Out Of The Darkness

by Shadow 255

ULF:E-255, a clone of a certain black hedgehog, ends up finally meeting Sonic and friends when one of his 'brothers' (ULF:E-359) begins to wreak havoc with the assistance of Eggman.. (uses amixture of Genesis Sonic, SA Sonic, and Sonic Anime OVA styles)

Intro:

It's been at least six months since GUN's Ultimate Lifeform Experiment 255, AKA Shadow, defeated GUN's Ultimate Lifeform Experiment 359, AKA Terios. Shadow now wonders what his meaning really is as he walks down a city street, covered by a green cloak, hoping to not draw attention to himself. Unfortunately, that hope won't last long.

Chapter 1: Reemergence

Shadow walked down the city street, passing store after store, person after person. He was alone, never had anyone to talk to. He wanted to meet people, but he just couldn't bring himself to it. Shadow stopped in front of a store window with TV's sitting on display, and naturally, they were on. The news was on, seemed to be important, but Shadow really couldn't hear it. It just looked important by the picture in the corner of the screen, and the title across the bottom, which read "City Threatened By Madman". Shadow scoffed to himself. He'd seen enough mad men in his life. Eggman, Prof. Isotoma. Those two were enough, especially since Eggman was still alive. At least nothing had happened for the last 6 months, which in an odd way, made things dull. Shadow continued to watch the television, though he couldn't make sense of it, when suddenly, at least a dozen police cars sped by, then around a corner. Shadow watched silently as they drove out of site, then decided to follow them. The black-and-red hedgehogs jet skates flared to life as he took off after the patrol cars. An explosion could be heard through out the city, stopping Shadow. He looked up over the cities buildings, noticing a large trail of smoke...Right where the police were headed.

"What are you gonna do, Shadow?"

He stood there for a moment more, asking hismelf, then took off towards the cause of the explosion. Shadow soon found himself looking at a rather large robot, built in a familiar style.

Shadow: It can't be...

The robot fired off a round of missles from its right arm. The robot stood at least 3 stories high, and took up the street in its width. Shadow could only stare in disbelief, when a familiar voice snapped him out of his trance.

"Move!"

Another explosion went off to Shadow's left. He leaped back, then looked around, trying to locate the owner of the voice. The smoke made it hard to see, though. Then, Shadow spotted it. A blue hedgehog rushing towards the large robot.

Shadow: Sonic?

The large bot fired off another round of missles, which the blue hedgehog dove away from quickly. There was no doubt in Shadow's mind that it was Sonic. Sonic leaped into the air, trying to hit the robot with a homing attack. The robot swung around, though, knocking Sonic away like a fly, and right at Shadow. Shadow didn't have a chance to move as the blue hedgehog landed right on him. Sonic sat up, rubbing his head.

Sonic: Thanks for breaking that fall...

Sonic rubbed his head some more, then looked down at the stranger who broke his fall. Shadow sat up as well, the cloaks hood coming off.

Sonic: Shadow!?

Sonic got up quickly. He thought Shadow had died after the two stopped the ARK from crashing to the planet.

Sonic: But...How'd you...?

Shadow got up slowly.

Shadow: Long story, and no time to explain, right now.

The two looked over at the robot as it stomped towards them.

Shadow: Need a bit of help?

Sonic: I could use it.

The robot fired more missles at the two hedgehogs. They leaped back away from them as they hit the ground, exploding.

Shadow: Who's the suspect?

Sonic: Eggman, obviously.

Shadow looked at the robot a moment more, then noticed something on it's left shoulder.

Shadow: There! We gotta take out that radar, before anything.

Sonic gave a nod, and the two took off in separate directions. Shadow ran to the back of the robot, while Sonic took it on from the front. Shadow got a nasty surprise, however, as the robot fired off a series of bombs from it's back. Shadow leaped over the bombs, landing on his feet, then taking off back around to the front. Sonic leaped off a building, trying to hit the radar on it's shoulder, but had to go the other away as more missles came flying at him. The robot reared its hand back, then tried to smash Shadow. Shadow leaped out of the way, then started running up the robots arm. The robot fired missles at Shadow, but Shadow dodged them, and the missles end up hitting the robots head, instead. Sonic made use of the distraction quickly, leaping off the arm still on the ground, and onto the shoulder. Shadow got another group of missles to miss Sonic, and Sonic leaped across the robots head, and over to the shoulder that had the radar. Sonic hit it with a homing attack, damaging the radar. The robot tried to shake the two hedgehogs off, succeeding to do so with Sonic, but Shadow held on. Shadow leaped over to the left shoulder, nailing the radar with his own homing attack, this time, destroying it. Shadow leaped down, landing next to Sonic. The robot stumbled backwards, then regained it's balance. The head began to open up, Sonic and Shadow looked up at it. The head opened up fully, and a black hedgehog, with an eye patch, and yellow tips on his spikes stood up out of the cockpit.

Shadow: Terios!?

Terios: Surprised to see me, 255?

Sonic looked over at Shadow, confused.

Sonic: You two know each other?

Shadow simply glared at Terios, who looked down at the two, grinning. Shadow spoke hesitantly.

Shadow: He's...my brother...

Terios: That's right! Be proud, 255! Be proud to be the brother of the Ultimate Lifeform!

Shadow: I told you there is no Ultimate Lifeform!

Terios: Denial...pitiful.

Terios grinned as he revealed the silver chaos emerald.

Terios: Father made a promise to Maria, 255, and I vow to keep that promise! A promise of revenge!

Shadow: That wasn't his promise, Terios!

Sonic: Father??

Shadow: Long story...

Shadow looked up at Terios.

Shadow: What are you doing in that machine, anyways!?

Terios: Can't you tell? It's Dr. Robotnik's technology! The good doctor has supplied me with the sufficient technology to take care of you, 255, and anyone who gets in my way!

Terios clutched the emerald tightly, then held his free hand out, facing the two. He fired 2 red energy balls, also known as T-Bombs. Shadow and Sonic each leaped out of the way. Terios kept his hand out, but this time, he noticed someone else.

Terios: Pathetic humans.

Terios fired another T-Bomb at the bystander. Shadow quickly noticed it, and took off at the bystander. He scooped up the bystander, leaping out of the way, just as the T-Bomb hit the ground. Shadow shielded the person with his own body. After the explosion went of, Shadow got to one knee, looking down at the pedestrian, who he could tell was obviously female.

Shadow: Are you alright?

The young girl moved her hands away from her face, then looked up at Shadow.

Young Girl: Th...Thank you...

Shadow went to reply to her, but suddenly, something stopped him mid- breath. The girl...her eyes. She had dark brown hair, but her eyes were blue, and too familiar to Shadow. One name went through his mind. He muttered it to himself.

Shadow: M...Maria...

The young girl looked at Shadow oddly.

Young Girl: No, my name is Sarah, not Maria.

Shadow seemed to snap out of his trance, and just in time. He saw another T- Bomb flying at the two from the corner of his eye, then leaped out of the way. Shadow took Sarah into an alley.

Shadow: Stay here, you'll be safe.

Meanwhile, Sonic dealt with Terios, who was firing a great deal of T-Bombs. Sonic leaped up onto the hand of the robot, then ran up, out running the T- Bombs. Terios fired 2 more right in Sonic's path. The explosions went off and smoke seemed to cover the area. Terios grinned, till he saw a blue ball speed out of the smoke and at him. Terios ducked quickly as Sonic flew at his head, barely dodging the blue hedgehog. Sonic landed in the cockpit next to Terios, but before he could do anything, Terios spun around, kicking Sonic in the back of the head, knocking him to the floor. Shadow made good use of the green emerald he had been carrying with him since he found it, Chaos Controlling up to the cockpit, landing a straight punch in Terios' face. Terios stumbled backwards, not having suspected Shadow to just suddenly appear with Chaos Control. Shadow helped Sonic up, and Terios looked at the two, grinning.

Terios: Consider yourselves lucky this time. But once I collect the Chaos Emeralds, I'll be unstoppable!

Terios clutched the silver emerald in his hand.

Terios: Chaos Control!

He disappeared in a white flash of light, leaving Sonic, Shadow, and the robot behind. The robot began to glow white, then was suddenly teleported out from underneath the two hedgehog's feet. The two fell to the ground below, but were able to land on their feet. Shadow walked over to the alley where he had left Sarah, only to find she wasn't there. Shadow looked around.

Shadow: Where is she?

Sarah: I'm right here..

Shadow turned around, seeing that Sarah was right behind him. Shadow as quite interested in the young girl. She was just as tall as Maria was, but brown hair. She was wearing a blue shirt and blue jeans. But it was her eyes...The same blue eyes as Maria. Sonic walked over to the two, then looked at Shadow.

Sonic: Mind introducing me?

Sonic gave a joking grin.

Sarah: My name is Sarah.

Shadow: Terios tried to blast her with a T-Bomb. I was able to get her out of the way.

Sarah: Um, excuse me...?

Shadow and Sonic looked over at Sarah.

Sarah: What are your names?

Sonic: You mean you don't recognize me?

Sonic had a cocky grin on his face, but Shadow elbowed him in the side.

Shadow: Show off...

Sonic: Sonic The Hedgehog. This is Shadow.

Shadow didn't say anything. If only Sonic knew who he really is. Sonic looked around a bit.

Sonic: So, where you live? I'm sure your parents would be worried about you, especially with giant robots walking around.

Sarah: I doubt it.

Shadow looked up and at Sarah.

Shadow: Huh?

Sarah: My dad left my mom when I was young, and now my mom does nothing. It's a good thing I'm an only child. I have to live off my own paychecks, since my mom got fired from every job.

Sarah sighed, then looked back at Shadow. She noticed he was somewhat staring at her.

Sarah: Why do you keep looking at me like that?

Shadow: It's just...You look like someone I knew...kinda...

Shadow fumbled around with his words. He didn't know what to do, considering his true past, and not what he remembered. Sonic glance up at a clock tower, it was almost 4.

Sonic: Yikes! I gotta get going. I gotta take the train to the Mystic Ruins.

Shadow: Mystic Ruins?

Sonic: Tails Workshop is there.

Sonic started to walk off, then looked back at the two.

Sonic: You could come if you want.

Sonic continued to walk on. Shadow looked back at Sarah before walking away.

Shadow: You...wanna come along?

Sarah didn't say anything for a moment, looking around at the city. She then looked back at Shadow.

Sarah: Well, what are we waiting for?

Sarah smirked, then walked off with Shadow towards the train station.

Chapter 2: ARK; Ruins

The walk to the train station was a short one. Shadow and Sarah followed Sonic, but not closely. It was a silent walk, though. Shadow just couldn't keep his mind off of how Sarah reminded him greatly of Maria. The three soon entered the train station, and just in time, as the train was just about to leave. Sonic went towards the boarding area, but Sarah spoke up.

Sarah: Aren't you going to pay for your ticket?

Sonic: Huh?

Sarah: Even a world-renowned hero has to pay for a train ticket.

Sonic: Oh..

Sonic chuckled nervously.

Sonic: I don't exactly carry money..

Sarah: Don't worry...I'll get it..

Sarah walked over to the ticket counter and pulled a wallet from her back pocket.

Sarah: Three tickets to Mystic Ruins, please..

Sarah handed the worker at the counter a credit card. The worker did the usual bit of scanning the card, then handed the card back to Sarah along with 3 tickets. Sarah walked back over to the two hedgehogs, handing them each a ticket.

Sarah: Now we can get on.

Sonic and Shadow took their tickets, then the three headed over to the train boarding. In a short bit of time, they were on the train, and on their way to the Mystic Ruins. Sonic got bored quickly.

Sonic: I'd rather run.

Shadow: Try running over a large body of water.

Sonic: Good point.

Sarah soon fell asleep, mainly because of the long train ride. Shadow took off the green cloak he was wearing and layed it over her. Shadow sighed, then looked over at Sonic, who was seated on the other side.

Shadow: There's some stuff you should know, Sonic.

Sonic looked at Shadow with a confused look.

Sonic: Like what?

Shadow sighed once more, starting to once again recall events from six months ago.

Shadow: I'm...not really who you think I am...

Sonic: Wha..?

Shadow: I'm just a GUN Creation...An attempt to clone, and better Prof. Robotnik's Ultimate Lifeform experiment.

Sonic had a confused look on his face.

Shadow: Are you wondering why Terios was calling me "255"?

Sonic: Yeah..

Shadow: It's my ID Number...ULF Experiment 255. That's how Terios can be called my "brother". He's 359. When the planet was spared from the ARK, and Shadow seemingly disappeared, GUN found him and began to conduct experiments. Professor Yoshima Isotoma started the ULF Experiments, trying to recreate what Gerald Robotnik did. He failed many times, then, made success with me. At least that's what I've heard. I, for some reason, don't have the memories off what happened at GUN. The last memory I have, which I got from Shadow's DNA and genes, is falling from space, then I remember escaping from GUN. I've always thought I was Shadow.

Shadow sat back and sighed. Sonic really couldn't think of anything to say. Silence ensued as time went by. Within 3 hours, the train reached the Mystic Ruins. Shadow woke up Sarah, and the three headed off the train. The Mystic Ruins was a beautiful sight. One, which Shadow and Sarah had never seen (Though, White Jungle could come close for Shadow, excluding GUN Robots). The area they were in was small compared to the main jungles. There was a bit of a crater where Angel Island had crashed when the Master Emerald first shattered. Sonic lead the way, first going down the wooden ramp way at the train boarding, then heading toward the cliff in which Tails' Workshop is. The three headed up the odd staircase that lead up to Tails' Workshop. Sonic walked up to the door, and didn't even knock, walking right in. Shadow hesitated though. Sonic turned around and motioned for the two to come on in. Sonic spotted Tails immediately, working on the Tornado.

Sonic: Tails?

Tails looked up quickly, only to hit his head on the top wing of the Tornado. Tails rubbed the spot where he hit, then looked at Sonic.

Tails: Take long enough?

Tails climbed down from the Tornado and started towards Sonic. He stopped the moment he noticed Shadow and Sarah.

Tails: Shadow??

Shadow: In a way...

----

Terios walked through a pair of large, metal, sliding doors into a robotics lab. He looked around the dark room, seeing what all was in there. The light suddenly switched on as the doors behind Terios opened. Terios spun around, seeing Dr. Robotnik.

Robotnik: Taking a self-guided tour, Terios?

Terios: You could say that, Doc.

Terios continued to look around. He soon walked back over to Robotnik, holding the silver Chaos Emerald in his hand.

Terios: I have a plan.

Robotnik: What type of a plan?

Terios: First, we need the 7 Chaos Emeralds.

Terios started to walk past Robotnik, then turned and looked back at him.

Terios: I plan on using the Eclipse Cannon.

Robotnik: What!?

Terios: Surprised, Doctor?

Robotnik: But what about the ARK? Is the cannon even operational anymore?

Terios: If not, you can fix it up. If you're worried about another incident such as the ARK plummeting towards the planet, there's no need to worry.

Terios walked on through the halls, Robotnik following him.

Terios: I don't intend on placing the emeralds directly into the console to use the cannon. Instead, I'll use the Chaos Emeralds to achieve my super form, and use my own powers to fire the Eclipse Cannon. I'll need your help, though.

