Chapter 2: Confrontation

Shadow strolled through Station Square in search of Sonic. He didn't plan on wasting a single, precious moment of time that could be spent on obtaining the Emerald.

'I bet that joker is so proud of his inane little scheme,' Shadow thought, remembering the contract that Sonic had put him under. He sighed in irritation as he paced through the crowded, noisy city. The setting only irritated him more because he preferred the secluded little forest at the edge of the city and its simple pleasures to the obnoxious bustle of the busy people and the unpleasant sting of the sun's burning rays that reflected off of the mirror-tile buildings.

Shadow's mind lingered on his assignment and while he continued to make his way through the city, he unconsciously headed toward Amy's house. When he finally regained enough focus to recognize his surroundings, he noticed Amy closing her front door and leaving her home in high spirits. He swiftly ducked into the small alley between Amy and her neighbor's fences on the side of her house and kept his gaze locked on her small form, noticing different attire than usual. Amy was wearing a white tank top with red, horizontal stripes and pink sporty shorts with a red hoodie wrapped around her waist. Shadow even took note of a red, pink, and white pair of women's running shoes.

'She must be getting ready to hunt down Sonic. I suppose I'll just follow her until I see him; that is when I'll step in. I also must obey his request that I do not inform Amy of our agreement. For now I'll remain in the shadows and allow her to make the first move.'

Shadow walked out from the alley and scaled the closest skyscraper he could find. He made sure to always have her in his sight without being in hers. As Shadow hopped from building to building, Amy jogged far below him while thinking about what had happened only yesterday.

'Is Sonic in that forest again? If he is, I'm still not going in there again; I would only get lost and end up being a burden again. It was nice of Shadow to help me yesterday. He seemed to be in a hurry to find Sonic, but he still stopped to take me home. It was surprising that Sonic didn't check to make sure I was safe, being a hero and all. I certainly never expected sympathy from Shadow. Then again, I haven't spent any real time with him so I really shouldn't make assumptions. But something's been bothering me; Shadow looked really angry at Sonic in the clearing. I wonder what made him so angry! Maybe Sonic will tell me when I find him…'

Amy continued to jog down the sidewalk, keeping her eyes peeled for a handsome blue hedgehog. She was about to pass an auto parts shop when she saw a double tailed yellow fox through the display window. Amy turned on her heels and pushed open the door to the shop, catching the focused boy's attention.

"Hey Tails!" Amy called happily, walking up to the fox. 'Since they're best friends, Tails should know where he's run off to.'

"Hi Amy!" He replied with equal cheer, turning away from the shelves of car manuals.

"Whatcha' looking for?" Amy asked, hoping to casually and politely work her way towards the question she really wanted to ask.

"Well, I'm just looking at a few car parts and manuals for inspiration. The X-Tornado is great, but since Eggman's been gone for a while and there have been no new threats for a long time, I thought that I should take this time to develop a more advanced fighting plane for tougher opponents. I'd rather be safe than sorry!" he laughed, glancing back towards the fully stocked shelves.

"Any luck yet?" asked Amy. Tails' shoulders slumped in defeat as he sighed.

"I'm afraid not Amy; human cars just aren't very powerful and these parts hardly compare to the X-Tornado as it is! I think I came to the wrong place for this kind of stuff," he said with evident disappointment in his voice. 'He's probably about to leave the store,' Amy thought, "I'd better get to the point now.'

"Uh, Tails?"

"Yeah Amy?"

"Could you please tell me where Sonic is?" Tails looked at her questioningly, pondering whether or not he should release that information to her. However, Amy could tell that he knew. "It's very important; I have a, a delivery for him!" she spurted out, quickly improvising in order for him to trust her. The young fox's head tilted slightly towards his left shoulder and his long bangs gently swished to the side, revealing the curiosity in his eyes.

"What are you delivering?" he asked cautiously. 'Think fast Amy; what would be delivered to Sonic the Hedgehog?' Amy thought.

"Well~, I just came from Cream's house and she wanted me to give Sonic a special chilidog recipe from her new cookbook to try out. She knows that Sonic isn't exactly the cooking type, but since he loves chilidogs so much, she figures that maybe he'll give it a shot."

"Oh," Tails said relieved, falling for Amy's façade, "Well you don't have to go to all the trouble of finding him to deliver the recipe. Just hand it to me and I'll make sure that he gets it on his next visit," Tails said helpfully, flashing Amy a gracious smile.

"That's so kind of you Tails but I have to deliver it because Cream wants me to inform Sonic about a secret ingredient that she absolutely insists is added in the chili. I would let you pass it on, but it's not my secret to share so I'll just deliver the recipe as well. I appreciate the offer though, but besides, you seem busy anyway. Tails only shrugged before telling Amy that Sonic had headed out to the cliffs that stood high about the Emerald Coast. Amy exhaled sharply and muttered: "It's never easy, is it?"

