Chapter 3 (Shadow): Not Where, but When
Shadow opened his eyes after being sucked into the dark void. Purple lightning crackled as he witnessed space cave in front of him. As he continued to fall towards it, he began to hear things – the voices of people, distorted by an unknown force, yet Shadow could make out portions of what they were saying:
"How can we completely destroy…"
"It looks like a filthy rat has…"
"If you have time to worry…"
"Unless you complete your task…"
"So, what does this guy look…"
"…and then the world becomes its enemy."
"Even if you believe everyone in the world will be against you…"
"Shadow…"
"Ah!" For a moment, Shadow thought one of the bolts of electricity hit him, only to realize his nerve was triggered by the unmistakable nostalgic feeling that last voice gave him.
"Wasn't that…?"
"Shadow! Help me!"
Shadow turned his head to see a figure closing in on him.
"Shadow!"
"Rouge!" Shadow held out his hand as his fellow comrade caught up to his position. When she took it, he yanked her down with all his might so that they were freefalling in parallel.
"Shadow, look!" Rouge pointed ahead to an image growing in front of them. It appeared to be a ground of rusted tile.
Shadow narrowed his eyes. "Get ready!"
Letting go of each other, the two agents twisted their bodies in unison to fall perpendicular to the image. As if on cue, they felt their bodies become lighter, the tugging sensation receding. The lightning around them began to vanish, and the environment began to fade into a blend of color and objects. A few seconds later, they were on the ground the image had projected, the dark ball of energy they emerged from vanishing.
It took them a moment to adjust their eyes after being shrouded with vivid imagery in that dark void, but Shadow and Rouge emerged from their landing positions and took in their surroundings immediately after. It was a hallway of some kind, yet the damage and decay hinted at the place being old and deserted.
Rouge noticed a broken window and gazed outside. "What is this place?"
Shadow walked over and examined the landscape. Molten rock formations took up most of the area, and lava flowed below. Perhaps they were near a volcano? One thing was for certain:
"It seems we've been teleported to another location."
They were no longer in Kingdom Valley. Their new location was quite the opposite, in fact. Even so, one piece of imagery wouldn't tell them any more than it already did.
Rouge glanced at Shadow. "Well, let's find out where we are." Once she saw him agree, she began to run in one direction to begin scouting. Shadow started to follow her, but stopped.
That feeling he felt from Mephiles's stunt. The void he found himself and Rouge in: distorted and dark as it was, there was no denying it. The event horizon was similar to his Chaos Control, but more…loose, as if space and time were being stripped away in the process. The fact that Mephiles was able to pull off such a feat without a Chaos Emerald did not sit well with him. It was almost as though Mephiles truly was a doppelganger of himself.
Mephiles…Who is he?
Shadow began to chase after Rouge to catch up, deciding to focus on the situation in front of him. He would worry about Mephiles later.
But a phenomenon similar to his Chaos Control – Shadow was beginning to feel as if he had a clue about their whereabouts.
As soon as Shadow had caught up with Rouge, he noticed she had slowed down to a near halt. Having arrived at a four-way intersection of corridors, he initially believed she was trying to decide on a direction. But the expression on her face indicated something more was on her mind. Trying to keep things moving, he asked, "What is it?"
"Hm? Oh, well…it's just…" Rouge took a moment to think, but then shook her head adding "Never mind. It must be my imagination." She pointed to the corridor to their left. "I think we should go this way."
Shadow followed her suggestion and began walking down the narrow hallway. Metal tiles hung from the ceiling as if they could fall at any moment onto unsuspecting trespassers below. To make the atmosphere any gloomier than it was at a glance, there was a particular odor in the air, like rotten eggs burnt in a microwave – Shadow recognized it as sulfur.
Rouge's random routing eventually lead them to a scorched door. Opening it, Shadow and Rouge found what appeared to be a terminal room. It was a stark contrast to what they had been seeing the past couple of minutes: whereas the corridors were rusted, unmaintained and odorous, the layers of stacked hard drives were, for the most part, clean (save for a couple of cobwebs). At the other end of the square room sat a large screen computer with a variety of buttons in place of a keyboard.
"Okay," Rouge said, "Freaky."
"What do you mean?"
She looked at Shadow with a concerned frown. "This place has a similar layout to Dr. Eggman's base in White Acropolis. I thought it was just me wanting to see anything that wasn't those corridors, but…"
Rouge glanced back at the computer and proceeded to walk towards it, her curiosity having now taken over. She turned on the ancient piece of tech, which didn't appear any newer than what they've encountered before; once it booted up, Rouge's fingers danced on the buttons before her as she hacked her way into the computer. A brief moment later, a small Beep! quickly filled the room.