Robotnik: But..

Terios: Hesitating, Doctor?

Robotnik: Last the time the Eclipse Cannon was put to use, the ARK almost crashed to the planet...With me on it.

Terios: What's your worry? The Biolizard is destroyed thanks to father. Prof. Robotniks plan of revenge failed. Besides, you get the earth to yourself. You'll finally achieve an empire.

Robotnik: Even so, there's still one very annoying problem...

Terios stopped at a set of doors, looking back at the doctor, grinning.

Terios: Leave Sonic to me.

Terios walked on through the doors, which closed behind him, leaving Dr. Robotnik there.

----

Shadow leaned against a wall, having told his past to Tails, as well as Sarah hearing it for the first time. He sighed deeply, keeping to himself now. Sonic and Tails talked, while Sarah looked out towards the sea from one of the windows on the upper floor. Shadow finally decided he needed to get out for a bit, not bothering to grab his green cloak. He walked over to the door. Sonic noticed.

Sonic: Hey Shadow, where ya going?

Shadow: I just need to get out. Maybe some fresh air will do me some good.

Shadow headed out the door, and walked out on the runway, towards the end. This mood was no stranger to Shadow. He had experienced it so much, that in a way, it seemed to be his primary mood. He walked out to the very edge of the runway, folding his arms and just looking out over the sea. In an odd way, the sight was soothing to him. Nothing he had ever seen compared to it. At least, things he had seen himself, and not the memories he had from the true Shadow. He let out a long, deep sigh. By now, Sarah had noticed him. She headed downstairs and out the door, not bothering to answer Sonic nor Tails when they asked her what she was doing. Sarah walked quietly up behind Shadow, a cool breeze just beginning to blow. Sarah stood there for a moment, then moved the hair out of her face as she spoke up.

Sarah: Is all that really true? About you being artificially created?

Shadow turned around, seeing Sarah. He gave a slight nod, then looked back out towards the sea, not saying a word. Sarah walked up next to him.

Sarah: Oddly soothing, isn't it?

Shadow didn't say a word.

Sarah: I don't get a chance to see the ocean like this often, but I always do when I can. So tranquil. All my worries seem to go away.

Shadow continued to stand there in silence. He didn't know what he should say.

Sarah: Not one for words, I see.

Shadow gave another nod. He couldn't think of anything to say. Sarah brushed the hair out of her eyes once more, then looked at Shadow directly.

Sarah: Would you mind walking with me? I want to walk around the ruins some, but don't want to do it alone..

Shadow looked back at Sarah, nodding slowly.

Shadow: ..Sure..

Sarah smiled, and the two headed back towards the workshop, passing it, and heading down the stairs to the lower ground. They headed over to the mine cart that lead to the jungle ruins and got in. The ride was relatively short, and quiet. The cart soon came to a stop. Shadow got out first, looking out at the jungle from the cliff. Sarah got out as well, then looked at the ladder.

Shadow: I'll go down first.

Shadow started down the ladder, which was a long one, to say the least. As Shadow got about halfway down, Sarah started down as well. Shadow finally reached the jungle floor and looked up. Sarah reach about 3/4th's of the way down, when she suddenly lost her footing, slipping off the ladder. Without hesitation, Shadow leaped up and caught her, landing softly on the ground.

Shadow: Careful..

Sarah: Thanks..

Shadow put her down. She looked at him, smiling a bit.

Sarah: That's twice..

Shadow: Twice?

Sarah: You've saved my life. Twice.

Shadow: Oh..

Sarah: Oh, come on. Lighten up some.

Sarah smiled again, and the two headed off into the jungle. The large jungle had MANY paths, which could become quite confusing at times. Shadow and Sarah soon found themselves looking up at the Ancient Echidna Temple.

Sarah: Wow! Isn't that amazing? You'd never see anything like that in the city.

Shadow: Impressive..

After admiring the work of the Ancient Echidna's, the two once again moved on. They soon found themselves looking at a makeshift house, with a large purple cat and a frog sleeping there.

Shadow: Best we don't disturb them.

Shadow led the two to the two back into the forest. They soon came up on a wooden railing that was there to stop people from plummeting to the lower jungle. Shadow looked out upon the vast jungle, which seemed to never end. Trees as far as the eye can see. A river, which seemingly ran forever. Mountains in the distance, breaking the clouds. Shadow sat down, looking out at the jungle some more. Sarah sat down as well, then layed her head on his shoulder. Shadow was a bit surprised at this, but didn't say anything. They sat there for what seemed to be hours, but was only a course of 30 minutes. Shadow and Sarah soon got up and headed back through the jungle. Sarah decided to bring something back up.

Sarah: So, you were really created?

Shadow: Unfortunately, yes. As was my brother, Terios.

Sarah: He's the one who tried to kill me.

Shadow gave a slight nod. As the two walked on, they started a cheery conversation. Nothing important. Just random things to talk about at the time. Shadow, for the first time in a long while, was doing more than just listening and remaining quiet. It was great to have someone to talk to. Yet, Shadow still couldn't get off the fact that she had the same eyes as Maria, but he never mentioned it. Soon, they reached the front of the jungle, climbing up the ladder, then riding in the cart back to the area the workshop was at.

----

Robotnik: How do you plan on getting the emeralds?

Terios: Simple. First, we locate the emeralds that no one has. Quick and simple. No attention drawn to us. The remaining emeralds will probably be in possession of a bank or something. That's where the attention gets drawn. Still, we'll have 6 emeralds that way.

Robotnik: Only six?

Terios: The seventh one is with my brother. He just happens to be tagging along with Sonic. Knowing how Sonic is, he'll probably lead me right to the last emerald.

Terios hadn't said much to Robotnik about how he came to be. He felt that he would tell when things were timed right. Until then, his only concern was the Chaos Emeralds.

Terios: So tell me, Doctor, do you have anyway we could track the Chaos Emeralds location?

Robotnik: I may have something.

Terios: Oh?

Robotnik walked over to a computer and hit a few buttons on the console. A picture of a large craft in the middle of the appeared.

Robotnik: The Egg Carrier.

Terios: How is a ship in the middle of an ocean useful to me?

Robotnik: When the Egg Carrier crashed, I left a one of a kind power tracker there. If you can find it, you may be able to locate the Chaos Emeralds with it.

Terios grinned as he picked up the Chaos Emerald he sat on a table earlier.

Terios: I expect to see you next on the ARK, Doctor.

Terios clutched the emerald tightly, using Chaos Control to disappear in a flash of light. Robotnik hit a few more buttons on the console, a platform to his side coming to life with light.

Robotnik: Back to the ARK, I see.

Chapter 3: The Search Begins

Terios appeared on the main deck of the Egg Carrier. He looked around for a moment. The whole vessel was completely surrounded by water, and half of it was under the ocean. Terios headed to the control room. He wanted to waste no time in finding the power tracker. Instead of making his way to the control room, Terios ended up in the room in which E-101 Beta was remodeled. Terios put a small device on his ear. Robotnik gave him it for means of communication.

Terios: Doctor?

Robotnik: What is it, Terios?

Terios: Where am I supposed to be looking?

Robotnik: There's a core room right below you. Should be there. You can...

Terios leap into the air, curling into a ball, and slamming back down into the floor, going right through it.

Robotnik: ...Take...the elevator...

Terios: No need.

Terios chuckled and looked around. There was a power core with tons of objects scattered around.

Terios: They must have come off the core when the ship crashed.

Terios rummaged through the objects, soon finding a small radar like device. He picked it up and flicked on a switch. The radar started beeping loudly and the was a blinking light right next to the center. Terios held the Chaos Emerald in his hand, moving it around, and the blinking light followed.

Terios: This is it.

Terios switched on the comlink on his ear.

Terios: Doctor, I've found it.

Robotnik: Excellent. Bring it back to the ARK.

Terios: Finally made it up there?

Robotnik: Reluctantly..

Terios grinned and started to walk away, when he suddenly noticed a large device. He walked over to it. It was a large, generator-looking machine with seven slots. 3 near the top, 3 near the bottom, and one right between them, making 7 slots in total. Terios thought for a moment, then placed the Chaos Emerald in the middle slot. The machine flared to life as it lighted up.

Terios: Did you have any machines on the Egg Carrier for the Chaos Emeralds?

Robotnik: I had one to power the Egg Carriers canon, but never used it because I used the emeralds for Chaos. But I thought it was destroyed in the crash.

Terios: It's right here, Doctor. I'm bringing it along too.

Robotnik: Alright.

Terios shut off the comlink, then turned off the machine, but didn't take out the emerald. Terios then placed his hand on the emerald.

Terios: Chaos Control!

Terios and the machine disappeared in a flash of light.

----

After eating, Shadow and Sarah decided to sit out on the runway once more, watching the sunset. For first time since learning of his past, Shadow felt at ease. He was relaxed, peaceful on the inside. It was a type of tranquility that he had never experience, yet somehow remembered from his "father's" (which is what the real Shadow is to him, technically) memories with Maria. As the sky went from a mix of orange and dark pink colors to a dark blue, Shadow found himself holding Sarah as she fell asleep. When the first star began to show, Shadow picked her up (despite her being at least a foot taller than him), then took her back into the workshop.

Shadow: Got somewhere for her to sleep, Tails?

Tails: Upstairs. I there's a spare room.

Sonic: You think? You built the place!

Shadow walked upstairs, carrying Sarah, then looked for the room Tails mentioned, soon finding it. Shadow walked in and layed Sarah down on the bed, then tucked her in. He sat on the side of the bed and looked down at her as she slept peacefully. He just watched her for a few moments, finally smiling, and leaving the room. The moment he did, Sonic called up.

Sonic: Someone's got a new friend!

Sonic made a kissy face, just playing around. Tails scratched the back of his head, then looked up at Shadow. Suddenly, an alarm clock struck Sonic right on the top of the head, knocking him down. The blue hedgehog jumped up quickly, looking up at Shadow.

Sonic: Hey! What was that for!?

Shadow: Must have been a sudden outburst of some of Shadow's feelings.

Shadow grinned and stood up against the wall, folding his arms. Tails scratched his head again.

Tails: Why are you speaking in third person?

Sonic: He means the original Shadow, Tails.

Tails: Oh, right..

Sonic: So, you have Shadow's feelings too?

Shadow gave a slight nod.

Shadow: Seems so. Something to do with Isotoma's gene engineering.

Tails: So you also had his free will when GUN created you.

Shadow: Which is how I got away in the first place.

Tails looked at Sonic.

Tails: Almost like Metal Sonic.

Sonic nodded, then looked up at Shadow.

Sonic: You're not an Eggman Metal, are ya, Shadow?

Sonic chuckled, indicating the fact he was joking. Shadow shook his head.

Shadow: Still have that same sense of humor, Sonic.

Sonic chuckled. Shadow looked outside. The sky was completely dark now.

Shadow: It's amazing how quickly darkness can take away the light.

Sonic: Huh?

Shadow started to remember the original Shadow's fall to earth, then his escape from GUN. Then how happy he seemed to be, till Isotoma and Terios made their ways into his life. At least now, Shadow had some happiness in his life.

----

Robotnik and Terios stood in one of the labs on the ARK, examining Robotniks machine.

Terios: I may have an idea of what I can use this for, Doctor.

Robotnik: Oh?

Terios: As you know, I plan on firing the Eclipse Cannon with my own energy when I go into a super form with the Chaos Emeralds. I was wondering we could use this machine to store the power of the Chaos Emeralds so I can use it to achieve my super form whenever I want.

Robotnik thought for a moment, then gave a nod.

Robotnik: With a bit of tweaking, it's quite possible.

Terios: Excellent.

Robotnik: I'll get to work. You go and find the Chaos Emeralds.

Terios: Will do.

Terios disappeared in his usual flash of light. Robotnik look at the machine and pushes a button on it. The machine started up, then something flew out of it, causing the machine to smoke. Robotnik quickly turned off the machine, then in anger, kicked the machine, only to hurt his foot. He grabbed his foot and hopped up and down, soon jumping on a bolt with his other foot, causing him to slip and fall on his back. Robotnik sat and rubbed his head. The bolt flew into the air, only to hit Robotnik on the head as it came down, knocking him to his back.

Robotnik: Grrr..

Meanwhile, Terios used Chaos Control to get to the city he tried to destroy earlier that day. He looked around, then looked down at power tracker. There was a small blip on the screen. Terios moved forwards a bit, and found himself standing at the entrance to the docks.

Terios: Somewhere across this ocean, eh?

Terios ran into the docks, quickly getting the attention of the workers. Terios ignored their yells to stop, and leaped off one of the boardwalks. The single jets on the bottom of each shoe began to flair to life as he neared the water. Terios was soon racing across the ocean, in the dark of night, towards wherever the first Chaos Emerald.

----

The sun shone bright on Shadow's face as the early morning hours crept along. The black hedgehog woke up slowly, moving the green cloak off of him. He had fallen asleep during the night while gazing at the beautiful night sky. He walked to the edge of the runway and looked out at the ocean and it's sparkling blue water. Shadow suddenly noticed something though.

Shadow: What is that...?

A stream of water seemed to be flying up, and for no reason, as if a ghost was running at full speed across the ocean. As Shadow watched though, the stream of water got closer, and Shadow soon saw a black hedgehog soaring across the ocean waters.

Shadow: Terios..

Terios continued to make his way towards the ruins. He quickly noticed a figure standing on the edge of a cliff. As he got closer, he quickly realized who it was.

Terios: 255..

Terios clutched the emerald tightly, the Chaos Controlled. He seemed to have just left. Shadow looked around the ocean, seeing if he could spot him. There was a sudden flash of light behind him, and Shadow turned around quickly. Terios was in the air, his leg moving back.

Terios: Hello, brother.

Terios swung his foot forward, kicking Shadow right in the chin, and knocking him off the cliffside. Shadow, luckily, was able to grab onto the ledge before falling to the ocean below.

Terios: Still alive? Pity.

Sonic and Tails were suddenly awaken by the bright flash, and looked outside.

Tails: It looks like Shadow. Maybe he was just toying around with Chaos Control.

Sonic: Wait a minute..

Sonic quickly noticed the yellow tips and the split spine on the black hedgehog.

Sonic: That's Terios!

Tails: Who?

Sonic was already out the door. Terios aimed his hand at Shadow, readying a T-Bomb.

Terios: Time to put you to rest.

Sonic: Not so fast, cyclops!

Terios spun around quickly, only to get hit by a blue ball, which was actually Sonic using the spindash. Terios was knocked off the side of the cliff. Sonic got up and quickly helped Shadow back up.

Sonic: You ok?

Shadow: Yeah, I'll be fine.

..Enjoy it while you are...

Terios flew back up above the two hedgehogs thanks to his jet shoes. He took a quick glance at the radar, then looked at the mine cart at the other end of the ruins.

Terios: The emeralds shall be mine!

Terios flew off in the direction of the mine cart, which lead to the Ancient Echidna Ruins.

Shadow: We've gotta stop him!

Shadow and Sonic both got up and took off after Terios, zipping by Tails just as he was walking out the door.

Tails: Wait for me!

