*Sonic's POV*
"You arent planning on leaving after this, are you?" Tails asked as we walked the north side of the island.

"No. But this wasnt the reuning I was expecting." I chuckled, twiddling my fingers as I walked, I was nervous, scared. Actually, scared was an understatement here. I never wanted to do this again, yet here I was.

"I am sorry for creating the cuffs." Taisl apologized but I shook my head.

"You had good intentions but seriously, Tails. I am fine, I didnt need them to begin with. I accepted it when it happened which is why I didnt tell anyone about it." I sighed as I now looked down at the floor. "I kind of found it being a good thing. I get why Shadow acts the way he is because of his immortality but I kind of figured it would be a way to keep my loved ones safe for as long as I could. I lived a mortal life with all of you, the adrenaline of nearly losing my life all those times flooded my head with the idea that I couold not die. I guess now thats a reality." I laughed nervously. "As much as I hate the idea that there will be more after all of you are gone, I know I will be here to 1. Keep Shadow company. 2. Protect my familys title and 3. Make sure to protect the ones I care about for as long as I can."

"About Shadow." Tails started. "Hes changed, hasnt he?"

I smiled at that and nodded as I looked up to look at him. "He has. You would not believe how soft he actually is." I covered my mouth as i let out a quiet laugh. "I think I may actually love him." I lightly blushed, completely forgetting what we were doing here to begin with.

"Love? Didnt you two just start dating?" He asked as he laughed at my reaction.

"I mean, yeah but." I looked up at the sky, my hands behind my head as I walked. "Ive known him for a very long time, and while we may have started on the wrong foot, Shadow was always there. Without him, we may have never defeated Eggman in the first place. After I left, I lost motivation to keep running, to continue racing, to continue using my powers but the moment he was back into my life, it was as if that spark was brought back with him." I hummed. "Love..." I mumbled. "I think I may love him." I muttered quietly, repeating it in my head over and over again.

"Does he make you happy?" Tails asked while looking at me.

"He does, he really does." My smile grew wider remembering that night we sat on my porch looking out at the stars. Or the night I helped him relax under the rain and our first date. Remembering finding out he liked sweets, it wasnt many memories of us dating but the ones Idid have, I cherished.

"I am happy for you then." Tails playfully punched my shoulder. I laughed and was about to say something when our communicators went off and we heard an explosion at the distance.

"We found him!" Blaze shouted through the communicator. "East side! Hurry! Metal has Scourge!"

I grabbed Tails hand but before I could dash off, Shadow and Rouge ran towards us. Shadow grabbed my hand and Rouge grabbed Tails making me let go of him and we separated. I gasped and tried to push Shadow away but he pinned me to a tree and covered my mouth. Our bodies were as close as that night at Lucy's Cafe, I could feel his body against mine and his face was so close where our breath lingered together again.

I shook my head, snapping me out of my thoughts and moved Shadows hand away from my mouth as I looked in the direction he was looking in, Rouge was behind a tree with Tails as well, covering his mouth. I could see them but I wasnt sure what we were hiding from.

"Whats going on?" I whispered making Shadow cover my mouth again. He looked at my communicator and took it off then used a spear to stab it and destroy it. Rouge had taken off Tails and stepped on it as well.

"That wasnt Blaze." He whispered back. "We saw Metal looking for you, he had a communicator with him. Blaze and Scourge got caught." He said barely audible but I could make it out. I quietly gasped at the news hoping that they were okay. "He spotted us and tried to follow us. We had to hide you."

"Knuckles and Amy, if Eggman gets the emerald the island will fall." I said as low as I could as Shadow finally removed his hand from my mouth. He was close enough to where our noses touch but I couldnt get myself to think about this at the moment. No matter how much I wanted to kiss him just in case anything happened. Just in case it would be our last kiss. I couldnt right now.

"I saw Mephiles and Silver, they should be heading that way." He explained. We both ducked down when we heard heavy footsteps getting closer. I turned to see Rouge and Tails werent in the spot they were a few seconds ago getting me worried. Until I saw something slightly shine in the area they were and realized they hadnt moved but Tails was using one of his experiments to caumuflage them, nearly turning invisible.

"We are too close to the edge of the island. We need to get out of here." I mumbled and he nodded. "Do you - Shadow!" I hissed and growled when my quills were grabbed and I was tugged back, away from Shadows hold.

"Sonic!" Shadow stood up and I could see Rouge and Tails as well running towards me. I stood up after i kicked Metal away, I wasnt as strong as I used to be. Why did I ever stop training? But I still did manage to get him away just enough so I could spin dash him away. I could see the edge of the island which was terrifying to see. I may not be able to die but I could still feel the pain.

Shadow skated towards me, helping me keep my balance once I landed back on the ground and charged a chaos spear, throwing it at Metal. Metal had the cuffs in his hands, making my heart beat faster then it is. I could feel my anxiety start to act up, my hands start to shake and my body going cold once I saw Metal dashing towards me trying to get the cuffs on me but I managed to dodge. He was holding two of them, making me worry they were meant for me and one more for Shadow.

"Watch out!" Tails pushed me out of the way just before Metal could put the cuff on me, he accidentally put one on Tails which caused him to get mad and pushed Tails away.

"Tails!" I gasped when I saw him fall close to the edge. Metal dashed closer and kicked him off the edge of the island. "No!" I was about to go when I saw him holding onto the edge, holding on a root of a tree as he panted heavily from the pain then saw as Rouge flew over us to help him.

"Sonic! Behind you!" I turned but it was too late.