Disclaimer: I really shouldn't have to keep saying this, but for legal reasons; Shadow, Amy Rose and all other characters herein are property of SEGA and its subsidiaries, and not mine.

Inescapable Past
Part XIV

As her companions 'greeted' their unexpected visitors, Amy remained blissfully unaware, still curled up fast asleep in the safehouse's bedroom, sharing the solitary mattress with the unconscious Tekno, to whom she was cuddled up to for the sake of warmth, now she'd been reduced to her undergarments once again; she'd had to sacrifice what remained of her school uniform to absorb the blood from Tekno's now-bandaged stab wound. Unfortunately, Espio had deemed Shadow's latest injuries in more urgent need of treatment, and the youngster had been much too exhausted to do anything more herself, so her own wound, where the late GUN Commander had shot her in the forearm, remained bandaged only with the red necktie off her school uniform.

Suddenly, Amy felt Tekno escape from her embrace. Thinking her friend had finally awoken, she opened her eyes, only to be greeted by the sight of Shade, the mysterious echidna she'd narrowly prevented from beheading Shadow in this very room, looming over her, the unconscious canary in her arms. Unfazed by the astonishment on the youngster's face, Shade turned away towards the door. Feeling a surge of adrenalin, Amy jumped to her feet, diving for one of the pistols Shadow had left strewn about the place.

"Put her down!" yelled the pink hedgehog as she rose to her feet, gun in hand, its barrel pointed at the echidna. Shade stopped, glanced over her shoulder for a moment, but then continued on towards the bedroom's doorway. Amy's eyes widened, incredulous as to how the echidna could so coolly dismiss the threat of a bullet in her back, "I said put her-"

"Amy, drop the gun!" interrupted Espio as came charging into the room, barging past Shade en route to confronting the youngster.

"But she's taking Tekno!" retorted Amy, keeping the gun raised, her eyes fixed on her still-moving target. Back at GUN's headquarters, after she'd killed the meerkat who'd stabbed Tekno, the preteen had sworn never to kill another living thing as she'd stared at her victim's lifeless body, but if safeguarding Tekno's newfound freedom meant breaking that oath, she was prepared to do so.

"I know she is, but this is more complicated than that," said the chameleon, his golden eyes glaring at the hedgehog.

"What are you talking about?" said the youngster, her eyes flicking back and forth between Espio and the still-retreating Shade, who was now almost at the stairs.

"We're not completely sure yet, but believe me when I say Tekno's not in danger."

"I'm sorry, Espio," whispered Amy, tears welling in her eyes as she squeezed the pistol's trigger, squeaking in pain as the force on the recoil stung her injured forearm, forcing the gun from her grasp. Downstairs, where Jet, Shadow and Rouge had been listening intently to the heated exchange, all three flinched at the noise of the gunshot.

"I thought you said your people weren't armed," growled Shadow as he shot Jet a glare.

"They aren't," replied the hawk, meeting the black hedgehog's glare.

"You tried to kill us on GUN's behalf once before, didn't you?"

"Spare us your paranoia, hedgehog," spat Jet as he ran for the stairs, leaving Rouge to placate his accuser as he sprinted upstairs. Reaching the landing, the hawk's eyes widened as he surveyed the scene before him. Shade was lying face down on the dusty floorboards, slumped over the comatose Tekno, a small rivulet of blood trickling out of a hole in her armour near her neck.

Kneeling at the echidna's side to ascertain if she was still alive, Jet was distracted by the sound of muffled sobs emanating from the bedroom. Looking up, he saw Espio sat on a mattress, holding Amy in his arms as she wept. On the floor in front of them lay a gun, ribbons of smoke rising from its muzzle; that answered the question of who'd shot who. Inserting two fingers under the collar of Shade's armour, the hawk breathed a sigh of relief as he felt her neck gently pulse. Taking his henchwoman in his arms, the leader of the Babylon Rogues creaked his way downstairs, where he was immediately accosted by Rouge, who'd sat Shadow down on the battered sofa.

"What's happened?" asked the bat, alarmed by the sight of Shade's limp form.

"The kid shot her."

"Do you know why?"

"She didn't seem in a fit state to explain. I'm thinking Shade just marched in unannounced. We'll still be taking them with us,, so don't ."

"Is Tekno okay?"

