AN: First, I am so sorry for the long delay. If you follow me on Twitter ( ThePyroHedgie), I have updated you on my reasons for the long wait. I'm still teaching full-time. I just finished my Master's degree in February, and I went to a destination wedding for my sister. Finally, at the end of Feb to early March, I went through a bout of depression for the first time in my life that I had to learn to deal with. I struggled to get this chapter written, for which I apologize. I'm hoping future chapters will come out more frequently.

Thank you, Secretbatfic, 4lyss4d4smol, risingzero1984, Zaharaa, Pirilaxa, and realshadowfan04, for the reviews you left in the last chapter. They are greatly appreciated! Also, I want to give Kaencrumbs on Twitter a shoutout and give a huge thanks for all the fan art she is producing for "Brothers of Chaos." For real guys, go check out her work there!

Song: "Edging" – Blink 182 (I do not own this song!)

Once returning home, Knuckles spotted Shadow casually smoking a cigarette on the front porch. After hanging up his helmet, the red echidna stormed toward the apathetic hedgehog. Shadow made eye contact with his comrade as Knuckles reached out and grabbed him by the collar. "You…" he seethed.

Shadow kept calm as he was lurched forward by his friend. He casually blew out a puff of smoke out of the corner of his mouth. "…You too? I already got Mighty's lecture."

"How could you be so heartless and cold? You're not the Shadow I've grown up with. This is not like you!" he exclaimed as he shook him.

Shadow reached up and removed his large hands from gripping his jacket collar. "Well, this is the new me, so get used to it," he replied coolly.

"Just tell me why you did it," he questioned.

Shadow shook his head in annoyance. "It's none of your business. It was a complicated decision."

"But I thought you loved Amy?"

Shadow turned his back on the echidna and took another drag. "I did love her, but not anymore," he lied. "It's over." He swallowed the lump in his throat, saying the lie out loud was still hard to swallow as he tried to make it sound as believable as possible.

Knuckles stared at the gloomy hedgehog long and hard. This still wasn't making any sense to him. "I don't understand. What made you feel that way? What changed?"

"Look, I don't have time to be in a long-distance and committed relationship. You've seen how busy we've been these past few weeks. It was fun being with her while it lasted, but it's time for me to move on," he tried to justify.

Knuckles narrowed his brows. "That's bullshit, and you know it. Rouge and I have made it work for years now. Tell me the truth, man."

"It is true, but I shouldn't be telling you anything. It's personal, between Amy and I and no one else."

The echidna crossed his arms across his chest. "Then at least be a decent guy and talk with her and tell her the truth of your decision. It's the least you owe her."

Shadow smushed his cigarette bud into the ashtray on the railing. "I plan to."

•~•

A little later, Amy spoke with her cousin in one of Rouge's spare bedrooms. She sat on the bed as she talked to her cousin over the phone. "Why don't you come home?" his voice pleaded softly and sympathetically. "You don't need to put yourself through any more heartbreak."

"I can't," Amy replied. "I still haven't spoken to him one-on-one yet. Until we talk, I don't intend to leave."

"Rosy…" Rob' O sighed sadly. "I'm worried about you. Are you sure you don't want me to come down there and stay with you until then?"

"I'm an adult, Rob. I need to handle these types of things on my own. I appreciate the concern, though."

"Right, fair enough. Take care and good luck, cousin."

"Thanks, bye." With that, she hung up her call with her cousin.

In the corner of the bedroom, Rouge sat in a chair with her arms crossed. "He just cares about your well-being, you know. It's nice to have family members that care about you."

Amy walked back over to the bed and plopped down on it. "Yeah, I know, but Rob has always been very controlling and a bit of a helicopter parent. At any rate, how should I deal with Shadow? Since this morning's encounter, he's ignored all my calls and texts."

Rouge scoffed in disgust. "What an asshole…I say we ambush him and put him on the spot."