Tails took off after the three hedgehogs. Terios got to the mine cart gates, bursting through them and into the tunnel. Sonic followed after, with Shadow and Tails behind him. As they passed the cart, Tails jumped in it. Shadow turned around quickly and yelled at him.

Shadow: There's no time for that, kid!

Tails: But..

Shadow rushed over to him, grabbing him around the wrist, then took off again.

Shadow: Come on!

The three continued after Terios, and Terios sped on ahead of them. Terios soon reached the end of the tunnel, and flew over the forest below. As Sonic, Tails and Shadow got there, they all screeched to a halt. Tails leaped into the air, spinning his tails around, flying into the air. Sonic leaped up, grabbing Tails hands.

Sonic: What about Shadow?

Shadow's jetskates flared to life as he raised himself into the air.

Shadow: We can't let him get away.

The three took off after Terios, who was well ahead of them. Terios soon reached the heart of the jungle, landing at the base of a mountain. He looked up at it.

Terios: The Chaos Emerald should be somewhere on this mountain.

Terios started up the mountain quickly. Sonic, Tails, and Shadow landed at the base of the mountain just as Terios started up it.

Shadow: Looks like we have a bit of a hike, guys.

Chapter 4: Mountain City

Terios sped up the mountain, fully aware that Sonic, Tails, and Shadow were following him. He didn't feel to threatened. He was already half way up the mountain, while the other three were near the bottom still.

Shadow: We'll never catch him at this rate!

Shadow's jetskates flared to life as he shot up the mountain.

Tails: I wish I had a pair of those..

Tails took off, grabbing Sonic by the hand, and heading up after Shadow. Terios looked at the radar.

Terios: What?? This can't be..This is Shadow's emerald. Yet, this emerald seems to be inside the mountain!

Terios quickly examined the mountain, soon noticing a light part of the mountain.

Terios: That's it.

Terios aimed his hand at the mountain, firing a T-Bomb. The bits and pieces of the mountain flew off everywhere. As the smoke cleared, Terios could see a large hole in the mountain.

Terios: In we go.

Terios darted into the mountain, disappearing from their sight.

Tails: Did he just go into the mountain?

Shadow: Seems so..

They flew up to the hole and looked into it.

Tails: Should we follow?

Sonic: We have to.

Shadow went into the hole first, followed by Sonic and Tails. The inside of the mountain, surprisingly, was lit well. Shadow lead the way down. The further they went down, the more and more the inside of the mountain looked like a city.

Sonic: Tails, what is this place?

Tails: I wish I knew.

Shadow landed softly on a ledge that looked down upon the rest of the odd mountain city. Sonic and Tails landed as well. The city looked to be ancient, something from around the time of the Ancient Echidna's it seemed.

Tails: This is incredible.

Sonic: How could a Chaos Emerald get into here?

Shadow: Probably the same way Terios did, only on a less destructive scale.

The three looked around a bit more.

Shadow: We better move. Terios could have the emerald already.

Shadow leaped down, sliding down the slope, which lead to the lower city, followed by Sonic and Tails. When they got to the bottom, the three immediately broke into running, in hopes to catch up with Terios. Shadow skidded around a corner, soon noticing a large hole through a mountain wall.

Shadow: Looks like we know where to go.

As they rushed through the holes, obviously left by Terios, they could feel the temperature rising. Terios rushed deep into the mountain, despite the heat from what could be magma under the surface of the ground he was running on. Terios soon noticed a bright shining object to his left. He dash over to the object, looking at it. He moved some rocks out of the way, and realized what it was. It was the red Chaos Emerald.

Terios: Finally. A second Chaos Emerald to add to the collection.

Terios want to walk back the way he came, when he noticed someone heading his way.

Terios: They've caught up..

Shadow, Sonic, and Tails sped towards Terios. Shadow quickly noticed something in his hand.

Shadow: He's found the Chaos Emerald!

The three skidded to a stop, a few feet from Terios.

Terios: It's too late. I already have the emerald!

Sonic: Not for long, cyclops!

Terios: Funny, hedgehog. We'll see if your jokes can keep you alive. T- Bomb!

Terios aimed his hand behind him, firing three T-Bombs, keeping his eyes on the three. Magma began to rise from the hole created by the T-Bomb blasts. Terios clutched his two emeralds.

Terios: Let's see you joke yourself out of this one!

Terios disappeared in the usual blinding flash. Tails looked over at Sonic.

Tails: What are we going to do? We can't let the magma and burn the jungle!

Sonic: Shadow, do you still have your emerald?

Shadow: No, I left it at the workshop.

Sonic: Oh, great. Now what are we gonna do?

Sonic kicked an old jar in anger. The jar shattered, revealing a bunch of old dusty rings. Sonic picked up one of the rings and dusted it off. The ring was now bright and gold.

Sonic: Well, I'll be...

Tails: That jar was full of rings?

Shadow: Seems so.

Sonic: Shadow, grab some rings. Tails, get out of here!

Shadow: What are we going to do?

Sonic: We're gonna drill a hole to draw the magma out of here, and into the ocean!

Shadow gave a nod, then picked up half the rings, seemingly absorbing them. Sonic did the same with the other half and Tails took off.

Sonic: Ready, Shadow?

Shadow: Ready..

The started to spin dash, then took off at a wall in the direction they came from. They started to carve away the mountain rock, creating a large hole for the lava to go through. The whole was about 10 by 10. Easy to do with the added boost from their rings. Shadow stopped for a moment, looking back as the magma continued to rise.

Shadow: This better work.

Shadow started to dash away at the mountain rock once more, drilling it away quickly. They hole started to become a tunnel, and they drilled away quickly. By the time the magma began to pour into the tunnel, the had already drilled away at least 100 feet of tunnel.

Sonic: Maybe this wasn't such a good idea..

Shadow: It's a bit late now!

The two continued to create the large tunnel. Meanwhile, Tails flew back to his workshop, finding that Sarah was already up.

Sarah: Where's Shadow?

Tails: Um...Well...Him and Sonic had to take care of something. They should be back soon.

Sarah: Oh, ok.

Sarah walked back into the room where she slept. Tails let out a deep breath, then looked back at the door.

Tails: Hurry up, you two..

----

Terios Chaos Controlled onto the ARK, grinning.

Robotnik: Did you get the emerald?

Terios held it up in his left hand.

Terios: Just as planned, Doctor. Though..

Robotnik: What?

Terios: Some common rats DID make an appearance.

Robotnik: You got caught by Sonic, didn't you?

Terios: Caught? No.. I was followed. I believe their sizzling in a pit of magma right now, though.

Robotnik: You mean..

Terios: Sonic and his little pest friends should be no problem for us any longer.

A smile spread across Robotnik's face.

Robotnik: Excellent!

----

Sonic stopped, breathing heavily. Shadow stopped as well, looking at the blue hedgehog.

Shadow: Now what?

Sonic: We aren't getting through this rock too easily.

Shadow: It's a mountain!

Sonic: Yeah, well..

Shadow reached over and thwacked Sonic on the head. He could see thanks to the glow of the magma following them.

Sonic: Hey!

Shadow: You and your plans. Had to be a hero.

Sonic: Why you..

Sonic swung his fist at Shadow, but Shadow ducked and Sonic's hand smashed into the wall. Shadow looked at him, noticing Sonic seemed more surprised than in pain.

Shadow: Something wrong, besides you punching a wall?

Sonic grinned.

Sonic: I think things are about to get easier.

Sonic pulled his hand out of the wall, pulling away some of the wall with him.

Sonic: Grounds getting softer.

Shadow: Then what are we waiting for?

The two started to drill away at the wall again, digging into the soft ground quickly. They further the two went though, the faster the magma flowed forwards.

Sonic: That magma's almost going as fast as we are!

Shadow: Just keep digging!

The two hedgehogs went at their top speeds, digging through the dirt ever so quickly. Suddenly, a burst of light hit them and the both fell downwards, landing on a ledge.

Shadow: What the...

Sonic: We've made it out!

Shadow: But where?

The two looked around, then Sonic suddenly realized something.

Sonic: The magma!!

Sonic looked down off the side of the ledge, seeing the ocean below, then looked back up.

Sonic: Where are we gonna go!?

Shadow: Up!

Sonic: Huh?

Shadow quickly grabbed Sonic's arm, the used his jetskates to lift the two off the ledge and out of the way of the magma as it poured out of the hole, right onto the ledge they were sitting on. Shadow headed up to the cliffside, and the two looked around.

Sonic: There's Tails workshop!

Shadow soon landed near the workshop, letting go of Sonic's arm. Sonic walked slowly over to the workshop, feeling a bit sore, as did Shadow. Sonic opened the door, then fell to the floor. Shadow, not intending to fall, tripped over Sonic, then landed face first on the workshop floor.

Tails: Sonic! Shadow! You made it!

Shadow: Now I think I need a shower..

Shadow coughed, causing dust to fly off of him.

The two soon got cleaned up, and were know sitting in the main workshop area.

Shadow: Obviously, if Terios is out for the emeralds, he plans on destroying something.

Tails: He already has two.

Sonic: So what are we waiting for? Let's get out there and get the other before he can!

Shadow: Too quick to act, Sonic. Terios has something we don't.

Sonic: And what's that? An eye patch?

Shadow: That radar..

Tails started looking through some old parts.

Sonic: What ya looking for, Tails?

Tails pulled out a radar.

Shadow: Is that what I think it is?

Tails: Yep. I built a radar for the purpose of tracking the emeralds. Especially after the Chaos and ARK incidents.

Sonic: Always thinking ahead, aren't ya, Tails?

Shadow looked over at Sonic, giving him a small smirk.

Shadow: Now you can act.

Sonic: Alright! Let's get those emeralds!

Tails: I'll go get the Tornado ready.

Shadow looked up, noticing Sarah.

Sarah: Going somewhere?

Shadow: We've gotta get the emeralds before Terios does.

Sarah suddenly tossed the emerald Shadow had down to him.

Sarah: You'll need that.

Shadow: Thanks.. Maybe you should go to the town, though.

Sarah: I'm sure I'll be fine here. I'll probably got to Station Square if I'm hungry and you haven't got back yet.

The starting of a plane engine could be heard outside.

Sonic: Come on, Shadow!

Shadow: I'll be back as soon as I can.

Sarah: I'll be waiting.

Shadow ran outside, then looked at the runway. The dirt was now a metal runway. Tails was in the cockpit of the plane, and Sonic was standing on the top wing.

Shadow: And where am I supposed to sit?

Tails hit a button in the cockpit, causing a section of the plane right behind Tails to retract, revealing another seat.

Shadow: Oh..

Shadow got into the seat.

Tails: Here we go!

The plane start forward, gaining speed as it headed down the runway, and soon took off into the air, taking to three to wherever the next emerald was.

Chapter 5: Storm Valley

Terios looked at the Chaos Power Converter that Robotnik had fixed up.

Terios: Does it work?

Robotnik: It should.

Terios walked over and placed the red Chaos Emerald into one of the top slots. The machine came to life, storing the Chaos Emeralds energy.

Terios: Excellent, Doctor.

Robotnik: Where's the next emerald?

Terios looked at the radar.

Terios: I see..

Robotnik: What is it?

Terios: There's a stationary emerald here, yet, there's a second one heading in its direction.

Robotnik: Is that..

Terios: No. Sonic is surely fried by now.

Robotnik: Just go and get that emerald..

Terios: I know, I know..

----

Shadow: How much further is it, Tails?

Tails: We should almost be there.

Sonic: Look at those clouds!

There was a large group of storm clouds ahead of them.

Tails: Odd.. That's where the emerald is!

A few moments later, the Tornado was about to enter the clouds.

Tails: Hold on!!

Tails flew the Tornado straight through the storm clouds. It was quick and smooth. As they left the storm clouds, the came upon a small village within a valley.

Sonic: What is this place, Tails?

Tails: It's known as Storm Valley. It got its name from the constant storms that seem to never end, except once a year.

Shadow: Interesting..

Tails: There was a group who tried to inhabit Storm Valley about a year or two ago, but the constant storming made it practically impossible to live in. Before they left, they built that small village and a drain system to keep the storms from flooding the valley like it used to.

Sonic: Pretty large village.

Tails: Large group.

Sonic: Ok, land the plane, Tails. We need to find that emerald.

Tails gave a thumbs up, then headed downwards. He landed the Tornado on a sturdy boardwalk, then three of them got out of the plane. Tails looked at his tracker.

Tails: It seems to be straight ahead of us.

Sonic: Probably in that large building over there.

Tails looked at his radar.

Tails: Yep.

Shadow: No time to stall.

The three took off towards the large structure in the middle of the village. It was a good distance away, as the valley, and the village were fairly large. They soon slowed to a walk, though, as they started to notice the huge heavy storm clouds overhead looking more and more black.

Sonic: Wow...I've never seen anything like it.

Shadow: The low rumble of thunder was misleading.

Sonic: It's probably gonna start pouring soon.

Suddenly, a huge bolt of lightning raced across the sky, accompanied by an incredibly loud roll of thunder.

Tails: Aaah!!

Tails jumped into the air, then clung to Shadow.

Tails: I'm scared of lightning!!

Shadow pulled at Tails, prying him off, then stuck him to Sonic, where he clung.

Shadow: No time to act like a kid, Tails.

Tails: But...but...

Another series of lightning and thunder went off. Tails screamed, then clung to Sonic tighter.

Sonic: Tails! You're...Choking...Me...

Sonic fell over trying to get Tails off his neck. Shadow continued on without the two, when suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck in front of him, completely destroying the boardwalk to the structure they needed to get to. Then the rain began to pour down. It was nothing like Shadow had ever seen. The rain was coming down so hard, it was like hail.

Shadow: There's no way we can put up with this..

Shadow looked around, then quickly went into a small, but sturdy hut, built to withstand the strong rains. Sonic and Tails soon followed.

Sonic: Geeze, that hurts.

Shadow: No wonder it's impossible to live here. With the lightning and the rain, you'd die here.

There was a large crash outside. Shadow looked out the door, seeing that another huge chunk of the boardwalk was gone.

Shadow: Wow..

Sonic: Vicious lightning.

A loud roar was suddenly heard by all three. Sonic and Shadow looked at each other.

Shadow: That didn't sound like lightning..

Shadow walked outside, hoping to get a better look. Another roar, then another part of the boardwalk was gone. Torn away.

Sonic: Uh...oh...

A large, gray head began to rise from the water below the boardwalk, soon becoming visible.

Shadow: What is that...?

Tails got up quickly to see what all the noise was coming from. Just as he got outside, the large beast roared again, scaring Tails. Tails yelled and clung to Sonic again.

Sonic: Ack! Tails!

Shadow: There's another reason no one could live here!

The large beast let out yet another roar.

Shadow: There's no time to hesitate! We gotta get rid of this thing before he completely destroy the boardwalk!

Before anyone had a chance to do anything, the beast's tails came up from under them, destroying the part of the boardwalk they were standing on. Shadow was able to leap away, but Sonic and Tails were knocked off the boardwalk. Shadow rushed to the side of the boardwalk, looking down at the water below, but no signs of Sonic or Tails. Suddenly, something landed right behind Shadow. He turned around quickly, seeing Sonic standing there, whilst Tails hovered in the air.

