It had been the ideal situation for the new GUN administration. Most artifacts from the disastrous ARK operation had been destroyed, whether due to their instability, perceived uselessness or otherwise. But the testament to Gerald Robotnik's pinnacle research had remained, waiting in stasis for all these years. And when Shadow finally awoke, he had emerged as a blank slate: a being without memories or desires, and the perfect candidate for GUN to mold into their ultimate weapon.

At times, Shadow preferred being a weapon. A weapon was unburdened by memories, connections, and emotions. It did not have the capacity to feel sorrow, and it did not regret. But as much as Shadow sometimes wished he could have remained the way he was back then, his memories inevitably did return. Vague flashes became distinct events, moments, days and years of his life. He could remember the ARK, he remembered his family, and he remembered how they were taken away from him. He could also remember the purpose his creator, Gerald Robotnik, had instilled in him. Back then, he had never questioned his responsibility: he was a miracle of medicine, a universal donor from blood to bone marrow.

And then, he had arrived on this planet, and Shadow found that he could no longer just accept that as the plain truth anymore. After all, what purpose did a miracle of medicine have for the powers he possessed? On Earth, Shadow had truly come into his own as the ultimate lifeform, a title given to him by both Gerald and GUN for polar opposite reasons. It was an accurate description regardless: the power he possessed was unlike anything else ever developed by humankind. He could harness a free-flowing energy, using his body like a siphon and freely redirecting it in any way he chose. This power gave him the cornerstones of his identity. His speed, his strength, his durability: that was all he had left, and that was all he could count on.

And yet, despite his years of experience, the fact remained that Shadow still had no answers to his true purpose, nor did he really understand the extent of his powers. He was not afforded the luxury to ponder such things while under the iron control of GUN, but as his memories returned, the thoughts continued to eat away at him. Was he always intended to be a weapon from the very beginning? Were GUN simply opportunists corrupting the work of a good man? Or perhaps all he had ever been was the pet project of a mad scientist funded by a faceless bureaucracy that had no idea just what they had brought upon this world.

For some time, Shadow had pondered revenge, but the fact was that everyone who was involved with ARK had long since died or disappeared. That truth made his blood boil–left without a resolution to his rage. But despite his anger, Shadow's conscience combined with his memory of Maria and her hopes and dreams would never allow him to take it out on humanity. After that realization, the last thing that kept Shadow at GUN was the possibility of learning more about what really happened on the ARK, and what became of Gerald Robotnik himself. However, he had soon found he was out of luck in that endeavor as well. When it became clear that no records from the ARK nor Gerald's work remained, he defected from the organization less than a month later. In the end, all that remained of fifty years ago was his own insufficient memory.

After leaving GUN, it was Shadow's intention to leave everything else behind along with it: the ARK, his past, his abilities, all of it. If they had once been the cornerstone of his identity, he would simply have to find a new one. For a while, he had been making strides towards this goal.

But of course, things could not have been that simple. He had tried to move on, to forget the cursed memories, but by some act of the universe, or more logically, by sheer coincidence alone, he had ended up here. Of all places in the world, he had arrived in this country, in this town, this forest, inside this castle and before that mural. At that moment, what he had worked so hard to leave behind suddenly didn't matter. His urge for knowledge, for the information he deserved to know had returned in full-swing. He didn't care how far-fetched any apparent connection between him and these gems may have been, it was the closest thing he had stumbled upon to a lead since he had first awoken from that deathlike sleep.

And there was no way he was going to pass that up.

—

"We're almost there." Tails assured him.

The two of them moved swiftly through the passageways. The deeper they headed into the ruins, the more the cold air seemed to sink into Shadow's skin. But as the fox had promised, a set of stairs appeared before them, leading to a strip of light leaking through the top. Tails bounded up the stairs and removed a latch, and Shadow found himself hit with the scent of crisp autumn air.

They had emerged outside, cellar doors opening into a part of the courtyards Shadow had not seen yet. Dry grass spanned the area around them, a good distance from the main structure of the palace. He took a survey of the land around them. Even compared to the rest of the grounds, the area was barren, missing even the glowing fungi and violet weeds that sprouted around the rest of the castle. The only thing of note was a small grove of overgrown shrubs, and that was where he saw it. It was a shed, or at least what reminded him of a shed. Tails closed the cellar doors behind them gingerly and made his way over to the structure peeking between the foliage.

