All throughout the night, your mind was haunted by the men in black uniforms. They flocked past you to escort everyone away and they shot anyone who resisted. Your first instinct was to flee, but someone grabbed onto your shoulder and dragged you back. Maria's blue eyes wildly burned into your skin as she clenched your arm in fear.

"Please... Sister, save me!" she cried.

Before you could reply, a gunshot rang through the air and Maria's blue eyes went dull, but the fear was still bright in them. "R-Run..." she choked out before she too was dead on the ground.

Your head spun with confusion and anguish. The man saw you and held up his gun at you, but you refused to let him shoot you too. You ran for your life down the hallway. There was no escape anywhere.

I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Maria, I meant to save you! I really did! But why did you-?!

Hot tears ran down your face and you stopped in the middle of the hallway unable to continue forward. 'This is it.' is what you thought. The three words screamed in your ears and you boldly faced the man lifting the gun from its holster to meet you. Just as you heard the loud 'POW!' from the gun, someone jerked you back to reality.

"(Y/N)! Wake up!" a voice shouted at you.

Blinking awake, you sighed with relief at the fact it was only a dream. Pain filled your senses as you realized you were back in the hotel room. Sweat dripped from your forehead and every inch of your body was searing hot. What was this sensation? Was this an Earth thing? You felt terrible.

Shadow was standing at your bedside. He was tightly gripping your hand to the point that it really hurt. The dark hedgehog exhaled as if he were holding his breath for a long time. Slowly, he released your hand from his grasp.

There was a long pause as the two of you just stared at each other awkwardly. Unmoving. You tried to figure out how he could have possibly found his way back on his own. How long was Shadow there? Were you stuck in that nightmare the entire time? Before you could open your mouth to ask, Shadow turned away tired of the awkward staring contest. He didn't speak. Like always.

"Shadow...? When did you get back? What happened?" you asked groggily.

Shadow sat on the opposite bed. It looked as if someone were there before. You realized he was probably there for a while and just didn't wake you up to tell you he was back. What was he doing the entire time then? Shadow didn't need sleep! Or at least... you didn't think he did... It was hard not to imagine him sprawled out on the bed in the middle of the night staring out the window thinking thoughts of his beloved Maria. Somehow that image of Shadow didn't seem to match the one you were now seeing.

Rather than getting an answer to your question, he hopped up and went over to the mini kitchen which was just a few feet away. You only then noticed the scent of syrup wafting to your bedside. It was the most heavenly scent you had ever smelled. "What is that amazing smell?! Whatever it is, I want it!" you chirped.

Shadow came back with french toast and orange juice. It was unlike anything you'd ever seen because normally, you wouldn't get breakfast on the Ark. Maria had told you once of such a thing and that they were like pancakes. You did have orange juice once and it wasn't like water which you would normally have. Did Earth have enough resources to spare to let everyone have such delicious food?

"This is yours," Shadow said as he handed the two over. You blinked. Did he just do something nice?

"But what about you?" you asked tilting your head to the side at his sudden action. When he didn't reply, you shrugged and took a small lick of the syrup. Your stomach kicked to life at the sweet, sugary substance. "It's so good! How did you know about this?!"

"It was Maria's favorite. Gerald told me how to make them," he replied.

"I didn't think Gerald had time for anyone or anything other than his precious Maria. Everything he did was for her. Even making you. I wasn't sick. I was fine. Because I didn't need anyone, I didn't get anyone. So the fact that he taught you something actually amazes me," you said having flashbacks to your old room. You took a bite of the french toast. Never before has your tongue ever been overwhelmed by such flavor!

Shadow came back to your bedside and pressed his hand to your forehead. Almost the moment he did so, you shivered suddenly cold. How could you possibly be cold when you're sweating like mad?! Whatever the reason, Shadow's suspicions seemed to be correct because his face either revealed genuine concern or just disappointment. You couldn't always tell with Shadow.

"So..., what's wrong with me...?" you asked wrapping yourself in more blankets despite the fact that you were burning up. Something like this never happened to you on the Ark. But Shadow knew everything about this planet already. Surely he'd know!

Shadow shook his head as if it weren't anything as serious as he suspected. "You just have a fever. Humans here get those all the time," he told you.

"If humans get them here all the time, then why didn't I get one on the Ark?" you asked suddenly curious about the subject.

"The Ark is an area under quarantine meaning that it's isolated from everything else due to a certain disease that needs to be kept from spreading. Maria had a serious illness and that was why she was there. The Ark was made free of all of the different elements of this planet which could worsen her condition. Due to the lack of exposure to these elements, your body is having trouble keeping them from your system because it never had to fight them before on the Ark. This is why you're coming down with a slightly more severe case than normal. I'm actually quite surprised this wasn't worse," he explained.

You blinked with curiosity and then took a sip of orange juice. It actually made you feel a little better! You drank more of it after making this discovery. Once your glass was completely empty, you looked up at Shadow again. "So, I'm lucky, huh?"

Shadow was about to respond with a scientific answer, but then seemed to have another thought come to him. His eyes suddenly revealed a huge burst of emotion. "Too lucky. And your sister didn't get any of that same luck."

You realized he was still mad at you for the whole thing. There was nothing you could do to fix that. Rather than pressing the matter, you changed the subject. "Why did you come back? You could have just left me here. If you really dislike me so much, then why did you come back?"

He thought about his reasons for a moment before speaking them verbally. "You're about the only one I have left. Without anyone, I have no purpose. Upon that realization, I came back."

"I don't think you're telling me everything," you pointed out detecting how unlike him those reasons were. "I think the real reason you came back was because I am the last connection to Maria you have."

...

