Chapter 11
"Artificial ARK Zone"
Hadex laughed, "HAHAHAHAHAHA! Very good, VERY GOOD Shadow The Hedgehog. I see you are more powerful than originally anticipated, but that won't save your world. Worlds are not run on power nor promises. All worlds have their time and this world's time is running thin. Of the two hours you had to get to me you have already used up an hour. You can control all the time and space you wish with the Chaos Control but if you do not hurry there will be no time to stop me…and only the oblivion of space as we all are lost in a black hole. Hurry Shadow HURRY! I anticipate a great show of your ultimate power. Though I know that power will be no good after I crush you, your ARK, your time, and all of your existences. This, I promise YOU! Hahahaha…"
The three stood silent as the comm system went silent from Hadex's voice. There was only an hour left to stop the galactic Armageddon they faced. But something even more urgent stood on their minds…at least on two of their three minds. The destruction of the Cerberus could not fully be celebrated, Shadow the Hedgehog and Rouge the Bat on the defensive with the arrival of Hermex the Metalhog, who they thought had been taken offline after being possessed by evil nano machines. Seems they were wrong. Even more of a trouble was the G.U.N. Commander had been with him, so does Hermex being here mean he defeated or even worse he disposed of the Commander? He better start explaining soon.
"You have some explaining to do. And you better start now while you still have the ability to speak..!"
"Thyself art not thou'est foe. Methinks. Thy act doth intent in the aid of the onyx clad hedge of hog and bat of ivory!"
"You? Think? Ever since waking you up in that vault, I fail to see how any thought could have been put into your actions. For an archivist, your method is flawed."
"Hon, I think you best start explaining what happened to you and the Commander before Shadow here gets the final say."
"Ah. Fret not. Thou'est Commander is not in harm. He journeys for the room that controls the central! Zounds! The nano machines. The fiends! Thy vile brethren hath control of the Artificial ARK Zone!"
"Tch. Pathetic human. He's gone to get himself killed. So be it. But we need to get to the Artificial ARK Zone too then. I know how to defeat Hadex. And Hermex. Switch to battle mode. The voice pattern is not helping during this critical time…!"
Hermex complied, whirling around until he stood battle ready, alert, and switched to modern English for better communication.
"The Artificial ARK Zone can be accessed here and in the Central Control Room. My turbine can emit a beam that will trigger the Core to open the warp pad into the zone. The center of the core where you would plug the Master Emerald into. That is where I shall shoot the beam similar to a lock and key. If you two plan on going in, then stand on the center of the Core Shrine because the warp pad will be brief and soon disappear. Secondly, I can only fire one beam an hour and by now Hadex is that much closer to controlling the Eclipse Cannon that we do not have the kind of time to repeat this if needed. I will go on my own to the Central Control Room. I reverse engineered some of the infected nano machines with my self-repair program. My White Involke Shield should let me bypass the swarm in there and enter from that side, if the Commander has not succeeded in doing so already. Perhaps I'll arrive just in time to save him. Who knows? But there is no time to lose so we must move quickly and with nearly no form of communication. Understand?"
Without further delay, the hedgehog and bat made their way up the shrine core of the ARK, Hermex flying quickly up behind them, as they took position on the center piece. Hermex hovered above them as his turbine briefly glowed white with light before a harmless beam shot forwards from it, hitting the center hold of the core. Immediately Shadow and Rouge were hit with a sensation hard to describe. It was like opposite of nausea and light headedness. Their vision did go out though in a white light shining bright enough to blind before turning into a black so dark they could not see their nose in front of them.
