STH © SEGA

Sarah and Samwell © Cozy Shadow

More drastic changes. But they're for the better and they ARE better! :D

Chapter Four:

Should've Been There

Everything was silent in the truck as they headed home.

Shadow contemplated on answering her question or not. The thought of Samwell breaking and entering now, all for the lovely Amy Rose, brought Shadow on edge.

It didn't make what happened at the store any different. Or the grocery store after that. Amy had walked in, bought the brownie mix and some extra clothes after she promised to pay Shadow back, and then they had left.

The girl deserved to know, Shadow figured in the end of thinking about it all.

She'd been a part of the Sonic Heroes, even having her own team. But…what had gone down a while back with Scourge and Samwell didn't have anything to do with her. She hadn't been there.

Still…He knew in the back of his head that if he didn't just tell her now, she'd ask in the future or go to Sonic for answers. Sighing, Shadow gripped the wheel tighter.

"Samwell Turner is, in short, accomplices with Scourge."

His voice, again, surprised her.

Amy never knew when he would speak because he solemn ever did. It never ceased to amaze her that he was actually communicating with her. He was normally a lone-wolf of some sorts.

"Scourge?"

"He survived the Mobius destruction ten years ago…" Shadow mumbled. "The group split—what, eight years ago?" he glanced at her, and when she nodded, he continued. "So we've been here for ten years. I have no clue what he was doing then, but I have a hunch that he and Sonic got into a fight after we split."

"Why do you say that?"

Shadow glanced at her, "Because Scourge lives in the same town as us."

Amy widened her eyes. "W…What?" She wasn't too keen on staying with Shadow anymore.

"You know how there are three small…towns, villages, whatever you want to call them, that make up where we live, correct?"

"I may have noticed the signs."

"Alright," Shadow inhaled sharply. This would take longer to explain than he had anticipated. "We live in Sawyer—we're the only one of the small towns that doesn't have a local store. We used to, but not anymore. Then, if you travel east, there's Lenore—which makes up some farming, but mostly houses in that small couple of acres across the fire station, remember?"

Amy vaguely remembered seeing the main Lenore building and the road that turned with a house across from it—there were other houses in the back, but not many. They were sort of crowded together. Then on the right hand side of the main road was the occasional house or field, but there had been a fire station, gas station, and then the bank. Across the bank was the bar and café. Over the bridge of the irrigation canal that ran empty were trailer houses behind a closed café that was more or less a workshop now for the person who owned it.

Fields remained on the left side of the road and houses on the right with two large fields separating some of the housing. Then another sign, which Amy couldn't think of, had been seen.

"Elkridge. It's where Sarah works at. The school is in Elkridge, Sonic works at Tractor Sales, which is in Elkridge. Lenore has a grocery store, but it's actually in Elkridge rather than in Lenore. There was simply no room. They basically renovated the old grocery store and renamed it 'Lenore Market.' It's across from the fairgrounds."

"Right, I remember now," Amy nodded. "So…all the kids in the three towns go to Elkridge?"

"Even farther. There's a smaller, farming community out a ways called Gillet. Those kids have to come out here after fourth grade. Then there's one even farther towards the west, in the desert. Their small town has only a little school to fourth grade also. It's about a thirty minute to forty-five minute drive depending on the animal crossings and weather conditions."

"And Scourge lives somewhere near here?" Amy questioned. "And you think Sonic somehow attracted him to live here?"

"Yes." Shadow bit his bottom lip at all the sudden questions, but reminded himself that she was new and lived there for not even twenty-four hours yet. "Look, Tails found this place a long while back and moved here because it was a nice, quiet place and they were hiring for a crop-duster pilot. He took the job while working for the United States Army—designing machinery and whatnot. Sonic, of course, would stay in contact with him for as long as he could.

"Tails caught wind of me looking for a place and suggested a house out in the middle of nowhere in a farming community. I wasn't going back to the city anytime soon so I took up on the offer and I've been farming the land for four years. Sonic, at the time, was living in the motel in Lenore, right outside the housing departments where Scourge lives. Tails was off to D.C. for a meeting with some fancy government people—I was asked to watch his dog—and the motel shut down completely, kicking Sonic out."

Amy stared ahead at the road. "So…Scourge lives in Lenore. Tails works for the government. You've only lived here for four years. And Sonic was actually kicked out of a place?"

"Apparently, the owners felt bad for kicking Sonic out. But he came to my house instead since he knew Tails was out for the rest of the week. I only planned for him to stay one night, but the rest of the week wore on and Sonic decided he would rather work on the farm for me than work in Tails' dusty workshop. So, to pay for the food, Sonic got a job at Tractor Sales. It was the only place hiring. I decided to work there too just to pay the bills."

