"Isn't this a bit much?" I complained as I reluctantly wrapped my arms tighter around my hedgehog companion, not daring to let go as harsh gusts of winds blew at me, hurting both my eyes and my ears.

It was already bad enough that my wings were beginning to ache from the small amounts of wind that were able to reach it - as well as the amount of force I made my wings endure to keep them on my back and not to fly painfully with the wind - but this wasn't helping at all.

'Maybe driving lessons weren't the best idea...'

Through my blurry vision, I could see Shadow the Hedgehog turn to look at me, his lips pressing together tightly to form a thin line.

It looked like he was debating on something, but I couldn't tell.

Briefly glancing back to the road, Shadow soon stated, hesitantly, "I guess there's no need to hurry."

Finally, he slowed down, much to my relief. It wasn't that I haven't driven in fast vehicles before. It also wasn't that I haven't flown this fast before...

The thing that bothered me was the fact that Shadow was driving, and that he still wasn't that good - much to my surprise. I had thought, since he was the 'Ultimate Life-form', that he'd be able to drive any sort of transportation with ease. It seems I was a bit mistaken. It didn't exactly seem to be the case here, but he - I had to admit - learned fast, and was surprisingly good for the amount of knowledge he held for this skill.

"...better...?" he tested, his hands calmly resting on the motorcycle's handlebar as he loosened up his form, seemingly more relaxed rather than tense like before.

"...much..." I admitted, lowering my head - which brushed accidentally into Shadow's quills - as I loosened my grip, almost sheepishly.

I swore I could feel Shadow smirk, even if I couldn't see it.

"Why do you have to drive so fast?"

He moved his gaze momentarily to focus on me before looking at the road once again.

He paused before he answered, "-Because I'm the coolest."

Narrowing my eyes, I scoffed. "I'd just stick with being the 'ultimate', buddy."

I now heard him scoff in response, his head lowering - probably in annoyance - as he tried to now focus more on the road than me.

In turn, I decided to ignore him as well, turning my head to glance around at the passing scenery.

We were driving through Westopolis now, and I could see that we made some heads turn as citizens looked at us, obviously not used to seeing 'our kind' pass through casually around these parts.

I shook my head and let out a small sigh, letting my wings fall down my back - it was useless to keep them from harm that was to come, anyway.

Looking around once more, a ghost of a smirk crept up my lips.

Come to think of it, this ride wasn't that bad.

'Maybe Shadow could finally get that licence he's recently been aiming for. I don't understand exactly why he'd want one, but...

GUN isn't exactly that friendly with him - I should know as I work for them - and a lot of people are still quite...suspicious of him, even if he has proven his loyalty, to an extent.'

Rouge let out a small sigh as she lowered her head further, unknowingly resting on one of Shadow's quills.

'I don't quite understand why people are so hateful to him, but I guess I can understand a few reasons why this licence would prove useful in the future with this in mind...'

"Rouge..." Shadow's voice suddenly curtly called out, breaking the bat from her thoughts. "Get off."

Irritably, I narrowed my eyes and my expression contorting into a scowling one.

'Just who does he think he-'

"Rouge," Shadow turned to me, slowing down the motorcycle. "Get moving."

"Why?" I challenged, unwrapping my arms from his form as he finally came to a complete stop by the side of the road.

He didn't bother to speak as he now looked past me, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "Rouge, leave. I'll take care of this."

Confused, I looked him over, my expression softening. "Wha-"

He cut me off, once again, with a sharp look.

Suddenly, I got quite a message of what he meant.

The sound of a gun then fired, soon followed by another.

I turned my head quickly to see that a few men, not too far from here, were aiming at us through a window with some tough looking guns as they sat in their car.

I couldn't identify them, thanks to the distance between us, but they did sound powerful and familiar - they were GUN's weapons, no doubt.

"Shadow, I can take care of my-"

Annoyed, he shot me a glare, and, in return, I shot him one to counter his own.

'Shadow doesn't seem to remember that I can take care of myself, but fine!'

Something still felt off, though. He seemed somewhat...worried, as if seeing a gun made him...

'Maria...?'

I blinked in slight realization at Shadow's subconscious 'fear' before I let out a quiet sigh.

I jumped off the motorcycle and walked further away from Shadow, leaning against a nearby wall as I glared at Shadow, still annoyed at the fact that he thought I couldn't care of myself.

Something then caught my eye, though, and I turned to get a better look at it.

I strained to see it, but then it was gone.

Annoyed yet interested, I decided to walk towards it. Suspicious yet curious, I began to poke around.

"Freeze, bat." I raised my head to see the thing I had only caught a glimpse of.

A young-looking adult stood before me, and he was beside some crates that had blocked my view, holding a shotgun casually.

