Note: Here it is! The TRUE chapter one! Sorry for the slower pace, yet things will be picking up from here. Honestly though, the reason that it's taken so long is that I've been both working and paranoid about how things will and should go, and if I can properly execute them. Given how this particular story has some personal ties to it, I'm a lot more antsy about this one than others, yet I'll admit I'm always a little paranoid about whether or not my work sucks, and that I just don't see it. That said, here's chapter one (for real)!

Black Convergence

Chapter 1: Proceed

Four Months Prior

A week...the silver haired man found himself unable to contain the chuckle in his throat at that.

A week since the world itself appeared to be made into just another feeding source for strange, dark skinned beings that fell from the stars. A week since he and his fellow men and women were either firing away at the continuous onslaughts of the invaders, only for more and more of them to keep coming. And then, for all of it to stop. No gradual transition, no indication that the alien forces had just up and decided to cease and desist or outright retreat, none of that. In fact, after a good hour or two after all of them had subsequently fallen over, un-moving, the man allowed the possibility of them just up and somehow dying to enter his head.

As soon as it had begun, it was over. It was all over. Anything and everything that horned demon had planned for the planet, the planet 'she' had loved so much, were put to a halt thanks to the efforts of parties outside of themselves, and the lives that had been lost were honored and provided proper burials. It was all right now. It was all right. He had done it. He had kept his promise to her.

...so why?

Why did it not feel as such?

Despite the size of the organization's main hub of operations, the Commander of GUN sat in the small, boxed in confines of his office, his duel colored eyes gazing upon the pages of a book detailing the function and properties of plant life, such as pollination and photosynthesis. 'Her favorite book.' Well, perhaps not her favorite, yet it the only one he had at his disposal, not that he would ever. 'May God strike me dead if I ever.' Of course, as he turned through the pages, Abraham Tower found himself pondering on just how many times he had read through this thing, let alone if he even read it at all? If one were to ask him, he would be honest in that he didn't consider himself an overly bright child, so he didn't really consider any of the blonde girl's reading material worth his time. Such things as 'the life cycle of plants' or 'the relation between predator and prey' were a bit too complex and, for lack of a better term, boring for him. If anything, that was one of the main reasons his parents saw fit to take him aboard the Ark in the first place, as his father said, 'it's not like he's going to be the next mathematician or leader of the country. Boy like that, he won't be anything great.'

Well...to an extent, it was only partially true.

And even then, he debated on whether or not the 'great' part had been filled, or if it would ever.

A wide scale invasion had been averted, and whilst loss in itself couldn't have been prevented, he knew well that it could've been far worse. In fact, whilst he would tell this to no one, Tower found himself quite surprised that the toll hadn't been more. Collateral damage had been minimal as well, as minimal as an event such as this could've potentially brought. Westopolis had been hit the hardest, yes, yet thankfully, a good majority of the civilian population had been safely escorted out of the city. Station Square and Central City had some Black Arm forces attempt to enter in their borders, yet after Westopolis, he was taking no chances, he and the President sending out troops to every major city in the country. If not for the abrupt ending to the invasion, the Commander wasn't sure of just how long GUN's efforts could last. Still, repairs were already beginning, and aside from Westopolis, no other major cities or establishments had been hit too hard. Glyphic Canyon's ruins made quite the impact when they landed, yes, but that was thankfully far from any living area. Somewhere near the border of the lower part of the country, the report had detailed.

The Black Arms in themselves were also, in a rather ironic way, being made use of on the very planet they…'he' tried to invade. True, there was the problem of their bodies practically being littered in various places and needing to be disposed of, yet a good portion of them were set to be shipped off to the Department of Science for study. Personally, Abraham would've seen fit to have each and every one of them gathered into a pile and set ablaze, yet given the origin of the creatures, the potential for discovery and delving into their unique biology proved to be enough of a reason to ship them off. 'Good ahead, guys.' the old man dismissively thought. 'Knock yourselves out playing doctor. Better yet, maybe you could put a few of them through a woodchipper and see if they're just as easy to cut up.'

Morbid? Perhaps, yet he cared not. For as many years as he had been dreading and preparing for them, for 'him', this was Abraham showing benevolence. As much as he could muster for the horrid alien spawn at least. It was far from the best situation, yet he acknowledged it could've been far worse. At the same time, however, it wasn't exactly ideal, even now. In fact, dare he say, even with the continuing annoyances of protests and low public opinion, he couldn't help but feel that things were, somehow, in someway, about to get worse.

RING RING!

"Hm?" his eyes glanced over to the phone on his desk, a gloved hand reaching for it and bringing the dark colored device to his ear. "Hello?"

"Oh good!" a voice on the other end sighed in relief, far younger and definitely more feminine than he. "I was worried whether or not I'd be able to catch you. In your free time, of course, sir."

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked, not expecting, yet also not exactly appreciating what he was hearing.

"S-Sir?"

"You know the rules. I told you a hundred times already."

"Sir, all I meant to say was-"

"Unless it's an emergency, don't waste my or your time with calling me. Likelihood is that I'm in the middle of business." he paused for a moment. "So in this instance, consider yourself fortunate. Currently, it's quiet, yet given how much damage those things managed to do in only a few days, nobody's going to get a day off for some time now."

