Author's Note: I'm so sorry this is so late! This chapter should have been up weeks ago, but I was too lazy to type it. I would promise that it won't happen again, but I respect you all way to much to lie like that. Though, on the bright side, now I can give everyone an early Christmas present (at least to the people who celebrate it). To everyone who doesn't, this can be any type of present you want!

Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of its characters. I tried asking the Santa in the mall for ownership rights, but all he did was look at me like I was a mental patient, so I doubt that's going to come through.

Edit: I'm so sorry to anyone who tried to read this chapter and got chapter one. I was trying to fix a mistake in this chapter earlier this week, and I must of chosen the wrong document. I want to thank Chiisai Kitsune for bringing this to my attention.

Love Hate and Everything in Between

Chapter 2: Blank Pages

His head hurt. His entire body hurt actually, but his head appeared to be the focal point.

The voice was murmuring again, though it seemed to have reverted back to some kind of foreign language. Or maybe his mind was just too fuzzy to be able to translate right now.

Once it had been a beacon, an anchor keeping him tethered to life. Now all he wanted was for it to stop. He was sick of fighting and holding on. He wanted to give up, sink into himself for all eternity. He was so tired. But the obnoxious voice was persistent, chiming in his head and making it impossible for him to rest.

"—wake up."

Did he have to? He felt so warm and comfortable, and his body was becoming pleasantly numb. The pain was gradually fading into a faint buzz, and very soon he was sure it would be gone completely. And then it would all be over.

"Wake up. Wake up."

The voice was changing, he dimly noted. It was transforming into something softer, gentler, and so achingly familiar he felt as if he could just reach out and grasp it in his hands.

"Wake up. It's not your time yet."

All right, he replied dully, slowly opening his eyes with reluctance. You win. I'm up.

The first thought that came to him when he opened his eyes and was confronted with a white ceiling was that this was not where he had originally passed out. That place's exact location was a little hazy, but he could recall that it had been very green. And the ground hadn't been nearly this soft and warm.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Shadow." The voice startled him a little. It had never occurred to him that he might not be alone in the room.

He attempted to sit up and face his would be rescuer, despite how dizzy it made him feel, but the endeavor was unsuccessful. He was soon overcome by a sudden sense of vertigo, and he probably would have fallen back down if something hadn't grabbed his shoulders and propped him up against the pillows.

"Is that better?" the stranger asked, smiling brightly. The bed's occupant tried to answer, but all that came out of his mouth was a dry croak.

Immediately, something cool and wet was brought to his lips, and when he realized that it was water, he drank greedily. All too soon the contents were emptied, and as the stranger turned to refill the glass from a pitcher next to the bed, said bed's occupant took the time to silently appraise him.

He was colorful to say the least. His fur was deep blue. Peach was splattered on his arms, stomach and muzzle, and his eyes were such a bright shade of green they were almost a match for his smile. Three spiky quills hung from his head, with two large ones protruding from his back.

A hedgehog, a fuzzy place in the back of his mind supplied for him.

"Where am I?" he demanded, although it didn't come out nearly as forcefully as he would have liked. The water had helped, but his voice was still weak and hoarse from lack of use.

"You're at my house." was the reply, as if that explained everything.

"Who are you?" he asked when it became clear that the stranger was not going to elaborate.

The smile faltered a little. "It's me, Sonic. Don't you remember me?"

He frowned and narrowed his eyes. "Why should I?"

"This is a joke. You're joking right?" the cerulean hedgehog asked, almost pleading for it to be true, despite the fact that he knew his companion had no sense of humor.

"Don't you remember Ark? The chaos emeralds? The Eclipse Cannon?" Panic was beginning to settle in the hedgeh—Sonic's eyes as he threw out foreign, seemingly unrelated words. And all his patient did in response was continue to shake his head, with an expression on his face that clearly stated that he thought his supposed savior had more than a few screws loose.

"I don't know what you are talking about, and I certainly don't know you." he finally announced, mentally cursing. Really, it was just his luck for ending up being saved by someone who apparently wasn't all there.

"Do you remember anything at all?" Sonic asked, obviously desperate.