Then they were back in the center of the shrine of the Core of the ARK. Sort of. The shrine was now blue instead of brown brick stone, with light blue lights pulsing on the edges. There was nothing around the shrine either. In every way you looked, nothing but blue space could be seen except below. Below was a drop into a dark black. This shrine was apparently floating? No. Once you took a glance down the stairs you saw a clear straightaway leading off into the distance with a rainbow hue about it and circuit lines occasionally streaming by on it. With a closer look you could see light blue ones and zeros, binary code, falling in orderly lines into the black below but at a distance that could not be reached. So too could long blue hanging towers, like the ones you would find on the underside of the ARK in the Final Rush and Final Chase Zones, be seen littered around the space in each direction but they were not connected to anything. They were floating hanging towers. The pathway at the base of the stairs had no railing but in the distance there looked to be a red beam that extended upwards towards something that could not be seen from under the cover of the top of the Core Shrine. Only once Shadow and Rouge walked down the stairs and looked up to see what it was the beam was going too did they understand the gravity of the situation. Above them lie none other than the Space Colony ARK in full, digitized, with the red beam travelling up the center of the Eclipse Cannon that was open at this time. Shadow began racing along the path and Rouge followed suit in flight.
"Artificial ARK…Artificial AI. We must be inside the ARK's AI programming and that up there must be its central nervous system…its brain. The summit of Mount Olympus. That must be where Hadex is..!"
"As if you were not impressive enough, that Professor sure knows how to never cease surprising people. If only he would have sought to make the Ultimate Jewel then his demise would have been a REAL tragedy."
Shadow shot her a glare, but ceased any comment as he looked back up as the ARK above them. The Professor was a good man, at least pre insanity. She must have meant post insane. Plus the statement started with a complement so he'd say it balanced out. Rouge looked back on her sentence but stood by it. Pre mad Gerald was okay, but post mad Gerald and that collision course mayhem was not her cup of tea.
Her attention refocused as she and Shadow came under attack. As they raced along the pathway, random Artificial Chaos heads appeared in front of them from seemingly nowhere, shooting their eye lasers at the duo. Rouge maneuvered to counter attack when Shadow motioned to press through them and keep going. If Hadex was already in the ARK AI's brain then he'd have control of the Eclipse Cannon which currently housed the seven Chaos Emeralds in no time, meaning the cannon would not take long to charge. They did not have time to waste here. They needed to hurry! So as lasers pinged around them and tendrils were dodged, Shadow and Rouge accelerated down the path until they were rocketed off some springs revealed only as they came to them. They bounced about for several seconds before landing on the edge of a massive circular platform that also housed the bottom of the red beam. It looked familiar to Rouge actually which made her take a closer look. That is when she realized where they were!
"Meteor Herd! We are racing along the edge of a digital version of Meteor Herd. I fought that echidna here once. That beam is going from straight up the center tower! Maybe we can ride it up Shadow!"
"Don't bet on it…there is some kind of barrier not letting us in but look closely. There is some sort of warphole on the surface near the tower. That means there is a way in somehow…matter of fact…"
Shadow's sentence was finalized as the duo dodged more laser fire and, upon nearly making a full lap around the edge of Meteor Herd, a warphole was ahead and the two Team Dark members leaped straight into it! The duo landed on the Inverted Tower as they were now at Artificial Mad Space! Wasting no time Shadow nodded to Rouge as she took the lead, heading straight towards one of the rocket pads at the end of one of the three pathways. Using it, the two were rocketed away to the smallest of the three planets above and were forced land on it due to its heavy gravity. With Rouge still in the lead the pair zoomed to the small tower on the surface because if Rouge recalled right it had a switch that would activate a rocket pad at the top and get them out of here. Especially with more digital Artificial Chaos appearing and tracking them down it was dire to get moving. At the base of the tower was the hoped for switch with was thrown, except the rocket pad did not appear on the top of the tower but rather on the lift that orbited the mini planet. With a sigh Rouge and Shadow made for it, timing their jump right to land on said lift as the platform passed soon using the rocket to propel themselves away from it…and to the Capsule Planet.
The process was repeated as the rocket off the pill shaped mini planet was on the top tip, but the switch to activate it was at the bottom tip. The two raced in between enemy fire and weave towards it. Shadow stopped and engaged the digital Artificial Chaos in battle to give Rouge cover, the switch hanging at an angle that only she could reach by flight, as she flew down and hit the switch. She quickly ascended back to Shadow, slowly being outnumbered as dozens of the enemy bots and reached her hand out into his line of sight. Nodding, Shadow dashed forwards and homing attacked his way up the Artificial Chaos until he grabbed hold off her hand. Gravity prevented her from escaping the Capsule Planet, but the newly activated Rocket Pad launched the pair away to the third half planet of Mad Space. Rather than a rocket pad however there was yet another warphole and without delay the two entered it and were teleported away.