"Okay, I'll do it tomorrow. I think I'll be ready with what I want to say."

Rouge pulled out her phone and began texting. "Right, I'll text Knuckles and keep him in the loop. If I can find out Shadow's schedule through him, we'll know when to show up and corner him."

Amy smiled weakly. "Thanks, Rouge. I appreciate all your help."

"No problem, sweetheart. We'll get to the bottom of this."

•~•

The next day, at the police station, Deputy Silver stepped into Detective Vector's office. The door was left open, so he knocked on the side of it to get his attention. Standing in the doorway, he spotted Vector before a large evidence board. The crocodile stared at all the photo lineups, screenshot printed photos, receipts, and timelines he had organized leading up to Espio's death.

"Any new details on Espio's case?" Silver inquired.

Vector did not look his way; instead, he focused on his board. "Nothing today, but I'm getting closer to cracking it."

"You've talked to all witnesses present at the event yet?" he questioned.

"Everyone except Ms. Rose," he replied.

"Miss Rose, huh?" Silver repeated. "I'm sure I could track her down for questioning."

"She was out of town for a bit, so I haven't had the chance to speak to her. Some other cases got in the way. However, I've heard she's back in town. So, if you could catch her and ask her some questions, it'd greatly help."

"Sure thing, detective." Silver walked further into his office and stared at a few supposed suspects on the board. He couldn't help but glance at Mephiles' photo planted as suspect number three.

"I never thought I'd see the day Mephiles would be on your list of alleged suspects. I thought he was your friend," Silver noted.

Vector strolled away from the board and headed over to his desk. He reached for his coffee mug. "Yeah, well, I thought he was my friend too…"

Silver's ears perked in surprise. "Wait a minute. Does that mean you have finally come to your senses on that guy?"

He took a sip of his coffee. "I don't know about that yet. I'm trying to prove a case here."

"Well, again, I'm always here to help. Wherever you need me, I'll lend a hand to take that guy down."

"I appreciate that, deputy."

•~•

Meanwhile, that morning, at the compound, Manic, Shadow, and Gadget sat in the living room watching television. Gadget sat on the floor, tinkering with some electronics he was trying to fix. Manic, on the other hand, lounged on the sofa, flipping through channels. Shadow sat in one of the lounge chairs, watching Manic flip through channels. His mind was entirely focused on anything. He was still somewhat mentally drained from his breakup with Amy earlier this morning. His mind was plagued with thoughts of the pink hedgehog and his remorse for how he handled their breakup.

"Could you pick a channel already?" Gadget bickered in annoyance. "The flipping is starting to become quite irksome."

Manic rolled his eyes. "Pff…sure, whatever, dude." He flipped the channel one final time and ended up on a news channel outlet. On the T.V., the evening news held a segment about a heroic act of kindness.

A news anchor stood at the Mercia train station holding her microphone as she spoke into the camera. "I'm standing here at the local train station at the center of Mercia where a stranger displayed a heroic act of kindness when witnessing an alarming medical incident." The screen cut to a now-viral clip of Predator Hawk convulsing on the floor from his seizure from an amateur videographer. In the short clip, you could see Amy coming into view and going straight into her medical training. "The clip shows this male having a seizure before this young female hedgehog darted into action, taking command of the situation and potentially saving this young male's life," the newscaster's voice said over the clip.

"Yo, that's Amy…" Manic breathed with a pointed finger. Shadow glanced over at the screen after hearing his ex's name. He kept his eyes fixated on the screen as his fists tightened anxiously. Amy had encountered Suppression Squad members alone and, even worse, interacted with them.

"Yeah, but is that not Drago and Predator in the video as well?" Gadget observed.

Suddenly, the footage returned to the newscaster, who was interviewing a witness during the incident. "What was it like seeing this young female take charge and display such kindness for a total stranger?"

