"I think you two can cope with that lot, can't you?" I asked. I didn't really expect an answer, I knew my team would be able to handle the swarm of badniks that lay beyond the cliff.

Rouge grinned down on the robots, and then she winked at me. "And I suppose a strong, handsome man such as yourself will go straight for Eggman?"

I crossed my arms. "If Sonic couldn't be bothered to show up here sooner, why should I give him the satisfaction of fighting the doctor?"

Omega must've got bored with the chit-chat, as he sent out a barrage of missiles down on the badniks below. The metal fragments were already flung to where Team Dark were on top of the cliff, and Rouge had to duck to avoid being hit by one of the robots remains.

Rouge sighed, but with a fond smile. "You don't really have much patience, Omega."

Omega continued to fire missiles, not looking at the bat. The explosions continued to boom and ignite, one after the other. "I just want to destroy them already."

I rolled my eyes at Omega's predictability before teleporting to the doctor's base.

I was met by the grey, metal walls and floors of the base. I began to walk forward, my rocket boots making a clanging sound each time I took a step forward. I wasn't bothered by the noise, this wasn't a stealth mission.

I must of took 5 steps before a load of alarms began to flash red, warning me to turn back. The irritating wail of sirens broke out as robots suddenly made their presence known by dropping out of hatches from the room. I was very nearly crushed myself, but I managed to swivel around and send a chaos spear at the robot instead. The robots then went down like a stream of dominoes.

"Do you insist on destroying all my creations? They take years to build!" Eggman's voice boomed from behind my back, I turned around slowly to see Eggman sitting in some sort of robotic contraption resembling a crab. The doctor had a scowl on his face and was crossing his arms like a kid about to have a temper tantrum.

I looked Eggman's new toy up and down, and couldn't help but sigh in disappointment. This was Gerald's grandson, and he was a disgrace to their family name. I suddenly then wondered if Gerald was watching down on Eggman from above, and feeling the same sense of disappointment as I was.

"If you don't want them destroyed, design them better." I remarked before leaping into the air, I got a good look at the robot now, and I quickly found a suitable weak point to attack. In one of the leg joints was some exposed wire, Eggman was really making it too easy.

I charged a spin attack into the wire, and sure enough a jolt of electricity sparked through the robot. It was not enough to make it collapse, however, so I ended up firing a chaos spear into the centre of the contraption. With a thud, it collapsed on the metal floor, It must have weighed a lot, as the ground shook a little once it collided with the ground.

"I'm done here." I reported through my wrist communicator. I heard Rouge laugh slightly on the other end of the line. "Of course you're already finished, Shadow!"

"It's not like he made it difficult." I muttered. Rouge should know by now that all Eggman's plans were poorly thought out.

"Omega's finishing the last ones over here, so we'll be done soon. Shadow-"

I stopped listening at that moment. My brows furrowed as I looked back at the remains of the robotic crab. Where was the doctor? By now I would've expected the man to have clambered out of the wreckage, and the mad scientist would utter some nonsensical rant about how things were going to be different next time.

Yet there was nothing. The carcass of the crab lied still.

I approached the remains of the robot, my head surprisingly deprived of any thoughts or emotions. I lifted it up out of the way with minimum effort.

My glove was then stained with scarlet liquid.

I frantically searched under the heap of robotic legs to find the doctor.

Blood was pouring from his forehead.

He wasn't moving.

He wasn't breathing.

I cautiously approached and my fingers trembled as I searched for a pulse.

His heart wasn't beating.

He was dead.

I took a few steps back, shaken and stunned; I almost tripped over one if the robots I had destroyed earlier. One minute the doctor was alive and now he was dead.

It was because of me.

I didn't know what to feel.