I'll be honest: I'm not sure when Shadow's story takes place, in comparison to Sonic's and Silver's. I don't know that much of theirs, since I haven't gotten a chance to watch everything, but I do have an idea. But Shadow doesn't appear in Sonic's story until they're already in the future.

… I'm… Well, going to be rather nicer to Shadow in this story. Still nowhere near my favorite Sonic character, but not close to the bottom of the list anymore. I still don't like him, but I don't really dislike him all that much, either.

This chapter also introduces yet another Mario character. Here's a hint: He's super-strong, surprisingly agile, quite heavy, and rather smelly.

Chapter 4 (Shadow)

Shadow was doing what he liked best, even if his expression didn't show it: Destroying Eggman's robots. Despite technically being family, Shadow was NOT fond of the 'good doctor'. Even less so when he decided that his best friend (though he didn't exactly let that show either) would make a good hostage.

Shadow and Rouge also happened to be agents of the G.U.N., an international agency that took it as its own duty to protect the world. Since they'd joined, that mostly meant sending out Shadow and Rouge, but Shadow didn't mind that much. Helping people, along with besting Sonic at anything, were two things he enjoyed enough that they were semi-common knowledge. And, for someone like Shadow, that said a lot.

So, here he was, blasting through the snow (and Eggman's robots) in the dead of night, on a mission from G.U.N. to rescue Rouge the Bat from Dr. Eggman, and, once that was done, possibly apprehend a dangerous theif who had been seen in the area known by the (in Shadow's opinion) absolutely ridiculous moniker of "The Purple Wind".

It didn't take terribly long for him to figure out that he might not have been needed. Once he reached the entrance to Eggman's base, Rouge was opening the gate from the inside.

"Shadow? Why are you here?"

"It was a request from the President," Shadow said.

"Ah. Just to rescue me? Honestly, I can take care of myself."

"There's also someone he wants us to apprehend."

"Now THAT makes sense." Rouge smiled. Shadow didn't say anything, and simply jumped into an armed car that was nearby and drove off, blasting robots and searchlights. Rouge flew over and landed in the passenger seat.

"So, Shadow, what does this criminal look like?"

"Human, rather round, stubby legs. Wears purple and yellow. I was warned that he's more agile than his build suggests and that his arms are extremely powerful."

"Any idea how to find him?"

"Keep looking," Shadow replied, serious as ever. "The man is not subtle."

After destroying the last of the searchlights, Shadow leapt out of the car, Rouge following him into a small, fenced-off area.

"Don't you want to know what I found in his base?" Rouge asked, pulling out a glowing rod, with an odd design.

"My assignment was to rescue you and find the criminal. We've only done one of the two."

"Always business with you, isn't it?"

"That's a very dangerous artifact you have there," a new voice said. Shadow and Rouge looked up, to see a large man standing on top of the fence of the area they were in. The man jumped down, landing in front of Shadow and Rouge for them to see his yellow hat and shirt, along with his purple overalls and distinctive pink nose and jagged moustache.

"You!" Shadow yelled, recognizing the man from the photograph he'd been shown. "What do you want?"

"Are you after this too?" Rouge asked.

"No, I've got my prize from Eggman, already." He pulled out a shining red gem, tossing it up in the air before putting it away again. "But I've been a treasure hunter long enough to know powerful magic when I see it."

"You have a Chaos Emerald," Shadow said.

"Yes, that was part of my goal. So I like pretty jewels, so what?" the Purple Wind asked. "I also wanted to meet you. You're an interesting character."

"What?" Shadow asked, surprised. "So you showed yourself on purpose, when my best friend was kidnapped, just to meet me?"

"Nice plan, right?" he said. "Anyway, introductions. I'm Wario. The Purple Wind is an alter-ego of mine I assume when I'm bored and can't find any profitable adventures."

"I'm Shadow, and this is Rouge, but clearly you already knew that. Why are you here?" Shadow didn't trust this man.

"There's something big going on right now," Wario replied. "I'm not sure what, but Dr. Eggman has a base set up here. My rival's arch-enemy, Bowser, is also somewhere in the country. If they decide to team up, Mario's little bunch of misfits and Sonic's team might not be able to handle it. And, of course, there's always profit in adventure."

"Why me, though?" Shadow asked, annoyed. "Why not just go right up to this 'Mario' and help him?"

"You seem far more bearable than that happy-go-lucky nothings-impossible plumber," Wario said. "So, how about it."

"… Fine. For now," Shadow finally agreed. "Any funny business, though, and G.U.N. is going to lock you away."

At this, Wario just laughed. "I'm the strongest man in the world. They'll fail. And, to prove it, I'm going to dismantle this robot about to ambush us. Hang on to this for me." He tossed his Chaos Emerald at Shadow, and, true to his word, a huge, dog-like robot suddenly dropped out of the sky.

"So, robo-fido, ready to rumble?" Wario asked, cracking his knuckles. "Been itching for a real fight since the Shake King. Gonna deliver? Or are you just a scrap heap waiting to happen?" He rushed forward, punching the robot in the side. It left a large dent, but surprisingly the robot didn't seem to notice. Wario repeated the tactic, putting more dents in, but hardly doing any damage.

Shadow and Rouge, meanwhile, were studying the robot.

"I'm not sure what it's weakness is… It seems very strong," Rouge noted.

"Its head," Shadow supplied. "It's being very careful to keep it out of reach…"

"And away from the walls," Rouge added. "… Perhaps they're stronger than its head is?"

"That would make sense. Hmm…" Shadow looked at the head. "That horn… Perhaps it could be used to steer the creature." He held up the Chaos Emerald, disappearing in a flash of light. A second later, he reappeared on top of the robot's head, grabbing the horn of the creature. His reasoning turned out to be sound – From there, it was simple to steer the creature into a wall, greatly damaging its head. The impact threw Shadow off, but the damage was still done.

Obviously, Wario had seen this. Before the robot could recover from the blow, he ran in front of it. "So its weakness is its head…" Wario trailed off, grinning as Shadow nodded. "Well, then, how about and Earthshake Punch to the face!" He jumped up before the Egg Cerberus could move its head out of the way, and punched its head with all his might.

The head of the robot utterly collapsed, as it was thrown into the opposite wall at two hundred miles per hour.

Wario grinned. "Scrap heap waiting to happen. Ha! Too bad there's no valuables."

Shadow didn't visibly react to the display of strength, but Rouge was stunned.

"Now… I believe we need to be somewhere?" Wario asked, as he turned to them.

"Oh, right," Rouge said. "G.U.N. has a rendezvous point in Kingdom Valley. Aren't you worried? They ARE looking for you."

"Bah, I'll be fine. After all, they hired YOU, didn't they?" Wario asked. "Clearly they're not above forgiving thieves if they help save lives. And, frankly, I've been saving people for four years. Now, let's get going, quick as possible."

Shadow rolled his eyes, and took out the emerald again, holding it up. The three vanished in a flash of light with a yell of "CHAOS CONTROL!"

Sorry that Rouge didn't really get a chance to do much – Hopefully there'll be something for her later.

Wario's here, too. And it's probably pretty clear that the only thing he's being entirely truthful about is his own strength.

Hey, first chapter without scene breaks! That's cool, I guess.