Shadow the Hedgehog: The Anniversary

by MetalShadowXIII

Sequel to Shadow the Hedgehog (the game). It has been one year since the Black Arms alien invasion. However, the peaceful times have come to an end for Shadow, as a new, more powerful evil has arrived in his world, and what's worse, even G.U.N. has turned against him. What does fate have in store for the Ultimate Life-Form? Rated M for violence, swearing and some mature themes.

1. A New Enemy

Actt I: A New Enemy

Phase 1: That Fateful Day

Shadow was at a bar one night, drinking to minimize the intense pain of his loss. 51 years ago today, his closest friend Maria was killed by the military. Her death was in the distant past, but the pain was still fresh in his mind. It was just a year ago that he defeated the alien warlord Black Doom and saved the planet single-handedly. About 8 months ago, during the Solaris incident, he set aside his thirst for revenge and decided to work together with G.U.N. for the greater good, aka ripping Solaris a new one. However, he still felt empty inside. "Why won't this damn pain go away already?", Shadow sighed as he took his eighth shot of whiskey. Shadow had started drinking heavily in an attempt to fill the void in his soul caused be losing Maria. Well, it wasn't really a void, more like a gigantic crater. He never had a true friend since Maria passed away. Rouge worked with Shadow in the past and looked out for him a few times; she even warned him that he could become an alcoholic if he kept drinking so goddamn much. But Shadow didn't really give two shits about her. "She's just a dumb materialistic slut.", said Shadow in his head. "If I wasn't here, she'd gladly whore herself out for a Chaos Emerald or two." Omega was admittedly pretty cool, but he was a robot and he didn't fully understand the complexities of human (and hedgehog) emotion. Still, when Omega was on the battlefield, all hell broke loose. If Eggman had actually finished upgrading him, figuratively speaking, he'd be a fully functional 300 mph rape train with no brakes. Out of all the people he knew, Omega was probably the one who had the most in common with Shadow, but it just wasn't the same as having Maria around." I just want this day to be over already." he groaned. Shadow was about to ask the bartender for another shot when a familiar face appeared; it was the Commander.

Phase 2: The Encounter

"Why hello there Shadow! What brings you here today" he asked in a sarcastic tone of voice. Shadow looked up at the Commander. "I'm not in the mood for games Commander; if you don't have something important to say to me, then get the hell out of my face!" "Oh, but I do", the Commander said, holding a photo in his hand. "Does THIS look familiar to you?" he said, pushing the photo in Shadow's face. The photo showed a black hedgehog with a Chaos Emerald in hand, standing in some sort of military base with a dozen or so bodies on the floor behind him. "What's this supposed to be?" Shadow asked, confused. "Don't play dumb with me," said the Commander angrily. "It's photo evidence of you breaking into a military base and stealing a Chaos Emerald. There's no talking your way out of this one, you spiky little bastard. If you confess to your crimes here and now, I'll spare your life and simply have you thrown into an underground isolation cell for the rest of your days. If not, then I'll have you executed for high treason!" Six soldiers marched into the bar with shotguns drawn as he said this. Shadow stood up, a bit wobbly, but firmly and said "This is your last warning.. I didn't do any of that shit. If you try to arrest me for something I didn't even do.. Then I wont hesitate to used deadly force to defend myself!" The civilians in the bar became frightened and fled the premises. The Commander grinned. "Heh, well I guess it's settled. Take him down, men. He's drunk, so his reaction time is slower than usual!". Boy, were they wrong. As soon as one soldier yelled "OPEN FIRE!", Shadow jumped back into the counter in a split second, pulled out two wine bottles and threw them, striking two of the six soldiers in the head and knocking them out. One unlucky bastard was hit in the eye with a large glass shard, blinding him. "FUCK! MY EYE! GAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!", he yelled out in pain. The searing pain caused him to spaz out with his shotgun on automatic, accidentally shooting and killing two of the other soldiers. One round was only an inch away from striking the Commander's head. The remaining soldier had to subdue him. Amidst the confusion, Shadow was able to escape out of a window and make his way onto the highway. The commander was enraged. He pulled out his communicator and relayed a message to the army: " Red alert status. Shadow has escaped and he's on the move. He is highly dangerous, maybe even more than normal because he's drunk and really pissed off. I want you to search every area within a 100 kilometer radius of here and make sure that you bring that little fucker back to me, dead or alive…"

"Preferably dead."

