The Ultimate Lifeforms

Trying to Fix Things

"What'cha got there, bro?" Manic asked as he watched Sonic mess around with something on his wrist.
"It's from Egghead. A smart watch... I guess?" Sonic still wasn't sure what it really was. He was trying to mess around with it, searching for a settings option on the screen. "It's nice and all, but I'm trying to figure out how to take it off."
"Just pull it off."
"It's a little more difficult than that." He had been trying for a good twenty minutes before giving up.
"Let me try." Manic adjusted his gloves and vest.
Sonic rolled his eyes, but allowed Manic to have a try.
Manic tried his best to pull the cuff apart at the metal crease to no avail. Too stubborn to admit when he was beat, the green hedgehog forcefully continued.
It was then when Shadow entered the lounge. He immediately caught sight of Manic attempting to remove the device.
A sudden whiplash of air struck Sonic as he suddenly found himself standing alone. He looked to the end of the room to see Shadow pinning Manic to the wall.
"Shadow!" He sped to the black hedgehog's side, grabbing his arm and pulling him away from Manic. "What are you doing?!"
Manic was trembling and, unknowingly, wet himself out of terror. He rubbed his head where Shadow had slammed him into the metallic walls.
Shadow just growled in frustration, knowing that if he told Sonic what was on his wrist, he risk either him, Scourge, or even Manic attempting some botched method at disarming it.
"Shadow." Sonic grabbed his arm, forcing the dark hedgehog to look at him. "What's gotten into you lately? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Shadow pulled his arm out of Sonic's grasp. Gently grabbing his arm, he pulled Sonic to the side to talk to him. Meanwhile, Manic left to find a mop to clean up the mess he made.
"Don't mess with that thing, Sonic," Shadow whispered. He bit his lip. "It's a bomb."
"What?!" Sonic yelled, his eyes widening in shock. Shadow put his finger on Sonic's mouth and shushed him.
"It's set to detonate if you leave the ARK or try to remove it, so please, don't mess with it," Shadow said. He looked down guiltily, tears forming in his eyes.
"I'm so sorry about all this, Sonic," he whispered. Sonic stared at him, surprised to see Shadow actually crying. "I've been selfish. I've spent so much time trying to learn the truth about what happened fifty-three years ago; about why I couldn't remember much that I couldn't see what was in front of me. Even when I learned you were my brother, I've left you up on the ARK and put you at risk, all so I could selfishly fulfill that goal. I realize now what's really important. I've been fighting so hard for a chance to remember the family I had in the past that I'm going to lose the family I have in the present. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize this. I'm sorry you've had to go through this whole ordeal. I'm sorry I've left you to be Eggman's prisoner for so long, but I swear, I'll do whatever it takes to fix this. You're my only family, Sonic. I'm not going to lose you."
As Shadow's tears began to roll down his cheeks, he nuzzled Sonic's cheek in brotherly love. Touched, Sonic teared up.
"Aww, Shads..." Sonic pulled Shadow into a hug, stroking his back to comfort him. "It'll be okay. We'll get through this. As a family."
Smiling and letting out a cat-like purr, Shadow pulled out of the hug and dried his tears.
"I'll try to figure this out. In the meantime, try not to mess with that thing," Shadow said as he left. As he tried to think of what to do, he got himself worked up again.

Rouge glanced upwards from her book as Shadow entered the library, visibly upset. Choosing not to acknowledge the obvious, she returned her attention to her book. Even she needed her down time.
Shadow began pacing back and forth through the library, trying to find a way out of his current predicament.
Though she tried her best to stay focused, Rouge gave a defeated sigh. Shadow would stick around until he had her attention.
"No, I wasn't doing anything," she said in a sweet yet sarcastic manner, "Come on in, let me get you some tea."
"The Doctor has put a huge dent in our plans. Not only can I not get Sonic out of here, G.U.N. will no longer be helping us."
Rouge set her book down and dropped all traces of humor from her tone. "Why won't G.U.N. help us?" They had been providing support and resources for them the whole time she was up on the ARK. Why would they suddenly stop now? And for what reason?
Right. Rouge probably had no idea of what he had done that morning. "I may or may not have... destroyed the place."
"Destroyed? What do you mean destroyed?"
"I mean, I rigged every room in the headquarters with C-4 and blew the place off the map. The whole building is gone!"
Rouge gasped in shock. "And everyone... inside?" She knew Shadow; he would never take innocent lives. Would he?
"I personally made sure no one was inside, but that's not the problem. The problem is that Eggman has strapped a bomb to Sonic. A bomb that's set to go off if he leaves the ARK or tries to dismantle it."
"All right, all right. Let's relax, we can figure this out; we're just going to need some time."
"No!" Shadow shouted suddenly. "We don't have any more time. I can't risk Sonic's life! I can't be alone! Not again..." He sat down beside Rouge on the library couch and began rubbing his temples. "We're going to have to speed things up."
"We don't even know what Eggman's plans are to speed them up."
"Then we're going to have to find out. Next time the good Doctor steps out, we'll raid his workshop and try to find out what he's been doing up here all this time. We'll search for blueprints, files, clues, anything that will give us some of idea of what he had planned or any way of getting that... thing off Sonic."