A/N: This chapter and the preceding one were all one chapter, but I split it up because it was so long.

Shadow led Sonic to the mansion's ballroom, located on the first floor. It had a parquet floor, gold-painted walls and ceiling, plus an orchestra pit and stage for live performances. It also had an array of disco lighting, including a three-foot disco ball hanging in the center, which was surrounded by a 12-pointed Litelab Starburst. This was an array of chaser light strips arranged in a circular pattern and hooked up to a central splice box. Other disco lighting included four Tripp-Lite Mark 12 "police" beacons, two Kremesa 16-lamp "helicopter" lights, an array of strobe lights and a blue laser.

"So, how'd you and Hope come to meet?" asked Sonic.

"She'd been hired as a mechanic at G.U.N.'s Mobius Command," replied Shadow. "She had nowhere to live, so Rouge agreed to take her in."

"That a fact? Well, that was nice of her!"

"I'll say."

Sonic stroked his chin with his index finger. "Call me crazy, but when I first saw her, somethin' about her seemed familiar…"

"Are you prepared to learn something shocking about her?"

"I guess so…"

"And you promise not to use it to smear her name?"

Sonic raised his right hand. "I swear on my honor, or my spines get chopped off and made into soup!"

"Very well. Hope is the niece of Dr. Robotnik."

Sonic dropped his jaw. "WHAT!?"

"Didn't I warn you this would be shocking?"

"And you're lettin' that mama stay here?"

Shadow crossed his arms. "Fak…er…Sonic, Rouge and other G.U.N. employees put her through rigorous background checks and the like. I think you should afford her more respect lest your spines get chopped off and made into soup."

Sonic shrugged. "OK, I guess I'll play along with her, but don't think I'm forgettin' about what ya told me, ya dig?"

"Hmph."

Just then, Rouge entered the ballroom, and Hope followed. Hope was wearing a strapless knee-high dress in various gradients of blue, in addition to light blue pumps.

"Hope, you look beautiful," said Shadow.

Hope curtsied. "Thank you, Shadow!"

"You're welcome. I apologize for not making an equal effort."

"Oh, it's OK! You look handsome just the way you are!"

"You're too kind."

Hope chuckled. She and Shadow met each other in the middle of the dance floor, under the disco ball, while Sonic went to the DJ booth and Rouge went to the lighting control booth.

"Shad, Hope, you two ready to boogie your butts off?" asked Sonic using the DJ booth's mic.

Hope gave a thumbs up. "I sure am!"

Shadow nodded. "I suppose so."

"Groovy! Rouge, let's hit it!"

Rouge dimmed most of the lights, but turned on four spotlights that were focused on Shadow and Hope, plus a few more that were shining on the disco ball. The disco lights came on just as the music boomed out with "Doctor Kiss-Kiss" by 5000 Volts. Hope took to the music right away, but Shadow just stood there, not because he was dazzled by the light display, but because for the longest time, he'd been a part of the "disco sucks" crowd and never bothered to learn the moves.

"Come on, Shadow, dance!" said Hope.

Shadow didn't move.

"Hey, let's get down!"

Once again, Shadow wouldn't get down.

"Don't worry, it's easy! Just feel the music! It'll come to you!"

Shadow tried his best to feel the music. However, nobody had given him any specific instructions on doing so, so he had to figure it out on his own. First, he started with his feet, tapping one foot to the beat of the music, and then the other foot. He then alternated between shaking each knee. In spite of his anxiety, he seemed to be getting into the groove all right. Well before the first song was over, he had managed to feel the music and was even making up some of his own moves, much to Hope's delight.

Now both engaged in the groove, Shadow and Hope danced with each other and created their own disco energy. Though not a fan before, Shadow found that disco music wasn't really all that bad, especially when it was shared with someone else. In fact, some tunes really caught his attention, including a pulsating electronic number called "High" by Peter Moesser's Music. He decided to ask Sonic about the song names after the party, figuring that he could buy the records, tapes, CDs or MP3s later on and set up his own parties.

Having been attracted to Shadow before, Hope was really enjoying his presence now. Although the lighting and sound weren't on par with big discos such as Studio 91, she enjoyed feeling the boogie energy with him and just got lost in the moment. She didn't even stop to think about past tragedies, only how good the present made her feel. Best of all, without any of those pesky minimum age policies or the presence of alcohol or other such intoxicants, she was free to concentrate on the music and how much fun she was having with her new friend.

