Ivo's rocket blazed its way down through Mobius' atmosphere, catching up to the Kayzen, the vast Black Comet. The great ship, of course, had a plethora of defences - turrets, defensive drones, even planes that looked piloted - so Tails was taking a chancy approach vector from behind. Acceleration slammed its passengers into their seats at Tails hurtled the rocket forward into the Kayzen's dangerous blind spot, the area of the rear engines' blast, trusting the fact that the shuttle was rated for atmospheric re-entry to keep them all safe. At the last moment, the rocket slowed down sharply, pulling up - up and over - around, arcing madly - and hit the more-or-less flat deck of the Kayzen, scraping along a runway meant for small aeroplanes and certainly not fat rockets. It was a miracle that the rocket came to rest upright, if rather tilted, and that without rolling. A breathless, dizzy pause barely got a chance to settle inside.
"Geez, your landings don't get any better, do they?"
The team's pilot wasn't bothered by Sonic, unstrapping himself, getting to the airlock just ahead of the hedgehog and opening it to the whistling wind.
Rouge sighed. "I'm amazed we're not a small crater..." She unstrapped just before Shadow and crossed to the door with him, Knuckles and Amy following. Sonic smiled at the bat.
"If we didn't have the world's best pilot, we would be!"
Tails grinned at him and jumped down. One by one the others followed. They hadn't got far when some of the piloted planes flew by for a strafing run; with Knuckles, Shadow, and Rouge ducked behind a protrusion on the deck, Sonic pulling Amy behind cover and Tails catching up to them, the Black Arms didn't have much to fire at besides the rocket.
"We'd better get away from here before they hit something important!" Tails yelled, calling over the wind and engines.
Voice also raised to be heard, Sonic added, "And inside!"
Shadow led everyone to a hatch emblazoned with warning signs, crashing through it without bothering to check if it was locked. Some little distance away, there was a loud sound of something else striking the deck, sending a tremor rippling through it. Knuckles was visibly ruffled. "What was that?"
"The General said he was going to launch something down here, didn't he? Maybe that was it?" Tails said.
"If it wasn't," replied Sonic, "we'll deal with it later anyway!" And with that he followed Shadow into the inside of the ship, the rest coming in behind him, most of them besides Tails using the ladder where the lead hedgehogs hadn't bothered.
The inside of the Kayzen was clearly designed by someone with a somewhat different set of aesthetics to theirs, everything painted and lit in a faint bluish tint, the flooring a deep purple. Ahead, they could see automated defences, the designs as old as the ship itself, though just as well-preserved.
Rouge came down the ladder last. "You know, some of those aircraft are fighting each other out there. I think even Doctor Robotnik is attacking."
"You mean I'm going to have to work with Eggman for the second time in a month?!" asked an incredulous Sonic.
"Well, they did crash one of his computer systems," said Shadow.
Amy giggled. "I suppose even Doctor Eggman can do the right thing sometimes, even if it is because of his computers!"
"And at least we don't have to fight them both at the same time!" Tails looked around, and, spotting a room full of computer consoles, jogged over. "I wonder if I can get the schematics for this thing..."
The rest followed him in, and Tails got to work, running into a slight snag almost immediately. "They're in Soleannan..."
"I can translate if you need me to," Rouge offered, crossing to join Tails at the console.
"It's okay, I'm just a little rusty." Working together, they soon had a map up, and Tails beckoned everyone over. "This ship is really huge. It looks like the power sources are here, here, and here, but we can't risk crashing it unless we're sure it's over a completely unpopulated area." He glanced at Knuckles with a worried expression, then continued. "We're going to have to go-"
"Right to the source!" interrupted Sonic, tapping on the map.
Knuckles, already confused by the look Tails had just given him, blinked. "You can read that?"
"Of course!"
Rouge put a hand to her chin, considering. "Straight to the command deck... it could work."
"But we'll have to be quick," Tails cautioned. "There are internal shielding units all over the place that cut the ship into sectors, so that even if it's boarded, they can contain intruders. It's a pretty clever system! If they activate enough shields ahead of us, they'll slow us down a lot."
