"Make no mistake, my friend! I do not think I can neat you, I know I will! Metarex, prepare for battle!" Dark Oak growled. "As you can see, you are dangerously outnumbered, Sonic, and Silver. And I warn you, for every one of us that falls in battle, there will be hundreds more that can take his place!"
"Please don't hurt Sonic and Silver, I beg you!" Cosmo begged Dark Oak. "We'll do anything you want, Metarex, sir. We'll take back the Chaos Emeralds and the Planet Egg, but please don't hurt my friends!"
Dark Oak pointed at Sonic and Silver, ignoring Cosmo. "Get them!"
The armies of thousands of Metarex launched at the two hedgehogs. They gave a yell as they were immediately buried underneath the Metarex.
"Sonic! Silver!" Amy and Cosmo cried in fright. But luckily Sonic and Silver were able to beat his way through the Metarex with no trouble at all. They tried to attack Dark Oak, but Dark Oak didn't even flinch.
"So you wanna play games, huh?" Sonic growled, and he and his friend launched another attack. However, Dark Oak vanished right before Sonic or Silver could attack him.
"He vanished!" Amy cried.
"It's a hologram!" Sonic growled.
"Be careful, Sonic, Silver," Cosmo whispered as more Metarex approached them. Soon, they were surrounded. Sonic growled as Silver got into a protective stance in front of Amy and Cosmo. Dark Oak laughed.
Sonic hopped Penny was having a better time than he was.
...
Penny's eyes widened when she glanced out the window of the ship. Tails had just informed her that the base was surrounded by Metarex, and they were going to shoot at their own base. "We're in trouble..." Penny gulped.
Rouge nodded. "You said it, kid."
Shadow's communicator beeped, and he answered it. "Listen up, Shadow, in the interest of self-preservation, I'm calling off this clambake!"
Shadow looked confused. He sideglanced at Penny as he answered. "I thought I was to retrieve the Chaos Emeralds."
"Blast the Emeralds! These Metarex Monstrosities are about to make a meal out of us!" Eggman growled.
Shadow glanced at Penny and Rouge. They were watching the whole thing with mixed emotions. Penny showed fear. Rouge only frowned at the sight as the Metarex.
"Attention, intruders. Make no effort to escape! I am Red Pine. I and my three commanders serve the all-powerful Dark Oak. Your foolish effort to undermine our mission. You have played directly into my leader's hands. In fact, he wishes to express his gratitude for bringing him the Chaos Emeralds. Thanks to you all, we won't have to blindly scour the galaxy. We don't know how to thank you. Perhaps we'll just destroy you!"
"Just try it, you overgrown junkyard!" Rouge snapped, sounding irritated at the Metarex.
"What are you waiting for, Shadow?! Move it or lose it! A genius like me can't afford to dawdle with danger!" Eggman snapped at Shadow through the communicator. Shadow frowned. "I have to get back to the doctor." He said, walking off.
"No way!" Rouge frowned at Shadow in frustration. "I'm not leaving here empty-handed!"
Penny quickly took off after Shadow. She knew she needed to get some sense into him. "Shadow!" She called after him, trying to keep up. However, she stopped when her communicator blinked. Penny opened it up and heard Cosmo's fearful voice on the other end. "Penny, do you read me?!" Cosmo cried.
"Cosmo, what's wrong?" Penny asked.
"Please help!" Cosmo cried. "They're going to hurt Sonic and Silver!"
"The Metarex..." Penny whimpered. Hearing an explosion, she and Rouge took after Shadow. "Shadow, wait!" She cried. "Why can't we find a way out of here together?!"
"He's only interested in doing what the boss man tells him!" Rouge said, huffing as she ran. Shadow turned to them, his face full of fury. "You don't know what you're talking about!" He snapped at them as he ran. Penny frowned as she tried to reason with him. "Eggman doesn't care about you!" She said. "He only wants to use you to get what he wants! Don't you see that, Shadow?!"
