Episode 2: The Shadow's Apprentice

The sun rose up early the next dawn, reflecting its light upon a peaceful breeze that twisted and twirled through the leaves of the forest that Knuckles walked. For once, in a long while, he had a free day to enjoy.

There were no worries, no adventures, no giant robots tearing up the town. Now was as good as time as any to calm down and train. Shoes crunching against the soft grass, Knuckles steadily made his way up to a special training grounds where he was sure not to be disturbed.

A few minutes later, he arrived in a clearing, stacked with wooden poles and logs all destined to improve his physical skill. Picking out a few logs to bench and punch, Knuckles slowly got started on his warming exercises, not noticing a shadow stealthily sneaking its way through the trees, keeping a sharp eye on the echidna with his ruby red gaze.

"This looks interesting" the figure thought to himself " think I'll step in."

And with that in mind, the figure sped down towards Knuckles to engage.


Knuckles felt the attack coming before it could really hit him, but had little time to react as his body was suddenly pushed to the ground, bringing up some dirt. Seething with rage that he had been easily ambushed, Knuckles stood up to face his opponent, fists raised and ready to fight.

His will for battle paused however when he noted the familiarity of the opponent he had turned to fight. Outlined now, in the slightly shaded forest light, was the figure of a hedgehog, who looked proud and strong.

Knuckles first instinct was that it was Sonic just playing a practical joke, but quickly changed his mind when he didn't spot the familiar blue fur. The hedgehog before him fur was pure black, with red streaks highlighting his arms and spines. His red eyes caught Knuckles in their smug gaze, as the red echidna finally found enough focus to speak.

"Who are you?" demanded Knuckles.

The black hedgehog said nothing and just attacked. Knuckles was ready for him this time however, and immediately countered back against the hedgehog's speed. Whoever this mysterious character was, he was strong, and his speed was probably enough to even put Sonic in his place.

"But he's not as strong as me!" thought Knuckles, pushing back against the creatures spin " This guy may have some moves, but this is my turf, and I'm going to beat him down!"

With that thought, Knuckles punched the backs of a few logs, and sent them speeding towards the hedgehog like roaring trains. The black hedgehog immediately jumped to dodge the rumbling wood, skipping over the logs like was playing a simple game hopscotch.

When the last log passed from under him, the hedgehog slowly began his descent to the ground, and as soon as his feet touched the surface, a thundering wave rang out as Knuckles, sending the hedgehog sprawling on his back.

His opponent down, Knuckles immediately rushed in to deliver a strong blow, only for the hedgehog to dodge a mere second before the attack could hit. The ground cracked under the force of Knuckles, and the red echidna instantly sent his violet eyes whirling around, watching as the hedgehog suddenly sped to the cover of the trees.

"Come on out!" yelled Knuckles, daring his enemy to make a move.

A slight whistling suddenly caught Knuckles ear, as rain of light, yellow daggers suddenly soared towards his head. The hedgehog hadn't left the fight, he had simply run around to one of the trees where he could get a better shot at Knuckles firing his Chaos Spears.

Knuckles ran immediately to shield himself behind one of the wooden targets that he had made, feeling the sting of only few spears against his skin before his body was covered. Whoever this hedgehog was, it was starting to get Knuckles really mad.

"There just has to be a way to take this guy!" he growled, and suddenly his brain hatched a plan.

Up in the trees, the hedgehog stopped his Chaos Spear assault when Knuckles took cover behind the wooden target.

"That won't save you," he thought, immediately dropping down and going into a spin.

Streaking like a bullet, the black hedgehog blasted and smashed into the wooden target, splintering it to pieces. Immediately his red gaze noticed that nothing else stood behind the wall. However, before he could question just where Knuckles had gone, the echidna decided to answer it for him.

With a yell, Knuckles dive-bombed from the trees, slamming the hedgehog into the ground with a furious fist. The force of the impact caused the black hedgehog's body to sink a few inches into the dirt, while Knuckles smiled with pride, glad that his attack had worked.

The hedgehog was smiling too. Finally, here was an opponent worthy of his power.

The grin never leaving his face, the black hedgehog surprised Knuckles as his entire body started to glow red.

"Chaos Blast!" he shouted, propelling the echidna back.

Knuckles couldn't help from shaking his head from the powerful shock as his back slammed hard against a tree. Where had the hedgehog gotten this much power? Had he been holding back this whole time?

The answer seemed to be 'yes' as time suddenly grew still, and Knuckles felt his body being pounded left and right. Whatever was happening now, he was helpless to defend, and time slipped back into motion, the muscled echidna sank down to his knees. His opponent now stood a few feet in front of him, smirking a smug grin.

"Pathetic" said the hedgehog " but you did prove a challenge,"

"Grrr!" growled Knuckles, locking the hedgehog with his eyes " Next time you won't be so lucky pal!"

"You can call me Shadow" said the hedgehog " you've at least earned that much."

