STH © SEGA

Sam, Mike, Sarah, Benjie and Lewis belong to me, BlackPetals23. Dexter (Dex) and Derrick, Peter (Mr. Worthington), Mrs. (Eloise) Wilson and Mr. (Frank) Wilson belong to me, as well. Any animals mentioned belong to me, too.

Flame, Jeffery, Petunia, and Sunny belong to Phantomask! Thank you, Phantomask!

Alicia belongs to aliciathewolf45. Thank you, aliciathewolf45!

I own nothing in italics if it's a brand. If it's the characters thinking, I guess I own that, I own the story…now I just completely lost myself. Any brand of something = I do not own! Also, any songs mentioned, I don't own.

Enjoy!

Chapter Thirty-Seven:

Getting Ready (Caution: Anyone May Lose Their Sanity)

On the very first night, Amy had griped about rising awake at the crack of dawn. Now, it was Shadow's turn.

He grumbled and snarled as Amy shuffled about in his bedroom, as if forgetting it wasn't her apartment in New York, or forgetting he was there in general. To make sure he wasn't disregarded though, Shadow opened his eyes and reached out for her leg.

Amy squeaked before glaring at him.

Shadow lifted himself up from his bed with the use of his aching arms. His whole body implored to his mentality to give in and sleep a little more and not surrender to this obstinate female, but the Ultimate Life Form found that whichever way, he was submitting to Amy—so, he may as well wake up. "What do you think you're doing? It's still dark out."

The clock showed 4:47 a.m., which Shadow found ironic because Amy hadn't gotten up at five on the first morning.

"Rose…" His red eyes glowered down at the clock as he kneeled on his bed. "The party doesn't start until six tonight…come back to bed…"

Amy hustled about some more. "No, Shadow. I have to be perfect!"

"There is no such thing," the bolshie hedgehog snorted in reply.

Dreadful mistake.

Amy continued to glare at him everytime her eyes came across his figure. "Shadow the Hedgehog; I have one time to impress everyone around me and by God-"

"Hey, hey," Shadow held her arms near the elbow, calming her in a soothing voice as she hysterically rattled on. "Come on…" He whispered. "The others are still asleep…you need some rest to even be able to dance tonight."

Amy pouted, staring in to those big, red eyes she admired so much. "But…"

"If you don't I might have to tie you to the bed and go to the dance without you," Shadow added as serenely as doable.

Amy blushed at the thought and sighed. "Fine," she gave in and turned off the light before crawling back in to the bed.

She was huddled up into his side for warmth while a blanket and the covers wrapped around her small frame. Amy let out a heavy sigh and closed her eyes. Shadow watched her breathing calm for a few minutes after she fell asleep.

He chuckled and brushed through her quills. "…I have a feeling you girls are going to be bossier today than usual…"

Boy had Shadow ever been right in his life.

Amy slept for two more hours before waking up completely and racing out of his hold. Shadow moaned and got out of bed.

"Time to feed the animals, anyway," he stated to her but she was all ready out the door and down the hallway.

Tugging on some jeans and buttoning up a flannel shirt, Shadow grabbed a pair of socks from his drawers and hurried out. He hopped while putting them on in the hallway before he got to the door. Grabbing his boots, he heaved them on before taking a hold of his jacket.

He swiftly pulled it on and buttoned it, all while Amy stood and watched. She blinked as if he were the craziest person alive. "You're not going to the party in that, are you?"

Shadow paused mid-way of buttoning the jacket. He gave her a weird look before saying, "What in the world made you think that?"

"You have it on right now…"

"That doesn't mean I'm going to wear it to the dance," Shadow scoffed and rolled his eyes as he finished buttoning the jacket. "You have your dress, and I have my suit."

"So, you're wearing your suit?" Amy asked with a hint of hopefulness.

