Amy ran toward him at full tilt, taking the steps two at a time. Her tarot cards scattered, disappearing in her wake along with her hammer. 'Shadow! What are you doing here?

'I –'

Amy cleared the last few steps in a single bound and threw her arms around Shadow, nearly knocking him over. He froze, Very few people dared to touch him, so when they did … it always caught him off guard.

Shadow's arms hung at his sides, and he stared over her shoulder. Maybe he really hadn't changed. He'd permitted Amy to hug him on Prison Island, but that was all. When he was trapped in the void between Shatterspaces, he'd pushed Sonic away instead of reciprocating. Even when he'd reunited with Maria in White Space and felt her arms around him again, he'd been too stunned to respond in kind.

Maria had returned to the past to die, and he hadn't even hugged her before she left.

How many more times would it be the last time that he would be able to return someone's affection?

Shadow stiffly raised one arm, putting it around Amy's shoulders.

'Shadow –'

He let her go and stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest. 'You really are colour-blind.'

Amy put one hand on her hip. 'What's that supposed to mean?' she demanded.

'I'm not Sonic. And this isn't Prison Island.'

Amy blinked several times. Then recognition dawned on her face, and she huffed in exasperation. 'Oh, come on! Are you going to hold that over me forever? I was blinded by the sun!'

'Blinded by love, more like.'

'Your fur has blue undertones!'

'And my quills have obtuse angles,' he retorted. 'Forget being colour blind – are you legally blind as well?'

Amy fumed and spluttered, balling up her fists as she scrambled for another excuse. 'I … I called your name a moment ago – I knew who you were!'

'Then why did you throw your arms around me? If it wasn't a mistake this time … then what was it?'

Amy tipped her head to one side. 'What do you mean … "what was it"? We're friends, aren't we?'

I don't have friends … I have people I care about. How they wish to interpret that is up to them.

Shadow looked away. He didn't agree, but he also didn't argue.

'So … I know you said you were passing through, but what are you doing outside my apartment?' Amy asked.

'Your apartment?' Shadow looked up at the building complex behind her. 'Oh. I just assumed that Sonic's friends were also homeless.'

Amy's hammer appeared in her hand, and she slung it over her shoulder again. 'You think you're real funny, don't you? Sonic isn't homeless, he's a – '

'– a free spirit,' Shadow said with a smirk.

'W-Well, where do you live, then?'

Shadow's smile instantly disappeared. 'Team Dark has a flat at GUN's headquarters.'

Amy's grip on her hammer slackened, and she looked crestfallen. 'You live at GUN's headquarters?'

'I work for GUN. The job comes with accommodation.'

Her gaze swept over the rows of medals on his jacket, landing on the armband emblazoned with GUN's logo. 'I know, but …' Amy's phone beeped, and she took it out. 'Oh, darn it. I'm going to be late for class.'

Shadow turned and began to walk away. 'Then I won't waste any more of your time –'

Amy grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and hauled him back, walking in the other direction. 'Hold it, mister – I wasn't done! Walk with me.'

Shadow dug his heels in, but he'd forgotten how strong she was. His shoes left metallic red scrapes on the sidewalk. He shrugged her off, falling into step beside her.

'And don't even think about running off,' Amy scolded. 'I've been chasing Sonic for years. If I can keep up with him, then I can keep up with you.'

'Hmph.'

The sun was beginning to set in Station Square. There were still traces of scaffolding on the city's buildings, and there were faint signs of water damage everywhere you looked. The pavement that passed beneath their feet was cracked

'Did you live here before Perfect Chaos attacked?' Shadow asked.

'Of course.' Amy laughed. 'Why do you think I tried so hard to save Station Square? City life might be boring and mundane, but this is still my home.' She grimaced. 'And if nothing else, rent is still really low in this area.'

Further down the street, a fire hydrant exploded, and water erupted into the sky.

'… I think I can see why.' The water misted them as they walked past – an artificial sunshower.

'But that wouldn't be a problem for you,' Amy remarked.

'What wouldn't?'

