A/N: Okay, I know that a lot of chapters in this story have been focused on my all-time favorite Sonic character, and this chapter is not any different than those. :/ Things are about to get heated, so brace yourselves . . . and please review! :)

Team Dark lounged about the side of the house, where the helicopter with fully awake and conscious people still rested.

"Why is that still here?" Rouge inquired as she smoothed out her hair. Shadow grunted.

"Well, they've probably called for backup," he said serenely.

"Hmm . . . shouldn't that be a bad thing?"

"Perhaps they've called for backup and they are waiting for all of us to sleep," Omega remarked.

"Good point, big guy, but I don't know."

Rouge and Omega discussed possible scenarios that could be occurring or might happen within the helicopter, while Shadow decided to take a nice walk around the house darkened with shadows. The stars were out again, taunting the dark hedgehog with their brightness. Shadow thought deeply about everything. The dictator, the agents, the helicopters, and, occasionally, back to Mobius. He didn't exactly miss home, but he didn't like Earth, either. It was hard to decide where he belonged in the universe. Maybe he just belonged back on ARK.

A sound came from the wall of the house. Before Shadow reached the side where Sonic and Knuckles were, he had come to a door in the back. The knob started to turn, causing Shadow to jump slightly. Muffled shouts could be heard from behind it.

The door swung open, revealing a tall figure shoving a shorter one through the door. Shadow stood completely motionless, watching as the figures forcefully emerged from the door.

"He'll ask you some questions, but I think you'll be able to manage," said a rough voice, presumably the taller one, "you're a big girl."

A muffled sound erupted from the other figure. From what Shadow could deduce, that one had been tied up and gagged, and now was being dragged out of the house. When the two figures stumbled down the stairs and got into the grass, Shadow cleared his throat and said,

"Hello, there."

Both figures jumped, and the tall one yelped in surprise. Shadow menacingly stepped forward and created a ball of light with his hand, holding it up to his face to illuminate it eerily.

"What's going on?" he asked quietly, "and who do we have here?"

The muffled voice came again, this time trying to shout something. The tall figure slapped the shorter one suddenly to shut her up.

Shadow brought the Chaos light closer to the faces of the figures, who he realized were the guard that he had threatened during the first attack, and Agatha, who was tied up.

"So this is what you've resorted to, then?" he asked. The uniformed guard chuckled madly.

"I'm just doing my job," he stated, "I'm taking this girl in because she's a witness. She knows the damage that you've done, and she's going to tell Dictator Edric all about it."

Shadow closed his eyes in thought.

"Ah, so that's his name."

Agatha's strangled cries came again, sounding more frantic and urgent than before. Shadow calmly came close to the guard.

"So what do you plan on doing with her when you've finished with her?"

"Throw her in jail. Or maybe we'll just give her a few . . . heh . . . finger pricks until she talks if she's not cooperative."

Shadow nodded slowly.

"I see. Well, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but I doubt you'll be able to get past me."

The guard tossed his head back and laughed out loud. He threw Agatha to the ground and pulled a knife from his jacket.

"This could potentially kill you. That's what the boss wants, and with her captured, I'll get a bonus!"

Shadow chuckled and stroked his chin.

"I'm afraid you're a bit unaware of what I'm capable of," he said smoothly, "you're not very good at dealing with Chaos Energy, are you?"

The guard looked at Shadow, puzzled.

"Chaos . . . what?"

Shadow's eyes lit up to a bright white suddenly.

"You must not remember. I'll show you again."

Panicked, the guard brandished his knife. Shadow, through his illuminated eyes, could see the shaking hands and labored breaths. With a flick of his wrist, Shadow teleported the knife from the guard's hands to his own.

"Now, then," he said, throwing the knife into the woods, "you were saying?"

The guard frantically pulled a pistol from his inside pocket and pointed it at Agatha, who audibly gasped from behind her gag.

Shadow widened his eyes and tried to fight back a flashback. Shouts came from every direction and Maria ran to the control panel to pull a switch. Shadow banged his hands against the glass of his stasis tube.

"Maria!" he pleaded, crying out only her name. The girl turned and gave Shadow a pained yet gentle smile. Shadow watched helplessly as a man in G.U.N. attire pointed a gun at her and pulled the trigger. The hedgehog heard himself cry out in pure horror as he saw her body collapse to the ground and a small puddle of blood formed beneath her.

"Maria!"

Still conscious, Maria reached for the switch that she had been trying to pull and gave Shadow one last look of weak happiness.