"...sorry to hear that, sir."

"Now then, what is it that you want?"

The female voice on the other end was silent for a moment or two, the hand holding the phone just about ready to place it back in its cradle before he heard her finally speak. "Sis's baby is doing great."

Abraham Tower's brow perked up somewhat at this, though only just enough. Should anyone have seen this, unless they were highly observant, they probably wouldn't have been able to see any sort of change. "Oh, is she?" he asked. "She hasn't said anything about them to me." indeed, this was true. In fact, if not for the one he was currently talking to, he wouldn't have probably known that he had just recently become a grandfather.

"Oh yeah, Melissa and Derek are still getting the hang of it." the voice assured. "Those creatures didn't do them any favors, especially for little Mary, but they're currently crashing at his parent's place in Central City until Westopolis gets back to normal."

"And I assume that you're with them?" Tower questioned.

"Actually, I just saw them. I just thought you'd like to know how they're doing."

He didn't answer.

"Anyway...Melissa said that maybe you could...I mean, if things aren't too hectic there...thanks for listening, by Commander."

"Bye."

With that, he hung up, his eyes trailing back to the pages of the book. 'Mary…' he mused. 'That name should've tipped me off.'

It was involuntary, and could he have prevented it, he would've in a heartbeat. Yet in that brief moment between his own inner voice and silence, another voice interjected. Young, soft, and beautiful. 'I like the name Marie.'

Then came his own. 'I...don't know. How about-'

'Mary?' she then asked, he shaking his head, as if reenacting the conversation that took place all those years ago. 'They're essentially the same. I've always loved the name. Mary, or Marie, or Maria-'

He shut the book, a low sigh escaping him.

It was over. It was all over. Yes, technically it had been accomplished by someone else. Someone that, truthfully, he still didn't have a high opinion of. Yet...it had been done. The threat was dealt with, and the planet, 'her' planet, had been saved. Everything was fine. Everything SHOULD'VE been fine.

Should've...yet it wasn't.

Space Colony Ark

'While your contributions to saving the country, as well as the planet, have been taken into account, frankly, there are a slew of other events that we simply cannot ignore. For that reason, it's been decided that, while you're not under arrest, you will be on a rather tight leash until we see fit to loosen it.'

In other words, 'if we catch you doing something we don't like or approve of, get ready, cause we've REALLY got a reason to come after you now.'

Shadow scoffed at this, eyes trailing down to the blue sphere below. 'Hm.' he thought as he observed. 'Seems that Doom managed to move the ship a small bit further back.' Not that it mattered to him. As long as he had this green stone with him, neither that, nor any sort of security system they had placed here could dissuade him.

Being forbidden to come to the Ark was yet another limitation GUN had set on him, as, according to them, it was 'government property', and 'not a place to visit whenever you feel like it'. The coal black hedgehog grinded his teeth at that. If anyone had any sort of claim or right to this place, it was him! How dare they believe that they could keep him away! He sighed, his rage simmering down. It was useless to get so riled up about the useless band of grunts anyway. After all, it wasn't as if they were capable of stopping him, so even telling him such a thing was utterly useless on their part.

'Idiots.'

Nevertheless, their promise of keeping an eye on him, or rather, their Commander promising such, hadn't exactly made things better. If anything, even if they were powerless to stop him, they proved to be quite capable of causing trouble. And for now, maybe for a good while, Shadow wasn't too keen on attracting any more attention. Once he and Sonic arrived back on Earth and were released from GUN's questioning session, immediately, the media flew in, anxious to get the supposed 'scoop' on what had occured. To his embarrassment, it seemed that, for once, the blue pest had an advantage over himself, as he was far better at handling the clamoring group and hoards of eyes staring at them better than the Ultimate Lifeform. He outright booked it, and thankfully, for the most part, he had been left alone. Either they had gotten all they wanted from Sonic, or they had gotten the message that he was to be left alone.

'What are you doing here?'

Due to this, he had taken to mainly staying away from populated areas, specifically Westopolis, not that there were many that had come back yet, the city still in shambles. Yet he had allowed himself to get close enough without drawing too much attention. And indeed, some of the things Sonic spoke of but a couple of days ago were indeed true. Outside of the White House, a massive crowd had gathered, holding signs, banners, and a good deal of other sayings regarding how despicable and loathsome both GUN and the government were. Shadow did veer too close, yet from what he could hear, most of the banter had to do with how the organization had once again failed to protect them, how this recent happening still didn't change the fact that they were just as guilty as they had been before. The collective noise and yelling made the hedgehog's stomach churn, yet it was only when the 'death' of a 'little girl' aboard a 'ship' was mentioned did he leave.

It took him a good few hours in an isolated forest to finally work everything out of his system. And even then, it still didn't feel like enough.

Nothing felt like enough.

Even with all that happened, what he had been promised...what he felt like kicking himself over for even ENTERTAINING the notion Black Doom was perhaps being honest with him, when he analyzed it, what did he gain from it? What did he gain from anyone? Sonic, Rouge, heck, even those such as Knuckles or even Amy?

Nothing. He had gotten absolutely nothing.