Shadow opened the door and frowned at her. "No."

~~~.~~~

"Okay, we need to eat breakfast first, before planning who gets ready where," Blaze stated, counting off her fingers for some odd reason. "One of us should help with hair and switch when the other is done—so, we'll just stay in partners for the day."

Silver ate his cereal while watching his girlfriend. "I thought you just said to eat breakfast first before planning anything," he said with a mouthful of food.

Not only did Blaze look at him disgusted, but she glared at him too—if possible. "Don't do that…"

"Don't do what?"

"Eat with your mouth full, hasn't your mother ever taught you manners?!" Blaze hissed, looking away as if it were the worst sight on Earth.

Silver frowned and swallowed. "You should know that's a touchy subject because I didn't grow up with a mom, Blaze…"

The feline flicked her tail and glanced at him, "Fine, whatever. I'm off and I want you to be ready when I am," she kissed his forehead and purred before stalking off towards the kitchen where Sunny and Sarah were grabbing a bite to eat.

Silver rolled his eyes. His gaze stopped at Amy—she was sitting on the couch, just staring at the TV. "Amy? You okay?"

"Fine…perfectly fine…" Amy mumbled, her eyes glued to the television that wasn't even on.

"Something bothering you?" Silver trailed off, holding his spoon in mid-air while he leaned his back up against the arm of the couch.

"Nope…nothing at all…"

"…Okay," Silver said softly as he glanced from his cereal to Amy.

Oh, boy…Today's going to be hell…

~~~.~~~

Sonic watched happily as Sarah ate her cereal and let him eat it too. Normally, she wouldn't let anyone touch her cereal, but today she was either in a short-term-memory zone or she was happy about the dance.

He was going with the latter but knew it was the former.

Sarah had her moments with short term memory. She'd be texting him and forget about what they were talking about. She forgot simple things sometimes; too, even to put the laundry or dishes away.

"Quit eating!" Blaze marched in like some police officer catching a drunk driver, "We have a crisis!"

Sarah had the spoon halfway to her mouth. She edged it closer but Blaze pointed at her and the spoonful of cereal. "No!"

Closer…

"No!"

Closer…

"I said no!"

Sarah scooped it into her mouth and plucked the spoon out with an annoying popping sound. She wore a smug smile on her face. "Guess what, Blaze."

Blaze glared at the hedgehog that ate like her boyfriend.

"It's a Saturday," Sarah hummed.

"That's why you're so happy!" Sonic slapped the wooden table. "I forgot it was Saturday!"

Sarah ignored her groom-to-be and continued to smack in front of Blaze. The feline's tail twitched in annoyance. Sonic motioned for Sarah to stop before asking, "What's the crisis, Blaze?"

"My boyfriend seems to be in a need of a mother figure," Blaze calmly stated like it was some giant mission. "And we have to plan for today. We'll be in partners."

"I call Amy!" Sarah raised her hand. "No way am I being with you."

Blaze's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Sonic interfered, thankfully. "Girls—Blaze, Sarah just speaks her mind…you should know that by now. She doesn't mean it in an offensive way."

"Hmm…that's alright," Blaze glanced to the stove. "I didn't want to be with her either."

Sarah sarcastically smiled at her friend. Sonic raised an eyebrow and circled the spoon around in his cereal bowl. "So…why does Silver need a mother figure exactly?"

~~~.~~~

"Oh! We forgot about nail polish!" Blaze listed off the things in her head.

Shadow jumped from her exclamation but more from her suddenly leaping off the couch. Out of all the girls, he thought Amy was going to be the worst. He just felt sorry for Silver.

The hedgehog looked like he lived a dull and boring life right then.

Shadow tapped his fingers on his knees while sitting on the couch and watching the news, "Silver?"

"Hm?"

"She's not normally like this, is she?"

"Honestly…I've never seen her like this," Silver admitted.

He was done with his breakfast and Shadow had skipped his. Sonic came in after finishing his and watched Sarah trail off to find Blaze. Sonic's eyes were on his fiancée but he talked to the males in the living room. "We're never going to survive if we don't give them space today."

"What are you proposing?" Shadow inquired, looking out the window where the backyard's snow was almost completely melted by now.

"We can always go to the barn," Sonic trailed off. "It's the only place to hide out without the girls getting suspicious. We can even go for a ride and check the horses' water out in the field."

"You mean to tell me you haven't been doing that?" Shadow nearly growled.

"Nah, don't be stupid," Sonic waved him off, ignoring the glare he was getting. "Where do you think I walk to besides down the road and back?"

Shadow sighed and stared back at the TV. "I suppose I could saddle up Twilight…tie the foal up to the saddle and then wander around to see the other horses."

"Twilight might not like it for the foal," Sonic stated. "She's protective; remember two years ago with Piper?"

"Yeah, yeah," Shadow waved him off, remembering the red colt Twilight had two years ago.

Twilight wouldn't let Piper out of the corral when she saw her stable mates were getting sick from a bug. Thankfully, Piper and Twilight never got the sickness, but Piper was separated from her and sold a year later.

"So, you and I can go check their water on the other two."

"What about Timber?" Silver asked.

Sonic shrugged. "Shadow's horse, ask him."

Manic walked next to his brother. "If it's any trouble, could we leave now?"