"I'm in…" Rouge declared. "Let me see if I can pinpoint our location. Ah, here we are! It's…"
Seeing the text on the screen, Rouge's eyes filled with disbelief. "No…that's not possible…we are in the Doctor's base. But how can that be?" She turned to Shadow to see if he had an answer.
In fact, he already pieced everything together the moment she noted how familiar this place was to her. Add in Mephiles's teleportation ability and the similar energy utilized, and Shadow came to a rough estimate.
"There's no doubt in my mind. It's not where we are…"
Upon hearing this, Rouge turned back to the computer and began searching for a new query. When the green screen displayed the result, she gasped in shock.
"It appears we've gone through time…doesn't it?"
Rouge nodded, slowly recovering from this revelation. "Yes…Approximately 200 years." She considered something, then added, "Maybe more, depending on when this database was last updated."
Shadow agreed and turned his head back to the screen. The images and text scrolling on the screen showcased cities around the world, news articles centered around something known as "The Day of Disaster." It may have been too early to reach any conclusions, but Shadow recalled how Mephiles referred to this place and time as oblivion.
Somehow, someway, Shadow knew Mephiles was responsible.
The question is how?
Rouge sighed. "Well, at least we know we've arrived in the future. That means this Mephiles character has the power to control time."
Shadow turned to Rouge to confirm her deduction, having reached the same fact himself. "His power feels very similar to my own Chaos Control. But…"
There was something completely off about it, almost unnatural.
There were few ways one could travel through time. Shadow knew Chaos Energy was one thing, but he remembered a long time ago how Sonic once traveled to the past using 'Time Stones' as they were known to stop yet another of Eggman's schemes.
Mephiles, however, didn't appear to be using any objects to perform the ritual – even Shadow needed a Chaos Emerald to successfully pull off Chaos Control, let alone traveling through time 200 years. And yet, Mephiles did it with little effort, as if it were as simple as a magic trick.
Maybe…supernatural, Shadow contemplated.
Tssst!
A faint sound of electricity echoed outside the room. Glancing at each other, Shadow and Rouge read each other's thoughts and agreed. If there was someone else here that may be of some help, now would be a good time to do so. They raced out of the room and through the corridors, tracing the electricity to its source. The zaps and crackles grew louder as they got closer.
And then it abruptly stopped, only to be followed by screaming and the sound of a collision of bodies against a floor. The two agents, taking caution, moved slowly so as to not startle whomever was ahead of them.
"Boy, do I feel dizzy…Where are we?"
Rouge's ears perked up; Shadow realized it, too. The voice they heard just now was familiar; it was young and high-pitched, like a child. Reaching the source of the voice, Shadow and Rouge found themselves in what appeared to be a control room with a balcony view of a cylindrical chamber. The glass separating the two rooms was shattered, the control panels fried. But it made no difference to the two as they approached the edge of the room. Gazing down from their viewpoint, Shadow and Rouge's eyes widened.
Below them were three individuals: a red echidna, a two-tailed orange fox (whom the voice belonged to), and a blue hedgehog.
Knuckles, Tails…and Sonic, respectively.
Rouge decided to make their presence known. "Oh, look who's here! I didn't expect to see you guys." The three heroes looked around the room until they found Rouge and Shadow. Tails said their names in surprise. Rouge simply waved. "Hi! Long time, no see!"
When the scanners returned the results, Dr. Eggman groaned. "Still nothing?"
Once the princess was locked away in her cell, Eggman wasted no time inserting the Chaos Emerald Metal Sonic brought back into the Egg Genesis guard robot at White Acropolis. As soon as the process was completed, he returned to his secret base beneath Kingdom Valley to continue his search for Mephiles.
Unfortunately for Eggman, he was only met with dead ends.
Mephiles had transported himself, Shadow and Rouge to another location; Eggman knew that much, but the question became where? He had hoped analyzing the area Mephiles stood would provide a trace or some trail to follow, but every one of his scans proved futile.
It was as if Mephiles had never been there to begin with.
At one point, Dr. Eggman shifted gears and tried to pick up on Shadow and Rouge – Shadow's inhibitor rings were full of Chaos Energy, and Rouge's make-up should have at least left some residue in the air.
