Eternal Guardian

"I..." Shadow concluded that this was all very foolish and tried desperately to disguise the increasing blush of anxiety that consumed his features, but pressed on, "I.. think you deserve at least the rest of what I know." He barely moved with the exception of light breathing.

Sonic paused just as he was lifting a foot up to run. He was forced to hesitate and the blue one turned to face Shadow. The black hedgehog was a hard book to read sometimes and he could only guess at what he was about to say now. No longer holding an obnoxious look or an annoying charming gesture to mock him with, Sonic looked simply curious.

It did seem fair. Cheap thrills with violence and tough exterior was not all Shadow was about, and he knew that was probably all Sonic expected from him, but he was determined to clear his name, whether or not Sonic felt the same way about what he'd done in exchange. Sonic had, in all honesty, been closer to the Guardian, and it dawned on Shadow that he was being a total prick. He buried his face in his hands before the stinging flesh alerted him to stop and assume his previous position.

"Okay..." Sonic pressed warily, and decided to get comfortable. Like a young kid about to hear a juicy story from his grandpa, the blue hedgehog plopped onto his rear end and stared intently at Shadow, supplying him with his up most attention, and being obliviously comical about it.

Shadow, however irritated he was with Sonic's mannerisms, raised a hand thoughtfully to his chin, "Actually, we knew about it for a while. I don't know just how long Knuckles was aware of the situation at hand before he came to me, but I suspect it was a considerable amount of time.

"He was waiting for me one evening as I went for my usual walk - you know - from Emerald Coast down to the Square. He explained to me just what it is that a Guardian does, what their duties are, and so forth. I could tell..." He shifted his gaze downward, "I could tell there was something weighing heavily on his mind. He asked me then if I would consider becoming an apprentice of sorts."

Shadow paused. The next part was the least believable, and he wasn't sure exactly how to put it without inviting Sonic to make a joke of him. He knew Sonic would, no matter how well he chose his words. A scowl flirted with the possibility of showing itself, but gave up as he continued, "He said that... I was the only one, ah, appropriate for the job, because of certain...qualities."

Shadow stole a glance at the blue-furred one sitting across from him. "How old would you say that I am, hedgehog?"

Sonic took some time to roll this around in his head; for some reason, he had never thought about it, or wanted to know just how old the hedgehog was. Tapping his chin thoughtfully, he leaned back and placed his hands back behind him so his arms could support him.

After a minute or so, he narrowed his eyes seriously, coming to a conclusion that made the most sense in his mind.

"Fifty!"

Shadow didn't know whether to be insulted or ashamed of the answer. He leveled his eyelids and gave Sonic a look of disgust. "I find it annoying that I don't know how to respond to that."

He furrowed his brow as he closed his eyes for a moment and sighed frustratingly. "Do you say that, ignorantly, taking into consideration that it was over fifty years ago that the Space Colony ARK was destroyed? Or do you really think I'm that old excluding that time frame?" He felt a jolt of anger that was quickly pushed aside.

"Nevermind. But so you know," he shot Sonic another glare, "I'm not even as old as you, when it comes down to it. I was born with this body, aged and built exactly as it is now. I awoke, mind and body fully developed. I have not grown an inch since the day I was given life.

"And... I'm approximately six years old."

Strangely Sonic shared a similar expression that Shadow emitted seconds ago. It didn't help his ego to think he often got beaten by an apparent child. He was rather awed by the story though, even if he didn't seem like it.

"Yeah, well, you act like a fifty year old." He mumbled off to the side, defending what he thought had still been a rational answer.

"What was that?!" He overlapped the last word of Sonic's smartass remark as he suddenly tensed, clenching his fists angrily.

Sonic was quick to continue, amusement shifting through vibrant green eyes. "So you're immortal and a child. Okay, so are those the qualities, or are there more?" Although why it mattered he was young, Sonic had yet to understand.

Just as quickly as it came, Shadow's mood passed, and he relaxed again. The irritated glare managed to remain. "Naturally, but you don't seem like you have enough patience to listen." He shrugged and redirected his attention off to the side somewhere, pushing the hedgehog to counter. If he wanted to be a jerk about it, well, Shadow could do it, too. "Obviously, as a hero, you have much more important things to do than sit here and listen to an old fart like me."

