AN: guys, I'm really, really sorry about this incredibly late update. I've seen your reviews, and I've been working on this for a long, long time now. I really haven't had any inspiration for either of my stories lately, and even though I've had some ideas, none of it seemed to work like I want it to in my head. I've gone back and read through all my chapters three times over, and I've written the start of this chapter and the next chapter for 'Beyond Unleashed' about five times, and I didn't like any of them. I'm finally satisfied with this one, though I wish it were better.

I think this story is easier for me to write, because I thought it up on my own. My other story was a combined roleplay with my brother, so I have trouble remembering parts of it, well, the parts we actually did come up with, anyways... And I want it to make sense. We skipped over a lot of stuff that I know have to make up on my own... Also, I'm pretty sure that last chapter sounded like sonadow, and now I need to think of a way to make it clear that it definitely isn't sonadow. Anyways, sorry for rambling on to you guys, I hope you enjoy this chapter more than I did.

#AwkwardSonicIsAwkward

Part four- Just a little push

~Sonic POV~

I swear, I must look like such a dork, but I just can't stop smiling right now. Shadow might be telling the truth, maybe he doesn't really like her... Yet. But, I'm sure he likes her, even if it is just a little bit. I swear I'm gonna explode if something isn't done about this! I mean, come onnnnn, Shadow the hedgehog? Liking someone?! It's unheard of! But, who can really blame him anyways, there's definitely something about Mercury that's just... Really likeable. She's really sweet, and thoughtful like Amy, but doesn't overreact like Amy. She's tough like Rouge, but not so in-your-face and flirty. And even though she's new, I feel like she fits in our group as if she's been our friend for years already. And, if she can make Shadow happy, then that only makes her that much cooler. Amy and I have tried to set him up with girls before, but always, one of two things happened. He either never showed up for the date, and claimed he forgot; or he went on one date with her, and she left early, sometimes crying.

So yeah, Shadow doesn't have the greatest history with girls. We all figured for a while that if he really didn't find anyone else, Rouge might finally get him. But then she gave up on him, and now Amy and I are pretty sure she's been trying to give Knux a hint, but the knucklehead is oblivious, as usual. Or maybe he's ignoring her, sometimes that guy can be a lot smarter than we give him credit for. Either way, its pretty clear Rouge is done trying to get Shadow together with her anymore. Amy may not really be my girlfriend, even though she tells that to everyone, but she sure is one heck a great friend when she's not being crazy. It may be weird, but the two of have fun setting our friends up, well, the ones that obviously like each other, anyways. I need to tell her about Shadow, like asap. She'll totally be into it! But I should wait until we split up for lunch or something, I don't want Shadow overhearing and spoiling our fun or something.

Right now we're waiting for Mercury to get her new phone back from that Razor guy. From the way Shadow's hovering by the register, I can tell he doesn't like the guy, at all. Not surprising, considering that the guy is obviously into Mercury. Finally the guy finished up and handed her the phone back, showing her where her number was, and putting the case on it and everything. She looked like she was just as ready to be done with it and leave as Shadow looked. Finally, the guy printed out her reciept, wrote something on the back, and handed it to her with a wink.

Mercury gave him a strained smile. "Thanks for the help, see ya around." And with that, she turned around and walked out of the store, reading the reciept as she joined the rest of us, Shadow not far behind her. "Pft, wow." She stuck the reciept in the bag with her new earbuds.

Shadow looked up from his Phone, as did Amy. Amy couldn't resist. "What's 'wow'? What did the reciept say? Did he overcharge you or something?"

Mercury laughed. "No, that's not it Amy. If you want to know, it said '326-555-9090, Call Me', in all caps." She laughed again, and this time Amy joined her. I laughed a bit too, then I laughed more after seeing Shadow's face. He looked like he was trying way too hard not to go back into the store and sock the guy in the gut. Yeah, I'm sure he likes Mercury. I mean, could he be more obvious? I bet Amy's noticed already too.

Shadz chilled pretty quickly though, and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, hilarious. Where are we going now?"

Amy stuck her tongue out at him. "What's got you so grouchy? Footlocker is close by, so we'll head there for now. Rouge was just telling me that they're close, so we'll head over to the food court at noon, so half an hour. Sonic, only half an hour, you hear me?"

I fake-pouted. "But Amyyyyyy, you spend hours shopping for clothes! Why do I only get half an hour for shoes?"

Amy knew I wasn't being serious, and she just rolled her eyes, smiling. Everyone else laughed, too. Minus Shadow, of course. "Sonic, you know perfectly well why you only get half an hour. You already own more shoes then Rouge and I combined, honey. You really don't need any more."

I laughed. "True, I don't need any more, but I want more, Ames!"

Amy laughed too. "Good point, we better get going if you want your full half an hour!"

"Good idea! I'll run ahead and meet you there!" And with that, I ran at top speed, straight past her, making her quills fly everywhere. I heard everyone, even Shadow, laughing as I left.

I stopped in front of footlocker, laughing as I walked in. Amy is going to be so mad at me whenever she shows up... The casheir waved to me, and called me over. Curious, I went to see what that was all about.

He rummaged around for something under his desk. "You came just in time, Sonic! We've only got a couple pairs of these left, they're selling like hotcakes!"

Now I was excited. "What are, man? Which brand are they?" If they're going this quick, then they must be good shoes. I want a pair, stat.

"I thought you'd be interested, Sonic. They're the newest running shoes from Reebok, and just wait until you see the design." He pulled out a box from under the counter, opened it, and slowly pulled out one of the shoes.

I couldn't wait to see them, from the way he was talking them up, so I got on my tiptoes to see inside the box. When I finally saw them, I couldn't keep from grinning, now I knew why he thought I'd like them! They had the usual reebok symbol on the side, of course. They were designed about the most perfectly I'd seen in a while, too. But that's not why I loved them. They looked like my shoes! They were red, with a white stripe in the middle, and the reebok symbol on the side of each shoe was gold, like my clasp. They were absolutely perfect! Even though they looked like shoes I already had, I just had to get this pair. No wonder they were selling so well! They had me written all over them!

"I want them. How much? What sizes do you have left?" I could barely keep myself from happy dancing around the store.

The clerk chuckled. "I thought so. They're fifty rings, and both boxes we have left are your size, Sonic." He winked, smiling.

I'd almost forgotten that footlocker's employees all new my shoe size, just because I've been here so much. "Sweet! Fifty rings it is!" I produced sixty rings out of my wallet quick as a flash and held them out for him. "And a tip, for telling me about them." He smiled and rung up the shoes, handing me back a reciept. I immediately took the shoes and sat down at a bench. Sitting down, I pulled my shoes off and slipped the new ones on. I really do love the smell of new shoes...