Sonic: It's a good thing one of us can fly.

The beast let out another roar, as if reminding them that they still have trouble.

Shadow: I'll take care of this..

Tails: By yourself?

Shadow gave a slight nod.

Shadow: You two go and get the Chaos Emerald!

Sonic: Alright, Let's go, Tails!

Sonic and Tails took off down the boardwalk, but Shadow stayed behind, as he said, and looked at the large, gray beast.

Shadow: You should be no problem. I'm a clone of a hedgehog who has dealt with worse!

Shadow recalled the memories of the Biolizard, and how the original Shadow dealt it a swift defeat. Shadow clutched the green emerald in his hand. The beast brought it's tail around, trying to crush him, but Shadow leaped out of the way and onto one of the many huts. He looked out towards the center of the village, seeing Sonic and Tails hurry towards the central structure. The rain began to come down harder, now.

Shadow: Hurry up, you two.

Tails held his hands over his head as he flew after Sonic.

Tails: I'm going to have bruises and welts from this rain!

Sonic: That's why we've gotta hurry. Grab on, Tails!

Sonic held out his hand, and Tails grabbed it. Sonic took off with a burst of speed, rushing forwards. Sonic quickly noticed a more missing boardwalk up ahead.

Sonic: That jumps too wide!

The speeding hedgehog tried to stop, but due to the heavy down pour, it made it impossible to gain enough traction to break.

Sonic: I can't stop!!

Sonic kept trying to stop. Tails started to spin his tails, trying to slow the two down. They did slow down, but not to a stop, and Sonic ended up sliding right off the side, bringing Tails with him. Tails kept spinning his tails, and lifted the two back to the boardwalk.

Tails: I think you better slow down a bit, Sonic.

Meanwhile, Shadow was leaping hut to hut, trying to confuse the large water beast. He quickly succeeded, then ran up to the head of the beast, creating a Chaos Blade. The Chaos Blade was a yellow energy sword that was added to Shadow's abilities when he was created. Shadow tried to stab the beast in the back of its head, but it shook it's head violently, causing Shadow to fall off. Shadow quickly dug the Chaos Blade into the skin of the beast, trying to stay up there. The skin tore a bit, but Shadow was able to make it back onto the head. He looked down at the tear. It was a robot!

Shadow: Who created this thing?

The robotic beast shook its head again, throwing Shadow back down to the boardwalk, which was about a 2-story fall. Shadow landed hard, letting out a small moan of pain, but rolled out of the way quickly as the beast brought it's tail down, trying to crush the black hedgehog. Shadow leaped up to his feet, then looked up at the robot. He held his hand up in the robots direction.

Shadow: Chaos Spe..

Before he could finish, the robot swiped at him with its tail again, knocking him into, and through, one of the many huts. Shadow let out a groan as he got out of the pile that used to be hut.

Shadow: I hate robots.

Sonic slipped and fell on his face. He was trying to get past a section of boardwalk which was broken into small sections. He got up quickly, trying to take off again, but slipped and fell to his back.

Tails: Why not let me fly you over?

Sonic: I thought this would be quicker.

Tails landed next to Sonic and helped him up. A bolt of lightning struck the mountainside near them, causing Tails to cling to Sonic in fright. Sonic fell right over due to the slick boardwalk.

Sonic: Why me..?

Shadow leaped over the robot's tail, then used it to propel him at the head again.

Shadow: Time to take this out.. Chaos Strike!

Shadow's body was surrounded by a yellow glow, then he curled into a ball and sped at the robot's head. The robot turned around, though, opened its mouth, and Shadow went right in. The robot closed its mouth then let out another roar. A moment or two passed in silence, when suddenly, Shadow tore through the top of the robot's head. Shadow landed on the boardwalk, then turned around. The robot swayed back and forth a bit, finally crashing down on the board, destroying the final bit left. Shadow leaped away, then landed on the side of the boardwalk leading towards the large, central structure.

Shadow: Good riddens.

Sonic raced on, though not as fast as earlier. He soon reached the structure, and Tails checked the radar.

Tails: This is it, Sonic!

Sonic slowed to a stop, grabbing a pole to completely stop himself. Tails landed next to him and the two looked at the large, 3-story structure. Tails looked at his radar again.

Tails: But...there seems to be another emerald, now..

Sonic: It's probably just picking up Shadow's emerald.

Tails: I don't know, Sonic.

Suddenly, the wooden structure exploded into pieces, emitting a blinding light. Sonic and Tails shielded themselves, while the explosion caught Shadow's full attention.

Shadow: What in the world?

Sonic moved his hands away from his face.

Sonic: What was that!?

Sonic and Tails suddenly noticed someone floating in the air, tossing a blue Chaos Emerald into the air.

Tails: It's Terios!

Terios grinned and continued to toss the emerald into the air.

Terios: I thought you'd be fried in magma by now, Sonic. Guess I underestimated you..

Sonic: I get that alot.

Terios: Shadow must obviously be alive as well.

Sonic: You can bet your right eye he is!

Terios chuckled and looked over the two, spotting Shadow running, though he looked pretty small from the distance difference. He then looked down at Sonic and Tails.

Terios: There's only 4 emeralds left. All which are soon to be mine!

Terios stopped tossing the emerald, clutching it tightly.

Terios: Farewell, fools!

Terios spun around in the air, then disappeared with a flash.

Sonic: Great...That's three!

Sonic and Tails took off towards the Tornado, which was the direction Shadow was coming from. They soon met up, and Sonic told Shadow what happened.

Shadow: Damn..

Tails: Let's hurry back to the Tornado.

Sonic: What happened to that creature, Shadow?

Shadow: It was a robot. After I took it out, I looked at it for any identifying marks.

Sonic: And..?

Shadow: It was an old GUN robot.

Tails: They must have been the group trying to settle out here..

Shadow: Or the reason they left.

They rushed back to the Tornado, hopping in, then taking off. As they flew out of the storm clouds, Tails looked at his radar, looking for the next emeralds.

Sonic: Where are the next ones, Tails?

Tails: The closest two are in Centrapolis.

Sonic: Where?

Tails: The city Sarah is from.

Sonic: Oh.

Chapter 6: Centrapolis

Robotnik: What do you mean they're still alive!?

Terios: It's no worry. They haven't impeded our plans.

Robotnik: It always seems that way, but just wait. If we don't stop them now, everything's going to come crashing down!

Terios: Easy, Doctor. There's nothing to worry about. Nothing will stand in our way!

Terios walked over to the Chaos Power Converter and put the blue Chaos Emerald in the slot next to the red one (top-middle).

Terios: The next two emeralds are located in Centrapolis.

Terios turned around and looked at Robotnik.

Terios: Maybe you should come along this time, Doctor. You seem a bit bored up here.

Terios chuckled.

Robotnik: You're right. I'm used to being the one who does all the collecting and destroying. Of course, that is, after I eat and get a good night sleep.

Terios folded his arms and shook his head, while Robotnik went to one of the ARK's kitchens.

----

Shadow woke up early that morning. He had fallen asleep during the flight to Centrapolis. He looked around, noticing they were still in the air. He looked up front, noticing that Sonic was asleep on the wing, being held down by some type of contraption, and Tails was asleep at the plane controls.

Shadow: Asleep!?

Shadow shook Tails.

Shadow: Tails!!

Tails woke up with a start and looked around sleepily.

Tails: What is it?

Tails rubbed his eyes as he yawned.

Shadow: You fell asleep at the plane controls.

Tails: Oh, yeah. I set it on autopilot so I could sleep. The flight to Centrapolis is a long one.

Shadow: Oh..

Shadow felt a bit foolish, then layed back in his seat. Soon, a city came into view.

Shadow: Is that Centrapolis?

Tails: Yeah. We'll be landing any minute now.

Tails flew the Tornado down towards the outskirts of the city, soon landing the plane. Sonic woke up with a start, then looked around, removing the contraption holding him down.

Sonic: We there?

Shadow: Seems so..

Shadow hopped out of the plane, while Sonic sat up, yawned, and stretched. Tails shut off the Tornado's engine and got out of the cockpit, looking at the radar.

Sonic: Tails, I think the emeralds would be at the bank.

Tails: But what if they're at the casino?

Sonic: Fine, we'll check the casino.

Shadow: Are you even paying attention to the radar?

Tails gave a nod and pointed at the radar.

Tails: It says the casino.

Shadow: Then we're going to the casino.

The three headed off into the city, their sights set on the casino.

----

Terios and Robotnik stood on the top of a building, looking down on the city.

Robotnik: Seems the next two emeralds are in the bank.

Terios: No doubt that Shadow and his buddies will show up.

Robotnik: No problem there.

Robotnik walked back to his Egg Walker mech and reached inside it. A small computer came out from the cockpit controls, and Robotnik started to punch some buttons on it.

Terios: What are you doing?

Robotnik: Increasing the jamming signal.

Terios: What jamming signal?

Robotnik: I figured Sonic might make an appearance, and knowing full well Tails probably built a radar, I created a jamming signal that flipped locations around. Now I'm making the signal strong enough to completely knock the radar offline.

Terios: I see..

Terios folded his arms and looked down at the city once more.

Terios: They'll never catch it.

----

As the three walked on into the city, Tails start to mess with the radar more.

Sonic: What's wrong?

Tails: The radars stopped working..

Sonic: No worries. We know to check the casino.

The three continued on, but soon found themselves a bit bored (Actually, Sonic was the only bored one). Sonic stopped, then looked at Tails.

Sonic: I'll race ya to the casino, Tails.

Tails: Sure!

Sonic: Go!

The two took off, the casino still a good distance away. Shadow shook his head and continued to walk on. Something caught the corner of Shadow's eye, though. He looked down the street, seeing a familiar black hedgehog walking down the street.

Shadow: Terios..

Shadow walked down the street quickly, then looked around the corner. There was Terios, next to him, Robotnik in the Egg Walker, right in front of the bank.

Shadow: Maybe Tails was wrong..

Shadow watched on as the two converse, but couldn't really hear what they were saying. Suddenly, the two disappeared.

Shadow: Chaos Control..

Shadow walked towards the bank slowly. Meanwhile, inside, Terios and Robotnik started the job.

Terios: Ladies and gentlemen of Centrapolis. The Doctor and I aren't here to rob your banks. All we want is the Chaos Emeralds.

Bank Teller: You'll never get past our security!

Terios: Try me.

Suddenly, some guard bots rushed from doors all over the bank, surrounding the two. Robotnik simply grinned as he quickly spun his mech around, locking on to all the bots, then releasing multiple blasts from the mechs gun. The robot were destroyed instantly. Terios fired a T-Bomb at the vault, blowing it wide open.

Robotnik: Let's go, Terios.

As they two walked into the vault, Shadow hurried to the casino to get Sonic and Tails. He arrived quickly, only to find the two standing there looking at the doors.

Sonic: Shoot, nighttime only.

Shadow: Sonic! Tails!

The two turned around at the calling of their names.

Tails: What is it, Shadow?

Shadow: Robotnik and Terios are at the bank.

Sonic looked at Tails.

Sonic: I told you..

Tails: It's not my fault!

Shadow: Shut up and come on!

Shadow grabbed the two, the used Chaos Control to get them outside the bank, quickly. The three rushed in and looked around. They found people in panic, robots on the floor, and the vault door blasted open.

Bank Teller: Look! It's Sonic!

Sonic: Excuse me, but did a large egg-shaped man and a cycloptic hedgehog came through here?

Everyone pointed at the vault door immediately. The three headed right into the vault doors, in pursuit of Terios and Robotnik. Meanwhile, Terios and Robotnik were disabling security with no effort at all.

Robotnik: This is child's play!

Terios: But the rewards are worth it, Doctor. Soon, we'll have two more beautiful Chaos Emeralds in our possession.

Robotnik bowled right through another group of guard bots, leaving them as scrap metal. Soon, the two found themselves in a large room.

Terios: Is it me, or does this look like a maze of some sort?

Robotnik: At least they're actually trying now.

Robotnik scratched his head as he punched a few keys on the onboard-comp in the mech.

Robotnik: Seems wrong turns have traps.

Terios: I'm sure you've already figured this little puzzle out.

Robotnik: Of course. Let's get through this quickly.

The two headed into the maze, taking a few turns. They stopped a few times, trying to make sure they were going the right way, then finally made it out of the maze.

Robotnik: Simple..

As they moved on, Sonic, Tails, and Shadow made their way to the maze. They skidded to a halt, then looked at the maze entrance.

Sonic: I wonder if those two got past this.

Shadow: Probably. The doctor has his mech with him.

Tails: Who knows how long this could take.

Sonic: No reason in stalling.

The three took off into the maze, quickly making a wrong time, then having water dumped on them. Ice cold water.

Tails: S...Seems this p...p-place has some b...booby traps.

After shaking the water off, they continued into the maze, cautiously, trying not to make any wrong turns. Unfortunately, they made alot, which gave Terios and Robotnik more time to get to the emeralds. The three of them ran into moving statues, large axes, floodwaters, gates, electricity, and knock out gas. Some how, they managed to keep away from all that, yet had quite a way to go. Robotnik and Terios soon found themselves at a fork in the road (which was actually a corridor).

Terios: Which way, Doctor?

Robotnik: Seems at the end of both tunnels is another fork. Four possible paths.

Robotnik examined the map of the paths a bit more.

Robotnik: Aha! We take the left path, then the right at the second fork.

Terios walked on ahead of Robotnik, taking the left path. Robotnik followed after him. Sonic, Tails, and Shadow all came crashing out of the maze exit just as a large rock landed there. The three of them collapsed on the ground, breathing hard.

Tails: We.. made it..

Shadow: Barely..

They laid there for a moment more, then got up slowly.

Shadow: Can't let a maze stop us, now..

Shadow started off, soon followed by Tails and Sonic. The way to go was obvious, has Terios and Robotnik completely destroyed anything opposing them. They soon made it to the fork that Robotnik and Terios had just came to only moments before and skidded to a halt.

Tails: What are we going to do now, Sonic?

Sonic shrugged.

Sonic: It's a fifty-fifty.

Shadow suddenly took off, heading down the left path.

Shadow: Then we won't waste time!

Sonic took off after Shadow, followed by Tails. Soon, Terios and Robotnik found themselves on the wrong side of a pit, with only a row of rings in between the two platforms.

Terios: The emeralds must be on the other side of this.

Robot suddenly tossed a small object into the pit, yet, before it could even disappear out of sight, two huge metal platforms came from the top and the bottom of the bit, smashing the object.

Robotnik: Not even Sonic's speed could get past this. We'll have to use Chaos Control.

Terios: No we won't..

Robotnik: What do you mean we won't?

Terios: You'll see..

Terios walked up to the edge of the platform, standing front of the row of rings.

Robotnik: What!? You'll get crushed!

Terios: Have faith, Doctor.

Terios grinned, then suddenly, in an incredible burst of speed, he sped across the row of rings in a black and yellow blur, never once touching the metal platforms.

Robotnik: Incredible!

Terios: I just happened to have been created with the Light Dash in my DNA, not a shoe enhancement. Now just stay put, and I'll get the emeralds.

