Author's Note:

Beware of some fairly provocative thoughts in this one.

Oh, and remember what I said about parings? That still stands. I like to play around with 'em, but nothing is permanent or definite, anything can happen, so don't get too comfortable or freaked out.

Speaking of definite… though at the moment no one's age is definite in my fic, you should know that [in my fic] Tails is somewhere between nine to eleven, Sonic is somewhat older than Amy, and Knuckles is somewhat older than Sonic.

Chapter 11

Angel Island. Early evening.

Wind rustling the lush grass, the lush palm tree leaves, the lush red dreadlocks of a softly snoring echidna… none other than Knuckles of course.

Laying flat on his front, splayed out like a floppy stuffed animal, Knuckles had once again fallen asleep on the job while sunbathing on the warm rocks of the shrine. Not that he had much of a job anyway; that and he was supposed to be nocturnal. Tagging along with Sonic had thrown him completely off schedule, and he was trying to get back into the 'creature of the night' thing.

'Chicks dig the dark guys…' he had reasoned.

On the sparsely populated floating island, those few that actually managed to find the Master Emerald shrine were normally smart enough not to tempt the buff, intimidating Guardian who lived there. On top of that, Knuckles was very direct in dealing with passers by, whether their intent was to get a piece of that emerald or not. Trained to punch first, second, and then thirdly ask questions, he was very good at what he did… when there was something to do.

"Oh yeah…" at present he was groaning happily in his sleep, "Come to Knux… oh man… so big… round… juicy…" he unconsciously drooled a bit, and his hand twitched, "That's right… give it to me…" he chuckled a bit, tail swishing, "C'mon I mean it… give it to me…" suddenly his face frowned and his tone turned cold, "I said give it to me…" he paused, apparently having some sort of conflict in the dream, then growled, "Give it to me! No! They're mine! Hey! Come back here! You can't just let me touch them and run off like that, you tease!" his tone softened again on a sadder note, "I just want to squeeze them… taste them… eat them…" he then suddenly flinched, and groggily opened his eyes.

Sitting up, he wiped the drool hanging from his mouth. He blinked a few times to come to his senses. His stomach growled at him indignantly.

"Grapes." he said simply, looking at his stomach, "No wonder I'm having strange dreams about 'em… not enough in there!" he patted his stomach thoughtfully.

He looked to his left. There was a small woven basket full of ripe, juicy grapes. Red ones too; Knux's favourite. He hungrily reached out, grabbed a fistful and stuffed them in his mouth. To the grapes' right was the red Chaos Emerald. Its soft glowing illuminated a small area around Knuckles like a lantern, but it wasn't much use as the immense Master Emerald was directly behind him, that and it was still quite light out.

After the strange robot echidna attacked and took the yellow emerald from Tails, Sonic decided to spread the last two out, just in case they attacked again. The red one was given to Knuckles, who disliked the idea from the get-go.

'I already have a big-ass emerald to watch!' he thought, 'One responsibility is enough.' he yawned, 'It's not like I want to see the Chaos Emeralds go to an enemy, but don't drag my emerald into it as well!'

He reached for more grapes only to find the basket empty. Disappointed, he picked up the basket, lay back on the rocks, and put it over his face.

'…but what about those robot echidna Sonic was talking about… what does it mean?'

Knuckles had not seen another live echidna as far back as he could remember. He couldn't remember his mother, and only had very sketchy, vague memories of his father, who had raised him to be the next Guardian – he couldn't even remember their names. When he heard of the attack against Tails' home was made by robotic echidna, new hope of meeting one of his own kind was realized.

'Maybe there's some echidna guy making them! Or maybe there's a group of them… or it could just be Eggman up to no good?' he took the basket off his face and put it over top of the emerald nearby, hiding it's alluring light, 'I dunno… but Sonic better think of something soon. Running around looking for a dead hedgehog is not doing us any good…' he closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

...

"Sonic… please come back to me, Sonic…" a white gloved hand reached out into the dark, "Please don't leave me alone! I miss the feel of your blue fur, your windswept quills, your scent of fresh air…"

Suddenly in the dark, appeared the blue one. He was facing away from the outstretched hand.

