She's Mine

Chapter 12

The black hedgehog was at war with himself, trying to make himself let go of the girl beside him and move on with his regular lifestyle: aimlessly walking around, occasionally engage in battle, and sit on the beach alone.

Except Shadow never realized how alone he actually was until Amy gave him her compassion and care. He didn't know how much he longed for the gentle caress of his fingers, or the delicate skin of Amy's cheek in his right hand.

But he had nothing for Amy. He had no money. He had no job or occupation. He didn't even have trust. Yes, he was secretive. There was no reason for everyone to know Shadow's deep, dark thoughts. But he didn't know if he was willing to give it all up for Amy.

Of course he was.

But thinking of her knowing almost everything about him made him feel weak and vulnerable. She would know his strengths and weaknesses, and she could call him out by it. All it took was a reason.

Perhaps he should keep the thoughts to himself after all.

Perhaps this was not a good idea.

But every time he doubted himself, the pink hedgehog always persuaded him. She didn't even do anything. All it took was one glance to win Shadow over.

And he hated that feeling.

That small knowledge that his will was so easily overpowered by one girl.

What do people call this feeling?

He continued to hold Amy tight in his chest, scared of waking her. She finally fell asleep, a well deserved rest from the eventful day before. Shadow's blood boiled just thinking of Sonic's friends trying to kill him. He hasn't spoken to them in months. They had no reason to attack him.

Yet they still refuse to trust him. Although Shadow does love his peace and quiet, Shadow  also wished they could have some sort of peace treaty. The fighting was getting old. Sure, he used to be evil, but Shadow hasn't so much as looked at Sonic and his friends and he's still on their radar.

Not Rouge so much. They worked together at GUN, but Shadow left that also. Rouge tried to persuade him to return, but he closed her off, insisting that it was just a waste of time. It reminded him of Maria, another dark space in his treasure chest of secrets.

He pushed his thoughts aside. He could think about that stuff when he was alone. It wasn't fair to think dark things while Amy was in his company. Even if she was just sleeping, nothing unjust should be in her presence.

He carefully fumbled around for the remote on his coffee table, keeping his chest steady for the hedgehog on top of him. He finally gripped it, pointing it at the screen in his cave-like living room and turning on the news.

He should have been surprised, but he wasn't.

"-went missing only a couple of hours ago, kidnapped by the infamous Shadow the Hedgehog. Any sighting of him should be reported immediately. Do not approach him, as he is dangerous and potentially armed with chaos energy."

Shadow smirked. "What a compliment," he muttered under his breath.

The screen flipped to Sonic, who was holding a microphone. Behind him were Knuckles and Miles, sad looks on their faces. Shadow squinted, taking a closer look at the two. Both looked mildly annoyed, staring at Faker.

Shadow grunted as Blue Boy began to speak. "He had her in the blink of an eye, injuring our team." Sonic gestured to his stomach region. "He stabbed me too, claiming that Amy was his, and we were never going to see her again."

Shadow's nose flared in anger, stirring the girl on top of him. Amy opened her eyes, rising to the glare of the television and Shadow's restrained huffs. Amy sat up, rubbing her eyes sleepily. She was sitting on his abdomen, unaware of her position.

"Shadow, what's going on? Are you okay?"

"No, Faker is framing me!"

"What?" Amy looked at the screen as Tails and Knuckles explained the fight. However, instead of Shadow becoming angry at Knuckles for hurting Amy, they claimed Shadow hit her, knocking her unconscious, and dashing off with her in another second. Amy could feel her own anger rising.

"As you can see the skid mark in the grass over there," the camera zoomed in on the terrain behind them. "That's how far he hit her. He was standing right at her front door."

The news woman gasped. "Two hundred feet at least," she said bewildered.

"He's even exaggerating the battle ground!" Amy moved off of Shadow as he shot up, feeling around for his chaos emerald. His eyes held a fiery vengeance in them. Amy followed him, trying to calm him down.

"Shadow, please, it might be a lure. What if they're trying to find you?"

The news woman spoke up again. "Luckily, Sonic and his friends, thanks to Rouge the Bat, found a safe route to Shadow's secret base."

"ROUGE?!" Shadow flared. Amy grabbed his hand carefully.

"Shadow, what do they mean a 'safe route'?"

Shadow paused, his rage disappearing for a moment. "Hmm," he hummed, walking over to another opening in the cave. Amy followed, revealing a kitchen and dining room. Shadow opened a cabinet by the main entrance, pulling out a big map of the surrounding area around his home. Shadow suddenly smirked, laughing under his breath. "Oh, Rouge..."

Amy looked at the map. "What? What did she do?" Rouge was Amy's best friend, one of the only people who genuinely liked her. She also knew Rouge had past connections with Shadow. Amy wondered if they still associated with each other.

"Rouge promised not to give away the location of my base unless it could be used in my favor." He rested his hand on the table. "By 'safe route', she lied about the surrounding area, leaving only one way to get to my base. She thought Sonic would either avoid it, or get here from one specific direction."

Amy gaped in surprise. They must still be on good terms, then, to keep Shadow's location safe. Rouge must know Shadow isn't dangerous either.

"So which way is Sonic going to come from?"

Shadow walked back to his living room, looking at his television. "I would say the west. Rouge would point him in that direction so that he can't surprise me. Clever bat." He checked the time of the channel. "Unfortunately, this has been rerunning for two hours. He will be here soon, if he's been running since the ending of the live broadcast."

Amy started panicking. "Then we have to go, before he finds you."

Shadow glanced at her. "Did you just suggest I run from Faker?"

"Yes! You don't know what he's capable of, Shadow! He might have a trick up his sleeve!"

Shadow grunted. "Sonic doesn't scare me."

"Well he scares me, Shadow." Shadow looked back at her, questioningly. Sudden anger was in his face.

"In what way?"

Amy gulped, remembering the lust in his eyes as he had her pinned down. The savagery in his features. "I'm scared that he's going to hurt me in order to hurt you."

Shadow looked into Amy's eyes, searching for a hidden meaning. He found it in the subtle tears of her memory. "Rose, what did he do to you?" Shadow's voice rose, murder in his undertone.

Amy sniffled. "Shadow, please, I just don't want you to be hurt by him. It would kill me."

Shadow softened his eyes, pulling Amy into his chest. She breathed into it, allowing the tears to fall out of her eyes.

She knew Shadow was going to fight back. He wasn't one to run in fear. But she wasn't going to let Sonic ruin Shadow's life. She had to come up with something, quick, to negate Sonic's false claims.

But her uncertainty lied in one question: was Sonic's concern for Amy stronger than his hate for Shadow?