Two weeks...

Shadow is racing in the canyons as he bumps into Eggman.

"And what do you want?" Shadow asks, unimpressed

"I was wondering if you wanted to work with me." Eggman responds

"I would never work with you again. Now, get outta my sight!"

Eggman walks away, defeated, and goes to Sonic's shack. After gathering Sonic's comments about Shadow on video, he goes home and edits the video, to make it sound like Sonic is dissing Shadow. He then goes to Shadow's home, to be noticed by him.

"Why are you bothering me again?" Shadow asks, unimpressed

"You'll wanna see what Sonic said about you." Eggman responds

Eggman shows Shadow the edited video, igniting Shadow's anger. After a while, Amy, Tails, Knuckles and Sticks are out near Meh Burger as Shadow appears and starts fighting them. An hour later, Sonic arrives and notices everyone on the floor, in immense pain. Then, he sees the culprit, Shadow.

"What are you doing here?" Sonic asks, unimpressed

"You'll find out sooner or later." Shadow responds

Shadow then teleports to Sapphire's house, for her to notice him.

"Hey, are you alright babe?" Sapphire greets, asking

"That enemy of yours, he'll pay for his disses!" Shadow responds, furiously

"Hold on a moment, does Eggman have anything to do with this?"

"Yes, why?"

"I'll head to Eggman's base. Don't do anything untoward."

Sapphire teleports to inside Eggman's base, to be noticed by Cubot.

"Boss, someone's behind you." Cubot informs

Eggman turns to Sapphire, looking at her suspiciously.

"You're one of Sonic's friends. What are you doing here?" Eggman asks

"Something gives me the impression that you videoed Sonic talking about Shadow." Sapphire responds

"You're Shadow's girlfriend, am I right?"

"Yes, and I'm not Sonic's friend. Anyway, do you have the video?"

"Yes, it's on this memory card."

Eggman hands over the memory card and Sapphire takes it.

"Thank you, Eggman."

"Why do you need it?"

"Oh, for a project I'm working on. Nothing more, or less."

Sapphire then teleports back home, noticing that Shadow isn't home. Knowing what's happening, Sapphire gets her laptop and studies the video, to discover that the video has been edited to make it sound like Sonic was dissing him. Also finding the original video on the memory card, she's quickly shocked at Eggman's manipulation. Remembering how risky going to the village square will be, Sapphire decides to stay put.

As for Shadow and Sonic, they're fighting in the square as Sonic is knocked down, with bruises in various places.

"You'll pay for your insults!" Shadow warns

"What are you talking about? I never dissed you." Sonic responds

"It was on video, Sonic."

"I never dissed you."

"What's being implied?"

"You tell me. What's being inferred?"

"That Eggman manipulated me with an edited video."

"Yep, that sounds like something Eggman would do."

Furious, Shadow races to Eggman's base and tries spin attacking the door down, for Eggman to notice. Shadow then sees a camera, pointing at him with a microphone.

"Eggman, come here you coward!" Shadow orders, pissed off

"Over my dead body, Shadow." Eggman responds

Still furious, Shadow teleports to Sapphire's house, to see her on her laptop. Calming down, slightly, Shadow goes to Sapphire. Sapphire notices Shadow.

"Shadow look at this. Both videos, side by side." Sapphire instructs

Shadow looks at the videos, realising that Sonic was telling the truth and finding where the original video was edited.

"Also, the transitions seem more glitched, like the editing was rushed."

"So, what you're saying is…?" Shadow asks

"The edit was rushed, made to ruffle your… feathers, so to speak. Knowing good editing when I see it, this is the worst I've seen from anyone."

Still mad at Sonic, but now mad at Eggman, Sapphire devises a plan to get her revenge on the hedgie firstly. Eggman will come later.

"I've come up with a way to teach Sonic a lesson, for how he treated me."

Sapphire then uses her magic, to make Sonic, Sticks, Tails and Knuckles forget all the magic she's taught them, having forgotten that Tails is being nice to her. Shadow notices impressed with Sapphire's skills.

"Now, that was impressive, bae." Shadow compliments, kissing Sapphire's cheek

"Thanks, babe. Now, my plan is in motion, you've got Eggman to find."

Shadow had already left before Sapphire had finished.

"That boyfriend of mine." Sapphire says to herself

As for Eggman, he's running away from Shadow, to meet his lookalike.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" The lookalike asks

"I'm running away; I got caught out by Shadow and he's after me." Eggman responds

"Use this to go to another dimension."