"Sonic!"

Without turning back he seemed to drift away.

"Sonic come back! Sonic!"

"Amy!"

Tails' Machine Shop / Sonic Headquarters. Early evening.

The blackness abruptly melted away, revealing a very concerned looking young fox, "Amy…" he repeated, expertly masking his irritation, "Your screaming is interrupting my work. Please try to keep it down, okay? I really need to get this done!"

Amy sat up on the very puffy, checkered peach and cream-colored couch she had been sleeping on. There were punctures with stuffing spilling out all over its surface, due to the fact that Sonic and his spiny behind are not a good match for such a weak material. Tails was looking over the back, still looking harassed. He was working on fixing a failed engine in the Tornado, and was being quite meticulous about it. He was also still very upset about loosing the yellow emerald to the strange new enemy. …and on top of that, was working on a new mecha to counter these new enemies. In other words, stressed to the max.

"Are you alright?" he asked, as she had not yet spoken, "Sonic said he'd come back this evening for a break… aren't you happy?"

Amy looked up at Tails, a little teary eyed and forcing a smile "Oh Tails…" she fluffed the fur on his head, "You're so young, you wouldn't understand… it's grownup stuff."

Tails just rolled his eyes cynically and hopped back onto the floor behind the couch, "Right…" He walked back to his workshop, making a point of closing the door in a way that could only show displeasure.

Amy turned and put her feet on the floor, again looking weary. Her unusually, and frighteningly large mallet was propped up against the end table nearby; within arm's reach. She slipped her hand under one of the couch pillows…

"Yeah, he's coming back." she pulled her arm out, fist clenched around something, "…but not to see me." in her hand she held the blue Chaos Emerald.

Sonic had lately become obsessed with the idea of reuniting with Shadow; frequently running off at random, sometimes not returning to Tails' machine shop / home for days. A true drifter, this behavior was actually normal for Sonic – the only difference this time was that his aimless running had a purpose… one that he was perusing relentlessly… one that seemed to be draining his spirits.

Before his frequent search missions had begun he would typically return from a hard days' for-fun run, relaxed and content on a runner's high. He would lie on a wing of the Tornado and recite all the interesting things and amazing adventures he had to Tails, and Amy if she was around.

Now when he returned he simply isolated himself, seeming tired and broken. Every failed search wrenching his free spirited soul and hopes of getting to Shadow before anyone else could convince them to their side.

…and so he kept running, in hopes that one day he would catch a glimpse of the black and red mystery - So far he hadn't… not the true Ultimate Life anyway.

He coincidentally found the red, yellow, and blue emeralds during his searches, and each time left one with each of his friends. One with Tails, one with Knuckles, then one with Amy. Amy was ecstatic that Sonic trusted her enough to give her an emerald, and as usual, took the gesture to all the wrong extremes. Though as of late she was starting to become as broken as Sonic…

'Pull yourself together, Amy.' she told herself, 'Sonic gave you an important job to do!' she put the emerald back in its oddly insecure yet witty hiding spot. A baddie with no sense of Chaos energy would never think to look under sofa cushions. Unfortunately they had yet to realize that many of their potential attackers did have some way of detecting Chaos energy - naturally or by machine.

'If you pull through for him even in the toughest of times, he's bound to come round! Yeah…' she smiled uncertainly and lay back on the couch.

…

Trees and shrubs streaked by in blurs of vibrant color as Shadow ran through the palm jungle. His feet barely touched the ground as he whipped around a corner at incredible speed, making the leaves rustle gently as he passed. A violet emerald was clutched in one hand, lighting his way though the dark.

On a whim, Eggman had allowed Shadow to do things his way – and he intended to exploit that window of opportunity to its fullest before Eggman changed his mind.

Shadow rapidly coiled his legs under him and sprung into the air to avoid a fallen log. He landed on the trunk of a hunched over palm tree, and ran up to the top. There he hopped from treetop to treetop, keeping his senses tuned into the Chaos energy signals he could just barely feel.

