Shadow's POV

To everyone else, it was a loud roar, but to me it was a deafening scream. I recognized it as the tigress that I had befriended only a few hours ago. Without thinking, I sped in her direction. There was only one thought, one emotion in my mind. Protect her. At ALL costs. A blue streak appeared beside me. Of course he would come along.

"What's going on?" he asked. I noted the concern in his voice, which was rare to me.

"It's her. Something's wrong," I answered bluntly and picked up the pace. Sonic did the same. Thankfully, he understood who I was talking about. From the sound of her scream/roar, it sounded like she was only a few miles away. But it felt like an eternity. I skated into a part of the jungle I had never seen until now, before it opened up into a wide clearing. In the center stood a temple, or what was left of it. Large stairs rose up to a flat square with only a column or two to represent where the walls had once been. Even from where I was, I could see rubble scattered on and around it. My heart stopped for a split-second at what we had stumbled upon. She and two smaller cubs, I can only assume are her daughters, were being cornered by at least thirty human men into a large metal cage. My eyes narrowed, and I let out a deadly, feral snarl.

"Poachers."

Third Person POV

Sonic stole a nervous glance at his ebony counterpart. He had Shadow get angry before, furious even, but he had never heard him sound so... wild. He practically spat out the word "poachers" like it was poisonous. All at once, they launched themselves at the men. In a flurry of punches and kicks, they forced them back. However, the two hedgehogs didn't realize the men had guns, but once the first shots rang out, it was of little concern to them. They did battle Eggman and his laser-shooting robots almost weekly. As Sonic forced the men back, Shadow ran to the cage that held the three tigers. He formed a Chaos Spear in his hand and slit the cage bars in half; he didn't shoot it because he didn't want to harm them.

"Get as far away from here as you can," Shadow instructed quietly, "I'll take care of these guys."

Be careful, she pleaded and licked his ear quickly before leading the cubs away from the fray. Shadow returned his attention to the fight. Sonic was doing a pretty good job, but a single gunman aimed at the back of Sonic's head without the blue hero noticing. Faster than lightning, Shadow dove between him and the bullet. He grabbed Sonic and Chaos Controlled him out of the way. The bullet smacked into a tree instead. It only took Sonic a few seconds to understand what he had done. His eyes grew twice their normal size, as Shadow continued to fight like nothing had happened. Shadow just...saved me?!

Five minutes later, all of the humans were sprawled back unconscious. Shadow would never kill them, he had lost his taste for blood after the Black Arms incident a few months ago. He only would if it was absolutely necessary. Sonic had hopped back into the fight not long after he got out of the initial surprise of Shadow's heroics, and now they were just standing in silence, searching for anyone who might decide to get up for another go.

A massive form charged out of the darkness and tackled the two hedgehogs as they were catching their breath. It was tiger. A male tiger. He was even bigger than the tigress they had seen earlier. He roared, blowing hot air and saliva into their faces with a giant paw on each of their chests. Claws pricked them painfully.

"Hang on a second, before you tear us apart," Shadow began and held his hands up defensively. The male leaned his face closer to Shadow's. The ebony hedgehog showed no sign of fear or intimidation, as the big cat took in a deep sniff. Sonic just watched in confusion but didn't move.

You have my wife's scent. Where is she?! he demanded. The tiger's voice was even deeper than his. Shadow's ears instinctively folded either out of anger or fear. And Sonic's eyes widened at the reaction.

"I freed her and your daughters," he answered levely. The tiger's eyes narrowed.

That still doesn't explain her scent.

Shadow broke his gaze when he replied, "She...she may have...perhaps...licked me," he mumbled, his tan muzzle turning an unusual shade of red. Sonic cupped a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing too loud. The male cat tilted his head and took another whiff.

She took you in. She adopted you, he said and released the two. He sat on his haunches with his long tail curled around him. Even sitting, he was taller than the two mobians standing up. Shadow was the first to stand and dust himself off before shooting a menacing glare at Sonic.

"She tried. I have places to be," he corrected, "But I promised her I would stop by for a visit when I have finished my task."

The noble feline nodded in understanding. He was a wise creature to be sure, and Shadow could the reason the tigress had chosen him as a mate.

Tigers do not adopt freely. You must have proven yourself greatly for her to consider you and give you a role in our streak. What do they call you?

The dark mobian stood proudly, "I am Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog."

You're rather tall for a hedgehog, aren't you? he chuckled, although to Sonic it just sounded like an odd bark/pur.

