AN: Hello everyone! It's been a while since I last updated and I apologize I've been a bit busy. However, it is my birthday today so I decided since I have the day off I'd spoil you guys with another chapter in celebration! As always I must thank those that reviewed the last chapter CrimsonLove16, Guest, IvyRonin, Firegirl19, TessatheHedgehog, and Shadrougeforever! Now, please enjoy this next chapter, and remember to leave a review!

In the middle of the night, Amy thrashed in her bed violently as she experienced another all too terrible nightmare. Her head went back and forth against her pillow as she whimpered softly reliving a very horrendous memory of her ex-fiancé Zonic.

Arriving back to her new apartment, Amy dropped off her purse on the couch near the front door and kicked off her shoes. It had been two months since she had left Zonic and moved to a new apartment. She had just had a long day at work and was quite tired. Stretching her arms over her head, Amy wandered into her bedroom to get undressed and into some more comfortable lounge clothes. When she entered her bedroom, she was unaware of the fact that an unknown person creepily watched her get undressed in her own bedroom from the cracked closet door.

Amy reached into her pants pocket and took her cellphone out and placed it on the dresser. Then she took off her nurse scrubs and tossed them in the laundry basket remaining only in her bra and panties. She walked over to the dresser and rummaged around before pulling out some lounge pants and pulled them up her legs. She then opened up another drawer and pulled out a matching tank top and pulled it over her head. Walking past her closet, the door slowly opened and Zonic emerged from behind her. Quickly, he used one arm to grab her from behind and clenched it around her neck, dragging her flush against his chest while his free arm wielded a knife in front of her face. Amy immediately screamed and clenched onto the arm around her throat as he dragged her back towards her bed.

He roughly tossed her onto the bed before climbing on top of her. Amy went to scream again, but he clamped a hand over her mouth while holding the knife to her throat. "Uh-Ah," he tsked. "We don't want to worry the neighbors." Amy stared up at his cold jade eyes absolutely terrified as he straddled her. "Now, I don't want to hurt you. I'm just here to talk. Are you going to scream if I take my hand away?"

Amy shook her head to the best of her ability. Seeing she was complying with his demands; he removed his hand from her mouth. "How did you find my new place?" she asked.

"I followed you home from work, dummy. It's not that difficult," he growled.

She narrowed her brows at him. "Zonic, why are you here? What do you want?"

"I want you to end your lease and come back home with me," he demanded.

"We broke up. I made that very clear to you."

"You're delusional," he spat. "You need me, baby."

Amy eyed the knife still near her throat. "Can you please take that knife away and let me sit up?" Obliging with her commands, Zonic moved the weapon away and tucked it back into its sheath on his hip. Taking the opportunity, Amy sat up and discreetly glanced over to her dresser where her phone laid. If she could get the chance, she'd knock him out and call the police, but she'd had to wait for her moment. "Look, Zonic, I know breakups are hard, but you need to move on," she urged.

Zonic reached out and caressed her face with both his hands. "Babe, you know I never meant to hurt you. I made a mistake that day, I promise I'll never do it again."

She scoffed and turned her head out of his grasp. "I've heard that excuse too many times."

He glared at her. "You don't believe me?"

She glared at him. "No, now get off of me!"

He grabbed her by the throat with one of his hands making her gasp in startlement. "Now listen here, you little slut," he seethed angrily. "You don't talk to me like that, you understand?!"

Amy spat in his face making him release his hold on her and stumble back, giving her the opportunity to go for the phone. "Ack!" He wiped the spit from his face and eyes just as Amy grabbed a hold of the phone and darted out of her bedroom and into the living room towards her front door. He watched as she rushed out of the room and growled irately. "Oh, no you don't!"

Zonic managed to recover and sprinted after her leaping and landing on top of her from behind. The two landed on the carpeted floor with a thud and Zonic wrestled with her before eventually yanking her phone out of her tight clench and violently throwing it against one of the apartment walls making it shatter into pieces. Realizing her one hope of calling the authorities was now out the window, she could only think of one other option—scream.

"HELP! HELP M-" Amy began to scream, but Zonic rolled her over to her front and slapped her hard, mid-scream making her stop. Amy felt the searing and scorching sting blaze across her cheek like a hot iron against flesh and her eyes pricked with tears as she reeled from the assault.

He gripped her cheeks with one hand, forcing her to look at him. "You're weak and pathetic, Amy. Stop being stupid. You bring this on yourself," he reprimanded. Amy turned her head to look up at him and began trying to punch him in the face, but he merely moved his head avoiding every attempt. "What the hell are you doing?"

Tears streamed down her face, practically blinding her vision. "Get off of me, get out of my house!" she screamed. "Just leave me alone!"