The male platypus interviewee crossed his arms as he leaned into the extended mic. "Well, it was something else, I'll tell yah. This young lady just stormed in and gave directions before getting to work. She looked like a complete natural!"

"Why did no one else step in?" the newscaster continued.

"Probably because nobody knew what to do. Everyone in the station just stopped and watched in shock. Most people were whipping out their cellphones to record the whole thing instead of helping out. It's a real shame when you think about it."

"It also must have been terrifying," the newscaster noted.

"It sure was, but thankfully, that girl was around and seemed to know what she was doing. She's an angel, that's for sure."

The news anchor turned back to look at the camera. "Unfortunately, the female in this now viral clip is still unknown. It has amassed over 2 million views in the short hours it's been circulating the Internet. Many witnesses claimed she fled the scene the moment the paramedics arrived to tend to the victim. The victim and their associate denied any interviews for their ordeal. This is Mobius News Channel 5, signing out."

Manic lowered the volume on the T.V. as all eyes turned to Shadow for a reaction. "She's fortunate they didn't attempt to hurt her," Gadget stated. "Who knows what their intentions could have been."

The dark vice president calmly rose from his place on the sofa. "Exactly why she shouldn't be sticking around this shithole," Shadow huffed before exiting the living room. He immediately headed for the front door.

Mephiles was heading downstairs when he spotted his younger brother grab his keys. "Where are you going?"

Shadow reached for the door and opened it. "Out. I'll be back in an hour or two."

Before Mephiles could reply, Shadow closed the door and left the house.

•~•

At Rouge's place, Amy was getting ready for the day to confront Shadow. Sitting in her bedroom, she combed her quills out as she looked at her reflection when she suddenly heard a motorcycle engine approaching the house. She stopped her brush stroke, lowered her brush onto the dresser, and rushed towards the window. She spotted Shadow parked on his motorcycle from the second-story floor just as he took off his helmet and shook out his quills. Amy felt her heart skip a beat as she stared at her ex-boyfriend. She suddenly felt very anxious about confronting him. Drawing her out of her thoughts of how she'd start her conversation, Shadow glanced up and made eye contact with her. However, their eye contact did not last long when Shadow drew his eyes away and focused on something else approaching him.

Amy heard the front door from downstairs slamming shut just as she spotted Rouge storming towards him. The pink beauty watched as if frozen in time and unable to move as Rouge sauntered powerfully over to the ebony hedgehog just as he dismounted his bike. She curled her hand into a fist and struck Shadow in the side of his jaw with her powerful strike. Shadow stumbled backward, toppling over his motorcycle with a crash. Amy gasped and suddenly found the willpower to move and rushed downstairs.

Once outside, Amy frantically ran towards the two. Shadow was still braced against his flipped motorcycle as Rouge prepared another strike, but this time with her leg. "Rouge, stop!" Amy pleaded.

The white bat shook out the hand she had used to slug him in the face. Her hand was hurting a bit as she flexed and unflexed her fingers. Shadow had a split lip and spit out some blood collecting in his mouth from his bitten cheek into the dirt. The bat turned to look at Amy. "I knew you wouldn't do it, so I decided to make him feel the pain he put you through," Rouge justified with a glare.

Amy approached her friend's side with her hands out cautiously, fearing her next move. "Violence still isn't the answer..."

In the meantime, Shadow sat up calmly in the dirt as he stared at the bat. "I know what I did to her, Rouge. I can only imagine the pain she felt yesterday. That's why I came here to talk to her."

Rouge turned to look at Amy. "You okay with this, hon?"

Amy nodded hesitantly. "Yes."

Rouge spit on Shadow's face, causing the male hedgehog to wince as he turned his head to the side. "You're a piece of shit, and if you do anything more to hurt her, I won't hold back even if Amy begs me to," she warned with a pointed finger.

Amy and Shadow watched as Rouge headed back indoors, allowing the two some privacy.

"Here, let me help you," Amy softly spoke as she leaned down to lend him a hand.

