Angel: Here it is, guys...the last episode of this arc. I had fun doing this, especially with Sophia involved. This just has so much nostalgia for me because it was my favorite. And also, I've just finished my Criminal Justice class as of last week, so I have nothing to do on Tuesdays and Thursdays besides this XD Well, I'm not completely done, I still have one more quiz, but I don't have to attend it anymore. So yay! More time dedicated to getting this story done...I am almost finished with a TMNT story, and I'll be working on another one after I'm done with that, so I'll still be doing 3 stories...next week if I finish that off by then? Or maybe two more weeks? But I don't think it'll affect this story at all.
Vortex Lord: Sophia was a human? But if she was human, how was she still alive for 50 years?
Angel: Okay, so this is referring to her time after she was taken off the ARK. When her parents found her, they affected her memory so that she wouldn't remember she's a human along with the terrible things that she remembered: losing Shadow, Maria, etc. But they had a mage change her DNA so that she would have slow aging like Xenians. Remember, their race doesn't age that quickly like regular humans. Therefore, with how she still looks 12, it's not that unbelievable that she'd still be alive after 50 years, especially long enough to meet Tikal, build another planet, and know other people from that planet.
Bajy: Whoa...great job here! And I understand, no worries. I wonder what will happen next in the final climax of this arc? This is going to be epic and shocking for our heroes, looking forward to reading more soon!
Angel: Thanks! It's just gone very slow as I'm spending five weekdays to write three stories.
Challishanlon99: Oh my gosh I want to find out what happens next I'm hanging from the edge of my seat not literally but you know what I mean be careful Sophia be careful all of you anyway I wanted to say happy holidays that was wondering like Christmas, Thanksgiving, stuff like that I'm just wondering that's all I'm not trying to tell you what to do or anything thank you for this chapter I can't wait for more and go everyone you can do it
Angel: That was my intention to do that, because Shadow's one of my favorite characters. Though, Sonic's been through kind of a downfall with games, so...it's not like I can play them without a system anyway XD If that question's for me, I do celebrate Christmas and Thanksgiving, but my stepdad does not celebrate Christmas because of his religion, so I don't know if we'll be celebrating Christmas this year. My sister is coming in 5 days, though, so there'll definitely be a family sense. If it's for the Sonic characters...maybe. *shrugs* There's definitely fanfics and videos touching on the matter.
Johnannvanguard: Princess Sophia seems like a really great and interesting character. It's good that Sonic was about to stop Eggman, but Chaos Control teleported everyone near the base to Earth. It's great that Sophia and Sonic made it to Earth safe and sound, and avoided the cops. Now that they've met Chris, I wonder how Sophia will get along with Chris' family and friends.
Angel: Considering how this review's from the first episode, there's definitely moments with Sophia and his family. Few, but they're still there. I haven't touched upon it too much because it's not the main focus of the story, but I try.
Last time on Sophia X, Chris and Sophia were trapped on Space Colony ARK, and Sonic rocketed to their rescue, but not before Sophia and Chris have a nasty falling-out. Soon, Eggman ambushed the hapless hedgehog and gave our hero the heave-ho! The devious doc issued an ultimatum: if he wasn't made supreme ruler, he'd pulverize the planet. But when Eggman fired off the Eclipse Cannon, he got a blast, from the past! A recording from his grandfather, Professor Robotnik, revealed that he had his own plan to wipe out the world.
Can Sonic and Sophia save the globe from destruction, or will Robotnik wreck his revenge? Find out next on Sophia X!
"Topaz," Rouge is relaying her report. "I'm transmitting my report now, over."
"Be careful, Rouge," Topaz warns her. "The space colony's a dangerous place." The ARK begins shaking and Rouge sees something.
Sonic and Shadow are still fighting against each other, and they cause an explosion. They land a few feet away from each other and Sonic gasps as he sees a ring.
"You've interfered for the last time," Shadow jumps into the air and throws his Chaos spears. Sonic runs past them and grabs the ring. Shadow turns around as the ring glows in Sonic's hand. He uses super spin to knock Shadow down.
