Warning: This chapter contains language. Please be advised. Thank you.

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G.U.N. H.Q. – 9:56 a.m.

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"How could you let it slip through your fingers like that? You're supposed to be the best of the best yet you couldn't find what we were looking for?!" Commander Tower bellows in his office as he slams his hand down on his desk, making papers scatter off the desk.

Rouge straightens her back and sternly looks up at the man in front of her. He may intimidate everyone else but she's not afraid of him. "You weren't there! You have no idea of the situation-"

"Which is because you failed! You had one job; locate the unknown energy source and report back! That was it!"

"How could we report back if we couldn't get a signal?" Rouge asks, standing her ground. No way is this their fault. The circumstance changed and there was nothing any of them could do.

"No excuses, agent!"

Sonic just stays quiet in the room, looking between the human and Rouge as they go back and forth before glancing at the side to see Shadow leaning against the door with his eyes closed, ready to leave at a moment's notice. Anyone could tell that the dark hedgehog was irritated with this but at the same time, he looks like he's completely used to it. Maybe that's a good thing? At the very least, he's not threatening to kill anyone.

Somehow, Sonic feels like this is his fault. If he had taken a different path then they wouldn't have fallen, none of the equipment would've broke, none of them would've been injured, and he wouldn't have been-

"Now because of your mistake," Tower looks from Rouge to Shadow, and then to Sonic, "-our lead to that energy is gone. We have no way of knowing what it is or what it's capable of-"

"We know what it is." Shadow speaks up. He's ready to just leave, go home, and just sleep this whole thing off. Especially, when he found Sonic. He can do without ever seeing that play in his mind again.

"Shadow?" Rouge quickly turns to her partner. She has no idea what he's talking about. After he came back with Sonic over his shoulder, he just said that he found the energy but it disappeared. Nothing else.

Commander Tower narrows his eyes at the dark agent. "If so, then why hadn't you said anything sooner, agent?"

Shadow ignores the looks he's getting from Rouge and Sonic as he just stares deadpan at Tower. "I'd rather not remember who it was coming from."

"Who?" Rouge questions. Shadow never said anything to her about seeing anyone else. "What do you mean who?"

Sonic slowly averts his eyes from the group to the window, trying not to remember what happened earlier. Why was he so interested in him? They literally have never spoken a word to each other before. Heck, he never even seen him when Mephiles killed him, so what was his deal back there?

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Agent Shadow, I asked where the energy source was coming from."

Shadow just continues to stare at the man. "Do you remember the incident that happened in Soleanna three years ago?"

Commander Tower raises an eyebrow. "With Princess Elise?"

Shadow shakes his head, glancing at the blue hero before looking back at the commander. "No, when he," he nods his head towards Sonic, "-was killed."

Everyone in the room turns to look at Sonic, who just takes a breath and slowly turns his attention back towards the room. He sees the commander studying him before turning to Rouge, watching her trying to figure it out before her eyes widen at the realization.

"You mean," she quickly turns to her partner, "-Mephiles? Mephiles the Dark was there?!"

Tower looks between the two agents, lost. He hadn't heard anything regarding this Mephiles creature. He just knows that Sonic had been killed and brought back to life to deal with some sort of entity that G.U.N. could not.

"Sonic?" Rouge quickly turns her attention to said hedgehog, going over to him and looking him over. She needs to make sure he's alright. "He didn't hurt you, did he? Did he say what he was doing? Why he was there?"

Sonic just lets out a soft chuckle. When did Rouge become a mother hen? He simply shakes his head. "No, nothing too serious. He just said that he's been living in that cave for three years. He wasn't looking for Iblis or anything, just wants to be his own person, ya know. Live his own life."

Rouge raises and eyebrow and places her hands on her hips, shifting her weight to one side. "In a cave?"

Sonic simply shrugs his shoulders. "I asked the same thing."

Green and brown eyes watch the interaction between the two, narrowing slightly. "Sonic," he waits for the hero to turn towards him before continuing, "-why did you withhold this information from us?"

"I didn't know that he was the energy source you guys were looking for-"

"Even if he wasn't, we need to know every detail about what you have been through. It'd make this go much smoother."