Sonic bit his bottom lip to keep from riling Shadow up because if he hadn't he might have giggled or laughed. The black hedgehog was being oddly amusing but the blue one decided he'd try to be nice too.

Clearing his throat, he pushed himself up off the weight of his arms, waved him on and shook his head. "No, no. C'mon. I'm totally focused right now. I'm listeniiing! Tell me?" Surely he couldn't say no to the emerald eyes glittering up at him, taking on the form of a chibi's as though they were possessed by a demon.

Shadow brought his attention back to the begging hedgehog at the sound of his voice. His expression changed as Sonic gave him the pitiful puppy dog eyes and he raised his brows.

The striped hedgehog let out a half of a chuckle before covering his mouth with the back of his hand and turning it into a choking sound. He struggled not to let it happen again, but his shoulders shook gently as he gradually regained control and sneaked a peek over his arm at the other. Tears spotted the corners of his eyes, and he wiped these away as he continued.

"Fine. But you're still pathetic, so don't think you have any kind of influence over me...

"Basically, partially due to my age, I am considered to have the purest heart of anyone else competent enough to take on the task of protecting the Emeralds... Something about... childlike... purity or something. I wasn't really paying attention." This was a flat out lie, because Shadow knew exactly why the Emerald found him pure of heart. He had given the stone and his elders full respect and attention, and had absorbed Knuckles's every word and direction into his memory completely. "I guess I would do what I could to protect it without risk of becoming corrupt, or whatever.

“He met with me on this island for quite a few weeks. I want to say it's been a couple of months, at least. He said that because of my immortality, it was okay that I wasn't one of the Echidnas, that I didn't share the holy lineage. After all, I don't exactly have Earthly ancestry." He wasn't sure if Sonic knew the full truth about Black Doom, but as far as he could remember Black Doom's revelation had come at a time when he was present. How much Sonic actually retained was another story, however...

"He gave me scrolls to study, had me interpret hieroglyphs from inside the pyramid temple in the Mystic Ruins, took me to Sandopolis to see the ancient palace, and gave me endless other history lessons. He's had me meditate in all sorts of conditions, and taught me to fight using the Master Emerald instead of the Chaos Emeralds. He explained to me how I would know where to find the Emerald, should it ever get stolen, and how to read its prophecies. I believe I have been given more training than any other Guardian, but..."

He frowned again, looking behind him at the radiant gem. "But I'm still not sure. You could be right about this all being one big mistake. Whether or not my soul is tied to Chaos energy is an entirely different matter. This power is different, cleaner, uncontrollable, it seems."

He met Sonic's gaze, concern in the ruby depths. "I wonder if I did the right thing."

Cut to Sonic, recuperating from Shadow's boring edge SLOW voice which hadn't exactly helped his concentration any. But he heard what he was saying even though he may not have looked like he was paying attention (again).

The thought of Shadow considered PURE in any way almost made him chuckle but he held back. He didn't want to interrupt the black hedgehog. He wanted him to finish what he was saying. Although it might have been hard for him with those eyes boring into his very soul, never wavering, constantly shivering in a baby like fashion. It appears he forgot to turn them off or maybe he meant to stare at him like that. Just to see if he'd react.

Shadow blinked, realizing that looking to the idiotic faker for some sort of answer just added to the mistakes he'd made. He opened his mouth, then closed it, not really sure what to say. He snorted, finally coming up with a response, "Is that how you're going to be about it?" A vein pulsed on his temple.

He growled, and this time it was a noise that one could easily mistake for playfulness, were it not Shadow. He pounced at the other, seeking to pin him down. If he had to, he would repeat the whole, long, boring story, this time seeing to it that the blue speedster was listening. Shadow was a force to be reckoned with!

Sonic was quite entertained by the reaction he drew out of him but was somewhat startled when Shadow pinned him down. "W-Wait!" He yelped as he fell backwards, landing on his back, a previous position reversed ending with Shadow on the top, leading to quite a precarious predicament.

"What? I was listening!" He would have sounded more convincing if not for that smirk.

"I happen to find that you have a child's innocence and purity...cute." He flashed an uncertain smile, "Perhaps a little strange.

