They went through a different door and the two found themselves being led down a narrow hallway leading to many numbered rooms. Dean unlocked one and motioned for them to sit down in front of a grey table. As they did so, Shadow took into account the one-way mirror on one wall, the security camera in the corner nearest the door, and the little microphone that he'd imagined, sitting in front of him on the table. The whole scene looked like something out of a crime scene investigation show.

The officer sat down across from them and folded his arms on the table. "This is completely unlike an interrogation. The microphone is on, and I'd like you to speak into it, but we're only here to help. So please don't feel like a criminal. This is totally casual!" He took his hands off the table and leaned back in the chair, setting his arms behind his head like a cushion.

Shadow scoffed slightly. "You remind me of Sonic."

"Sonic the Hedgehog? I don't mean to sound narrow-minded, but it's kind of cool to talk to you. You and the other heroes are known all around the planet! You're real-world superheroes, you know."

Shadow's smirk faded. "Superheroes aren't real. Everyone breaks eventually."

Rouge looked over at him, recognizing the keyword of that sentence. "Shadow, what do you mean by 'break'? You said something about that earlier today, but I didn't want to bother you about it."

"Let me start my story, first. That question should answer itself." Shadow told her. He looked down and realized that they were still holding hands. He considered releasing Rouge from his firm grip, but he found himself really not wanting to. In fact, he felt more secure when they were touching. He decided to leave it.

"Okay," Dean began, "You wanted to talk about the attack, right?"

"Yes."

"Got it. For the sake of the recording," he motioned to the microphone, "I'm going to start from the beginning. What is the event that occurred?"

"I was assaulted."

His grip on Rouge tightened again.

"Did you see your assailant and can you identify him or her?"

"Yes. H-he's Mephiles the Dark."

The officer heard his nervous stutter and flashed a thumbs-up, as if to say, "You're doing fine."

"Can you describe the incident? Step by step?"

Shadow took a deep breath. "Okay, so at the very beginning, Sonic, Silver and I were walking, having conversations, discussing life, the works. And we quickly got farther from civilization than we'd anticipated. We encountered Mephiles and began to fight. We thought it was over, but then those damn coils of darkness that he summoned grabbed my leg and dragged me." He stopped momentarily and took another shaky breath. "I was dragged all the way to the coast, into a cave, and then very deep into it. At one point, I got loose and tried to escape, but that just made him angry. He brought me back in and struck me once in the face. Then, after some sinister trash-talking, he-"

"I apologize for interrupting, but do you remember exactly what he said to you?"

"He laughed and said, 'That's what I love about you, Shadow. You never give up. Never allow yourself to be broken'..."

Rouge sat up straighter, suddenly coming to the realization.

"Then he said, 'But I know a few tricks. And I'm confident,' C-confident," He stuttered, "'Confident that I can break you.'"

The officer raised an eyebrow. "You mean like, break your spirit? Ruin your life?"

Shadow nodded.

"And then, he took his left hand and grabbed me by the throat. Grabbed me so hard that I couldn't breathe." The ebony hedgehog put his hands around his own neck, motioning. When he pulled them away, the policeman noticed the bruises.

"I'm sorry." He said sympathetically.

"Don't be. You haven't heard the worst of it."

Dean's face was now one of sorrow and concern. "What happened next?"

"Well, this part was a bit of a blur. He said some stuff. I said some stuff. I don't really remember the whole conversation. But what I do remember is this: I told him, 'Fuck you'. And h-he replied…"

Shadow's voice grew soft. "He replied, 'You read my mind.'"

The officer had been leaning in close to hear Shadow completely, but when he heard this, he pulled away in shock. "Wait! Are you saying…?"

Shadow could feel tears welling up behind his eyes again. He nodded and covered his face with his right hand, gripping Rouge as hard as ever.

Dean shook his head. He'd heard this kind of news before, but only from women. Never once, in his career of a four years so far, had he ever heard that this happened to a man. And to Shadow the Hedgehog of all men! It had to have been the most shocking thing he'd ever heard. Still though, it was top priority to remain professional.

He looked over at the hedgehog in front of him that was about to cry. "Sir, try your best to calm down, so that we can continue the interview. This crime has escalated from a misdemeanor to a felony."

