Hello my good peeps I'm back with another update.

Aaaand there's not much to say other than thank you for the reviews and hope you enjoy :P

It had been a couple of hours waiting, but finally Rouge had found him sitting alone, drinking another cup of coffee. The black hedgehog had waited outside his old office, simply because the other guy that took over it wanted it back. He must have been impatient as he practically bolted to his feet when he saw her.

"Well?" was all he asked.

Rouge had never looked so confused in her life, at first, she didn't say anything. She couldn't find the words to begin.

"What is it? Have you got the medical reports?" Shadow asked, eyeing the folder in her hand. The white bat slowly shook her head, though not to disagree. "Shadow… there's no doubt in my mind this kid works for Eggman."

This really peeked his interest. "Why is that?"

"Come with me" Rouge said, waving her hand to beckon him along. She led him through HQ, this time heading towards one of their investigation rooms. She explained the situation while doing so. "I got the report from the doctor, apparently, Miles, or Sonic as you called him, settled down when you left, how did you manage to do that by the way?"

"Umm… I talked with him."

Rouge raised her brow, "Hm okay? Anyway, he was fine up until the blood test, he wouldn't let anyone take the jacket off him, apparently he got very possessive over it. They did however eventually get him to lift his sleeve. He was after that they said."

Unintentionally Shadow released a sign, relieved over the news. He didn't like seeing the boy first time around, never mind going through that again.

"This however, is the part that gets bizarre. They examined his foot, and it was fine."

"Wait what?!" Shadow stopped walking, his eyes locked onto the bat with little belief. Rouge could have looked back the same way, "Yup, exactly what I said. There's no broken bones, no limp when he walks, all that happened was the bullet hit the surface of the skin, didn't break anything else. All the guy needed was two stitches and that was it" she explained.

Shadow was at a loss, "That is not possible. I held the gun next to his foot, he was screaming, how can it be fine now? It's only been five hours!"

"I know, I didn't get it either. The doctor recons the initial pain was due to shock, and even the gash on his leg after kicking through the glass wasn't that bad either" Rouge said.

She had arrived at her destination and with Shadow following, she let herself into the room. It was where evidence was taken to be examined and tested on. Currently the only thing that was being examined was a pair of red shoes with white straps and golden buckles. They were being examined by a purple chameleon, wearing safety glasses and latex gloves over regular white gloves. He was holding one of the shoes and going over it with a magnifying glass.

"You know we have microscopes for that" the white bat laughed, calling his attention. The chameleon had more of a permanent scowl on his face then Shadow did.

"I'm aware of that Miss Rouge, however these would be too big to fit in the slides" he explained dryly.

Shadow rolled his eyes, "What have you found? I gather I wasn't brought here without reason."

Rouge smiled at her partner, "Nothing gets past you Sherlock. Espio be a dear and show him what you found."

Nodding, the chameleon picked up the other shoe and explained what he had found. "When the doctor checked over the prisoner's injury he found the bullet had pierced the skin but had caused no serious damage. After looking over the shoes I'm sure I know the reason why. These shoes are insulated with Kevlar, a bullet resistant material. At a distance the bullet may have ricochet, but as it was direct contact it penetrated the material, though causing only mild damage." He held the shoe up, reviling the small hole among the ankle.

Shadow was almost in awe, feeling as if a puzzle had finally been solved in his mind. "I see, so this is how he's been running so fast without damage."

"Not exactly" Rouge said, opening the file she carried in her hands. She pulled out a printed-out picture and handed it to Shadow. Instantly the hedgehog sneered at the picture, both repulsed and sympathetically. It was a picture of Sonic's feet before they had been treated, finally having removed his socks. Turns out there was a reason he didn't want those off either. The soles of his feet were covered in serious burns. There were blisters, infections and skin loss on the most sensitive areas. It was mentioned in the report that the material of the socks had healed into the wounds, causing high amounts of pain when removed. It was not a pretty sight, and it made Shadow's feet tingle just looking at it.

It wasn't the only thing Shadow noticed however. In the centre of the foots sole, there were small faded black lines. "What is this?" he asked, showing it over to Rouge.