"I am from a distant land called Mobius."

Very well then, I am Saber. You have a brave heart, Shadow. I look forward to your visit, he said and turned to search for his family (streak). Shadow watched as the large beast was able to blend in perfectly with the night jungle backdrop and disappear. But then he remembered that he wasn't alone. Sonic had been watching curiously the entire time, trying to figure out what they had been talking about. Shadow could practically see the gears in his head turning as he tried to put the pieces together.

"Don't bother. They're safe, and that's all that matters. Now come on, you need at least some sleep before we take off tomorrow."

"Since when did you care if I slept or not?" Sonic asked a little defensively.

"We have a lot to do, and I'd like to get it done as soon as possible. And I can't be there to save your spiky rear end if you fall asleep in the middle of a fight."

"Speaking of which," Sonic asked mischeviously, "Why did you save me back there? I knew you cared about me deep down, but I didn't think you'd show it," he jeered, although he was genuinely curious. Shadow rolled his eyes and hmphed. If he really understood the reason why, he wouldn't be so teasing. More like unconscious.

"This world needs both of us," he answered and left it at that as he began to skate back to the Tortuga for the second time that day. Sonic, this time ready, raced him. But before they made it back, they saw it hovering above them. A rope ladder was tossed down, and they scaled it with ease.

"Sorry it took so long. The engine had a tiny bit of trouble," Aviva explained after making sure they were ok.

"What happened? As soon as you heard that roar, the two of you just took off!" Martin asked.

"Yeah. What was wrong?" Chris chimed in.

"Poachers," Sonic explained, "They were going after that tiger I told you about and her cubs. But me and Shads took care of them. Then this really REALLY big tiger tackled us and looked like he was about to eat us alive. But then Mr. Animal Whisperer over here had a weird chat with him, and he let us go."

"What do you mean weird?" Jimmy asked, just as confused as Sonic. They all turned to Shadow for an answer. He scoffed and walked away.

"I don't have to say a word to any of you."

Sonic went on to explain his side of the story while Shadow went into the kitchen for a glass of water. The coffee left a bad after taste in his mouth. He took a small whiff of his arm and grimaced in disgust. He still smelled like a tiger, which wasn't the most pleasant scent.

"I need a shower," he said to himself.

He walked back into the control room on his way to the shower, when everyone yelled, "CONGRATULATIONS!"

His first instinct was to duck, shoot, and ask questions later, but instead he hid his surprise with a mask of genuine confusion.

"What?"

Sonic draped an arm around him with a happy smile, "Chris caught on real quick and told me all about it. Those tigers really like ya!"

Shadow groaned and detached Sonic's arm from his shoulder. He walked away without much emotion other than annoyed by their antics.

"I'm going to get a shower," he said and headed for the bathroom. Sonic snickered.

"But I thought that tigress already gave you one!"

At this, the dark hedgehog spun around, tempted to sling him clean across the room. But he recalled what Lakit had said and settled for a less but still threatening growl instead. Sonic stood there dumbfounded. He had been certain the older mobian would have tried to have a go at him. Shads has been a lot more passive lately. I wonder what's on his mind, he thought.

Martin's POV

Sonic just stood staring at the empty hallway with a confused expression plastered on his face. His head was cocked to the side and had his arms crossed. He looked like he had been waiting for a bigger reaction. The rest of us stood there awkwardly. We had no idea how to really interact with our two short guests. Sonic was the easiest; he always found something to talk about. Shadow, on the other hand, rarely "said more than two words."

"What's up with your moody friend?" Jimmy asked. Chris facepalmed. Sonic turned around to face the rest of us.

"He's always like that," he answered, like it was completely normal. "He's a bit of a loner."

"Why is that?" Koki asked. I was glad it wasn't me who had to ask that. It was no secret between us that we wanted to know as much as possible about the two. Sonic looked back at the hallway sadly but quickly regained his chipper personality.

"That's just the way he is. He likes being on his own. This whole trip must be killing him!" he joked half-heartedly.

"He told me about a friend he had once," Aviva piped up, "He said her name was Maria."

"Had?" I asked. Why didn't he tell the rest of us? She nodded. Sonic paled.

"He said she died a long time ago," she added.

The little blue guy lowered his head, as he answered, "Yeah. I never got to meet her, but I wish I did. She seemed like a nice person, at least from what Rouge and Shads told me. She died a long while back, before I met Shadow. It's a sore subject for him, and I don't think he'd appreciate me talking about her."

