A/N: To everyone who's finished reading Eternal Guardian, thank you for your reviews, I hope you all further enjoy the story. :) Not many people like to leave their comments but thanks to those who do. I like to see you all are enjoying the story and any critique you may want to add as well.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is SONIC/SHADOW slash. Also, you need to read "Eternal Guardian" before this story otherwise you will not know what is going on. Please read it before you read this one. Also, this story was originally a RP (role play). I give credit to Brittany who plays Shadow, and I myself play Sonic.

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Something was bothering him. He had been ignoring it since he woke up, and now was a good time to address it.

It didn't take him long to slip into his jet shoes, and make his way to the street below, sliding along the paved road as he headed back toward the island. Angel Island. Something he should have done last night. He had been putting off duties for too long, letting himself get distracted and almost immediately after he had taken on this huge responsibility.

Despite a mild upset, Shadow immediately relieved himself of it from the thoughts of a certain perky hedgehog the second the wind hit against his face and he inhaled the fresh morning air. A good run was all he needed. He had been yearning for one the second he woke up.

As he strode into the bay, Shadow slowed dramatically. He froze as he gaped at the sight before him, then stole automatic glances to his left and right to find out if anyone else was seeing what he was seeing.

Angel Island was floating in the ocean, like any other island. It seemed eerily calm and insignificant, waves crashing into the cliff face as opposed to rolling winds. He swallowed thickly - that wasn't the only thing wrong.

As a sinking feeling overwhelmed him, he realized at once that the Master Emerald was gone. There was an obvious absence of it's powerful presence ringing through the air like a siren. He cursed, turning his back to the island immediately. Right off hand he knew Rouge was capable of doing this, but she didn't have the time. And there was only one other painfully obvious suspect.

Shadow took off in the direction he was now facing. Like it or not, he had to find the Doctor's newest base. He hadn't given it much thought, but he knew someone who probably had. However unfortunately, the striped hedgehog knew he'd do best to ask Sonic first. As the Guardian glided effortlessly back towards the Mystic Ruins, he concentrated on where to first look for that damned faker. Like fate would have it, he didn't have to search long.

Having a joy ride through the city, the Guardian's problem hadn't went noticed. As he was approaching the coast, Sonic couldn't help but realize simultaneously he went past something just as fast as he is. A something that went thoroughly ignored while he did a power jump on top of a thirty story building. He hasn't had his fill of a good stress-relieving run after being forced out of Shadow's apartment, and he was in no mood to slow down. Besides, he felt like he's been missing out too much lately, and he seriously needed to get back into his zone.

Shadow spotted the other and started to slow to flag him down, but when they sped past one another, he finally came to a halt. He couldn't tell whether he was being blatantly ignored, or if Sonic honestly didn't see him. The hedgehog scowled, no matter what the reason was, he had to turn back around and charge after the bastard. He kicked off at full speed, forcing himself to move faster one stride at a time, then taking Sonic's lead to the rooftops.

"Oi. Misemono." His extra burst of energy met him alongside the other quickly as he used the lookalike name as a sort of insult. Surely the blue hedgehog knew that paying attention to your surroundings was a good idea at his pace, so he leaned more toward the suspicion that he was simply being given the cold shoulder.

Sonic's arms stretched out behind him as he soared feet after feet in the air only to land on top of another roof before jumping off of it. He repeated these steps while Shadow caught up with him. Not much of a surprise if the hedgehog had been intent with speaking to him. Seeing that he did, he spared him one of his trademark grins before stopping on a dime at the edge of one of the buildings he had intended to jump from, letting Shadow leap on through the air.

He wasn't sure why Shadow wanted to talk with him - he highly doubted it was to apologize for anything - but obviously it was important enough to run him down. But let's see just how bad he needed to speak with him.

Sonic ran down the side of the building in a blur before hitting the sidewalk and shooting off like a rocket, opposite to that of the ocean. A nice, wholesome, fun game of cat and mouse would do them both some good exercise and fun, neh?

Shadow's eyes widened greatly as he realized he was alone in his last jump. He landed, smoothly gliding around on those jet shoes to gape at the other. When Sonic hopped down and began to race away, Shadow clenched his fists. "Dammit!" This game was all too familiar to him, and he was not exactly up for playtime.