Thanks to Sonic's DJing skills and the fact that Rouge didn't have to do much with the lights thanks to the "set and forget" nature of the lighting system, the disco power was in full effect. Another tune that Shadow really liked was "Love's Theme" by the Love Unlimited Orchestra. To him, it was one of the most beautiful pieces of music he'd ever heard in his life, and it made him feel as though he'd missed out on so much by rejecting disco in favor of heavy metal. Not only that, but it gave him hope for the future, particularly making him feel as though people could learn to get along no matter what. It was even more lovely now that he was holding hands with Hope.

The longer Hope stared into Shadow's eyes, the more she just wanted to get lost in the music with him and not care about anything else. She felt that the effort she'd put into beautifying herself was absolutely worth it. Though not one to care too much about what people thought of her, she wondered if he thought she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. The thought of such a thing tickled her pink. Eventually, the party concluded with "December 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, very pleasing for Shadow and Hope.

(Oh, what a night indeed!) thought Shadow.

As soon as the last song had completely faded out, Rouge killed the disco lights and brought the regular lights back to full brightness. As Sonic and Rouge stepped out of their respective booths, they discovered that Shadow and Hope had smiles on their faces.

"So, was that as good for you as it was for us?" asked Rouge.

"That was amazing!" replied Hope. "I had a feeling this was going to be fun, but sharing it with Shadow? I felt like the best person ever!"

"Yes, that was actually enjoyable," said Shadow. "Up until now, I never put stock in disco music, but if this is what it feels like, I want more. Sonic, you've got to tell me the song names."

"No problemo!" Sonic gave a thumbs up. "Rouge, you got any paper?"

Rouge dug around in her cleavage and pulled out a pen and a notepad. "Here you go!"

"Thanks!"

Sonic proceeded to write down the artists and song names in his playlist. Shadow hummed the melody from "December 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" to avoid boredom. Then, the Blue Blur tore off the papers that he'd written on and handed them to him.

"Thank you!" said Shadow.

Sonic gave a thumbs up and handed the notepad and pen to Rouge. "Ain't no thang! Before I go, I also had a question for all of ya…"

"Yes?" said Shadow, Rouge and Hope.

"My band's gonna be the openin' act for the International Festival of Community this Monday night at 8 PM in the Emerald City Palladium, and I'm offerin' backstage passes! You cats want in?"

"The International Festival of Community?" said Shadow.

"Don't ya know? It's this festival they're organizin' to promote peace! It's like three days of peace, music and love!"

"Sounds exciting!" said Rouge.

"Yeah, I'd love to go!" said Hope.

"There's just one problem…" said Shadow.

"Yeah?" said Sonic.

"How do we know that nothing bad will be happening to you, us, or anybody else there?"

"Mellow out! The ECPD and the Constabulary will be workin' security! Plus, with us on the scene, ain't nobody's gonna have a chance if they try anything funny!"

Shadow stared at Sonic for a few seconds.

"All right, I'll go. Do you have the passes on you at the moment?"

"Hold on, lemme check…"

Sonic dug around in hammerspace for a bit. Soon, he pulled out three backstage passes for the event. Each one was made of plastic and was marked "INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF COMMUNITY" at the top, followed by an abstract logo of people gathered around a peace symbol holding hands, then the slogan "3 DAYS OF PEACE, MUSIC AND LOVE" and finally "BACKSTAGE PASS".

"Here ya go!"

Shadow, Rouge and Hope took their passes.

"Thank you," said Shadow.

"Thanks, Big Blue!" said Rouge.

"Thank you, Sonic!" said Hope.

"You're welcome! Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta groove on home; Tails might be stayin' up workin' on some duflatche or other!"

Hope waved at Sonic. "OK, it was nice meeting you, Sonic!"

"Same here, Hope!"

"Have a good night, Big Blue!" said Rouge.

"You too!" Sonic exited the ballroom.

"You know, Sonic seems like a very nice guy!" said Hope.

"Oh, you wouldn't believe, honey!" said Rouge. "He may seem like a goofball at times, but really, he'll always hold the door open…and more!"

"In spite of the differences we've had in the past," said Shadow, "I agree with that."

Rouge put a hand on Shadow's shoulder. "You really have changed!"

Hope yawned. "Boy, this dance party was fun, but it's about time I canned it for the night! Besides, all that dancing made me work up a sweat! That reminds me: why don't you and I take a shower together, Shadow?"

