*Sonic's POV *
"I heard the commander talking about Eggman to another agent." Tails said as he paced around the room while I sat upside down on the couch that was in my bedroom at the castle. "I am starting to think Eggman may have broken your deal, Sonic."

"Maybe you should pay him a visit." Manic said as he used his drumsticks on Scourges lap.

"Eggman wouldn't break our deal." I spoke up.

"But what if he did? What if he was the one who called the commander? Keeping it a secret so you don't find out it was actually him?" Sonia said she was sitting at my bed while looking at us. Once again, Uncle Chuck and our mother had left us to deal with this on our own, feeling like we needed the experience.

"Conspiracy theory much?" Scourge laughed at Sonia, earning a hit at the back of the head from Manic. He laughed and rubbed the spot. "What?"

"Shut up. She may be right." Manic rolled his eyes.

"Then I guess I will have to go pay him a visit." I sighed and sat up correctly. "Tails, want to tag along?" I offered, but he shook his head.

"I promised Rouge I was going to help her set up for you and Shadow." He explained, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"Yeah, about that. What's going on? Are you that numb to pain already that you have to attack your own feelings now?" Manic said by standing up and crossing his arms. They knew the situationship Shadow and I were in.

"I mean, you like him, dont you? You're basically preparing him for a future relationship with someone else. Why?" It was Sonias' turn to attack me.

"I do like him." I confessed, feeling nervous all of a sudden. "Having feelings for someone isn't just about wanting to be with them. Sure, it hurts what I am doing. I know Shadow doesn't feel the same way, but I still have to act as if it is all real for his sake. I like him, and that means I should be mature enough to want him to be happy even if it isn't with me."

"You're a strange one, blue." Scourge chuckled. "I wouldn't be able to do that. You're strong, I give you that. But you're also stupid."

"Compliment coming from you? Crazy." I laughed. "I should get going then. I'll keep you guys updated after I talk to Eggman."

I went to Eggmans base, dashing inside, not even wasting a single second. "We made a deal, Egghead." I clenched my fists as I now stood in front of him.

"Sonic!" Eggman gasped as he turned to face me. "What are you doing here? What are you talking about, pest?"

"Someone paid G.U.N. to figure out who Maurice is and reveal it to everyone. Was. It. You.?" I got in posicion, ready to attack him. I was lucky Metal was currently out of commission, and it was only his small badniks around.

"What? No! Do you think I am willing to risk my life to reveal who you really are? I've got better plans in mind." He waved his hand in the air as if wanting for me to leave. I had threatened Eggman years ago. If he ever revealed or attempted to reveal who I was, I would not hold back and let Dark take care of him. The threat was enough to ensure he would forever keep his mouth shut, but I was now wondering if it really was enough. "I'd rather destroy you myself than let others do the job for me."

"Then who was it?" I asked out loud even though it was only meant for me.

"How am I supposed to know? Can you leave now so I can work on my next attack?" I was about to nod and leave since I wasn't entirely paying attention to what he was saying. But it suddenly clicked.

"As if I will leave you with your army." I rolled my eyes and spin dashed every single robot that I saw as I made my way out. When I was close to the door, I stopped and looked back, then walked out of Eggmans base.

"What are you doing?" I gasped when I saw Shadow glare at me. He had seen me leave Eggmans base acting so calm. I didn't have a single scratch on me, not was I running away, so he didn't understand what was going on.

"Sh-Shadow! Hey!" I stuttered, making him even more angrier, realizing I was hiding something. He grabbed my neck and pinned me against the wall. "Whoa! Hey! Calm down! You're going to get us caught!" I raised my palms in a defensive manner.

"What are you doing here?" He growled.

"E-Eggman said he needed to meet me in private. I knew it was a trap, that's why I told Tails where I was going. Y-You can ask him. Or you can go inside, there's a bunch of destroyed badniks on the ground!" I said the story I had practiced if I was ever in this exact situation.

Shadow didn't take long before he let go of me, letting me breathe. "I'm sorry." He apologized, taking me off guard, but I nodded as I held my throat as I tried to catch my breath. "Are you okay?"

"You mean if I am breathing fine after you choked the air out of me? Yes. I am." I said with a shaky voice. I stood up straight and put my hands behind my head so I could give my lungs more room and take in a deep breath. It always worked. "Chaos." I sighed.

"How stupid are you to go in there alone?" Shadow crossed his arms.

"I was fine, and Tails was aware in case of an emergency. What are you doing here?" I grabbed his hand and dragged him further away from the base before Eggman could attack us.

"I was looking for you." Shadow confessed. He didn't even try to move his hand away, but he wasn't holding mine either. It was just there.

"What? Why? How'd you know where I was?" I asked, red lights going in my head thinking he'd have my location. That would easily give me away.

"I didn't. I was running around trying to find you when I saw you leaving the base. And because Rouge said she has something set up for us." Shadow glanced down at our hands when I intertwined our fingers. He looked away almost immediately and did the same thing. He was really trying to change from red to green flag.

"Oh, right! Tails was with her. I have a surprise for you." I chuckled.

"What?" He raised a brow, I could tell he was clearly uncomfortable, so I let go of his hand and simply walked beside him.

"Relax, Shadow. You're going to love it. Just follow me." I dashed off.