"Alright, Shadow, what's going on here?" Sonic demands and Shadow smirks up at him.
"You'll find out."
The ARK starts shaking and Sonic gasps. Shadow stands up. "Sonic, your time is running out!" He then escapes and Sonic holds out a hand.
"Wait!" His eyes widen as he hears something, turning around to see the timer, which has at least 23 minutes left.
Shadow is running further way from Sonic when he hears someone calling his name. He sees Sophia dashing towards him and he stays silent.
"Shadow, you're alright!" she smiles happily before she notices his silence. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"...You knew about Rouge being a government agent, didn't you? She's been relaying intel all this time! And you just let her! Are you really my friend, Sophia?"
"Huh?" She asks in surprise. "She was?" She didn't honestly know that Rouge was doing such a thing. Shadow notices her confusion.
"You didn't know what she was doing?" He asks curiously.
"No," Sophia shakes her head. "I did not have a clue as to why she was here. But yes, I knew she was a spy. I was there when the president offered her the position. I didn't...I didn't know whether or not your words were true when I first met you, Shadow. How would telling you the truth benefit?"
Shadow thinks to himself. She was right, her telling him that Rouge was a spy wouldn't have done anything. He still would've liked to know, though. He engulfs her into a hug and she smiles softly, hugging him back.
"I'm sorry I kept this from you..."
"It's alright. I could never stay mad at you."
"I must hurry, my friends might be in danger as they are possibly still looking for me..." She looks around as she stands up. "Shadow, you'll help me, won't yo-" She stops as she sees he's gone. She sighs slowly, as she should've expected that. Of course he wouldn't help her, because of Sonic or probably because of how he wants revenge on humanity...
Amy, Tails, Chris, Mr. Tanaka, and Knuckles enter the same room as Eggman, who slams his hand down on the control panel. "He tricked me! My own grandfather tricked me!"
A hatch starts to close up the Chaos emeralds. "The Chaos emeralds!" Knuckles exclaims and Eggman is too late to get them back.
"The countdown marking my final revenge has begun. In a few minutes, you will be destroyed," Professor Robotnik speaks, "Space Colony ARK will hurtle through the atmosphere and crash into this planet with devastating force." The counter has 22 minutes left. "You have no time to prevent this disaster and absolutely no hope of survival."
Everyone is Station Square is seeing this message as well. "Your rulers took my granddaughter Maria and my creation Sophia away from me, so I'm destroying everything you care about. Now you'll feel what I felt when I lost Maria and my second-best life-form."
Sophia looks at the screen in shock from another room. Now she understood why Shadow didn't want to help her...it's because he wants humanity to suffer for what happened to Maria...and her. She puts her hand to her heart, feeling it hurt. "Shadow...I'm so sorry..."
Shadow stops in his tracks as he can sense Sophia's heartache...for him.
"You'll see. You'll see, you'll see!" Professor Robotnik declares.
"Who is that guy?" Amy wonders. "And what does he mean?"
"That is Professor Gerald Robotnik," Eggman explains as everyone looks at the screen. "He was a scientific genius and my grandfather. He must've created Sophia like he did with Shadow...which means..."
"Sophia...was a human?" Knuckles asks in shock.
"She's not...a real princess?" Tails murmurs, as he wonders how Sophia went from a human to being a princess...
"Then...then how did she become...well, Sophia?" Chris questions, as she seems to be nothing like Shadow.
"The count of our final revenge has begun."
The ARK starts shaking again. "Hey, it feels like this place is breaking apart!" Knuckles states.
"Soon it's going to get a lot worse," He turns to see Rouge approaching. "I just checked the colony's propulsion systems. The computers are locked, so we can't reverse course. Looks like there's nothing we can do."
They all stare at her, as they don't have a solution as well. "Grandpa, destroying a planet is one thing, but destroying your grandson is another," Eggman says, as he didn't want things to go this far.
"What's going on here?" Sonic and Sophia appear in the room.
"Sonic! Sophia!" Chris looks happy to see them.