Shadow frowned. "You're wrong!" He answered. Rouge landed in front of him. "Come on, now, why else do you think he keeps you hanging around?" She asked, a knowing smirk on her face.
"He wants to help me!" Shadow protested.
"You think he's gonna help you get your memory back, don't you? Have you ever stopped to think old Egghead just might be using that promise to get you to do his dirty work?" Rouge questioned. Shadow glared at Penny as she started to speak. "Rouge is right," she said. "You can't trust him!"
Shadow groaned.
Penny looked at him with pleading eyes. "Please, I know you don't remember, but you helped us before and I'm begging you to help us again!" She cried.
Shadow said nothing.
"Shadow?" Penny asked nervously. Shadow sighed. "Fine, I'll help you." He said, putting his free hand on Rouge's shoulder.
"Watch it, bub!" Rouge snapped as Shadow pulled her closer. Shadow glanced at her. "That's right, I'm keeping my eye on you," He said, grabbing his red Emerald.
"Talk about insulting!" Rouge grumbled.
Shadow raised the Emerald. "Chaos Control!" He yelled. And just like on Prison Island, Penny darted over to Shadow and clung to him. Soon, they teleported to Eggman's ship. Eggman glared at them. "Well, it certainly took you long enough!"
Shadow shoved Penny off him, and she fell to the ground. Her heart was pounding, but she glared at Shadow and Dr. Eggman, who glared back. "Well, if it isn't Penny." He snapped. "Nice of you to drop in!" He said, bursting into fits of evil laughter. When Eggman cooled himself, he looked at Rouge, Shadow, and Penny. "I see Shadow decided to play nice and rescue you from those Metarex meanies. He really is an agreeable fellow, isn't he? After all, a little squirt like you will be no match for those guys!"
Penny glared at him. "You double-crosser! You said we were on the same team! All of us! Of course, you'd run when the going got tough!"
"Well, better safe then sorry, I'd say!" Eggman smirked. "We don't want to get hurt, do we, girly?"
Penny growled. "Quit calling me girly!"
"Whatever you say, girly!" Eggman smirked. "Ah, yes, another day, another conquest." He smiled at his newly found Chaos Emeralds and back at Penny. "Let's not waste any more time. It's been nice knowing you, girly!"
"Quit talking to me like I'm some sort of little girl!" Penny snapped. "I'm fourteen years old now."
"Oh, really?" Eggman snapped.
"Yeah!" Penny snapped back. "I'm fed up with you and those Metarex doing everything you can to hurt those I love! So I'm taking matters into my own hands!"
"Really?!" Eggman snapped again. Penny kept her gaze at the doctor as she pulled out a flash bomb. The girl threw it at Eggman and his bots. While they were distracted, Penny hastily ran over to the machine holding the Chaos Emeralds and pulled them out of their holders. When they were in her hands, she darted off.
Penny huffed as she made it to the nearest ship. She stuffed the Emeralds into her pants pockets and hurried over to the cockpit of the ship.
"Come on... come on..." Penny muttered as she pressed the buttons on the ship. "Yes! Activate ignition!"
She flew the plane as fast as she could to help her friends. "Here I come, you guys!" She muttered. "Hang in there..." She flew right into the base and flew as fast as she could. However, a second later, Shadow soon caught up with her.
"Ugh! How fast is he?!" Penny asked herself, sweatdropping. She gasped in fright as Shadow raised her hand, and she knew what he was going to do. She thought he'd never hurt her again with them. She watched as Shadow flung some sort of sphere at her ship, and the girl let out a yell of fear as her ship crashed to the ground.
Penny coughed as she struggled out of the cockpit. She layed there for a little, but she knew she couldn't let Shadow catch her. The girl struggled to her feet and hugged herself as she walked. Feeling herself being picked up, Penny looked up to see Rouge holding her under her arms. Rouge flew Penny out of Shadow's way and down a huge drop-off. Penny still couldn't believe what Shadow was trying to do to her.
