It had been three whole days since Sonic had left to once again defeat Dr. Eggman, and Sonic’s friends began to worry, especially Amy Rose. She kept coming over to Tails’ workshop asking if Sonic had returned but the answer was always the same. Tails just told her not to worry and that Sonic would return soon enough. Amy however, knew better than that. She already knew that something was up after what happened the night of the first day Sonic was gone. There were reports of earthquakes happening all over the world and afterwards the earths crust had opened in various places around the world as well. No one was capable of causing such a disaster except for Dr. Robotnick. And if that was the case, Sonic must not have been able to defeat him. Which lead to something else that Amy would rather not think about. She, as well as everyone else had to keep their hopes up that Sonic would turn up safe again and that they’d be able to stop Eggman like they always have in the past.

This is exactly why Amy, at this very moment, was searching for Sonic in the outskirts of the city. Of course, he could be anywhere else in the world, but for some reason she was lead here by instinct. Or you could call it her Sonic intuition.

‘Oh… Where is he?’ Amy thought in impatience. ‘If I were Sonic, where would I be?’

The pink hedgehog had been wandering around for so long now that she seemed to lose track of time. Before she even knew it, the last rays of the sun had drifted away into darkness and all that was left was the light off the moonlight and the streetlamps in the city. It had cooled off quite a bit since she had first started out here, and so she ended up rubbing her arms in order to keep all the warmth in her body. ‘If Sonic were here then I wouldn’t have to be so cold or alone for that matter.’ She shuddered as she began to walk further down the city streets. Amy didn’t even take notice of the dark figure that was standing on the rooftops gazing down at her with his piercing red eyes. He then dematerialized from the rooftop and reappeared in front of her. The pink hedgehog screamed and was about to grab her hammer when she was stopped by a gloved hand. Hoping it was Sonic, she looked up and gazed into his eyes with a slightly eager expression. Her facial expression took a turn however, when she realized who it was. “Oh. It’s just you Shadow.” She answered, while trying not to sound too upset. However, the dark hedgehog knew better and sighed at seeing her sad expression. “I’m sorry if I wasn’t who you were expecting, but Tails told me to see if you were okay, and to tell you that it’s time to call it a night.”

Amy still had a solemn expression as she said, “I know. It’s just…”

“You miss him.” Shadow stated while nodding his head.

“Yeah…” Amy sighed deeply.

Silence took over the both of them until Amy finally spoke up again.

“I just don’t understand. What could be holding him up like this? He knows better than to worry his friends, especially Tails. This isn’t like him at all Shadow, what if he’s…” Cold chills seemed to course through her body and before she knew it she was on the ground crying while totally disregarding the fact that Shadow was still standing there.

The ebony and crimson hedgehog wasn’t quite sure what to do at the moment. He was never one to help deal with emotions considering the fact that he’d always bottle them up. However, considering the circumstances of this situation, he knew better than to ignore her. Tails specifically told him to make sure that she was okay and the obsidian one knew that protecting her seemed to mean the same thing as comforting her on Tails’ terms. The only reason he agreed to help was because Amy had helped him not too long ago. If it wasn’t for her, neither him nor the rest of the world would be here.

Once remembering this, the crimson streaked hedgehog finally decided to walk up towards the pink hedgehog. He slowly dropped down on one knee and softly placed his hand on Amy’s shoulder in order to calm her down. The pink hedgehogs sobbing subsided and she glanced upward with still teary filled eyes, to gaze at the dark figure kneeled before her.

“S-shadow? Why are you still here?” She muttered, while trying to calm herself down to the point where she could speak properly. As she started to dry her tears, Shadow answered for her.

“I already told you. Tails told me to make sure you were okay, and I’m not backing down on a promise. Especially if it has to do with someone like yourself. If you recall, you were the one that helped me keep my promise to Maria, remember? That makes it all the more of a reason to help you, no?” Shadow held a genuine look of sincerity on his face for one of the first times since she’d seen him. Amy just couldn’t ignore it and therefore smiled back. “Yeah, your right Shadow. But I’m still unsure as to why you’d be so kind all of a sudden. It’s a bit out of character, don’t you think?” Amy was now standing fully as well as Shadow. Her brow had risen slightly and she held a questionable look on her face. Shadow however, seemed to care less as he crossed his arms once again and turned his head to the side as he muttered, “That’s for me to know and you to find out.”

Amy’s expression turned to one of annoyance and she turned to face the opposite direction with a loud “Humph!”

The dark hedgehog then glanced back at her as he chuckled lightly.

Amy closed her eyes softly and smiled while still facing the same direction and said, “I swear, I’ll never understand you Shadow. But… At least I know you have some decency when it comes to comforting someone.” ‘I just wish Sonic was around to comfort me.’ The pink hedgehog’s expression took a turn at this point and one tear escaped her eye. She quickly brushed it aside however, and put on a fake smile as she turned around to face Shadow. “I think it’s about time that I returned home. It’s a bit chilly out and I am quite tired now.”