He dropped from his perch, pushing himself to catch up. What Shadow still failed to understand was why Sonic was so horribly childish. It made no sense to him why the other hedgehog preferred to make people work for a simple question. Not everyone was like the bastard, chasing robots for fun, skydiving off the side of buildings for a thrill. You got done what needed to be done first and foremost, and saved the joyride for later. That's just how things work!

He frowned, noting that obviously, that was not Sonic's way of thinking.

It was more along the lines of: why play later when he could have his fun now? Sonic looked back over his shoulder, smirking as he realized Shadow was chasing after him. He kept racing ahead, intent on making his little game last for as long as Shadow was capable of standing it. That, or if he actually caught him.

The hedgehog cut down an alley and jumped over a brick wall that would have ordinarily been someone's cliche of a dead end. He shot up so high, he felt like he was flying until gravity took its toll, landing him on top of a narrow wooden gate that led around someone's house near the alley he had leaped out of. He ran across it like a cat on crack and jumped onto a small home that gave him a stepping stone to a higher perch on an apartment building.

Shadow growled, not desiring to keep this up for long, and gave himself an extra boost to keep up. He closed the distance a second time, jumping only a split second after the other onto the apartment. "Listen, you!" He swung his arms in time, glaring over at the other hedgehog. He pushed himself a little harder and started to reach out for Sonic's arm closest to him.

Again Sonic stopped, halting immediately without skidding in the least; and most likely taking Shadow off guard again. Luckily he didn't leave him flying in the air and this time it appeared he wasn't going to run the other way and continue the cat and mouse game. As fun as it was running from Shadow, he was curious to see what he wanted; and he feared he'd give up and just leave if he continued his childish antics for much longer.

"Oi, you want something?" He grinned as though he didn't realize it before. A hand casually placed on his lithe hip as he cocked his head to the side, looking mildly interested, and intently into his angry eyes.

Shadow shuffled to a stop, baring his teeth as he turned back to face the other. "Enough with the games." His chest heaved as he stepped back over to where Sonic stood. Just the grin on Sonic's face made Shadow angrier. How did the faker find humor in being such an ass?

Shadow paused, looking to the side distractedly before meeting Sonic's eyes again. He really hated having to ask for help, but this was the easiest way. "I don't suppose you've been keeping up with where the Doctor's moved his base lately?" His eyes trailed automatically to the hand on Sonic's hip, then up again. He didn't trust the other to stay still for very long at a time, and he was already short on patience.

Sonic looked at him funny. He was definitely interested in what he had to say but now he was rather suspicious as to why he'd ask. It seemed rather random and for him to chase him down for that was a little surprising. He just wasn't expecting it.

He leaned in, pursing his lips together in consideration. Before he'd give him the answers he wanted, he first had some questions of his own. "Mm? Why do you ask?"

The look of anger faded to one of surprise mixed with guilt. It was none of Sonic's business, but he should have known that he would be interrogated right back. He pressed his lips into a half-hearted frown, creasing his brow. "Nevermind all that. It doesn't matter. Just answer the question." Ah, and he just knew that would raise suspicions. How could he possibly admit to the other that he had lost the Master Emerald so quickly? Perhaps it was the fact that Eggman knew of no present Guardian that it was targeted immediately, but it was still an embarrassment for the one dubbed as the Ultimate Life Form.

Sonic leaned back, giving him a skeptical look. Did he really think that would work? "Nah." He looked the other way stubbornly but eyed him from the corner of his eyes. This had definitely built his suspicions and he could only guess as to what Shadow would want from the cretin; but he'd have to find him on his own if he didn't ease his curiosity. He should be fully expecting this.

"I suppose if that doesn't matter, neither does my answer."

"Just--!" Shadow's glare quickly returned. "Why do you have to know?" He had to think of an excuse, and fast. Perhaps Sonic wasn't sure of his intentions and alignment. Maybe just a little reassurance would help his cause. "If you think I'm going there to befriend Eggman, don't get your hopes up. I have my reasons." He tensed, folding his arms over his chest, white tuft peeking through the black limbs. He really didn't have time to do this, but the confession seemed so far away from ever becoming reality.

Sonic smirked confidently with a witty retort already handy. "Why do you have to know?" He turned his head to stare at him again, unhindered by looking through the corners of his eyes. His arms crossed over his chest to mimic Shadow's pose, ready and capable of being just as stubborn as he was; fueled by the never ending cocky attitude, and punkish childishness that aided him in every ordeal he's had to face.

"You have your reasons, I have mine." He took a breath, cocking his head again expectantly. "So, what's up?"