Shadow's flashback ended as he remembered the container falling down to Earth. The guard kept his gun pointed at Agatha, who stared at Shadow in confusion and partial hysteria.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Shadow said slowly, his voice trembling slightly. The uniformed soldier laughed.

"If I did, I could easily blame you and your friends," the man countered.

Shadow saw red as the man laughed at him, taunting the hedgehog's pain and grief for Maria. The hedgehog balled his fists at his sides and tried not to let his temper loose like Knuckles.

"Maybe we can reach a deal," offered Shadow as politely as he could.

The man lowered his pistol and looked blankly at the dark hedgehog.

"I wouldn't accept any deals of yours," he replied. Shadow, seeing that the man wouldn't cooperate, narrowed his eyes.

"You take me and let this girl go free; I'd be useful to you and your dictator."

The offer was out there, waiting for the highest bidder to accept it. Agatha's yells came again, screaming in muffled distress and pleading Shadow not to do it. The man pondered this and pensively tapped his foot.

"I don't know . . ." he mumbled.

Agatha, the poor thing, couldn't stand the tension and silently tried to slip her hands out of the rope. She had success in doing so and was then able to remove her gag and quietly sneak a few steps back where Shadow had thrown the knife. Once she had retrieved the knife, Agatha crept up to the man and knocked the pistol out of his hand. Before the guard knew what was happening, the girl gathered all the strength that she could find and held the man steady as she brought the knife close to his throat.

"He won't be taking anyone," she said, surprisingly threatening for her.

Shadow raised his eyebrows, impressed yet mildly alarmed by her sudden and violent approach to the situation.

"Careful, Agatha," he said warningly.

The guard, with a cry of effort, twisted Agatha's wrist with the knife and pulled her by her collar.

"Young lady, I hereby place you under arrest for treason."

Agatha appeared confident as she fought against the man, but she had little success in trying. The soldier pinned the girl's hands behind her back and wrencheed the knife from her hand. No one, not even the guard, was prepared for the moment when he drove the knife into the girl's shoulder blade with a blazing and wild fire in his eyes.

Shadow's eyes widened at the sight of the inhumane stabbing and the sound of Agatha's screech. He always knew that humans were cruel and killed each other for no reason, but knowing someone as innocent and harmless as Maria being hurt by someone with high intents of murder made him furious.

Agatha pursed her lips and shut her eyes as she felt around the wound for the knife. She found it and removed it painfully, starting to see spots. The girl glanced at the blade and, even in the dark, saw it covered in blood, and simply couldn't handle the sight without passing out.

Shadow ran to her and took the knife from the girl's hand, trembling with fury as he looked at the darkened spot on the blade.

"You . . . sick son of a bitch!" he screamed, dropping the knife and starting to lunge for the man.

The soldier, realizing what he had done, stared at his hands with fright and then at the charging and angry hedgehog. He screamed and threw himself to the ground, sobbing and burying his face in the grass. The soldier held up his hands in attempt to stop Shadow's burning rage.

"No, no, no!" he yelled, "no, I didn't mean to!"

Shadow stopped, panting heavily, and grabbed the man's collar, revealing his panicked face.

"You know very well what you did, you disgusting bastard," he breathed, "and now, you're going to pay for that."

"Please, no! I'm begging you, don't kill me!"

Shadow stared at the man's terrified expression with no compassion. He fought against his natural instinct to pulverize the man; to make sure he didn't see the light of day again.

"Don't pull that crap on me," he said in a terrifyingly low voice, "I'll show you no mercy for your actions, like you were going to do to this girl who did nothing to you."

"Honest, I didn't mean to!" the man protested, tears streaming down his face, "I—I'm sorry!"

As the soldier sobbed hysterically, Shadow continued to heavily breathe through his bared teeth, battling between two decisions—get the human to hell, or spare him. Even though it was difficult, Shadow chose the better of the options with reluctance.

"You're damn lucky I don't kill you now," Shadow whispered threateningly, "stay here or you'll be guaranteed a one-way ticket to hell."

On that dangerous note, Shadow threw the man to the ground against the base of a tree trunk, in partial hopes that he'd get knocked out. Without turning back, the black and red hedgehog ran to Agatha, who was still unconscious on the grass. Even in the dark, Shadow could see the grass around her getting darker with blood from her wound.

"Oh, hell, no . . ." he whispered, "not you, too . . ."

Shadow knelt down and turned Agatha's body over to check for a pulse. Through his remaining rage and—could it be?—grief, Shadow had a hard time making out the heartbeat. The memories flowed back, this time freely and without the hedgehog fighting them back.

For the first time since he had last seen Maria, tears formed in the hedgehog's blood-red eyes.