"Although your fighting skills with the Master Emerald kind of suck." Sonic doubted he had even been capable of attempting to use its power at the way he attacked him earlier with the Chaos emerald. But it was still something to rub in the KID's face.

"Look here! You wanna pick another fight with me?" Shadow leaned forward, pushing his weight onto the thin wrists that he held within his grasp. He had Sonic in his clutches now, so he wasn't concerned with the hedgehog's useless opinion anymore. He grinned, drawing his face dangerously close to the other's, mingling their breath. "I've got news for you: I didn't even use the Master Emerald, but I'd be happy to give a free demonstration." Shadow was relieved that Sonic wasn't doing the whole point-and-laugh bit, but he would still have to face his divine wrath for not giving Shadow his full attention!

Sonic flinched at the pressure on his wrists but otherwise ignored it. He tempted to appear unphased despite their closeness but just played off what the hedgehog said with that usual air of coolness. "Aw, you don't have to show off for me. I know you're special." It wasn't a fight he was looking for but unlike the black hedgehog Sonic was known to be dangerously playful. To a point where it could get quite annoying, especially towards his enemies.

"Hah!" Shadow pulled the grin back into a smirk and stared menacingly into the spiraling green depths. "You're getting too cocky, misemono. Don't think for a minute..." He trailed off, forgetting that he was even talking at all as he absorbed himself into his own staredown. He recessed to his old, silent, self as his confident expression wavered. His breathing slowed. He couldn't close his eyes, no matter how hard he tried, so he let the silence grow to make up for the small distance between them. Something was wrong, but Shadow was lost in space, so he couldn't quite place what. It appeared whatever happened to him was contagious though. Suddenly Sonic was awfully aware of their closeness and the realization hit him in a way it hadn't before as the silence brewed between them. The urge to make a breath joke was strong but instead he got lost in Shadow's eyes, surprised how pleasant their appearance were, despite the glares he was given just seconds ago. It was an odd observation to make, rather random, but Sonic was unpredictable like that. Or maybe he just had ADD.

"You were saying...?" Said blue hedgehog uttered softly, licking his lips in a sudden urge to moisten the tiers.

Suddenly, the black hedgehog snapped back to reality.

He forced himself off the other quickly and landed on his bottom before stumbling hurriedly and uncertainly to his feet. He looked at Sonic like he was a ticking time bomb ready to go off at any second. Color rushed unnaturally to his beige muzzle and he panted, searching his mind desperately for what might have caused him to behave so... He shook his head. There was no word for it in his mind. He realized what an asshole he looked like and swallowed the rock down, trying to keep his shakiness at bay.

"I...forgot..." Which was true. He couldn't remember what they were even talking about, let alone what he was going to say. Why was he even talking to the faker? He couldn't piece it all together. One thing kept popping up in his head that he couldn't push away -- the way Sonic licked his lips.

The azure hedgehog sat upright and watched him for a moment before a predatory look raged in his eyes. Something got Shadow awfully uncomfortable and for some reason he couldn't help but think it had something to do with him.

Crawling closer to him, his little ears pinned, eyes gleaming, he wondered if he could get the same reaction from him again.

"You forgot?" It seemed unlikely. But then what else grabbed the lookalike's attention? "Is something wrong?" Sonic wasn't sure where he was going with this but he liked interesting things and Shadow was being very interesting right now.

"Nevermind, you." Shadow rubbed at his lower face with the back of his wrist, half removing the increasing number of sweatdrops, half attempting to wipe away the redness that crept over him. Something in his gut was aching, and he knew it was a very wrong feeling. He managed to calm himself before he realized the stupid hedgehog was on all fours, inching closer to him. His eyes shot wide again as he noticed the expression on the blue one's face. He turned and covered his own face, cradling whatever dignity he had left and trying to regain his collected nature. What the fuck was wrong with him?

Sonic chuckled and stopped but a mere foot from him. Whatever was riling Shadow up was becoming quite amusing on Sonic's behalf. Whether he truly knew what he was doing or not was left to the unknown for the time being.

"Why so tense? You got something to tell me?" Apparently whatever was going through Shadow's head seemed to be the source of his sudden frustration. It almost intrigued the blue hedgehog; just what was going on in there?

Shadow spun on his heel and uncovered his face, clenching his hands into fists and thrusting them in front of himself, as if in defense. He clenched his eyes shut and trembled angrily, growling, "I said NEVERMIND!" Didn't the bastard know when to leave him alone?