Swish… swish… swish… swish… he landed on each treetop just long enough to push off, the force of each leap making the tree bend and sway as he flew to the next.

Then he could see it.

'Hello…' he smirked, halting on all fours at the top of a palm tree. The tree swayed and threatened to tip right over from the force he had hit it at, so he went straight to work. Holding the violet emerald in front of him, he focused his eyes on the Master Emerald shrine, blocking out sight of everything else around it, and uttered sharply, "Chaos Control!"

With another flash of light, he re-appeared at the bottom of the steps up to the emerald shrine. The stepped walls of it were smooth, and much of it was covered with grapevines.

"Who's down there?" he was immediately noticed by the big red echidna guarding it.

'Well… that didn't take long.' Shadow crossed his arms and looked up. He could not feel the energy of the emerald he sought anymore… and he guessed it was because of the neutralizing powers of the Master Emerald.

Before Knuckles could look over the ledge, Shadow hand sprung on one hand over to the shrine's wall, and flattened himself against it. Glancing up he saw Knuckles looking out over the edge for the source of the energy surge he had felt, and sudden flash of purple light. Seeing his chance, Shadow scurried with blinding speed straight up a bare portion of the wall. When he was in range Shadow pushed off with his hands and feet, executing an arching back flip in mid air. As his feet swung up and around they flipped up and struck Knuckles soundly in the jaw. With a cry of pain and surprise as spit flecks flew, Knux's head snapped back as he stumbled in reverse a few feet. Shadow flipped full circle and caught himself on the wall, fingers and sticky soft rubber soles of his shoes digging into the few thin, shallow cracks the smooth wall had to offer. The instant he landed, he pushed into motion again and launched himself up over the ledge. Knuckles had just composed himself, ready to fight, as Shadow landed in front of him.

The grape basket was still over top the red emerald, and since the Master Emerald seemed to be blocking out his sense of Chaos energy, Shadow didn't notice it was there. Thinking this was just one of the clones, Knuckles spared Shadow any words before he attacked.

"Hraaaa!" he cried as he charged at Shadow, fist pulled back in preparation to strike and a fang bared menacingly.

Shadow waited until the last possible moment, then ducked under his blow, converted his forward momentum into a jump, and flipped in the air as he moved to land on the Master Emerald. It didn't work as planned… the Master Emerald seemed to have a cushion of soft energy around the top, and bounced Shadow clear off.

Knuckles turned and grinned, violet eyes sparkling in amusement as Shadow sailed over the edge of the shrine. After a long pause, he didn't return for more. Curious, Knuckles jogged over to the edge to see what had become of him. He cautiously peered over the side.

BAM! Knuckles received an uppercut to the jaw, and was then kicked hard in the chest which slammed him against the Master Emerald.

"It's true what they say about you, then…" Shadow eyed him up and down as he walked closer to the echidna, "Strong as hell but a fool." he smirked, "I tricked you twice… It's a wonder the Maste—"

"You're one to talk!" Knuckles stood up and assumed an offensive stance; "You can't even get your girlfriend's wishes straight!" Knuckles had heard the story of Shadow and Maria, and found it interesting that the very thing he cared about the most was something he had remembered incorrectly, and almost destroyed the planet because of it.

"What did you say! Shadow's eyes flashed as his amusement instantly turned sour, both at being interrupted and insulted, "I dare you to say that again…" he growled.

Knuckles began to circle Shadow, searching for an opening, a weak spot to strike. Not able to meet his eyes directly, Knuckles watched Shadow's feet, not risking loosing sight of his lightening quick foe again, "I said you couldn't even remember your girlfriend's dying words… pretty sad if you ask me." he then suggested with a smirk, "Maybe you should have tried looking her in the face when you talked to her."