True, he had known what he was, what he had been made for, and how he came to be on Earth...at least the first time, yet afterward, after this supposedly tumultuous battle with an abominable lizard...nothing. How he ended up in that capsule in Eggman's possession, nothing. How Black Doom even managed to somehow cohorse Gerald Robotnik to even collaborate with him, nothing. And that perhaps was one of the biggest questions he had. Forget the 'how' of it all, the most confusing factor of it was 'why'. From what Shadow had seen, the lying devil had more than enough 'children' to go around, so why go through such a bizarre method for him? Doom was many things, many of which he was regretful to not be able to properly express to the thieving monster himself, yet the alien had proved himself to be far from just doing things on a whim. Black Doom was one that held power, and he well knew it. But most of what Shadow had seen, even if the possibility of him simply doing what he wished because he could still stood as an option...no. No, there...there was something MORE to his actions.

'The past is the past.'

And there was more to his own. There HAD to be. He didn't even need the Commander's interrogation to go off of, both Sonic and Rouge's testimonies had the same holes in them. Yet...what was the alternative?

'It doesn't matter.'

Did it? Sure, the blue pest's words continued to linger with him, yet Shadow found himself still in conflict with them. Sometimes he found himself in perfect agreement with them, other times, he couldn't believe he actually found the moron's suggestion of use. Since Black Doom's defeat, Shadow found himself being drawn back to the Ark again and again, GUN's ban on him coming not even registering with him. No, whether they would believe it or not, he didn't come to spite them. Rather, he came because...he needed to remind himself that as long as that blue planet could be seen...everything was fine.

It...it didn't matter, maybe. It didn't matter, everything was fine. Everything was absolutely fine. Or as fine as things could be. In fact, he had, after searching time and time again, found what he had believed to be 'her' room. He couldn't remember what it looked like, where the bed was set, where all her books were, yet despite all this, there was this unmistakable 'draw' he felt towards the small, empty space. He laid down in the right side corner of the room, his eyes fluttering as if going to sleep, waiting for some sort of warm familiarity to pass over him and ignite things long forgotten.

It did not come. And it probably would never. Not by force, anyway.

He had told this to himself several times, racking up to at least a hundred or more. Yet with each resuscitation...it seemed to provide a twinge of assurance, to then only remind him of things left undiscovered and unsaid.

Things that, ridiculous as it was, would perhaps find their way back around.

Present Time

GUN FORTRESS ALPHA

LOCATION UNDISCLOSED

He just HAD to go and open his mouth, didn't he?

From atop of the observation deck, Abraham Tower stood, eyes centered on the plethora of screens before him, displaying and documenting happenings and events taking place all over the United Federation, both in major cities and around the borders of the country. Ideally, the Commander would've had one stationed in each and every area where even the smallest population resided, yet even as head of GUN, he was not a man with a bottomless wallet. Plus, he wasn't about to jeopardize a position he hadn't even held for a year by throwing money as he liked. He had to stay here. He NEEDED to stay here, and not for the simple reason of holding a position of power. Any fool could do that.

Still, all the same, Tower couldn't deny that this most recent happening didn't sit with him well. When that horned devil had come to the Earth, at long last, he thought that would be the peak of anything that could be thrown at him. And after all his preparation, how could anything else top it? He didn't mean for it to seem like a challenge, yet it seemed to be taken as such, for not but a short time after the country was finally recovering from the onslaught of creatures set upon them from above, he had gotten word of something rather peculiar.

And, ironically enough, it would be the surveillance system that would both alert, and be the catalyst of the events that happened afterward.

It began simple enough. Deceptively so, he thought in retrospect. About a month ago, some of the cameras set up near and around the border between the more human populated country and the less colonized, more wild portion that made up more of the continent, were inexplicably being tampered with, leaving them with little to no signal in the area. That area in itself had become something of a place of interest, given how it was around the border that the once intact ruins of Glyphic Canyon came crashing down. Ironically enough, a good majority of the piece either sank into the ocean or became broken pieces of rubble.

Served that horrid monster right...even if he may or may not have had some…'help'.

Nevertheless, the issue remained that someone, or more likely, several someones, were screwing around with their property, and needed to be dealt with. Yes, the footage had been salvaged, yet they could tell little from what they managed to catch before its destruction. Thus, a recon squad hailing from a base near the border and around Grand Metropolis to the south were dispatched to investigate. At first, when they arrived on the scene, reports were fairly normal. The terrain was a little more forested than the 'big city' (or their big city at least), yet they were eventually able to find the damaged equipment. And with that, news regarding some strange occurrences around the city came to be known as well.

While no one could be sure, and it was, at the time, mostly reliant on word of mouth spreading from person to person, yet civilians of Grand Metropolis had reported recent sightings of strange, darkly colored figures lurking around the outer borders of the city, the earliest of these sightings seemingly beginning a month or two ago, though they had apparently become more frequent with time, the most recent of these, oddly enough, not long before the incident with the surveillance equipment. And even more peculiar, there were a couple of quirks regarding whenever someone happened to spot one of them. One, they sometimes veered near, sometimes just mere inches from it, yet they never crossed the border between the area that marked the beginning of the woodland outside and the clearing around the city. Two, whenever they WERE spotted, they did one of two things: either they noticed their observer and quickly made themselves scarce, or, they didn't notice. And they didn't notice because, according to what was heard, they seemed to be doing…something odd.