It wasn't the strongest of weapons, but still...

I had to be semi-cautious - if I didn't play my moves, right, that is.

"Hey, buddy, watch where you're pointing that thing, or you'll be messing with Rouge the Bat!"

I watched as his scowl slowly twisted into a dangerous smirk, one that looked much better on Shadow than anyone else.

"-And that's just what I want." he said.

He tried to poke the nose of the gun further in my direction - as a bluff - but wasn't given the chance as I lunged forward, kicking the weapon right out of his hands, knocking him backwards into the crates.

I felt yet another gun poke at me, the nose of it resting on my wings.

"Don't move!" another man behind me barked, but I quickly spun around before he knew what was happening and kicked at his hand - knocking the gun out of his reach - before I delivered yet another kick to his stomach, sending him flying back into a wall.

"Never mess with Rouge the Bat!"

I smirked, but the victory was short-lived as another shot was fired behind me, and, before I had the time to move, something pierced through my side.

I froze - though only for a moment - before turning, ready to attack this foolish jerk.

As much as it hurt, I could complain about it later. I wasn't one to give up a challenge!

I could just barely see him - being blinded by the sun behind him - but he was visible enough so that I could see him fall to the ground, letting out a choked cry as he was either killed or knocked unconscious. At the moment, I couldn't tell, but I didn't exactly care to find out.

My 'savoir' stood behind the fallen form of the man, turning his head to look around before he jumped to my level, his ruby eyes looking me over wearily.

He was probably wondering about my wound, but I believed that I could take it - the pain, that is.

It was stinging, and it hurt like hell, but I could get over it. It was beginning to numb out, anyway.

He seemed to catch my reassurance, and he nodded curtly.

"We need to get out of here. Quickly."

I knew we did, but it was pretty painful to move at this point. Whatever kind of gun that was didn't shoot anything that felt like a bullet. There wasn't even a bullet wound. It looked more like a blast from some sort of mini-explosion.

I tried to ignore the pain as I nodded my head to Shadow.

He hesitantly eyes me over before he sighed and ushered me forward.

"I got rid of the other humans. They left their car to fight me, but that wasn't exactly a smart move." he had informed me as he nodded his head towards something I couldn't see.

He then began to skate away; I followed after him, obviously much slower than him.

He soon guided me to a car, a familiar one at that.

"Hey, wasn't that the one those guys used?" I asked, silently thankful that I was finally able to finish at least one sentence.

"Yes, and, judging by the looks of it, it's bullet proof. That's good, because we need to get out of here, and since I don't have a Chaos Emerald, this may be just the safest way."

"What? Why do they want us? What do you mean safest?"

"One of the only other ways I can think of right now is that you could fly us away, but that wouldn't work, as they have some...'snipers', I believe, up on the rooftops"

I tried to ignore the fact that I had been wounded. "I can get shot? What about you?"

He stared at me blankly before slowly responding, "You're a mere mortal, so if you get hurt, it can injure you badly, and you may not heal. I, on the other hand, am both immortal and unaffected by non-serious injuries... even by some serious ones, too."

I wasn't sure if he was talking from experience or not, but I decided not to look deep into his words.

I was about to reject, though, but then decided again it, and instead asked, "What do they want?"

"Apparently, they're not too...fond of us - for what reason, I'm unsure of. I can't remember doing anything that could've possibly upset those fools, but if I had, it must've slipped my mind. Either they have something against us, or this is that part of Westopolis where ignorant, damned humans hurt each other for possessions, money, or for fun." he then turned to the car. "Let's get moving."

I wasn't one to object with what Shadow said, but one thing bothered me, and I soon voiced out that question.

"Why are we running away, though? Can't you just attack them?"

Frowning, Shadow shook his head. "I... could but, as much as I dislike humans... For some reason, I feel like I shouldn't. Like..." he then let out a sigh. "I don't know; I can't remember."

I blinked, just remembering that he had lost his memory after he saved us.

My hand reaching out to brush against his in a comforting manner, I narrowed my eyes in determination. "Don't worry, Shadow. You'll remember everything soon enough."

He glanced up at me, almost curiously, and it reminded me of when I first helped him out of his coma-like state...

Well, Omega helped, too, but...

He was somewhat different, at least from what I saw. He was much more curious, loyal, and something else... It felt weird, at first, but then I guess I got used to it.

To be perfectly honest, I sort of missed him being like that.

I found it amusing - it was quite fun to tease him - but now he was becoming more independent and secure, which, I guess, is a good thing, in his case.

Jumping into the passenger's seat, I watched cautiously as Shadow moved to sit in the driver's seat.

"You haven't drove a normal car yet, Shadow." I reminded him.

