Chapter 11

"We left Eggman in here," said Tails as he, Angel, and Rouge rounded the corner leading into the ARK's main control room. But to their surprise, Eggman was nowhere to be seen.

"Are you sure you knocked him out?" asked Rouge, looking back at Tails who had a stunned look on his face.

"I'm sure I did! I punched him in the face as hard as I could!" said Tails.

"Maybe so, but he obviously woke up real fast," said Rouge. Tails suddenly got a panicked look on his face.

"Oh no...He didn't take it did he?" he cried as he ran over to the Cyclone. Hopping into the pilot's seat, he quickly unlocked the nose cone. Leaping out of the pilot's seat right in front of the walker, he unscrewed the nose cone. Guilt gripped him hard, for as soon as the nose cone was off, he discovered that the real Chaos Emerald was long gone.

"It's gone...I let him take it without even putting up a fight for it," said Tails despondently Tails as he threw the nose cone to the floor.

"No Tails. It's my fault," said Angel, looking down at the ground. "I should've stayed behind to keep an eye on him."
"Neither one of you are to blame," said Rouge. "We need to get back down to the cannon's power core before Eggman can fire the cannon again." Suddenly, the whole ARK began to shake, nearly throwing the three mobians to the ground.

"What on Mobius is happening?" asked Tails as the shaking subsided. Just then, all the monitors in the control room went dark. Almost immediately, all of them but the biggest one in the center of the console lit back up with a thirty minute timer on their screens.

The timers then began their countdown as the middle screen booted up what appeared to be an old recording of a man that looked like an older version of Eggman dressed in straight jacket flanked by guards. But before the recording could begin, a flash of light erupted in the middle of the room as Sonic appeared behind his friends.

"Sonic! You're alive!" shouted Tails happily as they all turned around to see the blue hedgehog alive and well. The fox ran over and embraced his best friend a in hug that nearly knocked Sonic to the floor. "I thought we had lost you!"

"Easy little buddy," said Sonic as he returned the hug.

"How did you escape the capsule?" asked Angel, her eyes slightly tearing up in joy to see Sonic back with them as Tails broke his hug.

"I figured out how to do Chaos Control," said Sonic, holding up the fake emerald.

"But how could you possible perform that ability?" asked Rouge, wide eyed in amazement. "I thought only Shadow could use Chaos Control."

"Not anymore, but that'll keep for now. What's up with the ARK shaking?" asked Sonic.

"We're not sure," said Angel. Suddenly, the recording began to play.

"You have begun my final vengeance upon Mobius and its people by placing the seven Chaos Emeralds into the Eclipse Cannon's power core. By doing so, you have activated my master program. The weapon I built to save this planet will now be the instrument of its destruction. By my calculations, the space colony ARK will strike the planet in exactly thirty minutes once my master program has been activated," said the man in the recording. Here, the man began to tear up as his voice waivered slightly.

"All of you took everything from me when you attacked the ARK. My granddaughter Maria...She died because of my research, as did all my friends," said the man sadly. But that sadness was quickly replaced by rage.

"I created Shadow to hopefully find a cure for my granddaughter's disease as well as make the world safe from those that would threaten it. I was only a couple of weeks away from discovering the cure when you attacked! I'm certain I was close! No one deserved to die for my research...Yet you killed nearly everyone aboard the ARK over the fear that Shadow caused, including Maria," said the man.

"Now, the world will pay the price for your arrogance. Shadow will ensure my vengeance is satisfied. I leave everything to him," said the man. Several seconds passed before a voice off camera spoke.

"Do you have anything else to say?" asked a man's voice.

"No..." said the man. The recording then started to repeat itself. Unbeknownst to everyone, the same recording was now playing live on every communications device on the planet.

"So that's what that program Nicole stumbled across was for!?" cried Rouge. Everyone turned their gaze to the bat, each one's face asking the same question. Rouge fished Nicole out of her jumpsuit before flipping her open. Nicole instantly appeared in her lynx form.

"Apparently it was. Take me over to the control panel," said Nicole. Rouge ran over to the main control panel, setting Nicole's physical self down on it as her image ran alongside the bat. She then used her wireless connection to link up with the ARK. Several seconds ticked by as Nicole scanned the ARK's mainframe. Just as she had expected, she couldn't access any of the ARK's controls as they were now protected by a very powerful encryption.

