The Light That Never Comes

by 2627354

It's been several years since the heroes of earth split up, and Shadow the Hedgehog is one of GUN's most famous agents. However, when he is framed for a bloody attack on a space station, he finds himself cornered, with both allies and foes against him. Will he fight his way out with old friends and enemies, or fail and face the death that waits for him and all who help him?

3. Chapter 2: Double Rescue Part 1

Author's Note: Thanks to 56th Reg. Sergeant Epps Hande, Swiftshadow123 and Casino Nights for reviewing! And thanks to Swiftshadow for letting me use her OCs!

Disclaimer: I own nothing other than any OCs that aren't SwiftShadow's OCs, Reimaru, Spike, Tsuki, Ken and Chi.

Sighing as he straightened in his seat, Shadow finally woke up. Flinching in pain at his bullet wound, the black hedgehog yawned and stretched his legs as best he could in the confined space of the car. Considering the position of the sun, he guessed they had been driving for quite a while.

"S***, that's painful…" He muttered quietly to himself.

"No s***, kid, you have a bullet in you." Alex replied, looking in the rearview mirror at him. As usual, he was driving the Impala rather fast down the road, classic rock (it sounded like Black Sabbath) playing from the radio.

"Thanks for the TLC, man." Shadow replied, yawning a second time and reaching for his phone. "At least you aren't blaring the radio like usual."

Smirking in reply, Alex rolled the volume control two full circles. Glaring at the brown hedgehog, Shadow jerked his head towards Amy, who snorted in her sleep as the loud music started to wake the poor hedgehog up. Flinching in fear, Shadow watched her as she stirred from her already fitful sleep. Sitting up with a jerk, she cried out "No, Pinkie, don't kill Twilight!"

"What the frack?" Alex asked, looking at her in the rear-view mirror.

"Sorry… I have nightmares when I'm upset." Amy apologized unhappily, her voice cracking slightly.

"Yeesh, no need to be so torn up about it." The brown hedgehog muttered, looking back at the road.

"Well, sorry I'm upset after having killed people last night!" She exclaimed, glaring at him.

"Rose… Don't beat yourself up about it." Shadow told her, watching her as she looked down at her lap. "NGW is a corrupt corporation, everyone that works for them is a military or agency reject for one reason or another." Sighing, Amy stared out the window.

"It doesn't change what I did…" She muttered, resting her cheek on her hand.

"Amy… I hate to be blunt, but get over it. If you want to help Shadow, you're going to have to do a lot more killing than that. Trust me, we don't like it." Alex assured her, turning around to watch her. "It's a terrible thing, but we can't avoid it. It's life unpleasant necessity, at least to us."

"Alright…" Amy whispered, hanging her head in defeat.

"If it's any help, we have standards." Mike said informed her. "So, we won't kill anyone that's actually good, just following the misinformation of Shadow's framing."

"Okay… I still don't like it though." Amy replied, looking back up. "Now please watch the d*** road!"

"Good." Alex said, turning back to the road as Mike went back to his book. "For 'It's good that war is so terrible, or else we should like it.'"

"That's Robert E. Lee, right?" Amy asked, looking over the seat at Alex as Mike rolled his eyes.

Quotes history like a fanboy, yet he treats me like a child when I reference books or movies…

"Yep." Alex replied. "You know your history?"

"Yeah, it's one of my favorite subjects, along with medicine!" Amy informed him, seeming to try to fight her way back to cheerfulness.

"Cool. I like history alot too." Alex deadpanned in reply. Amy noticed how the demon hedgehog rarely ever showed emotion, or at least rarely showed much other than sarcasm or humor. As the two continued to talk on Shadow leaned up to Mike's seat, his face between the headrest and side of the car.

"So… What's next?" He asked the brown hedgehog, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Well, we get to visit two of your old friends, and hopefully recruit them." Mike informed him, not taking his eyes off his book.

"Why do I have the feeling one of them isn't truly my friend?" Shadow asked.

"Well, Scourge probably isn't your friend, but Tails is… At least, I think he is." Shadow nodded and sat back… Before putting his head right back where it had been.

"Wait, why in the world are we trying to recruit Scourge?" The Ultimate Lifeform practically yelled in Mike's ear, causing him to flinch. Sighing, the muscular hedgehog dogeared his book and turned around in his seat, staring Shadow in the eye.

"Because, he has resources we don't have, skills we need, and support others don't have. He's actually spoken against it being you." Mike told him. "Well, not to the press, but I asked some old sources of ours and they said he was actually somewhat supportive of your innocence."

"Never would've guessed I'd someday work with that moron..." Shadow muttered to himself as he sat back, earning a chuckle from his friend. Looking over at him, Amy watched as the black hedgehog stared thoughtfully out the window while Mike went back to his book. She noticed that although he had grown, he seemed largely similar to how he had been back before the group had split. The Shadow she had known was quiet, thoughtful, a bit on the moody side, but remained loyal. The Shadow last night had seemed… Different. Somewhat, at least, considering his strange show of emotion.

Probably just from being tired…

"So, Rose, medical school was the school you were talking about?" Shadow asked, looking over at her.

"Yeah… I never specified 'cause I thought you'd think it was silly of me to try." She replied, sighing quietly.

"I always thought you were smarter than people gave you credit for." Shadow informed her, giving a slight smile. Smiling back, Amy looked down at her hands, clasped together in her lap. A bright red flared across her muzzle at the compliment.

Stop overreacting, you're not a fangirl anymore!

"You okay, Rose?"

At least, not unless it's Supernatural or anything related…

"Rose?"

Oh God, I just realized, he sounds exactlylike Dean!

"Rose!" Worried, Shadow started to calmly wave his hand in front of her face.

Just calm down, and… You've missed another conversation now. Startled, Amy jumped, looking wide-eyed at Shadow.

"Back on planet Earth?" The Ultimate Lifeform asked, watching her with a raised eyebrow. Blushing an even deeper shade of read, the pink hedgehog scratched the back of her head.

"Sorry… I can get distracted sometimes…" Amy said, grinning sheepishly.

"Don't feel bad, so can Mike." Shadow told her, jerking a thumb at said demon hedgehog. Proving his point, Mike looked up from his book and asked "Huh? What about me?" Rolling his eyes, the black hedgehog sighed and looked back out the window. Amy watched him before looking out her own window, a sullen look on her face. Sighing in exasperation, Alex glanced over at his brother, who, sensing the stare, glanced back.

Everyone just can't drop their terrible mood, the idiots… I'm calling it in.

"Ice breaker?"

"Ice breaker." Mike confirmed, turning off the radio and plugging in an iPod. Flicking through the songs on it, the brown hedgehog grinned as he found the one he was looking for. Smiling as Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears for Fears came on, Alex looked in the rearview mirror, watching Shadow and Amy's ears perk up as they registered the music that was playing from the Impala's radio. Smiling, Amy looked at Shadow, who solemnly looked back. Placing her index fingers at the corners of her mouth, Amy dragged them further up, indicating a smile to her friend. Rolling his eyes, the black hedgehog gave a half smile as she started to sing along.

At least I don't hate this song… Much.

---

A few hours later, they were stopped at a small, secluded gas station on the side of the road. While Mike was inside buying more snacks, Alex stood by the car as he filled the tank, a cigarette hanging from his lips as he read on his phone. While they did this Shadow, who had lowered himself in his seat to hide, talked to Amy.

"So… Who are these guys? I know you never met them before the split." Amy asked him. Sighing, Shadow straightened slightly, trying to find a position that didn't hurt his wound.

"I met them… About right after that." He replied, thinking. "When I started working for GUN more, they became my new partners."

"What about Rouge?" Amy cocked her head to the side.

"She went into espionage, whereas I joined its Special Operations and Black Operations Groups." Shadow informed her, resting his head back.

"Is that more combat-type stuff?"

"Yeah… And so I got stuck with those two idiots."

"Sooooooo… Why are two demons working for GUN, exactly?" Amy asked him, glancing out the rear windshield at Alex.

"One thing you have to learn, Rose, is that GUN, even the parts of it that are the good guys, are all too willing to employ supernatural entities, as long as they have a good moral standing." Shadow told her, turning and looking at her.

"Well, how do you know you can trust them?"

"That's a story for later…" Shadow muttered where she could barely hear, "But to sum it up, they've risked their lives to save mine, even once we had the mission objective in hand, ready to deliver. I still feel like I owe them for it." Shadow smiled slightly at the memory.

"Okay… But what are they like?" The pink hedgehog raised an eyebrow at him, a curious light in her eyes.

"Well, Alex there, as you can see, is more susceptible to bad habits. Refuses to drink, after a hard past as an alcoholic." Shadow informed her, his brow furrowing. "He doesn't hold back on foes, and isn't afraid of using brute force. Trust me, you don't want him angry. And early warning… Knock on his door when we're at the base. You never know when he'll have a date over.

"Mike, however, is the opposite. Can't get addicted to anything, tends to be more gentle and kind, controls his anger better, and as opposed to his brother, preaches the ways of waiting until marriage."

"Okaaaaay…" Amy trailed off, glancing out the window at Mike, who was casually strolling back with a plastic bag in his hand, and who happened to be a fair bit more muscular than his skinny brother.

"Yeah, he's gentler. It's just because Alex has had a much worse time in life." Shadow said, smirking as he looked at the brothers as Alex pulled the receipt out of the gas machine, rolling his eyes at the price as he did so. The two brothers climbed back into their seats and Alex flicked his cigarette butt into the ashtray.

"Alright, lady, gentleman, and whatever Shadow is." Alex started, earning himself a middle finger from the Ultimate Hedgehog. "You ready to head to America?"

"Nah, I rather enjoyed Europe." Amy deadpanned, her eyes half closed as she stared at him.

"Oh, shut it."

"How'll we get there, anyway?" Shadow asked, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Jimmy."

Groaning, Shadow leaned forward and thunked his head on Mike's seat.

---

About 4 hours later, Alex waved out the window at an older echidna as he drove away from an airport on the outskirts of New York City. In the back, Amy was asleep again and Shadow was pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I hate that idiot…" The black hedgehog muttered angrily, glaring past his fingers at his friend.

"We understand that he can be annoying, but he's the fastest transporter we could find." Mike replied, reading a new book, having finished the first on the plane.

"Hn…" Was all Shadow said back, sighing and resting his head back. The sky was starting to turn red as the sun slowly started setting. They drove for a short while along the edge of the city, its skyline rising in the distance. Turning along a deserted dirt road, Alex drove about ten minutes before coming up to an isolated hillside. Pressing a button on the console of the Impala, Alex smiled as part of the hill split, revealing a tunnel underneath.

"Home, sweet home." He commented as he started driving in it, an incline slowly growing downwards as they continued on. Eventually it evened out and they found themselves pulling up into a large metal-and-concrete cavern. Sighing contentedly, Shadow got out and gently closed the door, trying to avoid waking Amy. Walking around to her side, he opened her door and carefully picked her up, carrying her bridal style to a nearby door. Alex and Mike, who had just gotten out, snickered at each other as they watched this.

"He got feelings?"

"Oh, yeah, he's got feelings." Mike replied, grinning at his brother. They walked in behind Shadow right as Amy started waking back up. She snorted before noticing she was in Shadow's arms. Blushing, he quickly let her down.

"Thanks." She said quietly, her muzzle a bright burning red. She smiled slightly as she turned around, looking into Shadow's home. It was a rather strange mix of fancy and normal, or even simple. During a visit to a friend back in some suburbs in the mid-west, she had seen a few houses helping her niece sell candy bars door to door at school. His home reminded her of a mix between the homes that she saw then and some of the major mansions she saw on TV. She guessed that Shadow was responsible for the simpler part, judging from how his old home had been…

Station Square, Seven Years Ago

With a gasp, Amy snapped up into a sitting position, finding herself in an unfamiliar room, on a black couch. Looking down at the red pillows, she wondered where she was.

Fortunately for her, the answer to her question walked in.

"I see you're awake." Shadow said, raising an eyebrow at her. "That seemed like a pretty bad blow to your head you took."

"Wha…? Shadow?" Amy asked, staring wide-eyed at him. Shadow sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Yes Rose, it's me. Now, why were you in such a rush you hurt yourself?" The ebony hedgehog asked, sitting down in the red armchair across from the couch.