"Here we are." Tails announced, swinging the rain-damaged door open and presenting the space to Shadow rather unceremoniously. The inside, while no worse for wear than the outside, reminded Shadow of hoarder's garage. The floor was littered with half finished contraptions. Equipment and spare parts were scattered everywhere, leaning up against walls, pillars, and each other. Cabinets, desks, and workbenches interspersed the trinkets haphazardly around the space, leaving little room to navigate. Shadow shot a side eye at Tails. How could anyone hope to keep track of anything in a space as cluttered as this?

"Ah—sorry for the mess. This is where I keep my unfinished projects and the more…volatile experiments." Tails cleared his throat. "Speaking of which," He stepped into the room, floorboards creaking precariously as he hobbled awkwardly over a box of rusted tools and around what looked like a stack of chariot wheels.

"Knuckles tends to keep all the emeralds hidden, but I've been holding onto one for a while now." Tails explained. "Back in the day, I had tried to study it to see if I could figure out what happened to it, or if it could be fixed, but well, I was unsuccessful, obviously. But he never asked about it again, so it's just been here. Somewhere around here…"

Shadow stepped around the clutter, watching his step as he ventured further into the space. There were no windows, and the wooden walls managed to block out sunlight quite efficiently, so the only source of light besides the sunlight behind him came from Tails' glowing runes. The fox was currently hunched over a cabinet, rummaging through items in one of its drawers. He approached Tail's side, observing him passively.

"Tell me, how did the emeralds end up the way they are now?" Shadow asked.

Tails threw a rusted wrench over his shoulder absentmindedly. "They've been like this for as long as we've been trapped here, ever since the night of Sonic's coronation."

He slammed the drawer of the cabinet shut with a sharp snap, empty-handed. "Knuckles, Amy, and I were all with him on the balcony, and he had just called upon the power of the emeralds. But then all of a sudden, something didn't feel right. One moment Sonic was there with the emeralds, and the next thing I know, he's…" Tail's mouth twitched into a somber expression. He shook his head, as if to snap himself out of a memory. "It looked like he had been attacked. Knuckles tried to help him, but he couldn't. I lost consciousness after that. The last thing I remember seeing was this horrible dark smoke everywhere."

Shadow's mind flashed to the main foyer and the balcony overlooking it. He pictured the ruined banisters, the shattered glass, the cracked marble below covered in that dark stain, and the grim expression upon Sonic's face.

"I've never seen anything take down Sonic like that. But when Knuckles fell, I think that was when the fear really hit me. We were all just…so helpless."

Tails' voice was beginning to waver, but he continued on regardless, swallowing roughly, "It took awhile until I was fully aware of myself again after that. When I woke up, we were all like this. Apparently Sonic used the chaos emeralds to save us, but I think he may have only been able to do that for the price of the emeralds themselves."

Shadow frowned. "How do you figure that?"

"All our efforts to restore them have failed. Before I ever got my hands on this one, Sonic had tried every day for over a decade to make a connection with them. But he never could, not even once." Tails responded.

Well, that certainly wasn't ideal. Shadow was no expert on curses, but if what the fox said was true and the emeralds truly had lost their abilities permanently, then his efforts to make any sort of "connection" with them would probably be useless. Though, if it was true they were as useless as rocks now, Shadow would have to scoff at their title of "gems of miracles." He would be the judge of that.

Tails shifted his gaze down, eyes locked onto the hand wrapped around the handle of the drawer. "I was completely useless then. I thought if I could research them, maybe I could figure something out and fix things. In the end, I couldn't do anything though." He exhaled deeply, and turned to meet Shadow's gaze. "But maybe you can. Sonic seems to have some faith in you, anyways. And if he does, so do I."

An uncomfortable feeling sank into Shadow's stomach. Tails' words were genuine; he was truly putting his trust in him here. However, the truth of the matter was that Shadow had his own agenda in mind when he had asked Tails to bring him to the emerald. The fox's emotions though, especially his guilt…well, they were something Shadow could certainly empathize with.