Yet there was nothing. Even the G.U.N. transmissions failed to provide any hint at their whereabouts. As a matter of fact, it seemed he couldn't get a straight message from them anymore, hinting at the possibility they've updated their security system.
"Oh well," Eggman muttered. "At least I got what I needed from them."
He initiated another scan, this time for any trace of Shadow's hover shoes' rocket exhaust fumes. The scan returned negative, prompting Eggman to clench his head in irritation. "Why!?"
Whee Whee Whee Whee!
"Huh?" Eggman heard the security alert from the Egg Mobile and, upon climbing inside, tapped the screen to see what triggered it. His mustache twitched.
"She escaped? Arrggghh!" This was not happening. This. Was. Not. Happening! Sonic was gone – who could possibly have broken Blaze out? Her cell was made specifically to hold her powers at bay! Accessing the security footage, Eggman soon found the answer…and himself at a loss for words. The security camera's showed Blaze fighting against his own drones. Assisting her in the battle was a pink hedgehog in a red dress, wielding a giant hammer.
"Amy Rose?" That…could explain how Blaze got out of her cell. "But why would she break Blaze out? How did she even know Blaze was locked up at my base?" It must've been a coincidence. Perhaps she was stalking her boyfriend and happened to come across Blaze's cell? Yes, that would make sense.
Either way, this was a problem. Eggman ignited the Egg Mobile and contacted Metal Sonic, ordering him to meet him at the Soleanna Royal Castle. He knew Blaze would head directly there, so it might be fitting to welcome her home with a surprise party. As he considered this, another security alert appeared on the screen.
"What?!"
Tapping the screen, the camera view changed to one of the mountain monitor cameras, which was covered in snow, forcing Eggman to switch to the White Acropolis SG-9 entrance camera. There appeared to be someone in white attacking his Badniks alongside a purple figure.
The doctor smacked his forehead. "I don't have time for this!" He sent an order to the White Acropolis Egg Genesis robot to deal with the intruders, then hit the accelerator.
"Screech!"
The fiery creature cried out in pain as the G.U.N. buggy turned it into road kill. Shadow, the merciless driver of the vehicle, coldly stated "You're in my way," and drove on to his destination with Rouge in the passenger seat. She looked as though she was going to puke from all the shaking and bumping on the rough terrain.
Back at White Acropolis, Shadow and Rouge informed Sonic and his friends of their current whereabouts and brought them to the remains of the kingdom of Soleanna. What once had been the City of Water is now a desolated metropolis of molten rock and lava. From what the three heroes said, Shadow was able to determine the three were sent here because of Eggman and a time machine he was developing – Shadow made a mental note to destroy that machine when he had the chance once this whole 'adventure' (as Sonic would call it) was over. For the time being, the group agreed to work together to find two Chaos Emeralds hidden at different sections of the city, which would be enough to induce a Chaos Control strong enough to open a portal through time.
So, I'm stuck working with you, Shadow bemoaned. Don't slow me down, Sonic.
As far as opponents go, Sonic was the only one Shadow would consider a match, if only by a small amount. His natural speed rivaled the Mach speed of Shadow's Hover Shoes, perhaps even surpassing it, but as far as raw power was concerned, Sonic was no different than these creatures Shadow was mowing down with his vehicle.
A fire golem soon appeared in front of them as Shadow drove down the fallen remains of a skyscraper; firing a set of missiles at the beast, he finished it off as it staggered a bit by ramming into it with the buggy. The buggy bounced a bit upon landing, but Shadow maintained control and kept rolling along.
"Pull over," Rouge groaned weakly.
"Huh?"
"I said 'Pull over!'"
Shadow brought the buggy to a halt, and Rouge exited the car. She knelt known with her hand covering her mouth. Shadow sighed. Guess there is no hurry.
While waiting for Rouge's stomach to handle, Shadow observed the ruined landscape surrounding them. A fair number of skyscrapers will still standing, if nothing else, but their windows were either shattered or cracked; many others had fallen over or were rubble now. The sky above them was shrouded in dark clouds, as if it could rain any moment, but Shadow was sure the rain would most likely be scorching to the touch. Even the small wind in the air burned like a stove.
As a G.U.N. agent – no, as a warrior – Shadow always kept him emotions in check. A long time ago, his head was filled with nothing but anger and vengeance, but he put that behind him. That, and his whole past.
And yet, seeing the world as it was before him, a sad frown formed on his face.
I failed, didn't I?
