A shot of Dr. Eggman and Tails, staring out of the window into space.

"Did he really mean to destroy us?"
"I don't know."

A shot of Sonic standing in place as Amy walks up.

"The ultimate life form..."
"What's wrong, Sonic?"

A shot of Shadow, falling to his doom towards the Earth.

"Maria...this is what you wanted, right?"

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"

Sonic screams as he wakes up in a cold sweat, in his bed back at home. Suddenly, Tails rushes into the room.

"Sonic!! What's the matter!!??!"

Sonic gasps a few times, then recollects himself and looks at his duo-tailed companion. "Oh, Tails...it's nothing! I just had a dream of when the colony was about to crash to Earth...this makes the third time in a month!"

Tails considers this a moment. "I don't know, Sonic. It's certainly something to think about. Well, i'm going to fix breakfast. Come out when you're ready."

"Thanks Tails." Sonic replies as he gets out of bed, makes the bed, then places on his sneakers, running into the kitchen. After breakfast, the Blue Wonder rushes off.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Darkness Factor
Part 1: Reincarnation and Revenge
*~*Amy Rose's House*~*

Hearing a knock, Amy answers the door in her pink skirt and red bow, though she's wearing lavender shoes today.

"Oh, hi Sonic!" Was her reply with a smile. Sonic smiles back.
"Hey, Amy. What's going on?"
"Oh, nothing much! But, I did have a weird dream last night..."
"About the colony, right?"
Amy looked puzzled. "How did you know?"
"I had the same dream last night. Do you think it has anything to do with Shadow's destruction?"
"It might have." Amy shrugged. "Why don't we ask Tails about it?"
Sonic thought about it, then snapped his fingers. "Great idea! Let's get going!"
"Yay!" Amy grabbed hold of Sonic's shoulders as they sped off towards his house.

*~* Sonic and Tails' House *~*

Tails is sitting in a chair, reading the manual for the Cyclone 2, when they rush in. "Hey Sonic! Why the rush?"
"Tails, can you look up the information on Project Shadow?" Sonic asks.

Tails is shocked for a moment, staring at Sonic. "Why do you need to find stuff on that?"
"We think that our dreams have something to do with Shadow's destruction. We need to know how he was created. If we can find his genetic code and implant it into a new form, we might be able to bring him back!" Sonic enlightens. Tails just stares at him, jaw wide open. Finally, he gets the strength to speak.

"O-of course...I can find where he landed, and you can bring him back here, while I look it up through the military files."

Tails begins typing in coordinates, as he searches for Shadow's remains...

*~* Pyramid Cave *~*

Dr. Eggman is using his computer network to hack into the military's security systems, finally coming across the database. A grin escapes his moustached face as he opens what he was looking for: Project Shadow.

*~* Death Valley, California *~*

Sonic and Amy are digging through the rubble of a crater which occured fairly recently. The police had already lost interest in the affair, and the public already had a tourist crater, so it was of no tourist interest. Sonic notices a peculiar-looking, yet slightly broken, pair of black legs and green air shoes. Rushing over, he motions Amy, and they both begin clearing away the debris until they uncover the deceased, yet undamaged, Shadow The Hedgehog. Amy looks away and starts crying, while Sonic hoists the body over his left shoulder, wrapping his right arm around Amy's waist, and takes off towards home before anyone got suspicious.

*~* Sonic and Tails' House *~*

Tails is clicking away at the keyboard, noticing Sonic come in with a crying Amy and a dead Shadow.

"So you found him, huh? All right! Let me check him out..."

Going through a routine medical exam, Tails notices that, while there is no pulse, heartbeat or body temperature, miraculously, nothing was bruised, broken, or otherwise harmed. Pulling off his latex gloves, he nods and picks up the folder he had marked "Shadow".

"All right! Now, all we need to do, is install a new life support system, and we'll be all set! Apparently, Shadow's body was built to withstand a nuclear attack. Unfortunately, his life support system was second-rate, and broke with an extreme impact. Once I put in my own machine, he'll be ready to go!"
"All right!" Sonic says. "Let's get to it!"
"Yes!" Tails replies, and holds a wrench high in the air.

*~* Pyramid Cave *~*

"Yes!" Eggman says as he holds up a fist. "I have done it! I've finally built a counterpart to rid myself of that incompetant hedgehog once and for all! Awaken, Nightmare!!!"

Eggman watches on, as a hedgehog of medium build, totally black save for the white gloves and blue stripes through its hair. The male hedgehog wakes himself up, neon green eyes glowing in the darkness of the chamber. Looking at Dr. Eggman, he breaks through the chamber, throwing glass everywhere. Eggman gulps, until he notices Nightmare speaking to him.

"Thank you for awakening me, master. For this, I will grant you one wish."

Eggman smirks, then guffaws loudly. "Nightmare, good morning! My wish, is for you to destroy this hedgehog!!!!" Pointing to a screen, Eggman shows a large photo of none other than Sonic the Hedgehog.

*~* Sonic and Tails' House *~*

Shadow opens his eyes with a blink, noticing two hedgehogs, blue and pink, standing over him. "Unnh....where am I? Sonic? Is that you?"

Sonic smiles, and helps Shadow to his feet. "Yeah, it's me! Welcome back, buddy! You took quite a fall a while ago..."
"So I saved the planet? I granted Maria's wish?"
"Yes, Shadow...you did..."
Shadow nods. "Of course...now it is done. Since you brought me back, I will grant you one wish."
Sonic only shakes his head. "The only wish I have is that you stay alive, and be our friend."
"In that case, consider it done!" Shadow opens the front door. "Care for some exercise in a race?"
Sonic only grins. "Do you know who I am?"

With that, they both take off for a very speedy marathon. Amy sighs, and has a seat next to Tails. "Sometimes I think Sonic doesn't like me..."
Tails only pats Amy on the back. "Don't say that, Amy! Of course he does! He just has a lot to do, and a lot on his mind...it's okay! Why don't you head home and try to get some rest?"
Amy nods and smiles, hugging Tails. "Thanks, Tails! I'll see you later!"
"Later, Amy!"

As the pink female hedgehog heads towards her domicile, Tails comes across a file from Dr. Eggman's computer while trying to crash his system yet again. "Project Nightmare??! Uh oh..."

Looking into the file more extensively, the tan fox-boy doesn't notice the black figure standing in the darkness of the corner...

-End Part 1

Author's Notes: So, what do you think of it so far? R&R always welcomed! This will be, most likely, a 5-parter or so, expect more from me soon!

-Pokejim

"I think I would like people to play certain songs in the order of my existence's events: At my creation, there must be Stairway To Heaven going on. In life, Heal The Earth would be most appropriate. When I die, I want to hear them blaring Highway To Hell over every loudspeaker in a 10 mile radius."

-Jimmy Townsend