Shadow glanced at his communicator's watch. Four o'clock. Time to head out.

He looked up at Sonic, who's been looking bored out of his mind for the past two hours, just staring at the computer screen. At least Shadow was able to get quite a bunch of work done with Sonic's help.

He stood up. "Alright, blue. You can get out now. I'm done for the day."

Sonic immediately leapt up. "Oh, thank Mobius! I was starting to think that you live here instead of with Rouge and Chaos. But hey, thanks for providing me with a…distraction of sorts. I think I'll head home now."

Shadow laughed. "You do that. I've tortured you enough for the day."

Sonic grinned and waved on his way out. Shadow started packing up his scattered things, and glanced at the time again. Hmm…the orphans shouldn't be home from school until five…

Well, I might as well pay a visit to Silver. I haven't seen him one-on-one for a while since I got hired as commander, Shadow thought. After he finished tidying up, he slung his small black backpack over his shoulder. He walked out of the room and teleported away in a flash of blue light.

Just seconds later, the gray hedgehog reappeared outside of Silver's orphanage. He gazed up at the building before walking up to the front steps and knocking on the door.

After a few knocks, he heard footsteps on the other side of the door. He stood back as the door slowly pushed open. As soon as he glanced at Silver, he nearly leapt back.

Silver looked like a mess. His quills were more unruly than usual, and there were deep circles under his eyes. He stood slightly slumped, as though he couldn't really hold himself up due to exhaustion.

"Great Mobius!" Shadow exclaimed. "What happened to you?!"

Silver shook his head slowly. "Just didn't get much sleep." He stood to the side, inviting Shadow in. Shadow stepped inside and put his backpack down, gazing around the room.

It looked a little messy. Dishes were everywhere, pillows were not stacked properly, and even some food crumbs were on the floor.

"Yikes," Shadow said, carefully looking where he was going. "You're really tired, huh?"

"You have no idea," Silver muttered. He passed Shadow and flopped on the couch, his head leaned back and his eyes closed. Shadow sat next to him.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on, or do I have to drag it out of you?"

Silver shook his head, his eyes not opening. "Nothing's going on. Just exhausted."

"You actually think I believe that? You look like you didn't sleep at all last night. What happened?"

"Nothing!" Silver insisted.

Shadow crossed his arms and glared at Silver. The white hedgehog opened his eyes and stared blearily at Shadow when he sensed the death glare.

"You're not gonna give up, are you?"

Shadow slowly shook his head, his gaze never leaving Silver's. After a few seconds of silence, his gaze softened. "I can tell something's worrying you, or bothering you. I know you too well. You can't hide it from me, so you might as well spit it out and get it off your chest."

Silver inhaled deeply, and then sat up straight. "Okay, fine."

He took another deep breath, and spoke.

"Last night, I had a…dream…about the night we stood against our vampire ancestors. It felt so real, like I was there again. I remembered Blaze getting murdered, and Sonic's transformation…" The young hedgehog shuddered before continuing. "I woke up and couldn't sleep for the rest of the night. I was that freaked out. That's why I'm so tired today. I've also been thinking about it a lot since I dreamed about it, and it makes me sad. That also probably explains my behavior."

Shadow was silent for a few seconds, and then he leaned forward and rested a hand on Silver's shoulder.

"Silv, it's over. Those vampires are not coming back, so we shouldn't have to go through that same experience again. Yes, Sonic transformed and you lost Blaze, but the past is the past."

Silver still looked sad. Shadow sighed.

"After I escaped from that government facility, I kept having nightmares too. About my experiences there, mostly. How I was tortured and transformed. I also kept seeing Maria die, over and over. But after some time, they eventually faded away. I started having good dreams the more I got to know you and Sonic. Happy dreams about being reunited with my family."

Silver looked up, his eyes slightly wet. He wiped them. "Wow. I never knew that."

Shadow smiled. "Well, now you do."

Silver smiled back, but then it faded away, to be replaced by another frown. "I don't know, I just feel like this wasn't a…normal nightmare. It was impossibly vivid and I felt every emotion again like I was present in that moment for a second time. I just can't shake off the feeling that something was wrong with it. Or…is there something wrong with me?"

"Don't say that!" Shadow exclaimed. "There is nothing wrong with you. Everyone has nightmares, and sure, this one might have scared you badly, but it was just a nightmare. It can't hurt you anymore. Night terrors can hurt you in the moment, but after that, they can't touch you. Okay?"

Silver hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. "Okay. Thanks, big brother." He leaned forward and gave Shadow a hug.

Shadow returned it. "You're welcome, Silver." After a few moments, he pulled back and looked up at the clock in the living room. "I have to head home. I promised to help Rouge out with a few things around the house."

Silver nodded again. "I understand. You go ahead."

Shadow stood up and walked towards the door, picking up his backpack along the way. Before he left, he glanced back at Silver. "Remember what I said. You'll be okay, alright? You're just going to get stronger from these experiences. See you later, Silv."

He opened the door, walked out, and closed it behind him.

Silver still sat on the couch. After a second, he pulled his knees up to his chest and tucked his chin in them.

"There was something definitely wrong with that nightmare," he whispered, tears coming to his eyes again. "Shadow doesn't understand. This one felt like it was real…"

Outside of his window, yellow eyes watched Shadow teleport away. "He might pose a challenge," the intruder muttered. "But I won't let him, or anyone, spoil my plans."

To be continued…

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