"Maybe you should try looking me in the face, coward!" Shadow hissed as he began to circle Knuckles, quills on his back rising, pupils narrowing, violet emerald in his hand glowing as it sent surges of hot, burning energy up his arm, "How dare you speak of something you know nothing about!" a grin, a broad, insane grin suddenly crept across his face. With the combination of his sharp-eyed look and spread quills, it was a disturbing sight indeed, "You know… you're lucky I clenched my fist when I struck you that last time. The force of my open palm from that angle would have snapped your flimsy little neck like a twig!" the emerald sent more burning energy, more mind warping power shooting up his arm and into his body. His common sense began to blur… all he could envision was torturing this creature… sharing the pain he felt inside … he lunged!

Knuckles leapt to the side as Shadow dashed toward him. Shadow turned with him and their fists hit each other in mid air – neither in their roused state found it at all painful, but Shadow was easily pushed back by the Guardian's superior strength. Knux reared back for another punch while Shadow was stabilizing his balance, but it was single handedly deflected with the side of Shadow's foot by the time he thrust forward.

"GYAAA!" Knuckles cried. Shadow had suddenly gotten in his face and was pressing the violet emerald against the side of his face.

There's a reason most beings that seek the Chaos Emeralds wear gloves – the energy of the emeralds is so great at full power, that they burn skin and fur if you touch them long enough.

Shadow was so thrilled by his cries of agony as he singed a portion of red fur on his face right off, that he didn't notice Knuckles as he moved to strike again.

"Kyu!" Shadow was thrown to his back on the ground, still clutching the emerald as if his hand was fused to it. He put a hand to his stomach (where he had been punched) as he shakily stood, then did several handsprings in reverse as Knuckles immediately came at him in a series of jabs and hooks. Still holding his stomach, Shadow stopped right on the edge, toes balancing carefully on the rim of the ledge. Without waiting to dwell on his searing burn, Knux attacked again. Shadow twisted to the side to avoid the punch, the spikes on his knuckles millimeters from scratching his eye as he watched them pass.

"Chaos Control!" he cried, thinking of warping behind Knuckles in time to push him off the edge.

Nothing happened.

"Wuh!" Shadow was stunned. Had he not been thinking hard enough?

BAM! After that millisecond of confusion, Shadow received a powerful left hook to the temple, which sent him reeling and tottering back towards the basket concealing the emerald.

"Man… you clones really are dumb." Knuckles chuckled, "You should know that the Master Emerald neutralizes the Chaos Emeralds in such close proximity.

Shadow's head spun – that echidna could hit hard!

'Ugh… focus…' Shadow shook his head vigorously, but to no avail… his surroundings still whirled as he saw three red blurs come at him.

"Now get down!" the Guardian ordered.

WHAM! Shadow received a brutal blow to the top of the head that sent him slamming chin first into the ground. The rest of his body followed so harshly that it bounced as it hit the ground. He bit his tongue on impact, puncturing it, which promptly filled his mouth with warm, salty blood. He choked on it, spilling it out of his mouth and onto the swerving ground. His grip on the emerald loosened a bit as he coughed for air, the wind having been knocked from him.

Knuckles stopped for a moment and stared at the blood, "Blood?" he opened his mouth in surprise, "…I thought you were… mechanical clones…"

Shadow groaned as his head stopped spinning, finally caught his breath, and he pushed himself up with his arms to sit on his knees, blood dripping from his mouth, and blank eyes making him look almost like a vampire after the bite. His look of anguish slowly returned to the insane air of before, and his snickered, "They are mechanical clones… fool…" as he let out a single huff of amusement before his expression went neutral. It was the short calm before the storm…

"Are you… the real Shadow!" Knuckles faltered, stepping back, though fists still held defensively.

"HRAAAAHH!" Shadow bellowed. From his kneeled position he charged Knuckles' legs, grabbed them, and pulled his feet from under him.

Knuckles promptly fell on his back, and all of a sudden Shadow was over him pinning him to the floor. Under Shadow's surprising weight Knux couldn't move! Knuckles squirmed as panic rose through him. He wouldn't lose! Not after such dirty fighting. Shadow brought his face so close to Knuckles' they almost touched noses. They could feel each others heavy breaths. At this range there was nowhere else to look, and so Knux was forced to meet Shadow's penetrating scarlet eyes. Like a serrated blade, they seem to cut into his brilliant violet eyes, twisting through his head and down though the rest of his body. Beads of sweat formed on his brow as Shadow bore deeper into his soul – it was excruciating…

"…you feel my pain? Do you feel it now?" he whispered in an utterly sadistic tone.

