Shadow's p.o.v.

I woke up to something warm and soft and I snuggled up closer to it, thinking it was a pillow and taking in all the warmth I could. I could hear the faint sound of something beating and thought it was my own heartbeat until I felt a breath on my face. I snapped my eyes open and came face to face with brown eyes staring down at me. I felt an uneasiness as I realized how close we were and where my hands were placed. I nervously chuckled and moved my hands from his waist to my sides and he huffed. When I sat up, Maurice copied me and we were still looking at each other but with a little distance now. I rubbed my neck and tried to look anywhere I could other then his prying eyes. He huffed and moved closer to me, making me lean back at his approach.

"W-What are you doing?" I tried not to stutter and he just sniffed my neck like yesterday. I just let him until he started to move down and then I growled and smacked him away. He shook his head and huffed at me. "If your going to do something, then ask first." I growled and he huffed then went on all fours and walked back to his side of the base and curled up. I rubbed my neck and looked at him confused as to why he kept doing that. 'Is this supposed to be normal?' I sighed and leaned back onto the wall. "Maurice?" he hummed "Why do you keep doing that?" his ear flicked and I sighed again "The nose thing?" he moved his head so it was the only body part that moved.

"Clarification." I looked at him confused "If I can trust you more." I nodded and he moved his head back down.

"Have a nice rest Stripes?" I looked down to see the green bastard looking up at me with his golden friend standing beside him.

"Why would you care Scourge?" I growled and he shrugged

"Other then for the fact your beside a living weapon, I don't." he said and Fleetway nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, we care for Maurice and wanted to know if he was going to tear you apart or not." I glanced at said hedgehog and he rolled his eyes.

"Not sure if he feels the same about you." I sat on the edge of the level and crossed my arms over my chest getting confused looks from them. "If your going to make yourselves useful, then why don't you go find an emerald?"

"We can only do that when everyone else is awake." I looked back at Maurice who got on all fours and walked up to me. He laid down like a lion would and watched the three of us. "Besides, it seems like your getting pretty friendly with him." I glared down at them and they chuckled

"We should get some food in case they wake up, right Scourge?" Fleetway nudged his partner who nodded in response. They walked away and Maurice put his head on his outstretched arms.

"Maurice, why did you do that last night?" his ear flicked "Lay beside me?" he turned his head to face me and lifted it.

"You were cold so I made sure you were warm." I hummed and turned my head back to the entrance. "You also reminded me of someone." I looked back at him confused and heard him chuckle. "Just like him." he lowered his head back down and stared at the entrance of the base. I uncrossed my arms and sighed. 'This is going to get really uncomfortable...'

"Maurice?" I looked away when I heard him hum "Did you do that because I reminded you of someone or... is it... something else?" there was some shuffling and I felt something on my lap, so I turned my head back to see his head on my lap.

"I just felt like your my responsibility and I had to do something about you and your temperature. That and of how tame you are." I inwardly sighed and searched through the memories he showed me. My eyes widened at one and I cleared my voice to get his attention.

"Did you do it because I reminded you of the doctor?" he looked up me confused and I rubbed the back of my neck "Um, Ivo?" he sat up and flopped one ear to the side.

"What about him?"

"Do I remind you of Ivo?" he hummed then looked towards the entrance

"Yes and at times, you would act like him." I looked at him confused and he chuckled. "Brave and bold yet stubborn and talkative."

"I'm not talkative." he gave me 'really' look and I chuckled a little "Not that talkative anyway." he huffed "Okay, fine, I'll admit, around you, I do get more... social. But that's only because of you." he sighed then got up and went back to his side of the level. 'Did I say something he didn't like?' I thought for a second until I heard voices come from the bottom and jumped down to see everyone up and eating.

"Hey Shadow, did Maurice bug you too much?" Rouge asked and I crossed my arms

"No."

