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"Will you please stop kicking that thing around!?" Cheeky cried, yawning, "I'm trying to sleep! You're making too much noise!"

"Nah, leave him alone." Snort growled, pacing around his cell, "He's fine. Just forget it."

"Well, if he doesn't stop kicking that rock around, I'll take it!"

"Cheeky?"

"Yes?"

"You said you were trying to sleep?"

"Yes."

"So just go to sleep, and stop bothering us nocturnal hybrids." He shuddered, pacing a little faster. "My tiger side is acting up a bit for some reason…it doesn't feel good…." He snorted. "I think I sense something coming up. Something bad."

Cheeky groaned, plugging his ears. "Just be quiet…." He rolled onto his side, and didn't say anything else.

"It's weird. I feel that something's not right. I just don't know what it is…." He sniffed the air. "It's almost like a certain scent." He sniffed again. "And it's coming from…um…Shadow."

"I know, I know," I muttered, picking up my rock, "I smell good. It's getting annoying now." I sat down, tired of kicking my rock around.

"No, it's nothing like that." Snort pressed his nose up against the cell bars. "It's something different. That's why it's weird." He shoved his pig snout in farther. He touched my shoulder, and I backed away, disgusted. "You still smell good though." He grinned, and went back to pacing around the cell.

I sighed, crawled into the darkest corner, shoved Cheeky aside, and curled into a ball, ready to fall asleep.

* * *

The next day, I was called to Scientist's side yet again. As I entered the room, I sensed that something wasn't right. It was dark, the only light coming from the floor outside the glass. The spider-frog and the bear-cat were talking to Scientist, who looked old and tired. I couldn't figure it out. "Neither can I." Scientist muttered, as if he had read my thoughts. And I was sure that he had.

He got up from a black chair. "You are my favorite subject," He said, circling me, "And you remind me of your father. We were friends."

"You told me that."

"Silence!" He cried in such a way that he made me jump. He rubbed his chin. "Yes, I know I've told you that." He beckoned for me to join him. I did, reluctantly. "This is why I'm going to let you do this one thing. This is extremely rare for me to do…so rare, I've never, ever done this before." I felt his icy hands on my shoulders. Shivers shot up and down my spine. I still didn't trust him. "I'm going to let you decide what you are going to be mixed with."

"How about nothing?"

He laughed weakly. "You must be mixed with something. Why else would I keep you down here for so long?" His hands patted my back. I froze. "I'll let you become anything…even human…."

"Human!? Really!?"

"Yes. I will let you mix with myself."

"Human…?" I couldn't believe it. Could this be true? Could this be possible?

"Yes. This is possible, lab…." He stopped himself. "…Shadow. I apologize. I'm used to calling my experiments my lab rats…but I shouldn't…at least to you. You're too human already." He laughed. "It would be simple, Shadow. I'm getting old anyway." He looked out the window. "You know…it has always been a dream of mine…to be immortal. Together, with your strength, and my mind, we can accomplish things much greater than the things I do here…."

"I don't know. It just seems so strange. Becoming human…it's just…just…."

"Wrong? I know, it is very sudden. But it's true." He put his hands on my shoulders again. Our eyes met, and I fell into their trance. "Just tell me one thing."

"Anything."

"Maria."

I was flooded with memories. Why was I feeling this way over a simple name?

He smiled. "Tell me about her. I knew her a long, long time ago…but I've forgotten."

I couldn't tell him. There were too many memories trying to show themselves at one time. I was confused. Everything was happening too fast.

"How is she?"

That did it. I couldn't withstand anymore. I was overwhelmed. "She's dead. So am I."

"Believe me, Shadow. If you were dead then I wouldn't be able to do anything with you. And I know that Maria is dead too." He sighed. "A pity." He grinned. "How about this? I'll give you one more night. Think of…her. I know that all of your bad behavior in the past was caused because she wanted you to…you'd do anything to make her happy, correct?"

I couldn't say anything.

"What would make her happy? If you could mix with anything, choose the best thing for her." He grinned.