"Aha! Here it is!" Tails suddenly exclaimed. He dug out a box from the back of the drawer—it was a safe. Tails unlocked the combination, and Shadow was grateful that, despite the fox's lack of memory of its precise location, he at least remembered the code for the lock. With the flip of two latches, Tails pulled the lid up to reveal a gem identical to the one Rouge had snatched over a week prior.

"The reason I kept it here is because, well, if things go wrong, I don't really mind if this place gets any more messed up." Tails explained, smacking his hands together to rid them of accumulated dust.

Shadow peered into the container, eyeing the gray gem scrutinizingly. Even with the knowledge on it he now possessed, it truthfully did not seem any more remarkable than it had been the first day he saw it. He retrieved it from the box and held it out with one hand. It was lighter than he expected, and in all honesty, Shadow was having a hard time picturing it as anything more than a paperweight. Still, he had half-expected an immediate reaction to occur as soon as he touched it. But there was no flash of light, no burning heat, nor any indication that there was anything special about it at all. Shadow shut his eyes and took a deep breath. All he had to do now was figure out what "making a connection" was supposed to mean. He tried to focus on the way the emerald felt his hand, but nothing happened. Shadow opened his eyes, suddenly feeling a little silly, especially with Tails watching his every move.

Tails looked at him expectantly, not saying a word as Shadow cleared his throat gruffly.

If the prince himself was unable to make a connection to them in years, Shadow supposed he would just have to try a different tactic. "I'm going to use my power on it." He announced, "You may want to stand back."

Tails studied him for a moment, hesitating, but nonetheless backed up until he was at the far wall. Shadow, in turn, took several steps away from the workbench until he was in the center of the room, somehow locating the one patch of open floor space in the place.

"Are you sure about this?" Tails muttered, fingers fidgeting at his sides nervously.

Shadow closed his eyes. He collected himself, slowly breathing in until a heat began to manifest in his chest, growing larger, traveling through his torso, into his arm, and finally out of his palm and fingertips.

"No." He answered bluntly.

As Shadow called upon his power, a bright light engulfed the emerald, illuminating the dim room in a yellow-tinted glow. Peaks of energy crackled out of his palm, molding around the entire shape of the emerald. But to his chagrin, he neither felt nor observed any discernable difference between using his power on the emerald now versus how it felt when he used it anytime before. He gritted his teeth, routing more energy from his core to the gem, but the emerald remained nothing more than a dull paperweight.

Shadow growled, eyes shooting open. Why wasn't anything happening?! He increased his energy output yet again, the aura around his hand spiraling faster and becoming more and more unruly. He brought his other hand over the emerald, grasping it with both hands. Sweat pooled across his forehead and a low buzzing penetrated his skull. From his peripherals, he could make out Tails saying something, but he did not catch what it was, nor did he particularly care for a clarification. His mind was now solely focused on the gem in his grasp. At this point, Shadow estimated he had released enough energy to render a diamond to dust, yet this gem had not so much as sparked in reaction. His senses were beginning to numb when he finally paused, allowing the power to slip away from him. The bright aura around the emerald dimmed, and Shadow regained some awareness of his surroundings.

Tails had taken a few steps forward, but did not dare to come any closer. Worry and anticipation were plastered all over his face.

"Shadow, I think—"

Shadow grit his teeth. "Once more," he insisted. The hand that held the emerald lit up once again in a blaze even brighter than before, sparks and flares of energy bursting from the aura surrounding the outstretched gem.

What he was doing was unsustainable and Shadow knew it. If he kept this up, he would be utterly drained of his energy. He would probably even lose consciousness. But right now, he couldn't worry about that— he certainly wasn't about to quit when the emerald was here in his grasp. Tails' voice disappeared along with the room around him. He needed more. More power. Shadow hadn't even realized what he was doing when he grasped the inhibitor ring around his wrist, twisting it to the side and preparing to wrench it off. But before he could fully remove it, a voice somehow penetrated through his trance and snapped him back into reality.

"I think that's quite enough, hedgehog."

