A/N: Wow, 13 chapters in and only two people have reviewed thus far? Truth be told, I was expecting a more cataclysmic reception, but then again, I don't write stories for the fame; I just do it for fun and therapy. Anyways, read on!

And so, Shadow, Rouge and Hope were riding in Shadow's Trans Am, headed for Emerald City. Omega was following behind with his jetpack. In the car, Shadow had popped in the tape "BEST OF NWOBHM VOLUME 2", which was currently blasting out "Creatures of the Night" by Wolf.*

"Hey Shaddy…" said Rouge.

"What?"

"You don't mind if we stop somewhere to eat first, do you?"

"That depends. Where will we be going?"

"According to a search I did earlier today, there's a Five Guys a couple blocks west of the Palladium."

"OK, I can agree to that. Hope?"

Hope gave a thumbs up. "Sure!"

"You're not allergic to anything, are you, Hope?" said Rouge.

"Not that I know of!"

"Good!"

And so, Shadow, Rouge and Hope went to the Five Guys in question, located at the corner of Ceiling Street and Jastremski Ave in Downtown Emerald City. There were quite a few protests going on, but not as many as the media made them out to be. They had to park a little ways back, but they found a spot, nevertheless. Omega stood guard outside the joint, while the others went in for food.

"Welcome to Five Guys!" said the cashier, a pink otter. "What can I get for you?"

"Shaddy, you go first," said Rouge.

"I'll have a Bacon Cheeseburger with grilled onions and A1 steak sauce, please," said Shadow.

"OK." The cashier punched it in. "Anything else?"

"Yes, I'll have a large Five Guys fry and a large drink, please. Rouge?"

"I'll have a Cheeseburger with ketchup, mayo, onions and green peppers, please," said Rouge.

"OK." The cashier punched Rouge's order in. "Anything else?"

"Yes, I'll have a medium Five Guys fry and a medium drink, please. Your turn, Hope."

"Hmmm…" Hope stroked her chin. "Let's see…I'll have a Little Bacon Cheeseburger with lettuce, grilled mushrooms and hot sauce, please."

"OK." The cashier inputted Hope's order. "Anything else?"

"Yes, I'll have a medium Cajun-style fry and a medium shake with bacon, Oreo cookie pieces and peanut butter, please. That'll be it for me."

The cashier put the last of the order in. "So that's a Bacon Cheeseburger with grilled onions and A1 sauce, a Cheeseburger with ketchup, mayo, onions and green peppers, a Little Bacon Cheeseburger with lettuce, grilled mushrooms and hot sauce, a large Five Guys fry, a medium Five Guys fry, a medium Cajun fry, a large drink, a medium drink, and a medium shake with bacon, Oreo cookie pieces and peanut butter. Anything else?"

Shadow, Rouge and Hope all gave varying responses to the effect of "that's all". Rouge broke out her Bank of Mobius-issued MasterCard and paid for everything, after which the cashier handed Rouge her receipt and handed out the cups for Shadow and Rouge's drinks.

"OK, you're Order 108," said the cashier.

Shadow and Rouge proceeded to a Coca-Cola Freestyle drink dispenser, while Hope went to the other side of the counter where customers waited for their food. Fortunately, her shake was ready in short order. Shadow chose a Pibb Xtra with cherry vanilla flavoring for his drink, while Rouge selected a Barq's root beer with vanilla flavoring.

"I gotta confess," said Hope. "I've never been to Five Guys before!"

"You haven't?" said Rouge.

"They have the best burgers I've ever tasted," said Shadow.

"Yeah, the burgers are good," said Rouge, "but the fries are really where it's at!"

"OK, I am SO intrigued about their food now!" said Hope.

Eventually, another employee – a Black male human – called out their number and gave them their food. Shadow and Rouge each took half of the bags so they wouldn't drop anything. They elected to sit at a table near a clipping of The Emerald City Herald that did a review on this restaurant, which was framed.

"OK…" Looking at her receipt, Rouge proceeded to hand out the burgers. Shadow's was marked with a 1 sticker, while Rouge's had a 2 sticker and Hope's had one with 3. "Eat up, everyone!"

Everyone unwrapped their burgers and proceeded to eat. Hope let out a hearty "mmmm" after a few bites.

"OK, this is OFFICIALLY the best burger I've ever had!" said Hope. "You were right about this one!"

Shadow smiled. "What can I say? I have good taste. Speaking of good taste, I think it's sexy when girls are into hot sauce."

Hope laughed. "Shaddy, you're just saying that because you're in love with me!"

