A/N: Judging by the reviews, there are people who actually like this odd stuff coming from my head! Amazing! I wanna thank everyone who reviewed. Those reviews are what I live for! They make me so happy….

Ok, one thing: I know Amy's hammer is called the Piko Piko Hammer. But, to save my poor fingers, I'm going to call it the Piko Hammer. Only one Piko. I think you'll get the point.

Oh, I just have to share the news: Dash, one of my Chao, FINALLY evolved into a Running Hero! I'm so happy for her! …OK, on with the fic!

Shmee is © Jhonen Vasquez (The best author EVER!)

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Chapter Four: Revelations

The ARK reappeared, just out of reach of Earth's gravity. The colony shook as it 'landed' (For lack of better term) after the Chaos Control, sending Knuckles, Rouge, Tails, Robotnik and Amy to the ground. All but Amy pulled themselves up, and watched out the large front window. Amy didn't need to stand up: She was watching what was happening from one of the TV screens.

As Sonic grabbed hold of the side of the ARK, the force of the Chaos Control sent Shadow hurling back at Earth. Sonic quickly dashed out and reached for him, but all he caught was the Flame Ring on Shadow's wrist. After a few drama filled seconds, Shadow reached up and pushed Sonic back, pulling the Flame Ring with him. Knowing this was Shadow's way of saving him, Sonic made his way to the ARK, not looking back.

Everyone on the ARK watched as Shadow fell closer, closer, the silver sheen of his Super form slowly fading. Finally, the moment they were all anticipating with dread: A flash went off as flames engulfed Shadow's body, and no more could be seen.

"Damn it!" Knuckles roared angrily, slamming his fist into the computer console and making a pretty good-sized dent in it. Rouge slipped a few inches down the chair she was sitting on, her mouth and eyes open in shock. Tails looked down sadly, his two tails going limp. Apparently, Robotnik was unaffected, for he just grimaced slightly than returned to normal.

Amy felt frozen. Just twenty minutes earlier, she had talked with him. Somehow convinced him he was meant to help Sonic. In those few minutes they talked, she had seen him shed a tear for his fallen friend. She had seen more of him than anyone else, save Maria, could've ever seen. And now he was just gone?

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Amy shook her head, clearing the flashback from her head. That was months ago! She couldn't understand feeling sorry for him: She always did when she heard of people dying. But now, months later, she still felt sorry for him.

Confused, Amy slowly made her way through Station Square. She was a relatively short hedgehog, nearly a head shorter than Sonic. Her quills were different as well: Pink, and they framed her face instead of running down her back. Her choice of clothing was a bright red dress that came halfway to her knees, white gloves, and red and white boots. Over her shoulder she carried her Piko Hammer, her only means of defense.

Rouge had asked her to come over earlier that week to help the gardeners. Now, nearly a week later, she was able to. Between shopping, her job at the mall and taking care of her own garden, she was finding less and less free time.

Deciding she was eager to get there, she took a harder grip on her Piko Hammer and took off at full speed. While not near as fast as the others, she was getting better everyday. It wouldn't be long until she had a fair chance to catch Sonic!

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Everything in Rouge's bedroom lay in ruins. Clothes were torn and ripped, and the bed mattress was no more than strips of cloth and foamy stuff. A safe, which had contained Rouge's favorite jewelry, lay open on the floor, it's door off the hinges. Various jewels were scattered along the floor. In the corner lay the corpse of the maid that was unlucky enough to have been cleaning in their at the time. A clean slit was across her throat, and barely and blood had seeped. She went relatively painlessly. What a pity.

"Doctor, I've found it." Metal Knuckles said, speaking into the two-way radio near his mouth. In his hand he tossed the blue Chaos Emerald up and down, admiring its beauty. "I'm heading back to the base right-" Quickly, he cut the connection and turned, switching on the Knuckles hologram.

Tails stood in the doorway. He eyed the robot scornfully. "Quick recovery." He said, his eyes watching the Chaos Emerald. /If that's Knuckles, then I'm as dense as Sonic!/

The hologram of Knuckles smirked. "Tails, those bandages were getting too hot on a day like this!" He said, pretending to laugh. Instead, it came out as more of an evil chuckle. "You don't understand what it's like to be-"

"Bandaged up? No." Tails interrupted, finishing the sentence for him. "But I do know enough about robots to know that you're not who you say you are." Knuckles remained stoical, but Tails knew he had caught him off guard. "First of all, the bandage on your arm. If it had been on as long as Rouge replied, it would have been blood-covered."

Knuckles eyes widened, and he looked to reply, but Tails continued. "Two, you said you fought Metal Knuckles. But you had bruises and minor scrapes, and with the spikes on Metal Knuckles' fists, he couldn't have bruised you without breaking the skin. THIRD, and your biggest, were no apparent broken bones. No one, guardian or not, could survive that fall without breaking anything."

Angrily, Metal Knuckles stepped forward, dropping his hologram. "Would you care to point out any other mistakes?" He asked skeptically, taking another threatening step forward and bringing up his fists into a fighting stance.