He considered that to be a very stupid question, and was about to say so, but something made him pause. What did he remember?

Frantically, he scoured the empty pages of his mind. There had to be something. A name, a face, a favorite color. Anything. But no matter how deep he looked, he drew a blank. There was nothing there.

"What's wrong with me? Why can't I remember?" He clutched the sheets tightly in his hands.

Wait! The sheets! There was something about them that he recognized. The color maybe? Yes, something blue, he remembered something blue. A fabric. And if he could just reach out to that memory and grab it…

Pain. It was back, but this time it was ten times worse. His head felt like it was splitting apart at the seams. He could feel his breath quickening, and his heart was about to jump out of his chest it was beating so hard.

"Stop it!" Sonic exclaimed, once again grabbing his shoulders to steady his sudden, violent shaking. "You're going to hurt yourself!"

Hurt himself? Couldn't the hedgehog see that he was already dying? How could he possibly get any more hurt than he already was just by a small amount of movement? The notion was almost funny, and if he hadn't been on the verge of a physical and mental breakdown, he might have laughed.

"We'll figure this out, I promise!" Sonic cried. "Calm down, Shadow!"

Shadow? The hedgehog had called him that before. Was that his name? Something told him that it was.

The knowledge was somewhat calming, and as the trembling subsided Sonic released him.

"Everything's going to be okay. I'll get Tails. He'll know what to do. He'll fix everything."

Shadow wasn't so sure, but the azure hedgehog so obviously wanted to believe his own words, he found himself nodding anyway.

This was the person who was going to "fix everything"? Shadow wasn't quite sure who he had been expecting, but he certainly hadn't thought that he would be face to face with a child. The kit couldn't have been more than nine or ten years old, so young that the extent of his medical knowledge probably could have fit into a thimble.

At least, that was what Shadow thought when Sonic brought in "Tails" (which was apparently not his actual name, but the kid really didn't look like a "Miles Prower"). But then the kid opened his mouth and started talking. And in that moment, all was understood.

"When I analyzed your blood there was no sign of infection, which is amazing considering how long you were exposed to the elements. I took a look at your wounds when you got here, but it was only a superficial examination. If what Sonic is telling me is true, I think that I should take another look." It was amazing such big words could come out of such a young mouth.

Tails' examination basically consisted of unraveling certain sections of the bandages that swaddled his body, staring at that particular area for a few, bare seconds, and then wrapping him back up again. And from this Shadow gathered that whatever the fox was seeing, it was not what he expected, because his eyes kept getting wider and wider with each area he unwrapped. But whether or not this was a good thing, Shadow couldn't determine by expression alone.

When Tails finally finished his inspection, he didn't say anything right away. He just sat there on the bed in some kind of stunned stupor for several minutes, seemingly lost in thought. And Shadow suspected he would have continued to do so for quite some time if the sound of Sonic clearing his throat hadn't broken him out of his trance.

"So…is Shadow going to die or not?" It was said in a joking tone, but the slight edge in the blue hedgehog's voice made it clear that he was perfectly serious.

Tails looked up at the two hedgehogs with a slightly startled expression, as if he had forgotten that they were there, and blinked slowly before he began speaking. "This is…incredible. These burns should have taken weeks even months to heal. I even thought that you would most likely need surgery, but you are already showing early signs of recovery! The swelling has already gone down and there is fresh new skin sprouting up and repairing damage in places where I originally thought you would need skin grafts. At this rate, you could be better in one to two weeks with very little if any scarring. I have never seen anything like it."

"Really? That's great! Isn't it, Shadow?" Sonic beamed at the black and red patient and gave Tails a pat on the head.

"Yeah, sure." Shadow muttered. "What about my memory loss?" That was where his true concern lied. His injuries were nothing more than a minor irritation and not even the kid's little speech about his apparently miraculous healing abilities could peak his interest.

Tails let out a long sigh, and Shadow immediately knew he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear. "I really don't know what to make of that. None of your wounds are consistent with memory loss."