Phase 3: Escape

Shadow needed to get away from the army and fast. Drunk as he was, he was in no condition to take on hordes of G.U.N. soldiers. He was staggering down the highway which apparently had been closed down, since no vehicles were on it. Suddenly, 3 soldiers spotted Shadow and said "It's the hedgehog! Get him!" Shadow had no choice but to run from the soldiers but in his drunken state, he was unable to keep his balance and fell of the highway. He fell two stories and landed on his face, but it didn't hurt much because he's the Ultimate Life-form. Or maybe he was just that drunk. Eventually Shadow made his way to Central City, but little did he know that the army was waiting for him with tanks. He had no choice but to fight. "If you think you can take me then bring it on!" he yelled as he dashed into the fray. "30-something soldiers and 4 tanks against one hedgehog... I like those odds" Shadow smiled to himself. Even with his impaired judgment , he was more than able to hold his own against the soldiers because they were only human. Running through the city, Shadow used cars and street signs for cover and waited for the right time to strike. He got his chance when a lone soldier threw a smoke grenade and ran toward the hedgehog by himself. Shadow was able to disarm him with ease and put him out of his misery with a single AK-47 shot to the temple. The other soldiers watching thought it was over when they heard the shot. One soldier near the cloud of smoke yelled "He got him!" but then a bullet ripped through his face and he fell dead on the floor as Shadow jumped out of the plume of smoke, ready to begin his rampage. Shadow grabbed the dead soldier's automatic rifle and yelled out "Here we go again, motherfuckers!" He was too drunk to aim properly so he simply threw a flashbang charge and ran forward with his two guns on full auto, shooting in every direction. The screams of the downed soldiers indicated that he did hit a lot of them, but about 15 were still alive.

Shadow knew he had to take out the tanks first so he hastily devised a plan. "I know this is incredibly dangerous but it's just stupid enough to work." Shadow saw two tanks that were in close proximity, decided to take a gamble and jumped on top of one of them, shooting a pistol he grabbed off the ground. His plan was successful because the dumb fuck driving the other tank tried to shoot Shadow off the tank, but he just ended up killing his allies inside of it when Shadow jumped off right before the blast hit. The explosion provided the perfect cover to sneak into the other tank and kill its operators by snapping their necks. Hijacking a tank made everything that much easier. "Two down, two to go." Shadow didn't know how to use a tank so he just started pressing random buttons until something happened. The tank's cannon finally fired and killed 3 soldiers, blowing them to bits. "So that's the fire button, huh? Things just got a lot more interesting." Shadow started mashing the fire button and firing in every direction, but... he kinda missed every shot since honestly, he knows about as much about tanks as Big the Cat knows about proper dietary habits. He got one lucky kill when a building he shot at collapsed and crushed a soldier standing below. The soldiers were panicking and thought it was a hardware malfunction until they realized it was Shadow who was inside the tank. "Take that fucker down, NOW!", yelled a lieutenant. The remaining two tanks aimed their cannons at Shadow and one soldier came out packing a Javelin ATGM rocket launcher. Shadow knew he was at a disadvantage in such a slow vehicle and exited the tank before they fired on him. The soldier with the rocket launcher took aim at Shadow and it would have been certain death for the hedgehog but Shadow yelled out "Chaos... Reflector!" and put up a luminescent shield around himself that reflected the rocket back at the soldier, literally blowing his head off his shoulders. Shadow heard the lieutenant saying from the tank, "I've called for reinforcements! Hold the line until they arrive. It's just one hedgehog, we can take him!" Shadow knew he was in deep shit. His new technique wasn't suited for reflecting projectiles from multiple directions and he was unarmed and exhausted from the battle. Plus, his vision was beginning to blur and he started to lose his balance again.