'Oh, come on – I was clearly still talking about the cost of rent.' Amy sighed and spun her hammer as she spoke. 'I don't know the hourly rates, but GUN must pay their agents a lot, right? And whenever we go shopping, you never buy anything, so I know that you have savings. There's nothing stopping you from getting a place of your own.'

'Why do you care where I live?'

'Because I care about you. If you want to work for GUN, then that's your choice. But after everything they put you through … why would you want to live with them as well?'

'You can't change the past.'

'Really? Remind me to tell Silver that he's out of a job.'

'Come off it,' Shadow muttered. 'You can't change the past, and I've already made my peace with what happened.'

Amy paused outside the window of a boutique, spreading her hands against the glass as she admired a pair of pink shoes on display. Beside them was a pair of blue pumps. His chest tightened. Even after 50 years, some styles never went out of fashion.

'Even if you've made your peace with it, do you still want to constantly be reminded of everything that's happened to you?'

'There are some things that I can't let myself forget.' Shadow slipped his hands deep into his pockets. And it wouldn't matter even if I moved to Spagonia or Soleanna – there will always be things that can remind you of your past, even something as random as a pair of shoes.'

Amy cast a long glance at the pair of blue shoes in the window. Then she kept walking, pulling him along with her. 'But you can see that there's a difference, right? Why make things harder for yourself?'

'Then where should I go?' His voice sounded terse. 'Because I've travelled all over this godforsaken planet on GUN's behalf, yet there isn't a single corner of it that I would willingly inhabit.'

Amy stopped in her tracks and blocked his path, facing him. 'Do you really hate the world that much? Or do you just hate the people in it?'

'What do you think?' Shadow said, and his voice was laced with bitterness.

'I think that you should give yourself a chance to be happy.'

Give them a chance to be happy, Shadow.

'I don't need to be happy –'

Amy brandished her hammer at him. 'Yes, you do. Because you can't live the rest of your life like this! People say that if you suffer long then it will set you free – but how much longer are you going to make yourself suffer, Shadow?'

Another fire hydrant exploded beside them, showering them both. Cold water dripped from Shadow's medals and inhibitor rings. He walked past her and pressed the button for the pedestrian crossing. 'You've always been a bleeding heart, haven't you?'

Water dripped from Amy's ears and eyelashes, and her ears drooped with disappointment. 'Who am I kidding? I don't know why I thought you would listen to me.'

Shadow stared at her in disbelief. The crossing light turned green, and they stood still as the rest of the world passed them by. 'Because you're one of the only people that I listen to. None of us would be standing here if it weren't for your words to me on the Ark. There wouldn't even be a world left to stand on.'

Amy stared back at him. Her eyes watered. 'But …'

Shadow gritted his teeth and looked across the street. The pedestrian light was flashing, reverting to red. 'When I said you were a bleeding heart, I didn't mean it as a bad thing. But you asked me how much longer I'm going to make myself suffer … yet you keep cutting yourself on the double-edged sword of your own empathy.' He risked looking back at her. 'What drives you to help people even when it makes you suffer?'

Amy froze. Then she gave him a bright, infectious smile. The pedestrian light turned green again, and a crossing bell chimed as she spoke. 'Because I want to make the world a better place!' Her gaze softened, and she said, 'I know that you've been hurt, but not everyone in the world is bad. I don't know whether Maria was born on the Ark or on Earth, but she still came from this planet, didn't she?'

Maria had been born on Earth, but she had been brought to the Ark at such a young age that she had no memories of the planet that she came from. If she had remembered what Earth was really like, would she have still loved it as much as she did?

'There are still good people in this world, Shadow,' Amy said. 'You just have to find them.'

Shadow was silent for a moment. 'I wish I could share your … optimism.'

Amy gave him a sympathetic look and stepped into the street. She held out her hand to him. 'All right, listen. If you keep living at GUN's headquarters, then at least try getting out more. Wrap up your assignments and take a holiday. Even if you still hate humanity, there has to be a place in the world that you can one day come to love.'

He reluctantly took her hand and followed her across the street. 'Do you have any suggestions?'