"Ugh!" Rouge finally stood up and shook her head. It appeared she was able to hold down whatever nausea had built up, even though she still had a greenish look on her face. "Can't you drive normally for once in your life?"
By the time Rouge turned to face Shadow, all traces of regret were gone from his face, instead being replaced by his usual indifference. "Not like there's much road to travel on."
"That's besides the point." Rouge climbed back into her seat, and Shadow pushed the gas pedal.
Once he made it down to the other end of the building, he was able to reach a stretch of road blocked by multiple fiery demons. Charging straight towards them, he shouted, "Get out of my way!" He fired a barrage of projectiles to clear the path, though the remaining creatures blew fire from their mouths at them. The G.U.N. buggy was able to withstand a certain amount of heat and damage while shielding its passengers, so Shadow and Rouge weren't harmed so long as they kept their heads down. Once they made it through, it seemed to be a straight shot to their destination.
Except for the giant steel pipes blocking the road.
Shadow swerved to a stop to avoid crashing into the pipes, but now he had a new problem. Looking around, there was nowhere else to take the buggy but back the way they came. Obviously, the pipes were too large to lift, and the buggy couldn't keep taking hits and driving over rough terrain forever.
As useful as it was, Shadow had no choice but to leave the car behind.
Exiting the vehicle, Shadow turned to address Rouge. "We'll have to keep going on by foot."
Rouge slumped back in joy. "Oh, thank goodness. One more minute with this thing, and I'd need medical attention." She got out and joined Shadow in getting over the pipes to the other side.
The remainder of the path wasn't as broken up as the previous section. For that, Shadow and Rouge were a little grateful for. Occasionally, a group of the mysterious fiery creatures would appear, but Shadow and Rouge easily disposed of them when they did.
"Hmm," Rouge mused. "According to fox boy's coordinates, we should be nearing our destination."
Shadow nodded. Around them were a set of buildings that miraculously were still standing, despite their rustic and burnt appearance. If the Chaos Emerald was somewhere around here, it had to be in one of the buildings.
Trying to strike up a conversation, Rouge thought of something and addressed her partner. "Hey Shadow. Gems are made under great pressure and heat, right?"
Shadow glanced at her as he kept walking, showing that he was at least paying attention. She continued. "I wonder if there are any jewels around here. I mean, it must be a mine in conditions like this. I might be able to come home a little richer."
Shadow suddenly stopped. "You'll be home sooner than that."
"Oh? What do you…mean?" When Rouge turned to see what Shadow meant, she found a sight too horrible to believe. In front of them was what once was a casino of sorts. A broken water fountain brought a little grace to the ruined architecture, but it paled in comparison to the mess that was dangling signs and knocked over pillars. The largest sign was cracked in half, with only the right side still standing with the word "Rouge" imprinted on it.
Rouge fell to her knees. "No…"
Shadow crossed his arms. "This is the place." He didn't need to check the coordinates for verification. He knew the Chaos Emerald had to be here. It was too much of a coincidence.
"Y-yeah." Rouge got back on her feet, as hard as it was to stand at the moment. Her business, her home had been reduced to nothing, due to some disaster in the future. But she had to struggle through it. With luck, whatever caused the world to be this way would occur after she died. As cruel as it sounded, it gave her a little hope.
Rouge sighed. "We should split up. I'll handle the restaurant and the hotel. You search the casino." Shadow accepted the idea and headed to the casino entrance; Rouge went the other way to the restaurant. Upon walking it, she found the tables tossed, turned and straight-up split into pieces. The bar's racks of wine and champagne now replaced with shards of glass and stains. Rouge half-expected Vector or any one of the Chaotix to grumpily greet her to see what her next assignment for them was, but she knew none of them would survive two hundred years in a world like this. Making her way to the elevator, she pressed the 'up' button.
"No response. Figures."
Rouge opened the doors by force and flew up the elevator shaft to her apartment. If the Chaos Emerald were anywhere, her best guess would be with the rest of the jewels. Once she made up to the top level, she opened the elevator doors and strolled down to her penthouse entrance. When she entered the room, she was surprised to see the place well-intact. The electricity may have been out, but just seeing something familiar and undamaged was enough to make her feel better.
"Home sweet home," she silently proclaimed and walked over to her jewelry collection. Opening the cabinets and boxes next to her bed, she scavenged the whole area for the Chaos Emerald.
But there was no sign of it.