"Heh," Rouge starts, "-I didn't know you could be nice like this, Commander."

Said man glances at the white bat. "I wasn't speaking with you yet Agent."

Rouge just crosses her arms and turns her head. "Hmph."

Tower closes his eyes and ponders. He can't get the proper information from the hero. They'd waste too much time going back and forth with his memories and answers. Shadow won't be a big help since he'd be too vague with all his answers. The best choice he has would be Rouge.

He opens his eyes and turns towards the hedgehogs. "Shadow, you will escort Sonic to the infirmary to get him checked out. Rouge," he turns to the bat, "-you will stay here and give me a detailed report of what happened start to finish. I will get the information from when you were separated from Shadow later, is that understood?"

Although Rouge doesn't want to, she salutes the commander. "Yes'sir."

Shadow doesn't even speak as he opens the door and walks out, leaving a confused Sonic in his spot. He doesn't know if he should say anything to Commander Tower and Rouge or just follow Shadow but he doesn't think about it when he sees Rouge waving at him before shooing him off.

"Bye Big Blue~"

'Well, that answers that question.'

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G.U.N. H.Q. Team Dark's Office- 11:23 a.m.

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"H-hey!"

Shadow slams Sonic against the wall of lockers, knowing that it caused some type of pain to the younger. He's not worried about the noise attracting any unwanted attention, seeing how this is on the far side of the building and no one is stupid enough to walk around here while Team Dark is here. Shadow doesn't care if it was because Tower made it so they were left alone or because the other agents were more fearful of them. He just knows that they won't be bothered here.

Shadow presses his forearm against Sonic's chest, successfully pinning the younger to the wall as his red eyes are just boring into green ones.

Sonic brings his hands up, trying to push and pry the arm from his chest but only feels more pressure against him. It's a really good thing that Shadow healed his ribs, at the very least or else this would be quite painful. Seeing as it's not working, he just stares at the unreadable eyes in front of him. "Dude, what is your problem?"

Red eyes dart back and forth at the green ones in front of him, trying to read some type of expression in them. "Why?"

Sonic is still trying to push the other away from him. "Why what?"

"Why are you so nonchalant about this?"

The question makes Sonic stop his futile attempt of getting the other away from him as he just stares at the older. "What are you talking about?"

Shadow glares at the younger. "You're really going to make me say it?"

"Say what? I don't know what you're talking about-"

"You being molested." Shadow says as he pushes Sonic against the wall once more before letting his go and taking a step back. He sees realization in the green eyes before the hero adverts his gaze from him, making Shadow cross his arms. "Why are you so calm about it?"

The room suddenly gets quiet. Sonic turns his head to the side and rubs the back of his neck, trying to think of something to say but for some reason, he can't. Sure, he's thought about it here and there today but it hasn't been plaguing his mind like he thought it would.

Shadow narrows his eyes as he's waiting for an answer. Instead he hears something he's been avoiding for the past eight hours:

"To hear him moan your name..."

Shadow shakes his head, trying to get the voice out of his head and brings a hand up to cover his eyes. Why is that still in his head? It's not necessary, it's annoying and it's downright stupid. Why would he ever want to hear Sonic moan his name?

"I-"

Shadow lowers his hand and turns his attention back to the blue hedgehog, watching him take a deep breath and shrug his shoulder before looking back at him.

"I don't know. I mean, yeah, sure, he was doing stuff but it's not really that big a deal."

"Not that big a deal?" Shadow questions, raising an eyebrow. "He had you on the ground and was touching body parts that had no right being touched!"

Sonic is slightly taken back by Shadow's... concern? Or maybe his attitude, whatever, but he's taken back by Shadow's sudden interest in this. "Why do you care what happened?"

Shadow looks to the side. "I don't."

It's Sonic's turn to cross his arms. "Yeah, you do. You wouldn't be making a big deal if you didn't Sha-"

"To hear him moan your name..."

Shadow cuts him off by grabbing his cheeks, moving his face closer to the younger's. He whispers with a scowl on his face. "Do not say my name, hedgehog. I mean it. I don't want to hear it come from your lips, got it?"