Just when Shadow was about to run and hide somewhere, a laser suddenly shot right through the looking hole of the lieutenant's tank and melted this head instantly. Another laser ripped through the tank and blew it to bits. Shadow was dazed and confused until something that he never expected to see burst straight out of the fourth tank. It was a Shadow Android. The soldiers probably pissed their pants at the sight of it, I don't blame them. One of them shouted "Two of them? There's no way we can win this! We're fucking dead! RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU UUUUUUUUUUN!" The surviving soldiers began to run for their lives when a second Shadow Android flew in and used its palm laser blades to make cold cuts out of the defenseless soldiers. Shadow stared dumbfounded as he watched the slaughter. "The doctor sent these to assist me? That's not like him at all...", he thought. But the Androids started walking towards him with their blades drawn and Shadow knew they wanted him dead too. Things just got a hell of a lot more complicated.

Phase 4: The Struggle

Shadow began fighting the androids, but he knew something was off. These androids were faster and more powerful than the ones he fought before. During the alien invasion incident, he had numerous conflicts with Eggman in which he destroyed the Androids with relative ease. But these two were different. "New models?",Shadow thought. But he didn't have any time to think because these fuckers were out for blood. One Android was charging at Shadow swinging at him with its laser blades and the other was firing beams at him from a distance. The Android with the blades was in a frenzy, aiming right for Shadow's neck. He would have sliced off Shadow's head if he hadn't moved out of the way just in time. The second fired a laser at him, and Shadow deflected it with his Chaos Reflector, but the android was still fast enough to dodge. "Nearly perfect teamwork, impressive speed and strength, and they know how to hit all the vital spots... Even I'm having trouble keeping up with them. I better get rid of them quick or I don't think I'll get out of here in one piece." The Androids were closing in on him. They jumped at Shadow with their palm laser blades activated at maximum power, which made them about the length of their bodies. Shadow grinned. "CHAOS... BLAST!" Shadow unleashed a burst of energy that sent the Androids flying. He thought he got rid of them too, but they got up and started walking even though they were heavily damaged. "What the fuck? What'll it take to kill you ?" Shadow yelled.

A voice in the distance said "Stop." The androids stopped their attack and just stood looking at Shadow as a third Android descended from the sky. "Goddammit! What the fuck is up with these things?" Shadow yelled angrily. Something felt off about this Android. Shadow could feel an aura of cold darkness around it. But it didn't look any different from the others, besides having a minigun mounted on his right arm. "We meet again Shadow", said the third Android. "Who the fuck are you?" Shadow asked. "Hehehe..." the android smiled menacingly. "I guess I'll tell you then." He deactivated what seemed to be a cloaking device and showed his true colors: Red with black stripes, like Shadow's colors only in reverse. "I am Metal Shadow", said the clone menacingly. "Metal Shadow?" Shadow was absolutely dumbfounded. "Allow me to test your strength." said Metal Shadow as he lunged toward him.

Phase 5: The Strongest Copy

Metal Shadow was much stronger than the other two androids. For the first time in his life, Shadow was getting his ass handed to him. Metal Shadow's Hyper Thrusters made him fast enough to dodge all of Shadow's attacks and retaliate with frightening accuracy. He pounded Shadow with a flurry of blows and slammed him against the pavement. "Is that all?", taunted the android. "You don't know the half of it!",growled Shadow as he pulled a stop sign out of the ground and slammed it over Metal Shadow's head, but the sign was the only thing that broke. He didn't have a scratch on him. Metal Shadow just sighed, disappointed, and kicked Shadow into the side of a building. He began flying toward Shadow, ready to attack when Shadow used his Chaos Blast. Metal Shadow just shook his head and silently said "Chaos Blast..." He sent a huge wave of jet black energy toward Shadow, wiping out his red Chaos Blast and sending the hedgehog careening into a glass and ceramic pottery shop. Metal Shadow slowly walked into the ruined shop in pursuit of Shadow. "Is this the true extent of your power...? Disappointing indeed." said the android as he picked up Shadow by the neck. Shadow had cut himself on the glass and was bleeding. "Shall we end this?" said Metal Shadow as he picked up Shadow and flew into the air holding him. "You two", he called the damaged androids over. "Slice him to pieces." said Metal Shadow as he lifted Shadow in the air. The androids flew toward Shadow, blades ready. Shadow nearly gave up hope when suddenly Sonic and Tails appeared just in time, spin dashing into the androids and knocking their heads off. Metal Shadow flew back and dropped Shadow, but Tails caught him and brought him down to the ground gently. Shadow was amazed. "S-Sonic?" he asked? "Yup, it's me.", Sonic said. "Long time no see!"

