Shadow felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance. For the ninth time in the past hour, he had felt the approach and retreat of Chaos energy. Meaning that the blue speed demon was once again passing by Club Rouge as he had already done countless times today. And yesterday. And the day before. And the day before that. In short, the stupid faker had been running from dawn until dusk, and then some, for the last five days. And Shadow's connection to the flow of Chaos energy meant that he could sense every single instance when the hedgehog had come within the city limits. Even when he had been asleep. Had being the operative word. It was now one in the morning and, after a few hours of peace, the mad dashes of the faker had resumed and the Chaos Emerald he had clearly carried with him served as Shadow's personal alarm clock, that couldn't be turned off for any length of time.

It was a wonder that Shadow hadn't already throttled the hedgehog when he had pulled this stunt the first night.

Well, time to make good on that personal promise.

Shadow kicked himself out of bed and strode towards the door of first his room, then the flat that sat above the club. As he made his way downstairs, his ears picked up the club music and sounds of the patrons enjoying one of the 'spectacles'. He was glad that the bat who owned the club had the sense to soundproof her living quarters from the din. Entering the club's main area from the code lock door that served as part of Rouge's security system, Shadow glanced around the room. Rouge still hadn't returned. He wasn't worried. The bat was a capable fighter and escape artist, and he already had a good idea where she was. The fact that she hadn't appeared yet just meant the echidna hadn't (or couldn't) ejected her from the floating isle that was his home.

If this was through some further closeness between the bat and echidna then Shadow was glad for it. Hopefully that would see an end to the inane chatter about the "frustratingly blind, good-looking echidna's that wouldn't notice a flashing neon sign at the end of his nose." Rouge's obsession with the red creature was probably only matched by her obsession for gemstones, and even that was a close run thing. But, Shadow couldn't help but feel a little lonely at the same time. Rouge had been the one to help him back on his feet after he had lost his memories and again, after the Mephiles incident. For all her vainness and single minded wants, she had leant him her ear when he needed someone to talk through the darkness in his mind. She had proven herself a loyal friend to him, perhaps his only real friend. Yes, he and Omega had also teamed up and become closer as teammates, but it was exceptionally hard to see past the robotic exterior and the robot's all-consuming desire to take revenge against Eggman for his abandonment. If Shadow were being completely honest with himself, Omega was also a harsh reminder on what Shadow was on his own path for vengeance. Just with slightly less Chaos blasting.

His returned memories of Maria and his promise to her had served to curb his darker instincts but it was Rouge that really helped him get past that phase of his life.

"Shadow-darling, why not just be you?" The bat smiled at him from across the bar. "It's important to remember your past but you shouldn't be held back by it. Your origins, your previous battles, and even your promise to Maria, all made you who you are today," She leaned forward and voice dropped to an almost whisper, "but they don't decide your future. Only you, Shadow the Hedgehog, can decide what your future is."

As it was, his immediate future in that instance had been a night in Rouge's bed and the loss of his virginity, but still her advice had helped him choose the right path for him. As, Shadow felt his fur begin to rise signalling another approach of Chaos energy, he decided that his current right path was going to be shoving his foot into a certain speedster's face. Shadow continued on his way past the battle arena towards the exit and into the road. He stood there arms crossed in the road. The neon lights of the surrounding landscape making him clearly illuminated.

He didn't even flinch as an effective screech of hardened shoes against the tarmac sounded immediately in front of him. Blue arms thrown slightly out for maintaining balance, peach chest slightly heaving in exertion.

"Shadow? What are you…?"

"Do you have any idea what time it is, Faker?"

Sonic glanced around. "Well, yeah. There's no traffic at this time hence why it makes for good running."

Shadow stepped forward. Red eyes locking onto green malevolently. "Need I remind you that I am the Ultimate Lifeform, made from combined Chaos energy," Shadow ignored the mumble from Sonic about no need to remember as Shadow took every opportunity to tell them. "and that I am quite sensitive to fluctuations in that energy."

Sonic looked confused. "I don't get what you're trying to say."

Shadow sucked through his teeth in exasperation. "You are carrying a Chaos Emerald that serves as a beacon to me, and every time you run nearby you are effectively setting off a alarm in my head."

Sonic seemed to take a moment to absorb this before running a gloved hand through his quills. "Right. So I've been keeping you awake." Shadow didn't confirm nor deny just continued glowering at his rival. "Sorry. I didn't know. I'll go take a route around Windy Valley. Sorry."

Sonic turned to go but Shadow reached out and caught his arm. Shadow took a good look at the hedgehog. His fur which seemed to be slightly damp from sweat was missing it's usual lustre and the green eyes that were normally bright and alert were heavy with bags and dull. Even Sonic's attitude was lacking the usual fire. Under normal circumstances, Sonic would have probably challenged Shadow to some race or duel or some other misbegotten idea that struck his head. He also wouldn't have permitted Shadow to simply grab a hold of him. His feeble attempt to pull his arm from Shadow's grasp just further proved his state. Sonic the Hedgehog, Hero of Mobius, was a complete wreck.

