A/N: Well, last chapter. As a bit of trivia, the title of this story is partly based on the bridge from an ABBA song, "SOS." I don't own the song, ABBA and their label do, of course. But as a general rule of thumb, if it's ABBA, it's awesome, so give it a listen if you like. It got stuck in my head every time I tried to post a chapter.

Anyway, I'd appreciate a little feedback if anybody has some. Particularly on Rouge; looking back, I'm wondering if I didn't make her an unsympathetic character. Of course, I didn't mean to make her wholly sympathetic either . . . at any rate, any comments, on Rouge or other topics, would be much appreciated.

Also, it's been puzzling me for days: Ever since I put up Chapter 5, it's steadily been getting more viewers and more views than any of the chapters around it. Anybody have any idea as to why? If something somehow went right there, I'd sure like to know about it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic and Co.

Fifteen minutes later, Sonic (now back to his usual blue) and the rest of the resistance were gathered on a distant hilltop, staring at the sprawling building that was the G.U.N. headquarters.

"Are you sure that was really Shadow you saw in there?" asked Espio seriously, blinking through his one eye. The other was covered by a patch, with the ends of a scar peeking out on either side.

"It was him all right!" averred Sonic, his eyes trained on the building intently."There is no way to fake that overbearing attitude, believe me. Man, he won't recognize us!"

He glanced around at the ragged little band, smiling fondly. Boy, would Shadow ever be surprised. Cream and Charmy were now ten-year-olds, driven by necessity into being rough, tough little adults already. Cream was wearing her ears rolled up behind her head, her eyes were steely and narrowed, and her smile spoke of death and torture. Charmy had entirely lost his hyperactive, happy nature; more cheerful countenances had been seen on executioners. The others were scarred, bruised, missing a few minor body parts here and there . . . but they were alive, and they were together. And they couldn't wait to see their long-lost friend again.

Back inside the building, Shadow leaned against a wall, clutching at the edge of the former glass barrier. It was taking all his strength not to lose control over the massive amount of Chaos energy his body now contained. He was soaked with it, dripping with it; it was doing something funny to his cells, because he sure didn't feel right. Where were the others? Were they at a safe distance yet?

Shadow gritted his teeth and gripped the bulletproof glass harder. It kept crumbling in his hands, forcing him to find a new grip. He tried to think of something else. So, all along he'd been a prisoner and lab rat for G.U.N.? Not that surprising; he was a useful power source. And Commander Tower had never trusted him. Never really forgiven him for . . . for . . . A cloudy memory, corrupted and half-lost after multiple experiments, shimmered briefly into Shadow's head. They had tried specifically to take that memory away from him. The commander must have resented Shadow remembering . . . her . . .

"Maria?" he murmured. He could almost remember, yet not quite. Was Maria someone he knew? Was she back with the others? Who exactly . . . ? All he could remember was some kind of promise. And somehow, he didn't know if he was breaking that promise now, or keeping it. Or both.

"Maria . . . If this is wrong . . . I'm sorry."

He stepped away from the wall and snapped the wires holding his wrists.

Sonic and the others outside were getting anxious.

"Where is he?" growled Knuckles impatiently.

"I don't—" Sonic broke off as a golden geyser of light suddenly tore through the roof of the headquarters. Smoothly the geyser spread into a raging torrent, then into a massive golden ball. It grew relentlessly, evidently aiming to engulf the entire building.

Suddenly the sound of the explosion caught up to the visual. It was horrific, a deafening mix of smashing, the screeching of metal, the roar of raw energy, crashes and screams and things exploding.

The little group on the hilltop stood watching in horrified awe. The building melted to the ground right before their eyes, flattening out in every direction, disintegrating into dust and atoms. A blazing globe of golden energy streamed above the wreckage, and in the center of it danced a tiny black figure.

"Overkill," groaned Knuckles. "He'll get himself killed!"

The blaze of energy lasted a full five minutes, then slowly shrank and dimmed. Suddenly, like a dying star, it exploded into shreds of golden light and disappeared.

Sonic and the others were already tearing down towards the wreckage of the building.

Amongst the smoldering charcoal and ashes, Sonic found Shadow's body, slumped full-length face down. Knuckles, second-fastest, came pounding in to help as Sonic gently turned Shadow over.

"Shadow? Shads, you okay?" called Sonic anxiously.

Shadow's eyelids fluttered, but didn't open.

"Did I . . . get 'em?" he whispered, a dribble of blood spurting from the corner of his mouth.

"If flattening a square mile of land counts as getting 'em, heck yeah," said Sonic.

"Good . . . good. I'm done, then."

"Shads, hey, wake up! You okay?"

Slowly Shadow opened his eyes. They were drifting randomly around in his head like those of someone just about to fall asleep. He struggled futilely to bring them under control, the ragged white fluff on his chest heaving up and down as he breathed heavily. Suddenly, the ruby orbs focused sharply on some invisible point above him, then drifted accusingly to Sonic.

"Dammit Faker," Shadow rasped. "I thought you said Rouge was dead . . . "

"She . . . is . . . " Sonic swallowed. "Shadow, you're delirious."

"Not delirious," said Knuckles.

"Shads, no! Snap out of it!"

"Faker, shut up," mumbled Shadow. "It's hurting less and less, don't mess it up."

"Shads!"

Funny thing. He'd always been such a serious, scowling type of personality . . .

Shadow the Hedgehog died smiling.