The night had come and gone, and the Low Lands was awake once more. Various kinds of Black Arms were yet again walking down the main street of the Charcoal City, shopping at street side vendors, or just making there way to somewhere else. The same was true for Shadow, who decided he should take a proper look around town and see what the Black Arms is capable of doing when they aren't trying to conquer other planets. He passed by Vizy's little shop and she thanked Shadow for delivering her letter. But for the most part no one else talked to Shadow, and he didn't talk to anyone as well. He was perfectly fine just staring at the shabby buildings that surrounded him on either side. But as he was walking, he stopped dead in his tracks. He could sense something. Something bad, dangerous, and not of the Black Arms. He looked over to his right and saw one of the large mine walls, but he knew that something was over there. He began to walk towards the door, the sounds of the city slowly disappearing behind him as he did. Once he reached the wall, the sense of something dangerous grew larger. He put his right hand against the wall and stood there silently for a moment or so. Before a hand suddenly thrust through the wall and grabbed onto Shadow, it then pulled him through the wall and threw him to the ground on the other side. The area he had been pulled into was a massive stone canyon, and he was on one of the large walls that had mining equipment on it, and was wooden rails protecting someone from falling into the canyon.
Shadow groaned slightly as he stood up off of the ground. When he looked up he saw Zavok standing over him, a large smile across its face "Shadow the Hedgehog! It's good to see you again."
Shadow quickly jumped up to his feet and clenched his fists "Zavok? What are you doing here? I thought Eggman kept a tight grip on his pets."
The large red and black creature scoffed at Shadow "That is where you are wrong, because I was sent here to kill YOU!"
He then suddenly lunged at Shadow causing the Hedgehog to jump out of his way. Shadow rolled across the ground as Zavok came to a stop and spun around to glare at the Hedgehog. Zavok then charged at Shadow again, but before he could jump out of his way, Zavok himself jumped up into the air and brought his fists down onto the ground. Sadly, he just barely missed Shadow who had cartwheeled out of the way of Zavok's slam just in time. Shadow then used Zavok's weight against him and the trouble he has when it comes to standing up again, by jumping up into the air and spin kicking the front of the creature's face. Zavok roared out in pain for a moment before swiping at Shadow and forcing him to back off. Zavok then got up onto his feet before jumping up into the air and away from Shadow. He would then land in front of what looked like an overturned truck that's contents had fallen out when it did. Zavok then picked up one of the truck's contents, a metal barrel, and threw it at Shadow. Who Homing Attacked it back at Zavok, but the creature swatted it away with the back of his hand, only for Shadow to send it flying back towards him. Repeat that process one more time before Zavok finally grabbed onto the barrel and with all his might, threw it right back at Shadow. The Hedgehog quickly used his rocket shoes to blast the barrel right back at Zavok faster then he could react, so it finally hit the creature right on his face. Zavok let out another roar of pain before holding up the barrel that had just hit him in the face, and crushing it with his hands. He then jumped back up into the air and soared over Shadow's head. This time Zavok landed a few feet away from Shadow with nothing to use as a weapon against the Hedgehog, but even still Zavok said "You may have bested me twice now. But let's see you best this!"
He suddenly thrust his hand up into the air as a loud rumble came from inside of the canyon to Shadow's left. Then suddenly a massive circular saw attached to a yellow crane rose out of the depths of the canyon. Zavok then swiped his hand in a slicing motion, and the saw followed it. Shadow quickly jumped over the circular saw and right as he landed on the ground it came charging towards him. Which forced him to quickly sidestep out of its way before attempting to get closer to Zavok. But his progress was stopped when the creature thrust its other hand out and a motorized trolley sped towards Shadow, forcing him to jump out of its way as the saw attempted to cut him in half again. This time though, Shadow quickly rolled out of its way and as it attempted to swipe at him he jumped back up into the air and the saw almost took Zavok's head off. Luckily the creature ducked down just in time, only cause the very tip of his horns to be trimmed instead of having his whole head chopped off. Unluckily, this gave Shadow an opening so he quickly charged towards Zavok and kicked his head making it lurch upwards. Shadow then jabbed the creature's face before he shoved Shadow away and got up to his feet. But Shadow wouldn't let up, he quickly lunged at Zavok and punched him right in his gut. He then spun around and kicked the back of Zavok's head after he doubled over due to the pain in his abdomen. The kick to the back of the head only caused Zavok to grow angrier so he quickly spun around and attempted to punch Shadow but the Hedgehog ducked under the attack and hit Zavok in his gut yet again. As Zavok doubled over once more Shadow jumped away from the injured creature as he recovered from the second gut punch. He stood up and looked around a moment, before realizing Shadow was now to his right. Zavok quickly turned to face the Hedgehog, only for Shadow to boost right towards him.
