Black Convergence-REWRITTEN

by SailorSaiyan93

REWRITE. Black Doom is revived and with his new, stronger army, the Earth will surely be doomed. With the Master Emerald shattered, Shadow must ally himself with Sonic, the others, and a young survivor to recover them. All the while, the link between Doom and he gets stronger as time passes, and he discovers that defeating the enemy this time won't be easy. Slight AU, R&R plz!

1. Catalyst of Convergence Part 1

Note: Well, it's finally here! At least the first couple parts of it! Ideally, I wished to finish this thing up on Archive of Our Own and DeviantArt first before putting it up here, yet given that this story's gotten the most traction here, I decided that I could post what I have here and continue on from there.

But yeah, from the announcement on the old story, I feel that it could be better, thus, I'm redoing big portions of it. Doing some more research, watching some cutscenes from SA2, and doing my own looking into what I want to exactly say and convey without sounding overly preaching or 'holier-than-thou', I think I've got a decent enough start to the beginning of this (hopeful) improvement.

A thing to note that, before we start, this story, unlike last time, will be going down the alternate path in the Shadow the Hedgehog game called 'The Truth of Sadness', which is the Neutral-Dark-Good-Good-Neutral-Good path. It'll mainly follow in that vein until the very last part (the oh so beloved computer room), where it will veer off in a different direction that'll sort of more or less set the stage for what's to come.

Let me know if that's confusing or if you don't understand, yet with that said, here's the beginning of the rewritten Black Convergence, and I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 1: Catalyst of Convergence Part 1

Sonic and respective settings © of Sega/Sonic Team.

Special thanks to my beta for this chapter, Soultail Omega-Light! Thank you so much!

It was not but just a few, short days ago that the flyer 'Fire in the Sky' had circulated around in the daily paper, highlighting the expected return of the Black Comet that passed over but once every half century. Whilst the pattern wasn't believed to be anything unusual, Hailey's comet actually taking seventy-two to seventy-nine years to even pass by the Earth, the other worldly object brought a good amount of publicity, several media outlets preparing themselves for reporting and drawing attention to the comet, as well as several anxious sky watchers ready to view it for themselves.

Yet, while the number was very few, and now even fewer, the announcement of the comet's short lived time being seen only served to remind those few that, despite the general populous' ignorance, there was nothing to be celebrated about it drawing so dangerously close to the planet.

And whilst said ignorance was still somewhat held when the skies above transformed into a darkened, ominous red, a good portion of the inhabitants of Westopolis began to have doubts that the sudden appearance of the descending, black skinned creatures were in no way connected to the passing entity.

Yet unknown and unseen by the panicked civilians and before the GUN troops that had come to combat the sudden, otherworldly invaders, an outside witness had been approached by a member of this strange, extraterrestrial race. A member that, to the witness' bafflement, had knowledge of his name.

"Shadow…" the creature spoke, its, or assumedly his, voice a deep, gravelly baritone and, if the hedgehog had to be honest, it perfectly matched his appearance. "Oh, you HAVE grown…"

Enormous, elongated horns sat atop of a misshapen head, there being no features present save for a pair of three eyes, one of which, stationed atop of the other two, bore its own iris and pupil unlike those below it. In hindsight, and in the few short moments that he had come to fully gaze upon the creature, Shadow found himself wondering as to why that particular eye held such an unusual appearance to the others. Such an answer was revealed at a later time, yet in that moment, he held no idea of such a thing, let alone what or who this devilish looking being was.

Obvious as it was, the shock of this otherworldly being actually knowing what he was called immediately struck a cord with the black hedgehog…another element that, in hindsight, he realized, seemed to perpetuate throughout the other members of the being's race. His…children. "Who are you?" the then unsuspecting, yet more than cautious hedgehog questioned. "Where do you come from? And how did you-"

"Inquisitive, aren't you?" the horned being chuckled, as if bemused by the string of questions falling from his lips. "That's good. That's very good. A display of a reasonable amount of intelligence." From the looks of it, the creature bore no visible legs, and even if there was something present on his lower half, it was concealed by a worn and aged, yet ornate robe of dark brown, several pairs of stones and jewelry worn and displayed with pride around what Shadow could only assume was his 'neck'. "Yet such things, I'm afraid, must wait. Our day of reckoning is fast approaching…"

Whether it be from the overall appearance of the alien or how intentionally vague his answer sounded, Shadow found himself steadily backing away from the being. He knew his name, the only thing he knew at the time, and along with how much he had 'grown'. Yet from how dismissive, if not outright avoiding of his questions the being had been, Shadow's instincts immediately began setting off alarms. "Then go and hurry up with it." He simply stated in a huff. "Sounds far from anything worth my time."

The robed creature didn't make a move, not even a lunge towards him to try and prevent him from leaving. If Shadow hadn't turned that moment, perhaps he would've caught something in his features change. As if this dismissal was actually something expected, if not outright hoped for.

"If that is your sentiment," the low voice stated, tinges of regret oozing from his words. "Then I suppose you COULD live the rest of your days simply living with the image of her being shot in cold blood."

His feet immediately stopped. While he was not entirely familiar with the sensation, at least not from what he remembered, Shadow found his entire body growing deathly cold. Yet before he could even get a word out, the being spoke again.

"Yes, I know who she is." Again, if Shadow had turned at that moment, he would've noticed the being's fist beginning to clench tightly before loosening once again. As if a sudden burst of rage had momentarily overcome him before he pushed it back once again. "I know where she resided, as well as what happened there. Why you're here, and why you're unable to recall any of what transpired before you were found in that pod deep underground, in the guardianship of that machine. Omega, you call him, yes?"

Shadow then turned, to his shame, his mouth hanging agape in utter shock at what he had just heard. "…who are you really?"

The horned creature remained silent for a moment or two, as if seriously contemplating a decision. Yet apparently, it didn't take long for him to reach said decision. "Very well. I hold knowledge of you, so thus, you shall have knowledge of me." He drew closer, one hand reaching out and brushing the hedgehog on his tan cheek, a shudder traveling through the smaller of the two. "I am Black Doom, the leader of the Black Arms, the ones you see descending from the skies above."

Black Doom…not once in his life, had he heard such a name, yet still, Shadow found something 'click' from within his mind. Some sense or form of familiarity was brought forth upon hearing this creature's name, even if he had never seen nor heard of him until now. And he was still stroking his cheek!? With a quick motion, Shadow dislodged Doom's three-digit hand from his face.

"As I was saying, I know everything about you Shadow, seeing I've been watching you for some time." Watching…there was something more to that. Yet what exactly, he didn't know. "And I have come all this way just for you. To give you clarity and answers to all that you want answered." Doom spoke of such a thing with such enthusiasm, Shadow finding himself actually becoming interested in what he had to say. "Yet…if you hold no interest, then I understand." He began to turn away, slowly. "But, I must continue on for my children…with or without your-"

"Wait!"

Perfect. Turning around, giving the closest he could to a puzzled expression, Black Doom gazed down at the smaller hedgehog. "Yes?"

His calling to him didn't indicate he held trust in him. Far from it, and the realization of this fact made Shadow regret his action for a moment or two. Yet the mentioning of the blonde, adolescent girl that had been killed…this being, Black Doom, apparently knew who she was, who this 'Maria' was. If it had just been that, then yes, while he would've been shocked, it would've bred more than enough caution if he had been wishing for Shadow to partake in this 'day of reckoning' with only that as leverage.

Yet…no. It was impossible. There was no way; absolutely no way that he could've known that he was locked up, kept in a controlled, perpetual slumber within the depths of one of Eggman's fortress', let alone the identity of the very machine that was stationed to watch over him! How could he know these things?! Even Rouge herself had no knowledge of Omega before she had nearly been riddled with bullets by the E-series robot, and she claimed to have known Shadow far longer than he certainly knew her!

"I can help you." Doom assured, voice oddly soft and despite himself, strangely comforting. As if he were speaking to a frightened child, Shadow observed. "I can help you gain back what you lost…and much more. Only I can do this."

It was another thing that Shadow found himself noticing in hindsight. How Doom had waited, waited specifically for him to speak. Waited for him to respond, as if he was waiting for some sort of cue.

And to his discredit, Shadow, in the midst of all of this being thrown onto him, gave him what he wanted. "What do you want?"

"It is a small task." Black Doom assured, noticing that while he was interested, there was still a good amount of skepticism held. "Truly. In fact, you are more than familiar with them already. Having gathered two them during your excursion through a palace by the ocean and through a base in a canyon."

The Ocean Palace and the Bullet Station…from the mentioning of the enigmatic 'Maria', he had already made it obvious he had been supposedly 'watching' for some time, yet still…something else so recent…

"What I want from you is to gather the Chaos Emeralds." That was how he phrased his demand, though honeyed as possible. "I want for you to gather them, and bring them to me."

