The next day, when roll call came around at the 56th Sector station of the ECPD, Major Isaiah Tompkins – a green gecko – had a special announcement to make.

"As you all know, we have multiple serious problems on our hands," said Tompkins. "Aside from the unrest over the shooting of Ferdinand Rozmiarek, we also have to deal with a potential vigilante. I've appointed Detective Sergeant Stauerbach as the head of our special Vigilante Task Force. Stauerbach, you have the floor."

Stauerbach took the podium next to Tompkins.

"Thank you, sir," said Stauerbach. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have to start somewhere, so we might as well start with what we know. Ballistics has matched up the bullets to a Smith & Wesson Model 29. The bullets themselves are where things get interesting: on each one, we found traces of cadmium and – perhaps more importantly – plutonium cyanide. The latter is very dangerous stuff, so if ya come in contact with it, please report to the decon showers ASAP and get some potassium iodide. The last thing we need is anybody dyin' on the job from this poison. We're not sure of where the suspect lives or even if they live in the city, given the geographic spread of the killings. However, I am confident that if you all do your jobs, we can catch this vigilante soon and show them the error of their ways. Any questions?"

"Oh my god!" said one officer.

"Who said that?"

Nobody answered.

"Well, whoever said it, you're right on the money," said Stauerbach. "By God and Country, this won't be easy, but if the spirit of inter-Sector cooperation holds true, this case will be closed in our favor! Thank you."

The morning at Rouge's mansion proceeded as most – if not all – other mornings would proceed.

"So Hope, did you and Shadow have fun yesterday?" asked Rouge.

Hope swallowed the piece of bacon she was eating. "We did! Shadow and I played video games down in the game room yesterday. I didn't think I'd be that good against him, but I was surprised!"

Shadow put down his fork. "I'll thank you not to mention my humiliating defeats."

"SHADOW, YOU SHOULD LEARN TO BETTER YOUR SPORTSMANSHIP," said Omega. "MY DATABANKS INDICATE THAT POOR SPORTSMANSHIP IS DETRIMENTAL TO SOCIAL, MENTAL AND EVEN PHYSICAL HEALTH."

"Omega's right, you know," said Rouge. "You can't win at your favorite video games all the time!"

"Although I will admit," said Shadow, "I was grateful for her company."

"Awww…that's very nice of you, Shadow!" said Hope.

"Thank you."

"You know, I think this deserves another hug!"

Hope got up from her seat, as did Shadow, and they hugged each other. Rouge smiled when she saw this.

"Awww…you two look so cute together!" said Rouge. "You're not in love, are you?"

"Rouge, can it," said Shadow.

"Now now, Shadow," said Hope. "We're not quite at that point, but I think he's a really nice guy!"

"Yeah, he's something else, isn't he?" said Rouge.

Shadow blushed at Rouge's comment. Eventually, him and Hope let go of each other and returned to their seats.

"Shaddy, before I leave, I want to tell you something…" said Rouge.

"Yes?"

"Sonic called me last night and asked if he could come over and host a little party in the ballroom. Since you and Hope seem to have been taking well to each other, I figured it could be a good thing for both of you, so I said 'yes'."

Shadow stared at Rouge.

"Ordinarily, I wouldn't dream of letting him come here," said Shadow. "However, since I've been in a mostly good mood since Soleanna, I'll allow him over."

"Great!" said Hope. "I can't wait to meet Sonic the Hedgehog! I heard he's supposed to be a legend!"

"He is indeed well-known throughout the world. However, we haven't really gotten along."

"Why not?"

"When I first met your uncle, he sent me to retrieve the Chaos Emeralds. However, this had an unintended consequence in that the forces of G.U.N. mistook Sonic for me and had him arrested. Since then, I've tried my hardest to live down repeatedly being called "Faker" by him, but he doesn't seem to want me to. Actually, ever since the Soleanna incident, my opinion of him has gotten better. Truth be told…"

Shadow beckoned Hope over, and she knelt down so he could whisper to her.

"…I sort of have a crush on him. Don't tell him I said this."

Hope laughed, causing Shadow to cross his arms.

"What's so funny about that?"

"I'm sorry!" said Hope. "I just think that's really cute!"

"I must apologize, too. If you were intent on…you know…I hope that didn't ruin it."

"Not at all! I wouldn't mind going out with someone who's bi!"

Shadow blushed. "No, it's not like that!"

Hope laughed again. "Oh Shadow, you're too funny!"

"Let me guess, Shaddy told you how he really feels about Sonic?" said Rouge.

"No I didn't!" said Shadow.

