Abandoned Mill

Urvos' robots circled around Sonic and began to fire on him, although a lot of their shots hit each other as the hedgehog leaped into the air. He spun around and pinballed into most of the other ones as well, making Urvos growl and grip his axe tightly. Krak quickly ducked away as the robots continued their vain attempts to bring the hedgehog down. Sonic was aware they had a sniper with them, and so avoided any of Antenna's shots as he zipped down the slope.

"Miss me, miss me, now you gotta… actually, never mind," he taunted, going around the mill where the deer couldn't reach him.

Behind their shed, Shadow and Grid peered out, noticing Urvos stomping towards them. "I'll go deal with him," said Shadow, crouching down to Grid's level. "I want you to stay back here and don't move a muscle, I'll come back for you when I'm finished."

Grid wasn't sure, but nodded her head and hid in the shed as the black hedgehog stepped away. The warrior noticed him coming out into the open, readying his axe and going to meet him in the middle. Antenna focused his rifle on the black hedgehog, but didn't put his finger on the trigger just yet.

"You're not from here, are you?" he asked, staring down Urvos. "You say we've met before, but enlighten me this once."

"That is correct, I'm not of this world, even if you of all being should know tha-"

"We have that in common, not being locals. I was made in space, with some of me coming from Black Arms DNA. But that's where the similarities end." He reached for his left wrist, unfastening the ring there, before moving to the right one. "Unlike you, I made a promise, long ago, to protect the people of this world."

The rings clattered to the ground, energy surrounding Shadow.

"And that doesn't include you."

The warrior raised his axe, foolishly hoping it would repel his opponent's action, and was promptly blasted into the shed, which miraculously held together. Antenna quickly readied himself to fire on Shadow, but quickly found his rifle wrestled from his hands. He discovered that Sonic was the one who took it, the blue hedgehog kicking the weapon to the ground.

"Hey, don't interfere. That's a solo fight, mano y mano, and your boss is gonna lose."

"Urvos cannot lose," the deer monotoned, trying to hit his opponent and missing. "Your friend will fail to defeat him."

"Trust me, Urvos lost as soon as the rings came off."

Beck on the ground, Urvos charged the black hedgehog, raising his axe up high and letting out a mighty yell. Shadow responded by kicking Urvos in the back of the knee, then landing several punches to the warrior's arm, making him drop his axe. Shadow got closer, expecting him to try and get back to his feet, but was taken by surprise when Urvos grabbed him, shoving him to the ground. The hedgehog groaned and started trying to kick his way free, while the warrior began laying down plenty of hits on his opponent. He would have likely gone further, if he hadn't been distracted by the sight of the tail ship touching down nearby.

"Armstrong?" he thought aloud, but was quickly proven wrong when Amy and Maisie stepped out.

This distraction was all Shadow needed to shove the warrior off of him, energy propelling Urvos several feet away, where some precariously-lain steel pipes landed on top of him and pinned him down. The black hedgehog picked up the discarded axe, marching over to his fallen opponent and, mind running on instinct, raised it up to finish off Urvos. He stopped, though, when he looked back to the shed and saw Grid watching from a window.

"What are you waiting for?" snarled Urvos. "Finish me, and let me join my ancestors."

The black hedgehog brought the axe down.

At first, the others shut their eyes to avoid the gory sight, but opened them in surprise when they heard a loud scream of pain. Shadow hasn't eliminated Urvos, but instead cut off his arm. The warrior bellowed from pain as Shadow dropped the axe and walked off. Noticing what happened, both Antenna and Krak ran over, ignoring the others to check on their leader.

"Shadow!" called Amy, taking Maisie and running over to the black hedgehog, soon being joined by Sonic and Grid, none of them taking notice of the three raiders. "You spared him, even after all he's done."

"Trust me, it wasn't my first option, but I didn't want Grid to see me do that."

"Still, you did a great job taking him down, Shads."