"No, it's okay. I've got it." Shadow dismissed her assistance as he lifted himself to his feet.

"At least let me clean your face up," she offered.

Shadow touched his lip and stared at the blood on his fingertips. "Fine."

•~•

Back at the compound, in the garage, Manic practiced the drums, a hobby he enjoyed doing from time to time. He drummed to the song's beat and bobbed his head in sync. "I ain't that cool. I'm a little fucked in the head. They'll be hanging me quick when I'm back from the dead." His foot hit the bass pedal while he used both drumsticks to hit the hi-hats and medium tom of the drum. The beat remained steady as he continued to sing. "Get the rope, get the rope. Get the rope, get the rope," he continued to sing.

Unbeknownst to him, Mina had snuck inside the garage and was eavesdropping on the green hedgehog as he practiced his craft. The yellow mongoose watched as he twirled both drumsticks between his fingers before gripping them and smashing them in sync with the crash cymbals. She remained hidden behind one of the vans left in the garage for repair but continued to listen and watch him, completely entranced. "I'm a punk rock kid who came from hell with a curse. She tried to pray it away, so I fucked her in church. Don't you know? Don't you know? Don't you know? Yeah, don't you know!" he belted.

Surprisingly, Manic sounded pretty good as he sang. His drumming was incredible, but his gruff voice brought the whole song to life. She was enjoying his punk rock melody. Deciding she had crept on him enough, Mina backed up, ready to exit. However, her foot accidentally hit a toolbox, making enough noise to cause the green hedgehog to stop playing. Mina cringed internally and halted in place before ducking for cover.

Manic froze his song and lowered his arms with his drumsticks as he turned to look behind him. "Yo, who's back there? Might, is that you?" Growing further annoyed, Manic stood upright from his drummer stool with his drumsticks. He groaned, "Yo, it's not funny, dude!"

Hesitantly, Mina meekly rose from hiding behind the van to reveal herself. She waved uncomfortably. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt your practice."

Manic lowered his guard as he eyed the mongoose escort. "Oh, it's just you…"

She moved from around the van and moved towards him. "Yeah, sorry, I heard the drums from outside and wanted to see what was happening. I didn't know you played any instruments."

He lowered his drumsticks back onto his stool. "Well, now you know, I guess."

She placed her hands behind her back. "You're talented, you know. You play and sing amazingly."

His ears perked in surprise at the compliment. "Yeah? Thanks," he smiled weakly.

She rubbed at her left arm. "Do you play any other instruments?"

"I mean, I play the piano a little, but my older sister is way more talented than I am. I'm mostly a background singer or drummer."

"That's cool. I can play the piano, but I was in a band in high school and was the lead singer."

Manic's ears perked up slightly at the mention. "No kidding? Maybe you could sing for me sometime, and I could play drums. Mighty usually does lead vocals and plays guitar while Gadget does bass," he explained. "However, we could always use some female vocals."

Mina's face brightened. "Really? That'd be nice, I-."

"-Mina!" a voice commanded from outside.

The two turned to look in the direction of the booming voice. Mina instantly recognized the voice belonging to Mephiles. "Oh, I have to get to work. Mephiles wants me at the packing station to help the other girls."

He nodded, understanding. "No problem. See you around, I guess."

She waved goodbye to him before turning on her heel and sprinting out of the garage. Manic watched her retreating figure before getting an odd fuzzy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Shrugging it off, he turned and returned to his stool to continue practicing.

•~•

Back with Amy and Shadow, the two were in one of the downstairs bathrooms. Shadow sat on the toilet while Amy tended to his injury. "You shouldn't be helping me right now. It's not a big deal anyway—it's barely a scratch."

"I'm a nurturer at heart," she replied, dabbing up some excess blood dripping down his chin with a cotton pad.

Shadow sighed. "I don't deserve your sympathy or kindness," he mumbled.

She threw away the bloodied cotton swap and scoffed at his comment. "Oh, shut up."