Small task huh? For him, perhaps, yet still, oddly specific that he wanted them. Stones of untold, unfathomable power. The apparent distrust was immediately noticed, a twinge of frustration beginning to appear on the alien's features, yet just before Shadow was about to go off and see the events occurring in Westopolis himself, Doom's hand reached forward.

Whether he ran or slapped the appendage away, it would've have mattered, for the moment one of the three digits touched his forehead, the red streaked hedgehog found himself completely unable to do anything, the most basic of senses robbed from him in that moment. His vision left him, nothing aside from a seemingly endless, black abyss in front of him for a span of time he couldn't discern, seconds dragging on into minutes, those minutes in turn transitioning into hours.

He dare not say it, let alone allow himself to accept it, yet Shadow found himself steadily beginning to grow more and more panicked. His entire being was stuck, caught in a perpetual state of paralysis in some lightless place where the sun never reached. He struggled, fought, kicked and thrashed around, even if said actions were all in his mind, yet still, nothing. He felt his form stay as still and motionless as it had been the moment he had been thrust into this state.

That was until, to his surprise and relief, he found his eyes beginning to open.

His vision was returning to him, yet what had been before him were not the outskirts of the city, let alone the setting sun in a reddened, darkened sky. He was somewhere…wet. Yes, that was in. Wet and…warm. From what he could tell by what was beginning to return to him, he was stationed in a small, compact area full of green, heated liquid, some sort of device stationed over his mouth and nose that fed in oxygen. Shadow held no idea why, yet being here, wherever this was, it felt right somehow. Right and familiar…

Yet even with this, the hedgehog was still not entirely comfortable being here. The fact remained that, wherever this was, he was somehow trapped: trapped and unable to get out. Despite the small amount of room given to him, Shadow attempted to try and maneuver himself slightly, if not just to see if there was enough room for him to maybe, at the very least, throw a fist forward or kick against the barrier of glass that was before him. Yet this in itself proved to not exactly be the best idea, a stinging, sharp pain immediately resonating throughout his entire body.

'What the-' there was at least the option of his eyes moving, looking over and around to see that what he had just felt was from something that was connected to his skin. No, it was IN his skin. In his skin, and feeding something into him from several areas all on him, two in particular located on each side of his small neck. 'Needles?' Shadow realized, this coupled by with an overwhelming desire to remove them. Yet still, who in the world put needles into him? And better yet, what exactly was being fed through and into him?

It hurt. He held no idea as to what was happening; yet he knew that these instruments hurt. Even more, there was a dull, yet still present sting in each area where one of the sharpened ends punctured his flesh. Where was he? Why was he here, what were these things putting into him?! Why couldn't he get out?! He wanted to get out! He wanted to-

"Doesn't that hurt?" someone was speaking.

The liquid, whilst warm, was in no way transparent, there being little that he could see aside from the bright hue of green along with several particles floating aimlessly around him. Yet beyond the glass, he found that if he focused just enough, he could make out two distinct shapes. One was particularly smaller than the other, yet from the sound of their voices, at least what he could make out given where he was currently, they seemed to be that of a young girl and a far older man.

"Well…" the man began, tone sounding somewhat regretful. "Ultimately, that's something that can't be helped. But it shouldn't be too much longer."

Too much longer? No, no that wasn't good enough! He wanted to be out NOW! He NEEDED to be out NOW!

"Oh, that's good." The girl replied, not exactly pleased, yet still somewhat relieved. "I know I wouldn't like it if I had all those things stuck into me."

'Then do something about it!' Shadow mentally demanded. 'Don't just stand there gawking, you…you…' His fury immediately died. Was this…who he thought it was?

"Do you think he'll remember us being here when he wakes up?" she asked again, Shadow finding that, just as he began to link and put together the pieces of what might've been going on, who was on the other side and only slightly visible through the thick liquid, his vision began to falter once again.

'Wait…wait no! No!' he protested, his mental efforts now focused on keeping his line of sight on the two figures. This wasn't to say that he had suddenly developed a want to be stuck in this confined space with these needles, yet he realized that he was onto something. Something he had been anxiously wishing to know, and now it was slipping away! 'No! Not yet!'

"I don't know." The old man answered. "I can't say for sure. I don't even think he's entirely aware as it is now." He was right in more ways than one, Shadow finding himself slipping further and further away, sinking down, down, down. "But when is, you'll be the first person that he'll get to see."

He wanted her; this young girl to see him, so she must've bore some sort of importance in that regard. Was…was this her? Was this girl he was hearing 'Maria'?

Shadow struggled, trying and desperately clinging to whatever was left of this fleeting vision or whatever it was. If it was indeed her, then he needed to know! He needed to know where this was, why he was here, let alone why she would be the one to see him! He wanted to know! He needed to know! He needed to-

"Oof!" he had fallen. Fallen on the grass beneath him, under the single tree he had been standing under not but a few moments prior, with the same horned being as before standing over him. "What…" Shadow began, finding that he was having difficulty even formulating words from the still present shock of being thrust out of whatever sort of state he was put in. "What was THAT? What did you do?"

Black Doom simply chuckled, as if the experience wasn't anything extraordinary, even if aspects such as time and overall sensation were completely lost and toyed with during that brief spell he had just endured. "I told you." he began. "I can help you. What you just witnessed was just a sliver of a long forgotten event you bore witness to. In fact, to answer your question, no. You didn't remember that brief moment when you woke up." Before he could once again question on how in the world he knew such a thing, Doom continued. "There is little time. I must depart." He turned away, yet paused to look back at the still flabbergasted hedgehog. "If you wish to see more, to see all…I shall unlock it for you. Bring me the Emeralds, and I shall give you the clarity you've been pining for."

And with that, before Shadow could get a single word out, to call out for him to stop or demand that he stay and deliver more to him, Black Doom's form suddenly became enveloped in a bright, red hue that temporarily blinded the black hedgehog. "I shall see you in the city just ahead." When he removed his gloved hand away from his red eyes, the horned being was gone, his offer still remaining fresh in his mind.

'Like it or not…' Shadow concluded. 'He knows much more than I do. And what he does know…the only way I'm going to get any answers is to get those Chaos Emeralds.'

With this, the hedgehog's jet shoes activated as soon as he began to move forward, their flares slightly burning the blades of grass below them, straight towards the now frantic and overwhelmed Westopolis.

From there, Shadow's search for the truth that he had just been given a taste of began...yet that is not where the true uncovering began. Oh yes, a good deal had been revealed over the course of the journey taken, routes taken and paths chosen, alternating between benefiting a familiar individual he had come across, the being that he had just met (or rather, his six limbed, single eyed extension of himself), or just himself. Yet still, what he had received in the brief instances where something long forgotten climbed out and was remembered once again would not compare to what he would receive in one swift, but efficient blow.

And when said blow was dealt, that was where Shadow the Hedgehog truly began to see and understand who, and even more, what he was. For the better, and for the worst, for good and evil.

That was when the changes began…

Yet that came at a far later time. But it began, truly began, right when, through his trek in the Iron Jungle, a blue colored hedgehog with quite the thirst and hunger for adventure came to him and offered him a ride up towards an old, worn down ship that the Black Arms were seen attempting to gain control over.

Yet as the small crew flew upwards, past the Earth and towards the isolated Space Colony Ark…there was someone else at a far greater distance that was awaiting answers of their own.

Past the Earth, just one planet away, and nestled on the surface of Deimos, Mars' smallest moon, rested an object not of Mars and definitely not of Earth. An expansive, sturdy spacecraft of darkly colored, violet metal rested on the moon's rocky surface, its thrusters having been inactive for some time, yet this wasn't due to any loss of fuel or malfunction. The only capable pilot of the ship had intentionally stationed it here, now lying in wait. The front of the ship, if a soul outside of the pilot or any of his other company aboard could've seen it, possibly would've likened the design to that of an insect or bug, specifically an ant. In fact, the entirety of the ship seemed to resemble such, sections resembling a thorax and abdomen present, and whilst they were not as long as those of the insect, clear depictions of legs and antennae were present in the structure as well.

"The Blodex certainly knew how to put together a decent enough vehicle for travel." The pilot outwardly mused.

The aforementioned pilot of the spacecraft was adorned in red robes that trailed down to the floor, sections of blue stationed in various areas, particularly on the shoulders, and golden trims that extended down to his golden cuffs. The pattern on the cuffs resembled the symbol that rested on his chest: a circle with several, wave-like extensions fanning and spreading out until their reached either the end of their section or the cloth, the symbols on the cuffs being more unique in that they bore a single, blue sphere in the center. Though for what resided on his lower section was but the open space below, for he bore no lower section, so to speak, much in line with the one he was waiting to hear from. He was indeed a member of the invading aliens that had made their presence known not too long ago, yet unlike Black Doom, in place of elongated, stretching horns, was a blue hood covering the top of his head. He was not one like Doom, yet he was also not like one of the several Soldiers that were currently wreaking havoc on Earth.