"If you two came here for a showdown, forget it. Soon, we'll all be vaporized," Eggman states to them.
"Come on, don't be such a quitter, Eggman," Sonic steps up to him.
"Perhaps if we banded together, we could escape this fate," Sophia suggests as she looks up at the screen.
"The countdown marking my final revenge has begun." Eggman begins to pull up something on his laptop.
"When I hacked into the database on Prison Island, I found my grandfather's dairy," He hands Sonic the laptop and they look at it.
"Revenge...that is all that matters to me now," Chris reads, "When I began my research, I only wanted to do good."
"That's why I worked to make the ultimate creatures, even helping two fellow scientists create their own child, Sophia. But the leaders of the project worried that I'd use it to take over the world. So they seized my lab on Space Colony ARK. Then they took Maria from me, and my life took on a new purpose. Instead of helping people, I would get revenge on them. Night and day I planned so long after I am gone, my revenge would be complete."
"I've done it, my greatest design is now complete. The ultimate creature Shadow. My enemies think they have defeated me, but Shadow will carry out my orders without question. Now it sleeps, but one day in the future it will be reawakened. Shadow will bring total destruction."
Sophia covers her mouth in shock at the entry. She was created with the help of Robotnik, but...was she going to be like Shadow too? Was she supposed to be evil? No...she was created to fill in the void those scientists so dearly wanted...
There are only 17 minutes left. "In the coming minutes as you helplessly await your doom..."
"Do we have any confirmation of this?" Mr. President asks Christina.
"You just received a high-priority message from the director of the space agency, Mr. President," She reports, "Space Colony ARK is moving towards the planet at high speed. The impact will be catastrophic and will cause massive destruction."
His mouth opens in shock, as this is all real. "But if that colony hits us, millions of lives are going to be lost!"
Christina hangs her head as Sam looks up at the sky. Good luck, Sophia and Sonic. Even you're going to have trouble saving us this time.
Meanwhile, the police barge in to arrest all of those who kept the project a secret. "Freeze!"
"This is a warrant for your arrest," The chief holds up the warrant. "It took a long time, but the truth is out!"
"A secret group inside the Intelligence Agency in all records of Project Shadow. We didn't have a clue until Dr. Eggman hacked into their system and accessed the file."
Topaz is there as well. "Good things do come from bad sometimes." She looks up at the sky, seeing a purple dot, which is the ARK coming towards the planet.
"The energy from the Chaos emeralds has transformed the Eclipse Cannon into a mega bomb. If it detonates, the blast will be more massive than a supernova!" Eggman explains to the group.
"The energy from the Chaos emeralds is also what's pushing us toward the planet," Tails states, "We have to get the emeralds and deactivate 'em somehow."
"Knuckles!" Sonic looks at him and so does everyone else.
"Huh? What, why me?"
"Because, you can control all the Chaos emeralds with that," Rouge answers, pointing behind him.
"The Master Emerald!" Knuckles turns around in realization. "I can use it to shut off the power!"
"There's still time to stop the Space Colony from crashing, but we have to hurry!" Tails urges, "We'll only reach the Chaos emeralds if we all work together."
"We'll lead the way!" Sonic looks up at Sophia and she glances away. "Stay on our heels and do your best to keep up the pace."
"Yes...before Earth is destroyed..." Sophia murmurs and most of them can sense her hesitation.
"Sophia."
She looks down at her friends to see them smiling. "No matter who you are...you're still our friend. Who cares if you're not a real princess? You're still one to us," Knuckles states.
"Yeah, we'll be with you all the way!" Tails winks at her.
"Your past doesn't matter. It's how you affect your present," Amy gives her a thumbs up and Sophia smiles softly.
"Thank you, my friends."
"Let's get to those Chaos emeralds before it's too late! Remember, if we fail, an entire planet will perish, and so will we."
Sonic, Sophia, and Knuckles run down a hallway, with Bocoe and Decoe holding the Master Emerald. Rouge and Eggman blast through laser shooters while Tails opens a passageway for his friends. The door opens and a wave of water threatens to drown them. Knuckles punches a wall and holds onto the others so that they're not washed away. The water passes by and they run through the door before it can close.