Again, given the distance, those that happened to spot them couldn't get a fantastic look, yet from the looks of it, they appeared to be 'spitting' some sort of substance into their hands and then spreading it all over the ground, continuing this until they were thoroughly satisfied and then they scampered off. Specialist Robin Michaels, otherwise known as Firefly, had stated that they had found some strange looking slime nearby their locations at various times as time progressed. And according to her, it, in her words, "Smelled like a weird combination of an ant trail and acid.".

Of course that wasn't all. The report for the condition of the camera found also rose a few brows. And for Abraham, invoked a twisting, lurching sensation in the pit of his lower stomach.

The equipment in itself was torn to shreds, the squad members remarking how there appeared to be 'claw marks' of sorts all over the device. And this in itself was just one of many oddities that appeared on each and every one that they found. Many of them appeared to be blasted through, as if someone had access to one of Eggman's laser weapons and saw fit to shoot through each and every one of them. The possibility of the mad scientist being responsible had indeed been brought up, yet while he didn't dismiss it outright, Abraham found himself doubting that very much. Yet his suspicions, strong as they were, ultimately were ruled to be both illogical and based on nothing, so he found no reason to mention it. Besides, it was an impossibility. They were dead. 'He' was dead.

Then came the update that would change everything.

Sergeant Wilson called in, reporting that at exactly zero-one-hundred hours, one of their firemen, Private First Class Jerry Parker, aka 'Firecracker', had gone missing. And if that wasn't enough, the details related to his disappearance made little to no sense either. Due to the hour it was in that particular area and the thickened foliage all around them, the Sergeant said that it was perhaps these elements that made said disappearance only known a short time later. Still, there were some peculiarities regarding it. Firecracker's knife and pistol were discarded and thrown in the bushes where he had last been seen, and, as before, there appeared to be a strange, slimy blob near the spot.

That raised some alarm. What occured next, however, brought forth an entire platoon being deported to the wilds of that place.

Not but a short time later, at around zero-three-hundred hours, two more of the eight squad members have gone missing, PFC Michael Deans (Boomer) and PV2 Jessica Carter (Dagger). Sergeant Wilson was clearly attempting to retain control of the situation, yet around zero-found-hundred hours, two more members had been picked off. Then two more, and when it was assumedly just Wilson and Firefly, the Commander and those monitoring them were greeted with the sounds of boots pounding against the ground and panicked shouts to 'Leave us alone!', 'What is that?!' and 'They're all around us!' among several other statements and phrases as the two continued to desperately get away from whatever was on their tail. All the while, as the Commander noted, a familiar set of noises became more and more audible as they continued to run for what was apparently their very lives.

'Trilling.' he reflected from his perch. 'Trilling...and a gurgling, raspy roaring…'

Then the connection was lost. Any and all attempts to try and get it back resulted in nothing but the dead air and static meeting everyone's ears. What had begun as a simple search for information had now evolved into a rescue mission. From his own base of operations, Abraham Tower sent out a platoon to scour the dense woodland where the team of eight had presumably been attacked and taken. At least, he could only hope that they were taken. Where to, he knew not, yet it at least left him with a better chance at some of them being alive.

Ultimately, he was proven half right.

Despite the large influx of men sent to the previous squad's destination with quite a larger amount of firepower, they and all involved with the mission found that, bizarrely enough, had begun to question whether or not they were even sent to the right place. Odd as it was, if not outright impossible, yet the situation became clear: every member of the squad had seemingly vanished from existence. Evidence of their presence was found, along with some of the damaged cameras they had been sent to inspect, yet other than that, nothing.

'It's like they popped out of reality, man.' Tower remembered one troop noting, his bewilderment shared with just about everyone else there with him.

Still, they searched on. On and on, and for a good week and a half, nothing came up. Until one day, just when discussion about what the next move should be, one of the choppers spotted something. One the edge of the forest line, not but a few miles from the border of Grand Metropolis, four of the eight were seemingly lying there, unconscious and with torn, barely wearable uniforms. But a quick check of their pulse thankfully indicated that they were quite alive. Yet the other four, whilst they were found shortly afterward, the results of that search weren't anything worthy of celebration. If anything, to the Commander's chagrin, it was yet another time for mourning.

Firecracker, Firefly, Boomer, and Dagger had been the only recorded survivors of the team, the bodies of the other three members and Sergeant Wilson were found not but a few miles away. While the main focus was getting the four partially naked soldiers to a medical center as fast as possible, the area where the deceased members were found bore a few details that made the heads of the operation somewhat puzzled, if not unsettled.

'They were...set in positions like the four that were alive. That's why, when we found them, we initially had hoped that…' Abraham remembered Sergeant Docks telling him, the usually hardened man unsteady in his delivery. 'Holes.' he simply said. 'So many holes...everywhere. All over…'

A low sigh escaped from the silver haired man's lips. True, the cameras in that area had been reinstalled, and the survivors were brought in and evaluated (all of which had surprisingly decent enough health, undigested meat even in their stomachs as if they were being cared for), yet it seemed that was in no way an indicator that the worst was over.

