The usual humidity that the inhabitants of Station Square had grown used to, was already settling over the city. Like a thick suffocating blanket. No one was safe from it. Amy Rose had more or less ignored it. That morning, she wasn't feeling too great. Her freezer had broken down so now, she sat by the window, shovelling in spoonfuls of strawberry ice cream. With a loud knock on her door, Amy blinked a little.

"It's open," she said absently. The door opened, and the pink hedgehog looked up, half hoping… The young twin-tailed fox stepped in, wiping his forehead. He looked serious.

"Amy," he said, shuffling over to her where she sat by the window. "Do you know where Shadow is?"

Amy looked over at him, blankly. Really, she didn't ever want to hear that name again. But she had to wonder why Tails wanted to know his location. "No" she answered. "He… He left yesterday. I haven't seen him since." That was mostly true, she did leave out a few details thinking it might upset Tails. His expression changed to that of concern and then into anger.

"Tails?" He had her full attention now. Amy moved to sit up straighter, flicking her bangs out of her eyes. "What's wrong?" Tails looked sideways at the floor.

"Shadow… he's…" Tails trailed off while Amy's eyes pleaded for him to continue yet not sure that she wanted to hear this.

Traffic was being held up along the streets. Horns honked, and angry drivers leaned out of their car windows. In the distance, rippling from the heat wave, two figures were engaged in battle. Sonic had never seen Shadow like this, not even in their previous fights. The usually calm and collected hedgehog seemed bloodthirsty. Ready for a fight and looking for one. Sonic landed on a street lamp, wiping at a cut on his cheek. Shadow was right there, flying at him and knocking him to the cement below.

Sonic cried out in pain, hearing a sickening crack in his leg. He opened one eye and pushed himself up a ways to see. His leg was badly mangled and a sharp bit of bone was starting to poke through the skin and fur. He hissed, shutting his eyes tightly and his head dropped back to the ground.

Shadow appeared in front of him, grinning insanely that was so unlike him. He reached down and pulled Sonic upwards before slamming his fist into Sonic's jaw. Sonic would've fallen if Shadow hadn't maintained his grip on him. He hit him again, causing Sonic to spit out a bloody tooth.

Amy ran along past the cars with Tails flying overhead. People shouted at her but she took no notice. Her purse that she happened to grab as she headed out banged against her side. She stopped when she reached the place, panting. The road and cement was torn up. The fire hydrant was spraying water in the air. In the centre of it all, Shadow stood holding Sonic by his neck. Amy couldn't believe what she was seeing. She charged forward even as Tails called to her. She made her mallet appear. Then she swung it at Shadow as hard as she could.

The black hedgehog easily dodged it. A moment later, he reappeared a few feet away as Amy fell forward a bit from swinging so forcefully and hitting nothing. She glimpsed Shadow standing there, grinning widely. She noted that although Sonic was pretty much beaten, Shadow had a few wounds as well. Then he went off, and Amy knelt down beside Sonic who had seemingly lost consciousness.

"Sonic, honey, I'm so sorry about this…" Amy whispered wiping her eyes. She sat beside him where he lay on the couch, Tails sitting in another chair nearby.

"Why are you sorry?" Sonic questioned. "It's Shadow that's finally snapped." And at that name, Sonic's voice grew steadily more enraged.

"It was pretty weird…" Tails observed. "To see him like that. He was almost… crazy"

"Hold still…" Amy muttered, wrapping one of Sonic's arms up in bandages. "And stop getting angry, you're not going anywhere for awhile." Amy tried to stay calm, but inside her mind was racing. Had Shadow snapped? She couldn't believe it. What had made him change so quickly?

It was later in the day by then. Amy was walking silently along the sidewalk, passing Twinkle Park with barely a glance. Cute couples get in for free. Stop thinking about Shadow… Amy knew she had to. He was evil for crying out loud.

"Amy Rose!" someone hissed. Amy stopped walking abruptly. Shadow. She knew his voice by now. Looking around quickly, she spotted him half hidden behind a nearby hedge. She had to remember to be angry. And yet she went near him. He could've attacked her.

"What do you want?" she demanded, angrily. "Sonic's leg is broken you know!"

"It is?" Shadow asked, confused.

"Yes!"

"How did it happen?" Shadow inquired which made Amy feel confused now.

"You did it… Didn't you?" Amy's voice trailed off because somehow, she couldn't believe that who she saw that had attacked Sonic so viciously was in fact Shadow. It seemed so unlikely now.

"No…" He looked serious. "Amy Rose, you must believe me when I say that whatever that was, was not me." His deep maroon orbs locked with Amy's eden green. The hedgehog girl swallowed the forming lump in her throat with some difficulty. Then she found her voice.

