*Sonic's POV*
Just as I thought the blast was going to reach me, I burst out through one of the entrances and into open air. The force of the explosion threw me forward and into the ground very roughly. For a moment, everything was silent, other than that ringing sound as the world spun around me, then I heard footsteps, falling into Shadows arms as I lost balance.

"Still alive, I see." I looked up at him, a rare smirk on his face as he pulled me up to get me to stand up correctly. "I almost thought you'd get caught on your own recklessness."

"Heh. You should know by now I always make it out." I coughed and groaned at the pain.

"We stopped the machine, but this isn't over. Eggman is not going to stop." Shadow spoke as we stared at the plume of smoke raising into the sky.

"Yeah. But we will be ready. Next time we will end this for good." I let go of him but stumbled back and fell. The weight of what had just happened finally settled in, the pain cursing through my body. All the hits I took, the heat from the blast, everything, I was finally feeling it, and I knew Shadow was too.

For now, though, we won. And as long as we kept fighting, we always would.

*Shadow's POV*
Sonic was acting as if he hadn't almost died. It didn't seem to matter to him that he was almost caught in the disaster. I sat down beside him, eyes scanning the area as I thought of our next move. I was exhausted.

"So what's next? Chili dogs?" I closed my eyes and counted to ten in my head, trying to keep myself calm. Was everything a joke to him?

"This is no time to joke, Sonic. You're missing the bigger picture here. The doctor wouldn't risk everything on one machine. He's got more, and we both know it. He's probably already working on a backup plan." I glanced down at myself then at Sonic, we were pretty beat up, but we needed to get out of here. Sonic's jacket had been torn to pieces in battle. If anyone saw him here, if Eggman saw him here, it was over.

"So what's the plan, Shadz? Following your lead, remember?"

"Regroup. Gather intel and prepare for whatever comes next. There's something more going on, and I need to figure out what." I stood up, and just as I did, I heard a plane at the distance. "I assume that is your fox friend. We need to get out of here now. Can you run?"

His grin was back. "Always." I nodded, and we both moved forward, going straight to my house.

"Shadow." Sonic spoke once we were inside. "What if Eggman wasn't trying to destroy us with that machine? I mean. He'd have to know we would take it out, right? What if it was just a distraction? For something bigger. Something stronger."

"We need to move faster. If the machine was, in fact, a distraction, then we are running out of time faster than I thought. We have an advantage, though. He doesn't know you're alive. As long as he thinks you're dead, he's going to take his time." He nodded at my response as we both sat down on the couch, letting the pain finally take over our bodies.

This wasn't just about stopping Eggman. It never was. This is about saving everything, our friends, the world, the future. And I wasn't going to let anyone, even Eggman, take that away. Not while I was still standing.

"So what do we do now, Shadz? You're the one calling the shots here." Sonic groaned quietly as he adjusted himself better in his seat.

"Don't call me that. I've told you before." I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms and looking up at the ceiling, trying to think of something. We both needed rest, recharge, and gather all the intel we collected. I couldn't send Sonic to fight again in his conditions, not when he nearly died trying to escape the base.

As much as I didn't want to admit it, I was afraid this hedgehog wouldn't make it out on time. I had been so close to chaos controlling to him and pushing him out until I had finally seen him reach the entrance that I stopped myself. I was worried about him, and I hated it. I couldn't risk myself getting worked up over someone, especially when they were as reckless as he was. He never took anything seriously and took everything as a joke, yet there was something about him that always sparked when we were together.

"What? Shadz?" He grinned. My eyes narrowed, but I could feel a slight smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. Was I smiling?

Control yourself, Hedgehog.

I looked away again and tried to brush past his teasing. "We need to figure out Eggmans real plan." I stood up. "Something about that machine. It was too easy. He's hiding something bigger."

Sonic and I could never be too long around each other before clashing, but lately, it felt different. There was tension in the air, but there seemed to be something else, something I couldn't quite put my finger on.

"Yeah, I've been thinking the same. But we will figure it out. Just like we always do." He spoke as he stood up, a low grunt escaping his lips as he did so.

Even though I didn't want to, I had to recognize that I did care about him. I had lost it when I saw him get crushed when I thought he had died. I didn't tell him this nor will I ever, but I didn't go to his funeral because it was too hard for me to accept he was no longer here. I hated to admit this, but maybe there was more to him than I thought. All I knew for sure was that I wanted to keep him safe. Stop him from doing any more solo heroics that almost always got him nearly killed. I couldn't lose him.

Not again.