No, his mind was his own, unlike them, at least, he wished to think so.

From his current position, staring out of the two 'eyes' of the ship, he was reminded of how long he and his superior, his 'Breeder' had traveled. He didn't need the universe as an example of that, the length it took to get as close as they were now had taken months, if not nearly an entire year! He remembered when his 'Breeder' first sensed that 'he' had awoken, having just passed Saturn. Then, for a moment, the link was disconnected, nothing able to be felt for a good while until finally, and ironically, as they were passing Mars itself, the link had finally risen once again. Faint at first, yes, yet with time, it grew and developed to what it had been before, his Breeder having never looked so relieved.

And with this confirmation, the pilot's departure was ordered, taking one of the ships that his race had taken aboard their own traveling vessel and stationing himself and a few select others but a short distance away from the Earth. Well, short might've not been the most appropriate of terms, seeing as the only discernable object from this point was Deimos' own planet, Phobos actually being a further distance away. In fact, aside from Mars, each and every other planet appeared to be no more than a faraway, bright star. The Sun of this particular solar system able to be seen, yes, yet from this distance, its brightness was but just a small amount brighter compared to the other objects floating amidst the lightless abyss.

The hooded member of the Black Arms averted his eyes; all three of them, his sight having caught the bright object stationed a good distance away from Mars and located to the southeast. Ironic, seeing as from where he was, Saturn seemed closer to the red planet than Earth did. And while he had come here due to his Breeder's orders being firm and absolute…honestly, the entire ordeal surrounding that planet, particularly with that one ship floating above brought him nothing but anxiety.

"Did we really have to come back here?" he wondered aloud, the few Soldiers that had been left with him further back in the ship. Besides, they wouldn't have been able to make much for conversation as it was. "Better yet, did you even need to respond to that old man's attempts to contact the Black Comet? You had already become aware that he was in a desperate state…yet…there was no need to create that creature. And you have no idea what that human had done to his-"

"Death…"

He paused, any and all thought relating to what he was just talking about ceasing at that very moment. If it was him that he had just heard, speaking in his mind, then he couldn't let him see that he was having such thoughts.

"Black Death…can you hear me?"

There was no mistaking it now. It was indeed whom he believed it to be. "Black Doom!" Black Death mentally exclaimed, both shocked and overjoyed, yet it quickly transformed into concern when he realized what he had just called his superior. "My Breeder! Y-Yes, my Breeder. I can hear you perfectly.

"I would hope so." The disembodied, guttural voice stated, though from the sound of his tone, he didn't seem to be in the best of spirits. "You're at least one I do not have to worry over."

"Breeder," Death began to question. "Where are you exactly? Are you on Earth, or the Comet?"

"Neither." Neither? "I'm on the Ark."

"The Ark?"

"Do you know of any other 'Arks' around here besides the one orbiting that ball of dirt?" Doom hissed. He was definitely displeased about something. "We've gathered four of the Emeralds now-"

"Just four?"

"One less than what we need. The blasted blue rodent made off with one that those blasted humans attempted to steal back from us on the ship." Doom confessed, Death unable to remember the last time that there was a twinge of shame in his voice. "Even if it's not all, if there were five, then we could at least make use of the Eclipse Cannon."

"The humans are there as well?"

"They're ALL here, Death. We came here to gain a better leverage over those walking bags of flesh, yet apparently the Commander of GUN has caught on and sent his troops up here. Not to mention, 'he' has gone and come here with that blue rodent and some of those other pests to put a stop to it." Fury resonated throughout his voice. "Some of my children managed to squander the Emerald in their possession...and I must say, from what the waves of pleasure I was sensing from them, the meat here hasn't changed much in the last thousand years or so."

Well, at least there was that, Black Death finding himself beginning to lightly salivate before regaining control over himself. Indeed though, from the signals Doom was sharing with him, this planet's population was truly ideal for feeding. Yet even through all that, the hooded Arms member found it puzzling that amongst those that had traveled to the Ark to stop his Breeder's operation, one had been the very one that Black Doom was previously so anxious to see.

"And…what of the other two?"

"They are with him."

"Pardon?"

"Did I not make myself clear? They are with him." Doom repeated, irritable he had to repeat himself. "He gained it in a race with that blue rodent." There was a considerable amount of animosity upon his superior mentioning this 'blue rodent'. Why, he was unsure, yet nevertheless, he certainly thought this individual, whomever they were, had been far from wise to invoke his Breeder's wrath. Perhaps maybe a bit of pity as well…though such a thing wouldn't dare be mentioned openly.

"So…where is he now?" Death questioned, somewhat fearful upon feeling his master's tension so strongly, even if he was not physically present. Of course, the wrong thing said could easily change that.

"He had gone with one of those here to stop us. A crocodile, and a member of some ragtag group one of the Earth's government have hired to collect data from the Ark and hopefully prevent any more damage. Its condition has long since changed over the last half-decade." Doom explained. "As of now, he has left his side as the ship's power plant has been located. The other two teammates, a chameleon and honey bee are now hacking into the systems and excavating what they can."

They would have to be taken care of, especially if they were still wishing to access the Eclipse Cannon, yet they were far from the only person of interest that Black Doom had in mind. In fact, from what his eye had seen, a particular member of GUN was aboard the Ark as well…someone that, frankly, had done quite a bit of growing up since he had seen him last. It was stunning how quickly the human species aged, yet nevertheless, it was actually a little meeting that he would look forward to in the near future. To see if little Abraham held as much fear for him as before.

Yet that would come later. For now, the task at hand was dealing with one that was, to his dismay, 'going astray'. Yet before he could finish his message to his lower ranking comrade, a sudden interjection put his plan on halt.

"You shouldn't be there." It was impulsive, yes. And he'd surely be reprimanded, yet all the same, Black Death's sentiments, as much as he held concern for what they would bring, remained the same. "If this doesn't go as planned…if he doesn't-"

"Do you doubt me, Black Death?"

"N-No! Not at all, my Breeder!" the horn-less alien assured, though the sudden wave of ire at essentially being told that Doom's maneuver to go to the ship himself was unwise was nearly too much. The very idea was enough of an insult to warrant him going to Deimos that very moment to 'correct' him, yet Death had further to add, despite potentially getting into even hotter water. "Yet, surely you understand my concern. After all, if something were to occur, in that you would be severely injured…or worse…then, you realize what would happen-"

"That's an impossibility." Doom interrupted, obviously more than a little cross with the far off onlooker. "Tell me, in which of our many conquests and victories have I ever come unfathomably close to my potential demise?"

"Well, none. Yet still, you have had multiple attempts on your life-"

"And all of those that tried were converted into sustenance for me or my children. And even in the former's case, they provided me with the means to birth and bring forth yet another generation of our kind."

"But as our lifeline, shouldn't you keep to using your eye and not-"

"ENOUGH OF THIS!"

It did no such thing, yet from the shockwave that rattled Death's entire being, he would've sworn that the very ship itself shook from the volume of Doom's voice.

"Would I, would my children, would YOU have survived this long had I NOT been nothing short of the apex of our entire race?! Do you not think of the hundreds, the THOUSANDS of years of existence that we have endured?! And through each and every one of them, has any opposition, no matter the size or their arsenal, gained victory over us!? Tell me one! Just one, and I shall take back all I have said!"

The hooded subordinate was rendered completely silent, and while it was far from a prideful thing to admit, he discovered that his blood had gone absolutely cold. Perhaps it would've been better to have not spoken at all.

"Well?" Doom's echoing voice questioned, yet still, Death said nothing. "I have him trying my patience already. Do not tell me you wish to add to that as well-"

"No, of course not." He finally answered, though this reply was not enough.

"Of course not, what?"

"Of course not, my Breeder." Death corrected, his senses feeling far less strained and his body finally began to feel relief from Doom's ignited fury.

"Besides, that is why I have you, isn't it?" not wishing to bring forth another episode from his superior, Death began to reply, yet was cut off before a single word could get out. "I must leave you soon." He confessed. "He is on his lonesome now…and we are in dire need of a little 'talk'."

"Be careful." Death settled with saying, though it was obvious that there was far more he wished to express.

"Don't trouble yourself." Doom assured. "He may not be connected to my consciousness entirely like the others, yet do not forget that he'd be no better than that mad lizard once sealed up there if not for me." Even from this distance, the resolve Death was experiencing from his Breeder was all encompassing. "In the end, my will reigns supreme over his. He WILL be mine."

While he wasn't present to see it, he could at least feel the thoughts of respect and admiration being transmitted back to him, Death bowing to his far off leader. "So you say it, so it shall be done."

