𝑭𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒓 𝑭𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑: 𝔽𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕖𝕤

      That Shadow was still lying unconscious next to the rock. He began to slowly open his eyes as the red naga echidna lightly slapped his face. — Hey! Are you alive? Alive? — he asked him and the striped naga fully woke up, standing up and clutching his head with his hands. — A-a-ah! My head! — Hush, hush, Shadow! Didn't you hit yourself hard? — No. — he answers and begins to fully come to his senses. He looked around and asked that naga echidna: — Tell me, was I lying here alone? — Yes. I was just crawling past and accidentally noticed that you were lying unconscious. — Apparently this bastard overpowered me... — suggested Shadow and accidentally touched his chest. He remembered wearing a bandana, but it wasn't there. He couldn't find it. Looks like that Shadow took it from him while he was passed out. — Are you talking about Sonic? — Knuckles asked, mistakenly thinking that Sonic had overpowered him and left him unconscious. Shadow didn't answer him. He quickly looked around with excitement, saw the traces of that naga, stood up and quickly crawled along them. — Shadow, where are you going?

At the same time

      Having finished his acquaintance and conversation with the naga Sonic and Sally, adult Tails hugged the children goodbye, then he approached Shadow and, sighing heavily, said: — Forgive me, Shadow! The striped naga did not understand why he should forgive him. Apparently they split up because they had a fight and she apologizes to him for it. He just doesn’t know why he should forgive him. However, this would give him away, so he decided to simply answer: — It’s okay, Tails, I’ve already forgiven you. — No, really! Sorry! — the sad fox looked up at the impostor. Sonic and Sally standing nearby did not yet understand why he was apologizing to him. Only the children understood perfectly well why, for he had already told them about it on the way here. — It's my own fault. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that and vented at you. I really am a stupid little guy who only thinks about himself. And I should have believed you. Will you really forgive me? The impostor smiles in response, lightly takes the fox in his hands and raises it to his direct gaze. — Of course, Tails. I forgive you and I'm not mad at you at all. — he said and the naga's children smiled, because they finally got along. — Aren’t we the best and truest friends? Right? Friends should always trust each other, agree with each other on everything, help and be able to forgive them for any mistakes, even if they are small. — Really? — the fox smiled. — You think so? — I know it. You are my best friend of all. I was almost like a father or brother to you and always trusted you, just like you trusted me. — I know, that’s exactly what I thought about you. — Tails just said this smiling, when suddenly he immediately suspected that something was wrong. The smile gave way to surprise, and the eyes narrowed suspiciously. — Uh... Wait a minute!... You're not my Shadow! — What? — he didn’t understand how this fox guessed. — WHAT??? — Sonic, Sally and the children screamed at the same time. — This is true! — everyone immediately heard Shadow’s second voice and turned to him. — He's an impostor! He attacked me, took my bandana and put it on himself to impersonate me. Sonic and Sally were shocked by this behavior of their bad Shadow. The children looked a little scared when they saw that other Shadow. Especially from his confirmation of the words that he is Tails’s true friend, and that another he is an impostor. The latter now did not know what to do, since he had already been burned. — I don’t care! — the evil naga suddenly realized, opened his mouth and quickly shoved that Tails in his hands, into his mouth. — NO-NO!!! — They all shouted at once, holding out their arms. But it was too late. That evil Shadow has already swallowed it. While the fox inside the throat rolled down the path or into one of the stomachs, the fox was angry at the impostor who pretended to be his friend. He immediately realized what he had to do, sharply stretched his arms and legs to the sides, as much as he could, and abruptly stopped, ceasing to move further down his throat. — No way! I've already been eaten three times! I won't tolerate being eaten this time either! The prey got stuck in the middle of the throat, between the path to the stomachs. His yummy food didn’t want to move any further, no matter how hard he tried to swallow it or push it further. Evil Shadow widened his eyes, feeling the fox stuck in his throat and not moving further. Because of this, he could no longer speak or breathe, he only began to wheeze, grab his throat and try to push it through, but the stubborn fox absolutely refused to climb further down his throat. — What about him? — Tiny didn’t understand. — It looks like Tails is stuck in his throat or is deliberately not allowing him to swallow himself. — suggested the little fox. — And since we still inhale air through our throats, Tails blocked the air passage and now he is suffocating. — And to your advantage, monster! — Benny showed his fist to that evil Shadow. — What are you talking about, Benny? — Nelly scolded him. — You can’t do this with elders! — A! Is it possible to hunt us and try to eat us? — Benny asked her as an example. The choking Shadow, with his mouth open and barely coughing, beat his throat to try to push Tails into his stomach. But he still stood in the middle and did not move any further. He was desperate for air. He came up with nothing but to show those nagas and children his gaping mouth and point his fingers there so that they would help him. — Help me! Help me! — he barely croaked to them. — Help?... You?... Here's more! You should be ashamed, Shadow! — Sally snapped back. — What? — the one who stood next to her asked her. She smiled at him and answered: — I’m said not for you, but for him! — And aren’t you ashamed, Shadow? We warned you to leave our children alone and not try to eat them again. So you've finished the game! — Sonic scolded him. — There’s not enough breathing space, right? Serves you right! May you suffocate to death, creature! Maybe after this you will finally learn your lesson and stop hunting us and trying to eat us? — Benny snapped. — What are you talking about, Benny! You can't be so rude. — Tiny told him. She was probably the only one who felt sorry for that Shadow. — Poor thing! He’s already feeling bad because he’s suffocating, and now you’re putting pressure on him. By that time, the gasping Shadow fell on the grass and, already lying down, could barely keep himself conscious. It was as if the airways had already begun to slowly deflate and