"How honored" scoffed Knuckles, shakingly standing up " but you put up a good fight too. My name's Knuckles by the way. You came all this way out into a forest just to have a fight?"

"I've been traveling a lot" said Shadow " and heard some rumors about injustice being done here. Running into you was a bonus."

"So you're a hero huh?" said Knuckles " So are me, Tails, and the rest of my friends. Though Sonic takes most of the spotlight."

"Sonic?" said Shadow, his gaze now curious "I've heard rumors about a blue hedgehog in these parts. Is he the one?"

"Yeah, that's Sonic alright" said Knuckles proudly " If you want I can show you where we hang, and you can meet him face to face."

"Perfect," said Shadow. He could hardly wait for the chance.


"Hey Tails! Sonic!" yelled Knuckles, when he and Shadow finally reached the beach where Tails house stood. "You guys here?"

"This is their hideout?" thought Shadow stopping as Knuckles continued to look around, a little disgusted at the sight.

He had expected a little more from the heroes who watched over this town. It seemed like they spent more time laying on their backs instead of accomplishing anything of use.

"They must be out for a run or something" said Knuckles, walking back out on the beach where Shadow stood "I can't find them anywhere."

"Chaos around here must be slow" said Shadow, careful not to show he was displeased " for your team to have so much free time on their hands."

"Actually, it's pretty rare" said Knuckles " Normally we get attacked every single day by whatever robot Eggman has dreamed up. Guess the Doc needs time for some rest too."

"Hmm" thought Shadow aloud, his interest suddenly peaked " If this Eggman is your enemy, then why haven't you already finished the job?"

"Finish what job?" asked Knuckles confused "Like I said, we send him packing every single day."

Shadow's red eyes narrowed and seemed to glint, causing a small shiver of fear to crawl up Knuckles spine. For just a moment, he could sense a feeling of danger surging out from Shadow's soul, extending its cold hands to his heart. Shadow kept this new gaze as he approached the echidna. Knuckles felt completely powerless.

"Tell me" said Shadow, his voice slow and deadly " where does this Eggman live?"

"Just on the mountain over there," said Knuckles, pointing to Eggman's island fortress.

Shadow took his gaze off Knuckles and looked at the fort, shaking his at the stupidity of the heroes living so close to the bad guy's lair. Well, there was one way to remedy that, and with the help of his new partner here, Eggman was going down.


Later that afternoon, just as the sun was beginning to set, a tired Tails and Sonic yawned as they approached their house, exhausted from their day off. Well, it had originally started as a day off, until Eggman had interrupted them during the middle of their run with another metal machine. Seriously, did the guy ever rest from making robots?!

It seemed like forever until they finally beat it down, and the long run home was just enough to make them barely stand on their feet.

"Uhh" said Sonic " I don't know about you Tails, but I am ready for a long nap."

"Ditto Sonic," said Tails, as they walked in through the door. The sight they found inside snapped them awake instantly.

The house was a total disaster! Things had been ransacked and with haste! Someone had been here looking for something, and whatever it was couldn't be good.

"They got lab too!" said Tails, rushing out from the basement " I don't understand. Who would do this to my house? Eggman?"

"I don't think so" said Sonic, looking around in disbelief " Eggman was busy with us all day, and even he's not dumb enough to do this. Besides…" he paused, looking at the floor, picking up a tiny thread of hair "who do we know that has black fur?"


Elsewhere, walking through the drifting shadows of darkness to Eggman's lair, two figures silently crept, looking for a way to get inside. Shadow took the point lead, searching ahead for any traps, while Knuckles followed behind, carrying a sling full of equipment swiped from Tails lab.

"I hope Tails will be able to forgive me for this," thought Knuckles, thinking back on what made him agree to help Shadow in his quest.

"Shadow, what are you doing?" asked Knuckles as the black hedgehog immediately slipped inside Tails house, and started messing around with stuff. " That's Tails and Sonic's stuff! They're not going to be happy to see it moved."

"Relax my friend" said Shadow " I'm just looking for supplies. After all, you and I have a mission to complete."

"What mission?" asked Knuckles confused.

Instead of answering that question, Shadow shot back with one of his own.

"Knuckles, tell me" he stated " what is the purpose of a hero's goal?"

"That's easy" said Knuckles " to stop the bad guys."

"Wrong!" said Shadow sharply, almost making Knuckles jump " It's to stop injustice from being done. Erasing it from existence by whatever means possible. This Eggman is only one small drop in the ocean for every other horror I've seen, but he deserves judgment all the same. You have no idea what evil is truly capable of, but I shall teach you. I shall teach, and you shall, we invade Eggman's fortress tonight."

And that was that. After Shadow had given Knuckles that speech, Knuckles had given in to the hedgehog's will, and helped him gather some of Tails things to load into a sling they would carry for their mission.

Now, they were encroaching on Eggman's turf, standing before the massive doors that led straight into the citadel. Shadow grinned as he pulled out one tool, and started to work on the electronic lock. Eggman would barely even know what hit him.