I dashed from the room, unwilling to continue this meeting. Scientist's deadly laugh echoed down the hall as I ran faster, trying to escape his evil mind. But I couldn't. He was right. All along, it was her. My past was clear to me now. And I was sick of it. I just ran faster, hoping to escape it all.

But I couldn't.

* * *

That night, I took his advice. I sat in the darkest corner, alone. Snort, Cheeky, and Flutter were all asleep. A guard walked by, his claws clicking against the floor. I threw my rock at him. He threw it back, annoyed. It fell short, but I didn't pick it up. I didn't care. I didn't care about anything now.

Moonlight fell down at Flutter. Her scales glistened and her wings shone. I didn't look. I was feeling too terrible to. Until she moved.

She got up, fully awake. She stepped closer to me, and looked out at the moon.

She started to sing.

I was amazed. Her song had no words, yet I understood it clearly. It was about freedom, a place untouched by anything. She made me understand something. My past was nothing to be concerned about. I could change that. Scientist was wrong. I could make Maria happy, while doing nothing to harm myself.

"Thank you."

"Huh?" She stopped singing. "Oh! Did I wake you?"

"No, no, I'm fine. It's just…well…let's just say that you've made me realize something that I should've learned a long time ago." I smiled, the first in a long time. "Besides, you have a wonderful voice."

"Aw, thanks, Shadow." She looked outside. "Oh, my! It's late." She touched my knee. Whether it was on purpose or mistake, she kept her hand there. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." I yawned.

* * *

There was a definite hush over the cells that morning. I knew why. Today was my day.

Cheeky, Flutter, and Snort were all awake by the time I woke up. They each gave me an uneasy smile, then returned to whatever they were doing. I smiled back, but still felt rather strange. What was going to happen?

Two larger lizards hissed, and started unlocking the cells. "Master wants you to the mixing floor. He says it's urgent." One of the guards stared at me very hard. It reminded me of Sonic, but I didn't know why. "He especially wants you, ya filthy hybrid. Go."

The cells were unlocked, but no one was moving. I cautiously stepped out of the cell, and walked down the long hallway. Slowly, the other hybrids came out. They were all following me.

I reached a large circle of machinery. In the center was a large, glass tube. It reminded me of a past event in my life…but I tried not to think about it. I glanced back at the other hybrids, and stepped under the tube. Just as I suspected, it slammed down, trapping me.

"Does it remind you of anything?"

I glared at Scientist, who stood by a lever. "You think you're so terrifying, don't you?"

"I think I'm the one who's supposed to be asking you the questions. Now. Will you mix with me, and become human…?"

I didn't know what to say. I looked at the other hybrids, who were anxiously waiting my decision. Flutter looked at me with tears in her eyes. "Never." The hybrids all stared at me, whispers running through the crowd.

Scientist laughed. "You pathetic creature! That was a chance of a lifetime!" He grinned. "Or two." His grin plastered onto his face, he placed a small cage with a veil over it onto a smaller tube. He raced back to the lever, and started laughing.

Seconds before he pulled that lever down, Flutter looked at me, tears flowing down her face, and I swore that I could've seen better parts of my life through her eyes.

Suddenly, strange energy flowed through my body. Shadows moved inside the tiny cage. I knew that this strange feeling was coming from it. I wondered if it was feeling the same way. Whatever it was, it seemed to be calm.

Suddenly, I was blasted with some other mind. It was terrified. Where am I? What's happening? This cannot be right! Let me out! Let me out! The shadows moved around quicker, and I found myself copying its movements.

Pain shot up and down my body. I felt myself changing. My fingers melted into one, large blade. It continued up my arms and into my shoulders. My arms were just large, black blades. My tail grew straighter, and it shot backwards. It grew larger, and legs sprouted from it. I leaned back against the tube, and propped myself up with my new legs and blades. My two original legs disappeared.

The pain stopped. Scientist drew the veil on the cage back. A little, green bug hopped around inside. I looked at myself. I roared in terror.

I was half praying mantis.

Furious, I smashed open the tube. I headed straight for Scientist. He smiled, and touched one of my blades. "You're my best one yet."

"Best one!?" I roared, in a voice partly unknown, "This is terrible! Look at me!"

