Eternal Guardian

Shadow bared his teeth threateningly at Sonic after his last smartassed reply, but directed his glare off to the side, attempting to overlook it. "It doesn't matter."

In all honesty, it was all about the same to him so far. Food was food. He didn't care where they went. It kept him alive and more focused and that's all that mattered. He blinked. Maybe that was all he needed to get back in sync with the Emeralds. He was just out of sorts. And that explained his irrationality concerning Sonic and Rouge. He felt a little better, all things considered.

This made things easier for Sonic. Since Shadow didn't mind where they ate, he could choose wherever he wanted. But what was he in the mood for? And what would be open this late? He was sure they could find something once they got to the busy city. Walking there would take a while though.

Smiling fondly at Shadow, he stepped ahead of him, a challenging look in his emerald eyes. "How about a race? Or did I wear you out earlier?"

He didn't even bother to respond verbally. Instead, Shadow immediately took a lunge, shoving the blue hedgehog aside the second the words escaped his mouth as he darted off. His steps quickly turned into long, powerful strides as his boosters kicked on. He couldn't help himself - a grin formed. But he was pretty secure with that - he already had a head start, so Sonic wouldn't get to see how much he was enjoying the competition.

His ears flicked up, not expecting him to take off so suddenly. "Hey!" He growled but couldn't help but grin himself. Immediately blue legs began into action, shooting him off from the ground in a high energy run; determined to catch up with him and pass him in the process.

It didn't take him long to spot the black and red blur. His eyes narrowed and he smirked, pumping his legs harder and faster, coming up alongside him after a couple of minutes. Their surroundings beamed by them like they were in some kind of time warp.

"Ya know, you got a head start. You're a cheater. For shame! Someone is going to have to get a spanking later." He spoke in a sing-song voice, chuckling deviously at his sinister perversion - something Shadow probably wouldn't understand either.

Shadow blinked over, not sure how to respond, but he had a good idea. Again, he lunged, kicking off the ground as they neared the Mystic Ruin train station. This time he was determined to catch Sonic off balance so he could take the lead again. He curled his elbow towards the other as he neared. If he thought Shadow would lose, he was sadly mistaken. Especially since he had to work double time to catch up to the ebony hedgehog, Shadow knew he still had the upper hand.

He was rarely predictable to Sonic but he did manage to avoid his assault. He did something to his advantage and to rub Shadow's failure in his face; the blue hedgehog leaped high into the air and curled into a ball, doing a spin dash through the air and shooting off like a rocket, momentarily leaving Shadow behind.

"Pft. Waste of energy." The other smirked.

He regained his composure easily, flipping up onto the rail and grinding for a second to get his balance. After a slight hesitation, Shadow pushed off from his grind, and ran atop the rail for a beat - jetting would be impossible on such a narrow surface, but there was no way he was going to grind all the way to Station Square. It would be too slow, and Sonic would easily win. Instead he focused all his concentration on running, something he never really did, after all, and it took a great deal of extra effort on the tracks.

Sonic ran full speed ahead but took a second to see what the other was up to. He didn't predict any further dirty shots but the black hedgehog always seemed to have something up his sleeve.

At the sight of him on the rails, he slowed to get behind him and follow. He jumped up, grinding them; an idea on his mind, one to outdo Shadow's last sneak attack.

Sonic once again threw himself in the air to do a homing attack to knock Shadow off balance in order to take his place on the tracks. The absence of sound alone was enough to grab his attention, however. Shadow raised a brow and mimicked Sonic's attack instinctively, bounding into the air and curling into an attack position, quills extended as he crashed into the other. He bounced back, stretching his limbs out as a arm shot between his legs. His feet struck the railing and slipped out to the sides, and he caught himself automatically with the extended hand, forcing himself back up and into a defensive stance, ready for the next thing Sonic threw at him.

Said hedgehog flinched as his body came in contact with Shadow's and he was forced back, limbs stretching out, eyes quickly noting where the rails were below him. His feet coolly caught the rails in another grind, sparking light from his feet; as his eyes locked on his target just ahead of him. He smirked, always enjoying a good challenge; and Shadow was the biggest challenge he's ever went up against, no matter what it was they were doing.