"No really, I never pictured hot sauce as something that lots of girls would enjoy, and any girl who genuinely enjoys it is good in my book."

"You're so sweet!"

Rouge frowned. "What? I'm not good enough for you?"

Shadow frowned, too. "Rouge, you know damn well that that's not what I meant."

Rouge giggled. "Easy there, boy! I'm only joking!"

Shadow's smile returned. "Of course. I should've known."

Sooner or later, everybody had finished their burgers and moved on to their fries. Hope smiled when she tried hers.

"You were right too, Rouge!" said Hope. "These fries are GREAT!"

"See?" said Rouge. "Didn't I tell you that those were where it's at?"

"I'm still more into the burgers, but the fries are really good, too," said Shadow.

"I gotta wonder, though…" said Hope.

"What?" said Shadow and Rouge.

"Why do they give you so many extra fries?"

"I couldn't answer that one if I tried," said Shadow.

"I think they just want to attract customers," said Rouge.

"Well, they did a good job with me!" said Hope. "We are SO coming here more often!"

"As much as I like fast food," said Rouge, "I'm still not giving up on home-cooked meals, either. Even so, I'll be happy to go here when it's feasible!"

"I have to be honest," said Shadow. "Even if you and I are only friends, I genuinely enjoy it when you take me out to eat, Rouge."

"Shaddy, you're so sweet!"

Hope smiled and elbowed Shadow. "How come you haven't taken ME out to eat?"

"I was just worried about taking you to Emerald City with all this uproar over the recent shooting, but given that things seem rather calm now compared to the day after the shooting, I might just take you up on that on your next day off."

"Please do! I had a couple of romantic daydreams about going out to eat with you!"

"Well, aren't you lucky, Shaddy!" said Rouge. "One day, you're a poor, lost hedgie and now look at you! You've got this pretty young girl daydreaming about you!"

Hope laughed. "Rouge, did you just call me pretty?"

"Of course I did! It's the truth, though, and I don't mean it in a lesbian sort of way! Nothing wrong with that, mind you; I'm just saying…"

"Thank you! I think you're pretty too, Rouge!"

"Oh, shut up, girlfriend!"

In the past, such female familiarity would've been a major turn-off for Shadow, but now, he thought of how awesome it was that women could do stuff like hugging each other and hardly anyone would bat an eyelash.

After finishing their food, Shadow, Rouge, Hope and Omega went to the Emerald City Palladium, located on Broadway. Constructed 75 years ago in an Art Deco style, the Palladium – as it was commonly known to citizens – had played host to numerous events over the years, including variety shows, political events and rock concerts. Having been included in the Catalog of Protected Structures and Landscapes, it was bound to be a cultural touchstone for years to come. After pulling up to the entrance, Shadow, Rouge and Hope got out of the Trans Am, and Rouge paid a valet to park the car, receiving a claim ticket in the process. The three of them and Omega walked around to a side entrance of the Palladium, where an attendant checked their backstage passes and let them pass. Additionally, ECPD officers and Constables in Super Seer riot helmets checked them over for weapons, and having passed this spot check in spite of Omega, they made their way through some labyrinthine hallways before finally making it to the backstage area, where Sonic and a bunch of his friends were waiting.

"Shadow, Rouge, Hope, Omega!" said Sonic. "Glad you cats could make it! All of you are lookin' real foxy tonight!"

Rouge and Hope giggled at this comment, while Shadow and Omega were indifferent.

"Hope, since you're new here, allow me to introduce you to my pals!" said Sonic. "This orange fox here's my best bud Tails!"

Hope smiled. "How do you do?"

"Nice to meet you, Hope!"

Miles "Tails" Prower and Hope shook hands.

"Tails is also the bassist and backup singer for my band!" said Sonic.

"I'm glad to meet a human!" said Tails. "It's not often that any of them enter our circle of friends!"

"Oh, thank you!" said Hope. "That's so sweet of you, Tails!"

"This dude right here is Knuckles the Echidna!" said Sonic.

"Hello there!" said Hope.

"Hi, nice to meet you!"

Hope shook Knuckles' ham fist.

"Ya know, it's been a while since I met a human who wasn't Robotnik!" said Knuckles.

Sonic elbowed Knuckles. "Eh…ix-nay on the obotnik-Ray!"

"Uh…sure thing!"

"Don't worry about it, Knuckles!" said Hope. "By the way, I like your hands!"

Rouge whispered to Hope. "He's really good with those, by the way!"