"I'm sorry everyone," said Nicole as she lowered her head. "The ARK is on a collision course with Mobius. And the controls are completely locked up by that program. It would take me hours to crack the encryption to free the controls."

"Just who is that nut job in the recording anyways?" asked Sonic as he looked back over at the monitor displaying the recording.

"He looks a lot like Eggman. Is he related to him at all?" asked Tails.

"He is," said a voice from the doorway. Everyone turned around to see Eggman now standing in the entrance to the control room. He then made his way over to the mobians. Noticing a certain blue hedgehog was with them, he only flashed a grin.

"I should've known you'd find a way to escape my trap you little pin cushion," said Eggman.

"As if I'd be done in by you, Egghead," said Sonic as he smiled himself. "But we can trade verbal jabs later. Who is that in the recording?"

"That would be my grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik. One of the greatest scientific minds the human race has ever known. It was his genius that gave birth to Shadow as well as the Eclipse Cannon," said Eggman.

"Sorry I'm late to the party. Got a little lost on my way here," said Knuckles as he walked into the room.

"Hey Knux. Did you happen to hear that recording?" asked Sonic.

"Kinda hard to miss it since its playing over all the communication devices on the colony," said Knuckles with a frown.

"This is all your fault Eggman! You should never have tried to use that cannon to dominate the world!" cried Tails as he pointed a finger in his direction.

"Shadow's the one to blame, fox boy," said Eggman angrily. "He's the one that brought me up here and told me what the cannon was capable of!"

"This isn't the time to be pointing fingers!" yelled Rouge, trying to stop the fighting. "We need to come up with a plan before all of us are killed along with the planet."

"You're right Rouge," said Eggman as he looked over in Rouge's direction. He then noticed Nicole standing next to the bat at the control panel. "Who the heck are you?"

"I'm Nicole. I think we have a pretty long history," said the lynx with a smirk.

"You! You're that damn AI that the princess is always carrying around that always got through my security in Robotropolis!" cried Eggman.

"The one and only," said Nicole. "But let's not dwell on the past for the moment. I have an idea on how we can break the control lockdown."

"What did you have in mind?" asked Angel.

"Even though I can't use any of the controls, I can still detect what's going on with the colony. Right now, there's a massive amount of energy that's in the colony's core. I surmise that this energy is what's powering the lockout, as it wasn't present before the lockout began."

"Of course! The Chaos Emeralds must've been transported to the ARK's core to power the lockout," said Eggman. "But even if we could reach the Chaos Emeralds, the energy that's already been released into the core has done its damage. We would need to remove that energy in order to unlock the colony's controls again."

"Which we can't do without the help of dozens of chao," said Sonic, remembering how they had helped end his battle with Chaos' perfect form nearly two months ago.

"Wait a second...There is still a way to nullify the energy I think," said Rouge. She then turned towards Knuckles. "You told me the Master Emerald has the power to control the Chaos Emeralds, right? Couldn't you use it to remove the energy that's been placed into the core?"

"I'm not sure. I know the Master Emerald can control the emeralds' power, but I don't know about nullifying it," said Knuckles.

"We have to try," said Tails.

"I agree. It's the only plan we have at the moment," said Eggman.

"I might not be able to control the ARK's trajectory, but I can still bypass the normal security. I'll open the way for the quickest route to the colony's core," said Nicole as she turned her attention back to the control board.

"Alright then. Where're the shards Knuckles?" asked Sonic.

"I put them back on the ship," said Knuckles.

"Every second counts right now. I'll be right back," said Sonic. The fake emerald that was still in his hand flashed as Sonic vanished. He then reappeared a couple of seconds later with the sack the shards were in.

"So that's how you managed to survive," said Eggman as Sonic handed the sack to Knuckles.

"It is, but it doesn't help us at the moment," said Sonic

"Why not?" asked Knuckles as he took the sack from Sonic.

"I quickly discovered a flaw with Chaos Control or at least a problem that I have performing it," said Sonic.

"And that is?" asked Knuckles.

"I have to have seen the location I want to go to in order to teleport there. If I try to go somewhere I haven't seen before, I can't make it work," said Sonic.

"Then we're hoofing it down there," said Knuckles.

"Are you sure you can get down there fast enough Sonic?" asked Tails.