He didn't attack again. Instead, while they were both sort of slowed down from their previous wild running spree, Sonic lunged and jumped over Shadow, using his spin dash as a boost. A lot of energy was spent but it'd be worth it.

As he caught and rode the rails like a wave on a surfboard, he spanked his behind and stuck his tongue back out crudely at the other hedgehog now currently behind him.

Now he was just being silly.

A brow was quirked. Then an eye twitched. Shadow bared his teeth, racking his brain for a method of revenge worthy of the little blue asswipe. He at least knew when he was being taunted, and he sped up at the same time a new noise reached him.

They were almost out of the tunnel that led from the city station when a light swept around the corner. Shadow's eyes focused, trying to adjust, and he sweatdropped nervously. If Sonic went the same way he did, they were screwed. He made the guess that Sonic would go for ducking down by one of the sides, and as the horn blared, tearing through his sensitive ears, he winced, taking his chances. He darted along the side of the right wall, curving up and over the train.

The black hedgehog assumed correctly as Sonic squeezed towards the wall, continuing to run as the train sped through the tracks. Considering he was just three feet tall, not very wide, it was easy not to be side swiped as it whizzed on by. He didn't worry about Shadow and not just because he was immortal, it'd be a huge insult to his intelligence as well as his own to be ran over by a train after all they've went through.

Shadow couldn't fight gravity much longer, and his skill at running was further tested as he flipped down onto the top of the closest car. He barely managed to navigate around all the escape hatches and pipes and gaps atop the train, and when he came to the end at the mouth of the tunnel, he wasted no time getting off of it.

He dropped to the ground, landing between the rails at the port of the city station. He was wide-eyed and his breathing was heavy and fast. His heart was about to explode, and he swore to never attempt something stupid like that again. He could have waited the split second to see which way Sonic could go!

It took him a moment to recover, but when he did, you'd never know just how scared out of his wits the black hedgehog had been.

He winced up at the bright lights of the new, wide glass tunnel he'd ended up in with his considerably long jump, and a sudden consciousness swept over him. He blinked, then realized exactly why he had that sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. The fur around his backside was still matted and probably looked just as bad as his chin and arm had that morning. The wide-eyed look returned as he glanced over his shoulder to see if Sonic was still behind him.

Sonic wasn't nearly as frightened or out of breath as Shadow by the time he showed up. Of course he took an easier route and when they were finally rid of that screeching train, he could see the other. The blue hedgehog had completely forgotten about a bath he too required, no doubt to provide plenty of humiliation for the both of them if they were seen (or smelt). Instead he was still intent on the race, unsure as to why Shadow seemed so surprised when he looked back at him; perhaps he was shocked to see how close he was? That he was going to win?

To be honest, Shadow didn't even know where they were supposed to be headed, but he was a little too distracted at that point. He watched Sonic as he came closer, and realized that he wasn't planning on stopping anytime soon. Was he really still racing after that? Well, Shadow guessed he didn't have to do anything unnatural to avoid getting hit by the train. It would have been easier to jet skate on the ground. Catching the other's eye with a calm, but concerned, expression on his face, he reached out automatically and grabbed for Sonic's arm. "Wait."

Sonic stopped instantly but almost lost balance and fell on his face. His chest was rising considerably faster, hyped up with adrenaline. "What?" He blinked cluelessly, not sure why Shadow ended their little race. Although, he couldn't say he had set a finish line anywhere, either.

"Don't you think..." Shadow almost said 'you,' then 'we,' and finally settled on something a little less obviously directed at both their situations, "I mean.. I might need to go back and... clean up a little first.." His eyebrows twitched, as if they might change his expression any second. He frowned pointedly, pulling his gaze away automatically. Eye contact in anything that resembled normal conversation tended to make him uncomfortable.

Sonic stared a moment and looked down at himself as if taking the hint too. Not only did Shadow need to clean up but he did as well. That was embarrassingly obvious.

His cheeks grew flushed as his eyes quickly darted from left to right to make sure they haven't been spotted yet.