Knuckles growled. "All right, Bat Girl, what was THAT all about!?"

Rouge smiled. "Nothing! I was just telling Hope about how you got complimented on your ham hands a lot!"

"SHUT UP!"

"Guys, can we can it with the fightin'?" said Sonic. "It's bad enough that Emerald City's had all this jive goin' on, ya know?"

"Sonic's right," said Amy Rose. "This should be a happy occasion!"

"That's Amy Rose," said Sonic. "She's my number-one fan."

"Nice to meet you!" Amy shook hands with Hope.

"Number-one fan, huh?" said Hope. "I can tell by that cheerleader outfit!"

"This? Oh, I wear this for festive occasions like this one! Also, don't let Sonic fool you; I'm his girlfriend!"

Sonic sighed. "Ames, do ya HAVE to embarrass me in front of the newcomer?"

"Oh, Sonic! You know it's useless to deny our love!"

Sonic blushed, while Hope shrugged.

"So Amy," said Shadow, "where's the pest?"

"What pest?" said Amy.

"You know, the rabbit who tags along with you."

Amy smacked Shadow in the face. "Shadow, don't talk about Cream like that!"

Shadow rubbed the spot where he'd been smacked. "Sorry."

"Anyways, if you must know, she couldn't make it tonight because she has a big recital."

Shadow nodded. "Right."

"Anyways, this other mama here is Princess Sally Acorn," said Sonic.

"You mean YOU'RE the princess of this country!?" said Hope. "Ohmigosh, this is just too cool! I am SO honored!"

"Thanks, it's nice to meet you, too!"

Hope and Sally shook hands.

"So how come you're not with the King and Queen?" asked Hope.

"Oh, I'm just visiting Sonic for a bit!" Sally looked at her Timex. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get to my booth before the show starts. See you later, hopefully!"

"OK, have a safe trip!"

Hope waved at Sally as she and her Royal Protection Officers went up to the Royal Booth.

"Movin' on, these three cats right here are the Chaotix," said Sonic. "They're not only the world's goofiest detectives, but they also make up the rest of my band. That's Espio the Chameleon, rhythm guitarist and backup singer."

Espio smiled. "I am honored to meet you, Hope."

"Same here, Espio!"

Hope and Espio shook hands.

"I will say, however, that goofiness is hardly my specialty," said Espio.

"Aw, you're funny, Espio!" said Charmy Bee.

"That's Charmy Bee, our drummer," said Sonic.

"How do you do?" said Hope.

"Just AWESOME!" Charmy shook hands with Hope. "So, why are you here with Shadow? Are you his girlfriend?"

Hope chuckled. "Of course!"

"Charmy, I would've smacked you off of this planet for that sort of thing, but I've actually been in a good mood lately, and I love Hope, so I'm going to let that one pass," said Shadow.

"You're funny, Shadow!"

"Hey Charmy, is this guy right here givin' ya trouble?" said Vector the Crocodile. "Say, who's this dame?"

"Vector, that's Hope," said Sonic. "Hope, this is Vector the Crocodile, leader of the Chaotix and our keyboardist!"

"Good to meet ya!" said Vector.

"Same here!" said Hope. "I like your headphones, too!"

"Thanks, I picked 'em up real cheap at the Salvation Army! Best sound quality I heard in my life!"

"Hey um…sorry if we're late…" said a male voice.

"Silv, you're always on time!" said Sonic. "Hope, this is Silver the Hedgehog and Blaze the Cat! Silv, Blaze, this is Hope! She's Shadow's girlfriend!"

"Nice to meet you!" said Silver.

"Yes, it is truly a pleasure," said Blaze.

"Indeed it is!" Hope shook hands with both of them.

"Shadow, you never said anything about a girlfriend…" said Silver.

Shadow crossed his arms. "Then maybe you should travel back from the future to visit us more often."

"Wait…he's from THE FUTURE!?" said Hope.

"Well…yeah," said Silver.

"But how?"

"It's complicated, but let's just say I was able to hone my skills in such a way that I can time travel."

"WAY COOL!"

"It would be if my time didn't keep getting messed up."

"Well, now that you two are here, I have questions for you…" said Shadow. "Silver, how do you remember Blaze and all of us?"

"I…"

"I think I have an answer for that," said Tails. "According to Brown's Theory of Memory Continuum…"

"Tails, we don't have time for your complicated scientific explanations," said Shadow.

"Right! So basically, anybody who was a direct influence on an event that gets altered by time travel still retains their original memories of the event."