"THE TONE OF YOUR VOICE AND THE COLOR IN YOUR FACE INDICATE OTHERWISE," said Omega. "LYING IS USELESS."

Shadow growled and returned to his seat.

When it was time for Rouge and Hope to go to work, Shadow went up to his room rather than going to the spa. He sat down at a wooden office-style desk, opened a drawer, pulled out a piece of paper, grabbed another BiC pen and started writing.

"Dear Sonic: By the time you get this letter, one of us will probably be dead. Sometimes, I wished I could've said what I'm about to say to you in person, but it's probably better if you get it this way.

First of all, I wanted to say that I've forgiven you for all those times you called me 'Faker' and all the other random nonsense you've pulled against me. Having been through some serious crap involving Black Doom and Mephiles, I've come to realize what is really important in this world. I don't care what the world governments or anybody else think, the world needs you more than you could ever realize. I hope you meet a very beautiful woman and end up having children with her so that you'll have a worthy successor to carry on your legacy. I realize that your free spirit means that it'll be highly unlikely that you'll attach yourself to just one woman, but I won't give up on the idea.

Second of all, and perhaps more importantly, I want to let you know how deeply I am in love with you. Ever since I first saw you, I've always thought you were beautiful, but it wasn't until the Soleanna incident that I came to realize that your beauty is more than quill-deep. Whenever I hear about you being good, whether it's the simple act of helping an old lady cross the street or something as big as foiling Dr. Robotnik's latest plan, it gives me hope not only for society, but the planet itself. Sometimes, I have a fantasy about going out with you to a discotheque, dancing to the music with you, taking you back to my place afterwards, laying you on my bed and going down on you. Seriously, your shade of blue ignites my passions, and I bet your moaning would be music to my ears. If you don't see men romantically other than enjoying it when you hug your friend Tails, that's all right with me. I won't think any differently of you, although I will have to contend with crying as I hold my pillow on certain nights.

If you intend to laugh at what I've written, I won't be offended, either. You have the cutest laugh I've ever heard. Before I go overboard any more, I just wanted to let you know that if you ever need me, I won't turn you away.

-Sincerely,

Shadow the Hedgehog"

Shadow put down his pen, pulled out an envelope from another drawer, folded the letter twice, stuck it in the envelope and licked it shut before sticking it under the stack of unused paper. Soon after he wrote the letter, he got the strangest feeling as though writing it may have been a bad idea, fearing that it would be taken the wrong way. However, the feeling soon passed, and Shadow decided that he regretted nothing.

After this brief conflict of emotions, Shadow went to his usual meditation spot. Once again, it was no trouble for him to get to his happy place. This time, he got curious about the river. In spite of Mephiles having emerged previously, he looked into the river and stared at his own reflection briefly before doing a front flip into the water. Surprisingly, he was buoyant enough to float with his head staying above the water, so he could more easily concentrate on just letting the water carry him wherever. A few ways downriver from the first castle he'd been at, he passed by a small village. It wasn't exactly small enough to warrant being excluded from a map, but compared to Emerald City, it was decidedly a more humble affair. Still, passing by a settlement devoid of rioting and other sorts of big city crime was rewarding for him. He passed by another castle, not as big as the first, but still pristine and majestic.

Finally, after going a couple of miles down the river, Shadow snapped out of his trance, more relaxed than he'd been prior to going in. Satisfied, he went down to the gym, and again, he started off bench-pressing 200 kg, but this time, he did 200 reps. Grabbing some 50-pound dumbbells next, he did 50 forearm curls for each arm. After he put the dumbbells away, he stood on his head and did 100 inverted pushups. Once he'd gotten back on his feet, he flexed his muscles, and when he caught sight of himself in the mirror, he cracked a slight smile. Part of it was because he was thinking of Hope, but another part of it had to do with knowing that if he ran out of bullets, he could easily take on any opponent in hand-to-hand combat and best them.

After another half-hour's worth of basketball, Shadow reheated some short ribs and onion rings for lunch. Neither one was as good as they were when fresh, but they were good enough, and a bottle of iced tea took care of them nicely. After lunch, Shadow went up to the rooftop observation deck and began to reflect on the events of the past few days. At this point, he was having some doubts as to whether he wanted to continue his vigilante campaign. However, when he thought about the one guy who puked up his internal organs, he laughed maniacally. Once he'd stopped laughing, he switched his thought patterns to Hope, particularly how he looked forward to seeing her again. It hadn't been that long since they'd known each other, but he felt like she was already a part of Team Dark now, and a very welcome addition, too. At one point, he thought about how she moaned when he massaged her, and he got rather hot and bothered thinking about it. Unable to hold himself together anymore, he took another trip to the bathroom and did himself.