Shadow noted the other's change in stance and let his arms fall to his side pointedly, demonstrating his dislike of the other's mimickery. "Look here, faker. I don't need to waste time on you! Do you know or not?" He growled, realizing that this was going nowhere fast. He jerked his head to look to the side, scowling bitterly as he glared over nothing in particular. His posture was arrogant, defiant, despite his surrender. "Fine. The Emerald's gone."

Sonic continued to wait expectantly as though he already foresaw his defeat. He looked reasonably surprised when Shadow finally spoke up, leaving Sonic gawking, and blinking dumbly at him. It took him but a second to regain his usual composure that mocked the black hedgehog during his crisis. He couldn't believe Shadow lost it already. But he supposed he had been a pretty good distraction. "Ohh, you're in trouuuble!"

He gave a reassuring grin, letting his arms drop to his sides. It seemed fairly obvious that Eggman would have been the culprit seeing as how he tried taking it not too long ago. "I sense an adventure! It's about time Eggman did something." He turned from him, walking towards the edge of the building as though he was coming with him. And he was.

"I'm still not here for your amusement, you know." He shot Sonic a warning look. "So I take it you know where to find him --Wait." Shadow paused, scrutinizing the other disgustedly. "You don't think this is an open invitation, do you?" He did not want the hedgehog tagging along, playing his little games and making his little smartassed remarks. That was out of the question. The last thing he needed was another round of being distracted, especially since he couldn't use a Chaos Emerald. It was going to be all Shadow from here on out until he got his mind on the same level as the Master Emerald, and that alone was unsettling.

"Neh, is there a problem?" Sonic grinned knowingly, having a feeling the other might not be too thrilled. Regardless, he was going to impose his company and go whether he liked it or not. Things have been far too boring around here lately - aside from the antics him and Shadow have been involved in. Well, without the black hedgehog around, who would he have to pester then?

"You need me, Shadow. I gotta show ya where Eggman's base is. Wouldn't want you getting lost. Besides..." Sonic turned around, pulling out his shining blue emerald. Where? Maybe from behind one of those quills. "I'm the only one that can use a Chaos Emerald and it'll be a lot easier to accomplish this with 'yours truly' around."

Need? It was laughable, at best. "I don't need anyone. Stop wasting my time." Shadow placed a hand on his hip, parting his lips slightly as he glared. If Sonic would just tell him where the base was, already, Shadow would have been long gone. He would have probably even been there by now. He couldn't stand the way the lookalike just forced himself on him, intruding his space and taking his lack of patience lightly.

His muzzle twitched a bit as he reconsidered at least letting the hedgehog lead the way. "Look, what if I just follow you there? You do know where we're going, right? Then you can mosey on to whatever you need to do while I get it back."

"Are you kidding?" Sonic stifled a laugh, one of real amusement. "If I'm not there, you might lose the Master Emerald again! Nope, I better stay with you, just to be sure it gets back safely." Without giving him a chance to respond, he leaped down from the building, doing a small free fall to the ground and landing neatly in a kneeling position on the side walk. One knee against the concrete, the other bent. He stood up and took off in a reasonable pace, one Shadow should easily match, and catch up to him. He didn't stand around and wait for him to yell at him; at least this way they were making some progress.

"Hey!" Sonic didn't take hints too well, not in Shadow's opinion. Still the other was treating him like he was some incompetent little toddler, and Shadow was most definitely not incapable of handling his own dealings. Taking offense easily at practically everything the hedgehog dished out to him, Shadow took chase, growling bitterly against the air resistance. He touched ground soon after the other, breaking immediately into long, purposeful strides as he kept close. "Will you stop treating this like a playdate, hedgehog? You're pissing me off." The shoes flared brightly as he kicked harder to line himself up with his rival.

Sonic continued to run towards their destination, apparently the only one knowing where that was. Luckily - or unfortunately - for Shadow. He was going to stick with him as long as possible although he'd most likely give him some space to get the Master Emerald himself while he played with the security at Eggman's base.

"Aw, am I?" He looked over, giving him a toothy, almost raunchy smile. "I'll be sure to make it up to ya later." He winked and picked up his speed, blasting forth in a blur of blue before the black hedgehog could respond to such witty perversion. If Sonic was trying to get on his bad side, he was doing an amazingly good job of it. Saying nothing, the ebony hedgehog raced after the other, intent on keeping up and keeping his ego intact. There was no way in hell he was letting Sonic get that far ahead of him. He certainly didn't want to hear about that later, either.

