Shadow flinched slightly as a loud echoing 'thud!' echoed over the silent hall.

Local TV casts and news channels broadcasted the live event to the ones who couldn't come themselves. But nobody could blame them, not many people wanted to be around Shadow after the destruction of half the city and numerous lives.

The mobians sat behind in bench rows, all worried for Shadow who sat all alone just in front. He still hadn't snapped completely out of it, but it didn't matter here, he would only be answering questions anyway.

Due to Sonic's hero status, he had argued for Shadow's rights, and in the end, he got a good pick.

Shadow sat awaiting trial.

The judge, ironically the mayor, sat in his high seat, a thick wooden gabble in his hand as he hit it three times against the little pedestal.

'Rap!...Rap!...Rap!'

"Court is now in session." He spoke up over the slight murmuring of the city people.

"Your honor, Shadow the Hedgehog has been the cause of local destruction and mutable deaths dating back for two years, not to mention teaming up with Professor Ivo Robotnic and almost destroying the world two years ago."

A lower ranking GUN agent had offered to stand up against Shadow, he was the only one.

Poor guy.

The Mayor nodded, looking at the still dazed face of Shadow from recent events. Knuckles had assumed that his emotions were still chaotic and needed to find a substitute for the recently destroyed Revenge.

"We command that this Hedgehog be held on Prison Island for life due to the deeds he has committed."

The solder went on, some of the jury nodded, confirming his thoughts.

Shadow still said nothing.

Sonic winced slightly as the Mayor put on a thoughtful face before looking at the slightly numbed Shadow.

"Do you claim a witness to the stands?" The mayor asked and the GUN agent grinned slightly, before looking at the townsfolk.

"I call Sergeant Williams to the stands!"

A timid man walked up, a little worried. Sonic recognized him, as did shadow but he made no move to show he recognized him. It was the man he attacked as a Demon-Wolf, the only one that survived inside the tank.

He sat next to the judge in the questioning seat, looking nervous but exhaled and waited for all questions.

"After the Demon-Wolves as named by local hero Sonic, attacked and you looked out, you saw our hero Sonic, am I correct?"

Sergeant William nodded smiling sadly, but the GUN agent didn't stop.

"Among the wreckage, did you, or did you not see Shadow the Hedgehog?"

Sergeant Williams winced but faced up, looking at the awaiting broadcasting system and townsfolk.

"I did see him."

"Did he make anymore to attack our hero's?"

"He….I think he made a threat…..then Sonic sent away the Emeralds….."

He whispered and Sonic winced, Shadow blinked ever so slowly, nothing fazed him.

"Later, were you among the rank brought in to defeat the monster outbreak?"

"I-I was."

Oh crap, this isn't good. Sonic thought bitterly, Amy clutched his hand and he sent a reassuring smile, hoping for all he knew that he could make it through.

"Did you or did you not see Shadow destroying local buildings?"

"He….He commanded these….monsters…..they attacked us….." The Sergeant whimpered looking down; the GUN agent nodded a satisfied smile on his face.

"That is all."

Muttering broke out over the courtroom, dirty looks were shot out at Shadow who was still slightly stunned, but slowly he was recovering himself.

He lacked dark emotions, but just looking at that man….the twisted glee he got while looking at a suffering creature was enough for his emotion of hate to grow, for his emotions to balance out.

The mayor nodded before looking out at the jury.

"Has the jury come to a d-"

"Doesn't he get a chance to defend himself?" Cream asked slightly mad from her seat. Eyes huge with big ears that made anybody stop and think.

"Uhhh…." The mayor was slightly surprised but blinked twice.

"Well….the defendant is not in the position to defend himself so-"

"That is not true." Shadow spoke for one of the first times since the accident. A small smile came onto Shadows face.

The judge blinked, surprised at the not frightening or chilling tone Shadow used, but the plain monotone of it. The GUN agent was mad, he had records of Shadow being stunned, not him operational.

"Your honor, I'm sure the experiment isn't suited to d-"

Shadow turned very slowly, crimson eyes narrowing and the agent stopped moving and just stared.

"My name is Shadow, not experiment."

Once again the agent was silent. Shadow looked forward, eyes closed and fists clenched.

The judge knocked his gavel once more and the courtroom was silent.

"Shadow, have you committed these claims?"

Shadow looked up, a strange ruby glint to his eye

"I have."

No hesitation whatsoever. The old Shadow was coming back. The judge seemed slightly shocked but blinked and nodded.

"Do you admit the killing of GUN officers?"

"I do."

"Do you admit the destruction of the town?"

"…Partially."

The jury was in a mumble of words, Sonic was frowning, and Shadow was ruining his chance…

The judge was frowning, how could Shadow defend himself?

"If you have nothing to defend yourself with, I will move onto the final vote."

"Oh, I have something to say." Shadow said quietly, the room looked at him once more. The mayor was getting board with Shadows twisted ways.
"Oh?" the mayor asked, eyebrows raised. Shadow blinked slowly, looking deep into the mayor's eyes.

