He cried. He cried even though he hated himself for it.

The only true ally – no, friend, he had ever had… She was gone. Shadow knew there was no way to trick himself into thinking otherwise. The thought repeated itself over and over again in his head like a broken record.

She's dead. She's dead. She's dead.

Rouge is dead…

Even if there had been anyone else around, nobody could have heard his crying. The black hedgehog's tears were silent. He only stared at the dark stony wall in front of him with a blank expression, the salty droplets of water dripping down his face.

Kneeling on the cold ground, Shadow wasn't even bothered by the clinking chains at his wrists and ankles. He was in a completely different world. His mind lost in his grief.

Forced to make a decision, but having no choice. It was probably the only true fear he had. The loss of control.

The only other time he could ever remember feeling this way was when… when Maria…

Shadow squeezed his eyes shut tightly, forcing more tears to stream down his face. He didn't want to think about that too. Not on top of this. Not now.

But he couldn't just dismiss the fact that the way Rouge had looked at him was almost exactly the same way Maria had just before she pulled that lever. Before she had died…

He kept his eyes closed, trying to force his thoughts away, but to no avail.

Stuck in that capsule to be sent shooting down to earth… He couldn't help Maria back then. He had to watch as she was shot. He had to watch as the bullet tore through her delicate flesh. He had to watch as she used the last of her strength to crawl to that control panel.

But somehow, he felt more at fault now than he had with Maria. With Rouge, it had been different. He wasn't helpless. He wasn't stuck in a capsule. It was him who had the choice to make. Him, who truly made the decision to bring death upon the bat.

I wasn't planning on doing anymore with this, but I think I really like where it's going! :) I'll probably write more and make this a sort of prologue.

Review please! I'd love to hear what you think about it!