Sonamy: Part 1 - Chapter 47

       Knuckles jogged from the statue in City Hall all the closest building he could find.  From there, he began to climb up the wall, using the sharp points in his knuckles to help him up.  He scaled the wall all the way to the roof of the building, a good lookout point for him.  He looked from one end of the building to the other, keeping an eye out for a black hedgehog that appeared to be skating down the road.
       "He shouldn't be too hard to locate," Knuckles said to himself, "After all, we all kind of stick out in this city!  Finding him should be a piece of cake."
       Not seeing any signs of Shadow from where he was, he leaped off the roof of the building and began gliding across the sky to the building nearby.  The moment he made contact with the side of the adjacent building, he dug his knuckles into the wall to keep himself up.  Then, he began scaling the wall again until he reached the roof of that building.
       "He's got to be here," said Knuckles, as he peered to the north, "Since he was talking to Sonic, he must still be in the area."
       Just then, a troubling thought occurred to him.  He remembered that Shadow had the ability to travel through time and space by using his Chaos Control.  "If he's traveling though Chaos Control, then it's going to be harder to find him than we anticipated."
       He immediately scrapped the idea.  He decided that he should remain optimistic and keep an eye out for Shadow on the street, convincing himself that he wasn't using Chaos Control.
       He looked from one end of the building, but found nothing.  He glided from several different buildings, hoping he'd find Shadow, but to no avail; Shadow was nowhere to be seen and he was covering his tracks well.
       "Well, this is a waste of time," Knuckles determined, "This city is way too big for me to find one person.  It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack: impossible!"
       No sooner did the words leave his mouth that he spotted something traveling down Main Street at a semi-fast pace.  Knuckles squinted his eyes at the moving object to see that it was a black object skating on the sidewalk at the speed of a car.
       "Bingo!" he said, as he glided after him, "Well, that was easier than I thought.  Now, I have to keep an eye on him, but remain unnoticed.  That shouldn't be too hard."
       He followed Shadow from the skies for several city blocks, wondering to himself where he was going and what he was up to.  Knuckles kept his distance, stopping at certain points when he saw Shadow stop skating, then continuing when Shadow did.  He remained pretty high and pretty quiet all the way, making sure Shadow didn't see him.
       After a while, he watched Shadow stop skating and start walking at a normal speed.  Curious, he landed on a building and climbed down the side until he reached the street level.  From there, he began to follow Shadow on foot.
       "Where are you going, Shadow?" Knuckles asked himself, as he watched him from an alleyway.  He watched Shadow walk into a corner store, looking around before he went through the glass door.
       Knuckles walked over to the store to see it was a corner jewelry store, where people bought, sold and traded different kinds of jewelry.  He peeked in the window to see Shadow walk all the way to the back of the store, his back facing him.  Quietly, Knuckles opened the door and walked in, making sure Shadow didn't turn around.  To his advantage, Shadow disregarded the sound of the door opening.  He kept his eyes on the glass showcase that was in front of him.  Knowing Shadow wasn't paying any attention to him, Knuckles crouched down behind one of the showcase counters and listened to what was going on.
       "Can I help you with anything?" asked the older man behind the counter.
       "As a matter of fact, yes," said Shadow, a cheerful tone in his voice, "I need help picking out a ring."
       "Okay," said the clerk, "What kind of ring are you looking for?  Anything in particular?"
       "Yes, I'm looking for an engagement ring," said Shadow.  Knuckles' eyes went wide the moment the words left Shadow's lips.  He had a bad feeling about who that ring was for.
       The man behind the counter smiled at him.  "So, you're going to pop the question, huh?"
       "Something like that," Shadow said, a hint of a smile formed at the corners of his mouth.
       "That's so sweet," said the clerk, "She must be a really special girl for you to pick her out of the whole bunch.  May I ask who the lucky lady is?"
       Shadow smiled and replied, "Amy Rose."  Knuckles felt his heartbeat come to a sudden stop.
       "Amy Rose?" he asked, "Isn't she the girlfriend of Sonic the Hedgehog?"
       Shadow cringed at the sound of his name.  However, he smiled at him and responded, "Not for long."
       The clerk shrugged and began to show him the different varieties and styles of engagement rings he had to offer.  Shadow browsed through all of them; he was unsatisfied with many of the rings he was shown.  Knuckles watched as Shadow kept rejecting many of the rings he was offered, not interested in any of them.
       "What's the most expensive ring you have?" he asked, crossing his arms at him.
       The clerk shook his head and said, "The most expensive ring I have is a $25,000 ring.  It seems to be out of everyone's budget, so I don't advertise it much.  Are you sure you want to…"
       "Show me!" Shadow demanded, as he glared at him.  Nervously, the clerk went through a wooden door behind the counter.  He was gone for several minutes before he came back with a small velvet box, no bigger than the size of his hand.  He handed it to Shadow for him to look at, a worried look on his face.  When Shadow opened the box, he was amazed with what he saw there.
       Inside the box was a small ring, entirely made of 100% platinum.  On the top were several small diamonds, lined up along the rim of the ring.  On the top were two different kinds of stones: a black diamond and a pink sapphire.  The moment his eyes fell upon the ring, his mouth dropped open in approval.
       "I'll take it," said Shadow, not taking his eyes of the ring.
       "Umm, okay," said the clerk, "Will that be cash or credit?"
       Knuckles remained hidden as Shadow paid the clerk and took the small velvet box.  As he began walking to the door, he opened the box and eyed the ring again.
       "This is perfect," he said, as he closed the box, "This is all I need to show Amy I care for her more than Sonic does.  All I have to do is make sure Sonic sees this on her finger at the Coast tonight, and all my worries are over."
       As he opened the door, Knuckles could have sworn he heard Shadow laughing a malicious laugh.  Then, he watched Shadow activate his rocket skates and begin tearing down the street at full speed.
       Worried, Knuckles stood to his feet and walked out of the jewelry store.  He watched as Shadow became a smaller in the horizon.
       "So that's what his plan is," he said aloud, "He's going to make it look like Amy accepted his proposal.  That way, Sonic would think she doesn't love him anymore and leave, possibly forever!"
       He began running down the street, making his way back to Cream.  He began making his way towards the suburbs, running as fast as he could.
       "We have to make sure Shadow doesn't give her that ring!" he said, as he continued to run, "Because, if we don't, it'll be the end of Sonic and Amy!"