Shadow dropped his jaw. "Wait…what!?"

"You heard me! Let's shower together!"

"Um…Hope…I like you and all…b-but…"

"But what? Isn't that something that people who really like each other do?"

"No…er…yes…"

Rouge tapped Shadow on the shoulder.

"Will you excuse us for a bit?" said Rouge.

Rouge led Shadow over to one corner of the ballroom.

"Shaddy, what's the matter?"

"What's the matter!? Did you hear what that girl is asking me to do!?"

"So?"

"What do you mean 'so'!?"

"Listen, if a girl invites you to take a shower with her, that means she really likes you and trusts you! Besides, I enjoy those times when you and I take a shower together, so why should this be any different? Besides, it'll save us a bit on the reactor's energy bill!"

Shadow sighed. "OK…OK…you win. I'll do this."

"Grand!" Rouge gently pushed Shadow towards Hope. "Go get 'em, tiger!"

Shadow walked up to Hope and tried to put a smile on his face.

"All right, Hope, let's do this."

Hope smiled. "Yeah! That's what I like to hear!"

Rouge smiled as she witnessed what went down between them.

Hope stopped at Rouge's room to disrobe and wrap herself in a towel. When she got to the bathroom, she found Shadow already waiting for her, albeit with his gloves, socks and shoes off. She slowly removed the towel from herself, giving him a sight that was always welcome.

"You can take those bracelets off, you know," said Hope.

"No, I can't."

"Why not?"

"Believe me, it's better for my health that they stay on. Besides, they're rustproof."

"Well OK, I believe you."

Hope turned on the shower and waited for the water to warm up before stepping in, and Shadow got in after her.

"So, have you ever taken a shower with a girl before?" asked Hope.

"I've taken a few showers with Rouge, but never with a human."

"Then this'll be fun for both of us!"

Once they'd been sufficiently soaked, Hope grabbed a bottle of a combination shampoo/body wash. After cracking it open, she knelt down and poured some in her other hand.

"Please, give me your hand!" said Hope.

Shadow held out one of his hands, and Hope squirted some of the stuff in his hand before putting the bottle back. Both of them rubbed their hands together before proceeding to wash each other's heads. Shadow's reaction to Hope running her hands through his quills was instantaneous: he gasped, and then started moaning. Similarly, Hope let out a pleasant "ooh" when Shadow touched her hair.

"That feels nice!" said Hope. "Are you enjoying this, too?"

Shadow's only response was a moan. They continued to wash each other, although the Ultimate Life Form was struggling to keep his hands steady as he washed Hope. Feeling her touch was practically intoxicating for him, and he didn't care if he was blushing. He wanted her, after all, and he decided that maybe a bit of flustration was worth having her.

Hope was enjoying Shadow's touch, too. Having been massaged by him once, it felt nice to have his hands running through her hair. She gave a happy sigh as he did this. She didn't even care about him seeing her naked. After all, was this not the natural state of all people, human or otherwise? Besides, he had proven himself to be very non-threatening, if aloof. Eventually, she moved down from his head to his chest, where he gave an even louder moan when she started washing his chest fur.

"You're really enjoying this, aren't you?" said Hope.

"I…I love it when my chest fur gets floofed!"

Hope giggled. "Good, because that feels really soft!"

"Hope…c-can I touch your…?"

"Yes!"

Shadow gulped, and still a bit shaky, he moved his hands down from Hope's head down to her chest. She giggled a bit more when he touched her there. Though she wasn't quite as developed as Rouge, Shadow still found it pleasant to touch her there. She got quite the spark as well, as evidenced by the red in her face and the occasional giggle.

"You know, you're really cute when you blush!" said Hope.

Shadow only moaned at her praise.

"It's even cuter how your face is green instead of red when it does that!" said Hope. "I wonder…"

At this point, Shadow was way too flustered to answer that. Hope's hands just felt way too good on his chest fur. He wondered why he didn't shower with women more often. After all, it felt so intimate, so passionate that it made him feel way better, even making him forget about anything that had been troubling him the past few days.

Though not as flustered as Shadow, Hope was wondering how she managed to hold herself together with him touching her the way he did. She considered herself lucky that the shower concealed how she was drooling from his touch. It took her quite a bit of mental fortitude to not go crazy on him right then and there. Speaking of going crazy, she moved her hands downwards until she hit a spot that made him drop his jaw as he let out a loud gasp. Her smile weakened.