Growing even more irate he lifted himself and brought up his right fist and punched her hard in the stomach winding her. Amy wheezed and began to feel dizzy and see the world go dark. She had never been hit so hard before where her lungs were deprived of air. "I told you not to scream. All I wanted to do was talk!" he argued.

As her world began to fade around her, she felt her pants slowly being pulled down. "…Stop," she wheezed. "Please…"

It was two in the morning and way later than he had thought. Heading back to his room after watching some TV downstairs, Shadow wandered upstairs now shirtless and in his long pajama pants. However, his ears perked as he picked up on the sound of someone in distress coming from one of the bedrooms. As he finally got to the top of the stairs, he was able to distinguish that the voice belonged to Amy and was coming from her bedroom.

Shadow cracked open her door and saw her moving her arms around in the air as if she was fighting off some invisible force. "No, no, no!" she was shouting violently in the process.

Shadow flicked the lights on and rushed over to her bed and placed a hand on her shoulder to wake her. "Doctor, wake up!" he urged shaking her softly.

Amy did not wake initially and instead began to shout even more. "No, no, stop it!" With her arms flailing about, Shadow leaned in closer and tried to move them down, but while doing so he got in the path with one of her waving arms and received a hard slap to the jaw making him grunt.

Just then, Amy's eyes shot open and she flung upright panting and looking around the room. Glancing to her right she spotted Shadow standing next to her bed and rubbing at the underneath of his chin. "Shadow," she panted, realizing what she had done. "I'm so sorry, I-I didn't know it was you," she stammered as tears pricked her eyes. She felt so embarrassed with him seeing her in this state; it only made her anxiety worse.

Shadow watched as she wiped at her eyes as tears began to stream down her cheeks. Frowning at her response, he knelt down and embraced her. "It's alright, you were having a nightmare, but it's over now," he assured.

She embraced him back, pulling at him to join her in bed. "It just, it felt so real," she sobbed.

Shadow sat down next to her in bed as he continued to embrace her. Amy hid her face against his chest as she continued to cry. Shadow held her with one arm while the other hand stroked the back of her head. "I know what you mean," he concurred. "Just take a few deep breaths," he coached. "Remember, this will pass."

Just then, Rouge and Knuckles appeared in front of Amy's opened bedroom door in their own pajamas. They had heard Amy's screams from down the hall and came to investigate. However, the moment the two looked into the room and spotted Shadow consoling Amy in her bed, both of their eyes nearly bugged out of their heads.

"Shadow?!" Rouge exclaimed in surprise.

Shadow remained calm and merely glanced at the couple gawking at the unusual scene. "I've got it taken care of," he simply replied.

"Yeah, but what happened?" Knuckles questioned looking at Amy's devastating state. She kept her face hidden, not wanting more people to see her weaker side.

"She had a nightmare," he explained.

Rouge took a step inside the room. "You sure you don't need us to-"

"—I said I've got it," he said a litter sharper this time making her halt in her tracks.

Rouge put her hands up defensively hearing his serious tone and took a step back. "Well, in that case, we'll go back to bed then. Night!" she waved before heading back down the hall. Knuckles took one last glance at the two before grabbing the door handle to Amy's room and closing the door shut.

Now alone again, Amy lifted her head from Shadow's chest. "…Thank you."

He smiled at her. "Of course."

"Do you mind getting me some tissues?"

Shadow released his hold and wandered over to her desk and brought back a box of tissues and handed them to her. He watched as Amy took a few and blotted up the tears and then blew her nose a couple of times. "Do you want to talk about your nightmare?"

She brought her knees to her chest. "It was just a bad memory about Zonic. I don't know why but I still can't believe that he's truly gone for good. It just doesn't seem possible."

"Well, he's gone now, so don't worry about him anymore."

She sniffled a bit. "You're right, I know I'm being irrational here, but I guess I never believed I'd be able to be free from his terror."

"It'll take some time, but eventually your mind will rest at ease and you'll be able to move past that monster," he promised. "Do you want me to stick around a little longer or do you need anything else?"

She shook her head and smiled at him. "No, I'm okay now, I should be able to get to sleep in a bit. Thanks again for coming to my rescue, Shadow. It was sweet of you."

He chuckled. "No problem." He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. "Now get some sleep, doctor. It's late."

Amy watched as he headed for her door and placed a hand to her cheek where he had kissed her. "You know, now that we're closer, you don't have to be so formal with the 'doctor' nickname. You need to come up with something new for me, especially since we've made out already," she chuckled.

Shadow stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her after thinking about it. He leaned his left shoulder against the door. "What about my other one, 'princess?'" he smirked.

Amy rolled her eyes at him. "No, that's your sardonic nickname for me."

