-Shadow-

Sonic pulls me up onto the walkway, then reaches past me and drags the robot up, too, finally taking the weight off my legs. I didn't think we were going to make it... that's why I tried to make him let go of me. At least that way, one of us would survive.

"Sonic!" Tails cries, sounding incredibly relieved. Amy kneels by my side, checking I'm all right.

"I did it, Tails," Sonic answers. He did, when I didn't think he could. At the same time, Amy speaks.

"Shadow, are you all right?"

"I'm fine, thanks to Sonic," I tell her. Twisting around and sitting up, I reach down to try and loosen the robot's grip on my ankle. It's strong, but I should be able to get it off.

While I'm doing that, I find myself thinking about Sonic. What was he talking about when he said he wouldn't let me die again? When he thought I died after we Chaos Controlled the ARK? I wouldn't be here if I had, but for a while, everyone thought I did. Did it really matter that much to him? He never acted as if it did. I don't suppose I really gave him much of a chance, but even then...

One hand comes free, and I start on the other. It's a lot like my own left hand in many ways, strong, pointed metal fingers, a fairly sleek design. Looking at it reminds me of Sonic's occasional reactions to my own arm, as though it reminded him of something. I remember seeing him pause in the fight; that's how the robot managed to get him on the floor in the first place. Could it have been the same thing? I've seen him face robots a lot like this one before, though, and he never reacted like that then, at least not that I saw. So what is it?

I don't suppose I'm going to find out. For all that I'd begun to think of Sonic as a friend before all of this began, I never learned anything about his past. I don't know whether to ask him, either. I've learned more than enough about my own...

"Shadow?"

With a shock, I realise I've bent the robot's fingers backwards. Amy's looking at me, worried, even a little afraid. I push it away and stand up.

"I'm fine, Amy."

I'm not fine. After I landed, I was on the run, but I couldn't keep running forever. It seemed as if the entire world was against me, and by the time they caught me, I'd already lost almost all my faith in humanity. No matter what they did, they couldn't force me to be their weapon. After what they had done, I would never help them...

I catch myself rubbing my wrist, stop myself. If I think about it too much, I'm afraid I'll lose control the way I did earlier. Seeing Sonic on that screen, hurt and hopeless, brought it all back, that part of my past I had never remembered and wish I still didn't.

Something touches my shoulder, and I look up, right into Amy's eyes. Deep within them, I see that, somehow, she knows. She knows why I came here, why I did what I did. Somehow, she knows what happened to me. I see sorrow there, and understanding, a compassion that reminds me that not all people are the way I once thought they were. It was so long ago that she first told me that, reminding me what I had promised to Maria, giving me a chance to undo what I had almost done. Now my memories war with one another, compassion and friendship set against the darkness of my past.

Long ago, I made a promise... and I will keep that promise. There is good in this world, in its people, and I will fight to save them. Maria believed in me. Amy believes in me. Sonic saved my life just now, and would have died trying if it hadn't been for whoever fired that shot. Tails has done so much for me, trusts me absolutely after how long we have fought together. I will not let them down.

"Hey, Shadow, Amy! Time to get going!"

We both turn to look at Sonic. Whatever was bothering him before, it seems to be gone now. He hasn't changed at all from the person I knew years ago. I smile, just faintly, as I follow him, back through the broken wall and down the corridor we were headed for before. There's still good in this world, and it's worth fighting for. I made a promise, and I intend to keep it.