Sonic grinned over at the other high-speed hedgehog. "We should be able to handle that - right, Shadow?!"
"Right." Shadow looked back at Tails. "Is there anything else we should know?"
The fox thought about it for a few moments. "...I think if we're going to be intercepted, it would probably be here." He pointed at a large room on the map. "By the shield configuration at the moment, pretty much anything headed to the command deck will be funnelled through there. We should be careful when we get close."
"Leave the shields to me," Knuckles said. "I'll take them out if I have to tear this ship apart with my bare hands!"
Sonic laughed. "All right!"
Tails was still in planning mode, reading some of the inscrutable screen. "Judging by these warnings about hull breaches, we're not the only ones trying this. It could be Eggman, or GUN, or even both. We'll have to watch out for them."
"What's that funny line around the outside of the ship?" Amy asked, pointing out said feature on the map.
"It's the edge of an atmosphere field," Rouge answered her. "The Black Comet was designed to be spaceworthy, although we never discovered quite how they intended to reach orbit."
Even if he couldn't read the writing, Shadow had, by now, all but memorised the map. They had a decent enough plan - run through to the control room as fast as possible - and any more waiting wouldn't help them at all. He gestured out the door. "Shall we?"
Together with Sonic, Shadow sped off. The Black Arms and their machines did keep slowing the two of them down, allowing the others to catch up, modern weapons and robots augmenting the Kayzen's old automated turrets and drones. Enough to let the others catch up, yes, but not enough, not nearly enough, to halt their progress through the immense ship. A third of the way there or so, they passed a large hole in the hull which preceded a decisively-won battle against the insurgents' favour. Something very powerful had passed through, leaving not a single ounce of resistance standing; some of the people were still alive and probably not too happy about it, flinching as the team ran through.
For his part, Shadow didn't look too closely at them.
Unhindered by having to stop and fight, it wasn't long before the two hedgehogs came to the scene of a battle still being fought, if such a one-way fight could be called that. The Black Arms were up against a floating, surprisingly manoeuvrable mech, in shape like a human's upper body and with shield projectors on the shoulders, levelling its opposition with a deadly powerful laser on its head. The design wasn't Robotnik's, but it wasn't painted in the usual GUN motif, either - half wasn't painted at all, in fact, and the colours were a bright mix of warning red and yellow, the message clear: danger, keep clear, keep away. Watching the laser fire almost reminded Shadow of something he'd seen Tails' comparatively tiny mech do once. In fact... "You sense that, too, right?"
"Yeah, I think that thing's got a Chaos Emerald!"
"It appears to be on our side..."
"Seems like it! It's going the same way we are, too!"
Sure enough, having picked off most of its opponents, the mech began floating in the same direction they'd been headed. A shot from a Black Arms mech with fused legs but a still-functioning gun sparked off its shields, and the floating mech whipped around - whipped around, no match for Shadow or Sonic's speed but quite impressive for a machine its size that appeared to have someone operating it from within - and fired back, silencing the impertinent shooter's weapon permanently. This done, it moved on, the hedgehogs following after a brief hesitation on Shadow's end.
It didn't take long to catch up, and the mech paused, twisting around almost as fluidly as a human. Shadow had the distinct impression that it was looking down at him specifically. He folded his arms and looked back. After a brief staredown, the mech spoke in Brutus' voice, tone a little challenging. "I'm going to stop these 'Black Arms' once and for all."
"So are we," Shadow levelly answered.
Brutus was silent in response, and Sonic added, "You can join us if you can keep up!" before heading on his way again, Shadow with him. The mech followed, or at least kept going the same way they were.
Not far from the encounter, the hedgehogs were finally brought up short by a shield. "Guess we'll have to wait for Knuckles or Tails - I can't see anything to hit!"
Shadow quietly continued examining the edges of the field, Sonic trying to on the other side, until Brutus in his mech caught up. After a pause, he said, "Stand aside, Sonic. Diablon can handle this."