Phase 6: Friends in High Places

Shadow was battered, bloody, and drunk off his ass, but you can't keep the Ultimate Life-form down for long. Sonic and Tails were backing him up, so now it was three against one. Shadow was curious however. "Sonic, how did you defeat those androids so easily?" he asked. "Well it was easy. The head is their weak point. Remove their heads, and they're just heaps of scrap metal!" Sonic said. "It worked on the four we fought before we found you, too, so I guess that's a pretty good game plan, dontcha think?" Shadow nodded. Metal Shadow just laughed. "That trick won't work on me; I'm much more carefully constructed than those androids. They're like children's toys compared to me." Sonic walked toward Metal Shadow. "I don't know who you are or where you came from but I can't just let you do as you please with this city. We're taking you down here and now!" "Hehehe..." Metal Shadow laughed. "I'd love to erase you from existence now, but my plans won't allow me to stay here any longer. Plus, the military has already entered the city with reinforcements and I've just reached my kill quota for this operation. "Au revoir," said the android as he flew away from the city at mach speed. "We'll meet again soon enough."
Shadow wanted to chase after that bastard and tear him apart, but the army had just closed in on them and they were surrounded. "Surrender now or we will use excessive deadly force." , a voice said over the intercom. "This is your first and only warning." Shadow grunted under his breath "Damn, how are we supposed to get out of this one?" Tails wasn't worried in the slightest. "Don't worry", the fox said. "I came prepared." He pulled a radio control device out of his backpack and pressed the red button in the middle. Suddenly a yellow and gray jet flew in overhead. "This is my new high-speed stealth jet, the X Divider!" said Tails proudly. "Get in and let's get out of here." Tails, Shadow and Sonic jumped into the jet and got ready to escape, but the army wasn't going to let them. "Open fire!" said a general. The tanks fired, but the jet was too fast and they missed. "You guys better cover your ears", Tails warned Sonic and Shadow. "Why do we need to do that?" Shadow asked. "This is why!" yelled Tails as he flipped a switch and a high-pitched, grating wail echoed around the area. "What the fuck is your problem, kid?" asked Shadow angrily. Tails didn't have time to answer as he activated the cloaking device and they flew away from the city unseen at top speed. "Damn it", said a general as he slammed his fist on the control panel of his tank. "We have to track them down! After them!" "B-But… they aren't even showing up on radar!" said one soldier. The general was dumbfounded. Shadow escaped from their grasp yet again.

Phase 7: A Reluctant Alliance

"Okay, you can stop covering your ears now." said Tails as he flipped the switch to the off position. "What was that about, Tails?" asked Sonic. "It was a radar jamming signal", Tails said. "No one can track us when it's activated, but it's pretty annoying to have it buzzing in your ears." "Thanks…" said Shadow reluctantly. "No problem, Shadow! We never leave a friend behind." replied Sonic. "Since you guys saved me, you're basically enemies of the government now. Where do you plan to hide out?" But Tails seemed to be prepared for everything. " Don't worry, I have a secret hideout on a deserted island. I'll take you there and we can talk some more." They entered the secret hideout and began planning their next move. "Why are those androids attacking the city, Shadow?" "I don't know" , said Shadow. "But it seems like they're trying to frame me for the killings and turn everyone against me, just like a year ago. If that's the case, I'll just have to take on the androids and the Doctor myself. This approach will minimize casualties as well." Sonic stood up and pointed at Shadow. "You can't do that by yourself. You might have saved the world once, but this time you're up against an even more dangerous enemy! Now you need your friends to back you up!" Shadow was pissed. "You're just not getting it, dammit! Unless you're prepared to kill when the situation calls for it, then you're nothing more than dead weight in a combat situation." Sonic was disappointed in Shadow. He tried to convince him otherwise "Killing isn't the answer, Shadow. You can't just solve all your problems with a gun and a few rounds. You gotta negotiate with your enemies to solve conflicts. If you keep killing soldiers, then you'll never be anything more than a common criminal." Shadow laughed sarcastically and pointed at Sonic. "Look at this stupid fuck. He actually thinks you can avoid conflict with armed soldiers by 'negotiating'. What a fucking joke." Tails agreed with Sonic. "He's right Shadow. If you keep killing people, then even more will come looking for revenge. It's a vicious cycle of death, pain and despair!" Shadow was pissed. "Dammit! You guys are fucking useless. I'm outta here. I'm gonna… uhhhh…" Shadow collapsed on the floor before he could finish his sentence. Sonic jumped up out of his seat and rushed to Shadow's side. "Shadow! Answer me! Wake up, Shadow!" Sonic yelled for Shadow to wake up, but his cries fell on deaf ears.