He didn't say anything to this and simply left as if to say, 'Think what you want'. You saw him hop back onto the other bed and lie down. His gaze went off into space. There was no talking to him when he got like that, so you didn't even try. Instead, you dove back into the covers of the hotel blankets and fell back asleep.

You were back on the Ark because you still viewed that place as your home. Sitting up against the wall of your room, you were trying to think up new games to play next time you saw Maria and Shadow. Good versus evil. Love and death. Pain and destruction. They all had a happy end for Shadow and Maria. They all ended with a terrible death for you because you were the villain of each story. Just in the middle of a brilliant idea, someone knocked on the door.

Knock knock...

You jumped a little. Nobody ever knocked on your door! Never! Not even Maria anymore! You still made those childish games even though you knew you'd probably never see her again in the containment unit. The new twist of fate brought you to your feet and to the door. When you opened it, it was the last person you expected it to be.

"Shadow...?" you asked with surprise.

He was his same old silent self. Not saying a word until absolutely necessary. Knowing him too well, you continued your sentence before an awkward silence could stretch out. "What brings you here? And without Maria?"

Shadow tilted his head at you as if you were talking madness. His confusion confused you. He finally spoke. "Who is the person you speak of? I know of no such human on this Ark."

Alarm flooded into you before realizing that none of it was real. It must all be another dream! So, what was this universe or plot you had fallen into? "Uh... She's a new character in one of my newest roleplays! Um... do you normally come here?"

"If you're pulling a prank, I request you don't. You're not making any sense. Of course, I do," he replied.

At least he answered my question!

Glancing around your room, you noticed multiple drawings up on the wall that had not been there before. All of the new drawings were of Shadow. They seemed to be in your hand because Maria told you that Shadow's strong suit wasn't drawing. Since there was nothing interesting in your room besides that, you decided to go see if you could find one of the other scientists. "I'm not pulling a prank. It's just that I hit my head a little so everything's a little fuzzy... But it's starting to come back to me now. I'm perfectly fine!"

"You really should be more careful. After all, we don't want to have to sit through another lecture from Gerald. You can't leave this room, you can't get badly hurt, and you can't-"

"Can't leave the room?" you asked.

Shadow was now looking concerned. "I should get Gerald."

"No! Why do I have to stay in here?! Is there a reason for why I'm in here?! Not to mention, why are you even here?!" you demanded.

The hedgehog knew you were actually confused and unable to tell why anything was happening. He took a deep breath. "You've been in this room for two years because of a Neuro-Immuno Deficiency Syndrome you have in your brain. Gerald is trying his best to fix you and in his attempts to do so, made me. I came here to see you... and to give you this." He handed over a bottle of something to you.

"Medication...?" Slowly the pieces fell into place. You were swapped with Maria. She always carried around this exact same bottle and would never tell you what it was for. And this was why you never saw her for years on end. All alone... except for Shadow. A deep loneliness stabbed your heart as the weight of years alone seemed to come crashing down.

"I need to find the professor. You stay here. I'll be right back," he said turning away for one second.

You felt a deep desperation for him to stay. It was overwhelming to your mind now. Thoughts of being alone surged you. Surely he was the only friend you ever had! In your moment of panic, you grabbed onto his arm. "No! Wait!"

He stopped and glanced back at you. "It's only for a second! I promise!"

"No... Stay... I don't want you to go... Not if I have to stay trapped in here forever," you told him.

Shadow faced you again. His eyes were sympathetic. You had never seen him make that expression before. It almost made your heart skip a beat. "Sorry... I really would, but I have to report to him whenever something out of the ordinary happens. I have to go."

Hot tears ran down your face for some reason. You pulled him into your embrace in a final hope to keep him from leaving. Though you couldn't see, you knew there was guilt written all over his face. "Stay."

Finally, Shadow gave in to you. He lightly hugged you back. "If that's what you really want, then I can't say no."

At this, the world snapped away from you as you regained consciousness. The tears that were rolling down your face were actually intense sweat drops from your illness. You were hugging your blankets. Something about that dream seemed unsettling. Your mind went bonkers.

Maria... What was that? Was what I saw real...?

Physically, you did feel better than you did that morning. Alarm zapped you when you saw the sunset outside. How long did humans sleep when sick?! You then tried to find Shadow. Once you looked back at the opposite bed where he last was, you noticed he was gone. Upon further inspection, you realized he wasn't even in the apartment anymore. You were still hungry and sighed. Throwing off the covers to the hotel bed, you hopped to your feet and went to the kitchen. You didn't think there'd be too much in the fridge, but once you opened it, your eyes were met with seemingly endless galleries of food! Seemingly endless to you due to the fact that you had never seen such a gathering of food groups in your life. A note was stuck to the jug of orange juice. It was in Shadow's handwriting.

'Sorry.'

You couldn't help but be amazed at the fact that he was nice a second time in one day! How unlike him. And yet, you liked it. But was he apologizing for something specific or just apologizing in general?

After another glass of orange juice, you flopped back into bed with a lack of things to do. You noticed a TV on the wall across from you and a remote just beside it. A few minutes of random button pushing went by and the thing suddenly flashed to life! You jumped a little before you noticed that something called 'The News' was on. Someone who looked like a reporter was there.

"We're here live at Station Square where something terrible is currently happening. It is unclear as to why the explosions here are going off or who is responsible for all of this. Some have speculated that terrorists are behind them, but eyewitnesses have told us that they thought they saw, "a tall cat-like creature of some sort with mysterious powers" and do not believe this creature was using any weapons. Should their accusations be true, who created this creature and what might its motives be? This is SS TV News correspondent Sophie Stocks. Back to you Jeffrey."

While she had been talking, you caught the silhouette of a hedgehog for a brief moment in the background of all of the destruction. What you saw was gone in a heartbeat, but you were sure in an instant of who it was.

"Shadow?! Why are you destroying the city?!"