Mr. Tanaka, Amy, and Chris are waiting, hoping that everything will work out. "I hope they make it in time," Amy grips her hands together.
"I wish there was something we could do to help Sonic and the others," Chris states, Mr. Tanaka placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Sonic and Sophia will get there to the Chaos emeralds in time."
"Don't bet on it." Chris' eyes widen and he turns around to see Shadow standing there.
"Shadow!"
He slowly smirks.
As Shadow is staring at them, Chris narrows his eyes, realizing there was something he could do. He starts walking towards the hedgehog.
"Master Chris."
"Please, Shadow, you can help save us all," Chris says, to everyone's shock. "You believe that your whole reason for being here is to get revenge, but think about it. When I was in danger back on Prison Island, you decided to save me."
Shadow just stares at him and Chris places his hands on his shoulders. "Deep down you know you were made to help others like Sophia and she's the reason you finally rescued me."
"Hands off," Shadow orders and injures him.
"No, Chris!" Amy is about to help, but Mr. Tanaka grabs her arm. "He needs help." Mr. Tanaka just shakes his head, narrowing his eyes at Shadow.
"It's useless. I made a promise to Sophia and Maria, and I'm keeping it."
Chris stands up. "Shadow, getting revenge won't bring Maria back, and it won't make Sophia happy."
"So what?" Shadow asks, not caring what happens.
"There's still time to stop this, Shadow. Please, you have to listen to me. How can you blame people alive today for things that happened 50 years ago? Can't you see it's not fair? Ask yourself, since you've come to know Sophia. Is this what she really wants?"
"Don't talk to me about fair!" Shadow yells at him with anger in his eyes. "Not after what happened here."
He can still remember spending time with them. "Maria and Sophia were my only friends, but your ruler sent soldiers to take Maria and Sophia away from me! I tried to save them, but there were too many for me to stop. I never saw poor Maria again...Maria wasn't a threat to anyone. All she wanted was to visit your planet, but she never had the chance. I'm only grateful that Sophia got to, but she got her memories snatched away so she wouldn't remember me! She was so positive, and I taught her everything she knows, only for all of that to disappear from her memory! She didn't remember any fond memories until only recently! She didn't remember me..."
"Please listen," Chris begs. "It's true that there are some bad people in the world, but most people are good. I know that you'd agree with me if you only got to know them, just like Maria and Sophia wanted to." He struggles to stand up, holding out a hand. "Shadow, please. Maria and Sophia would want you to be friends with people..."
Shadow sees Chris' struggle, realizing something.
"Shadow...please promise us...that you'll help people...and be... friends with them..."
"Maria!" Shadow called out.
"I'm sure you'll be very happy down there, Shadow. I only wish that I could go along with you. The world looks so beautiful from up here in space. But my grandfather says the people who live there have to face many problems. That's why you were created, to help those people, and to be their friend."
"Shadow..." He glanced at Sophia in her pod. "I may be gone for a long time...so this is goodbye...thank you for everything you have taught me. My wish is for you not to let hate taint your heart. Do not let hatred fuel you. Do not let sorrow be in your heart. Remember me, Shadow...remember me..."
Chris eventually faints and Shadow catches him. He tears up as he realizes...this is all a mistake. Sophia wanted to be remembered...but he didn't want this for her. He had promised her that he wouldn't let this kind of thing happen...and he broke it. He knows she can read his thoughts...he wanted to let her know that he's sorry he didn't prevent this.
Mr. Tanaka grabs Chris, smiling slightly.
"He was right about them, Maria and Sophia. They did want me to help the people of your world." He then smiles.
They only have about ten minutes left as they come to a stop. They've reached the Chaos emeralds. Sophia ponders what she's just seen. Shadow...
"Up there!" Knuckles calls out, breaking her concentration. The ARK starts shaking again and the Bio Lizard lands in front of them. Decoe and Bocoe shake in fear. "Calm down. I'm not gonna let that monster get a hold of the Master Emerald."