Robotnik gave a nod, then Terios blasted through the metal doors and stepped into the room with the emeralds. Robotnik the noticed something on his Egg Walkers mini-radar, and moving incredibly fast towards him.

Robotnik: Great..

Robotnik swung his mech around to face the way he came, then waited a few moments as he watched the radar. Suddenly, Robotnik released a stream of bullets from the two guns mounted the front of the Egg Walker.

Robotnik: Terios! We've got company!!

Robotnik continued firing, when suddenly, he saw something running on the side of the wall. Terios suddenly appeared next to Robotnik VIA Chaos Control, then handed him the purple Chaos Emerald.

Terios: Let's leave them a gift, shall we, Doctor?

Terios reached into the cockpit of the Egg Walker, then pulled out an explosive, then threw it to the ground. Then the two disappeared in a flash of light. Sonic came running out of the dark corridor, sliding to a stop, followed by Shadow and Tails.

Shadow: They got away!

Sonic: Great. They've beat us to every emerald, so far.

Tails: Sonic..?

Sonic: What is it, Tails?

Tails pointed down to the floor. There lied a small explosive, glowing brighter.

Sonic: It's gonna explode!

The three of them took off down the same corridor they had just came from, only seconds before the explosive went off. The explosion tore apart the corridor, and then rushed down it, right after Sonic, Shadow, and Tails.

Tails: Aah! Sonic! It's gonna catch up with us!

Sonic: Shadow! Why haven't you used Chaos Control yet!?

Shadow suddenly felt like an idiot. Then sudden mention of a bomb had caught him off guard, and the last thing on his mind was Chaos Control...oddly. Shadow grabbed both Sonic then Tails by the arm, but kept running.

Shadow: Chaos Control!

The three of them disappeared in a flash of light, then reappeared near the Tornado. Sonic wiped the sweat off his head, then sighed.

Sonic: They've got 5 emeralds now.

Tails looked at his radar.

Tails: At least this works now..

Tails looked at the radar again in surprise.

Tails: This can't be..

Sonic: What is it, Tails?

Tails: According to this radar, the next emerald is in the middle of a desert!

Shadow: What's so odd about that?

Tails: It's a desert on Westside Island!

----

Terios: Two more emeralds to go. We already know Shadow has one, but what about the other?

Robotnik: I'm looking for it.

Robotnik typed a few things into the computer, then soon found the location of the next emerald.

Robotnik: Interesting. The emerald is located on Westside Island.

Terios: What's so interesting about that?

Robotnik: Bit of a past there..

Chapter 7: Dust Hill & Mystic Caves

The Tornado flew out of a group of clouds and out over the sea on its way to Westside Island.

Tails: Been awhile since we were last at Westside Island, Sonic.

Sonic: A very long while.

Shadow: You've been there before?

Sonic: To stop Eggman. I met Tails there as well.

Tails: Sonic!

Sonic: Yeah?

Tails: There it is!

Tails pointed ahead of them. Sonic and Shadow looked forwards, spotting the Westside Island, also known as the Island Of Illusion.

Sonic: Land on the beach, Tails! I wanna get a good run through the island!

Tails: You got it!

Tails flew the plane down, soon landing it on the beach. Sonic hopped off the top of the plane as the other two got out of their seats and down to the ground.

Sonic: Gotta love that warm island sun.

Sonic stretched a bit, then looked forwards.

Sonic: Where's the emerald?

Tails: It's a desert near the center of the island. If you're gonna run through the island, at least stop when you do find the desert.

Sonic: No problem!

Suddenly, Sonic took off with a burst of speed, and without warning, right through the trees and into the island. Tails simply shrugged as Shadow looked at him, then the two took off after Sonic. Sonic continued to run through the trees, speeding right through an area of the island known as Wood Zone. He leaped up into the trees, leaping tree to tree, moving higher. Sonic soon hit a spring, which sent him up and over the trees. As Sonic flew forwards, he noticed the tree line ending, and a more flat area showing up. When he started to lose height and headed down, Sonic went into a spin and shot forwards, hitting a slope, then speeding down it only to hit an upwards slope. Sonic was once again sent into the air, but not as long this time, and soon landed on a free floating platform. Shadow and Tails soon made it out of the thick forest trees and out into the open.

Tails: It's Emerald Hill!

Shadow pointed ahead.

Shadow: And there's Sonic..

Sonic suddenly leaped down of the floating platform, taking off again as soon as he hit the ground.

Shadow: What's the point of this?

Tails: You know how Sonic likes to run. At least we're getting where we need to go.

Shadow and Tails sped up a bit whilst Sonic continued on. Sonic went into a spin as he hit a triple loop, only to exit the loop and hit a slope which sent him right into a spring. The spring sent Sonic up to the highest part of Emerald Hill, where Sonic got a good view of what was ahead of him. He ran down the side of the large hill and down into a corkscrew. The corkscrew sent Sonic into a wooded area. Meanwhile, Shadow and Tails were just getting past the triple loop, hitting the spring which put them atop the large hill Sonic was just on. Shadow noticed a factory-like city past a bit of forest.

Shadow: What is that?

Tails: If I recall correctly, that's the Chemical Plant.

Shadow: I see.

Sonic shot out of the small forest and out into the open. Chemical Plant was just ahead. Instead of going into the plant, though, Sonic took a hard left and ran the outskirts of Chemical Plant. The plant was pretty big, so the outskirts were wide and vast, giving Sonic a chance to really kick up some speed. Shadow and Tails soon made it out of the forest and also took to the outskirts. They spotted Sonic up ahead, and just then, he put on a burst of speed, and was out of sight. Shadow grinned.

Shadow: He's not the only one..

Shadow took off in his own burst of speed, leaving Tails behind.

Tails: Hey! Wait for me!!

Sonic slowed it down a bit as he soon entered Casino Night Zone, where it was always nighttime. He rushed through the entrance to Casino Night and leaped down into the main area. Shadow ran in next, soon followed by Tails. Sonic looked back a moment.

Sonic: About time you two started to catch up!

Shadow: Don't get too cocky about your speed!

Sonic grinned, then continued through the casino area, using bumpers and flippers to help him through. Shadow was launched himself at Sonic with a flipper, and passed him right up, and Tails got caught in a series of bumpers. Shadow and Sonic soon got into a race of sorts, with Tails following behind. Just when they were neck and neck, they had to go up an elevator. The three of them boarded the elevator and waited as it went up. Shadow and Sonic both got into a ready position.

Tails: You're still gonna race?

Sonic: First one to the desert.

Tails: Well, according to the radar, the desert, also known as Dust Hill, is just beyond the Casino.

Sonic: Great! More of a distance to put between me and Shadow when I'm ahead!

Shadow: Keep dreaming..

Tails: Just harder for me to keep up.

The elevator stopped, the doors opened, and all three shot out of it. Sonic and Shadow sped ahead of Tails, put Tails was able to keep his own as the three of them raced through the casino area. They soon shot through the exit of Casino Night and into another forest area. The sun was starting to set now, giving the forest a dark look. Shadow and Sonic continued to race through the forest, and Tails continued to follow. In moments, the two hedgehogs ran out of the forest, and saw the familiar sands of a desert up ahead. Tails also ran from the forest and looked down at his radar.

Tails: Dust Hill's just ahead!

Sonic and Shadow continued to race each other as they ran onto the sand and into the desert. The cacti become a slight problem, if you weren't looking where you were going, and if it got too dark. The sun still provided a good amount of light though. Suddenly, Shadow saw someone standing on a large rock formation to their left, then looked back at Sonic, knowing full well who it is.

Shadow: Robotnik must be up ahead!

Sonic: How would you know?

Shadow: I just saw Terios standing on a rock formation!

The two hedgehogs skidded to a stop, but as Tails tried to stop, he tripped and fell as he passed the two of them.

Shadow: I'm going to take care of Terios.

Sonic: And we'll stop Eggman.

Sonic reached down helped Tails up.

Shadow: Do whatever you can to get that emerald.

Sonic: We will..

Shadow turned around and took off back towards the rock formation, then Sonic and Tails continued forward towards the emeralds location.

----

Robotnik continued digging into the ground, trying to locate the emerald. There was a sudden beeping from the cockpit of his Egg Mobile. Robotnik shut off the drills and hit a button.

Terios: Doctor?

Robotnik: What is it, Terios?

Terios: Sonic and Tails are heading your way..

Robotnik: And Shadow?

Terios: I'll be taking care off him.

Robotnik continued his drilling, having set his radar.

Robotnik: I'll know when they're coming.

As the drilling continued, a small alarm went off, Robotnik looked up quickly, but saw nothing.

Robotnik: Odd..

He went back to the drilling. The radar went off again. This time Robotnik looked at the radar.

Robotnik: What!?

The radar said that they were right where he was. Robotnik looked all around, even under his Egg Mobile. He scratched his head in confusion when a voice called out..

Sonic: Up here, Egghead!

Robotnik looked up, only to find that Sonic and Tails were flying above his head the whole time.

Robotnik: Sonic!!

Sonic dropped from Tails, then landed on Robotniks head and jumped off.

Robotnik: Why you little..!!

Robotnik grabbed the main controls to the Egg Mobile, then started firing at Sonic with a gun he mounted on the side. Sonic leaped over the bullets, then ran from them.

Robotnik: Stay still, rodent!

Tails flew down and knocked on Robotnik's head. Robotnik spun around, forgetting Tails was there and fired at a large rock. Tails flew over and landed next to Sonic.

Sonic: Large rocks scare ya, Eggman?

Robotnik: Silence!!

Robotnik turned the Egg Mobile around and aimed at Sonic.

Sonic: You never learn, do you?

Robotnik: Take this!

Robotnik hit a button the control panel. Two compartments opened up on the front of the Egg Mobile and shot out rockets. Tails and Sonic jumped in opposite directions only to have the missles follow them.

Tails: Homing missles!!

Sonic took off, then ran towards Tails, only to attract the missles that were homing on him.

Sonic: Tails! Get Eggman!

Sonic lead the missles around, trying to get rid of them. Meanwhile, Tails dodged more gunfire from Robotnik, then ran towards his Egg Mobile. Before Tails could reach him though, there was an explosion from the direction Sonic was going.

Tails: Sonic!!

Robotnik: One rodent down, one to go.

Robotnik readied his gun, when suddenly, Robotnik spotted something from the corner of his eye. It was Sonic, and he was surfing on a missle, which was aimed right for Robotnik. Sonic jumped off it as the missle got to the Egg Mobile, and Robotnik ducked just in time, pushing down a button.

Tails: Sonic! You're ok!

Sonic: Of course. No missle can stop me.

Robotnik looked up and glared.

Robotnik: Why you..

He suddenly noticed which button he pushed. It was the drills hyper drive.

Robotnik: Uh oh..

The drill started up, the went right into the ground, drilling at a higher speed then Robotnik had allowed it before. Suddenly, the ground started to crack, and then fell in. Sonic and Tails leaped back as the ground collapsed underneath their feet. Robotnik shut off the drills hyper drive and looked down.

Robotnik: An underground cavern!

Tails: Sonic, isn't that..?

Sonic: It's the Mystic Caves!

Robotnik grinned and went down into the caverns.

Sonic: The next emerald must be down there.

Tails: Then what are we waiting for?

The two of them leaped down into the caverns and ran after Robotnik.

----

Terios looked back behind him as he heard someone climbing up the rock behind him. Shadow stood at the lower end of the rock formation, looking up at his brother.

Terios: It's your fault you know.

Shadow: What are you talking about?

Terios: You're the reason I'm going to use the Eclipse Cannon.

Shadow looked at Terios in surprise.

Shadow: You're crazy!

Terios: If you would've died when you should have, I wouldn't have to resort to such tactics, 255. I could have destroyed this planet and rid of it's scum without the Eclipse Cannon, just as father promised Maria, but you've made me resort to using it's power.

Shadow: Father's promise was to give the people of this planet a chance to live, and you know that!

Terios: Quiet, you defective prototype.

Shadow: What!? Why you..

Terios turned around and smirked at Shadow.

Terios: I told you I'd prove to you I'm the Ultimate Lifeform, no matter what it takes!

Terios' comlink beeped, then Robotnik's voice was heard from it.

Robotnik: Terios! Hurry to the dig sight! There's a cavern there, and I'm having a bit of trouble with that rat!

Terios continued to look at Shadow, then jumped backwards off the rock formation. He landed on the ground, then took off as his shoe's flared to life. Shadow leaped off and followed. Terios looked back, then yelled.

Terios: Don't know when to give up, 255!?

Shadow: I can't give up with you around!!

Terios charged forward, but Shadow kept on his tail.

Terios: T-Bomb!

Terios spun around, launching two T-Bombs at Shadow. The T-Bombs exploded right in front of him, but Shadow was able to leap over the T-Bombs and resumed the chase. They soon went through a loop, which sent them into a narrow canyon. Terios ran up on the left wall, Shadow on the right. Terios fired another round of T-Bombs over his head towards the opposite wall, but Shadow moved up the wall, dodging the T-Bomb shots. The two soon found that there were rings on the walls, and tried to collect them (as rings reduce damage). Shadow aimed at Terios this time, using the Chaos Strike to fired a beam of energy at him. Terios leaped over it, and the two entered two separate corkscrews which spun around each other. As they ran through their corkscrews, the two kept firing and blasting at one another, nearly hitting the other quite a few times. The corkscrew finally ended, and the two hit a jump pad, sending them flying across a huge canyon. Terios landed first, and without hesitation, took off again. Shadow landed a few seconds after, but had gone further through the air, so he still was on Terios' tail. Terios spun around, going backwards, and fired another round of T-Bomb. Shadow barely avoided them.

Terios: When will you realize that you'll never best the Ultimate Lifeform, 255!?

Terios gave a cocky grin and continued to run backwards.

Shadow: When will you realize that there is no such thing as the Ultimate Lifeform, 359!?

Shadow gave a grin of his own as Terios' grin turned into a look of disgust, obviously indicating Terios didn't like what Shadow said or being called 359. The two continued to race through Dust Hill, their only source of light now being the many torches that seemed to always be lit.

----

Robotnik raced ahead of Sonic and Tails, keeping them behind him with a constant spray of laser bullets and occasionally a few bombs.

Sonic: We've gotta get around that flying egg!

Tails: But how? He always cuts us off!

Robotnik laughed as he yelled back at the two.

Robotnik: I told you, the emerald is mine!

Sonic looked up ahead, suddenly noticed a loop.

Sonic: Hey! Eggman!

Robotnik growled and turned around to face Sonic. Sonic then pulled his eyelid down and stuck out his tongue. Robotnik started firing at Sonic, but the blue hedgehog leaped up and ran past the bullets. Sonic then pointed forwards, signaling something ahead of Robotnik. Robotnik turned around, only to crash into the loop. Sonic simply stepped on Robotnik's head and continued on, as did Tails. Robotnik quickly got his Egg Mobile back into the air, and chased after the two. Sonic and Tails raced through the Mystic Caves, now far ahead of Robotnik.

Sonic: Where's that emerald at, Tails?

Tails: It's odd, the emerald keeps moving!

Sonic: What!?