Phase 8: Lucky Break

Shadow woke up the next day with one hell of a hangover. He went to the bathroom to throw up and when he walked out he saw Tails waiting for him. "Good morning, Shadow." He offered Shadow a towel and some orange juice. Shadow didn't accept either of them and just asked "Where's Sonic?" Tails shook his head. "He's not here. He went ahead to Angel Island to tell Knuckles and Rouge about the situation and see if they can help. You're not in any condition to go after him, so just stay here for now. Besides, I'm currently analyzing the hard drive I picked up from one of the androids yesterday." Shadow grumbled. "Fine", he said under his breath. Shadow walked into the lounge and turned on the TV. The news was on and the headline was "Black Hedgehog Strikes Again." Already people knew about the events of yesterday. Pictures and clips showing the total devastation were shown and Shadow was convinced everyone thought he was the culprit. The 6 Shadow Androids who attacked Central City had organized their attack so that only one of them was in a single area at a time, and when there were two or more androids in a single place, like the battle against the army, they made sure to leave no survivors.

Shadow knew that the odds of clearing his name would be less than zero if these attacks continued. This was one sticky situation. Suddenly a breaking news report came on and showed what looked to be Metal Shadow fighting Eggman's robots near an abandoned town. Residents of the adjacent city were advised to evacuate in order to avoid heavy casualties. "What? This doesn't make any fucking sense at all!" Shadow yelled. "What happened" shouted Tails from the other room. "It's Metal Shadow and he's attacking Eggman's robots!" replied Shadow. "No way!" Tails was shocked. Shadow began getting ready to leave. "No, Shadow", shouted Tails. "You still havent recovered yet!" Shadow wasn't listening. "This is my only chance to get some answers about Metal Shadow. I have to go". Tails reluctantly agreed "Fine, but I'm coming too. The analysis is finished and I want to see exactly what Metal Shadow's specs are." Shadow nodded in agreement and the two headed out.

Phase 9: Robot vs. Robot

Tails flew his X-Divider near the battle site and turned on the stealth cloaking after they got out, to make sure no one stole it or used it to track them down. In the distance they saw Metal Shadow, tearing through a battalion of Eggman's robots. Shadow and Tails got closer to the battle and were able to see the destruction firsthand. Metal Shadow seemed to have received an upgrade. He had two compact machine guns mounted on both arms and two laser cannons on his backpack. Eggman's outdated robots were no competition; they were reduced to scrap within minutes by Metal Shadow's impressive arsenal. Even Eggman himself in his upgraded Death Egg Robot was being pushed back and was forced to take a defensive position. Shadow ran in and attempted to attack Metal Shadow from behind. He kicked the android and sent him crashing into a building. Shadow was surprised that his attack connected, since Metal Shadow was incredibly fast the last time they fought. "It must be those new weapons he's equipped with. He probably weighs twice as much as he did last time."