Shadow quirked his brow in confusion, but decided that her decision was for the best. He just hoped that she’d be alright if things didn’t turn out the way she hoped. Losing a friend isn’t easy, and if it were to happen to Amy, well, the dark hedgehog wasn’t quite sure what would happen. Shadow decided to ignore it for now however and reluctantly agreed with her by nodding his head. The dark one then grabbed the Chaos emerald he had hidden in his quills and was about to ask Amy to walk up to him when he noticed she was already there. A surprised look took over his features.

Amy then spoke up saying, “Shadow…” She paused as if deciding how to voice her words correctly. “If you happen to find Sonic, will you let me know?” She looked up at the ebony male with a hopeful look in her eyes.

Shadow calmly smiled at her. “Of course Amy.” His smile then turned into a devious smirk. “But don’t expect me to have a nice little chat with him. I’m not that type of guy.”

Amy sweat dropped at this remark and shook her head. Nonetheless, she couldn’t help but agree. Shadow and Sonic weren’t exactly the best of friends. They were more like rivals. Yet she couldn’t help but wonder if they could be thought of as brothers. Even if they weren’t always on terms with each other, they still fought together to save the world many times already.

“So…” Amy looked up as she heard his voice again. “Would you prefer walking home yourself or would you rather go home by Chaos Control?”

Amy smiled. “Not that I don’t like you Shadow, but I’d prefer walking home.”

“Are you sure?” Shadow had a peculiar expression on his face. It was almost as if he were concerned about her.

“Yes, I’m sure. Why?” Amy was curious as to why he’d ask such a thing in the first place.

Shadow shook his head. “No reason.” The dark hedgehog then had a stern look on his face. “You take care of yourself, Amy.” The dark hedgehog then shouted out his famous trademark words and was gone in a flash.

Amy had to admit that she was a little shocked to see Shadow leave so abruptly, but she did tell him she’d get home herself. Now that she thought of it, she’d better hurry home. Who knows what type of weird people were out at this hour, especially because she was in the city.

With one last glance at the dark surroundings, she turned to the other direction and headed towards her home, which happened to be a ways away. She didn’t care however. The fuchsia hedgehog knew that if she would’ve went straight home with the help of Shadow, she would never be able to fall asleep anyway. The past few nights had been restless for Amy. She wasn’t sure what to make of Sonic’s disappearance and therefore continuously worried about him. Deep down she knew that Sonic would probably scold her for this, but it couldn’t be helped. Amy had fallen for the blue hero a long time ago and wasn’t about to forget him just yet. She would keep thinking about him even if it hurt her.

So with that in mind, she continued to trudge home through the endless amount of darkness and the occasional light from the buildings and streetlamps.

-

Lurking in the shadows of a dark alleyway was something that the pink hedgehog would least expect, but nonetheless was of no concern to her. Well… In the terms of danger anyway.

The figure moved from it’s place behind a couple regular sized silver garbage cans, and crept up closer to the front of a building in order to get a closer look at the pink silhouette that was walking towards the front of the city. It turns out that this mysterious figure was hoping to run into this person, yet at the same time didn’t seem pleased in the slightest. The dark figure sighed and slumped to the ground, lost in his thoughts. ‘Why of all times does she have to show up when I’m like this?’  He looked down to face with hands which were a light blue and gray color and beheld white and yellow tinted claws that looked sharper than a wolf’s. There was dark blue fur covering both arms and most of the rest of his body except for his light blue and gray chest and the white fur around his wrists. His teeth were a bit too menacing to fit the norm as a few sharp canine’s stuck out. The only thing that wasn’t disturbing about this creature were his emerald green eyes. Instead of an expression filled with a lust to kill, he looked as if his heart had been torn to shreds.

This wasn’t just some random monster. This being was known as a legendary hero amongst these parts. He was Sonic the Hedgehog.

‘And the truth is… I’d love to tell her all that has happened to me, but I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be given a chance because of my new form.’

At this point, Sonic’s hands were in tight fists as his thoughts quickly turned into anger. He wished he could talk to her but he just couldn’t accept the fact that he was no longer recognizable to his friends at this hour. He of course knew that by day he’d be normal again, but this transformation of his still frustrated him to no end. It was unusual for him to be so upset, he knew, but it wasn’t every day that you got turned into a werewolf (or a werehog in this case). Sonic sighed deeply and knew that in the end, he’d have to tell them all. It couldn’t go on like this and he knew he wouldn’t allow himself to worry his friends. For now, he’d lie low and wait till the morning rays brought him back to normal. Then he’d head over to see Tails and tell him all about it. He just didn’t know what he was going to tell Amy.