"Then why did it look like you two weren't getting along?" Knuckles teased and I glared at them

"For your information, me and Maurice are getting along just fine and you are the ones who are bugging the shit out of me." I growled the last part and turned back around to head to the level and laid down on my side. 'What I give to help those lowlifes...' I sighed and closed my eyes. I looked through the memories Maurice showed me until I came upon the man again. I couldn't help but have a strange feeling as if I meet him before.

I opened my eyes again and turned my head to watch everyone leave to find an emerald. I sighed and sat up looking at Maurice, only his eyes were closed. 'Strange, he never took his eyes of me before.' I got up and went over to him making as little sound as possible. I got on my knees and bent down to see if he was actually awake and to my surprise, he wasn't. 'I guess not sleeping really did take a toll on you.' I inwardly sighed and looked around the base. 'He'll kill me if I leave.' I shivered at the thought. I'm not afraid for the fact I can die due to being immortal but for what he can do. I can't die but he is crafty and I'm sure he has a way a two to get his way. I felt chills go down my spine from the thought of being stuck in suspended sleep like that. Being stuck in your own thoughts and not able to do anything but listen to your surroundings, terrifies me. At least I do stuff besides doing nothing. I rubbed my neck and laid down beside him, with nothing else better to do. I heard what sounded like a whimper come from him and I perked up to see him shuddering ever so slightly in his sleep. 'What's going on?' I looked around again and my eyes went back to his shivering form. 'Could this be something else?' As I was thinking of something to help, I come across the torture he went through. Realization hit me and I frowned at him. 'I never had to worry about this type of stuff before but maybe... I could help.'

I sighed and then laid down beside him again. I ran my hand through his quills and his shuddering turned into calm breathing. I smiled at this and continued to do my action. 'You aren't the monster that everyone says you are Maurice, in fact, your not scary at all when you are yourself.' I moved my hand up to his ear and scratched it making a smile come on his face and his tail to wag. I gave a light chuckle and moved my hand away. He whimpered for my touch and I moved up closer to him. He uncurled and snuggled up closer to me. I petted through his quills as he snuggled closer into my chest fur. 'Just like a little child.' I stopped and wondered how that thought made it into my mind but I shrugged it off and continued to watch him sleep. His soft heart beats were soothing and I closed my eyes to listen to it.

I didn't know when I fell asleep but what I did know is that I felt something hard lay on top of me. I groaned not wanting to get up but something wet nudged my neck. I opened my eyes slowly and was meet with an empty spot that Maurice was in before. I moved my head to see what the hard thing was and was immediately meet with the maroon hedgehog laying on my side. He tilted his head to the side and I gave a chuckle at how innocent he looked. He nudged my neck again and I moved my one arm that wasn't trapped to his quills and petted them. His tail wagged and a small smile came on his face.

"Maurice?" he hummed "Why are you on me?" he shook his head and I moved my hand away.

"I care about you life-form." he said while nudging my neck again. I chuckled at his action and he got off me letting me sit up and look at him. I looked down at the entrance and then back at him. He huffed then went to lie down when I stopped him.

"Maurice, how much do you care?" he tilted his head then next thing I know, he pinned me to the ground.

"I care about you and your safety." I tried to move my hands but he chuckled at my failed attempts. He plopped down on my chest making me breathless and letting my hands free. I looked at him and he had a playful smirk on his face. "And how you can be funny too." I chuckled and tried to move his head but he wouldn't budge. I eventually gave up and watched as he moved up closer to my face so we were millimeters apart. "Your my responsibility and I care about that." I just looked up at his face and he moved away to sit down on the metal floor. "Does that answer you question?" I rubbed my head while sitting up and smiled at him.

"It sure does." he huffed then spread his arms out and laid down again. He put his head on his outstretched arms and looked down at the entrance. 'He seems to be trusting me more with each passing day.' I sighed then copied his action and he looked at me confused.

"What? Can't I lay beside you?" he huffed then closed his eyes. "Maurice?" he opened one eye and hummed. "Why don't you go outside?" he picked up his head and looked at me confused.

"What do you mean life-form? I went out yesterday with you." I sat up and looked at the bottom then back at him.