"Well… I was… And still am, in fact, late to Sonic's birthday party." She replied, swinging her legs off the couch as she looked around the room. Judging from the size, she had to guess Shadow lived in an apartment. The walls were black, with red curtains on the two windows to her right. She could also see a stove and fridge in a small kitchen area in the corner, with the couch and chair in a square area to the side of that that seemed to be the living area. To her right, towards the kitchen, was another armchair, sitting between the other two sofas. To her left was a somewhat large TV set up against the wall, with a Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Gamecube sitting connected to it. In between the TV and the sofas was a bed, with red sheets and a thick black comforter on it. From what she could tell, it was one room.

Simple living… I expected a palace.

"Faker, huh?" Shadow muttered, getting up and walking to the counter, where he had a pot of coffee ready. "How's that idiot doing?" He held the pot up in question.

"I thought you had stayed in contact with him?" Amy replied, raising an eyebrow at him. "And yes please."

Pouring two cups, Shadow replied "I haven't talked to him in a few months." He walked back and sat down in his seat, handing her a cup of the coffee whilst taking a sip from his own.

"You've been busy?" Amy asked, sipping from her own cup, flinching slightly at the heat.

"GUN is a tough job. They've been assigning me more missions lately." Shadow said, eyeing her carefully.

"Saving the world makes for a rough time, huh?" The pink hedgehog replied, smiling slightly. Her face quickly fell as she noticed he didn't smile back.

"So… What happened?" She asked.

"I was taking a walk in the park when you came rushing by." He informed her. "I thought nothing of it until I heard you cry out. I walked over and saw you had slipped on some ice and hit your head on a tree. So I decided to bring you here."

"Thanks…" She said, blushing in embarrassment. "I guess I didn't hit that hard…"

"Or maybe you just have a skull of stone…" He said. Her head shot up and she glared at him, before noticing that he was smirking.

"You… You made a joke?" Amy asked in surprised, her eyes wide.

"I am capable of it, you know…"

"I know, you're just normally so serious… And kinda cranky." She replied, giggling at his unhappy expression.

"So, you were rushing to get to Faker's house, for his birthday?" The Ultimate Lifeform asked, gulping the rest of his coffee down.

"Yeah… I was already late. What time is it?" Amy asked, looking around.

"Eight."

"Aw, s***." Amy muttered, earning an inquisitive stare from Shadow. "What?"

"Just… Nevermind." He replied, glancing away. Rolling her eyes, Amy continued on.

"So, I'm two hours late now."

"Well, at least you don't have a concussion." Shadow said, standing up and taking Amy's cup as she handed it to him.

"So?"

"So, if Sonic still lives at the same house, I can use Chaos Control to get you there." Shadow told her, turning back and getting surprised as Amy squealed and glomped him, almost knocking the hedgehog over.

"Alright, alright…" He conceded, gently prying her off. She smiled at him happily.

"You're the best Shadow!" She told him excitedly, making him blush. Her eyebrows furrowed together for a minute though.

"What's wrong?" Shadow asked.

"I appreciate you taking me there, but you have to promise to stay!" She told him, glaring at him.

"Why? I don't even have anything to give to him…" Shadow muttered, avoiding her eyes.

"That doesn't matter! I'll just explain what happened, Sonic'll understand!" The pink hedgehog exclaimed, smiling at him. The black hedgehog sighed, hanging his head in defeat.

"Hn… I guess I'll go." He muttered. Amy smiled.

"Don't worry, it's just our friends there!" She told him, pulling him to his couch, where her stuff was sitting.

"Your friends…"

"No, our friends!" She told him, glaring at him slightly. "Tails will be there, and Knuckles…"

"Tails is alright, I guess… I can at least talk technology with him. But that big red idiot…" Shadow said, scratching at his head.

"Hey, it's not Knuckles's fault!" Amy exclaimed. "And Rouge might be there, if her schedule allows, and the others!"

"So… Basically only the people we know?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Well, duh! That's the point I was getting at, silly!" Amy told him, looking at him like he was crazy.

"Ugh… Whatever." He replied, reaching over to the cushion of the seat and lifting it up. Amy stared wide-eyed as he reached in and pulled out several guns of varying size and design. She sighed in relief as he pulled out a CHaos Emerald and put the guns back in.

"What, afraid I was gonna hurt you, even after wasting time?" He asked, practically sneering.

"No… Guns are just dangerous…" She replied unhappily, her face showing her obvious hurt at his demeanor. Shadow sighed.

"Sorry… That was uncalled for." He muttered, looking away. Amy managed to smile and hug him, surprising the dark hedgehog.

"It's alright, Shadow. I know you have trouble with people, but that's why I think you should go!" She told him, letting go after his muzzle turned blue from a lack of oxygen. "Talking to some people you know will help make it easier to talk to people you don't!"

---

Now

And Amy was right. Shadow had gone to the party and softened up, at least somewhat. Enough to no longer stay in his apartment and not talk to people for weeks on end, at the very least. Over the course of two months, he began working up the courage to talk to people more. At least, that's how Amy put it. Shadow preferred to say he worked on being less annoyed by it.

And on the first day of the third month, he finally worked up the courage to ask Amy out.

They dated for two years, a happy couple. But Shadow had left after a fight, and Amy didn't see him once from that day until the hospital.

"Amy?" Shadow asked, seeing her staring into space, interrupting her memories. She started in surprise as he and the McAlister brothers looked at her with eyebrows raised.

"Sorry, did I blank out?" She asked, earning a snicker from Alex.

"Yeah." The tall brown hedgehog told her, smirking. "But you need to stop, at least for now. It's time to meet our family… Of sorts."

"Family?" She asked, raising an eyebrow as they walked into the living room.

"Yeah. Hey! Gather Round!" Alex called out into the house. Amy looked around as a the inhabitants of the house walked into the living room. The first one was a rather skinny cat girl, who looked to be the same age as her. She had white fur and was a little shorter than Amy herself. She rolled her eyes at them.

"What do you want, Alex?" She asked, glaring at them.

"We're introducing Shadow's girlfriend to the family." Mike told her, smirking as Amy blushed and Shadow lightly punched him in the back. The cat rolled her eyes again before walking back out, muttering about how stupid everyone was.

"That was Chi, our friend Reimaru's daughter." Shadow told Amy, still glaring at Mike. "She tends to be on the angrier side."

"I can see that…" Amy commented, looking after the white cat.

"And here's Sunshine Girl's mom, who differs in personality just as much as she does in the obvious." Alex informed the pink hedgehog. She turned around and was startled by the other female cat before her. Whereas Chi was very thin and had a look of anger, her mother was rather large and round and had a happy smile on her face. She had blue fur, unlike her daughter. Amy noted how young she looked, appearing to not be out of her twenties even, despite her daughter looking to be twenty-two like Amy herself.

"Hello, my name is Tsuki." The blue cat told her, sticking her hand out. Amy shook it, returning the smile Tsuki was giving.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you!" She replied.

"Sorry about my daughter, she can be grumpy sometimes." Tsuki told her, rolling her eyes. "She gets it from her father."

"And by sometimes, Mom means everyday." Came a voice from the opposite side of the living room. Amy turned and her eyes widened as she saw the behemoth of a blue cat walking down the stairs. He stood taller than Mike, but was more like his mother, with a thick layer of fat covering him. Amy could tell that underneath was some muscle, making it look as if he could kill a small person with a single punch.

"I'm Ken, by the way." The young cat said, blushing slightly as he stopped next to the couch.

"Nice to meet ya!" Amy told him cheerfully. He smiled, his blush deepening. Alex wandered off to the kitchen that was to their right while Tsuki went and sat in an armchair.

"Nice to meet you too…" Ken said. He walked back and sat down in the second armchair, causing it to creak in distress at his weight. The two armchairs were facing a massive TV with a wall behind them, with the kitchen on the other side of the wall. Between the two chairs was a small table with a lamp on it. There were two couches facing each other on either side of the TV, and to the left behind the couch on the far side from Amy was a staircase. Amy went and sat down on the closest couch, but jumped back up when she heard a loud "Yip!" come from it.

"What was that?" She squealed, as Mike and Shadow leaned over the back of the couch to look at the seat, where a startled shiba-inu was lying under a blanket, staring up at the three hedgehogs.

"Oh, hey Spike." Mike said, snickering at the dog, whose light brown hair was sticking ever which way from sleeping.

"Hi… Guys…" Spike yawned out, rubbing his eyes as he sat up. He was wearing a dark brown T-Shirt with an anime design on it and athletic shorts.

"Sorry about that!" Amy exclaimed, sweatdropping with her hands over her mouth as she looked down at Spike as Shadow looked between her and Spike and Tsuki tried to stifle her giggles. The black hedgehog watched as the young dog scratched at his head, staring at the pink hedgehog. His ear twitched as Alex's voice reached them.

"And here is the man of the house, Reimaru." Alex said as he walked back in from the kitchen, a red-furred fox with black-tipped ears and tail reluctantly trailing behind him.

"Nice to meet y-y-you too!" Amy stuttered, her system full of adrenaline after being startled from sitting on the poor dog. She had her hand on her left shoulder, which had been jarred from her jump, hurting her bullet wound.

"And I see you probably just sat on my poor idiot." Reimaru commented dryly, smirking at her. Amy stopped shaking and raised an eyebrow at him.

So… You're that kind of guy.

Unlike his wife and son, Reimaru was rather thin, but not as scrawny as Chi. He looked muscular enough to be on the athletic side. In his cargo shorts and red hoodie, he looked like an ordinary guy, maybe even one that she would have dated.

But, judging from his smirk and the glint in his eye, he was the troublemaker she would normally avoid.

"Leave her alone, at least she isn't super heavy, like Ts-, uh, Ken." Spike told him, earning an eye roll from the fox and a glare from his wife. Amy glanced nervously from Spike to the cat as she slowly stood.

"What was that… Spike?" Tsuki hissed, fire in her eyes. Spike gulped, staring wide-eyed, before dashing from the couch and sprinting on all fours up the staircase, yipping the entire way. Tsuki growled before sitting back down, crossing her arms angrily.

"For his physical health he better stay upstairs for awhile." Alex commented, snickering along with Reimaru at the dog's flight as Shadow walked around and sat next to the arm on the couch and Mike hopped over and sat in the middle.

"So, about those nightmares you mentioned, and that Doctor guy…" Mike started. However, Alex held his hand up, causing his brother to give him a questioning look.

"Not until after dinner. We don't wanna ruin everyone's appetites." He said, as Shadow looked between them and Amy stared at them.

"Alright… What is for dinner, anyway?" Mike replied, looking at Tsuki, as did the other three, who had only had beef jerky and candy throughout their day of traveling.

"Well… I'm open to suggestions." She said, causing the four to hang their heads and groan as Reimaru laughed at them.

"At least we'll have time to clean up and get those bullets out." Mike commented.

"Screw you and your brighter side of things." Was all the brown hedgehog got in reply.

---

Two hours later, Amy and Shadow were sitting on the bed in Shadow's room, which was identical to his old apartment, except for the missing kitchen area. They were facing each other and eating fish, shrimp and rice. Shadow was eating his with chopsticks while Amy used a fork.

"So, was this your new team when you… Left?" Amy asked him as she poked at the fish. Shadow nodded as he swallowed several pieces of shrimp at once. "Good Lord, what happened to you eating neatly?"

"Bad habit I picked up from those idiots." He replied, his brows furrowed slightly. "And yeah, Mike and Alex were my new teammates, along with Mulder."

"Mulder?" Amy asked, her head cocked to the side as she finally managed to spear a piece of fish without it splitting apart.

"Yeah, James Mulder. If it weren't Mike and Alex's status as Special Units, he would've been the Senior Agent and Team Leader." Shadow replied, smirking slightly. "Apparently they'd been working together since Mulder himself was a rookie."

"Wait… Was he the fox with the red hair and ear tips?"

"Yeah."

"Nice reference, universe…" Amy muttered to herself before commenting "Quite the shiner you gave him."

"He gave it to himself, actually." Shadow replied, looking down. "He did it and gave me the bullet wound so that the others couldn't tell he let me go."

"He made it look like a fight?"

"Exactly."

"Why, though?"