Eggman's lookalike hands him a dimensional travel device. This then opens a portal.

"Oh, look less like me."

Eggman goes through the portal. Soon after closure, Eggman's lookalike turns into a porcelain model and gets placed on a shelf. Eggman meets his future self, doing the same as he does, but using a different format. The said individual notices Eggman, walking to him.

"Who are you?" The individual asks

"Hi, I'm you, well you're me. Anyway, I'm running from someone who wants to get me." Eggman answers

"We can't be in the same dimension otherwise..."

"There will be a catastrophic anomaly that'll destroy the universe." Both say

"Yeah, I know. Can you help me?" Eggman responds, asking

"You stay here, I'll go to your dimension."

Lord Eggman leaves for Doctor Eggman's dimension. As for Shadow, he's with Sapphire and keeping her company. Both are in Sapphire's bedroom, on her bed.

"You look stunning, baby." Shadow compliments, nuzzling into Sapphire's neck

"So, do you, Shads. What are you doing?" Sapphire asks, starting to blush

"Teasing you, why? Are you mad?"

"Oh no, I like it. But I'm tempted to tease you and take it further."

"Knowing you, you wouldn't dare."

As if on cue, Sapphire turns around and pins Shadow to the bed, nearest the pillow. This takes him by surprise.

"You really think I'd leave it there? That would be rude of me, pretty boy."

Sapphire then admires Shadow's body, biting her lip and massaging his abdomen shortly after, making him heat up.

"You bad girl!"

"Oh, this is only the beginning. Wait 'til you find out what I've got next."

Sapphire then kisses Shadow's neck, making him moan and want more.

"Oh, my God. Gimme more!"

"Oh, there comes the misbehaviour. Gonna risk it, huh?"

"I was born a risk taker."

"Alright, try n' get me on the bed. This girl wants her dose of pleasure."

"Oh, that's easy."

Shadow then cleverly coaxes Sapphire onto the bed, impressing the said hybrid.

"Uh-huh, impressive. Now, get me goin'!"

Shadow does as he's told, kissing Sapphire's neck and putting his hand down her underwear, making her blush and bite her lip. Noticing her reaction, Shadow moves down and kisses Sapphire's body, having removed her top. Sapphire then moans, liking the touch; both delicate and rough.

"Oh, baby you've done it. Gimme more, you son of a gun!"

Shadow follows the instruction, removing both his hover skates and Sapphire's underwear, for his erection to show. Shadow then slowly thrusts into Sapphire's entrance, making her moan in pleasure. After a while, both individuals climax, coming at the same time. Sometime later, both kiss and fall asleep.

Two days later, Shadow is out again as he finds Lord Eggman near Tails workshop fighting Sonic, mistaking him for Doctor Eggman. Furious, he charges at Lord Eggman.

"Eggman, you'll pay for manipulating me!" Shadow warns

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Lord Eggman responds

"Your outfit doesn't outsmart me."

"Hold on, the one you're after is in my home dimension."

Lord Eggman presses a button, opening a portal. Without talking, Shadow walks through it.

"I'm going too, keep an eye on Lord Eggface." Sonic instructs

The others nod, in acknowledgement as Sonic walks through the portal; meeting Shadow and spotting Doctor Eggman. Soon, Metal Sonic comes out, on Eggman's command. After Eggman's rambling, Sonic and Shadow are fighting Metal Sonic.

"We need to attack from either side." Sonic informs

"I follow my own orders." Shadow responds

Soon after, Sonic and Shadow attack Metal Sonic from both sides. The two hedgehogs then chase Metal Sonic and Eggman into the dimension they came from. After a while, and without anyone's knowledge, Shadow gets both Eggmen and takes them to another location. Without his knowledge, Sapphire is in the eaves of the location Shadow has chosen.

After Shadow's departure, Sapphire gets down and uses magic to make the ropes indestructible, also making sure they can't be untied. Back at village square, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles are holding Metal Sonic in place as Sticks breaks his homing beacon. The five are then celebrating as Shadow appears.

"Look at you, celebrating like you've won. This is only the beginning, of your doom." Shadow announces

"A bit vague, Shadow. Would you explain that?" Sonic responds, asking

"Why take revenge on one being, when I can take revenge on the universe?" Shadow then adds "While you were busy fighting, I took those fools to a secret place."

Tails then realises Shadow's intention.

"With both Eggmen here, there'll be a catastrophic anomaly that'll destroy the universe!" Tails shouts back

"Now you're getting it."

Then, Sapphire appears, angrier than days ago. For everyone to notice.

