Thanks for the reviews, everyone. I really appreciate each one. I say this now because I never really felt this chapter did anything for anyone, unless you count moving the story along. It never came together, maybe because I never got a solid idea about what I wanted to do. Yeah, we went from really good to alright, in my eyes anyways. Ah well. I'm sure you guys are happy for an update regardless:

Hearing the story of Shadow's memories and the cause of his pain hit Amy almost as hard as it did Shadow when he turned around to find Maria taking her last few breaths. Out of all of the possible heart-wrenching effects she had imagined and thought up that could have happened upon the hedgehog, she concluded that this was the worst possibility out of them all. As she had explained to Shadow while up on the ARK, there was at least a spark of good in everyone down on the planet, and that spark had the potential to grow into a blaze that could ravage evil and do innumerable amounts of good, and Shadow was a living example of that statement. But as she also noted, all people could fight over trivial things and come to rash conclusions. Unless people were more accepting of the reality of life's twists and would think more of the consequences of their actions instead of automatically taking action upon the wrongdoings of others, the world would be the paradise that Gerald sought out to create in the first place. She began to wonder why. Why couldn't GUN take it more slowly, since apparently they were the ones funding the project in the first place? In fact, if they were funding the project, wouldn't they be well aware of Gerald's intentions to do more good than harm, and watch the project all the way through to its completion, or until there was real proof that the project was a threat to mankind? Why did they commit the atrocities that they did if they knew they were going to cover it up sooner or later? They seemed that they were a pretty much trustworthy association up until the raid, since they wanted to help with something so promising, and the fact that they would kill based on pure speculation from one failure only fueled the fact that everything has a good side and a bad side, and it would only be a matter of time before one of the other sides would surface in everything.

Amy figured that she had a pretty unbiased view of the world. There was some good; there was some bad. Life is full of periods of rain and shine, and that's to be expected of such an imperfect world. But a lot of times, we take the good for granted and count it as a way of life instead of a pure blessing, and we sometimes set ourselves up for disappointment. We never think things will happen to us. We think that those stories that are reported on the 6 o' clock news every night only happen to "other people". We never think that life can or will change. But as Amy thought more into it, the more she became wiser as to some of the ways it worked. The Earth was as equally bad as it was good, and it can be seen all around you. Most times, the evil hides in the shadows of the city as a cat, predatory, hungry, and bloodthirsty, until it sees its opportunity to strike out on its innocent victims, the dim mice who only see life from one angle, a lot of times the simplest angle. Lives are lost, the people hide, desperation comes about. It's all around us. But it simply likes to wait, as it did while hovering over Shadow's shoulder while he spent his days in space... But maybe fate is an even bigger thing than evil. It is said that everything happens for a reason, and it is also said that pain must be suffered in order to have true happiness. When we gain something, we will lose something also, and vise versa. Was Shadow actually meant to lose Maria? Well, he probably would not have found out his true purpose if she had remained alive instead. He would have never been living with Amy. He would have never been able to realize his mistakes and the good things he had all around him all along. And... he would have never admitted his love to her and the things that had been bothering him. Although he had suffered the loss of his friend's life, the positive consequence was his freedom. Shadow was now free.

After Shadow's sadistic tale, Amy decided to leave him alone for awhile. There wasn't much to say between the two after that. Shadow had said most of it, and the most Amy could do was just give him a bit of time to himself. In the few hours he had alone, he continued to have a bit of trouble convincing himself that everything was fine the way it was, though it was easier to deal with than before. He was still very much relieved, but to him, the way he felt was barely describable. He felt like a new person entirely, and when Amy hugged him for those few minutes, he immediately felt an energy flow over his being and surround him. It was then that he felt the presence of his sins and disarray lift from his body and just disperse in midair. As he flashbacked, he was certain that he could feel this unparalleled energy becoming all the more obvious in the room as he continued to talk, as if it knew from a personal view exactly what he was feeling. The mutual understanding he shared with this strange power caused him to smile, and Amy's presence made him as happy and joyous as he was last night, if not more. Nothing at all could ruin these moments, and he counted every second of this day as something to remember forever. He sat up and stole a look over at Amy who had come downstairs for something to drink. He stared at her for a few seconds, coming out of his daydream as he spoke up to her slowly and consciously.

"Um... Amy?"

"Yes, Shadow? What is it?"

"I just wanted to thank you for listening. That-... That made me feel better... heh, heh, inside and out–... in ways I can't explain. Thank you."

"No need for thanks. I was just happy you admitted it."

"I know," he sighed.

Amy put the magazine down, went over and kneeled beside him, rubbing his cheek with her hand.

"Please don't keep things bottled up inside of you for that long again, Shadow. It doesn't do either side any good... I don't like to see you upset."

"Mmm... I know you don't. But it was a... hard thing to admit..."

