"Sonic!? Sonic!" Tails's voice echoed in his mind.

His eyes slowly opened as he groaned painfully. Two blurry figures were in his vision, one he knew was Tails, and the other looked like Knuckles.

"He's waking up!" Knuckles commented.

Sonic groaned as he sat up. "T-Tails? Knuckles? Are you guys okay?"

"We're fine." Knuckles said, helping Sonic stand. "I'm surprised we didn't drown. We've just been carried to shore like it was nothing."

Sonic breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank Buziba that you both are alright..."

He froze as his friends stared in curiosity. Knuckles seemed more shocked though. "Bubiza? How do you know about him...?"

Fear filled the blue hedgehog. "I-I... uh.... Hey, nevermind that! We should go see Shadow and make sure that Heolstor guy hasn't gotten him yet!"

Knuckles seemed suspicious, but nodded anyway. "I wonder why the spirit of darkness would want him..."

"Wait... is this about that ancient religion that your race studied, Knuckles?" Tails asked.

"Yeah." Knuckles nodded. "I don't know exactly why this is all happened, though... I have a strange feeling that it has something to do with Farah, the spirit of happiness. It has been said that she would resurrect... Maybe... that's what Heolstor is doing..."

"Farah's being resurrected!?" Sonic suddenly blurted out, joy and surprise filling his emerald eyes. At the weird stares his friends gave him, he immediately looked away. "So, uh, how's Shadow involved in all of this?"

"Sonic, why have you been acting so weird?" Knuckles asked, Tails tilting his head in confusion.

"I'm fine!" Sonic quickly replied. The other two gave him one look, and he quickly interrupted whatever they were going to do. "Really, there's nothing wrong!"

Knuckles crossed his arms, still looking suspiciously at him. "Fine. We should see what's going on with Shadow."

"You're right!" Sonic said. "We should see if he's okay."

"You two go and check on him. I'll go back to my lab and see if I can find where Heolstor went." Tails said. Sonic and Knuckles nodded, running off towards Club Rouge.

_____________________________

"Sonic? Knuckles? What's going on?" Rouge asked once she opened the door.

"Is Shadow okay?" Sonic got straight to the point.

"Well, yeah, of course. He's still sleeping on the couch. He's been sleeping a whole day! Can you believe it? Anyways, why are you asking?"

"You remember that old religion I was telling you about yesterday?" Knuckles asked. Rouge nodded. "Well, Heolstor, the spirit of darkness, is looking for him."

"Why?" Rouge asked, looking back to what they presumed was Shadow.

"That's what we're trying to figure out..." Sonic said, thoughts swarming. He then heard a voice. It was soft and gentle, but most of all, it was hers...

"Mahkah! H-Help!"

Ignoring everything else, Sonic rushed to where he heard her voice, which happened to be inside. He looked around desperately, searching for any sign of the one he loved, but all he found was a sleeping hedgehog who was tossing and turning on the couch, ears flat against his skull. It was a rare sight for the blue hedgehog, but he could care less at that moment.

"M-Mahkah..." He heard his name again, but this time, it was from the voice of the sleeping hedgehog. He finally looked at Shadow, who looked as if he was having a nightmare.

"Shadow...?" Sonic tilted his head as Knuckles and Rouge came in.

"Oh no, it's started up again..." Rouge sighed as she walked to him.

"What?" Sonic asked as Rouge laid a hand on Shadow's shoulder.

"His dreams... It's happened six times since he decided to rest..." Rouge looked down to the shaking hedgehog. "He's usually calmed down by a simple touch, but I feel like they're getting worse..."

Sonic frowned and knelled down beside Shadow. "How long has he had these... dreams...?"

Rouge looked away. "I'm not completely sure. He told me about them just a few months ago. Knuckles, have you figured out why he's having these dreams?"

"No. It still makes no sense how he even knows about any of this to dream it." Knuckles crossed his arms in thought.