"Sapphire, what are you doing here?" Sonic asks, becoming unimpressed

"Getting my revenge for how I was treated. Do you really think I'd let you get away with your dirty work? Along with Knuckles, Sticks and Tails, you won't live through this!" Sapphire responds

"How do you know that?" Knuckles asks

"With both Eggmen here, you've got no hope. Plus, you can't free them; not without someone else with magic. Sometime before now, I erased your abilities to perform magic, as part of my revenge. You'll never be forgiven, considering you were never there for me from the start, treating me like a doormat, giving me another hard time. You're not friends, I saw that all that time ago. The only one that was there was Amy Rose. Anyway, goodbye now."

Sapphire then teleports away. Shadow briefly shakes his head, then...

"So long, fools; forever!"

Shadow then teleports away, searching for Sapphire; to find her in a space between universes, with her hand on her chest and other arm holding her abdomen. Shadow races to Sapphire's aid.

"Sapphire, are you alright?" Shadow asks, concerned

"I wish I never did that." Sapphire responds, in pain

"Did... what?"

"When you left the Eggmen, I made the ropes indestructible using magic, making sure they can't be untied. With the anomaly happening, I'm starting to get internally injured."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm responsible for keeping the balance between dimensions and the universe we live in. If there's an imbalance, my powers have their ways of telling me."

"And you forgot this."

"Yes, I'm sorry Shadow. If Amy finds out, she's gonna hate me."

Shadow then hugs Sapphire, comforting her. As for Amy, she senses something wrong with Sapphire; Amy's currently where the Eggmen are. She uses her magic to break the spell, leaving Tails to untie the Eggmen. After their goodbyes, Lord Eggman goes back to his home dimension, thus making the world return to normal. As for Sapphire, as if on cue, she recovers and gets up. Looking around, she notices that Shadow has gone back to her home world.

As for Shadow, he sees Sonic and his friends outside the cave.

"Now, that was impressive. But I'll be back Sonic, on my terms!" Shadow informs

Shadow teleports to Sapphire's house as Sapphire appears, taking his place. Amy approaches Sapphire as she lowers her ears.

"Sapphire, are you alright?" Amy asks, worried

"Yeah, I guess. I'm sorry about this, my thirst for revenge got the better of me." Sapphire answers

Amy then hugs Sapphire, as she cries into Amy's shoulder.

"I forgive you, Sapphire. I knew something was wrong when you'd stopped wherever you did."

"Don't you hate me though?"

"No, because none of this was your fault. Your past and being treated badly here, made you do it."

Tails then approaches, joining the hug.

"Hey, friend." Tails greets, talking to Sapphire

"I'm still your friend?" Sapphire asks

"Yeah, of course. I'll never stop being your friend."

Sapphire hugs Tails, as a thank you. Then...

"Anyway, I'm gonna go home. I'll see you later."

"Wait!" Sonic calls

Sapphire is quickly stopped as she was about to go home.

"Yes?"

"Sorry about the mistreatment Sapphire. I'm not asking for forgiveness."

"I'll think about the apology. Even though, I still feel as though that's not enough."

Sapphire then teleports home, to notice Shadow in her lounge.

"Shads; what are you doing here?" Sapphire asks

"I was wondering if, I could live with you. You don't---" Shadow responds, to be interrupted

Sapphire kisses Shadow, passionately. Then...

"I've been waiting for you to ask that for so long."

"Really?"

"Yes, and guess what."

"Hmm?"

Sapphire then gets close to Shadow's ear.

"I'd love for you to live with me." Sapphire whispers

Shadow then kisses Sapphire, in celebration. Unbeknownst to the pair, Sonic is looking through Sapphire's front window, noticing them kissing.

'She's dating him?! That's it!' Sonic thinks

Sonic then barges into Sapphire's house, catching Sapphire and Shadow's attention.

"You traitor; you're dating the enemy!" Sonic shouts out, furious

"I knew that you'd react like this, that's why I never told you who I'm seeing! Knuckles and Sticks would do the same, hence why I didn't tell them either!" Sapphire shouts back adding, "Also, why are you in my house?!"

As Sonic is about to open his mouth, Shadow intervenes.

"Sonic, just get out. Barging into someone's home is just wrong." Shadow responds

"You're one to talk. You just teleport into Sapphire's house without being invited inside." Sonic reacts

"Enough! One, I allow Shadow to do so. Two, you weren't invited inside, you barged in. Now, do us all a favour and get lost, Sonic. You've done enough over the last two years."