Shadow jumped up into the air and spun around before hitting Zavok with the bottoms of his shoes, sending the creature flying away and down into the canyon. Shadow on the other hand landed on the ground safely and came to a skidding stop. He was about to turn and leave the canyon mine when he suddenly heard a strange sound. He turned around and saw Zavok floating up into the air, but something was off about his body. It was glitching like how a TV screen might when its signal gets interrupted, and the lower half of his body was dissolving into red cubes. And so was the rest of his body! Shadow watched as Zavok's entire body dissolved into nothing but red cubes before they all came back together and reformed into a new creature. This new creature was none other than, Metal Sonic. The robotic doppelganger let out a deep metallic whir before blasting off towards Shadow, who quickly rolled out of the speeding robot's way. When it realized it hadn't his Shadow the robot stopped in midair and rose high up before it began to fire out plasma balls right out of its chest reactor. Shadow dodged and jumped over the incoming plasma balls before Homing Attacking into Metal. He did it once, then twice, then three times before the robot let out a blast of electric energy that shoved Shadow away from it. As Shadow skid to a halt on the ground Metal Sonic got closer to the ground before its entire body was surrounded by a purple electric aura, it thrust both of its hands out, their spiked fingers pointed right at Shadow, before blasting off towards Shadow. He was just barely able to jump over Metal's V. Maximum Overdrive and land on the ground before the robot suddenly came to a stop behind him and used some strange new power to make chunks of the ground lift up into the air as though he had Silver's telekinesis. Shadow spun around just in time for Metal to try and throw one of the chunks of ground at him, but he was able to Homing Attack into the chunk and reduce it into several tiny pieces.
The next one came right at him and he Homing Attacked into that one, then the next, then the next, before finally destroying the last one and Homing Attacking into Metal Sonic once more. The robot let out a few beeps of synthesized pain before its body began to distort like how its Zavok form did, but it didn't dissolve into red cubes this time. Instead, it looked as if its form was shuffled around before it grew in size to be at least a few feet taller than Shadow. Metal Sonic then took a balanced stance before its chest reactor began to rev up. Shadow figured out quickly what Metal was about to do so once the beam of concentrated Chaos Energy fired out of the reactor, he was already on the move. He skated past Metal Sonic making the beam accidentally blast against the wall of the canyon mine its Zavok form had pulled him through. As the beam continued to blast against the stone wall, it suddenly broke through and made its presence known to the Black Arms who all gasped out in surprise when they saw and heard the beam blast out of some random wall. Shadow then suddenly jumped over the beam and Homing Attacked into the side of Metal's head, knocking it off balance and disabling the beam. Metal Sonic attempted to swipe at Shadow but the Hedgehog ducked underneath the ultramarine blue robot's attack before quickly swiping its own feet out from underneath it. Shadow then spun around on the ground so the bottoms of his rocket shoes were against Metal's back, before blasting him high up into the air. He then jumped up to his feet before using his rocket shoes to blast him high up into the air, and over Metal. Shadow then quickly curled up into a Spin Ball before coming down on Metal Sonic's chest and right through it, splitting the robot in half. Shadow and the two halves of Metal Sonic both hit the ground, but those two halves slowly began to distort as the sound of a Phantom Ruby Pulse entered Shadow's ears. He quickly turned his attention to one of the pieces of Metal as it dissolved into cubes, but those cubes also dissolved. But not into something, they dissolved into nothing. Shadow watched as Metal's two halves disappeared right as the sound of a Phantom Ruby Pulse came to an end.