"I admitted to the acts, but never admitted to my free will in committing these acts."

The court room was silent until the GUN agent burst out laughing.

"You expect us to believe mind control?" He snorted out loudly and Sonic's smile fell. Shadow said nothing but blinked twice.

"I believe that my hatred was misdirected to attack GUN." Shadow simply said, leaving more questions than answers. He closed his eyes at ease then; the GUN agent didn't really know what to say.

Finally, the GUN agent knew what to do.

"Your honor, I request Sonic the Hedgehog to the stands."

Sonic was surprised but got up and walked towards the questioning booth, not really knowing what to expect. The GUN agent had a huge smile on his face.

"Sonic the Hedgehog, did Shadow attack you in the past?"

Sonic blinked, quickly thinking on his toes of how to turn this in Shadow's favor.

"Well sure, everybody attacks me. In fact, in the past I remember GUN attacking me…."

The GUN agent frowned but quickly tried to control the situation.

"Sonic, in the past I remember you attacking a rank of GUN military troops, why is that?" Sonic leaned back, totally at ease.

"Oh, because your men were shooting at me with guns, and only knocked them out, no fatalities." Sonic grinned.

The crowd was wavering, even some in the jury weren't sure anymore.

The GUN agent was getting angry, for no reason he spun, pointing directly at Shadow.

"Shadow the Hedgehog! Why have you attacked military personal in the past?" He shouted, Shadow blinked and leaned back. Easily hanging onto what Sonic had put out.

"Simple, I say around….eh, three reasons. The first, you guys locked me up for fifty years and conducted highly illegal tests on me, two, you won't leave me alone with those big guns of yours, and finally, for Revenge."

More whispers, eyes were now on the GUN argent who was fuming purple.

"Revenge?" He shrieked and Shadows eyes flashed.

"The killing of a thousand for a simple 'weapon' that was actually a cure for a disease."

The argent laughed, actually dared to laugh in front of Shadow. Shadow shook slightly in his anger but controlled himself quickly.

"You expect us to believe that GUN killed a thousand to get a stupid weapon?" He snorted a cocky grin on his face. Shadow blinked slowly and turned towards the judge.

"I have a piece of evidence to claim. May I call Rouge the Bat to the stands?"

Sonic left, passing a thumbs up and Rouge took his spot with a small tape in her pocket. She never let go of it now.

"So agent Rouge, you believe in this 'weapon?'" The agent asked, still cocky, Rouge snorted and took out a disk, setting it on the table.

"Strange isn't it, that you've never heard of Project: Shadow."

The agent sweat dropped, eyes widening as he looking over at the now slightly pissed Shadow.

"All the evidence that Shadow was the cure is right heeeerrreeeeee!" Rouge sang, waving around the disk that a nearby officer easily took and set inside a nearby TV.

"Uh huh, the little date will be 4-16-53." Rouge noted and the security officer nodded, zooming to that stage.

"How are his vitals?"

"All clear."

"Blood pressure?"

"All good!"

"Perfect! Now to change his immunity over to Maria…."

The tape stopped as Rouge hit a little remote, grinning at the muttering court house.

"Please go to 7-12-57." Rouge grinned and Shadow smiled slightly as he spotted another picture.

Shadow and Maria were walking around, doing bad imitations of spies. Rolling around and hiding behind stuff. Maria giggled as Shadow slipped on the slippery floor and slid into the open.

"Nice one shads!" Maria bubbled and Shadow quickly scrambled back over, only falling on his belly this time.

"Hey, you try walking on this stuff without shoes!" Shadow giggled back, crawling back together….

"That is the example of how Shadow is a leaving being, not an experiment." Rouge continued. By now a few little smiles were on faces, but Rouge sent a sad look towards Shadow.

"Please turn to the last recording on the tape."

Shadow flinched largely. Many gave him confused looks, but he closed his eyes, looking down as the screaming and the gun shots filled his ears. Then the splattering, and finally his cries. His cries of Maria before it all went silent.

"That's my claim on why GUN wants Shadow….to use as a weapon of mass destruction….willing to kill innocent twelve year old girls just to get to the prize."

Rouge growled, slowly getting back towards her seat.

The judge was interested now; he looked down at Shadow, sadness on his face.

"Does the defendant have any more evidence to claim?"

Shadow looked in the corner of the room as Tails scrambled up towards the table with his computer.

"In this vile, is the darkest substance known to man."

Tails held up a tiny beaker, only five sticky black drops were inside but Shadow could already tell what it was.

"The old myth of Solaris was biased off of a monster split into two beings. The one being, Iblis the fire demon, was stored in a breathing human. The second being, Mephiles the shadow Demon, was trapped inside a scepter."

Tails continued, a few people showed confused faces, not understanding how this fit in.