"Why don't you work there now, then?" Amy inquired. "If you quit, shouldn't you be in debt?"

Shadow shook his head. "I quit when Sarah moved in. At first, I thought she would keep her paycheck to herself. Sonic still paid for food while I paid for the electricity and water bill. I also have farm equipment to write off and the cattle to keep track of. I make some extra money helping out the Wilson's—a big, rich family in Sawyer."

"So…Sarah pitched in?"

"Surprisingly. When she moved in, I tried to kick her out," Shadow snorted at the memory. "Sonic promised to pay rent for her too. Turns out, she was the only one of us with any college education and an actual high paying job. Now, she helps pay for the food, her rent, and parts of the electricity bill since she uses the most electricity." Shadow waved everything off suddenly. "But that's not why I'm explaining all this."

"Scourge."

"Correct. Scourge lives in Lenore and I assume Sonic brought him here with some sort of argument. That and Scourge simply loves to make Sonic's life a living hell—more than I do. Somehow, someway, Scourge and Samwell met. Samwell had his own followers, and even though I don't know of any crimes he might've committed, all I know is that he's bad news."

"How so?" Amy whined. "Just get to the point. Even I know you don't like talking this much."

Shadow raised an eyebrow at her. She had a point. He used his turn signal before using the deceleration lane to get out of the highway. As soon as he turned on the road that would lead them closer to home, he continued talking, "Look, there's no proof to this, but Scourge and Sam burnt down fields and fields of crops one summer. They burnt down barns and even an old house that had no one living in it."

"They didn't get caught?"

"No. But Sonic and I know they did it. The police wouldn't listen to us. Even if we did save Earth from being destroyed like Mobius, the police still need evidence—not someone's word."

"So, how do you know it was Scourge and Sam that did it?" Amy crossed her right leg over her left and leaned closer to him.

"We had suspicions. Not only was it weird that fields were being burnt, everyone knew it was being done on purpose. Cattle was slaughtered, barns were ruined, and families were left to sell most of what they had because they couldn't make a living off of burnt land for a long while and there aren't good paying jobs out here.

"So, Sonic had Tails put up cameras in the barn. I offered to sleep in the barn, so Tails gave me this communicator that I wore around my neck. It looked like a dog tag and if anything bad happened, I could signal a warning at the house that beeped with a push of a button.

"I'm a light sleeper, so I easily heard the footsteps. I just didn't expect Scourge to be with anyone. I didn't know Samwell at the time and neither did Sonic. No one did. It still didn't stop me from fighting back though. I managed to knock Sam out quickly, but Scourge was yielding a metal hammer that had been propped up against one of the oil cans."

Amy winced. "What happened?"

"I barely took out Sam after engaging into a fight with them…and then I heard a crack and felt the pain. The metal hammer broke my fibula. Sonic was over in a matter of seconds, of course. I crumpled to the ground, dizzy and unable to stand, while Sonic fought Scourge."

"So…How could you two have not captured them?"

"Sam became conscious quickly after," Shadow continued. "Sarah arrived in the truck. We knew it would come down to getting me to the hospital, an hour away, or to stay and wait for the police." He shook his head softly. "I managed to hang onto Sarah long enough to make it to the truck. Sonic called the police and Sarah got me to the hospital while he held off Scourge and Sam."

"So how come Scourge and Sam didn't go to jail?"

"The police saw no evidence of them about to burn anything down. They were trespassing, yes, but that only got them in jail for a few months, mostly due to other crimes on their list. Scourge was bailed out instantly, as was Sam. They haven't returned since."

"And you?" Amy whispered. "What happened to you?"

Shadow shrugged and leaned against the wheel. "I obviously healed. The crutches weren't fun, but it wasn't like I was on my death bed."

"But you were hurt," Amy sadly spoke, "And no one told me. No one told anyone, did they?"

"I didn't think it was important," Shadow gruffly responded. "The past is the past, Amy. We separated—split ways—went on to live our own lives. I wasn't about to call up Rouge and tell her I'd broken my leg."

"But it was Scourge who did it. Having him back in the picture makes this entirely different!" Amy argued and turned to face him. "You should've said something! I should've been there!"

Shadow watched with a raised eyebrow. "You are an odd female…You care too much about others."

"If it was a random stranger, I wouldn't care," she retorted and crossed her arms against her chest. "But you were my friend, Shadow. I still knew you."