Tails: All we can do is try and figure out what's going on.

The two skidded to a halt as they reached a large pit. Tails got ready to give Sonic a lift by flight, when suddenly, a turret of bullets came from behind the two. Robotnik then shot past them and over the pit. About mid- way over, Robotnik's Egg Mobile stalled, something malfunctioning from the crash at the loop.

Robotnik: Not now!!

Robotnik fell out of the air into the dark pit below. Sonic waved.

Sonic: Bye!

But instead of a crash, the two heard a loud splash. Sonic and Tails looked at each other in confusement, then realized what that splash was.

Sonic & Tails: A RIVER!!

Tails: So that's why the emerald was moving!

Sonic: What are we waiting for? It's time for a swim!

Sonic went into a ready-to-dive position.

Tails: Sonic..

Sonic: What is it, Tails?

Tails: You can't swim.

Sonic fell to the ground.

Tails: It's a good thing I can.

----

Shadow was sent crashing through an old stone pillar as he was hit by a T- Bomb. Terios stood there, grinning.

Terios: I warned you, didn't I?

Shadow got up slowly, only to get kicked back down by Terios.

Terios: You'll never be anything but a defective prototype, 255. Be proud though! You're the #1 defective prototype, because if it wasn't for you, Isotoma wouldn't have been able to create me. For that, I must thank you.

Shadow: Your mock respect means nothing to me, Terios.

Terios: Pity. Still haven't learned.

Terios fired another T-Bomb at Shadow, but Shadow threw himself up with only his hands, and back to his feet.

Shadow: Chaos Spear!

Terios: Dark Shield!

A red shield of energy formed over Terios just as the Chaos Spears struck at him. Terios grinned as the shield dissipated.

Terios: I told you. You could never defeat me, no matter what you did. The Ultimate Lifeform can't be defeated by it's prototype!

Terios lunged forward, swinging a punch at Shadow, but Shadow moved to the side, then jumped away.

Terios: Stay still! I'll make it quick and painless for you!

This time, Terios formed T-Bombs in both hands and threw them at Shadow. Shadow leaped away from the T-Bombs, but was hit by the explosion. But as the smoke cleared, a large hole was now where there used to be ground. Shadow landed with a thud a few feet away. Terios started to walk over to him, when suddenly, the ground began to rumble.

Terios: What in the..

A geyser of water shot up from the hole in the ground, and it was soon followed by a familiar laughter. Terios and Shadow both looked up, seeing Robotnik's Egg Mobile flying down to them. Robotnik could be seen holding the light blue Chaos Emerald.

Robotnik: We have what we want! Now let's get out of here!

Terios looked down at Shadow.

Terios: Till we meet again.. Chaos Control!

The two were gone in a flash, literally. Shadow got to his feet slowly and looked around.

Shadow: Where's Sonic and Tails..?

Almost as if on que, the two were shot out of the geyser and landed on Shadow. Sonic got up quickly, helping Tails up, then Shadow.

Shadow: He got the emerald..

Sonic: We know.

Tails: All they have to get is yours, Shadow.

Shadow gave a nod has he held up the green Chaos Emerald.

Sonic: Let's get back to the Mystic Ruins.

Shadow: We'll be taking the quick way.

Shadow clutched his emerald as the three walked off into the night, back towards where the Tornado was.

Chapter 8: Rest Is Short

Shadow and the others arrived at the workshop VIA Chaos Control. The three of them walked inside and stretched and yawned.

Sonic: It's been a long two days..

Tails: What time is it?

Tails stretched again, then rubbed his eyes looking at the clock.

Sarah: Around 2 in the morning.

Sarah was walking down the stairs, wearing a yellow house robe, yawning.

Shadow: Where'd you get that?

Sarah: Went home and got some clothes.

Shadow: Oh, right.

Shadow walked over to the stairs, then looked back at Sonic and Tails.

Shadow: I'm going to get some sleep. I haven't slept in a proper bed for quite some time.

Tails: Night, Shadow.

Sonic: Sleep well, love birds!

Sonic grinned, only to get hit in the head by a flying alarm clock...again. Shadow and Sarah headed upstairs to their room, and soon fell asleep.

Tails: Better get some sleep too, Sonic. We've got an emerald to protect.

----

Terios looked at the Chaos Power Converter, filled with five of the seven emeralds.

Terios: Only two left. Then we'll use the power of the Eclipse Cannon to lay waste to those who stand in our way!

Robotnik: I don't believe it, but there's practically no way we can be stopped now.

Terios: We still need Shadow's emerald, though.

Robotnik: That shouldn't be tough. Not for you at least.

Terios: It's not the difficulty of things, Doctor, but how I want to do it.

Robotnik: What do you mean?

Terios: I want to kill him when he's at his best.

Robotnik: An ego thing?

Terios: No. Just to prove something.

Robotnik: And how do you plan on getting him at his best?

Terios: I'll figure that out when I go to get his emerald. For now, I'll get my rest.

Terios walked away to his quarters, leaving Robotnik in the lab.

----

Shadow woke up early in the morning. It was still dark though. He looked over at the clock on the desk. 5 in the morning. Shadow tried to get back to sleep, but he just couldn't, so he decided to get up, but noticed something was keeping him down.

Shadow: Where's a light at?

Shadow fumbled around a bit, knocking an alarm clock of the dresser next to the bed. He turned a lamp on and looked at was what keeping him down.

Shadow: Sarah..?

Indeed it was. The two had fallen to sleep together, and now, Sarah had her arms around Shadow and kept him close as if he was a large teddy bear.

Shadow: Guess I'm not going anywhere for a bit.

This gave Shadow some time to think, but nothing entered his mind. It was blank. For the first time in months, nothing was bothering him. Despite Terios being only one emerald away from utilizing the Eclipse Cannon's power, and the fact that the world was in danger, nothing seemed to bother Shadow. He layed there for two hours, just staring at the ceiling. Around 7:30, Sarah started to wake up.

Sarah: What time is it?

Shadow: 7:30 or so..

Sarah layed there, resting where she was.

Shadow: So.. um.. Did you sleep well?

Sarah gave a nod, then looked up at Shadow with a cheery smile.

Sarah: I slept very well.

Shadow: Well that's good.

The two spent about a half an hour talking in bed. Finally, Sarah mentioned something about eating, and the two got up and headed downstairs (after she got dressed of course). Sonic and Tails were already downstairs eating. The moment Sonic saw Shadow and Sarah, he went to say something about lovebirds again, but Tails jammed a peeled orange slice into his mouth.

Tails: I've lost enough alarm clocks.

Shadow and Sarah sat down at the small table to eat. The breakfast was an assortment of berries, apples, orange juice, and some sliced oranges. There more than plenty to go around, and they tasted great.

Sarah: Where'd you get these?

Tails: We usually collect them and store them when we go on adventures or something. The Mystic Jungle also happens to have a nice supply of fruits.

Sarah: Haven't had a good breakfast like this in awhile. It's usually just a quick fast food breakfast. This is great.

After eating, the four of them went down to the pond area and sat there, tossing rocks in. Sonic sighed, obviously wanting to go out and be active.

Shadow: At least there's no sign of Terios yet.

Tails: It's only 9.

Shadow: Time is never a bother to him.

The four of them sat there for quite some time, when a sudden explosion went off to their left.

Sonic: What was that!?

Terios suddenly appeared on the ledge above the pond, his arms crossed and a cocky grin on his face.

Shadow: Obviously..

Terios: Now that I have your attention..

Terios leaped down to the pond area, landing softly.

Terios: I'll say this once.. Hand over the emerald, or I'll be forced to do things in a rather cruel manner.

Sonic: No way!

Shadow: You're not getting this emerald!

Terios: Fair enough..

Terios suddenly disappeared in a flash.

Sonic: That was it?

Shadow: Seems so..

Sonic, Tails, and Shadow stepped forward, looking around cautiously. There was a sudden flash behind them, and Sarah screamed, but it was quickly muffled. The three spun on their heels and looked behind them. There stood Terios, his hand over Sarah's mouth and her hands bound behind her back.

Terios: I gave you fair warning!

Shadow: Leave her alone, Terios!

Terios: If you want to see her alive ever again, bring the emerald to the Space Colony ARK..

Without another word, Terios was gone and so was Sarah.

Shadow: No!!

Shadow quickly grabbed his emerald and was ready to Chaos Control, but was stopped by Sonic.

Sonic: Wait, Shadow.. For one, you can't go up there alone, and second, you're going to need some rings.

Shadow: But..

Sonic: Trust me.

Shadow sighed and gave a nod. Sonic looked back at Tails.

Sonic: You still have that huge vault of rings, right?

Tails: Yeah.

Sonic: Then get it open. We need some.

The three of them rushed back to Tails workshop. Tails lead them into a lower part of the workshop, which was hidden. They soon reached a large vault, which Tails opened rather quickly, having the data to open it memorized. The door vault door opened to reveal a huge stash of rings.

Sonic: Get yourself some, we've got enough.

Shadow reached in a started grabbing rings. He didn't count how many he grabbed, he just grabbed them. As usual, the rings seemed to be absorbed into their bodies. Shadow noticed Tails pick up something that looked like the yellow emerald.

Shadow: What's that?

Tails: It's a fake emerald I created. It might come in handy.

Sonic and Tails got next to Shadow as he gripped the Chaos Emerald.

Shadow: Ready?

Sonic & Tails: Ready.

Shadow: Chaos Control!

The three of them disappeared in a flash of light. Their destination...The ARK.

Chapter 9: The Rush

Shadow and the others appeared on the ARK in an instant, but they couldn't see a thing.

Shadow: Where are we?

Tails: It's too dark.

Sonic: Anyone have any type of light here?

Shadow: There's a light up ahead.

Sonic: Let's go see what it is..

----

Robotnik: Explain this to me again, Terios. Instead of getting the emerald, you kidnap this girl in hopes of getting Shadow here and at his best?

Terios: Right.

Sarah: I'm 17!! I'm not a girl!

Sarah yelled from the other side of the room, where she sat in a large cell. Robotnik looked back at Terios.

Robotnik: You better hope Shadow gets here soon. I don't think I can put up with her much longer.

Sarah: I heard that..

A beeping went off on a control console behind Robotnik. He turned around walked over to the console, hitting a button which activated a screen.

Robotnik: Look who's here.

The monitor showed Shadow, Sonic, and Tails walking blindly through a hall.

Robotnik: Shall we give them some light?

Terios: Not yet, I wanna watch them a bit.

The two of them watched as the three ran into each other and bumped into walls.

Robotnik: I could watch them all day.

Terios: We don't have all day, Doctor.

Robotnik: You're no fun..

Robotnik hit a button on the console, turning on lights all the lights in the station.

Robotnik: There..

----

The three of them covered their eyes as the lights suddenly flashed on.

Sonic: Geeze! A bit of a warning would have been nice!

Shadow looked up after his eyes adjusted.

Shadow: There's a door.

A static was heard over the intercom system, then Robotniks voice.

Robotnik: It's about time.. Now listen up! If you want to see the girl alive, bring the Chaos Emerald to the Eclipse Cannon's reactor core.. No tricks! I'm sure Terios wouldn't want to have to "finish the job"..

Robotnik's laughter rang out through the intercom as it slowly went back to static, then completely off. A door at the end of the hallway opened.

Sonic: Here we come, Eggman!

The three of them took off towards the door. As soon as they went through the door though, then skidded to a halt when they saw what was before them.

Sonic: Looks like we have to do a bit of grinding.

Sonic grinned and tapped the toe of his shoe against the ground.

Tails: Um...Sonic?

Sonic looked back.

Tails: I don't exactly have the shoes to grind..

Sonic reached back and grabbed him around the wrist.

Sonic: Just hold on and keep your tails twirling!

Shadow: Here we go..

The two hedgehogs leaped up and landed on the rails which slanted downwards slight. They were a bit slow at first, but gradually picked up speed as the rails went downwards. Soon, the three of them were grinding down the rails at high speeds. They looped, they turned, they corkscrewed. Shadow made a sudden leap right in front of Sonic, landing on his rail just as Shadow's rail stopped.

Sonic: Watch where you're going!

Shadow simply grinned and they continued on. The hit another corkscrew-loop combo, then Shadow leaped over to another rail as it appeared. They soon hit a wide turn, and the rails ended rather abruptly. They each hit springs at the end of the rails. Sonic and Tails' spring sent them straight forwards into the air, while Shadow's sent him into a series of springs. The hedgehog/fox duo landed on a platform and skidded to a halt just as Shadow landed where they stopped. Sonic let go of Tails wrist and Tails held his head, feeling quite light-headed from all the twisting.

Sonic: Yeah! Now that was some serious speed!

Tails: Now I know why I don't grind..

Shadow: Keep your head in there, kid. There's still quite a bit more.

Shadow pointed ahead. There were a group of gravity drums right up ahead.

Tails: What are those?

Sonic: Fun!

Shadow took off ahead of the two, hitting a jump pad which sent him flying across the gap between the platform and the gravity drums. Shadow landed on the drum, which spun him around. Sonic and Tails followed moments after, landing to his right.

Shadow: Remember, one wrong move could be your very last.

As they drum rolled them upside down, Shadow pointed upwards, which was really pointing down at space. Sonic and Tails both nodded, and with that, they were off. The trio leaped drum to drum, and rather quickly, trying to not get stuck on the bottom of the gravity drums. Sonic leaped forwards, bouncing onto a spring, and was sent flying past a good majority of the remaining drums. The three of them soon made it away from the drums and boarded an elevator.

Shadow: It would be great to have a map right now.

Sonic: Hey, no sweat. We'll find our way.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Without warning, a stream of lasers came flying through the doors. The trio jumped to the sides of the elevator.

Tails: E-1000 Series Bots!

Sonic: I knew this wasn't going to be easy..

----

Robotnik watched on from his monitors as the three of them pressed forwards through the E-1000 bots.

Robotnik: Terios, take her down to the core. I'm going to meet Sonic and his friends halfway. Hopefully, we won't have to wait for them and I'll get the emerald sooner.

Terios: Yes, Doctor.

Terios walked over to the cell holding Sarah and grabbed one of the bars, using Chaos Control to take them both to the Eclipse Cannon's core. Robotnik turned off the monitor and walked over to a door on the opposite side of the room. He opened the door and stepped through. In the room was his Egg Mobile, but on the sides of the room were different parts to add onto the craft. Robotnik inspected the parts carefully, trying to decide which ones to use.

Robotnik: Such a choice.. Such a choice.

Meanwhile, Terios looked on at the Chaos Power Converter as it continued to store chaos energy.

Terios: Only two more left. My emerald and 255's.

Sarah: Why am I here?

Terios: Simply put.. bait. As long as there's someone at risk, 255's going to be at his best to stop me, which is when I shall kill him.

Sarah: You wouldn't dare..

Terios: Oh, I would.

Terios put his hand up to his eye patch, which covered his missing eye.

Terios: If it wasn't for that defective prototype, I wouldn't have to wear this stupid thing. I'd still have both my eyes. I'll show him, though. I'm going to prove to him that I am the Ultimate Lifeform.

Terios looked up at Sarah.

Terios: Even if it means the bloodshed of those around him.