"There are some things I just know instinctively." Shadow admitted. "Like when Sonic said my name. I knew it was mine even though I can't ever remember being called that before. But whenever I think too hard on where that knowledge is coming from, my head starts to hurt."

"I suppose that could be a sign of physical trauma." Tails replied, though he didn't sound like he actually believed it. "We'd have to do a scan of your brain to make sure."

"Then do it. I want to find out what is wrong with me. I don't like waking up not knowing who I am or where I came from."

"Okay, we'll go to the hospital as soon as possible. I'll schedule an appoi—"

"No," Shadow said flatly. "No hospitals."

"But only a hospital can provide the kind of equipment that you need!" Tails protested.

"No hospitals." Shadow repeated firmly. He wasn't sure why he felt such a strong aversion to the idea. All he knew was the very mention of it set off warning bells inside of his head, and if you couldn't trust your own instinct, what could you trust?"

The kitsune frowned and furrowed his brow in frustration (causing his face to age about forty years). "I didn't think it was possible, but you're even more stubborn than Sonic is."

"Hey! I resent that! No one is more stubborn I am!" Sonic protested, but his smile was good natured.

Tails rolled his eyes and continued, choosing to ignore the hedgehog's outburst. "I can see that you're not going to change your mind any time soon, so I'm not going to waste my time arguing about it. I'll just have to figure something out."

"Thank you." Shadow replied somewhat reluctantly, feeling as if a gigantic weight had been lifted off his chest (not that he would admit it).

Tails nodded and stood up. "Why don't you rest for a little while? I'll go make you something to eat. You must be starving after lying outside for so long. Could you give me some help, Sonic?" he asked, looking at the sapphire hedgehog pointedly.

Sonic, who had completely missed the hidden message underneath Tails' request, stared at his adoptive brother incredulously. "But you know I can't c—"

His sentence was abruptly cut off by a pained yelp as Tails forcefully seized his arm and dragged him out of the room.

"Tails! That hurts! Let go!"

But Tails merely chose to ignore his best friend's protests and kept a firm hold on his arm until they reached the desired destination of the kitchen.

Once his arm was free, Sonic immediately moved to rub the offended limb and glared at the small fox responsible. He couldn't believe Tails of all people possessed such a freakish amount of strength. It was a good thing Knuckles wasn't there to witness that little display. He'd never let Sonic hear the end of it.

"What is wrong with you?" Sonic demanded. "Weren't you the one who once said that me even going near an oven was a fire hazard?"

Tails rolled his eyes once again and turned to open a can of condensed soup. "Sonic, I didn't drag you down here so that you could help me cook. I wanted to talk about Shadow without him over hearing."

That got the cobalt hero's attention. "Why? Is there something wrong?"

"Of course not. Physically Shadow is going to be fine. But his memory loss worries me."

Sonic shrugged. "He probably just hit his head on something. It is a long way down from space."

Tails smiled and shook his head. "It doesn't work that way. Though, that does bring up another point. How could Shadow have survived a fall of that magnitude? Anyone else would have been incinerated coming into contact with the atmosphere. It doesn't make any sense." The kit frowned slightly as he poured the soup into a pot and turned the burner on. "Doing a MRI on his brain could provide me with some answers, but for that kind of procedure we would need a hospital, and Shadow won't go."

"I'm not so sure if a hospital would be a very good idea anyway. Shadow's face was all over the news after the whole near-destruction-of-the-world thing. After he "died" all charges against him were dropped, but I don't think that some people will be willing to forgive him so easily. And besides, what if one of those doctors recognizes him and gets a little too curious about his genetic makeup? We could even possibly get into another GUN fiasco." Sonic pointed out.

Tails obviously didn't like this conclusion, but he still agreed, albeit reluctantly. "You're probably right. But what am I suppose to do now? I promised Shadow I would figure something out. I can't just let his brain go unchecked. He could have serious damage! He needs a MRI!"

"Couldn't you just ask a hospital if you could borrow one?" Sonic suggested, in a well meaning (but perhaps misplaced) attempt to be helpful.