He chuckled before thinking about it more seriously. "Alright, how about Rose, then?"

"Rose?" she repeated in thought. "I like that, it's pretty."

He reached for the door handle. "Rose it is then." With that, he opened up the door and stepped out into the hall before glancing in at her one last time. "Goodnight, Rose."

"Night, Shadow," she waved.

•~•

The next morning, Shadow and Amy were in the kitchen eating breakfast together. The two had cooked eggs, toast, and bacon and were now enjoying the fruits of their labor. Rouge wandered into the kitchen just as Amy finished laughing at something Shadow had said. The moment the white bat appeared in the kitchen entryway, the two ceased their conversation and stared at her in unison.

"Oh, morning, Rouge," Amy waved politely.

Rouge was still wearing her robe and clenched it shut as she looked at the two in speculation. "…Yeah, morning," she replied uneasily. "You okay today, Amy?"

Amy finished chewing another bite. "Yes, I'm much better this morning," she answered. "I just had a nightmare last night is all."

Rouge wandered over to the coffee pot. "Oh, I see. Glad to hear you're doing better."

Amy finished her plate of food and felt a strange silence overcome the room. She glanced at Shadow before moving out of her seat. "Well, I need to get to work. I'll see you guys around."

She went to take her plate to take to the sink, but Shadow stopped her. "I got it," he insisted.

Amy looked at him. "You sure?"

He nodded. "Yes, go on. I can clean up."

"Well, okay, thanks," she smiled before heading out of the kitchen.

Rouge finished pouring herself a cup of coffee as she eavesdropped on their conversation in curiosity. She had never seen Shadow be so nice towards Amy. She had been under the impression that Shadow still despised the girl. What had changed to make him act so nice towards her?

Once Amy was gone, Rouge turned around and leaned her back against the counter as she stirred her coffee with a spoon. She stared hard at Shadow as he continued to scarf down on his buttered toast. After a prolonged silence, Shadow lifted his head and stared back at the bat who kept a blank expression while continuing to stare at him.

Shadow shifted uncomfortably in his seat and swallowed his bite. "What?"

"It was you…wasn't it?" she finally pieced together.

Shadow rose from his seat and stacked both his and Amy's plates together. He could already feel an interrogation coming. He walked over to the garbage and scraped any remains off the plates into the bin. "What are you talking about, Rouge?" he asked calmly.

Rouge took a sip of her coffee and ambled over to the kitchen table. "The hickie I spotted on Amy's neck the day after the party. She tried to convince me it was a burn mark from a hair tool, but I knew she was lying."

Shadow remained composed and walked towards the sink and began to wash off the plates. "I have no clue what you are talking about."

Rouge scoffed at him. "Don't be ridiculous, Shadow. If it's not true, then what was up with you and Amy last night? It's so out of character for you especially when you claim to not like her!"

He turned around from the sink, pressing his back against the counter, and crossed his arms. "We're on better terms," he lied. "I can tolerate her for now."

"…Enough to fool around perhaps," another voice chimed in from the entryway.

The two glanced over only to spot Mephiles standing there looking smug in the know. Shadow grimaced at his older brother knowing his secret was out the window for sure now.

Rouge draped her arm on the back of her seat. "Spill it, Mephiles."

He tapped his fingertips together in delight. "Oh, how wonderful," he mused.

The darker hedgehog walked over and placed an arm as a leaning post on Shadow's shoulder. Shadow rolled his eyes at his brother's mockery. "My baby brother apparently has the hots for Ms. Rose," he chuckled.

Rouge cusped the sides of her face and gushed at the reveal. "Awww, Shadow!"

Shadow rolled his eyes. "For fuck's sake, Mephiles," he groaned. "I told you to not say anything."

"Technically I didn't. We've all had our suspicions," he reminded. "I just confirmed it is all."

"Shadow, I don't know why you wanted to keep this a secret. I always thought Amy was totally your type. That's what baffled me when you told me you didn't like her in the beginning."

Shadow moved past the two and headed out of the kitchen. "I've got to get to work," he grumbled.

Mephiles watched him retreat. "Where are you going?"

"To talk to Finitevus into loaning us some money so we can buy another stock of guns to sell," he replied.

"Well, make sure you get a good deal. Don't go soft!" he called.

•~•

Sitting on a table bench at a public park, Finitevus and some of his men waited for Shadow's arrival as he wished to speak business with him. At the park, children and their parents gathered in the jungle gym section. Children played in sandboxes, hung from the monkey bars, and climbed the rope fences and parents eagerly watched their children mingle with others. Parking his bike in the parking lot, Shadow shoved his hands into his pockets and sauntered into the park. The white echidna watched as Shadow approached the park bench table and took a seat across from him. "Nice to see you again, Shadow."