Amy looked back and gave him a shameless grin. 'I hear Mejico is lovely at this time of year.'

Shadow nearly walked face-first into the traffic pole on the other side of the road. He steadied himself. 'You insufferable minx.'

'What?' Amy shrugged, but she was still grinning. 'The scenery is beautiful, and you'd just love the "local cuisine" –'

Shadow stalked past her, casting a sharp glare over his shoulder. 'Are you done?'

Amy put a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to take a sharp left through the sliding glass doors of a local gym. 'You do know that Rouge is a Honduran white bat, right? No matter what you might think about the allegations, they're not unfounded.'

'She is my coworker, Amy –'

'A coworker that you flatshare with, but anyway …' Amy dragged Shadow along by the arm and stepped into a training room with windows that looked out onto the street. She took off the golden rings on her wrists as she spoke, raising her voice above the chatter of the young women already present. 'Jokes aside, I think you would like it. Mejico, that is. It's a beautiful place, and you can travel from the United Federation to Mejico by motorcycle.'

His ears pricked up. '… Is that so?'

'You've got to be kidding me. If only I'd led with that –'

Amy accidentally dropped one of her rings and it crashed to the floor. Cracks appeared in the concrete below their feet.

Shadow froze. 'Amy?'

'Sorry, everyone!' Amy gave the other attendees an apologetic wince. 'Carry on. I'll be with you in a minute.'

She reached for the ring, but Shadow had already picked it up. It was absurdly heavy, even for him. 'These are training weights?'

She blinked. 'Unlike you, I don't need inhibitor rings. What did you think they were?'

'… Jewellery.' He handed her the ring. 'What exactly is it that you do here? I thought you said you had a class to get to.'

'I did,' she said brightly. 'Boxercise class!'

'Boxercise,' Shadow repeated in a daze. '… What? Why?'

'It's boxing, but for exercise.' Amy set her rings aside and began to stretch. 'And, well …' She grimaced. 'I started kickboxing and boxercise while dieting. I got carried away, which I'm not super proud of.' She briefly materialised her hammer and spun it in her hand before continuing to stretch. 'But then I realised that if I'm going to use a giant hammer as a weapon, then I had to put more effort into strength training. My priorities shifted over time, to say the least.'

'Miss Rose? Are we going to be starting soon?'

Amy's hammer disappeared in a flash. 'Yep! Sorry, I was running late. I had something I needed to take care of.'

'Wait,' Shadow said. 'You're a fitness instructor?'

'What, did you think I was a therapist?' she joked.

Shadow said nothing, watching Amy warm up in silence. For so long, he'd only existed, not lived, so he rarely gave other people's lives any consideration. Even now, he didn't think he had a life. He only had an existence.

Despite the fact that they repeatedly crossed paths, Amy had an entire life of her own, one that he only got glimpses of. When she wasn't chasing Sonic across the globe, she was going shopping, attending concerts, teaching fitness classes, and helping everyone she met. She was kind, empathetic, and compassionate.

'I'm sorry.'

Amy froze midstretch. 'Huh? Why?' Shadow began to back away, but she swiftly pulled him back and clapped her hands together. 'Okay, class!' she chirped, strapping a focus pad onto each hand. 'We're starting with padwork routines!'

'We're what?' Shadow said.

The other students were already strapping their pads on and pairing up. Amy held up her padded hands and grinned. 'Sorry, but I'm on the clock now, and I don't want to just put a pin in this.'

Shadow stared at her. 'I don't want to hurt you.'

She squared up, giving him a knowing look. 'You think I can't take it? And you're not Sonic – unlike him, I don't expect you to be chivalrous –'

He slammed one fist against her hand so hard that it disrupted the air pressure in the room, ruffling her dress. 'I am nothing like Sonic.'

She smirked, bracing her feet against the floor and digging in her heels. 'There we go.'

'M-Miss Rose?' The other attendees were staring at them in shock.

A beat passed, and then Amy said, 'See that? If you keep up your training, then one day you'll also be able to tank a hit from the Ultimate Life Form!'

'Do not encourage them,' Shadow muttered.