~~~.~~~

Sarah shook the bottle of nail polish before placing it back in the clear container with the rest. She grabbed another one and shook it. "What dress am I wearing again?"

She was lying on her bed while Amy sorted through her closet.

"I'm finding the perfect one."

"There's no such thing," Sarah mumbled.

"Well, you have two blue ones or a white one!" Amy called, not having heard Sarah's remark.

"The white one I haven't tried on in ages, it might not fit anymore," Sarah stated.

Suddenly, Amy piled all the dresses on top of her. "Well, it's still morning, you have time to try them on."

Sarah groaned and shut her eyes tight.

~~~.~~~

"I have the perfect dress!" Blaze cheered, holding onto a long mix-colored dress. "Silver's favorite."

Sunny giggled. "I have mine!"

Blaze gasped as they entered the bathroom, "What's it look like?"

"Well, a girl always carries a dress with her—a girly girl, at least—whenever she travels, so…" Sunny hummed as she closed the door to the bathroom, exposing her gown that was hanging inside a plastic, see-through protector.

Blaze moaned and held onto her dress. "It's gorgeous, Sunny."

The dress was turquoise and had a white part on the right side of the dress (their left) that popped out around the entire dress like one of those stars exploding in movies. In the front it showed her knees but it got longer as it went to the back.

Blaze's was strapless, like Sunny's, but had tons of colors on it, as if it were a canvas and the painter just splashed paint on it for enjoyment. It had a pink sash just under the breast area and hid her feet.

"Now…what hair style should we try?" Sunny lifted her thick quills up and made a duck face at the mirror.

Blaze rolled her eyes and laughed. "Wait! I wanna go get my camera!"

The feline hurried off and soon Sunny followed. Those two were gonna have some fun in the oncoming hours of getting ready.

~~~.~~~

"Not the blue one," Sarah motioned to one of the blue dresses on the bed. "That's for the reception."

Amy nodded and put it back in the closet as the lime green hedgehog tried on the white dress. It had a blue sash around her torso and ruffles sewed together on the bottom, exposing her knees. Surprisingly, it still fit.

"Okay," Amy hurried back in and grinned. "You look gorgeous!"

Sarah puffed her bangs up and rolled her eyes. "Fruitcakes…"

"Knock knock," Sonic peeked through and smiled at the two. "We're going to the barn just to, you know, hang out and let you girls take over."

Sarah made a pleading motion while Amy put the other blue dress back in the closet. "Take me with you!" Sarah hissed.

Sonic looked at her, up and down before smirking. "Nah…"

Sarah frowned and folded her arms. "Fine…"

Sonic's interest was piqued. "…Sarah…what are you planning?"

The lime green hedgehog only smirked. "No…fun for awhile then."

"…" Sonic's eyes narrowed. "How long would this…awhile be?"

His only answer was Sarah waving her hand as if the situation wasn't a problem. "No, you go and have fun with the boys," she hurried him out into the hallway.

He stopped the door with his foot.

God, he was persistent. Then again, it kind of turned her on.

She smirked as she leaned against the doorway and batted her eyes. His only reaction was a frown and a bruised foot.

"Sarah."

His voice was serious but she, for once, wasn't going to let this fun time go to waste.

THUD!

"I'm okay!" Amy called from the closet.

Sarah and Sonic ignored her though. The lime green hedgehog twirled one of her quills with a conceited smirk on her face and Sonic's expression was merely displeased.

"Sarah," he whined.

"What?" The said hedgehog mocked.

Sonic didn't like her toying him, only he could do that to anyone. Not the other way around. "Hmph," he turned his head and looked down the hallway.

Sarah lightly tapped his left cheek, "Aww, turn that frown upside down!"

He swatted her hand away but kept looking the other direction, refusing to meet eye contact. Sarah scrunched up her nose while smiling. "You can get your foot out of the door, ya know."