"Likewise," Shadow replied calmly, crossing his arms over the tabletop.

"What can I do for you then?"

"Our charter is in desperate need of money so we can pay for our next re-stock of the armory. We were hoping that we could ask you to loan us some money," he began.

Finitevus eyed the dark hedgehog in surprise. "I haven't even returned the rest of your stock back to you yet. You haven't already sold that lot to a bidder yet, have you?"

Shadow shook his head. "We have not, but we know we'll find a home and bid on that amount in no time. However, we are eager to put in our order but are short of money."

"Wouldn't it be smart to sell the half I have stashed before making another order?" Finitevus challenged.

"You'd think, but it'd only be half the amount," he explained. "Once we sell the last bit of arms, we'll only have half the amount—that's where you come in."

Finitevus crossed his arms over his chest. "I see and how much are we talking here exactly?"

"Thirty grand," he replied.

"When would you need the amount?" the white echidna questioned.

"By the end of this week," he answered.

"Well, the prostitution business has been booming lately." Finitevus stroked his chin as he contemplated the thought. "I can give you the money, but I'll have to charge a twenty percent interest, I'm afraid."

"Make it fifth teen and we have a deal," Shadow challenged.

"Eighteen," Finitevus rebutted.

"Sixteen percent," Shadow countered.

Finitevus outstretched his arm and Shadow placed his hand with his and the two shook on it. "Deal."

"Thanks."

Finitevus rose from his seat and Shadow mimicked his actions. "We're bringing in your stash later this afternoon by the way, so be on standby," he announced.

•~•

Later that afternoon, Shadow returned back home and wandered into the repair shop. In the back, Mephiles was in the accounting office on a phone call. However, the moment his brother appeared in the doorway Mephiles wrapped up his conversation quickly. Shadow waited in the doorway while Mephiles finished his phone call.

Mephiles sat at his desk holding his cellphone up to his ear. "Very well then. I'll send out Mighty, Knuckles, and Gadget to get the shipment to you tomorrow morning," he spoke. "Right, goodbye."

Shadow watched as his older brother hung up the phone and turned to look at him. "Any success with finding a loan?" he questioned.

"Of course," he stated arrogantly. "But who was just on the phone?"

"Oh, that was another client. I told him we have about thirty guns left and they said they're interested in buying. Speaking of which, Finitevus told me he'd get the shipment back to us by now…"

"He's bringing them later this afternoon," Shadow pointed.

"How do you know? He called you?"

"No, I met up with him just now," Shadow explained. "That's who I managed to get the loan from."

Mephiles rose from his seat. "What was the interest he charged."

"I was able to get us a sixteen percent interest versus the twenty percent he was trying to charge," Shadow answered.

Mephiles looked stoked. "Wonderful, Shadow! With the money we won from the match last night, the payment we'll get tomorrow morning from our client and the loan we're getting, we'll be sorted for our next shipment!"

Shadow smirked and nodded. "It's all business."

"We should all celebrate tonight," Mephiles encouraged. "How about the strip club? My treat," he grinned.

Shadow looked uninterested at the prospect. "Nah, I'll pass."

Mephiles scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Oh, yes, how could I forget. You've got the dear doctor on your mind. My mistake. Well, take the night off and have fun in other ways then," he suggested.

•~•

Shadow approached Amy's open office door and knocked on the side of the door to get her attention. She was busy re-stocking basic necessities in the drawers when she turned to see who had knocked. She smiled seeing Shadow leaning his arm against the doorframe. "Oh, Shadow, you're back already?"

"Yeah, it was just a quick business errand, but it's done now."

She finished shutting a drawer closed and dusted her hands off. "Well, what can I help you with?"

"I was wondering if you were busy tonight."

Amy crossed her arms over her chest. "No not at all, why do you ask?"

He ran a hand over his quills. "Well, I wanted to take you out—you know, on a proper date."

Amy's eyes lit up in excitement and a smile dazzled across her muzzle. "A date?" she repeated. "That'd be lovely. How should I dress for the occasion?"

"Casual and comfortable," he replied with a smile. "I'll pick you up at your room around…say seven?"

"Sure, I'll see you then," she smiled.

•~•

Later that evening, as stated, Shadow showed up at Amy's bedroom door at seven PM on the dot. Shadow decided to wear his black leather Brothers of Chaos jacket, a grey V-neck t-shirt, black jeans, and his grey Harley Davidson Axel motorcycle boots. He knocked three times and then took a step back as he waited. A few seconds later, Amy's bedroom door opened up and she stood in the doorway smiling up at the darker hedgehog.

