Unlike last chapter, this one offers a rewrite of Chronicles's original events.

BLACK HOLE SUN - Side story

What a waste

...

According to Tails, the Hazard Vault was atop the tower. Without the Dimensional Buffer inside it, we couldn't leave to the Twilight Cage.

It didn't take much for Team Dark and me to reach the place at high speed. Shadow and I ran through the walls, while Rouge carried Omega. I noticed Omega used the jetpack on his back to help her float, which solved a question I had on my mind.

"Slowpoke!" I teased Shadow, who looked annoyed as usual.

"Hush!" Shadow said. "The generator is here!"

Inside the building, there were multiple robots on the floor. Old models, from my earlier adventures: metallic worms, motor bugs, and those creepy mantises. I felt a chill down my spine - those creeps hurt me real bad back then.

"At the very end the generator should be," Shadow said. "It shouldn't be an issue."

"Want a small, friendly competition?" I said, cracking my knuckles." I bet I can crush more than you, Shad."

Suddenly, the sound of bullets made me skip a beat. I moved aside to avoid being hit, but when silence arrived, all the robots were destroyed. I smelled the gunpowder, it came from Omega's arm torrents.

"I WIN," he said before shooting again at the corridor. Shadow merely smiled as Omega kept walking. "PERFORMING SCAN: NO WORTHY CHALLENGE IN THE AREA. PROCEEDING WITH EXTERMINATION."

"Show off," Rouge said.

"You know, I do wonder how he doesn't run out of bullets," I said, doing small talk as Omega kept shooting in the corridor. In hindsight, I never spoke much with Omega - he always gave me the creeps. Unlike Gemerl, I never felt he changed sides. Then again, only Shadow and Rouge hang out with him, and those two weren't exactly trustworthy.

"Many of the doctor's mech are equipped with an internal mechanism shaped like an infinite symbol, allowing them to never run out of ammunition," Shadow said, and for a moment I thought he sounded interested. The brooding, apathetic Shadow sounded genuinely interested in something. "It was created using an Orgone fusion engine."

"Orgone fusion engine?" I asked.

"In Layman terms, Omega has a fancy tool that makes him unstoppable and never ran out of energy," Rouge said, walking behind us. "Most robots tend to become obsolete after a few months, because the good doctor makes too many weak ones with limited energy. Since they end up destroyed rather quickly, the doctor doesn't care. Omega, however, is one of the very few ones granted with the best tools. The best of the best."

"He could last for hundred of years, if he wasn't so reckless," Shadow shrugged as he said that.

"You could say he inherited that from Eggman," I jokingly said, but it appeared it didn't make either of them laugh. "So, Omega will join us to get payback, Rouge is on a G.U.N. mission. Why do you come with us, Shadow?"

Silence. The good old cold shudder from Shad.

"DANGER!" Omega shouted. "JAMMING FREQUENCY DETECTED. UNKNOWN PRESENCE IN THE AREA. THIS UNIT IS CONTENT AND READY TO PROVE HIS STRENGTH!"

We ran immediately and found the generator. There were destroyed robots everywhere on the floor, it almost looked like a scene from a war movie. In front of the generator, there was a gray looking robot, with orange eyes - and it looked like me.

"SOURCE OF JAMMING DETECTED. UNIT IDENTIFIED AS MECHA SONIC, MODEL: SILVER V20. PREPARING FOR COMBAT."

The robot prepared himself for combat. I, for one, was rather excited to fight this version. It brought me back memories of one of my earlier adventures, and this model looked brand new.

"Whoo-hoo! This looks like fun! Bring it one, metal faker!"

"Something isn't right," Shadow said, looking around. "I'm feeling a disturbance."

"MORE EGGMAN ROBOTS DETECTED IN THE AREA. ORIGINALLY PREPARED FOR COMBAT, NOW PREPARED FOR WAR!"

"Oh great, this can't be good!" Rouge said. I didn't noticed we formed a circle, looking at the surroundings.

From inside a destroyed EggRobo, a spiky hand came from the inside. A familiar figure emerged, with bright red eyes and a gray looking body. I fought this dude before - way back in Angel Island once. He was pretending to be Knuckles back then!

"A Mecha Knuckles? I thought Eggman got rid of these copies!" I said. "What is he doing here?"

Before anyone could say anything, something more appeared - a gray liquid. From below Mecha Knuckles, a liquid was spreading around the room, and taking shape. Taking the lead in front of the two robots, another one took form. It had a starfish head, and what appeared to be a cape. I recognize him immediately, but he looked different - his body was damaged.

"That's Metal Sonic," Shadow said.

"But, he was defeated during the final battle against Eggman!" Rouge shouted. "He shouldn't even be able to shape forms!"

Metal Sonic looked at me, silently. Rather than the cold, robotic hatred of usual, he looked more...confused? I wouldn't know how to call it.

"BTZ...tRUe sONiC...Oh-hO-hO-Ho! BtZ".

Metal got ready to combat, despite his bad shape. The other two copies prepared themselves too.

"It appears he hasn't recovered completely from the last battle," Rouge shouted. "We should take him down now before he becomes troublesome!"

"Btz...oVERlord...aSSIS...I aM ThEEEE eGgM..."