"Sir?" a lone voice from behind him drew the GUN head away from the plethora of screens, a woman garbed in a doctor's attire and a tightly kept, brunette bun standing but a few feet away.

"Dr. Kesler?" the Commander half greeted, half questioned.

The woman would never speak it aloud, yet honestly, it always seemed that her leader had such a cold, constantly deliberating look, as if he were continuously pondering something grim, but of high importance. And maybe it was this very thing that, misguided as it might've been, led her to assume that she could, quite literally, deliver to him any sort of news. Not that she would've held anything from him in the first place, as aside from guidelines, the man made it clear to everyone under his authority that NOTHING was to be kept from him.

"Who's tried to crack their skull open this time?" Kesler was somewhat taken aback by this, yet then again, what other reason would she be here for?

"No one as of recently." she answered back. "Though, there's been some new...developments."

Abraham quirked his brow at this. "Go on."

"You know those abnormal 'growths' that appeared on the x rays? The ones located between the organs?"

The older man steeled himself. "What did you find?"

"That's just it, sir." the woman answered, eyes shifting nervously, not even sure on how to quite deliver this. "We didn't find anything. Not in the same place at least." she took a moment to adjust her spectacles, her teeth beginning to grind on her bottom lip. "They've moved."

Unknown Location

He shifted his hands with trepidation, his clawed fingers catching on the ends of his robes. The orders he had been given were clear, and he knew well from experience that Breeder's orders were to be followed to the letter.

Still...he found himself struggling.

His coming here undetected was enough of a risk, the Blodex ship couldn't be landed on Earth, that would've given them all away immediately. And even still, the location he HAD been forced to land in still risked a good chance of being seen. He couldn't even risk simply allowing those with him to drop from the skies as before, leaving him manually transporting each and every one of the Arms in his possession himself. And even then, there was STILL the issue of gathering those Emeralds, all the while making sure that they were seen. Granted, his efforts bore success. His species was saved, his...beloved Breeder and parent had been rescued from the brink of death. Everything was all right.

And yet...he wondered just how much had changed really. If anything, they all had to be even MORE cautious now. Especially since Breeder had decided to execute his little 'experiment' regarding those humans-

"Death?"

The hooded Arms member stiffened. "Yes, my Breeder?"

A low chuckle echoed through his mind, the amusement Death's parent was projecting doing nothing to ease his anxiousness. "Rest assured, everything is fine. As I have said it would be." a low sigh echoed throughout the nearly light-less cavern. "Soon, my children will make our newest dwelling available for the taking."

"And the ones that will be deposited here?"

"They are going through the metamorphosis as we speak. Yet they need to be distributed to their proper places soon. Especially since the process has been...amplified, in a sense."

Death found himself receiving a signal that, quite honestly, caught him off guard. Was Breeder...pleased with him? Proud even?

"Yet we can't celebrate just yet." his parent's voice stated. "There is one last task that needs to be done."

"And that would be…" Death began to ask, his words stopping as an image was projected into his mind. "My...my Breeder, you can't be-"

"Don't." his concealed parent interrupted him. "Don't even try. My decision has been made, and it is final."

"But Breeder, he's the cause of all of this! He's the reason tha-"

"All the more reason that it be done as soon as possible!" Death went silent, a light tremble traveling up his body. "I want our reprisal to be an event that the inhabitants of this planet, and those of our own race to be a hallmark for not just those present, but for generations to come!" the source of the voice paused for a moment, another image briefly flashing through the mind of his subordinate, though it was far from anyone, let alone anything he had expected. As if, in his frenzy, the thought had momentarily slipped in thanks to the link, only to be wrangled back before Death could fully process it.

'A...girl?'

"I want the one that caused all of this, the one that put us all, and you, through so much turmoil." in the darkness, a source of light came to be seen: golden in color and resting in the center of a set of six more colored lights surrounding it. "I want HIM."

On the Outskirts of Westopolis

Summer was beginning the transition into autumn, the chilled air sometimes taking him by surprise and the reddening leaves almost everywhere. One leaf floated down towards the Ultimate Lifeform's spot, landing right at the base of his jet shoes, at the base of the one, lone tree in the expansive field outside of the city. Ironic he would be here, he thought, halfway wondering whether or not the skies would turn a darkened crimson in the next moment or two. Thankfully, it seemed that tonight, just as the nights over these past few months, was going to be clear and speckled with a handful of stars here and there in the darkened abyss above.

'Trees naturally lose their leaves whenever winter comes along, Shadow.' the hedgehog's lips tightened, her voice echoing as she read from the pages of that encyclopedia of plant life. 'It's sort of like a process of re birthing yourself. In fact, a lot of ancient cultures and civilizations dedicated entire festivals and rituals to the coming of the new season. Especially spring.'

Shaking his head, Shadow turned his gaze up towards the sky. To an extent, it was a useless gesture, seeing as he couldn't even spot the colony from his place under the tree, let alone have a clue of where it was currently in the planet's orbit. Despite his current musings, the Ultimate Lifeform (NOT an Arms spawn, no matter what anyone, especially that aging fool said) wasn't intentionally seeking out reminders or delving into the still uncovered recesses of his mind to try and uncover anything else prior to his (supposedly) second awakening. On the contrary, since his last visit to the Ark, he had made it a point that he would try to not even set foot in the place for a good while. Yes, he didn't entirely believe that this would last forever, yet, bizarrely enough, Sonic's words to him continued to be ever present in his mind.