Slowly but surely (and stubbornly) Sonic placed his foot away from the door. With that, Sarah blew him a kiss and shut the door. She turned around and saw Amy barely walking out of the closet. The pink hedgehog grinned. "What did he want?"

Sarah heard his retreating footsteps and inwardly grinned, "Ah…nothing important."

Tonight was going to be dangerous. Shadow had the feeling everyone in the barn knew it.

Tails and Knuckles had come over with Rouge, the twins, and Cream. Instantly, the twins followed Knuckles' footsteps and sidestepped their mother and Cream, who both went ballistic with their gowns ready for that night.

Timber nickered softly at the twin bats that pushed one another, trying to have the horse for himself and ignoring the other horses as if they didn't exist. Shadow leaned against Twister's corral while Buck-Eye chewed the leftovers of his morning hay.

Sonic sat on a hay bale with Silver, Tails was busy watching Tequila roam around the new surroundings he was getting familiar with, and Benjie and Lewis veered away from the horses after Ginger tried biting them.

"Told you she was mean," Shadow muttered to them.

Since then, everything was quiet. Guys were probably either quiet when hanging out together or they were laughing too hard to speak. That or being perverts, but who knows. It was just that something wasn't right. Shadow could feel it crawl up the nape of his neck and curl his toes.

A feeling he just couldn't get rid of or replace. It was stuck there in the back of his mind for what felt like all eternity. They were going to trap Sam and use Scourge as a double agent-like figure. Scourge was basically the bait—and that was the only thing that satisfied Shadow in the oncoming hours.

Every tick of Manic's watch was heard as the green hedgehog stood firmly by a barrel. Every chest heaving another sigh was seen while the men stood quietly. No one uttered a vowel, and no dared moved from the hay covered ground.

Red eyes caught emerald ones. Shadow's narrowed while Sonic's seemed more bored.

'We need a plan.'

'We do. Trap Sam.'

'Something's not right. It's like our plan right now won't work. If our plan would work, I would know.'

Sonic scoffed, but didn't say a word.

'I'm serious, Sonic. I have a gut instinct that we need to reorganize. Without Scourge—who knows what side he's truly on.'

'He's on ours.'

Shadow tilted his head a millimeter. 'How do you know?'

"No weapons were visible."

Shadow's ears pricked as Sonic spoke the first sentence in what had to have been ten minutes. Manic crisscrossed his right leg over his left while still leaning against the barrel, "What, Sonic?"

"Scourge is on our side as long as he has Rosemary," Sonic stated. "There were no weapons in his house, and everything was just as the girls said—child proofed."

"I know," Shadow hummed. "But something still doesn't feel right…"

"You want us to be concerned about what you think?" Knuckles rolled his eyes as the twins glanced at him. "I'm not about to jeopardize the people I love."

"You will be if we don't think this through," Shadow growled. "Sam is a mastermind in his own amateur way. The cops can't catch him but I bet you a thousand dollars they want to," he continued, staring at the echidna. "If Sam is smart enough to know with Rosemary there that Scourge will walk across the line and go on our side then he's smart enough to figure out that whatever Scourge tells him is a lie. He knows they aren't going to sabotage the party…at least not together."

Sonic stood up abruptly. "How would you know all of this?"

"Are you saying I'm on Sam's side?" Shadow hissed, his ears pinning back at the accusation.

"Wouldn't be the first time you joined the dark side," Tails answered as Tequila snorted at his hand he held out.

Shadow stood and met Sonic's height. "I am not about to walk away from our side. I fight with you guys, don't dare question my loyalty when others are more likely to switch."

"Hopefully you don't mean any of us," Silver stood up, his fur already bristling.

"Guys," Lewis whined. "Listen, I know you're all heroes and fought the big ole bad Eggman together, but let's not fight each other, okay? Sam is the only guy in your lives giving you hell. Why take it out on each other when you could just, oh, I don't know, kick his ass?"

"Lewis…for once, speaks the truth," Manic replied.

"Thank you…I think."

"But Shadow's the only one that could steer the other way if anyone of us did."

The green hedgehog stood alongside Sonic with Silver on the blue blur's other side. All three were in front of Shadow, until Tails stepped forth. Surprisingly, the fox took a place by Shadow.

"Enough, Sonic," Tails interfered. "Don't start an argument you aren't willing to pay the consequences for."