Sonic cocked his head at him. "Guess Shadow'd better get out of the way, too, huh?" The both of them obeyed, and one immense laser blast later, the shield was down, and they continued on - straight into a particularly large bit of resistance.
The fight wasn't anything new for Shadow, and he glimpsed bits of Diablon's fighting style. The mech was surely impressive, but without trying, he was picking out flaws. Some of the weapons it was using left it vulnerable, and the shielding occasionally gave out under the sheer strain of resisting the Black Arms' defences, many of which couldn't be intimidated or reasoned with. The mech looked rather dented as the rest of the team arrived to help and the battle finally petered out. Brutus did not appear to care, still driving his mech on, powering it with his own sheer determination as much as anything else.
Sonic and Shadow took the lead again, and several times more were checked by the Black Arms and aided by Diablon - until, finally, just a short way from the conference hall Tails had warned them was probably a trap, one shot too many got past the shields. Surrounded on three sides, the mech crashed to the ground with a resounding clatter of metal, and all at once the Black Arms still capable of doing so opened fire, trying to destroy it and kill the pilot before he could right Diablon.
Shadow charged. He knocked aside and through the insurgents and their drones, hand out as he approached the fallen Diablon, shouting two words and warping himself and Brutus back into the hallway from which they had come. The general came out the other side of the Chaos Control a few inches off the ground with a gasp and reflexive jerk, in the same position the tilted cockpit had left him, and just as quickly dropped to the floor. Shadow stayed just long enough to make sure he'd be all right before bolting back to help Sonic with the remaining resistance.
By the time the two Mobians had dealt with them all, Brutus was getting up again, looking, if anything, slightly lost.
Shadow climbed on top of Diablon to take one final look at the room, making sure it would be safe for the others, then looked down at the fallen mech. It had certainly been a big help, even if some of Brutus' aiming had come dangerously close to Shadow himself. The black hedgehog jumped down after a few more moments and crossed back to Brutus, looking up at him. "Are you all right?"
The human evidently still didn't quite know what to think, either, and didn't respond for a few seconds. "...I... ...yes." His voice had lost some of its previous strength. The close call, and perhaps just how he'd escaped from it, had left him a little shaken. "You... you saved my life." There was surprise and confusion in his voice, and then, bewildered sincerity. "...Thank you."
Shadow didn't have any words left. He simply looked down, then back up at the taller person. An awkward, confused silence passed between them.
Eventually, Brutus turned away and crossed to his immobile mech, Shadow following at a polite distance. The soldier rested his hand on Diablon for a moment, then opened up a panel, revealing a shining yellow light. He knew exactly how to extricate the Chaos Emerald, going through a series of complex locking mechanisms to do so. Emerald in hand, he turned to look back at Shadow, still looking unsure of himself and of the decision he was about to make.
Abruptly, stiffly, he held the gem out. "...Use it to stop the Black Arms."
Shadow took it from him. "I will," he said, quietly. "Thank you."
They looked at each other again.
The GUN general drew a pistol from its resting place at his hip. "...Keep going." He left without waiting for them.
Free and easy as ever, Sonic followed and quickly overtook him, his fellow hedgehog still keeping up. "We're almost there!"
Shadow resolved to think about it later; he had more to focus on than his old friend. He did finally have all the Chaos Emeralds, but despite his memory more or less returning over the journey to get them, right then he almost felt more confused than he had when he'd looked up and seen a tree snapped in two by his fall from space.
As yet another Black Arms force came into view in the next hall, Sonic diverted to fight them before the much slower general could catch up, though in truth Brutus didn't even try. He ducked behind some cover and shot with his pistol, very accurate after years upon years of training.
"Go on ahead, Shadow!" Sonic called. "We'll catch up once we've dealt with these guys!"
Shadow nodded to him and blazed forward, too fast to be stopped, and all at once he was in the next, vast hall. If he remembered the map correctly, he was now in the place Tails had warned them about, the meeting hall for addressing the crew that likely doubled as a trap for intruders.
Intruders like he himself.
That said, the hall seemed empty at first glance, at first listen, at first sweep with Chaos Energy senses. Shadow focused, looking and listening and sensing - there, up there, movement!
