*Sonic's POV *
"Hey buddy." I greeted Tails as soon as he opened the door but he looked at me confused then sighed.

"Where are you hurt now?" He asked and let us come in.

"No. That's not why he's here. Rouge is blackmailing him so he spends a day with me without hurting me. She hopes it will help Shadow." I explained and Tails laughed.

"I mean, whatever works." Tails responded. "So then why are you here?"

"You said you needed my help with Maurice's mask." I answered. I decided it would be best if I just acted casual and continued with the lie that Maurice was someone else.

"Oh. Sure. Let's go to my lab."

"Why does he have to wear a mask?" Shadow broke the silence after a while. He watched as Tails took the mask from a locked safe and set it on the counter.

"He felt safer that way. You've heard their story, haven't you?" I asked him. I don't know how much I could say without giving it away so I was being careful.

"Yes. But there's not much on record about that family." Shadow said as he sat down on a rotating chair Tails had in his lab.

"Well, he isn't much to be stuck in one place and since he's a prince he thought it was best to keep his identity hidden so he could live a normal life outside of the castle without anyone knowing who he was." I made up a lie. Not so much of a lie but I avoided some things.

"So he doesn't live in the castle?"

"Why don't we start working on his mask?" Tails chipped in when Shadow continued asking questions.

After an hour or so and the template of the mask was done, I decided it would be best if Shadow and I went for a walk. I only had today to get to know him afterall. I was intrigued. 

"So." I said as I walked a few steps ahead of him heading for the forest. "Whats in that picture?"

"Shut up." Was all Shadow said making me look at him.

"Come on, I'm trying to start a conversation here." I said but my ear started to twitch and I stood straight as I stopped walking. So did Shadow.

We remained silent and glanced around. Someone was crying. "Help!" A little girl.

I dashed in direction where the crying came from as Shadow followed close by. I stopped once I was a few steps away from the girl.

"Hey..." I walked closer and knelt down beside her. She was crying, curled up in the ground. "Whats going on...? Why are you crying..?"

*Shadow's POV *
"M-my parents... I lost them..." The child cried as she slowly looked up at us. She saw me and immediately got scared and ran towards Faker. I was used to this so I didn't react.

Faker smiled and picked her up then hugged her as she hugged him and he rubbed her back. "Hey now... relax, he won't hurt you. He's here to help you too." He said softly.

"B-but he hurts you... and you're our hero..." She sobbed.

"Hes a hero too, I would lose my fights without him." He continued being soft with her and kept on smiling. I was a bit taken back for what he said. "Now now... can you tell me where you last saw your family?"

The girl looked at me and she softened up to me, when Sonic put her back down she reached for my hand. I tensed up but I couldn't tell her no so I let her hold my hand. But I was not expecting for her to also hold Fakers hand.

"We... we're on our way to the clearing in the woods. We were going to go pick out flowers..."

Faker looked at me and nodded. "Can you take her there? I'll go look around." He asked and I agreed but as soon as he let go of her hand, she asked to get picked up.

Chaos... what did Rouge get me into?

I picked up the child and chaos controlled us to the clear as she hugged me tightly. The only one who's ever been this close is Cream but because she never tells anyone and neither does Vanilla.

We waited for a couple of minutes until finally. "My baby!" The mother shouted and I walked closer. She took the kid off my hands and thanked us then they left home.

"She really liked you." Faker said as he walked to me. "Is that how people usually treat you? They're scared of you?"

"Kids mostly." I answered truthfully.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know." He lowered his ears and I shook my head. I was used to it, I was reason they acted that way. I was a threat to everyone around me, they all knew I was created and wasn't like them so I was used to it. "What did you want to do, Shad?"

"Stop. Calling. Me. That." I growled at him.

"Why?" He laughed, he was testing me. He knew I couldn't hurt him.

*Sonic's POV *
We decided we were hungry and it was best if we went to his house and he cooked. He offered since I had made breakfast. We made it to his house after a while and I sat down on his couch. I had never seen his house before, not that I didn't know where it was, I just felt like he deserved that space.

"You have a nice home." I glanced around his living room then I noticed a picture of him and Maria. She was a tough subject so I didn't ask about her. Shadow hummed in response and started getting stuff out of the fridge. "Why do you live so deep in the forest? Don't you get paid well to live in the city?"

"I like it here. It's quiet." He pointed out and I nodded. He was about to say something when someone suddenly knocked on the door making both of us look at it.

Who was here?