"And what if he is on Sam's side in the end, Tails? Huh?" Sonic questioned his best friend, ignoring Shadow's glares.

"It won't happen," Tails' voice grew fiercer than the guys had ever heard which took Sonic by surprise the most. "I know Shadow just as well as you, Sonic. But if you really knew him, you'd know he's on our side until the end."

Sonic snorted and rolled his eyes, "Since when are you two BFF's?"

"I can't believe you," Tails hissed. "You sicken me, right now, Sonic the Hedgehog."

That shut everyone up. Tails was never one for violence, not even harsh words, towards Sonic. And to have the boy suddenly say the things he said to his best friend was different and unheard of in their minds.

"He stood up for all of us at one point in time and for you, Sonic, even more. He took you in for four years. If you said that to me right now I would've kicked you out."

"I have a house," Sonic interrupted.

"Then go!" Tails pointed at the door. "At this time of our lives we don't need your attitude! If you're going to become skeptical about your own teammates then you shouldn't be here at all!"

Sonic stood his ground. "Tails…"

"He fought alongside you!" Tails motioned at Shadow, his eyes actually watering. "I can't believe how you've treated him throughout these years! Leaning on him and arguing with him! The Shadow I knew back then would've just gotten rid of you, but instead he stuck up with you. He cared for you and I'll be damned if he ever stops mothering you!"

Shadow's ears pinned back and he stared at the men that weren't in front of him. "I don't mother him..." he reassured to them.

"Then you'll be damned," Sonic followed Shadow's statement, only saying it to Tails. "Maybe we should decide for ourselves what we think of Shadow. Hm?"

Silver nodded alongside Manic. Knuckles shook his head but quit with the glare from Sonic he was given. Lewis and Benjie cowered neared the twins. Tails stood his ground.

"Just know, Faker…" Shadow leaned back against the post of the corral. "…If you say I'm not on your side…you all better get off my damn property."

Sonic smirked, "Will do."

"Sonic-"

"Shut it, Tails!" Sonic yelled. "We're itching to get this over with!"

"You're itching to get rid of Sam!" Tails walked in front of Shadow. "And you know what? The girls are wanting more than anything right now to go to this dance with us. If we come back all tattered and torn, I'll bet you there will be hearts broken."

"Sarah wouldn't leave me for some stupid fight I had against Shadow," Sonic grunted.

Tails' eyes narrowed, "Really? She cares for Shadow, too, Sonic. Don't underestimate the girls—they are the most unpredictable living things I've dealt with and by God, I'm not about to see them walk away when they're back together again. Because they will take sides."

"I thought you said they were unpredictable," Manic mused, folding his arms.

Buck-Eye snorted from his corral and Twister scratched his rump on the post in the back. Twilight stood near her foal, hiding him from the Mobians. Ginger stood calmly, as if daring anyone to come near her and Timber was trying to get the twins' attentions again.

Tails took a step back. "That's where they're unpredictable."

Sonic only took a step forward, pursuing him. "Are you saying Sarah wouldn't take my side?"

"I never said that—but I can bet you half of them will yell at you for having a single thought about Shadow being on the other side. Especially Amy and we all know we don't want to mess with her when she's angry."

"Guys, c'mon," Lewis stammered. "Let' not argue…" his whispers were barely heard.

Tails' eyes narrowed at Sonic's. "And Sarah will take the right side."

"Tails…" Sonic warned, closing his eyes. "Shut…the hell up."

"No, Sonic!" Tails yelled. "I'm done with this bullshit, you need to cut it out and grow up! Quit questioning one of the most loyal friends—one of the only friends—you've had throughout these years! You're making yourself look like a fool!"

With that, blinded with fury, Sonic raced forward and took Tails to the ground. Shadow stepped forward to separate the two but only got into a fight with Manic. The green hedgehog gripped his collar of his shirt and swung him around.

Shadow landed on his feet before ramming Manic into a post. Silver went at it, clawing Shadow's back while trying to help Manic. Suddenly, Silver was ripped off of Shadow and was in a bear hug with Knuckles.

The twins stepped back with Lewis. The door opened and shut.

When everyone thought peace reigned in the house and that the anger had subsided, it boiled its way to the surface again like a volcano. The steam had exploded for no reason but stress from underground.

And the lava was pouring out.

Benjie had never joined track or cross-country in high school. He never wanted to because running was never his favorite hobby. But after that run down the road he found motivation that kept him going.