Shadow smiled back and took a moment to check out her attire for the night. He had told her to dress casually, and she had obliged but she was still looking gorgeous. Amy decided to wear a red plaid open long sleeve shirt she had rolled up the sleeves to, a white cami tucked into denim blue shorts showing off her long pinked-toned legs, and some brown laced-up combat boots. She had also decided to play around with her hair-do tonight. Instead of keeping her hair down like she normally wore, she now had most of her quills up in a tight ponytail but left a few quills out to frame the sides of her face along with her bangs. She kept the makeup minimal and opted just for some lip gloss. Feeling the prolonged silence, Amy shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. "Uh, am I dressed inappropriately?" she asked meekly, feeling her cheeks go red.

Shadow came out of his daze and chuckled. "No, no you dressed perfectly," he insisted. "I was just checking you out is all. You look beautiful as always, Rose."

Amy chuckled lightly herself. "Thank you, Shadow, and you're looking as handsome as always."

Shadow offered her his bent right arm. "Shall we?"

Amy hooked her left arm with his right and the two descended the stairs together. When they got down to the bottom of the staircase. Amy glanced around the house. She peeked into the living room and glanced out one of the windows looking out into the front yard, while Shadow rummaged for his keys at the entryway table. She noticed it was awfully quiet in the house. "Hey, where is everyone else?"

Shadow picked up his keys and reached for the door handle. "Well, Mighty, Manic, and Mephiles went out to the strip club. Knuckles and Rouge are having their Friday date night, Gadget is in the shop working on some sort of proto-type, and Locke went to bed," he listed. "So, that just leaves you and me," he grinned.

The two walked down the steps of the front porch together and headed for the parked vehicles. Amy was surprised when Shadow led them over to a red pick-up truck instead. "We're not taking your bike tonight?"

"I thought I'd change it up a bit," he replied before opening up the passenger door for her.

"Thank you," Amy nodded appreciatively before climbing into the passenger seat. Shadow closed the door for her and walked over to the driver's side before climbing in.

While Amy was buckling her seatbelt, she glanced over to Shadow who was currently putting the key into the ignition. "So, are you going to tell me where you're taking me tonight or is this going to remain a surprise?"

"I'm going to keep it a surprise. Don't worry though, I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy yourself."

Shadow's car pulled out of the driveway and drove out of the compound and down the road. Meanwhile, a car's lights parked down the street turned on and the engine roared to life. The white car slowly began to follow after Shadow's pickup truck.

•~•

Once arriving to their destination, Shadow led Amy up a ramp leading to Twinkle Park. The place was bustling with excitement as the sound of laughter from children, screams of joy, thrills from the rides, and the buzzing sound of games filled the air. There were plenty of families, children, teens, and even other couples mingling about at different areas of the park.

"I never pictured you as a park type of guy," Amy stated as the two walked together.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "My dad used to take Mephiles and me here when we were kids. Are you hungry?"

Amy nodded and placed a hand to her stomach. "Starving, actually."

"What are you interested in grabbing to eat? Hamburgers, corndogs, pizza, wings?" he suggested.

Amy glanced around as they stopped at the main food plaza section of the park. She looked at the food options before her. "Hmmm, pizza sounds great if that's okay with you?"

"I was hoping you'd say that." He placed a hand behind her back gently, reminding her of the time he had done the same back in Tech City. She felt butterflies fill her stomach as he guided her inside.

Unbeknownst to the two, a figure loomed in the shadows next to one of the tents hosting a ring toss game. Shrouded jade eyes watched as Shadow and Amy got a booth in the restaurant together.

Inside the restaurant, Amy and Shadow ordered a large cheese pizza to split, a basket of garlic rolls, and two sodas. When the food arrived, the two dug in, but not while continuing to ask questions to get to know each other better. "So, what's your favorite color?" Amy inquired while lifting up another piece of pizza and placing it on her plate.

"Black," he replied after chewing a bite. "Yours?"

"Red or pink," she replied after swallowing a bite. "I just can't decide which is my favorite. Anyway, next question," she smirked playfully.

Shadow finished taking another bite and couldn't help but chuckle lowly at her mischievous expression. "Am I under investigation now?"

"Sort of," she giggled. "What made you want to be a part of the business you're currently in?"

Shadow used a napkin to wipe his mouth while he thought about the answer. "Well, my father started this M.C when I was just a boy. My brother and I just kind of just fell into it honestly," he answered with a shrug.

"Is it your passion?" Amy probed.

Shadow leaned back in his seat. "I'm not sure, but I know it's the only thing I know how to do," he answered honestly. To be frank, Shadow had never really questioned if he had liked the profession he had committed to, but Amy's questions were starting to get his gears going. "Well, actually, now that I think about it…"

"Go on," Amy encouraged before taking another bite of pizza.