"Mephiles and Iblis had the characteristics of a god, split into two beings. Iblis had the power, but Mephiles had the brains. Able to trick any being to turn against one another. He could travel through dimensions and split his bodies, melt into shadows, and mold with darkness…"

"How is this important to us?" The judge interrupted and the Kitsune smiled looking at Shadow.

"Because not that long ago the scepter was discovered, and broken, its essence melting into Shadow. Only in the finally battle was Shadow able to overcome Mephiles and end the battle."

The courtroom lit up with understanding. Even some of the oldest people had heard of the tale, it made sense and explained the demon monsters.

"Excuse me, Shadow, but how is it that you look so young when the….accident was fifty years ago?"

Shadow glared at the GUN agent who looked practically beaten.

"GUN practically tortured me by stuffing me in a freeze chamber."

Okay, the jury was just plainly pissed at GUN now.

The judge nodded looking around, Shadow seemed content.

"Has the jury reached a conclusion?"

"We have your honor." A man with curly black hair stood, holding the round up of notes.

"We find Shadow the Hedgehog free of all charges. We however, demand a full investigation and removal of the government funded military known as GUN."

The GUN agent had his jaw dropped, his eyes were on fire as he turned to Shadow, pure hate boiling n his eyes.

"You'll pay for this Hedgehog." He growled and shadow got to his feet, his fists clenched together.

"Revenge will get you nowhere. Besides."

Shadow turned, his eyes narrowing slightly at the agent.

"You wouldn't be able to harm me, if you can't touch me."

Shadow was gone, free of charges as he ran through the streets. Now people who had seen the broadcast waved and smiled. Shadow did nothing, but continued running, he would be back. He always was.

Shadow stood in the central park; it had been rebuilt and was filled with memorials for all the things that had gone on in the past.

Maria stood next to him, a blue shawl around her frame as she avoided the cold small falling snow flakes. It was midnight, the city was silent but the lights were still on, casting light on the statues.

A Plexiglas statue filled with clear sparkling water that never froze, gleamed slightly from its perch above the snow bank. A memorial to Sonic for saving the city from Chaos.

A little platinum base made up of little platinum bands holding up a silver ball representing the world. A memorial to Shadow and Sonic for saving the world from the falling ARK and Biolizard.

Finally, the strange centerpiece Shadow and Maria were looking at. A strange monument, deep purple rods slightly like spaghetti strands intertwined and separated in no fashion whatsoever. It gleamed black and purple at times, and to add more of an effect, black liquid like oil was filled inside the hollow strands. Genetically enhanced orange fire flickered ominously. It was thin, and provided no heat, therefore no burning. A safe restrained Iblis under a reaching Mephiles.

It was the monument of Shadow, created for when Shadow stopped his darkness.

"He did the right thing in the end." Maria said, holding the almost blank Shadow. He smiled softly, looking at the statue once again.

"He twisted me, he manipulated me, but in the end he saved me." Shadow whispered, it seemed like the black strands shinned even more.

"He just wanted to avenge the death of his friend, kinda like you Shads." Maria smiled and Shadow smiled, lightly running his fingers along the cool tubes.

"Yes….A lot like me." Shadow muttered, looking up as the clock tower struck its ominous tone that rang out across the sleeping city. It repeated, alerting all who roamed of the date, and time.

"Merry Christmas Mephiles." Maria smiled, Shadow nodded, and Maria set down a box she had taken with her, decorated with a light blue paper.

Shadow looked over with his head tilted, wondering what it could be. A present? A paper, who would know…

Maria removed the lid, pulling out a large crystal diamond. Very similar to a Chaos Emerald, but on the inside a small black ink like substance rested, wiggling occasionally.

"Shadow, could you put this on the top for me?" Maria asked, holding out the strange gem. Shadow took it and easily leaped up the reaching strands, putting the gem on the highest one, letting it rest in a small but secure perch that seemed to be built in.

As Shadow turned to jump down, he noticed something with the black goo in the crystal. It wiggled ever so slightly, twisting and trying to form something.

Shadow gasped softly as it curled in, and fattened, turning into the perfect shape of a small feather.

Shaking it off, he jumped down, looking up at the monument with a small smile.

"It sure is amazing isn't it?" Maria asked Shadow who shrugged. Maria ran her fingers on the tube, letting her heat be absorbed into the glass.

"I hope you're with Iblis, wherever you are." She whispered, turning away with Shadow. They slowly walked away, leaving behind them the small footprints of a girl and a hedgehog. Walking out of the snow and darkness.

They however, did not see the small red and orange speck that seemed to glow in the black ink for a moment.

The bell tower chimed again, before even the lights went out. It was night, it was peace.

It was the end.

That's the end to my first Sonic Fanfiction. I actually dont even know why i wrote it, i just felt like it one day...

I'm sorry for the ending, i'm really bad with closing off the story.

I want to thank you guys for reading! even though the story's done, could you please review? Maybe?

I'm going to miss this thing...See you all. Have a good April.

~Oceanbreeze7