"Indeed." Seeing as there was nothing more to discuss, Doom, even from his distance, returned this with a sense of confirmation and a nod in response. "Though…if the situation troubles you that much, then I suggest you begin making your approach to Earth now."

With that, Doom's words died, his presence in Death's own consciousness fading as the ship, once again, became silent.

Indeed, as Black Death pondered and reviewed his Breeder's words, perhaps he was worrying over nothing. After all, everything he had stated was true. For as long as he could recall, his own life having just begun when Doom himself was well in his years and had produced several generations of spawn, not one planet or its peoples had defied his Breeder and lived to see another day. And that was if they were amongst the first to be consumed first, all the rest simply having to wait their turn. Soon, all seven of those stones would be in their possession…and then, when their home, his home, was finally able to breach past that planet's atmosphere, then he would be able to experience the same satisfying pleasure for himself.

Though, even with this reassurance, as well as the now present hunger that came to him with these thoughts, Black Death still found himself pondering why Black Doom was so insistent on coming here. It wasn't as if they hadn't established themselves on other planets, and the ruins stationed in Glyphic Canyon were far from the first of their kind, and yet still, his Breeder always insisted that THIS planet was the one that they would dine on. Not just that, but they were to eradicate everything, no exceptions. While granted, Death could attest that his species weren't exactly known for being merciful in their conquests, he couldn't help but get the sense that Doom had a particular need, a deeply rooted yearning to see that this particular planet was rendered to that of a near inhabitable shell of its former self.

The reason as to why, he wasn't entirely sure, yet there was definitely some other element to this entire operation besides simply acquiring 'him' into their group. It wasn't just about that, he was trying to prove something. To whom, he didn't know, as frankly, there was no one important enough to Doom that would require him going out of his way to do all of this. Yet whoever it was, it certainly must've been one that really, truly angered him, and while he didn't hold enough information to say or make a solid conclusion, Black Death sensed that, for whatever reason, his superior wasn't directing his anger at this aforementioned 'blue rodent'.

Space Colony Ark-Corridor Leading to the Ship's Power Plant

Shadow wasn't exactly one to readily believe in such things, let alone declare happenings as such, yet at the moment, he considered it nothing short of an absolute miracle that he and that chatterbox crocodile FINALLY found the main source of power to the Ark! A miracle, if not just that it allowed him to be free of being continuously reminded and told to find the 'computer room'.

"It's far from just a SINGLE room." the dark furred hedgehog growled, his jet shoes carrying him further down the darkened corridor, most, if not all of the lights having gone out and leaving the area barely lit, making the trek even more cumbersome as he now had to pay extra attention to where he was even going. "And not to mention, there's NO computer in sight! It's an entire unit that powers up the ship!" to think, that oafish reptile called himself a detective of all things!

Yet despite his current sentiments towards the self-proclaimed leader of the three person detective agency, Shadow himself didn't hold any animosity towards Vector. If there was anything positive before, it had been tossed out the window from the constant insistence to find that blasted 'computer room', yet if he was able to cast that aside (key word being 'able'), the only negative experience he had involving the green crocodile was that skirmish near Grand Metropolis' Power Plant (oh, the irony). Granted, that had mostly been instigated by Rouge's questioning of what they were doing there, possibly going in on their own claim that Eggman was theirs to deal with, such openly declared by the bat herself and their mechanical companion more than receptive of that plan. He in turn had more questions to ask; yet if the possibility should arise, there wasn't really much objection to it on his part. Though that particular battle on the Final Fortress located on the Egg Fleet with Neo Metal Sonic would've potentially been far more difficult had he and his other two comrades not been there. Still, aside from those two incidents, Shadow couldn't say that he had exactly been familiar enough with Vector, Charmy, or Espio to hold any sort of solid opinion on any of them, the present one regarding Vector aside.

'Well, there's two things I'm sure of now.' he concluded. 'He has no idea that telling someone only ONCE is more than enough!'

Regardless, the Ark's core was found, and Vector had offered to stand guard over it. Unlike other portions of the colony, the core had seemed to be in relatively good shape. Apparently, according to him, GUN had hired the trio to come to the ship and scrounge up any data they could before the ship was completely destroyed by the black aliens if possible, and seeing that the main power source had been found, there was at least some sort of advantage held over them, according to Vector at least. Though even with this, Shadow found that their work had yet to be completed.

Before he had left the core aka the inappropriately named 'computer room', Vector's hand fell onto the smaller hedgehog's shoulders, his large eyes attempting to appear stalwart and brave, yet evident worry seeped through his facade. It far from made up for the number of times he had been reminded and constantly pestered by his, yet the thanks Shadow got lessened his fury slightly. Far from a good deal, yet still, at least his efforts were recognized. Yet from what Vector had told him, GUN had alerted Vector and the other Chaotix that the Black Arms held four of the Chaos Emeralds in their possession, and were looking to gain a fifth. There was some talk that Sonic or someone else that came to the Ark had gotten ahold of it and had gotten into something of a wild goose chase with them, yet this couldn't exactly be confirmed. And while he wasn't saying that he couldn't take them on and go after them himself, once again stating such several times to make sure he had made his point, Vector begrudgingly brought up how that, if he left, the 'computer room'/core would be left without anyone to protect it.

As much as he thought the detective was making himself appear far stronger than he truly was, nevertheless, it was clear as to who was faster. And even if Shadow's opinion of the crocodile's deduction skills were still not incredibly high, nor was his strength as much a force to be reckoned with as he insisted, it would be at least be better for him to be here than to leave the core unguarded entirely. Thus, here he was, rushing down the darkened, barely lit halls that lead to the core and scouting out for any sign of those black skinned creatures, and perhaps, if the claim was indeed true, a smaller one of blue. It was almost delightfully ironic in a way. Ironic and somewhat unnerving to him, given that ever since the little happening that occurred at Glyphic Canyon, Shadow had actually found himself uncomfortable in even trying to approach them.

A Few Days Earlier

Whether it was due to the shock of what he had just experienced wearing off or from what he was seeing around him adding to already held doubts and uncertainty he held before, Shadow didn't know, yet regardless, it was clear that this Black Doom and his 'children' had most definitely not come in peace. Westopolis, once bustling and full of activity, now reduced to a seemingly endless display of toppled cars and dismantled property, fine sheets of glass fragments littering the street and flames erupting from all around, whether it be from the reaction of irreversible damage to a vehicle's inner compartments or a flammable source being ignited by the flaring sparks of broken traffic lights or road signs. Shadow was hit with the sight of this first hand, and whilst it seemed that the city had largely been evacuated, a very different kind of activity was present, and both on opposing sides.

It took little time for him to come across Sonic the Hedgehog, of whom, despite knowing little to nothing about what was happening, let alone who these strange, black skinned intruders were, it was obvious that they were causing quite the disturbance. The human authorities were present in the city as well, fighting against the increasing hoard that seemed to keep creating damage and destruction wherever they went, no matter how many of their own had been taken out by the flurry of bullets sent their way.

Sonic's intentions there were in that he saw the commotion and had come to investigate. And upon seeing all of it, he had the inclination to maybe teach some of these creatures a little bit of 'etiquette' in the way of how causing all this chaos and bothering the citizens 'weren't really the best ways to introduce yourself.' Of course, he questioned Shadow as to why he was here as well, though he wasn't going to simply share that with him. Not in a case like this. Besides, if the soldiers were here, then that's what they were there for, right? His being there was a far more personal matter…an important matter…and yet…

'I want to go down there someday. I want to go down there, even if I last just an hour, or even one minute. Just to be there…'

'You will. That's what I'm here for, isn't it?'

Something…all of this destruction, it seemed to spark something in him. This…it wasn't exactly as if it necessarily unnerved him, he being made of far sterner stuff to be affected so easily. Yet still, Shadow found it making him…puzzled. As if all of this held little purpose or direction, these creatures were simply let loose here on the city to do whatever they saw fit.

If what he said was true, if he was truly here, waiting for him, he had a few questions to ask regarding what point any of this had. As well as getting what he had come here for in the first place from him.

Shadow had, after a few more rounds of dodging both the blazing fires and the human's firepower he nearly came too close to on more than one occasion, he actually managed to spot a Chaos Emerald nestled within some of the wreckage nearby. Shimmering and glowing its green hue in a pile of rubble, practically begging him to come and retrieve it, to make it his.

'Bring me the Emeralds...' practically begging him to come, '...and I shall give you the clarity you've been pining for.' to come and retrieve it.

"Out of the way, ugly!" he heard Sonic proclaim, the other hedgehog's red eyes catching flashes of blue on the left of him, bouncing off and dive bombing a small cluster of black creatures that had decided to either tried to antagonize him or had simply gone to the smaller speedster out of curiosity. Whatever the case, it mattered not as they certainly were being hostile now, reacting to his attacks with their own, albeit far slower paced.

