Orrhmaahdaays I'm actually back wuuuut?

So I've been away for a long while, and honestly I lost interest in this story, but then just randomly I'm back into it, so yay I guess. Anyway, I really hope this chapter does well, it goes deeeeeep and very very emotional, I thought so anyways.

Anyway, please leave me a review and let me know if you're happy this story is back again, if not then, well leave me to weep in my bed of tears. Lol got deep hehe.

Oh by the by, I have re-written chapter 9 and 10, there were things that I wasn't happy with, a few inaccuracies and basically I think it's better for the story line this way. So yeah, please enjoy and thank you in advance.

"Tails!"

Sonic opened his eyes with a startled gasp. For a moment the world seemed blank, nothing registered in his mind besides a string of bright lights. Quickly he closed his eyes again, feeling them begin to burn, and raised his hand to his face, groaning as he felt several joints click as he did so. Every part of him hurt, his body felt too stiff to be able to relax. Where was he anyway? Last he remembered... oh no...

Opening his eyes once again, Sonic immediately sat up, almost yelping at the sudden stabbing he felt go through his arm. With rapid breathing he looked around, sweat beads falling past his cheeks.

It took a good moment, but soon the world looked less disorientated and objects fell into place. It was a white room, and he was lying on a bed, covered with a thin sheet. Surrounding him were machines, but none of which belonged to Eggman. Looking to his left, he saw a heart monitor which bleeped away in a rapid manor, but which soon settled the moment he paced his own breathing habits. Then looking at his good arm, he saw several bandages, all wrapped from his wrists to his shoulder, and beneath them, several tubes, each connecting to either a bag of something or wired to a machine.

He didn't like that, that didn't feel right. On instinct Sonic started tearing at the bandage until the he could find the point of the needle that stabbed into his skin. Without hesitation he pulled each of them out with his robotic arm. He winced with each one, not being a fan of needles in the first place. Normally he would make a big fuss, but in this instance he started to feel a burning in his right shoulder, or more the skin that connected to the shoulder. He had been feeling this pain for a while now, but today was so much worse. After removing the needles Sonic went to look at his foreign limb, that's when he realised he was no longer in his brothers comfortable hoodie, but instead was wearing a white dress thing, a hospital gown? He rolled his eyes, could his dignity suffer more? Feeling the pain to intense on his right side, Sonic used his now free arm to reach behind and undo the ties on the back. Easily he freed himself and removed the gown, then threw it to the other side of the room.

Now, able to see what was going on, he checked out the damage. What he saw though caused him to hiss through his teeth. About four inches past the metal connecting to skin was pure red and irritated, he could even see veins pulsing away, growing less visible the further they went into his peach stomach. He had to bite his tongue, just to stop himself from making any noises.

Okay this was bad, that he could admit. It's never looked like that before.

Without a thought, Sonic shuffled his way to the edge of the bed, being careful not to disturb his arm any further. If he had any other injuries then he didn't know about them, nor did he care. He just wanted to find someone, preferably Tails. He didn't have much of a plan, or even a thought as to where he was going or what he was doing, but he just wanted to leave. His feet touched the floor, and for a moment he wobbled, being unsteady and now nauseated. He had to lean against the bed just to regain balance, and stop his head from spinning.

"H-Hello?" he called out weakly, waiting in hopes someone would magically hear him. There was no response, so with another grunt Sonic pushed himself back to his feet, head spinning frantically. Maybe he should have waited in bed.

He staggered and thumbled around trying to find the door, but all he achieved was knocking over a table which held a tray full of medical tools. The noise was loud enough for him to grab his head and yell out at the horrid spasm it caused, but inevitably it did the trick.

While Sonic staggered backwards with his eyes closed, he felt his legs buckle before he could make it back to the bed. He had expected the impact to the floor to be hard and possibly damaging, yet, that didn't happen. Instead he fell into something soft and unexpected. It felt like a pair of arms holding him up while his legs were being useless. Finally he opened his eyes again. Part of him knew who to expect, but the reality was far from what he was prepared for.

When looking up, the first thing he registered was blue fur, blue fur that was darker then his own yet so familiar that he couldn't fight back the smile. "Dad?" he whispered, eyes finally meeting with the amber orbs that he once used to fear.