"I know you went outside before but why not now?" he flicked his ear then huffed.

"Outside doesn't like me and it doesn't like you either." I was confused. 'Now he's speaking nonsense.'

"Can you be more specific?" he sighed then sat up and looked at the entrance.

"Humans are a menace and are everywhere. Outside helps them and I don't like it." he growled then faced me. "You got lucky with the humans since your tame but Green and Yellow say that humans are still looking for me." I sat up and he made a louder growl "I stay here and one day they will die for even given the chance to live." I sighed knowing what he's thinking about. 'No doubt about it, just like me.' I shook my head then laid down on my back.

"You should let humans live so they have the chance to make up for their mistakes." I closed my eyes remembering Maria's promise. "Humans are not all bad just like how they are not all good but if we let them see the error in their ways then they can make up for it." I opened my eyes and sat up looking over at his confused face. "Humans may only think one way but if we show them a different way of thinking then they can change. Not all will change but some will and that's better then eliminating them all together." he huffed then looked back at the entrance.

"Maybe your too tame life-form. Those humans have brought you into their way of thinking and is making you think like them."

"Then what about Ivo?" he perked up then lowered his head and looked away from me.

"What about him?" I chuckled and moved closer to him.

"He set you free from that base you were in before and taught you different things. I'm not wrong, right?" he looked back at me and gave a silent nod "Maria is a girl that I was created for. She is sweet and kind and just like how a mother would be to their kids." I smiled at the memory then frowned. "G.U.N. decided to come on the Ark and killed anyone who was on it. Maria was one of those who were killed that day. She died helping me escape and I swore vengeance to her." I growled then let my expression set and I looked at the entrance "I meet the hedgehog I told you about and he acted just like her. When we were faced with a problem that the whole world was in danger, I didn't care. Just like you, I wanted them all dead. It wasn't until him and his friends showed me that not everyone is bad and can be good that I realized my mistake." I smiled then turned back to him "I helped them save the world and I noticed that the humans can change. And to this day, I've seen the change they can go through. You just need to give them a chance and they will take it." I breathed out a sigh and rubbed my neck. He was silent taking in all the info that I told him. He looked at the entrance, at me, then the ground below.

"She told you that?" I nodded and he huffed "Ivo is the same way. On the day he freed me from there, we arrived on a new planet. We would watch the animals that lived there and made a living of staying there. At nights I would be lookout and watch over the little base we made and on the colder ones, we would curl up closer to keep warm. Ivo taught me all sorts of things and I taught him some things too." he smiled "Years went by and we would soon keep our promise to return and eventually find you." a frown came on his face as he looked up "A few days before we would return, I found about my speed and we got curious as to how fast I could go. We would do tests and never actually found out my limit. Before we did another test, Ivo found a strange gem and told me not to touch cause he wanted to test it out first, to see if it was dangerous. I thought it wasn't and picked it up when Ivo wasn't watching. I felt something spark from the gem and I felt a little dizzy. I put it back how it was before he came back and we started another test. In the middle, I felt something strange spark within me and the last thing I remembered was a lot of heat, colours, rigging and I couldn't move. I fell asleep soon after and when I woke up, I was back in the forest, leaning against a tree and here we are now." he looked at me and chuckled "So... I guess you are right about not all humans being bad." he chuckled again and laid down on his back.

I laid down beside him and looked at the ceiling high above us. 'He did say that he didn't know about the first eight years of his life. Maybe... I should tell him about this. Everything.' We stayed in silence for the rest of the day, taking in all the information we told each other. Soon, I heard noise come from the entrance and looked to see everyone come back, empty handed. I sighed and now, I'm on my side of the base, Maurice on his, curled up, and everyone else went to sleep. I looked to the entrance and then the moon that shone through the window. I sighed getting trapped in my own thoughts until I heard him sigh.

"Life-form, I'm guessing your still awake?" I hummed and leaned against the wall. "Do you want to have a race?" my ears perked and I saw him sitting up, still on his side.