He swore shakily, "…f-f-fuck y-you…" he felt as if his insides were being torn, rendered inside out, and his mind was a just a whirlwind of bad memories and unpleasant thoughts. He stifled a cry and winced his eyes shut for a second, but soon they were open again and staring at those alluring, cursed eyes. He couldn't look at them and yet he couldn't escape their clawed hold on him.

Though clenched teeth the demonic Shadow uttered, "Yes… I see inside of you… your pain is nothing compared to mine." some blood dribbled from his mouth and fell on Knuckles' muzzle. He pressed the emerald into Knuckles' side, making him cry out in pain as it burned fur and flesh, "…remember that…" removing the smoking emerald, he grabbed him by the side of the head and slammed it into the ground, hard enough to make his vision spin and swerve.

Shadow achingly got up, wiped his mouth with the back of his glove and walked a little ways away from the writhing Knuckles. He tripped over something… looking down he saw a basket. He kicked it away carelessly, only to hear the familiar tinkling of emerald against rock. He quickly moved over to it, bent over, and cast the basket aside. The red emerald stared him in the face.

Hearing Knuckles sir behind him, he smirked, quickly picked up the emerald with his free hand and dashed off. When he was a safe distance away he warped back to Eggman's base.

Knuckles said nothing as he painfully got up… he was almost relieved to see him go.

'I gotta warn Tails and Amy… and Sonic.' he thought, rubbing his head and glancing at the Master Emerald for a moment. He ran to the edge of the shrine, leapt off, and spreading his dreads, glided towards Sonic Headquarters.

…

Amy sat up on the couch again; green eyes open wide and sweat forming on the back of her head. She had been startled by a sudden noise. It was dark outside, and only one soft lamp was on in the corner of the room, emitting a very dim light.

"Tails?" she called, looking over the back of her resting place, "Was that you?"

There was no reply. Nervous, she reached for her oversized hammer. It wasn't there. Panicking, as she suddenly felt a presence beside her she whipped her head around. She put a hand to her mouth and opened it to scream, but only a sharp gasp emitted.

On the sofa beside Amy, lounged Shadow. One hand was in the air, twirling the mallet around in his hand, and in the other was at his side on the couch, clutching the red Chaos Emerald. He saw Amy staring in shock and horror, and smirked sadistically as he tossed the strange weapon behind him, far out of Amy's reach.

He had quickly warped back to Eggman's base, left the spent violet emerald with a bewildered Eggman, and used the red one to warp to Sonic HQ. If an emerald wasn't involved, the 'cruelty' that followed may have not been so intense… he had no interest in taunting innocents, after all. It was just that the power of the emerald, the surging high it gave him, seemed to bring out the worst of his dark side… drove him mad.

"You have something I want." Shadow spoke quietly, a positively enchanting look in his eyes as he edged closer to her. His mouth wound had already healed, and a small bump on his temple and slight lump on the back of his head were the only visible injuries from his recent fight.

Amy squirmed backwards, though was gripped by shock and fear under his eyes, and so wasn't getting too far. She felt her rear touching the emerald under the seat cushion and stopped. No, she wouldn't give up so easily; she wouldn't run from the job Sonic had given her.

Shadow came closer, moving slowly, almost as if he were stalking prey. He neglected to remember this fairly irritating pink hedgehog's name, but it didn't matter… that's not what he was here for…

Still sitting on the emerald, she leaned back, trying to get as far as she could from the sudden aggressor without abandoning her post. She noticed he did not have the gold bands on his wrists.

"You're… t-the… real..?" she stammered.