He believed that he heard the blue hedgehog call for him to come back, yet whether or not this was truly the case, it was too late now, as he wasn't planning on stopping anytime soon. Besides, from what he had seen looking back, it appeared that Sonic took care of the few harassing him.

This was nothing more than complete anarchy, and frankly, Shadow held no interest in staying in it longer than he had to! Yet despite what that Doom said, there seemed to be absolutely no sign of him-

"You are late, Shadow."

It took a moment for him to stop, given the high velocity he was traveling at, yet there was no mistaking it. That was his voice, the voice of the one that personally came to him as the dark skinned invaders made their way into the city. Yet...where in the world was...wait.

"My appearance is...unfamiliar to you, I see." Black Doom told the flabbergasted hedgehog. "Though I assure you, it is highly necessary."

Unfamiliar was quite the understatement. If it weren't for his voice coming out of the far smaller 'thing' in front of him, Shadow frankly wouldn't have even believed it. This thing, he assumed was alive (seeing as it was talking to him), yet what it was saying still befuddled him. The anomaly appeared to be a six limbed, dark skinned creature that bore a great deal of resemblance to the features of the more bipedal variants running around (assuming they were indeed part of the same species). Yet unlike those larger, mute members of the invading hoard, this multi-limbed being bore one large, piercing eye stationed right in the middle of its body, the very same that Black Doom possessed atop of his two, blank ones.

"I don't think I need to ask you to explain yourself?" Shadow questioned, the large, floating 'eye' seeming amused by his confusion, far from lightening the hedgehog's already disgruntled mood.

"Yet it is all right now." the six-limbed creature drew closer to the hedgehog, the single eye staring directly into both of his own. "For now, my eye shall follow you, and observe where you go."

Present Time, Space Colony Ark

Observe where he went...whether this was supposed to be something of comfort or a warning to him, he didn't know, the tone of Doom's voice seeming to indicate both. It would be whatever he would do that would result in which it would be. Given what had transpired after his trek through Westopolis, this realization held far more weight, especially after what had happened when he acquired the second Emerald in the ruined city.

A Few Days Earlier, Westopolis

Even amidst the chaos and destruction that seemed to completely surround them, fortune had decided to shine onto the black hedgehog, as it seemed that the green jewel in his hand had begun to react to something, the already iridescent glow it possessed growing brighter and brighter.

"Ah, wonderful!" Doom's Eye observed, his single optic taking in the glimmering, beautiful object in Shadow's palm, as if studying and memorizing every intricate detail of the stone. "You held little trouble in finding this one, I assume, yes?"

Naturally, of course, Shadow thought. Though he was more preoccupied with how, let alone why the six-limbed creature was so interested in it. That said, he hadn't forgotten what he was promised, even if he found himself more than hesitant to go through another experience like that again. Yet...if he could just see them, see her, the shape behind the glass. If he could confirm it was indeed her...

"Come." before Shadow could respond, let alone question what he meant, a single tentacle wormed its way around his right arm, and not but a moment later, his vision began traveling before him at a speed than even he could achieve on foot. He recognized this sensation, this was- "Here we are." even if he was familiar with it, one of the few things he held a good grasp of, the red streaked hedgehog found that it was a rather startling experience when it wasn't expected.

Now, at least judging from the same scene as before, yet being viewed from a good distance above, they were both atop of one of the several buildings in the city. "You..." true, he knew little. If he was being honest, now that this one-eyed creature was with him, he knew next to nothing. Yet Shadow never would've predicted that it, that Doom would've been capable of it. "You can use Chaos Control?"

"Oh, I can do more than that." Doom's Eye assured, though it seemed he was more than eager to change the subject. "The Emerald you currently possess is reacting. There must be another nearby."

"Clearly." Shadow replied, examining the green stone. Yet it dawned on him what had just been said. "How do you-"

"But my children can locate it with the one you hold now." a tentacle reached for the stone, yet the hedgehog immediately jerked it out of range. An action that Doom certainly wasn't pleased with, yet nevertheless, for the moment, appeared to simply be confused at Shadow's reluctance. "You came to find me, did you not?" the eye inquired. "And here you are. I would think that this meant you were going to take up my offer."

"How did you know that the Chaos Emeralds react to one another?" Shadow questioned.

"How? Surely, if I was searching for them, I would have at least some knowledge about them." Doom defended. "We are in the midst of chaos at the moment, yet when our work here is complete, it shall all be made clear to you."

Silence fell between the two, what was transpiring below nearly being forgotten entirely. The being's extension of its consciousness simply continued to look at Shadow, one single, red eye piercing and penetrating into his own. Suddenly, Shadow found himself, he wouldn't say overcome, yet he was definitely experiencing some sort of oddity. Some need, some urging had begun to seep into him, he finding the hand that held the green Chaos Emerald beginning to extend forward. Towards the Doom's Eye, as if he were presenting the glowing object for him to take. This realization of what he was about to do was enough to banish the urge from his mind, Shadow finding himself stumbling back and having to re-associate himself with his senses.

"Whatever is the matter?" the eye questioned, concerned. Or rather, he wished to be read as such.

Space Colony Ark

Whatever was the matter...yeah right. He knew exactly what was going on. Though what exactly, Shadow still had no clue. Had he known what he knew now, at least about what that feeling, that sensation meant, what it would lead to, maybe he'd wouldn't have even taken to following him in Westopolis in the first place. Regardless, at the time, it was all that he had to go off of. What he had been shown before all this began for him...if that was truly 'her' behind the glass, if that was indeed this 'Maria'...then what other option was there?

He had begun his questioning of Doom regarding as to why all the chaos taking place, as it certainly didn't seem to be accomplishing anything for them. What he received as an answer didn't seem to accomplish much for him either.

"We are establishing a place for ourselves, Shadow." The floating eye had told him before. "There are things that we must do. Important things, things that we have been anticipating for some time now, and it cannot, nor will it be interrupted by these human grunts that wish to impede what we came here for." Then, as if sensing his own growing distrust of the thing, the eye turned to him, its sole featuring boring right into his two, red ones. "And from this, you shall regain all you've lost. And so much more. That, you can be certain of."

It was foolish of him in hindsight. Very foolish for him, but maybe...maybe it was this desperation of his, ashamed of it as he was, that even allowed him to consider following Doom and his 'eye' around. Even with that strange urging to give him the Emerald he had already obtained then, it was the closest he could get to maybe getting answers. He had not given into it, yet was asked by Doom to retrieve the second Emerald in Westopolis. He needn't worry about the 'children', for apparently Doom was certain that they wouldn't attack the far smaller, far leaner hedgehog. Odd, seeing as despite their numbers, they were indeed as complacent as Doom promised they would be.

At least until one of them tried to snag the Emerald away from him.

One of the creatures outright tried to take the green stone from his hands, he of course refusing to simply hand it over. It began to grow more and more aggressive overtime, outright swiping at him with its three claws, yet they never made contact with him. At first, Shadow didn't get it. It was clearly angry that he wasn't relinquishing it to him, yet if it was so insistent on taking it, why didn't it just strike him outright when it could very well do so? It was as if it was forcibly being held back. As if it wasn't 'allowed' to go any further.

And as luck would have it, whether due to it being sheer coincidence or due to some sort of foresight he was unaware of, the GUN soldiers that had made it to that particular section of the city saw this little exchange between the hedgehog and creature, along with the sight of the six-limbed anomaly alongside them and seemingly watching the madness unfold.

Westopolis

"Look!" Shadow's ears twitched as a voice, undoubtedly one of the soldiers, shouted, apparently rather startled by something other than the large, hulking beasts running around. "Someone else is with them! And he's got one of the Chaos Emeralds!"

Oh, lovely. Just lovely. Apparently, this little sight had garnered the attention of the soldier's nearby comrades and they immediately drew their attention to him, as well as their loaded weapons. And to make matters worse, any and all sort of aggressive behavior towards him by the alien being had immediately ceased, its own blank, yellow eyes focused on the human forces surrounding both of them.

"Hey, wait a minute." Shadow heard one of them exclaim, squinting his eyes as if to better study him. "Isn't that Shadow?"

"Who?"

"You know, Shadow!" why these dolts needed to argue amongst themselves of who he was, he didn't know, his own lacking on the subject notwithstanding. He was here, so why not just talk to him directly? "Well…really, I don't know, but-"

"Wait, isn't he the guy that was mistaken as Sonic?"

Mistaken as Sonic? What? What kind of idiot would make THAT sort of mistake?! True, when he had come across him in the Lost Jungle, there was a good number of resemblances, yet pondering it further and as time went on, the fact that the two could maybe be mistaken for each other struck him as absolutely absurd. Even if he himself said he looked like his 'twin'…

'Fake? You compare yourself to me?'

"And didn't he, well, you know…Sonic told the Commander…" the soldier speaking said no more; simply giving the one he was addressing a rather uncomfortable look.