"Shadow…do you not like it when I touch you there?"

"I…Hope…I…nobody's touched me down there in so long! Please…touch me there! Let me touch you, too!"

Hope laughed. "Go ahead! Just don't stick your fingers in, OK?"

"R-right!"

And so, Shadow and Hope continued to wash each other. By this point, the sparks that were flying between them were so numerous that it probably would warrant a call to the electric company about a downed power line. Neither party would've cared, though. They trusted each other and saw each other as good people, so they continued washing each other up.

When they'd been sufficiently washed and rinsed, Hope turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, and Shadow followed. She dried herself off first before drying him off. He moaned some more as she did so.

"You know, you look kinda fluffy after coming out of the shower!" said Hope.

Shadow wiped his brow off. "OK, that was the hottest shower I've ever taken."

"Yeah, you looked like you really enjoyed that, you cutie!"

"So did you."

Hope laughed. "You're funny, Shadow!"

Shadow didn't respond. Hope styled her hair with a blow dryer and a round brush.

"Hope…"

"Yes, Shadow?"

"Why aren't you shaving?"

"Don't feel like it!"

"Why not?"

"I mean, I don't really care what guys think of it! Besides, who am I to let others determine what makes me beautiful?"

Shadow nodded. "I see. I think you're beautiful regardless of bodily hair."

"Shadow!"

Hope put down her brush and hair dryer, and gave Shadow another hug. In spite of him having been hot and bothered by her touch in the shower, he gladly accepted her hug. She enjoyed having his chest fur pressing against her naked body, so she held on for quite a bit.

After hugging, Shadow and Hope brushed their teeth and flossed before decamping to Shadow's room. Here, Hope put on a pink nightgown.

"Shadow, thanks again for dancing with me and taking a shower with me! I gotta say, any guy who can dance is a great guy in my book, not to mention you're fun to wash!"

Shadow smiled. "You're welcome. Sorry if I seemed out of it at first."

"Oh, don't worry! What really matters is that you were willing to try something new!"

"You'd be surprised."

Hope knelt down in front of Shadow. "And that's what I like about you!"

Hope wrapped her arms around Shadow and kissed him. He had a bit of a feeling that it was going to come to this point eventually, but that didn't make it any less hot for him. As a matter of fact, knowing what she smelled like coming out of the shower, that just made it even hotter and sweeter for him. Her lips were so soft and sensual that it took him a good bit of strength not to collapse from how awesomely good he was feeling at the moment.

Similarly, Hope derived much pleasure from kissing Shadow. It didn't matter that she was a human and that he was an artificial hedgehog. What really mattered to her was that he was willing to treat her right. Also, having come from the shower, he just felt so fluffy, especially with that patch of chest fur. She held on to him quite tightly as she continued to kiss him. When she finally broke away, he had the biggest smile on his face.

"Hope, this has been THE BEST night of my life!" said Shadow. "For such a long time, I never thought I could ever have anybody, never mind somebody like you, and even if we haven't known each other for that long, the fact that you were my first kiss really means A LOT to me!"

"You've never been kissed before?"

"N-no! Have you?"

Hope stroked her chin. "Well, aside from my parents, I did kiss this one boy, but he wasn't as cute as you!"

Shadow put one hand over his face and extended his other one so his palm was pointing at Hope. "Hope, stop!"

"Why?"

"If you keep being so kind to me, I'm going to cry!"

"Hey, it's all right! That just makes you a good person!"

"I know Rouge said there was nothing wrong with crying, but still, I feel yucky when I do it."

"But don't you feel better afterwards?"

Shadow sighed. "I guess so."

"Come on, let's get to sleep, cutie!"

Hope and Shadow climbed in the latter's bed. She snuggled up with him, while he pulled out his journal.

"What'cha got there?" asked Hope.

"This? It's my journal."

"I had no idea you kept one! It must be really helpful, huh?"

Shadow nodded. "It does help. I hope my lamp won't bother you while you're trying to sleep."

"Oh, it'll be fine! Good night!"

"Good night."

Hope did her best to fall asleep, while Shadow wrote another entry in his journal:

"Dear Journal: I'm glad I modified my usual hollow point rounds with plutonium cyanide. Last night, two ne'er-do-wells tried to jump me on the Emerald City Metro and one of them vomited his internal organs after surviving getting shot. That was pretty funny.