Shadow counted to fifty in his head. Rouge was patting his shoulder with one hand, whispering, "Shh… you're doing great. Shh…"

Once he reached fifty, he removed his hand from his face and was glad that the tears hadn't escaped his eyes. "I'm ready to continue."

"Okay, great. Please carry on. So, what happened after your attacker said that phrase?"

"Well," he sniffed, trying to resist the running of his nose. "I stared up at him, shocked. I must have looked scared, because it brought an even more sadistic smile to the bastard's face. I don't know why, but I tried begging. I said, 'Please, no. Anything but this.' and the whole nine yards. Didn't stop him, of course."

He looked up from the table at Dean. "Are we done here?"

"We're done whenever you want to be done. We can't hold you here. However, it would be extremely helpful to the investigation if you were to describe to us the actual attack."

Shadow shook his head. "No, no, no. We're done."

"Wait, Shadow." It was Rouge.

He looked over at her.

"I know you don't want to relive it, but… I really think you'll regret not telling them the details. It's only going to help them, and it's only memories! They can't hurt you, I promise!"

"Rouge… it was the most horrible, degrading thing I've ever experienced in my immortal life. I can't go through that again!"

"...Okay. I respect that. I didn't mean to make you feel guilty or anything."

She got up from the chair and began to walk out of the interview room, but her hand was still in Shadow's grasp and he didn't get out of the chair.

"On second thought, you're right." He said, staring at his reflection in the one-way mirror. "He did this. And that son of a bitch is going to get everything I can throw at his sorry ass!"

Dean hadn't moved from his seat either, and he folded his hands on the table again, smiling. Rouge was showing the same expression as she got seated again.

"So then," he began, "Where were we?"

"He ignored my begging. He ignored my negotiations." Shadow said monotonously, "And he ignored my cries for help." A tear rolled down his cheek. "Dammit…" he muttered, wiping it away.

"It's okay to cry." Rouge whispered, "Who could possibly blame you?"

Shadow continued his story. "I just didn't have the strength to get him off. Not only had I been dragged for a millenium over grass, dirt, and sand, but his very touch drained my Chaos Energy. It built back up later, but I was powerless at the time." He wiped away another tear. "So, anyway, after he said, 'you read my mind', that's when he climbed on top of me. I was terrified, to be honest. I knew at that point, that it was going to happen. I couldn't do anything to stop it."

He looked up at the officer. Took into account his slick, black hair. Almost as dark as Shadow's fur, but not quite.

"Dean, do you know what it's like to be kissed by a demon?"

The human shook his head. "Explain it to me."

"It's cold. Icey, in fact. So cold that it makes you shiver." Shadow swept yet another tear off his face before explaining, "Mephiles leaned in very close to me, his head above mine. Gently but startlingly, he kissed me. Right on the lips. And that cold, cold, freezing cold touch spread like wildfire throughout my entire body in a split second. It made my heart pound in my ears, Dean. And my life flash right before my eyes."

"What happened next?"

"He forced his disgusting tongue into my mouth, and let his malicious, clawed hand snake down my body."

The ebony hedgehog shook his head.

"Dean, Rouge, how am I supposed to explain to my best friend, a woman might I add, and a completely unfamiliar human, the very vivid details of how I was brutally raped by another man?!" He slammed his hands down onto the table, startling the two listeners and releasing Rouge's hand in the process. "How am I possibly expected to admit that when his monstrous touch landed on my groin, I had to bite my lip to stop from moaning?!" Shadow stood up, pushed his chair over, and leaned against the far wall, facing away from the others. With his next sentence, he was full-out yelling. "And how am I supposed to live with myself after he pried my legs apart and stole my innocence?!" He turned around sharply, revealing bloodshot eyes and a face dripping with tears. The hedgehog slowly sank onto the ground and curled up into a tight ball, crying. "I was a virgin…" he mumbled.

Rouge sprinted over to him and wrapped her arms around his shaking body. "I shouldn't have forced you to come to this…" Still holding onto her humiliated friend, Rouge looked over at Dean. "I'm sorry, but this interview is over."

He stood up and nodded solemnly. "Okay."