Sonic just glares at the elder, letting his silence answer for him. A few seconds pass as Shadow finally lets him go and takes a few steps back. "What? You hate me so much that I can't even say your name now?"

"Don't push me, hedgehog. Besides," Shadow grabs Sonic's upper arm and drags the younger to one of the chairs in the room, forcing him to sit down before he takes his own seat on top of his desk. He doesn't have to worry about making a mess or anything since he only has a few things on his desk: his tablet, several pens, a sticky note pad, and a frame. "-we're talking about you, not me."

Sonic leans back into his seat, rests his elbow on the arm, and places his chin in his hand. If he's going to be forced to sit then he might as well get comfortable. "Okay but you're the one who brought it up, not me."

Red eyes twitch at the comment. "So you're just going to leave it alone like it's not a big deal at all?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Tch," Shadow turns his head to the side. "-you're a fool."

Green eyes narrow a bit. "Well sorry if I'm not making a big fuss about being molested by the one person who killed me. Didn't know I was supposed to broadcast it to the public."

The agent snaps his head to look at the younger, seeing his arms are crossed. "Do you always have to make some smart-ass remarks?"

"When the opportunity is there, yes I do, but," Sonic leans forward in his chair, glaring at the ebony hedgehog. "-I wanna know why are you so upset about what happened? It's not like he did it to you."

Red eyes narrow as Shadow moves himself off the desk and takes a step closer to the younger, completely ignoring the question. "I want to know why the hell you're not even concerned. He was molesting you-"

Sonic abruptly stands up from his chair, knocking it over in the process. "Who cares? I'm not upset about it so why are you freaking out?"

Shadow takes another step closer. "You're an idiot. He would've raped you if I didn't save your ass."

"But he didn't," Sonic takes a step closer to the agent. Shadow really needs to get off his back about this. "-so just drop it."

The agent tilts his head to the side, looking at the younger in disbelief. "So you're really going to forget about it? Repress it? Pretend like it never happened?"

Sonic opens his mouth but instantly closes it, trying to think of the right words to say before he takes a moment and closes his eyes. Repressing things; it's something he's been doing for months now, ever since an incident happened and he was just forced to watch everything fall apart. Repressing things is the only way he can deal with horrible things nowadays and that's exactly what he plans on doing with this Mephiles incident.

Green eyes open and boldly stares at red ones, refusing to back down from the elder's intimidating gaze. "Yeah, that's exactly what I'm gonna do and if you don't like it then too bad. It's my life, not yours." He turns on his heels, intending to leave only to be stopped when his upper arm is grabbed and he's instantly yanked back. "Sha-"

"I told you not to say my name, hedgehog." Shadow warns in a low voice, bringing his face dangerously close to the younger's. He sees Sonic about to open his mouth in protest but cuts him off. "You are a damn fool if you honestly think repressing it is going to make you feel better."

Sonic yanks his arm out of the other's grip but stands his ground. "You need to back off and just leave it alone, alright? I'm fine."

Shadow turns around and throws his hands up. "Oh yes, because when I finally found you I could have sworn I heard no and stop in your voice but maybe I was just imagining it, "he turns back to the blue hero, glaring at him, "-because you're perfectly fine about nearly being raped."

Green eyes slightly widen. How long was Shadow there before he stopped Mephiles?

"Or maybe you-" Red eyes widen at a sudden thought. Shadow really hopes this isn't the case. "Don't tell me," Shadow once again goes in Sonic's face, his voice barely above a whisper. "-you were enjoying it?"

"What?!" The hero is in complete shock at the question. "I-what?!"

Shadow steps back and crosses his arms, studying the younger. "You were enjoying being touched by that creep, weren't you? That explains why you're not bothered by this at all. Tch, that's sick, even for you."

It takes Sonic a moment to regain his composure from such a crazy idea. Why on Mobius would he ever enjoy anything like that?! "Okay, look jackass,"

Shadow narrows his eyes at Sonic. The younger never curses, no matter the situation.