Sarah and Sonic still had to get married. Lewis was in there with the twins and six Mobians that fought blindingly from the anger that blindfolded them. The girls were going to take sides like Tails said if he let the fight continue. He had to get the girls—they would settle it. His parents couldn't do anything; the guys barely listened to them anyway. Aleena wasn't going to do any good either.

It would need girl power. And by girl power, he met the silent glares that men could feel a mile away. He meant the fire that those girls held in their hearts. Cream was more of the nice girl but even she had her moments from the stories he heard from Tails and Knuckles. Rouge was a sarcastic lady, but she could shut any man up. Amy had her mallet, Sarah was just normally aggressive, and Blaze literally had fire power.

He wasn't sure what Sunny could do, but if it was anything like the others, he'd take it.

Running up the steps and nearly biffing it, he pushed open the door and stumbled in. "HEY!"

~~~.~~~

The girls had left everything they were doing. That fact should've surprised Benjie, but it didn't. This moment called for a superhero to come swooping in.

So, just to keep him running again, he literally gave them superhero names. Amy was in the lead easily, so Benjie first thought of calling her 'Pink Legs'. But that didn't sound right. At all.

Then he thought of her likes and dislikes. Taking her likes and her personality when it came to saving someone, he called her 'Fiery Mallet'. I know, I like it, too. Blaze and Sarah were stride for stride after the rose hedgehog. Matching each other's pace perfectly.

He called Blaze 'Robin Hood' because she would sacrifice for her friends and she was just generally kind. Even if the name was taken, he didn't think any of his other ideas were good: 'Purple Kitty' 'Soft Kitty' 'Warm Kitty'.

Okay, he took the last two from The Big Bang Theory. …And the last one sounded wrong, but that was why he stuck to something generic and simple for the feline. He then called his sister 'The Green Ram' because of her fur color, horoscope, and because she actually rammed in to him one time when he teased Lewis.

Rouge, Cream, and Sunny were in the middle and drafting behind the other three girls. He couldn't help but give Rouge the name 'Flying Jewel' for she could fly and she loved jewels. It was either that or 'Flying Thief' and he didn't think she'd like that one if he ever told them about this. Cream had 'The Baker' which made him happy yet terrified when the thought of her baking her victims (something completely out of her personality, though) popped into his head.

Sunny was named 'Silver Streak' for the silver streaks in her quills. It was that or 'The Skipping Hedgehog' because Benjie started running out of things to call her and her running style of simply skipping—her leg longs gave her an advantage to keep up with the girls by skipping, for if she ran, she'd probably had left them all in the dust.

And in the back, Benjie, a.k.a The Terminator, followed. Though the only things he could terminate were the tiny ants being crushed under his big feet.

With that he and his trusty companions were led by Fiery Mallet to the barn, heroically.

"UGH!"

Shadow was thrown into the post, make his lip bleed. He turned around and pushed Manic back. The green hedgehog was limping from being tossed up into the air and smashed down on a pile of straw. It might've been a soft landing but it still hurt like a mother.

Sonic and Tails were rolling on the ground. At one point Tails didn't know what to do but hold his hands on Sonic's throat in a choking manner. Silver was dodging Knuckles' moves, but only making the echidna madder when he actually layed a finger on him.

Silver tripped when Knuckles' foot went out. With that, the Mobian picked the white hedgehog up and dragged him back before kicking him in the jaw. Knuckles growled with a scratch near his eye, bleeding lightly.

He didn't uncurl his fists until he realized what he had done. Silver was his friend…and he knocked him unconscious by kicking him in the face! Knuckles walked backwards until he hit a post from Ginger's corral. The palomino was busy eating any hay she saw on the ground though, so, she ignored him.

Wide purple eyes only watered.

Silver…no…God, help us. We're only getting worse when we're together. We're supposed to be fighting against Sam—not each other! Please, help us!

Knuckles literally prayed in his mind. Sure, it wasn't something the echidna found himself doing often, but desperate times call for desperate matters.

Manic tripped over Silver as Shadow was pulled along with him. Manic hit the ground hard and winced at the bruise on his head and the pain shooting through his leg. Shadow felt the blood trickle into his mouth but he didn't care as he layed another punch on to Manic.