"Didn't stop to check," said Jet, "Anyway, I'm taking this one to Wave. Bring them up when they're ready. We've prepped them the cabin down the hall from yours for them."

"Is that still a good idea?" asked Rouge nervously, "I haven't told them what's happening with Tekno yet, but if that's the reason Amy shot Shade..."

"Then make sure they don't bring any weapons onboard with them," snapped her boss raising his voice before pushing past the bat on his way out the door. Watching the hawk cross the frozen lawn to the airship's anti-grav lift, where Storm stood waiting, Rouge gnawed her lower lip as she pondered how Amy might greet the news she'd eventually have to give them regarding her long-lost friend.

"There a reason he just shouted at you?" called Shadow, interrupting the bat's reverie.

"Just worried about Shade," replied Rouge as she joined the black hedgehog on the sofa.

"So she's alive?"

"For now."

"Did he say it was Amy who fired the gun?"

Rouge nodded. Shadow sighed; he was beginning to regret ever dropping himself on the youngster's doorstep. Sure, she'd shown him sympathy back on the clifftop, but in the last few days, she'd risked her life for him, had been shot, had had a gun held to her head, even after discovering a close friend had suddenly died. She hadn't killed for him at least, like she had in Tekno's name, but their bond went back much farther than his and Amy's, which had been almost nonexistent before this ordeal had been set into motion. Espio had said quite plainly the best way he could show his gratitude was to stay with the youngster, and be there to support her through the rough times ahead, what with Vanilla's funeral on the horizon, and presumably helping Tekno re-adjust to life outside the walls of Robotnik's citadel, but was that really the wisest course of action? Surely GUN would be hunting for him harder than ever, now that they'd killed both the Commander and Vice Commander, not to mention the horde of troopers Omega must've taken down.

"So when do we see this airship?" he asked Rouge, eager to avoid brooding too deeply for once.

"Whenever your pals come down those stairs."

"I guess that gives you a chance to answer a few questions in the meantime," said Shadow. Rouge sighed: she'd half-convinced herself the shooting of Shade would've diverted the Ultimate Life Form's mind elsewhere, but she'd forgotten how doggedly persistent he could be.

"Go on then."

"How the hell did you find us here? I destroyed the Emerald you gave me."

"Haven't you been wondering how GUN knew where to find you when they blew up your bike, or how I knew where you were?" asked Rouge. Shadow could only stare blankly at her as he pondered how such a key question could've slipped his mind; maybe the blood loss was to blame.

Rouge smirked: "Remember when I told you I had GUN under the illusion the Emerald tracker I gave them was able to detect your DNA?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, it wasn't a complete lie. Their tracker can't pick up your DNA signature, but there is one that can."

"And how did that device come to exist?"

"One of the DNA samples from Professor Gerald's labs on ARK. Tekno did the rest."

"How did she-?"

Rouge shrugged: "The kid's a real prodigy. You can see what Robotnik wanted with her."

"She worked for Robotnik?"

"Didn't she tell you? That's why GUN wanted her. She's the reason the good doctor's whole army changed after the Death Egg thing."

"The Death Egg?"

"Never mind," said the bat, sighing at her forgetfulness. Shadow would've still been in stasis on Prison Island during the Death Egg incident, "All you really need to know is Tekno worked as a prisoner in Robotnik's weapons lab for five years. That's why she was hiding out."

"If she was in the citadel whilst the battle was going on, how did she not get captured with the doctor?"

"I got her out."

"How?"

"Through the sewers, with a very well-paid guide."

"I take it GUN didn't bankroll that one."

"All my own money."

"I'm impressed, I must say."

"Don't give me that," countered the bat, "Just because I'm a thief doesn't mean greed dictate everything I do."

"Guess not," muttered Shadow, perking up as he heard a creak, and then another. Looking up at the staircase, he and Rouge watched whilst Espio trod carefully down the stairs, bearing Tekno in his arms, with Amy following a few steps behind. Promptly jumping to her feet, Rouge heaved the black hedgehog off the sofa, and was forced to drag him over to the meet the others as he'd now lost all feeling in his feet.

"Is Tekno okay?" asked the bat as Espio descended the last stair.