They appeared at the bottom of a tower similar to the ones Dr. Eggman had to climb and descend in Cosmic Wall. So they did. The duo battled their way up the platforms with springs and jumps as they vaulted their way higher up the path. All the while to avoid Artificial Chaos as they went with their tendrils and eye lasers. Strangely enough this was the only enemy to appear to them. No G.U.N. beetles or anti-computer based machines or programs appeared. Fine by them both to be honest. As they hurled the top, they began the decent down the other side, rotating between attacking and defending against pockets of enemies as they fell to the bottom. In front of them was the way out, the usual laser gate replaced with a warphole. Once again the duo entered it and were taken to another location.
Gravity Drums. They were in what seemed like a forest of gravity drums. The same kind from Final Chase. So Shadow knew how to navigate them with ease even opting to take rotations and jumps that allowed himself and Rouge to not have to attack enemies and regain strength. Alternating from using rails to small platforms, Shadow and Rouge weaved around between a series of gravity drums and Artificial Chaos like a slinky going down stairs. This patterned led them to yet another portal…which spat them out going down the massive red slope from Final Rush. It was a mad dash as burning chunks of huge debris pursued the pair in force. Shadow wasted no time as he grabbed Rouge's arm and sped up, swaying side to side on his Air Shoes as he was staying just barely ahead of the debris. Right in time, the portal ahead became visible and the two lunged, feeling the heat on their back as Shadow and Rouge entered the warphole.
Shadow and Rouge would emerge inside the Meteor Herd near the tower and the red beam. The path up to the ARK! The dark team duo ran for it, floods of Artificial Chaos raining down as they digitalize into existence and attacked with a mix of tendrils, eye lasers, and in some point trying to ram the two. They took turns counter attacking with Rouge dishing out screw kicks and Shadow impaling several of the robots with Chaos Spears. The onslaught became great as a new threat came into play…lighting. Red lightning surged in the air in random places and random intervals…Hadex must be winning. This must be a deletion program because the lightning was targeting the entire area, causing several explosions to erupt at impact points. A third of the Inverted Tower was struck and exploded into debris, knocking the rest of the tower off balance. They really needed to hurry. Switch from counter attacking to attack only when needed, Shadow and Rouge forced their way forwards towards the red beam. A bolt of red lightning tore through the Capsule Planet from end to end and there was a pause before the entire structure blew into chunks, some of which rained towards Meteor Herd like the usual meteors that rained on the area. They crashed into Meteor Herd and created massive explosions Shadow and Rouge had to weave in between as they jumped into the beam and were whisked away high above at a fast speed. This was right before a red beam of lightning punched through the side of the tower on Meteor Herd and out through the bottom of the whole structure, causing explosions to ripple across it before it whined and gave away, collapsing into a fiery ball of fire.
The red beam Shadow and Rouge were currently also flashed several times as it threatened to fail before they had even reached the top! Shadow needed to rest using energy or he would not be powerful enough to defeat Hadex and Rouge simply looked too tired to fly the pair anymore. So it was a matter of hope the beam would not falter yet! They were almost there too as the flashes became slower and slower and the speed the two ascended slowed as well. Rather than a center, the open Eclipse Cannon center was instead this beam, all the way to the face. Lightning pounded the outside of the four nose sections and covered them in fire as Shadow and Rouge almost reach the face of the ARK and the entrance inside. They could almost touch the entry as they put their hands out to grab hold of it and…and…and…the beam failed. Shadow and Rouge were dropped before they could enter the Artificial ARK, exhausted from the seemingly endless fighting Shadow could not teleport them away nor could Rouge fly them to safety. Except having no choice, Shadow went to try anyways…but he could not. No. They were not tired. Shadow soon realized he and Rouge had been sabotaged! They were data now and somewhere along the way their data had been corrupted! They were viruses and that is why the anti-virus program was triggered. And now they had been drained of their power and stamina. They simple dropped back down into the fiery explosion of the remains of Meteor Herd…they had failed.