Shadow silently thought to himself "A Phantom Ruby Pulse? Could it be possible?.. I have to warn Eclipse."
He spun around and began to make his way out of the canyon mine, while unknown to him, Eclipse watched through one of the broken windows of his house. He sighed slightly as he rubbed his face out of frustration, he then turned around to face the Husks "Keep an eye on Hope till Shadow gets here. I've got to do damage control for a bit."
He then walked out of the room he was in, which was the kitchen, as Shadow got closer to the house. Hope heard the sound of the building's front door creaking open so she looked up from the old book Eclipse had given her a few hours ago to see Shadow walking in. He closed the door behind him before walking over to her and asking "Where's Eclipse?"
She shrugged "I don't know.. I think he went up stairs though."
Shadow nodded before making his way over to the rickety steps and walking up stairs. The second floor is where the bedrooms where, and there was only two of them. One for Eclipse, and then a guest bedroom. Shadow assumed Eclipse was in his room so he began to make his way over to that door, but when he got close he could hear the sound of static coming from somewhere in the room before being followed by Eclipse's voice saying "This is Eclipse the Darkling. Do you read me?"
There was just silence and static for several seconds, and Shadow was about to knock on Eclipse's door. When suddenly he heard the voice of Doctor Eggman say "You know I hate it when you contact me from within that hole you call home Eclipse."
Every muscle in Shadow's body froze in place. He didn't know what was going on, but he had to listen to find out more. He heard Eclipse sigh "Well I can't just leave the Low Lands and contact you above ground, Shadow is here after all.. Speaking of which... Why didn't you tell me you were sending Metal Sonic!? That hunk of junk blew holes in our home!"
Eggman then replied with "Firstly, what was sent was a Phantom Clone of Zavok. It must've changed into Metal Sonic after Shadow defeated it the first time around. Secondly, I have no control over the Phantom Clones. Infinite does, and I have control over Infinite. Thirdly, he should've told you."
Eclipse sighed "Listen, I'm not mad about the fact a Phantom Clone showed up out of the blue. What I'm mad about is the fact it could've hurt someone!"
Eggman chuckled "Like I care about the well being of the Black Arms! Your father ruined Gerald's life! I care about Infinite's well being more than your's. You're lucky that I appointed you as the Holoskian Over Boss simply because I couldn't find anyone else."
Shadow could hear Eclipse slam his hands down on something "Not to mention I've been bringing you isolated communities to be made your slaves! Without you Holoska's factories wouldn't be running as fast as they are now!"
If Shadow could see Eggman's face, he would more than likely roll his eyes at that "Yes, yes. That is of course benefiting my empire greatly bla bla bla.. Just make sure Shadow stays put so he can finally be killed."
Eclipse then said "But how would you do that? Phantom Clones are obviously ineffective against him."
"I'll send Infinite and have him target Shadow while making it look like he's attacking the Black Arms. All you have to do is keep your.. Subjects, under the false guise that I'm out to get them.. Do I make myself clear?"
Eclipse more than likely nodded "Yes you do. Now I have to go do some real damage control and make sure Shadow doesn't suspect anything, and that no one was hurt by Metal Sonic."
Shadow then heard the sound of whatever device Eclipse was using to contact Eggman with be turned off before Eclipse began to make his way towards his door. Shadow quickly teleported away and down into the living room area right in front of Hope. She was startled slightly but was able to ask "What? Something up?"
He looked over to her "We have to go, now."
He then suddenly heard the sound of the stairs creaking and the voice of Eclipse saying "Oh good, Shadow I need to talk to you."
The black and red Hedgehog spun around to face Eclipse as the Darkling stepped off of the stairs and made his way over to Shadow and Hope. Eclipse was about to say something when he finally caught a whiff of the tension in the room from Shadow. He then asked "Is something up? Because if it's about the appearance of Metal Sonic I too am concerned about that."