Terios gave Sarah and evil grin and chuckled to himself.

----

Sonic zipped right through a group of E-1000's using his spin dash. The bots exploded into pieces and released the small animals Robotnik's known to use when he creates his bots. Shadow and Tails followed close behind, but Sonic did most of the destroying. He considered it fun to wreck Robotniks creations. The trio ran through a door and into a large lab. The lab had dim lightning, but still enough to see what was in there. Over in the corner was a capsule with a green glow being emitted from it.

Tails: What is that?

The three of them walked over to the capsule and looked in. It was hard to tell what it was. Shadow went to push a button on the wall to open the capsule, but was stopped by Tails.

Tails: We don't even know what it is. It could be harmful..

Shadow ignored Tails and opened the capsule anyways. Sonic and Tails jumped back a bit, but Shadow remained where he was and reached in, grabbing the items within the capsule. The green glow disappeared. Shadow examined the items. They looked like something that would fit on the bottom of his jetskates.

Tails: Maybe they're an upgrade created by Professor Robotnik.

Shadow put the upgrades on his jetskates and looked down at them.

Shadow: Now what..?

Shadow moved around a bit and found that the upgrades seem to do practically nothing. He sighed and took them off, tossing them back behind him.

Tails: Look!

Shadow: Huh?

Sonic: They're upgrades..

Sonic pointed behind Shadow. Shadow turned around and saw that the upgrades had stuck to the wall. Shadow walked over and took them off the wall, then put them back on his jetskates.

Shadow: Let's see..

Shadow stepped against the wall, planting his foot firmly, then stepped up with the other foot.

Sonic: They work!

Shadow walked around a bit, sticking firmly to the wall as if the gravity has shifted. Tails looked at the capsule they were in and spotted a bit of text. All the text read was "Gravity Soles". Shadow suddenly fell off the wall, but spun into a ball and landed on his feet.

Tails: The Gravity Soles must not have a long period of use. Maybe 30 seconds at most.

Shadow: They could be useful..

Shadow lead the other two through another door and into a long tunnel which was completely surrounded by space. The three of them took off, and as soon as they did, the tunnel began to collapse behind them.

Tails: Sonic!!

Sonic: This tunnel isn't too stable!

Shadow: Just keep going!

The three hit high speeds as the tunnel continued to collapse behind them, faster and faster. About halfway, though, the tunnel started to collapse from under their feet. Just then, they hit a series of speed boosters which sent them to the other end of the tunnel rather quickly. The three leaped through the door and into another dark room.

Sonic: -phew- That was close..

Shadow: This place is slowly coming apart.

Tails: But where are we now?

A familiar laughter suddenly rang out through the room. Just then, the lights came on. The room was enormous, yet very empty. A few boxes here and there. Right in the middle of the room was Robotnik in his Egg Mobile.

Robotnik: It's about time you showed up.

Sonic: I was having too much fun destroying those E-Series bots of yours, Eggman. Sorry for the delay.

Robotnik: There's only one thing I want..

Sonic: A weight program that works?

Robotnik: Ye...er.. No! Silence, you pest!!

Sonic snickered.

Robotnik: I want that emerald!

Shadow: You can't have it!

Robotnik: Then I'm going to have to take it from you!

Sonic stepped up in front of Shadow. Tails followed suit.

Sonic: You'll have to get through us first.

Robotnik: Fine by me!

Sonic looked back at Shadow.

Sonic: This is our fight. Your fight is with Terios.

Shadow gave a nod, then took off towards a door at the other end of the room. Robotnik kept his focus on Sonic, though. Before Shadow went through the door, he turned around and looked back at Sonic for a moment. Sonic gave him a thumbs up, and with that, Shadow exited through the door.

Robotnik: It's time I finished you off for good, Sonic.

Sonic: Now's the part where I prove you wrong.

Robotnik: We'll see who's right after I destroy you two with the Egg Gyro!

The Egg Gyro (which was add on parts for the Egg Mobile) featured two spiked, gyrating rings that weren't in function at the moment, but instead, spun around the center of the Egg Mobile. To the right, behind Robotnik's shoulder, was a cannon of some sort with a narrow barrel.

Sonic: Bring it on, Eggman!

Robotnik: With pleasure.

The rings around the Egg Mobile began spinning faster, then began to rotate around it. Robotnik suddenly charged forward at the duo, but Sonic and Tails leaped out of the way. Robotnik stopped and spun the Egg Gyro around, facing Sonic and Tails. He hit a button on the control console which activated the cannon over his right shoulder. The cannon fired out two spiked rings at Sonic and Tails, but once again, the two leaped out of the way. The rings were gyrating around the Egg Gyro way too fast for Sonic or Tails to attack. It would be suicide.

Robotnik: Look how helpless you are now, Sonic!

Robotnik charged forwards once again, but chased after Sonic as the blue hedgehog jumped out of the way. Sonic ran around the room, trying to get Robotnik off his tail seeing as he couldn't stop the gyro rings long enough to hit the Egg Gyro.

Sonic: Tails! A little help!

Tails: What can I do!?

Sonic leaped out of the way, letting Robotnik pass on by. Robotnik almost slammed into a wall, but quickly corrected the Egg Gyro's course and slowing down the gyro rings.

Sonic: Now's my chance!

Sonic raced forward. Robotnik started up the rings again as Sonic leaped into the air and went for a homing attack at Robotnik. Before Sonic could hit the rings, Tails came flying by, grabbing his hands and keeping him from getting turned into sliced hedgehog surprise.

Robotnik: That was too close. I'll not make that mistake again.

Sonic: We've gotta find a way to stop those rings.

Tails: Maybe there's something in those boxes.

Tails pointed at the boxes around the room and the two platforms of boxes hanging from the ceiling. Sonic looked back, seeing Robotnik charge towards them.

Sonic: Up!!

Tails lifted Sonic up just as Robotnik sped by. Sonic then dropped down to the ground and looked back up at Tails.

Sonic: You find something in the boxes while I hold Eggman off.

Tails: Right!

Sonic turned around and looked at Robotnik.

Sonic: Hey Eggman!

Robotnik turned around and looked at Sonic. Sonic pulled his cheeks out and stuck out his tongue.

Robotnik: Why you..!

Robotnik fired more of the spiked rings at Sonic. Sonic easily jumped and dodged them, making Robotnik angry.

Robotnik: Stay still, pest!

Robotnik charged at Sonic, but before either one of them could do anything, a metal box landed right on the gyro rings, stopping them, and causing the Egg Gyro's balance to be thrown off. Robotnik swerved past Sonic, and Sonic looked up.

Sonic: Tails!

Tails: You said to use something useful from the boxes!

Sonic: Nice one!

Meanwhile, Robotnik tried to get the box out of his gyro rings. Sonic rushed over and hit the Egg Gyro with a homing attack. Robotnik growled has Sonic hit him a few more times. The box finally gave in and was crushed as the gyro rings started back up. Sonic leaped away as Robotnik went in reverse, hoping to hit the blue hedgehog. Robotnik quickly noticed Tails trying to lift another one of the boxes.

Robotnik: Oh, no you don't!

Robotnik fired the ring cannon, blasting the box to pieces. Tails got a bit shook up at the sudden blast, but kept his composure. Tails landed on one of the high platforms, looking through the boxes. Robotnik fired more of the spiked rings at Tails, but hit the platform instead. Sonic grabbed Robotnik's attention once again, though. Robotnik chased him around in the Egg Gyro, firing off the ring cannon. Sonic ran under the platform Tails was on, then it suddenly collapse, landing right on the Egg Gyro. The gyro rings stopped and got stuck after destroying a bit of the platform.

Robotnik: Not again..

Robotnik started and stopped the gyro rings a few times, but nothing happened. Finally, the gyro rings gave way, twisted, and broke. Robotnik slammed his fist against the control console as smoke rose from the Egg Gyro. Sonic helped Tails up and looked back at the Egg Gyro.

Sonic: Give up, Eggman?

Robotnik: I'll get you for this, Sonic!

Robotnik shot forward out of the smoke, firing a stream of spiked rings at the two. Sonic grabbed Tails wrist and took off, avoiding the rings. Robotnik spun around, trying to keep his firing on the two. Sonic and Tails split up. Robotnik kept his fire on Sonic, unaware Tails was coming from behind. Sonic leaped up and over some boxes, keeping Robotnik's fire away from Tails. Tails leaped up on the Egg Gyro, then used the Tail Whip to strike the cannon firing the spiked rings. Robotnik was quickly alerted of Tails presence and spun around, flinging Tails off. Robotnik kept his firing up, as well as missing. Sonic raced up to Robotnik, leaped up and over him, then hit the cannon with back-to-back homing attacks. The cannon started to spark, but that didn't stop Robotnik from firing.

Sonic: Let's finish this, Tails!

Sonic grabbed Tails hands, spun him around quickly, then let go, throwing him at Robotnik. Robotnik ducked just as Tails flew over his head and hit the cannon. The cannon exploded on impact.

Sonic: Alright! Way to go, Tails!

Tails flew into the air and waved at Sonic. Robotnik slammed his hands down once more.

Robotnik: We'll finish this another time, Sonic!

Robotnik took off towards a door.

Sonic: I don't think so!

Sonic crouched down, then started to rev up a spin dash. Sonic then shot forwards, slamming into the busted Egg Gyro. The Egg Gyro was knocked to the side and slammed into a wall. The Egg Gyro burst into pieces on contact, leaving Robotnik covered in scrap metal. Tails landed next to Sonic, then shared a high five.

Sonic: That takes care of that. Now let's go find Shadow.

The two took off through the same door Shadow did. Moments later, Robotnik got up from the wreckage and checked to see if the communicator still worked.

Robotnik: Terios? Terios, are you there?

Terios: What is it, Doctor?

Robotnik: They'll be heading your way soon..

Terios: Alright.

Robotnik turned off the communicator, then fell back into the wreckage.

Chapter 10: The Last Mile

The elevator doors opened up and Shadow rushed through them and into the corridor. He had no time to lose, and had no idea how much longer he had to go before he got to the Eclipse Cannons core. Shadow leaped onto a spring, sending him over a pit, then continued on. Shadow skidded to a halt and clutched his emerald.

Shadow: I need a bit of a power boost.

Shadow looked ahead, spotting a large number of E-Series bots.

Shadow: Chaos Strike!

A yellow aura surrounded Shadow. He waited a moment as the aura grew brighter, then took off towards the E-Series bots in a burst of speed. Shadow zoomed past the bots, and they all exploded one by one. Shadow continued on, showing no signs of stopping. Even the boosters he hit made difference in his speed. The power boost finally began to wear off and Shadow slowed. The boost took away large amount of his ring energy, but it didn't bother him. He had enough. Just as he slowed down, the floors began to give way. Not completely, just random sections. Shadow kept going, but up ahead, noticed that there was a huge pit and no way to get over it. Shadow slowed to a stop as he got to the pit then looked around.

Shadow: How am I going to get past this?

Shadow suddenly remembered his jetskate upgrades. Shadow stepped back a bit, then ran forward, leaping up and onto the wall. The Gravity Soles did as they should and Shadow stuck to the wall. He didn't stop to be impressed though, as he didn't know how long they would. Shadow ran across the wall, gaining as much speed as he could. He was almost there when the soles suddenly stopped working. Shadow tried to leap forward, but had no traction. Shadow reached out and grabbed the ledge, barely catching himself.

Shadow: I hope this doesn't give way..

Shadow quickly pulled himself up onto the ledge. He sat there on his knees for a moment, then got up.

Shadow: Close one..

Shadow got to his feet and looked around. He could tell he must be getting closer to the core. There was a rail at the end of the platform, and the rail went over a familiar yellow water which was only found near the core. Shadow jumped onto the rail and grinded down it. After a few turns, Shadow soon found himself in the middle of what seemed to be a mess of grind rails. Almost like a roller coaster. Shadow looped, corkscrewed, and helixed as he traveled the rails. Shadow was extra careful to keep his speed up, or else he'd fall into the yellow liquid below, and no way out (Chaos Control isn't much help when you're drowning). Shadow finally got out of the mess and hit a spring at the end of the rail. Shadow was sent onto a platform, where he immediately hit nothing but a series of speed boosters. Shadow tried all he could to slow down, but the speed boosters kept shooting him forward, finally sending him straight into a metal door. Shadow slammed into the door, then fell to the ground, holding his head.

Shadow: Damn things!

Shadow got up, still holding his head, then looked at the door. It was different. It had a small computer on it, just for a password.

Shadow: A password? Great! Just when I need Tails, and he's nowhere in sight.

There was a sudden flash of light, and out of nowhere, Sonic and Tails appeared to Shadow's left.

Shadow: Speak of the devil..

Sonic: So there you are.

Shadow: How'd you find me?

Tails: Your Chaos Emerald.

Shadow: What?

Tails: We used the fake Chaos Emerald to lead us to you.

Shadow: How come it didn't lead you to the other emeralds?

Tails pointed to his wrist.

Tails: Mini-radar.

Shadow: I see.

Shadow looked over at Sonic.

Shadow: Still use Chaos Control?

Sonic: Not often. I prefer running.

Shadow turned around looked at the door.

Shadow: How good are you at passwords, Tails?

Tails: I don't like to brag..

Shadow pointed at the door.

Shadow: Can you get us through?

Tails: I can try.

Tails walked up to the door and started to type on the small computer. After a few moments Tails stopped and looked back at Shadow.

Tails: Shadow, would you happen to remember any passwords from the original Shadow's memory?

Shadow: I...might..

Shadow began to think, as if searching for a vault of information in his mind. Something suddenly popped into Shadow's mind, though, he didn't exactly know what it was. Shadow walked up to the door and hit a few buttons. The door slowly began to open.

Tails: What was it?

Shadow: ..Maria..

Shadow was the first to walk through the door.

Shadow: Not much longer.. The core should be near the bottom.

Shadow lead the two onto large elevator. The elevator lowered slowly, making it worse on an anxious Shadow. The elevator finally stopped and the doors opened. The first thing they saw was a huge reactor core, which means they were right at the base of the Eclipse Cannon. The next thing Shadow noticed was Terios, next to the Chaos Power Converter, and the cell holding Sarah.

Shadow: Sarah!

Sarah looked up. She had been playing with her hair when she heard Shadow call out.

Sarah: Shadow!

Terios turned around with a grin on his face.

Terios: You finally made it.

Shadow went to run forward, but Terios fired a T-Bomb, stopping him.

Terios: You stay right there. Now, where's the emerald?

Shadow held up the green Chaos Emerald.

Shadow: This is what you want..

Terios: Excellent, you have more intellect than I thought, 255. Now give it to me.

Shadow: Let Sarah go first.

Terios: Now, now. You should know better than that. I guarantee Sarah will be returned to you unharmed.

Sonic: How do we know we can trust you!?

Terios: You have my word..

Shadow and Sonic looked at each for a moment. Before either could do anything, a claw suddenly snatched the emerald out of Shadow's hand. The three of them looked up, seeing Robotnik over head with the emerald.

Sonic: Eggman!

Robotnik: Too slow!

Robotnik flew over to Terios (having quickly fixed up the Egg Mobile), then handed him the emerald.