Tails looked at the hedgehog as if he had just proposed that they should just cut Shadow's head open, remove the brain, put a band aid on the damaged area and stick it back into the ebony hedgehog's skull. "You want me to ask a hospital to lend me a very big, very expensive piece of medical technology?"

Sonic shrugged. "Um…yes?" he replied, smiling sheepishly.

There was another few moments of incredulous staring, and then the fox turned back to the soup (which had been bubbling for several minutes and was on the verge of burning) and slowly began dishing it into a bowl. He then placed it on a tray and held it out to Sonic. "Could you take this up to Shadow? I have a lot of calls to make."

They were talking about him. That much was obvious. Tails hadn't exactly been subtle about it, and while Sonic (who he was beginning to suspect was a complete idiot) hadn't picked up on it, Shadow had.

He didn't like that they were keeping secrets from him. It made Shadow wonder if he could really trust these people at all. After all, he didn't know them, despite their claims. And if he did, it didn't really matter because he couldn't remember anyway.

But there was something familiar about them that made Shadow suspect that they were at least partly telling the truth. He wasn't exactly sure how or why they were memorable, they just were, especially the hedgehog. But that still didn't determine whether they were friend or foe, it just told him that he had met them somewhere down the line. The worst part was, if they did intend to do him harm, in his current condition, there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. He could only hope they were trustworthy and resolve to leave as soon as he was able.

Shadow looked up suddenly as his ears caught the sound of faint footsteps, growing louder as they got closer. They stopped very briefly and were replaced by a sudden cry of pain. Then they started again, only this time it was accompanied by soft cursing. Shadow smirked to himself as an idea began to grow and flourish in his mind. Perhaps he could take advantage of this situation and get a few answers.

The door opened, and Sonic walked in carrying a tray in one hand. The other hand was gloveless and in his mouth.

Shadow raised an eyebrow as he watched the azure hedgehog place the tray on the nightstand and sit down on the edge of the bed, all the while never removing the hand from its place in his mouth. "What happened to you?"

"Ah affed oop un eehelf." he replied, the words coming out muffled through his hand.

Shadow wasn't even going to attempt to decipher that. "What?"

"I splashed soup on myself." Sonic repeated, finally removing the appendage. "I guess I burned myself a little. Thought it's less than nothing compared to what you're going through."

Shadow briefly considered asking what "soup" was, but decided against it for two reasons. One, he didn't care very much, and two, an explanation would distract him from his purpose.

"What did Tails need you for?" he asked, trying to be casual. Instead he sounded flat and monotonous, but Sonic didn't seem to find that out of the ordinary.

"He just wanted me to help him decide on a soup flavor. I hope you don't mind eating that for a couple days, because that's all Tails said your body could handle right now." Sonic replied.

How had they gotten back on soup? Shadow didn't even know what soup was!

"What is…soup?" he finally asked, figuring that he might as well find out. This conversation clearly wasn't going to go anywhere, at least not anytime soon.

Sonic's eyes nearly popped out of his head at the question. "You don't know what soup is?"

"No. If I did I would not have asked." Shadow answered, slightly irritated.

Sonic blinked slowly, looking thoughtful. "I guess I can believe that. It kind off makes sense when you think about it." he remarked, though he didn't elaborate, much to the ebony hedgehog's disappointment. Whatever he had been getting at had sounded promising.

"Soup is what's on the tray." Sonic then explained, bringing it up closer for Shadow to inspect. "It's food. You eat it."

Shadow stared down at the bowl's steaming contents like he fully expected it to jump out and bite him the second he let his guard down. There were pink lumps and white stringy objects floating in a disturbingly yellow substance that looked suspiciously like urine. There was no way he was going to allow this concoction anywhere near his lips.

Shadow's disgust must have shown on his face, because Sonic let out a little laugh. "It's not that bad once you try it." he promised.

It was then Shadow decided to once again try and redirect the conversation (partly to distract the blue hedgehog from his ridiculous notion of Shadow eating this yellow crap in a bowl).

"Sonic…" the name felt strange on his tongue, though Shadow wasn't sure why. "did you know me well…before?"

