Author' P.O.V.
Sonic wasn't able to sleep the entire night so he stood up and went to the living room where Shadow was at. He wanted to make sure he was okay, they hadn't moved him from there since they didn't want to hurt him any more than he already was.

The hero walked down to the couch and went to check on his rival.

He was laying on the couch, gazing at the ceiling, his eyes were grey and lifeless, so were his red stripes and muzzle. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice his Faker walking next to him.

"Shadow...? Why are you still awake...?" He sat down on the floor beside him but kept a bit of distance knowing how much Shadow hated him. "Get some sleep. You need it." He sighed softly.

Shadow's ear twitched very lightly when he heard someone's voice, he looked up at his rival then looked away.

He was still in unbearable pain, so he couldn't sleep.

"Do you need anything...?" He wanted to hear Shadow talk. "Come on Shadow... say something..." He sighed.

"Painkillers." Shadow whispered lowly.

Sonic's ears perked up and smiled slightly at finally hearing his rival say something. He nodded and stood up then walked to the kitchen then grabbed the pills and the water and walked back to Shadow. He had put a straw on the water bottle so Shadow wouldn't have to move to drink the pill. "Here. Can you move your hand?" He asked.

Shadow slowly shook his head, his eyes kept losing focus and ears twitched slightly in pain. The hero nodded and looked at him. "Open your mouth." He opened the bottle of pills and grabbed one then waited and hoped Shadow would listen, but he didn't.

The anti-hero shook his head again tried to reach for the pill, he bit his lip as he did from the pain, making the hero lowered his ears.

"Shad. Please. I'm trying to help you. Open your mouth. I'm just asking for that." He basically begged him.

Shadow saw Sonic's actions and gave in, even though he usually wouldn't listen. He stopped moving and opened his mouth, feeling childish and a little embarrassed at this. Sonic was thankful at this and gave him the pill then put the straw in his mouth.

"Thank you, Shad." He sighed in relief that he had listened.

The dark hedgehog just drank a bit from the water and looked at the ceiling again, he was hoping Sonic would leave the painkillers and the water next to him.

He had an idea of taking all the painkillers at once, that way the pain would end. Forever. Sonic dropped his ears once he saw that Shadow wasn't talking again. "Let me know if you need anything else." He grabbed the pills and went to put them back in the kitchen where Rouge had left them. "Try to sleep. Please Shadow. We care about you, we want you to get better." He sat back down beside him on the floor.

The agent looked at Sonic, wondering why he wasn't leaving. He didn't want to talk to anyone.

But with Sonic, it was different.

He didn't know why, but he suddenly wanted to talk with his rival, it was odd but at the same time, it was nice. He had never felt like this before, the strange feeling of trusting someone.

But just how it came, that feeling was pushed away, just every other one.

His gaze went back to the ceiling, as his eyes started closing without him noticing. He was too tired to do so.

~~~
Sonic woke up the next morning in his room. He had slept late since he made sure Shadow was asleep and okay. He had woken up late and yawned softly then stretched and walked down to see if anyone was awake and to make sure his rival was okay. When he saw how injured he was that day, he couldn't help but feel heartbroken and really hurt about it. He thought it was just because he was his friend but he also knew it was something else.

Shadow was still asleep on the couch, he hadn't moved at all all night, his one hand was over the bandage that covered his stomach and lower torso, as his other one was hanging from the side of the couch.

He wasn't feeling any pain, thanks to the painkillers, but that wasn't enough for him to relax.

He had flashbacks from when the scientists at G.U.N. did experiments on him, which was frightening for the weak hedgehog.

He was lightly shivering from the pain he was feeling whenever he would tense up. Rouge was beside him making sure he was okay. She sighed and looked at the azure one.

"Sonic... I need to talk to you..." Rouge said softly, it was clear she had been crying. "I'm taking the gang to go after Eggman, you need to stay with Shadow while we are gone."

"To Eggman? Why?" He asked confused.

"He's the reason why everyone is acting like this. He's built a machine that makes everyone his mind slave." The beautiful Bat slowly stood up. "Do you mind if you stay here with Shadow...? I believe it's safer if you stay here with him."

"Sure... ill stay... but please take care of the others..." He was hesitant but he wanted to make sure Shadow was okay so he didn't disagree with the agent.

"Thank you, Hun." She sighed and nodded. "I'll keep them safe and I'll call you if anything happens. Don't worry." She looked at her best friend and lowered her ears slightly. "Please don't let Shadow do anything stupid... He had almost given up on himself yesterday..." She felt responsible for Shadow's condition, she knew she should've gone looking for him sooner.

Sonic pinned his ears down and nodded. He heard footsteps and turned around to see the rest of the gang already ready to leave with Rouge. "I'll make sure he is okay, Rouge. Don't worry." He gave her a small smile to reassure her that everything will be okay. "You guys better call me if you need any help. Beat his ass and get this over with, don't hold back." He was furious as to Eggman being the reason his family was that way.

Amy chuckled at what her boyfriend said and nodded. "Whatever you say." She stretched as she walked outside with Knuckles and Tails.

"We'll be back before it gets dark." Rouge looked outside. "If not, we're probably buying something to eat." She chuckled, she was confident that they would win. "See you Blue." She waved at the blue hero and closed the door behind her.

Sonic smiled softly at what they said and nodded then went to the kitchen. He grabbed a pill and the water bottle with a straw and walked back and left it on the table beside Shadow. He had left the bottle with the rest of them where Rouge had them as he started making soup knowing Shadow couldn't eat much.

The azure hedgehog sat down and ate then waited for Shadow to wake up or for the others to come back safely after he finished eating.