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I'm Amy Rose, a cute and cheerful girl who loves to have fun! I've been living in Central City for a little while now, but I'm getting tired of being all alone. Sonic is always away nowadays and Tails is always so busy! Sonic can be a real brat sometimes by running off on his own and leaving a cute girl like me behind. He just doesn't understand how much I miss being with him on his big adventures.
I also really miss the days when Shadow was around 24/7! He makes an effort to stop by my place twice a week, but it's not the same as having him in the kitchen to whisk pancake mix while I make eggs and fried plantains! What I don't miss is how helpless he was when he stayed with me for a month. Sonic had saved him from disappearing into space after they defeated that creepy prototype Professor Gerald Robotnik made, but Shadow blacked out the second they got back to the space colony! I was so worried about him that I was almost in tears!
I'm the one who had asked Shadow to help us save the world, making me responsible for what happened to him. When we made it back to the Earth and Shadow woke up, I eventually told him he should stay in my place while he got better. After all, Shadow made me a promise—one that had to do with saving Earth, he said—so I had to return the favor by being there for him, too. Unfortunately, his first week in Central City was pretty hard for him. He could only do so much, but I promised him we'd get through that tough time together.
Still, he didn't like depending on me. That's Shadow for you: resilient and stubborn to boot. Over time, he realized he had to depend on me for most things, and he even started appreciating my efforts. When I wasn't helping him exercise his muscles, I found other things for him to do—like reading different books, learning Spanish with me, watching five-star movies, and discovering the wonders of dessert! The list goes on, but the point is that we both had some fun despite all the hardship!
He even opened up to me a little as time went on. Shadow's sweeter than strawberry ice cream deep down. He's always patient with me and never judges me for my mistakes. I just wish he wouldn't spend so much time in and outside Central City. I know he likes his space, but it's not good to be by yourself as much as Shadow is.
I wanted to do something nice for him tonight, so I made tiramisu because I know it's his favorite! I can tell he really enjoyed it! The cherry on top was him saying he would consider staying over sometimes. I can't wait! We make a pretty good team when we're together!
One of these days, we'll go to someplace like a museum or hit up a gardening class so he can learn more about the Earth. Right now, it's time to turn on La Última Pasión!
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:: 1795 Apple Street, Apt. 202 ::
"I think you're gonna like this episode, Shadow!" Amy claims as she presses the red button on her remote.
The television turns on, casting a blue glow over Shadow's and Amy's faces. Moving images flash across their eyes as Amy hunts for her favorite telenovela.
"Pablo and Juan are supposed to duke it out over Gabriella tonight!" the exuberant hedgehog summarizes.
"Hmph. Gabriella should ditch them both," Shadow comments flatly from where he stands. "They're only interested in claiming her like she's a prize to be won." He folds his arms over his chest after speaking his mind.
"I guess that's kinda true," Amy reluctantly agrees, scratching the back of her head. "But it sure makes for some great TV, don't you think?" She flips through channels until she lands on one broadcasting the devastation on Magnolia Blvd. Her eyes almost bulge out of her sockets. "Shadow, look!" The pink hedgehog points at the cracked pavements and fallen streetlights on the screen. "Just look at that poor block! Is that where you were?"
Deepening his glare, Shadow unfolds his arms and approaches the television. A blonde female news reporter stands beside a gray-haired man with heterochromia and G.U.N. emblems on his uniform. He rudely ignores her questions as he watches G.U.N. soldiers collect the remains of the dead humanoids littering the road.
"Commander Abraham Tower, do you have anything you'd like to say to the people of Central City about your runaway androids?" the news reporter inquires with one hand holding her red scarf up to her chin.
The man's cold eyes shift to the camera and then narrow. "No comment," he answers, his voice firm and low.
"Coward," Shadow scoffs, expressing his disdain for the commander by giving the television his back and folding his arms again. "He came to ensure I got the job done but not to speak on his failed experiments."
"What a bulldog!" Amy whines. "Not even a single word on how tragic this was, either! Why make those things, anyway?"
The news channel shows a picture of Shadow standing atop the Red Gate Bridge with his arms characteristically crossed. The pale light of the full moon behind him outlines his body, giving his star-shaped quills an ethereal glow.