Shadow nodded. "Hm. And Blaze, how were you able to come to this dimension? Silver told me you'd been sealed away with Iblis."

Blaze nodded. "True, I had, but aside from Tails' prior explanation, I had endeavored by chance to travel to this dimension and had somehow done so without grave injury. Even so, I am confident in my ability to control Iblis."

"OK, I can understand Silver being from the future, but Blaze, YOU'RE from another dimension!?" said Hope.

"Yes, I am."

"OK, all of you guys sound like either a recipe for a really good time or a really bad trip!" said Hope. "Silver, you and Blaze HAVE to show me your powers someday!"

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late, I had to…" Sticks the Badger gasped when she saw Hope. "LOOK OUT, SONIC! The aliens have already mutated into human form!"

"Whoa, mellow out, Sticks!" Sonic jumped in front of Hope while extending his palm towards Sticks. "Hope ain't no alien!"

"Oh really?" Sticks put her fists on her hips. "And how do I know that YOU haven't been replaced by a propaganda-spewin' double, Sonic!?"

Sonic smiled. "Go on, Mama, ask me a question that only I would know!"

Sticks stroked her chin. "OK…" She snapped her fingers. "What is the capital of Slobbovia!?"

"Ya mean Upper Slobbovia or Lower Slobbovia?"

"Huh!?" Sticks scratched her cheek. "I don't know…"

"See? I'm the same ol' Sonic the Hedgehog ya know and love! Now come on, why don't you and Hope say 'hi'?"

"How do you do, Sticks?" said Hope.

Hope and Sticks shook hands.

"I'm watchin' ya!" Sticks pointed her index finger at Hope.

Hope turned to Shadow. "Shaddy…is Sticks racist or something?"

"No, she just believes that everyone and everything is out to get her," replied Shadow.

"Hey Sonic, you and your band are on in a minute," said Comedy Chimp, who was MC'ing the event.

"Right!" Sonic gave a thumbs up. "Tails, Espio, Charmy, Vector…you cats all ready to rock?"

The members of Sonic's band replied affirmatively.

"Twitchin'! Let's get out there and rock this sucka to the ground!"

Sonic, Tails, Espio, Charmy and Vector went out to take their places onstage. Shadow peeked out from behind the curtains to get a view of the crowd. Based on what he was seeing, quite a few people had brought Human Lives Matter paraphernalia, including T-shirts, but they appeared to be well-behaved thus far. He could also perceive a line of ECPD officers and Constables in front of the stage, facing the crowd. It was easy to pick the Constables apart from the local officers because the Constables wore navy blue shirts as opposed to the light blue of the ECPD. Also, the Constables' Super Seer helmets were solid midnight blue as opposed to light blue over midnight blue for the ECPD, in addition to having "CONSTABULARY" printed on the back. Shadow questioned the need for a military police force to perform security duties at this event, but then he remembered from his history lessons that the RMC had originally been founded to quell rioting in Emerald City. Meanwhile, Comedy Chimp stepped up to the front of the stage.

"We're so glad to see so many of you lovely people here tonight," said Comedy Chimp, "and we would especially like to welcome all of the representatives of Mobius' law enforcement community who have chosen to join us here in the Palladium at this time! We do sincerely hope that you all enjoy the show, and please remember people, that no matter who you are and what you do to live, thrive and survive, there are still some things that make us all the same…you, me, them…everybody! One of those things is music, so without further ado, allow me to introduce the opening act of the International Festival of Community: Sonic and the Diesel Cats!"

The crowd cheered, Comedy Chimp left the stage, and the lights dimmed, leaving only the spotlights as Sonic's band kicked things off with the hard and fast riffage of "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight"(1). While not ordinarily Shadow's brand of rock, he enjoyed the performance. In particular, he noted that – far from the hacks who didn't even deserve to be on the charts, much less be mentioned in the same sentence as charts, that they'd previously been – the Chaotix were showing a tighter, more refined musicianship and really complimented Sonic and Tails' style. Sonic's other friends were really getting into it as well. By the time the song was over, the crowd was really going wild.

"Thank you!" said Sonic. "You cats are dy-no-mite! It's a great honor to be rockin' for ya, and speakin' of that, here's a little somethin' that'll show ya what rock is really all about!"

