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𝟑𝐫𝐝•Pov
The night was eerily quiet, save for the faint hum of distant crickets. The soft glow of the moon filtered through the leaves, casting silver streaks across the ground.

Shadow sat up slowly, his gaze fixed on Y/n, who was staring at him with an expression he hadn't seen in weeks uncertainty mixed with something fragile.

"You... remember me?" His voice was steady, but there was something almost hesitant beneath it.

Y/n's fingers twitched in her lap. "I don't know" she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "I don't see anything, but... I feel something."

Shadow's grip on the blanket tightened slightly. "What do you feel?"

Y/n furrowed her brows, as if the answer was just out of reach. "I feel like I should know you," she said finally, meeting his gaze. "And... I feel safe with you."

Shadow inhaled sharply but quickly masked his reaction. That's enough. That's a start.

"You were safe with me," he murmured. "Before Tails erased your memory."

Y/n tilted her head, confusion flickering across her face. "Why would he do that?"

Shadow hesitated, glancing away for a moment before looking back at her. "He thought it was for your own good," he said, voice unreadable. "He thought if you knew the truth, it would hurt you."

Y/n processed his words, her systems scanning for any correlation. But nothing came up. "The truth... about what?"

Shadow clenched his jaw. He wanted to tell her everything. He wanted her to know what Tails had done, how much she had meant to him, how much she still did—but forcing it all at once wouldn't help.

Instead, he exhaled slowly. "About who you were before all this."

Y/n stared at him, her mind grasping at something—something familiar, yet out of reach. "Can you help me remember?"

Shadow's chest tightened. He met her gaze, and for once, he let the emotions slip past his guarded exterior.

"I will," he promised. "Even if it takes forever."

A soft smile crossed Y/n's lips, small yet genuine, and for a moment, the weight in Shadow's chest felt lighter.

But then—

Y/n's body went rigid.

Her smile faded instantly as her eyes flickered with static, her limbs locking in place.

Shadow was on his feet in a second. "Y/n?" His hands grasped her shoulders firmly, trying to shake her out of it. "What's wrong?"

Her voice came out distorted, glitching.
"C-Critical error. Access denied."

Shadow's blood ran cold.

This wasn't a malfunction.

It was a block.

Tails had built a failsafe into her system.

Shadow clenched his teeth, his hands tightening around her as he tried to steady her body. "Stay with me," he muttered, his voice sharp but filled with something almost desperate.

Y/n trembled, sparks flickering at her fingertips as her body struggled to reboot. She gasped slightly, eyes flickering between static and clarity. "S-Shadow...?"

"I'm here," he said, his voice lower now, steady. "I'm not letting you go."

And in that moment, Shadow made a silent vow.

If Tails had built walls around her mind, then Shadow would tear every single one of them down.

Shadow moved swiftly through the night, his grip firm on Y/n's wrist as he led her toward the only person who might be able to undo what Tails had done.

"Where are we going?" Y/n asked, struggling to keep up with his pace.

"We're going to see someone," Shadow replied curtly.

He wasn't looking forward to this. But if anyone had the skills to mess with artificial intelligence—besides Tails—it was the man who had spent his life building machines to challenge Sonic.

Dr. Eggman.

—

A loud alarm blared through the base as Shadow landed inside.

A groggy, disheveled Eggman stumbled into the room, still wearing striped pajamas and bunny slippers.

His glasses were slightly crooked, and his mustache was more unruly than usual.

"Shadow?" Eggman grumbled, rubbing his eyes. "What in the world—do you have any idea what time it is? You better have a good reason for—" His eyes landed on Y/n, and he paused. "And who's this?"

Shadow wasted no time. "I need your help."

Eggman blinked before bursting into laughter. "You? Asking me for help? Oh, this is rich! Go on, tell me another joke."

Shadow's expression remained cold and serious. "I'm not joking."

Eggman stopped laughing, raising a brow. "Huh. You're actually serious?"

Without another word, Shadow stepped aside, revealing Y/n more clearly.

Eggman's gaze narrowed as he examined her. "And what exactly am I supposed to be helping with? I'm not a doctor."

"Well, you do have 'Doctor' in your name"
Y/n pointed out innocently.

Eggman huffed. "Cute."

"She's not a Mobian," Shadow explained. "She's a machine—built like Metal Sonic, but far more advanced. Tails created her to be as close to one of us as possible."

Eggman crossed his arms, eyeing Y/n with newfound interest. "And where was this invention when I needed a new enforcer?"

Shadow ignored the remark. "Tails put a block in her software—one that prevents her from remembering something important. I need you to remove it."

Eggman stroked his mustache, deep in thought. "Hmmm... tampering with a system built by that fox genius? Risky business. But..." He smirked. "Also intriguing."

"Can you do it or not?" Shadow pressed.

Eggman rolled his eyes. "Oh, relax, you impatient hedgehog. Of course I can—the real question is why should I?"

Shadow's red eyes glowed slightly in warning. "Because if you don't, I'll make sure every one of your latest experiments is reduced to scrap metal by sunrise."

Eggman sighed dramatically. "Oh, fine, fine! No need for threats." He motioned toward a workbench. "Set her there."

Shadow did as instructed, helping Y/n onto the table.

Eggman cracked his knuckles, grinning. "Let's see what kind of genius that fox put into you, shall we?"

Y/n glanced at Shadow. For some reason, despite the uncertainty of what was about to happen, she felt... safe.

Because Shadow was here.