"Not well enough to send a 'Get Well' card," Shadow sneered. "Don't worry, I got plenty of those," he sarcastically spoke as he continued to stare at the road ahead. "I'm not asking for sympathy, Amy. I'm not trying to make you feel guilty for not being there. Trust me when I say this," he glanced at her with a hard expression, "I didn't need you there. Not you. Not Sonic. Not even Rouge."

Amy slumped down in her seat. "We fought alongside each other, Shadow. Don't act like that doesn't affect our relationship."

"We have no relationship," Shadow corrected. "I barely even remembered your name when I picked you up from the airport."

"Still, I should've been there—"

"Stop!" Shadow growled loudly at her, causing her to flinch and cower back. "You wanted to know about Scourge and Sam, well now you know. But there is nothing you could've done at the time to make me feel better. You are not God. The world does not revolve around you." Shadow glared, not caring if those were tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "Most importantly, I do not need you to care for me like I'm some sort of sick child!"

Amy bit her lip and turned to look out the window. She closed her eyes tightly as awkward silence filled the air.

You will not cry, Amy. You will not cry.

At least not in front of him.

She reached for the brownie mix quietly as she sniffled.

They'd been home for about an hour, and the moment Shadow had left for the barn and Amy had gone inside, she had let the tears slide through. The car ride played over and over in her head and she just wanted to forget about it.

Why does he have to be so stubborn?

Blurry vision didn't help with baking, she realized.

Wiping her eyes, Amy exhaled shakily before opening the box and staring at the directions of another box in front of her. Brownie mix in boxes littered the counter after her short trip to the grocery store. Her extra clothes were still in the bag until she could find the hamper or at least the washer and dryer.

I can't even wonder how Rouge put up with him after all these years.

Ironically, Amy actually talked to the bat on a monthly basis. She felt guilty not speaking to Cream, but she had lost touch with the now-sixteen-year-old. Amy only kept in touch with Rouge and Silver, meaning also Knuckles and Blaze.

Silver was the first she had kept in touch with.

Together, the two lived in New York after the team split up. They dated for a very short time until mutually breaking it off. Amy had agreed with him: they were better as best friends than lovers. Plus, when Blaze came into the picture, Amy got to squeal in delight when the two started dating.

Silver and Blaze…They are the perfect couple. Everything seems to be going just right for them. Sure, Silver travels a lot thanks to his job, but Blaze always sends me photos. They should be getting back from Europe soon.

And then there was Rouge.

Amy hadn't kept in touch with her, actually. Rouge had reached out to Amy.

It was rather odd to suddenly hear the ivory bat over the phone. She never imagined in a million years that Rouge would call her, but she did.

Unfortunately, it wasn't to be tormented or to chat. Rouge had called her for help. She hadn't felt comfortable with talking to Vanilla. When Amy finally got the time to ask her why she needed help, the older female had completely broken down and started to cry.

Amy caught the next flight to Florida—where the bat was currently residing—after the phone call several years ago.

Rouge had been raped, which seemed odd to Amy. She never thought the female would allow for that thing to happen, but Rouge had put up a fight until she was forced to inhale a chemical that knocked her out. The Mobian responsible had been caught and executed for his many, similar crimes.

The only good thing to come out of it was Rouge's twins.

They were bats like her and had her eyes. But their black fur resembled that of their father—who had been a hedgehog with a darker set of blue eyes. Rouge recalled the male stalking her for several nights before finally jumping her. She hadn't suspected it to happen before it finally did.

"I'd take it back if I could, Amy. But I wouldn't have Dex and Derrick."

The five-year-old boys were her life, besides Knuckles. Rouge, of course, had kept in touch with the red echidna and had called him prior to calling Amy. The two met up with Rouge and helped her through the nine month wait. Amy had to Skype them most of the time as her work at a magazine corporation made her stay in New York.

But Knuckles stayed by Rouge's side faithfully.

The two ended up dating five months in. When the twins were born, Knuckles agreed to staying home and watching them while Rouge continued with her work as a journalist. At first, the bat wasn't sure, but came to trust the knucklehead with the children that had easily became his.

I find it cute that Knuckles is a good father to them. They don't even question it.

Amy sniffled one last time as she mixed the brownie mix.

"What are you thinking about?"

The voice got her off guard. She twisted around quickly and stared with wide eyes at Sonic. "You scared me, Sonic…"

"My apologies," he put his hands up with a slight smile before frowning at her. "Your eyes are red…"

Amy glanced away and looked down, trying to forget the reason why she had been shedding those tears in the first place. Her cheeks were still tear-stained; she could feel the dried water on her muzzle. She wiped her cheek, getting mix on it in the process.