"Leave that thing for me."
Sonic and Sophia both gasp as Shadow is standing between them. "Shadow!"
"You and the others take care of the Chaos emeralds and I'll distract it." He glances at the two and Sonic smiles slightly. Sophia grins softly at him.
"Thank you, Shadow...my friend..."
Shadow smiles back at her and glides towards the Bio Lizard. He goes into spin mode and attacks the Lizard.
"Let's go!" Sonic declares and they run towards the emeralds, Bocoe and Decoe falling behind. Shadow glides past the fire of the Bio Lizard while the others reach a temple. Shadow throws his Chaos spears, hitting the Bio Lizard.
The group reaches the emerald. "I must remember, the seven Chaos Emeralds are the servers. Our hearts intensify their power. The controller serves to unify the Chaos."
"You can do it, Knuckles," Sonic encourages, Sophia placing a hand on Knuckles' shoulder.
Knuckles takes a deep breath and holds out his hands. "Master emerald, I need you to help me, please stop the Chaos emeralds." The Master Emerald powers up and the Bio Lizard shoots red orbs at Shadow, who jumps back and forth. He leaps into the air and uses the orbs to travel up in the air. He hits the device on the Bio Lizard's back.
Sonic, Sophia, and the two robots watch as the Chaos emeralds drop onto the ground, deactivating them.
"Alright!" Knuckles cheers.
"Good work!"
They hear a roar and turn around to see the Bio Lizard disappearing.
"It's gone." Shadow teleports to them.
"No. It is not destroyed," Sophia narrows her eyes.
"Chaos Control," Shadow realizes what it did and the ARK shakes again.
"What is happening?"
"We are still heading towards the planet!"
"Come in, Sonic, do you read me?" Eggman's voice speaks up. "That monster is still alive. It attached itself to the outside of the Space Colony. It's pulling us toward the planet!"
Sonic, Shadow, and Sophia look to each other. They all close their eyes as the emeralds lift in the air, recharging. The three lift into the air as the Chaos emeralds spin around them. Knuckles, Decoe, and Bocoe look in shock.
Super Sonic and Super Sophia have returned, but this time...they have Super Shadow! The three fly away. Super Sonic and Super Sophia appear in front of Chris, Amy, and Mr. Tanaka.
"Sonic! Sophia!" Amy exclaims in surprise. They approach Chris, healing him. They both smile before the three appear in front of the Bio Lizard. They charge at it and it fires a pink bolt. Sophia flies above it while the two hedgehogs move past it.
"Let's give it our best shot!" Shadow says to the two.
"We must," Sophia narrows her eyes as they make their hands into fists.
"Alright, we can go in at full speed and finish it off." They do so, and it screeches.
"The Space Colony is still rushing towards us, Mr. President," Christina is looking at her laptop as she can see the schematics of the ARK. "We're only minutes away from impact." She looks up at him in worry. He groans, holding his head.
"Hey, what's that?" Sam asks and they all step out of the limo, other people looking up at the sky. They can distinctly see three white dots flying around the incoming ARK.
"Soon the Space Colony won't be able to escape the planet's gravity! It'll be impossible to stop it from crashing!" Christina reports to their concern.
"Come on, Sonic and Sophia, you can stop it!" Sam says to himself.
"Let's hope, but I'm afraid no one can save us from disaster now," The president states.
Amy, Rouge, Tails, Knuckles, and Mr. Tanaka are watching the three super-powered beings. Chris has woken up.
"You have to defeat that monster, Sonic. We're all depending on you," Amy says in determination.
"Sonic...Sophia...Shadow..." Chris murmurs in hope that they can do it.
"Topaz, you read me?" Rouge says into her walkie talkie.
"Yes Rouge, what's going on there? I don't understand what Sonic and Sophia are up to," She's looking up at the sky.
"That large red object is actually Space Colony ARK, glowing as it re-enters the atmosphere," Scarlet is currently reporting on it. "For 50 years, this existence was kept a secret. In the course of our investigation, we uncovered a conspiracy within our intelligence services that now threatens the survival of this planet. Our only hope lies in the bravery of two hedgehogs and Princess Sophia who are now fighting for all of us."