'Maria…this…this is what you wanted, right?'

Things…things were coming to him. They made no sense, nor could he put an image or place to them, but the echoes of his own voice in his head. What they were saying…somehow, it related to something he was trying to grasp. The very reason that he was even here in the first place. Yet how did THEY know all this?!

"But it can't be him then! He's here and he's with those aliens now! Just look at THAT thing!" one soldier shouted, gesturing towards Doom's Eye, who, along with the creature that had previously trying to take the Emerald from the smaller hedgehog, appeared oddly, almost unnaturally calm.

"He assisted in stopping Eggman's latest stunt with eleven others! Surely you remember that!"

Voices…so many voices in his head.

"Look at him though! He's got those red markings just like those creatures!"

"But Sonic knows him! Even better, they helped each other out twice! Isn't that enough?"

Shadow's temple felt as if it were on fire. This…no. No, he could handle this. In fact, he'd make clear that he could! He would march right up and demand that they tell him everything they knew about-

"You know what our orders are." His eyes down as a gloved hand clasped his throbbing head; Shadow could distinctly hear a weapon being cocked. He held no idea why, along with much else, yet the sound made his blood run cold. And had he turned around to see it, he would've caught the glint of satisfaction the single eyed extension of Doom's held at that very moment. "Look around you! We can't take any chances!"

It was then that the eye decided to make its move. 'I suggest you make yourself scarce, now!'

Not that he needed to be told such a thing, he already sensing that things were not going good for him, yet Shadow found himself struggling to regain concentration after the barrage of that voice, his own voice, playing back things he couldn't reach or grasp. Why these humans brought such to him, he had no idea, yet, even if he wasn't wishing to outwardly admit it (and he wouldn't), Doom held a good point in perhaps getting out of here for the time being.

Yet as Shadow raised the green Emerald high to activate Chaos Control, a shot rang out and if not for him moving at that exact moment, the bullet would've torn right through his hand! His concentration must've been affected by that bout more than he initially suspected.

Still, it didn't hamper his rage. "What do you think you're doing?!" the streaked hedgehog bellowed, noticing his cheek had been grazed slightly by the bullet. His answer was simply the soldiers approaching him, along with the order to 'Freeze!' and to drop the Emerald.

Fitting, because he too had an answer for this. Something that would perhaps actually force them to prove themselves as the so-called competent militia they claimed to be.

"Hey, I said-"

The GUN soldier suddenly had his vision consumed in a blur of ebony as he suddenly became aware that one moment, he was standing, and the next, he was on the ground. Even more, the one that they were trying to apprehend was gone.

Space Colony Ark

Did he regret it? Honestly, no. Frankly, the way Shadow saw it, even if he had gone there for his own purposes, he had made not one aggressive gesture towards any of GUN's men. True, it far from looked good on his part, yet they had come towards him first. And last time he checked, he didn't pick up one of their weapons and start firing at them! If any of them came towards them, he only responded accordingly.

Yet even then, while he did fight back when they got too close or still came despite his warnings, Shadow could at least say that none of their blood had been on their hands. It wasn't as if he held high reservations for them anyway, and even if they had been particularly troublesome for him in his trek for the Emeralds...he couldn't find it in himself to actually deliver the final blow to any of them, no matter how many shots were fired directly at him. Why this was, he didn't know, or maybe he did, yet just couldn't exactly grasp it.

'Give them a chance to be happy...'

"Ugh!" Shadow had to stop momentarily. Another painful headache had come, he having to support himself against the wall as his fingers desperately tried to massage away the pounding in his temple.

It was her voice...her voice, yet he couldn't see her! Why couldn't he see her?! He wanted to see her in his mind's eye at least! He NEEDED to! Even...even if it sounded like there would be little else from her afterward. Maybe that's when…it happened.

She did something for him. Something large, something that changed the course of things, forever.

And maybe that was why, even with him only doing so much with the GUN soldiers in terms of violence, that one, last incident in Westopolis, even now, still managed to prick a little bit of guilt in his admittedly hardened heart.

Westopolis

Whether he would've reacted non-violently or not, it seemed that it would've mattered little, as it seemed that the fact Shadow bore a good degree of traits similar to the invaders, along with the fact he had technically assaulted one of their own (something of which he scoffed at, he was far from seriously injured, disoriented at most) had passed to near every GUN recruit in the vicinity. And with that, came the order to apparently unleash fire upon him.

'Typical.' The hedgehog thought, though why such a presumption of them had come, along with the familiarity of said behavior, only made him move his legs with increased vigor, jet shoes carrying him closer and closer to the next Emerald.

Doom's Eye, for entirety of the entire time, had been floating beside him, something of which was not helping his case in the eyes of the soldiers they were going past. As if he were intentionally staying close, making sure that the two of them were seen together.

Shadow, however, didn't get much time to realize this particularly convenient setup as a hail of bullets nearly met them both, forcing both the hedgehog and the floating eye to duck into a nearby alleyway to avoid the oncoming gunfire.

'I am getting tired of this…' Shadow growled to himself, yet despite keeping the sentiment from leaving his lips, the floating eye seemed to be able to read this growing frustration of his clearly.

"Then do something about it." He even had a suggestion ready. "Fight them."

"You think I don't know that already?" Shadow shot back, the torn skin on his tan muzzle still producing an annoying sting. "They're an annoyance, for sure. But the Chaos Emeralds are my concern."

"No good if they catch you." Doom retorted, his single eye falling on an abandoned pistol lying on the ground nearby. Out in the open, yes, yet in reach. "So best to make quick of them now. Though," and to his delight, Shadow too noticed the lone weapon. "However you see fit to is fine. Whatever your preference."

There was no debate on that, Shadow immediately averting his eyes from the pistol, gazing intently at the eye. "I'm not touching it." This seemed to puzzle the single eyed creature, its entire form tilting itself as if to ask why. "I…" there wasn't a problem with the pistol per say…yet the sight of it, let alone the implication that it was possible for him to take it and make use of it…Shadow held no clear idea why, but the thought more than angered him. "I don't want it, let alone need it." It outright disgusted him. Even more, it…offended him. "It's below me."

"Then defend yourself at the very least!" Doom insisted. "They won't allow you to leave this place now. They have seen both of us together, and have already made clear that any and all associated with us must be taken care of."

"Obviously!"

He drew closer, both of them shielded from the chaos outside the alley momentarily, yet only for a short while more at least. And he wasn't wasting this chance he had been given. "Would you rather they catch you? And don't think they're incapable of doing so! Neither my children nor me have harmed you in any way, yet these humans wish to see you dead already! We, I want to help you. And only I can-"

"THEY'RE IN HERE!"

Not that he believed that he could make use of this retreat for much longer, Shadow found that, at the very least, the alleyway gave him a bit of an advantage, especially with the heavy darkness in the small space. The soldier that had taken notice of him was met with a kick to his face, sending him stumbling back, yet still on his feet. His thick visor that all GUN personal wore was somewhat cracked. He fired, yet as soon as his weapon began to release its contents, it was promptly knocked from his hands and he, along with the assault rifle, dropped to the pavement below. He began to reach for it, yet a red and white shoe rested upon the weapon, the owner taking a moment to gaze upon the firearm under his heel.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Shadow growled, narrowing his ruby red eyes at the weapon, then to the soldier now cowering on the ground. Yet in the corner of his eye, he noticed something odd. Doom's Eye was gone.

Thankfully for the panicked recruit, this temporary distraction was what he needed. Reaching for something on his utility belt, the cubic shaped device being practically yanked from its place as he frantically pressed what would hopefully lead to him being saved. "I've got him!" he hollered in the walkie-talkie. "He's here at Seventh Street! I'm disarmed! Hurry! We can get him if we-" he had managed to get that through, yet no further as the black hedgehog promptly snatched his means of salvation from his hands and threw it to the ground, his shoe reducing it to little more than a pile of broken, burning plastic and wire.

"W-Wait!" the soldier began to plea, backing up, all the while having his concealed eyes saw his weapon was just out of reach. "You don't know what you're up against! We…we've got some of the finest here, ready to take you on!"

"Oh really?" Shadow retorted, having had more than enough. Reaching forward, the soldier didn't have the chance to try and even escape before his collar was seized, the smaller hedgehog actually managing to keep a firm hold on him. "Then tell those so called 'finest' that the only problem we're going to have is the one that THEY make themselves! I have no interest in you, but if you keep firing those little toys of yours, I'm NOT going to simply allow you to continue being an annoyance to me!"

"D-Don't!" the soldier suddenly cried out, seemingly any and all bravado completely gone. Shadow hadn't noticed before, yet the man sounded rather young compared to the others in the area. No more than…perhaps even younger than twenty-five or so. "Don't kill me! I'm begging you!"

'Shadow! I beg you!'

Kill? He…he thought that-

"Shadow, what are you doing?!"