Sighing, Shadow leaned back for a moment, thinking. "He has three kids to take care of. GUN is well-paying, but not to the level of wealthiness, especially after his wife's death and one of his son's bouts with cancer."

"Jeez…" Amy commented sadly, her eyes falling.

"His son has recovered, but is now making up high school at age twenty, trying to get his diploma so he can go on to college and become a teacher. His twin brother works three jobs to help make ends meet, while his daughter will have trouble getting something that pays well."

"Why?"

"She… Has a learning disability." Shadow told her, his eyes filled with sadness. "She's sixteen, but has problems. She's capable of the simplest math, but is unable to comprehend much beyond that. She also reads at a low level."

"Does she just need help, or is it at a brain level?"

"Brain level… I don't remember exactly, it was pretty complicated, but I think they said it was a combination of learning disability and lower-than-average IQ."

"So…"

"Yeah, she probably won't be getting a high-paying career."

"Poor girl…"

"One thing to smile about, though, is that she's absolutely the sweetest thing you will ever meet." Shadow said, smiling.

"Really?" Amy asked, cheering up slightly.

"Yeah, first kid I've ever met that I've liked." Shadow replied, laughing slightly. Amy laughed as well, before flinching and stopping.

"Please, don't make me laugh, it hurts my shoulder." She murmured, raising a hand to her hurt shoulder, which Mike had finished pulling the bullet out of half an hour ago.

"Sorry… At least it should be largely healed by tomorrow." Shadow apologized, a sad look in his eyes.

"It's fine!" Amy told him as she finished her fish, leaving just some small clumps of rice on her plate.

"Thanks… You need more food?" Shadow asked, pointing at her plate with a chopstick.

"Nah, I'm full." She replied, putting her plate down. "Thanks for offering though!"

"You're welcome." He replied.

I didn't mean I'd get more for her… "So… We'll be bringing Tails here in two days?" Amy asked as Shadow finished the rest of his meal.

But she doesn't need to know that.

"Yeah, him and Scourge. That way we'll have two kyuubi here, as opposed to one." Shadow joked, smirking.

"Wait… Reimaru is a kyuubi?"

"Yeah, although he only has seven tails." Shadow informed her. "But don't bring that up, he's a little sore about it."

"Okay!"

"Now, we should probably go on to bed…" Shadow said, getting up and glancing at his watch, which was further up his arm, right above his inhibitor ring.

"Yeah, it is pretty late…" The rose hedgehog commented. "Wait, where am I gonna sleep?"

"Here." Shadow said, pointing at his bed. Blushing, Amy raised an eyebrow.

"I don't mean with me, I'll be sleeping on the couch downstairs." Shadow said, earning a sigh of relief from his friend. "Am I really that ugly?"

"No, no!" Amy exclaimed, waving her hands. "It just would've been awkward, since…"

"I know, I was joking about it." Shadow told her, half smiling. "Another bad habit I picked up from my teammates." Giggling, Amy hugged him before letting him leave the room with the plates.

"G'night!"

"Good night, Rose." Sighing, Shadow gently nudged the door shut behind himself. He looked down, thinking of their breakup. Sighing again through his nose, he walked off quietly to put the plates away and turn in for the night.

I miss kissing her goodnight…

---

Amy was having a perfectly good dream about sitting back and watching a Chuck marathon with a few gallons of ice cream when she was suddenly woken up by a hand over her mouth. She started to thrash until her eyes focused and she saw Mike, a finger up to his lips. She nodded and he gently let go.

"Change of plans, we're packing up and leaving for both guys." He informed her as she sat up.

"Why?" She asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"We got info on hits out for each of them, presumably because of their support of the Ultimate Political Party." He told her, earning himself a puzzled look. "Just a lame joke, my apologies."

"No apologies needed, I make those all the time." She said as she stood up, trying not to stare at his biceps exposed by his green tanktop.

"What, lame jokes?"

"No, apologies." She murmured, earning a chuckle from the demon.

"Yeah, sure. Anyway, get washed up." He said, walking out and pointing down the hall to his right. "You're headin' to China with me and my brother."

"Why China?"

"That's where Scourge is."

"Oh, fun and joy." The pink hedgehog muttered as she slipped out the door past him.

"Don't take too long, we need to move fast." Mike said, getting a groan in reply. "Just be happy you've gotten more sleep than the rest of us."

"Again, screw you and your brighter side of things."

---

Standing in the shower, Shadow sighed as he scrubbed shampoo into his quills.

Now we have to go in the middle of the night…

The black hedgehog leaned his head into the stream of water, letting the shampoo rinse out.

At least I won't have to deal with Scourge.

Leaning back out, he reached for the third of his designer shampoos, rubbing it throughout his chest fur.

I hope Rose will be alright…

Stepping back, Shadow looked at the clock on the wall outside the shower, waiting the three minutes he needed for the shampoo.

Meh, if she has her hammer still it's her attackers who I'd need to worry about…

After the three minutes, he stepped back into the water stream, letting the shampoo rinse out.

Well, them and Mike.

Turning off the water, Shadow stepped out and reached for his towel.

And if Alex makes a move on her, he'll have me to worry about.

---

Sighing, Alex scrolled through the contacts on his waterproof wall-mounted phone as the water from the four overhead showerheads sprayed down on him.

Aphrodite is busy…

Groaning quietly, he absentmindedly grabbed a bar of soap and start scrubbing, still scrolling through his contacts.

Artemis still has that maiden's honor thing…

Tossing the soap back into the dish, he grimaced as he continued to scroll through his contacts.

So does Hestia… And Athena… And all of the Hindu gods still hate me…

Grabbing the shampoo bottle, he held it over his head and sprayed it generously, coating most of his quills and the two bangs that jutted out from just over his eyebrow.

I'm not even gonna look through the guys… I don't feel like wasting the energy to take on my female form right now…

Sighing, Alex commented to himself "Well, this is gonna be one boring shower…"

---

As he stood under the steaming water, Mike looked through the glass door at the mirror. Grinning, he flexed biceps.

Yep, still handsome!

Glancing to the side, his face fell.

And still alone…

Sighing, Mike let his head fall and thunk against the glass door.

---

By the time the three guys finished their shower, Amy was already out and waiting on them, sitting next to a sleepy Tsuki at the kitchen table.

"Wow, Rose, how long have you been out of the shower?" Shadow asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I only took five minutes…" She said, yawning. Alex and Mike glanced at each other before leaning in close.

"So… What is she now, on a scale of one to ten?" Alex asked his brother.

"Well, last night she was a thousand, now she's a million."

"Agreed." The two leaned away from each other as Spike and Reimaru joined them, their hair still wet from their own showers.

"So, what's the game plan?" Reimaru asked them as he sat on the arm of the couch while Spike hopped over the back and lay down on it, quickly falling asleep.

"You, Shadow and Sleeping Beauty there are headin' to Station Square, by the coast." Mike told them, sitting on the arm of the chair while his brother sat on the other arm, Shadow and Amy standing next to each other between the sofas. "Don't worry about getting there, Shadow'll drive you in the Impala."

"Alright, sounds good to me." Reimaru said, crossing his arms. "I'm guessing you, Stupid Number Two and Pinkie are heading to China for the green guy?"

"Yeah, we are." 'Stupid Number Two' replied, glaring at the fox.

"Well, at least I get to go get my fellow kyuubi…" He muttered, flicking Spike's ear until he woke up, having fallen asleep standing.

"You do realize he's not an actual kyuubi, right?" Amy asked them, getting nods in reply. "Alright then."

"So what kind of weapons do we have?" Amy asked, looking between them as Tsuki sleepily sipped at her coffee.

"I'm glad you asked." Mike replied, grinning. He pressed a button on the side of the large rectangular counter in the center of the kitchen. It split open and the halves of the countertop slid sideways and down the sides of the counter. Amy stood up and walked over and stared at the racks of weapons inside.

"Wowzers…" She murmured at the sight of the large number of handguns and ammunition boxes.

"Yeah, we sure do have an arsenal." Mike told her proudly. "'Course, it's not nearly enough to take on what we need to, but that's part of why we're goin' to recruit Scourge."

"Don't forget, we also need to find our emergency funds at some point." Shadow reminded him, reaching for a Colt M1911. Amy noticed that it's ejection port was on the left, as opposed to the right. Shadow caught her staring and smirked.

"Yeah, I had it custom-made for my preferences." He stated, slapping a clip in but refraining from pulling the slide back. He then tapped a second button on the side of the counter, causing the halves of the countertop to slide and create a separate countertop on the side for them to organize weapons and ammunition on. Mike grinned as he pulled a large metal box of .45 caliber bullets out and sat it on the countertop, opening it and grabbing several clips to fill.

"So… I get a gun, right?" Amy asked, causing Alex to snicker.

"Yeah, right." The brown hedgehog muttered under his breath, earning a glare from the pink hedgehog. Shadow just ignored them, reaching into the counter and pulling out a Heckler and Koch VP70, along with several clips already filled with bullets. He gently set these down in front of Amy.

"I'm guessing you still remember what I taught you?" He asked her gently, causing her to smile.

"Yeah, aiming, safety, shooting, squeeze, don't yank, I remember!" She said cheerfully, carefully picking the pistol up and flicking the safety on before putting a magazine in, leaving it without a round in the chamber.

"Wait, you taught her how to shoot?" Alex asked, incredulous.

"Yeah, I taught her back when we were- Yeah, I taught her how to shoot." Shadow stumbled, blushing as he tried to start loading clips for his .45, fumbling with them in his embarrassment. Alex and Mike gave twin grins at the black hedgehog.

"Wait… Were you about to say you and Amy…" Alex leaned forward, trying to look Shadow in the eyes as he kept his gaze down at the ammo. His eyes briefly flicked up at his friend before going back to the clips. Alex's cheshire grin grew even wider.

"Holy s***, you really did date her!" Mike exclaimed gleefully, causing his friend to hunch even further over the ammunition.

"So?" Amy asked, glaring between them. "What's it matter if we dated?"

"We just didn't expect him to have a heart!" Alex exclaimed, laughing.

"That, and we didn't think he'd date someone taller than him!" Mike cackled, finally getting Shadow's head to snap up as The Ultimate Lifeform glared at his friends.

"Well, I wasn't at first…" Amy said. "I just really grew once I turned sixteen."

"It doesn't matter, just keep it down, you'll wake the kids up!" Tsuki hissed at them, getting up and putting her hands on her hips. "And you do realize you're joking about a relationship where the two haven't seen each other for five years. You're being jacka**es!"

Mike and Alex glanced at each other, blushing, before looking down.

"Sorry guys…" They muttered in unison, working on their weapons. Mike was finishing up, with ten clips ready for use in his own 1911. Smiling slightly, he pulled a second .45 out and loaded the two handguns. Alex on the other hand was handloading several revolvers, including a Colt Single Action Army and a Colt Anaconda.

"Big boy prefers big guns, huh?" Amy asked him, trying to keep the brothers from getting grumpy. The corners of his mouth flickered for a second, the equivalent of a half smile for him. Nodding, he finished loading bullets into the cylinders of his revolvers and stepped aside so that Reimaru could obtain weapons of his own.

"Ugh… I really need to practice with these more." He commented as he picked up a large, boxy handgun that Amy didn't recognize. She stared at the large barrel of the gun.

"What… The frick… Is that monster?" She asked, sweatdropping and taking a step back.

"Official Designation: The Howitzer." Alex informed her. "It's of my own design. I prefer to call it the Handcannon Mark Two. It's chambered for .454 Casull rounds, known for being used to protect against bears, amongst other things."

D***, that's a killer… These guys are wackjobs.

"And far too powerful, at least until you've had more practice." Alex said, snatching it from the fox's hands. The kyuubi pouted, but proceeded to look for a different gun in the counter as Mike finished and let Spike prepare himself. As Reimaru finally settled on a stainless steel Sig Sauer P220 Sport chambered for .45 caliber rounds as he began to load it.

While he did that, Spike grabbed a backpack and set it at his feet before pulling a Glock 26 out of the counter. Putting the small handgun and several clips in the backpack, he proceeded to pull the slide back, loading a round into the chamber, before clicking the safety on.

"What, are you going stealthy?" Reimaru asked him, brow raised. Spike stuck his tongue out at him before putting the glock and its ammo into his backpack.