"Of course I'm sure. I'm the fastest thing on this planet. We'll get down there in no time big guy," said Sonic.

"Then get going. Every second is vital!" said Eggman as he pointed at the timer which had now hit the twenty five minute mark.

"Let's go," said Sonic as he turned and ran out of the room, Knuckles hot on his heels.

"I have a bad feeling about this," said Rouge.

"So do I," said Tails. Angel frowned for a second before she started running out of the room as well.

"Where are you going?" asked Rouge. Angel stopped and turned her head back towards Rouge.

"I'm going to try and find Shadow. We need all the help we can get right now," said Angel.

"Honey, Shadow's the one that caused this to happen. I highly doubt you'll get him to do anything to help us out," said Rouge.

"I still have to try," said Angel as she turned her head back around and ran out of the room.

August 26, 2323 18:16

Shadow stared out at the planet below as it slowly but steadily grew bigger in the viewing window of Maria's living quarters. Finally your death will be avenged Maria. How long I've waited for this moment to happen ever since they sealed me in that pod, thought Shadow. A knock against the side of the entrance to the room caused him to jump slightly as his train of thought was broken.

"I didn't mean to scare you again," said an all too familiar voice to the black hedgehog. His eyes narrowed, but otherwise he made no other outward sign he was annoyed that the female echidna was there. He could hear her footsteps as she crossed the room to stand beside him at the viewing window.

He glanced over at her to see she wasn't looking at him, but rather out of the window. He thought he'd see anger on her face or perhaps fear. But he was surprised to see that it contained no such look. Rather, she looked completely calm.

"Shouldn't you be with your friends?" asked Shadow as he returned his gaze to the planet below.

"They can take care of themselves. I wanted to find you," said Angel.

"What for?" asked Shadow.

"Like I said last time, I just want to talk," said Angel softly. Shadow's face reflected the surprise he now felt. Why should she want to "talk" with him? Especially after his plan to kill off the planet was now revealed and in full swing.

"I have nothing I want to say to you," said Shadow.

"Just answer me one question then," said Angel as she turned her head to face him. "Why did you do this? Why sentence the planet and its people to death?"

"You wouldn't understand," said Shadow. "I had to do this. I swore Maria's death would be avenged when I saw her be killed right in front of me." Now it was Angel's turn to have her face reflect her surprise.

"I didn't know you saw her die," said Angel. Shadow lowered his head slightly.

"She didn't deserve to be killed in cold blood by those monstrous people..." said Shadow softly. "As the professor's recording said, they attacked the ARK because they feared me. But Maria...She wasn't a threat to anyone. They had no right to do what they did."

"You're absolutely right," said Angel as her gaze shifted back to the planet. "No one deserves such a fate. But was it truly worth killing the whole planet over?"

"You don't understand echidna. I lost my life that night. The one thing I held dearest to me was taken in an instant. It left me a hollow shell for several days till the professor told me how I could exact revenge by using the ARK," said Shadow.

"I know exactly how you could feel like that Shadow..." said Angel as she looked down slightly.

"You couldn't possibly understand how I felt then or now," said Shadow. Without warning, Shadow felt as if a missile had just collided with his face as he was sent flying into the wall. As he slumped down to the ground, he wearily looked up to see Angel standing in her spot facing him. Her body was twisted in a position that clearly showed that she had just sucker punched him as hard as she could. She was now filled with a rage the likes of which Shadow didn't know the echidna was capable of.

"Don't you ever tell me I wouldn't understand how it feels to lose your whole life in a single moment!" she cried angrily as she returned to a standing position. "I saw both of my parents be murdered right in front of me by a robotic killing machine! Then I was knocked out by that same machine!"

"When I awoke the next morning, my village was burned to the ground! All the others of my race had been killed! By a twist of fate, my chao Comet and I survived...But I had lost everything..." she said softly at the end of her rant. At this, her anger ebbed as her emotions turned to a much softer tone. Seeing that her anger had subsided, Shadow got back to his feet and started walking in her direction again. Arriving at the viewing window again, he returned his gaze back out to the planet below.

"After that night, I was filled with the desire for revenge. I wanted nothing more than to find the thing that had destroyed my life and kill it," said Angel. "I was consumed by that urge. So much so that I blindly accepted an offer to be trained to combat that foe by the very person that had created the same machine that had destroyed my life." At this, Shadow cocked an eyebrow as his curiosity was now aroused. This must have been what the bat and Sonic were talking about when they were referring to her past, thought Shadow.

