The onslaught of words being shoved down his throat made the hero gawk in complete & utter disbelief, not expecting such words from the Ultimate Lifeform. Wide eyes dilated at firm hands grasping his shoulders, claws starting to seep into his flesh as he just stood there, jaw dropping & being completely immobilized.Â
 His words out of aggravation were not just some hullabaloo, however. These words, flowed by the manifestation of anger at him, at himself, at everything heâs done. The guilt was more than evident in the thick, harsh tone of Shadow & within those now glossy crimson eyes. It not only left Sonic still but at a loss for words in what to say.Â
 His eyes curved in empathy, lips pressed into a compassionate frown as the ebony almost shouted right in his face, feeling his teeth about to once bit his lip before yet another wave of words pulled through. & before Sonic could cogitate the right words to respond, the other plopped on his knees, sobbing as he buried his face in his stomach.Â
 Steadying his shaking & spiraling emotional turmoil, he glanced down at Shadow, his heart being torn to shreds upon watching him.
 âSh-ShadowâŠ.â he breathlessly muttered, wrapping his thin arms around Shadowâs waist & pressing him against his tummy. He swallowed the huge, dry chunk of saliva in his throat, thoughts creating a whirlwind in his mind in order to think of how to respond⊠& really, what can he say? Arms tensed as that whirlwind became a hurricane.Â
 How was he going to respond to that, without such ways of possibly plunging this down the drain even further? How can he assure Shadow that he can be forgiven? That there was some good in him, even with all the faults he made?
 He⊠He didnât know. He definitely didnât know⊠But he was willing to try once more.
 âBut⊠But you did make da world a safe place!â His voice sounded oh so unnatural. It was unstable, emotional, & sounded like he was holding something back - Tears? Who knows? âYou-You couldâve let da world be shattered into pieces, but ya didnât! You couldâve let Black Doom kill everyone, but did you? No! You did not FAIL her! If anythinâ, you fulfilled yâer promise! You were willing to risk yâer life TWICE in order to save everyone on this planet! Every single person! Look at da people down there, theyâre happy dat you saved âem! Theyâre down there with smiles on their faces âcuz da day is saved by YOU!â
 No no. Not his voice cracking too. Chaos, he had to be the strong one now but he guessed he couldnât keep his emotions in check. âYâer not a monster⊠You were jusâ misunderstoodâŠâ & his soft, unusually stuttery, brittle tone drifted off as if he couldnât speak much longer.
The more Shadow stayed there, down on his knees and sobbing against the other hedgehogâs body, the more his senses slowly began to return to him. In all of his grief and self-blame, he had forgotten that it was indeed him that made the world safe again. He committed these mistakes, yes. But he atoned for them as well. He was given the peopleâs graces for saving the planet twice over. Besides, wasnât that what his last big fight against Devil Doom was all about? âTo put his past behind himâ. Yes... Yes, he did say that.
His sobs dying out slowly, turning into mere, weak sniffles as he would huff for air, breathing in fresh air as well as breathing in the scent of the blue hedgehog, it seemed to soothe him. Calm him slowly... even with the voices of guilt still screaming in his head, he slowly learned to ignore them. For now. Theyâd be back, but for now he was somewhat at peace. A few last sniffles emerged, and the ebony would look up, crimson eyes meeting emerald orbs.
âS-Sonic... I-...â his voice still shaky, he managed to calm himself with a few ragged breaths, before he would look at him in full earnest. âI... thank you...â heâd slowly, weakly stand up, knees still shaky and wobbly, but he managed. A deep sigh was taken, and he would just look up at Sonic anew. âW-Would you... mind if we went somewhere else?â he then asks. Sure, the scenery here was nice, but Shadow needed something a bit more... calm to take his mind off of things.