"No, it's just the recoil doesn't hurt my hand as much! That, and you never know when you need to conceal." He stated, pulling out a Glock 18 and loading it next. After that he put it in his backpack and looked in the counter as Reimaru watched him.

"Looking for another Glock?"

"Nah, I was looking for this." He stated, pulling out an Ithaca M37 with the stock sawn off and loaded it full of shells.

"Jeez, kid, we aren't taking down the White House!" Amy exclaimed. "...Are we?"

"Nope, but with these guys, s*** doesn't hit the fan, a friggin' brick hits a fan caked in s***." Spike commented as he put the shotgun and a bag full of shells into his backpack. Tsuki walked over and smacked the back of his head.

"Watch the language mister." She muttered sleepily before shuffling back to her seat. Rolling his eyes, Spike reached into the counter yet again, pulling out a good many bundles of C4 and putting them in the backpack, along with several claymores and a large supply of detonators. At this point his backpack almost couldn't fit any more. Amy just stared with wide eyes at him. Shadow caught her stare and smirked, laughing quietly in his mind.

"Don't worry, he's our explosives expert." The black hedgehog informed her, failing to calm her in any way. As they discussed this, Mike slapped his forehead.

"I forgot!" He whisper-screamed to himself, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out Amy's cracked phone. "I also forgot to charge it."

Son of a-

"Don't worry, I'll fix it." Shadow told him, taking the phone and pressing it against the fur on Spike's arm. To Amy's surprise, her phone turned on and the battery filled, only taking about thirty seconds to fully charge. Shadow then handed it to her.

"He's a walking battery as well." Shadow patted him on the back, causing the shiba-inu to grin and his tail to wag. Reimaru rolled his eyes at this reaction.

Noticing this, Alex smirked. "Still think all demons need to be tough and gruff, huh?"

"At least not as cute as a kitten…" Reimaru growled, causing Spike to roll his eyes and stick his tongue out again.

"Hey, I like how cute he is!" Amy said, ruffling the dog's hair. Mike immediately glanced at Shadow, who kept his gaze down. Mike noticed his telltale tics as his knuckles tightened and his jaw moved ever so slightly while his teeth ground together. As he watched the black hedgehog took a deep breath before letting it out his nose, looking back up after he had calmed himself.

"Whether you like it or not, it's not how demons should be!" Reimaru argued, before Alex finally sighed and slapped the back of his head. The kyuubi settled on just grumbling quietly as he grabbed a sawn-off double barreled shotgun as his larger weapon. After they had all armed themselves, Tsuki got up one last time.

"Be careful, honey…" She whispered quietly to Reimaru, hugging him as the others walked from the room, all of them drinking various sources of caffeine.

"Don't worry, Moonlight… I'll be perfectly fine." He murmured as he hugged her back, resting his cheek on her forehead.

"Keep Spike from blowing up too much stuff while you're at it, please?" She asked, causing her husband to laugh quietly before kissing her forehead.

"Yeah, don't worry." He kissed her cheek before hugging her tight. "I love you, Moonlight."

"I love you too." She replied, kissing him goodbye as he followed the others. As he walked out to the Impala, he looked back. Seeing her large silhouette in the doorway, he sighed and gave a small wave back. After the three had gotten into the car and were ready to go, Spike patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, dude, we'll make sure you get back alright." He comforted, causing the fox to roll his eyes. Shadow smirked, looking over at Reimaru as he started the car.

"Unhappy you got woken up from cuddling with your wife?"

"Pffft, I was awake thirty minutes before that." Reimaru muttered in reply, grimacing.

"Why?" Spike asked, his head cocked to the side. Reimaru just looked at him.

"Steamroller."

"Huh?" Spike asked as Shadow repeatedly turned the key, growling as the engine failed to start.

"I got rolled on… By my wife…" He muttered unhappily. Shadow and Spike's eyes locked onto the fox, who stared back. They watched him for a minute, realizing as his face stayed serious that he wasn't joking.

"D***." Shadow commented, snickering as Spike fell over, busting his gut laughing. Reimaru growled as he crossed his arms and glared out the windshield, smirking as Shadow cursed the infernal engine of their car.

While Shadow tried to fix the car and survive the other two's idiocy, Amy felt like bashing her head on the wall, the floor, the car, Mike's dense skull, and her own dense skull. Not necessarily in that order.

The source of all her boredom was the fact that Mike and his brother were discussing how they were going to get to China. Most of it was technical talk that she couldn't understand, so she just sat on the floor between them and held her head in her hands.

I'd call them idiots, but I don't even know what they're saying, so technically I'd calling myself even dumber than that.

"Alright, I'll call Jake and we should be there in less than an hour." Alex said, pulling his phone out of his pocket and typing in a number. Amy groaned and started to slam her head against Mike's calf. The brown hedgehog calmly reached down and stopped her, before sitting down next to her.

"Please don't." He asked. "You're actually quite intelligent. Try not to ruin that."

"But I'm bored!" The pink hedgehog muttered angrily, looking down. Mike smiled before patting her on the head.

"Well, let's talk then, since we don't really know each other." He replied.

"Fine…"

"So, you want to be a mother?" Mike asked her, earning himself an incredulous look.

"How the frick do you know that?" She asked, glaring at him.

"You had multiple parenting and motherhood books at the hospital, as well as in the stuff Reimaru and Spike brought from your home." He replied, twirling his fingers idly. "You also had multiple family movies, although that may just be coincidence."

"Alright, yeah… I wanna be a mom." She informed him, blushing slightly.

"But you're single…?" He pointed out, before immediately realizing his mistake as his eyes went wide. She sighed and hung her head unhappily as Mike started to mentally hit his own head with a sledgehammer.

"Yeah… Since I dated Shadow, I haven't had the best of luck with guys…" She whispered. Mike's ears twitched as he struggled to hear her. He blushed in shame and patted her on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, kid, you're not the only person who's had relationship trouble." He reassured her quietly. She looked up at him, her eyes glistening with tears.

"What, has Mr. Perfect had trouble deciding which supermodel to go with?" She asked him angrily. She immediately felt bad, though, after seeing him recoil, hurt etched in his face. He looked away unhappily, climbing to his feet.

"I shouldn't have said anything…" He muttered angrily, starting to walk away. Amy hopped to her feet and grabbed his arm before he could go far.

"Wait, don't!" She told him, turning him around to face her. "I'm sorry!" Mike sighed, lowering his eyes.

"It's alright…" He murmured, avoiding her eyes. "But just because I happen to look attractive doesn't mean I live a happy life floating on on/off relationships with various models. I've actually married women I've truly loved before…"

"So… What's happened?" Amy asked, crossing one arm as she lowered her head.

"I've been married five times." Mike conceded. "Three cheated on me, two of which I ended up killing to protect myself and those close to me. The other two that didn't were killed…"

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry…" She told him, looking up at his grey eyes. The pink hedgehog was startled as he suddenly looked down at her and grinned.

"Hey, don't be." He said, smiling comfortingly at her. "That's why I fight, so other people don't have to go through stuff like that!"

"Well… That's rather kind of you…" Amy replied, her eyes watery. "That's a good reason to fight."

While Mike and Amy bonded over their painful love lives, Shadow started to bond his fist with the steering wheel as he kept punching it in anger, the engine refusing to start. Growling, he got out of the car, slamming the door closed before walking to the front. He gave Mike and Amy a glance as they continued to talk, no longer hugging, then kicked the front bumper. He walked back to the driver's seat and got in, turning the key and grinning viciously as the engine finally turned over.

"That's right, you lump of s***..." The black hedgehog muttered under his breath. He glanced in the mirror and saw Amy looking their way, so he reached out the window and waved her over. She walked to the car, a curious Mike following.

"Yeah?" She asked, leaning in the window as he rolled it down.

"Just be careful out there, Rose." He told her. "It's going to get dangerous…"

"Don't worry, I'll make sure she's alright!" Mike told him, leaning in so just the top of his head from his nose up were visible from the side.

"I know, it's just… I've felt uneasy the last couple of weeks." Shadow replied, looking at the two.

"It's not just him." Reimaru piped up, leaning over to the driver's side. "Spike and I have been getting this massive feeling of dread the last couple of weeks as well, and we don't know why." Grimacing, Mike pulled his head back, looking away.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked, looking between the two hedgehogs.

"Nothing." Mike muttered, his voice distant as he walked back toward his brother.

"Wait, get back here." Shadow ordered, causing Mike to sigh quietly before turning around and walking back to the Impala. Amy stepped away from the window as Mike leaned in, holding his ear close as Shadow motioned him closer.

"Just a heads up, Rose may seem innocent, that's because she is, but be warned… That girl has a devious side." Shadow whispered to him, earning a slight grin from the demon. Mike nodded and took his head back out of the window as Amy watched, an eyebrow raised.

"What?"

"Nothing…" The pink hedgehog replied, before stalking off after Mike as he went to join his brother.

Oh, I hope she didn't hear me…

"So, are we going or what?" Reimaru asked, glaring at Shadow.

"Yeah, we're heading out now." Shadow sighed, rolling the window up as he put the car in reverse. As he backed out of the garage and into the main tunnel, he waved to the trio of hedgehogs as they watched him drive out. Amy waved back and Mike gave the peace sign while Alex just continued staring.

"Idiot…" Shadow muttered under his breath as he turned and drove down the tunnel.

"You forgot to make that plural." Reimaru reminded him, causing Shadow to smirk.

"Honestly, I don't know which brother I was talking about." He admitted, earning a snort from his friend.

"So… The Sam and Dean car isn't as cool as I expected." Spike commented, causing Shadow to facepalm.

"I'm going to kill Mike and his contagious fanboyism…" The black hedgehog growled, earning himself laughs from the other two.

---

About forty-five minutes later, Mike was pulling three strange-looking devices out of a pocket in his trench-coat. He handed one each to the other two hedgehogs, with Alex barely even acknowledging the action and Amy raising her eyebrow at it.

"These are single-use teleporters." Mike informed her, as Alex clicked his on. "You got Jake to synchronize the teleporters on his end up?" He asked his brother, who nodded.

"So… How do I use this?" Amy asked to no one in general, looking over the device. Mike calmly reached over and turned the device on, before clicking three buttons.

"Now, if you find some organs missing when you get to China, don't worry, they'll be back at some point." Alex informed her, causing her to stare at him, ready to start yelling. Before she could, however, a read light spread from the device and covered her, before she disappeared.

"You do know they fixed that in these newer models, right?" Mike asked his brother as the duo activated their teleporters.

"Yeah, but she doesn't." The thin hedgehog replied, grinning as the two were teleported.

When they arrived, they found a black-furred hedgehog with quills that went down to his knees standing next to a steaming Amy. Alex flinched when he saw her, guessing from the hedgehog, Jake's, expression that the rose hedgehog had already screamed her head off at him. Mike snorted at his brothers reaction.

He has always been afraid of women, especially when they're angry.

The brown hedgehog watched as his brother backed away while Amy stomped towards him.

Which is ironic, considering he's been reincarnated as one more than once…

"Alright, before you complain, don't forget, we have work to do!" Alex exclaimed, causing Amy to sigh and count to ten.

"Alright… Fine." She hissed, glaring at him. He gave a sheepish grin, dropping it when her glare deepened. He sighed as Jake grinned behind her.

"I'm guessing you guys're armed?" He said, looking between the two brothers. Nodding, Mike gave him a thumbs up as Alex continued to try avoiding Amy's stare. The black hedgehog gave a two fingered salute before slipping out the door, ready to high-tail it out of there, before the bullets started flying.

"So… We should get going, I guess…" Mike said, trying to defuse the situation. Amy sighed and nodded, walking out the door. He and his brother exchanged glances before following her.

Outside the storage closet they had been in was a long hallway, leading to a door on their right and an opening on their left. Amy was walking towards the door, so Mike quickly jogged to her and tapped her on the shoulder, refusing to let himself flinch as she whipped around. He calmly pointed his thumb over his shoulder, signalling the correct way to go. Blushing, Amy stalked past him. To his credit, Alex refrained from snickering.

The two followed her outside, into a large, mall-like area that had a large, railed, empty square in the center, showing the many floors above and below where they were. Amy stared in awe, as they looked to be on about the eightieth floor of the building, yet there had to be at the very least forty more floors above them.

