As Antoine returned to the stage, Bunnie made an announcement. "Before I bring out our next bachelor, I would like to congratulate and thank our current competition winners. After only six waves of bidding, you've already raised four thousand five hundred pounds! We're already nearing our goal!"

She delayed her speech due to the audience's cheering, including from the young men and Vector. She continued after regaining control. "This much in donations was definitely not in the plan. Still, we're going to move onto round two. We will start the remaining four bachelors at two hundred pounds, and each bid will raise a hundred. Are you ready?" She pointed the microphone back toward the ladies, getting even more hype in response.

"Then allow me to introduce our oldest bachelor and Freedom Fighters' newest recruit, SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG!" Antoine projected Shadow's self-made player card.

Shadow - Age: ! - Height: 190cm - Looking For: You know. - Skills: Destruction, Teleportation, All Combat.

Just as he claimed in his skills, Shadow teleported behind Antoine and wrapped his arms around him. Shadow pulled him close and rested his head above Antoine's.

"This could be you, ladies!" Bunnie teased. Letting go of Antoine revealed Shadow was wearing nothing but suit pants, highlighting his athletic figure. That alone earned a third round of applause, eliciting shouts, growls, and everything between. Unlike Antoine and Bunnie, he was not taken aback by this.

At the first opportunity, Bunnie started him off. "Good luck! This round starts at two hundred pounds. Shadow the Hedgehog, ladies. Let's see what you can do."

A brief four seconds passed where whispers through the crowd were all that could be heard. As a welcome relief to his sudden nervousness, a familiar and equally shadowy figure placed a first bid.

"First bid by Rouge the Bat! I can't lie, I bet Vector ten pounds on that too. I currently owe him twenty. Whatever. Second bid by Sonia the Hedgehog! No question she'll have a messy conversation with her brothers. Jokes aside, we got Rouge coming back with four hundred pounds! I see Team Dark's got some explaining to do."

A few competitors laughed like this was a middle school crush revealed. It didn't last long.

"Boom! Sonia's returned with this round's half grand bid! Before long, Rouge lays down six hundred pounds for Shadow! An impressive amount for this speed! Yes! Sonia bids seven hundred. Girls get tribal when fighting over a man. When will these two stop fighting?"

In a manner unfamiliar to her, Rouge quit her rash of bidding and waited for a new challenger. When she arose, Antoine faltered. "Okay, that's interesting. Cream the Rabbit has placed the eight hundred pound bid! Just the look on his face shows Vector's not happy with that, despite her having been an adult for years. C'est vrai, mon vieux."

In relief for Vector, the next bid came within a second. "That's Whisper the Wolf with nine hundred pounds!" Antoine cheered. "Now, it's a waiting game for the thousand. There we have it! Rouge has placed a thousand pounds." Shadow smirked at her. "Shadow seems to be enjoying this, but here's Whisper with eleven hundred pounds! We've now broken the thousand pound mark."

Despite her taking away Rouge's lead bid, Shadow still looked pleased with the increased bids. His loyalty to the Freedom Fighters was unmatched. Unquestionably, Rouge rebounded with the twelve hundred pound bid, as Antoine was happy to continue announcing. Then, the challenger returned.

"I believe we're now at thirteen hundred pounds! Cream the Rabbit currently in the lead. Surely she's grown in confidence. Going once… Ah, there's Whisper back for more! Fourteen hundred pounds! We may have increased the wagers, but amassing this fortune is beyond me."

Most of the audience had their attention quickly diverted by some arguing from the left side. From there, Staci determinedly added her own bid. "That's one and a half grand from Staci the Bandicoot! Swiftly raised by her sister Perci!"

"Seventeen. Fifty." Cream didn't sound pleased with that, but her confidence exponentiated. She stood up in defiance to the twins. Shadow laughed at first, then smiled and winked at her.

"Cream the Rabbit regained the lead at 1750 pounds. Can the willingness to raise shut down the competition? It's working. Cream going once, going twice, GOING OUT with Shadow the Hedgehog!" Antoine cheered.

Vector felt Vanilla hold onto him tighter. Shadow teleported behind Cream and warped his arms around her, just like he did to Antoine. Cream held his hands until he let go. She then hugged him close, her head resting on his chest fur. For once in his life, Shadow genuinely smiled for reasons other than someone getting hurt, gathering a round of awws from some audience members. Shadow grabbed a seat within seconds and readied himself to watch the remainder of round two, albeit with Cream holding his hand.