"-do you really think I'd enjoy being molested by the bastard who killed me?" Sonic doesn't give Shadow a chance to answer as he keeps going. "The answer is no. I'm not freaking out about it because I have more important crap to deal with. This," he moves his hand in a circle, "-this whole Mephiles thing sucks, okay? I hate the fact that he did any of this to me but it's not my biggest concern so get that crap about me enjoying this out of your head, you sicko, and back off! You don't know what the hell I've been dealing with!"

Shadow grabs the younger by the throat and pulls him closer, their nose nearly touching. Even if Shadow hates close proximity with most people, he's too upset right now to care. "I don't give a damn about what you've been dealing with. I'm telling you from experience; do not repress what the hell you just went through. Talk to someone else about this, I don't really care who, just make sure you talk to someone about it because if you don't," he slightly tightens his hold on the throat, watching as green eyes narrow in response, "-you will regret. I can promise you that." He then pushes the other away from him, causing Sonic to stumble a few steps back.

Sonic rubs his throat, feeling some soreness starting to creep in. Shadow wasn't choking him but put enough pressure to agitate it. "If that's what you wanted to say then you should've said it in the first place instead of being an ass about it."

Shadow picks up the fallen chair before looking back at the upset hero. "I don't have anything else to say to you, so get out."

A dry laugh leaves Sonic's lips as he turns on his heels, walking to the door. "With pleasure."

The agent walks over to his desk and hears the door open before quickly slamming shut, shaking the picture frame on the wall. He brings his hand to cover his eyes as he lets out a breath.

An image of Sonic having his arms wrapped around Shadow's neck with his head thrown backwards pops into his head as the same words continue to echo in though his mind. "To hear him moan your name..."

Shadow grips the edge of his desk tightly, denting it, before shaking the unwanted image out of his head. This is not what he needs right now. "Damn it..."

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Outskirts of G.U.N. H.Q. 12:03 p.m.

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"Stupid Mr. Know-it-all-because-I'm-the-Ultimate-Ass-Shadow" Sonic kicks another pebble as he's walking away from the military's territory. He stops and covers his eyes. "How could he even think that I'd enjoy that? That creep was touching me. He was touching my-ugh!" Sonic uncovers his eyes and kicks the ground before continuing his way, trying not to remember exactly what Mephiles was touching near the end. Never mind him being completely helpless with the whole tail thing, which he's gonna ask what that's about, but he couldn't even fight back.

He's not too sure where he's going, he just knows that he wants to get away from G.U.N., mainly Shadow and he's not ready to go back to Acorn Kingdom yet. He knows he promised Tails he'd be back soon, but the thought of that stalker waiting for him and how aggressive they've been getting with the letters lately is enough to make him stay away for a little longer.

He can't go back.

Not now.

'Sorry buddy.'

Sonic lets out a breath before he lifts his head, turning around to see how far he's walked. He can barely see the military base in the horizon. He starts a light jog, leaving a trail of dust behind. 'Maybe he's right. Maybe I need to find someone to talk to about this instead of repressing it. Not just Mephiles,' Sonic jumps over a bolder and abruptly turns to his left, seeing some ruins in view before deciding to go towards them. '-but that damn stalker too. But who? I don't want to involve someone who doesn't even know about it.'

He quickly makes a left around the next corner and instantly jumps over a ravine that he isn't prepared to fall into. 'The only ones I'd be comfortable talking to about all of this would either be dad or Uncle Chuck, but,' He turns right and immediately finds himself at a dead end.

Instead of turning the way he came from, Sonic just spin-dashes up the destroyed building and lands on the roof before walking towards the other side of it. "-I don't want to involve them even more than I already ha-aaaavveeee!"

The ground under him collapses and he falls through two floors before landing on his rear. Dust covers the area and unfortunately Sonic inhales some, making him instantly cough, trying to empty his lungs from it.

A moment passes and he cracks an eye open to see he's inside of an abandoned building, maybe the third or fourth floor, he can't tell. There are holes in the walls and bigger ones in the floor, letting him see the next few floors down. He gets on his feet but instantly rubs his sore rear. "Ow, that smarts..."

"What an unpleasant surprise this is."

Sonic turns his head to see the owner of the voice only for his shoulders to droop as he stares at the source. He is not ready to deal with this threat right now. "Oh, come on..."