"Yeah, we're in the largest apartment complex in the world, being a group of four buildings, each more than one hundred stories tall." Alex informed her, looking at the people around them. "It also happens to be a colony of criminals, of varying types."

"Wait, what?" Amy asked, staring at him with frightened eyes. Mike smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry, it's a home for various misfits and outcasts, but the people here mainly don't care." He assured her, calming her only somewhat. Alex also chimed in.

"Yeah, most of the people here are pretty benign, so there's nothing to worry about." He added, causing her to sigh.

"Alright, but remember, if something bad happens to me, Shadow'll kick your a**es." She muttered unhappily. Alex smirked while his brother nodded in agreement.

"So, Scourge, right?" The taller McAlister brother asked, earning a nod from the other two.

"According to the intel Jake gave us, he should be that way." Alex replied, pointing to their right.

"Allllllrighty then." Amy muttered, before walking that way.

"Is it just me, or is she cranky today?" Alex asked, earning a shrug from his brother.

---

Pulling up outside a large, abandoned looking apartment complex, Shadow stepped out of the Impala, gently closing the door so as to not attract attention, if there was even any attention to attract from nearby. Every building that was nearby looked even more abandoned and neglected than the one in front of them.

"The kid lives here?" Reimaru asked, looking up at the building.

"Apparently, he owns the dump." Spike commented, reading on his phone. Raising an eyebrow, Shadow led the trio up to the front door of the apartment building. He noticed that the door and frame were entirely new, with an advanced security system on the outside, connected to an elaborate-looking buzzer system.

"Well… Spike, you start on the security, I'll take care of the door itself." Reimaru said, kneeling in front of the lock as Spike pulled a datapad and toolkit from his pack, using a screwdriver to pull the panel off before using a pair of wires to connect his datapad to the circuit board inside it. Tapping a few commands in, he started the program that he and Shadow had coded together that could hack any system. At least, it's hacked every system they've seen so far.

"Well, seems to be working so far, at the very least." Spike commented as he watched the program go to work, various lines of code sliding across the window he had opened.

"Can't say the same here…" Reimaru admitted, with around seven different tools inserted into the lock. After several minutes, the datapad beeped, and Spike unplugged it.

"Security's down." He informed them as Reimaru continued to struggle with and curse at the infernal lock. Finally, with a total of twelve different lockpicking tools jammed into the lock, he managed to position his fingers against all of them and twist them, unlocking the door.

"Must be one hell of a key…" He muttered under his breath. Shadow, who had been keeping watch on the street and buildings, snickered as he turned around to follow them in.

"Alright," Shadow started, pulling the slide back on his .45, chambering a round. "Keep an eye out and watch your corners. They shouldn't be here yet, but you have no iyAAAAH!" The black hedgehog yelled, jumping back in shock at the short, red-furred fox in front of him. He was dressed in a stereotypical black butler's suit, with neat, combed hair and a monacle.

"Greetings sirs." He said, his voice very stereotypically that of a butler. "I understand you are here to visit Sir Prower?" The trio just stared at the strange little fox in front of them.

"Uh… Yeah. Sure. Let's go with that." Spike stated, shaking his head as Shadow gathered his cool and went back to his usual grumpy self.

"Very well." The butler stated, giving them a disdainful look. "He's been waiting for you since you started trying to break the firewall. The elevator is that way."

After giving Spike the required slaps upside the head, the standard punishment for failure, they walked to the elevator, the butler following close behind. He rolled his eyes as the three bickered, standing outside the elevator as they piled in.

"I will see you three when you reach his floor." He told them as the elevator doors closed. Spike and Reimaru exchanged confused glances with each other before shrugging, while Shadow just stood there stoically, as is usual for him. The entire ride took ten seconds, the elevator speeding along extremely fast. When the doors opened, they found the butler waiting for them, startling the trio.

Ignoring their stares, the butler turned around and walked down the hall, motioning for them to do the same. After exchanging glances again, the three decided to follow him, staying a ways behind him.

"Since when did he have a butler?"

"He doesn't."

"So… Ghost butler, or Black Butler?" Spike joked, earning an eye roll from Reimaru.

"Neither, but rather a holographic butler, you dimwits." The butler replied, rolling his eyes at them.

"Oh." Came the reply in unison. The three listened closely, as the closer they got to the large metal door at the end of the hallway, the easier it got for them to hear music.

"Is that…?" Shadow trailed off, cocking his head to the side as his ears twitched.

"The Fox." Reimaru grumbled in answer, recognizing the lyrics from the incessant number of times Mike had played it to annoy him.

"But it sounds… Different."

"Sir Prower has a… Peculiar interest in metal remakes of songs." The butler sniffed, glancing back at them. Finally they reached the door, with Spike nervously glancing over his shoulder as the butler stood before the door, waiting for it to open.

Noticing the shiba-inu's nervous and scared manner, Shadow sighed.

"I told you you shouldn't have shown him The Shining." Shadow said to Reimaru, causing the kyuubi to snicker.

"C'mon, it was funny!" He replied, laughing as the door opened and the loud music hit them in full, causing their ears to fold back. "And, honestly, I didn't think it would scare him that badly."

"Numbnuts." Was all Shadow said back, before walking into Tails's workshop.

The young kitsune was sitting on a chair directly in the middle, with several speakers nearby screeching out Me and the Captain's rendition of The Fox. Shadow involuntarily flinched multiple times as the guitar chords slammed into his eardrums. He didn't understand how the two-tailed genius could stand the noise.

Although, if he had to guess, one reason would probably be the large pair of headphones on his head, which he was probably using to block out the noise from the saw he was using to cut through a thick metal block. He was running the saw back and forth across the top in a rather hyperactive manner, carving out large swaths of metal as he did so. There may be a point somewhere, but it's certainly not there.

"Some friends, sir." The butler said, transmitting through the headphones. Tails looked up and grinned at Shadow. The black hedgehog raised an eyebrow at the young genius and his disheveled appearance. As opposed to Shadow's red and black flannel shirt and new jeans, with a nice pair of hunting boots, Tails was in a ratty Dragon Ball Z t-shirt, with an equally ratty version of Shadow's flannel shirt on over that. His jeans were so worn that they dissolved into tangled white strands just above his ankles. His sneakers were so worn they were starting to tear open at the toes. Shadow's ears finally came forward again as Tails turned the music and saw off, letting the headphones fall to his shoulders.

"Thanks, Jarvis." He said to the butler, who nodded, before walking off, his form flickering somewhat as he stepped on debris and chunks of metal. The young fox then turned back to Shadow, still grinning. Shadow stared down at him for a moment.

"Please, dear God, tell me you're not on drugs." The Ultimate Lifeform asked, his eyes wide. The kitsune laughed, shaking his head.

"Nah, although, I probably do look it… As does this place." He admitted, looking around the room. He grinned as he looked back at Shadow and his compatriots. "So what brings you to my home? With weapons, no less."

"There's going to be an assassination attempt on your life, kid." Reimaru said as he walked over to look at a collect of computer pieces lying out on a table.

"I'm not a kid, I'm seventeen!" Tails exclaimed, glaring at the kyuubi. "But I kinda guessed someone would try to kill me, since I showed support for your innocence."

"Thanks for that, by the way."

"Anytime, man." Tails told the black hedgehog as he stood up, looking around the workshop. "So, any idea how long it'll be till they get here?"

"According to sources, around an hour or two, maybe three. Not long." Shadow replied, earning a flinch from the kitsune.

"Yeesh, they move quick." He muttered, causing Shadow to nod.

"We brought some weapons, but we won't have to use them if we hurry and leave." The Ultimate Lifeform informed him, causing Tails to grin sheepishly. "What now?"

"Um… It's gonna take a while to download and prepare my data to go." The young fox said, grinning at his now cranky friend. Shadow's head fell to his chest as he sighed.

"Numbnuts." Was all he had left to say. Tails rolled his eyes.

"Please, you act as if it's the first time I've ever screwed up…" The young kitsune muttered, grinning cheekily at his friend. Shadow rolled his eyes.

"So, do you have any defences ready at all?" The grumpy hedgehog asked, not so gently nudging Spike, who had fallen asleep on the floor, with his foot.

"Uh… I have explosives, or rather, Jarvis, my holographic butler, does." He murmured, looking around as he got to his feet and stumbled around. "I also have some of my hunting guns here, and Jenny and Jane know martial arts…"

"Who're Jenny and Jane?" Shadow asked, attempting to follow the seemingly confused kitsune.

"My holographic maids…" Tails trailed off as he activated double doors, revealing two female maids… Who looked exactly Amy… Wearing french maid outfits… It's probably easy to guess Shadow's reaction.

"Tails… What the hell?" Shadow asked, staring wide-eyed between his young friend and the kitsune's interesting maids. Tails just stared back, sweatdropping and blushing as he tried to think of a good explanation. He just settled on jumping up and trying to run away, just to trip and get kicked by Shadow.

"Kid… I'm not gonna do anything to you." Shadow sighed, looking down at him. Tails breathed in relief, looking down. "I'm just gonna leave the duty of punishment to Amy."

Tails gulped, remembering Amy's rather large hammer.

Uh-oh…

Smirking, Shadow looked over at Reimaru, who was looking at the various tables cluttered with different experiments that had piled up over the years.

"How long have you been living here, kid?" The kyuubi asked the young scientist, who was picking himself up off the floor and trying not to shudder. Grinning viciously, the demon snickered to himself.

Man, so many pranks I'm gonna try out after this…

"Well, I actually bought it while the gang was still together." Tails informed him, causing Shadow's eyebrows to shoot up. "I just moved here about the time we split up."

"Ah…" Reimaru murmured, having already lost interest. He picked up what looked like a computer motherboard, looked at it for a few seconds, then tossed it over his shoulder, earning an angry yelp from the genius kitsune.

"Hey, that s***'s valuable!" Tails hollered at him, charging up to the smirking demon. Reimaru just shrugged and pushed him aside.

"Not to me." The kyuubi stalked off, snickering quietly. Tails growled after him, before turning to Shadow.

"Is he always like that?"

"Nah, he just got woken up even earlier than we needed to. And, that made him grumpy." The dark hedgehog replied, smirking.

"Oh, yeah, didn't Tsuki roll onto him?" Spike asked from where he was sitting on the floor, laughing.

"Who's Tsuki?"

"My wife." Reimaru growled, glaring at them. "By the way, survival rule one, don't. Comment. On. Her weight."

"Heed that warning." Shadow agreed, pointing at the kyuubi and nodding as Tails stared wide-eyed in fear. "She's large, sensitive about it, and she can use magic to summon zombies. Now let's leave."

"Actually… We can't. Not yet." Tails admitted sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. Shadow stared at him, before groaning and rubbing his eyes.

"And why may that be?" The frustrated hedgehog growled, glaring at his friend. The kitsune just grinned nervously.

"Uhhhh…"

"It has something to do with your computer, doesn't it?"

"Yeah… Preparing the data? It's like safehouse databases." Sighing, Shadow gently slapped the back of Tails's head before pointing at Reimaru.

"Alright, you take Spike and start looking around here and plan out how we're going to do this." The Ultimate Lifeform ordered, glaring sternly at his friend. "Tails and I will go and move the car and prep the plane, after he starts preparing his data. We have around two hours, so we need to move."

"What does he need to do with his data anyway?" Reimaru asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I need to prepare it for download then actually download it. My database is extremely large, but I found a new way to compile data, so I have to do that and put it on my PDA, but overall, that should be… an hour and a half." Tails replied.

"Certainly cutting it close…"

"Alright, let's move."

---

Back in China (or rather, the international city located on China's coast) Alex and Mike were looking around at the various stores and other areas and interest, searching for Scourge. Amy stuck close to Mike, not liking some of the looks she was getting from locals passing by. Mike glanced down at her and grinned.

"Don't worry, most of the more violent looks are directed at me, not you." He told her, giving a particularly nasty glare to a rather vicious and scarred echidna. The green echidna scowled and hunched his shoulders, walking away quickly. Amy glanced up at the brown hedgehog, who smiled back.