"What was the offer that you accepted?" asked Shadow, now genuinely interested in the echidna's tale.

"That he would train me into a warrior. And in exchange, I would have to promise to uphold any request that he asked of me the next time our paths crossed after my training was complete," said Angel. "I trained under him for four years. Then I took up the mantle of Guardian after learning that Knuckles had died. I resided in solitude on Floating Island for five more years until Sonic arrived at the island."

"I reluctantly joined Sonic and his friends in their final bid to free the Mobius of my timeline. At the time, I brushed Sonic and his friends off. It wasn't until Sonic saved my life from the very machine that had destroyed my village that I started to put aside my aggression towards them. As I tended to Sonic's wounds, I told him of the very past that I just told you," said Angel.

"I see...Did you ever run into the person you made the promise to?" asked Shadow.

"As it turned out, that very same person was the same tyrant we were trying to overthrow. A robotic raptor by the name of Leviathan. But when he confronted me, my honor prevented me from saying no when he requested that I become his ally and fight Sonic," said Angel.

"And yet the blue hedgehog is here and so are you, so obviously you broke that promise," said Shadow. Angel just shook her head.

"No...I didn't break it. Rather, Leviathan screwed up when giving me an order. He told me to keep the promise that I had made. But he didn't specify which one he had meant. By that point in time, I had also made a promise to Sonic that I'd stand by his side till our goal of overthrowing the tyrant was finished. And Leviathan had made me promise to always follow an order till I had completed the task," said Angel. Shadow smiled slightly at hearing that.

"That's incredibly lucky for you to figure a way around that promise without actually breaking it," said Shadow.

"A day doesn't go by where that promise doesn't haunt me at least a little bit. I've had nightmares plague me for days or even weeks at a time. It's always the same one each time," said Angel as she shuddered slightly.

"I was wrong about you Angel," said Shadow. "You do understand a lot about what I've dealt with all these years while I slept in that cryo pod."

"Shadow...you need to do what I did and put the past behind you," said Angel. "This path you're taking will only lead to your death and that of the planet."

"I don't care. Maria's death will be avenged just as the professor and I have planned," said Shadow.

"Maria really meant the world to you, didn't she?" asked Angel.

"She was everything to me," said Shadow.

"Then tell me this Shadow. You knew Maria better than anyone else aboard the ARK, right?" asked Angel. She saw him give no reaction, but she knew she had to keep pushing. "Was she a nice person?"

"She was the kindest, most gentle person I've known," said Shadow.

"I have just one more question then," said Angel.

"And that would be what?" asked Shadow, glancing over at Angel.

"Would she want to see you like this? Consumed by hatred and anger to the point that you'd be willing to kill everyone on the planet?" asked Angel. At this, Shadow finally showed a hint of emotion as he stiffened slightly.

"I'm betting she would've loved to have seen the world on the surface. And she would've wanted you to be with her," said Angel. The echidna watched as Shadow's hands curled into fists and his eyes closed tight.

"That's exactly what she wanted..." whispered Shadow.

"Then would she have been happy to know you were going to destroy the world she dreamed of seeing? To kill the people I'm sure she would've wanted you to be friends with?" asked Angel. She paused for a few seconds before speaking again, letting her words sink in.

"Shadow...Help us protect this world and its people by helping us stop the ARK," said Angel. Shadow continued to keep his eyes shut as Angel's last few sentences rang in his mind. It all sounded so familiar to him. Would Maria really have wanted all this? though Shadow as he thought back to his memory of Maria's death. But this time, something he hadn't remembered finally surfaced.


Shadow banged on the window of the escape pod as he watched Maria slump to the floor. Her body was failing her fast.

"Maria!" cried Shadow as he tried desperately to reach her.

"Shadow..." said Maria as the mike that was wired to the escape pod let her voice be heard by Shadow as he watched. "Promise me something..."

"Anything!" said Shadow.

"Promise me...you won't blame others...for this. The people...on the surface. Be their friend Shadow. Protect them...and the planet..." said Maria weakly.

"I will Maria...I promise you I'll protect this planet and its people with my life," said Shadow.

"Thank you...Sayonara...Shadow..." said Maria. Then the pod launched towards the planet.