"I know it was. But at least you got it off of your chest, right?"

"Yes, I guess that really is the important thing here, huh? Thanks, Amy."

She smiled and pecked him quickly on the lips. His head became light and an electric rush went up his spine, and he fell on the arm of the couch, becoming lame, a goofy smile on his face.

"Don't mention it."

"I won't," he coughed out.

Amy smiled at him and brushed a finger along the split in white fur several times, causing the sensitive hedgehog to squirm and laugh. She left to go upstairs once more, leaving him with a kiss, until her love stopped her with a very surprising request.

"Amy? If you wouldn't mind, um... you wanna finish off this movie with me?"

In a matter of seconds, Amy found herself leaning against him, and in turn, Shadow had his head on top of hers, sighing lovingly and continuing to watch the action film in silence with her. As the minutes gradually wore on, Amy then noticed that Shadow actually began to seem remotely interested in what they were watching and was not only focusing on spending time with her, a very unfamiliar behavior for the hedgehog. Not one exhale of boredom escaped his mouth, and the only movement he performed was the slow rise and fall pattern of his abdomen as he breathed. She was a bit dumbfounded by this strange act. Maybe it was simply because he was relaxed. After all, he was still immobile for the next three weeks, so he might as well have endured watching the drama unfold on the screen for the last twenty minutes of the film, but that still didn't mean he didn't have to silently express his boredom to her. She took a discerning look upwards and sure enough, he was watching it with plenty of focused attention. Either that, or he was again deep in thought, but she doubted that that was the case. He had said himself that he felt much better "inside and out", right? She knew deep down that he was not worried anymore, and neither was she. They had no more reasons to worry anymore.

And it was then that Shadow the Hedgehog was truly starting to come around. For days on end, the two were destined to spend their time together like this: just simply hanging out. Shadow made the most of those quiet times by playing around with Amy during one of the slower scenes on the TV, usually by making some cruel, but hilarious joke about the "actors", or the classic "tap on the shoulder, deny it was you, then blame it on Casper" trick. It wasn't truly annoying to Amy, but she usually pretended it was, first by trying to ignore the persistent hedgehog until she sprung a surprise attack on him with the pillow. He would never fight back, but instead, fully take his punishment with laughter either until she stopped or, if he had really been brave that time and decided to irk her more than once, she would collapse on him, the sheer pressure from the pillow and her full weight suffocating him to death, but his pleas of escape would always fall on deaf ears. Luckily for him, everything was in good fun, or he probably would have to be laid out for another six weeks from the way Amy would attack him. She could be ruthless, even in play, but he could take it. In fact, he embraced it, as well as the complementary kiss he would receive for taking his punishment like a good boy.

As the hedgehog continued his transformation into that of an ordinary teenager, he had begun to think of something again that had always on his mind: walking. Shadow was tired of sitting around everyday, because not only was the entire situation extremely degrading to him, and would also give Sonic something fun to poke at for years to come, but he wanted to help out around the house with Amy. She always seemed so tired when she was done cleaning the entire house and cooking for him, and he couldn't do a thing except sit there and watch her. Although they both were accepting of the fact that he was injured and would be off of his feet for still awhile to come (they had no choice but to be) Shadow still found himself feeling slightly guilty over the fact that she was doing all of the work and not him. He really didn't like seeing her that tired during the mornings. It just wasn't her. He knew he probably shouldn't be making such a big deal about it, but the fact was that he needed to get around some. Little did Amy know that that was another thing bothering the hedgehog: the fact that he could not walk, or more importantly, go out and run. Running was practically the hedgehog's very life. Challenges, fights for survival, the wind in his face, especially that beautiful wind... when it picked up and hit him on the face, and played with his fur, and made it feel as though he could fly... he was longing for that sensation again so much that he felt his chest was going to erupt from the constant wishing and imploring his heart was transmitting. Well, he couldn't try it again now. She would make him stay still right on the spot, no matter how fit he was feeling at the moment. But from what he could recall, it had barely been four weeks, just a week over half the time he was recommended to lay still. He could probably use that as an excuse.

Well, it's always a bit of fun to try anyways, he thought.

One more attempt wouldn't hurt him, in the metaphorical sense, at least.

So, on one late evening, both of the hedgehogs found themselves so rested and that they had completely lost the ability to pay attention to anything anymore. Once again, as a consequence from enjoying the peace and quiet with her loved one, Amy plunged headfirst into wonderful slumber, and Shadow wasn't too for behind her. He closed his eyes and exhaled, nuzzling softly into her hair. The clean, lavender smell coming from off of her hair was so light and invigorating that he slowly ran his muzzle through the thick, gentle waves of her fur. A lax moan from Shadow hit Amy's ear, slowly waking her up, until some quiet whispers and a gentle rub on her arm sent her back into sleep, and Shadow continued to remain there with his princess, making sure she had fully slipped away and became less aware of things. As she continued to sleep, he pushed himself up, making things easier by folding his half of the comforter back over her shoulder so he wasn't held back as much. He stayed there for a few minutes, looking around at the darkened room, back at Amy, and mostly down at himself. No doubt he looked bad still, and he still felt as bad as he looked from time to time. But as they say, looks can be very deceiving...

