*Shadow's POV *
"It's not supposed to do that! Turn it off! Turn it off!" Tails shouted in a panic as Dark shouted in agonizing pain from inside the tube he was in.

"Let it finish!" Fleetway snapped and threw the knife to Tails direction but i  kicked it before it could hurt Tails.

"It's going to kill them!" Tails snapped at Fleetway but he watched as Dark shouted louder. He watched with a smirk as he waited.

I held the fox back knowing that at this point all we could do was hope for the best. I still didn't fully understand what was going on but I had hope that I'd see Sonic soon.

"They're separating them. Dark is Sonics darker side, he would only come out when Sonic was really mad. He's stronger, faster and more powerful.  I thought I got rid of him, but whatever Eggman did to Sonic must have brought him back and took over Sonic. If we don't stop the machine, it will kill both of them." Tails explained and I knew to act quick.

I charged a chaos spear and threw it at the glass breaking the tube which was now covered in smoke, making the machine stop and turn off.

"What did you do?! No!" Fleetway ran towards the machine and I didn't stop him. Before he could reach it, it kicked open and chaos erupted.

"I'm going to kill you!" Fleetway, Tails and I froze in place at hearing that voice. Sonic had kicked Dark out of the tube and they both started fighting, dashing and spin dashing themselves. Darks aura had gone away and he looked to be going the same speed as Sonic.

Fleetway and I immediately dashed to them and separated them. I held Sonic in my arms for the first time ever and I didn't want to let go.

"What happened to you, Love?" Fleetway asked Dark as he looked at him making Dark look down at himself and notice his aura was gone.

"It seems during the split, Dark lost the extra strength he had on Sonic. They're equal now." Tails explained as he looked at his best friend and cried again.

Sonic looked up at me realizing it was me who was holding him and he chuckled nervously but soon stopped. "Shadow? Are you crying?" He asked and as I reached up and touched my face I realized I was.

"Sonic!" The fox jumped at him making me let go and let them have their moment.

"Equal?" Dark scoffed. "I'll kill him."

"You have to kill me first." I growled at Dark and Fleetway. "I ever hear you two harm anyone and I will personally hunt you down." They left quickly after that.

"Sonic? Sonic!" The fox yelled, I immediately dashed to Sonic and caught him once I saw he was falling. "He needs to rest."

"You don't hate me anymore?" Sonic said in my arms as I picked him up, his voice barely a whisper as I chaos controlled us to Tails house. "Do you want a hug, Shad?"

"I missed that nickname." I confessed with a chuckle as I put Sonic down in the bed I had been using while staying with Tails.

"I've barely been gone a couple days." He whispered and fell asleep making me look at the fox confused.

Did he not know he was missing for 3 years?

We didn't tell anyone what had happened and we decided it was going to be Sonics decision when he was ready to see anyone else or if he wanted to let the others know he was alive. Sonic didnt wake up until the next day.

"3 years?!" Sonic sat up in shock and groaned as he held his head. "I've been dead for 3 years?"

"Not dead." Tails corrected. "Dark kept you hidden, locked away inside him so he could be with Fleetway. They only called us after they realized you had woken up and were trying to get rid of Dark."

"3 years..." Sonic whispered and looked down at his hands then turned to look at me. "Where is everyone else?"

I looked at the fox once Sonic asked that question then decided to tell him the truth. "After you disappeared, everyone looked for you but it wasn't easy when there were no signs of you. They gave up, convincing themselves that you were gone and they needed to move on. Rose almost lost her leg that night, she uses a cane now. The echidna has stayed by the master emerald ever since that night, Tails stayed here trying to find clues and Rouge... She hates me because I never gave up." I sighed making Sonic drop his ears.

"You kept looking for me? Why? You hated me."

"I didn't want to believe you had died." I was sincere with him. "I hated myself for always pushing you away, for hurting you, I wanted to apologize in person. I promised myself I would keep you safe if I found you alive." I couldn't look at him but I knew Sonic was looking at me.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think this was some kind of confession." Tails said with a slight chuckled making my ears drop.

"I couldn't stop thinking of you..." I mumbled. "You were constantly on my mind, I couldn't do anything other than focus on finding you."

"O-oh..." Tails quickly covered his mouth. I glanced up and saw Sonic giving me a soft smile then he touched my shoulder.

"There's nothing to forgive, Shad." He smiled but he still looked tired and sad. "I am sorry that I caused all of you so much trouble. After I get better, I will make things right. I didn't know my decision would had affected everyone this much..." He pinned his ears down looking hurt. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

"Now that Eggman is gone, you can finally rest and live a normal life." Tails pointed out.

"Not with Dark and Fleetway out there." Sonic said, he moved his hand and rested it on top of mine but didn't look at me. I held it and squeezed it but none of us talked about it. Not even Tails.

"I'll take care of them, I'll make sure they don't hurt anyone else. You deserve to have some peace." I said.

"How will you- You know what, I don't want to know right now. My head is spinning." Sonic said and I let go of his hand then Tails and I made him lay down.

"You still need plenty of rest, we will worry about everything else once you're fully healed." Tails walked out of the room and I followed but before I could leave, Sonic called for me.

"Shad?" I stopped at the door and looked at him. "Thank you." He closed his eyes as I smiled then nodded, relieved that he was safe.