It was something silver against the blackness of the high ceiling, a slowly-descending ring above a flat hemisphere. Shadow started to resolve more as it came down: it was a waist-high band of dully brushed steel, locked around a dark-clothed human figure, more formal in an unfamiliar way than the style Shadow remembered from the hologram. That striking ruby-red hair surmounted his determined face, dark purpose hardening the Black Arms' leader's features.
"Well done, Shadow. I'm surprised you made it this far." Even undistorted by the drone's speaker, his voice was chilling.
Looking up at him, still frustratingly out of jumping range, Shadow's expression turned aggressive, snarling faintly, ears curled back in simmering anger. "So we finally meet."
The insurgency's mastermind held one hand out. "Give me the Chaos Emeralds, Shadow."
"I don't think so."
The others, Shadow could hear, were arriving, footsteps banging on the Kayzen's metal flooring, calling greetings. He acknowledged them by turning one ear in their direction, but didn't look round, eyes locked with the Black Arms' leader's. As the man descended further, Shadow noticed a large pendant, rather out of place against the deep black formal clothing with its barely-noticeable badges of rank. His hairstyle resolved at this distance into twin backswept peaks.
"I gotta say," he heard Sonic comment, "that colour scheme looks a lot better on Shadow!"
The leader briefly glanced sideways at Sonic without moving his head, without relaxing a muscle of his stiff, straight bearing, and locked eyes with Shadow again. "This is why you are here... why you were created."
Not to be ignored, Sonic said, "You really think that matters?"
"Doesn't every being want to know why he is here? What is the purpose of his life? Why he exists?"
"Nope!" Shadow could hear Sonic grinning, heedless of danger or rank, cheeky as ever behind him.
Shadow took a deeper breath, responding to the question that had after all been more or less directed at him. "I already know all I need to."
"Do you really, Shadow?"
Brutus suddenly spoke. "He's made his decision!" The general fired, the insurgent leader at last within range of both bullets and fast-moving hedgehogs - but the shot sparked off a previously-unseen shield. "You'll only destroy the world!"
"Destroy it?" The leader was coolly amused. "Hardly. Listen to him, Shadow... this man whose people did destroy your world."
Brutus had been a child when the ARK was attacked.
"Now he's afraid, because he can see his own destruction. We don't want to destroy this world... only those who oppose us. These people, whose greed and treachery and lust for power shapes every action they take - what good are they to you? To us?"
Shadow pinned his ears flat against his head, yelling, "As if you're any better! You've killed as many or more innocents!" He made a sweeping gesture. "Whatever you might know about fifty years ago, I won't join you!" Defiant refusal made, Shadow summoned a touch of power from the Chaos Emeralds. If a bullet couldn't make it past the shields, maybe a Chaos Spear could!
As it turned out, no, it couldn't, but Shadow did have the satisfaction of making the Black Arms leader flinch ever so slightly, though it was a little hard to see past the sparking lighting of the shield holding off the Emerald's power.
"...Very well. But you will give me those Emeralds."
The leader of the insurgents touched a control on the silver band around his waist, and Shadow felt odd. Something was interfering with his grip on the Chaos Emeralds - and all at once, without him willing it, the gems showed themselves, floating in a slow ring around him. Confused and alarmed, Shadow grabbed the one directly in front of his face, and it pulled him clear off the ground, drifting inexorably for the Black Arms leader.
The others were just as surprised. "How did you do that?!"
"But you... you can't possibly..."
"This is all I need," said the red-haired human. The Emeralds were beginning to glow with power.
Shadow bent nearly double around the Emerald in his hands and activated his jets at full blast, top speed. It didn't seem to stop the Emerald, now hot with Chaos Energy against his gloves and body, but he wasn't about to let the Black Arms have them without resistance. Then, it crackled against him, power of the red Emerald seeking its brethren, escaping through the holes in Shadow's grip, the Emeralds loaning themselves to something about the man in the centre of their ring.
Quietly, oh so quietly, Shadow heard him say, "Chaos Control."