"Very observant." Shadow's smirk intensified as he moved even closer. Interesting how she picked that up so quickly. Anyway, he knew where the emerald was, and would have to do an incredibly wicked thing to get it. Has he been himself, not under the influence of the red emerald, he would have simply cast her aside to get it… but since that was not the case…

Amy blushed and gasped as he slowly slid his free hand through her legs, white-gloved hand smoothly parting them as they brushed against her soft fur, and slipped it under the cushion. Had it been any other, Amy would have fought back… but he was so much like Sonic… same mischievous, peculiar look, same stature… even his touch felt the same… her eyes closed half way as his face came closer to her's, still staring deep into her soul with those bewitching eyes as he reached for the emerald. She felt sleepy and intoxicated under the weight of his body heat, the white tuft of fur brushing against her breast… he eased the emerald out from under her, the pressure of its movement making her flinch slightly as it brushed against her. She barely knew this hedgehog, but it felt so right, that she soon gave up and yielded herself to it.

Shadow thought it was a riot that he was so easily able to surmount his rival's girlfriend… and though he had no true feelings towards her, she was definitely not the least physically attractive female he had ever seen.

He now had two emeralds in his hands, and their combined energy making was strange impulses surface in his mind… some strange primal instincts that needed to be fed… he didn't consciously know what it was, not that he was fully conscious at the moment anyway, but instinct took over and he moved in on Amy, who simply fell limp with a sharp intake of breath as his nose brushed against the side of her face. He could feel a warm fuzzy feeling in his chest…

Shadow lifted two fingers from one of the emeralds he was holding and ran it smoothly up and down Amy's leg, making her shiver involuntarily. He nuzzled his muzzle up to her soft ear, ran his tongue delicately along the side, then nipped at it gently, about to whisper something… but Amy spoke first.

"Oh Shadow…" she breathed from beneath him…

Something flashed in Shadow's mind… the voice! It was so much like Maria's voice! The emerald's influence quickly took over again, pushed the thought away, and he went back to work. Over her, emeralds held up and behind her head so he wouldn't burn her, he could feel her body arching up as the magnetic heat between them intensified, longing for him to come down on her.

"You came to see me…" she seemed so happy about it.

Again some old memory was shaken in his mind by the voice, by her words… he began to snap out of the pheromone trance… this was wrong!

"I'm glad…" Amy started, but Shadow could only hear Maria's voice now.

Suddenly a vision violently stabbed him, occupying his mind, but only for a brief moment… it was scratchy and blurry… color faded… and played like an old projector movie before his eyes… Maria was in a hospital bed, hooked up to various tubing… He was hugging her. She reached out…

"…to see you too…" both Maria and Amy somehow said at the same time as Shadow felt slender fingers run though the white fur on his chest. He could see Amy and Maria stroking his fur at the same time… the thought jolted him awake.

"No!" he shook his head and jumped back, off of Amy and to the other side of the couch, dropping both emeralds in the process.

Amy looked at him; his eyes were wide in alarm and confusion, though looking blindly at the floor. There was sweat beading on the side of his head, and his face was red with embarrassment. He held his arms a few inches off the couch surface, as if not sure what to do with himself.

"No… not right… I would never think of you that way, Maria…" he whispered under his breath, "It's not right… I would never do that to you…" his arms trembled slightly.

"Maria?" Amy was confused, and a little hurt by the sudden withdrawal, "…who is Maria?" she slowly flipped her legs under her and crawled a little closer to him, face still red and body still heavy with arousal.

Shadow said nothing. His breathing was uneven, and eyes still wide, trying to fight something down… feelings he couldn't handle properly at the moment… fear… physical frustration… disgust with himself…

"Shadow..?" Amy cautiously reached out and put her hand on the side of his face, only to have him flinch violently at the touch and scramble away. He tumbled to the floor.

"What's happening to me…" he breathed as he shakily stood up, quills a little droopy, fur moist with sweat, ears snapped back against his head.

CRASH! Suddenly the wall behind them crumbled, making them both jump. Dust and debris flew everywhere. Fully conscious again, Shadow snatched up the red emerald and lunged for the blue. Amy beat him to it and he found himself grabbing her hand over the emerald instead.