~Silver's POV~

Amy was incredibly miffed about her ruined quill-do. She mumbled about it the whole way as we walked to footlocker. I had a feeling that she was one misplaced word away from smashing something with her hammer. No one dared to say a word the entire way there. It wasn't a long walk, but it seemed like forever, with everyone just waiting for Amy to explode on Sonic. We eventually reached the store, and as soon as Amy crossed the threshold, Sonic was right in front of her, grinning like a crazy person.

"Hey Ames, look at my new shoes! Aren't they great?!" He positively beamed at her.

She looked startled at his excitement, and looked down to see his shoes. "You already bought another pair- uh, Sonic, they look just like your old ones!" She looked really confused.

Sonic kept smiling, and put his index finger up in the air as if he was telling her off. "Ah, but Amy, they aren't my old shoes! They're reeboks, that are designed to look like my shoes!"

Several people, including Amy, facepalmed at this. Sonic is downright ridiculous sometimes. Amy shook her head and laughed. "Sonic, you're crazy! Are you still looking at shoes?" Her bad temper seemed to have completely disappeared. Nobody but Sonic could bring her temperature down like that, that's for sure.

Sonic shook his head. "Nah, I'm really happy with these ones, I'm done shopping. You guys should look around though, there's bound to be something you'll like!"

There was a general murmur of consent, and we walked into the store. I should probably get a pair of boots, but for the moment, I just wanted to sit down. My foot was aching from the impractical sandal, and so much walking around on crutches. I found the section with boots, and sat down on the bench there. None of the boots on display really made me want to buy them, so I set my crutches down, took off my sandal, and rubbed my stupid, tiny, girly, sore foot. I sighed, very annoyed with my current situation. Sure, it was nice not being the butt of everyone's jokes for once, but none of this feels right. And that guy handing me his number? I only laughed because I didn't want to look like it bothered me. And every second, I'm worrying about slipping up. Tails already thought I looked like... Well, like me, but what if someone thought I acted like me too? I feel like a criminal, sneaking around pretending to be someone else. But, until I'm normal, it's not like I have a choice. As soon as I get back home, I'm done. No more talking to these guys. I'll find Eggman, and force him to rebuild his machine if I have to.

I guess I really spaced out, because I didn't even notice someone come up from behind me. "Hiya Mercury! Whatcha doin'?"

I turned around to see Amy sit down on the bench. "Nothing much. I don't really like any of these boots. What about you?" I put the sandal back on my foot and turned to face her.

She shrugged. "Me neither, none of the shoes here look good to me. Hey, when we get lunch, do you want to eat with me? We all kind of split up, and I can show you the good restaurants, if you want."

I nodded, not really listening. "Sure, sounds good."

There was a short silence as Amy tried to think of something to say, because I guess I wasn't being very conversational. It was soon interrupted by Sonic though, who seemed all too happy to jump in and join us. He even managed to jolt me out of my thoughts. "Helloooooo, ladies! What are you two up to?"

Amy giggled. "I was just offering to show Mercury where she should and shouldn't eat in the food court. What about you?"

Sonic looked mildly disappointed. "Uh, actually, I came over to ask you if I could eat with you, Amy... Uh, like, alone." He flashed me an apologetic smile.

I giggled. Ugh, that sounded so dumb... "No worries, Sonic. You can have Amy if you need her." I saw Amy brighten up even more out of the corner of my eye. She was probably ecstatic that Sonic was asking to have lunch with her.

Amy bit her lip. "But, someone needs to eat with you, Mercury! I can't just leave you alone! How about if-"

Sonic interrupted her. "Hey, I've got an idea, You can eat with Shadow, if he has good taste in anything, it's food."

Amy looked confused. "But-"

Sonic covered her mouth. "So, what do you say?"

I gave him a funny look. "Uh, I found someone to eat with at midnight in a hospital, I think I can find someone on my own, but thanks. Anyways, I'm sure he'd rather ask me himself if he wanted to eat with me."

Sonic looked disappointed, which I found strange, not that I would say anything about it. He shrugged. "I guess so. What if he asks you, though?"

I shrugged back. "If he does, then I guess I'll sit with him." It's not like Shadow would ask me to eat with him anyways. He'll probably sit with that Rouge girl he mentioned earlier. At least... I hope he doesn't ask.

Speaking of Shadow, he showed up too. This isle is starting to get crowded. "Amy, we should start heading to the food court soon. Rouge texted me that they're in the parking lot."

Amy nodded. "Alright, I'll get the others. You three head to the front, okay?"

We all nodded and headed that way. None of us said anything, Shadow was on his phone, and Sonic looked like he was thinking. He stared at Shadow, but the darker hedgehog didn't notice. Eventually, Shadow broke the silence that I was quite enjoying.

"Pft," he put away his phone, "where are you going to eat?" He directed the question at Sonic.

"I haven't decided yet, I was going to let Amy pick." The blue hedgehog responded.

Shadow raised an eye ridge. "You're eating with Amy? Alone? Why?"

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Yeah, alone. And, because I want to. Problem?"

Shadow shrugged. "I don't have a problem; but since when do you eat with Amy, just the two of you?"

Sonic smirked. "Since today."

Shadow shook his head. "Don't play with her, Sonic. It won't end well."

Sonic was about to respond, but then Amy showed up with everyone else, so instead he clapped his hands and grinned. "So we're all ready to go?"

Amy beamed at him. "Yep! To the food court! Rouge said she'll be waiting by the Marble slab."

Sonic started forward. "Then what are we waiting for?" He lead the way, Amy nearly skipping at his side. The rest of us followed, happy to be taking a break from walking around and shopping. This time I ended up walking next to Tails.

The kit seemed to be full of all the enthusiasm that I was lacking. "Hey Mercury, did you ever go to school? Sonic says your mom raised you on her own, does that mean you're homeschooled?"

I swear, if one more really excited and cheerful person talks my ear off in the next fifteen minutes, I'm going to throw something. Like a truck. Maybe at Shadow, because he'll survive it. But, then again, I probably won't throw anything. But I would consider it.

"Yeah, Tails. I taught myself, from books I got from the library. I've read a lot of books, why do you want to know?"

The fox shrugged, smiling. "No reason, really. I just wanted to know what kind of grades you got, if you got them. It's kind of my thing... I like knowing how smart everyone is."

I nodded. "That's an, um, interesting policy. So are you the smartest then?"

