A/N: OK...so...in light of life imitating art, I feel I should clarify something from an earlier chapter: I DO NOT CONDONE SHOOTING UNARMED PROTESTERS. Then again, I don't particularly encourage destroying innocent shopkeepers' livelihoods because one is outraged over police brutality or something, either. Regardless, I'd like to thank those who have supported me, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Hope led Shadow to the garage.

"What brought you here?" asked Shadow.

"I just wanted to be around the vehicles more!" Hope gasped. "Ohmigosh, is that a…!?"

Hope ran over to a white 1978 Lamborghini Countach LP400S with a thick pink racing stripe like the one on the Corvette.

"That is such a nice car!" said Hope.

"That's Rouge's other car," said Shadow. "She drives that when she needs something faster than her Corvette."

"Did I mention you two have great taste in cars?"

Shadow nodded. "Yes, you've mentioned this already."

"So tell me, where did you get the Trans Am from?"

"To be honest, it was a gift from Sonic and his best friend Tails. They restored it for me. From what I understand, Tails did most of the mechanical and body work, while Sonic did the paintjob."

"Nice!"

"And I must say, Sonic did a nice job even though Starlight Black wasn't a factory paint color for that model year."

"Hey, if it looks good, what does it matter if it's not factory?"

"Indeed."

"Now…" Hope dropped her jaw. "Hey, that's a really cool truck!"

Hope had moved on to a black 1975 GMC Sierra Grande K-15 longbed 4x4.

"That's another one of Sonic and Tails' gifts," said Shadow. "Sonic's been trying to coax me into having a four-wheel drive competition with him in the past couple of months."

"Sounds like he's really competitive!"

"That, or he just has too much time on his hands. However, I may take him up on his offer one day."

"Can I come along if you do?"

Shadow nodded. "You may."

"Awesome sauce! And speaking of awesome sauce…!"

The next object of Hope's admiration was a black 1977 Kenworth K100 with red "Condor" stripes.

"I didn't know you had a big rig!" said Hope.

"Yet another gift from Sonic and Tails. For some reason, Sonic sees it fit that him and I should compete in what he refers to as the 'Big Rig Olympics'."

Hope laughed. "'Big Rig Olympics'!? Oh man, that Sonic is quite a character!"

"He may not be my favorite person ever, but I do admire his imagination."

"I'll say! What else do you have in this garage?"

"Why don't we find out?"

Next, Shadow led Hope to a black M60 Patton tank with red stripes, which she gasped upon seeing.

"A TANK!?" said Hope. "Oh my, this is too much!"

"Unlike the other vehicles, I got this with some money that I got for my birthday. I painted it myself, but I did have Tails inspect the mechanical workings."

"I knew you two had great taste in cars, but this…! You impress me more each time!"

"There's just one more vehicle I wish to show you…"

"This oughta be good!"

Shadow led Hope past Rouge's Lamborghini to what was one of his favorite vehicles: the Dark Rider, a custom-built chopper with a Harley Shovelhead engine. Hope gasped when she saw this one.

"Ohmigosh, a MOTORCYCLE!? Shaddy, that is WAY COOL! Can we take it for a ride?"

Shadow smiled. "I don't see why not. You'll need one thing, though…"

"What?"

Shadow handed Hope a black open-face motorcycle helmet with a red stripe on top. "This should fit you."

Hope took the helmet and attempted to put it on. True to Shadow's word, it fit. He got on the motorcycle, as did she.

"Be careful," said Shadow. "This is going to get loud."

Shadow kicked the starter over, and the bike came to life with the characteristic Harley rumble on the first start. Hope flinched briefly, but the helmet cancelled some of the noise, so she got used to it soon enough. Shadow waited for the garage door to open, and when it did, he put the bike in first gear and sped off.

The moment Shadow left the garage, Hope had a big smile on her face and held on tightly to him. The feeling of the wind pushing against her face was enough to make her understand why motorcyclists enjoyed riding so much. It was all about freedom and travelling along public roadways while looking good and projecting a certain image. Granted, not all bikers were part of those renegade clubs who roamed the highways causing senseless mayhem, but still, there was something about a motorcycle that commanded attention. Being allowed to share in this freedom with someone she loved meant a lot to her. She didn't mind that he was going faster and faster, but at one juncture, she had to wonder how fast was enough. She realized that at a certain point in a relationship, there came a point where both parties would be embroiled in conflict, and she had to think that this might just be it. She knew it would be so when she saw one of the familiar white-over-navy blue Chevy Biscaynes belonging to the Royal Mobian Constabulary – the "Constabulary" that Sonic had mentioned yesterday – which was the national military state police force of the Kingdom of Mobius. Immediately, the Constable driving flicked on the lights and siren and banged a handbrake turn as he attempted to pursue Shadow and Hope. However, they were long-gone by the time the patrol car attained any significant speed. Eventually, they ended up in Quartz Village, and Shadow pulled his bike around a corner and parked on Joe Street before shutting it off.