Tails kicked in with a groovy bass riff, which led into the heavy, take-no-prisoners song "Not Fragile"(2). Overall, Shadow noted that – like the songs on the tapes that Sonic had given him – Sonic's songs were mainly about stuff like partying, rocking, and women. Actually, Shadow noticed that out of all the songs that Sonic and his band had on their playlist, at least five of them were about women. He found it strange that a guy who was seemingly so afraid of commitment would be so fond of singing about women. What really perplexed the Ultimate Life Form was that he thought he sensed a female concertgoer faint when the Blue Blur randomly pointed into the crowd along with the line "I wanna touch you" while he was performing "Photograph"(3). Shadow merely chalked it up to him having an air for the theatrical and tried to enjoy the show as best as he could. After all, Rouge, Hope, Omega and everybody else whom Sonic had invited were getting into it, and he figured it would mean a lot to them if he made an effort as well.

Thus far, the concert was going off without a hitch for everybody involved, but when Sonic's band hit the tenth and final song in their playlist – "Children of the Grave"(4) – that was when things got really interesting. Shadow had known Sonic to be a fan of Ozzy's music, but to hear him playing it after such carefree songs made him wonder if Ol' Blue was trying to send a message regarding all the unrest. Granted, the song's main focus was about nuclear war, but some of the lines hit all too close to home for Shadow. Speaking of "close to home", Shadow found his Hedgehog Sense tingling for some reason. He wasn't entirely sure why, but it was telling him that something really bad was about to happen to a lot of people. Maria had made him promise to give everyone on this planet a chance to be happy, after all, and he was going to be damned if somebody ruined that for all those innocent concertgoers.

(Damn it, Sonic!) thought Shadow. (Get out of there! Why isn't your Hedgehog Sense going off too!?)

With time running out, he went to look for an employee of the Palladium.

"Shaddy, where are you going?" said Hope.

"Yeah, the show's not even over yet!" said Rouge.

"I'll be back; this concerns Sonic," said Shadow. "Just keep headbanging, OK?"

Hope and Rouge nodded.

Meanwhile, Shadow exited the backstage area and wandered the back hallways, looking for somebody who might know something. Finally, he found a brown wolf in a navy blue jumpsuit, whom he perceived to be a janitor or somebody similar.

"Excuse me…" said Shadow.

"Yeah, what's up?" said the wolf.

"You look like you work here, so please tell me: is there any way to access the area underneath the stage?"

The wolf nodded. "Yeah, there's a service duct behind the drummer's riser. Why?"

"Let's just say you saved somebody's life."

Shadow turned around and headed back for the backstage area. Going prone, he crawled out from behind the curtains and did his best to avoid being seen. Sure enough, there was a hatch behind Charmy, which Shadow opened just enough to slide in, undetected. After climbing down a ladder, he took a couple of steps forward, only to trip over a large off-white cylinder. When he turned around and looked under the rather dim lights, he could just barely make out a few wires sticking out from one of the end caps on the cylinder, which meant one thing: this was a bomb. He didn't stop to question who planted this here, nor did he scramble up to the backstage area to get Tails so he could disarm it. After all, Sonic and the band were on the last verse of the song, and if his Hedgehog Sense was correct, the bomb didn't have much time left.

Knowing what must be done, Shadow took off his G-1 jacket, cast it aside, and lied down face-first on the bomb, covering as much of it with his body as he could. He sort of hated the anticipation of not knowing exactly when the bomb was going to go off, but he was nevertheless a patient enough hedgehog that he could wait as long as he needed to in order to save hundreds – if not thousands – of lives. Sure enough, the bomb detonated, but thanks to Shadow, his body absorbed most of the blast, and what little that escaped did no significant damage to the Palladium, though the explosion caused a noticeable rumbling throughout. After putting his jacket back on, he emerged from the hatch, only to notice considerable consternation from the audience and intense curiosity from law enforcement.

"Hey Shad!" said Sonic. "Did ya feel that earthquake?"

"What earthquake?" said Shadow. "I just saved your LIFE."

"Heh? What do ya mean?"

Shadow beckoned Sonic over. Once Sonic had done so, Shadow whispered to him:

"Somebody planted a bomb under the stage."

Sonic dropped his jaw. "What!? Man, that is messed up! I've heard some jive in my time, but this…!"

"I know. Don't tell anyone else."

"Sure thing! Now come on, let's go backstage; we gotta let the next artist set up!"

Without any further words, Shadow walked backstage with Sonic.

"So, Sonic…"

"Yeah?"

"I believe you owe me something…"

"What?"

Shadow hugged Sonic. The Blue Blur gasped at this gesture, not being used to such a thing from his rival. However, he soon returned the hug with a smile on his face, figuring that things were good between the two of them now. A bunch of people – including Amy, Rouge and Hope – gave off "awwws" when they witnessed it, some even taking pictures of the moment. Eventually, Shadow let go.

