Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic, Shadow, or the rest of the cute little furry fellas. (Or Eggman.)

A/N: Ah-ha. You all probably thought that the last chapter was the end of the whole 'hair-dye' thing. Not quite...

Hmm. Everything's seeming to come together now... Plus, best of all, I'm over the Writer's Block! *smashes Writer's Block with a giant mallet*

This chapter begins to introduce two of my original characters, one of which is a hedgehog. I'll say it right now, there are no OC/Sonic character romances in my fics. ^_^;; Ignoring the fact that I never write romance anyway. Just to let you know.

Enjoy.

"Come on, just a little farther..." Shadow urged Sonic on.

The two hedgehogs plodded down a back alley. "We shouldn't have come this way..." Sonic muttered.

"I'm not taking chances," Shadow answered quietly. Angrily.

"Shadow... they left. They know that they don't stand a chance--"

"They'll be back. I know. But it's not just G.U.N.... it's the general public, too." Shadow gritted his teeth. "G.U.N. will alert them. Humans are gullible. They'll believe the military."

"But... but it's all just a lie," Sonic said.

"I know. It's a lie... it's all a lie..." Shadow stared at the ground, his anger seeming to bore into the cement...

The two hedgehogs were snapped out of their thoughts by a voice.

"Mr. Sonic?"

Sonic and Shadow turned around to see a little girl staring at the two of them. Shadow turned his head and was about to leave, but Sonic grabbed his arm.

"Hey, it's all right. I think I know this kid..."

The girl smiled. "Remember me? You talked to me, about a year or so ago...?"

Sonic thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers. "Oh, yeah! You're the little girl who stood outside of the train station every day, waiting for your old man to get back! Right?"

The girl's smile grew even bigger and she nodded. "Yep! That's me!"

Sonic grinned. "Wow, you've gotten tall, huh?"

The girl looked at Shadow. "Is he your brother?"

Sonic laughed nervously. "Um... ah, ha ha... yeah, um, something... like that..."

The girl's smile faded. "Are you okay? My dad can drive you back to wherever you're headed, if you want..."

Shadow shook his head before Sonic could answer. "Oh, no thank you... we're fine."

The girl looked at Sonic, who shrugged. "Okay, if you're sure..." She turned to Shadow again. "It's nice to meet you! What's your name?"

Shadow glanced at Sonic. Sonic smiled. "It's all right. She's a nice girl."

Shadow smiled at the little girl. "My name is Shadow." He reached out to shake hands.

The girl eagerly shook hands. She looked back, towards the street. "Oh, my dad is calling me... I have to go now." She smiled. "It was nice to meet you!" She skipped away.

As they watched her leave, Sonic nudged Shadow and said, "See? Not everyone's against you."

The two were quiet until they reached Amy's apartment.

"Oh my goodness! What happened to you?!" Amy shrieked upon opening her apartment door.

"It's all right, Amy... we're fine." Sonic managed an apologetic grin. "We, ah... got in a little scrap, that's all..."

Amy bit her lip, then said, "Come on, come inside... let's get you washed up..."

~*~

"So... G.U.N.'s still after you, huh?" Tails said incredulously, sitting on the living room sofa.

"Yes..." Shadow clenched his fists angrily. "And now I've dragged you into this," he said apologetically to Sonic.

Sonic brushed it off. "Eh, it's okay. Everything will work out in the end. It usually does."

Shadow stood up angrily. "How can you just wave it off like that?! Don't you realize exactly what G.U.N. will do to get their way?!"

"Calm down... it's nothing we can't handle. Right?" Sonic flashed an irrepressible grin. "I mean, we did save the--"

"G.U.N. is different, Sonic. They're different from anything you've ever known." Shadow slumped back onto the sofa, limply. "They'll stop at nothing once they're decided about something."

"Well, so will Sonic," Tails said hopefully.

"No, not like Sonic." Shadow stared out the window. "You've got ideas, plain bravery, and optimism. G.U.N.'s got ideas, too, but most of all they've got technology. Maybe they're even more advanced than you, Tails."

Sonic sat up, slightly worried. "Listen, whatever happens, we're in this together..."

Shadow shook his head. "I wish I hadn't gotten you into this..." He clenched his fists again. "But more than that, I wish G.U.N. would just..." His shoulders tensed.

"Shadow? Are you okay?" Amy asked, worriedly.

"...I wish they'd just leave me alone!!" Shadow suddenly burst out. "They took everything away from me! My home, Maria, nearly my life! Why do they keep coming after me?!"

"Shadow..." Sonic murmured.

Shadow sighed. "I can't let that happen to you guys. I've got to leave you."

Tails shook his head. "Even if you did, I think it's a little late for that. They knew that you and Sonic were somewhere in the vicinity, and they'll probably keep trying to track you both down separately. It's probably best if we stick together."

Shadow looked at Tails helplessly, then looked down, knowing that the young fox's logic was correct. "I'm sorry..."

Sonic smiled. "It's all right. Anyway, there's safety in numbers. That's something you've gotta learn."

Shadow nodded. "Yes... it's just..." He looked away.

"I just don't want any of you to get... hurt..."

~*~

Meanwhile, the little girl and her father arrived at the Station Square train station.

"Dad! Are we going to go see the professor?" she asked excitedly.

The father smiled. "Yep, that's where we're going, honey. Your mother wants him to come to our house for the holidays, so we're going to give him an invitation."

The girl grinned. "I bet he'd like that! Do you think Talula would like it, too?"

The man smiled at his daughter. "Maybe. What do you think she likes to eat? Your mother's never cooked for a hedgehog before..."

"Sonic the Hedgehog likes chili dogs."

"Well, Sonic's from around here... Talula grew up in the jungle, remember? Maybe they eat something different in the jungle."

"Like bananas and pineapples and stuff like that?"

"Maybe."

"The train headed to the Mystic Ruins will be departing soon..."

"Oh, there's our train. Come on!"

"Right behind you, Dad!"

Within a few minutes, riding on the train, the little girl and her father reached the Mystic Ruins.

"Let's go, Dad!" The little girl hopped up and down excitedly.

"Well, let's rent a helicopter first," her father said.

In about half an hour, the girl and her father were headed into the deep jungle of the Mystic Ruins, where an old man and his young hedgehog friend lived in an old laboratory.

Little did they know, that 'old connections' would one day shatter their peaceful life of solitude...