Shadow motioned for Hope to get off of the couch and for her to get behind him, which she did, as he said "So... How long have you been lying to everyone in the Low Lands?"
Eclipse had a look of shock on his face "Wh- What do you mean?"
Shadow folded his arms over his chest "Have you been lying to Vizy? How about the Dark Arms? What about Grunt?"
Eclipse struggled to find the words to say something, anything, in response to what Shadow had just asked. He finally sighed before looking down at the ground in defeat "It is true.. I've been lying to everyone down here.. But it's been for the betterment of them... Now then."
He returned his look back to Shadow "I know you won't let me just leave me alone after what you obviously overheard. And I'm certainly not letting you leave the Low Lands alive! So let's just get this over with."
He suddenly snapped his fingers and the Husks leaned from out of the kitchen and into the living room. Cyzer and Blurk both ran over to Eclipse while the other three stayed behind Shadow and Hope. Eclipse then said "Cyzer, Blurk. You two stick with me.. The rest of you, take the girl."
The three behind them suddenly lunged at Hope and grabbed onto her. They then began to drag her away, but as Shadow attempted to spin around to stop then. Eclipse held his hand out and Cyzer gave him the power turn his arm into a laser cannon. He then quickly shot the back of Shadow's head and made him fall face first onto the ground as Hope was being dragged into the Husks' living space, kicking and screaming to let her go as they did. Eclipse walked over to Shadow as he picked himself up off of the ground "You must understand. I don't work with Eggman because of some lust for power, I do it because the world hates the Black Arms. No mater what I may do."
Shadow, once on his feet, attempted to punch Eclipse but Blurk lunged at him and hit him right in his gut. Shadow staggered backwards before Eclipse kicked his face and blasted him with the organic laser arm Cyzer had given him. Shadow was blasted backwards and he slammed against one of the wooden walls of the building, Eclipse then raised his laser cannon arm up and aimed it at Shadow "Please give up. I can lie to Eggman and convince him that I did kill you. If he asks where the body is I can just say that the Black Arms ate it before I could bring it to him. You can live down here peacefully while Eggman ruins the surface world."
Shadow coughed slightly "You.. You think Eggman'll just leave you alone forever?"
Eclipse shook his head "Oh no, I know that he'll eventually come for us. But we'll already be prepared, the Dark Arms' DNA would already be apart of everyone, and you'd be on our side!"
Shadow attempted to stand up "I refused to join Black Doom. What makes you think I'd join you?"
Eclipse sighed "Hope.. That was all. Just the hope that I could have a loving family for once.. Oh well."
He then fired his laser cannon arm at Shadow and continued to blast him for a long while. Once he finally stopped smoke rose off of Shadow's chest from the burnt quills, and the Hedgehog himself groaned as he tried to stand up yet again. Eclipse lowered his arm and Cyzer took away his cannon arm before Blurk gave Eclipse the power to turn his arm into an organic mallet. He walked over to Shadow before grabbing ahold of his chest fur and lifting him up off of the ground "We can still make things work out between the two of us. Just give me a few hours and I'll convince Eggman and Infinite that you're dead, alright?"
He didn't wait for Shadow to answer, because he quickly hit the side of Shadow's head with his mallet arm and let him drop to the floor and slid across it for a moment. Eclipse watched Shadow's motionless, except for the movement from his chest due to his breathing, body. He didn't quite know how to feel about what he had just done, he was able to actually knock out Shadow the Ultimate Lifeform! But on the other hand, he just knocked out his brother. Ultimately Eclipse had Blurk remove the power it had given him before he turned around to face them "Keep an eye on the girl until I get back. Don't leave this house no matter what happens. And don't eat her, alright?"
The two Husks nodded and Eclipse began to make his way out of his house, but before he did he stopped and looked over his shoulder to say to them "Also, put Shadow in that spare pod. When he wakes up, he'll be very cranky. So the enzymes in the pod should keep him soothed till I get back."
