"Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog."

Sonic looked into the large windowed room one last time before closing the door and leaving the ARK.

"Sonic, are you alright?" Amy asked as they rode back down to Earth in the ship. Sonic just kept staring ahead through the window. "Sonic?"

Sonic looked at Amy.

"Of course." He smiled widely at her.

"What do you think will happen… when we get back down there?" Tails asked. "Do you think they all saw?"

"I dunno, buddy. I'm gonna be ready to run in case," Sonic said and tensed up as he rested his hands on his knees and looked at the planet ahead.

"They can't blame you anymore, Sonic. I will tell them everything," Rouge said. Sonic nodded at her.

The rocket landed in the desert where it came from. The group walked out of Eggman's abandoned pyramid base. Sonic walked out first and spotted a few GUN vehicles approaching them. The distinct logo stood out on the metal armour of the vans. It made Sonic shiver. He looked to both sides, noticing it was empty for miles.

Sonic ran to the side, leaving trails of yellow sand dust behind him.

The vehicles stopped in front of the group. Rouge stepped out and stood confidently with her hands on her hips. The GUN Commander stepped out. Rouge waved to him with a smirk.

"Well done, Agent Rouge." The Commander walked towards her.

Tails, Amy and Knuckles stayed back. The Commander looked at them.

"I need you to come with us-" His eyes darted over them. "Where is Sonic?"

"Gone. He doesn't trust you," Amy snapped as she held out her hand and summoned her hammer.

The Commander put his hand out, showing his palm.

"You don't need to worry," he said. "I know that you are all innocent. Sonic included. I'm sorry he was pulled into this."

Amy stayed her her defensive stance.

"Then you'll leave him alone?" she asked.

"No. We still need to speak to him," the Commander said. "In fact, I need to speak to all of you."

"I need to return the Master Emerald to Angel Island," Knuckles said firmly. "I can't stay."

"This won't take long. I need to ask you all questions… about Project Shadow," the Commander said, a hint of hatred in his voice when he mentioned that name. He gritted his teeth. "Please."

"If you want us to keep quiet about it, we will," Tails said. "We promise. And I'll let Sonic know."

"Your secrecy will be appreciated, although I'm not sure it will be much help after that broadcast," the Commander said. "It was Shadow that fell, wasn't it?" The Commander's fists tightened and he looked at the group desperately.

Rouge nodded, jaw tightening and eyes watering. She reached into her pocket, then held out a large gold ring.

"Good." The Commander nodded. "Then we need not worry about him again."

Rouge looked at the Commander in with a hurt expression as she tucked the ring away again.

"Please, come with us. Everyone that was involved needs to give their statements about what happened today. The world was nearly destroyed. We need to know all information in order to protect our planet from future danger. I promise you will be looked after."

Rouge sighed. She looked at the three standing behind her.

"We can trust him," she said. Knuckles glared at Rouge for a moment, but then his facial expression softened.

"Make this quick," he said and stepped forward. Amy and Tails looked at each other with a worried expression. They followed closely behind him.

"I will protect you if they try anything," he whispered back to them. They entered the GUN van.

"Oh, and please get in contact with Sonic. If he doesn't give his statement in the next week… he will face the consequences."

Tails looked up the Commander worriedly, then he pressed the communicator on his wrist.

Meanwhile, Sonic was standing at the water's edge of lake. He looked up at the sky.

"I'm sorry, Shadow…" Sonic said solemnly. He closed his eyes and took a moment to think to himself.

His communicator crackled.

"Sonic. Come in. Sonic!"

It was Tails' voice. Sonic sighed, grabbed his communicator and pulled it off of his wrist.

"Sonic-"

Sonic dropped it into the lake; it crackled and buzzed under the water.

"Sorry, buddy, but I need some time to myself," he said. He looked down and walked away from the lake.

Sonic put his hand on his stomach. He stopped running and craned his neck to look around.

"Man. I wish Station Square was rebuilt already. That place had the best Chili Dogs."

He smiled, remembering the day he arrived at Station Square after following the train track from Mystic Ruins. Famished from his battles, he sniffed around for food. He'd never eaten food made by humans; he'd always lived off of the land on the islands away from the mainland. Tasting the artificial flavours of the cheap, mass produced food for the first time got him hooked.

Sonic looked around.

"I gotta find the closest city," he said. He smiled and shot off into the horizon.

Soon he left the empty outskirts and found Central City. It wasn't exactly a seaside haven, but it would have food. He jogged through the streets, looking left and right for a some kind of food stand.

But before he could find one, he heard a police siren. Sonic stopped and looked around to notice a police car approach him. Sonic felt his heart beat fast in his chest, so shot off down the road quickly.

"Sonic the Hedgehog!" an officer called out through a megaphone.

