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𝟑𝐫𝐝•Pov

"It's been three weeks already... He definitely took her." Tails sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Tails, we've searched everywhere and found nothing," Sonic said, arms crossed. "I've run, like, eighteen laps around the whole region, and still—nothing."

"Yeah, and you were so enjoying that" Amy muttered, rolling her eyes.

Rouge leaned against the wall, arms folded. "I can't track Shadow either. He didn't leave a single trace. He knew exactly what he was doing."

The room fell into silence.

Tails gaze landed on Blaze, who had been unusually quiet. She barely spoke ever since Y/n disappeared—especially odd since she was the last one to see her.

"You know something, don't you?" Tails said, narrowing his eyes at Blaze.

Blaze met his gaze, unflinching. "I don't."

Tails didn't believe her for a second. "Blaze—"

"Even if I did know something, I wouldn't tell you," Blaze interrupted firmly, her tone sharp.

Amy looked taken aback. "What? Blaze, you care about Y/n. Why wouldn't you—?"

"Because what you did to her was wrong," Blaze cut in, her expression unreadable. "You erased her memories. You treated her like nothing more than a machine when she was more than that. Shadow may be reckless, but at least he's trying to help her. So no, even if I knew where she was, I wouldn't say a word."

With that, she turned and walked out, her voice lowering to a whisper only she could hear.

"Shadow... I hope you're doing the right thing."

Somewhere far beyond reach...

Shadow stood in front of Y/n, watching as the last bit of energy surged into her system. The small indicator light on her hair clip blinked before settling into a steady glow.

"Fully charged" Y/n announced, stretching her arms slightly.

Shadow exhaled in relief. "Y/n?"

She blinked up at him, her gaze soft but unfamiliar.

"Shadow?" she echoed, tilting her head.

For a brief moment, hope surged in Shadow's chest. But then—

"I don't recall having any memories... but something about you feels... familiar," she admitted. Her voice was gentle, almost innocent, as if she were grasping for something just beyond her reach.

Shadow clenched his fists. He had hoped that by rearranging her circuits, he could undo what Tails had done—but her memories were still locked away. Damn it.

Still, this was a step forward.

"That's because we did have a connection," he told her, his voice lower, more serious. "And I'm going to help you get it back."

Y/n studied him, something flickering behind her bright eyes. She didn't understand everything he was saying but there was something in his tone, something in the way he looked at her, that made her trust him.

"I don't quite understand what you mean" Y/n admitted, "but... I have this feeling that I can trust you."

Shadow's breath hitched slightly at her words. He hadn't expected her to say that—not yet, at least.

Her voice was soft, genuine, as if some part of her subconscious still recognized him, even if her memories were gone.

He stared at her for a moment, studying the way her expression held no fear, no doubt. Only quiet trust.

For the first time in a long while, Shadow felt something strange stir inside him. A warmth he couldn't place.

He shook the thought away. It didn't matter how or why what mattered was that he would get her memories back. No matter what.

"We should rest," he finally said, turning his back to her. "We'll start working on this tomorrow."

Y/n simply nodded. "Okay."
—

"Shadow!" Y/n's voice rang out, filled with excitement. She rushed over to him, practically shoving a small black-and-white kitten into his arms.

Shadow, who was in the middle of cooking one of Y/n's favorite meals, barely spared the tiny creature a glance. "I'm busy. Put it in the living room."

"Got it!" Y/n chirped, holding the kitten close as she hurried off.

A few moments later, she peeked back into the kitchen, watching Shadow work. A warm feeling spread through her chest.

"Shadow... I'm really glad this is happening," she said softly, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around him in a gentle hug.

Shadow hesitated, but before he could react—
—

He woke up.

His crimson eyes flickered open, and he let out a quiet breath, feeling the weight of reality settle back in.

It was a dream.

But the strange warmth it left behind didn't fade so easily.

Turning his head slightly, he noticed Y/n sitting up, staring at him.

Her expression was unreadable, but there was something different in her eyes.

"I... I think I remember you" she murmured.

Shadow sat up instantly, his heart pounding just slightly faster than it should.

"...What did you say?"
—
A/n- HELP IM READING THE WAY I WRITE THIS why does it look like I'm making Tails a bad guy 😔I'm not trying to he's gonna get realization.