Tails pulled out his Electro Pulse Blaster from his bag. "Shadow, you take point. I'll support you with covering fire!" Shadow nodded. Eggman relayed his orders to his remaining robots. "Don't attack Shadow and Tails. Focus your fire on the android! I know exactly what to do." Metal Shadow burst out of the ruined building, guns blazing. He mowed down about a dozen robots but when Shadow started attacking, he set his sights on him instead. He locked on and fired a volley of bullets toward Shadow while hovering through the air, but Shadow was too fast to actually hit. Shadow hit the android with a combination of lightning fast punches and kicks, ending with an axe kick that slammed Metal Shadow into the ground. Although Metal Shadow had a variety of long range weapons, with his current upgrade, he couldn't fight effectively at close range. He flew into the air at Shadow, but the lasers fired by Eggman's robots forced him to move out of the way. When Metal Shadow jumped back, he was hit in the back by a charge shot from Tails's Electro Pulse Blaster, visibly damaging him and causing him to him fall to the ground.

Tails thought it was over, but Metal Shadow stood up, readied his guns and laser cannons, and said in a cold, robotic voice: "Full Burst." The android unloaded what seemed to be all of his ammo in one destructive assault. Bullets were flying everywhere, lasers vaporized cars and street fixtures, and entire buildings crumbled into dust. "Holy shit" said Shadow as he stared wide-eyed at the horrific spectacle of destruction. Once his attack ended, Eggman's entire squad of robots was reduced to spare parts and the whole city was leveled. If there were people inside any of the buildings, they probably weren't doing so hot right now. Eggman took cover but even his Death Egg Robot was badly damaged and missing one arm. However Metal Shadow stopped briefly as steam billowed out of his metal frame. He seemed to have overheated, and Eggman knew this was the perfect time to strike. "RETURN TO DUST!", he yelled as he fired an anti-tank missile from his personal robot's arm and decimated Metal Shadow in spectacular fashion. Once the smoke cleared, Eggman had abandoned his robot and exited the area.

Phase 10: Searching for Answers

Something just wasn't right. It seemed unlikely that the killing machine Shadow had faced yesterday would go down this easily. And what reason would Metal Shadow have for turning against the doctor? Nothing about this situation made a bit of fucking sense. Tails was over by the android's damaged head, which seemed to be the only part of its body that wasn't obliterated by the missile. It seemed as if his analysis was complete. "What have you found out?" Shadow asked. Tails frowned. "Well I have some bad news. For one, this isn't the real Metal Shadow." Shadow gritted his teeth in frustration. "The results of my analysis have determined that this android is structurally similar to the ones from before. The model number is SA-02HW(C) and it's a Shadow Android Heavy Weapons type. Judging from the sloppy nature of its attacks and that one glaring design flaw, it seems it's also a prototype. But enough of this, we need to ask the doctor what's going on." Tails and Shadow walked into the abandoned town in search of Eggman. But there was nothing to be found at all. Nothing but cold loneliness. From the looks of things, the town hadn't been inhabited by anyone in 5 years. Shadow was about to give up and go home when Tails spotted one of Eggman's robots carrying a steel support beam. "Quick, follow him!" whispered Tails to Shadow. "But make sure they don't spot you." The duo followed behind stealthily until the robots led them to a meat processing plant.