Sonic stared at the quivering hedgehog with a soft frown, the rarity of this moment finally coming to him. Boy, did he hate it though. Shadow was not the one to quiver in fear; he was the one to stand tall in the face of danger. It was one of the many reasons why he admired the other. His strength was uncanny, and he knew how to use it well. This was more than unnatural. It wasn't Shadow.

Sonic sighed and gently laid a gloved hand on top of Shadow's, which was gripping the fabric of the couch. Almost immediately, Shadow relaxed, a calm expression washing over his face. Rouge and Knuckles noticed and stared almost shocked.

"I've been trying to keep him calm all day! What did you do to make him so calm?" Rouge was clearly amazed.

"Uh... I don't know... All I did was touch him..." Sonic stared at the sleeping hedgehog who was now calm and gently gripping his index finger like a shy little kid with his mom.

"Hm..." Rouge hummed in thought. "Sonic, you should take care of him for a while. I need to investigate something."

"Can't Shadow take care of himself, though?" he asked, looking back to the white furred bat.

"I don't know when he's going to wake up, and with someone after him, I'm not so sure he can protect himself...." Rouge confessed.

Sonic looked back to Shadow, not really wanting to babysit a moody hedgehog, but when he looked at Shadow's sleeping face, he felt something well up inside him that made him agree to Rouge's request. "Fine...."

Rouge smiled happily. "Thanks. I have to head out now.... Please take care of him."

Sonic smiled, giving his famous thumbs up. "Don't worry; I will."

"You better." Rouge said as she went to walk out. "C'mon Knuckie!"

Knuckles followed behind silently, leaving Sonic with the sleeping hedgehog. Rouge closed the door silently and looked to Knuckles. "What was with him?"

"I don't know...." Knuckles mumbled as they walked away from Club Rouge. "He's been acting weird since Heolstor appeared."

"I wonder why...." Rouge drifted off, mind wondering into several possibilities.

"I'm starting to think that he's hiding something from us." Rouge looked at Knuckles with a bit of surprise.

"You really think so?"

Knuckles nodded. "As much as I hate to admit it, yes...."

"But, why? He'd never hide something from us, would he?"

"I'm not so sure about that anymore...." Knuckles sighed, the crisp autumn air making his breath visible in front of him.

Rouge stayed quiet as they walked, thoughts suddenly confused. If Sonic was keeping a secret from them, then it has to be something serious. Even so, he tells Tails and Knuckles everything....

She said goodbye to Knuckles and flew off to G.U.N.

The commander is not going to be happy when he finds out Shadow's not going into work today....

____________________________

Sonic squirmed uncomfortably on the floor, not wanting to move because Shadow still had a grip on his finger, and he didn't want to wake him by moving.

Even if he was uncomfortable, he still greatly enjoyed seeing Shadow at peace. It was rare and actually a wonderful sight: his muscles were relaxed, and his face was gentle. As much as Sonic didn't want to admit it, Shadow looked utterly beautiful.

He sighed softly and leaned forward, laying his head against the edge of the couch. Sure, Shadow looked beautiful in this peaceful state, but nothing compared to his Farah. She always knew how to make him happy, no matter what, and she was so beautiful.... So beautiful and happy she was that Heolstor tried to take her away from him. That day....

Tears arose in his eyes as he recalled the tragedy of that day. Shadow started to squirm, almost as if he could sense Sonic's thoughts. Sonic took no notice of this though, getting too wrapped up in his own thoughts. Shadow seemed to get more restless, gripping onto Sonic's finger tighter in fear. His voice shouted out shakily, "No!"

Sonic was instantly brought to attention at the sound, pure fear etched into the shout. Shadow grew more restless, eventually shooting up with a loud cry. "MAHKAH!"

Sonic was completely quiet, not knowing what to say. The voice that erupted from the shaking hedgehog was not his own. It was that of a long lost love. He didn't want to say it out loud, but the name just slipped, "Farah...?"