"Wait here," said Shadow.

"Where are you going?"

Shadow smiled. "It's a surprise. Also, there's a P38 in the left saddlebag if you need protection."

Shadow put down the kick stand, hopped off the bike and went out onto Eastminster Ave. Meanwhile, Hope remained on the bike, trying to compose herself after being exposed to such high speeds. She prayed that the Constabulary wouldn't radio in anything about the speeding incident to the local yokels. After all, she was aware of the saying "you can't outrun a Motorola", which was ironic since the RMC patrol cars had General Electric radios. Eventually, Shadow returned with a brown paper bag.

"What's in the bag?" asked Hope.

Shadow smiled. "You'll find out when we get back home."

"OK. Just a couple of things before we go…"

Shadow paused upon opening one of the Dark Rider's saddlebags. "Yes?"

"First of all, please don't go that fast again! Don't get me wrong, it was pretty fun, but I seriously thought the Constabulary was going to catch us!"

Shadow furrowed his eyebrows. "Well excuse me for trying to have a good time with you."

"Second of all, you REALLY should be wearing a helmet!"

Shadow put the paper bag in the saddlebag, closed it and crossed his arms. "If Rouge taught you anything, you'd know that I'm the Ultimate Life Form. Consequently, I find that helmets are superfluous in my case."

Hope frowned. "Fine! See if I ever ride a motorcycle with you again!"

"Hmph."

In spite of their little conflict, Shadow and Hope said nothing further as they travelled back to Rouge's mansion. Once he'd put the bike back, Shadow opened up the saddlebag and pulled out the paper bag he'd put in.

"So, there was this gift shop I passed by every time I went by the grocery store in Quartz Village," said Shadow. "I wanted to get something for you in case something happened and we were never able to see each other again."

"Oh, that's really nice of you!" said Hope. "This should be good!"

Hope unrolled the bag, reached inside and pulled out her gift. It was a glass pyramid with an engraving of an eagle inside. Hope's eyes lit up when she saw it, and she let out a happy gasp.

"Shaddy, this is BEAUTIFUL! Thank you so much!"

Hope knelt down and gave Shadow a big hug and kiss. Though he wasn't usually one to buy gifts, he found it very rewarding when people gave him affectionate gestures for doing so.

"I'll treasure this one forever!" said Hope. "Let me put it away…"

"Meet me on the rooftop observation deck after you've done so, OK?" said Shadow.

"OK!"

While Hope went to put her gift away, Shadow grabbed a black and red beach towel from the laundry room and set it up on the rooftop observation deck. Soon enough, Hope came up.

"So what's with the towel?" asked Hope.

"I thought maybe you and I could sit down and just enjoy the nice weather."

"Hey, that's a great idea!"

Hope walked over and sat down on the towel, as did Shadow.

"Hope…"

"Yes?"

"Can I lie down in your lap?"

Hope smiled. "Go right ahead!"

Shadow did just that, looking up at the sky. Both of them smiled as they did nothing in particular but enjoy the weather, which was quite warm but not stiflingly so. Hope gently stroked the quills on his head.

"You know, Rouge told me you were cold as ice, but the more I get to know you, you seem like a very romantic person!" said Hope.

"Rouge would've been right about the old me, but the more I go out and see the world, the more I realize there are people who genuinely deserve to be happy," said Shadow.

"Making people happy must be really important to you, hm?"

"Extremely. My friend Maria made me promise to let everyone on this planet live for their dreams so we could all have a better future."

"She must've been a really good friend, then."

"Like you wouldn't believe."

"If it makes you feel any better, I think you deserve to be happy too, Shadow."

"Rouge seems to think the same thing of me." Shadow frowned. "Trouble is, it's kinda hard to be happy when people seem to want to deliberately upset the peace."

"That reminds me: Rouge also told me you got really angry when you were watching the news a few days ago and threw her TV remote."

"I won't deny that. If you must know, I saw a story about a man acquitted of rape charges, and I got angry because I believed he got off just because he was a human, and I felt that the justice system was too spineless to do anything substantial about crime."

"Did he really walk free because of that?"

"No, the story said there was a bacterial contaminant in a DNA sample taken from the victim. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to demonize Human Lives Matter, and I don't necessarily support law enforcement, either; I just want to know that if I'm working to make sure that people get a chance to be happy, then they're not going to squander it on squabbling over race or stuff like that."

"Shaddy, please sit up and face me."

Shadow did so.