"That's comforting… I think." She replied, before glancing back down. As they continued to wander around the large building, she watched the two brothers. She hated to admit it, but if it were under different circumstances, she might've found herself interested in them. Alex was cuter, but seemed far too moody for her tastes. Shadow had occasionally gotten grumpy, but she had yet to see Alex smile once. Dressed in his black Metallica t-shirt and a long black trenchcoat, he looked grim and angry, his hunched shoulders not helping the image. The fact that he was on his third cigarette since they got there caused Amy to wrinkle her nose.

Mike, on the other hand, was more vibrant. Although his trenchcoat, which was cut with an arc running from his ankles to his knees, was pure black, his shirt was bright red and his jeans were standard denim, with his neon shoes particularly standing out. Combine this with his six foot six stature and large biceps and she could safely assume he stood out in crowds. Whereas his brother's quills ran down just below his waist, Mike kept his quite short, and he didn't have bangs hanging over his left eye. Handsome… But peculiar.

All in all, if she had to choose one of the two to date… She'd stick with trying to get back together with Shadow.

Sigh.

"What's wrong?" Mike asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Just thinking…" She murmured, giving herself vertigo for the third time in five minutes as she looked over the railing, with the eighty-seven floors between her and the ground not getting their point across that one generally stays away from railings. She shuddered and stepped away, cursing her mind for producing the image of what would happen should she fall.

"Don't worry, I'd catch you if you fell." Mike told her, almost as if he'd read her thoughts.

"Did you-"

"Read your thoughts? Yes." Amy stared at him in fear, her eyes wide. Alex laughed as he fell back to walk with them.

"He's fooling you, dork." He told her, grinning wide, his nearly finished cigarette balanced precariously on his lower lip. Amy scowled at Mike, who grinned.

"I mean, c'mon, that's happened so many times, you practically can read someone's mind with it!" He insisted. The pink hedgehog sighed quietly, rolling her eyes.

"Whatever." Spitting his cigarette butt over the railing, Alex smirked at her.

"So, have you seen Scourge yet?" He asked, pulling his pack of cigarettes out, sticking another in his mouth and putting the pack back in his pocket. When he pulled his hand back out, a chrome silver lighter was in it.

"Where's your good lighter?" Mike asked his brother as he lit his cigarette.

"My guess is Shadow took it."

"Shadow doesn't smoke now, does he?" Amy asked, nose wrinkled in disgust as she looked between the two.

"Nah, but lighters are good for a lot more than smo- Ow!" Mike growled as Alex stuck his arm out, backhanding his brother in the chest. "What!?"

"Isn't she, I mean, doesn't she know Scourge?" The slim brown hedgehog asked his brother, pointing his outreached hand at a female fox sitting in the bar to their right.

"Uh…"

"Aw, s***." Amy muttered, glaring at the fox.

"What's wrong?" The brothers asked in unison.

"That's… Fiona." Amy groaned in disgust, noticing that the vixen had seen them and was starting to saunter up to them. Alex grinned at started to straighten up and dust his clothes off, until he noticed she had a wedding ring on.

"Well, crap, she's married…"

"Idjit."

"So, I'm guessing that you three are here about my husband, since you seem to have a special interest, and only one of you is actually ogling?" Fiona asked as she walked up to them.

"Was not!" Alex exclaimed indignantly, glaring at the vixen.

"Either way, you're most likely here for Scourge, am I right?"

"Yes ma'am." Mike nodded.

"Well, business is always nice. I just didn't expect you to have an interest in it, Amy." Fiona replied, looking the pink hedgehog up and down. She was dressed in a blue cotton shirt and blue unzipped hoodie, with black denim pants. While the pants fit fine, the hoodie and shirt looked to be tight across the shoulders.

Fiona wasn't surprised at this, as Amy had grown since they had last fought, years ago. She was now taller, much taller, standing a full six foot three. She had broad shoulders, and from the looks of it, muscular arms.

"I see you've stayed active, or at the very least, you've kept up the benching."

"I see you've kept in shape as well, Fiona…" Amy replied, staring at her former enemy. Unlike Amy, who had grown to a rather tall height, Fiona was fairly small. Not short, but not tall either. She was also muscular, but not built, like Amy. She was slimmer, made for speed, not power.

Wow… She's like a ninja, almost…

"So, how's life been treating you? I heard you had a bit of a fiasco at the hospital you were working at."

And am I really that tall?

"Yeah… My ex showed up, and needed my help, and all hell broke loose…" Amy said, giving a small, sarcastic smile. "So, you could say everything's gone upside down."

"So are you here for help then?" Fiona asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, please." Mike said.

"Alright, follow me." She said, turning and walking the opposite way they had been walking. "You do know we're a mercenary group now, right?"

"Yeah, we know that." Alex replied, watching her as they walked. "Well, Mike and I do, we never bothered to tell Pinkie." Amy glared at him, before glaring at Mike.

"Got it." Mike nodded in reply to her glare, before slapping his brother on the back of the head. Alex rolled his eyes.

"Careful, I almost dropped my cig."

"You need to stop smoking those anyway…" Mike told him in a concerned voice. Alex rolled his eyes and hunched his shoulders further, picking up pace so he walked just in front of Fiona. Mike sighed before glancing at Amy.

"Consider yourself lucky you don't have siblings."

"Well… Tails and Cream are kinda like siblings, but they never did give me trouble." She replied, shrugging. Mike grimaced, watching his brother.

"Alex doesn't normally give me trouble, at least, not much, but he's been really uneasy lately." Mike told her, watching the people that walked past them as he did so. "Which makes me uneasy, 'cause normally he's the most laid-back fool I know."

"Really?" Amy asked, raising an eyebrow at the demon hedgehog in question. "I mean, he hasn't been this angsty, but he has seemed rather uptight about something the entire time."

"Yeah." Mike replied. "Hell, he was practically lethargic, he was so relaxed on a mission where we saved the friggin' president!"

"Well… Yeesh."

"I was not lethargic, moron." Alex commented, glaring over his shoulder at his brother.

"Yeah, well, you were rather relaxed for a situation where our friend had a gun to his head…"

"Wait, you guys were friends of the president?" Fiona asked them, looking at Alex in surprise.

"Still are, actually." Deadpanned, in unison.

"How…"

"Well, assuming we manage to prove our innocence, he still is." Mike said, giving a half grin. Alex rolled his eyes.

"We almost to him?" The impatient hedgehog asked, glaring at the fox leading them.

"Almost. Patience is a virtue, boys." Fiona admonished as she continued to lead them toward their potential ally. Amy narrowed her eyes at the fox.

She better not try anything…

---

"So turn in here?" Shadow asked Tails as he drove the Impala through the tunnels underneath the genius's apartment complex.

"Yeah, that's my hangar." The kitsune replied. The Ultimate Lifeform pulled in through the large door and proceeded to gawk at the jet located in the hangar.

"Is that the…"

"Super Speedster Death Drop, as I like to call it?" Tails replied, grinning. "Yep. You didn't know I designed it?"

"No… No I didn't." The black hedgehog replied, gawking at the the large jet. The rear bay doors were open so he drove up to the ramp and carefully pulled up on to it, parking inside the jet's bay.

Shadow stared around the bay as he gawked.

I've died and gone to soldier-spy heaven.

"It's fully stocked too, I think." Tails informed him, grinning at the hedgehog's childlike wonder. Shadow continued to stare around as Tails walked to the front, clicking several buttons and switches for the startup procedure. While he did so Shadow stood in the rectangular opening between the cockpit and the bay and looked to his right, noticing a locker. He pulled it open and grinned at what he saw.

"Tails… Is it Christmas, and no one told me?" He asked, his vicious grin growing wider as he took note of the weapons and munitions in the locker. He pulled out a suit of armor, which had a matte black kevlar weave with photoreactive plates all along the arms, legs, and chest.

"Well… It's certainly a happy day for you, at the very least." Tails replied, smiling. "That's the experimental Ghost MKII armor… Which I helped design. Kevlar protects from projectiles, plates protect from blades, and both work in tandem to create active cloaking. The helmet has great technical capabilities, connects with the suit, and has the ability to cloak as well. Oh, and it even has a targeting system!"

"You're kidding…"

"Nope!" Shadow smiled, before patting Tails on the back.

"Well, Tails… With this, we might actually be able to survive now." Shadow said to the young kitsune.

"Yeah, we… Wait, what?" Wide-eyed, the twin-tailed fox stared at him, causing the black hedgehog to laugh and tell him "Don't worry kid, I'm just joking." Tails nodded shakily, before pressing the last button needed to prep the plane.

"So… I'm guessing you want me to go back to the car so you can get into the armor."

"Yep. Move it."

After Tails high-tailed out of the jet Shadow changed into the suit and grabbed a Honey Badger, pulling its charging handle back and slinging it over his shoulder and onto his back. He walked back to the Impala and popped the trunk open.

"Tails, get back here, I need your help carrying some weapons back." Shadow called, causing Tails to jog back.

"Sorry, I was getting my hunting weapons gathered." The kitsune replied, a Springfield M1A cradled unloaded in his arms. "And do you really need help?"

"Probably not, but I didn't want you to get distracted and wander off." Shadow replied, reaching into the trunk and pulling several guns out of it. He handed Tails a Model 1887 shotgun and the MP5 Amy had grabbed from the soldier at the hospital, pulling an M40 out for himself.

"Is that fossil yours?"

"No, it belongs to my friend, Mike. He used it during the Vietnam War… I think."

"Alrighty…" Tails said, raising an eyebrow as he balanced the guns in his arms. "I guess we better get back to prepare."

---

Leading the three hedgehogs through a door near the far end of the building, Fiona walked past apartment after apartment, all of the metal doors looking worn and damaged. She led them to the only door that didn't look several decades old.

"Here's our home…" The vixen murmured, unlocking it and going through, holding the door open for her three customers. They walked in, and Amy stared in awe at the inside of it. Not only was the place perfectly clean, but several items were set on tables and shelves, most notably a simple wooden cross with a cord necklace sitting on a table. On a shelf to her right was a picture of Scourge, tears streaming down his cheeks, leaning over a hospital bed and kissing Fiona's cheek. Amy noted how the vixen's head had no hair on it.

"Uh…" The pink hedgehog trailed off, staring at the picture.

"Yeah, I was guessing you'd notice that." The fox commented, scratching at the side of her head. "There was a time when I was… Sick."

"And by sick, you mean dying from cancer." Alex stated, looking at the stack of WWII movies sitting next to the TV.

"Yeah…" The fox replied, scratching her head sheepishly. "They said it was inoperable, and, as cheesy and stupid as it is… It kinda gave me some insight on my life. I turned myself around, became born-again… I guess…"

"Yeah… Gave me a bit of insight too." Came a voice from across the room. The three hedgehogs looked and saw a slim green hedgehog standing there, smirking slightly. "Of course, I didn't become a sudden pure-hearted dear like she did, but, I haven't pulled a gun on you, so… Maybe she rubbed off on me."

"Or maybe you just learned how to quell an itchy trigger finger without scratchin' it." Alex replied, grinning. "Like me."

"Ah… Nah, it's just the result of my wife beating the idea of not hurting people for no reason into my head." The green hedgehog replied, before pointing at the demon. "And put that s*** out before I beat you to death." Alex stared at him, before shrugging and putting the cigarette into a cylindrical ash tray. Sticking the cylinder back into his jacket pocket, the brown hedgehog smirked.

"I'd like to see you try, but, we're not here for fighting, we're here for business."

"Well, that sounds good to me. We need more money!" Came a voice with a french accent from behind Scourge. The green hedgehog stepped aside and let a thin albino man with long hair, dark clothes and a cocky grin on his face step in.

"Shut it, Henri." Scourge replied, scowling. "We have plenty of money…"

"But…" Mike trailed off, grinning.

"But… More would never hurt, I guess." Scourge finished, sighing.

"Aw, yeah! We're getting paid!" Henri grunted as Scourge elbowed him in the gut and shoved him back into the other room.

"Shut it and watch the kids like I'm payin' ya for!" The green hedgehog growled, glancing at Amy and Mike as he found them suddenly standing next to him, grinning.

"Did you say kids?" The pink hedgehog asked, while the brown hedgehog behind her nodded. Scourge raised an eyebrow at them, leaning back.

