Boom new chapter!

Thank you for all the support so far and hope you enjoy.

He was wrong. He was extremely wrong. The cell would have been better.

Everything was tense and awkward. There were GUN agents surrounding him, examining the perimeters, taking note of any possible escape rude and bolting it down. Then there was Shadow, knelling in front of where he sat on the comfortable sofa. His shoes hadn't been returned to him, clearly, they realised he was useless without them, not to mention the minor injury to his foot also. But now, to make it so he couldn't leave the house, Shadow was placing an alarm on his other ankle. Sonic was now officially under house arrest.

Was that so bad? No.

However, as if to define the point even more, all the agents finished their jobs and left, leaving behind only him and Shadow.

This was Shadow's house.

The black hedgehog got up off the floor, and stood still for a moment, eye contact never failing. It was like having his soul stared into, and Sonic couldn't do anything other then look away. The gaze was burning. Truthfully however, Shadow was unsure of what to say. The blue hedgehog, while sitting down, look ready to dart at a moment's notice. Shadow knew he had to keep things calm, he needed this brat on his side.

"Okay… So this is the deal. You will stay here with me at all times. This is a house arrest, and you should be grateful that the General agreed to this. Rules are simple; You are to do as I tell you, no excuses. You stay in my general sight at, you ask for my permission to do anything around here and that includes making food, going to bed or watching tv. You are still a prisoner and nothing has changed for that regard…"

As Shadow went on however, he failed to see the drop in the others face. Sonic stared at the floor, breathing lighting through his lips, fearing that the beads of sweat he felt surfacing would grow visible. He had been tricked before with kind words. Friendly strangers just wanting to do their part for those who suffered long enough. It was how he ended up with Eggman to begin with. There was something too familiar about this; too familiar about Shadow. His appearance was recognizable but he just couldn't place it. He couldn't remember if he had seen him working for Eggman or if it was someone he crossed in the street. But none of that mattered. Not now. He was alone in a house with a man wanting to take him back to the mad scientist. A guy that had shot him in the foot without hesitation. How could he possibly feel safe? How could he believe anything? He couldn't. Deep in his gut, Sonic knew something would happen if he stayed, what? Unsure. But something, and he wasn't prepared to find out.

So, as Shadow was half way through delivering the rules, Sonic merely stood up and limped towards the kitchen.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" The agent snapped, following Sonic into the other room. Immediately he stopped, and then feared the worse when the blue teen quickened his speed and slammed the door when he was inside the room. "Sonic!" Shadow yelled, pulling at the door handle. He knew he didn't have a lock on that door, Sonic must have placed a chair to block it. Without thinking of another option, Shadow swung his leg and kicked the door off its hinges.

When he walked into the kitchen however, Sonic was nowhere to be seen.

"What?"

Where in one second everything was quiet, instinct suddenly took over. Shadow swung around and lashed out his hand just in time, before the knife came ramming into his arm. With Sonic stuck in his grip, the sudden fear and desperation played on the young hedgehog's face, not having expected to fail.

Shadow held onto the struggling teen, keeping his face, and everywhere else, away from the knife as Sonic tried again, this time no longer aiming for the arm. The agent was much stronger then him however, so when Sonic kicked out and screamed in panic frustration, it did nothing but aggravate the black hedgehog even more. With an overpowering shove, Shadow threw him against the wall, grabbing his wrist and slamming it against the hard surface in hopes he would drop the knife. But he didn't, and he didn't even register the pain.

"Let me go!" Sonic yelled repeatedly, pulling his arm free at last. This was when the knife fell, and he quickly snatched it up with his other hand before Shadow could. That was the mistake however as Shadow kicked the weapon out of his hand, causing him to recoil his hand with a sharp cry. That one he felt?

Shadow picked up the blade, and threw it out of the window before shutting and locking it. Sonic ran towards it, hoping he'd break the glass, but Shadow easily side stepped and grabbed him around the waist before he could and dragged him back.

"NO! NO! GET OFF ME! LET. ME. GO!" Sonic angrily yelled, punching at the hands that restrained him and digging his heels into the floor… it was almost exactly like the time he last saw his father.

All through the ordeal of being attacked, Shadow never said a word. He kept his grip as tight as he could, making sure the thief couldn't escape while he pulled him up the stairs. Sonic was doing everything a child would do. Grabbing the walls, kicking his heels against the carpet, trying to pull Shadow's arms away from his waist, all while screaming as much as his lungs would allow him too. Anyone would have thought it Shadow had tried to kill him!