"I'm sorry, what was that Amy," Tails asked, not hearing her comment.

"It was nothing Tails; I'm just thinking that I should get a move on now. See you later; good luck with your inspiration!"

"Thanks Amy!" Tails called as Amy rushed out the front door.

'So he's not with the fox,' Shadow deduced. 'Then where did Tails direct Amy to? She seems to be headed towards the beach, but Sonic hates water. Why would she go there alone? It wouldn't be good to leave the subject unmonitored. I have to remember that this is an important mission which means that I must execute the objective. Amy Rose will not leave my sight.' Shadow returned to ground level as Amy neared the other end of town. Keeping his distance, he faithfully pursued her as she jogged up the steep trails leading to the top of the cliffs. Then she heard a familiar voice.

"Yeah Tails? She's on her way right now? A recipe? I never asked for one. No, it's fine; I bet it would be interesting to try out. Yes, I'm feeling okay Tails; is it a crime for me to cook once in a while? No it's not a problem; in fact, I was expecting to see Amy sometime today."

Amy's ears perked as she peeked over the edge of the elevated cliff from her lower path at Sonic who seemed to be talking into a small blue cell phone.

"I actually had to tell her something anyway." "Oh no, it's not like that." "Listen buddy, nothing personal, but I just really don't think that I can explain it to you; at least not right now." "Yeah." "Mmhm." "Glad you understand pal." "Catcha later!" Click. Sonic casually slid the phone into his right glove and whispered to himself:

"I'm sure he's keeping tabs on her right now; this is the perfect time to test my theory," he concluded. No sooner had he uttered the words than Amy Rose had strode forward along the path, gaining elevation and revealing herself to Sonic.

"What was that about Sonic the Hedgehog?" Amy interrogated, hands planted firmly on her hips as she tapped her foot expectantly. She planned to get answers out of him, one way or another.

"How much did you hear?" he replied nervously.

"Enough to know that something's up; what did you mean by 'I'm sure he's keeping tabs on her right now.'? I know her equals me so explain. Right as Sonic was about to improvise, Shadow swooped down between them from the sky, creating a barrier between the two. Amy's irritation faltered for a moment when she saw him.

'Did I ever thank him for taking me out of the woods? Maybe I should now,' thought Amy but as she took a step forward before announcing her thankfulness, Shadow spread out his arms, completely blocking her from Sonic. With the moment now ruined, Amy snapped her fingers and summoned her Piko Piko hammer. She clenched it angrily and sneered at Shadow.

"Get out of the way Shadow; I came to see Sonic, not you!" she commanded, scaring off a few of the birds that had been in the area. Shadow didn't even flinch. He just stood his guard and focused in on Amy's eyes, gauging her next few moves based on her eye movements. But Amy already knew that she could not pass Shadow, yet she was determined not to show this on her face. Her icy expression and iron grip on the hammer radiated persistence and power. Before things could turn violent though, Sonic said:

"It's fine Shadow; let her come with me. You can trust me," he said calmly, watching with wonder as Shadow reluctantly stepped away from between Amy and him. Shadow stared at Sonic during this process with a hint of confusion evident on his face as Sonic sent him an assuring heads up. He had certainly not failed the mission.

"We'll be right back Shadow," Sonic said. Then he wrapped an arm around Amy's shoulders and whispered in her ear.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked.

"Sure," Amy replied warily, although she was excited to be wrapped in his arm. They walked slightly inland under huge shady trees as Sonic raked through his imagination to find an explanation for both Shadow's actions and his. Meanwhile, Shadow sat at the edge of the cliff and smirked to himself as he watched the two hedgehogs walk out of his earshot…or so they thought.

'How amusing it will be to watch Sonic squirm under Amy's wrath. There is no logical explanation for my behavior; Amy will find out about the deal, force Sonic to return my emerald, and I will be free to leave these two with my sanity intact.'

When Sonic thought that they were out of Shadow's hearing range, he stopped and turned Amy to face him.

"So…"he began, trying to stall for time, but Amy was not falling for it.

"Explain,"Amy narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "Now." Beads of nervous sweat started to roll down his face.

"Well, I would explain all of it to you, bu~t, Shadow would…"

"Shadow would what?" Amy inquired, getting increasingly impatient by the second.

"Shadow would kill me if I told you. He's uh, he's experiencing some unfamiliar feelings right now," Sonic improvised, disappointed with his lying skills.

"What are you trying to say? Does he have a crush on me or something?" Amy asked, confused. Sonic silently thanked Amy for giving him this opportunity and decided to go for it. It was a long shot, but it was all he had. Plus, Sonic knew that Amy had a large enough ego to believe that she could evoke feelings from Shadow.