"This is not terrible. This is what I've been waiting for! All these years, it's been you! You are the thing I was missing!"

"What are you talking about!?"

"I've successfully completed my ultimate life form."

"Your life form!?"

"Yes. This is perfect!"

"No! This cannot be happening!"

"Shadow! This is real!"

"No!" I leaned my head back and roared, a long, destructive roar. It reminded me of something, but I didn't know what. It hit me. And it was dark, scaly, and terribly evil. And I had become a copy of it.

That did it. Anything that connected my mind to my body snapped. The praying mantis was in control. It was mad.

I swung those two blades at anything that moved. Both sides of me were panicking. The hybrids ran in confused terror, running over each other to find a safe place. But there was no safe place for anything now. Especially Scientist, who was yelling at anything that got in his way, be it a hybrid or a piece of machinery.

My eyes pin-pointed Scientist's every move, and every move he was about to make. I cornered him between my two blades. I was about to swing both blades into him, when a blue flash scooped him up and carried him away before I could notice.

I knew that blue flash from somewhere, but I couldn't remember. The praying mantis enjoyed this feeling. It channeled it from my mind to its. I remembered what that flash was. And the praying mantis knew too.

"Hey, bug breath!" Sonic yelled, "Whatever happened to you?" That upset the mantis more, as it tried to slash Sonic. He just kept dodging us. "C'mon, Shadow! Is that the best you can do?"

"It's not me!" I wanted to scream, "I'm not in control! It's that stupid mantis Scientist mixed me with!" The mind of the praying mantis was too strong, and I ended up speaking a strange mixture of chatters.

Sonic shot me a confused look. "Whatever you say, Shadow, whatever you say…." He gave that reckless grin of his, leapt onto my back, and cried, "Yee hah!" Sonic was convinced that this was not me.

The praying mantis panicked at the thought of something as noisy and heavy as Sonic plopping onto our back. I witnessed a scene from the mantis's point of view. A human foot, stomping onto it's back. Before I could even think of trying to get back in control whatever I had become, the praying mantis started bucking and twisting, trying to get Sonic off us. The more I tried to take control, the more the mantis panicked. It spread its wings in an attempt to fly, but my weight kept us down. The wings did, however, fling Sonic off, sending him flying into the two-tailed fox and the red echidna that had just arrived.

Now the praying mantis was extremely upset. It wanted to fly out of here, but I wouldn't let it. But it kept trying. We hopped around the room, trying to get of the ground. I could do only one thing. I hoped the praying mantis could understand me. I yelled in my thoughts, "Stop it!"

We froze. The mantis understood me. I felt its mind creeping away from my own, and I took control. I slowly approached the two purple butterfly wings popping from a piece of machinery that I had squashed.

I turned over the squashed computer. Flutter cowered behind it. I touched her gently with a blade. She gazed up at me, and our eyes met. But then mine switched to the wings. The praying mantis wanted those wings. Another scene from its life popped up. It was eating a purple butterfly.

The praying mantis was hungry.

Roaring, I aimed for her wings. Sonic dove for her, and got her out of the way. I followed him, crushing whatever was in the way. The praying mantis became angry again. And I understood why. Sonic was stealing its prey.

I had to warn him from the danger that was part of me. I added my speed to the praying mantis's. We went faster than ever. Suddenly, Scientist leapt out in front of me, that green jewel in his hands. "You are the world's ultimate life form, Shadow, but you're not invincible." I remembered that yellow blast from before, and brought us to a complete stop before we ran Scientist over. He kept holding that jewel closer to me. "Yes, I do know how to use it…and I'll use it against you if you won't do exactly what I say." I backed up. Scientist followed. I saw the jewel glisten, and it glowed a bright light. It was about to fire.

"No!" Sonic cried, leaping into Scientist, "I won't let you hurt him!" The jewel was knocked out of Scientist's hands. It fired at the ceiling. Pieces of it collapsed onto them. I had a bad feeling about this.

I swept the pieces of downed ceiling off the pile of debris that covered Sonic. Scientist was the first thing to show up. He was dead. I feared for what might of happened to Sonic, as the praying mantis cooperated, and added more power to the sweeping.