"Chaos Control!" he cried, lip curling.

In a flash, they were standing outside in the dark a few feet away from Sonic HQ; Amy holding onto the blue emerald with both hands, and Shadow with one. They were standing on a white-sanded beach and the full moon was out. He pulled back to wrench it from her grasp, seemingly back to his 'normal' self, but she held on, eyes tearing in confusion and fatigue.

"Why are you doing this! I thought you would help us!" she croaked out.

Shadow said nothing and gritted his teeth, fighting the insane power that was surging up through his hands, rippled across his arms… threatening to take over once more. He pulled back again, forcing Amy forward and to her knees. Something shiny tumbled up her arm, stopping at her shoulder.

Shadow eased up on his strength a bit as he stared… it was one of his gold bands…

While Amy wore gold bands of her own, they were thicker, rounder, and didn't look like they were made of real gold. She had been wearing his band just behind her right bracelet, and he had not noticed it until now.

"I won't let you take it!" she cried, in reference to the emerald, "Sonic trusted me to take care of it!"

Shadow felt the ground vibrating, and could hear the familiar sound of the large metal footsteps of a heavy mecha approaching. It was Tails, in a very much unfinished machine. Most of the wires were showing, and he sat open and vulnerable up at the top. The machine only had two large legs, one stumpy, unfinished arm, and a long metal tail sticking straight out behind it. It looked a lot like a dinosaur, with Tails being seated at the head. Speaking of heads, Tails had a huge welt on the top of his, for upon entry to his residence Shadow had taken the liberty of knocking Tails out barehandedly before going for the emerald Amy was guarding.

"Stop right there!" Tails bravely cried out, "I won't let you get away with this!"

Tails spun the machine around, the tail whipping around and threatening to grab or flatten Shadow. He made sure that only the tip of the tail would hit the enemy, and would not extend far enough to injure Amy as well.

Again, time slowed as Shadow made split-second decisions. He didn't want to take the girl with him, but he needed the emerald. Grabbing her in a rough, loveless embrace that caught her off-guard, he leapt away from the approaching tail and dashed far from the machine. When he had traveled a safe distance, he abruptly dropped her on the ground and again tried to pry the emerald from her tight grasp. She was putting all her weight and energy into holding the emerald, but only Shadow realized that it was the emerald's power sensing her strong will to hold on that was making her grip so strong.

Tails soon approached in his machine, "Sonic will be here any moment now! Just you wait!" he yelled as the machine struggled to trudge along the soft, sandy beach.

This gave Shadow an idea; a wonderfully malicious idea. With renewed confidence he let her have the emerald she was so desperately protecting, and instead scooped her up in his arms. He met no resistance, and he still clutched the red emerald in one hand. Shadow winced his eyes shut in concentration as he continually tried to resist the influence of the chaos emeralds.

Tails drew nearer, "Hey! Put her down!" he demanded with a hint of dread.

Shadow drew in a deep breath, and shouted back in his most powerful, bellowing voice, "Stop. If you want to hear where I'm going to take her… then stop."

Tails hesitated, and then halted, still a distance away from Shadow.

"I challenge Sonic for possession of his emerald. He is to meet me on the tallest building in the Metropolis."

"…but—" Tails was about to speak, but Shadow swiftly cut him off. Voice even stronger and sterner than before.

"If he fails to show, I will have to resort to more drastic measures to get the emerald from her hands…" he smirked, his spines twisting in an impressively intimidating display, as he said more softly, "Imagine the possibilities…"

"No! Shadow! Wait!" Tails called desperately, seeing he was moving to use his warping ability.

Shadow of course, didn't wait.

"Chaos Control!"