He turned to me and ever so slightly nodded his head, acknowledging what I had said.

"Just... be careful."

He eyed me, then my wound that began to bleed on the seat I sat on, and lastly at the wheel he gripped at awkwardly.

"Let's try this out," he whispered, and, looking back, he subconsciously moved his hand to the back of my seat, gaining a certain expression that I found to be amusing to see. He backed out of an alley the car was parked in and manipulated it around so that it was facing normally on the streets.

"Are you sure you haven't drove a car before?"

Shadow shook his head.

"No, I just remember what I learned." the hedgehog responded, focusing on the road.

He then swerved the car so that he was driving, calmly, on the right lane, eyeing around once in a while.

"Shadow," I began. He turned to look at me momentarily, so I continued, "Did we just steal a car?"

He snorted and shook his head, narrowing his eyes as he glared the driver in front of us down.

"Tsk, the pathetic humans deserved it, and you can inform your 'boss' that, if he finds out."

I let out a sigh. "I don't know if Abraham will let me off that easy."

I flinched as he violently twitched, seemingly distracted.

"That...name..." he whispered, most likely to himself.

I decided to not disrupt his thoughts.

After a while, though, I began to get bored of the silence.

"So..." I trailed off, looking out the window. "Do you know anything? Remember anything at all?"

He sighed and shook his head, occasionally looking back to see if we were being followed. "No, not exactly. A few basic things, but not much."

"Still nothing?" I mumbled, eyeing outside the window as I moved a hand to brush against my wound, shuttering as I did so. "Do you remember anything important?"

"No, not exactly." he repeated, still distracted.

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Well, how about I tell you a few things about me, and then you do the same..." I let out a low humming noise as I leaned my head against the window. "You already know most of the basics... How about favourite colors and birthdays?"

"Birthdays?" Shadow repeated half-heartedly.

"The event and day of your birth...or in your case, the day of your creation. Mine's June 19th."

If I thought he seemed distracted before...

He turned to me curiously. "June 19th?" Shadow then paused and pursed his lips together, and, after a few moments, finally replied, "Coincidentally, I believe that was... the same date I was created on..."

I blinked in response, utterly surprised.

'Well, isn't this interesting. I never get to talk to this hedgehog much, though, so really-'

I let out a choked and surprised cry as something shot at my window, startling me.

Upon further inspection, I noticed it was yet another bullet.

I turned my head to look ahead, not meeting the hedgehog's widened, semi-concerned glance.

"What are you doing?" I suddenly cried out, attempting to take control of the wheel. "We're going to crash!"

It seemed as if there were other cars in their possession - though I wasn't surprised by that fact at all, for it was quite expected - there was a purposeful blockage of vehicles before us.

There were other drivers around that were confused, but I guess ignorance is truly bliss.

"We have to get out of here." Shadow muttered quietly, looking around for an exit as he stepped harshly on the breaks.

"We could try our chances with escaping by foot and-or flight?" I requested, though it sounded more like a statement.

Sighing, Shadow closed his eyes and lowered his head. "It would seem as if we have no choice. I don't want to fight them for some reason, and you're injured, so that leaves us with... no choice..."

Taking a few deep breaths, I lunged out the door and tried my luck with the sky, flapping my wings as hard as I could to get some sort of lift.

Thankfully, I did, and I smirked as I looked down, seeing Shadow's form grow smaller and smaller.

I could see him look up at me and did what seemed like to be a small waving hand gesture, but I couldn't tell exactly.

Putting all my strength into my wings, I securely, as well as subconsciously, clutched at my side as I noticed that some of the men's guns were aiming at me.

I tried to go faster, but it seemed like the wind didn't want to fulfill my wish, as it pushed me back, suddenly countering my strength with its own.

"Damn weather." I cursed softly under my breath as I strained to fight against the breeze, though, after loosing quite a bit of blood, it was much harder to gather back lost energy, and I was beginning to get more and more... weak.

I hated that fact.

"Rouge!" Shadow called out suddenly, though his voice seemed distorted thanks to the wind that blew violently at my ears, messing with my hearing,

Suddenly, though, I understood why he yelled at me, and, instantly, I felt a whole other part of me scream with pain.

Confused, my wings began to slow their speed, and, in turn, I began to loose lift.

I felt myself falling from the sky, and as much as I tried to fight back and get back up in the air, I just couldn't.

I would've fallen on the concrete - I should've fallen on it - but something soft caught me instead, though that didn't exactly make my impact any more enjoyable.

The last thing I saw was black fur - no, quills - wrapping securely around me before I felt my whole body go limp and everything went painfully blurry, then black.

. . .

I 'woke up' to the sound of quiet snoring, or, at least, that was what it sounded like.

