Hey there! Sorry for the long update (again), but I've been out of the house a lot lately, what with school beginning soon :( and planning for my dad's b-day party. Oh well.

Read and review, please!

Chapter 14

Shadow came back from his run ten minutes later and walked inside the house. He saw that Sonic was still sleeping, so he tried to be quiet.

The black hedgehog went into the kitchen. He figured everyone would be hungry, and decided to make breakfast. He got pancake mix from the pantry and a skillet. Then he got a big bowl and poured some of the mix in. He followed the directions on the box and put in the rest of the ingredients. Then he mixed them together.

I hope I'm doing this right, Shadow thought. I've never actually used a stove before.

Five minutes later, he successfully turned on the stove. He put the skillet on top, gave it a few minutes to warm up, and poured four circles of batter. He didn't know exactly how long they were supposed to cook, so he decided to wing it.

He took a spatula a few minutes later and flipped the first pancake. It was a light brown color, which he figured was the right color, and flipped the other pancakes. After another couple of minutes, he flipped the flapjacks again, just to make sure they were done, and put them on a plate.

Cool. I just made a successful batch of pancakes, he thought happily. He grabbed one and took a bite. He smiled. Perfect. Now I have to make the rest.

He poured more batter on the skillet, and repeated what he did before. And he did it again. And again. And again, until all the batter had been cooked.

He was putting the pancake-filled plate on the table when he heard a gasp behind him. He turned and saw Amy. She was staring at the pancakes, and then at him. "Shadow? Did you make us breakfast?"

Shadow tried to keep his face blank, and nodded. Amy smiled. She walked over, grabbed a pancake, and took a bite. Her eyes got big. "Wow. This is one of the best pancakes I've ever tasted! I didn't know you could cook."

He was about to reply when someone else walked down the stairs. "What's that smell?" Tails asked. He took in the scene in front of him. He got a surprised look on his face. "Shadow? Did you make pancakes?"

"Yeah."

Tails nodded slowly. He reached over to grab a pancake when Knuckles ran down the stairs and into the kitchen. "Man, I'm starving! And it smells so good!" He got a pancake and shoved it in his mouth. He chewed slowly, his eyes closed in relish. He stopped, and opened his eyes to see everyone else staring at him. "What?" he asked defensively. "I'm hungry."

Shadow smirked. "Glad you like my pancakes, Knuckles."

The echidna all but choked on his second pancake. He stared at the hedgehog in shock. "Since when can you cook?"

Shadow shrugged. "No idea."

"Well, I want another one." Everyone laughed.

A while later, they had all eaten until they were full. And there were still half of the pancakes left. Shadow had made a lot.

The group of four was still sitting at the table, when they heard a small thunk come from the living room, followed by slow footsteps. They watched the doorway in silence, when Sonic appeared. He had one hand against the wall, but otherwise he looked pretty good. He looked kind of uncomfortable with the stares, but he tried to smile. "Hi everybody."

Tails got up and ran over to his brother. Then he hugged him. Sonic smiled for real, then, and hugged back. The others got up from the table also. Amy hurried over and grabbed the blue hedgehog's arm.

"Sonic! Are you okay?" she cried. "I was so worried!"

"I'm fine, Ames. Just a little shaky," he replied. Then he looked at Shadow. He cocked his head slightly, and thought to Shadow. You don't want me to tell them about earlier today, do you?

Shadow stopped himself from shaking his head. Preferably not. Thanks for asking, though.

No problem.

Sonic sniffed the air. "Do I smell... pancakes?" He looked at the table, and saw the pile of food. "Wow. Who made all these?"

"Shadow did," Tails answered. "And there really good!"

"They smell delicious." The blue blur tried to walk over to the table, but he only made it a couple steps before he fell to one knee. His friends helped him up, and, with their help, he shakily made it to a chair. He practically fell into it, much to everyone else's worry. He saw their expressions.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm just really hungry. Remember, I haven't eaten since before I was captured," he explained. Then he dug in, and pretty soon there were only a few pancakes left.

"Jeez. You were hungry," Knuckles said.

"Yeah. And I feel a lot better now that I've eaten. Right now, what I really want to do is go out on a run," Sonic said, about to get up from his chair.

"NO!" Amy yelled. "Are you insane?! You need to rest!"

"Aw, c'mon! I feel rested! And the only way I'll be 100% is if I start running again! You of all people should know that!" Sonic shot back. Amy was quiet for a second, and then sighed.

"Fine. But only if Shadow goes with you, so when you get tired, he can make sure you come back." She looked at the black hedgehog. "Will you go with him?"

Shadow pretended to think. Then he smirked. "Sure, as long as he listens to me."

"I'll try to slow down for you," Sonic mocked in a sweet voice.

"Yeah, Sonic'll be fine," Tails said, smiling. "He's usually feeling pretty good when he acts this way."

Sonic grinned like a kid in a candy story. "Adiós amigos!" he shouted as he ran out the door.

"Apparently, Sonic can run again," Knuckles plainly stated.

"I'd better go," Shadow said as he turned on his skates. "Before the faker does something stupid." Then he dashed out the door after his blue counterpart.

It took Shadow longer than he expected to catch up with Sonic. The blue hedgehog was running almost full speed. He still looked a bit shaky, but stronger as time went by.

A few minutes passed in silence. Finally, Shadow spoke. "How are you holding up, Sonic?" he yelled over the wind.

"Pretty good! I'm starting to get a little tired, though," he answered.

"We should head back!"

"Alright."

Eggman relished in the emeralds' glow. All this power, and soon it will be gone. he thought happily. With something this beautiful, I will be overjoyed to destroy it. Time to begin.

He brought a radio up to his mouth and spoke. "Bring in the chaos syphon!"

Immediately, two robots came in, carrying the cannon-like power drainer. They set it down near the pillar with the yellow chaos emerald at the top.

"Bring down the emerald," Eggman ordered. One robot pressed a hidden button on the pillar and the column sank into the ground, leaving the emerald on the floor.

"Put it in the syphon, and begin the draining process," the villain commanded. His orders were followed, the switch thrown, and the emerald began to glow like the sun. Minutes later, the brightness began to slightly ebb. Eggman let out the breath he'd been holding, and smiled. It would take a while, yes, maybe even an hour for each emerald, but it would be worth it. Mobius won't know what hit it, he thought as he laughed and exited the room. Come and get me, Sonic the Hedgehog. I'll be waiting just for you.

So? Did you like it? Tell me!

Anyways, I'm planning on finishing up the story somewhere around chapter 16 or 17. If you have any ideas for a really dramatic ending (I'm obsessed with drama) that's better than what I'm thinking, PM it to me. I love getting ideas from you guys, and your reviews really help a lot.

See ya later!