Chuck, Ella, Cream, Cheese, and Rose look up at the sky in worry. "Please, Sonic and Princess Sophia."
Rose and Cheese chirp in agreement.
"Please, Sonic and Sophia, goooooooo!" Bokkun cries out from Eggman's base.
The Bio Lizard fires at them again and they close in on it, destroying the device on its back, but the ARK is still heading towards the planet.
"You're stopping right here!" Super Sonic places his hands in front of him. Super Shadow and Super Sophia do the same. The ARK slowly approaches them, with the fire from it starting to affect them.
"You can do it, Sonic and Sophia!"
"Give it all you've got, Shadow!"
"If you fail, the entire planet will be destroyed!"
"Tough it out, you guys!"
"You can do it!"
"We know you can!"
"Sonic! Sophia!"
"Shadow!" Super Shadow remembers Maria... "Those people need you, Shadow."
"I am Shadow!" Super Shadow declares. "Shadow the Hedgehog!" He removes his Limiters to give him all the power he needs. "You ready?"
"You bet!" Sonic answers and Super Sophia turns to Shadow in confusion, wondering what he's doing.
"Here we go!"
Super Sonic starts glowing and so does Super Sophia.
"CHAOS..."
"CONTROL!"
All three of them point their hands to the ARK, chaos energy coming from them. Together, they put the ARK back in orbit.
Maria...Sophia...I did it...for you...
And with that, the timer has been stopped, everyone cheering for their safety. Christina takes the phone off her ear. "The space agency just reported in. They said that the Space Colony has moved back into a stable orbit."
The president looks up at the sky. "Thank goodness..."
She removes her glasses. "Sonic and Sophia could be charged for violating space agency regulations and for stealing evidence."
"You know, after all that they've done for the planet," They turn to Sam. "I don't think the voters would like that very much." He smiles at them. "Don't you agree?"
"Yes, I suppose you're right," The president agrees, as they've done too many heroic actions to be arrested.
"My grandfather was truly a genius, ever since I was a lad, he was my one true hero. I always wanted to become a great scientist like him. But he shouldn't have tried to destroy the planet. How can he do something so wrong?" Eggman says through the speaker.
"I don't know..." Tails speaks up. "But you helped us all save the world."
"I'm so happy the planet was saved. Now I can conquer it and establish my empire!"
"You still wanna take over the world?" Amy asks in confusion.
"Affirmative!" Decoe confirms.
"You are welcome to join us if you would like!"
"No thank you," Tails immediately denies. Eggman laughs as he gets away on his ship. The door opens behind them and they turn around, smiling.
"Sonic!"
He smiles at them, Chris stepping up to him. "Where's Shadow? And Sophia?"
Sonic looks down, as he wasn't sure. He simply shakes his head, the silence tense. He holds out something to Chris...a ring.
"You know, maybe Professor Robotnik wanted Shadow to stop his crazy plan all along," Rouge states.
"We'll never know, but in the end, Shadow and Sophia sacrificed everything to save us all," Sonic replies as Chris has tears in his eyes. One of them falls down onto the ring, disappearing.
"He sure did."
"No."
Everyone gasps at the voice, turning to see Sophia emerging from the entrance. "He is alive...I can still see his dreams and hear his thoughts...I can feel his presence...somewhere." It was hard to say where, though, as for some reason, she's getting the feeling from all kinds of places...to find Shadow would take her own lifetime...
"Sophia!" Everyone runs up to her.
"You're okay!" Tails cheers happily and she smiles slightly.
"Yeah..." She looks out into space.
Sonic pats Chris' back. "Come on, Chris. Let's head back. Space is fine, but I like my feet on the ground."
"The rocket's ready! It's time to go," Tails tells them and they take their leave to go back onto Earth. Sonic and Sophia turn around, looking out to the moon.
Sayonara for now...Shadow the Hedgehog.
Goodbye Shadow...my friend. You taught me so much...I will find you. I know that you are out there...somewhere...