Greetings, prospective readers, and welcome to my very first Sonic the Hedgehog project. Admittedly, this one has been one that I've been toying with for quite some time, and now, at last, it is ready to be unleashed! Well, to time to sit about babbling, let us begin!

Prologue: Enlisted

On a forest road somewhere, a motorcycle raced past countless trees, cars, and other vehicles. Riding the motorcycle was a what looked to be an jet-black anthropomorphic hedgehog with crimson highlights in his quills. He wore a pair of black leather gloves, red and white Hover Shoes, black pants with a black leather belt, a white shirt, and a black and red leather overcoat. His name was Shadow the Hedgehog and he was the Ultimate Life Form, originally created to cure a rare disease known as NIDS, but later converted into a secret military weapons project designed to create the ultimate supersoldier… before the project was terminated, along with everyone involved in it. Among those who were killed was someone Shadow once felt close to: a girl named Maria Robotnik, the granddaughter of his creator, Gerald Robotnik, who had been shot right in front of Shadow, the memory of which was the only truly clear one in Shadow's mind.

Shadow continued his journey to who-knew-where, thinking back to the events of two weeks ago. He had only stopped in Westopolis for a drink and to maybe see what this whole "Fire In The Sky" festival, which apparently revolved around a special black comet that only passed Mobius every half century, was all about.

But, he ended up getting more than he bargained for when the sky opened up and thousands of black and red aliens started dropping down from it. At the time he didn't see how they could concern him but then… he showed up. The leader of the Black Arms, Black Doom. His… father.

Black Doom had wanted Shadow to find the seven Chaos Emeralds and deliver them to him. Shadow smirked as he thought of this detail. Was there ever going to be a global threat that didn't involve the Chaos Emeralds in some way, shape, or form? Meanwhile, Sonic and his gang were fighting off the Black Arms alongside the Guardian Units of Nations, or GUN for short. Unfortunately, they hadn't done a very good job. GUN's mainframe had been sabotaged, and many innocents had been killed by the Black Arms, especially in Westopolis, where the defense system had been knocked out.

Despite his want to keep out of things such as this, he tagged along because of one thing. Black Doom promised to tell Shadow his past, and to help him regain the memories that he'd lost after he fell from the Space Colony ARK. But, what he discovered haunts him to this very day. As it was revealed to him, Shadow was a genetically altered clone of Black Doom himself, and on top of that, the alien used him only so that he could take over the planet. He still couldn't believe his luck when Professor Gerald Robotnik's last message broke through and told him the true purpose of the Eclipse Cannon, a weapon that could destroy half the world and had left a massive hole in the moon several months ago. It was made just for the purpose of destroying the spaceship that Black Doom was on and ending the threat of the Black Arms. Shadow had harnessed the power of the Chaos Emeralds and faced his father, who had transformed into the monstrous Devil Doom. Shadow killed his father, and brought the Black Comet back into space, where Team Chaotix used the power of the Eclipse Cannon to destroy it, ending the threat of the Black Arms once and for all.

While the world was rebuilding following the invasion, Shadow had taken his leave of Westopolis and had set out to find his own place within it. Two weeks in, Shadow had entered a whole new territory far from Westopolis or Sonic and his pals. As the hedgehog rode on, he began to hear something... the grinding and clunking of a GUN Battle Mech.

Shadow frowned as he approached what was unmistakably a GUN roadblock, swarming with mechs, Beetle Drones, and normal foot soldiers. He slowed the bike to a stop, and a female GUN soldier with blonde hair approached him.

"Shadow the Hedgehog?" the soldier, who Shadow now recognized as Topaz, asked.

"Yes?" said Shadow, his voice as cool as ice.

"Commander Towers wants a word with you. We need you to come to headquarters," explained Topaz.

Shadow smirked. He'd been wondering when Towers would come after him. In fact, Shadow was surprised that he'd managed to get by this long, considering the fact that he'd single-handedly stopped an alien invasion when a whole peacekeeping force, the world's greatest heroes, and the single largest and most frequent threat to the world had been trampled.

"I'd been wondering when Towers would send someone after me… I might as well get this over with, then," said Shadow.

Topaz and some of the other soldiers blinked a few times in surprise. They'd all been expecting Shadow to be a bit more resistant to coming with them.