Narrowing his garnet eyes almost thoughtfully, he slid in smoothly behind the other. Sonic had the unfortunate habit of holding his arms out behind him, and while Shadow had almost caught him before, the other seemed to have failed to catch on to this. He came in at Sonic's right, trying to grab his attention, "Too bad I'll beat you to that opportunity, mm?" He would make it up to himself.

Without warning he veered back around to his left, snagging Sonic's arm and braking a bit, then let go to avoid losing his own balance as he began to pick up the pace again.

Sonic arched a brow, seemingly undaunted by his little remark. "So you're going to jack o--" Before he could finish his inappropriate response, he felt a hand on his other arm as Shadow slyly moved around to his other side. A sweatdrop instantly formed alongside his head as his eyes widened and he started to stumble, forced back behind him while the black hedgehog sped ahead.

He bristled, but instantly got over it. Luckily he had managed to keep his balance enough to where he didn't go crashing into the asphalt. Just what did Shadow think he was doing? Like he knew the way and yet he tried to take the lead. Well, if that's what he wanted, he supposed he could oblige.

Without warning, Sonic used a homing attack to help catch up to the striped hedgehog, something that also allowed him to make a direct hit on Shadow. Had he attacked him? Not quite. But Sonic latched himself like a leach onto his back and forced Shadow to carry him.

"Sorry, I seemed to have lost it a little back there. Do you know where you're going? If you wanted to lead, you could have said so. But I think you're going to get us lost."

Shadow's eyes shot wide open. "What the - -?" That was completely unexpected, and he wasn't sure what was going through the other's mind. Was he really that insane? Opting to ignore Sonic's comments, Shadow slowed quickly, reaching over his shoulders and pushing back whatever he could reach. "Get the hell off me!" He stopped completely, circling a little in place as he struggled against the other. Shadow growled loudly in the process. Once he got his hands on that bastard, he'd tear him to pieces!

Well the ride was fun while it lasted. Unable to help himself, Sonic smiled broadly with an amused chuckle. He only wished he could see Shadow's face better from his view point but apparently he wasn't as amused as Sonic.

"'Ey, you're not very good at this, are ya?" After Shadow had stopped, he helped himself off of him. His feet hit the ground in a second and he was in front of him in even less time than that. He may play dumb but he knew better than to hold still for those angry hands to latch onto him.

"Come now, I haven't gained that much weight. Or maybe somebody has been slacking off. Those arms are looking a little flabby. Tsk." He raised a finger up in a shameful manner. He shook his head solemnly before speeding off, once again using the element of his unpredictability to his advantage, and leaving the black hedgehog fuming behind.

At this point Shadow was entirely certain he would rather find the Doctor's base on his own, but if he went his own way, obviously, it would be the wrong direction. He panted angrily, trying to calm his nerves, to keep from simply destroying everything surrounding him. Then again, he reminded himself, he couldn't use Chaos Blast. Why bother trying to tame himself when he could use his uncontrollable temper to his advantage? With that, he tore into a violent dash after the other, practically grinding into the earth with every stride.

Sonic. Was. So. Dead.

It's like he could feel the aura of hate beaming at him from behind and growing stronger and stronger. Sonic tensed before he even looked back over his shoulder and saw the demonic force that was Shadow speeding up on him fast. He was wondering when he might cross the line with him but here lately he was beginning to think it was impossible. Not that he was pushing his buttons purposefully to boil him up into a chaotic mess; but it was fun getting there. Now...not so much.

Sonic grinned nervously and pumped his legs faster and harder, forcing himself to run at an even greater pace than before as the surroundings became but a blur around him; and they started to leave the town towards an off road, more wooded area.

Shadow narrowed his darkly ignited eyes, as he continued to close the distance, bottomless rage fueling his desire to catch up. Perhaps Sonic was fast, but with the raw destructive power energizing his every move, Shadow was pushing himself, forcing himself to be even faster. He was so intent upon exacting his revenge that his shoes flared under the pressure, ripping through the soil and 'causing small explosions in the dirt and grass, littering the ground behind him in his wake. Sonic should know better than to continue to cross the Ultimate Life Form so many times in the small time frame of a couple of days.