One of Shadow's hands was still holding the ring on his wrist, but he did not move it another inch. Simultaneously, Tails and Shadow snapped their attention towards the figure in the doorway. Dark shadows spread across his facial features as the light from outside was to his back, but the glowing magenta patterns across his face and appendages and the intense burning eyes were unmistakable.

"If you want to keep that hand, I suggest you put the emerald down." Knuckles spoke, uttering each word with great strain. Though his stance was not conspicuously aggressive, he was visibly tensed up, and Shadow could tell he was positively seething under his exterior poise.

Shadow met his gaze, unflinching. The chaos emerald was still in his grasp, still surrounded by his power. His concentration was already fading fast though, and the energy was disappearing along with it. Quickly, he slipped his hand away from the ring on his wrist, leaving it in place and instead allowing the hand to slide down to his forearm. Anything to try to combat the strain on the emerald.

"Knuckles, I can explain—!" Tails started, throwing his hands up in defense.

"I knew you were a dirty bandit the moment I laid eyes on you." Knuckles growled, ignoring Tails and keeping his eyes locked onto Shadow. His look was one of pure disdain, lip curled in disgust. "But you really thought you could manipulate Tails into your scheme?"

"You have no idea what you're talking about." Shadow glowered, tightening his grip on the chaos emerald. This was not good. His senses were beginning to dull again. He had no choice– he would have to cut off his power. With an exhale, he allowed the energy to slip away from him once again. As the glow around the emerald dissipated, Shadow just barely managed to register the fist coming straight at his face.

Though his reactions were slowed as a result of using so much energy, he still somehow managed to throw his arms up just in time, bracing himself against the attack that hit like a freight train. The emerald slipped from his fingers, clamoring to the ground as Shadow was sent smashing into a cabinet at the back wall.

Tails cried out as Shadow hit the furniture, rendering it to a pile of scrap wood. Knuckles was now standing where Shadow had just been, emerald at his feet and arm still extended in the aftermath of his punch. Anger flared up in Shadow's chest. He met Knuckles' gaze with pure malice, and the pent up fury that had been building inside him exploded.

This oaf really wanted to fight so badly? Fine. He would give him a fight.

Rocket skates ignited to life with a violent whir. The remains of the cabinet burst into flames as Shadow shot off the debris and into the air. Tails' shouts of protests were drowned out by the blood rushing in his ears as he slammed into Knuckles' chest like a cannonball, knocking the breath from his lungs. Their combined mass went crashing straight through the doorway, splintering the frame and sending the two careening across the damp grass. Knuckles gasped for air. However, the attack had put him off for only a moment. He brought a leg up and locked it against Shadow's spin. He kicked out, wrenching Shadow off of him and into the ground several meters away. The hedgehog uncurled into a low crouch.

Knuckles jumped to his feet, regaining his composure after a few more heaves, hacks, and beats to the chest. Shadow, in turn, had also risen to his feet, brushing bits of grass and dust off his arms as if this was as casual as anything.

"You're a real bastard, you know that?" Knuckles spat, baring his teeth.

"And you are a fool. You don't even realize I'm trying to help you." Shadow responded, not bothering to hide the cold animosity in his voice.

"Liar!" Knuckles shouted.

This time, Shadow was ready for Knuckles' attack. He sweeped a leg out, trying to take Knuckles' feet out from under him, but the seasoned warrior did not fall for it. He sidestepped Shadow's sweep with ease and brought a hammer-like fist down right where Shadow's head had been only an instant prior.

All of a sudden, it was Shadow who found himself on the defensive, his superior speed the only thing allowing him to escape the swipes and punches of his attacker unscathed.

"Just as I told that bat," Knuckles chided him, "you are unworthy of using the chaos emeralds!"

It was illogical—Shadow had yet to meet a single fighter with combat capabilities up to par with his own. But here was this warrior, and not only was he matching Shadow in combat, he was about to overtake him. It was all he could do to simply dodge the oncoming onslaught.

Shadow felt his temper flare. There had to be a way to turn the situation around—he just had to find an opening.

If there was one thing Shadow knew about combat, it was that every opponent had a weakness. As long as he could find that weak point, neutralizing an enemy would be as easy as lifting a finger. And luckily for Shadow, he had a feeling he knew just what Knuckles' weakness could be.