"Hey…" Sonic whispered softly, tilting her chin up and wiping away the mixture. "Have you been…crying?" he tilted his head—a careful, calculating look in his gaze.

"Just…Just a little," Amy tugged at her shirt sleeve while she hugged herself.

She didn't meet Sonic's eye contact anymore, but she felt the sudden anger in the room. The blue hedgehog's chest rumbled with a low growl. "What'd he do?" he whispered ominously.

"What?" Amy glanced up, noticing Sonic's harsh look but ignoring it altogether, "Nothing."

"Don't lie to me, Amy," Sonic hissed as his eyebrows narrowed. "What the hell did Shadow do to you?"

"Nothing, Sonic," Amy reassured and turned back to the brownie mix. "I was just…thinking about something that was sad."

"Yeah, sure," Sonic responded as he walked around her. "How about I go ask Shadow?"

"It was just a stupid fight!" Amy turned around, smacking the wooden spoon against the counter. Her eyes teared up and she bit her lip while looking away. "It wasn't even a fight…Just…hurtful words."

"That son of a—"

"I'm being over-emotional," Amy quickly waved him off, twisting around to face him again. "Honestly, Sonic, don't think too much on it. You know how emotional I can get." She went back to the brownies that had yet to be made.

"Amy, that gives him no right to say anything bad about you."

"I'm not exactly on best terms with him right now, Sonic," the pink female answered, hurriedly mixing with the wooden spoon. "I came into his house uninvited, he obviously hates me, and—"

Amy stopped and threw the wooden spoon, making it hit the toaster. She held herself up against the counter with her hands as she sobbed. Her quills surrounded her and hid her from Sonic's view, but her cries still erupted through the room.

The door that connected to the garage opened and Shadow quietly walked through. He stopped upon hearing crying from a female. It didn't sound like Sarah. That could only mean…Oh, no…

He winced as he turned the corner and was met with Sonic's unforgiving glare. Amy's shaking form was up against the counter along with a mess of brownie mix in a bowl and a wooden spoon on top of the toaster.

Shadow took hesitant steps towards Sonic.

The blue hedgehog was quivering as he glowered at Shadow like never before. Truth be told, Shadow had never been intimidated by Sonic, but this time…He was sort of intimidated.

As soon as the ebony male made it around Sonic, he turned to Amy and sighed. Her ears twitched towards him and she froze. Walking towards her with heavy feet, Shadow touched her shoulder softly. "A—"

"No, forget it!" Amy threw up her arms dramatically and whipped around, smacking Shadow across the cheek, "You! You are rude and arrogant! Your words were totally uncalled for!"

His quills shook in annoyance, but mainly because the female had dared to slap him. Shadow gritted his teeth and snarled lowly, ignoring Sonic's in response. He easily gripped her wrist and leaned closer, "Don't ever do that again. You are under my roof now. I don't care if you think I'm the rudest person on Earth, you will listen to me and you will follow my rules. That or you can pack whatever you have left of your first attempt to live and be on your merry way to have a go at round two."

Amy gasped while Sonic's growl deepened.

"Shadow…" the blue male snapped. "Back off."

"You're not in charge here!" Shadow hissed at him.

Immediately, Sonic had him rammed up against the wall. Shadow snarled and clawed at Sonic's back. Sonic was quick to throw punches while Shadow tried to dodge. Amy whimpered and backed away, trying to get away from the fighting males.

Shadow watched as Sonic backed up.

He took the moment to ram into Sonic's stomach. The blue hedgehog took a hold of Shadow by his quills before swinging him around and roughly throwing him into Amy. He stopped, huffing in exhaustion as he watched.

Shadow smacked into Amy and groaned. Her arms kept him upright as she helped him stand.

"Are you two crazy?" Amy breathed out heavily as she stepped between the two. "This…" she shook her head before grimacing. "Forget it. I'm not going to live with Mr. Asshole of the Year. Tomorrow morning, I'm leaving."

"Wait, Amy," Sonic called for her but she left the kitchen too quickly. He turned to glare at Shadow, "You happy now?"

"Yes, actually."

Sonic gritted his teeth—trying to keep from snapping again. "Why don't you just give her shot, Shadow? You let me have a chance and even Sarah. What's so bad about Amy having a go at this type of life, huh?"

He couldn't answer that. He didn't know. Shadow frowned and backed away, snorting at the male. "She can do as she pleases. But if she lives under this roof, she listens to me. Understood?"