"You're doing a great job!" said Hope. "Even if the media wants to paint a grim picture of the situation in our country, I truly believe that if you succeed in making one person happy, then you've already made the world a better place!"

At first, Shadow said nothing. Then, he placed both his hands on her waist.

"Hope…your life matters, too. If it were possible for me to do so, I'd gladly die for you."

"OK, that's quite macabre, but that means so much to me, too!"

Hope placed her hands on Shadow's shoulders, pulled him in and kissed him. At this point, he wanted to cry, but on the other hand, he didn't particularly feel he could do so. Nevertheless, the more time he spent with her, the better he felt about himself. Eventually, they backed away.

"I know I've said this before," said Hope, "but I really love you, Shaddy!"

Shadow smiled. "And I really love you, Hope!"

"Say, I was wondering…"

"What?"

"Do you know any foreign languages?"

„Kommt darauf an. Über welches möchten du weißt?"

„Du sprichst Tedisch? Das ist so geil!"

„Tatsächlich. Ich bin nicht der einzige, der hier eine Fremdsprache beherrscht."

„Oh?"

„Du wirst es nicht glauben, aber Rouges Muttersprache war Französisch."

„Wirklich? Ich würde es mit diesem Akzent nicht wissen!"

Just then, Shadow's Hedgehog Sense started tingling.

"What is it?" asked Hope.

Shadow got up. "Speaking of Rouge, I think she's back. Don't forget to bring the towel with you."

"Right."

Shadow headed to the front door and opened it. Sure enough, Rouge was there.

"ROUGE!" With a smile on his face, Shadow gave Rouge a big hug.

"Why so happy to see me?" asked Rouge.

"That's just my way of saying 'thanks' for introducing me to one of my new favorite women!"

Rouge giggled. "Oh, Shaddy! You're too kind!"

Eventually, they let go.

"So, I take it you had a really good day?" said Rouge.

"'Really good' would be an understatement, my dear Rouge."

Rouge giggled. "Then tell me more over tonight's supper!"

"Gladly."

For tonight's supper, Rouge made croque monsieur, a type of ham sandwich. Rouge always preferred making them with a béchamel of butter, flour, milk, Gruyère, Parmesan, salt, pepper and nutmeg. As usual, it was a hit among the crowd, although Shadow had trouble recalling a time when Rouge made a meal he didn't like…barring whatever had broccoli in it, or course.

"Rouge, thanks for using honey mustard!" said Shadow. "That's the best kind!"

"I'm with you there!" said Hope.

"Both of you are welcome!" said Rouge.

"PERSONALLY, I BELIEVE HONEY MUSTARD TO BE A BASTARDIZATION OF A GOOD CONDIMENT," said Omega.

"Omega, shut the hell up." Shadow took another bite of his sandwich.

"So Hope, Shaddy seems really happy to have been with you today," said Rouge. "Tell me more!"

"Well, we started off by going to the spa and meditating," said Hope. "It's not easy!"

"Yeah, I hear you there. Shaddy's had a lot of practice to get to his happy place."

Shadow nodded.

"After that, we went to the gym and worked out, and then we played some volleyball in the sports arena," said Hope. "I think it's really cool that this place has those!"

"Isn't it?" said Rouge.

"Oh, and you won't believe what Shaddy told me!"

Rouge rested her head on top of the outside of her free hand. "What did he tell you?"

"He told me I had a beautiful body!"

Rouge turned to Shadow. "Shaddy, that was a very nice thing to say to Hope!"

"It's true, although I'd like to add that pretty much every woman is beautiful and that a woman's heart and mind are more important to me," said Shadow.

"Awww!" said Rouge and Hope.

"Moving on," said Rouge, "what else did you two do?"

"We also listened to music," said Hope. "Personally, I could've done without the loud, angry metal he played at first, though."

"Hope, I'll tell you again," said Shadow. "There is NOTHING wrong with death metal."

"Not unless you like hearing loss!" said Rouge.

"Rouge, I'll thank you not to criticize it, either."

"Hey, I'm joking!"

"Hmph."

"Moving on," said Hope, "I had lunch with Shaddy and Omega. Omega's nice, too. After that, Shaddy and I went to the garage, and he showed me all the vehicles you have. I gotta say, you two have quite the selection, and I really like your Lamborghini, Rouge!"

"Yeah, it cost a pretty penny, but I believe it was worth it!" said Rouge.

"I can't believe Shaddy owns a tank, either!"

"I know, right?"

"And that motorcycle of his is really fun to ride!"

"You took Hope for a ride on your motorcycle?"

Shadow nodded. "I did."

"Yeah, and we almost got stopped by the Constabulary," said Hope.

"SHADDY!"

Rouge got out of her chair and went after Shadow. He tried to run, but she tackled him in short order.