…and was gone…

…

The sound of wind and the faint noise of the city below rung in their ears, as did the cold silence between them. Shadow was balancing delicately on the thin iron grate railing on the edge of the building – the tallest skyscraper of the Metropolis – keeping a watchful eye out for his rival. Amy was sitting on top of a nine-foot high five-foot wide solid structure on the roof of the building – where Shadow had placed her – which concealed the only staircase up to the rooftop. As the door was locked and she was hundreds of stories in the air, she saw no point in trying to escape, and so clutched the blue emerald. Not only that… while his gaze was frightening, she did not fear Shadow himself… she had felt safe in his arms…

Shadow had hidden the red emerald in one of the rooftop vents, and was afraid to pick it up again in the presence of this female he knew so little about, yet almost did unspeakable things to. At the moment his mind was severely scolding itself, and he felt like leaping off the building and impaling himself on the flagpole far below as punishment for his actions.

'Why did I do that? I don't even know her name. Yet at the time… it felt right… but now I regret it.' his stomach churned at the thought, 'I would never… do that to you Maria… please understand…' in his heart, he knew she would understand, but still he dwelled on it. He closed his eyes for a moment to try and drive the thoughts away, but they held fast, 'It was the emerald's influence… it must have been.' he bowed his head lower and rested it on the railing, 'What's wrong with you!'

From her place on the cinderblock box, Amy looked up. She could only see him bent over the railing in apparent humility.

"Uh… um…" she gathered her courage, "Sh… Shadow?" she called rather weakly, but she saw his ears swivel towards her and knew he was listening, "Uh… sorry, but… could you get me down from here… please? It's kinda high."

There was an uncomfortable silence. Then Shadow mumbled something involving Maria, and slowly turned and walked towards her. His expression was very unpleasant as he walked to where she was sitting high up. After another pause, he looked up at her and said calmly, "Jump, and I'll catch you."

"…" Amy opened her mouth to say something, but something came over her, and she decided instead to stand up and take a leap of faith off the edge.

Shadow bent his knees and easily caught her. He let her lay in his arms for a moment, and then placed her on her feet. Amy held the emerald in both hands between them, as he gazed vacantly down at her, hands lightly on her shoulders. It was all he could do to resist the emerald's radiant energy.

She blushed a little as he spoke to her, "What is your name, pink hedgehog?"

"Amy." She said, staring at his white crest instead of making eye contact. She couldn't understand what it was about his presence that made her feel so small and insignificant, so subdued… maybe it was because of the way Sonic had been treating her lately… she was feeling neglected and lonely after all. She longed for some company… perhaps that was it?

He removed his hands from her shoulders and turned away, moving back towards his vantage point. In his mind the emerald was screaming for his touch, but he wouldn't allow himself to be caught up in its deranged, impulsive world again… not yet…

'Maria… why do I have to be alone? Why do I have to suffer like this?' he winced for a moment, 'This hedgehog… so very much like you… but she is no substitute… and… even if I wanted to… I cannot see her for who she is… only you… I see you… I feel you… I even hear you…'

"Son—Shadow…" Amy called after him weakly, interrupting his moody thoughts. She found she had to think carefully before she spoke, because she kept thinking of Sonic each time she looked at him.

Pocketing the blue emerald, Amy walked over to him, around to his front, gently taking his wrists in her hands – Shadow's gold band tinkling softly against her bracelet. She had to look up slightly to meet his eyes, and she was able to this time, because he was looking off in the distance, and not directly at her. He had a disgruntled look on his face. She wanted to see what was in his head… but not being very skilled in that area, she was unable to get past the thick emotional barrier in front of his eyes. She tried to think of something to say, but no words came…

"Ah…" she gasped as Shadow unexpectedly wrapped his arms mindlessly around her in a hug, pulling her close. She relaxed as he put his hand on her head, resting it against his soft white fur. Closing her eyes, she listened to his slow heartbeat… fantasizing that this was a moment with Sonic…

A droplet of rain landed on Amy's head, then another, then one landed on Shadow. Moments later, rain was pouring hard, thundering like the applause of a crowd as it fell on and around them. The water seeped through their fur and drenched them to the bone, but all they felt was the warmth between them. …all Shadow heard was the sound of rain… the heart wrenching sound of rain,

…and so they stood there, in the rain, in embrace; Not seeing each other, but those they loved but could not have.

In the concealment of the wet pouring down on them, sagging his quills and soaking his face, Shadow cried.