Scream For Me

-17-

"I'm sorry," Shadow murmured, staring at the floor.

"You tried," (Y/n) assured him. "It's not really in your control." 

"I was made to be perfect," the dark hedgehog growled, looking up at her. She shifted her weight, crossing her arms. 

"Well, unfortunately, no one's perfect." 

"I-"

"No one." She stared at him. He stared back. "I might seem like a handicap, but I'm actually not. We may have lost the Emeralds, but we'll find them again. That's what secret agents are for. Anyway. Back home, I pulled my own weight just fine. Here, I'm just adjusting to being two feet shorter than I used to be, a (a/t), and having the ability to bust people's eardrums out with a scream. Maybe I'm having a little bit of a hard time keeping those in check, but I'm working on it." 

"I never said you weren't." 

"But you act like it. Until Sonic intervened, you were pretty harsh. It's like I wasn't good enough for you." She straightened. "And also, that was after Sonic took interest in me. And you were pretty mean to him as well. Why was that?" 

Shadow looked away. "I just wanted you to be safe," he said. 

"Really?" 

"Yes." She squinted at him. He glanced at her. "You are a living weapon like me. I did not want you to be used or mistreated." 

"How generous." 

"What?" 

"Do you really think Sonic would use me like that? Why were you taking it out on him?"  Shadow paused, then shook his head. "Shadow." 

"It's none of your concern," he growled, glaring at her. She dropped her arms to her sides. 

"Yes, it is. I'm stuck here with you until we get those Emeralds back, Silver's recuperating, and Teleporter and Detonator are doing the same. You can't keep yourself locked away." 

"That is what I have done for years," he said sharply. "And you shut yourself off as well." 

"Not anymore." She rubbed her throat self consciously. Shadow looked down. "I'm telling you everything I'm feeling right now. I'm frustrated. With everything that's been going on. With my inability to control this condition I have. Sometimes I feel like such a burden and everyone on the team had to adjust so that I didn't hurt them. Tails works his tails off to make sure that no one hears them when they do happen and I feel awful about that. Maybe I'd be better off being somewhere no one has to worry about me. Maybe we can go back in time and stop Starline from ever going to Earth and making everyone miserable." 

"That's not-" 

"And you, Shadow. Why are you so gruff? Why are you so shut off from everyone? Why do you expect so much of yourself? Why? Back home, you used me. You said you didn't want anyone to use me, but you did. You used me to prove to yourself that you weren't such a big failure." Shadow blinked. "You told me when we first met that you had failed to protect someone named Maria. Is that why you tried to prove to yourself that you wouldn't fail again?" 

"Clearly, I did!" he snapped, standing up. (Y/n) bit her lip, rubbing a hand over her mouth. "Because we ended up here, I can't connect to the Chaos Emeralds, Silver hasn't woken up since the attack, and I failed to do anything helpful!" (Y/n) turned off the AI. 

"Sorry," she signed instead. She pointed behind her and Shadow let out a breath. 

"No, I'm sorry," he said. "I am not used to relying on others. I was always enough. Enough to run solo missions and never fail. And now...." He glanced at the (a/t) but she said nothing. She took a step towards the door. 

"Silver," she signed. She pointed down the hall in the direction of the medical bay. 

"Of course," Shadow sighed. She eyed him, then tuned her AI back to him. 

"You didn't fail," she said. "It's not your fault that we ended up here. You did your best to protect me, and you still are." She hesitated, then reached out and put her hand on his arm. "You have nothing to prove. I may not know the whole story, but I do know that you have beat yourself up over it for far too long." She took her arm off him suddenly. "I'll go now." And then she ran out of the room. Shadow looked after her, working his jaw. 

"I don't know," he murmured to himself. "I just don't know anymore."