In fact, Sonic suddenly felt very small and he could almost feel Shadow's silhouette looming over him with glowing red eyes. This definitely wasn't good. He gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes in concentration. He started to zigzag wildly in order to make himself a more difficult target for Shadow's fury to be unleashed upon. A chill ran down his spine as he managed to catch up.

He casted him a few disarming looks when he could, trying to help calm the infuriated hedgehog. "Eh, Shadow, don't do anything irrational...!"

He mimicked Sonic's movements with expert precision. Like speedy maneuvering alone would hold him at bay. Shadow scoffed, throwing himself at the wide base of a tree and pushing off with such force that the trunk actually splintered a little. Arms outstretched, the hedgehog flew forward into the direction he predicted Sonic would be swerving around to next.

Shadow took him by surprise as he caught the dreadful streak of red and black heading towards him almost too late. He had but a split second to make a decision as to how he should react and little time to defend himself at all. He decided.

He curled into a protective, spinning ball in a last second attempt to reflect his blow and hit back. Of course he didn't have nearly enough energy behind the move when he was caught so suddenly by Shadow. Instead when the two collided he was forced back, crashing through the trunk of a tree and hitting another that stopped him immediately. He instantly fell out of the position he tried to hold, leaving him on his rear and his back leaning against a trunk. He groaned and rubbed his head, dizzy, and disoriented.

Shadow had been fully anticipating the impact behind this, and he was only mildly distracted by the pain that radiated in various regions of his body. Collecting his thoughts in record time, he glanced up at the hedgehog, who was victim to his own game (well, Sonic had insisted they play cat-and-mouse, after all - what did he think would happen?) and he snatched Sonic's arm and pulled it towards himself, stopping Sonic's instinctive massaging quickly. He rolled back off his knees and crouched before the other, tugging at his arm as he leaned in, rage burning like coals in the garnet eyes. "Wanna pull another foolish stunt?" A smirk formed quickly as he scoffed in arrogance. "Try me."

Sonic flinched, reflexively trying to retrieve his arm, having little to no time to recover before Shadow was already on him, making him think he might try something else. He braced himself for it but when immediate pain didn't follow he blinked his eyes a few times and continued to try and clear his vision.

He smiled sheepishly, not so willing to throw gasoline in the fire while sitting so close to it. "Okay, okay. You made your point."

Shadow let go, giving the arm a rough jerk in the process. Uprighting himself, he took a few steps and turned his back on the other, folding his arms over his chest as he waited for Sonic to pull himself together and get off the ground.

Shadow wasn't sure why he had such an immediate change of heart. He should have bloodied the bastard up a bit at least, to make sure, to make concrete, that he really did get his point across. Already he was regretting taking Sonic's word for it. What if he just stood up and started all over again? Being a Guardian was enough stress without him having to babysit cocky lookalikes.

He narrowed his eyes as he fumed, the urge to finish what he started building inside him.

Sonic exhaled heavily once they separated and for a second there he started to worry. With regained confidence, he pushed himself up to his feet. His head hurt a little but even a crash like that wouldn't have kept him down for long.

Looking towards the black hedgehog, he casually walked past him and paused. He grinned over his shoulder, erasing the sheepish expressions he wore before to something a bit more familiar; perhaps a little redundant.

"Oi, sorry, Shadow. I'll let you have the top tonight." He winked, and started to run. There, that should relieve the tension in the air.

An almost nonexistent pink settled into Shadow's muzzle, and this time he couldn't tell what he was so flustered about, but he channeled it into anger and took off once more. Intercourse was the last thing on his mind. Or was. Now Sonic was making him think about things against his will, and it frustrated him that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't keep focused on the task at hand. Catching up after another burst of speed, Shadow darted around a tree, narrowing his eyes at the hedgehog. "I really do hate you. Keep that in mind."

Sonic didn't seem very phased by the remark. He just brushed it off, used to Shadow's 'shameless affection.' He smirked at him as though he knew better; a look that challenged just what the hedgehog said and felt; something told him differently, but he wouldn't think too hard on the matter. It wasn't something he seriously wanted to go in depth about, at least not right now.

Sonic suddenly put a hand to his ear, looking strained. "Wuzzat?" He spoke loudly as though the wind rushing by them was too hard to hear over, "You said I'm awesome in bed? Thanks! I know!" He flashed another obnoxious smile and pumped his legs faster, speeding past him and cutting around a tree.