Sonic tossed over and landed on top of Tails. Each took turns in being on top of one another to hit the one on the bottom. It was like a dance all choreographed out for them. Sonic had a bleeding nose and a scratch above his eyebrow. Tails was coming out with a black eye for sure.

Thud after thud, punch after punch, the guys didn't find themselves stopping. With gritted teeth, Tails could taste the blood in his mouth and how swollen his jaw was going to be in a few hours. From that notion, the fox had had enough. Tails rolled on top of Sonic and punched him with a hard smack, knocking his best friend out. He waved his hurt hand and stared down at the blue hedgehog. "Sorry, pal."

Sonic was laying there as Tails jumped off and joined Manic and Shadow. Tails grabbed Manic's shoulder but the green hedgehog whacked him off. Manic then threw another punch at Shadow as the two sprawled around on the ground.

Shadow dodged it but missed seeing the next one. His jaw popped as Manic gave him a mean punch. He groaned in pain and crawled on his knees as Manic tried standing up but ended up falling over him, making Shadow trip him, unintentionally.

Sonic blinked and his eyes opened, seeing Knuckles behind the three left fighting. Sonic instantly sprung into action. He reached forward and grabbed Knuckles' leg, pulling the echidna down.

Knuckles kicked Sonic in the face and Sonic bent his ankle until Knuckles yelled out. Tails heard and growled, getting over to rip the two off of each other by pulling on Sonic's quills. Sonic screamed and clawed at Tails' wrists and arms. Knuckles kicked nothing but air as he got away from Sonic thanks to Tails. He went on to defend Shadow from Manic.

Tails let go of Sonic and smacked his cheek. "Sonic! Enough!"

In reply, Sonic only tried standing up like his brother, but rammed Tails' knees and took the fox down. Tails hit his head on the floor and grunted, on the verge of passing out from the hit. Sonic was ripped off by Lewis, who decided he had to stop them somehow or they'd fight each other to the death.

Sonic only had to punch him and Lewis was knocked to the ground next to Silver—both unconscious. Sonic went back to look at Tails but the fox was out cold. Green eyes softened and the blue hedgehog relaxed. "Tails…"

Lewis groaned and pushed himself up via his arms. Sonic stood over Tails in a daze. Turning around, the so-called-hero gazed at the bruised Lewis and the unconscious Silver. Shadow was covered up by Manic, who was on top of him again and throwing punches at him. Knuckles ripped Manic off and flung him to the straw. Manic's only response was a groan.

Knuckles and Sonic were the only ones left standing. Lewis had given up, moaning and griping about his jaw when the others were in tougher shape. Sonic's gaze hit Shadow.

The ebony hedgehog was beaten.

Defeated.

Something he thought Shadow would never allow to happen to him. Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Life Form was on the verge of unconsciousness. His ungloved hands curled hay up in his fists before uncurling them, trying to get up in vain. Shadow's mind was telling him to stand up and defend himself, but his body was giving in to sleep.

Sonic sighed as Knuckles met eye contact with him.

Green eyes stared at the ebony hedgehog again.

All he had ever done for me…was cared for me. And this is how I return the favor? Oh, God…

Sonic's knees hit the floor.

Oh, God…please…forgive me…Shadow…forgive me…Tails…forgive me…

Sonic shut his eyes and put his head into his hands. Bawling. Knuckles only heard the blue blur's wailing echo off the barn walls. His sobs and apologizing words that slurred out of his mouth.

"Oh, God…I'm so sorry…I'm so…what did I do?! Why?! I'm so sorry!"

Knuckles could only watch, for he himself was in that same situation. They just fought their own friends…people they had known for years and had trusted for years. They had fought them for no reason except for being riled up all over again. Instead of taking out Sam…they were taking out each other.

Sonic's eyes finally peeked out from his bloodied hands. He wasn't sure whose blood it was, but he only grieved for them…for they would end up being his friend. All the bodies, unconscious or conscious, in the barn, were people Sonic had to protect…instead he let anger blind him once again.

…What…have we done?

:D One chapter down, five more to go! That's right, I finally summarized what would happen on a piece of paper so I could just WRITE without actually thinking…though, I'm not sure I've ever done that. XP

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter! Benjie's part with his running is something I should probably do! Haha! Give all my friends superhero nicknames, honestly, that part was just random, but I needed the chapter to go out longer.

Arrivederci!