That aside, today was mostly like any other day except for the part where Rouge invited Sonic over for a party in the ballroom. Speaking of him, Rouge once told me about this practice of writing letters to people about how you really feel and not sending them, and that's what I did today in regards to Sonic. I'm not gay or anything, but he's the most beautiful guy I've ever met.

Getting back to the party, Hope dressed up for the occasion, and she looked so pretty. Of course, Sonic just had to play disco music for us to dance to, and as much as I feel weird admitting it, I think I like disco music now. One of my favorites was this song called 'December 1963 (Oh, What a Night)'. It perfectly sums up my feelings for Hope, who, by the way, I took a shower with after the party. I never felt so hot in my life, but it felt so good, too. After we got ready for bed, she made me an even happier hedgehog by giving me my first kiss. I didn't think I'd ever get it, never mind from a human, but it felt really good, and I hope our bond grows from there. Considering Sonic gave us backstage passes for this music festival where his band's going to be playing, I'm going to love being with her.

Before I close today's entry, I would like to say this: my bloodlust has yet to ebb. Considering all the excitement I've gotten from being with Hope, I'd say it's gotten even stronger. My only fear is what she'll think if she finds out. I'm not ordinarily the kind of person who gives a damn about what most people think, but I don't want to lose her, either."

Having finished up tonight's entry, Shadow put his journal and pen back in the drawer of his nightstand, turned off his lamp and tried to sneak out of bed without disturbing Hope too much, but he left his Model 29 under his pillow. He managed to break away from her grasp and tiptoed towards the door.

"Shadow…?"

"Huh…?" Shadow turned around.

"Where are you going?" said Hope.

"I'm just going outside for some fresh night air. It helps me sleep better."

"Shadow…I love you."

Shadow smiled. "I love you too, Hope."

After dodging Omega, Shadow went down to the portion of the armory where the assault rifles were kept. He checked out his favorite, an M16A1. For ammo, he grabbed a 50-round box of Federal American Eagle Varmint & Predator 50-grain hollow points. After loading a 30-round mag, he slapped it in the rifle and cocked it. He didn't feel he needed to, but he put the remaining 20 rounds in another 30-round mag.

Now locked and loaded, Shadow headed back to Emerald City, this time to North Lake…the Poker Heights neighborhood, to be precise. On June Ave, he thought he could see a bright light in the distance, and being careful not to be seen too much, he approached the scene, which turned out to be a Moboco gas station engulfed in flames. He thought he could see a crowd of people illuminated by the conflagration and what appeared to be an overturned bus stand, and when he stepped to get a closer look, he heard the people as well…

"Human Power! Human Power! Human Power!" chanted various crowd members.

"Hey, is that dude a furry?" said somebody.

"Come on, skinjobs!" said somebody else. "Let's mess that guy up!"

"Hey, they're beatin' up every furry!" said another person.

"Who are they beatin' up!? Who are they beatin' up!?"

"Who are they chasin'!?"

"Yeah, we ain't playin'! No furries down June Ave!"

"He's a furry! Beat his ass!"

"Hey furry, get over here!"

"They're makin' the cops leave!"

"We own this night!"

"Ain't no furries gonna be comin' down June Ave!"

Shadow watched the whole scene with disgust. He knew that such people didn't represent the majority of humans, but with them carrying on the way they were, it was no wonder Emerald City – if not the whole of Mobius – was struggling with the issue of racism. Finally, he spoke up:

"HEY! Hey, I'm open!"

Nobody responded to him, or so it seemed.

"Hey, over here! I'm open!"

The group of humans kept ignoring him.

"The hell is wrong with you? You want to beat up a furry, you come at ME!"

"Hey, he's a furry!" said somebody. "Beat his ass to the ground!"

Sure enough, the group of humans who'd been standing around the burning gas station came after Shadow, who calmly levelled his M16 at them. His veins cold as ice, he held down the trigger and unleashed 30 rounds of 5.56mm full-auto death at them, watching the crowd fall like dominoes. With the mag emptied, Shadow pointed his rifle skywards, and an evil smile formed on his lips. A few calm laughs escaped his mouth, and shortly thereafter, he broke out in a fit of evil laughter. He didn't even care that some of his victims were unarmed; he just wanted blood as payment for all the unrest. When he'd had his share of laughter, he disappeared before the authorities showed up.

CHAPTER UPDATE 9/11/2020: Due to life imitating art, I would like to remind everybody that I DO NOT CONDONE shooting unarmed protesters. Shadow's actions are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the author.

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.