Shadow's eyes snapped open as he gave an audible gasp, leaning against the window as he gasped for air.

"Are you alright?" asked Angel as she helped steady him. She wanted me to protect this planet and its people...How did I forget the promise I made to her? thought Shadow.

"I'm alright," said Shadow as he gathered himself.

"What happened?" asked Angel. She suddenly drew back slightly as she saw tears starting to form in Shadow's eyes.

"You're right Angel. Maria didn't want this..." said Shadow softly as he turned towards the entrance to the room. "But there's still time to make this right."

"So you'll help us?" asked Angel.

"Yes. Just like you, I'm going to keep my promise to Maria to protect this world and its people to my dying breath," said Shadow. He then closed his eyes and gathered the chaos energy in the air around him. Opening his eyes, a flash of light erupted around him.

"Chaos Control!" he cried. The light engulfed Shadow and just as quickly disappeared, leaving nothing behind in its wake.

"Thank you Shadow. And good luck," said Angel with a smile on her face. A few tears were in her own eyes as she realized that Shadow's good side had finally broken through, just as she had known it would.


Sonic stood next to a large grate in the floor of the room he and Knuckles were now in. Water flowed from a giant pipe overhead thru the grate into a giant pipe just underneath it. Knuckles set the shards onto the floor next to the grate, then began to remove it.

"Nicole, you aren't serious, are you?" asked Sonic as he looked up at the ceiling.

"I know you hate the idea Sonic. But its the fastest way to the core and we've only got eleven minutes left. Every second counts," said Nicole's voice over the ARK's communications grid. Thankfully, the AI had been able to disable the recording so that the communications grid was free for her to use to talk to them.

"I know, but...I-I can't do this," said Sonic. Knuckles finally got the grate free, tossing it to the side. He picked up the sack of shards and walked over to Sonic before gripping him by the arm.

"What are you doing Knuckles!?" cried Sonic.

"We don't have time for you to be a baby about this," said Knuckles as he threw Sonic into pipe before jumping in after him. The two of them were tossed around like rag dolls for nearly twenty seconds before the pipe finally ended. The pair fell into a ring of shallow water the surrounded a large lizard-like creature resting on an even bigger platform. Strapped to its back was a machine of some kind.

"I swear to the high heavens of Mobius that you're dead when this is done for doing that Knuckles!?" cried Sonic as he stood back up. Knuckles followed suit, completely ignoring the hedgehog's threat. However, Sonic's yelling did more than just tell off the crimson echidna. It also drew the attention of the creature resting on the platform as it gave a loud growl. The creature slowly rose onto its four legs, turning towards the source of the noise.

"What in the heck is that thing!?" cried Knuckles as he saw the thing give a few sniffs of the air. It then let out a deafening roar, but otherwise remained in its spot.

"Never mind that thing, I see the Chaos Emeralds!" said Sonic, pointing to a structure that was on the far side of the platform. Seven pillars stood around a small shrine of sorts. Each pillar held on its top one of the seven Chaos Emeralds.

"Call me crazy, but doesn't that look like the Master Emerald shrine we both saw in Tikal's visions?" asked Knuckles, instantly recognizing the shape of the structure.

"It sure does. Maybe they thought the Chaos Emeralds could be controlled easier if they were in a structure similar to the real shrine," suggested Sonic as a flash of light behind them went unnoticed.

"Well, either way we're gonna have to get past big and ugly, whatever it is," said Knuckles.

"It's called the Biolizard. It was my predecessor," said a voice from behind the pair. Both of them whipped around to see Shadow standing behind them.
"Shadow! What are you doing here?" asked Sonic.

"I came to help," said Shadow as he started walking towards them.

"I think you've helped enough," said Knuckles with disgust.

"Think of me what you will, but I'm really here to help. You're friend Angel helped me see how wrong I was to go down the path I took," said Shadow.

"What do you think Sonic?" asked Knuckles, looking over at Sonic. "Think we can trust him?"

"It's cool Knux. Shadow's telling the truth," said Sonic.

"How can you be sure?" asked Knuckles, not sure he believed Sonic.

"Trust me. He wouldn't help us on a whim. I can tell Angel got thru to him," said Sonic.

"If you say so," said Knuckles. "So how are we gonna get past this guy?" Shadow suddenly started walking towards the creature.