Don't tell me I'm being hired by wackjobs… Again…

"Yeah… Mine and Fiona's…" The green hedgehog trailed off, wide-eyed as Amy rushed into the room and started cooing at the one-year-old fox in the closest crib while Mike leaned over the second one and looked at the four-year-old fox in it.

"A onesie? On a four-year-old?" The brown hedgehog asked, incredulous. "Seriously?"

"What, you got a problem with that?" Fiona asked him angrily, glaring.

"Well… It just looks… Dorky…" Mike commented as he stared at the sleeping child, Amy quarreling with Henri about whether she should be freaking out and doting on the baby or not. "Of course, I've never really been that knowledgeable on fashion…"

"You're not very knowledgeable on anything, Mike." Alex commented from the other room, causing his brother to growl quietly.

Not very knowledgeable my-

"So, how did she get better if it was inoperable?" Alex asked Scourge as Fiona walked into the other room to break up the argument between Amy and Henri and to beat Mike for calling her daughter dorky.

"Um…" Scourge shifted his feet, looking uncomfortable. "I don't know for sure, but the doctors called it a miracle, I know that…" The green hedgehog avoided meeting Alex's eyes, and the demon suspected there was more to the story than the mercenary was revealing.

"Yeah… Okay." Alex replied, eyes narrowed. "So, will you and your team work for us?"

"Work as what?"

"As part of the team." Scourge sighed, lowering his eyes.

"Alright…" He murmured, before looking Alex in the eye. "But that pay better be d*** good."

Nodding, Alex replied "We'll pay you well, but only if we succeed."

Scourge gave a wry smile and said "I can understand that." A few seconds later, they heard several gunshots from down the hall.

"Well." Alex commented, pulling his Anaconda out of its holster in his trench coat. "I guess we'll get some action after all."

---

"Alright, how much time left until your database is downloaded and ready to go?" Shadow asked Tails as the young fox packed several pieces of technology into a backpack and put it on.

"About an hour."

"And Reimaru, how long until the estimated arrival of the assassins?"

"An hour." The kyuubi replied, rolling his eyes at what he perceived as Shadow's bad planning. Or Mike's bad planning. Shadow sweatdropped at the rather dangerous situation they were in.

"Alright… Spike, you set up explosives, right?" The black hedgehog asked, earning a nod from the Shiba Inu. "Good… If we have a good defense, we may be able to escape."

"Or, you know, just delay our painful deaths." Reimaru, ever the optimist, commented.

"Shut up, you idiot."

"Also, I heard a certain mister grumpy got all soft and weepy on his friends at the hospital…" The demon fox continued, not content until Shadow was as irritated as he was. Shadow sighed, before walking over and slapping the kyuubi in the face, causing him to growl.

"I said… Shut it." The ebony hedgehog snarled, glaring at Reimaru, who glared back. They continued like this for a few seconds, before the kyuubi finally sighed and stepped away, looking down at the ground.

"Sorry…" He mumbled, scratching at the back of his head. Shadow sighed before patting his frenemy on the shoulder.

"It's alright, man, we're just all under stress." The Ultimate Lifeform assured him, earning a slight smile. That smile disappeared as the phone on the wall rang.

"A call for you, sir." Jarvis said to Tails. "The number is blocked. Do you wish for us to end it?"

"No." Shadow told him, walking over to it. "Either it's Mike and they've gotten into really, really deep s***, or it's someone I know…" He pulled the phone off of its cradle and stuck it up to his ear.

"Shadow, how are you doing?" The Doctor asked. Shadow growled.

"Good, despite the stitches from I don't know how many shrapnel wounds I got from the explosion you caused." He snarled back, earning a chuckle from the psychopath on the other end of the line.

"Well, Shadow, I needed you alive, and with the number of soldiers surrounding the place it was highly unlikely that you would have." The Doctor replied.

"How would blowing me and the building I'm in up help me survive?" The ebony hedgehog practically yelled.

"Not only did I know that you would survive it, but the subsequent trip to the hospital would make it easier for you to survive anyway." The Doctor said, his voice telling Shadow he was smirking on his end. Shadow growled and sighed, running his hand through his quills.

"Why are you trying to help me anyway? You seemed to pretty well hate me. If I had to, I'd say you're the one that framed me."

"Well, I happen to be involved with the group that did, however, I'm also at odds with them." He replied as his voice got higher pitched.

"What happened to your voice?"

"This is my true voice. I was just using the other voice to throw them off my trail earlier. That's why I blew up the mall. They were watching me."

"Why should I trust you?"

"Because, Shadow, I'll admit I'm going to Hell, like my compatriots. I'm just hoping to send them there a little sooner, as opposed to never."

"Alright… I guess… So what did you call me for, anyway?" The Ultimate Lifeform asked, sitting on the nearest stool and holding his head up with his hand, elbow placed on his knee.

"Two things, the first of which you assuredly already know." The Doctor replied. "First, you have two NGW kill squads moving in on your position, along with three Gray Agents."

"Well, we didn't know the exact number, so you did help with that…"

"Second, there's been a worrying increase in supernatural energy there… And it isn't the kyuubi." Shadow snapped his head up, staring at Reimaru.

"What's wrong?" The demon fox asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He says there's been an increase in supernatural energy, and it isn't you." Shadow told him, getting up from the stool he was sitting on. Reimaru's eyes widened, before he looked down at the floor.

"What's that mean?" Tails asked, looking wide-eyed between the two.

"It means, it's highly likely the guys who came to kill you have a rather deadly trick up their sleeve." Shadow told him as Reimaru ran his hands through his hair.

"Also, Shadow, the soldiers are moving faster than I expected, which I'm guessing is faster than you expected as well. I suggest you get ready, they're almost there." The Doctor told Shadow, causing the hedgehog to pick Mike's M40 up and start walking towards the balcony on the far side of the lab. "I have to go, so I trust you won't die."

"Yeah… Sure." Shadow replied, before tossing the phone over his shoulder at Tails, who placed it back in the cradle. Shadow walked out to the balcony, the only way into the lab aside from the large main door, making the lab fairly secure. The balcony itself was half a hexagon sticking out from the side of the apartment building, with three windows giving them a clear view of the wide street outside.

"At least we have a good sniper's nest…" Shadow trailed off, before calling out to the others. "Tails, get your rifle and get in here! Reimaru, Spike, you keep in cooperation with Jarvis and watch the door, just in case they get up here or they send in stealth units."

"Got it." Reimaru called back as Tails jogged to the balcony, M1A cradled in his arms again. The kitsune propped it on the window sill, aiming down at the street. Shadow did the same at the left window, except he held the gun with his left hand.

Noticing this, Tails asked "Wouldn't it be easier to hold it with your right hand since the bolt is on the right? I mean, you are ambidextrous…"

"Yeah, but you remember how I said I had gotten alot of shrapnel from the explosion?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, the worst wound was in my right shoulder, and so…"

"So you can't fire from there or else it'd hurt you?"

"Exactly." Shadow finished, before looking down his scope. He flinched as Tails stuck something in his ear before going back to his position. "What was that?"

"Communicator. It'll keep you in contact with Jenny and Jane."

"Who?"

"My maids."

"Oh, yeah… Wait, they're actual AIs?" Shadow asked, pulling his eye away from the scope and raising an eyebrow at the kitsune.

"Yep, we are!" A cheerful voice said in his ear.

"Yeah, and if you have a problem with AIs, just know that I'll electrocute you to death using your armor." Came another voice, sounding more annoyed and serious than the first.

"And for clarification, I'm Jane!" The cheerful voice said again. "And Miss Sunshine there is Jenny."

"I kind of guessed, since there are only two of you…" Shadow said, earning an angry snort from Jenny.

"Smarta-"

"Warning, sir, the soldiers sent to kill us have arrived on the street." Jarvis said, materializing to Shadow's right, between the two.

"On it." The ebony hedgehog shifted, aiming towards his left, before firing. As he started to fire more at the soldiers, Jane's voice popped up in his ear.

"Are you okay, Shadow?" The AI asked, concern lacing her voice. "I noticed that your telemetry just spiked."

"Yeah, there are just many more than I expected… There are more than The Doctor thought… Either that or the definition of squad has changed since I've been at G.U.N." The black hedgehog replied, firing several more shots, struggling to work the bolt with his left hand. "In fact, Tails, fall back to the lab. You'll get your head blown off with all the bullets that are about to fly."

"Fine…" The kitsune grabbed his rifle and crawled back to the hall, before jumping up and running the short distance to the others.

"Why don't you just use your right hand to cycle the bolt anyway?" Jane asked, her voice sounding confused.

"Just a preference to keep a hand on the center of the gun, as opposed to one end." Shadow replied, grabbing a handful of bullets with his right hand, holding the gun steady with his left and he reloaded the rifle. Sliding his hand back to the handle, he placed his finger back on the trigger, before noticing something wrong.

The thing the Gray he was aiming at was holding wasn't a gun…

Ah, hell.

He was holding, and firing, an anti-tank launcher. In a black blur, Shadow spun, grabbed the helmet, and threw Mike's rifle down the hall, before the rocket impacted the wall beneath the balcony, causing the aged structure to collapse. Slipping, the black hedgehog clawed at whatever purchase he could get as the hallway angled towards the outside, the roof collapsing towards him as Reimaru dashed for the hall, Spike holding Tails back.

"I'll find a way back up, just don't die!" Shadow yelled at them as he continued to slide, unable to find a grip. His feet impacted a ledge, before that collapsed away and he found himself in open space. The explosion had caused a chain reaction, with a large part of the outer wall of the older building falling to pieces. As he fell, the strap of the Honey Badger slung over his shoulder caught on a piece of piping, causing him to swing down… Hard.

Curling into a ball around his helmet, Shadow flinched as he smashed through two floors before impacting and leaving a crater on the third he collided with. He vaguely heard the others yelling for him over the cacophony of gunfire as he slowly faded from consciousness.

---

"Look outside." Scourge told Alex, before sticking his head back through the door. "Henri, call the squad, and get ready to move the kids! Pinkie, Shaq, you're with me and Alex!"

"Yessir." Henri replied, moving with a speed and efficiency that belied his previous lethargic pace. Mike pulled his Colt out of its holster on the back of his hip and pulled Amy through the door with him. Alex peeked out the door of the apartment and swore quietly.

"We have a problem." He said after closing the door again.

"More than we already thought, you mean?" Scourge told him, opening a gun cabinet and pulling a CZ-75 out, along with a Mossberg 500 with adjustable stock, tactical light, and six-shot magazine tube.

"You sure come prepared." Mike commented as he flicked the safety on his Colt off. The green hedgehog smirked as he crossed the room and opened an unlocked metal box, pulling out a bag of shells and several clips for his handgun. "And you keep proper safety for having children in the household as well. Nice." Scourge grinned at him.

"There are three things in this world I love, and two of them need utmost gun safety." The green hedgehog replied as he loaded his guns.

"Oh, so you don't love me?" Henri yelled from the other room, getting ignored. Amy flinched as more gunshots from the hallway rang out. She heard yelling from the hall, and several shotgun blasts before a long burst of automatic fire.

There was silence, before a deep voice commanded "Alright, execute any residents you come across. If you find the targets, notify the mission leader and immediately attempt to neutralize." At the word targets, Mike and Alex glanced at each other, an unspoken thought shared between them.

Us.

However, the voice wasn't done giving orders. "Don't forget, we need the pink one alive. If she dies, so do we." Amy's companions all turned to stare at her, causing her to blush. She shrugged, and Mike sighed, patting her shoulder.

"Just stay close." He told her, and she nodded, pulling her VP70 from the rear waistband, where it had thankfully been hidden by her hoodie. Tsuki's old hoodie were tight across the shoulders, a side effect of Amy's more broad, muscular build in comparison to the cat, but fortunately it and the shirt were plenty long.

She still attributed it to pure luck that no one had noticed her with it.

Of course, several others there had been carrying guns as well, so maybe it just hadn't mattered. Mike and Alex opened the door and aimed their respective handguns, letting out unnoticed sighs of relief when they did not see anyone out there. Anyone, that is, besides the bodies of several residents, their weapons laying next to them.

"Alright… They're in those two rooms." Mike told his brother, pointing at the two doors across from each other, three doors down from Scourge's apartment. Alex nodded, pointing at the room to their left, on the same side as Scourge's home.