"The only unworthy one I see here is you." Shadow growled. He leaped into the air, roundhouse kicking the air above Knuckles' head as the other managed to duck just in time. "Look at what those emeralds have become–are they not like that because you failed to protect them?"

A feeling crept into Shadow's chest, and suddenly, he found that he couldn't quite keep his thoughts in line. Tails' words lingered in his mind. According to him, Knuckles had tried to aid his prince, but in the end he had failed him. The destroyed balcony and the black stain below it flashed in his mind, and then, Sonic's somber, melancholic expressions whenever he talked about the past for too long. The regret in his eyes when he spoke of the emeralds at his bedroom door lingered in Shadow's mind.

In that instant, everything suddenly made sense to Shadow. This creature had no right to accuse him of anything. Wasn't he supposed to be a royal guard? A protector? Yet his prince had to use the emeralds to save him. He was the unworthy one here. An unworthy guardian. A complete and utter failure who couldn't even fulfill his one duty, hisone purpose .

Blaring sirens sounded off in Shadow's mind. The sound of gunfire pounded against his head. The image of blood-stained glass. An empty escape pod alone in the dark of an unknown and ambivalent world.

"You're where you are now because you failed." Shadow whispered. There was a slight lull in their movements, and Shadow raised his voice, ensuring Knuckles would hear what he had to say. "Your prince had to use the emeralds to save your sorry self, and he only had to do that because you failed to protect him!"

Knuckles' eyes widened, magenta pupils flaring with rage so hot Shadow thought they may ignite. And then, he was launching forward, rushing straight at Shadow with a new intensity. Shadow fell into a stance, fully aware that if he got hit now, he would likely have to deal with more than a few aches and bruises. But this was exactly what he had been counting on—as planned, Knuckles had been provoked by his words, and that would make him sloppy. Yes, his words were all tactics, a simple way to rile up his opponent and sabotage his focus. But in that case, why was Shadow's heart beating so fast? Why were his limbs shaking?

He couldn't address that now–Knuckles was coming at him, and he was coming at him fast. Shadow clenched his fist, wrenching it back and shifting his weight to slip by Knuckles' first attack, sloppy and unrefined. Then, with a closed-fist and all his might, Shadow swung forward and clocked Knuckles across the jaw, embedding his fist squarely into the other's muzzle with a resounding crack.

Shadow could feel that it was a critical hit, and one that should have knocked him out cold. Perhaps that was why Shadow's muscles relaxed involuntarily as he felt the hit connect with his target. However, and to Shadow's sheer horror, Knuckles did not go down right away. Though his eyes were wide with pain and Shadow was sure his head must have been spinning, he strained his muzzle against Shadow's fist still lodged against his face. He bared his fangs in a wicked snarl, and before Shadow had even fully realized what had happened, a spiked fist drove itself into his side.

As it turned out, Shadow's previous assumptions had been correct. Pain screamed along his ribs as he was sent flying from the impact. It was now the third time in under five minutes he had found himself like this, except now, he was the one who could not breathe.

Shadow's body skidded across the grass and landed in a heap. A violent cough wracked his body as he gasped for breath. Across the way, Knuckles had fallen to one knee, panting and rubbing the side of his battered jaw. Shadow's attack hadn't been completely ineffective after all, but Knuckles' faltering didn't last long. Unsteadily, he rose to his feet, disoriented but by no means taken out of the game or ready to back down.

With great strain, Shadow rose into a crouch. He clenched his injured side with gritted teeth, knowing he couldn't stay like this. He absolutely could not let Knuckles get another hit in. A dim spec of energy sparked in the palm hidden from Knuckles' view. He hadn't wanted it to come to this. Since leaving GUN, Shadow had vowed to never use his powers for combat purposes again, but right now, it seemed like he had little choice. This was his trump card; the fact that he had all but drained himself on the emerald earlier didn't matter. The energy wavered as his eyes met Knuckles', face twisted with the very fury that Shadow had stoked. He pushed off the grass into a sprint, and Shadow tensed his arm in preparation.

However, the warrior wouldn't even make it halfway to Shadow before a sharp howl resounded across the yard.

