*Shadow's POV*
"Sonic?" Miles asked as soon as I opened the door. Rouge, Rose, and the echidna were right behind him. I opened the door wider so they could walk in and pointed at the living room where Sonic had fallen asleep in the corner of the couch.

I had talked to Sonic that morning to tell him his friends wanted to come over to visit. I made sure he was okay with it and promised I would be by his side to make sure nothing would happen. I had warned everyone on the conditions Sonic was in and how to act around him, just to make sure Sonic didn't have a panic attack or anything. Everyone was now aware that it had been Fleetway, the one that said those things over a year ago to get to Sonic.

They all looked at him and waited for me to get closer to him before they did the same thing. I had let them know that Sonic was only comfortable with me at the moment and to let me be beside him before getting close to him.

When I reached Sonic, I sat beside him and tapped the pillow he was hugging, not touching him so I didn't startled him. He slowly opened his eyes and lowered his ears when he saw everyone else.

"Your friends are here to see you." I said calmly and extended my hand so he could take it if he needed to.

"Sonic." Miles said, taking a step closer and sitting down beside him, keeping distance. Sonic instantly took my hand and squeezed it. "Chaos. What happened to you?" The fox looked like he wanted to cry. "I'm so sorry."

"You didn't deserve this." Rose said as she sat beside the fox while looking at Sonic. Sonic stayed quiet with his ears lowered.

"Oh, Blue." Rouge sighed, looking concerned. Knuckles remained quiet but looked shocked at seeing the condition his friend was in.

"What's going to happen now?" Rose looked at me as she asked.

"I contacted a lawyer this morning. I need to take pictures of Sonics wounds and send them to him. But there's no proof that he did this to him, so we have to testify as well." I explained and passed the phone to Rouge and Amy so they could see what I was talking about with the lawyer.

"I need to check his wounds. Some look like they could be infected. He'll get sick if I don't treat them now." Tails stood up and looked at Sonic. "Are you okay with me doing that?" They were all being calm with him, taking the time that Sonic needed to feel comfortable.

"Won't he still have to see him during the divorce process?" Knuckles asked.

"With a lawyer and me around, unless he wants to place a restraining order, but I talked to him, and he's too scared to do that. So I will be with him instead." I explained.

"We could just kill him." The echidna said while cracking his neck.

"No." Rouge and Sonic said at the same time. We all looked at Sonic, confused.

"You can't kill him." He said with a soft and sad tone. "That's not how we do things."

Even while he's broken, he still didn't change his methods. He wanted to do things the right way, even with those who've hurt him.

"We won't." I promised and helped Sonic up, out of the pile of pillows and blankets he was in, and walked with him to the dining room. He sat down on a chair, and I stood behind him, so he knew I wasn't going anywhere as Tails did a check-up on him, then started treating his wounds.

"You need to eat, drink lots of water, and get more rest." Miles told Sonic then stood up and handed me a bottle of medication. "Once a day, twice if necessary, it's for the pain." I nodded and placed them in the counter.

"Shadow. The group and I will take care of Eggman while this gets resolved. You focus on keeping Sonic safe." Rouge said as she walked to me, and I nodded again.

"Alright." I walked to the kitchen and walked to Sonic with a plate of chili dogs. His favorite, but as soon as I placed them down on the table, he pushed the plate away slowly. "You have to eat something." I sighed.

"Please, Sonic." Tails said. "Please."

*Sonic's POV*
It was strange seeing everyone gathered here. Seeing them worried about me after the time we were apart. I really missed them, and I felt happy in a way to see them again, but I couldn't get my mind to stop overthinking the situation.

When Tails pleaded for me to eat, I reached for the plate again and took a small bite of the chili dog. I would do anything for Tails. He was my little brother, I would even force myself to eat for him. How much I had missed chili dogs. I couldn't remember the last time I ate one, maybe the day before I moved in with Fleetway?

I wasn't sure. Hearing them talk of how things will work now that I was back made me feel secure and safe. They weren't mad at me like I thought they would be. They weren't calling me stupid for going with Fleetway. They weren't acting the way I thought they'd be acting, which was a relief because I really thought they were going to be mad at me.

The more I looked at Shadow, the more I realized it might be better if I stayed with him and let him handle this. Let him help me. But there was still feeling at the bottom of my stomach that made me think it would be best if I just ran away now.

What do I do?