"Eh heh, you mind if I come too?" He didn't want to risk going home to be spotted by Tails, and he was certain Shadow lived alone. He had taken a chance on that once already, and after what happened earlier today, he didn't want to risk an encounter with the young fox again.

Shadow glanced back over, dumbly blank expression coming over his features. Shouldn't Sonic have his own? That was his first thought. Well.. as long as Shadow got first dibs, he was fine with it. "Whatever." He blinked as his eyes focused on the ground over to the right, and he jumped out of the glass frame into the dark side street below the tracks. The casino was uncomfortably busy, and Shadow ducked into the alley leading to the main street that led out of the central square. Sonic followed with no quarrel. He walked alongside of him once he caught up, catching his breath from all that running earlier. His heart was still thumping a little fast but he enjoyed the adrenaline.

His eyes kept ever aware as he let silence linger between them - for once - and kept a paranoid eye out for anyone that might see them in these interesting circumstances.

Shadow nodded at the other, silently instructing him to take his lead as he broke into a heavy pace, sticking to the backstreets and alleys as much as possible as he neared the primarily residential side of town. He climbed the fire escapes of the building across from his with ease, and jumped over to his balcony rail, smirking inwardly as he continued to test the azure hedgehog's endurance. He dropped to the floor, turning around to see the other's progress.

Keeping up with him up until the fire escapes was simple enough. His muscles were still a tad weary from everything they've been doing. Although Sonic made it look easy and graceful, he was struggling inside. When the hedgehog landed on the balcony rail - and after striking a cocky pose of arms falling over his chest - his knees simply gave out. A sweatdrop formed alongside his head as his arms acted too slowly to catch himself. He fell flat on his face, inside the balcony, right on the floor next to Shadow. "!"

He gave Sonic a stupefied stare, twitching an eyebrow for a second before stepping over him and sliding open the glass doors. He paused in the doorway, shaking as he struggled to hold back laughter, and bit his lip hard enough to eventually regain his composure. He uprighted himself and switched on the light, stopping at the sink to refill the glass from earlier with water. He began to chug it, peering over at Sonic idly.

Sonic, who was left on the floor, groaned, irritable at himself and rather embarrassed. His ears laid back as he helped himself to his feet. He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, chuckling in a humiliated manner; and following after Shadow. "I, uh, meant to do that, ya know."

He took in the surroundings of his apartment, just then realizing he's never been in here. It was simple enough. Nothing utterly surprising or something he could make fun of him for. Rather bland, actually.

Shadow set the glass down, taking a deep breath silently. He shut the door, clicking the latch for once... he assumed Rouge's favorite entrance was the easily accessed kitchen. Still keeping a cautious eye on the other, he began to make his way into the living room, gesturing that Sonic should follow suit. He squatted to loosen his shoes, then slid out of them easily near the front door.

He winced as he stood, a hand moving to his ear to rub it absently while he observed the dried blood pulling the skin and fur around Sonic's little gift to him. He really hoped that would come out of his white fur, but it had been in there quite some time, and he didn't expect anything less than yellowing.

Sonic followed after his gesture and went ahead and took off his shoes too. Once the two showered off, they could go out and grab something to eat. He could hardly wait. He observed what Shadow was staring at then, and felt a tinge of guilt pull at his heart strings. He didn't draw attention to it by saying anything though. Instead he changed the subject of his thoughts entirely.

"I'll just chill on the couch and snoop through your things while you shower first, kay?" He 'assured' him, heading for the sofa for the time being to take a load off.

Shadow gaped at Sonic openly. He was seriously regretting this. He couldn't think of anything he owned that was particularly private or a personal secret, but he still didn't like the idea of anyone going through his apartment at all. It was bad enough that Rouge got away with it. He pulled his shoulders up defensively as he turned his body to face the other. A look of determined anger set up on his face. He figured that would be good enough to get his point across.

Sonic blinked over at him as he sat down and smiled reassuringly. "Hey, calm down. I'm kidding. Go shower." He had something better planned anyway.

Shadow sighed, massaging his temples as he walked into the bathroom. The light was still on - he hadn't cut it off in days. He shot one last warning glare through the mirror to the faker, then pushed the door shut.