"We were going to ask the same thing about Shade," said the chameleon, presenting the canary's head for Rouge to inspect. Feeling the comatose youngster's neck with a slender finger, she breathed a sigh of relief: Tekno was still alive, which meant so would she beyond today. Meanwhile, a few seconds looking at Amy as she walked slowly downstairs had been enough to put a frown on Shadow's face. In the absence of her hairband, the way she had her head bowed meant a curtain of braided quills now covered most of her face, and that was something Maria only ever used to do when she was particularly upset. This didn't bode well.

"You can find out when we're on the airship. Follow me," said Rouge, nodding toward the door before stepping out into the cold. As the party crossed the frozen lawn, Shadow heard Amy's muffled sniffles amid the noise of frost crunching under his companions' feet. He would've glanced over his shoulder, if only to see whether she was still walking with her shoulders hunched, but his strength levels had now dipped to the point where it was a struggle to keep his head raised high to enough to see where he was going.

Up ahead, in the shadow of the Babylon Rogues' airship hovering above the yard, stood the imposing figure of Storm, leaning on the railing of a silver platform: the airship's grav-lift, formerly used for shifting the Rogues' heavier loot, but nowadays only bore more mundane cargo since Jet and company had gone into business. As the party reached the grav-lift, Rouge was quick to transfer the burden of Shadow to the albatross, who heaved the Ultimate Life Form onto the lift, whilst the bat took custody of Tekno from Espio, leaving the chameleon to tend to Amy, who'd stopped in her tracks a few feet away. Looking at the youngster, who still had her shoulders hunched and head stooped, Espio sighed: he was adept at handling many varied situations, but consoling a preteen was something he felt very uncertain about. Unlike Shadow, who'd grown up with Maria, his experience of upset children didn't extend beyond kids Charmy's age, and even then, Vector had shouldered most of the parental responsibilities.

"How are you feeling?" asked the chameleon.

"Freezing," said the youngster.

"Then let's get you onboard."

"Are you sure they'll even let me on?"

"Why wouldn't they?"

"I shot one of their friends, didn't I?"

"You two, what's the hold-up?" called an impatient Storm from aboard the grav-lift. Turning his head, Espio gestured for them to give him a few moments.

"It doesn't look like Jet's given any orders to leave you behind," said the chameleon as he turned back to Amy. After a moment's hesitation, Espio cautiously leaned in, pushing aside the curtain of braided quills covering her harlequin-green eyes, "What do you say we go and see the old hard-nut?"

Feeling a small jolt of energy for reasons she couldn't quite understand, Amy whisked past Espio, leapt onto the grav-lift and pounced on Shadow, knocking him flat on his back as she wrapped her arms around his midriff, her injury and melancholy momentarily forgotten as she nestled her face in his thicket of chest-fur. Understandably startled by the sudden takedown, the black hedgehog could only peer down at his guardian angel, and let a small smile flicker on his face at the lift simply seeing him alive seemed to have given the youngster. Perhaps Espio's suggestion wasn't so ludicrous after all. Meanwhile, Storm had given the word for Jet to start raising the grav-lift, and as they climbed skyward, Shadow looked down on the safehouse for what was probably the last time. The old place had served him well, but with his Chaos Emerald gone and those that remained safely in Knuckles' possession, it was no longer a feasible hideaway, and besides, maybe it was time he gave normal society a try.

"You took your time," said Jet as the grav-lift passed through a hole in the airship's hull and touched down.

"Kid troubles," said Rouge in a low voice as she stepped off the platform, still carrying Tekno.

"I see. Do we know why she's still half-naked?" asked the hawk, also in a low tone.

"I didn't think to ask."

"Probably best."

"No surprise firing squads then?" interjected Espio as he joined the pair on the deck of the cargo bay whilst Storm helped Amy get Shadow upright.

"Shadow also thought we might be here on GUN's behalf," replied Jet.

"You sound like you thought he was being irrational, suspecting such a thing," said the chameleon.

"Like I told him at the time, my reasons for assisting their operation were purely business-related."

"So what about this time?"

"Honouring an agreement."

"With who?"

"That's not for me to say," said Jet, turning away from the chameleon as Storm and the hedgehogs joined them. Raising an eyebrow at the Rogue leader's coyness, Espio looked to Rouge, who shook her head.

"Welcome aboard the Babylon Rogue, Shadow. Are you satisfied we aren't conspiring with GUN yet?"

"Thus far," replied the black hedgehog.

