This all started in a meadow.

Yep, a meadow.

Shadow was leaning against a dark willow tree, trying to catch his breath. Sonic had declared the third race in two days, and the only reason Shadow was up for the challenge was to get his mind off of Maria. After finally announcing that he'd never turn back, Shadow at first thought it would be easy.

"Honestly, why did I think that?" He wondered aloud after finally catching his breath. "This is much easier said than done."

Suddenly, a flash of blue came streaking across the grassy plain. "What's up, Faker? Tired after only a few hundred miles? Pfffft! C'mon Man!" The iconic blue hero laughed as he ran backwards past Shadow, getting an irritated scoff in response.

"Shut up..." Shadow muttered.

After a few seconds the Blue Blur came dashing back to the tree. "Somethin' bothering you?" Knowing he wouldn't get an answer, Sonic continued before waiting for one. "'Cause this has been pretty fun up until now, and you're kinda spoilin' it like you always do."

"None of your business. Obviously." Shadow stated in reply, beginning to walk away.

"Are you just tired but you don't want to admit that I'm stronger, faster, and cooler than you? In that case you should've just said so, because we both knew it all along. See ya!" Sonic waved goodbye as he chuckled again.

Shadow clenched his fists tightly in frustration, doing everything he could not to turn around and punch that arrogant hedgehog in his face. He felt his cheeks grow red with rage and took a few deep breaths once Sonic was out of earshot. "Think of something nice." He instructed himself under his breath, "Think of..." He began to imagine Maria, and he felt a pain in his chest. "No, something happy." He said, scanning his mind for people he liked to be around. "Rouge. How about Rouge? She's nice, she listens, she's attractive..." By the time he was done listing things out for himself, he realized his cheeks were red for a different reason. "Ahem, well, I should be getting to..." He realized at that moment that he didn't really have anywhere to go. "Maybe I'll grab some lunch in Station Square." Kicking on his rocket shoes, he began to skate as fast as he could, pretending his recent thoughts had never made their way into his head.

-XXX-

He walked at a slow pace through the city, observing the sights around himself carefully. He did his best not to think about Maria, and instead about the way the birds wove around buildings, charging up speed and then gliding like planes, and the way bugs flew as they dipped and dived through the air. He watched as a group of teenagers left a movie theater, one's hand linked with another's, one skipping despite the fact that she was without a partner. He forced himself to imagine the simple joys in life, but then wondered how they could compare once a tragedy would strike. As he wondered how Sonic felt so free all the time, he passed the movie theater and now had an alleyway on his left side. Out of curiosity he glanced down it at the dumpsters and fire escapes. A group of humans then came into view, huddled around something small and green.

Scourge?

He thought the word to himself, recognizing the leather-clad green hedgehog from years ago when Sonic was a Freedom Fighter. Is this the said "anti-Sonic" that had such a poor reputation among heros? Although he doubted it was the same guy, Shadow couldn't help but wonder what this animal was doing with a group of humans.

"Whatever, I'm hungry." He remembered why he was there upon hearing the low gurgle of his stomach. He then proceeded to enter the nearest restaurant he saw, which was retro themed and seemed to be a pretty basic burger joint. Walking up to the cashier, he saw that the man was a redhead with freckles and a had a monotonous expression on his face. Once Shadow got closer he could see that the guy was texting behind the counter. He stood there and waited for this person to take his order, but the redhead never looked up. "Hello?!" Shadow yelled, pounding his fists against the countertop.

"Oh, uh, um..." The guy slipped the phone into his back pocket and straightened himself up. "Welcome to... Edgar's. May I take your order?"

Shadow smirked, remembering that the logo outside said "Eddy's".

"Yeah. A burger, I guess. Hurry up."

"Would you like that with-"

"I don't care! Just A BURGER okay?"

"Okay, Dude. Lay off."

"If anyone here should be laid off it's you, Cell Phone-Boy!" Shadow retorted, motioning to the cashier's back pocket. The man slunk away with fear in his eyes as Shadow tapped his foot. He came back with a cheeseburger and Shadow took it grumpily. "Who said I wanted cheese?" Shadow mumbled as he walked away.

"Wait, you didn't pay for-" The man shut up as soon as a crackling green Chaos Spear solidified in Shadow's free hand. For this black hedgehog, it was on the house.

-XXX-

As Shadow left the restaurant, it didn't take him long to devour the burger. He realized he was practically starving as he finished it in just several gigantic bites. Deciding to go back to the meadow for some peace from the thousands of humans around him, Shadow began to pass the alleyway again. He turned his head to look for the green hedgehog again when he almost slammed into a human coming from that direction. This person wore a dark brown hoodie with the hood up.

Wow, how shady...

He thought to himself, chuckling a bit. The guy pushed past him irritably and kept walking at a fast pace down the street. Once he had disappeared out of sight, Shadow grunted, also in agitation.

Nobody gets to treat me like that...

He was about to be on his way when he heard a "Hey, you over there!" He came to an abrupt stop and swerved around to see the hedgehog from before coming his way.

Not wanting to show his shock, Shadow replied, "What do you want?"