Amy gasps, "Shadow, it's you!"
Shadow looks over his shoulder at the television.
"Eyewitnesses say it's thanks to Shadow the Hedgehog that citizens remained unharmed during the attacks," a male news anchor states, his tone full of praise.
"You hear that, Shadow?" Amy grins at the black hedgehog. "They're praising you!"
Shadow doesn't react to the commentary as he stares at the screen.
The news anchor adds, "The Guardian Units of Nations have yet to release a statement regarding the black hedgehog's heroic deed."
"How rude!" Amy barks, her cheeks puffing up like a blowfish's. She crosses her arms and falls back against her couch's pillow. "Why can't they ever acknowledge all the great things you've done? It just isn't fair! Even some people in Central City still fear you and say awful things! It's horrible!"
Shadow shifts his gaze to his palm. "As long as I fulfill my promise, it doesn't matter to me," he whispers.
Upon hearing his tender voice, Amy stops pouting and directs her attention to him. Shadow doesn't tear his intense eyes away from his hand. She watches a glimmer of light tremble in his pupil, then looks at her knees and mutters, "Well, it sure matters to me."
"...Why?"
Amy flinches at the unexpected reply. She turns her head in Shadow's direction and notices his hand is closed into a soft fist.
"Why be so concerned with other people's opinions?" he asks, implying that such concern is useless.
Saddened, the pink hedgehog stands up and faces Shadow with balled fists even though he is neither facing nor looking at her. "Because you're my friend!" She lowers her fists. "And you deserve kindness after what you did for the people on this planet." She touches her heart, her green irises glistening with emotion. "You deserve love, Shadow. Don't you think so?"
"...Hmph," Shadow hums, but the sound is gentle, if not twinged with something else Amy can't define. He keeps her from seeing the side of his face by turning his head.
A searchlight suddenly shines through Amy's window, blinding the hedgehogs in the living room. They lower their hands from their pinched faces once the beam has left the apartment. Shadow heads toward the window and lifts its sash, catching sight of a CCBC News helicopter leaving the downtown area. The aircraft sets its course for a smoke cloud rising outside the city limits, where multiple helicopters hover.
Amy stands behind Shadow with concern in her eyes. "What's going on out there?"
"Something strange," Shadow informs her, turning sideways to give Amy enough room to poke her head out the window.
Amy squints at the smoke in the distance. "Do you think someone started a fire?"
"This just in!" blurts the news anchor on Amy's television.
Shadow and Amy face the glowing screen.
The news anchor reports with a grave look, "One of our telecopters is recording live footage of another breakout at the same military base."
"Oh, no!" Amy presses her hand against her heart. "Not again!"
Shadow's expression hardens as he watches the televised mayhem unfold before him. The CCBC News telecopter records people evacuating a military base near Central City's urban region. Flames and smoke engulf the side of a demolished G.U.N. building, from which six metal androids emerge without weapons. Each one varies in size and build, mirroring the diversity found in humans.
Shadow grits his teeth. "Those aren't the same robots I fought earlier."
"What are they?!" Amy exclaims, taken aback by their advanced appearances.
Airborne beetle-like G.U.N. robots open fire on the androids, but the bullets ricochet off their armored bodies. Instead of fighting back, they use their jet shoes to rocket off toward Central City at the speed of missiles. Amy and Shadow turn back to the window, seeing six golden lights blink in the night sky.
"They're heading straight for us!" Amy squeaks fearfully, shaking her head to and fro as she holds her cheeks.
"Is this what it means to be protected by that pathetic military?" Shadow hisses, putting his foot on the windowsill and pulling out his Chaos Emerald. Red energy halos his pupils as the power of the emerald surges through him.
"Hey, wait!" Amy grabs his arm, panicking. "You're not thinking about going after them all by yourself, are you?"
Urgency dances in Shadow's glaring eyes like fire as he turns them toward her. "If G.U.N. can't contain them, then I have to step in."
Amy furrows her brow, worry etched all over her features. "But Shadow―"
"No 'buts,'" Shadow gently interrupts. He places his hand on the small fingers clutching his arm and gives them a light squeeze. "This is the promise I made to Maria and you."