Espio was the one to answer though. "I examined the pictures when I received them along with the shoes. It's hard to tell but I believe it's a tattoo."

"A tattoo? Why would he have a tattoo?"

"We don't know, guess you'll have to ask him in the interview" Rouge shrugged, heading back over to the door after placing the picture back in her folder. "Come on, we're done here. Thank you for the help Espio" she smiled, blowing a small kiss. Espio simply nodded in acknowledgement and got back to work. Shadow left with Rouge.

Now it was time for the moment he dreaded.

Rouge was in the secret room behind the one-sided mirror, watching everything and keeping a careful eye should anything go wrong.

Shadow was aware of this, normally it would bother him, but he wished this one time the interview could be private. That wasn't going to happen so the only option was to get on with it.

He entered the depressing small room, complete with grey walls and no windows, just that big mirror. Sitting opposite, at the table, was the blue furred prisoner. His hands were cuffed to the chair, and his head rested flat on the table, looking as if he was in a strop for being forced to come here. Shadow may have found it amusing if not for the severity of the situation.

Without saying a word, Shadow dropped the folder Rouge had given him onto the table, allowing the sudden noise to jolt the younger hedgehog from his rest, or whatever he was doing.

"I'm sorry did I disturb you?" Shadow asked sarcastically, watching as the kid took his time to registered what was going on. Maybe he really did fall asleep. "My name is Agent Shadow, I'll be conducting this…"

"You… w-why am I here? You said I could see my brother!" Sonic interrupted, pulling against his restraints again. Unfortunately, they had now put him in the chaos cuffs, no wat of snapping these things.

Shadow didn't sit down, he never did during interviews. It was always more intimidating to stand and walk around the criminal while forcing them to confess. It added to the intimidation he liked to portray. This time round though, intimidation wasn't exactly what he wanted, but he still had to look in charge. Regardless of who this kid was he wasn't going to be a pushover.

"And you may still see your brother, but first you need to answer some questions."

"NO!"

The agent raised his brow.

"You're lying to me! Soon as I say anything you'll throw me in a cell and leave him to die! You promised me you'd take me home!" Sonic shouted, aggressively struggling, possibly with the intention of attacking if he could get the chance.

However, Shadow knew he was safe, but that still didn't change the dilemma. "You're not exactly one to talk about honesty, are you?" he stated. Instantly Sonic stopped struggling. He looked down at the table, shame filling his eyes.

Opening the file, Shadow took out one of the reports. "Currently we have evidencable proof that you robbed several jewellers, banks, and local shops. You have accounts of mugging people, bodily harm to G.U.N agents while resisting arrest, and attempted heist for the Chaos Emerald. This is quite a record you got here, and it's only your first arrest. I'm curious as to how you defend yourself against this then. Oh, and the apology note is not being accounted for as a free pass."

Sonic was silent. He kept his eyes fixated on the table as his head hung low. It was like he had switched off completely, but truthfully, he didn't know what to say. Anything he said here could be used against him, and clearly that's what the Agent wanted. This much he learned from his father's stories, as the man told him and his family that if they were ever arrested say nothing until a lawyer was there. Who knew that he would actually need that advice? Though there was no way he was getting a lawyer.

Impatient already, Shadow didn't have time to waste. He slammed his fist against the table, and the younger hedgehog visibly flinched when doing so. "Answer when I speak to you" he spat, lowering his face close once again. And again, Sonic turned away, disliking the intimacy.

"Well… can you explain yourself? Was there a reason you had to steal these things?"

Silence.

"Were you forced into it?"

The teen exhaled a long, trembling breath, but he still didn't say a word.

Frustrated once again, Shadow rubbed his temples. He kept thinking to himself over and over this is the kid that saved you, you owe him one… you can't smack children over the head anymore…

It was an unnecessary waste of time. Of course he was going to save the little brother Sonic was fretting over, but he needed to make sure he was going to get the information he needed as well. Eggman was a mob leader, he ran the biggest illegal weapon and drug business they had ever seen, and worst of all there was no evidence to pin him down with it, despite it being obvious. Shadow needed this, he needed a slipup. A rat he could turn against Eggman, catch the man in the act. Only when Eggman is sitting in the electric chair will his memory of Maria finally rest…

There was very little option he had now. Intimidation wasn't working, that much he knew. The only way he was going to get this kid to open up to him was with trust, and sadly that wasn't something Shadow was good at showing. This teenager wasn't evil, and he needed to stop treating him as if he was. Unfortunately that's all he knew how to do… Shadow's never played the good cop before.