"Couldn't help but notice you look a little... down, if you know what I mean."

Shadow just eyed him suspiciously. "What?"

"Just follow me." The green one said as he turned and began to walk down the alley.

Shadow hesitantly followed, fingering his left inhibitor ring.

Nothing's to worry about. I could take him on, easy. And anyone else who might be with him.

Shadow reassured himself as he slowly followed. But to his surprise, it was just the one hedgehog. Nobody else was there at the dead end around the corner.

"Alright, Buddy. The name's Scourge."

The ebony hedgehog's eyebrows arched in shock. It was the same guy. What could he be up to? "Shadow. What do you want?"

"Trust me, I'm doing you a favor. It's a real bargain, Man."

"Then get on with it."

Scourge reached into his leather jacket and pulled out a needle. Shadow took a step back. "Relax, Buddy. It's nothing."

"What's it for?!" Shadow demanded, almost regretting he had ever interacted with this guy.

"Take it." He replied simply, "It'll be a 'buy now, pay later'. But I want the money by tomorrow." Shadow swiped it from his hands and backed away further. The other hedgehog chuckled as the black one turned and sped away, back to the meadow to investigate this strange tool.

-XXX-

When Shadow reached the edge of the city, he looked out over the meadow where the land dipped and consequently showed a low plain of lush and occasional trees. The far border of this grassland took the form of a glittering dark blue ocean, where he could see children swimming to escape the summer heat.

Taking refuge in the shade of the nearest tree, Shadow realized it was the same one he had been leaning against before. He recognized the dark, towering branches and the lazy, deep green leaves that hung from them as if in mourning.

Sitting down and leaning his back up against the trunk, Shadow began to turn the instrument over in his hands. No label, no explanation of what it was. Just a clear syringe with some sort of color-less liquid inside. Was he supposed to know what this was? Did Scourge expect him to return for more? What was he supposed to do with it?

Why'd he lead me into a dark alleyway to give it to me?

That thought stung the most in his mind, and a wave of anxiety rose through him. He held the needle up close to his face and squeezed the end, pushing some of it out of the needle. He watched it closely until he felt a sudden gust of wind, and child screamed, "It's Sonic the Hedgehog! Cool!"

Shadow figured Sonic, being a hero and all, might not like seeing Shadow hold such a suspicious object. Maybe he even knew what it was. Maybe Shadow could get some answers from him?

Too big of a risk, if it's something bad.

He decided to bury it under some leaves and grass under the tree at the last second before the wind picked up again and Sonic was right in front of him.

"Yo, Faker! You been here the whole time?"

"No, I'm just... back. What's it to you?" Shadow asked, "How nosy are you, anyway?"

"Whatev. We're all goin' to Amy's place for some lunch, if you're interested."

"Already ate."

"Alright, suit yourself, Faker." With that, the azure hedgehog was out of sight again, and Shadow breathed a sigh of relief. He realized that his muscles had tensed up and he made an effort to scoot back and relax into the tree. Closing his eyes for a minute, he felt something break the skin on his thigh.

"Damnit!" He cried out, seeing that the needle had embedded itself in his thigh. He began to feel some sort of a burning sensation.

Oh my God, did it enter my bloodstream?

He pulled the needle out and threw it onto the ground, beginning to feel a mixture of nausea and adrenaline and he stood up using the tree for balance. He stared out into the Atlantic Ocean, gasping for breath. He stood like that for about a minute, waiting for the feeling to go away, but as soon as it did, things began to move in and out of focus. He couldn't see straight, and as a result fell on the ground as he tried to walk. Now things were spinning, and as he tried to watch the humans in the water they began to turn into other things. One became a giant bug while the other became a seagull. One turned into a GUN soldier and the other into himself. He watched as himself and the soldier began to battle with their swords. Wait, what?

He hugged the tree and attempted to stand again, getting knocked off his balance once more as the wind fastened for a third time. "Faker? Aker? Aker?" Sonic's words began to echo and blend with each other, and he looked in the sound's direction to see... Amy in a gorilla suit? Now she was saying, "You don't look too good! Good! Ood!" And then he began to think he heard, "You look like food! Food! Ood!" He closed his eyes and squeezed them tight, trying to make the scene stop happening. He doubted it even really was, but it was all so vivid... "RAWR!" When he looked up, Amy was a fire-breathing dragon. He began to feel something soft against his body and noticed that he was now in a sheep costume.

This is getting really...

Before he could finish the thought he realized that he'd better be running. So he tried, but he kept stumbling over roots, rocks, and even his own feet. His jet shoes wouldn't seem to turn on, and he had never run in his life, so he felt really clumsy. Shadow heard the menacing roar again and turned around just in time to see fire flying in his direction. Unfortunately, not watching where he was going resulted in him tripping again and falling on his face. He felt the fire scorch his skin and he screamed out in agony, but before he could finish screaming he was no longer in the meadow.

He was lying on a couch in Amy's apartment.

As he groggily opened his eyes, he could hear someone whispering softly, "Shadow! Shadow! Guys, he's waking up!" As he opened his eyes he could see Sonic, Tails, Amy, Rouge, Silver and Knuckles all huddled around him.