'Y-Yes … Don't try this at home, class!' Amy beckoned to him with one hand, and she barely had time to raise it again before his fist slammed against the pad. The crack rang in his ears.

'I didn't sign up to be your guest instructor.' A pattering of softer punches underlaid their lowered voices.

'You're a guest demonstrator at best.' Each time she raised a hand, he immediately countered it with a strike. 'You clearly need to talk to someone, and I'm fairly certain that you can talk and punch at the same time.'

'You shouldn't have to be that someone.' He slammed one hand against hers, but this time, he didn't draw his fist back for the next hit. 'Rouge told me that I should talk to you, but I wasn't looking for you when I came to Station Square.'

'Then why did you come?'

'I was looking for answers.' He hesitated. Maybe he would regret saying this, but he already regretted all the things he hadn't said and done. If he was going to have regrets, then he would rather regret the things that he said and did. 'I used Chaos Snap, and … my mind brought me to you.'

Amy clapped her hands to her cheeks and nearly took a blow to the face. Her eyes sparkled. 'Really? It must have been fate! It was destined! It was in the cards … or stars … or both!'

He raised a fist, and she swiftly put the pads back up. 'I don't believe in any of that.' He punctuated the sentences with hits, and the cracks echoed. 'If fate is real, then it can still be defied, and my destiny is something that I choose.'

'You're talking to someone who found their true love using Fortune Cards. We may have to agree to disagree.'

'At least you're not into astrology.'

'Who said I wasn't?' Shadow gave her a disgusted look, and she laughed. 'But still … what about serendipity? Something brought you to me, didn't it?'

He lowered his hands. 'Maybe. But I wish it hadn't.'

'Why?'

'Because you shouldn't be subjected to hearing about my problems. No one should.'

Amy swung at him, and he barely caught her fist with his hand. 'I did not stop you from destroying the world just to watch you shut that world out, Shadow. Talk to me, or you're going to need to take those inhibitor rings off to defend yourself.' He hesitated, and he had to catch her other hand before she hit him in the face. Their fingers locked together. 'I don't care if you have a hundred problems, a thousand or a million – you can share them with me. Just pick one.'

'GUN wants me to work with the Central City Children's Hospital as part of a PR campaign.' A weight lifted from his chest, but his grip tightened with every word. 'I could help people, and not just as a weapon. I've already said yes, but ... I'm still doubting my decision.'

'Do it.'

'What?'

'Do it. It's an incredible opportunity.' Amy's grip on his hands loosened. 'You've saved the world so many times, yet you don't do it for others, right? So you don't think of it as generosity It's paradoxical, but generosity is supposed to make you happier. It's like magic, or a wonder drug.'

'I don't need to be happy. How many times do I have to say it?'

'But what if you want to be happy? What if you're just afraid to try?'

He narrowed his eyes. 'I'm not afraid of anything.'

'Then what's stopping you?'

'… I don't know if it will be worth the cost.'

'The fact that you're letting GUN use you as a cure instead of a weapon this time doesn't change the fact that you are still letting them use you. They only have power over you insofar as you let them.' Amy let go of his hands. 'Isn't this the "destiny" you chose?'

Shadow said nothing.

'Shadow –'

'I don't deserve you.'

'What?'

'Nothing. I should let you get back to it.'

'Okay … Wait, wait! Did you, um, want to go shopping again sometime?' Amy pressed her padded hands together and gave him a pleading look. 'Or … I heard that Hot Honey is having another concert. Do you want to go?'

Shadow paused. 'Sure.'

'Okay … Which one?'

'Both.'

'Both? A-Are you sure you're all right? Do you still need to talk?'

'No, I'm … good.' He half-smiled. 'Believe me, you've done more than enough.' Then he raised one hand in farewell and disappeared with a snap.

To be continued...

A/N: Thank you all for reading! I wrote Chapters 1-15 before I began uploading this story, and Chapter 16 marks the start of a new upload schedule. Updates will now be a bit less frequent ... every 1-2 weeks or so, roughly? I hope you enjoyed the new chapter 3