"Darn! You've figured it out!" Sonic exclaimed, putting on his best act. "Listen Amy, Shadow can't know that you know this; you have to keep it a secret okay? He doesn't even know that I know," Sonic pleaded. Amy, ignoring his request, started making inferences.

"Is that why he was blocking me from you just now? Because he was jealous?"

"Yup," Sonic nodded knowingly. Amy shook her head.

"And that's why he was so mad at you in the woods, isn't it? I was chasing you again, and he got upset when I thought he was you!" She concluded, snapping her fingers. It took everything within Sonic not to grin.

'YES!' he mentally cheered. 'Amy is explaining everything all on her own! Maybe this is going to be easier than I thought…'

"So what about your "theory" then?" Amy asked, catching Sonic off-guard.

"My what?" he asked, forgetting his slip-up earlier when Amy overheard him. Amy crossed her arms.

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about Sonic the Hedgehog. When I was coming up the cliff earlier, you mentioned something about testing out a theory. Well, what is it?" she asked. Sonic glanced up at the sky while digging up an explanation for Amy. All the while, Shadow was glaring murderously at Sonic.

'Argh, damnit! Did this imbecile really have to let Amy believe that I'm attracted to her? Ridiculous! And what does that mean for my objective? Does he honestly expect me to guard him from Amy while taking on the persona of her jealous admirer? How could he be so ignorant and naïve? I'm not going through with this; I'm going to ambush him the minute she's gone and reclaim the emerald. Then, I'll teleport myself to a remote island or somewhere else where I won't have to tolerate such nuisances…'

"Well," Sonic started, drawing out the word in an overly casual way, " my theory was that Shadow would come up here and attempt to pound the blue out me when you came, which was what I wanted because I wanted to practice my moves on him. You know, in case we start seeing the bad guys around here again." Amy nodded thoughtfully.

"Well that makes sense. Unfortunately for Shadow, I'm still in love with you Sonic." Sonic sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Maybe you ought to give him a chance Amy. He seems like he would be more, um, invested in a relationship with you than I would," Sonic explained. Amy shook her head.

"Sonic, that's very sweet of you to be looking out for me, but my heart belongs to you, and until you truly understand that, I'll just keep trying to show you!" she exclaimed, while a very hopeless Sonic asked:

"But what about Shadow?"

"I'm sure he'll be fine; he's probably just going through a phase right now. That's what boys do. I'm probably not the first girl he's liked, and I probably won't be the last," Amy declared matter-of-factly. Sonic just sighed again and walked back towards the cliff's edge to Shadow, while Amy followed closely behind.

Shadow was beyond livid at this point, so he took deep breath to calm his shaking body, and closed his eyes. He looked deeply concentrated on some distant thought, as if he were meditating, when Sonic and Amy came back to the spot where he was sitting. Shadow's eyes remained closed. Amy, not realizing that Shadow had overheard the entire conversation, tried to act normal.

"Well, Sonic, I guess I'll see you soon! I realize now that my timing was off." Amy paused, scanning Shadow's stone cold face for a change in expression. Nothing. After debating what to say next, she quickly added, "Goodbye Shadow!" and jogged back down the path that brought her to the cliff. Shadow merely nodded, and inhaled deeply when she left. Sonic hadn't noticed that Shadow's body had resumed its rage-induced shaking, but when he was about to explain the situation to Shadow, (he also didn't realize that Shadow had heard them) he had noticed Shadow's eyes shooting open into the most malicious glare. Sonic also wasn't sure if he was imagining it, but Shadow's eyes seemed to be a deeper red than usual. A lump that felt like a basketball formed in Sonic's throat, and he struggled not to squeak when he spoke.

"So I take it you heard us?" he said casually, despite knowing that Shadow was well-aware of his fear. Shadow slowly stood up and walked inland toward Sonic. When they were face-to-face, Shadow squinted at Sonic hatefully, and spoke in his lowest, most threatening tone.

"I do not like being tricked Sonic the Hedgehog. I have only agreed to keep Amy away from you. Not to act as her admirer. Not to lead her on. And certainly not to get involved in either of your personal lives," Shadow seethed. "Now since you're trying to pin more tasks onto this contract, I will force my payment out of you." And with that, Shadow lunged for Sonic's throat. Sonic evaded the attack, as Shadow tried again. This time, he successfully pinned Sonic to the ground and quickly rose to his feet, enclosing Sonic's neck under his sturdy rocket shoe. Sonic gasped and clutched at the shoe for air. When Shadow let up slightly, Sonic exclaimed:

"Fighting me won't help; I've hidden your emerald too and unless you complete your assignment, no amount of pain will get you your emerald back," he taunted proudly. Shadow growled and, after a minute more of holding him to the ground, he let Sonic go.

