She's Mine

Chapter 15

She had only seen Shadow like that once. But he was working with them. He was helping them with their most important task. The battle to save the world. And when Shadow got his hands on the enemy, he went to town on him.

He continued to menacingly tear his victim apart. Thirty minutes after he had died.

Amy remembered well. Tails called out to him, asking if he was still alive.

Shadow stopped, and after a very long pause, shook his head. Then he starting giggling softly. It made his voice break as he said, "Leave me. Please go."

Little did Amy know, he wasn't giggling on that day at all.

He was crying.

Because he was ashamed.

Because he was afraid.

He must have masked it well.

Sonic convinced everyone that Shadow was dangerous as soon as they returned to earth. "But how can he be dangerous?" A young woman asked him. Sonic responded coldly.

"He's a maniac. If he felt like it, he could kill everyone in this city. If you see Shadow at all, please call the police."

So Rouge informed Shadow before he returned to stay hidden until her and the gang could sort things out. Sonic wasn't having it.

"Don't you remember what he did up in space?"

Rouge sighed. "Yes. He killed the enemy. He saved the world."

Sonic scoffed. "We all saved the world that day."

"Oh come on Sonic," piped in Silver. "At that point, we just came along for the ride."

But Sonic wasn't listening to any of their logic. Sure, what they all saw up there wasn't... normal, but Shadow didn't attack them at all. To them, he was just a victim of circumstances.

Knuckles threw in a valid point that Shadow could have had some history with their villain, but it wasn't truly the case. In fact, Shadow didn't know him at all.

Sonic's mind wasn't changed, and so the team slowly worked with the police to clear Shadow's name so he wouldn't be arrested on sight. Sonic didn't approve, of course, but he eventually got over it.

Now he wished he wouldn't have been so soft and forgiving.

And some part of Shadow wished for that too.

But Shadow had a new spark of hope now. Thanks to Knuckles, who had injured and bloodied Amy, Shadow made his greatest achievement.

He saw Amy hurt, and there was no hint of a psychotic break. Not in the slightest bit.

And that was when he knew.

Amy was the one.

And he couldn't let Sonic have her.

He avoided Sonic's slumping figure. "I-I can call someone."

Amy didn't even look at him. "The gang is already on their way with the police."

Shadow persisted. "I can run him in that direction and meet them halfway." He walked over to the blue hedgehog to pick him up off of the ground, looking everywhere but his face, but Amy put herself between him and Shadow.

"I think you've done enough."

That shattered his soul into tiny fragments. He wanted to keep pushing, to try and make her understand, but he wasn't ready to open up yet.

He wasn't ready to let go of the past that he had desperately clung to in order to somehow fix it now.

Because in his eyes, Amy was meant for him. She was going to change him for the better. He thought it was Maria, but now he understood.