A hand slowly rose from the rubble. My heart soared, but fell as the hand fell back over again. It didn't move. I stared at it, praying that it would start to live again.

It didn't.

Flutter, Cheeky, and Snort each climbed up to me. A tear fell from my face, and hit Sonic's hand. Nothing happened. Flutter began to cry at the sight of my tear, and I awkwardly embraced her with the two blades. I couldn't feel anything coming from the praying mantis side of me.

The extra legs evaporated into the air, as my tail shrank back to its normal length. The blades shrank, and the tips exploded into five fingers. Two legs magically appeared. A small, green, praying mantis crawled along my back, opened its wings, and flew into the darkness. I was back to normal.

I watched as Cheeky, Snort, and the rest of the hybrids each split into two. I ended up embracing a fish. A purple butterfly perched on one of my spikes.

"Flutter…." I muttered, being careful not to hurt the fish.

"Shadow…." The fish muttered, before flopping from my hand and into the darkness. The purple butterfly remained on my spike. I let it stay there. The butterfly part of Flutter began to hum in a quiet sort of way. It was singing to me.

Tears streaming down my face, I faced Sonic. "Third time's a charm…right?" I relaxed as much as I could, and focused on Sonic. The last thing I remembered was Flutter whispering something in my ear.

"Shadow, I love you…."

* * *

Groaning, Sonic tried to get up. "What happened? I feel like I was hit by a truck…!"

"Sonic!" Amy cried, hugging Sonic, "Oh, my gawd, you're okay!"

"Before Amy squeezes the life outta me, could someone tell me what's going on?"

"Well," Tails said, "That's the thing. We don't know. Only you do. What do you remember?"

"Um…." Sonic said, rubbing his head, "I can't remember much, but what I do remember, it sounds really weird."

"Well?"

"There was this giant bug thingy, and this old guy was trying to zap it with a Chaos Emerald. I tried to stop him, but then the Emerald fired, and…um…." Sonic blushed. "This is the weird part…I think…I think I saw my guardian angel."

"What's so weird about that?"

"I think that my angel…ya know, my head hurts. I'm pooped."

Tails smiled. "Okay, Sonic. Get some rest. We'll check up on you later." He unpeeled Amy from Sonic and turned the lights off.

"Night-night." He closed the door behind him.

Suddenly exhausted, Sonic collapsed, asleep.

* * *

A white, almost snowy plain stretched out in front of Sonic. Tiny flowers jingled like bells in the light wind whistling by. He seemed to be enjoying himself, sitting there, sighing. It was time to show myself.

"Sonic…." I whispered, "Look…."

He obediently did. He gasped. He was staring at me, or, rather, the two angel wings on my back, and the ring of light over my head. "Shadow?"

"Sonic?"

"Are you…you…."

"Yes, Sonic, I am. I gave up my life for you."

"Why?"

"Isn't that what friends are for?" We stared at each other, then burst out laughing.

"Shadow, how can I make it up to you?"

"Just live life like you used to. Don't worry about me." I touched his heart. "I'll be forever with you. Remember that." I smiled. "I'll make visits from time to time."

"Great! Then I can show you to everyone! Boy, I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they see an angel!"

"No, Sonic, you don't understand. Call me your guardian angel, but that's all I'm capable to do now. I can only appear to you."

"Oh…."

"But I'll still visit, and even when I don't, just remember. I'm be forever with you."

A flash of light, and Flutter appeared next to me, still half fish and half butterfly. She had angel wings and halo too. She never looked more beautiful.

Suddenly, I didn't care whether Sonic was standing there or not. Flutter seemed to have the same idea. Realizing what we were about to do, Sonic gagged, covered his eyes, and peeked at us. Flutter and I kissed. Sonic cautiously opened his eyes, but didn't say anything. He was watching the other hybrids standing behind us. Snort and Cheeky each gave me a thumbs-up, as Flutter and I blushed.

"Well, I guess I'll be seeing you then." Sonic said, kicking at a white flower.

"Just remember, okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

We exchanged glances, and I prepared to leave.

"Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog…." Sonic muttered.

With that, I was gone.