He paused, suprised by his own outburst, but kept his defensive stance. Slowly he opened one eye to peek over at Sonic's reaction.

He was met with blinking, Sonic looking dumb founded, and rather comical in his position. Huffing, Sonic rose to his feet rather than remain on all fours. "Okay, okay. No need to get testy." He snorted, closing one eye and peeking at him with the other.

Arms crossed over his chest. "Are moodswings part of a confusion technique powered by the Master Emerald?" Plenty of sarcasm, evidence of the fact that, no, Sonic didn't know when to leave him alone.

"I'm not! You just.. I was.." Shadow stuttered, confusing himself by his sudden lack of control over the situation. Shadow was one to dominate a fight, conversation, you name it, in the blink of an eye. He bared his teeth, not out of anger, rather out of his desperation from the inability to take over the situation at will. Why he was shockingly distracted by the presence of the other was beyond him. Shadow immediately felt that perhaps he was better off alone, despite the fact that he had enjoyed the company, however violently, and continued to desire it. He looked away, color building up again. "Maybe if you wouldn't ignore me when you wanted the damn answers for yourself in the first place, is all..." He didn't even stop to consider how little sense he was making grammatically, but he figured the point was made. Shadow wouldn't be so flustered if Sonic had just listened to him, he wouldn't have gotten off course of his story. Slowly but surely the cold look that was typical of him made its way back.

"Oh, come now. I know your feelings weren't hurt on account of that." Sonic grinned, knowing Shadow a bit better than perhaps the black hedgehog thought; something was bothering him. Something, although he wasn't sure what yet, he somehow managed to find amusing. Or perhaps his constant grinning was misleading. Sonic always seemed to have a charming or casual look on his face no matter the circumstances, making you think he was always one step ahead. And if it grew into something more grave, he usually found a way to get back in the rhythm of things soon after. But Sonic didn't exactly fear doom from Shadow. In fact just the opposite. For once he too found himself enjoying the other's company. "Do I have to beat you up again to get the truth out of ya?" Again, the tone of his voice was far more playful than threatening.

Shadow guided a hand to massage his throbbing temple. "Of course not." The blood was still racing in his veins. He turned his back on Sonic and stormed over to his spot on the stairway. He glared down at it for a second before his attention was brought to a new matter.

And it all made sense, as Shadow's eyes grew wider than he felt they'd ever been before. What was more, Shadow had never even had this happen to him before. He choked, having a pretty good idea what it meant, and why he both wanted the other to stay and wanted him to go fall off the island and die. He froze, unable to breathe or move. As long as he faced this way, he was fine... unless Sonic had already seen it? Panic flooded his veins as he grew lightheaded and mentally strangled.

Luckily for him the blue hedgehog was at times very dense. But curiosity was at its full force as he tilted his head and approached him from behind. This was getting a little ridiculous now. He's never seen Shadow act quite like this before and now he just wanted to get to the bottom of things.

"Shadow?" A hand reached out, lightly snagging the male's shoulder to steer him back around; a lingering sense of what COULD be going on brushed to the back of his mind. This was Shadow they were talking about, and whatever was the cause of his attitude, he was certain there was a very good reason for it.

Shadow jumped and gasped, heart racing as air finally filled his tightened lungs. How did he get so close without Shadow's knowledge? The pounding in his chest seemed like it would rip him apart and he shook somewhat as he slowly forced his head to turn around and see the hedgehog behind him. He kept his shoulder stiff and closed himself off to Sonic even more. "What?!" He didn't mean to snap, but maybe it would discourage Sonic... just enough to make him leave. Shadow didn't exactly cling to any little thought of hope, either, knowing better than such.

Sonic's eyes narrowed.

He flinched and was a little taken back by his sharp outburst, one he then went on to ignore; his other hand raised and grasped onto his other shoulder. Now the blue hedgehog had him, holding him still as he got their faces close again; his emerald eyes searched Shadow's as he tried to read through the lenses and see what it was he was feeling on the inside. "What? You tell me."

Shadow held his breath again as the sense of fear doubled, increasing his bloodflow to a place he'd rather it not. Panic dominated his features.

