Shadow was gone when Sonic woke up around midnight, and a sense of loneliness flooded him. It was weird. Sonic has never felt this lonely before. Maybe it was because he finally came into contact with another living being after two years of solitude. Whatever it was, it made his stay at the ravine much worse.

Sighing, Sonic dropped his head back onto the grass, his ears folding to the back of his head. His leg ached, but it was incomparable to the pain that was slowly resurfacing in his heart. He wondered if his friends missed him because it seemed that Shadow had. Boy, did he miss them; that young fox with a bright mind and two tails, the red echidna who was always so gullible around him, the pink hedgehog who chased him every day, and all his other friends. Sonic remembers the good times they had with each other, except now it pains him to know that he will never get the chance to be with his friends again.

At least Shadow remembers me, I suppose. As his gaze rose to the moon that shone in the dark blue sky, he thought to himself. Then his ears perked up to his right, hearing a twig snap under a metal shoe. Sonic glanced over, seeing the same ebony hedgehog that was flooding his thoughts. And as Shadow merely stood there, Sonic got to see exactly what had changed during the last two years.

What used to be a scarless, smooth body was now battered with bruises and old skin from unhealable scars. The bright crimson highlights are now dull as if they were covered with a layer of mud that couldn't be washed off, no matter what Shadow uses in the shower.
"What happened to you, Shads?" Sonic asked, his voice calm and quiet. Shadow looked down at himself, seeing his scars.
"These? Blame GUN." He replied, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Why?" Sonic asked again, never tearing his gaze away from his old rival.

It was silent, neither of them spoke, and nothing spoke to them either. The only sounds that could be heard were the chirping of crickets and the fluttering fireflies. Sonic watched as Shadow took a deep breath before finally answering his question.
"Because they knew you weren't around to protect me anymore."

Sonic stared silently, processing what he had just heard from his rival. Him? Protecting Shadow? It seemed all too out of the norm.
"What do you mean? Protecting you?"
And again, it was silent.
"GUN knew that you would never let them treat me as an experiment," Shadow began, "so with you around, they were afraid to hurt me for their 'research'. But after your banishment..."

Sonic's confusion had turned to anger in a sudden moment of realisation. GUN was right to know that he would never let them treat Shadow like a lab experiment, whether he was around or not. He felt his blood boil, rage surging into his brain as he only imagined what they had done to his rival over the last two years.

"Sonic," Shadow's gentle voice spoke to his clouded mind, "calm down. It's alright."

Sonic gently looks up, his fangs bore and snarling. But once his gaze locked with Shadow's, he slowly calmed down and forced his anger to melt away into serenity. He reminded himself that Shadow was here with him, and if GUN were any bit clever, they would know not to come to kidnap him.
"I know. It is." Sonic smiled, unknowingly flashing a mouth full of fangs. Shadow backed up a step, intimidated by the strong form before his eyes.

The black hedgehog forced all his worries into the trenches of his subconscious. But if he was entirely honest, this "werehog" made his blood run cold. It was strong, intense, double the size of Sonic, let alone Shadow. And those fangs were not making Shadow feel any safer around him. One bite of those pearly whites could end his life, even if he were as ultimate as he says. Every move the ebony hedgehog did around this beast was carefully thought out, yet he was still unsure of his own wellbeing in this ravine. So it was best to mask his discomfort before said beast finds it upsetting.

Sonic could feel every morsel of Shadow's fear and worry around his were-form. He knew his rival was trying to hide it, but barely anything could sneak past Sonic's enhanced senses. One would expect Sonic to lash out, enraged by this reaction from the only person willing to speak with him. But the werehog knew better. Sonic cleared his throat and put his smile away.
"Sorry, I didn't realise that my fangs were a bit, um...frightnin."

Shadow was snapped out from his trance and looked instantly to Sonic.
"What? Are you implying that I am afraid of them? You've certainly forgotten who I am."

Sonic chuckled lightly, shaking his head at his rival's ignorance.
"Shadow. You're not the only one who's afraid of me."
The blue werehog thought back to the first few nights of his lonely life. He remembered the uncomfortable feeling of his bare feet and hands on the muddy forest floor, squeezing through tree roots and crevices to find a safe place to rest. But most importantly of all; his prey. He had to eat, so he followed his inner beast's instincts. He hunted and ate, but the fearful expressions of his victims will forever be stitched into his memory. Victims he wished he could spare.

Shadow noticed the look on Sonic's face; blank and distant.
"What do you mean?"
Sonic was silent for a moment before he sighed softly.
"Just...animals of this forest...they've learned to fear me, so I'm not surprised you are."
And Shadow went silent. The black hedgehog carefully took all the information in, and Shadow's worries vanished in a moment of awareness.

This beast in front of him was nowhere near the beast he imagined; it was just Sonic, his old rival. Sonic's mind was still within him, retaining his personality, thoughts, way of life, the guilt that he was different, and the remorse that he had brought fear to this peaceful heaven. Shadow has always admired the blue hedgehog for his qualities; he envied Sonic because he owned the life Shadow could never have. The ebony hedgehog took a deep breath, wording his following sentence as precisely as possible.

"Sonic, I...am trying not to be afraid of you...I just..." The words seemed to have fizzled into non-existence. Shadow tried to find the courage to speak again, but all he could manage were empty stutters and pauses.

But Sonic just smiled.
"I know you are afraid...but can you be honest with me?"

The stuttery hedgehog was silent as Sonic waited patiently for the answer. Then, finally, the crickets were getting impatient and started chiming for an answer, the fireflies fluttered around, and the water in the ravine swayed and made gentle waves.

And Shadow, after mustering all the courage that he could, answered.

"I...will try."