapted to Mobius. Make him act more normal around citizens, try to be more civil. He wasn't trying to turn him into a hero as well, because everyone knew that could never happen. But he did want to make him more of a friend than an enemy, and at the very least, an honorable ally.

Reluctantly, it was actually starting to work.

Shadow hated Sonic's company at first. He hated his very presence, because he found him nothing but annoying. He wanted him to stay out of his semi-immortal life and mind his own business. Shadow was someone of extreme isolation and loneliness. And it's been that way for years, so why break that chain now with someone he couldn't even tolerate? Rouge was tolerable, and became more of a reliable friend as time went by. Hesitantly by following Maria's words, he gave the 'civil' life a chance. He figured he'd be a little more fair, and that if it didn't work out after he tried it, he'd resort back to his old ways. Well, Shadow and Sonic got to know each other better. Outside of their friends' knowledge, they spent more time together. Just as normal friends, of course.

They raced, or Sonic would show Shadow some beautiful areas on Mobius. Shadow would tentatively, using that word strongly, tell pieces of his past that he could vividly remember. He did so, so that Sonic could realize why he didn't want to get too close to anyone. Up until now, they became closer than they expected to be. They became good friends, but Shadow started to feel something else.

He started to see Maria in him. As Sonic matured more into an adult year after year, he ironically kept seeing her innocence in his eyes. Her pure good nature, it was filled to the brim inside of his heart.

The experimental bracelet he kept of her that stayed stashed in his quills, he never let it go. If it still worked, maybe it would-

"Mnngh.." Sonic made a rather troubled face as he turned over in Shadow's direction. The sheets were loosely covering his body at this point, barely covering his lower body as his tail poked out from under it. Shadow had to take off his gloves and shoes, so he could at least be a little more comfortable while passed out. His blue legs were spread apart from each other by a short amount of space. As he shifted around, the sheets that covered him slipped off more. As his face pressed more against the soft pillow under his head, he made some faces. Some seemed pleasant, while some seemed pained. Shadow only assumed he could be having nightmares about that green snot Scourge.

Then he noticed how profusely he was sweating. His forehead was as red as that echidna. He was sweating so much, it almost seemed like he came in from a rainstorm. Once he woke up, he had to get washed immediately. Then, Shadow started to stare longer than he should have. The sweat on his body dripped down his torso, and in between his legs. His lips lightly opened, making a tiny yawn. He then stretched and put one arm behind his head, with one of his athletic legs bent upwards at the knee while the other laid straight down. What a weird position to get in while asleep. But, he looked so-

"God damn it," Shadow face palmed. Why the hell was he thinking about him like that now?

"A-Ahaah.." Soinc groaned. And not in a sleepy way, but a miserable way. Like someone was doing something bad to him. Probably his dreams like he initially thought. After all, Sonic wasn't one to make noises like that. Shadow stepped over to the bed and placed his hand on his forehead. And once he did, he snatched it right away. His head was on fire. Where the hell was Rouge with that cloth?

Shadow leaned a little closer to the hedgehog's face, and pressed his hand on his cheek instead. Even his face was flustered red. He looked pitiful in such a state. Then he put one of his fingers on his bottom lip, that was then quickly caught by the hero's tongue. Shadow's eyes nearly popped out of his skull when he felt Sonic put the cavern of his mouth on his finger. The fuck!? Was he dreaming about that weird fatty food he liked so much? What was it called...Chilidogs?! Chaos, he was starting to suck against his gloved finger. His tongue rolled over it, and lapped against it with his breath hotly spreading over it. Alright, enough was enough. Shadow put his hand over Sonic's face and yanked his finger from his mouth with a grunt.

"Nmm," Sonic steadily opened his eye lids, and stretched again. He then shivered and wrapped his arms around himself immediately. Everything hurt so much. With squinted eyes, he looked up and saw Shadow looking down at him with a rather unsure expression. "S-Shadow?" He blinked slowly. He tried to sit up but cried out in pain. He laid back down and tightly held onto himself. No, getting up was not an option right now.

"Stay down, faker." Shadow took the sheets and carelessly threw them back over Sonic. "You're in excruciating pain, I'm sure. Your chaos energy levels are almost zero. You almost died."

"T-Thanks." Sonic made a weak smile, grateful for Shadow covering him back up. Then, a thought hit him, and his smile was gone. "Is everyone okay?" He asked anxiously.

"Everyone's fine. Though, Tails' plane is wrecked. I believe he said he'd retrieve it soon." The ebony hedgehog walked back to the wall and stood against it to lean back. He closed his eyes and sighed. "You do remember everything, yes?"

