Chapter 4

Tails awoke with a slight start. He looked around, confused, before realizing where he was. He was sitting at his desk, pencil in hand with his notes spread out around him. There was an empty Chinese takeout box next him as well as a small, half empty, bottle of soda. Now he remembered. It was takeout night and Tails had fallen asleep after having eaten while working on his notes for the machine. 'Where did I leave off?' wondered the fox as he skimmed through the various scribblings before coming across a sketch of the machine and a box above it labeled 'name?' Upon closer inspection, Tails could see where he had written several potential names but erased them out. "Huh… That's a good question…" wondered Tails aloud.

"What is?" asked Shadow as he peeked in the door to the lab.

"Oh, I was just asking myself what I should call the machine. Until now I didn't give it much thought but I figured it should have one."

Shadow rubbed his chin, "Hm. I never thought about it either. Any ideas so far?"

Tails shook his head, "Not any good ones. What time is it?"

"A little past midnight. Everyone else went to bed."

"Why haven't you?"

"Couldn't sleep… Got too much on my mind…" replied Shadow as he looked up at the celling. Tails moved a pile of books off a chair next to him and patted the seat. Shadow sat down heavily with a sigh as he rubbed his temples. "I can't stop thinking about the memories I got back; the ones after my creation. It's just crazy to think I was never a little kid, I never grew up. You know?"

Tails nodded, "I can see your point. Sometimes it's surreal for me to remember back to when I was a kid. I can remember my Mom and Dad a little bit but they died when I was really young. Most of my childhood memories are full of Sonic cause he took care of me. Its can seem pretty crazy to think that you used to be so small and innocent and now your bigger and you've been through so much. On that same note, I can see how it would feel so weird to know that the way you are now is how you've always been and you've never been small."

"Either way it's baffling to see how far you've come and how much you've changed."

"It certainly is…" Tails looked down at his sketches of his nameless invention. He looked at Shadow with a smile and said, "You know Shadow, I think you should name the machine." Shadow's eyes widen and he began to protest but Tails cut him off, "I insist. After all, you're the first person this machine has helped and you deserve it. Just don't pick something stupid that ends in 'inator' or a number ok? Those are my only rules."

The two burst into laughter at this for a minute or two before Shadow agreed, "Ok, I'll name it. Give me some time to think though; I'll get back to you." After a laughing a little more, Shadow and Tails both went to bed, their minds eased.

The next morning, everyone was gathered around the kitchen table for breakfast. Knuckles finished first and headed for the front door, shouldering a backpack as he went, "See you later guys."

Shadow stood up confused, "Where are you going?"

"Didn't I tell you guys? The Mobian Archeology Society called and asked for my help on a dig out in Sandopolis back on Angel Island that I authorized a while ago."

"No you didn't, congrats Knux. It's been a while since the last time you went to do your explorer-thing." Said Sonic, "If they're calling you in, it must be a major find."

"Hold on, I feel a little out of the loop; what exactly is going on?" asked Shadow.

"Geez is that amnesia getting worse? I've told you about this before." Began Knuckles as he pulled out a photo from his wallet. It depicted a young Knuckles wearing an Indiana Jones-like hat standing in some ancient ruins with a cocky grin on his face. "I used to be a treasure hunter. I found all sorts of ruins from almost every civilization that ever existed on this planet. When I got a little older I worked in the archeology department of Mobius University and became the foremost authority in the field. Nowadays, I teach a class here and there and consult on any digs the university is sponsoring. Occasionally, I'll go up and supervise a dig or two on angel Island."

Shadow smiled as he looked at the picture, "Ah yes, I remember now. You were just a little whippersnapper back than weren't you?"

"Ha Ha Ha, you're one to talk Grandpa Shadow. Anyways, they've found something interesting in the Sandopolis pyramids and they want me to take a look."

Tails tapped his chin thoughtfully, "I thought Sandopolis and its ruins were completely mapped and explored."

"Apparently not. I'd better get going; it's a hell of a trip out there. If I need to stay overnight, I'll call." Answered Knuckles with a shrug. Then, with waves and well-wishings from his housemates, the dread sporting echidna left.

As they resumed breakfast, Sonic's phone beeped to signal a text. Upon opening it, he sighed in irritation, "Really? He knows I hate it when he does that."

"What is it? Your boss ask you to come in tonight?" asked Shadow as he took a bite of toast. "If he needs you to DJ he should just schedule you."

"No, worse." Replied Sonic as he began to stand and reply to the text. "He volunteered me to work this wedding and the client interview is today in two hours. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind working weddings but some advance warning would be great. I gotta run, see ya at dinner." Grumbling under his breath and texting as he went, Sonic blasted out the front door.

Shadow shook his head and turned to Tails, "So whats on your agenda for today Tails?" He received no answer. The young fox seemed to be lost deep in his own thoughts and he only picked at his food. "Tails…? Tails!"

"Wha-?!" exclaimed Tails as his head jerked up, "What, what is it?"

"I asked you what you're going to do today. Are you alright?"

