The two hedgehogs lay awake that night, walls away from each other, for entirely different reasons. Amy was afraid to keep her guard down; Shadow was a wild hedgehog. Sure, he had a will to do the right thing, but only because of something else. It never seemed as if Shadow had an internal drive for justice; rather, every desire for good was not based on principle but because another person wanted it. He had no motive to do evil, yes, but none to do good, either. This meant, at least to her, that Shadow was unpredictable. This was why even with her door locked, she was filled with dread. He could always teleport through her door anyway; he didn’t need his Chaos Emerald to teleport short distances.

Shadow was up for a different reason. That nightmare was getting to him. His body was finally warmed up to a stable temperature, although his limbs were incredibly sore. He sat on the couch by the fire, watching the flames dance their ethereal whirl with stinging eyes.

“Yes you do.” Her voice came back to him like a phantom.

His lips stuck together slightly from his silence. He barely formed the word.

“Maria.”

Her chilling hands had clutches on his neck, making it difficult to breathe. His chest was tight, not only from his hypothermia. He had taken off the blankets, since the Ultimate Lifeform didn’t need the warming sheets of mortals, although part of him wanted to feel embraced in warmth again, even if it was not from a human being.

Blankets were like an artificial hug. The last person he’d hugged (intentionally) was Maria. Sure, Amy had hugged him once, but that was because she thought he was Sonic. Somehow they looked similar…

Perhaps a blanket wouldn’t be that bad. No one was around; there was no way he would look silly to anyone. No one was there, so he didn’t need his walls up for the moment. He could be free.

Part of him stopped as he reached for that pink, fuzzy blanket. No. He didn’t deserve a blanket. He had done so much wrong.

That one fox on his shift was right. He was a monster.

The blanket by his side, the fire warming his body… they never would have existed if he had decided to go through with it.

He grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around his body. It felt so snuggly and warm, although sadness filled him.

The blanket wasn’t real. The blanket would never replace his Maria.