"Hmm…" Rouge hummed to herself. As a treasure hunter, she had a knack for knowing where to find jewels, especially when it came to gems such as Chaos Emeralds; the Emeralds had a particular feel to them that, when exposed to them long enough, you could pick up on the energy they contained when you were near. Rouge felt that energy near her collection, yet it wasn't with the collection.
No, it was behind it!
Rouge moved the large jewelry cabinet away from the wall, revealing a secret, impenetrable door of steel.
"What the…"
When it came to secret hiding places, Rouge couldn't deny she had plenty for her jewels, just as a precaution. But a secret room? Her future self must be hiding a grand collection of diamonds and otherworldly items for her to invest in such a thing. Seeing a control panel next to the door, she touched it; to her surprise, it responded.
"Look at that! There is power after all," she remarked. The panel requested her G.U.N. credentials, which she entered in immediately. "Whatever's on the other side must be valuable." Pressing the enter key, the panel confirmed her ID, and the door slid open. The room was pitch black, save for a glowing green gem in the middle.
"The Chaos Emerald!"
The lights in the room kicked on, brightening the rest of the room.
Rouge gasped in horror at the sight beyond the Emerald.
Shadow cruised around the entire casino, looking everywhere for the Emerald. The energy of the Emerald was faint, but he could feel it. Suddenly, the energy signal felt stronger.
"Shadow!" The black hedgehog turned to see Rouge holding the green Chaos Emerald and smirking. "I told you before not to underestimate me."
Shadow crossed his arms. "You couldn't radio me that you found it?"
"Er…" Rouge appeared to be struggling for words, but quickly came up with an excuse. "Well, I wanted to drive home my point is all."
That was a lie. Shadow could tell it by a mile, but he didn't bother to pursue it any further.
They acquired the Emerald; that's all that matters.
"Let's head to the meeting point," Shadow said and began walking out.
"R-right."
The two went out the back entrance and walked down the uneven street. As they walked, Shadow observed Rouge admiring the gem in her hand, albeit with a hint of sadness in her eyes. She noticed him staring and quickly smiled lustfully at the Emerald, complimenting it as if it were a person.
"Ah ha ha! My precious Chaos Emerald. You are all so beautiful. Your mysterious brilliance…"
Shadow turned his attention back to what was in front of him and stopped when he noticed something familiar.
Or rather, someone.
Partially buried in rubble near small fires was a large red robot. Its hands were claws, and the amount of plating on it gave the machine a buff look. On its left shoulder, engraved in the black metal was a red omega symbol.
The third member of Team Dark: E-123 Omega.
"Omega!" Rouge exclaimed. "Wh-what's he doing here?"
Shadow rushed over to behind Omega and carefully removed the plating to his main circuit board. Given his unresponsiveness, it was clear their old friend was offline to some degree, but maybe with a little circuit work, Shadow could get him up and running again. He moved a few smaller boards out of the way to find Omega's status display.
To his surprise, Omega was still online. However…
"It seems he's in standby mode."
If that's the case, what could he be waiting for? Was someone supposed to meet him or something? Unfortunately, Omega's status display didn't give a reason.
Rouge frowned. "What could have possibly happened to create this future?"
As the two thought about it, a series of beeps soon emanated from Rouge's communicator in her glove. She glanced at Shadow, who nodded for her to answer it.
She did so, responding, "Yes, this is Rouge."
"Rouge. It's Tails. We're finished here and heading to the rendezvous point."
"Understood. We'll be there in a minute." Hanging up, she addressed Shadow. "It looks like Sonic and his friends have found something, too. Let's go."
But Shadow continued to stare at Omega in silence. It was one of those rare moments with Shadow, Rouge knew, where despite his cold exterior, he did care about some things in life.
Regretfully, this was also a rare moment where she had to remind him to focus on the mission, the one thing she always wished he would lighten up about.
"It's not like we can do anything for him now."
Shadow looked at Rouge for a brief moment, then turned back to Omega. As hard as it was to see one of his few friends in such a state, they had to keep going.
"Yeah."
Moving away from Omega, Shadow began to walk in the direction of the teleporter to send them back to White Acropolis. Rouge began to follow him, only to stop and look back at Omega. Her eyes then shifted to the ground.
"Nothing we can do now..."
She wanted to tell Shadow what she uncovered in her penthouse, but she couldn't. For all they knew, this future may not be set in stone. And even if it is, how would he react?
No, it was better if Shadow didn't know about this. Not now, anyway. Same thing for Omega.
Turning back to the Omega behind her one last time, she silently said, "See you soon," then flew after Shadow.