It took Shadow a moment to parse what happened next. In an instant, Knuckles was no longer in his view. Instead, a mass of dark blue fur had intercepted the charging guardian, standing just ahead of Shadow with one hand thrown back, hovering over him in a manner that seemed almost protective.

"That's enough!" Sonic roared, having appeared between the rampaging royal guard and the ultimate lifeform as an impenetrable wall. He bared a set of white fangs at Knuckles, who promptly skidded to a sharp halt at the sight of his prince. His rage dissipated like candle smoke, a former furious expression now replaced with one sheer surprise. Shadow could see Knuckles' demeanor change from beyond the beast's body, and he knew in that moment that this fight was over. Whether he wanted it to be or not. He glared daggers at the back of Sonic's head through lidded eyes.

Only once Knuckles had clearly backed down did Sonic finally rise to his full height, hand no longer hovering over Shadow. And only at that point did he throw his arms up in exasperation and let out a cry.

"Just what the heck has gotten into you two!?"

"Your Majesty." Knuckles started. He strained to keep his voice calm and collected, but a growl still managed to escape his throat. "This hedgehog was after the chaos emerald."

Sonic turned his attention towards the bruised and battered Shadow, who was still crouched on the ground before him. Sonic observed him with suspicious, narrowed eyes. "Well, care to explain yourself?" He addressed him with a frown.

Shadow returned Sonic's look with a dark intensity, but the forceful gaze did not let up in the slightest. Shadow let out a huff.

"This is a misunderstanding." He responded with a grumble. "I believed I could make a connection to your chaos emeralds, but I was wrong. It was never my intention to steal them."

Sonic raised an eyebrow, observing him skeptically. Then, he let out a deep sigh, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, that's what Tails told me." Sonic glanced over his shoulder. Tails was standing there, a few paces behind the three. His fists were clenched at his sides, brows knitted together as he watched the tense scene before him play out.

"He told me you have some kind of pretty incredible abilities. You'll have to show me them later." Sonic added. Shadow caught the hint in his tone, one that suggested that he was not simply making a request of the hedgehog. He narrowed his eyes at the beast, but Sonic had already turned his attention back to Knuckles, crossing his arms and tapping a foot against the ground.

"Tails also said you attacked him first. Is that right, Knuckles?"

Knuckle's fur bristled at Sonic's accusatory tone, and Shadow wondered for a moment if he would even answer. The guardian's face remained stoic, however, and he maintained his firm and steady voice.

"He was out of control, so I did what I thought necessary to stop him. I will not apologize for defending the emeralds."

The prince and the guardian locked eyes, expressions unreadable and words unspoken between them; it was a dynamic Shadow couldn't possibly hope to understand. Knuckles's gaze was intense and unflinching, and though Shadow couldn't see Sonic's face, he could imagine Sonic's was the same. Still, Sonic was the first to break eye contact, pinching his brow and letting out a deep sigh.

"You two are unbelievable," he muttered. "I'm sure glad I got here when I did!"

Shadow pressed his fingers into his injured side and winced. Though Knuckles' final blow had certainly been painful, it did not appear to have broken any bones. Sonic took notice of Shadow's pained expression and directed a concerned look at him. He took a few steps toward Shadow, extending out a clawed hand.

"Need a hand?" He offered.

Shadow only glared up at him. Sonic's sudden presence may have been enough to pacify Knuckles, but his arrival had done nothing to ease Shadow's irritation. Once again, Sonic had interfered in his business, but unlike last time, Shadow had had things under control. And yet, this beast had still thrown himself in front of him without a second thought. Did he want Shadow to feel indebted to him? Did he think he was some kind of weakling in need of protection? It was humiliating, and Shadow wouldn't stand for it any longer.

He smacked Sonic's hand away harshly, rising to his feet on his own and brushing the dirt from his arms and legs. "The only thing I need is for you to learn to control your guard dog, beast." He retorted, emphasizing the last word with a venomous hiss.

Knuckles tightened his jaw at Shadow's outburst. He took a single step forward, but was promptly stopped by Sonic's hand out in front of him. Sonic stared at Shadow with a look of pure vexation. A low growl sounded from his throat, much to the surprise of Shadow and even Knuckles, who seemed utterly perplexed by such a noise coming from his prince.