"When I was with Maria, she never really approved of my involvement in the club. She was aware of the things I did, yet, she stuck by my side. At any rate, when we started to get more serious and discussed marriage and starting a family, that was the one time I considered abandoning this life and starting fresh with her."

"So, why didn't you go through with it?" Amy continued to question, becoming more curious. "I know you're quite skilled with other things like repairs. You could go into plenty of other jobs with your set of skills that don't involve—well, you know," she worded carefully.

Shadow chuckled to himself and shook his head. "You sound just like her right now, but to answer your question, the reason why I never left is because that's right around the time when she was killed…"

Amy's countenance deflated slightly seeing his expression dampen. "Oh, geez, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bring the mood down…"

"It's alright," he insisted. "When she died, I didn't really see the point in leaving the only people I knew and who had my back. So, I just kept doing what I've been doing and that's that."

Amy took a sip of her soda. "Do you think you'll stick with the club for the rest of your life?"

Shadow shrugged. "I'm not sure, we'll see where life takes me, but enough about me." He intertwined his fingers together and rested his chin on top of his hands. "I think it's time I start asking the questions," he smirked.

Amy lowered the pizza she had been munching on from her face and used a napkin to rub her mouth. "Okay, ask away."

"Do you see yourself moving on to an actual hospital to help good and sick people instead of us low lives?" he cracked.

"Well, in the future yes for sure, but that doesn't mean I'll abandon you guys. Right now, you and the club are all I have. You guys have been there for me and made me feel like a part of your family. I could never turn my back on you guys," she answered honestly.

Shadow reached out and laid a hand across hers resting on the tabletop. "You're a good doctor, Rose. I don't want to see your talents wasted placing band-aids on our paper cuts," he laughed.

"I appreciate your blessing, but I really don't mind," she smiled. "Becoming a doctor and helping people is my dream and passion. Now, I have one final question for you," she pointed.

"Alright, go ahead," he urged.

Amy reached for the basket of rolls and held them out. "Would you still make out with me later if I ate one of these garlic rolls?" she chuckled.

Shadow laughed at her question. "Hell yes, especially if we both have garlic breath. It makes it all the better." The two reached for a garlic roll and clinked them together in cheers before taking a bite of it.

After grabbing a bite to eat, Shadow and Amy went on the Ferris wheel together. As they reached the top in their basket together. The two of them looked up at the darkened night sky, observing the full moon out and the few bright stars that dotted the night sky. Sitting next to each other, they enjoyed each other's company in silence as they took in the beauty of the night. Amy flinched slightly when she felt Shadow's right arm snake behind her back and rest on her shoulders. She turned to look at him and noticed him smiling warmly towards her with a half-lidded gaze. Amy suddenly felt very bashful as he stared at her prolonged in silence with him so close in her vicinity. "What is it?" she laughed uncomfortably, moving one of her stray quills away from her face.

"It's nothing," he replied. "It's just…I like spending time alone with you."

Amy felt her cheeks heat up slightly from the compliment and smiled back at him. Amy inched in closer towards him and locked eye contact. "Shadow, I want to thank you…"

"For what?"

"For letting me get to know the real you. I know it must've been hard, but I feel grateful that I get the opportunity to learn more about you."

"And thank you for putting up with me for so long. You've got some patience, Rose. I'll give you that," he chuckled. "So…" he segued, moving in even closer. "You ever make out on a Ferris Wheel before?" he asked raising a suggestive brow towards her.

"Not that I can recall," she giggled.

He leaned in closer to her. "Then let's make that a first for you." Amy closed her eyes and felt his lips meet hers. She had always heard people claim to feel sparks or explosions when they kissed the right person, and right now, Shadow was ticking those boxes off. She couldn't quite explain why, but she felt her heart flutter in her chest when he kissed her. Their lips melded together perfectly. Slowly parting and opening their mouths as the kiss intensified, Shadow ran his tongue over her lips signaling for her to allow him entrance. Amy felt her body grow hot as her tongue gently explored the interior of her mouth, grazing her tongue. Amy wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her chest against his side, as she desperately tried to get closer to him.

The rest of the night was like a dream, Shadow and Amy cruised the park. They went on the bumper cars together, one of the wooden roller coasters, and did go-karting. Finishing off the evening, the two of them stopped at one of the carnival-like games when Amy spotted a unique-looking gimmicky carnival game prize dangling from one of the ceilings of the booth. Shadow saw that something had caught her eye as they walked, and he halted in his tracks. "What is it?"

"It's nothing," she waved off.

He looked to see where she had been staring and eyed a white stuffed rabbit wearing a flower crown. "You want that?" he asked, jutting his head in the direction of the toy.

"It's okay, Shadow. I was just looking," she shrugged.