He grinned. "Yeah, well, mostly. Silver and I are both really smart. But other than him, I've got the best IQ of everybody."

I was strangely glad he didn't forget that I beat him by one IQ point. At least, I didn't feel like throwing a truck anymore. "That's awesome. And you're still really young, so you'll only get smarter from here."

He grinned, pleased with the idea that he might surpass me as he gets older. "Yeah, you're right! Silver's only one IQ point above me, but he's six years older! I don't know why I got so worked up about that..." He looked upset suddenly. "I've been sort of a brat about it... Now that I think about it. Geez, I should probably try to make it up to him. I'll be sure to apologise next time I see him." He smiled a little sheepishly.

I shook my head to myself. My friends have been surprising me all day, I guess people can change... Then I remembered that I was still talking to Tails, and smiled at him. "I'm sure it's not that bad. This Silver guy sounds like he's pretty forgiving. But apologising is probably a good idea." I encouraged, still smiling.

The kit grinned back. "Thanks, Mercury. Y'know, you remind me of Silver, sorta. You're nice, like he is. But I guess it's mostly because you're both albino hedgehogs!" He laughed, finding it bizaar. "What are the odds? Well, I guess he is technically from 200 years in the future, or so he says."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't you have to have red eyes to be albino? I'm pretty sure mine are amber. I mean, I might be wrong, but, you know, I've looked in the mirror enough times to be like, 99.99% sure my eyes are amber. White fur isn't really all that unheard of. It's like the chance of a human having red hair." I said it in a joking tone, but it genuinely annoys me when people just assume that I'm albino, just because I have white fur. I mean, really? My muzzle is tan, it would be white too, if I was albino.

Tails laughed. "True, I guess that is one requirement of being albino. But I'm sure I read somewhere that it doesn't have to be red, that it can be pink sometimes, and in cats, and certain other species, I've forgotten which, they can have golden irises. But, the definition of albino is not having any pigment... And I've only just noticed that your muzzle is tan." He blushed sheepishly. "Sorry, I shouldn't be so quick to assume things. But fine, you two still look similar. I swear, you could be related, or something." He seemed to have an epiphany. "Wait, if he's really from 200 years in the future, you could be his great, great grandma or something!" He laughed. "You really could be related!"

I laughed along, finding the thought absurd. "Maybe, Tails. Now that would be strange." We were getting close to the food court, and Tails was still laughing. "Hey, Tails, would you mind if I sat with you? I'm not sure what to get for lunch."

He looked at me apologetically. "Sorry, but I'm sitting with Cream, her mom, and mister Vector, so our table is full, there's only four seats."

I was confused. "Well, can I sit at a table next to you then?"

He shook his head. "Well, you could, if you could find an open table. But I doubt you will... Well, you'll see what I mean when we get to the seating area. Have you asked Amy?"

I nodded. "Yeah, she actually offered, but Sonic wanted to eat alone with her." I shrugged. "No worries, I'll find somewhere to sit. Do you have any reccommendations for restaurants?"

We neared the marble slab, where a white bat was waiting with several other people, some who I recognised, others whom I didn't. Tails shrugged. "I usually get whatever Sonic or Cream gets. So not really."

I nodded. "Thanks anyways..."

~Rouge POV~

Why did I end up with these three? Knuckles, I can deal with. Espio's not so bad, he's just so silent and boring that I get annoyed. But adding Charmy? Uh-uh. Nope. Never again. He annoys all of us, which makes Knuckles yell, which annoys me, and then Espio goes invisible, which freaks me out because I think he's jumped out of the car or something... If I ever get stuck with Charmy again, then I'm not going at all. I'm not even joking.

Well, the good thing is that we're finally at the mall, and Charmy is Vector's problem now. I saw the rest of our group walking towards us, so I ditched those guys and walked over to hug Amy. "Traffic was just horrible, and those dorks weren't making it any less stressful." I let go of her. "I'm not driving anyone else next time, I swear. So how are you guys?"

She laughed sympathetically. "Sorry Rouge, I won't make you drive anyone on the way home if it's that bad. Here, come meet Mercury!" She waved to the three knuckleheads behind me. "You guys too!"

She pulled me over to a white-furred hedgehog on crutches. I sized her up, she looked very pretty, almost as pretty as me. But she held herself all wrong. She would look even nicer if she used a touch of makeup, or if she stopped slouching, for chaos sake. But, maybe it's only the crutches. I hope so, because if she really slouched all the time like that, then it's no wonder she looks so miserable. I held my hand out to her. "Nice to meet you Mercury, I'm Rouge." She shook my outstretched hand. Well, she has a good strong handshake, she's not completely hopeless.

"Nice to meet you too." She smiled at me, suddenly not looking miserable anymore. "I heard the traffic was bad..." She tried to start a conversation.

I helped her out. "Now that's the understatement of the century. After Eggman's stunt yesterday, it seems like all the main roads are closed for maintenance." I looked pointedly at Sonic. "Because somebody thought it would be a great idea to smash him right into the road, instead of say... A parking lot or something?"

Mercury laughed, but she seemed kind of anxious at the same time. "Oh, really? I never found out what happened to Eggman after I ran into him, did you guys arrest him?"

I grinned, remembering what Amy had told me. "That's right, you beat old Egghead all on your own, didn't you? That's pretty impressive, girl! But no, we never caught him. He flew off when his new toy broke. But hey, only a few roads were half-demolished! I'd say that's a new record for Blue boy over there." She laughed with me and a few others.

Sonic pouted. "Hey, I'm not that destructive..." He figured he wasn't going to win, so he pulled the guys over at super speed. "Here, introduce yourselves." I rolled my eyes and waited for the idiots to get it over with.

Knuckles shook hands with her. "The name's Knuckles. Nice to meet ya. The chameleon is Espio, and the fly-"

Charmy interrupted. "Bee! I'm a bee! And my name is Charmy, miss!" He shoved past Knuckles to shake her hand. "Junior detective, at your service! If you've got a mystery that needs solving, you know who to call!"

She smiled, looking amused with his enthusiasm. When she smiles, she just might look prettier than me. But not by much. She still needs a lot of work. Where did Amy find this girl anyways?

Mercury let go of Charmy's hand. "I'm guessing you're a chaotix member too? I'll be sure to call you guys if I need it. It's a pleasure meeting you all!"

Knuckles pushed Charmy to the side again. "Nice to meet you too, but can we just go eat already?" Several people laughed, including me. Knux always is right to the point.

Sonic agreed. "Yeah guys. I'm starving! Would one of you help Mercury out? I kinda stole Amy."