"You didn't mention that you ran into Suppression members while on your way here," he transitioned.

She finished putting a band-aid over a cut near his lip before glaring at the male. "I would have if I hadn't walked in on you with her…But how'd you find out? I haven't told anyone about that yet."

"There was a news segment about it on T.V. today. Some witnesses recorded it on their phones. You were in a viral video clip," Shadow explained. "You know, there were strict reasons why I wanted you out of Mercia. You could've been hurt, kidnapped by them, or worse," he began to lecture calmly.

Amy removed her gloves and tossed them into the bin by the toilet. "Yeah, but they didn't do any of those things to me," she snapped. "One needed medical attention, and I happened to be there. I couldn't not help them."

He tilted his head to the side. "Still…it was reckless."

Amy leaned against the bathroom wall with her arms crossed. "Shadow, why don't you tell me what you want to discuss? I know you're stalling."

"Well, I…" he paused momentarily, trying to find the right words. "About what happened yesterday."

Amy huffed. "Let me guess, you're sorry?" she assumed passive-aggressively.

"Actually, I'm only sorry that you had to find out that way," he specified.

Amy's brows furrowed as she grew further annoyed and hurt. Her stomach sank further from yet another blindside. "…Excuse me?"

"We've grown distant, and I wanted to find the right time to break up with you. I never imagined having you walk in on me like that," he lied boldly.

"We've grown distant?" she repeated in disbelief. "We've done no such thing; if anyone has grown distant, it's been you," she accused with a pointed finger. "I've been doing everything I could to keep the romance alive, and you've been anything but forthcoming!"

He frowned. "Rose…"

Moving away from the wall, she paced back and forth in front of him, indignant. "And now you're coming here to talk to me, and I was under the belief that you'd be here to grovel for my forgiveness, and I'd probably take you back. Yet, you're only sorry that I caught you cheating on me?" she stated, completely stunned.

He kept his face as indifferent as possible. "I'm sorry."

She scoffed, "You're not sorry." She began to shake slightly in anger. "Shadow, do you realize how badly you broke my heart yesterday and how you're doing it again today with your words…?"

"Look, I wanted this relationship to work out. Honestly, I did. But it just isn't going to work out between us."

"Give me a few reasons why it isn't working," she demanded.

He swallowed, a lump forming in his throat as his eyes drifted downward. "I'd rather not make it more hostile than it already is…"

Amy felt her heart drop. "So that's it? You don't even want to fight to restart and mend our relationship?"

His red eyes drifted to the floor. "No, I don't…It's over."

"You say it's over, but your voice and tone say otherwise," she challenged. "Stop trying to push me away, Shadow."

Shadow was taken aback by how quickly she could pick up on his deceptive mannerisms. He fixed his expression to look sterner. "I'm done having this conversation."

"No!" she yelled, taking him aback again from her outburst. "This isn't right, this isn't you!"

He frowned in annoyance at her stubbornness. "Why can't you accept that it's over?" he questioned.

"Because you told me months ago on that train platform that you loved me. You promised that once you had things wrapped up with your business, you'd move away with me. And now you're acting like a completely different person—not to mention out of character!" she pointed.

"Things have just changed," he tried to justify. "All that we had is lost."

A sudden thought crossed her mind as she quirked a brow. "Is someone forcing you to do this? Did Mephiles put you up to this?" she pressured.

Shadow shook his head. "No one is forcing me to do anything. Why would you think my brother had any say in this?"

"Because Mephiles…" she stopped herself, realizing she had almost revealed too much. "Never mind, it's just…how you're acting right now, isn't you."

Shadow rose from the toilet and placed his hand on her shoulder. He looked her sternly in the eye. "Go back home to Tech City, Rose. Find someone who'll treat you right and respect you. I'm not the right guy for you, and I can't love you anymore."