"Dammit." Shadow grumbled annoyedly as he was forced to dodge said tree or he would have otherwise missed if Sonic wasn't throwing him off. "Get back here!" True, he was supposed to be following the other, but something about him taking the lead pissed him off. He still failed to see the humor in Sonic's attitude.

The blue hedgehog continued to run at his current pace, making a game out of the obstacles in his way such as trees, brush, and rocks. He'd casually dart around them before he glanced back to see Shadow angrily approaching. He ignored him aside from flashing him a friendly smile; one less cutting edge than all his others. He already had him pretty riled up, a bit more than he intended - considering moments before - so he held his tongue from saying anything else.

As much as he wanted to take out the remaining frustration on the other, Shadow knew when it was time to get down to business. He caught Sonic's casual expression and quickly shifted his focus away, holding it on the path before him for a few moments. Despite his generally controlled exterior, Sonic made him uneasy in ways he couldn't explain. Something that triggered his unstable temper.

"How much farther?" He drew close to the lookalike, glancing over with fiery crimson. Shadow was growing more anxious by the moment. If Doctor Eggman stole the Master Emerald, he must be up to something unsettling, and the faster they got it back, the better.

Green eyes were fixed straight ahead as he drew them further into the woodlands while trying to maintain an equally straight look. He cleared his throat as he considered a moment and made an educated guess. "It's going to be a while." A very vague one at that. Sonic assured him the best he could when he... might have known just as little as he did.

While unbeknown to his follower, he had no real leads himself. Not that he'd admit this; but how hard could it be to find Eggman's base?

Shadow narrowed his eyes. He was already impatient enough. Giving himself an extra burst of speed, he continued this endurance test, glimpsing back at the other, "A while?" He looked back ahead, "What kind of 'while'?"

It was all too obvious Sonic was avoiding a direct answer, but he figured that, more or less, it was another stupid game. He was tired of foolish competition. If Sonic was leading him out of the way as some kind of prank, the little bump on the other's head earlier would seem minimal.

That was a good question though. Again, Sonic acted as though he was estimating the time from a distance unknown. After a few seconds, he revealed his conclusion. "Well...we might have to camp out for a night." That should give him enough time to find Eggman, right? He just had to think like that crazy scientist. Near the mountains would be a good place to hide undercover; or what if he had a base hidden in the water? He shivered at the thought. There could be a possibility he was underground though... Hm.

Shadow braked, tearing into the ground as he came to an abrupt halt. He watched the other shoot past him, wide-eyed rage sparking on his face immediately. As fast as Sonic and Shadow were, they'd have to 'camp out'? It had to be another.. Shadow blushed in anger and embarrassment.. It was definitely another attempt on him. He forced the color away as he growled, turning his back to the direction they'd been heading. He should just go back now. Weighing his options in his mind, it certainly seemed most logical. This whole thing was a joke and a waste of his precious time.

Perhaps camping out was a longer time than Sonic should have predicted but the thought of what could proceed in that night life was awfully tempting. Besides, he honestly wasn't sure what he was doing here. But what other excuse did he have to take on Eggman — or tag around Shadow, for that matter? The black hedgehog would have left him long ago and he'd much rather do the running than the chasing.

Regardless, Sonic screeched to a halt the second he realized Shadow wasn't following. Dust flew and he raced through the cloud back to him. He stopped next to him and looked over his features, lips pursed in apparent confusion. "Oi, why'd you stop?"

"You're lying to me. Why should I follow?" He slowly brought his gaze to meet Sonic's, fire sparking behind the crimson pools. It was hard for him to keep the eye contact, he felt Sonic was only distracting him again, but he searched bitterly in the emerald depths for any sign of the truth. He wanted to know just how big of a fool he'd been taken for. Besides, if he looked away now, he'd appear to be intimidated, and that was not something he was willing to allow.

This was a little nerve racking but Sonic posed casually with his hand on his hip, looking at Shadow with his usual exaggerated display of cocky confidence. "Why would I lie?" He arched a brow, pretending to look maybe a little offended. "I want to stop Eggman too." Doesn't he always? Such little trust Shadow held for him! ...Not that he could really blame him this time.

"Come on, you're wasting our time. This is why it's going to take so long. You keep holding us back." He nodded affirmatively with a knowing look despite the irrational blame he turned back on him.

