Finally, the third chapter is done. It may seem a bit rushed, I was trying to get it finished before school camp. I'm off to Moreton Island for 4 days, or at least the parts that aren't covered in oil.

Sorry I didn't update in a while, I was on holidays and I was… Too busy.

Shadow: You mean, you were wasting your time playing Call of Duty 4?

I'd watch it, if I were you…

Shadow: Why? What are you gonna do?

Folks, keep an eye out for my next oneshot, in which Shadow gets raped by…

Shadow: OK! OK! I'm sorry!

That's what I thought. Now say your line, or I'll start on the yaoi orgy one…

Shadow: Shit! Uh, Illumini does not own me, Sonic or anything else, SEGA does.

That's better. And by the way, Shadow's gonna be pretty OOC in this story, but justifiably.

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"Shadow?" Sonic was all Sonic could manage to say, quite in awe of the hedgehog standing in front of him.

"That's what I said, innit?" Shadow said, walking over towards the blue hedgehog. "Who are you, anyway? Gerald said that I'd be getting a roommate, but he didn't mention any names."

A smile lit up across Sonic's face "My name's Sonic the Hedgehog!" He proclaimed proudly, grinning as he prodded his chest with his thumb. "And I'm the fastest thing alive!"

Shadow chuckled dryly. "You? The fastest? Please. I am the Ultimate, remember?"

Sonic looked at Shadow, intrigued. "Is that a challenge?"

Shadow smirked at him. "Yes, it is…"

Sonic chuckled, stretching his right leg. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

"The only thing I'll be waiting for is you." Shadow retorted, as he bent over into a starting position. "First to the observation deck wins."

"Wait! I don't know…"

"GO!" Shadow shouted, not allowing Sonic anytime to finish his sentence. He sped off out of the room, a golden streak of light left in his wake. Sonic wasn't about to be beaten though, as he ran off after Shadow, his feet hitting the ground at supersonic speeds. Sonic figured that he'd just catch up to Shadow, follow him to the observation deck, and then run ahead to victory. He noticed, as he did catch up to Shadow, that the black hedgehog's feet didn't connect with the ground. Instead, he seemed to hover a few inches above the ground, his feet moving almost like he was skating.

'Woah, that's a little unfair…' Sonic thought to himself, knowing that the lack of contact with the ground meant no friction. 'Ah, well, it'll just make me winning even more amazing!' He reasoned, as he lowered his head to reduce some of the drag and gain speed.

Shadow noticed Sonic as he ran up beside him. He smirked. "Took you a while!" He bantered playfully, pretending to lunge towards Sonic in an effort to thrown him off. The blue hedgehog didn't even flinch, instead simply smirking and running off. Shadow scowled slightly, but smirked afterwards. 'Finally, some real competition in this place!' He thought, thankful for someone who could actually meet his own speed. In the past, Gerald had created robots for Shadow to run against, as a means of testing his running abilities. They hadn't even come close to matching Shadow's pace. 'Well, better not let this go to waste!' Shadow thought, as he sped up towards Sonic.

Sonic was just running at cruising speed when a black, red and gold streak flew past him. "Oh, he wants a fight, does he? Well, let's see if he can beat this!" Sonic mumbled to no one in particular, pushing himself even harder. A thunderous crack was heard as Sonic broke the sound barrier, and he sped off into the distance, leaving just a blur in his wake. Shadow flinched as he heard the crack, he thought for a second that a part of the ARK's hull had been breached. It wouldn't have been the first time either. He wouldn't have really cared too much if it had, except that last time, he had almost been sucked out into the vacuum of space. However, Shadow's fears were quelled as he felt a breeze pass by his side, and the fear was replaced by his competitive spirit kicking in. Both hedgehogs ran side by side, a yellow and blue trail following them. They ran through a doorway, into a room made almost entirely out of glass. Out of the windows, the Earth could be seen. 'This must be it… Time to win this!' Sonic thought, as he mustered all of his strength and ran towards the goal. He reached out to the huge metal pylon to touch it, but just as he did, Shadow leapt forward towards it, and their hands connected at the same time, Shadow's on top of Sonic's.

"I win!" Both of the hedgies shouted, and then looked at each other.

"You? As if. I touched it first!" Sonic claimed, growling slightly.

"Please. You just can't handle the fact the you lost." Shadow argued.