Phase 11: Slaughterhouse

Tails and Shadow entered the plant and tried to find a light switch somewhere since it was pitch-black inside. "What's that smell?" Shadow asked. "Well this is a meat processing plant, so that's probably raw meat you're smelling.", Tails explained. Shadow could see something that looked like a conveyor belt but he couldn't make it out in the darkness. "Found it!" Tails said as he flipped the light switch. Suddenly the truth was revealed. There were robots being transported on the conveyor belt along with the meat. "The hell is going on in here?" Shadow asked. "I'm glad you asked", replied Dr. Eggman watching from the other side of the room standing next to a sinister-looking robot. "I'm using this factory and the spare parts from the abandoned town to build my robots cheaply and easily. And it seemed like such a nice plan, until you little bastards found this place. But I'm sure I can take care of that quite easily." Eggman jumped into the cockpit of his robot, the Egg Butcher. It was a massive, heavily armored robot with shoulder mounted turrets, huge knives in each hand, saws on its feet, and a maniacal grin worthy of a psychotic serial killer. It also had a chef's hat on its head and an apron over its body, which was a pretty nice touch. "Prepare to meat your doom, Shadow!" said the doctor menacingly. He swung the massive knife at Shadow, but Shadow was able to dodge it. "Tails, how should we deal with this one?" Shadow asked. "I don't know but it looks insanely dangerous! I wouldn't recommend going up against it at close range…" Tails was shuddering with fear as he tried to aim at the Egg Butcher from a distance. He shot, but he missed. Shadow was dodging the knives and running away to higher ground so he could attack from above. "Oh no you don't!" yelled the doctor as he activated the turrets. Shadow ran as fast as he could in order to evade the shots. Eggman just kept firing. "You meddlesome pest! Once I'm done with you, you'll be filled with more holes than a block of swiss cheese!" Shadow grabbed a large slab of meat and used it for cover. He also took a robot's laser from the conveyor belt and started firing. However, he wasn't aiming at Eggman. He was aiming at various fixtures on the ceiling in order to make them fall on top of the robot. Eggman noticed this. "How dare you destroy my facility!" The doctor yelled. He shot at the stairs Shadow was running on and he fell through onto the ground in front of the robot. But just as he did that, a downed robot Shadow shot at fell from the ceiling, and slammed into the Egg Butcher's face, breaking its left eye. Eggman's peripheral vision was now halved. "I'll grind you into paste!" said the doctor angrily as the Egg Butcher stomped on the ground, nearly crushing Shadow. Shadow rolled out of the way, but the circular saw on the robot's foot slashed into his back. However, that distraction provided the perfect cover for Tails to fire a charge shot and blow out the turret on the robot's right arm. "Grrrr… I nearly forgot about you. Take this!" said Eggman as he launched the mech's foot mounted saw blade directly at Tails. Tails just barely dodged in time. If he had been a second slower, both his tails would have been sawed off. Eggman decided to close the gap and activated high speed mode, flying toward Tails and frantically swinging the robot's huge knives. Tails was able to dodge but he hit a conveyor belt and fell to the floor. Eggman had him in his sights. "Any last words before I make cold cuts out of you?" asked Eggman menacingly. Tails tried to fire his Electro Pulse Blaster but the it needed time to charge so he couldn't fire it now. "I'll take that as a no, then." Eggman raised the robot's right arm and got ready to strike. Shadow looked for anything close to him that he could use as a weapon, but all he found was a crowbar lying next to him. Thinking on his feet, Shadow threw the crowbar into the robot's right shoulder joint and it stuck in nicely. "NOW DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Eggman shouted maniacally, as he swung the robot's massive knife down, but the crowbar caused the right arm to jam in place and he stopped in his tracks. "Damn you, Shadow! I'll skin you alive!" Eggman shouted angrily. He turned around and fired the second foot mounted circular saw blade but Shadow dodged using his superior speed. Tails's blaster had charged and it had enough energy for one last shot. He fired it at the hand on Egg Butcher's working arm, causing it to break and drop the knife. "Shadow, now!" Tails yelled. Shadow ran towards the Egg Butcher and spin dashed into it's head, destroying it. Sparks were flying everywhere as the robot exploded. Eggman ejected from the cockpit and escaped into a nearby junkyard.

Phase 12: Unexpected Surprise.

