Inspiration taken from a HP fic where Snape and Harry are both locked in Azkaban, and take turns to keep their sanity. Cannot recall which fic it was, but whatever it is, credit for that idea goes to the writer.

Don't even ask what Mobian hedgehogs are doing in wizarding prison.

Disclaimer: If I owned the franchise, Sonic Generations would so be out for the Wii.

Skritch. Skritch.

'Stop that, faker.' He scowls, tired and cranky, and runs a hand through messy blue head-quills. The other hedgehog looks up, one pupil contracting and fixing, unblinkingly, on his face. 'And stop that, too. You know it doesn't scare me. Now get here and give me a break.'

'But Professor Gerald, I don't want to. GUN hasn't the faintest idea of sentient being rights, and I swear some of them don't even know I am sentient, and they'll turn me over to their so-called scientists, and Professor, I don't want to go with their scientists, those sadists keep doing the worst experiments, and I know I'm just an experiment but they keep hurting me and-!'

'Maria will be there.'

Slowly, his eyes come into focus, and he blinks. 'I hate it when you do that, faker. I was doing quantum physics exercises with Maria.'

'Yeah, well, it's been two patrols already, and I need a break. Or would you rather I join you in insanity and let us both sink?' They glare at each other, green meeting red, then green sighs and breaks eye contact.

'Sorry,' he mutters, slumping against the hard wall he is manacled to. 'I just- it's been bad, and I swear it's getting worse. I can hardly remember home now, and when I'm myself, I can't even see Tails' face properly. Or- or the others.'

'It'll pass. We'll find a way out of here.' He sounds less and less confident even to himself. 'The kid will build something to teleport him here, or us back, or we'll break free ourselves and find an Emerald.'

Suddenly, he stiffens, red eyes flickering to the entrance of their cell. 'Another patrol.'

The soul-sucking feeling sweeps over them like a cloud, and between the screaming and wailing, a blue-eyed girl is shot, and waves close in over a blue-furred head, and blood drips down her outstretched arm, and an orange fox struggles for breath in the grip of a monstrous machine, and a smile graces that broken lifeless body, and dead bodies wash up in the flotsam left in Perfect Chaos' wake-

-and it passes, and they draw in breath once again.

Sonic's is let out in a shuddering chuckle. 'Heh. Now I'm the grumpy one, and you're Mr Optimistic. Could've sworn it used to be the opposite.'

'We will find a way out.' Shadow's breaths are short, still recovering. 'I'll eventually build up enough Chaos energy for a Spear to break these chains, then we'll spindash our way out of here. Definitely.'

'Yeah.' Eyelids droop. 'Sorry, Shadow, I can't hold on anymore. Really need that break.'

'Go ahead, Sonic. Give my regards to Tails.' He watches as the eyelids open once more to reveal slightly unfocused green pupils. The blue hedgehog looks around curiously, then notices the wall scratched half-full of complicated mathematical workings and scientific equations, half-full of abstract patterns and half-formed pictures. With a child-like grin, he lifts a finger, and starts scratching away.