"It would be hard to have a race in the middle of the night." just then, I saw a green light and squinted at it. Maurice's hands were covered in a green light and I chuckled. "Or we could have a night light." he chuckled and stood up, walking up to me.

"I'm guessing you haven't learned this either." I shook my head and he held out his hand. "I guess I'm going to be the teacher now." I looked at his hand then back at him, smiling. I took it and he helped me stand up. We successfully made it outside without any interruptions and walked a good distance away.

"Your really going to teach me those things?" he nodded and I smiled. 'I guess you are changing after all and me too.' I widened my eyes at the thought and inwardly chuckled. It took a few tries but then I finally was able to make my hands light up with a red glow.

"Ready?" I nodded and we got into a starting position.

"3... 2... 1... GO!" we took off like a rocket and raced through the forest. Everything looked different during the night and I was sure my mouth would fall open from the faint glow my hands are giving off. I looked to my side to see his familiar green glow and chuckled. "Try to keep up!" I raced off faster and he followed me. We were still neck to neck and I chuckled once we came out of the forest and the city was in the distance. "I think we should kick it up a notch." he side-glanced and chuckled.

"You want a challenge don't you?" I laughed and took off faster. I saw the green glow not to far away and gradually keep up, so I went the fastest that I've gone when me and the Faker did our normal races. I was in the lead for a little bit until I saw the green glow catch up again. He was able to keep up with me every step of the way. We made it to the city and side-glanced at each other and smirked, thinking the same thing. We raced off faster and raced through the city streets. Our glows still letting us see around our surroundings. We raced through Station Square and kept our race going. I smirked at him and he returned with a smirk of his own as we raced out of the city and saw the hill in the distance.

"First to the hill is the winner!" I took off and he followed close behind. We were still neck and neck and finished the raced with a tie. I laughed and he smiled at me. It felt so refreshing to let out a laugh and I smiled. I sat down and he looked around. "A tie, haha! Like usual." he sat down beside me and looked up at the sky. I managed to stop laughing and look up at the sky as well. "You like the sky?" he nodded and smiled

"It's so big and the stars are all so colourful." I chuckled and looked back up then at him.

"Yeah."

"Life-form, what was it like up there?" I looked back up and inwardly chuckled.

"The view was amazing and Maria always wanted to explore the world down below. I'm just doing what she always wanted to do." he hummed and I saw him look at me then back at the city.

"I've never got the chance to see what you saw before. I only got to see the inside of the facility, the forest and the other planet but from the ground." I looked at him and could see a sad smile on his face. 'You did see space plenty of times before.'

"Hey, Maurice?" he hummed "How did you do that memory show?" he looked back at me and chuckled.

"You want to show me your memories?" I nodded "Put your hand on my forehead and focus on the memories you want to show. Your energy will allow your memories to get shown to the person your showing them to." I nodded and did just that. Once he closed his eyes, I did as well and I decided to show him everything. Including Sonic. When I finished, I opened my eyes and took my hand off. A few seconds after, he opened his eyes that were filled with confusion. He looked at me, the city, the sky and then back at me. "Is that all true?" I nodded and he looked at the ground. "So... I'm a different hedgehog?" I sighed and looked at the city.

"You have a split personality cause of the chaos emeralds. If you never touched them to begin with, then you wouldn't have to see all those memories at all." I looked back at him and he looked away from me.

"There's nothing else you have to tell me? No other lies you aren't sharing?" I sighed and he looked back at me.

"Those aren't lies... just..." I looked at the sky then back at his confused face. "While you were asleep, that other personality of you took control and even he didn't know about you or his own past." he blinked and huffed

"You haven't told him yet?" I shook my head and he sighed. We looked at the horizon to see the sun was starting to make its way up through the sky and he stood up. "We should head back." I nodded in agreement and we raced off without a second to lose. When we made it back, we got back onto our level and sat on opposite sides. Maurice didn't curl up like he usually did but instead, sat up and leaned against the wall, with his eyes closed. I laid down and felt my eyelids get heavy, so I drifted off to sleep.