We prepared to fight him. Metal Sonic, in that ridiculous form of his, is able to copy the biodata of others. We fought him once in that form, and he briefly fought alongside Eggman during the final battle. I looked at Shadow, knowing him being around wasn't a good idea.

"Omega, you should fight Neo! You're the only one he cannot copy the biodata! Shadow and I will take of the others!"

"ANALYZING. STRATEGY SOLID, I'LL FIGHT METAL SONIC. I'VE ALWAYS WANTED A ONE-ON-ONE FIGHT!"

Shadow merely nodded, and prepared himself. Despite my fear, I got really excited.

"Three versus three, huh? This sounds like fun!" I said.

"NEGATIVE, YOU WILL ONLY BE AN OBSTACLE IN MY MASSACRE!"

"Just don't get in my way, you two!" Shadow said.

...

"I CanNNNNNt...I aAaAAaAm...BZZz...true Sonic...01101110 01101111"

Metal Sonic fell to the ground, while the other two were trashed by Omega's claws. Metal shined, and lost his form - now resembling his classic ol' self. I almost fell sorry for him. If Metal was in the best condition, the fight would have ended differently - but those other two weren't pushovers either. Omega flexed his arms, with his torso rotating in a 180 degree radius.

"What a waste," Shadow said, somewhat somber. "Are you satisfied, Omega?"

"AFFIRMATIVE. SUPERIORITY HAS BEEN PROVEN! I AM E-123 OMEGA, THE ULTIMATE E-SERIES ROBOT!"

"Not the first time you say that, " Rouge said, looking for the Dimensional Buffer for Tails and Eggman.

"You know, I always wondered - what you will do once Eggman is defeated, Omega?" I asked. "I mean, for a while we thought Eggman was finally defeated, but..."

"But there will come a time where the doctor will truly leave this world, yes," Shadow said, thoughtful. "I doubt that even with his death, he will stop being a menace."

"What makes you say that?" I asked.

"Hmph. Remember, the future is uncertain, but one thing is for sure: I will meet a certain hedgehog, and another Eggman in the future."

I completely forgot about Silver, and how he travels from the future when something wrong happens. But what did Shadow meant with another Eggman? The counterpart that my past self and I fought before? Better not to think too hard about it. Once Omega stopped celebrating, he moved towards us.

"ONCE EVERY EGGMAN ROBOT IS DEFEATED, I WILL HAVE TO PROVE MYSELF AGAINST YOU TOO, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG."

I didn't know what to say, but I quickly back it up.

"Oh yeah? It is true that I never fought against you one-on-one! Shall I treat you like one of those turtle robots?"

"MISSION OBJECTIVE DICTATES THAT PAYBACK AGAINST THE MARAUDERS TAKE PRIMORDIAL FOCUS. ONCE THE OBJECTIVE IS CLEAR, I SHALL FIGHT YOU - AND DESTROY YOU. THAT WAY, I SHALL PROVE MY SUPERIORITY TO EVEN EGGMAN!"

"Bring it, on!" I grinned. "I'm all for a challenge!"

"Boys, please. We're done here," Rouge said with the Dimensional Buffer in her hands, walking between us. "The doctor and fox boy have what they need. We'll be going to a new world, so get ready."

We nodded, and Omega followed Rouge. Shadow stayed behind, and I did so.

"And after beating me, what will he do?" I asked.

"We're working on it. A living weapon finding a purpose is not easy feat. We tried working for G.U.N., but is not for us. We are what you may call 'free agents' for them."

"I see. But, what is your deal right now? Are you going to tell me what will do you with us in the Twilight Cage?"

"Maybe find a challenge - and make sure Omega doesn't get trashed again."

"Only that?"

"What more do you need?" He looked annoyed, ready to walk away. "Get moving."

"Sure, sure, dude. Keep the tought act."

Before we started running towards the base, Shadow spoke.

"You will eventually die too, hedgehog. You won't live forever. But Omega and I will remain. Who knows what humanity has in store for us."

"Hey, I'm all for enjoying what time we have right now," I grinned and decided to wink looking at Shadow. "And I'm sure the future is in good hands."

And breaking from his brooding attitude, Shadow returned the smile, although it was brief. We made a race towards Eggman's lab, to prepare for the Twilight Cage. Eggman wasn't happy to hear about Metal being defeated.

In the original game, Shade is an obligatory member in this part. Likewise, you fight against Egg-Bot as the final boss.

One of my criticisms of the game is that Team Dark stops having any relevancy once you enter the Twilight Cage; this applies to Big too, but there's so much you can write around him. Thinking about the themes of the game, I wanted to change the events and give Omega and Shadow a bit more depth, while also providing them with a challenge that is thematic and important to the game's background, as Eggman's invasion is what sets the tone of the game. No offense to Egg-Bot, but he's an unremarkable tool as with a lot of Eggman's mech.

Shade likewise wasn't really necesary for the Egg-Bot boss battle, because the boss offers nothing to her character.

I had to re-read the story in Youtube because there were some details that were straight up wrong. Like last chapter, let's pretend obligatory members aren't a thing.

I will publish this story in Archive of our own too, due to the tag system only allowing me to tag four characters.