Not allowing Sonic to respond, Shadow walked out through the garage door. Sonic stared softly at the ground before heading toward the living room, where Amy was undoubtedly "packing."

"Ames?"

The pink hedgehog had her purse and one suitcase pushed to the rocking chair in the living room. She glared at nothing in particular and ignored Sonic.

Said hedgehog sighed and walked past her, towards him room. He wasn't going to make Amy stay if she wasn't comfortable with it. But still…

He stopped short at his door and glanced at her. "There's a way to break his shell, Ames. Trust me. You just have to find it. Give him a chance and he'll do the same for you."

Sonic left without another look.

Amy stared over her shoulder at the closed door before exhaling heavily and slumping down in the couch. Staring at the ceiling, she thought about the preheated oven.

I still have to cook those brownies…Damn it.

The house smelt of chocolate, which Sarah didn't mind, as she walked through the door and set her keys down in the bowl on the stand beside the couch.

She walked towards the kitchen and leaned against the wall, smirking at the pink hedgehog that looked rather tired. She was sitting at the counter with a cup at the end of her fingers.

"So…I take it you're Amy."

Amy glanced up in surprise and stared at a lime green hedgehog with wavy quills to her shoulders. "You must be Sarah…"

"Yeah," the brown-eyed female walked over to her and sat beside her. "I heard it might be your last day here."

Amy furrowed her eyebrows at the table, mentally cursing Sonic for saying anything. "Yeah…"

"And it hasn't even been twenty-four hours."

"So?"

"I must be mistaken," Sarah stood up suddenly with her hands on her hips. "But Sonic said you were…cheery. This doesn't look cheery."

"It's a little difficult to do when you live with an asshole," Amy snapped.

Sarah scowled. "Hey, don't take it out on me. Shadow's a jerk by heart. He doesn't communicate as well as the rest of us. He says things he shouldn't. He and I are both a little too honest for our own good. That's what made it easy to get along with him whenever Sonic was gone."

"How in the world can you live with him?!" Amy growled, gripping her quills. "He's—UGH!"

"Easy. I like my solitude and he likes his." Sarah sat down again and held Amy's wrist. She was met with green eyes. "Look. Either you leave him alone, like I did, and he won't mind you as much anymore, or you get under his skin like Sonic."

"I'm already getting under his skin…"

"No time to pout," Sarah scoffed. "I get by because I can take whatever Shadow says. Sonic gets by because he and Shadow have been rivals for years—they're always talking smack about each other. You have to find what makes you able to endure his behavior long enough without throwing a machete at his head if you want to live here."

Amy let out a light laugh. "How in the world am I supposed to do that?" She shrugged at the girl she barely knew. "You seem like a straight-forward person. Sonic's so used to Shadow and trash talking; the two go hand in hand."

Sarah crossed her legs. "I am straight-forward. But I'm also more stubborn than Shadow. So is Sonic, though Shadow will never admit either of those things. A major thing to understand if you live here is that you've got to be more stubborn than him."

"I have to live under his rules, too," Amy mocked Shadow's words from before with an eye-roll.

"You do." Sarah ignored the slight upset Amy she got as a reaction. "It's his house, Amy. From the very beginning, it was his. It's only right to go by his rules. Besides, it goes by a lot smoother that way." She stood up and stared at the counter, where the brownies were.

She grinned softly. "Thank you for making these."

"Shadow's idea…" Amy grumbled, plucking away at the table for no reason.

Sarah glanced over at Amy and frowned. She offered the pink flower a reassuring smile. "Look, just ignore him for now. Do what he says, help him with the farm, but other than that—don't spend any more time than necessary with him. He'll get used to you eventually. I reckon it's the change in pace that's thrown him off. He gets moody when that happens." Sarah rolled her eyes and walked out of the kitchen without another word.

Amy watched her leave with the words playing through her mind. Maybe she did just need to give Shadow space and time to figure out that she was staying longer than he probably wanted.

Sarah, on the other hand, immediately frowned upon opening her bedroom door.

Sonic stood, tapping his foot with his arms folded across his chest. "You weren't supposed to tell her to stay away from him!"

"Eavesdropper," Sarah muttered as she walked to a drawer and grabbed sweats and a large t-shirt. "Look, I'm taking a shower. You can play love doctor by yourself. I personally don't see them together," Sarah stated.

"I'll make you eat those words!" Sonic playfully yelled. He couldn't help but grin after his girlfriend left to the bathroom just across the hall.

There was still a chance that Amy would be staying.