"Wait! We still have questions to ask you!", Tails shouted after Dr. Eggman." But Eggman paid no heed and flew off in his cruiser. "Leave him be", Shadow told Tails. "We lost the Doctor, but we gained something equally important." Shadow picked up the Chaos Emerald from the Egg Butcher's wreckage. "A Chaos Emerald, huh?" Tails just received a call from Sonic. "Sonic says he has Knuckles and he's back at the hideout. Lets go meet up with them. Tails and Shadow flew back to the hideout with their jet and they met with Sonic and Knuckles. When they got there, sonic was playing the PS3 and Knuckles was eating. "Guys this is no time for playing around!", Tails yelled. "We've found a Chaos Emerald!" "Good job Tails, Shadow." Sonic said. "We would have been there to back you up, but Knuckles just had to go get that Philly cheesesteak…" Knuckles was angry. "Fuck you, Sonic. Philly cheesteaks are way better then chili dogs.", Knuckles said with food in his mouth. He was about to start on his second Philly cheesesteak but Shadow stopped him. "We need to get our asses in gear. I have a Chaos Emerald but no leads. That means we have some detective work to do.", Shadow said. Knuckles was confused. "You mean…" Shadow nodded. "Yeah. We should get in touch with the Chaotix." "Okay then, it's settled", said Knuckles. "Lets go back to Angel Island since it's like half of the way to the Chaotix Headquarters. We'll meet up with Rouge." Shadow was confused. "Why are you hanging out with Rouge." "Why not?" asked Knuckles. "Because she'll steal your shit." Shadow replied. "If I were you, I'd keep all your valuables locked up tight." "Knuckles just laughed. "I don't even have to worry about that. The army came and installed a state-of-the-art security system on Angel Island to protect the Master Emerald. Not even Rouge could break in there if she wanted to. As a matter of fact, I hardly even have to worry about my job anymore. Most of these days I'm just sparring with security robots and playing Street Fighter." Shadow chuckled "Heh… I guess I'll take your word for it." Sonic, Shadow, Tails and Knuckles flew to Angel Island. They reached the entrance and saw Rouge waiting for them. Sonic asked her, "What's up Rouge?" Rouge said "The Master Emerald was stolen." Knuckles dropped his Philly cheesesteak and stared at her in shock.

Phase 13: Phantom Thief

Knuckles grabbed Rouge by the neck and started choking her. "How is that even possible? Don't tell me you're behind this!" Sonic stopped Knuckles. "Don't do anything drastic, Knuckles. I'm sure she can explain." Knuckles let Rouge go, but Rouge was pretty pissed off. "Don't put your hands on me you bastard." she said as she dusted herself off. "I was watching the Emerald but I had to go to the bathroom. When I came back, it was just gone…" Knuckles was even angrier now. "What do you mean it was just gone? What kind of stupid motherfucker do you think I am?" Rouge just laughed. "Well maybe if you did your job instead of lounging around playing Dead or Alive Beach Volleyball, then things like this wouldn't happen." Knuckles's face turned red. "I told you not to tell anyone about that…" he said, visibly embarrassed. Everyone else was laughing, except Shadow because he recognized the seriousness of the situation. "Shut up, you idiots." , Shadow interjected. "Knuckles, you said that you had a security system recently installed. Let's check the security cameras for evidence." Knuckles and the others went into the room with the security control panel and he checked the recordings. "That's weird", Knuckles said, puzzled. "I don't see anyone here. None of the switches were flipped and no doors were breached. I don't know how anyone could have just waltzed in here and stolen the Master Emerald undetected. " But Shadow saw something on the screen displaying the Master Emerald's chamber "What the hell? Look, some kind of portal is opening up!" Everyone looked at the recording and saw a strange portal opening up in the Master Emerald's chamber and something was coming out. They saw the true culprit … Metal Shadow. Shadow's jaw dropped. "No way…" Metal Shadow and a group of Shadow Androids appeared out of the portal and quickly carried the Master Emerald into it with them, carefully avoiding tripping any alarms, and disappeared into some unknown location. Knuckles punched the wall in anger. "This is insane. He just warped in here in broad daylight, at the exact moment when no one was watching and stole it within a few minutes. I can't believe this actually happened!" Tails was amazed. "It's like he knew exactly when to strike.", he said. Shadow knew what to do. "Guys, listen. We need to find Eggman. He's the only person who could have access to this kind of tech." Knuckles agreed. "Once I find that bastard, I'm going to beat his ass into the next millennium!" Knuckles said, clenching his fists. "Then it's settled, said Tails. "We'll go back to that junkyard Eggman escaped to. I don't think he could have gone far. Come on, guys!" They agreed, and Knuckles, Sonic, Tails, and Shadow hopped into the X-Divider, with Rouge staying behind to watch over the place. Shadow couldn't shake the feeling that something sinister was about to happen…