I laughed, and volunteered. "Sure, Sonic. I like this girl, she can join Knux and I."

Mercury seemed happy to join us. "Thanks, Rouge."

((AN: Imma just fast forward, because if I describe every little scene, like choosing food, then this will never end, like ever. And then me and writing wil never, ever... get back together... Like, ever. And now that song is stuck in my head. THANK YOU STUPID PUNS. SO THEY ALL GOT SOME KIND OF CHINESE FOOD BECAUSE I LIKE NOODLEEEES. Except Sonic got Sonic. Youhavenoideahowmuchivewantedtoeattheresinceisawitexisted.))

(TEN. MINUTES. LATER. #spongebobstyle)

Knuckles and I sat down, and Mercury sat next to me at the round table. Knuckles dived right into his teriyaki whatever-it-was. Mercury and I both got lo mein, because it looked really good in the picture.

I nudged Knuckles. "Geez Knux, come up for air every now and then, won't you?"

Mercury laughed lightly, and started eating her lo mein with her chopsticks. I envied her ability to use them, I've never been able to figure it out. I tried to do the same, but ended up doing what I always do, and just used them as a stick to hook the noodles. I probably looked ridiculous, as usual, and Mercury noticed.

"Oh my... Do you want some help? Hold them like this..." She held her chopsticks up to show me where to put my fingers. "Don't get so frustrated, Rouge. It's not so hard once you get the hang of it."

I tried. Honestly, I did. I'm ninety percent sure my fingers were in the same places as hers were. But something went horribly wrong, and after a whole thirty seconds of picking up noodles, I finally managed to get a single noodle caught between the chopsticks. "That's it, I'm done with chopsticks." I put my hands up and stood up. "I'm going to find a normal fork." I walked away to go do as I said, pushing in my chair. I heard Knuckles laughing as I left. Well, he won't be laughing once he gets back to Angel Island and sees his empty shrine...

...Returning with my fork, I noticed someone all on their own at a table. On closer inspection, it was Shadow. I paused, deciding what to do, and sighed, heading for the loner. He better realise how great of a friend I am one of these days. "Hey Shadz, what's a grumpy hedgehog like you doing sitting all alone?"

I could swear I heard him groan, even if it was only a tiny bit. "Is there a reason you're here, Rouge?"

I smiled, sitting next to him. "Yeah Shadz, I figured I might as well invite you to sit with us, we have an empty seat. We wouldn't want to hog an entire table for only one lonely dude, would we?"

He paused, and I could tell he was trying to figure out whether I was intending to insult him, or if I was actually inviting him. He must have figured it out, because he shrugged. "Sure, why not? And don't call me Shadz, you know I hate it." He got up.

I smiled at him. "Sure thing, Shaaaaaaadz." He rolled his eyes, but didn't take the bait. I bounced back to our table, acting overly cheerful. "Hey guys! Look what the bat dragged in!" I grinned, pointing out Shadow.

Knuckles laughed, but Mercury just looked uncomfortable. Shadow growled. "I'm getting real tired of your jokes, Rouge. Knock it off."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Aw, you know I only tease you because I love ya, right?"

He shook his head. "You could've fooled me." He gestured to the only open seat, next to Mercury. "May I?"

She nodded. "Knock yourself out."

He sat down between her and Knuckles. "Thanks."

"Hey, I didn't say you could sit next to me." Knuckles complained sarcastically.

Shadow smirked at him. "That's because I didn't ask you, knucklehead."

I smiled, eating my noodles with the fork. Bringing Shadow was a great idea. I wonder what Mercury thinks of him, she's spent enough time around him to have some sort of impression, probably.

Knuckles got up angrily. "Are you calling me a knucklehead?"

Shadow stood up and stared him down. "Yeah, you have a problem with it?"

There was a tense moment while they stared at each other, then they both laughed, not able to pretend to be pissed off with each other any longer. Mercury looked so confused, I had to join the dorks as they laughed. Shadow and Knuckles sat down, Knuckles still laughing.

Mercury looked at me for an explanation. "What... Just happened?"

I shrugged. "Hell if I know. Don't ask me to explain boys, honey."

She half-laughed. "Fair enough. Boys are weird."

I laughed. "Now that, is the understatement of the century." I looked over to see Knuckles go back to shovelling more food into his mouth, confirming Mercury's revelation. "Seriously, Knuckles, take a breath every now and then!"

Shadow seemed to be in a decent mood, despite all of my teasing. He was even sort of smiling while he ate his lunch. I don't know what's gotten into him, but if Shadow's happy, I'm not going to question it. Mercury stood up.

"Um, I'll be right back." She started to walk away.

Knuckles looked confused, nothing new. "Where are you going?"

She turned back to him. "Uhhhh, good question. Which way is the bathroom?"

He chuckled. "Right down that way, just turn right around the corner."

She nodded. "Thanks, Knuckles!" And with that, she left.

~Silver POV~

Rouge is nice. They mentioned her before, and I was worried that she'd be like Shadow, but she's really not like him at all. She's super friendly, and she has a way of teasing people so that they know she's joking around. She acts like she and Shadow are old friends, and it's pretty obvious, to me at least, that she likes Knuckles. But then again, what do I know about girls? [insert sarcastic tone here] Anyways, I think she's a really cool person. Maybe I should hang out with her more. After I fix this, of course. Sigh... Did I actually just say 'sigh' in my head? What on earth is wrong with me...? Oh, right. I'm a girl. That one annoying little detail.

I have no idea why I'm so cranky... It may have something to do with my foot killing me a little more with every step, not that I'll ever complain about it. It's not like it's the most unbearable injury I've ever had, either. I've had loads of burns, and those hurt like nothing you've ever felt. Well, only for a little while though. After that they're mostly numb. Though, I've burned my feet before, and that really sucked. I guess foot injuries just annoy me the most, because I like to walk a lot. I guess I just have to suck it up and deal with this until it heals.

Aaaaaaaanyways. Chinese food tastes good. Watching Rouge try to figure out chopsticks was kind of sad though, I wish I'd been able to teach her. She's really a decent person, from what I've seen so far. Though she teases Shadow mercilessly. They must be pretty close friends if he lets her get away with that. I wonder what she does, I bet she's got a cool job. I'll have to ask her later. That is, after I come back from the bathroom. Holy chaos, this is gonna be awkward... Again.