"Yeah..." He said disappointingly. "Is Rouge here too?" Sonic asked softly as he looked up at the ceiling.

"Yes. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be standing here right now."

"Heheh." Sonic smiled again, and bigger this time. "You guys swear you don't care that much, then come runnin' to help us when we're down."

"Whatever." Shadow rolled his eyes.

"It's, really sweet, you know?"

To this, Shadow glanced back at Sonic, who looked relatively happy. It confused Shadow. "What is?"

"It's really nice to see you two come so far, and become really good people." He made a small chuckle. "You both say it's just so GUN won't drill into your asses when you go back to work for not helping out Mobius' hero, but I think it's a little more complicated than that." He turned to Shadow. "Am I right?"

So that's what it was. Geez, why did he always have such high morals? He had such strong faith in everyone he ever met. It was almost disgusting. So kind-hearted that it was making Shadow a little sick. Sometimes Sonic was too nice for his own good. "Hmph." Shadow closed his eyes again. "You wish." He crossed his arms. "And since when do you use such foul language?" He teased with a small smirk.

"Oh please. Ass isn't even that bad." Sonic laughed a bit. "No offense to Tails, but if it wasn't for him growing up with me, I'd be cursing like a sailor at this age. Especially with hangin' around Knux. You don't hear me say much 'cause I try not to for him." The blue hedgehog yawned with his eyes slightly watering. "Besides, people can't see their hero spouting out nonsense like some drunk. And I don't want him to see his big bro act like a juvenile."

The ultimate life form made a curious expression. "Interesting. I'd love to hear you curse someone out. Just once."

"You tryin' to turn me into some kind of delinquent?"

Shadow snorted. "My apologies, I forgot the hero needs to keep his image."

"And set an example for the little one, thank you very much."

"Pft." Shadow stood up from the wall and went in the direction of the door to the bedroom. "Once again, my most humble apologies for assuming otherwise, faker."

"Hey, wait." Sonic made struggling noises as he tried to sit up. Hearing him having trouble, Shadow turned around sharply and went to the bed. He grabbed hold of his shoulders to keep him still, and tried to push him back down into bed.

"Damn it, what part of stay in bed do you not understand, faker?"

"S-Sorry, sorry!" Sonic grinned sheepishly, putting his ungloved hands on top of Shadow's. He made a rather sad smile and looked downwards. "I just wanted to apologize. I mean, I wanted to say sorry to everyone, but since you're already here, might as well start with you."

"Sorry for what?" He blinked.

"For leaving out of no where so suddenly without saying anything. I only told Tails. I just needed to do something important on my own. Then Scourge showed up and..." Sonic frowned in despair and his hands lightly trembled. "He made me act like a fool. I can't believe I let that asshole control me like that. But I had no choice, I..." He swallowed hard and looked away, ashamed.

Scourge must have put Sonic in a difficult situation. Probably gave a threat that he couldn't ignore. And that's why he was acting this way, he felt like he was some kind of failure for giving in. He looked like he really didn't want to get into it right now. "If you don't wish to discuss, then don't. I accept your apology." Shadow began gently, not wanting to push the subject any further. "So stop finding excuses to sit up, and lay the hell down in this damn bed." He growled, shoving Sonic down on the mattress.

"Oof!" Sonic looked a little surprised by the sudden push, but once he saw Shadow's sincerest sympathetic expression, his smile returned. "If you wanted to roughhouse, you could have gave me a heads up first."

"Stay in that damn bed, and I mean it." Shadow scolded as he turned away. "And you're very sweaty."

"Sayin' I smell, huh?" The hero pouted.

"Actually no. I suppose enough bacteria didn't settle in to create an odor yet. Doesn't change the fact that you're still wet. I'm washing my hands.." The dark furred hedgehog stepped away from the bed in the direction to the door again. "If I find that you left this room, I will find you. Your sibling will give you hell to pay. And that pink one will as well."

"Ehhh.." Sonic looked somewhere else nervously. He wasn't wrong, not at all. "Well, thanks for helping me so much. I owe you." He said gratefully.

"I'll hold you on that." Shadow mumbled. "Go back to sleep faker."

"Kay." Sonic turned over on his side and exhaled peacefully. "'Night."

"Goodnight," Shadow turned the knob to the door and stepped out, closing the door behind him. "Sonic." He whispered with a small smile slowly growing on his muzzle.

"Oh my." Rouge suddenly said as she stood in front of him. He flinched at her appearance, wondering how long she was standing there. She just flagged it off with a sneer and went to open the door. "I didn't hear or see a thing, honey~" She taunted as she walked in Sonic's bedroom.

His grumpy expression returned to his normally stoic face.

He sometimes hated that woman. He really did.

END - 4