"Well I'm sure my new associate will be able to clear up any lingering doubts. Storm, would you kindly escort Miss Rose and her unconscious friend to the sickbay," said the hawk, gesturing for Rouge to give the albatross custody of Tekno.

"I'd prefer to stay with her," said the bat, gazing down at the comatose canary in her arms.

"But then who will show our guest to his cabin?"

"I'm sure if you directed us, we could-" began Espio.

"The offer is appreciated, but I'd [prefer it if you wuld accompany Miss Rose to sickbay, lest we experience another incident. Besides, I'm sure there are a number of questions your companion has for Rouge, so it wouldn't make sense to deny him the pleasure of having them answered."

If looks could kill, Jet would've dropped dead there and then as Rouge reluctantly surrendered custody of Tekno to Storm, and once Amy had planted a farewell kiss on the Ultimate Life Form's cheek, she was led away to cargo bay's elevator.

"Now, Rouge, please show our guest to his quarters, and Shadow, if my associate gets at all coy about answering any questions you may have, be sure to let me know."

And with that, Jet turned heel and disappeared amongst the stacks of steel crates that littered the cavernous cargo bay. Then, Rouge moved herself and Shadow slowly towards the elevator Storm's party had just used. A minute or two later, the doors rolled open, and she set the hedgehog down for the ride up to their level. Watching the bat as she keyed in her clearance codes, Shadow chuckled to himself.

"What's funny?" asked Rouge as she got the elevator going.

"I never thought I'd see the day you take orders so obediently."

"Yes, well, my circumstances have changed somewhat in that regard."

"What do you mean?"

"Basically, Jet's now my boss. Orders are just a fact of the job."

"What happened to GUN?"

"An emergency career move."

"What prompted it?"

"Your little gang's visit to the GUN Commander's office yesterday."

"How? Surely that just upped the bounty on our heads."

"Not exactly," said Rouge, "To be honest, I'm pretty sure most of GUN were glad to see that leopard go. Rumour had it even the troopers who raided your pal's apartment weren't sure why they were Shadow-hunting again after you and the old man kissed and made up."

"What's any of this got to do with you changing sides?"

"Did Omega happen to tell you how he came to be in Tekno's lab?"

"Not explicitly."

"Well that's just it. After that GUN strike team neutralized him, Topaz was kind enough to help me locate his wreck and shift him to the Emerald Hill. Before you turned up at the old base, only she, myself and Tekno knew that Omega wasn't still rusting in pieces somewhere in Westopolis."

"So?" asked the black hedgehog as a beep sounded, and the elevator doors parted.

"The fact Omega was part of your attack means Topaz will know that I in some way helped you do it," explained the bat as she heaved Shadow onto his feet, bracing his left arm round her shoulders before proceeding out of the elevator.

"Which now puts you at the top of their most wanted list?"

"Almost definitely, hence the change of employer."

"So how did you persuade Jet to take in Mobius' newest fugitive?"

"Well, there would have been a Chaos Emerald in it for him, had you not seen to that. The hawk's crazy for antiques."

"And in the absence of an Emerald?"

"I had information I could offer him. He's been looking into setting up a private security firm to compete with GUN. With the personnel files I was able to give him, he'll know just how much to offer GUN's better troopers to beat their current salaries."

"Not that that's not information he could've just bribed any lowly-ranked officer for. Surely you had something more to offer him," the black hedgehog persisted. Rouge sighed, silently cursing her obligation to answer every question she was asked as they came to the cabin Jet had prepared for Shadow and company. Depositing her burden on the cabin's only bed, she collapsed onto the small couch opposite.

"If you must know, I offered him Tekno," said the bat between deep breaths, exhausted by the day's unexpected exertions. It'd been a long time since her last burglary.

"What do you mean 'offered'?" asked Shadow, sitting up.

"Her inventions have great commercial potential."

"That doesn't answer my question," growled the black hedgehog.

"She means she's just completed the process of transferring the canary from one life of slavery to another," said Espio as he appeared in the cabin doorway, startling both the room's occupants.

"How long have you been following us?" asked Shadow, narrowing his eyelids at the chameleon.

"I was in the elevator the whole time. Storm didn't seem to notice."

"He wouldn't," groaned Rouge, "But Tekno isn't going to be Jet's slave."

"Does that mean she'll have a choice about whether she works for him or not?" asked Espio, leaning back against the wall.

