Disclaimer: I don't claim ownership of Shadow the Hedgehog or Amy Rose (not that'd I want to…)

Inescapable Past
Part I

As the noontide sun beat down on Station Square, Amy Rose trudged slowly along a dirt track on the city outskirts, her gaze fixed firmly on her muddied boots; she was in no mood to enjoy this balmy weather. She'd started her day at the opposite end of the spectrum, dancing round her apartment at six in the morning (one perk of living alone at her age), but that vitality had been shortlived. With her thirteenth birthday just a month away, Amy had chosen today as the day she put her 'fangirl' ways behind her – no more stalking her hero, plying him with mock proposals of marriage – either she became Sonic's girlfriend, or moved on with her life. The omens had looked nothing but good; four months had passed since GUN brought down Dr Robotnik in the aftermath of the Black Arms invasion, but even with the civil war at an end, and the Kingdom of Acorn dissolved by Sally herself, Sonic and his estranged lover had still remained apart. If there was one lesson Amy had learned from this morning's experience, it was never to trust in the laws of logic when it came to matters of the heart.

Elsewhere on Station Square's outskirts, another hedgehog was having quite a different sort of day. Sprawled out in a patch of lush grass near a cliff edge, Shadow looked down on Station Square Bay, lazily watching sunlight dancing on the blue ocean as calm waves lapped the sandy shore. Since his climatic confrontation with Black Doom, the Ultimate Life Form had adopted an almost nomadic lifestyle, constantly moving from place to place, never settling anywhere for too long. However, he'd become something of a regular visitor to this lookout point; there was just something mightily soothing about the ambience that kept his flashbacks and other symptoms at bay. Not that they came anywhere near as frequently, now he understood the story of his origins and Professor Gerald's reasons for creating him, but in finding the answers to the questions he'd had about his past, something of a void had opened up in Shadow's life – a situation not helped by his awareness of his own immortality – these meditation sessions simply helped to keep his mind off the grim reality of his current, purposeless existence.

Continuing to follow the winding dirt track, Amy's harlequin-green eyes were eventually drawn away from her now-filthy boots by the cawing of a flock of Flickies flying overhead, making their annual journey back to their nesting grounds on Flicky Island. It was a rare sight, one few Mobians would ever witness, but right now, all Amy could feel in regard to the brightly-coloured birds was envy; envy at their ability to simply cross oceans at a moment's notice, free from all but the most basic concerns – a genuinely carefree life. Caught in her daydream, the preteen set off at a run, diverting from the dirt track as she chased the flock, indulging a childish impulse to keep sight of the Flickies for as long as she could. So engrossed was she in her pursuit, her eyes fixed upon the migrating birds, she failed to notice a large obstacle blocking her path until she collided with it, yelping in alarm as she was sent tumbling into a thicket of long grass.

Hearing the sudden yelp, Shadow was on his feet in an instant, grabbing the pistol resting beside him – he'd taken to carrying it as a 'precaution', just in case GUN renewed their interest in killing him. He stepped cautiously towards his parked motorbike, his preferred mode of transport in this post-Robotnik age. Seeing nothing untoward with the bike itself, his scarlet eyes shot to a patch of overgrown grass to the vehicle's left as he heard rustling, followed by what sounded like a muffling groan. Stepping slowly towards the thicket of vegetation, the black hedgehog had both hands on his pistol, finger poised on the trigger as Amy's head popped up.

"Amy?" blurted Shadow, dropping the gun in surprise.

"Oh, hey," said the youngster, rearranging her braided skills as best she could before putting her headband back in place.

"What the hell are you doing here?" asked Shadow, putting his gun back in the holster on his bike's saddle - he couldn't imagine Amy would've joined GUN.

"I was chasing Flickies," replied Amy, crawling out of the long grass.

"Flickies? You were chasing birds?" said the black hedgehog, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, I'm a kid, sue me," said the youngster, making an attempt to clean the dust off her dress. Grumbling as the task proved impossible, she stood up straight, establishing eye contact with the Ultimate Life Form, "Where have you been recently?"

"Here and there," said Shadow, inhaling deeply as a sea breeze blew through his quills, "How are the others?"

"They're okay; Tails is at boarding school, Sally's opened a school."

"And Sonic?" asked the black hedgehog, raising an eyebrow as Amy looked away. Had he said something wrong? About to enquire as such, Shadow was cut short as the preteen dashed past him suddenly. Looking over his shoulder at what had caught the youngster's attention, he too was treated to a glimpse of the migrating Flickes as they flew towards the horizon, watched by the motionless silhouette of Amy. He imagined the look of enchantment on her face, and how similar it must have been to the one that graced Maria's features whenever she'd sat with him on Space Colony ARK's observation desk, gazing out at the distant stars and the occasional spacecraft, coming to resupply the colony.

Then, it was Amy's turn to spin around in alarm as Shadow dropped to his knees, grunting loudly and cradling his head with both hands as more familiar memories replayed themselves – he and Maria had been on the ARK observation deck when the GUN assault team's shuttle had docked – barely half an hour later, he'd been in that escape pod, hurtling towards Mobius. The Flickies forgotten, she approached as close as she dared as the black hedgehog writhed around on the floor, grunting and growling as he pressed his fingers hard against his temples, as if he were trying to bore inside his skull. After a couple more minutes, the seizure finally seemed to abate.