The azure hero was silent for a few seconds, trying to choose the right words. The advice Tails had given him was still fresh in his mind. Don't reveal too much. In his current condition, too much information about his past would be too difficult for Shadow to handle right now. Take it slow. It's better for him to remember on his own. But it couldn't hurt to give his black counterpart a little something, could it?

"Honestly, not really." Sonic finally answered. "We only met a few times, and when we did we were almost always at each other's throats."

"Then why bother to try and save me at all?" Shadow asked, confused. What was the point of helping someone that you not only didn't really know, but didn't even like, especially when it looked like he was most likely going to die anyway, even if you did take action?

Sonic looked at him in shock, like he couldn't believe that anyone would actually ask something like that. "I couldn't just stand there and let you die. You needed help. I can't just ignore something like that, no matter who it is."

Now it was Shadow's turn to be surprised. The cerulean hedgehog truly believed that. The sincerity of his words was shining in his eyes. How very…stupid of him. Only a fool completely unaware of the world would be so kind. It was doubtful that another would show him that same courtesy. In this world, people only looked after themselves, and such naïveté would only be taken advantage of.

But something about his words made Shadow's chest feel tight. He couldn't be sure, but he felt that someone might have said something similar to him long ago…

It felt like a very important train of thought, and Shadow would have liked to have delved deeper on it. Unfortunately, before he could do so something hot pushing past his lips dragged him forcibly back down to Earth. He hissed in pain and glared murderously at the person who had somehow managed to burn one of the only places on his body that hadn't already been scorched. His tongue.

Sonic smiled nervously back, still holding the spoon in hand. "Sorry, but you really do need to eat something."

Inwardly, Shadow sighed. The hedgehog was probably right. Starving himself wouldn't get him out of here any faster. "Fine."

Sonic's smile broadened and he happily dipped his spoon back into the bowl. "Great! Open up!"

"Wha—" Sonic took advantage of the opened mouth to push in another spoonful, catching Shadow off guard and nearly causing him to choke.

Eyes blazing, Shadow seized Sonic's arm and held it away from his face. "Stop that! I am perfectly capable of feeding myself."

"I beg to differ, Shads." Shadow growled at the nickname, but Sonic didn't seem to notice (or care). "Do you honestly think you can hold a spoon with you hands wrapped up like that?"

As much as he hated to admit it, Sonic had a point. His hands, like the rest of his body (except for his feet, oddly enough) were heavily bandaged. It almost looked like he had a white club attached to each arm. He could hold something big like Sonic's arm by grasping it between both palms, but maneuvering something small like a spoon would be impossible.

Reluctantly, Shadow let go of the captive limb and opened his mouth.

The soup was actually pretty good once it cooled down a little, but Shadow was too busy brooding on the blow to his pride to marvel at the unfamiliar flavors. Being spoon fed like a child was humiliating.

When the bowl was finally empty, Sonic stood up. "Well, I should probably let you rest now. My room is right next to yours, so if you need anything, just give me a holler."

He started to leave the room, but just as he was about to cross the door's threshold he paused and turned around. "I know we never got along before, Shadow, but I really do hope we can be friends this time around."

Shadow didn't say anything, and slowly Sonic's friendly smile faded away in favor of soft disappointment. "Well…good night I guess." He switched off the light and left the room.

Shadow didn't lie down until after he heard the door close. Turning off the light didn't actually make that much of a difference. Despite the blue hedgehog's parting words, it was still in the middle of the afternoon and sunny outside.

For a long time, the onyx hedgehog just watched his namesakes shift along the walls as sunshine streamed in from behind the blinds. His eyes gradually began to drift shut, and the last thing that came to mind before sleep was the words that Sonic had said to him right before his exit. I really do hope we can be friends this time around.

Shadow snorted softly to himself. Friends, he thought dimly, Yeah right.

It was so nice to be able to actually use Shadow's name. I was getting sick of writing "he" and "him" and "the hedgehog" all the time, plus in scenes with Sonic I have to make sure you guys know who I'm talking about. I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can, but don't expect anything anytime soon. I'm approaching uncharted territory. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year! And remember, the greatest gift you could give me is the gift of feedback (or a car)!