(Please note: the following story takes place after the events of 'Sonic Adventure 2'. There may be spoilers contained herein, so be warned.)

TIME: 9:45PM

LOCALE: High above the Earth, and plummeting fast.

Shadow the Hedgehog falls towards Earth, the Finalhazard defeated and the people of the world saved. He closes his eyes and accepts his fate. Maria, I have fulfilled my promise to you. The world is safe. Gerald's work shall not be in vain, and neither will your sacrifice. Just then, before combusting into flames due to atmospheric reentry; Shadow hears a voice inside of his head... Maria's voice! Shadow, the people are saved, but for how long? You need to live to ensure their safety for years to come! "Maria?!" Shadow exclaimed. "She's right," he said to nobody in particular as he began to concentrate hard, "These people need me! Chaos Control!" He shouts as he disappears in a flash of light.

His Chaos control manages to get him through the stratosphere, that's about it. He reappears in the sky, still falling towards Earth. Passed out, Shadow can do nothing but fall. Luckily, there's an ocean to catch him and catch him it does; hard. Unnoticed, Shadow begins to sink into the dark blue depths. Almost 3 full days pass by and Shadow is nowhere to be seen, until a U.S. Submarine returning to dock at Camp Zama, Japan has an unusual passenger.

Armed M.P. personnel bring the Hedgehog out into the sunlight. You can tell he's still recovering from his fall and his time under the ocean. His arms are handcuffed and his legs are shackled. The two M.P. personnel acting as escorts/guards of the 'prisoner' salute a third, unidentified man. One of them speaks, "Sir! We found Sonic drifting at sea almost two full days ago and immediately took him into custody. He was in bad shape, but he'll recover. We attempted to interrogate, but his condition hampered all attempts."

Sonic?! That's right! They still think I am Sonic, and that Sonic is responsible for the infiltration and theft from the military base. Lost in thought for a moment, Shadow doesn't realize he's being led to a prison cell. He finally realizes when he hears the grinding of an iron-barred door closing and locking.

Shadow paces in his cell. He's been in solitary confinement, getting three square meals a day... Sure, if you consider bread and some unidentified substance as a meal. And water, well, Shadow doesn't even want to look at water again, much less drink it. However, even if he wanted to, this water is rust and iron-ridden and the glass is dirty. He's ready to go out of his mind when suddenly, the door opens. Two M.P. personnel come in and unlock his cuffs and shackles. Shadow looks up, a bit confused at the man everyone referred to as 'sir'. Standing there about 182 cm tall with blonde, spiked hair so straight it looks like a brush head. His Dog Tags gently reflecting the dim fluorescent lighting, resting outside of the hunter green tank top he wears over his massive frame.

"You're free..." the man spoke, offering his hand to the hedgehog. "I'm afraid we have the wrong guy. You're not Sonic, are you?" Shadow looks down at the outstretched hand, and hesitantly shakes it. "No, I'm not." Is the reply, in a rather cold tone. "You have a name, then?" The commander smirks a bit, realizing that his former prisoner is rather peeved. "Mine's Guile, if you're wondering." Shadow looks up at him, then away again. "Shadow." Guile's eyes widened, as he remembers his former partner and best friend transformed into a monster by a maniacal tyrant named M. Bison. After a slue of hideous experiments performed on him, his friend; Charles Nash; was transformed into a cold-blooded killer named Shadow. Shaking these vile visions away from his memory again, Guile looks down at the Black hedgehog. "Well, I know the food here... well... sucks." He chuckles a bit. "Want to get some good food? I know a nice restaurant right off the base." Shadow attempts to decline, but his stomach intercedes. "Sure."

Both the Air Force commander and the renegade hedgehog tell their own respective stories over lunch. Shadow is moved by Guile's story, and inquires more into it. "So, do you think Charlie, or 'Shadow' is still around? And if so, do you think there's a way he may be returned to normal?" Guile looks away, "No. That's impossible. It was later discovered that 'Shadow' was actually a cyborg. Nobody knows what happened to Charlie. Last I saw him, he was fighting M. Bison on a cliff and he used his 'Somersault Justice' to actually cleave the cliff and detach the part they were standing on. They both plummeted into the raging waters below. We all thought M. Bison was done for, but he wasn't. He returned a few years later with a new scheme, and was defeated for good then." They finished off the rest of their lunch in silence and then they parted ways. "Take care, Shadow." Guile waves at his newfound friend. "You sure you're going to be OK? Got a place to go and all?" Shadow looked a pit puzzled. He didn't think about that yet but was too proud to take any more of Guile's help. "Yeah, I'll be fine." He said, and then rocketed off.

Hmmm... I hadn't thought about that yet. Where will I go? I could always return to Sonic and the rest, but could I really impose on them that much to let me have a place to stay? No. While trying to figure a plan of action, he's overcome by feelings of guilt. If he hadn't helped Dr. Robotnik steal the Chaos Emerald, if he hadn't stopped Sonic & Co. at every turn, if he hadn't done any of that, there would have been no need to even fight the Finalhazard. I can't go back to them at all... not after what I've put them all through. I have to figure out what to do on my own and when I'm ready, I'll make it all up to them... my friends. With that, he bolts off in the direction of Tokyo. It's only 25 miles northeast from Camp Zama. Not too far, especially not for a hedgehog that can run at supersonic speeds.