As Sonic contemplated on what his choices were, a small figure that had been floating behind him the entire time, finally flew up to Sonic’s face. “Sonic? Who was that girl you were looking at and how come you seem so serious now?” Sonic glanced up and gave a small smile to his newest companion. The blue hedgehog didn’t have the pleasure of meeting Chip on normal circumstances and was never introduced to him properly because the little critter had forgotten his memories and even his name. When Sonic first met up with him he had fallen through the atmosphere and had only survived because of a mysterious new power that had stopped him from falling too fast. Of course, he had landed on the ground face first, so he had a little trouble getting his head out of the dirt. After that, he noticed the little figure laying on the ground and ran up to him in a hurry, hoping that he hadn’t killed the poor thing. When he picked him up and tried shaking him, he realized that he was still alive and was only a bit disoriented. The small figure started mumbling something about eating until Sonic continuously shook him. The creature’s eyes opened up slowly as he took in the form of Sonic. The tiny dog like critter quickly flew away from him and hid behind a big rock in fear that Sonic would hurt him, yet the now dark blue hedgehog had just stood there asking if he was alright. The little critter had finally decided to fly out of his hiding place for his curiosity got the better of him. Once he realized that he’d be okay he started asking obvious questions about Sonic’s appearance and asked who he was. Sonic introduced himself and after that they seemed to be on friendly terms with each other. Chip was even in for a surprise once the sun had risen, for Sonic returned to his true form.

After that, they had grown a bit close since they had first met in the little town in Apotos, and during that short amount of time Sonic had come up with a name for his little companion. As they were walking through the town talking, the tiny creature had flown off to a small ice cream stand to buy a delicious ice cream sundae which Sonic reluctantly agreed to have as well. After buying it, Sonic began conversing with the dog looking creature and had even thrown in the name Chip at the end to see if he’d catch the young guy’s attention. He of course did, and was of course curious as to why Sonic had called him that, but after Sonic said he needed a name, the little dog like creature realized that it seemed to suit him well. So Chip it was, until of course they would find out his real name.

Now he was back to the present and noticed that Chip was flying all around Sonic trying to get his attention. Chip flew around one more time until Sonic finally caught him in his clawed paw and said, “Chip, you can settle down now. I was just thinking about something, that’s all.” The dark blue furred werehog then looked down as he recalled what Chip had asked beforehand. “You should probably know that the girl I was just looking at was one of my friends. Her name is Amy Rose, and…” But Sonic could not seem to finish at this point. He still wasn’t sure what to think about the girl who considered him as her boyfriend. He was always embarrassed at that thought, but was now more concerned about her than ever. It made him wonder what his true feelings for her were. Nevertheless, Chip noticed the pause in Sonic’s sentence and right away started asking him questions.

“Sonic… Your getting all quiet again. Is there something I should know?” Chip inquired curiously.

Sonic sighed. “I’m just worried about her, that’s all. She seemed… Different.”

Chip frowned. “I’m guessing that’s not the only thing that’s bothering you, right? You looked as if you were hesitating about something.”

“Yeah.” Sonic answered in a gruff voice. “I wanted to talk to her, but well, you know.”

The flying dog like creature nodded his head in acknowledgment. “Do you by any chance like this girl, Sonic?”

“Well… I… uh…” A look of embarrassment came over Sonic’s face as well as a light pink blush as he stuttered.

Chip couldn’t help but giggle at Sonic’s reaction. “It’s okay Sonic, I won’t tell anyone.”

Sonic sighed in relief and smiled back at his comrade. “Thanks Chip.”

“Well I think it’s about time that I tell you what we’re up to tomorrow.” Sonic looked a bit nervous at this point, wondering if he should stick with the plan but then shook his head. He needed to see his friends and they needed to know that he was okay, especially Amy.

Chip looked up to him in confusion and so Sonic continued. “I think it would be best if I went to Tails’ place and told him everything that’s happened so far. I don’t want them to worry about me.”

The flying Chihuahua looking critter nodded his head but then seemed to be in thought for a minute. “Are you going to tell your friend Amy what happened too?” Chip turned to Sonic to see his reaction and noticed how he had that look in his face again. Sonic had stopped in his trail of thoughts and was now contemplating on what to do again. The blue hedgehog then held a look of reluctance but gave in as he nodded his head.

Chip now seemed to understand just how deep Sonic’s feelings for this rose hedgehog were, and so decided to drop the subject. “So um…-” The flying critter was about to finish his words when a yawn quickly escaped his mouth. He giggled at how abrupt this wave of tiredness took over and knew that he didn’t need any words for what he was about to ask.

The blue hero couldn’t help but smirk at Chip’s uncontrolled yawn. “So I guess your tired huh?” Sonic laughed as Chip nodded with an embarrassed expression on his face. “Well then I guess we’d better get ourselves settled for the night.” Right after he said that, the blue hero himself started to yawn, and the flying creature couldn’t help but let a small giggle escape from his mouth. Sonic just sweat dropped and rolled his eyes at his friend. He then stretched his arms and legs out and finally got himself settled for the night by sitting down against one of the walls in the alleyway and curling up into a ball. When Sonic closed his eyes and finally got himself to relax, one of his eyes opened to notice Chip lying comfortably on the middle of his back and cuddling up in his fur for some warmth. He of course was shivering a bit from the cold air because of the lack of fur on his little body, so Sonic wrapped his hand around his friend and brought him up close to his chest to keep him warm. Chip finally relaxed as a soft sigh came out of his mouth. The blue hedgehog then closed his eyes in content and awaited the dreams of the night to take over. For tomorrow, a new adventure would begin.