Amy ventured in closer, freezing as Shadow moved again, rolling onto his back, splaying out his limbs in the lush grass. Tiptoeing the rest of the way, her eyes widened at the sight of his brow suddenly glistening with sweat, his breathing somewhat hoarse.

"Shadow?" she asked in hushed tone, receiving no response as she peered down at the prostrate hedgehog, his eyes closed; was he sleeping? Kneeling down beside him, she spent several moments just looking at the Ultimate Life Form, her own worries completely overridden by concern for him. Compelled by an urge to do something more than simply observe, the preteen lifted his right hand into her lap, massaging it in a consoling manner.

Shadow's eyes shot open, and glared at the youngster. Snatching his hand away, his eyes shut once more; did he look like he wanted her pity? He'd weathered storms far worse than this in the past on his own and come out fine. Then again, at least she cared.

SCENE

A few hours inland from Station Square stood Metropolis City, Dr Robotnik's former stronghold. After the Black Arms invasion had been repelled, the GUN Commander had taken advantage of the doctor's weakened position and led every surviving troop he had in a siege of the city. After nearly three weeks of gruelling street battles, Metropolis was at last liberated, the great Robotnik imprisoned, and his citadel at the heart of the city demolished, the new GUN Headquarters built in its place. The old man then retired, naming as his successor one Brutus Danzarotti, a leopard who'd led the climatic assault on Eggman's citadel.

At present, the Commander was sat at his desk, gazing out his office window at the rooftops of Metropolis with his one good eye. As things stood, he was effectively the city's ruler, a significant step up from his old rank of Captain. Many influential Mobians had criticized this state of affairs, Sally Acorn saying the Guardian Unit of Nations had simply replaced one dictator for another, but as the former princess had abolished the monarchy, she like everyone else was powerless to do anything about it. Good riddance, Brutus had said. The leopard recognized that this martial law couldn't last forever, and power would eventually have to be handed to an elected mayor, but not yet. Right now, he was still trying to make his mark as something more than the old man's chosen successor, and he'd devised the perfect plan with which to do it.

"Vice Commander Hugo to see you, sir," crackled the voice of Brutus' secretary on his desk intercom.

"Enter," yelled the Commander, spinning around in his chair. He'd never understood his superiors' obsession with intercoms when their office lobbies were just a door away.

The office's wooden door opened, and in stepped a portly warthog, garbed in the dress uniform of a GUN officer, his chest adorned with a huge array of medals. As Vice Commander, Hugo was Brutus' second-in-command, a position he'd also held under the old man. Normally, a new Commander would appoint a new Vice Commander, but as the leopard was the youngest boss in the organization's history, he'd kept the warthog on for the benefit of his experience. Stopping ten paces from the desk, Hugo saluted.

"What is it, Hugo?"

"I understand you requested our agent's field reports on the tracking device, sir," said the VC.

"Do you have them?"

"Sergeant Topaz is out in the lobby, sir."

"Show her in," said Brutus.

Pressing a pager on his uniform belt, the office's door opened once again, and a slinky lioness entered, also wearing dress uniform. Stopping beside Hugo, she saluted the Commander before stepping forward to place a manila folder in front of Brutus: "The field reports, sir."

"Very good, Sergeant," remarked the leopard as he flicked through the dossier, struggling to find the information he was really interested in, "What's the tracker's success rate?"

"Our technicians report a 95% success rate in tracing the target," replied Topaz.

"Only tracing? This statement says we're able to get an exact fix on his location."

"Those are the agent's own claims. We were unable to verify them."

"Very well," sighed Brutus, passing the dossier back to the lioness, "Sergeant Topaz, you are clear to proceed with the strike. You have operational control."

"Thank you, sir," said Topaz, trying hard to suppress a smile; this would be her first operation since the old Commander's retirement. Throwing her superiors a parting salute, the lioness turned on her heel and exited.

Watching her leave, an obvious spring in her step, Hugo turned round to face Brutus: "Are we sure that's a good idea?"

"She's gotten us this far, hasn't she?" countered said the leopard. One problem he'd always had with the old man was the loyalty he placed in intelligence agents like Topaz; one reason for keeping Hugo around was the fact he shared Brutus' distrust of them.

"Yes, but there's a significant difference between gathering intelligence and coordinating an operation," the warthog retorted.

"Still, I'm inclined to give her a chance, so that's what we'll do."

Accepting he was speaking above his station, Hugo grumbled something indistinct under his breath. The truth was he was still adjusting to taking orders from someone who, a few months ago, had been taking orders from him.

"Besides, Hugo, it is only one target."

"Be that as it may, sir, might I respectfully remind you that this one target has destroyed the equivalent of three of our battalions."

"Which is why I waited until Topaz's agent had perfected the tracker," said Brutus, spinning back around in his chair to look out once more at the Metropolitan skyline. No GUN Commander had ever been without his personal nemesis, but as far as the leopard knew, the old man had been the only one to call off the hunt for his. Whatever the reason had been for abandoning his vendetta against Shadow, Brutus couldn't bring himself to regard the Ultimate Life Form as anything other than a threat.

So long as the hedgehog lived, no Mobian was truly safe, and as GUN Commander, the leopard's first duty was ensuring the planet's safety. Therefore, Shadow would have to die.