And that in itself was what made the process all the more frustrating.

Despite the rather...chaotic and unexpected journey he had to undergo in order to even get the smallest bit of information, at the end of it all, despite the questions that still remained, Shadow couldn't deny that he DID gain, in a sense, what he had sought out. Who, what, when, where, and why, and begrudgingly, how, were all answered. The persons involved with his conception, both terrestrial and non, were of no more, along with a good degree of others that had once boarded the Ark. Like it or not, and he would be lying if he said he was all right with any of it, what else was there to do? According to those he had tracked down and asked, even before Black Doom's armies came down from the heavens, the truth of what had actually happened there got out. The entirety of the United Federation now knew of the massacre that took place, along with the fact that the government had essentially been lying to them. To an extent, it was an absolute, karmatic justice that was long overdue.

It was done and over with. He knew now what had occurred. He was reminded of what that young...brave (foolish?) girl had done for him, to allow him to see the place she continuously fantasized and obsessed over. And perhaps, most importantly...he remembered the promise that he had made to her.

'Shadow…'

It was all done and over with.

'Shadow, I beg you!'

It was done and over with.

'This is what you wanted...right?'

It was…

'My promise...to you…'

It was…

'...for taking my dearest Maria away from me…'

No.

No, it...it wasn't. It wasn't done. Not in the slightest. And that only served to make Sonic's words to him all the more frustrating.

He had began falling back into the patterns prior to the invasion, only now, his approach was far more adamant and, perhaps, a little more aggressive. Bizarrely enough, he found himself NOT going to Sonic first. Despite him seemingly being one of the main sources of potential information, the ebony hedgehog (not an alien abomination!) sought out Rouge once again, and given how quiet things had been as of late, she was relatively easy to get in contact with. It also probably helped in that she was also looking to meet up with him as well. Though her reasoning was more based on business.

"You've been going up there again, haven't you?" she questioned him, this essentially serving as her greeting to him. "The fact you're not saying 'yes' or 'no' is a good enough indication already."

He in turn stated that the orders he had been given was not to be seen on the ship. And upon her answering that, no, no such footage existed, then it was clear that he was, technically, not breaking any rules so to speak.

This earned his a roll of her turquoise eyes, Shadow noticing that she was tense. More so than usual, even if he had been rather distant as of late. Even more so than usual as well, for him at least.

"A recon squad from Fort Metro just went missing." she told him plainly. "They've been found, though only half of them are alive." it certainly wasn't news he was anticipating, though ultimately, he was more curious as to why she felt the need to tell him such information. "Because…" she began, yet stopped herself. "Look Shadow, truth is, you're on a tight leash already. And if you're seen breaking the rules, that leash is going to get even tighter. Just...don't give the big boys in GUN an excuse to begin pointing any fingers. Because, ultimately, there's only so much that I can do."

She said no more after that, and any other interactions afterward mainly consisted of her making him swear that he HADN'T been to the Ark or doing any other potentially suspicious activity. In fact, it was through her that he came to find out that the Chaos Emeralds had been becoming rather difficult to find as of late. The Commander, according to the agent and word of mouth in GUN, had been developing a couple of theories as to why. Theories that Shadow completely denounced. Impossible, he told himself, bringing himself back to the present, the position of the stars above still the same and the night wind still giving him a slight chill. It was absolutely impossible. There...there was no way, no feasible way.

Aside from this, however, Shadow found that any new information regarding what occurred regarding the Ark's apparent near crashing into the planet wasn't going to come to him, no matter how hard he seemingly pushed. Rouge only gave out what she told him before, stating that he, even though he was found by Eggman and assisted him in stealing the Emeralds, as well as inadvertently framing Sonic for such actions, the planet itself would have possibly been destroyed had it not been for his intervention.

"Professor Robotnik activated a Doomsday program that you helped stop." she assured him. "And...and even before that...you saved my life on Prison Island." she said no more telling him to drop it.

He had tried another avenue, having discovered where Amy resided. Yet when the opportunity came, he couldn't do it. Those large, green eyes looking up at him, bright and happy...when he sometimes saw them flowing with tears in his mind. He left as soon as he arrived, leaving the pink hedgehog more than a little confused. The Chaotix was of little help, having had no involvement in that incident, and frankly, Tails was of even less help. Shadow believed the fox was simply covering for Sonic, suspecting he would probably try him next.

'Smart kid.' he mused. So far, aside from the blue pest and Knuckles, there wasn't really anyone he hadn't questioned about the matter. And Tails himself outright told the hedgehog that the echidna was probably not the best option, especially given what had supposedly occurred at Glyphic Canyon.

Thus, he was left with only one more option. One that had already made it clear that he wasn't interested in prying into this any further.

'...so why am I?'

He was going to leave, there was no point in staying here any longer. He began to turn in the opposite direction, his gloved hand supporting him as it was placed on the thin trunk of the three, yet he stopped before he could even turn halfway.