Anyways, yeah. Went to the bathroom. It's kinda crowded, so again, I went to the girls. I guess it's less awkward than a girl going into the boy's bathroom. There's only a bunch of stalls in the girls. Whatever, that's over. I washed my hands quickly and almost ran out of the bathroom, I was so ready to be out of there. I wanted to get back to Rouge quickly to ask her what she did for work, I was curious. Also, I hope my food hasn't gotten cold. I went as quickly as I could on my stupid crutches, having gotten the hang of them already. It wasn't so bad after a while, but my arms are getting really sore. Not to mention the stares I've been getting. You'd think people would have more manners, rather than staring at my broken leg all the time. At least some of the guys have decent girlfriends, who get them to mind their own business. Though, I don't think slapping is really necessary.

(OMG, have I ever mentioned how much fun it is to write from super naïve people's POV? I looooove silver 3 )

I hurried around the corner to get to the food court, my crutches creaking from all the use and overuse they've gotten today. I blinked going around the corner, and next thing I knew, BAM! I smacked head first right into someone. I staggered back, dropping one of my crutches as I reached to hold my nose. "Owwww, sorry, I'm so sorry!"

The person I had run into yelled back at me. "Hey, watch it!"

I opened my eyes to see who I'd run into. "I'm really sorry-" oh, not him again...

He was still holding his nose when he recognised me. "Wow, three times in two days? Let's not make a habit of this, babe. We really need to watch where we're going." He practically laughed, shaking his head in wonder.

I bent over to pick up my fallen crutch, but Scourge picked it up before could even reach my arm out. "I'm sorry, Scourge. I've got no idea why I keep running into you, you'd think I'd learn after a couple times, right?" I shook my head incredulously at my own ridiculously bad luck. I mean, the same person? Three times? How is that even possible? I'm not breaking anyone else's nose. "Is your nose okay?" I stood back up.

He put his hand down and handed me the crutch, which I took from him. "Yeah, I'm fine. Weird how I only seem to be running into you though, how about that? Anyways, where are the loo-" I gave him a sharp look. "I mean, Sonic and his friends? They didn't ditch you, did they?"

"Nice save." I shook my head. "No, we're having lunch now, I, um, just went to the bathroom. I was heading back there when I ran into you." I just noticed a bunch of people behind him, including a mean looking fox girl. "Who are your friends?"

Scourge was about to answer, but the mean looking girl shoved past him, making him give her an annoyed glare. "Hi, the name's Fiona. Who are you, another one of that Sonic loser's dorky friends? Come on Scourge, what are we doing talking to this kid?"

I blinked. Well, that was rude. I gave her my nicest smile. "Nice to meet you Fiona, my name is Mercury, I met Scourge at the hospital." I offered her my hand to shake, but she made no motion to accept it, so after a minute I let it drop.

Scourge glared at her. "Knock it off Fiona, Mercury is cool. She broke her foot kicking egghead's big ass. Show some respect."

Fiona rolled her eyes. "Ha! Yeah right, since when do you know anything about respect? I'm ditching this wimp. Are ya coming?" She started to sachay away, the other people following her.

Scourge shook his head. "Don't be that way, Fiona." She kept walking. "...Yeah, I'm coming. Later, Mercury." He winked at me, then sped off to catch up to Fiona and the rest of those people. Some of them looked like other people I knew, but I couldn't be sure. I watched them leave, then got back on my way to the food court. This time i made sure not to run into anybody else. Now if only I can run into Scourge next time without literally running into him.

On my way back I found Sonic and Amy sitting by each other, talking intently about something, whispering to each other. I wondered what in Chaos could be so interesting to them... Maybe they really are getting together? That would make Amy really happy, and she deserves it.

I sat back down at my spot between Rouge and Shadow. My noodles were still hot, somehow. "Hey guys, did I miss anything?"

Rogue nodded. "Yeah, you totally missed Shadow get up on the stage there and sing karaoke! He was dancing and stuff too!"

I stared at her in disbelief. "Like, Shadow the hedgehog? The guy sitting next to me?"

She grinned and nodded. "Yeah, he was great!"

I continued to stare at her, not sure how to react. Right then, Shadow facepalmed next to me. "Don't listen to her lies, Mercury."

Rouge laughed. "Aw, she almost fell for it! Your face was priceless, dear."

I shook my head and ate more noodles. There actually was a karaoke thing going on now, it must have started while I was gone. Some girl was up there with her boyfriend singing 'there ain't no mountain hiiiiiigh enough' together. I thought it was pretty sweet, and I love that song. I wonder if its volunteered singing, or if they're calling up their victims. The couple looked pretty happy, so my guess was volunteering.

Shadow shook his head. "I don't sing. And I'm pretty sure Mercury has enough of an idea about me to know I sure as hell don't dance."

I nodded in response to this. "Oh, hey Rouge, I meant to ask you. What kind of job do you have?"

Shadow laughed once, then cut off when Rouge shot him a glare. "Why do you ask, sugar?" She seemed a little tense.

Her and Shadow's reactions surprised me, it's just a simple question, I hope I didn't offend her. "Oh, you just seem so nice, I was only wondering what you did. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"Pft, yeah, nice. Overstatement of the century." Shadow declared under his breath, earning a dirty look from Rouge.

"Manners, Shadow." She warned him. "It's okay, Mercury. I'll tell you what I do. Right now I work on and off with Shadow for GUN. But before, and... Still, every now and then, I steal stuff. Nowadays, pretty much only Knuckles' emerald when he ticks me off. But I used to be a legitimate theif."

I was caught off guard, she didn't seem like the person who would steal for a living, or work as a secret agent. "Wait... You're not pulling my leg again, are you?"

Knuckles huffed. "Believe me, I wish she was. And since when do I ever tick you off?"

Shadow answered for her. "Since we met you." Knuckles shoved him for that, knocking him into me. I grabbed the table so I didn't fall off my seat.

Knuckles apologised to me. "My bad, Mercury, I didn't think-"

Shadow cut him off, righting himself. "You didn't think. exactly. Are you hurt, Mercury?" He looked concerned about my injury.

Knuckles looked like he wanted to protest, but thought better of it and didn't instigate a fight with Shadow. "Sorry, Mercury. Are you okay?"

I felt like rolling my eyes at the both of them. "I'm fine. But seriously, can't you two talk to each other without fighting?" I don't understand why they bothered themselves worrying about me. They were perfectly fine with hurting each other, what made me any different?

They looked at each other for half a second, then answered me at the same time. "No."

I smiled, shaking my head at them. "You two are crazy..."

Rouge laughed. "Ha, about time you figured that out!"