There was a shock, transmitted to Shadow as an unpleasant surge against his energy-senses rather than a physical feeling, and the burning power was gone - along with the Emerald's ability to strain against his jets. Lightspeed reflexes let him right himself before he hit the ground, but the black hedgehog lost his grasp on the gem in the process, along with his tenuous grip on what was going on.
Chaos Control. He had used Chaos Control. Shadow could only stare up at him, the human staring calmly back.
Impacts reverberated through the ship: one - two - three - four, an ominous pause, and then a more steady mechanical grumbling, vast machinery on the move. Shadow heard Knuckles take a step forward, though he and the rest were now a fair distance away from Shadow and the insurgent leader. "What did you just do with the Emeralds?!"
Sonic fidgeted, stepping lightly from side to side. "Whatever it was, it sucked all the power out them for a second!"
Still hardly able to believe it, Shadow spoke only just loudly enough for the others to hear him. "He used Chaos Control..."
"What?!" Sonic yelled. "He can't have!"
Still with that cool amusement, the Black Arms leader looked at him, again without moving his head. "Does it surprise you? Did you think you were the only ones who knew of their limitless potential? We simply didn't have the resources to harness it." He paused, just long enough to mark out an emphasis. "That was why we needed the professor."
Shadow slowly stood up from his kneel. Still quiet from shock, he could only get out a soft, "What?"
The human on his platform looked down at him, speaking to Shadow and Shadow alone again. "Professor Robotnik was already in development of the Ultimate Life Form... but he couldn't complete his project."
Shadow shrank back.
"He needed our help."
Just barely on a breath, he heard Rouge behind him. "So it was true..."
"Dume..." That was Brutus, at last naming the source of the insurgency, and he who knew the secrets of Shadow's own past.
"My father made a deal with him. He was foremost in his field," said Dume. "In exchange for his help, the professor promised him the seven Chaos Emeralds. And you, Shadow... you were to deliver them to us."
The dark hedgehog took a step backward, shaking his head. It couldn't be. He could almost hear Maria's voice, urging him to protect Mobius as the reason he'd been created - but here this man, who somehow knew how to use Chaos Control, the very thing Gerald had first figured out how to teach Shadow, he knew. And after everything that had happened...
Behind him, he heard Brutus' voice, laced with old pain. "He betrayed his own people... for research."
Shadow swallowed dryly. No more defiant words were coming to him. If this was true, Brutus was right - and how could it not be?
Sonic cut into his rolling thoughts. "So what? None of that changes anything - we're not just gonna stand here while you do whatever it is you're planning!"
Shadow stood a little straighter. That was true, too. Before he could say anything, though, Dume, for the first time, addressed Sonic directly, his floating platform turning to face him. "Actually... I think you will."
Amy made a stifled noise. Brutus forced the word "Run!" out at the end of a breath, and someone collapsed; Shadow looked over his shoulder and turned as Dume continued floating backwards at no particular speed, unhurried.
"The gas is already in your bloodstreams. The end is near, now."
Before Shadow's eyes, the others were stopping, helpless, falling where they stood: the sight hurtled Shadow into battle-ready sped-up processing, accessing the situation in a few seconds that stretched agonisingly from his perspective. For all his warning, Brutus hadn't, couldn't escape; Tails was trying for the door and not entirely succeeding. Amy seemed completely immobilised, with Rouge trying to drag her somewhere and collapsing even as Shadow watched, and even Knuckles couldn't seem to get his feet back under him. Sonic alone was focused on Shadow, his never-ending drive pushing through the shock and even a little fear still dominating his expression.
"Sh-Shadow... counting on - you!"
Shadow could only look back, horrified, for another long heartbeat; time suddenly snapped back to normal for him as he whipped around after Dume. The Black Arms leader disappeared through a door somewhere high in the wall, Shadow only able to follow through one at ground level. Fury and fear drove him through the labyrinthine interior of the giant ship faster than he could ever remember running in the short time he'd been alive and aware. If the others died - if his friends died, if he lost what he had regained - Shadow was going to tear that human to pieces.