"Shadow..." Penny muttered to Rouge. "I can't believe it.. he's trying to hurt me..."
Rouge smiled smugly at Penny. "If you let me have those Emeralds, I'll get you out of here."
Penny stared at Rouge, hurt in her blue eyes. "You know I can't do that..."
"Well, your loss," Rouge said. To Penny's horror, Rouge let go of her, and Penny soon fell down the drop-off, shrieking.
"PENNY!"
Hearing someone yell her name, Penny felt someone grab her wrist. Penny looked up at her rescuer to see Knuckles holding onto the seatbelt of the X Tornado. "Knuckles..." Penny whimpered. She immediately hugged him when he pulled her up, which he returned. When she calmed down, she turned to him. "We've gotta help Sonic and Silver!" She said.
...
Soon, Penny found herself flying the X Tornado up to help Sonic and Silver. All was doing good so far until Shadow caught up with her.
"Hurry..." Penny gulped. She pulled the trigger of the Tornado up to the top and landed her plane. She opened the window and looked at Sonic and Silver. "Guys! Catch!" She yelled, throwing them the Emeralds. However, as the two hedgehogs ran to catch them, Shadow appeared and headed for the Emeralds as well.
All Seven Chaos Emeralds began to glow. They surrounded the hedgehogs, turning them into their super form.
Penny's eyes widened.
"What is happening?!" Red Pine demanded. He suddenly got what was going on. "They're gaining power from the Emeralds!"
Shadow, Sonic, and Silver, now in their super forms, glared at each other. Penny watched as Sonic and Silver defeated all the Metarex surrounding them. Then they flew out to have a rematch.
"Well, Sonic, Silver," Shadow smirked at them. "I see you two and I have a lot more in common than I thought we did!"
Sonic and Silver glared at him.
"Are you going to give me those Emeralds?" Shadow questioned. "Or am I going to take them from you by force?!"
"You haven't got any use for those Emeralds and you know it!" Silver growled at Shadow. Sonic nodded. "We all know you're just collecting them for Dr. Eggman. He sure has you fooled, doesn't he?"
Shadow attacked. The three hedgehogs crashed right through the base as they fought.
"What are they doing, Amy?" Penny heard Cosmo ask the female hedgehog. "Why are they glowing like that?"
"It's happening..." Penny gasped. "Chaos Control!"
Feeling the station rumble, Penny's eyes widened with realization that the station was about to crash.
Outside, the three hedgehogs were so focused on fighting that they didn't notice the strange gravity field expanding underneath them. When they did notice, they began using all of their strength to keep them from getting sucked in.
"I don't think I've ever seen gravity this strong!" Tails yelled as Amy, Cosmo, and Penny ran in. Penny looked at Tails in fear. "Do something, Tails!" She cried. "We're going to get sucked in there!"
Sonic and Silver both clung to the station. However, Shadow noticed Dr. Eggman's ship getting sucked in as well.
"That's Eggman!" Sonic yelled. Sonic and Silver's mouths dropped open when they saw Shadow allowing himself to get sucked in as well.
Sonic and Silver both clung to the station. They didn't know how long they were going to keep holding on until...
"Sonic!" Penny yelled. "Silver!"
The two hedgehogs looked up at the Blue Typhoon. "I thought you'd never get here!" Sonic said.
"Our engine power's increasing," Chris announced. "Bring it up to full speed, Tails!"
"You got it, Chris!" Tails said. "Full speed ahead!"
After retrieving Sonic and Silver, the Blue Typhoon safely emerged from the gravity field. Penny sighed in relief.
...
"It appears I have greatly underestimated the power of these tiny warriors. Their fearfulness is to be commended. However, this was but a test! Soon, we shall see just how clever they can be!"
Dark Oak chuckled evilly.
