Sorry it's taken a while to post this chapter! i hope everyone had a safe christmas and new years hahaha! ive gotten school projects and assignments like crazy so i have been trying to get to relax too! hope my story has been doing well to everyone's standards so far...

After they all ate a huge dinner they then began to work on a plan to get the chaos emeralds from Eggman. First they had to find out where both emeralds were at. "I think they are here and here," Tails showed to Penny, pointing at two different places. "Last I checked he moved them to here and here," Penny pointed to two different locations. "When was the last time you checked?" Tails asked. "This morning. When was the last time you checked?" Penny asked Tails. "Yesterday. We were too busy trying to find you for me to check this morning." "Well, there you have it. Now the places the emeralds are held in are high security building. But since we know about Eggman's bad losing streak we don't have to worry. But if something goes wrong we have me as a back-up," and she smiled at that. "Ya, you're right about that but I think we should save the best for the very last," and Tails winked at her. Shadow immediately grew confused on the situation. Wasn't Penny just a little girl And when did she become so tough that she should be last resort? And why was Tails treating her like she could kill him at any given second?

Penny decided to go outside after 3 hours of planning the attack with Tails and the others. She looked up and saw the stars were shinning. Great. I don't have long to be up since my bed time should be here any second. I'll just enjoy the time I have on the roof. Penny then heard someone walk up behind her, like they were stomping. She turned her head around to see Shadow standing right behind her which made her jump a little bit out of shock. Shadow just looks at her like 'How did you even know I was coming?' She then just smiles at him and turns back around. "How did you even know I was behind you?" Shadow asks her. "I could hear you walking up. I sounded like you were stomping though." "I was walking as quietly as I could. You shouldn't of even been able to tell I was coming." Shadow then chuckles. "It seems like you have the hearing of a cat." "Maybe because I am a cat," she whispers low enough to where Shadow can barely hear her. "Shouldn't you be going to bed?" "Well I wanted to lay on the roof for a while but I'm too tired to even think about moving," And she yawns. Shadow then sighs and picks her up to carry her to her room. She's already asleep by the time he reaches her door. He then lays her down in her bed and covers her up.

The Next Day

Penny wakes up in her bed and looks around confused. Wasn't I down stairs last night? And how did I get up here again? Oh yeah! Shadow carried me. I gotta thank him later. I need a shower and new clothes on too. She slips out of her bed and gathers the items needed before getting in the shower. She grabbed an outfit and grabbed her towel and washrag. She then checked went into her private bathroom that was connected to only her room. After 15 minutes she comes out dressed but wet from her shower. She then walked downstairs, still tired from last night. She got to the bottom of the stairs and saw everyone was sitting down and chatting away while they ate breakfast. Hm, so someone already cooked today? I don't have to cook for a while I guess. I can already tell this is Amy's doing. Shadow then says "Good morning, sleeping beauty." "Good morning." Shadow then motions her to come over there which she does willingly. He then scoops her up and sits her down next to him. She notices Shadow is the only one without breakfast. he then gets up and heads into the kitchen. He comes back a few minutes later with a small plate full of food and hands it to her. "Here. You seem tired. Did you not sleep well?" Shadow asked her. Wait, huh!? Shadow's concerned over me? What happened to his ultimate lifeform attitude? Did he hit his head at one point? She looked at him, shocked. "Thank you but you didn't have to," She whispers, meekly. "Well, I just felt like being nice to you." He then sets the plate on the small table right in front of the table and goes into the kitchen once again and this time returns with silverware and a glass of milk. He then sets it down next to the plate on the table and sits down next to her. "I'm not trying to be rude or anything when I ask this but why are you trying to be nice to me?" Penny was really shocked at Shadow's behavior towards her. "That's something we'll talk about later," and he just smiles at her.

After everyone ate their breakfast they went outside and decided to go to the park. There was no one at the park today anyways so they decided to have the day to relax and tomorrow they would begin to work on the plan. Penny sat decided to sit under a tree and begin to read a book on mystical creatures like dragons. Shadow was busy trying to keep calm while Sonic was trying to see how fast he could annoy Shadow. Knuckles was talking to Tails and Amy about what to expect tomorrow, which Amy get's upset at knuckles and tells him to relax and so she then goes to talk to Cream and Cheese. Shadow finally snaps and begins to chase Sonic, threatening to kill him. Sonic then begins to run around the tree Penny's is sitting at and she grows so annoyed with him that she then sticks her book out far enough to trip him. Shadow then stops and begins to laugh at Sonic's misfortune. Penny then continues to read her book. Sonic get up and walks over to Knuckles and Tails. Shadow then stops laughing and looks at Penny. He then grows interested in the books she's reading and decides to sit down next to her.

Penny just turns her head towards Shadow to see him trying to read with her. She giggles and goes back to reading. Shadow then grows engulfed into the book. They immediately read at the same speed to where she flips the page when they both finish which is at the exact same time. The others watch Shadow and Penny read the book and are amazed at how in sync they are. Shadow then snuggles himself closer to Penny, in return she leans on him. They then both notice the others are watching them read. They look at each other wondering why they were being watched. sonic then walks over and says, "So Shadow, how long?" "How long what," Shadow responds. "How long have you two been dating?" Shadow immediately snaps and tackles Sonic. He was just about to punch him when all of a sudden he feels a small hand on his arm trying to stop him. He turns to see Penny just looking at him. "Are you really going to waste your time on him?" Shadow then realizes Penny's right and gets off the blue hedgehog. He then walks away to keep from getting mad. Penny then catches up to Shadow and walks with him. He then just puts an arm around her and smiles, saying "The reason I'm kind to you is because you remind me of someone I really cared for. Is there anything wrong with that?" "Not at all. Besides, It's nice to have someone actually care for me," and she just wraps her arm around Shadow. They then sit down at another tree still close to everyone else but far away for the others to realize that they want to be alone.

Omg! im so sorry that i havent posted in a while but here is my new chapter lol! ive been so busy with relatives coming into town and the fact that i had to study for several tests that it's been so confusing just to find time to breathe lol! but i should have a bit more free time this weekend which means for you guys MORE CHAPTERS! yeah, ive been checking my stats and im so surprised at how many views ive gotten overall! thankyou for reading my dear sega/sonic team fans and if you maybe are interested im working on another story based on a book series by Donita k Paul (if you liked dragonspell, the book, please read my story) and thanks again for reading! comments are welcomed strongly!