"As a matter of fact, yes." Tails said, balling up his fists and leering at the robot. "You keep calling me Tails. Knuckles would call me Miles no matter what, even after a huge fall like that." His tails whipped left and right agitatedly.

Instead of thinking of a remark, Metal Knuckles clutched the emerald tightly and rushed forward. He expected Tails to dodge or fly up, but he stood his ground. /Idiotic little pup!/ the robot thought, (A/N: Can robots think? Well, this one can!) putting on an extra burst of speed.

Suddenly, Tails leapt forward, spinning his two tails like helicopter blades for altitude. He slammed himself into Metal Knuckles, with his tails lashed out and ensnared Metal Knuckles, the fur blocking the air intake vents. For seconds, nothing happened. Then, the robot began thrashing about. He reached forward and grabbed Tails by the… tails… and threw him over his shoulder with all his might.

The attack would have easily cracked his skull, but Tails curled into a ball as he was thrown. Even though nothing was broken, Tails sunk to the floor, unconscious. Quickly, Metal Knuckles marched over the rubble in the room, grabbed Tails' left wrist, and pulled down the cuff of the glove, revealing the silver bracelet with the yellow Chaos Emerald. Quickly, he reached down and gripped the emerald, easily breaking the chain.

He was about to deliver the final blow when voices sounded through the house. Three, to be exact. Two were identified as Sonic and Rouge, but the third he hadn't heard before. Quickly, he activated his jetpack and burst through the ceiling, creating a good-sized hole. He left the fox boy unconscious, but silently swore to himself he'd gain revenge.

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Later that night…

Tired, Robotnik carefully laid himself into bed. It had been a long day: Interrogating the prisoner, contacting Metal Knuckles and supervising latrine duty. He set his alarm clock, and pulled the covers up to his chin. He grabbed his teddy bear, and rolled over. "Goodnight, Shmee." He muttered, falling into instant sleep.

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Robotnik stood in a vast, empty space. The floor, the walls, and the ceiling were darker than a moonless night. He shakily stood up, and realized he was back in his working clothes. "What's going on?" He yelled into the shadows.

As he yelled, red eyes appeared about twenty feet before him, burning like wrought embers. Eventually, the eyes gained a head and body, one recognizable to anyone who had seen him before.

The creature vaguely resembled Sonic, but after knowing him you'd have to be an idiot to assume them the same. He had ebony black fur, with red streaks down his quill, arms and legs, as well as red markings around his eyes. He wore white gloves, with a golden bracelet above each any treasure hunter would kill for. His shoes were different as well: White, with black and red markings. He hung a few feet in the air, his crimson eyes burning into Robotnik. He had a path of white fur on his chest, as well as a tan muzzle.

"SHADOW?!" The doctor yelled, stumbling backwards in fear. "But… but your…"

Shadow smiled. "Dead." He finished for Robotnik, nodding for emphasis. He took a step forward, his feet not touching the ground. "Then why are you trying to bring me back? I died when my life was fulfilled. I am to rest, not necessarily in peace."

After taking a few seconds to realize what he said. (After all, it's not everyday someone you watched die comes back to talk to you) "Let me guess," Robotnik said, faking a sweet voice. "You want me to stop my project so you can be a happy little ghost? Well, FORGET IT!" He yelled, slamming a fist through the air for emphasis. "I finally have a chance to beat Sonic at his own game, especially with knucklehead and fox-boy out of the ga-"

"SILENCE!!!" Shadow roared, slicing a hand through the air. Red and blue flames suddenly erupted out of the darkness, coming inches from the invisible floor so Eggman could feel the heat through his shoes. Gray clouds shimmered over the "ceiling", and thunder cracked down threateningly. As this happened, Shadow glowed with an almost mystical aura, like the tempest of the storm. "You won't succeed!" He spat, like a curse.

Through the fangs, Robotnik could see a huge anaconda slither. It rose through the flames, seemingly climbing them. It stopped, reared open it's head to reveal long fangs, and struck.

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"AHHHHH!" Robotnik awoke, screaming. His room felt like an oven! Sweat plastered his nightgown to his body, and his sheets were all rolled around him. He looked to see three of the robot guards looking in the room. "GET OUT!" He roared, and they (literally) fell over each other to get away.

Sighing, the doctor remade the bed, picked up Shmee, and lay back down. As he closed his eyes, he wished for a quick, dreamless sleep.

A vision of Shadow, on a backdrop of flames, struck him as he closed his eyes.

Nope. No sleep for Eggman tonight.

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A/N: Ok, so I'm terrible at making fight scenes! It was supposed to be a quick victory for Metal Knuckles. Oh, and if you review, tell me how I did on the Shadow Dream sequence. I need to know, as that won't be the last one.

More good news! Spike, my fourth Chao, evolved into a Normal Dark, even though he's anything BUT normal ~_^

More chapters on the way! And all Tails lovers: Don't HURT ME! I know a friend of mine who loves Tails is going to kill me when she reads this…!