He felt something. A sensation of sorts that steadily enveloped his entire being. 'No.' this...he knew this. 'No, it's impossible.' This figure was intentionally making themselves known to him. And the signature...it wasn't exactly the same, but Shadow wasted no time with such details. Against his better judgement, as well as his sudden bout of near-crippling (shamefully so) trepidation, the Ultimate Lifeform reminded himself he was indeed such, and turned around, his ruby red eyes coming to find...nothing.

Absolutely nothing-

"Horns?"

The shiver that assaulted his spine was immediate, yet the hedgehog found that his body worked quicker than his mind, for whilst the voice he had just heard indeed bore the same deep tone with the accompanying, raspy gurgle, there was a distinct difference in both pitch and inflection. Not to mention, this voice appeared to be caught in a limbo of confusion, hurt, and...envy?

"He...he gave you horns?" the owner of the voice spoke again. "You? Of all things, he gave you-"

Something had begun to brush the ends of his quills.

The sensation triggered Shadow to whirl around and leap back, body positioning itself to combat whomever had come upon him. Though upon seeing the figure, he found his own form tensing up, his unwanted, horrible suspicions being somewhat confirmed. Only somewhat, however, as what he came to see fulfilled those intrusive expectations, and yet at the same time, did not. The figure bore thick robes and seemed to have no lower half, akin to whom his mind conjured up, yet unlike that particular figure, this one bore no large horns atop of his head. In fact, it appeared that his head was covered with a thick, draping hood. His robes are a combination of red, blue, green, and gold, two red streams flowing down and dragging along the grass, yet he bore no elaborate collection of colored stones or jewelry to adorn around his neck. In fact, Shadow thought, compared to 'him', this one appeared almost demure. Submissive, even.

"They…" he began again, his three eyes wide, directing his vision to his three-digit hand, then to the hedgehog. "No. They're not horns…"

"...no, they're not. Those are what you would call quills." Shadow answered. "Though whether they're quills or horns, I don't care." he had to keep it together. This figure wasn't 'him', yet he looked close enough. "What I DO care about is how you're even here."

The hooded being studied the smaller creature before him, his eyes taking and detailing everything that they could catch before centering themselves onto the hedgehog's widened, but confrontational gaze. "...I'm surprised." the being finally spoke, voice and presentation transforming drastically from what it had been before. "Given the circumstances, I should be absolutely furious, dare say, have every reason in the universe to strike you down now, but frankly, I'm nothing short of flabbergasted."

Shadow quirked a brow, not exactly liking how quickly this figure was able to change his tune. "At?"

"You." he answered. "The fact that our Breeder is no more, the looming extinction of our race...it is all due to you." his three eyes narrowed into slits. "You murdered the very one who gave you life."

"And I'd do it again in a heartbeat." Shadow hissed. "Now, if you want me to give you something a slight more merciful of an end, then you can start by telling me how you're even here."

The figure's hands balled into fists, clearly wanting nothing more than to strike this insolent little evolutionary dead end...yet no. Responsible as he was for all that occurred, he had a reason for being here. "Are introductions not of any interest?"

Shadow leapt forward, leg extended in front of him and the sole of his jet shoe aiming right in the center of the Arms' three-eyed face. What he met, however, was nothing more than grass and dirt.

"Apparently not." the figure stated, having materialized behind the Ultimate Lifeform. "It also seems to not be of interest for you to know that even with personal grievances, it is unbecoming to attack a simple messenger." he then turned to Shadow, folding his arms behind his back. "You asked how I am here, therefore, I shall answer. I am Black Death, subordinate to my Breeder, Black Doom, and holder of the emergency reserves of our colony."

"He said nothing of you from what I recall." Shadow stated, voice dripping with suspicion.

"As he wished it." Black Death responded.

"And you've clearly wished to remain hidden. So what motivated you to foolishly seek me out?"

It was obscured by the collar of his robes, yet Shadow could've sworn that, assuming this 'Death' bore an abnormal 'mouth' akin to his superior, it would've been something akin to a twisted grin. "It is not me that wishes to see you. I am here on behalf of another."

Another...no, Shadow thought. No, he...he wasn't-

"I don't believe I need to tell you who."

It was completely involuntary, the speedster mentally reciting and spouting curses on himself for allowing such a loss of control, yet his body refused to obey him. The night air had seemingly grown to near freezing, despite how fast his heart began to beat. His breathing, despite there being more than enough oxygen to spare, had grown rapid and short, his head also beginning to shake left to right. "No." was all Shadow could croak out, his tongue also refusing to cooperate with him. "You...you lie." Death seemed unmoved by this. In fact, it appeared that his reaction was what he had hoped for. "You lie!"

"You don't believe that."

"You're lying! I saw him! I saw him-"

"As did I!" Death suddenly roared. "As did all of us! The few that were left! We saw how you doomed us to a slow extinction! Oh yes, I saw and dealt in much of what YOU wrought upon us, you…" yet just as he was about to continue, despite his seething, the hooded Arms member stopped himself, a low exhale escaping him. "You...have much to answer for. Which is why I come to you now. To tell you that you have been summoned by Breeder himself."