Shadow stared coldly before redirecting his glare to the space before him. "Pff. I'm not sticking around for this." With that, he began walking calmly back. Sure, with the time wasted, he really should break into a fast pace, but he wanted to firmly set the impression that he was completely in charge here. Dashing off after such would show perhaps panic or anxiety, which were two things that seemed to encourage Sonic's playful nature. Not to mention that every time one ran around the other, it turned into some damned contest, and Shadow had to avoid getting drawn into the vicious cycle at all costs. Maybe once he got out of Sonic's range he'd pick up the pace.

After just two steps away from him, Blue was standing directly in front of him, pursing his lips in mild frustration. "So that's it? You're just going to abandon the Master Emerald? Every second you waste, who knows what Eggman could be doing!" He faked a shudder at the thought. Casually, stepping next to him, he put his arm around his shoulders and started to turn him back around. "You don't have to thank me from taking time out from my day to help you but let's not make that all in vain, eh?"

Shadow's eyes opened in shock when he first suggested that he was wasting time. As he was forced to turn, he broke free of the grasp, pushing Sonic squarely in the chest. "I'm wasting your time? Is that what you're saying?" He stepped in towards the other, pointing a gloved finger close to the hedghog's nose. The Guardian was well aware that the lookalike didn't feel his time was being wasted. This was his own game, but now that he was losing the other player, he was getting desperate. "If anything, you're wasting my time. Don't you think I understand the situation at hand?" It was ridiculous for him to even pretend Shadow was that dense. "I know what you're up to, faker, and I'm not going to stand for it. Either tell me where the base is, or I'm leaving."

Sonic frowned, giving him some space as his arms crossed, trying to make up for his lost composure. He eyed the other without a hint of emotion of whether or not he had been lying, or he was worried at all right now.

"Alright." He said simply before uncrossing his arms to point the way they were running. "It's that way."

Shadow shook his head in disbelief. Did Sonic really think he was buying that? He wasn't going to let Sonic drag him around until he got tired, then who knows what would happen? Knowing the luck he's had lately, an army of robots or aliens or zombie chao would show up. Either way, whether that happened or not, he couldn't go along with a simple, 'that way.' He folded his arms, turning his back to the other and finishing the gesture of disagreement. "I want specifics, and since you still fail to comply with my simple request, I refuse to go any further." Shadow didn't get it. Why did everyone think he was so damned gullible?

He hmphed at Shadow's rudeness, not willing to humor his pouty, spoiled nature. Even if he had reason to, he still wasn't so pleased the striped hedgehog was ruining his previous plans. Well, he supposed he'd just have to change them then. "Fine, Shadow." Sonic walked merrily around him to stand in front of him again, making sure he caught his nonchalant expression. "I tried to help you after you so carelessly lost the Master Emerald, but if you're not willing to go after it, I guess I'll just have to go myself. Someone has to stop Eggman." He turned his back on him this time, taking a few steps in the way they had been running before. You could say Sonic was bluffing but even if Shadow didn't give in to his wishes, he planned on looking for Eggman's base regardless.

Shadow scowled, tensing as the other pranced around him so arrogantly. He tore his gaze away, glaring off to the side before something clicked in his mind. Two could play at this game, and he had already caught on to the rules. He quickly turned his face away from Sonic to hide his expression. "You're right. And I just remembered where the Doctor's base is. I came across it last week." He scoffed, half in amusement. "Of course that's what that structure was." He smirked, taking off in yet another direction.

Sonic's eyes nearly bugged out, but with his back facing him, luckily Shadow couldn't see his expression right now. Not that he was looking to begin with. The hedgehog couldn't say whether or not Shadow was saying this to bluff too but when he turned around he was gone. He bit his bottom lip indecisively, wondering whether or not to go after him. What if he was lying? ...But what if he wasn't? He didn't want to roam around for hours in the wrong way nor did he want to go home.

His mind struggled to figure out what structure could possibly be the hint to Eggman's base that Shadow might've been talking about. He didn't know, and the longer he waited, the further Shadow would be away. Sucking in a deep breath, he pondered an excuse to stop him as he ran off in Shadow's direction; but wondered how long he might be able to go unnoticed first.

Shadow's smirk grew into a dark grin. If Sonic was telling the truth, he had blown his opportunity, but at this point, that was something he was willing to risk. Sonic was acting very suspicious, and if Shadow was right, if Sonic had no clue where they were headed, the other would be behind him any moment. The thought of one-upping the faker made him take even faster strides. He couldn't look even a bit uncertain now, not on the chance that he was being followed. He was tempted to glance over his shoulder to see, but he pushed on. Soon. It would be soon now.