The next morning, I woke up and we began a simple day. Esme didn't need to go to work today. So, we were going to keep things calm before it was time for me to go. As she worked on breakfast, I turned on the T.V. and switched through the channels. The news pulled up and I froze.

Sonic, and his friends were surrounded by robotic versions of himself, and they were in an area of destruction. They looked in bad shape, and they needed help. I made a promise to protect this planet, and if those robots are the start of something apocalyptic, I needed to help.

"I guess we don't have as much time as I hoped." Esme stated behind me.

I looked up at her.

"You're needed." She agreed. "Go and save them."

I nodded. "Thank you, Esme. For everything."

I dashed around the home that had become mine and gathered the essentials. I even made sure that the phone Esme got me was in my belongings. Before I ran out the door, I looked over at her once more. Giving her a small wave, she waved back. And I ran. I ran as fast as I could and with enough chaos energy now being built up, I teleported to where Sonic and his friends were.

Without hesitation, I broke through the robots of Sonic and gave the heroes some space. After the last robot fell for the time, I stopped and looked over at the team.

"Shadow?" Sonic's voice called.

I saw that they were surrounding a new hedgehog. A pink one. She was laying on the ground. So, they had been trying to protect her. "You've gotten more colorful."

"Shadow!" Sonic ran over and gave me a hug. "You're alive!"

I immediately pushed him away. "Don't hug me."

"I can't believe it." Sonic continued. "We all thought you were dead! How did you survive the explosion of the Ark?"

I brushed off my arm. "I'm apparently immortal."

Sonic let out a laugh, but when he saw I wasn't joining in with the amusement, he stopped. "Wait, you're serious?"

"Um, Sonic." Tails, the yellow fox, interrupted. "I think more are coming. And none of us are in a condition to keep fighting. I think we should regroup and take some time to bandage our wounds before we start another fight."

The red echidna already had the pink hedgehog in his arms. "Tails is correct. If we leave, the other robots may return to their base and wait for their next opportunity to strike."

"But what if they keep destroying the city?" Sonic asked.

Tails looked over his tech and it continued to play several instances in the fight earlier. "They seem to really only be targeting you. If you leave and hang low for a bit, they have no reason to destroy the city."

Both the fox and echidna were pleading with him to leave for the time. And their new companion needed medical attention. Sonic looked at his friends and nodded. He looked back at me.

"You coming, Shadow?" He asked.

"Well, someone is going to have to protect your group while you are treated." I retorted.

The rest of Sonic's team didn't have time to argue. With a use of one of their rings, they transported back to a safe haven. A simple home, much like Esme's. Knuckles placed the pink hedgehog on the couch as Tails and Sonic went to get supplies to help. It was getting later in the evening when we arrived. So, I assumed that the two humans that were part of Sonic's family would be back soon. Sure enough, as I thought that, the front door began to open.

"Sonic, Tails, Knuckles." A voice called out, and I quickly teleported out of sight.

"Tom! Maddie!" Sonic met them. "We need some help. My friend Amy is hurt. And… oh, never mind. Please help Amy."

The woman, Maddie, ran over to the new hedgehog and began to take care of her. She seemed an expert in the field. "You keep finding new friends huh? And another hedgehog."

"Yeah," Sonic responded shyly, "She got me out of a tough scrape earlier."

I stayed out of the way. I wasn't sure how enthusiastic the humans would be if they saw me again. I did injure Tom severely the last we met. So, it was better they not know I was there. I stayed hidden as they worked. Eventually, I teleported to be on the roof, it was a better lookout to protect everyone else from the robots. Time passed slowly, but eventually the blue hedgehog found me.

"So, where have you been?" He asked me.

I looked over at him. "I figured the humans you stay with wouldn't be happy to see me."

"No," he shook his head. "I mean since the explosion. Where were you?"

I thought to Esme. "Recovering."

"You could have come found us." He told me. "I'm pretty sure Greenhills is easy to find."

I gave him a 'really?' look. "Did you forget I'm the one who put your friend, Tom, in that sling? I'm pretty sure they would not be happy to see me. And I don't think your teammates are that happy I'm around either. It was my fault everything happened last time."

Sonic rolled his eyes. "They didn't see you basically sacrifice yourself to protect the planet. I'll talk to them. They trust me, and they know that if I trust someone, they can trust someone."

I looked him over for a second. "I'm just here to fulfill my promise to Maria."

"I'm glad you care, Shadow." He teased. "I'm going to head back in. Amy should be waking up soon."

"The pink hedgehog?" I asked. "What's she got to do with all of this?"

"I met her the same night I first encountered those metal hedgehogs." Sonic explained. "She actually saved me from them the first time. There's a lot going on that I don't really understand yet, but hopefully we will get more answers when Amy wakes up."

Sonic stood up and started to head off the roof. He paused for a moment. "Give me a bit and I'll convince my family to let you sleep in the house, rather than on the roof. It gets rainy here sometimes."

With that, he jumped off the roof and went back inside. I stayed were I sat and kept watch over the area. Until they were ready for the next fight, I would be their protector.