"No. You...even if you're here, there's no way that-"

"Are you familiar with the Chaos Emeralds?" Death interrupted. "Do you know where they are at this very moment?" Shadow went silent. "Have been elusive as of late?" shameful as it was, the Ultimate Lifeform found himself unable to speak. "Despite the crimes you've committed against us, just some amongst many you may have 'forgotten', I am required to grant you this: Breeder requests that you come to him as soon as you are able, which, seeing as you're in reasonably good physical health, I'd suggest that time would be now."

"Then you can tell him I refuse." Shadow retorted, finally finding his voice.

Death seemed unaffected by this response. If anything, he expected it completely. "Then we shall have to perform the task of delivering you to him. And don't believe for a second that we're incapable of doing so. You know NOTHING of what many of our soldiers can do, especially those of more recent births."

"Let them come then." Shadow answered back, having had enough of this fool's talking, he readying himself for yet another assault on the supposed subordinate.

"...fine." Death shrugged. "It shall be done." Shadow didn't lower his guard, yet he took notice of the change in direction the being was taking. "They will come. They...and those nice humans in the uniforms." He tried to conceal it, yet upon seeing the hedgehog's eyes widen in realization, Death knew that he had him. "Let them see you in the company of the rest of Breeder's children. With your siblings-"

"They and I have NO relation-"

"And do you think they would care?" Death interjected. "Did they care when we first came to this planet? Did they ask you questions as to whether or not one was trying to take one of the Emeralds away from you instead of you handing it over? Did they care when you unwittingly sent a good portion of their men hurling into overturned debris with that Chaos Blast?" he leaned forward. "Would they care if that winged comrade of yours vouches for your innocence until she is out of breath? Or the blue rat?"

Shadow stepped back. The skies had yet to change color, nor was the city in the distance in any peril, yet he could've sworn that he had been transported right back to that day a few months prior. Only now, unfortunately, he held a better understanding of the potential dangers this horrid monster was speaking of. Each and every one of them an undeniable possibility.

"Yet as I said, I am just a humble messenger. And as far as I'm concerned, the message has been delivered." Black Death stated, beginning to maneuver away from the wracked hedgehog, of whom now followed him with utmost focus. "Should you accept Breeder's request, then rest assured, he will know. And he shall let you find him." he had his back to Shadow now, his body beginning to fade away in a reddened light. "You're already on a rather tight leash as it is, Shadow. And personally, speaking from experience, I'd advise not making said leash any tighter. That said, the choice remains with you."

Shadow bolted, rushing right towards the horn-less Arms member, a gloved hand reaching out...only to meet dead air as he passed through the last of the speckles of energy, the solid figure that had conjured them long gone. Shadow, once again, was on his lonesome.

Only now, he only WISHED that his prior predicament was his major fixation.

Had that being, that 'Black Death' not been in front of, let alone touched him, he wouldn't have believed it. He wished he didn't have to. They...the Black Arms were dead. They were ALL dead! He saw to that! The comet was gone! Black Doom himself was gone! This was impossible! And yet, whom had he just been talking to? Whom had just told him of his conversations with Rouge? Of Sonic and his participating should GUN get involved?

Oh God, GUN…

It...it wasn't as if he feared them. Absolutely not. He...he feared nothing. He didn't fear GUN, he didn't fear their weapons, their guns, and...and he especially didn't fear this 'Black Death' or his message! Let whatever was left of Doom's 'children' come! Let them come to him! Let-

RUSTLE

Shadow whirled around fast, a collection of densely packed foliage nestled by the woodline moving slightly in the breeze. At least, he assumed it to be the breeze.

RUSTLE

Another noise, only this time, he couldn't tell where from.

RUSTLE

And another.

'Those nice humans in the uniforms…'

RUSTLE

'They will come…'

RUSTLE

'Let them see you in the company of the rest of Breeder's children. With your siblings-'

Shadow released something between a moan and a growl, his head being clutched by both hands. The rustling seemed to have cease for the time being, more evidence that, no, no one was here.

'They will come…'

There...yes, Black Death, even if he was who he claimed to be, what indication was there that he was indeed telling the truth? After all, Doom was far from entirely honest with him. And even if some of those creatures DID come for him, surely those uniformed idiots would see that they were attacking him! That he had no intention on joining with them!

'Did they care? Would they care?'

Person of interest or not, surely they'd see…

'You're already on a tight leash.'

He...he needed to go. Go for a...a short run, yes, that was it. Go on a run...and think. He had been doing a lot of thinking lately, yes, perhaps too much, but he needed to, especially now.

"Wh-What?"

Especially now, that a strange, yet startlingly familiar sensation seemed to come to him out of nowhere. Small, and far from strong, yet it was there. A bizarre 'pull' of sorts, as if something he had been unaware of had once again gone into effect. As if a 'link' of some kind had been, finally, rekindled.

Note: A small notice: some things are left vague and not really explained, as I don't want to give any too much detail as of yet. While I don't want people to be totally confused, I want the characters to find things out around the same time as the audience does, so that it's a discovery for both parties. And, it'll also hopefully provide more of a shock value when those things become known. I'll admit, even if they are necessary at times, I'm not the biggest fan of info dumps. I like things to be given out gradually and with time, that way you know only just enough, but want more, thus, you want to continue along.

That said, I hope I didn't sound too haughty in that little opinion, and I thank you all for your patience and putting up with my BS. I hope to keep you interested in the future! Reviews motivate me to continue on! Thank you!