His thoughts alternated between attempts to will down his increasing physical desire and his recollection of Sonic's tongue gliding across his lips. Shadow's body was stiff and immobile as his eyes wandered against his wishes to Sonic's mouth. 'No! No no no!' He clamped his eyes shut, hoping to end it there, but the blue hedgehog was so very close, and his warm hands were on Shadow's trembling shoulders.

To be honest, Shadow had never been so terrified of anything. He could only pray that Sonic didn't get any closer, or look down. It was wrong. He couldn't name all of the reasons why, but he knew it was wrong.

But Sonic shifted forward, perhaps a mistake on his part, but suddenly felt something bumping against the fur near his tummy. Looking down, Sonic was...shocked, to say the least. One probably couldn't give a more comical expression than the dumbly found look on the blue hedgehog's face. It all connected in an instant and he finally understood Shadow's distress.

"Wow..." Hands released their grip as he looked up at Shadow, honestly unsure of what to think. He never would have thought he'd get THAT much of a rise out of him, and in such a perverted, literal sense.

Shadow exhaled discouragingly. 'Damnit!' Why couldn't he use Chaos Control? He just wanted to get away. He wanted to forget any of this even happened. Shadow felt the sinking feeling in his stomach knot around his heart and crush any ounce of hope he had left. Disgusted with himself, he wanted to cry in anger and embarrassment, but something held him back by some miracle.

He tentatively risked an apologetic glance at Sonic, begging himself not to let the situation get any worse than it had. Even as impossible as it seemed, Shadow dared not question his luck.

Sonic stared.. Shadow obviously hadn't meant to lose it around him but...the fact that he did was still pretty unnerving. He just...it was so unlike him. How long had the black hedgehog been harboring these feelings for him? It seemed rather twisted too considering the fact the only thing he seemed to emit before was hatred for the blue lookalike.

Stepping back, Sonic scratched the side of his head, trying to figure out what to say. He also dug deep to see what he felt on the subject himself. And he seemed indecisive again. Considering their relationship up until this point and the fact Shadow was so 'young,' he almost felt weird about feeling anything at all for the black hedgehog.

"So...ah, you like me, eh?" Like seemed to be making it an understatement with the way Shadow's body reacted towards him, but he had to say something to break the incredible tension in the air.

Shadow looked miserable as his brows slanted outward. "It's not what it seems like!" He panted, dizziness gradually releasing its grip on him as oxygen rushed back into his lungs. He took a step forward, then remembered just why this was happening and quickly put his back to Sonic, shame replacing the paralysis. "Just... leave now. I'm not making you stay." He squeezed back tears of pure mortification that threatened him. Shadow had never come close to anything like this kind of distress, and his reaction was not exactly well prepared - he didn't want to feel this way - he hated all of it. Repulsion swallowed him whole and stabbed at his insides. He was nauseated, horrified, and it wasn't until now that the offensive organ was taking its leave.

Sonic found it hard to interpret the situation other than what it obviously seemed like. He frowned as the other turned his back to him, part of him wanting to leave. He didn't like feeling so lost or slow to respond to something and on this particular subject his mind was drawing a blank.

"Shadow..." Sonic bit his lip and wandered around to the front of him. As much as he wanted to run away, he just couldn't leave things like this between them. It'd just be too weird.

He stood in front of him and stared. At least for the black hedgehog, the look he gave him wasn't one of disgust, nor was he openly mocking him in the first place. He was just surprised, as anyone would be, and trying to come up with a conclusion to this ordeal.

Unfortunately...Sonic couldn't do it. As much as he wanted to do something to relieve the tension and make things normal again...the hedgehog just wasn't prepared to take such a task on. Even though he lived longer than Shadow, and has had a hand at girlfriends, he felt as though this was the first he's ever encountered this sort of thing; and in a way, it was. Besides the fact Shadow wasn't even a female, the whole thing that led up to this was just bizarre, foreign...Most girls swooned over him immediately and Shadow was the hardest book to read.

As Shadow was so prone to dominate conversations, fights, what-have-you, he seemed out of his element and vulnerable, something else he wasn't used to seeing. It just didn't suit the black hedgehog. So what was he going to do about it? Nothing. Sonic stared, waiting for him to do something instead. One thing Shadow could count on, he wasn't going away.