After that we all laughed a little, then just finished up our lunches and talked about normalish things. I learned that Knuckles tried to kill Sonic the first time he met him, and so did Shadow. That made me feel a little better, but also worse. For one thing, now I know I'm not the only one who's tried to kill Sonic before, and is now his friend. But, on the other hand, Sonic is good friends with these two, but doesn't like me... So I guess I'm the issue, not what I've done. That's kind of a downer.

I also learned that Rouge tried to date Shadow, but it didn't work out, I guess. Now they're only friends. Albeit, close friends. She's probably the only person I've ever met who can get away with teasing him as much as she does. He even seemed less scary after how much she teased him. He honestly doesn't seem so intimidating when he's joking around with her, bantering back and forth like any other normal person. The two of them remind me a lot of how Blaze and I used to joke with each other. At least, when Blaze was in a joking mood.

I learned that Rouge had a crush on Sonic for a while, but got over it. It seems like she's dated half the guys in their group. I don't know if she's really into Knuckles though. He might be another one of her passing crushes. He doesn't seem to realise that she's into him though.

One of the things they talked the most about though, was Sonic's choice to sit with Amy for lunch. Apparently, it's unheard of for him to voluntarily spend alone time with her. Rouge thinks that he's finally manning up and getting serious about liking her, but Shadow didn't agree. He thinks that Sonic is either messing with Amy, or messing with us. I mentioned how I'd seen them whispering earlier, and they tried to figure out what that could mean.

Rouge slammed her palm on the table. "Shadow, will you just knock it off and leave them be?! I, for one, think Amy is good for Sonic, and I just hope that he really is getting serious. You don't have to turn everything into a conspiracy where Sonic is some jerk who doesn't give a damn about Amy!"

Shadow crossed his arms. "Hmph. Rouge, you obviously don't know Sonic that well, he's about the least serious person on the planet. And until I see proof otherwise, the only reason he'd want to be alone with Amy is if they were planning something. Don't you remember when Vector and Vanilla finally went official? I'm sure Sonic and Amy planned that! They're probably planning some way to shove someone else together..." He trailed off, looking worried suddenly. "I need to talk to him." He got up.

Rouge grabbed his arm. "Oh no, you don't. Sit down and explain why you suddenly have to go bother poor Amy when she's finally got a chance to talk to Sonic on her own first."

I didn't understand what was going on, and Knuckles looked clueless too. "Well, I'm gonna go get rid of this trash." I picked up the disposable container from my Chinese food.

Knuckles jumped to his feet. "Me too." He picked up his and Rouge's trash.

Rouge and Shadow didn't seem to notice us as we cleared the table and left, they were too focused on their staring contest. Knuckles and I took our time getting rid of the trash, going to the farthest one.

Once we were out of earshot, Knuckles sighed in relief. "Chaos, that was awkward. I don't even understand any of this relationship nonsense. The way I see it, if everyone does their job, and doesn't worry about other people's lives, thenthere's no problems. When people start messing with other people, that's when things get messed up."

I nodded. "Got that right. Though, life gets pretty dull when you're all alone. It's nice to have someone you enjoy being around, don't you think?"

He thought about it, then shrugged. "I guess so, it doesn't make much difference to me. I've always been happy with just me and the Master Emerald. But people are nice too, sometimes."

I smiled. "You can't pretend you don't like hanging out with your friends, if you didn't, then why would you be here?"

He chuckled. "Fine, you got me. I do like chilling with Rouge and the guys. But people still shouldn't be messing with love, you know what I mean?"

I agreed with him. "Yeah, definitely. Love needs to be something natural, not forced. I don't get why people constantly gossip about who likes who... It really isn't any of their business."

Knuckles smiled. "I never thought I'd hear a girl say that. Truer words were never said. I wish more people thought like that."

I grinned. "I wish more people made sense!"

He laughed. "Amen to that!"

We returned to the table laughing, to find both Rouge and Shadow gone, and some other group had claimed the table. We looked around, and didn't find either one of them. Knuckles checked his phone, then sent a text. "Apparently everyone's done eating, and they're waiting for us over there." He pointed vaugely towards the main hallway just outside of the food court. "Real nice of them to wait for us, huh?" He rolled his eyes sarcastically. "Come on, wobbly."

I laughed a little at the nickname. "Am I really that bad at crutches?"

He led me in the right direction. "Nah, you just wobble a lot while you're standing. I don't blame you though, considering your leg and all."

"Ah..." I'm not sure how to respond... Without complaining and sounding whiny, of course. I looked up at the crowds of people around, and nearly fell over. I caught myself, but my face must have given away how scared I was to Knuckles.

He caught my arm as well, helping me back up. "Whoa there, what happened? Did you trip?"

I shook my head, unable to form words. It couldn't be him... It just couldn't be... He's gone. He doesn't even exist anymore... I'm seeing things, I'm sure of it. I searched the crowd again for his face, but couldn't see it. Either I imagined him, or he melted away into the crowd... Maybe even literally...

I must've looked pretty shaken, because Knuckles looked genuinely worried about me, but he was obviously not the person for comforting others. He led me towards the rest of the group, still looking worried. I wanted to tell him I was fine, and make some joke, but my tongue wouldn't have it. I was still trying to comprehend what I had just seen... My eyes don't generally lie to me.

We eventually reached the crowd, and I was still staring at my feet like they might have the answer written on them if I looked hard enough. Amy was the first to spot us, and rushed over.

"Well, you took your sweet time joining us, Knuckles. You got the message, didn't you?" Amy put her hands on her hips angrily, not noticing me yet.

Knuckles shook his head, not in the mood for an argument. "I didn't check my phone until we got back to our table and Shadow and Rouge were gone." He even sounded kind of distracted.

That's when Amy noticed my despondency. I'm afraid I didn't even acknowledge that we'd stopped walking until she started fretting over me. "Mercury, are you okay?" I looked up at her, shrugging, and noticing how everyone was staring at me.

"I-I'm f-fine..." Stupid chaos-forsaken stutter... I can't really blame myself though... If I really did see who I think I saw... That means that the single person that I'm the most afraid of, never really went away. And more than that, he's either following Sonic and his friends... Or... He knows who I really am... That's what scares me...

Amy held my shoulders. "Are you sure...? You look like you've seen a ghost..."

I nodded and tried to shake myself out of it. "I'm sh-sure. L-let's go to... Wh-wherever w-we're going..." I tried to start walking, but was stopped.

Shadow put a hand on my shoulder. "You're shaking like a leaf, what happened? Knuckles, explain." He seemed to realise that I was incapable of explaining, just making me feel more embarrassed and helpless.