Sonic picked up the pace and attempted a U turn around the large blocks of skyscrapers. He needed to get back out of the city. He saw an opening between two isles of buildings where the road opened up. But as he got closer, a blockage of police cars came into view. Sonic skidded to a stop in front of them.

"Give yourself up!" they threatened Sonic.

Sonic grit his teeth and looked around for an exit. Cars showed up behind him. To his sides were tall skyscrapers. Sonic took in a deep breath, spun into a ball, and propelled himself toward the building. He rolled up the wall at top speed.

"FIRE!"

Sonic rocketed towards the top of the building and pulled himself into it. A projectile shot past his ankle and Sonic landed face first onto the flat concrete roof. His heart pounded. He breathed shakily. He pushed himself to his feet. Then, he felt a strong gust of wind. His spikes blew in the breeze. Sonic looked up. There was a helicopter. It was dark grey and the logo on the side of it stood out and made Sonic shiver.

GUN.

Sonic curled up into a ball and revved up his speed, then he propelled himself off the edge of the skyscraper and he shot off into the distance. Sonic flew over vast lands of green until he landed on the floor and skidded across the grass and scraped through the dirt below it. He stumbled and and folded. His body rolled across the floor until it hit a tree. Sonic hit his back against the tree trunk and slid to the ground.

Sonic caught his breath as he sat against the tree trunk.

"I… didn't expect that." He looked ahead of his with wide eyes, on the lookout for any GUN machines. Nothing emerged. Sonic sighed and hunched over, then he wiped the dirt from his face and arms.

"Thanks for nothin', Rouge."

Sonic ran through a dusty canyon. He'd stayed away urban territory ever since the close call with GUN. As he ran, a small plane pulled up and flew alongside of him. Sonic titled his head and and recognised it. It was the Tornado, and Tails was flying it, with Knuckles in the back.

"Long time no see!" Sonic called out. The plane turned in towards Sonic and Knuckles handed a piece of paper to Sonic.

It was a letter, from Eggman. A new call to adventure.

"Let's crack this Eggman wide open!"

Sonic shot off into the distance, excited for more action. Excited to see his friends again.

"It's no use… why can't I defeat you?" Metal Sonic cried out on the floor.

Sonic ran over to his metal counterpart and looked down at him, in his base form once again.

"Because, we're Sonic Heroes!" Sonic boasted as he waved a finger at Metal Sonic. "Anytime you want a rematch, just let me know."

Sonic turned around and glanced at Shadow.

"SONIC!" Amy called and ran after him. Sonic couldn't stay. He ran down the metallic path of Eggman's abandoned ship, leaving everyone else behind.

Shadow watched Sonic leave, and then walked over to Metal Sonic. He let Omega take care of him.

Sonic ran through Westopolis, avoiding the crumbling buildings and explosions. This was the first time he'd been in a city since he'd defeated Metal Sonic with his team. He figured he would be safe from GUN, because they had more important things to worry about. All forces were sent to fight back against the alien invasion that fell through the red clouds in the sky.

Sonic felt his duty propel him through the city and home in on the black creatures that threatened the innocent life around him. A flying creature with terrifying teeth and a threatening screech dove towards him from the air with its scaly wings. Sonic leapt up and dashed into its head and the creature was splattered, dead. Sonic hit the ground again and continued running.

Sonic skidded to a stop when he heard the distinct sound of skates. He turned around and saw someone else do the same. They jumped down onto the collapsed part of the road that Sonic was on and stopped in front of him.

It was Shadow. Sonic and Shadow faced each other. Sonic felt like a weight was lifted off of his shoulders.

"Hey, Shadow! Long time no see! Looks like these black creatures really mean business! Let's you and me show them a thing or two!"

Shadow just looked at him with a blank expression. Then he blinked and shook his head.

"I recognise you… from before-" Then he scoffed. "Never mind. I have work to do." Shadow clipped Sonic on the shoulder as he rushed past him. Sonic gasped and ran after him.

Sonic skidded to a stop when he saw Shadow pick up a green emerald. Then he ran towards him.

"Hey, Shadow, that's one of the chaos emeralds! With that Chaos emerald, you can unlock unlimited power, remember?" Sonic exclaimed over the sound of explosions. Shadow just shrugged and continued down the path.

Sonic couldn't help but feel ignored. He continued destroying all black creatures in his path while Shadow rushed ahead.

Sonic didn't see Shadow again until their run-in with Black Doom on the Black Comet. It felt strange to have to count on him and not be the hero himself for once.

When the Black Comet was destroyed, Sonic was sure to make himself scarce again.

Sonic chuckled.

"A GUN agent? Shadow, of all people!"

"Yeah, I know," Tails said. "Be careful, Sonic."

"You don't think he'd turn me in, would you?" Sonic asked, half joking. Tails shrugged.

"Maybe. If he works for them, he'll do their bidding."