Shadow jumped, scared eyes falling on the blue hedgehog beside him. He immediately tried to recover from his fright, but it wasn't that easy with emerald green eyes staring at him with unparalleled surprise. He voice was shaky and weak, but he tried to keep his normal tone. "What are you doing here...?"

"I'm here for your safety." Sonic said, though he was still staring at Shadow with shock. "Rouge's request."

Shadow huffed and crossed his arms. "I can take care of myself."

"Normally, I would agree, but this is something really serious."

"How so?"

Sonic chuckled nervously. "There's sorta a god after you..."

Shadow just stared at him with a straight face, only making Sonic more nervous. "I swear it's true!"

"What would a god want with me?"

"I don't know." Sonic said quietly. "Heolstor does have intentions with you though, and they don't seem to be good."

"Heolstor?" Shadow's ears perked up a bit as his eyes shown with recognition and slight fear.

"Yeah... Do you know him?" Sonic tilted his head watching intently on how Shadow reacts.

Shadow stayed silent, but even if he wanted to say anything, a voice would have interrupted him.

"It's not polite to talk about someone."

Sonic instantly stood up, ears jutting back. Shadow, however, froze when he heard the dark, brooding voice.

A dark mist arose in front of them, slowly fading away to reveal the mortal form of the spirit of darkness. Shadow felt his entire body welling up with pure fear, his entire body frozen, not knowing how to react. He couldn't think as the mouth less hedgehog was directly in front of him in an instant, reptilian eyes boring into him. He started to shake, though he didn't know why. He felt scared of this supposed god, the name Heolstor alone making him quiver. That name was one he's only heard of in dreams, and every time it was spoken, deep hatred and fear rose inside him.

Heolstor chuckled darkly, grabbing onto Shadow's arm and pulling him off the couch.

"Hey!" Sonic growled. "Let him go!"

Heolstor turned his gaze to the hedgehog who was going to grab him. He stared amused as the blue hedgehog gasped, shadows that he conjured gripping onto both the hedgehog's arms, holding him back.

Sonic's eyes widened as he struggled against the shadows holding him captive. He looked to Shadow to find him frozen in fear. That look was something he didn't want to see again; it made him feel weird. His attention turned to the one that Shadow's fear originated from, emerald eyes set in a glare. "What do you want with Shadow!?"

"Shadow? So that is what they call you in this world...." Heolstor gripped Shadow tighter, eyes full of amusement.

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Shadow stuttered out, mentally cursing himself for stuttering.

"Let him go!" Sonic tried again to escape, but the grip only tightened. He had to save Shadow, especially with the threat of Rouge hanging over his own values of saving anyone. He sighed as he closed his eyes, not caring about his secret at that moment as bright greenery burst through the floor, grabbing Heolstor and holding him still. Shocked at the sudden outcome, Heolstor released both Sonic and Shadow.

"What!?" The mouth less hedgehog growled out before looking at the bright emerald eyes of his enemy. His reptilian eyes set into a glare as he finally realized who this blue hedgehog was. "You."

Sonic felt panic well up inside him, trying to pretend that this wasn't his doing. It didn't seem to matter at the moment to Shadow, who was backing away from the god, ruby eyes never looking away from his lookalike.

"I should've known you wouldn't have strayed far from your happiness." Heolstor growled out.

"What are you talking about...?" Sonic wondered aloud, clenching his fists and causing the greenery to tighten around his enemy.

Heolstor chuckled darkly before disappearing in a cloud of darkness. Shadow quickly surveyed the room, not finding anything. Then, he looked towards Sonic. The blue hedgehog's breath hitched as ruby eyes locked with his, time slowing down as the two just stared at each other.

After what seemed like forever, Shadow spoke. "What was that all about....?"

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[Lava]

I had to republish this because the last half was cut off when I tried to read it....