The Husks yet again nodded before Eclipse returned his attention to the door in front of him. He then walked out of his house as Blurk and Cyzer both began to drag Shadow into their living area. Meanwhile, outside of the house, Eclipse used the Hive Mind to say to Grunt "I need to speak with you. I'm outside my house."
Luckily, Grunt was actually close by so he jogged over as soon as he got Eclipse's message "Yes sir, what is it?"
Eclipse motioned for Grunt to follow him as he began to walk forwards "I'm going to head outside for a bit. Shadow wants me to make sure the way back to Hope's village is safe. While I'm gone I want you to keep an eye on the place, and remember-"
Grunt knew exactly what Eclipse was about to say, he had heard it a hundred times before "Remember. Don't let anyone into your house, and don't go in your house."
Eclipse chuckled slightly "Should I just stop saying that?"
Grunt nodded "It would be nice, yes."
Eclipse shrugged "Alright."
They then reached the elevator that would lead Eclipse up to the surface of Holoska "Welp, I'm off. I'll be back soon."
He stepped into the elevator and Grunt gave a slight wave of the hand before walking away. The lift sprung to life and it began to climb up its elevator shaft, all the while Eclipse began to fabricate the lie he'd have to tell Infinite, who should be at Holoska's former capital by now, to make sure he wouldn't get anywhere near the Low Lands for awhile.
Meanwhile, in Auctermunty city, Infinite was staring out one of the windows of the capital building as the city was being raided by Egg Pawns and all sorts of other robots. He had his arms crossed over his chest and the room he was inside of was the former Holoskian Prime Minster's bedroom. When suddenly the communicator built into his mask went off and the voice of Eggman yelled through it "Infinite! Why didn't you inform me about the Phantom Clone's appearance!?"
The Jackal brought a hand up to the side of his mask "What do you mean?"
"What do I mean? WHAT DO I MEAN?! The Over Boss of Holoska just informed me that a Phantom Clone of Metal Sonic had arrived not far from where he is hiding out. I had no knowledge of that until the Over Boss contacted me! You were supposed to tell me before you sent the Phantom Clone out, then I'd tell the Over Boss.. But you didn't."
Infinite rolled his eyes "I thought it wouldn't be that big of a deal. Besides, Shadow was inside of a forgotten mine. Even to the previous government."
He glanced over to the Prime Minster's bed, and lying on it was the motionless corps of the man formerly in charge of Holoska "So who ever this Over Boss of your's is. He lives in quite the strange place."
"Listen to me. I need you to-"
There was a beeping on his end "Hold on."
For a few minutes all Infinite could hear was distant talking, before Eggman came back over his communicator "The Over Boss just contacted me. He says he's already disposed of Shadow. Sadly the fight took a lot out of him and when he tried to recover Shadow's body, he found it had been dragged away by the local wildlife.."
Infinite chuckled slightly "Does he really think he can fool us?"
Eggman also chuckled "Oh I don't know. I'm fairly certain he's just trying to buy some time for himself. So I tell you what, go to that 'forgotten mine' and find Shadow. Kill him, the Over Boss, and anyone else that gets in your way."
Infinite nodded "It would be my pleasure... But tell me, what is the Over Boss's name?"
"Eclipse the Darkling, Prince of the Black Arms, Son of Black Doom, and Brother to the Fallen One.. Or, the soon to be deceased Prince of the Black Arms!"
Eggman cackled on his end while Infinite simply grinned. He then held out his hand and used the Phantom Ruby to blast it open the window in front of him "I'm on my way now. I'll contact you when I get there."
He then lifted off the ground and flew out of the capital building, but before he could get much farther Eggman quickly said "Oh, and Infinite! I require some sort of payment after all the trouble Eclipse has caused me. And I know just the thing. I want you to find these little creatures called the Husks, and bring them to me."
Infinite's grin grew wider "Don't worry.. I'll do more than just retrieve Eclipse's pets."
Eggman then turned off his communicator and so did Infinite before the masked Jackal flew forwards, heading towards the above ground entrance to the Low Lands.