Tails nodded quickly, "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Just tired from last night. I was going to work on the machine as usual. Speaking of work, hows the job hunt going?"

At this the ebony hedgehog groaned, "Terrible. I swear if I have to spend one more night working security at that mattress warehouse I'm going to lose my mind! But, everywhere I apply to asks for a resume and prior employment and I have to explain to them that I don't have either. It's either that or they have some pre-formed view of me from whatever they've heard."

"That sucks. The worst part is that you still wouldn't have anything to go off of if we used the machine to fill more gaps in your memory because you spent a good 50 years or so asleep and when you did wake up you were saving the world or trying to remember your past." Pointed out Tails.

"There has to be something though." Contemplating Shadow as he picked up the newspaper that was lying on the table and flipped through the classifieds, "I have literally tried everything."

"Don't worry, you'll find something." Tails dumped his plate of mostly uneaten food and put his dishes in the sink, "Well, now I have to get to work. I'm almost done with the new part for the machine and Chaos as my witness; it'll be installed before the day is out." Tails went down into the basement, leaving Shadow alone with his thoughts.

With nothing else to do, Shadow decided he would go for a walk. He Chaos Controlled to his spot on the hill with the oak tree and began to stroll through the tall grass around it. There was a gentle breeze blowing that made the grass wave back and forth like a green ocean. The air smelled earthy and slightly sweet in the patches of wildflowers that were scattered about. He took a deep breath in and a slow exhale out as he looked up into the clear blue sky.

'To think,' Shadow thought to himself as he continued to amble along, 'A couple years ago I used to come out here by myself to mope and wonder about who I was. Now, I come here with the others and instead wonder about finding suitable employment.' Shadow chuckled to himself as he said aloud, "Talk about night and day." The ebony hedgehog stopped in the middle of the field and turned in a circle. He took in the natural beauty of the place, appreciating it and allowing it to calm his worries; something he never could do before. Feeling quite serene, Shadow nodded to himself, 'Tails is right. Everything will work out just fine. I just have to keep looking.' Satisfied, Shadow decided to Chaos Control into the city and see if he couldn't scope out any possible job opportunities that suited him.

With a flash of light, Shadow appeared in a park in the east side of the city. It was a lovely plot of land with grass and plenty of playground equipment for children of all ages. He walked out of the park and down the street towards the business district. As Shadow wound his way through the streets he passed several businesses that were hiring but all of them were either jobs he had no idea about or were looking for very specific qualifications. Still, he was determined to keep his hopes up and continued into a different section of the business district. This group of stores was primarily retail or restaurants. Shadow figured it wouldn't hurt to take a quick break so he grabbed a table in a quaint little café. He ordered a black cup of coffee and was striking up a conversation with a cute waitress, a leopard, when two more customers came in.

The waitress excused herself and went to seat the two new customers. Shadow drank his coffee and watched, hoping she would come back over when she was done. However, as he watched, he couldn't help but think something was odd about the newcomers. One was a ferret, extremely tall and skinny with rust colored fur and beady gray eyes that darted back and forth to the walls and corners of the ceiling. His companion was a well-muscled Komodo dragon who kept looking around the café with an aggressive glare, as if daring someone to fight him. Shadow locked eyes with the latter for a few seconds but the reptilian Mobian snorted in contempt and turned away. 'What's his problem?' wondered Shadow as he turned his attention back to the ferret that was still focused on the corners and walls. 'What is he even looking at?' Shadow turned his head to looking in the corner that the ferret seem particularly interested in. He raised an eye ridge upon noticing there was nothing there but a little surveillance camera.

'Huh… What a couple of weirdoes. But still…' Shadow studied the two more closely; unable to shake this feeling that was building up in his gut. Both were wearing what looked like normal street clothes with open trench coats. Not to mention they hadn't even sat down yet. The café wasn't terrible busy so the waitress had given them the choice of where to sit. The pair was just looking around and around the café. 'Geez just pick somewhere.' Thought Shadow with irritation, 'it's not rocket science. Why would they even be wearing trench coats anyways? Its 85 degrees outside.' As he thought this, Shadow had been raising his coffee mug to his lips but now he suddenly stopped. He looked back over as this strange two-some, his brow furrowing as a new thought began to form in his mind. The waitress smiled at him over her shoulder and waved. Shadow's eyes widened as he saw the ferret slide one hand under his trench coat and lash out the other to grab the waitress by the arm and yank her close. She screamed as the barrel of a gun was pressed against her head. The other customers in the café whirled around and gasped in fright as the Komodo dragon pulled a double barrel shotgun from under his coat and aimed at them.

Everyone, including Shadow, was frozen in place as the ferret clicked the safety off the gun and yelled, "Nobody move or her brains gets splattered all over the celling!"

Author's Note: Whoo! Okay everyone, as I said, I updated the first three chapters of this story and changed a few tiny things that will prove instrumental later on. This is the new chapter and it looks like Shadow's in a bit of trouble so please read, review, and most of all, enjoy!