It took the three only a few minutes to shake the crowd, Shadow carrying the android and Justin over his shoulders while zigging and zagging on his way to Justin's basement. The kid's parents were apparently out at the moment, so it was easy to get in quickly, but it wouldn't take long for someone in the crowd to put two and two together. Shadow placed Justin on the nearby bed and tossed the Shadow Android to the ground roughly. "If you value your life, start talking!" Shadow yelled, getting up in the android's face and aiming his fist in case it got out of line. Genuine fear came across its metallic face as it began to blabber. "I-I don't know what you want me to say! Just...Please don't hurt me!" Shadow folded his arms as the thing began to weep again. It didn't have any tear ducts, obviously, but it had emotional responses, feelings. It had flinched at Shadow's raised fist, expecting pain. These emotions weren't being faked. They were real. But how? "Fine. I'll believe you...For now. Just tell me where you came from."

The android was still shaken, but calmed down as he began to get a hold of his nerves. "Well, quite frankly...I don't know. Justin told me that he pulled my body out of...What did you call that thing, Justin?"

"A river, Daniel." Justin responded. Shadow raised his eyebrow at the name of Daniel. "Well, he looks like a Daniel, doesn't he?" Justin tried to defend.

"...Not really." Shadow responded, bluntly, before prompting the android to continue his story. "Ah yes, after that, he repaired my cranial systems, and I woke up in a private shed in the forest. I'm sorry to say that I can't really recall anything before that point." Daniel finished, peeling back some of the liquid metal on his head to reveal a roughly repaired CPU. Shadow nodded, deep in thought. If "Daniel" here was telling the truth, then it was possible that the programming which turned most Shadow Androids violent was entirely absent, lost with the parts that needed replacing...Or it could be deeply buried, waiting to come out and strike at any time. He observed Daniel's liquid metal skin. On other androids, he'd seen it used to produce weapons with just a thought. He needed to probe deeper. "Have you ever done battle before, Daniel?"

"What, me? No, I'm...Oh, I'm ashamed to say it aloud, but...I'm a coward." Daniel responded, hanging his head low. Justin got up from the bed. "It's true! The only reason he was in town today was to try and defend me from some bullies. But even when they were terrified of him, he couldn't look them in the eye!" Shadow put a hand on his chin, quickly forming an idea. In the blink of an eye, he formed a low-power Chaos Spear, and threw it at Daniel, who just barely managed to dodge it. "Hey! What was that for?" Justin shouted. "Reflex test. Like most of the Doctor's machines, Shadow Androids are built as weapons, with automatic functions for deflecting attacks. If Daniel still had these functions, one of his hands would've at least formed into a weapon for the purpose of return fire. He didn't, though, which means he lacks these functions entirely." Shadow walked up to Daniel and helped steady him on his feet. "I've now determined that you're telling the truth."

Daniel seemed relieved. "Oh, thank you, Mr…?"

"Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog. The Ultimate Lifeform, and the basis of your creation." Shadow responded. Daniel just looked confused. "Are you sure? I don't see the resemblance, personally."

"Doesn't matter if you do. We just need to calm the townspeople down and explain the situation." Shadow said, careful not to come off as TOO nice. Daniel wouldn't be in this world if not for him, so Shadow wanted to ensure that he was properly taken care of...But he didn't want anyone thinking that he was actually affectionate towards the android. "Pfft, good luck." Justin said, dismissively. Shadow gave him a quizzical glance. "Look, this village has been wary of technology since before I can even remember, and after the Metal Virus, they're outright afraid of it! They'll burn him at the stake before they accept him!"

Shadow tried to interject, but Justin kept on going, getting angrier and angrier. "Freaking Dad won't even let me use my computer anymore. Says I need less distractions...For what? Chopping up wood like the rest of this dead-end town!?"

"Justin?" Daniel asked, concerned.

"Of course, they want me to be like everybody else. That's how this freaking place works. Nobody different is allowed! Can't let things change! Can't be who I want to be!"

"Shadow, I think something's wrong with him!" Daniel said. Shadow just looked out the basement window, as the angry mob outside began to gather. "I don't think it's just him."