Nodding back, Mike advanced with his brother, with Scourge keeping close and Amy bringing up the rear. As they filed into the apartment, Mike opened fire, and a hand clamped over Amy's mouth as another grabbed her wrist, flicking the safety on her handgun on as the owner pulled her into the opposite apartment. The pink hedgehog was thrown across the room, and heard several slamming noises.

She fought her way through the swimming vision and dark edges in her eyes, barely managing to sit up. She put a hand to the side of her head and it came away sticky and red. Looking up, she saw a pair of Grays, having closed the door and blocked the door with a thin bookshelf shoved through a small tool closet, and even if her friends got the door open, she knew the closet and shelf would keep it from opening completely for a while. Her eyes widened as they turned and grinned at her.

"Why, hello, Ms. Rose." They said in unison. The pink hedgehog shivered as as they laughed, struggling to her feet. "We were hoping you would be here."

"Yet, I don't feel welcome." Amy snapped, glaring at them. The twin clones snickered at her as she assumed a fighting position, glancing around, trying to find her pistol in the rubble spread all across the apartment.

"Oh… We can help you feel welcome, if you so wish." The one on the left told her, his compatriot nodding. Amy shuddered in fear at what they might mean, clenching her fists.

"Screw off, you piece of s***!" She yelled at the one who had spoken, her brow furrowed in anger. The two agents raised their eyebrows before glancing at each other. They grinned, looking back at Amy.

"My, my, getting stressed, are we?" The one on the right asked.

"Not really, just… I found out my ex whom I may still have feelings for is a terror suspect, killed an agent who was really violating my personal space, got shot escaping law enforcement, dealt with two crazy hedgehogs today, found out one of my most annoying enemies had a cheesy-a** conversion to Christianity, and got into an argument with an idiot Frenchman about how to properly dote on a baby, all in the last couple days. My life hasn't been too normal lately, and now I have you psychopathic A-holes to deal with. This is not a good day for me." Amy told them, growling out the last sentence as she took the hoodie off and tore off the shirt's sleeves, giving her arms a full range of movement.

"Well, then, someone's cranky. Is it that time of month?" Left again. In a speed neither expected, the pink hedgehog crouched, scooped a piece of furniture off the floor and threw the heavy chunk of wood, hitting the left agent in the groin. He grunted and flinched, bending over slightly at the pain. The Gray on the right looked between his partner and the pink hedgehog, before laughing.

"Shoulda been a pitcher." He commented as he watched his partner regain his composure, snickering. Amy just snarled at him. "But really, it wasn't as simple as that. Fiona didn't just change to Christian."

"Oh, really?" Amy snapped, still looking around the rubble strewn around the apartment from the fight no doubt given by the residents.

"Oh, yes. She lived even more for a while, doing all sorts of things which were rather… Un-Christian-like. But as she came closer to dying, she realized… She didn't want to burn for all eternity. So, she starts reading a Bible. She started praying and asking for forgiveness." The one on the left continued, laughing. "And hey, whaddya know, apparently she was forgiven."

"Actually," His partner replied, grinning as the two moved from the door to be on either side of Amy. "Rumor has it it was actually something… Other than a miracle that saved the little fox. Some say magic… Others say ol' greeny used some voodoo to get rid of the tumor."

"Go to Hell!" Scourge's voice came from the other side of the door, before a shotgun blast echoed. The shotgun was fired several more times, finally blowing out the lock and the handle, allowing the three hedgehogs to start trying to slam it in.

"Oh, and Henri? Not only is his IQ off the charts, but he's also the world's greatest sniper. Possibly history's." The one on the right, whom Amy dubbed Johnson I, told her. "Just FYI."

"He just has the dumbest possible personality a person can have." Johnson II, the gray on her left, told her. "Now, can we please hurry and kill her? With three of them, they may actually get in fairly quickly."

"Alright, alright." Johnson I replied, grinning at her. Amy turned to face him, scowling. Johnson I raised his fists, before lunging forward, swinging his fist at Amy's face. However, the pink hedgehog was a step ahead. She jumped backwards, keeping her eyes on her opponent. However, what the Grays were not expecting her to do was throw her left fist straight backwards, into the throat of Johnson II. The agent bent over, clutching his nearly-crushed windpipe as Amy dodged another punch from Johnson I.

"You're pretty good." Johnson I commented as he ducked under one of her punches. The pink hedgehog smirked at him, looking almost exactly like Shadow.

"When we were dating, I taught Shadow how to knit, how to scrapbook, how to dress fancily." She said, catching the agent with a punch that split his cheek from his jaw to the top of his muzzle and knocked him sideways. "He taught me how to rock climb, how to shoot, how to fight. He was a strange combination of uncaring and overly protective."

"And that uncanny strength? Even with muscles that big you shouldn't hit that hard." The Gray replied, holding his muzzle and grinning.

"I have super strength. How else do ya think I could use my hammer so well?" Amy replied, grinning before feigning a punch. The agent moved to block it and Amy planted her foot in the direct center of his chest, sending him backwards, smashing into the bathroom door. She heard cracking as Mike forced his fingers into the gap of the door, trying to get leverage.

"What the hell is this shelf made of?" He yelled at Scourge. While the three tried to get the door open, Johnson II, whose recover Amy failed to notice, grabbed her shoulder from behind and spun her around, punching her in the cheek, splitting it at the cheekbone. She growled in pain and anger as he caught her with a left hook, causing her teeth to cut the inside of her cheek open.

"I'm gonna enjoy this." Johnson II coughed out, wrapping his fingers around her neck. As she started choking she put her hands on his head, jamming her thumbs into his eyes. "Almost as much as I enjoyed killing that idiot politician who thought making this place an international city!"

No matter how bad it gets, even if you have to pop their eyes, don't remove your thumbs until they let go.

Shadow's words echoed in her head as she pressed her thumbs into the Gray's closed eyes as hard as she could. The Gray let out a yell before stumbling forward, causing him and Amy to smash through the bathroom door, her head colliding with the edge of the bathtub. Johnson I was slowly getting to his feet as Johnson II's grip slackened enough for the pink hedgehog to get her feet against his stomach and kick out, sending him flying over her into the bathtub. She stumbled to her feet, still trying to see straight after taking another blow to her head. As Johnson I reached back to punch her she lunged forward, grabbing his ears and turning his head, smashing it into the mirror, causing it to shatter.

Johnson I let out a yell of anger as he shoved her away, pulling his head away and yanking the biggest mirror shards in the side of his face and head while Johnson II got out of the tub. II punched her and held her against the wall as Johnson I punched her in the stomach.

"At this rate we should just shoot her." Johnson II grumbled.

"Yeah, but reconstructive surgery is a pain in the a**, so I say we make her suffer." Johnson I growled, reaching up and sticking his thumb under her exposed bandages, digging it into her healing bullet wound. Amy cried out and punched him, only causing him to jam his thumb further in.

Hearing this, Mike growled and backed up, bullets whizzing by his head, before ramming his shoulder into the door. He had gotten the opening big enough to fit his hand in, but with Scourge and Alex firing back at the NGW soldiers that had attacked them, progress had slowed. Alex growled as well when he heard her cry out, before looking at Scourge.

"Cover me!" He yelled, before running out of the hallway. Mike glanced at Scourge, who just shrugged. While they fought off the soldiers Amy kneed Johnson II in the groin, causing his grip to slack enough for her to charge forward and tackle Johnson I, completely shattering the sink and even cratering the wall with his body. He wrapped his arm around her neck and lifted up, before trying to bring it down in a wrestling-style DDT.

Before her skull collided with the tile floor, Amy managed to bring her arms up, stopping her downward motion. Before the Gray could react, she wrapped her arms around his thigh and lifted him up, carrying him on her shoulder. She slammed him down on the tub, right next to Johnson II, shattering it. She then picked him up again before slamming him back into that spot, doing it over and over. The fifth time she did Johnson I wrapped his arm around her neck again, before lifting her up, slamming her into the same spot she had kicked Johnson II into earlier. A crumble of dust distracted the three hedgehogs as Johnson II got back to his feet and Johnson I held Amy up on the wall as they looked at the dust falling from the ceiling.

As the three hedgehogs watched, the ceiling started to buckle, cratering inwards as something hit it every couple of seconds. Finally, it collapsed in, and Alex fell in, landing on his feet. The two agents gulped as they saw the anger and bloodlust blazing in the demon hedgehog's eyes. He pulled the hammer back on his Anaconda and shot Johnson II in the knee. As he buckled, Alex dashed to him and gripped his neck, choking the Shadow clone against the corner of the wall.

While Johnson I was distracted with his partner's demise, Amy leaned forward and managed to land on her feet, using the moment to keep going and slam his head in a DDT.

"And that's how you do it." She told the Gray, before rolling him over. He grinned through broken and bloodied teeth.

"Just tell me one thing. How on earth do creeps get actual jobs in a hospital?" The Gray mumbled through his badly damaged mouth.

"They were mainly just interns…"

"Except for your only ex besides Shadow… I heard he just about had a good time." Johnson I told her, causing her to growl, her features contorting with anger. She reared back and punched him in the chest, not stopping until his sternum caved through and he drowned in his own blood. She cried quietly for a few minutes over his corpse, until Alex gently put his hand on her shoulder.

"What was that about?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing… I'll tell you later." She replied, ripping a non-bloody part of Johnson II's suit off to wipe her nose, wiping her tears away with her arm. Alex patted her on the back and handed her a bottle of cold water. She spit a slimy combination of blood and saliva out on the ground before accepting it.

"Are we really that ridiculous." Alex asked, giving a half grin.

"No… It's just, those guys… They push me over the edge. I don't know why." She replied.

"You and me both." Alex replied. "When I'm around them and reminded of what they're like, of how they treat people… It just makes me want to kill every single one of them, giving them all of the suffering they've given."

"Amen to that." Mike's voice came from the apartment door, as Amy bent over, coughing blood onto her blue trainers.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, the inside of my cheek just got torn open by my teeth." She told him before taking a swig of the water, flinching as the cold liquid flowed over the gash inside her mouth.

"And you got this shiner right here…" Alex commented, holding her chin and angling her head to look at the small split. She jerked her chin free and took another drink, walking out of the bathroom. Mike had finally gotten the opening large enough to fit his arm up to his shoulder and even his head and neck in, as he stared at the dust covered and bloodied Amy.

"A little help?" He asked, before pulling out of the door. Alex crossed the room and shut the door, pulling the bent and cracked shelf out of the small closet.

"D*** dense wood…" He commented as he moved it out of the way, opening the door and seeing not Mike, but another Gray standing there, Glock aimed right at his forehead. Before either hedgehog could act a gunshot rang out and the Gray's head was slammed to the left in a cloud of red, smashing to the ground. Alex leaned out with a raised eyebrow and saw Henri standing at the end of the hall, almost a football field distance, his Barrett slung over his shoulder and Desert Eagle in his hands. Alex nodded and got one in reply, before the Frenchman turned and jogged off.

"He's going to find a good spot to provide sniper cover from now. I suggest we meet up with the others and get out of here." Scourge told him, walking out of his apartment, as Mike came out of the apartment across the hall.

"Yeah, we need to escape. According to Reimaru, they have a problem there." Mike told him, holding up a phone.

"They may have a problem, but we're fighting off an entire army of NGW and almost every elite police team in Asia." Alex replied as Amy walked up, her vision finally resetting to normal and her headache reducing from a steel spike in her head to just a nail as she rubbed her jaw. The brown hedgehog casually lit another cigarette as they talked.

"No, dude, it's about Shadow." Mike replied, causing Amy's head to snap up at him.

"What about him?" Amy asked, grabbing the taller brown hedgehog by his collar.

"Well, he disappeared when the balcony he was on collapsed, and according to Tails's AI, his telemetry has gone flat."

"What the frick does that mean?" Amy growled through grit teeth, reaching the end of her patience.

"It means, his heart has stopped beating."

Author's Notes: So, ending on a cliffhanger! In part 2 of this chapter we'll see the group in Tails's workshop make a dangerous escape against a deadly foe, as Amy's group fights to escape through the massive raid being led on the building. Stay tuned in, I hope the next chapter won't take as long (It should be shorter than this behemoth anyway) and feel free to leave a review!