The cobalt awoke incredibly frustrated as he realized he'd fallen asleep... Again. This instance however, it was a much shorter period of time as he glanced all around the forest attempting to regain his composure. His eyes soon paused as he witnessed an absurdly skinny and feeble looking brunet hedgehog who happened to be sitting only a few inches away from his resting body. His face looked as if it had the joy and energy sucked right out of it as his bloodshot purple eyes glared at him in both defeat and regret.
"Feeling better, peasant?" He choked slightly on his words as he felt like he would burst out crying just by the mere thought of talking.
His eyes looked incredibly weak as he gently patted the azure hedgehog's shoulder before standing with his arm reaching out to him.
"C'mon, I'll take you to Shadie." He continued plainly, attempting to hold every emotion inside as the cobalt quickly took his hand.
"Why the sudden change of heart, Rob?" The azure hedgehog questioned while standing confidently as if he just won some kind of argument or fight.
The brunet hedgehog's face immediately turned pale as he couldn't hold in the pain any longer. A few tears streamed down his face as his mind still couldn't believe his eyes.
"Your Voziti..." He stated emotionally as his heart was still fighting those exact words.
"Is that a problem?" The sapphire hedgehog queried in slight frustration as he showed absolutely no sign of compassion.
"I'm Nedaće, the guardian and protector of Miran..." Rob added as felt even worse as he knew the azure felt absolutely nothing for him.
No sympathy, no regret, no nothing. Exactly what he expected of Voziti.
"Wait! Do you mean Shadow... Please tell me its true?!" Sonic shouted triumphantly as his face showed immediate admiration.
"Correct... I..." The brunet hedgehog stopped as he choked a little on his own sobs.
"Please... Don't tell him I told you. I'm not really even supposed to be giving you this kind of information... Its strictly against protocall to provoke the development of you and the princess..." Rob begged desperately as he wiped the tears from his eyes before letting out a quick sigh in an attempt to regain control of his emotions.
Strangely a frown appeared on the cobalt's face as he figured out exactly why the brown hedgehog was acting so sensitive and heartbroken.
"I'm sorry, Rob. Must be really tough being forced to give up shadow like this." He identified as his eyes showed just a glimmer of sympathy and his pupils drifted straight towards the ground in regret.
"Maria, would have wanted it this way... I was stupid. I fell for him even though I was forbidden to from the start. He is yours... Always has been. Forgive me, I just need a little time to get my thoughts together. I will continue my job just please don't kill me..." The brown hedgehog explained as his face still remained emotionally unstable.
"Wait, you knew Maria?! And why are you so afraid? You destroyed me remember!?" Sonic exclaimed in embarrassment as he scratched the back of his head in slight hindrance.
"Voziti can eliminate anyone who gets in his way, if he wanted to. You spared my mortal life and for that I cannot be more thankful. Now I shall take you to Shadow." He responded, very careful not to answer the cobalt's question regarding Maria.
He walked up to Sonic and quickly grabbed his arm.
"C'mon do whatcha do best, peasant!" He bellowed somewhat bitter-sweetly as he tried to regain his composure.
"Hmm? And what's that?" The azure responded cautiously as he didn't think Rob had any idea what he was talking about.
"RUN!" He hollered ferociously, as he slapped his hand against the sapphire hedgehog's back and dashed past him at a relatively high speed.
Sonic, being the fastest thing alive, caught up to him almost instantly before watching carefully to his running movements. He started noticing something very odd. He seemed to be using Chaos Energy, just like Shadow, to sprint. How was that possible? Either the ebony hedgehog taught him or...
"Are you sure you're not related to Shadow?" Sonic asked coldly, focused on getting an exact answer as he easily dodged all the trees and rocks that approached him.
"Depends on what you mean by related..." The chocolate colored hedgehog responded mockingly as he didn't want to give the answer away too quickly or easily for that matter.
"Well you guys DO look very similar and you both use Chaos Energy." Sonic stated curiously as if he was trying to put together a giant jigsaw puzzle with the information he's been given. He abruptly passed the brunet hedgehog who quickly took this as a challenge.
"I think there's a better person you should ask. When you go home tonight take a good look at yourself and ask that same question." Rob countered as he glared at the azure hedgehog with a look of an all-knowing genius before lazily passing him with complete ease.
"Me and Shadow are definitely not related, if that's what you're trying to tell me." The sapphire hedgehog responded quickly.
The answer was completely obvious to him. Him and Shadow were not even from the same planet, there was no way they could be related. He then replied to the brunet hedgehog surpassing him by speeding up so fast he rammed face first right into a tree.
