4 Days Later

"This is fascinating! I can't believe I am seeing this with my own eyes." Tails was sitting in front of his computer screen with Sonic standing behind him.

"What?"

"Those nanites! I did a complete scan on Shadow and Speed when they were robots and even took a blood sample!"

"From a robot?"

Tails brought up an image of a gray liquid with black blood cells floating in it, "This robotizing is far more advanced than even Robotnik's projections of future models. Their bodies are turned into some kind of technorganic material. Or living metal if you prefer!"

Sonic scratched his head, "So they become living machines?"

"Basically! The elemental stones that they used seemed to be acting like a heart of the nanites. With that much power and material, Shadow and Speed's robot bodies will grow and evolve as they get stronger."

"So they have no limit!"

Tails nodded, "They have the best of both worlds when transformed. Given enough time and enough fights, they would become an unstoppable force."

Sonic chuckled, "Can't wait to get my robotizer."

Tails sighed, "I just hope these things don't turn into something bad!"

Speed sipped his coffee as he sat at his desk on his ship. He had spent the last three hours designing new weapon systems for their robot forms, "Damn! These nanites couldn't make this any easier. Just feed in the specks and they make the necessary modifications. No way Robotnik just came up with these! Some one had to help him."

"Speed?"

Speed spun around in his seat, "Leda!"

The echidna handed him a plate with some sandwiches on it, "You missed lunch!"

Speed heard a slight rumble from his belly and nodded, "Guess you right!" He set the plate on his desk, "Shouldn't you be resting?"

"I'm fine! The baby won't be effecting me physically for a while."

"Still! You need to rest! I rented a nice apartment in the city for you."

"Thank you, but don't you me us!"

Speed turned back toward his desk, "Sonia need a place to stay so I asked her to stay with you as you pregnancy continues. I will be busy with other matters. Sorry!"

"SORRY!" Speed nearly fell out of his chair as she yelled. Leda steadied herself against a bulkhead, "Your Sorry! I am growing tired of you putting me second to whatever plan you concocting! I have been very patient with you! The bounty hunting, the going evil, and even the Sally thing! But now that we have a baby, you can't just abandon me for god only knows how long."

Speed slowly stood up, "You think I am only thinking for myself?" His voice was low, "You think I am happy having to leave you all the time." He slammed his fist onto the desk, "I am a warrior! As long as their is chaos in the world, I must fight. I can't avoid it! I tried and failed." He turned around, "I can't tell you exactly what I am planning, but I assure you that when all is said in done, the chaos will be over. And I will finally be able to devote all my time to you and our family."

"But why must you go? Can't you just stay here? It is safe!"

"It won't beforever!" He hugged her tightly.

"But you might get hurt!"

Speed held her face up, "Leda! My time was up long ago! I should have died during Bojack's attack on Angel Island!"

"What?"

He gently kissed her, "As long as your alive, I will live! So stay here where it is safe, while I make the rest of this planet safe." Speed let go of her and sat down, "Soon we will be together with no worry of things pulling us apart." Speed turned back to his computer, "Soon I will eradicate all chaos and evil from this world." Leda sighed and left him to his work.

Shadow clenched and unclenched his robotic fist, "My arm doesn't seem different!" Speed had just returned his modified robotizer gauntlet and he had transformed. Shadow ran through his robotic brain and found a few new subroutines in his weapon programming, "Ah!" All the information became clear and Shadow pointed his right arm at a tree. Four ports on his forearm popped open and a small blaster barrel rose up out of each one. The blasters charged for a second and fired out a stream of blue blaster bolts. They ripped into the tree and it fell down. Shadow nodded and chuckled, "Excellent!" The barrels retracted and the ports closed, "You designed this!"

"I actually modified a design from an attack fighter. The nanites did the rest."

"Magnificent machines! I can see why we had such a hard time reprogramming them." Shadow returned to his normal form, "I have set the plan in motion. Tonight we will take the research that Tails has done and move. Sonic will of course be mad, but he won't be able to stop us." Shadow looked over and saw Speed looking up at the setting sun, "Brother?"

"Yes!" Speed didn't budge.

"Don't tell me your having second thoughts!"

Speed sighed, "Can't we just wait a little longer?"

"No! We have already set the plan in motion. Any delay will endanger it." Shadow rubbed his eyes, "I know you are concerned about your wife, but she will be fine here. It is safe enough here."

"And when she needs me?" He looked at his brother, "When she is sick in the morning? Or how about when she firsts gets to see the baby? I am not ready to abandon her for this." Speed walked over to a tree and punched it. With his enhanced strength he knocked it over easily, "One night! One night to clear the air."

Shadow sat down on the ground, "I guess one night won't make much of a difference."

"Thank you!"

As Speed turned to leave, Shadow stood up, "Brother!"

"Yes!"

"Is it worth it? Being attached to someone."

Speed nodded, "I always found it to be. Rouge problems?"

"Kind of! We are so different! Every time I try to make sense of my feelings, I hit a wall."

"Your not suppose to make sense of your feelings. Like come on! Leda is a quiet and peace loving person, who would like nothing more to settle down. I on the other hand am a fighter and have this urge to run off and fight. And the thought of settling down bothers the hell out of me. But!"

"You love her!" Shadow thought for a few moments, "It is time that I talk to Rouge! Sort all this out!"

Speed slapped Shadow on the shoulder, "Then this night and the day after will be important. After that, we move!"

Shadow smirked, "Agreed!"

On a balcony near the top of Sky Sanctuary, Rouge stood looking at the moon. The energy shield that surrounded the island gave the sky a slight green hue. The bat chuckled to herself, "To think just a few months ago I was a simple jewel thief. The battle between Robotnik and The Freedom Fighters seemed so insignificant. But now I find myself in the middle of it all. And to make matters worse, no gems or jewels to steal."

"Is being a thief all you care about?" Shadow had teleported several feet behind her.

"I haven't been given anything better to care about." She sat down on the stone wall around the balcony, "I thought a certain hedgehog had feelings for me, but I guess I was wrong."

Shadow tapped his foot and rolled his shoulders, "At the time I wasn't sure exactly what feelings were. I felt something, but I could tell what it was."

"Do you know now?"

"When I first saw you, I thought you were a conceded and self absorbed. But after I rescued you from G.U.N's vault, I started to feel something. I feel it even now."

Rouge laughed, "You poor thing! Your so confused!" She smirked and fell over the edge.

Shadow didn't bother to think. He quickly ran and jumped after her. He straightened out his body and caught up with Rouge in a matter of seconds. He used the power from his robotizer and teleported back onto the balcony. He held Rouge in his arms, "Are you crazy?"

"I'm a bat silly! I can fly!"

"Then why did you jump?"

Rouge wrapped her arms around his neck, "Just to see if you really cared." Shadow was going to drop her, but she lightly kissed him, "Do you care?" Shadow responded with a deeper kiss. Rouge nuzzled his neck with her nose, "It is about time!"

Shadow smiled, "I'm afraid I must leave tomorrow!"

"Then we better make the most of this night."