Knuckles put his hands up. "I have no idea what happened. We were just walking and talking normally, and all of a sudden she freaked out and fell, and she's been like this since..."

That only seemed to confuse everyone more. I took a deep breath to calm myself down. I can't be causing everyone to worry like this, I might not have even seen who I thought I saw...

I closed my eyes, then looked up. "It's n-nothing. I s-swear. I just thought I s-saw something... But It's probably o-only m-my imagination." At least I stopped stuttering so much. I conspicuously removed Shadow's hand from my shoulder.

Sonic appeared right next to me. "What did you see? Did you think it was Eggman? Because I wouldn't blame you for being scared of him after what happened. None of us would."

Shadow, Knuckles, and Amy nodded in agreement. I figured this explaination was as good as any. "Y-yeah. Sorry for w-worrying you guys..." I looked down again, embarrassed. My voice was only barely above a mumble.

They let it go after that, and I did my best to act normally, for their sake. I still can't seem to get rid of my stutter though... And I can't stop thinking about it. I don't believe that I imagined Mephiles.

~Shadow POV~

I don't get it. I probably shouldn't even bother with it, but Mercury's attitude change has me wondering what she really saw. Everyone went with the Eggman explaination, but I'm ninety percent sure that wasn't the real reason. She's too tough to be afraid of him. She looks fine now, but she stutters when she talks... I'm pretty sure I know someone that does that too... But I can't think of who it is.

I wish I'd payed more attention, maybe I'd know what had happened then. Rouge and I were so focused on our fight, we didn't even notice them leave. I was about to just drag Rouge with me to Sonic's table. Even if she did make a scene about it. I'm sure he planned Vanilla and Vector. It just screamed with Sonic's handiwork. Not only his, but Amy's too. And before that, he and Amy spent a lot of time together too. I was pitying the unlucky couple, when I realised he was probably explaining his whole fantasy to Amy. And knowing her, she'll eat it up and work with him to force us together. But before I could get the chance to interrupt Somic and Amy, they showed up to get everyone moving again. Hopefully, after what happened to Mercury, they'll forget about it.

Mercury is, surprisingly enough, staying at the front of the pack. Everyone seems to be leaving her alone, which I think is a good idea. I don't know what she saw, but whatever it was, it must have really shaken her up. And from what I've seen, it must take something big to shake her up.

Sonic dropped back to walk next to me. "Am I the only one who thinks Mercury is a really bad liar?"

Amy fell back to my other side. "You think she didn't see Eggman too?"

Sonic nodded. "That girl couldn't lie to save her life. Anyways, she kicked his butt, why would she be afraid of him?"

Amy agreed. "True, it wouldn't make sense. Do you think Knuckles is lying about not knowing?"

"No way, that guy can't lie for the life of him either. He was telling the truth."

I rolled my eyes. "Can't you two keep your noses in your own business? Or at least not talk across me?"

Sonic shook his head. "Nope. You're part of this too. You think she's lying, don't you?"

I crossed my arms. "You spend way too much of your time wondering what other people think. I don't really care whether she's lying or not. It's not my business. And if she doesn't want to tell us something, that's her decision, I'm not going to harass her about it."

Amy groaned. "Oh, come on Shadow! You can't tell me you're not interested, even a little bit! I mean, we hardly know her, and she's got this crazy secret! I mean, it could be anything. What if she saw her mom? Or some mysterious guy she's noticed following her? Or maybe her dad that she hardly knew but somehow recognised? Or what if she saw a ghost? What if-"

I covered her mouth. "Knock it off Amy. I don't play the what if game. I don't care what she's hiding. It's her secret." I practically growled at the annoying pink hedgehog.

She pulled my hand off. "But... Oh, fine. Don't you even care about why she's so terrified?"

Sonic agreed with her. "Yeah, you have to have noticed that she's still stuttering. She must be really rattled."

I shrugged, not wanting to agree with them. "If she doesn't want to share, that's up to her. Yes, I've noticed she's still stuttering, but I can't do anything about that if she doesn't want help. She's pretty tough, I'm sure she can handle whatever it is."

Amy smiled. "Aw, I knew you cared, under all that grumpiness!"

I groaned inwardly. "Really? That's what you get out of that? Forget you two, I'm ditching." I started to walk away.

Sonic grabbed my arm. "No Shadow! Stay man, I can't handle all these girls on my own! I promise I'll stop bugging you about Mercury, please?"

I stared at him, why the heck does he want me to stay anyways? "Let go of my arm and I'll think about it." He did, looking at me expectantly. I hate Sonic sometimes... Most of the time. "Fine. Just leave me alone."

Sonic grinned. "Great! Hey, who are you taking home?"

I was caught by surprise. "Uh, I haven't thought about it, why?"

Amy chimed in. "Well, Rouge is taking Knuckles and I back. Vanilla and Vector are taking all of the Chaotix back, plus Cream. Sonic and Tails are going to race home. You still have your car, but everyone else has a ride. Oh, um, except Mercury. I guess she needs a ride home..." She smiled like the Cheshire Cat.

I shook my head vehemently. "No, uh-uh, no way. I am not going to end up alone in a car with her. I can take you and Knuckles, Rouge can drive her." I am so not falling for their stupid set-up. Not happening.

Rouge appeared next to her. "What's all this?"

Amy smiled. "You're taking Knuckles and I home, yes?"

Rouge nodded. "Yeah, I have to take Knuckles, because he doesn't trust me enough to let me out of his sight. And you live close. Why?"

I grimaced. "Could I take them instead?"

She looked really surprised. "Why, Shadow? You never volunteer to drive anyone, especially Amy."

I cringed. "Please?"

Sonic actually laughed. I almost turned around and ripped his head off. Almost.

Rouge smiled coyly. "No thanks. I'm happy with my passengers. Who do you want to trade so badly?"

Sonic answered her. "Mer-" He earned a shove from me.

It was enough for Rouge. Now she just looked confused. "Wait, Mercury? What's so bad about her?"

I sighed unhappily. "Nothing..."

Amy squealed, making people look at her. "Oh my gosh! He can't find something wrong with her!"

"Wait, no! That's not what I-" I can't believe she jumped to some stupid conclusion like that so quickly.

Rouge and Sonic were laughing their heads off on either side. "Wow, Amy. Jumping to conclusions much?" Rouge took my side for once. "We have to remember, Shadow isn't capable of that feeling called 'love' that most of us have." ... Nevermind.

"Hey," I objected, "that's not... entirely true." I love one person... Maternally... But she's dead.

Sonic finally stopped laughing. "I believe you, Shadz."