Minutes passed like hours to Amy, who was still enjoying probably some of the best rest of her life, next to that with her first time on the couch with Shadow. She was so warm and at ease to the point that she did not dare move at all from her comfortable position from fear of waking up, not that she possessed the strength or conscious mind to do so. However, deep down, an impulsive feeling started to tell the hedgehog that something very important was not right, and as the realization of it continued to gradually come to life in her mind, the more she continued to wake out of her sleep as a bit of a unwanted side-effect. She came to with a light groan of inconvenience, looking ahead at her sullen, obscure surroundings and still unaware of the figure that was lurking around in the room...

She rested her head back against the edge of the armrest, eyelids falling, mind relaxing, and the overall quiet luring her back into sleep. The second before she closed her eyes, it was then that she truly realized something was wrong: It sounded as if Shadow was in pain. She could hear him, groaning and sighing, and his distress became all the more present as she lifted herself up off of the armrest and out of the covers, and sat up. As she was sitting there and listened to him, it sounded more like a nightmare than him being in any real pain, which was a huge relief to her. She yawned and stretched, reaching an arm around as she did this to console him.

"Don't worry, Shadow," she sighed, fumbling her hand behind her, "It's okay. It was just a-... dream?"

She turned her sights towards the back of the couch, only to find a warm pillow in place of where her Shadow was supposed to be. Her gasp of surprise that followed caused the groans of pain to stop, but not the figure's heavy breathing which brought her attention to the middle of the room where she could barely make out the imposing figure. The girl threw a look of confusion the figure's way and turned on the lamp on the nearby coffee table, only to reveal none other than Shadow the Hedgehog. He was simply standing there, fur damped with perspiration, his breathing labored, the bandages from his arms, legs, and waist hanging very loosely and unraveling. He seemed to be bearing a considerable amount of weight on his hurt leg, but the process of getting up and walking about in the first place had zapped him completely of his energy. He continued to stay there, out of breath and out of strength, but he did manage to say,

"Hi."

"Shadow! What are you doing up and around like that! And in the middle of the night! You scared the life outta me!"

He flinched and lowered his ears from her harsh scolding, but he knew very well he deserved whatever she could dish out.

"I'm sorry, Amy. But I did this because of you."

"Because of me?" She got off of the couch and approached him, latching onto his shoulders and looking him over, "Well, why?

"I've been thinking lately... this house is big. Bigger than normal houses, I suppose. Don't you ever want some help around this place?"

"Of course I do, but that's no reason to get up and around while you're still hurt and–"

"Amy, shh. I'm fine," he looked down at himself, "Well... as fine as I'll be in this shape, eh heh, heh... And after all, I betcha you're tired of catering to me day and night."

She lowered her head blushed slightly.

"Not at all."

"Huh, really? Not even in the tiniest bit? Even people that love each other get tired of each other sooner or later," he said, nuzzling his forehead on hers.

"Ha, ha nope. Not with you, Shadow. Never."

He smiled reassuringly.

"... Not even a little–?"

"Shadow!" She playfully hit his arm

"Ow, ow, okay, okay, okay! Just playing. But I still want to help you out around here."

"But Shadow, you can barely walk. I'm amazed that you're even up and about right now."

"I'll find some way to get around better. Hmmm," he sighed in deep thought as he came to a certain realization, "Can't believe I'm saying this, but maybe you can get that– that fox friend of yours to help me. Tails, that's his name."

"Maybe so, but still, you'll wear yourself out."

"Heh, I'm worn out now! Might as well get used to it."

"But Shadow, you're–"

"Shh... no more buts. I wanna help you out a little and you can't stop me from doing that. You deserve some help, even if it is from me."

The hedgehogs just chuckled.

"Besides... I'm sick and tired of sitting on that thing," he said, pointing to the couch.

"Well, you're gonna have to get back on it for now. It's past midnight. Time to go to bed."

"Aw..."

He just received another shove and was helped back on the couch, and Amy was surprised at how good he could walk so far. His limp was hidden better than she expected, and he didn't go as slow as she figured, although he was nowhere up to blinding speed either. Needless to say, he had a bit more time to go before he was truly fit, but maybe him moving around would have its good results too.

The couple went to sleep together again in high spirits, awaiting for the morning to arrive once more, and awaiting another chance to see what things a truly loving Shadow could be capable of showing.