"Just don't let it be said I never gave you a chance to be happy…Faker," said Shadow.

"Would I do that to ya, man?"

"Hmph."

Shadow, Rouge, Hope and Omega elected to stick around for only part of the next artist – a rap group called MC Caddy and the Funky Four – because Rouge and Hope were expected to work the next day. Once again, Omega followed Shadow's Trans Am home.

"Shaddy, that was really nice of you to hug Sonic!" said Rouge.

"Don't mention it."

"But he seemed really happy when you did that for him!" said Hope. "Why don't you?"

"Considering the nature of what I did for him so he could earn that hug…well…let's talk about this when we get home."

"OK."

When they got home, Shadow assembled everybody in the living room.

"Now, what I'm about to tell all of you is something that you shouldn't tell to ANYONE ELSE under ANY circumstances without my permission," said Shadow.

"Yes?" said Rouge.

"What's going on?" said Hope.

"AND WHY WOULD THIS MERIT ABSOLUTE SECRECY?" asked Omega.

"Here's the thing:" said Shadow. "Somebody planted a bomb underneath the stage. It was only because of my Hedgehog Sense and assistance from one of the venue's employees that hundreds of people didn't get hurt."

Rouge and Hope gasped, while Omega seemed indifferent.

"But who would do such a thing!?" said Rouge.

"And why!?" said Hope.

"I CONCUR WITH ROUGE AND HOPE," said Omega. "HOWEVER, I AM UNABLE TO FIND ANSWERS TO EITHER QUESTION."

"Don't bother, Omega," said Shadow. "Odds are, if the police look hard enough, they're bound to find answers. In the meantime, we should all be thankful that things weren't worse."

Rouge and Hope looked at Shadow before looking at each other.

After taking a shower and freshening up, Hope elected to cuddle with Shadow again.

"I realize you may not think much of it, but you're my hero, Shaddy!"

"Thanks."

"No really, you are! I mean, Rouge has told me about how you and Sonic used to not get along, but seeing you put that aside to save his life and hug him really made me happy!"

"I'll be happy when all this senseless violence stops."

Hope frowned. "Shaddy, if you're ever sad, you do realize I'll try to help you out as much as I possibly can, right?"

"Of course I do."

"Would you like me to help you now?"

"I won't stop you."

Hope smiled. Then, she nibbled Shadow's ear, causing him to giggle.

"H-how did you know I like having my ears nibbled?"

"Just a lucky guess!"

"Thanks again, Hope! Good night!"

"Good night!"

Shadow turned off his lamp. That night, he had a dream that he was at the concert again and trying to stop the bomb. Unfortunately, he couldn't open the service hatch no matter how hard he tried. He attempted to bust it open with a Homing Attack, but even a volley of those didn't work. He attempted to shoot the hinges off with his Model 29 and failed as well. Not even his M16A1 worked. Soon enough, the bomb went off, taking out a good chunk of the Palladium.

"Sonic!?" Unhurt, Shadow began digging through bodies. "SONIC!?"

Soon enough, Shadow dug up Sonic from beneath a Constable's body.

"Shad…I know ya tried…s-so…thanks. I…love…you…"

Just as Sonic had gone limp, Shadow woke up from his dream. He wanted to cry, but he couldn't get it out, so he just lied in bed and waited for the pain to go away.

MUSICAL NOTES:

*-There were actually two NWOBHM bands with the name "Wolf". The first one - the one being referred to here - was formed in Cheshire and released one single in 1981 before changing their name to Krüizer by 1985, with guitarist Wally Rumsey being the only constant member. The second one was formed in Carlisle under the name Leviathan and released a single in 1980 under the band name Black Axe before changing their name to Wolf in 1982.

The songs that Sonic and the Diesel Cats played were:

(1) - Originally by Spinal Tap, from the 1984 soundtrack to the movie This Is Spinal Tap on Polydor Records. In that band's universe, it was from the 1974 album Intravenus de Milo on Megaphone Records.

(2) - Originally by Bachman-Turner Overdrive, from the 1974 album of the same name on Mercury Records.

(3) - Originally by Def Leppard, from the 1983 album Pyromania on Mercury Records (US & Canada) and Vertigo Records (rest of the world).

(4) - Originally by Black Sabbath, from the 1971 album Master of Reality on Warner Bros. Records (US & Canada) and Vertigo Records (rest of the world).

For a complete list of what Sonic's band played, let me know in a review or PM!

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.