"I'll handle the Biolizard. You two focus on stopping the Chaos Emeralds," said Shadow.

"Are you sure you can handle that thing by yourself?" asked Sonic.

"You forget. He may be the prototype, but I'm the true ultimate life form," said Shadow.

"Alright. We'll follow your lead Shadow," said Sonic as he and Knuckles got set to run. The Biolizard took notice that one of the three beings in the room with it was making its way towards it finally. Growling softly, the creature waited till the person it could sense was within range to strike. Suddenly, the beast's head lunged at Shadow, jaws open wide to chomp down the instant it reached the black hedgehog.

But Shadow was quicker, leaping to the left of its jaws. He then landed and shot forward before curling into a spindash. Shadow slammed hard into the creature's side. But he merely bounced off, leaving no visible mark on the creature as it roared angrily. It then started to turn towards Shadow who started skating away from the creature's maw as it chased after him.

"That's our cue Knuckles," said Sonic as he took off towards the shrine, Knuckles right behind him. Shadow was easily keeping ahead of the Biolizard as it chased him in a circle around the edge of the platform. Suddenly, it stopped chasing him as it started panting heavily.

"Done with the chase already?" asked Shadow as he whipped around and spindashed at the creature's head. But once again he bounced off its hide as he struck it in the forehead. Shadow landed back on the edge of the platform, gritting his teeth in frustration. Now that the creature had a moment to catch its breath, it turned towards Shadow once again.

"You can chase me all day, but you won't catch me," said Shadow as he prepared to run away again. As the creature brought its head within twenty yards of Shadow, it stopped moving and just opened its mouth wide. What in the world is it doing? thought Shadow. Suddenly, a blast of black energy shot from its mouth right at Shadow.

"What in the hell!?" cried Shadow, barely missing getting hit by the blast as he teleported to the far side of the platform. Sonic looked down at the two combatants as Knuckles dumped the Master Emerald shards onto the top of the shrine. Holding his hands held out just in front of the pile, Knuckles closed his eyes and began to concentrate. Suddenly, the emerald shards began to rise up and combine themselves as the Master Emerald began to repair itself.

"Can't you go any faster Knux?" asked Sonic, turning his eyes from the Master Emerald back to the fight just incase he needed to jump in.

"Trust me Sonic, I'm going as fast as I can," said Knuckles. Back down on the platform, Shadow and the Biolizard continued to fight. But neither of them seemed to be able to inflict any damage to the other. The Biolizard's skin was too tough for Shadow's spindashes to hurt it and the Biolizard was too slow to even hit Shadow.

"Alright, ugly. Let's see if you can shrug off this attack," said Shadow to himself as he stopped running away from the Biolizard as it had stopped to catch its breath again. Shadow balled up his fists over his chest and started to collect chaos energy in them. A couple of seconds later he flung both hands out as he launched a double Chaos Spear at the side of the Biolizard. Both balls of energy slammed into the Biolizard's side. But just as it was with his spindashes, the attack did little more than leave a burn mark on its side.

"I don't like this Knuckles. Shadow's not hurting that thing at all," said Sonic.

"He doesn't have to beat it, just keep it from coming after us for about another twenty seconds," said Knuckles as he continued to rebuild the Master Emerald. It was nearly three fourths of the way repaired, with only about a dozen shards left to go.

Back at the platform, Shadow waited as the Biolizard finally caught its breath. But this time, the Biolizard opted for a new strategy. It raised its head high, letting out a loud roar. Shadow let out a surprised cry as he was lifted high off the ground, several chunks of the platform breaking loose as well to hover near him.

"How is he doing this!?" cried Shadow. Suddenly, the chunks of the platform began to fly right at Shadow. Teleporting out of the way of the first one, he reappeared only to get struck in the side by another piece of the platform. Letting out a groan of pain, Shadow gritted his teeth and teleported once more to the far side of the platform where none of the pieces were at.

"Alright! I've had enough of this fight!" shouted Shadow as he stumbled about in the air above the Biolizard. Gathering energy into his hands once again, he then launched another double Chaos Spear. But unlike all his other attacks which had been aimed at the Biolizard itself, this time he aimed it at the machine on its back.

Both of the energy blasts collided with the machine, causing it to explode in a shower of shrapnel. The Biolizard let out roar louder than any it had before and then collapsed to the floor. The gravity reversal that the Biolizard had induced vanished as the creature collapsed, Shadow dropping to the floor gracefully.