"Dad?" the man repeated in a confused manner, but Sonic didn't notice. Instead he threw himself into this person's hold, tightening his arms around the warm torso and burying his face into the fur, refusing to ever let go.

Shadow had expected many reactions, but this was not one of them. The agent, while having gotten used to people being in his life and dealing with certain levels of interaction, was still not accustomed to having his personal space invaded like this. So despite better judgement, he placed his hands gentle around Sonic and made him sit down on the bed, knowing if he just let him go he would fall, then pushed himself away from the resisting teen.

At first Sonic didn't understand, he felt like his father was walking away from him again and instantly reached out to grab his hand. That moment however, he recognised the glove, and the golden ring around the wrist. Suddenly the blue coloured fur was no longer blue, but black with a red stripe. With a startled gasp he let go, looking back up into the amber orbs which were now red. The image of his father was no longer there, instead Shadow stood in front of him, his brow raised in wonder and concern. His father was there. His mind played him again.

"I-I... I'm sorry" Sonic whispered, his hand reaching for the shoulder that burned from all the movement, only when his fingers embraced metal, he remembered. Then he panicked.

"NO!" Sonic kicked out to Shadow, something the older hedgehog had grown accustomed to, who dodged out the way as Sonic tried to hide away his arm. Restricted in his movement he grabbed the bed sheet next to him and threw it over his robotic arm, praying it would actually help.

Shadow moved to restrain his other hand, it felt that this was now the only way they could interact with each other, only this time he was too much of in a good mood to lose his temper. "Hey it's okay, I know, I already know" he reassured, pulling the sheet away to reveal the arm. Sonic still tried to hide it however, turning his body away whilst his head fell into his hand.

It was all too evident for Shadow, Sonic was ashamed, whether for letting Eggman get him or for everything else afterwards, but he was truly ashamed of himself. While not being great with words, Shadow knew better then to ignore this. He reached out and briefly ran his hand over Sonic's head, carefully avoiding the bandages below his ears. But even that action was too much for him, so he settled for pulling up a chair in front of the blue boy and slightly patted him on the leg. He was not good at this.

"Listen, because of you Eggman was finally arrested."

Sonic slowly raised his head, "R-really?"

"Yes. We have him in custody."

"So... it's over? H-he's finally gone?"

"Well, not yet."

If there was a moment for Sonic to fret over his safety it was this point, and apparently it showed. Shadow raised his hands calmingly. "It will be fine! Okay, it's just... Eggman is claiming to have been framed. He's arguing that he was an ignorant sponsor for the underground mob and that when we caught him it was the first time he had been in that lair, and he himself didn't know who was running these machines."

"But... he's lying! No he can't do this! This isn't fair, you caught him h-how can..." Sonic quickly lost his breath, and not wanting to cause any more injury, Shadow reached for his shoulder once again trying to be of any comfort. "I know, but it's okay. It's a military operation, the judge is not an idiot. We have a decent amount evidence to place him as the forth runner, we can get him. It's just a little more time alright."

It wasn't though, as Sonic threw his hands to his face once again, shaking his head frantically, "No, no he'll get me, he kill me for this! His robots are still out there, he'll go for me and Tails I know it! He'll torture us I know he will, I can't do this again!" he cried, fearing breaking his voice while he trembled. Shadow paused for a moment, his eyes scanning over the robotic appendage. He saw all the scaring left along with it, the irritation on the skin and the swelling it caused. Chaos could only imagine how it must have felt.

"Sonic... we made a deal, and you held up your end of the bargain. So, you're free to go."

The blue teen looked up again.

"The charges have been dropped, you wont have to face any penalties for what you stole, and your record has been wiped clean."

But, despite the good news, Sonic still remained sad. His hand clenched together in uncertainty, "W-where will I go?" he asked, sounding almost distant from reality. Shadow had expected as much, without a real home and a constant fear to follow him, there weren't many options for this kid. But there was his own personal debt to pay, and he felt this would settle it. "You have two options. There is a program that G.U.N personally fund, it's a boarding school for troubles youths. In it you will resume your academic life, first they will put you in the counselling program, helping you work through your past traumas and helping you develop techniques in how to deal with them. You'll be provided with physiotherapy, on campus help, and be enrolled in multiple activities to help build up social and team work skills. You can meet other kids your age who, while truthfully won't have had the same experience as you, will have gone through their own versions of hell. And at the end, when you graduate, there will be a job for you here at G.U.N."