Sonic frowned.

"I'll look out for myself, buddy," Sonic said.

"If only you'd listened to me in the first place… then this wouldn't be a problem," Tails said.

"Not my fault I didn't get your message in time," Sonic said. "I was all shaken up."

Tails sighed.

"I know. I just… wish you weren't so reckless. I mean… now you know that GUN just want you for questioning… maybe it would be a good idea to just go and talk to them. Explain everything. I don't think the Commander meant what he said about consequences. If that's what he said. I'm not sure. It was years ago."

Sonic smirked.

"They threw me in prison once. I'm not gonna risk it."

Tails looked at Sonic worriedly.

"Don't worry about me, buddy," Sonic said and put his hand on Tails' shoulder. "Unless they have this place tapped."

Tails frantically looked around.

"Not my workshop!"

Sonic sniggered to himself.

"Don't worry, buddy. I doubt it. I was just messin' with ya." Sonic smiled at Tails.

Sonic sat alone at a desk in the middle of an empty room. He rested his hands on the table, his wrists were in cuffs. He looked around the room with a bored expression.

"Aww man. This is what I've been running from! Booooooring!" Sonic exclaimed.

The door swung open and someone walked in. It was the GUN Commander. Sonic glared at him and turned his head away to looked at the wall.

"I'm glad you could finally make it, Sonic. Better two years late than never." The Commander pulled out a chair opposite to Sonic at the desk and sat down in it. "So… willing to talk now?"

Sonic narrowed his eyes and hardened his expression, still refusing to look at the Commander.

"You will not leave this room until you speak," the Commander said.

"What info can I give you that you don't already have?" Sonic asked. "Shadow works for you. Why don't you ask him yourself."

"Shadow has already given his statement," the Commander stated. "So have everyone else. The only one left is you."

"What do you wanna know?" Sonic asked and closed his eyes; he hated himself for giving in.

"Everything, starting from your 'mistaken' capture until your return to Earth after the events on Space Colony ARK. Oh… and while you're here, perhaps you should tell me about your experience during the Black Arms invasion."

"Why don't you ask me for my life story while you're at it?" Sonic grumbled. "Alright." Sonic rubbed his chin with his hand whilst he looked up at the ceiling. "Got any chilidogs before I start?"

"No."

Sonic smirked.

"Still don't know how I like it. No food or movies? Still?" Sonic stretched his arms out in front of him and his legs. Then he leant back, looking relaxed and confident. "I thought you'd work that out by now."

The Commander stared at Sonic in disdain, and Sonic returned his look with an arrogant stare of his own, smirking at the Commander.

"You're smarter than this, Sonic," the Commander said. "Speak. Now."

Sonic tensed his hands that were rested on the table into fists. He looked down and grit his teeth.

"Just what do you want to know, exactly? What's missing from your files?" Sonic said.

"Your statement."

"I don't want to tell the whole story," Sonic said. "I wanna make this fast so I can get back to running."

Sonic's legs were shaking under the table as he became impatient.

"We need your statement from start to finish," the Commander said. "I shouldn't take too long. You can be as detailed as you want to be."

"No details then. Cool." Sonic closed his eyes. "Umm… the ARK nearly destroyed the world. I stopped it. Uhh…" Sonic looked up in thought. "Metal Sonic. Defeated him. Black Arms invision. Shadow stopped it."

"Sonic…" the Commander warned. Someone else spoke from the doorway.

"You failed to mention me during the ARK ordeal."

Sonic looked at the doorway and noticed that Shadow was standing there with his arms folded and looking at Sonic with an expression of disdain.

"Hey, Shadow! Long time no see!" Sonic said whilst smirking. Shadow narrowed his eyes even more. "Hey, whilst we're on that topic. Why don't we mention how you also caused the ARK's plummet towards Earth as well." Sonic gave a sarcastic grin whilst Shadow tensed up and shook with anger as he glared. "Sorry, pal. You must be a little sensitive about that."

"About my crimes? No. I've lived with that and moved on," Shadow said and closed his eyes. He grit his teeth and this mouth twitched. "It's that damn smirk that I'm sensitive about."

"Well maybe you shouldn't have brought me here then," Sonic said. "Oh wait. You didn't manage this."

Shadow's shoulders hunched and his glared down at Sonic, tensing up even more.

"No, a simple Chaos Emerald lure got you captured," the Commander stated and clasped his hands together. "It wasn't Shadow's duty to capture you. Shadow is only sent on high priority missions."

"Harsh," Sonic played along. "You seemed kinda desperate to speak to me."

"Yes. So speak," Shadow ordered and pointed at Sonic whilst giving him a cold stare. "Tell them the Commander about how we met. I don't mind."

"Man… it was so long ago. I'm not sure I'll remember all of the details," Sonic said, looking up in thought.