Wanting to show off his skills in dominating carnival games, Shadow approached the stand. "Give me one minute."

"Hold on, you don't have to!" Amy followed him to the booth where a male purple armadillo waited behind the counter for customers in boredom.

"You interested in playing?" the worker questioned dully.

Shadow eyed the type of game he'd have to win in order to win a prize. It was one of those shooting games where you had to shoot the targets with a Bebe gun that'd pop up and disappear periodically. "I'm in," he concurred. "How much for that white rabbit dangling from the ceiling?" he questioned.

The armadillo glanced up. "Ten targets with eleven shots," he replied.

Shadow reached his hand into his pocket for his wallet. "How much?"

"Ten bucks, sir," he replied disinterestedly.

Shadow handed him over the money and was instructed to pick up one of the Ryder Model 1938 BB shotguns provided on the counter. The worker pressed a switch to activate the bullseye's targets. Shadow brought the gun up and closed one eye as he aligned his vision with his target. He kept his finger hovering over the trigger as he waited for his move. Amy stood off to the side watching on intently as Shadow collected himself before taking aim and firing. The moment his first target came into view, Shadow pulled the trigger. The target clinked as he hit the bullseye in the center, knocking it backward. With the next couple of moments, Shadow was able to hit each target without missing a beat.

CLINK. CLINK. CLINK. CLINK.

While Amy watched on excitedly but shifted uncomfortably when she suddenly felt a weird sensation—almost like a sixth sense. A figure wearing a shrouded red hoodie grazed directly behind her as he walked in the opposite direction. Amy turned to watch the figure as she got a whiff of their cologne—one that she was very familiar with. Feeling her hair rise on the back of her neck, she watched the individual disappear into a crowd before shaking off the heebie-jeebies and focusing on Shadow's game in front of her.

He had now managed to hit five targets on his already ten limits to win the prize. The armadillo leaned against his post not even looking impressed as he chewed on his bubble gum and blew a large pink bubble that burst along his muzzle just as Shadow shot his sixth target.

CLINK. CLINK. CLINK.

Amy smiled when Shadow hit his tenth and final shot. Shadow lowered the gun down and closed his eyes looking quite pleased with himself. "Hmph."

Amy hugged Shadow, proud of his achievement of winning the game. "Shadow, you won!"

"Easy," Shadow smirked and dropped his crossed arms.

The armadillo moved from his post and stood in front of the two again. "Congratulations, sir. You won," he stated in a clearly scripted monotone voice. "What do you want for your prize?"

Shadow eyed the rabbit with the flower crown. "The rabbit, right there," he pointed.

The armadillo sluggishly made his way over and reached for the rabbit and retrieved it before handing it over to Shadow. "Here you go, sir."

Shadow accepted the prize before turning and handing it over to Amy. "For you," he smiled.

Amy leaned up and kissed him on the cheek and accepted the precious stuffed white rabbit. "Thank you, Shadow. You're so sweet."

Next, the two passed a photo booth and Amy could not resist. It was just something the two had to do on their first date together. Amy dragged Shadow into the booth with her and placed the money in the slot before selecting all the settings. The screen began the countdown and the two got into a variety of poses together.

They made a few silly face poses, one of Amy sitting in Shadow's lap with her arms around his neck. One of them with Amy kissing Shadow's cheek, one of Shadow kissing Amy's cheek, and finally one of them kissing each other traditionally. The two came out of the booth to see the photos develop. Two slips came out each for them to cherish as a keepsake. "I love them!" Amy grinned. The two of them examined the photos together, laughing at their silliness and cuteness. Amy glanced up at Shadow as he cracked a smile and stifled another laugh. It was truly nice to start to see the REAL Shadow come out of his shell. She had always thought Shadow was serious, moody, apathetic, and rude, but his guard had truly dropped once he had admitted his true feelings for her.

Shadow smiled at her. "Are you enjoying yourself tonight, then?"

"Definitely," she confirmed.

The two passed a funhouse and Shadow looked intrigued. "Want to go through?" he asked.

Amy nodded. "Sure."

The two got in line together and eventually made it to the front of the line. The worker at the front of the line placed his hand up as Amy and Shadow both began to enter together. "Stop right there," he said, causing them to halt. "Only one person at a time. We don't like it to get too crowded in there."

Amy glanced up at Shadow who nodded understanding the circumstances before turning to address the worker. "Oh, okay."

With that stated, the worker allowed Amy to enter first. Amy glanced over her shoulder as she looked at Shadow waiting at the front of the line. "I'll meet you at the end of the funhouse," he waved.

Amy gave a weak smile and ventured into the funhouse on her own.

•~•

Back in town at the police station, Silver was in his office doing paperwork when Blaze entered his room. "Do you have a moment? It's urgent."

