Sonic's Amnesia

Chapter 9: Why do you hate me?

Nicky was frozen in place, he could see Metal Sonic charging in his direction. The blue hedgehog knew, he had to do something, run, avoid him, do anything!!! Yet, his body didn't move at all, he couldn't control it anymore. Just a second before the claws of his metallic counterpart could reach him, something, or better someone, grabbed him by his wrist. His eyes moved to the left and it was Shadow. "...CONTROL!!!" It was all Nicky could perceive, and he was suddenly veiled in a strange light. In the blink of an eye, both hedgehogs were in Amy's Kitchen. The black hedgehog tried to keep his usual expression up, but he was clearly sweating. Or at least it was clear to Nicky.

"What...what just happened!" The blue hedgehog exclaimed in shock. However, his opposite just stared at him. It felt like he wanted to say something, but before he could, the black hedgehog collapsed. Nicky quickly caught him to prevent further injuries. He dragged Shadow in the living room and laid him on the couch, Nicky had slept on, the day before. Hastily, he ran to the bathroom and grabbed a cooling gel from the first aid kit, the girl kept there. She was indeed the perfect girlfriend, prepared for every situation! Nicky shook his head, there was no time right now!

He hurled back into the living room and carefully put the cooling gel on Shadow's forehead. Suddenly, the band on the black hedgehog's wrist started blinking. The blue hedgehog pushed his index finger against it. "Shadow? Finally, you're picking up! What's wrong with you!? Stop ignoring me!!" The voice sounded familiar. Oh, right, it was the bat-woman, Nicky didn't like that much.

"Uhm, Shadow, uhm, passed out." He tried to explain, not knowing if his opposite could even hear him.

"Nicky? Is that you? What happened?" Her voice sounded caring and concerning. She seemed to care a lot about Shadow.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure. I heard him scream something like 'control' I think, and collapsed afterwards."

"HE DID WHAT!?!" The sudden yell, startled Nicky nearly to death. Rouge sighed deeply, you could almost see her facepalm. "Listen, Nicky?"

"Ye...yes, Ma'am?"

"Shadow is not like us, he needs to regain his Chaos Energy first, could you make sure he won't use the Chaos Emerald in his possession, anymore? Hide it or something, please do me this favor."

"But, he will be mad at me if I do that!"

"Don't worry, even if he would be mad, he won't hurt you. I don't know why you seem so scared of him, but Shadow is a good guy! He does everything for the world and the world doesn't even thank him for it!" Those words made Nicky feel guilty. He was so jealous, he persuaded himself into thinking, Shadow was just a jerk. On top of that, the bat seemed to be honest. The blue hedgehog could tell from her words and the concern they carried. It was almost like she was suddenly another person, not that sneaky bat he saw the last time.

"I'll do it!" He answered determined.

"Thanks..." Rouge took a short pause before speaking further. "Can you do me a favor, and not tell anyone about this conversation? My reputation is at stake here." Nicky smiled gently.

"Of course, Ma'am!" With that said, Nicky could perceive a silent 'beep' and the contact was broken up. He quickly kept an eye out for the mentioned emerald, when he spotted a green shimmering gem, still in the black hedgehog's hand. He was tightly clinging to it, almost as he was afraid to lose it. Nicky wasn't sure if he really should take it, he hoped he was doing the right thing, by taking it away.

After that, the blue hedgehog sat there awhile, staring at his opposite. Curious and strange thoughts ran through Nicky's mind. The doctor told him, his grandfather was the one who created Shadow. So, was Shadow a living being, or a machine? The 'he is not like us' line from the bat wasn't helping with his questions, either. The blue hedgehog swallowed hard, he couldn't restrain his curiosity any longer. Despite his better knowledge, he started to examine Shadow's body. He touched his thighs, they were warm, meaning, he definitely had a blood circulation. His hands moved further up. The black hedgehog was alarmingly skinny. The blue hedgehog's eyes fixated on Shadow's chest fur. He couldn't help but wanting to feel its fluffiness. The white fur was soft, and as expected... velvety. Nicky was wondering if Shadow puts a lot of afford in it to keep his mane so fluffy and clean, like the fur of a typical house cat. "What are you doing?" Shadow asked him calmly, snapping the blue hedgehog out of his thought bubble.