I tried to turn me head, but it felt so heavy that I just lay there, unmoving, glancing around the room I was in with barely open eyes.

It seemed as if I was in...

I blinked.

It didn't seem as if I was in Club Rouge, I was in it.

I tried to get up, now extremely confused, but a metallic arm stopped me.

"Rouge the Bat, I have been ordered to watch over you. I was also informed that, in your condition, you were to not leave the spot you are in now."

Irritably, I growled. "And what if I have to leave?"

I then paused, trying to find some sort of excuse. I had to think hard, though, as it was Omega I was speaking to.

"What if I have to use the washroom or something?"

E-123 Omega paused, probably confused, before he finally registered and understood what I had said and shook his metallic head.

"You are not to leave." he repeating stubbornly, his red eyes glowing bright once again.

I narrowed my eyes, but decided not to fight Omega, noting that, when given orders, he'd stick to it, probably no matter the situation.

"What happened?"

"Shadow the Hedgehog found you in a semi-critical state, and had returned here to have you rest and heal. He was quite 'tired, after fighting and struggling with different combat styles, and, just in case he fell asleep, alerted me of the instructions I am following at this current time."

'Shadow...?' I weakly turned my head and noticed that; indeed, it was snoring that had woken me up.

Shadow the Hedgehog, the apparent 'Ultimate Life-form', lay asleep on a nearby chair.

"What happened to him?" I asked instantly.

"It appears that he had used a lot of energy while fighting off the humans. I am unsure if others around had witnessed it, but - if they had - they surely wouldn't be able to tell... as Shadow has seemingly acquired a new Chaos-based attack, if he hadn't learned it already. I believe he had called it 'Chaos Blast' while explaining it to me."

"...Chaos...Blast...?" I mumbled, deciding that, by its name, I'd probably not want to be Shadow's target at all when he'd be using that attack. "Seems powerful."

"My sensors had detected the attack and the amount of damage it could do, if used correctly. It is safe to say that it is, indeed, a powerful attack."

I lowered my head against the soft pillow once more, letting out a low breath. 'I must've seemed like such a... I don't know. I tried to prove Shadow that I can take care of myself, but the impression gave off seemed to say otherwise...'

"I must momentarily leave. I will be back." Omega suddenly explained. As I slowly nodded my head, he began to leave the room as quietly as he could, which, taking into account his weight and material, isn't that quiet at all.

I looked back at Shadow - who had now stopped snoring - observing the hedgehog silently.

"He's still sleeping...?" I whispered quietly.

"...no..." Shadow grumbled quietly, peering his eyes reluctantly open. "Are you okay?"

I thought about my wounds, but then decided against telling Shadow that they were still painful. I could spare myself at least that much in terms of independence.

"I'm fine." I then raised my head, shuffling over to rest on one of my sides.

"...what happened?" I asked curiously, looking at the hedgehog that didn't seem to even have a scratch.

"...nothing." he whispered back after a while.

He then stayed silent before he finally decided to add, "-but I did get another memory back."

"You did?" I repeated, genuinely interested. "Which one?"

He lowered his head, a sad-looking expression briefly crossing over his face. "I... can't understand it. I'm in this... hallway of sorts, and there's this girl who's running with me... Maria..."

I lowered my gaze to the floor, understanding what memory he was referring to.

Shadow suddenly shook his head and got up, looking elsewhere. "I found where the third Chaos Emerald is, though I didn't take it yet, for it's in Sonic's grasp... He... assisted me with fighting off the 'villains' - as he titled them. Apparently, it is a hobby of his..." he then turned to me, his expression utterly serious. "-I just can't seem to find the location of that damn fourth Chaos Emerald."

I couldn't help but grin softly, and he lightly smirked in response, taking a seat on the corner of my bed.

"…I'll… help you search for your fourth Chaos Emerald if you, in return, help get me one... in the future, at least. And you have to promise me that it'll be mine, nor yours."

His fingers drummed quietly on my sheets and his raised his head in thought.

Then, sighing, he curtly nodded his head.

"I promise."

"Good." I teased, lowering my eyelids as I rested further in my pillow.

Something was still bothering me, though...

"...I can take care of myself, you know. You don't need to save me all the time. I swear it, this'll be the last time you do."

He turned to look me over, a daring smirk reaching his lips, as he crossed his arms comfortably over his chest.

"I'm sure, Rouge."

A/N: I'm sorry if these characters are sort of OOC, but a lot of the characters in Heroes are different (personality-wise) compared to how they act in the Shadow the Hedgehog game, so I tried to mix their personalities together, like a transition of sorts.

This story takes place after Heroes and before Shadow.

I did this story for Shadow and Rouge's 13th birthday. Happy birthday, you guys.