'Shadow! I beg you!'

He thought that he was going to-

"What's up with you?! Let go! You're hurting him!" a pair of hands grasped onto his, the sudden jolt forcing Shadow to let go of the young man garbed in combat gear, the red striped hedgehog coming to find that none other than the one he had lost sight off a distance away had been the one to seize him.

"Y-You?! What…" realizing that he was still in the blue hedgehog's grasp, Shadow jerked his hands away, his previously brought on stupor wearing off. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Let's clear up a few things first." Sonic answered back. "One, totally unfair to go and take off while those black creeps were in the way. Two, that should be MY question!" he then gestured towards the soldier still on the ground. "What's your problem? Not really a fan of them myself, but regardless, he's on our side in this!"

"Oh yes, I'm sure you'll say that when they're the ones firing bullets at you!" Shadow retorted, gesturing towards the graze on his cheek.

Surprisingly enough, Sonic didn't have a response to that, he turning to the still frightened recruit, an evidently very young individual, and then back to Shadow. "He did this to you?"

"Not him specifically." Despite his claim, Sonic didn't have the time, nor the speed to ask who was addressing him, for as if having materialized behind Shadow himself, the black hedgehog actually caught off guard by this, a singled eyed, tentacle bearing 'thing' of sorts emerged. "One of his fellow grunts. Though…" he, or maybe it, Sonic was unsure, seemed to gaze off in the distance, something of satisfaction on what little features it had. "It is taken care of now."

"Uh, Shadow?" Sonic questioned, more than a little befuddled, not to mention disgusted, at the strange looking anomaly floating near them. "You know this…guy?" at least, to him, it certainly didn't sound remotely female in any sense, yet just looking at it yielded no for sure confirmation.

This apparently was something the single eyed creature wasn't wishing to hear, impressively enough (for something with one eye) glaring daggers at the blue speedster. "We are in the midst of important work." The eye snarled. "Work that hold no place for the likes of you."

"Well, thank you so much for the warm welcome." Sonic scoffed. "A lot of nerve for a giant starfish." Of course, it didn't take long for him to process what the aforementioned 'starfish had just told him. "Wait, what's this 'we' business?"

Indeed, Shadow thought, turning his attention to conveniently reappearing Doom. Just what was this 'we' business?! First he goes off and leaves him to deal with that still trembling recruit and now he thinks he can outright SPEAK for him?!

"Shadow, what's he talking about-" Sonic questioned, he now wanting to know a few answers from the darker colored hedgehog, if at least to confirm whether or not what this thing was saying held any truth to it.

"FREEZE!"

Though, unfortunately, it seemed that fate, along with the armada in the city, had other ideas in store.

Those 'finest' that the disarmed soldier was talking about had apparently responded to the call, those that could make it through the fire and over the toppled vehicles, as well as the attacking creatures were now surrounding the two hedgehogs and the floating anomaly, weapons at the ready.

"Sonic the Hedgehog!" one amongst the small cluster that had formed around them called out. "We require that you step back."

Great. Just GREAT. Shadow shot a piercing glare at the eye, yet this seemed to have little to no effect on the creature. If anything, and even more infuriating, it actually seemed like it was satisfied with what was happening now, as if it were silently telling him 'I told you so.'

"No, no guys, it's fine!" Sonic began, waving his hands as if to display that everything here was fine. "Shadow here's a friend of mine! On the Egg Fleet, remember? He was one of the guys that helped kick Metal's-"

"We require that you step back!" the soldier stated again, far more firmly this time. "He's suspected in assisting the invaders gather the Chaos Emeralds!"

Shadow couldn't believe what he was hearing. They…they dared to-

"Even more, he's already assaulted a good few of our own already!"

Only because they had gone and fired at him with little to no provocation! And based on what?! That one creature was trying to take the Emerald away from him! Surely they weren't as stupid as that to believe-

"You must act soon." Doom's Eye urged, drawing closer and closer to Shadow, this only inciting the soldiers to grow more cautious. "You cannot allow them to take you."

"Stop it." Shadow commanded, taking note of how the very act of the eye communicating with him was far from painting him in a good light to his surrounding aggressors. "You're making it worse. I didn't come here to deal with any of this nonsense!"

"What are they saying?" he heard some begin to say, hushed whispers and questions being passed from person to person. "That thing was seen with those creatures before too. They're connected somehow, I know it!"

He had more than enough, gripping tightly on the green stone he held in his possession. The sensation of the stone's energy flowing through him began to course through his body, yet, oddly enough; it didn't exactly bear the same feeling as Chaos Control. Odd, given that was what Shadow was trying to execute.

BANG!

A bullet firing at the ground broke his concentration, and to the hedgehog's own shame, began to stir in him a growing and engulfing panic. These soldiers all around them…guns in hand and at the ready, ready to fire. This…he didn't understand. What was going on? The situation, he being surrounded by these men and women with loaded weapons and somehow ending up being stuck in the middle between Sonic trying to convince them he wasn't a threat and this strange eye creature trying to convince Shadow that these humans were the threat, oh yeah, he got that. Got that it was absolute garbage.

Yet the fact he was surrounded…no, not just that. Surrounded by these particular people…and not just him, yet someone else was with him…someone brought into this, and Doom's insistence for him to not allow them to have their way with him…not that he would, yet it wasn't due to pride. Shadow, for reasons he couldn't explain or even work out, found himself actually finding Doom's statements about what they could and probably would do making complete sense!

"They'll imprison you!" he continued to tell Shadow, whether he wished to hear it or not. "They'd kill you if they could! Then you will never be able to gain the Emeralds!"

"Shadow, is any of this true? Did you really attack some of these guys?" Sonic questioned Shadow, of whom he noticed was growing incredibly tense. As well as some sort of strange, faint, yet still present hue of red beginning to come to his darkly colored form.

"You have one in your possession now. Use its power to be rid of them!" Doom urged, this clearly doing little to assist Shadow in this situation. If anything, from what Sonic observed, the creature seemed to almost be deliberately trying to make it worse, that in turn making the red hue stronger and more prominent.

"Hey, what are you up to?" the blue speedster inquired, directing his attention to Doom's Eye, though he in turn seemed uninterested in even responding to him.

"Do it now! Only through defeating them now will you be able to gain back what you've lost!"

"Hey, starfish! I'm talking to you!"

"Do it! Only we can help you, Shadow!"

'Hurry! We've got to get to the emergency exit!'

The soldiers were coming in on them. Coming in on him. Yet…Shadow didn't know what he was even seeing! Was he still in the city, or somewhere else?! They kept flashing back and forth, the damaged, burning image of Westopolis or somewhere composed of sleek, well-lit, winding hallways? Hallways that looked like where…where she had been running, her face twisted and blue eyes wide in terror.

"Do it!"

"Stop…"

"Shadow?"

"DO IT NOW!"

"Shadow, what's wrong?"

"STOP!"

Space Colony Ark

Even now, as he sped through the same halls of the very place his mind forced him back to, Shadow still held little remembrance of what actually happened when he found he could take no more in that situation. He had meant to perform Chaos Control and simply make his way out of there to where it would've been easier to retrieve the other Emerald in the city, nothing more. Yet having all of those soldiers surround and close in on him…he wouldn't say he was afraid. He feared absolutely nothing, yet something about it, it seemed to…invoke something that caused him to lash out as he did.

If they wanted a fight, then by all means, he would give them one, yet he didn't intend for what happened to occur. He didn't mean for what came afterward, from that burst of building Chaos Energy.

It wasn't Chaos Control, and it certainly wasn't Chaos Spear or Lance, yet it was definitely related, though he had only seen it first hand then. The portions he could remember, at least in retrospect and when he forced himself to dig and unveil as much as he could, was that, for just a moment, all he was seeing was bright red. Nothing but a large, outward hue of bright crimson being forced from him, everything burning and on fire in his body, and then…nothing. Nothing but each and every one of those soldiers surrounding him lying on the ground.

And it wasn't just them, looking around, Shadow saw that a good number of objects and even a couple of vehicles in the vicinity had been thrown back a good few feet, the radius of the blast or whatever it was far larger than he initially suspected. Sonic was nowhere to be seen, Shadow, at the time, having no idea where he had gone, let alone if he managed to get out of the way in time, or if he had been blown back someplace he couldn't be seen. The soldiers, at least from what he could discern, at least didn't appear to be dead, yet all the same, it was undeniable that he had injured them to a good degree.

He…he hadn't intended to do any of that. Was he willing to attack them? Yes, especially if they didn't lay off and leave him be, yet he didn't intend for whatever THAT was to happen. It wasn't even what he was initially trying to do, yet whether do to the extreme emotions he found himself thrown into or the fact he had two separate voices trying to fight for his attention, coupled with the flashes between Westopolis and what he could only assume was here, he wasn't sure. If anything, Shadow thought, it wouldn't surprise him if it were all of those.