"It would be a more productive use of my time to just kill you right now and then go searching for the emeralds…" Shadow muttered. Sonic gulped nervously, but then boldly continued:

"You wouldn't do that Shadow; it never worked for you before. Plus, without the Chaos Emerald, I imagine that your powers are running at lower levels than usual." Shadow's eyes widened in surprise and rage at his words, and he opened his mouth to speak, but was abruptly cut off by Sonic.

"And suppose you did kill me? Then what? My friends and probably the world would be upset and would start chasing you. You would never be able to stop running. Granted that you're immortal, I'm sure waking up to a never-ending angry mob doesn't suit your fancy. Then again, you could kill them all too, but I think that, no matter how tough you act and how much you separate yourself from everyone else, you care about these people, and you wouldn't enjoy living on this planet, or any for that matter, by yourself," Sonic said, gauging Shadow's expression as he finished. There was silence as Shadow looked to the ground and contemplated Sonic's prophecy. Then, he turned toward the cliff's edge and looked up at the sky.

"Maria cared about these people, and I cared about Maria. It goes hand-in-hand so, despite my agitation with the inhabitants of this planet, I plan on keeping my promise to her." Then Shadow turned his head back to Sonic, his expression cold as a stone once more.

"So what do you ask of me now?" Sonic blinked hard, wondering how Shadow could transition from reminiscing to asking for a briefing so quickly.

"Well Shadow," Sonic began, "You've done well this morning, and now there's a cover for it so you shouldn't run into anymore problems. Since she thinks you like her now, you don't have to be secretive about following her anymore, but I'll leave that up to you. Amy is not hesitant about making a scene whenever she's upset, and I'm pretty sure that you don't want to draw in negative attention again. Oh! And you don't have to act like you have a crush on her; if she sees you following, she'll assume that's why. If she doesn't see you following her, then she'll think that you're trying to deal with your 'feelings,'" Shadow snorted, but Sonic continued. "Anyway, I picked up this tracking device at Tails' house. I think he was modifying a few of these in case another villain rolled into town, but Eggman's kept himself off the radar for a while, and there are no new threats around, so I doubt that he will miss it. I was thinking that you could use it to know when I'm nearby, so that it will be easier for you to sway Amy off track. This device," Sonic held up the tracking radar, which looked like a smartphone, "is supposed to beep at higher frequencies as you get closer to me." Then, Sonic slipped a microchip into his right glove. "Now, at first, I didn't think this clever little gadget would work, because when I turned it on, I didn't hear anything," Sonic recalled, admiring the technology, " but after reading Tail's notes, the ones I understood anyway, I realized that Tails had tweaked it so that the beeping noise was at a higher pitch than the average ear could pick up. He also designed a special earpiece so that he could hear the beeping when the device was used, but knowing you I decide that it wasn't necessary," Sonic reasoned, while Shadow just watched him thoughtfully. He was surprised that Sonic had put so much thought into this one objective.

"So Shadow, let's try it out to make sure it works," said Sonic. Shadow nodded and grabbed the tracking device. Sonic then walked about 100 yards away from Shadow and hid behind a tree. "Okay Shadow, turn it on!" Shadow pushed the device's "on" button and the touchscreen lit up. There was a settings menu running vertically down the right side of the screen, which took up about 1/3 of the screen's space. Within the remaining area of the screen was a large, red, circular button with a power symbol on it. Shadow tapped it and immediately began to hear a high pitched beeping, coming in rapid succession. He then walked closer to Sonic, and as he did so, the pace of the beeping picked up. Understanding how the device worked now, he turned it off and walked over to Sonic.

"The device works," Shadow said simply as Sonic grinned.

"Great! I'll let you play with the settings on it and we'll see how this works out," Sonic optimistically responded. Then, as he turned to leave, Shadow forcefully grabbed his wrist. Sonic wheeled around and instinctively jerked his arm away.

"Geez Shadow, you don't have to be so forceful all the time! What is it?" he asked, agitated that Shadow was just standing there being unrepentant and distant as always. Ignoring his outburst, Shadow inquired:

"Why are you going into so much detail for this one objective? You seem to be taking this more seriously than you take protecting the Earth," Sonic was taken by surprise.

"Huh, I guess you've got a good point there," Sonic admitted, as Shadow raised his eyebrows when Sonic said "guess." Then he rubbed his chin, trying to find a suitable explanation for both Shadow and himself. After a minute, he looked back at Shadow.

"Shadow, do you believe in the pursuit of happiness?" Shadow thought about it briefly.

"To some extent."

"Well Shadow, this is mine," Sonic declared, and with nothing else to be said, he started walking back down the cliff, contemplating what he just said. Shadow observed him until his thoughtful form disappeared from sight. Then he sighed.

"His kind is so confusing," Shadow concluded, perching on the cliff's edge and playing with the tracker's settings.