Amy swatted his hand off her shoulder. "Stop lying, Shadow," she snapped. "I'm not going to be pushed away so easily."

Shadow sighed. "Then I guess you're going to learn the hard way…"

She watched as he exited the bathroom, leaving her alone and shell-shocked. A few moments later, Rouge entered the bathroom to see Amy in a daze. "Hon, are you okay?"

Amy shook her head solemnly. "He officially ended it. He doesn't want to be with me anymore…"

Rouge embraced the pink beauty. "Oh, sweetheart. I'm so sorry…"

Her eyes began to well up with tears. Amy returned the embrace. "He's purposely trying to push me away…He wants me to return to Tech City."

Rouge pulled away from her embrace. "What do you plan to do now?"

Her expression grew with determination. "If he thinks it's that easy to get rid of me, I'm not going anywhere."

•~•

Later that evening, back home, Shadow relaxed in the basement after conversing with Amy. He sat on the sofa with a glass of whiskey as he replayed today's conversation repeatedly in his head. He imagined Amy's heartbroken expression, which only caused him further pain. His ears perked when he heard footsteps approaching. As he turned his head, Mephiles appeared at the bottom of the staircase. "Brother?"

"…What?" Shadow sighed solemnly.

"How'd your talk go with Ms. Rose?" he inquired curiously.

Shadow closed his eyes and pinched the skin between his eyes. "As expected,…difficult, heartbreaking."

"Do you think she'll return to her home city as expected?" he inquired curiously.

He took a sip of his hard liquor. "She will if she knows what's good for her. If not, she will learn the hard way from me why she should return."

"Hopefully, it won't come to that."

"Yeah, but it's looking like it will be. The girl is damn stubborn…"

Mephiles walked closer. "It'll get easier," he assured. "All that matters is that it's done now. However, I have a little surprise to make the transition easier." He put his fingers to his lips and made a whistle.

A pair of toned red legs descended the staircase as Lien-Da made her presence known. "Surprise," she announced.

Startled, Shadow was surprised to see Lien-Da back again so soon. Mephiles began walking back towards the staircase. "Be gentle with him or rough, I suppose, if that's what he's into. He's in a very fragile state and needs some TLC."

"Oh, I know just how to handle him, Mephiles," the echidna female giggled flirtatiously.

"Mephiles, you didn't need to—" Shadow tried to rise from his seat, but Lien-Da quickly hopped into the seat next to him.

Lien placed a hand on his chest, shoving him back into his seat. "So, your brother tells me you needed me to blow off some steam or mend some heartbreak," she smiled seductively.

"Uh, about that…"

She sat close to him and crossed one of her legs enticingly over the other. "You know, Mephiles called me here to help you as a favor, but I have a bone to pick with you," she said, pointing her finger roughly into his chest.

He raised a brow. "About what exactly?"

"I was down for the booty call that morning, but it seemed like the whole thing was staged for your little girlfriend to walk in on us," she noted. "You knew she was going to walk in on us, huh?"

Shadow glared at the echidna for her sudden nosiness. "It's none of your damn business. All I wanted was to fuck you, and that was it."

"Touchy subject, I see. Well, you should've been more upfront from the start. If you wanted her to walk in on us, I would've performed better," she winked. Shadow watched as she got up and approached the bar. She leaned over the bar counter and began to fix herself a drink showing off her perky ass under her short black flared skirt.

Shadow felt his face go red as he caught himself staring at her ass. He quickly looked away, growing annoyed at himself for staring too long. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Making myself a drink since you didn't offer me one," she responded. She sat back down and took a shot of vodka. Her eyes glanced down, and she smiled and chuckled lightly.

Shadow cocked a brow at her. "What exactly is so funny?"

Lien-Da continued to giggle. "You know you're hard, right?" she noted as she glanced at the bulge in his pants. "Looks like someone was eager for me to show up."

