"Good morning, Shaddy!"

Shadow groaned. "Whatever."

"Did you have another nightmare or something?"

"I don't see how that's relevant to anything, but yes."

Hope pulled in Shadow a little tighter. "If you need to talk, I'll gladly listen."

"Hope, I'd be really sad if you went away."

"Don't worry, I won't be going anywhere for a long time! You, Rouge and Omega have been too kind to me!"

"That's a relief."

Today for breakfast, Rouge had cooked chocolate-chip pancakes with smoky sweet glazed ham. Shadow read the latest edition of The Emerald City Herald, having not done so in quite some time:

HOPE AND FEAR AS CONCERT GOES AHEAD

'With the International Festival of Community going ahead as planned, there is excitement in the air at Emerald City as hopes for renewed animal-human relations climb to levels not seen since before the shooting of Ferdinand Rozmiarek. However, a number of citizens are expressing uncertainty as well. With rumors of right-wing death squads prowling the city looking to exterminate any humans they come across, some wonder what could be in store for them when they step through the doors of the Emerald City Palladium.

'I'm really excited to be able to perform at this festival,' said pop/rock star Mina Mongoose. 'However, knowing that violence could break out at any time really gives me the chills. I just hope this festival does what it's supposed to do.'

However, not everybody expressed similar concerns as Ms. Mongoose.

'What, me worry?' said Sonic the Hedgehog, world-renowned hero and leader of the rock band Sonic and the Diesel Cats. 'No way! If some jive turkey tries to crash this jam and shoot the joint up, you know me and my pals are gonna come down on 'em harder than diamond!'

Chief Amanda Raine of the ECPD issued this statement in regards to possible terrorist threats:

'I just want to assure everybody who plans on attending this festival that our Department and the Royal Mobian Constabulary will be working together to ensure that each and every attendee will have a safe and fun time. We have worked together with the Constabulary in the past and are honored to have them joining us once again in these uncertain times.'"

"So Shaddy, are you excited for tonight's concert?" said Rouge.

Shadow nodded. "I guess."

"That didn't sound very excited!"

"Um…Rouge…you might want to lay off Shadow," said Hope.

"Why?"

"He told me he had a nightmare last night."

"Shaddy, are you OK?" Rouge got out of her chair.

"Better now, I suppose," said Shadow. "I'm not enthused about going back to sleep, however."

"Are you enthused about one of these?"

Rouge opened her arms wide. Not wanting to disappoint, Shadow got out of his chair and returned her hug.

"That's one of the things I like about this planet," said Shadow. "There are women like you and Hope who genuinely care about my health and well-being."

"Of course we care! You deserve it!"

Encouraged by Shadow and Rouge's words, Hope got up and hugged him as well. It still didn't erase the fact that he mowed down innocent people with an assault rifle, but he figured that time would absolve him sooner or later.

After everybody had gotten ready for their day, Shadow was walking back to his room when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Hope behind him. She then put both of her hands on his shoulders and knelt down.

"Shaddy, will you be OK while Rouge and I are at work today?" asked Hope.

Shadow smiled. "I'll be fine." He then frowned. "Granted, I'll be a bit lonely considering it was enjoyable hanging out with you throughout the weekend, but I'll be fine nonetheless."

"Hey, we'll be back, won't we?"

Shadow nodded. "True."

"I love you!"

Hope kissed Shadow again.

"I love you too," said Shadow.

Hope patted Shadow's shoulders. "Have a good day!"

"You too."

Hope parted ways, while Shadow went to his room and dug around for a book to read. After some digging, he chose On the History of Humans in Mobius, by Dragomir Rosa. He didn't recall when he'd gotten this book, but he figured it was probably one of Rouge's gifts. On one hand, he was a bit apprehensive about the book's contents, but on the other hand, the history of Mobius' human population did interest him, so he sat down on his bed and began reading.

The book was a comprehensive history of the human population in the Kingdom of Mobius, starting with the refusal of the early Overlander tribes to join the confederation of people that would be the Kingdom's earliest settlers. It also included information on such events as the Great Migration that brought additional humans into the Kingdom and the Overlander Riots in Emerald City, as well as the current state of the human population, leaving no stone unturned. What Shadow really liked about the book was that even though the author was a human, he didn't resort to left-wing hysterics in the writing of it. Shadow did have to break for lunch – which consisted of a leftover pulled pork sandwich and more Swiss rolls – at one point, but overall, he'd made it through a good portion of the book by the early afternoon and had gained a greater understanding of humans in addition to greater sympathy for them. Granted, he still wasn't totally fond of Human Lives Matter, but he recognized why they existed.

Once he'd bookmarked his spot, he put the book away and decided to listen to one of his tapes. Since Hope wasn't around, he picked out "DEICIDE'S ANGRIEST VOLUME 1" and popped it into his combo player. Within a few seconds, it began blasting out "Scars of the Crucifix". While not particularly antireligious, Shadow wasn't the most devout believer, either, and to him, death metal perfectly represented how angry he was at the world sometimes. After Side B of the tape concluded with "Behead the Prophet (No Lord Shall Live)", he put it back.

Then, he decided to prowl through his record collection. Having kicked his own ass with death metal, he didn't particularly care what he chose next. On a whim, he picked out an original pressing of Griffin's 1984 debut Flight of the Griffin. With the turntable already set at 33 1/3, he primed it, put the record on with Side A facing up, set the needle down and played it. Overall, he thought it was a good album to have in his collection, although he felt that some tracks were definitely better than others, particularly "Heavy Metal Attack". When Side B was finished, he shut the turntable off and had put the needle back when he heard the doorbell. Rouge and Hope were home.

"You two are early," said Shadow. "Nevertheless, you have good timing; I'd finished listening to one of my records."

Rouge chuckled. "Well, Captain Hoffman let us go early so we could get to the concert on time! Now if you'll excuse us, we have to get ready…"

Shadow returned to his room and threw on his favorite jacket, a G-1 bomber jacket. In the meantime, he waited patiently for Rouge and Hope to get ready. Before long, however, he heard knocking on his door.

"Come in," said Shadow.

Rouge and Hope entered.

"Well?" said Hope.

Shadow looked the two of them over. Hope was now wearing a black form-fitting T-shirt that said "ROCKER GIRL" on the chest in the AC/DC font, a blue denim vest, skinny blue jeans with a black studded belt, and black Caterpillar boots. Rouge was wearing a Vanson Villainess leather jacket over her usual bodysuit ensemble, but with shorter white gloves and spiked pink wristbands.

"You two look very nice," said Shadow.

"Thank you!" said Rouge and Hope.

"Well what are we waiting for?" said Rouge. "Let's hop in your Trans Am and go!"

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.