"What did I tell you about getting in trouble with the Constabulary!?" said Rouge.

"So what if they saw me?" said Shadow. "Even if they find out our address, we've got enough money to pay a lawyer, or even pay the fine if the lawyer fails."

Rouge growled.

"OK! AHAHAHAHAHAHA I'M SORRY!" said Shadow.

"Are you gonna get our honored guest in a position where she could face that sort of trouble again?"

"AHAHAHAHAHA! NO NO NO! I WON'T! JUST STAHP THE TICKLES!"

Rouge stopped tickling Shadow.

"OK, I believe you!" said Rouge. "Now don't…"

"Rouge! Rouge!"

Hope came running over to the two with her Samsung Galaxy in hand.

"What is it, honey?" asked Rouge.

"OK, so I was checking my E-mails when I got this notification from Facebook, and you're not going to believe what it's about!" said Hope.

"What's it about?"

"Let's watch it…"

Hope opened up the video, which was from a user named Amadeo Frederiksson and captioned "I can't believe somebody would do this". The video showed the aftermath of the scene at June Ave, including the woman screaming and crying over the body of her child. Rouge gasped when she saw that part and put her hands over her mouth. Hope gasped, too.

As for Shadow, even though he wasn't seeing the visual portion of the video, the audio provoked a strong reaction in him: he froze up and had a blank look on his face. It was here that he comprehended that what he did was foul murder and that he could get in severe trouble for it if he were caught. He'd only been trying to give people a chance to be happy, but now…

"Shaddy…are you OK?" said Rouge.

"I…I don't know anymore…"

"What's wrong?"

"Those people…they lost everything. I could've stopped this."

Rouge wrapped her arms around Shadow. "Shaddy, it's OK to be upset. Just know that there was no way that you could've known about this beforehand."

"Was there?"

"Shaddy…"

Rouge gave Shadow a big hug, and Hope hugged him as well. Even with both of them wrapping their arms around him, he still felt like one of the worst people ever, if not the absolute worst. He felt as though there was no way to stop the violence now.

Bedtime rolled around, and Shadow was still feeling like absolute crap. Hope even took notice of this.

"Shaddy, you've barely said a word since suppertime," said Hope. "Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

"That video that you played for Rouge…I still can't get it out of my head."

"It must've affected you deeply, huh?"

"That's an understatement."

"Well, I'm always here if you need comfort. I love you, you know."

"I love you, too."

Shadow and Hope kissed each other again. Hope went to sleep, while Shadow pulled out his journal and pen again.

"Dear Journal: Last night, a group of humans was standing in front of a burning gas station on June Ave, beating up any animals that came their way. What really disgusted me was their use of the term 'furry'. I took my M16 and mowed them all down. Then, I had the best laugh I ever had in my life, knowing that those punks got what they deserved.

Today, I got a surprise when Hope stayed home rather than going to work, so we spent the day doing fun things with each other. I swear, the more time I spend with her, the deeper I fall in love with her. In fact, I love her so much that I let her call me 'Shaddy'. I also went to Quartz Village and bought her a glass pyramid with an eagle engraving inside as a souvenir of me. I don't care if she is a human. I'm well aware of the discrimination her species has faced in Mobius, but I really feel that love can transcend such superficial concepts as race. She looks very cute wearing a sports bra and shorts, too.

Not everything was good today, though. Hope showed Rouge this Facebook video of the aftermath of the killings I committed on June Ave. Knowing that I took the life of somebody's child, I can no longer continue my vigilante campaign in good conscience. Nevertheless, I am committed to finding a way to stop this senseless unrest even if I lose sleep over it. If not for me, I'll do it for the women who really matter to me."

Shadow put his journal and pen away before cuddling up with Hope and attempting to sleep, the latter being a rather difficult feat with murder on his conscience.

Eventually, Shadow managed to fall asleep, and some time after he did, he found himself in the ruins of what was probably Emerald City. After a brief look-around, he walked through the city, wondering how it got this way, eventually coming upon a familiar face.

"Shadow, my son…"

"B-Black Doom!"

"You have done very well. You must continue to cleanse Emerald City of the unworthy ones, that the darkness may rise again!"

"N-no, you don't understand! It's not like that!"

"I understand…I understand that human lives don't matter and that they must be erased from existence!"

"No…I won't do it!"

"Then…you will DIE!"

Black Doom raised his right hand and shot lightning bolts at Shadow.

"NO!"

Shadow jolted awake, breathing heavily. He tightened his grip on Hope, fearing that he might genuinely lose her one day.

A/N: If I translated the German (aka "Tedescan") dialogue between Shadow and Hope wrong, I apologize. Just let me know what I can do to fix it and I'll do so. Please be polite, though, OK?

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.