Still, it was a loss of power he experienced. A loss of control over the situation, over his own, usually tightly monitored and suppressed emotions, and a loss over who was saying what, let alone who to even listen to.

The only thing he was certain of, in that moment was that another one of the Chaos Emeralds had still been free. And ultimately, with little else but that to go on, Shadow, even with some hesitance, sped along and out of the area, if not to simply collect himself without having to look at what had just happened.

If it wasn't obvious before that Black Doom was not revealing all that he could, it certainly was in that moment, Shadow also noting that, once again, the single-eyed extension of himself was gone. At first, his knowledge of things that he couldn't have possibly known, let alone what he had personally shown Shadow first hand, as much as he despised it, at the time, he was the most solid lead he knew he had in gaining what he wanted, what he needed. Each and every bit and piece of it.

Though that said, from that moment on, Shadow decided that, before going any further, there were a good degree of things that he was going to have to relay if Doom wished to even have just a sliver of the hedgehog's trust, of which was far from in a good position then.

And when he found the second Emerald in Westopolis, the Blue Topaz, as expected, Doom had come.

Westopolis

To Shadow's surprise and befuddlement, the particular area of Westopolis the second Emerald was nestled in seemed relatively unaffected. True, there was evidence of Doom's 'children' having been through here, yet whether it was due to this being one of the areas they attacked first or were driven off from, it ultimately didn't matter. It was practically empty now, and whatever trace of either human forces or alien had all but been transferred elsewhere.

Certainly made finding the golden colored stone easier, he possibly could have done so without the other in his possession. Simply sitting in the midst of broken rubble, glowing and radiating its energy as if it, like the other, had wished for Shadow to come and collect it. Though such a thing was immediately pushed from the hedgehog's mind. These stones were powerful; obviously, he needed only to reflect back on the sight of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles having been graced with their powers when the three had taken it upon themselves to bring down Metal Sonic. Yet the Emeralds seemingly presenting themselves out to where he would surely find them? No, that was far too convenient.

Convenient, and-

"Ah, there you are."

Almost intentionally planned out.

Turning around, as he had suspected, Doom's Eye had come to see he had acquired another Chaos Emerald, his single optic gazing down at the two stones in Shadow's possession. "Excellent work, Shadow." The floating creature congratulated, the hedgehog, despite himself, finding Doom's congrats almost comparable to that of a parent celebrating their child's success. "Oh yes indeed…" a single tentacle began to reach for the glimmering objects before him. "These will do just nicely…"

The tentacle never managed to even lightly touch the surface, as the hands holding them jerked them from reach at the last moment. The eye immediately directed his attention on Shadow, and he on the eye. Doom appeared confused, or at least wished to portray himself as such, the equally black hedgehog, however, still retaining his eyes of steel.

"You better start talking and talking fast." Shadow snarled, quickly averting his eyes for just a second to double check that the two were the only ones in the area. In case one of those 'children' of his attempted to try and steal from him again. "Back there, with the human soldiers, what in the world WAS that?" the eye didn't respond, simply gazing wide-eyed at Shadow, as if he had no idea what he was talking about. "Talk. You know what that was, I know you do."

For a few moments more, Doom still remained silent, yet as it was becoming clear Shadow was losing his patience, finally, he spoke. "I would've assumed you'd be pleased with the results. After all, if anything, it displayed your grasp on how to use the power of these stones well."

"You're not answering my question."

Not yet, Doom thought. Oh, he would require some discipline in the future, but not now. For now, he had to keep him here, at least until, if need be, he could execute his alternative plan. "The technique is called 'Chaos Blast'." The eye explained. "It's an outward projection of Chaos energy once said energy has reached its peak. Aside from Chaos Control it is a technique that can be increased in potency, especially with how many of the Emeralds one has in their possession."

Well, that did little good. Shadow at least now knew what the red blast was called, its name appropriate enough, yet still, it only brought forth another, and following that, yet another. "How would you know that?" he begun. "Even better, how does any of this here play into what you promised me?"

"They would've come for us." Doom insisted. It seemed that, to his dismay, there had been quite a bit of tampering. Both then and now. "Besides, what does it matter now? You've attacked some of them already, and the Chaos Blast has surely injured a good number of them. And that's assuming some of them weren't sent flying into poles or one of the several vehicles thrown about." He began to swivel around, reaching for the two Emeralds. "But neither I or my children have attempted to harm you in any way, unlike those humans. I am your friend, Shadow. The only friend that truly matters now. Help us acquire the Chaos Emeralds, and what you seek, what you pine for will finally be bestowed upon you-"

"That's another thing." Shadow interrupted, once again yanking the two stones out of Doom's reach. "Why do you even need me to begin with? From the looks of it, you've got several of you 'children' running around. And from what I've seen, they seem pretty capable of simply picking up something shiny and carrying it with them!"

The eye's demeanor began to change, Doom remaining silent, yet still, it was evident that whatever sort of helpful comfort he was trying to convey was beginning to crumble.

Still, that mattered not to Shadow, he being far from done. "More so, even with everything I've mentioned, you've yet to provide me with anything else of value! True, you know things that only I or select others around me could, yet the things I don't know, what I can't recall, no matter how hard I try, you've shown that this 'bargain' is going to mainly be me giving, and you taking!" he then turned his back to the being. "The way I see it, these Emeralds are mine. And unless you make a legitimate case for yourself, and actually are willing to hold up your end instead of taunting me with one, barely comprehensible sliver in which I was barely aware or awake, then clearly I've wasted my time even coming here."

Shadow then began to walk away, and for a short time, it seemed that Doom didn't even bother to try and collect him, let alone call for him to come back. Nothing but the echoes of his own footsteps resonated throughout the small, relatively lifeless portion of Westopolis. True, the possibility of Doom having TRULY allowing him to leave set in, that in itself not bothering Shadow. Now it became of what direction would he be going in now?

The human forces were out of the question, the graze on his cheek still more than enough evidence of that, and even if he did, despite his pride never allowing such a thing, go peacefully with them, would that even accomplish anything? Highly doubtful. There was also Sonic, of whom he had no idea regarding his current whereabouts. Given his self-proclaimed title of 'fastest thing alive' (Shadow was doubtful of such a claim for obvious reasons), he was far more apt at dodging something like that export of energy, or Chaos Blast as Doom called it, better than the GUN soldiers. Though if not…then...

"It seems it was not only your most recent containment that produced damage."

Unfortunately, any further contemplation on what his next step should be were rendered useless as before the darkly colored hedgehog, that floating eye he had grown accustomed to seeing teleported directly in his path.

"The Professor must have done far more to your memory than even I initially suspected."

Shadow had no intention on listening what he had to say, especially now, yet what had but been told to him managed to stop him in his tracks. Professor…that title bore some sense of familiarity to it, yes, but…he didn't believe that Doom was referring to Eggman. Professor…another recitation of the word brought forth an image, faint and easy to miss, yet from that 'vision' from within the capsule of green fluid…the taller of the two figures…Shadow found that somehow, in some way even he didn't entirely know, it somehow applied to him, despite how his vision in that was greatly inhibited.

"But that can be refurbished." With this, Shadow was more than ready and able to demand and force (if need be, and perhaps that would be the case) the six limbed creature to begin relaying all he knew, yet before anything could be said, the hedgehog's red eyes saw before him, from behind the smaller, floating eye, something seemed to be materializing. Indeed, something, some form far larger than the eye was beginning to take shape. "At the moment, there is a far more pressing matter, mainly that of your desperate need for correction and discipline."

He wanted to fight. Fight definitely, yet still, flight presented itself as an option. Yet Shadow, to his dismay and shock, found he could do neither. His body seemed to be disobeying every single order his instincts were giving him, not even able to make use of the newfound Chaos Blast against Doom's Eye or even take off with the two Emeralds he already had. As if some unseen force was compelling him to stay put, even against his very will.

Yet as he felt the sensation of rough, pebbled skin forcing itself onto his shoulder, it seemed that the form previously materializing from behind the still present eye had finally become complete, the same, horned being from before, along with his 'eye', speaking in unison with each other.

"Fortunately for you, I have the perfect method to educate you that such disrespectful conduct will not be tolerated!"

Note: Details will be adjusted accordingly to the story, such as dialogue and whatnot, and while I don't want to be haughty or anything, yet sometimes the original game's script (at least the English version) seemed either generic or didn't make much sense (like Shadow just up and follows Doom into the city for no reason, without any sort of proof or indication he truly knew more about him).

Also, given how this prologue of sorts is meant to tie into the rest of the story to come, I'll also be hinting at things and elements that'll come into play later, things that readers of the old story might recognize.

Anyway, let me know if you see any errors that I might've missed, whether you like (or don't) this beginning better than the last one, and I hope you guys will stick with me in the future!