I groaned in defeat. "Will you people just stop calling me Shadz already? That's not my name."

Sonic grinned. "Hey, I have to annoy you somehow, right?"

"It would be greatly appreciated if you didn't." I growled.

Amy was still beaming. "Anyways, Shadow. You still have to drive Mercury. Should we go inform the lucky lady?"

I can't believe the extent of her impudence. "Did I not already ask you two to leave her alone? Fine, I'll drive her. But you can't make me like it."

Amy squealed again. "Yay!"

The two of them left me, and thankfully, left Mercury alone too. I was left with Rouge. "So, I guess you were right, Shadz. And they're trying to set you and Mercury up?"

I groaned for the umpteenth time. "It would seem so. Sonic is far too desperate to get me a date. Honestly, I feel bad for Mercury. She's not used to their nonsense, and I know I'm not the most pleasant person to be around. I'll be really surprised if she ever agrees to go anywhere with us again."

Rouge nodded. "I agree. You're terrible company. But she's a tough cookie, she might last. Though, I'll still be impressed if she does stick it out with our group. We're pretty weird."

I rolled my eyes. "Now that's putting it lightly. She sort of fits in with us though, and she apparently doesn't have anybody else. I'll try not to scare her away."

Rouge laughed. "I'd like to see that. I hope she comes back though, I like her. I think I'll invite her to one of my parties, what do you think?"

I shook my head. "Are you sure you want to invite her to that insanity? She doesn't seem like she'd enjoy that sort of thing."

Rouge grinned. "She seems sort of like Amy, in a way. And Amy loves my parties. So yes, I'm sure. Boys invited, movie and party games. But no alcohol. Will you come?"

I shrugged. "It depends which night."

"Which nights are you free?"

I thought about it. "Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays."

She smiled. "Friday it is! I'll invite her before we leave the mall. And Shadow, honey, please do your best to be a gentleman. I don't care whether you do or don't like her, just don't scare her away, got it?"

I sighed. "Fine, Rouge. But this wouldn't be a problem if you had just switched with me..."

She smiled. "I know, but you know how I am. Thank you, Shadow~" she gave me a short hug and then ran off to join Knuckles.

I was left to myself in the back of the group, but there really wasn't anybody I was dying to talk to anyways, so I didn't mind. We walked for quite a while, I wasn't really sure where we were going. But, to her credit, Mercury seemed to have a definite purpose to her stride. She looked like she knew where she was going. Maybe I should ask her if she's okay with me driving her. I don't want to just let her know right as we're leaving. That would be rude.

I feel like such a jerk for ditching her and Knuckles when Sonic and Amy came. I was mostly thinking about Sonic at the time, but now I just wish I hadn't been so quick to leave. I wish she would tell us, or at least one of us, what's bothering her. I usually don't give a flying fuck about what other people are thinking, but she looked so scared... No one will ever get me to admit it, but I want to help her, sort of. I don't... Love her... I really don't know her well enough to even think about that kind of thing. But, I think she would make a decent friend. I don't consider many people to be 'good people', but she is one of the few. Again, I don't know her well, but she has a sense of innocence, and just this attitude of kindness to everyone she meets, that I can tell she's a good person. That may sound incredibly cheesy, but it's true. That's what I think of her.

I wouldn't mind driving her, if it had been a choice. If she had asked me to drive her, or I had been there when everyone was deciding who drove who, I wouldn't have objected to it. Honestly, I think she is a person worth taking care of. However, I don't appreciate having my decisions made for me, and I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate it either. Also, I may be just a little spiteful of Sonic for his wild assumptions. I just hope that Mercury takes my side on this. Maybe if she seems uncomfortable, then Sonic will relent this time. I still wouldn't mind driving her, but alone seems too awkward right now. Though, we were alone at JCPenny's... Nope, it's still too awkward. And I'm Shadow the Hedgehog. I don't do awkward.

Still, maybe I should say something to her before we just leave. It looks like I don't really have a choice either way, but she should at least be aware... Maybe after a couple stores though.

~Mephiles POV~

Did she see me? Is that why she is acting so strange? I thought I was hiding... Could she have seen something else?

I'm back in shadow form now, hiding in the shadow of Shadow. I thought I had been blending, as I do amongst the others, hiding in plain sight, as the saying goes. I'm very good at that, and it is a simple chaos energy conversion. The idea is to look like another person in the crowd, so that anyone looking into a crowd will pass right over me... It is much less exhausting than melting into the shadows. How could she have seen me? I've never known anyone to notice me before...

If she did see me, however, this could be catastrophic. Which, normally, I wouldn't mind. But for chaos to strike on me now, when I am so close, is disastrous to my plan. If she understands what she saw, if she did see me, she could be ready for me. My plan revolved partly around Silver not being aware of my continued existence.

However... It seems that she doesn't want to admit that she saw me to the others. So, Sonic and his friends will remain unaware of my existence, that's a small relief. I would think that she would consider my appearance as of higher importance than her false front. She is either very confident that she can handle me, or she is not entirely sure that she saw me. I can't tell from her feelings, they're far too confusing.

I wish I could switch shadows, as I despise the position I am in right now. I rushed back to her group and hid in the first shadow that I came into contact with... Which happened to be Shadow's. The basis for my current form... The shadow of my enemy. It was all I could do to stay silent in this place, feeling uncomfortably helpless to do anything. It might be the end of me for real if Shadow was to notice my existence. Unless I can convince myself to destroy Silver, or find another innocent soul to reap, I will never have the power to rid myself of him. My chances do not look good. On the bright side, Shadow seems to be the most informative person to be hiding under. Apparently Sonic and Amy have a plan to force Silver and Shadow together... Which I find atrocious, knowing all the facts. Unfortunately, I cannot read how Shadow feels about this. His feelings are almost as conflicted as my own. As much as I despise him, I will probably stay in Shadow's shadow for a while longer. How his friends talk to him is amusing, firstly. And secondly, he is going to drive Silver home. That is essentially a free ride to Silver's house for me as well, and I plan to keep an eye on these two. Sonic must not succeed.

AN: again, thank you all so much for being as patient as you've been for me. I know it's been a long time since I've updated, and I'm trying to get used to writing again, since I haven't done any creative writing in a while. Unless you count BSing my essays as 'creative' lol. Anyways, enjoy part four. I managed to finally get some inspiration and I wrote a lot, as you can tell.

I also changed the titles of chapters 2 and 3 c:

Thank you for the Reviews, Favourites, and Follows! Everyone have a funtastical day~!

Oh, and whoever told me to kill myself? No thanks, I'll pass.