"W-well, then what are we standing around here for?" asked Topaz, leading Shadow to a waiting helicopter.

A Short While Later...

Shadow and his escort were in the Command Center of GUN HQ, where various monitors displayed the reconstruction status of the six cities that the Black Arms had struck. Shadow cast a glance at the monitors, particularly the one showing what he recognized as Westopolis, the epicenter of the Black Arms invasion.

Shadow, Topaz, and their escort stopped at a particular door labeled "Commander A. Towers." Topaz dismissed the escort with a wave of her hand. They saluted, and marched away.

Topaz knocked on the door a couple times. "Come in," said a gruff male voice.

Topaz opened the door. Inside was a middle-aged man with storm-grey hair and heterochromic eyes, sitting at his desk pouring himself a glass of of whiskey. This was Towers, the Commander and leader of the Guardian Units of Nations.

"Sir, I've brought Shadow to you, as ordered, sir," said Topaz.

"Thank you, Topaz. You may go now," said Towers .

"Yes, sir," said Topaz. She snapped a salute, turned on her heel, and left, leaving Shadow alone with the Commander.

"Sit," said Towers, pointing to one of the nearby leather chairs. Shadow walked over to one of the and sat down, gazing intently at Commander Towers, who took a sip of whiskey before he spoke. "I suppose you're wondering why I've had you brought here."

Shadow crossed his arms. "More or less."

"You see, Shadow, after the Black Arms were destroyed, it quickly became obvious to the people of the United Federation and the whole world of Mobius, that not only are we not alone in this universe, but we are laughably out-gunned," explained Towers.

"And that means… what to me?" asked Shadow, who almost sounded bored with this conversation.

"I'll get to that part in a moment. I've been talking to The President, as well several other world leaders, and we've all come to the same conclusion: we either need to step up our Advanced Weapons Programs, or assemble a response team who can fight the battles that we cannot, or both," Towers continued. "We've already begun creating better weapons, but we're still in need of a response team with the skills and courage to use them."

Shadow chuckled and closed his eyes as he leaned his head back. "So, that's why you've brought me here… you want me to be a part of this response team of yours," he said.

"No, Shadow… I want you to lead it."

Shadow chuckled and closed his eyes, a smirk evident on his face. Of course Towers would want him to lead a "response team." It was just like humans to try to ally themselves with anything more powerful than they were, provided it suited their needs. But, even so, Shadow was nonetheless interested.

"What if I say… no?" asked Shadow.

"Then, we'll persuade you," said a female voice from behind Shadow.

Shadow opened his eyes and turned around to see two new individuals standing behind him. One was a female and rather attractive bat with tan skin and white hair wearing a black bodysuit with a pink heart-shaped breastplate, white gloves, and black boots with pink steel toes. The second figure was a large red-and-black robot that looked as though it could handle anything that lived.

"This unit does not believe persuasion will be required, Rouge," said the robot in a deep, smooth voice. Shadow recognized the machine as E-123 Omega, a walking arsenal and the first and so far only Eggman robot ever to defy his creator that didn't get reduced to scrap metal, nor try to take over the world himself.

Shadow chuckled at the sight of them. Such was the mysterious power that Rouge had over him. Getting him to do whatever she wanted instead of what he wanted. Sometimes Shadow wondered if he was in love with her, thus explaining the mysterious influence she had over the Ultimate Life Form.

"So, Shadow, final offer: are you in or out?" asked Towers.

Shadow thought about this for a moment. If he was a GUN agent, he could carry out his promise to Maria, and give the people of Mobius a chance to be happy...

Hold it, Shadow… it was GUN that killed Maria fifty years ago, remember? Wouldn't it be betraying her memory if you joined them? a voice in Shadow's head asked.

Shadow considered this for a moment… it had been a GUN soldier who had shot Maria… but, that had been fifty years ago, and Shadow had decided to put his past, save for his final promise to Maria, behind him forever. He knew who he was: Shadow the Goddamn Hedgehog, the Ultimate Life Form.

"Well, Shadow? We haven't got all day," said Towers.

Shadow looked the Commander dead in the eye and uttered two words that would set his future in motion.

"I'm in."

And thus concludes the opening chapter! If you liked what you saw here, be sure to fav, follow, and review, and I'll see you guys next time for Chapter One, where we get to meet some of the main villains of the story!