"Shadow… I do believe you."

Honestly, the ebony hedgehog hated the sound of a door closing. With that click, it made him feel almost trapped. And he'd never felt so much like that until Amy Rose closed her apartment door behind him. He took in his surroundings. Pink walls with flowered wallpaper, black leather couches, large TV set, white carpet, plants growing on the windowsill. Nothing too extraordinary, he'd admit. But he never did like people over doing it. In fact, he felt surprisingly at home in the quaint little apartment. It even smelt good.

"Um, uh…" Amy stammered. "This is where I live…" Shadow nodded absently. He looked on a bit more.

"And it would really be alright if I stayed here?"

"Yes!" Amy answered. "Yes, for the final time Shadow. Stop being so silly, I love having guests…"

"Aren't you afraid I might turn on you?" Shadow asked.

"I… I guess I'll just take that chance." Amy giggled a bit then went off to the kitchen, leaving Shadow standing there, dumbfounded. No one had ever been so kind to him. Not since Maria anyways. In a way, seeing Amy reminded him of her. It made the memories sharper. He was grateful for that.

"Do you want a drink, Shadow?" Amy asked, suddenly poking her head out of the kitchen. "I'm not such a great hostess, I'm afraid." she added.

"It's fine" Shadow assured her. "And anyways, I'm not very thirsty right now."

Amy walked over, slumping down onto the couch. Shadow stood quietly. "Do you want anything?" Amy ventured. "Aren't you hungry?" Shadow shook his head. Amy moved over a bit for him to sit down. Shadow did so, feeling awkward.

"I apologize for being so rude the other day," Shadow said quietly. Amy looked surprised. "I'm just not used to anyone feeling anything towards me except hate."

"Well I don't hate you" Amy answered.

"That's what I don't understand," Shadow continued. "Is why you don't hate me like everyone else…" Amy blushed a little.

"I don't know," she said, shrugging. She leaned back a little, staring up at the ceiling. "Why does it matter?"

"I guess it… doesn't."

The ebony hedgehog pushed open the door quietly and peered into the room. A simple white single bed by the window. A dresser, a night table and not much else. He moved silently over to the bed, sitting on it. He had slept in worse places. Amy Rose was being so kind to him, and he wasn't doing anything to repay her. He wasn't even returning her feelings…

"Catch," she said, appearing in the doorway and tossing him a pillow. Shadow caught it, setting it down on the bed.

"Thank you" he murmured.

"Will you be alright in here?" she questioned, looking almost afraid to step in.

"Yes."

"Okay…" Amy looked over her shoulder and pointed. "The bathroom's down the hall in case you need to use it." She finally got the nerve to go in, walking over and smoothing out the sheets. She glanced at Shadow and he caught her looking. They locked gazes for a moment.

"A-Amy Rose?"

"Yeah?"

"You know you shouldn't allow me to stay here… What if Sonic finds out?"

"I'll talk to him" she replied flatly.

"I might get you into trouble" Shadow pursued.

"Shadow…" She finally sat down next to him. She reached over, placing her hand overtop of his. This surprised Shadow but he stayed still. "You're so sweet, you know that?" The older hedgehog shifted uncomfortably. "You can't be all that bad." Then she stood up again, taking her hand away.

Shadow was a bit tired and he lay down. Amy was smiling. She stroked his quills gently then leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. She walked off, turning off the light and closing the door a bit. "Goodnight, Shadow" he heard her say.

Shadow rolled over, one hand on his cheek, his face a little bit flushed. "Night" he answered back, but wasn't sure if she heard him. His eyes closed and he sighed. He didn't deserve this.

The city was hardly empty even late at night. Clubs and bars were constantly full, cars continued to drive through, motel windows were lit up. A solitary figure wandered along the street. Behind it, a car was approaching. The driver caught sight of him in the headlights and honked the horn. He didn't move, didn't even look up. The driver looked annoyed, rolling down his window and leaning out.

"Hey you!" he shouted. "Get out of the way!" No response from the figure. With a groan, the man opened the car door and got out. He approached the figure without fear. Why should he fear them? They were smaller than he was. "I said," he growled, clamping a hand down on his shoulder. He forced him to turn around. He was met with two red eyes. Then suddenly he was kicked, hard, in the stomach.

The man crumpled forward and the figure chuckled, standing over him. "Chaos spear" he hissed aiming the attack at the man. A moment later, the figure had continued on his way leaving the man dead and his car door still open.

'Let them find him' he thought with a smirk. 'Let them see what Shadow the hedgehog has done'