Shadow began to pull Sonic towards Club Rouge. "Come with me, hedgehog."

After a brief moment of resistance, the blue hedgehog simply resigned himself to the inevitable. He simply didn't have it in him to fight at the moment. As they entered the door, Sonic's ears flattened slightly against the sudden noise. For the past hour, he had only heard the rushing wind as he ran. The sudden exposure to upbeat music was a little jarring to his senses. Shadow pulled him towards past the bar towards a small booth. He practically threw Sonic towards it before taking a seat next to him and closing off the only escape route the hedgehog had. A large square robot tender rolled over to them but before the automated message could play Shadow stated, "Whisky, no ice and…" he looked over at Sonic briefly, "…a grasshopper."

"Certainly, Sir Shadow. Thank you for your order."

The bot went still for a moment then it's chest cavity opened revealing two drinks. The tray pushed forward allowing Shadow to nimbly grab the drinks, placing a martini glass with a pale green liquid in front of Sonic. The tender rolled off to the next booth to offer any replacement drinks.

Sonic just stared at the drink in front of him.

"If I wanted to kill you I wouldn't choose poison. That wouldn't be any fun." Sonic's head whipped around to see Shadow looking at him out of the corner of his eye sipping at his own amber drink. Sonic's eyebrows knitted and he picked up his own drink hastily taking a sip. A creamy and sweet, minty taste washed over his tongue causing his eyebrow as to shoot up in surprise. He pulled the glass away and looked at it licking his lips.

"This is good."

Shadow scoffed. "Typical that you would like the sickly stuff."

Sonic glanced over at him green eyes flashing in challenge. "Oh, yeah. I'm sure I could have what you're having."

Shadow raised an eyebrow in amusement and held his drink out towards the other. Sonic looked at it, then back to Shadow. "You won't give me cooties or something if I drink out of the same glass will you?"

Rolling his eyes, Shadow didn't bother to reply. Sonic grabbed the glass and took a quick swig. Instantly, he felt a burning sensation in his throat and he began to cough. Shadow gracefully extracted his drink before it could be lost.

"What the heck is that?!" Sonic spluttered.

"Something only those with a refined taste can handle." Shadow quipped taking a leisurely sip.

"Sure, I'll take your word for it." Sonic said before dousing his tongue in his own minty drink. Instantly he felt the liquid smooth the outraged taste buds and throat. Before he knew it the glass was empty though his fellow had only gotten through about half of his. "Can I have another of those?"

Shadow shook his head. "In a while. First, you're going to tell me why you've taken on the role of incessant alarm clock." Sonic didn't reply just fiddled with the glass. Rotating it one way and then the other. "Clearly this is related to your fit the other day. I believe I did say it would eat away at you."

"What do you care?"

"Well, Faker, I care because your inability to deal with your issues is having an impact on my life."

Sonic barked a single bout of laughter. "Like you can't cope with a couple of sleepless nights."

"True. But I don't think your lack of concern for me extends to your 'friends' does it? I'm guessing your behaviour is probably having a bigger impact on them."

Shadow could immediately see he had struck a nerve dead on. For all the whirlwind nature of the creature sat before him, there were a few predictable thing that Shadow knew that if push came to shove he could use against the hedgehog. His desire to protect his friends from any type of harm, even those caused by himself, was one such thing. Sonic stiffened slightly and looked away abashed. His brows furrowed in pain.

"It's not something…I really want to talk about." Shadow humphed as if that hadn't been stating the obvious. After a moment of silence the blue hedgehog cleared his throat. "I know that it's affecting the others, but all Tails wants me to do is talk and Amy…well Amy just wants to comfort me the way she did before. But I can't do that to her…not again. She's obsessed enough as it is."

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "You sound like you slept with the pink menace." Sonic shifted uncomfortably. "You did?"

The incredulous note in Shadow's voice indicated his thought behind it. For as long as he had known them, Sonic had never shown the same level of affection that the pink hedgehog had for him. Cared as a friend, yes, but as a potential lover? Sonic had always given the impression that he would rather run to the other side of the galaxy than entertain such a possibility.

"She was just trying to help me in her own way. And it did help. For a short while anyway. But," Sonic's shoulders heaved in a sigh, "it was wrong. I just led her on."

"Just to make this clear hedgehog, I am not taking you to bed to make you feel better for any amount of time."

Sonic stared at his black counterpart before he burst out into gales of laughter. His stomach tensed painfully as the laughter continued to issue forth and his eyes watered forcing him to wipe his eyes before tears spilled down.

"Jeez, Shads, who knew you could do comedy?"

"I was being deadly serious."

Sonic waved a hand in his direction. "Yeah, yeah, I know." He managed to get control of his laughter though a small smile remained. This slowly faded away as neither spoke. The music of the club mixed with the sound of revellers watching the battle arena mixing to create a small cacophony. "Shads, can I ask you something?"

"You just did, but I'm going to assume that wasn't it."

Sonic looked at him plaintively. "When your girl…when Maria…died…how did you feel?"