"Ah!" He screamed, lurching upright and attempting to get away, but he had a headache the caliber of an earthquake and found that the best thing to do would be not to move. "Wh-what happened?!" He asked, his voice cracking.

"Sonic found you outside of Station Square, screaming like a schoolgirl. It was apparently like you were high or something." Silver replied, a look of worry written all over her face.

Shadow gave her a confused look. "High?"

"Like on drugs!" Amy replied, "Geez, talk about naive..."

Shadow sat up slowly. He couldn't even remember much after the needle piercing into him. Narrowing his eyes, he asked, "What are you saying?"

"She's not saying anything." Rouge promised, "Just jumping to conclusions."

"It's so unlike you to just have an episode like that. What happened, Faker?"

He sighed as he heard his petty nickname from Sonic. "Just get me something for this headache."

Sonic didn't move, just stared at him, full of suspicion. "I'll get it." Rouge said, walking into Amy's kitchen and peering into all the drawers for painkillers. She came back with a big fat pill and a glass of water. Shadow gave her a nod of thanks as he took the medicine from her. As he swallowed it Sonic began to describe the experience from his point of view.

"Dude, I was here, and then Rouge asked where you were. I said you didn't want to come, and then she said-"

"I told him to drag you here if he had to." Rouge interrupted.

"So anyway, I went back for you and saw you in that field, where you've been all day."

"I wasn't there all day!" Shadow backfired angrily, immediately grabbing his head. The pill hadn't started working yet.

"Okay, stop interruptin' me, people! I ran up to you and your eyes were all dilated and you started to scream at me and then you ran away and the whole time I was thinkin', 'What's goin' on here?'." Shadow didn't really listen as Sonic told the story. He was wondering what the heck it was that he took.

So it was a psychedelic drug...

He also began to realize how much it took his mind off of Maria. I mean, yeah, it was terrifying, but he wondered if he could enjoy it after a while. Maybe he could even control what he hallucinated. He began to consider going back for the syringe but realized he had better do it later, because he still had a major headache and his friends were going to be all over him today.

Once Sonic was done talking and talking, he estimated that the medicine had kicked on just enough for him to comfortably be able to move - if he walked slowly. But as soon as he got up off the couch, everyone exploded into shouts of "Wait, you should get some rest!" and "You're not going anywhere!" and "No way, Faker!"

"Ugh... I just have to use the restroom." He lied, forming an idea.

"Fine. But hurry back." Rouge called as he began to walk away.

"I'll make you some chicken soup!" Amy called out, running to the kitchen. Shadow rolled his eyes. It wasn't like he had a cold.

"I'll make you a chilly dog!" Sonic promised, also running to the kitchen.

"Gross..." Shadow mumbled.

Once he got to the bathroom, he shut the door and locked it. His eyes began to wander to the nearest window, and his idea began to take action. He attempted to pry it open, but it was the kind that didn't have a latch, so he punched it with his right hand. It was left with a big crack and he punched it a second time, his fist finally forcing the glass to give out. He then grabbed the edges of the hole and pulled, breaking most of the glass away.

"What was that?" He heard from outside the bathroom. It was Silver. The ivory hedgehog jiggled the door knob and saw that it wouldn't budge. Now he was shouting to the others. Great.

Shadow jumped through the window and landed on the window ledge. Strong gusts of afternoon wind blew his spikes around, and especially into his face. He tried his best to push them out of his view and carefully sidestepped, wondering what to do now. As soon as it occurred to him that he didn't know, he began to hear clicking noises from the bathroom. Relieved that his great hearing could pick that up over the roaring wind, he glanced back through the broken window. He found that the door was being unlocked by Silver telekinetically.

I'm not gonna get out of here in time!

He dashed back into the building and grabbed the door knob, leaning in the opposite direction so his weight was preventing the others from opening the door. Now was a good time to be the ultimate lifeform. Suddenly, the door was rattled by a loud crash that could only be Sonic trying to kick the door down. "What's goin' on, Faker? What're you doing this for?" Sonic asked before he kicked the door a second time.

Through all of these action-packed events, Shadow wondered if he still had any of that drug left in his system. That's when it hit him: He had just broken a window and felt no pain.

no pain.

He looked down at his hands and realized that there was blood seeping through his normally white gloves. His right hand was especially bad. He is the ultimate lifeform though, so the cuts would have healed by now, but not without a short period of bleeding and pain.

Maybe I do have some of that drug left in me...

Due to thinking so hard, he was caught off guard when Sonic gave a final kick to the door. It came crashing off its hinges and Shadow knew his best chance was to climb back out to the ledge. Sonic came dashing after him, and now they were both standing above the city, cars waiting impatiently in the traffic below. The two hedgehogs could hear the cry of distant horns and grew increasingly nervous at the altitude.

"Come back inside!" Sonic begged as he watched Shadow inch farther away from him.

"Not happening." was all Shadow said in reply as he reached the end of the building.

"Sayonara!" He yelled as he jumped.