"Look at your face very closely in a mirror and then ask. The answer should be obvious to you. If there is one part of your body that never lies it's your eyes." He walked quietly over to the azure hedgehog and patted his shoulder patronizingly.
He pointed to the obvious Eggman Base in front of them as he seemed a bit more cheerful. Somehow, releasing all those emotions happened to make him a little more accepting of the situation.
"My eyes?" Sonic queried as he gave the look of complete frustration because of Rob attempting to act like some kind of psychological mastermind and the azure hedgehog found it very nauseating.
"Eyes are a gateway to knowledge. We are forced to confront the truth when we look at them long enough. Trust me, I've tried this with Shadow and it works almost every time. Also, to answer your question, I'm as closely related to Shadow as you are." He stated matter-of-factly as he approached the big steel doors and groaned as he had to remember the stupid passcode.
"You mean not at all..." The cobalt hedgehog replied, incredibly annoyed that he acquired no more information than when he started the conversation.
"If that's what you want to believe, go ahead. But for now, I'll let you ponder that question. Are you and Shadow somehow connected?" He quickly inserted the correct password and nodded softly as it opened.
"Good luck. He should be in sector B, cell three." Rob stated quickly pointing to the location on the map in front of them.
"But that has a giant hazard sign painted on top of it." Sonic asked somewhat fearfully and angrily as he thought the brunet hedgehog was leading him straight into a trap.
"About that. Whatever you do. Do not and I repeat do NOT look into its eyes. Do I make myself clear? I don't know very much about it, but apparently it was created to protect Shadow and will destroy anything else in its path." Rob explained slowly, enunciating every word in the process just in case sapphire hedgehog wasn't listening intently.
"What it?! WHAT'S IN THERE WITH SHADOW?! YOU SAID HE WAS SAFE!" The azure shouted dreadfully as he rammed his fist against the metal door, surprising Rob in the process.
"It won't hurt Shadow. It was programmed that way and should be sealed up quite tight. So as long as you don't make eye contact, I'm sure you'll be fine." He responded irritably as Sonic's sporadic behavior somewhat startled him. He didn't want to look submissive even though he knew Voziti could disintegrate his body with just the point of his finger.
"Is it a robot?" The cobalt asked as he traced his finger across the map looking for the fastest and easiest way to reach his rival.
"A very special, highly sophisticated and sentient android, yes." Rob replied as he noticed Sonic's intense glare and took a cautious step back.
"Why won't you come in with me then? If it's so dangerous." He asked suspiciously before crossing his arms.
"Because unfortunately, I'm only a guardian. My lifespan is relatively short and I'd rather experience it to the fullest." He countered awkwardly as he felt especially uncomfortable with how stern the azure's face was.
"Oh I get it. You're a little pussy! I see how it is. You're probably just sending me to my grave so you can have Shadow all to yourself!" The cobalt exclaimed as he took a very firm step towards the brown hedgehog growling as he did so.
Rob quickly shoved Sonic against the wall of the base and glared deeply into his emerald eyes.
"Now listen here you little piece of shit. This is very difficult for me. To give up Shadow to someone like you is practically destroying me. But I have to and I will, because I believe in my leaders. I dislike you greatly. In fact, I can even go as far as to say that I HATE your guts, but I do trust you. I will never lead you into a trap unless it's for your own good. If it was between my life and yours, I would sacrifice myself in a heartbeat." He uttered confidently and sincerely as the azure's expression changed radically.
"That's actually... very thoughtful of you, Rob. Thank you." Sonic replied stunningly as he felt somewhat warmed by the kind comment.
Someone actually trusted him. Not only that, a person who didn't like him!
"Now go. Before I change my mind!" He pointed to the inside of the lab as he placed his other hand on top of the azure's head.
"Stay safe for me, okay? If something happens to you the entire world will collapse not to mention Miran would be absolutely devastated." Rob whispered thoughtfully as he couldn't imagine the pain Shadow would be in if the sapphire hedgehog got injured.
"Mmm, don't worry Rob, I got this covered. I'm Sonic the freakin' Hedgehog. I can handle a little pansy robot." The cobalt responded mockingly as he gave his typical thumbs up following it with a wink.
"I sure hope so..." Rob replied hesitantly as he didn't feel any less concerned.
Sonic gave Rob an army style solute before marching into the base ready to take on anything and everything that came near him.
"Gerald... I can't believe this stupid brat is Voziti." Rob uttered under his breath as the tears started to appear in his eyes once again.
"What am I going to do..?"