Meanwhile, inside of his personal chambers, Eggman was preparing for bed, while Orbot and Cubot tended to his nightly whims.

"Here's your milk Sir," said Cubot, handing Eggman a cool, fresh glass.

"And don't forget Mr. Snuggles," said Orbot floating in with Eggman's brown, plush teddy bear.

"Orbot" said Eggman testily " how many times have I told you? I don't need that thing when I'm napping!"

"Oh, but Sir" claimed Orbot " he's just so cute and cuddly. Look his little captain hat, and button nose. Oh, and don't forget those seedy, black eyes."

"Fine, I'll take him," said Eggman, accepting the bear after he had finished his milk, and then dove under the covers to go to sleep.

"Make sure the alarms are on," he said, before drifting off into a snooze.

"Yes Sir" said Orbot, pressing a random button on his arm "Security system online now. Well Cubot, shall we?"

"Of course," Cubot responded, and both robots followed their master to sleep, not aware that at this moment their sanctity was being invaded as they snoozed.


"The main controls" said Shadow later, when he and Knuckles walked into a wide room full of monitors " Now, let's see what we can receive."

With that said, Shadow started typing away, decrypting Eggman's files one by one while Knuckles just stood back and observed. The red echidna was a little confused on how easily he and Shadow had gotten into this place. It's like Eggman didn't set up his security shields until after he and Shadow managed to break in.

Pulling his mind off of Eggman for a moment, Knuckles focused his eyes back on the screens, where the files Shadow searched flashed before his eyes. Most of it was a lot of robo-mumbo jumbo that he couldn't understand, but then, when it landed on a couple of profiles about the Sonic Boom gang, that's when his interest was peaked.

Shadow read through every profile, before downloading it on the flash-drive he had stolen from Tails lab, letting the new info join all the data he collected, before moving to the next file on screen. Shadow stayed the longest on Sonic's profile, watching all the recordings of the Doctor's defeats against the speeding, blue blur.

Obviously, Eggman was keeping tabs on whenever an evil scheme had gone wrong, so that he could better prepare himself for the future.

Downloading the last little bit of information, Shadow pulled out the flash-drive and pocketed it in his fur. Phase One of this mission had been completed, now it was time to move on to Phase Two.

"We're done here" said Shadow to the red echidna " Knuckles, bring out the device."

Nodding, Knuckles brought down the sling, and unwrapped the last item he had been told to bring along from Tails place. Standing in the light of the bright room, a large, black box sat, wires sticking out from its hull, and a glass timer displaying minutes on the top.

"What is this?" asked Knuckles, handing over the device to Shadow.

Shadow set up the timer on the box, wired it to the controls, and answered Knuckles eerily.

"A time bomb," said Shadow.

"What?!" said Knuckles shocked " You mean this what you had planned all along? To destroy Eggman's base! He lives here! That's murder!"

"And why do you care if a villain dies?" said Shadow " That's you and your friends weakness Knuckles, to afraid to go extremes to accomplish your goals."

"I'm not going to let you blow this place!" growled Knuckles, crouching into a fighting stance.

"Then try and stop me," said Shadow, and rushed in to attack.

Knuckles dodged as Shadow sped by, and threw out a punch, only to miss, hitting nothing but air. Before Knuckles knew what hit him, a rain of pain barraged against his back, as Shadow jumped up from behind sending down a tide of Chaos Spears.

Knuckles collapsed to the ground, fighting through the torture, as his violet gaze wondered over to the exit where Shadow now stood, smirking in triumph. Waving a small goodbye, the black hedgehog turned and dashed out the door, leaving Knuckles alone to deal with the bomb.

Grunting as he stood, Knuckles immediately racked his brain for options as the timer counted down. He had no idea how to disarm the bomb. Without Tails around it was useless! There was no choice but to escape before the fortress exploded, and Knuckles had at least one more task before that final moment arrived.


"Ugh!" grunted Knuckles, punching a large hole in Eggman's wall, where the genius and his two robots slept.

"Sorry about this Doc" said Knuckles to Eggman, loading the two robots onto Eggman's bed, before he started pushing the whole thing towards the hole.

The bed tilted as it reached the edge, and then slid down the mountain-side, towards the beach, at lightning speed. The thuds and jolts along the way instantly snapped awake Eggman and his robo-companions, sending them screaming the whole ride.

Landing hard on the beach, sand in his pink pajamas, a grumpy Eggman growled, immediately looking for an explanation of this cruel awakening when his fortress exploded up in a fiery ball of ash. His mouth dropped open, stunned, as he could barely believe the unfortunate sight standing in front of him.

All his pent up anger immediately twisted and turned, quickly pitting the blame on his arch nemesis.

"SONIC!" Eggman yelled.

Meanwhile, far away, on a tall hill, Shadow the Hedgehog had stopped for a brief moment to watch the explosive sight, then dashed off into the darkness, seeming to disappear.