No matter how anyone tried to sell it, Sonic couldn't stop shaking his head, "School... you want to send me to School to get over what happened? How am I ever going to get over this? Throwing me into a room of kids I don't know... and strict routines... no, no I can't... I... no" he sighed, feeling completely overwhelmed by the idea of a new, very intimidating lifestyle that he knew he couldn't handle, not right now anyway. He couldn't, it was too much for him, he hadn't been to School in two years, he would be so behind, then he'd have to deal with all the other kids asking questions, asking about his arm, asking about Eggman, asking about his speed. Then what if they threatened him, he couldn't fight back if G.U.N were in charge of this School, he was screwed.

"Well, Sonic, either way you have to go back to School, you're fifteen and it's the law" Shadow explained, but Sonic just kept shaking his head.

Reaching up to scratch his ear, Shadow carried on, "There is the second option, if you would actually listen for once."

Sonic sat up and listened.

"While the trial with Eggman is in pending, I know you wont feel safe, so if the School program is too much for you, you can continue staying with me."

Immediately Sonic's eyes widened, his lips parted from each other as he felt no breath draw through. His eyes began to sting.

"I know it hasn't exactly been pleasant, but if it would make you feel safer, then I have agreed to a leave of absence until the trial. I will home School you until your ready to return to an actual School, Vanilla has agreed that she will also bring the fox boy along for home tutor once a week also. You won't be a prisoner so you'll have freedom to leave the house, but personally I would prefer to know in advance to help keep you safe. I will accompany you to your future therapy session, which are mandatory and you're not getting out of doing, and frankly, will be your guardian until the trial is over" Shadow finished, placing his arms over his chest.

For a moment, Sonic's face was unreadable. Tears were starting to spill from the kid's eyes, which he quickly wiped away, yet it was hard to tell if he was grateful or terrified. Shadow began to wonder if the suggestion had been a mistake to bring up, but then, seemingly random, Sonic tried getting up once again to walk away.

Shadow quickly stopped him, pushing the dazed hedgehog to sit back down again. But at this point however, Sonic looked almost completely out of it, like he was drifting into a different world. "Hey, look at me" he urged, lightly slapping the boy in the face. Then with a startled gasp Sonic snapped into reality and stared at Shadow with uncertainty. It took a moment for him to come around, and at this point Shadow didn't dare remove his hands in case Sonic took off again.

"I'm sorry" he breathed, "I just... I started to think of my dad then..." he flinched, fearing he said too much, so before Shadow could talk, he did instead, "Why are you still helping me? I-I don't understand. You got what you wanted, and I thought you hated me..."

"What? No of course I don't hate you, why would you think that?" he snapped back.

Sonic remained silent. After a moment of observation, Shadow removed his hands and rested back in his chair.

"I know I've lost my temper with you, and I should have been more patient, for that I am sorry. I've... just been so desperate to stop Eggman before he could hurt anyone else again, that I forgot I was hurting others."

"... what happened?"

Shadow sighed, he owed the kid this much. "I've been tracking Eggman for five years. It started with bank robberies, wiring millions from government funds. A big deal but nothing life changing, at least not for me. This was the case for a year, or so I thought. I had a lot of hatred for the world, I felt entitled and everyone was beneath me. But then, I had Maria. She opened my eyes to a new way of life. Before, I couldn't care less about people's lives, nothing would stop me from getting what I wanted. G.U.N knew they could never stop me, so they recruited me, and Maria was the one to thank for that. She made me see that each and every person, whether good or bad, each had something special about them, they all had the ability to do the right thing when the moment called for it. That was something I never saw before, not until she pointed it out. Suddenly I saw murderers spare a child, a thief give to the homeless, and while they were still criminals, it gave me a sense of hope for this world. I no longer lived for myself, but I lived for her, to show Maria that she was right. She saw the best in everything and everyone that I started to see it also.

But then Eggman came along. He captured her. In return for her safety I was to bring him the four chaos emeralds that G.U.N had obtained. The General refused, saying her life was not worth such a price. So I went behind their backs, took the emeralds and gave them to Eggman. However, I should have listened the General, it took me so long to see that now. I never planned on leaving Eggman alive after that encounter, I went to strike, so he sent out his robot. It was over so quickly, I ripped that robot to shreds! I gave no thought... until my hands were covered in blood. Eggman... had placed her in the robot... alive. I had been the one to murder her."