He dragged Sonic to his new bedroom, now seeing it had taken blood sweat and tears to do so, whether this was going to be a sort-of time out he wasn't sure, Shadow had zero experience in childcare, all he wanted was to get the kid in a safe place, calm him down, talk it out like adults; and if that didn't work punch him in the head.

That was the plan until they made it into the room, and Shadow threw Sonic down onto the double bed. Then all hell broke out.

Once he saw he was free, Sonic burst into a new sort of panic. This was a small room, also with no windows and no means of escape. He didn't know why he was put here, but he had heard enough horror stories to set him on edge. He didn't want to be locked in this room, all he could think about were the cells Eggman had thrown people in, and the horrid things his robots did to them. He didn't want to be here, he wanted to go home! This ugly shade of red on the walls looked too much like bleeding. And now he could feel the torture begin.

Shadow was ready to give Sonic a piece of his mind. He was never one to complain but almost being stabbed had set him on edge. He opened his mouth to start, but then felt a pillow hit him square in the face. Quickly grabbing it, Shadow threw it to the floor, and managed to grab the next one before it also collided with his face. Sonic had ran out of pillows, and instead grabbed the sheets off the bed, holding it up as a shield as he backed up to the wall. "Don't you dare come near me!" he yelled.

Shadow tried to take a step closer, his temper getting harder to control. "What is wrong with you? I did you a favour and this… GAH!"

Using that moment, when Shadow was too close, Sonic threw the blanket over the agent's head, momentarily blinding him, then ran to the door. Shadow however, being trained in the art of escape, had no trouble untangling himself from the massive sheet. When he saw the blue hedgehog's hand reach for the door, he used his own abnormal speed to get there first.

With only one hand Shadow kept the door firmly shut, while Sonic used both hands on the handle and desperately tried to pull it open.

"Stop it! Just let me go!" He screamed out again, only this time it turned into a plea. He dropped down to his knees, his hold weakening as his hands grew limp. At this point, Shadow had his own hand raised high, ready to strike down if the boy made any new attempts to attack him. Yet, despite how angry he felt, he couldn't help but notice how Sonic suddenly trembled.

The fight in Sonic had gone, this much Shadow could tell, and now the boy just looked tired. Keeping one hand firm on the door still, Shadow lowered himself down to his knees. But as soon as he tried to make eye contact, Sonic hid his face away in the wall, ashamed and frightened. Shadow had no idea why.

He reached out to grab the loose part of Sonic's jacket, but the younger hedgehog instinctively lashed out, while keeping his face away.

"Sonic?"

No reply.

Shadow didn't give in to pity though. "Now that you've stopped trying to kill me, I suggest you start talking."

"I wasn't trying to kill you! just... just returning the favor when shot me."

"Hey! I did what you asked me too. I got you out of that prison cell, and then you literally stab me in the back!"

"I was aiming for your arm!"

"Do you have any idea how much it took for me to convince the General to allow you to stay here? You have any idea how much trouble you will cause with your stupid actions? The General was against this idea from the start, I've had to put my job on the line just so you can have a little more walking space! Don't you get that? Or maybe you've yet to discover that there are other people on this planet besides you!"

All went quiet, not the response Shadow had wanted.

"Hey! Look at me!" Shadow demanded. It didn't happen.

"Look at me when I'm talking!" He snapped, voice growling with intimidation. Still, Sonic wouldn't show his face. Angrily, Shadow threw his hand out and grabbed it around Sonic's arm. The teenager threw his other fist at the agent but Shadow grabbed it before impact. With both arms restrained, Sonic couldn't hide his face anymore, not when Shadow stood up and pulled him away from the wall.

"NO! GET OFF ME YOU MONSTER!" he screamed, kicking his foot against Shadow's ankle. To this the black hedgehog stumbled backwards, but his grip never faltered.

"What are you talking about!?"

"You MURDERER… let me go… please!"

"Murderer? What are you talking about?"