"Surely it was significant to you," Shadow said. Sonic shrugged.

"I go on plenty of adventures. Meeting you was just another day."

Shadow threw his fists down and stomped his foot.

"I nearly destroyed the planet and that was 'just another day' to you!?" Shadow snapped.

"Kinda. All of the adventures just kinda blur into each other," Sonic said, then he looked at Shadow slyly.

"I swear, if you're messing with me, hedgehog," Shadow threatened.

"Shadow, please leave. I don't think Sonic will take this seriously if he's around friends," the Commander said.

"Friends?" Shadow hissed.

"You get my point. Go," the Commander said whilst he rubbed the temples on the sides of his head, losing his patience with the bickering hedgehogs.

Shadow sneered at Sonic and turned to leave.

"Hey! Shadow!" Sonic suddenly yelled. Shadow stopped and growled.

"What?"

"Wanna race after?"

Shadow took a moment to answer.

"Sure," he said calmly and left.

"Sweet!" Sonic said.

"Sonic, there will be no after if you don't start talking," the Commander said.

Sonic looked at the Commander uneasily, then he turned to the side and looked at the floor.

"Man. I dunno where to start…" Sonic sighed and rested his hands on his knees. "It kinda hurt, ya' know… when I was blamed for what Shadow did. I saved Station Square and yet… you didn't trust me."

"Yes… go on…" the Commander encouraged, then sat back and raised his eyebrows as if he was listening intently.

"I'm going to be honest. I really don't trust you humans. I never did. Not the government anyway. If it wasn't for the innocent people who would suffer… I would have just left you all to deal with your own problems and returned to Christmas Island and never came back."

The Commander looked at Sonic in surprise, then he hunched over and started taking notes.

"Take is if a threat if you like… try and punish me for it if you want," Sonic said bitterly. "I'm tired of taking this crap and being the 'happy go lucky' hero." He air quoted.

"I want to make a formal apology. I knew that you were innocent as soon as I heard that Project Sha-... as soon as Shadow was released from stasis. And yet I didn't do enough to clear your name. I would have spoken up, but we decided that it would benefit the Government if the public blamed you and no one knew about Project Shadow."

"But your little plan failed," Sonic said. "And now everyone knows."

Sonic tensed up and side glared at the Commander.

"Your friend, Tails was once rewarded with a Chaos Emerald for stopping a missile in Station Square… before the whole place was destroyed and it mattered anyway. Do you remember that?"

"If you're trying to offer me some kind of reward to win my favour, it's not working," Sonic remarked. "I wanna say… that these past few years have been hard for me. Having to run from you guys all the time. I didn't know you just wanted to speak to me. I thought you were gonna throw me back in prison. I was AFRAID. You can't punish me for that."

"I won't. I just wanted to call you here. We have a lot of paperwork to fill here… GUN's a rather, bureaucratic organisation. Everything must be filed. If it wasn't for that then… perhaps the Project Shadow files would have been deleted and forgotten about completely."

"And I wouldn't have my best pal, Shadow," Sonic said sarcastically.

"No, perhaps not," the Commander said.

"So… you promise to leave me alone once I tell ya' everything," Sonic said and glanced at the Commander through the corner of his eye as he looked to the floor.

"Yes," the Commander affirmed.

"And…" Sonic gulped. "Never tell anyone about my true feelings."

"Of course," the Commander said. "What you said will be filed away, but I have no reason to spread the information."

Sonic forced a smile.

"Cool," he said. He looked up andleaned back in his seat. "Let me tell you the epic story of how I overcame a false accusation and Shadow trying to kill me, several times might I add… with the power of teamwork."

Sonic stepped out of GUN Headquarters and looked out into the city. He stretched his arms out to the sides, happy to have the cuffs off of his wrists. He smirked when he heard a distinct metal clanking against concrete floor. Sonic tilted his head and looked behind him to see Shadow calmly approach. Shadow stopped beside him and folded his arms.

"So you turned down the Commander's offer to work for him," he said.

"Ah, Shadow. What a coincidence. I was just reminiscing our good old times together," Sonic said, ignoring what Shadow had said.

"So you didn't forget," Shadow stated, but didn't bother to look at Sonic; he just looked straight ahead, setting his sites for their next destination.

"Nah. You know I was just messin' with ya," Sonic smirked. "I'll never forget meeting you, Shadow, you bought meaning to my life!" Sonic said melodramatically as he lifted and arm and looked into the air. He grasped at his chest, ironically.

"Stop joking around, Sonic. I only have a short break. I came here to race," Shadow said.

"Exactly. What would I do between adventures without our races," Sonic said. "Ready?"

"Yes," Shadow said. He got into a starting position. Sonic did the same.

"GO!"

The two of them shot off to the other side of the city and over the horizon.

END