The atmosphere suddenly seemed to drop a couple degrees between them. Shadow's spines bristled slightly. "I fail to see how that is your business."

"It's not but…you don't need to answer. I'm sorry for asking. I get it."

Shadow's looked into Sonic's eyes again. He could see the understanding in the emerald eyes. The pain hidden within it's depths. Suddenly, Shadow understood, or at least part of it. He relaxed back into the booth seat eyes closing. He pressed a button on the table that made the rolling tender approach the table again.

"Same again." He stated blandly waiting as the robot issued drinks again. He passed the green cocktail to his rival and took a quick swig of his own whiskey, relishing the burn in his throat. "I'm assuming you don't need me to go through the revenge seeking side of it."

Sonic shook his head. "No, I lived that."

Shadow smirked. "So you did." Now the striped hedgehog toyed with his glass. "When Maria was murdered, I think I went through close to the entire spectrum of possible emotions. Fear, disbelief, anger, sorrow, hatred. But the most profound thing I felt was hopelessness. I, the creation designed to be perfect in every way, designed to be unbeatable, had failed in what was the only task I had. Or the only one that really mattered to me."

Sonic's breath shuddered as he took it in. "How did you get past it?"

"Well, trying to destroy the planet twice was certainly cathartic." Shadow chuckled darkly. Sonic elbowed him gently. Shadow bent his head then raised it meeting Sonic's dead on. "In short, I didn't. I still regret, I still feel angry and I still feel the sorrow."

Sonic broke the gaze nodding and taking a swig of his own drink whilst looking off. "It's probably one of the hardest things…protecting others. Every time we go into a fight or dangerous situation, I sometimes forget that not everyone is as quick as I am. When Knucks went down…that was all because I wasn't keeping an eye out for him." Sonic fists clenched on the table.

"Pretty sure that blasted echidna would launch you to the moon if he heard you say that." Sonic looked at Shadow confused. "He's a warrior. Probably one of the best out there. " Shadow looked at Sonic with some disdain. "If that were me I'd sure as hell feel insulted by your premise of 'protection'."

Sonic growled. "He almost died."

"Yes. In a battle he chose to be part of. Did you force him to fight? Did you cause the injuries to him? That was a difficult battle that even the best of us came away with some marks." He indicated his belly fur which though mostly restored still bore some remnants of singed fur. "You're clearly grossly underestimating your friends. That fox of yours is one of the geniuses of the century and even that pink nut job can hold her own in a fight."

"But they shouldn't have to! It's my job to take down Eggman or anything else that threatens us!"

Shadow clicked his tongue. He downed the remainder of his drink and stood. "No matter what I say will penetrate that sorry excuse for a brain of yours. Obviously, you're too thick to see the obvious flaws in your logic."

Sonic reached out and gripped the black arm before Shadow could move from the table. "What exactly are you getting at?"

Shadow brushed off the arm and leant down coming nose to nose with the blue hedgehog. "If I told you that Eggman was attacking your home right now what would you do?"

Sonic frowned. "I'd be there in a flash."

Shadow smirked. "Sure you would. Now if I told you he was attacking downtown where I think your girlfriend lives?"

"Not my girlfriend. Obviously I'd go there."

"Oh, but they are both being attacked at the same time. I'm interested to understand how you could be in both places at once? Have you managed to find some way to split yourself in two? Surely you don't have enough brain cells to share between two of you?"

Sonic's mouth twisted. Eyes dropped away. "I could use Chaos Control get to one clear up then get to the other…"

"So you would expect them to just sit and wait for the mighty hero to save them?" Sonic's silence spoke for itself. Shadow straightened and turned his back on the hedgehog. "If I were you, I'd really reconsider your job as 'Protector of Mobius', clearly you are ill-equipped to deal with the weight that carries."

Shadow strode away not giving the hedgehog time to respond. Sonic glared at the dark figure as he disappeared from view. He angrily drank the dregs of his drink but the sweet cocktail failed to alleviate the sour taste in his mouth. The situation that Shadow had posed to him hadn't really occurred before. Sure, Eggman had sent bots to multiple locations previously, but he'd never thought of a situation where his friends would have to face them on their own without his support. What made his stomach turn is that given that exact situation, Sonic had immediately thought of which of his two friends he would prioritise to save.

Eggman sat in his command chair, hands rubbing at his temples. His headaches had gotten much worse lately, particularly after the latest conversation with the other. The persistence to get his task done grated on him and more than once he thought about just throwing in the towel. But that wasn't really an option. His curiosity won out over all and despite the annoying pressure placed on him he wanted to see how this would all end. After all, he was a scientist through and through.

A notification light flashed on his terminal causing him to wince in pain from the brightness. Even so he slammed a hand down on the console that allowed one of the bots in the mines to communicate with him.

"Final item located. Item dimensions within specified parameters. Extracting to the laboratory for further analysis for suitability."

Eggman smiled. For once it seemed like everything was coming together. He placed a hand on a stack of papers nearby, scanning through the neatly written script. Who would have thought that something created by that meddling team of pests would prove to aid him in accomplishing what may be the greatest feat of his existence.