"...she'll understand when I explain it was my life on the line."

"I hope so, for your sake," said the chameleon sternly.

"Is that all you have to say?" exclaimed Shadow, glaring at Espio.

"What more is there to say? I realize Amy might have gotten it into her head that Tekno would come back to Station Square with us, and they'd just pick up where they left off five years ago, but we're not even sure the canary will even wake up, let alone be able to just slip back into living a normal life. She puts a brave face on it, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were some real trauma there, Shadow. Better she's with a familiar face like Rouge than surrounded by complete strangers, no matter how well-meaning we all can be."

Shadow's unblinking scarlet eyes remained fixed on the chameleon for several seconds, burning with a fury he was much too exhausted to express physically. Only a fool could fail to see that the ninja-turned-detective had a point, but that wouldn't make it any easier for his guardian angel to accept: "Good luck persuading Amy."

Then, all conversation ceased, replaced by a brooding silence as the cabin's three occupants pondered Shadow's last statement: just how would Amy take the news that her reunion with Tekno was to be cut short? On top of that, there was the question of who would be the one to tell the preteen? Shadow and Espio both knew that simply not telling her about it wasn't an option in this instance, and they'd just look bad when the time to disembark came. Soon enough, a knock on the cabin door heralded the youngster's return. Espio opened the door, and in the pink hedgehog walked, still in just her underwear, with her wounded arm bandaged and held in a sling suspended from her neck.

"Didn't Wave give you anything to wear?" asked Rouge as Amy perched on the cabin's bed beside the slouched Shadow.

"She was too busy with Tekno," replied the youngster, shaking her head.

"I'll go get you something," said the bat, bolting off the couch and out the door before Espio could block her path. The chameleon cussed under his breath as he closed the door.

"How's Tekno?" asked Shadow.

"I dunno. They have her hooked up to one of those ventilators, but her heart rate's steady."

"And Shade?" queried Espio.

"Alive," replied the preteen, her cheeks flushing. In the aftermath of shooting Shade, she'd renewed her to never endanger another Mobian's life so long as someone dear to her wasn't in danger. Hopefully GUN would have the good sense to keep their distance.

"Good," said the chameleon, "Now Amy, there's something you need to know. It's about Tekno."

As the ninja spoke, Shadow looked up instantaneously, and glared at Espio, but his comrade ignored the scarlet eyes. By his reckoning, it was better if he was the one to inform Amy about the situation with Tekno's future, lest the youngster get the impression that just because Shadow wasn't trying to do anything about it didn't mean he condoned what Rouge had done; the last thing he wanted was to see pink hedgehog's trust in her newfound friend shaken.

"What about her?"

"Tekno won't be coming with us when we got off at Station Square."

"Why not?"

"Based on what Rouge has told us, its part of a deal she made with Jet. The main reason they came to pick us up was to collect Tekno."

"And what, you're not going to try and do something about it?"

"What can we do? Old hard-nut there can't even stand, and Storm is too big for even me to bring down unarmed. We just have to accept that this is how it is for now – there's nothing we can do for her."

Amy sat in silence, holding Espio's gaze as her mind floundered about, trying to find something to say back to her companion's brazen declaration of their powerlessness to alter the current course of events. But no words were forthcoming. Looking on as his guardian angel lowered her head in defeat, Shadow put an arm round the pink hedgehog's shoulders and pulled her into a consoling embrace , pressing her head firmly against his thick chest-fur as they fell back onto the bed.

"Just wait 'til I'm back on my feet, then we can see about rescuing her," whispered the black hedgehog.

Pulling her face away from his chest, the preteen peered up at him: "Does that mean you'll be staying?"

"So long as you'll have me."

The transformation that took place in Amy was nowhere near as drastic as when she'd boarded the lift earlier, but Shadow's promise was enough to restore a glimmer of brightness to her harlequin-green eyes as she gazed up at her future houseguest. Then, the stillness of the cabin was broken as the door opened and Rouge entered, her stiletto heels clacking on the polished metal floor.

"This was all I could find that would fit," said the bat as the pink hedgehog sat up, referring to the violet trenchcoat in her arms. Getting up off the bed, Amy silently accepted the coat before striking Rouge across the face with an open palm, the force of the blow knocking the former GUN agent to her knees.

"That's for Tekno," said the preteen as she turned back towards the bed.