"Oh yeah? Then explain why my hand is under yours." Sonic said, realizing the implications a second later. "Wait… Oh!" He exclaimed, swiftly pulling his hand from under Shadow's, as Shadow pulled his off Sonic's.

"Er… Let's just call it a draw…" Shadow mumbled, blushing madly.

"Yeah…" Sonic whispered, making an effort to hide his embarrassment, and failing miserably. His eyes suddenly saw something out the window. Something that amazed him greatly. "Woah…" He murmured, walking over to the glass windows, staring at it.

Outside of the window, he could see the Earth, rotating slowly on it's axis. Sonic had always had an admiration for nature, but he had never seen something as amazing as this. Through the glass, he was able to see rainforests and deserts, land and oceans, cities and wilderness, all at the same time. It was amazing, he thought, that the planet before him could be the only one in the whole universe that had life on it.

"It's beautiful…" He whispered, as he stared. Shadow walked over to him, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It really is, isn't it? I hope I can go there someday…"

Sonic broke out of his trance, looking at Shadow. "You mean, you've never been there?"

"No, I haven't. I've lived on the ARK my whole life."

Sonic gasped, surprised at this revelation. "You mean, you were born here? Where are your parents?"

Shadow sighed, walking over and sitting down in a chair. "I guess I'd better explain it to you. I wasn't 'born' as you might think, Sonic." Shadow explained, gesturing for Sonic to sit down with him. "I was created."

"Created?" Sonic asked curiously, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I was made, as an experiment. You see, Gerald wanted to create a so called 'Ultimate Lifeform', basically, an organism that was perfect. The prototype was a success, but Gerald wanted to go further. He wanted to create a smaller lifeform."

"Smaller?" Sonic interrupted. "How big was the first one?"

Shadow shook his head. "I don't know. I've never seen it. Gerald says that he had it destroyed, but I don't trust him for some reason."

"Why not? He's basically your father."

"I don't know. It's little things, like the fact he still keeps files on the prototype, and he sometimes refers to it as if it were still alive."

"I see…" Sonic said slowly, grimacing a little. If Shadow was right, then this Gerald may not be much different from the Eggman that he knew and hated.

"Anyway, as I was saying, Gerald wanted to create a smaller experiment. And that's where I came in."

"So, he just created you… As an experiment? A project?"

"Yes. That's all I am, really." Shadow said, a hint of sadness present in his voice.

"No, you're not, Shadow. You're more than that." Sonic said, smiling warmly at Shadow. "You're a friend."

Shadow smiled back. "Thanks, Sonic. You're the second person who's ever said that to me."

"Who was the first?" Sonic asked curiously.

"That was Maria, although I generally consider her more of a mother than a friend." Shadow sighed a little. "I wish I wasn't such a nuisance to her, sometimes. She's got a hard enough life, with not being able to go to Earth and all…"

"How are you a nuisance?" Sonic asked, his voice a comforting tone.

"Just… things. Like when I run around, I sometimes break stuff, and she usually fixes it up for me. I don't want to make her feel as if I'm using her, or causing her problems…"

"Hey…" Sonic said, lifting up Shadow's chin so he was looking into his eyes. "I'm sure you're not that bigger problem."

"Yeah…" Shadow said, Sonic's words cheering him up slightly. "Hey, you up for another race?" He suggested.

"Uh, not today, I'm feeling really worn out. Besides that, I should really be getting back home…" Sonic said, suddenly remembering Tails. 'I hope he's alright… I mean, I got caught in that thing, and look where I ended up…' Sonic thought to himself, concerned for his friend's safety.

"Oh? Where do you live?" Shadow inquired.

"Westopolis, near the coast." He explained nonchalantly.

Shadow gave a confused look towards Sonic? "Westopolis?"

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Haven't you heard of it? It's one of the biggest cities in the world!" He exclaimed, prompting only a shake of Shadow's head. "Have you at least heard of Eggman? The Chaos Incident? It made international news!"

Shadow looked at Sonic like he was crazy. "Nope. Can't say I've ever heard of them…"

The penny dropped in Sonic's eye. "Shadow… What date is it?" He asked nervously.

Shadow saw Sonic's concerned, looking deep into Sonic's eyes as he gave the answer. "It's the 4th of June, 1959."

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And that's the chapter. Just for reference, I'm having the story take place 50 years prior to this year, because there's not really a canon date for the game.

Read and Review, thanks!