Sonic however had given up. He dropped back to his knees and collapsed to the floor, but with his wrists still locked in Shadow's hold he could only go so far. The black hedgehog's widened in confusion. Sonic lowered his head, and his shoulders shuddered. He couldn't keep on fighting anymore. Eggman had entered his mind for too long, and now his fear had been realised. He forgot where he was and who he was with. There was so much pain shooting through his arm, his legs unable to carry his own weight with the throbbing heat waves etching at his ankle with every step. He was trapped in a nightmare. He felt this pain on most days, his lack of sleep and food, rarely being able to cope with the stressful jobs he was given, always having to fight his way out. He spent every night unable to remember where he was, because all he could see was the red room whenever he tried to sleep. All he wanted was somewhere to rest, to be with someone he could trust. Maybe then he could finally sleep. He didn't want this… not this… and suddenly it was too much now. He felt scared, alone, in pain, and didn't know what to do.

So, he started to cry. It wasn't grown up, but it's how he spent most of his nightmares, why would this be different?

Shadow however, thought it was just an act.

"Oh, very original, start crying like a baby, because that will solve everything" he mocked, talking down to the teen as he sobbed.

"Shut up!" was all Sonic could manage at first, hearing every word spoken to him, but not in Shadow's voice, he heard in the voice he resented the most. He finally looked up, but only saw the wide grin of a disturbed man, and the glint of blue from the glasses of his eyes. "I can't… I can't do this anymore… please... I just... w-want to die..."

Shadow was silent, coming to terms with his mistake. He slowly let go of Sonic's hands, and when Sonic didn't run away this time, he saw that this was genuine. This kid was broken. In the moment Shadow thought back to the house, the one where he found the young fox kid living in. That was Sonic's home. Dirty, unsafe and poor. There had been no food, the bed was damp from urine, which no doubt he and the kid shared, the walls were rotted and the only luxury items were the School books.

Then, just to add insult to injury, he had to work for Eggman, the most ruthless mob leader of the underground; his only means of survival rested upon that madman. If he had endured hell then that should have been it right? Shadow couldn't understand, this should be a dream come true for the kid, he was going to have his freedom back. So why he was so afraid, he couldn't explain.

Shadow sat down on the floor, for a moment in silence. With Sonic in front of him, he debated how to handle this situation. Rouge would have known what to do, he himself however, was not really one for comfort. Very briefly he allowed his hand to rest on Sonic's shoulder, but quickly removed it as soon as he did.

"… please don't make me go through with this…"

Momentarily his mind froze, but then it was as if a light struck a darkened room. Of course! It made sense now.

"You don't have a choice I'm afraid" Shadow replied. "We need you.."

"No please! I'm begging you… I can't do this!"

"Eggman needs to be stopped no matter what the cost. He had destroyed so many lives that we cannot afford to waste any more time. You're our only hope with this mission. We need you to find him, if not, then think of all the other young children he might capture and force into slavery. Think about your fox friend, it could have been him. In the future, it may even be someone younger and weaker. People have died because of Eggman… I was almost one of them." Shadow stopped for a moment and looked away.

He could only hope those words had gotten through to him, but Sonic looked no different then before. He rocked himself back and forth where he sat and stared intently at the wall. There was still so much more he needed to discus, but the day had been long enough day, and honestly he was tired. So, Shadow stood up from the floor and walked to the door, leaving Sonic where he sat.

"Remember this; I will be there with you on this mission. I'm not going to let anything happen to you, and that's a promise" Shadow said, and then, after leaving the room for a moment, he returned with a couple of tissues in his hand. He walked back over to the younger hedgehog and held them out, waiting for the blue one to make up his mind of what he wanted to do.

When Sonic saw him leave, he felt the imagine of Eggman slip away, and instead, now saw Shadow again, the black and red hedgehog he had fort with. Whether it was the words he had said, being so different from anything Eggman would ever say, or the fact that not once did this person hurt him, he didn't know. But now it felt like his mind was clearing for a moment. He wasn't in a room being forced to prove his worth, he wasn't hurting anyone anymore. And then, for just one second, he could have sworn Shadow sounded just like his dad.

There were too many emotions to deal with, none of which he wanted to face, so Sonic finally mustered the strength he needed to wipe away at his red puffy eyes and finally accept the tissues that Shadow held out for him. He couldn't bring himself to say anything though, he was far beyond formal niceties with this guy, and all he wanted was to go to sleep.

Fortunately for him, Shadow picked up on the vibe. He nodded his head before turning back around and closing the door behind as he left the room once again. This time however, he locked the door, just to be safe.

There were so many questions going through his mind, mostly whether he and Sonic were even on the same page. The whole event didn't feel right, not especially after being called a murderer. What could Sonic have possibly meant by that?

Though, it didn't matter. That was a subject for tomorrow.