The tension had built so much that Sonic didn't dare move, not even to wipe away the flowing tears from his eyes. Shadow stared down into his hands, droplets of his own tears dispersed along his gloves as he relived that moment, seeing his mistake come to life once again. He had repressed this truth for so long, he had forgotten how it felt to cry for someone.

"I... regretted... everything. I left G.U.N before they could fire me, I gave up my home, because it all reminded me of her. Rouge... tried to help, but I forced her away. I made her hate me. And then, I just... walked. I left my city, and everything I knew behind, I didn't know where I was heading, but I didn't care. Six months later, it was winter, I was cold, hungry, and ready to give up my life. I was no longer worth a chance. I had received no kindness since the day I took her life, only scorn and torment, and that was all I expected. Until I met you" he looked back and stared intently into the greens orbs of the fifteen year old who wept quietly, whose own face grew red and swollen, who bit down on his own hand to stop any sound as he choked his breaths away.

Though stronger at this point, Shadow felt his lips quiver. "You... pain in the butt kid, would not leave me alone until I took food and that stupid jacket of yours. You wanted to help, and I don't think you'll ever comprehend how much you helped me, with that one simple act of stubbornness. At that moment, all I could think of was Maria, and... I truly felt that she had sent you to me" he reached out to brush a tear away from Sonic's face, but the boy pulled back, too upset to let anyone get close. "You saved me" Shadow carried on, "That day, you made me remember what she said, how every one was worth something. And you gave me what I needed to go home and face my fears, to take down Eggman once and for all. I owe all this to you, because that one act changed my life for the better" he finally, for the first time in possibly years, Shadow finally smiled.

But Sonic didn't. His only real hand trembled as he rubbed at his face.

"And that was the day you ruined mine!" he yelled out angrily, pushing again to his feet to walk away, wanting to be as far away from the ebony hedgehog as possible.

The smile quickly faded, and Shadow stood up as quick as the other did. "Sonic?"

The blue hedgehog was frantic though, pacing around the room and pulling at his hair. "Because of you my dad yelled at me! Because of you I hurt my sister and ran away from home! You're the reason I have this!" he screamed, holding up his robotic arm with hatred, yet he still couldn't control himself as he wept. "If you had of just been somewhere else! If you hadn't been there I would be at home now... I wouldn't have a metal arm, or a best friend who almost died because I couldn't afford the medicine to save him! You ruined my life! And now you want to give me this crap that I'm a hero when all you did was get a reality check, and I had to sleep in a room filled with people Eggman tortured to death because I didn't get him enough money!"

"Sonic stop it."

"NO!" he backed himself into a wall as Shadow advanced. "Get away from me! You could never understand... You've never gone through the robotocizer, you have no idea what kind of hell it is! You have no idea what Eggman is really like, and now you expect me to feel bad for you!?"

"I didn't mean it like that, I just-" he got closer and Sonic could no longer breathe.

"It rips the skin off your bones..." he gasped desperate for air, "It breaks every nerve, every joint and replaces each part with metal... and it does it slowly... You can't possibly know what that's like, to be in so much pain you wish you would die... and I had no choice! You had to submit. You have to prove your worth or Eggman would let Tails die, and I couldn't..."

Unable to take anymore, Shadow threw his arms around him, silencing him by pressing the blue teens head into his chest, he rested his head on top of his, and tightened his hold to an uncomfortable amount. He had never hugged someone before, and he still didn't like it, but he needed the kid to stop talking, or else it seemed he was going to pass out. Shadow knew about the horrors, but he never imagined they ran that far. He feared so much that he would be blamed for this kids choices, but now he wasn't sure if these feeling were genuine or built up in anger. He felt it was the latter, before Sonic had onto him as tight as he did before when he thought he was in the hold of his father. Shadow could imagine that he missed his family, and was too afraid to go back. He could also imagine how impossible it must have felt to deal with everything he had gone through, which sadly, even professional help would struggle with. But how could Maria ever forgive him if he didn't try?

"Listen to me, I know your hurt, but I promise it over now."

Sonic sobbed loudly, not believing as he shook his head. Shadow didn't let go, despite wanting to, against the light protest. "You'll stay with me. I will keep you safe."