"Nice job Shadow!" cried Sonic as he saw the creature fall.

"I should've just aimed for its life support system from the start," said Shadow to himself. He realized he'd let his pride get in the way of attacking the machine first instead of the creature. He then began running towards the shrine.

"And finished," said Knuckles as he reopened his eyes, the Master Emerald now fully restored before him and Sonic. He then placed both hands on its glassy surface.

"Master Emerald, please hear my plea. Please stop the Chaos Emeralds from powering the ARK any longer!" said Knuckles. The Master Emerald's glow then started to intensify before flashing brightly a few seconds later. Above them on the pillars, the seven Chaos Emeralds' glow suddenly dulled as each one fell off their pillar to land on the ground below.

"I assume you two were successful?" asked Shadow as he arrived at the top of the shrine stairs.

"I think so," said Sonic, looking at the dull emeralds resting on the ground. Suddenly, a loud roar erupted from the Biolizard as it shakily rose back to its feet. It's breathing was extremely labored and it looked like giant blisters were starting to form on its body. Giving another roar, a giant flash of light erupted from the creature before it vanished into thin air.

"Did that thing just do what I think it did?" asked Sonic, not sure if he believed what he had just seen.

"Yes. That Biolizard just used Chaos Control somehow. But where did it go?" asked Shadow.

"Never mind that. Nicole! The Chaos Emeralds have been stopped! Get the ARK out of its collision course!" cried Sonic up at the ceiling, hoping the AI was listening.

"I know, but something's wrong," said Nicole's voice over the communication's grid.

"What do you mean 'something's wrong'?" asked Knuckles.

"I'm not sure. The controls were unlocked for a few seconds, but before I could recalibrate the ARK's trajectory, they locked back up again. Wait a second...What in the heck is that thing?" asked Nicole.

"What is what thing?" asked Sonic.

"Some kind of creature's now attached to the tip of the Eclipse Cannon's barrel. It almost looks like...is that the Biolizard!?" asked Nicole.

"That damn creature's trying to keep the ARK on its collision course!" said Shadow.

"Guys, until that thing is killed, I won't be able to get the ARK out of its current trajectory," said Nicole.

"Then its over," said Shadow as he looked at the ground. "We can't fight the Biolizard all the way up there. We'd need the ability to fly to do so."

"Fly you say? Well then, if that's all we need to do, we're golden," said Sonic. He then looked over at Knuckles. "Hey Knux. Can the emeralds power two people at the same time?"

"They can. But you'd both be less powerful than you'd normally be if just one of you was using them all," said Knuckles.

"I think we'll manage just fine," said Sonic. He then zipped around the shrine, collecting the seven Chaos Emeralds before returning to the top of the shrine. He then handed one of them to Shadow, then took one of them for himself before setting the others on the ground. By this point, they're glow had returned now that the Master Emerald had let go of its brief hold over their power.

"What good are the Chaos Emeralds to us now?" asked Shadow, not sure he was following Sonic and Knuckles conversation. Sonic merely smiled.

"Trust me, they're gonna make all the difference. When I say three, you and I will strike each other's Chaos Emerald together. It won't be as powerful as if we were to meld them into our bodies, but we're strapped for time," said Sonic.

"What in the world are you talking about?" asked Shadow, now completely confused.

"You'll see," said Sonic. He then held up his emerald towards Shadow, who followed suit. "One...two...three!" Both of them thrust their hands forward, the emeralds colliding as a flash of light erupted from all seven emeralds. As the light died down, the seven emeralds were orbiting the two hedgehogs as they hovered about a foot off the ground. Sonic had four orbiting him while three were doing the same to Shadow. Both of their fur color had changed as well. Sonic's blue was now a hot yellow while Shadow's black was more of a whitish golden hue.

"What in the world happened to us? This power is amazing!" said Shadow, never having felt such power before in his life.

"No time to explain. Let's just say these are our super forms and they'll help us put that ugly lizard down quick," said Sonic. He then flew over to Knuckles, placing a hand on both him and the Master Emerald. "I'll take Knuckles back to the others and meet you at the tip of the Eclipse Cannon."

"Alright. Meet you there," said Shadow. Both of them then activated Chaos Control as the three mobians and the Master Emerald vanished in a flash of light.