Needing a way to relax, Shadow went to the living room, turned on the TV and Xbox One X, opened up Netflix and watched an episode of Emerald City Blue. In this episode, the SWAT team was tasked with taking down a group of cop killers armed with military-grade weaponry. While still aware of the irony of watching a police show at a time like this, Shadow genuinely enjoyed watching the bad guys get what they deserved. Having finished that episode, he watched an episode of Emerald City Red for a change. While not as big a fan of firefighting shows, he had watched a few episodes in the past and gotten a kick out of them. By the time he had finished with this episode, which was about a bunch of chemical fires, he was about to watch an episode of Emerald City White when he heard the doorbell. Answering it, he was greeted by Hope and Rouge, the latter carrying a couple of bags.

"Rouge, Hope, I've been looking forward to seeing you two again," said Shadow. "What's in the bags?"

"OK, so there was this fried chicken place that recently opened up near our workplace," said Rouge. "I'd never been there before, so I figured it would be a good thing for all of us to indulge in!"

"I'm glad Rouge did this, too!" said Hope. "I love going to restaurants I've never been to before!"

"You must be very open-minded when it comes to food," said Shadow.

"Like you wouldn't believe!"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" said Rouge. "This food's gonna get cold if we keep standing around talking!"

Without further ado, Shadow, Rouge and Hope sat down and had some fried chicken.

"Mmmm…this is the best fried chicken I've ever had!" said Rouge.

"I'll say!" said Hope. "That was a really good call!"

"Yes, thank you, Rouge," said Shadow.

"So, how was your day, Shadow?" asked Hope. "Did you do anything fun?"

"Nothing beyond my usual. I did have a good time, though."

"That's nice!"

"How do you like working for G.U.N.?"

"It's awesome! They let me work on all sorts of stuff, from regular cars all the way up to mechs!"

"Interesting. You know, you seem to be a bit young for this sort of work. No offense."

"Well, I'm doing this more for the experience more than anything else. It took some negotiation from both me and Rouge to convince the base captain to allow me to work full-time hours."

"You must have plenty to do, then."

"Actually, it gets a little boring, sometimes. On some occasions, I do nothing but polish the vehicles and admire my reflection."

"I can see why you would."

Hope chuckled. "Shadow, is that supposed to be a joke?"

"On my part, no. I won't be offended if you choose to take it as one, though."

Hope smiled. "You're really sweet, you know that?"

Shadow blushed. "Yes, this I've been told before."

"Um…why are you blushing?"

"Shaddy, do you like Hope or something?" said Rouge.

"Rouge, shut up," said Shadow.

"It's OK to say 'yes'!" said Hope. "I like you, too!"

Shadow covered his face, causing Rouge to laugh a little.

"I can still tell you're blushing!" said Rouge.

"I do NOT want to be a part of this conversation anymore," said Shadow.

"Does he always get this flustered?" asked Hope.

Rouge swallowed the piece of chicken she was eating. "Not always. Usually, he's like, 'uh, duh, I'm the Ultimate Life Form!'"

"Ultimate Life Form? Wow, he must think really highly of himself!"

Shadow continued covering his face. "I don't think highly of myself, I know I'm that good."

Rouge and Hope had a good laugh. If he wasn't fond of either of them, and if he didn't have such a good opinion of women, Shadow would have smacked both of them.

After everyone put their leftovers away, they were about to sit on the couch when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!"

Rouge answered the door.

"Hey Big Blue, you're just in time!"

"Ain't I always?" said Sonic.

"Please, come in!"

Sonic entered the mansion, while Rouge closed the door behind him. By this time, Shadow, Hope and Omega had come over.

"Hey Shad, what it is?" said Sonic.

"Thus far, I'm getting better," replied Shadow.

"Say, who's this mama?"

"Sonic, this is Hope. Hope, this is the famous Sonic the Hedgehog."

"How do ya do?" said Sonic.

"So YOU'RE Sonic the Hedgehog?" Hope smiled. "I don't know what to say!"

"Mellow out! You ain't required to gush over my greatness or nothin'! Just shake hands with me!"

"Gladly!"

Sonic and Hope shook hands with each other.

"So, when can we get this jam started?" asked Sonic.

"Just hold on a few minutes," said Hope. "I'd like to get myself ready for this. Is that OK with you, Shadow?"

Shadow nodded. "I'll approve it."

"I'll come with you, Hope," said Rouge.

"OK!"

And so, Hope and Rouge went up to the latter's room.

"Shad, would ya care to show me to the ballroom?" asked Sonic.

"Very well."

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.