We all understood at once, and I decided to try to turn our attention to a happier topic. Sleeeeep.

"Hey, Sonic, if you want, you can stay in our room again. We still have our hammocks up from last night," I offered. He shook his head and smiled.

"Nah, that's ok. We can take the hammocks."

"Suit yourself!" I replied and patted him on the back, VERY careful to avoid the sharp quills on his back. Both of us let out a yawn at the same time. We laughed and wished everyone good night. Shadow got out of the shower a few minutes later. He gave us all curt good night, as we passed each other in the hall. Geez, doesn't that guy ever smile? Me and Chris hopped into our beds and pulled the covers up tight.

"Tomorrow we go back to Africa," Chris said absently. I yawned.

"Yep. Maybe we'll have time to go on an adventure or two while we're there," I replied sleepily. Chris climbed out of bed and tiptoed over to his desk. He came back with his sketchbook and turned on his lamp on his night stand, temporarily blinding me.

"Oh, come on, Chris! Do you have to do that now?" I asked. I AM TIRED! He took a quick, apologetic glance at me.

"Sorry, but I have to before I forget!" he whispered. When he turned to the next page he was going to write in, he let out a loud gasp.

"What is it?" I asked in a loud whisper. He turned the book, so I could see it. The page was covered with drawings of different mobians. A two-tailed fox holding a screwdriver, a female hedgehog in a dress with a giant hammer, an echidna in a boxing position, a female rabbit in a dress with a strange creature flying above her and an older female rabbit beside her. The next page was a drawing of a large crocodile trying to catch a happy bee and a chameleon facepalming, another male hedgehog with wild quills standing beside a female cat with fire in her hand. The next showed a female bat with a seductive smile standing beside a giant robot and an agitated Shadow. The sketches weren't nearly as good as Chris's, but they were still very good and detailed. At the bottom of each right corner was a quick signature. Sonic's signature.

"These must be his friends," I said while flipping through it. He agreed, and we stayed up a little while longer to study the drawings. He had a good hand and a natural attention to detail and emotion. Sonic always seems to be full of surprises. I never thought of him as the artistic type though. I didn't believe he would have the patience. And when ya think you know a hedgehog!

Meanwhile, Sonic's POV

I climbed into the lower hammock, almost half-asleep already. I hadn't realized how long today was or how tired I was until I layed down. I vaguely heard Shadow climbing into the one above me before sleep took me. I knew he wouldn't have to sleep.

My dream:

Me and Shadow were back in the clearing, fighting the band of poachers. Only this time, our places were switched. I was trying to free the tigers, while Shads fought off the men. After I opened the cage, I turned around to see a lone gunman aiming his pistol at Shadow. I ran as fast as I could to stop it, but I only ran in place. The gunshot rang in my ears, and Shadow fell to the ground lifelessly. Sheer pain and terror racked my body, and I was finally able to move. The men were no longer important. I knelt beside him. I could feel his life leaving him, and I cradled his head in my lap like I had back at the cave. He weakly opened his eyes and stared up at me. He had a faint smile on his face. A forgiving one, and it tore me apart.

"It's...not...your fault. I...wasn't strong enough to...get all of them...Promise me that...you won't...turn out...like me...brother..."

Shadow's POV

I had been lying awake for the rest of the night, but then I heard Sonic tossing and turning in his hammock. He must be having a nightmare. Normally, I wouldn't worry about it. I used to have them quite often. But something inside me made me worry. It wasn't normal for the usually happy go-lucky hero to be having a bad dream. He was always so upbeat and annoyingly chipper, it seemed unnatural.

"No, no, no. Stay with me! Don't you dare die on me again, faker," he mumbled. THAT peaked my attention. Was he having a dream about me? I quietly climbed out of the hammock and stood beside his. I didn't know whether I should just let him stay asleep or wake him. Rather than doing either, I placed my hand on his forehead and focused my chaos energy into him. Just enough to soothe his mind and hopefully dispel the nightmare into a dreamless sleep.

Sonic's POV

In my dream, I was in the middle of trying to bring back Shadow, my face wet with tears I couldn't taste. All of the sudden, a dim red light surrounded everything before fading into nothing. I thought I heard Shadow's voice.

"Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. Everything will turn out just like it always does. Ok..."

The big reveal of their connection is coming soon! If not the next chapter then the one after. I NEED INPUT!