Amy blinks, feeling flustered as she cups her cheek with her free hand.
"I'll be back," Shadow says after a brief pause, removing his arm from her loose grip.
Amy gasps at the loss of contact and reaches for Shadow the moment he leaps out the window. "Shadow―"
"Chaos CONTROL!"
The pink hedgehog shields her eyes from the brightness of the Chaos energy Shadow unleashes. After the green rays fade, she lowers her arm and peers at the sky. A black and red dot appears in front of the moon above the golden lights she observed earlier. Spear-shaped bolts of energy rain from the dot, causing two explosions in midair while the remaining golden orbs scatter. The survivors land somewhere she cannot see before the falling black and red dot teleports out of view.
Amy runs back to the television and curls her hands into fists, waiting eagerly for footage of Shadow and the androids to appear on the screen, but all she sees are trees and apartment buildings. Her heart punches her ribs as her blood pressure rises like steam from a screaming tea kettle. "Come on, you stupid news channel! Track 'em down already—oh, there he is!"
The CCBC helicopter's camera zooms in on Shadow fistfighting two androids on an illuminated basketball court in what she believes is Liberty Park.
Amy leans into the television, shouting, "Come on, Shadow! You can do it! Show 'em who's boss!"
The black hedgehog's body is a blur as he delivers a flurry of punches and kicks to his metallic opponents. They block every move he makes and respond with quick jabs of their own. Shadow counters their attacks, but the androids are lightning-fast, matching his speed and agility as though he were fighting his reflection. He backflips away from them as one swipes at him with its metal claws, narrowly missing his fur. A third android ambushes him from behind before his feet even touch the ground, grabbing his quills and slamming him hard against the pavement.
Dust and debris explode into the air from the crater created by the impact.
Amy's pupils dilate as she covers her mouth. She falls to her knees, gripping the television in desperation. "Shadow!"
The second android seizes the opportunity to stand over Shadow's body and transform his metal arm into a terrifying blade.
"Get up, Shadow!" Amy begs tearfully as she shakes her television. "Please get up!"
Shadow cracks one eye open, vanishing before the weapon can strike him in the heart. Amy releases the breath she was holding. He reappears at the end of the basketball court and performs a spin dash charged with swirling Chaos energy. The ambusher, who happens to be the tallest android out of the three, catches the spinning electrical ball that is Shadow's body and flings him across the court. Shadow crashes through the castle on the park's playground, mowing down the surrounding trees.
Amy's breath catches in her throat again. "No!" she hollers, her voice breaking like glass.
The camera loses Shadow in the dust flying everywhere. As it pans sideways, it focuses on the three androids entering the playground at a slow pace. The humanoid that tossed Shadow picks up the green Chaos Emerald gleaming amid the rubble of the castle.
"That's it! I've had it!" Amy jumps to her feet with tears in her eyes and summons her oversized Piko Piko hammer out of hammerspace. "I can't just sit here and watch this anymore!" She strengthens her grasp on the handle of her weapon, baring her teeth. "Someone has to help Shadow if G.U.N. won't even bother!"
The pink hedgehog yanks a set of keys and a yellow watch with Tails's logo out of her purse. She fastens the watch to her wrist and bolts out of her apartment in her apron without turning back to close or lock her door. A young man walking up the stairs of the building flattens himself against the wall as Amy flies past him. She makes her way outdoors and sprints to an alleyway, where parked scooters are lined up. Panting heavily, she crouches in front of a rose-pink one and unlocks the chain binding it to a water pipe.
The chain rattles as it falls to the ground. With a swift motion, Amy hops onto the scooter, pushes her key into the ignition, twists it, and lets the engine purr. She kicks her feet up and speeds into the streets. The helmetless hedgehog grips her handlebars as her pink scooter weaves through traffic. Her tires gain purchase on the road, responding to every sharp turn she leans into while her heart races with determination.
A sedan swerves unexpectedly into her path, but Amy veers to the right. She ducks under the side mirror of another car, then slaloms between two delivery trucks. A bicyclist yells at her after she almost grazes his handlebar, but Amy doesn't slow down; she goes faster.
The cold wind bites her scrunched face as her teary eyes reflect the streetlights. "I'm coming, Shadow!"