His muzzle went even redder. He couldn't help that he was already drunk to start with. "Shut the hell up…"

"I also heard that you two are officially over now." She placed her hand on his bulge that had yet to go down. Shadow froze as he felt her hand on his crotch, and a shiver ran down his spine. He just stared at her, unable to say anything. Lien took his silence as consent to move forward since he had not tried to stop her further. Her hands worked on unzipping his fly and pulled out his hardened shaft. "I'm sure you miss having pussy around the clock, but I can fill in for her for a while. Just like old times, huh, Shadow?"

Shadow felt hot all over. "Lien…"

Lien-Da stroked his cock, feeling it twitch slightly in her grasp. She leaned down, licked his left ball, and kissed the right one. Shadow felt his hair rise on the back of his neck, and his face grew warm. He looked down and watched as she licked up the side of his shaft before taking the head of his dick into her mouth. Shadow watched her meticulously pleasure him. He wanted to stop her desperately, but it felt incredible. She took his length out of her mouth momentarily. "See, this isn't so bad," she whispered. "I'm sure it feels good." She licked at the head of his penis before engulfing the tip in her mouth again and letting it release with a pop.

He closed his eyes as he imagined Amy in his mind as Lien-Da gave him head. She moaned slightly as she took more of his length into her mouth. "Shit…" he said as his breath hitched. He sighed contently with ragged breaths as her mouth glided up and down his shaft effortlessly.

Lien allowed his cock to leave her mouth as she suckled on the side of it and made eye contact with him, lowering her eyelids seductively. His cock glistened in her saliva, and some pre-cum beaded at the tip. Lien-Da noticed it and flicked her tongue at the tip, gathering a small amount of cum onto her tongue. "Mmm…so good." Shadow's body was scorching hot as her one hand stroked him sensually. She used her tongue and tucked it under the head of his cock and rubbed the head of his dick gently.

Unbeknownst to the two, Ray had come downstairs when he had unknowingly walked in on the two. Thankfully, they hadn't noticed his presence as he lingered on the staircase and witnessed the sexual act. He gasped quietly as he spotted Shadow receiving oral sex from Lien-Da. Quietly and quickly, he hurried upstairs before the two would notice anything.

•~•

A few moments later, Mighty was upstairs in his bedroom, preparing to sleep. Still in a towel around his waist after getting out of the shower, he began to rummage through his drawers for a pair of clean boxers when he heard a knock on his door. He stopped what he was doing, walked over, and opened the door only to spot his kid brother on the other side. "Hey, you coming to bed as well?" he smiled, opening it more. The two had been sharing a bedroom since his arrival.

Ray shook his head as he nervously entered the bedroom. "Not exactly yet," he mumbled.

Mighty was quick to notice him acting more nervous than usual. He closed the door. "What's up then?"

Ray tapped his fingertips together anxiously. "I-I walked in on something I don't think I was supposed to see," he began.

Mighty leaned against his dresser, intrigued. "What'd you see, buddy?"

"I went downstairs to the basement to do inventory and saw Lien-Da and Shadow together."

Mighty rolled his eyes and shook his head in disappointment. "Geez…let me guess."

Ray rubbed the back of his neck as his eyes drifted to the ground. He wasn't comfortable going into graphic detail. "Her head was down near his—and her head was going up and down," he tried to describe uncomfortably.

"That fucking scumbag," he mumbled under his breath. The armadillo exhaled a deep sigh as he shook his head in disappointment at Shadow's actions. "Shit, what is he thinking?"

"I think he had been drinking," Ray speculated.

"Still, it's no excuse…"

Ray tapped his fingertips together. "I guess this means Shadow and Amy are really done then, huh?"

Mighty frowned at the thought. "Yeah, it sounds like it. It's a real shame. I know how Shadow feels about the kid. He made a huge mistake."