shrink, like a balloon, and then fall apart in small pieces from lack of oxygen. The eyes bulged even more and became like watermelons. I didn’t even have enough strength to stand up or hold my neck with my hands. My hands seemed numb and also lay down. Only the head and eyes remained under control. The hoarse voice began to moan non-stop. That Shadow crawls up to him, looking menacingly at the gasping impostor. — Spit out my friend! — he demanded, but he refused and once again tried to swallow it and drag it into his stomach, but Tails continued to hold on as best he could. — Are you deaf? I said spit Tails out, otherwise you will die from lack of air. — He's not joking at all. You won’t swallow me that easily, impostor. I don't want to kill you, but you're forcing me to. Spit me out and you will move on with your life. — the voice of Tails himself was heard from the throat through the mouth of the gasping naga. The stubborn one also continued to be stubborn at first and refused. That Shadow was immediately joined by Sally and Sonic, looking menacingly at the choking man. Some of them didn’t even care a little about the fact that he was suffocating and was about to die, since he was so stubborn. If he suffocates and dies, then so be it. — Listen to them kindly and spit them out. We won’t ask you about this twice. — Sonic threatened him. — If you don’t spit it out now, then from this day on I will always hate you. — Sally finished off with these words. The choking Shadow continued to be stubborn even after this and refused to spit it out, but suddenly he began to feel himself slowly losing consciousness. It felt like he was really going to die. His whole life immediately flashed before his eyes in a second, and here the stubborn striped naga finally decided to give up. When he closed his eyes and was about to die from lack of oxygen, he began to push Tails back up his throat and then spat him out. The two-tailed one flew out of it like a cannonball. Once in the air, he extended his arms and smiled. Afterwards he sat down in the palm of his real Shadow, who was very happy to see him. The gasping naga, again with bulging eyes, began to quickly catch his breath and groan from the fact that he had almost died. Sonic and Sally continued to look at him menacingly. — Bad naga! Shame on you! — the snake squirrel snapped. — It is mine! — said Sonic, tearing his bandana off the impostor’s neck so sharply that he felt pain on the skin of his throat and grabbed it as if it were a burn. At the same time, he continued to moan and catch his breath. Benny climbed up and stood in front of his eyes, threatening him with his fist: — For your business! You'll know how to hunt us! Adult Tails joined him and also stood in front of the impostor's eyes, beginning to scold him: — Let this serve as a lesson to you, Shadow! If you dare to attack people, Mobians or these children even one more time and decide to eat them again, next time you will die altogether. Understood? — Then he took out his sword and leaned its sharp end against the naga's eyes. — Swear that you will never hunt and eat people with Mobians again! Otherwise you will have to deal with me! — I. M. Pro... Mi... Se! — he barely said, through groans and breathing, for he was still catching his breath. But at the same time, he was now also a little afraid of this fox, despite the huge difference in size. — Look at me! Otherwise it will be even worse. — Tails threatened him with the fist on his free hand, folded his sword and flew back on his hands to his Shadow. While the impostor was still lying on the grass, unable to get up and still catching his breath, the fox lowered his head in front of his real Shadow. — Shadow, forgive me! I'm shouldn't have yelled at... — No, Tails. Forgive me! — he answered him and hugged him, pressing him lightly with his palms to his chest. Sammy at this time looked at the body of Luz Bucket, who was still lying unconscious at this time. — We need to tie him up before he wakes up! — he said and by coincidence he was already coming to his senses at that moment. — U-u-uh... — was all he said, when suddenly Sonic managed to crawl up and sharply hit him on the head with his right fist to knock him out again for a while. It's strange, but it worked. Only Sonic’s hand felt a little painful, because the shard and skin of that naga were quite strong, as if he had hit a concrete wall or metal, which could break the bones of his hands. — Hurt? — Sally was worried about her beloved. — It's okay, Sally. I've felt worse pain. — He explained to her, shaking his hand slightly. — Did... You do that to... him? — he asked Shadow, finishing hugging Tails. — Um... Yes... I to him. — Benny answered him a little fearfully, and then began to invent: — You should have seen how we attacked him at the same time and hit him! At this time, Sonic winked at Sally, sneaked up behind Benny unnoticed and let out a creepy hiss for fun. Benny was so scared that it was as if Luz woke up quickly and shushed him. The hedgehog jumped in place and jumped into Sammy's arms. Everyone immediately laughed at him. — You're such a braggart, Benny. And a coward. — said Nelly. — Not at all! — Benny continued to lie, getting off Sammy’s arms. — It was me... Showing how he was scared of us and fainted himself. Little Tails at that time picked up a stick from the ground, placed it over his brother's right ear and broke it, making a crunch from that branch. Even this unexpected sound was enough to make him get scared and jump into Sammy's arms again. Again they immediately laughed at him slightly. — Benny, don't be a boastful coward! — Sammy answered him and put him down on the ground. Benny lowered his head and decided to tell the truth: — Okay-okay. It was that Shadow who knocked him out, saving us, and we were trying to survive. — Are you at least not afraid of me? — that Shadow asked them a little shyly. — There is little. We’ve just been living with this for a long time and we’re not yet used to nagas like you. — Tiny explained, hinting at the lying Shadow. Another Shadow leaned towards her and patted her on the head. Although she closed her eyes for a couple of seconds, afraid that he would grab her. — Do not be afraid! I will definitely never eat you. — Thank you. — she answered him. — Well. Let's go home, we had a hard day today. — Sally said and everyone followed her. Sonic and Shadow lifted Luz, grabbed him by the arms and dragged him along, as if he were being escorted home when he was drunk. The impostor at this time was still lying on the grass and was slowly beginning to breathe, as his breathing was already calming down. He let out his last breath and exhalation with a very quiet and long groan. Afterwards he lost consciousness. Not because he died from fear or lack of air, but simply because he was tired and decided to rest.