Silver finished writing some notes and lowered his pen seeing Blaze's serious expression and tone. "What is it, agent?"

She walked further into the room clutching onto a clipboard. "I just got off the phone with Agent Zonic's supervisor in Tech City. He informed me that Zonic never got off the train in Tech City nor did he report to his headquarters. He's gone AWOL."

"Shit…" Sensing the severity, Silver swiveled in his black chair and reached for the phone behind him, and began dialing.

•~•

At the boardwalk, Amy walked further into the funhouse. She passed a couple of distorted mirrors—one that made her look fat, one that made her look short, and finally one that made her look tall and thin. She chuckled at the images and continued to walk deeper into the funhouse. She walked through a hallway where clown faces popped out at her for jump scare effects which were quite amusing, but eventually, she stumbled across a mirror maze. Each wall on either side of her had a standard wall-length mirror. She looked at the plentiful reflections of herself and tried to figure the way out.

She stumbled with finding her directions a few times with bumping into walls with her own reflection but was starting to get the hang of it. However, everything came to a screeching halt when she rounded a corner only to spot the reflection of another figure come into view. Amy felt her heart sink into her stomach as she stared at the reflection of Zonic. She had felt like someone had been tailing the two, but she shoved her paranoia aside for the night.

Zonic did not utter a word and merely kept a hardened expression on her as he stared back at Amy. "You're not really here…" she told herself. Amy felt her fists tighten at her side; she hated the fact that his presence brought on fear. She couldn't allow him to have this power over her anymore. "Leave me alone!" she screamed before kicking her left heel into the mirror. The glass shattered and Amy kept walking, clutching her rabbit tightly to her chest as she continued to navigate the maze. Eventually, she came into another room but now was faced with multiple reflections of Zonic. She gasped and dropped her toy rabbit on the floor.

Zonic began to chuckle this time revealing that he was indeed a real entity and not a fabrication of her mind. "You'll never get rid of me, baby. You belong to me."

"I'm not your property, you sicko!" she shouted back, looking at the many reflections.

"Keep telling that to yourself," he chuckled darkly. "You're weak and you need someone like me to keep you safe."

"I don't need anyone to keep me safe. I can take care of myself!" Getting further irritated, Amy ran up to each mirror and destroyed it either with a kick or a punch. She was determined to locate the real Zonic and handle him herself.

With one of her punches to the mirror, Amy cried out and gasped as she slit open the tips of her knuckles. "Aaah!" she hissed. She no longer saw Zonic's reflection and finally spotted the exit to the crazy maze. She ran out holding her injured hand just when someone came up from behind and hit her in the back of the head. Her body lurched forward dropping onto her stomach completely unconscious.

Because the exit to the funhouse faced the parking lot, Zonic quickly scooped up her limp body and slung it over one shoulder, and rushed his way into the parking lot with her to escape.

Meanwhile, with Shadow, the dark striped hedgehog navigated the maze on his own and was enjoying the absurdity of it. He shook his head in annoyance at the clown that popped out of the wall, but he was surprised when he felt his phone ringing in his pocket. Rummaging his hand into his pocket he whipped out his cellphone and brought it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Shadow?" a male voice asked on the other end.

Shadow continued walking the maze as he recognized the voice all too well. "Deputy? Why are you calling?"

"It's about Amy and regarding her safety," he answered. "I just got the news that Agent Zonic never returned or turned himself into his unit back in Tech City. He's missing and could still possibly be in Mercia stalking her this very moment."

Shadow's eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

"Now, we don't know for sure if he's here. We have no evidence, but we'd have to assume he is since he's been adamant about keeping in close range to Amy. Now, is she with you at the moment, or is she out? I couldn't get ahold of her over the phone."

Shadow continued walking. "She's with me at the moment in Twinkle Park."

"Good," Silver sighed on his end. "Keep an eye on her and don't let her out of your sight. I don't want to startle her, but call me if you suspect Zonic might be near and I'll deal with him myself."

Shadow nodded. "Of course, deputy." With that, he hung up his phone.

However, things took a sharp turn when he came across the first shattered mirror Amy had destroyed. He bent down and looked at the shattered pieces of glass scattered across the floor before quickly moving on to the next room. However, it only became more concerning when he noticed ninety percent of the mirrors had been destroyed, and to make things worse, he spotted her white rabbit and fresh droplets of blood leading their way out to the exit.

His heart sank fearing the worse. He bent down and picked up the prize toy before looking around in the darkened room. "Rose?" he called rushing towards the exit door. When he bolted outside, he looked in both directions but did not see her. "ROSE!" he shouted louder hoping to hear her call for him.

When he got no response and saw no trace of her, he began to panic. "Shit, shit, shit…" he cursed.