"Honestly, Tails, I just left him on the sidewalk proclaiming his love. I don't think he wants to go on the kind of adventure you're suggesting right now."

"Proclaiming his-? Well, I guess Amy would have caught up with him sooner or later. Think you can get her ready for the trip, too?"

"As far as I know, Amy is not here in town. Sonic's apparently been crushing on another hedgehog we know who has inexplicably swapped genders."

"Who did what?"

"Never mind, Tails. Now, I can probably convince Sonic to come, but I have a job I need to check in for, if you don't mind dropping me off. When will you be here?"

"Tomorrow, probably around nine or ten in the morning. I can probably get you to D.C., but I have to get to Mystic Ruins with Sonic before anything else comes up with Eggman."

"All right then, Tails." Rouge said, hanging up and turning back to the window. Sonic and Shadow were gone. "Maybe I can still catch them."

Sonic leaned back into the park bench, considering his recent good luck. He couldn't stop smiling.

Shadow returned with a couple of chili dogs she'd gotten from a nearby cart and sat down next to Sonic, handing him one. She glanced up at the leaves falling from the tree behind them as Sonic dug in. "Ring for your thoughts, Sonic?" she mumbled, taking a small bite of her own chili dog.

Sonic swallowed his mouthful of food and hurriedly wiped his mouth off before sitting back up and facing Shadow. "Um, maybe we should go steady?"

"Sonic," laughed Shadow, "I knew you were famous for moving fast, but…"

"You don't wanna go steady? Okay. I can wait," replied Sonic, crinkling the paper wrapper on his chili dog in slight discomfiture.

Shadow laughed again, playfully elbowing Sonic in the arm. "Of course I want to go steady."

Sonic blushed again, more lightly than before. "I can't remember the last time I smiled this much. My face hurts."

"Mine too. It just means we're exercising those muscles a little more than usual," explained Shadow, sharing Sonic's grin. "…I like your smile. It's inimitable."

"In- …In-im-mit-able?"

"Cannot be imitated: In- imitable. Unique;" Shadow clarified.

"Why don't you just say unique?" asked Sonic, tilting his head a little.

"It's not unique enough," replied Shadow, shaking off one of the fallen leaves that had landed on her head. "Besides, I've always been a show-off."

Sonic chuckled, returning to his previous, unperturbed posture. "You're not the only one."

"There you are!" announced a voice from behind them, up in the tree. "I've been looking all over the city for you!"

"Rouge?" asked Shadow, looking back up as the bat leapt down in front of them. "What's up?"

"Eggman's up, apparently. Tails called. He's coming tomorrow to take us to Mystic Ruins, and-."

"No!" exclaimed Sonic, no longer relaxed. "Why does Eggman have to attack now? I can't believe this."

"Sonic, we knew this would happen." Shadow said, attempting to calm him.

"I know, but…" Sonic found himself lacking sufficient words for argument. 'I don't wanna go' being the best he could come up with.

"Well, you two have until tomorrow morning to work things out. I have to go pack."

"Yeah, sure," grumbled Sonic, sarcastically, crumpling up the now-empty hot dog wrapper as Rouge left as quickly as she had arrived.

"Sonic, it'll be fine," reassured Shadow, gently reclaiming the wrapper. "You can handle Eggman, easy."

"Maybe it's not Eggman I'm worried about," complained Sonic, standing up and stretching a bit.

"Well, what is it, then?" asked Shadow, tossing the waste paper into the nearby trash can.

Sonic thought a moment. He was worried, that was for sure. But what was he worried about? He'd had a similar feeling in the movie theatre, and the library, and the woods… and the hospital… and three months before when he followed the crappy old tour bus that Shadow entered town on.

"Maybe I'm worried about you." That sounded about right. "I mean, you remember all the trouble you've gotten into since you came to live here? What if something happens while I'm not here to help?"

"Sonic, I think I can take care of myself. You do recall the three months I lived here without meeting you, right?"

"Yeah, but… You remember the guy in the library? What would you have done if I wasn't there?"

"You have a point, but I-…"

"And I know you wouldn't have been out in the woods if I hadn't showed up, but what about the mutant kudzu thing? I saved you there, too."

"That's just it, Sonic: not much happens when you're not around. Aside from the occasional boredom, there's nothing around here you need to protect me from."

Sonic sighed, but turned around smiling. "What am I here for then, if not to protect?"

Shadow smiled back, walking by him toward the apartment complex. "If that's all the purpose you think you have in life, then you must be a very disconsolate person."

"Gesundheit," Sonic chuckled, following her. "Hey, you know, maybe we shouldn't go back to the apartment just yet."

"Why's that?" asked Shadow.

"Well, I think we missed a spot on our tour…"

"Amy Rose. I didn't know you were in town," commented Rouge, running into the aforementioned in front of her hotel room.

"It's nice to see you too, Rouge. What brings you here?" replied the oddly aggravated girl, setting down her suitcase.

"I was on a mission, but it turned out to be pointless. What's up with you?"

"I spent last night in jail after I got arrested for breaking and entering. And some other things, but Eiglestein dropped the charges."

"You didn't get a phone call?"

"I did, but somebody didn't pick up. Now I don't really care what happens as long as I get out of this stupid town!"

Rouge wasn't sure what to say. Should she mention Eggman?

"Good luck with that, Amy. See you around." Nah, she didn't really need an adventure right now, anyhow…

"Westwood Wildlife Reserve?" questioned Shadow, upon seeing the 'spot' Sonic had mentioned. "I thought this place was restricted."

"Yeah, but it's not really enforced. I've been through here tons of times and was never stopped once."

Indeed, there was no one guarding the entrance. Here, the road made three ways of a four-way stop, the fourth way being an unkempt dirt road leading off into fields and occasional patches of trees before the plain led to another forest. While the rest of the fields were separated from the city by a large wall, the road was blocked off by a guard rail that seemed rusted into the lowered position. No cars would get through, but it was easily passed on foot, which Sonic demonstrated.

Shadow followed, despite the fact that the sky was rapidly darkening, nobody knew where they would be, and, save for the two of them, the place was absolutely void of all sentient life.

Of course, these things didn't exactly occur to either of them, as the pink and orange sunset (to Sonic, just pink) cast a comforting shade across the dry grass of the plain and the sounds of the city faded behind them, replaced with the relaxed drone of crickets and the occasional call of an owl.