The five were cut off by the sound of the tail ship taking off and connecting with the Horizon. The airship had taken off before anyone could react, and both Sonic and Shadow were too exhausted to chase after it. It was then the pink hedgehog thumped the blue one on the shoulder.

"I told you to stay home!" she scolded. "Last I checked, we're an hour's trip from the workshop!"

"It's fine, I'm still in one piece. Plus I was able to kick butt like nobody's business and help Shadow rescue a little girl." He then gestured to Grid, who gave a small wave to Amy.

"What should we do with her?" asked Shadow, unaware of the squirrel looking over to him.

"Well, you could always take care of her," suggested Sonic, the black hedgehog looking away. "Come on, she needs someone to be with."

"I… I don't know if I'm cut out for the task," he admitted. "I've only had two figures that could be seen as parental. One tried to destroy the world, and the other one wanted to conquer it."

"Exactly, you can only go up from there."

Shadow felt a tug on his glove, looking down to see Grid smiling up at him. "I'd like to go with you, please," she said sweetly, prompting him to give her a small smile.

"Alright. Come on, you, we're going home."

Shadow took Grid's hand, guiding her to the motorcycle and riding off with her. The others watched them go, warm smiles on their faces, before Amy realized something. "Hey, how are we supposed to get back?"

"Relax, I'll just call Tails, and he'll bring the Tornado and… Wait a minute. He called me earlier, and I brushed him off. Okay, I've got our transport right here!"

"Sonic, what are you… oh, don't you dare!" Amy pleaded, Sonic gripping her and Maisie by the arm.

"Come on, you two! We're going home, double time!"

"Soniiiiiiiiiiic!" Amy's shriek faded into the distance as the three disappeared into the horizon.

Country Rest Stop

Shadow and Grid had stopped to fill the motorcycle with gas and grab a bite to eat. As they ate, the black hedgehog's mind wandered back to something that happened at the mill. "Grid, you warned me Urvos was getting up, even though you couldn't see him. How did you do that?"

The squirrel set down her drink, trying to word her thoughts. "I dunno, before the robots came, this weird lady stopped by," she began, twirling her straw idly. "She gave me some sorta blue stuff, then the next day I could, like… see through walls, but not really, I guess?"

Shadow nodded, taking this information in. He'd definitely have to be careful with where he took Grid, and he'd have to do some research on this "weird lady" she mentioned. Still, it could wait for later, right now he and his new charge had a meal to finish.

Horizon

Urvos' wound had been tended to, and Krak was in the process of making a prosthetic arm. The warrior was sat up, taking deep breaths as he felt over his bandaged stump. He wouldn't let this setback prevent him from following his mission. He couldn't let it stop him.

Just then, a chime came from a console, and a hologram of Levi appeared over it. "Oh dear, it would seem something happened to the robots you were assembling. How could that happen, it's not like you were following some petty vengeance scheme instead of carrying out your objectives-"

"Spare me your mockery, machine," snapped Urvos, rising to his feet. "That hedgehog only got lucky, the next time our paths cross, he shall-"

He collapsed to his knees as pain overtook his skull once more, clutching his head until the feeling went away. When he shakily got back to his feet, he saw the robot staring impassively at him.

"The other half of your team are still in Robotropolis. I'd suggest you go back for them, and carry out only the objectives Eggman and I provide for you."

The hologram faded out, Urvos gritting his teeth as he went over the encounter in his head. "Boy, finish that arm soon, so I can turn that mechanical moron into new armor."

Unknown Place

In a small room cluttered with boxes and broken lab equipment, a TV was the only source of light, the news playing a story.

"Talk about a blast to the past. This week has seen Sonic the hedgehog and his friends fighting Badniks for the first time in three years. This little blue ball of speed is known throughout the world as-"

The TV was paused on an image of Sonic running through the remains of a Motobug, a figure in the shadows clasping their hands over their lap with interest.

"Perfect."

Shadow? More like Dadow, am I right?

...I'll go get my coat.