•~•

A few days later, after things had cooled off, Amy and Mighty walked around a small one-bedroom apartment close to Mercia Hospital. The pink hedgehog walked around the empty apartment, looking at all the space she'd need to fill with furniture and other household items. The red and black armadillo watched her intently with his concerns. "And you're absolutely sure you want to do this?" he questioned hesitantly as he leaned against a countertop in the kitchen. He wasn't sure Amy might be making an impulsive decision in her heartbreak state.

Amy nodded confidently as she turned to look at him. "Yes, I'm positive. I want to finish my residency here, and the only way to do that is to move back."

Mighty moved away from leaning on the countertop and kept his hands shoved in his leather jacket pockets. "I get that, sweetheart, but you just ended a major relationship. You're still going through the grieving period, and now you've just moved from your ex to close by and are planning to live alone. I'm just trying to look out for you. It may feel a little bit lonely…don't you think?"

She peeked out the window to her balcony and peered down. "Remember, I lived alone for a while, Mighty," she reminded. "I can handle it. Besides, I won't feel too lonely. I'll be working at the hospital most of the time. That'll distract me," she shrugged. "This apartment is more of a place to recharge."

Mighty nodded slowly in defeat. It was evident she would be stubborn in her decision-making. "Alright, kid, it's your decision."

Amy turned on her heel and approached him, holding the strap to her purse. "So, will you help me move in once the lease is signed?"

Mighty placed an arm around her shoulders as he led her out of the apartment. "Of course I will. That's what friends are for, right?" he smiled.

"I'll pay you and the others for helping me, of course."

"Nah, no need!" he exclaimed. "You're like family, Ames. I'll round up Manic, Gadget, and Ray to help out free of charge."

Amy giggled for what felt like the first time in a while. "Thank you, Mighty. You've been a lot of help."

He suddenly snapped his fingers when he remembered something. "Oh yeah, my 28th birthday's coming up soon. You're always invited if you want to come and hang out."

"Where are you planning to have it?" she inquired curiously.

"We're going to have it at Club Hideaway," he replied. "It's one of the hottest clubs here in Mercia."

Amy gave him a small smile. "That sounds fun. Just let me know when, and I'll be there."

"Awesome. It's happening in two weeks from now since we have a big mule haul coming up. Shadow, myself, and the others will be out of town for several days. After that, we've got a few missions," he explained. "This cartel war has kept us pretty busy and on our toes."

Amy's ear's pinned back. "That bad, huh?"

Mighty nodded gravely. "More and more Suppression members have been creeping through Mercia to do surprise attacks," he elaborated. "Mephiles has decided we need to start hitting back. It's been a game of stalemate so far," he shrugged.

"I see…" she noted.

"I understand why you're sticking around, Ames, but I need you to promise me to be on high alert. Please don't go anywhere around the city without one of us. Some of our escort girls have gone missing, been held hostage, or worse," he warned. "Not to mention, we've lost a couple of our guys to this war."

"I promise to be careful," she pledged.

Mighty looked around her apartment complex. "Now that you don't live at the compound, we can't provide you around-the-clock protection." He walked over and shut her blinds. "Make sure you keep your blinds and curtains shut at night. Always lock the door and don't answer it if you aren't expecting company."

She let out an airy chuckle. "Mighty, I get it. I'll be careful. Are you trying to scare me?"

He turned away from the window to look at her. "No, but I'm trying to make this realistic for you. You did run into a couple of Scourge's top guys the other day. You're lucky they didn't touch you."

Amy frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. "You're starting to sound a lot like Shadow. Do you agree with him that I shouldn't stay here?"

"Look, Ames, I disagree with the guys' method of breaking it off with you, but things have only gotten much more dangerous around here. I don't want to see anything bad happen to you. It worries me having you live back in Mercia but not be near one of us," he explained.

She gave him a reassuring smile and placed her hand on his cheek. "Don't worry. I can take care of myself. Both you and Shadow have taught me so much."

He nodded slowly but still with uncertainty as she drew her hand away from his face. "Alright, kid."

•~•

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