In silence, Sonic does as he's told. As for Sapphire, she goes to her bedroom, locks the door, and gets into her bed, slowly falling asleep. As for Shadow, he goes to Sapphire's bedroom, noticing that the door is locked. He soon teleports inside the bedroom, lying next to Sapphire, hugging her, and falling asleep. In her sleep, Sapphire hugs Shadow, nuzzling into his chest fur.

Hours later, Sapphire starts having a nightmare, grabbing onto Shadow's chest fur tightly. This causes Shadow to wake up. Realising that Sapphire's having a nightmare, he hugs her, petting her quills simultaneously. Sapphire quickly awakens, frightened and stressed.

"Oh my, what's happening?!" Sapphire asks, frightened

"It's alright, babe. You had a nightmare." Shadow answers

"Shadow?!"

"Hush now, everything's alright. I'm here, nothing will hurt you."

Sapphire slowly calms down, feeling Shadow petting her quills. After a while, Sapphire is asleep, with Shadow following sometime after. Morning arrives and Sapphire is the first to awaken. Remembering her annual ritual, she carefully moves out of bed, avoiding waking Shadow up. Sapphire then gets dressed and teleports to her destination, a mountain, close to a shrine of sorts. Sapphire enters the shrine, allowing her magic to change her into suitable attire for the location.

After some time, Sapphire reaches her destination, kneeling before the shrine's spirit.

"Hello again, Saviour. I see you're back for your ritual." The spirit greets

"Yes, I am your highness." Sapphire responds

"Only this year, is something slightly different. You'll have a new role to play, in this world. But you must never tell your friends and loved ones about the ritual, and your new role."

Without anyone's knowledge, Shadow is in... well, the shadows watching this happen. The spirit then notices another presence, of someone familiar to Sapphire.

"Whoever's there, come forth and show yourself." The spirit orders

Shadow then comes out of his hiding place, surprising Sapphire.

"Shads, what are you doing here?" Sapphire asks, unimpressed

"I was worried about you; you left without leaving a note. Sorry if I'm interrupting anything important." Shadow responds

Sapphire then approaches Shadow, getting close enough to take his hand and kiss him. Then, Sapphire strokes Shadow's cheek...

"I wouldn't leave so suddenly if it weren't important. I didn't leave a note because you weren't meant to know."

"Sapphire, that is very touching. Although, we were interrupted by your boyfriend." The spirit informs

"Sorry, miss. Shall I leave?" Shadow apologises, asking

"No, you can stay. But you must not share this ritual with anyone, not even Sapphire's friends or your own. This must remain top secret, given the nature of it."

"You have my word, miss."

"Thank you. Now, back to why you're here Sapphire."

Sapphire approaches the spirit, kneeling before her.

"Now, I give you this headdress, as a symbol of your new role within this realm. It will be invisible to the outside world, only visible inside this shrine. You are not only in charge of keeping the dimensions and universes balanced, but you are also responsible for keeping the spiritual worlds in both the dimensions and universes balanced. Here is some extra magic to help with your responsibilities and additional powers."

Sapphire is soon wearing a headdress, with a small crystal as the centrepiece. After a while, the ritual ends. Shadow and Sapphire are safely transported to Sapphire's house. Sapphire is quickly back in her original attire, the headdress now invisible.

"Now, what was that?" Shadow asks

"Remember what I told you when we were between universes? That's part of it." Sapphire answers

"Wait, now your role is much larger. Are you still able to live normally?"

"Yeah, it doesn't change my day-to-day life; that remains unchanged. Although, I will be sleeping extra for a few days."

"Why is that?"

"Since my powers will be adjusting to the new additions, that'll make me more tired than usual. Therefore, I won't be out as often as usual."

After piecing things together, Shadow acknowledges the situation, nodding to show his acknowledgement.

"How do you know this?"

"The same thing happened when the spirits chose me as their Saviour, for the first responsibility. Anyway, I'll leave you to do your thing. I'm going to bed."

Sapphire goes to bed as Shadow searches the bookshelves, to notice a mysterious book. He decides on leaving the book alone and choosing a different book to read. After a couple of hours reading, Shadow falls asleep.

Night arrives; Sapphire awakens and goes downstairs, to notice Shadow fast asleep on the couch and an open book on his abdomen. Sapphire then puts the book away and picks Shadow up, using magic to aid her strength. Sapphire then carries Shadow to bed, covering him up with the quilt. Sapphire then takes the space next to Shadow and goes back to sleep, oblivious about the next two months.