With a deep, unsettling sigh, Shadow pulled out the chair and sat down. He was quiet for a moment, mauling over what he should say, until finally a vague plan formulated in his head. "Okay, let's try this differently. The only way to get you home is to clear your name, this however is not going to be easy with what you're being charged with and the evidence we have. I know that you're working for Eggman, so your only choice is to take a deal with me. Tell me where Eggman is, tell me how to find him, whatever you got on him tell me, then I can let you go home to your brother."

Sonic was still quiet for a moment, but he didn't look away anymore. He was thinking, Shadow could tell by the way he bit his lip and his eyes looked like they were watching a tennis game.

"If… If I tell you… you will let me go home to my brother today?"

Shadow hesitated. So close, so damn close!

"No, I'm afraid not. I can only allow that clearance once Eggman is captured and prosecuted."

"But that could take months, I can't leave Tails that long! Please I'm begging you, how can you say you're here to protect people when you're willing to let a kid suffer by himself?!" he snapped, not willing to accept the rules as Shadow put them.

The black hedgehog was angry himself, though mostly because Rouge was listening and he knew she was happily tell the General if he made any promises to sneak the suspect out of the building. There was another option however, "Look, I doubt you're not as stupid as you make yourself out to be, but we're not going to leave your brother alone to suffer. The only way you can help him is by telling us where he is. Will you be willing to do that?"

Sonic looked anything but willing, his internal struggle was highly visible and he was beginning to sweat. "I-I… I don't know… What will you do with him?"

There was so much worry in his emerald eyes, almost identical to the day the kid looked at him when he was alone on the streets. All he did was worry about his brother since he was arrested, not once has he been concerned for himself or even asked what would happen to him.

Shadow knew he had to help him. The kid didn't deserve a life sentence behind bars, not when Eggman was involved to begin with. Right now, he needed someone on his side, someone to fight for him. There were still so many questions left to ask, even the basic questions, but the brother had to be dealt with first.

"We will bring him here, and he can stay with you while we finish the interview. Afterwards, depending on the outcome, we will look at placing him in the care of a foster family, until we locate your parents and inform them of what happened."

There was so much panic filling his chest at that very moment that Sonic forgot how to breathe, it ended up coming out in a weird sounding cough. He constantly shook his head, unable to word all the arguments and protests that ran circles in his brain. Luckily Shadow picked up on the problem and held out his hands in a calming manner, "Okay, okay, no parents. We can talk about that one later. For now let's just tend to your brother Tails, and we'll sort everything out afterwards when he's safe."

It worked as the blue teen sighed, for the first time happy over what Shadow said. It was so much to take in, but all he cared about was getting Tails out of the house and making sure he was safe. Nothing was more important than that.

But… there was one thing… one thing that he couldn't stop thinking about.

"Shadow?" he asked meekly, the fight and anger completely gone. It was a different side to him that hadn't been shown before, shy and nervous, not wanting to talk but feeling he had to. He waited for permission to carry on, only to hesitated when granted.

"Umm… when you said outcome… what does that mean for me?"

Shadow paused, unable to answer. He knew what he was about to say would not be what Sonic wanted to hear. But there was very little he could do to change the matter now.

"I think you know what that means."

It was what he feared. Shaking, the blue hedgehog's head turned away, any hope he may have held onto was now gone. He didn't know what miracle could have saved him, but now there was nothing.

Shadow had seen everything over the course of his career, yet he still found himself bewildered when a single tear ran down the prisoner's cheek, dripping past his chin as careless as the rain.

"I… can't spend my life in cage... I should have died like the rest" he whispered lowly, to the point Shadow wasn't sure he heard correctly. But he remained silent.

"Promise me... Tails will be okay, that you wont go to his parents, then… I'll… tell you everything… I'll help you catch Eggman."