"Y'know what? I'm starting to get real tired of this attitude." He glowered.

Intense green eyes locked onto Shadow's, massive fangs bared ever so slightly with a curl of his lips. He was less than a foot from Shadow's face now, towering over him with a frown. Shadow's expression remained unperturbed as he stared back at Sonic with indignant eyes.

"I heard what you said to Knuckles during that fight," Sonic barked. He pointed his finger straight into Shadow's chest, causing the other to tense up. "You have no right to talk to him like that. You have no idea what he's been through, what we've all been through! Insult me all you want, I couldn't care less, but don't you dare talk to my friends like that again!"

Shadow's mouth twitched into a grimace. He pointedly broke eye contact with Sonic, fixing his gaze on some indeterminate spot on the ground instead. Sonic's words provoked something in him, but right now, Shadow did not trust himself to say anything. So he said nothing at all.

Sonic stayed fixated on him for several dragging seconds, waiting for him to respond. When it became clear that Shadow had nothing to say for himself, Sonic pulled back with a scoff of disbelief.

"Whatever. Go tend to your injuries, or something. I don't really care. I don't have the patience to deal with you right now."

With a grumble, Sonic turned away from Shadow and was stomping back in the direction of the shed. Knuckles stayed motionless for a moment, sparing one final look at Shadow before he too headed after Sonic towards the shed. Only once he was sure Sonic was gone did Shadow finally raise his gaze. He watchers as Knuckles passed by Tails, the fox still staring wide-eyed at the aftermath of the scene that just transpired..

"Sorry for the mess, Tails. We'll help you fix up the place." Knuckles snorted, patting the fox on the shoulder.

Tails remained locked onto Shadow, feet planted even as both Sonic and Knuckles had entered the shed through the splintered remains of the door frame.

"Shadow," he murmured hesitantly, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Shadow snapped, quicker and harsher than he had intended. Tails flinched at the tone.

"You heard them, you should go help." he continued, turning his body away from the boy.

Tails opened his mouth to say something, but a sharp crash and the sound of cursing clamored from the shed. He shut his mouth with a click of his teeth and slowly turned away from Shadow, hurrying off back towards the shed without another word.

Shadow's gaze was turned down to the torn patches of damp, dead grass all around his feet. Several spots of land had been torn up in the aftermath of their brawl, a scar on the already tattered landscape. A deep pit lingered in his abdomen as he processed what had just transpired. As much as Shadow would have liked to say his rage from before had been just that, a blind rage, he couldn't help but question his motives. It was true that he wasn't too fond of Knuckles, but he also could not say that the other's hostility towards him was unwarranted. He knew how it must have looked from his end. Shadow had snuck behind their backs to get close to the chaos emerald. And as much as he hated to admit it, the warrior was right in his assessment that Shadow had gone out of control back there. Who was to say what could have happened if Shadow had actually taken off his inhibitor ring back there? It was an absolutely reckless action on his part.

But what was most disturbing to Shadow was the words he had spoken to Knuckles. On one hand, Sonic was somewhat correct—Shadow didn't know what Knuckles had gone through, not really. All he knew was what he had gleaned from Tails' account of what transpired the day their lives had changed forever. He had taken a gamble to exploit what he knew about it for an advantage over Knuckles, and that was all.

Of course, that wasn't really it, was it?

Sonic hadn't been entirely correct, after all. Shadow knew what it was like to lose something. In a blink of an eye, he had lost everything. And even all these decades later, no matter how he tried, he couldn't let it go. Despite trying to run from GUN, from the remnants of his past, there would always be a reminder of what he had lost. In the shelves of the supermarket, in the pages of scattered textbooks, in the trees and rocks and mountains of this very planet, and in those who had experienced loss in the same way he had.

A wave of nausea washed over him, but paradoxically, he felt like laughing. It was so obvious to him now. Knuckles was a protector, someone who would do clearly anything for the ones they loved and yet, when it mattered, he was powerless. Shadow may have been able to read him like an open book to get an advantage on him in that moment, but in the end, there was only one reason he had been able to do that, wasn't there?

Shadow took off in the opposite direction of the castle.