Terios: Finally! The ultimate power of the Chaos Emeralds is mine!

Shadow: What about Sarah!?

Terios: Of course..

Terios looked over at Robotnik and gave a nod. Robotnik hit a button on his Egg Mobiles controls which activated the cell door. The door swung open and Sarah ran out and over to Shadow, grabbing him in a hug.

Shadow: Are you ok?

Sarah: I'm fine. Just glad to see you.

Shadow gave a small smile as Sarah looked down at him. Terios put the final two Chaos Emeralds in and hit a button on the machine. The machine began to glow as it started to absorb the full power of the emeralds.

Terios: The time is at hand. The world shall know the true power of the Eclipse Cannon, and I will carry out my promise for revenge!

Tails: What are we going to do?

Shadow: Tails, can that fake emerald of yours disrupt the power flow of the Chaos Emeralds?

Tails: It might..

Sonic: Then let's find out!

Sonic grabbed the fake yellow emerald and threw it as fast as he could at the Chaos Power Converter. Terios was able to spot it though and fired and kicked the emerald away.

Robotnik: Nice try, Sonic, but it's too late! Terios will soon use the power of the Chaos Emeralds to reach his super form, then use his own powers to fire the Eclipse Cannon!

Terios: It's all coming to an end..

Shadow: I won't let you do this!

Shadow charged forward, punching at Terios. Terios blocked and ducked, only to nail Shadow with a hard right of his own.

Sonic: Shadow!

Sonic ran over to help Shadow. Terios hit Shadow with another right, knocking him down. Sonic helped Shadow up off the ground as Terios grinned and crossed his arms.

Terios: It's all over!

The Chaos Power Converter started to glow white.

Robotnik: Wait.. It shouldn't be doing that!

The three hedgehogs looked at the converter as it continued to glow white, then started to spark. Sonic yelled back to Tails and Sarah.

Sonic: Get down!!

The two followed what Sonic said, dropping to the ground. Only a moment later, the converter blew apart, sending out a wave of power which instantly hit Terios, Shadow, and Sonic. The wave went out through the room. Robotnik was too high to be hit, and Sarah and Tails were on the ground. Another wave was shot from the converter, then it completely exploded..

Chapter 11: The Last Duel

Shadow sat up slowly, holding his head. He looked around for a moment, but couldn't see too clearly.

Shadow: S.. Sonic?

Sonic shook his head as he sat up. He couldn't see too well either, but could make out the distinct figure that was Shadow.

Sonic: I'm fine.. And you?

Shadow: I might have a headache for some time..

Sonic chuckled, then rubbed his eyes. He looked over at Shadow again, getting a surprise.

Sonic: Shadow!

Shadow: What is it?

Sonic: You've gone super!

Shadow: Huh?

Shadow rubbed his eyes for a moment, then looked down at himself. His fur was no longer black, but a glowing platinum. Shadow looked over at Sonic, who instead of blue, was now gold.

Shadow: Seems you have, too..

Sonic: Does that mean..?

The two looked over at the wreckage of the converter. Terios was closest to it and was now lying there, still as can be. Just as Shadow, his fur was now a glowing platinum color.

Shadow: Seems so..

Robotnik looked on from his Egg Mobile.

Robotnik: The converter must have overloaded.

Tails sat up and looked at the three hedgehogs.

Tails: They must have absorbed the Chaos Emeralds energy when the converted exploded.

Sarah: So that's why they're different colors..

Shadow and Sonic got to their feet and looked around.

Shadow: So where are the emeralds?

Terios started to move. He pulled himself up to his hands and knees.

Terios: That's the least of your worries...

Terios got to his feet, then looked at the two.

Terios: Now that we're in our super forms, I'm going to have the pleasure of killing you both at your best!

Terios shot forward, throwing a punch at Shadow. Shadow ducked the punch and leaped back. Terios followed after Shadow, trying to hit him, but Shadow kept ducking and dodging. Sonic ran over at Terios, ramming him in the side with his shoulder. Terios was knocked to the floor, but leaped up to his feet quickly.

Shadow: We have to stop him before he tries to use the Eclipse Cannon..

Terios suddenly fired two T-Bombs at the two, catching them off guard and throwing them back.

Terios: You'll never be able to stop me, fools. I am the ultimate!!

Terios sped forward as they got up, ramming his foot into Sonic's face, then spun around and slammed his fist into Shadow's face. The two stumbled back, but kept their balance. Terios didn't let up, kicking at Sonic once more. Sonic ducked, grabbed his foot, the kicked his other foot out from under him. Terios flipped, landing on his hands, then kicked Sonic away. Shadow went into a spin dash, coming out of it just as he reached Terios and delivered a powerful kick, kicking Terios right in the face. Terios fell to the ground, but instead of getting up quickly, he remained there, grinning.

Terios: Well, I see I may get some challenge out you two, yet.

Sonic: You'll get more than enough!

Terios got up to his feet, then fired a two more T-Bombs. Sonic and Shadow leaped out of the way. Sonic threw his hand forwards at Terios as he landed.

Sonic: Sonic Wind!

Terios saw it coming though, quickly forming the Dark Shield around himself as the blue energy wave surrounded him.

Sonic: He blocked it!

Shadow: You'll have to catch him off guard..

Terios charged at the two just as the Dark Shield wore off, but the two leaped over him as he sped by. Terios spun around, firing another T-Bomb. His aim was off, though, causing him to miss Sonic or Shadow and almost hitting Robotnik.

Robotnik: Watch it!!

Robotnik looked down at Tails and Sarah as he heard them snickering.

Robotnik: Silence! Before I incinerate the both of you!

Tails and Sarah looked back at him, only to give him goofy faces by pulling on their eyelids and cheeks.

Robotnik: Kids..

Robotnik focused his attention back to the fight. Terios spun around, trying to kick Shadow's feet out from under him, but Shadow leaped over the kick and went for a homing attack. Terios rolled out of the way, then dodged a kick from Sonic. Sonic turned around, throwing another punch at Terios, but Terios caught his fist and threw him down. Shadow ran up to Terios just as he turned around and ran his knee into Terios' gut. Terios seemed to be hurt, but instead, quickly grabbed Shadow's leg and knocked him down. Shadow landed next to Sonic, and Terios leaped away from the two.

Terios: You two really think you can stop me?

Shadow and Sonic got to their.

Sonic: Of course!

Terios laughed to himself.

Terios: Might wanna show tell that hedgehog who exactly he's talking to, 255.

Robotnik: 255?

Robotnik had no knowledge of either Terios and Shadow's past.

Terios: That's right, Doctor. The Shadow you see before you is nothing more than that. A shadow.

Robotnik looked down at Shadow, still a bit confused.

Terios: "Shadow" and I were both created by Prof. Yoshima Isotoma, GUN's top bio-engineer. 255 was Isotoma's first success in the Ultimate Lifeform Experiments. Hence his code...ULF:E-255. Isotoma wanted to create an Ultimate Lifeform for GUN's use. A perfect fighter, based off of Prof. Robotnik's project, which was the original Shadow. Your grandfather...Well, our grandfather as well..

Terios looked over at Shadow.

Terios: Grandfather left absolutely no plans of how he created Shadow. Then only thing coming close was the defective prototype.. AKA The Biolizard. But Sonic and Shadow succeeded in destroying that in which grandfather hadn't gotten to.

Robotnik: So how'd Isotoma create you two?

Terios: The Original Shadow..

Robotnik: What..?

Terios: That's right. The original Shadow was found a day after the ARK incident. He was barely alive. GUN decided to bring him in and then study and rearrange his DNA cells to create us. "Shadow" was the first success. I came later on.. ULF:E-359. I am Isotoma's vision of the Ultimate Lifeform.. And I'm not going to let two pathetic hedgehog's stop me!!

Terios fired a T-Bomb at the Shadow and Sonic. They leaped out of the way as it exploded, then both charged forwards at Terios. Sonic threw a punch at Terios, only to miss. Shadow went for a kick, but Terios leaped up, then spun in the air, landing a solid kick in Shadow's face. Sonic continued to throw punches at Terios, but Terios simply avoided them and punched Sonic back, knocking him to the floor. Shadow and Terios went at it again. Shadow kept his own, finally dealing some good hits to Terios. Terios leaped away from Shadow, but kept his glare on him.

Terios: T-Bomb!

Shadow: Chaos Strike!

Both hedgehog's fired balls of energy at each other--Terios' T-Bomb being red, Shadow's Chaos Strike being yellow. The two balls collided, but as the T-Bomb exploded, Shadow's ball of energy ricochet...slamming right into the Eclipse Cannon's reactor core! Power began to surge through the core as bolts of energy shot out from it.

Terios: Fool! Look what you've done!

Robotnik: If the core explodes, so does the ARK!

Everyone else seemed to yell "what!?" at the same time.

Robotnik: I don't know about you, Terios, but I'm getting out of here!

Robotnik hit a button on his Egg Mobiles console and disappeared.

Shadow: Sonic! You and the others need to get out of here, too!

Sonic: No way! I'm staying here to make sure Terios is stopped!

Shadow looked over at Tails and Sarah.

Sarah: Shadow..

Shadow: Don't worry.. I'm going to send you back to Tails workshop.

Sarah: But..!

Shadow: I'll be fine..

Shadow gave her a reassuring smile as a ball began to form in his hand.

Shadow: Chaos Control!

Shadow threw the ball forwards. The moment it hit Tails and Sarah, they disappeared with a flash.

Terios: Saving them isn't going to save you two.

Shadow and Sonic turned around and faced Terios. They didn't race time with talk and sped forward, now able to show the true extent of their speeds without anyone to run into. Terios hadn't expected the speed nor the strength and was thrown back by punches from both Sonic and Shadow. Terios was quick to recover though. He kicked up to his feet and charged forward with the same amount of speed, kicking both Sonic and Shadow as hard he could. The two were sent to the ground, landing pretty hard from the force of the kicks. The three of them continued to trade blows back and forth, not wanting to give up. Meanwhile, the Eclipse Cannon's core continued to spark and shoot energy, finally releasing the first explosion. The explosion ripped through the room, catching all three hedgehog's off guard and throwing them to the ground. There was now a large hole in the ARK due to the force of the explosion.

Sonic: Shadow! We can't let this last much longer!

Shadow: I know!

The two attacked Terios again, keeping on him and not letting up. Terios kept his guard up, blocking everything they hit him with, but he soon began to fall behind, taking a few hard hits to the head. Terios stumbled back from a hard kick to the head, giving Sonic and Shadow a good chance to strike. They both held out their hands, firing their main attacks--Sonic Wind and The Chaos Spear--and hit Terios before he could use his Dark Shield to block. Terios fell to his knees, breathing hard.

Sonic: Had enough?

Terios remained quiet, except for his breathing. Shadow suddenly got an uneasy feeling as he looked on at Terios, as if he knew something was about to happen. Just then, the reactor let off another series of explosions. Sonic and Shadow's attention was pulled to the explosions, giving Terios the most opportune time. Terios quickly got up to one knee and fired two powerful T-Bombs at Shadow and Sonic. Shadow, having felt something was up, was able to spin his body out of the way. Sonic, on the other hand, didn't have enough time to move and was hit full force by the T-Bomb. Sonic was thrown backwards, landing with a sick thud and then rolling back, finally stopping on his stomach near the wall.

Shadow: Sonic!!

Sonic's golden fur went back it's normal blue as the powers from the Chaos Emeralds wearing off. Terios stood up slowly, laughing to himself, but loud enough for Shadow to hear him. Shadow kneeled down next to Sonic, seeing if he was alright. Sonic was unconscious, but breathing. Shadow put his hand on Sonic, using Chaos Control to send him back to Tails workshop. Another huge explosion ripped from the reactor core, but didn't phase either of the two remaining hedgehogs.

Terios: This is it.. Shadow.

Shadow: Calling me by my name now?

Terios: It's only fair.. Since I'm going to kill you..

Terios formed a T-Blade in his hands. The T-Blade was a double-sided, red, energy blade, modified from the original Chaos Blade he once carried just as Shadow does now. Shadow formed a Chaos Blade and the two went at it. Terios slashed at Shadow, putting him on the defense, but Shadow quickly turned things around on him and put Terios on the defensive. Terios was pushed back by Shadow, but Terios leaped up and over Shadow and slashed at him. Shadow dodged the slash and stabbed at Terios. Terios moved back from the Chaos Blade, then lunged forwards and slashed Shadow across the chest. Shadow winced, trying to not let it get to him and lunged forwards himself, stabbing Terios in the shoulder. Terios pulled himself off of the blade before Shadow could pull it out, then without hesitation, went back to trying to stab Shadow. Shadow kept his blocking up, not letting Terios get the best of. The two started to get dangerously close to the reactor core, but neither cared. The two continued to slash, stab, and block, yet neither would give. Their blades connected again, but this time, they pushed each others blades to the side...stabbing right into the reactor core. Before either hedgehog could do anything, the reactor gave off another explosion and threw the two of them back. They both landed with a thud, and could now see just how bad the damage to the ARK was. There were holes in the walls all around. Terios got to his feet first and ran over to the remains of the Chaos Power Converter. He dug into the wreckage, finding the 7 emeralds. Shadow got to his feet and ran towards Terios, but was stopped by the floor ripping apart in front of him.

Terios: I told you I was the ultimate, Shadow!

Terios put his arms around the Chaos Emeralds as Shadow watched on.

Terios: Sayonara, Shadow The Hedgehog!!

Terios laughed at his bit of twisted humor, then disappeared in a flash of light with all the emeralds. Shadow looked around as more explosions went off, trying to find something that would help him, yet he couldn't find a thing...

----

It was dark over the Mystic Ruins, as rain was pouring hard. Tails and Sarah helped Sonic to get his head back on straight, all the while waiting for Shadow. The dark clouds seem to part for a moment, revealing the dark sky.

Sarah: I hope he gets back soon..

Almost as if on que, an explosion was seen in the sky through the windows in the workshops roof. The dark, cloud filled sky lit up as the explosion ripped through space. The three of them knew what it was...

Sarah: Shadow!!

----

Robotnik looked up at the sky as the explosion went off. It was sunlight, but you could see the explosion plain as day from Robotniks base on his artificial island. He walked back inside the base and looked around, knowing full well the ARK had just exploded.

Robotnik: I wonder...

There was a sudden flash of light, and Terios appeared before Robotnik...with all seven Chaos Emeralds.

Robotnik: Terios! You've made it!

Terios looked at the doctor and grinned as he held up the green emerald.

Terios: That's one less hedgehog for you to put up with, Doctor..

Robotnik grinned has he started to laugh triumphantly, picking up two more of the emeralds.

...The End...

Dedicated To Sue (for being one of my best friends)

Legal Stuff: Sonic The Hedgeog, Dr. Robotnik, Shadow The Hedgehog, and other canon characters are property of Sonic Team/Sega. Terios and other fan made characters are property of Shadow 255 (The Author). This story was written by a fan to entertain his fellow Sonic Fans, and is in no way affiliated with Sonic Team/Sega.

Story Finished As Of 9/8-9/03 (September 8-9th, 2003). Written by Shadow 255.