Previously, on The Chaos Project…

[Tails]: (Seen in S1 E1) "Dr. Eggman used his robot army to take over the world… We might be the only ones left who can fight back…"

[Sonic]: "I…may not know much about being a leader, but… I know that if we stand together, we will beat Eggman."

—

[Knuckles]: (Seen in S1 E11) "It's called the Doom Virus. It's the disease that wiped out my clan."

[Sonic]: "How does a disease like that just come out of nowhere?"

[Knuckles]: "They say it was a shadow. It streaked across the land, leaving the plague in its wake, infecting our crops and our water. Then it disappeared as quickly as it arrived."

—

[Sonic]: (Seen in S2 E11. He stares down at his body, half covered with machinery.) "What did you do to me…?"

[Metal Sonic]: "You were injured. I repaired you. Today, I put aside my loathing and offer you the chance to see the world through my eyes."

—

[Shadow]: "Following Sonic's disappearance, I've officially taken the role of leader. Already, I'm beginning to understand the pressure that Sonic was placed under… I can only hope that I'm making better decisions than he did."

—

[Sergeant]: (Seen in S2 E5) "SCOPE is the official intelligence division of GUN. In the name of protecting civilization, we do all the things that GUN could never do."

[Rouge]: "You built the army that conquered the planet. You put a tyrant on a throne!"

[Sergeant]: "Something is coming, Agent Rouge. Something that will destroy us all if we aren't prepared to defend ourselves."

—

[Shadow]: (Seen in S2 E18) "Tails wants to perform a procedure that will restore Sonic… Charmy argues that we can't justifiably trade one life for another. The only fair thing to do is vote."

[Tails]: "You're all cowards! Every one of us wants Sonic back, but you're too afraid of doing what it takes!"

—

[Sonic]: "I didn't want this. You've done something that you can never take back. Something you'll have to live with for the rest of your life. Do you understand that?"

[Tails]: "I did it for you. It was my choice, that I made, and if I had to make it again, I would."

[Sonic]: "Report to your quarters. You're on house arrest until further notice."

—

[Sergeant]: "I've chosen to leave something for you, Shadow the Hedgehog. Come and find it. If you wish to know the truth, that is."

(Shadow walks away, never looking at the datapad he activated. The title of the open file is visible: SCOPE Classified Case Files — Special Operative Shadow the Hedgehog, A.K.A. 'Agent Black')

And now, the continuation…

Prison Island

40 years B.E.

In the shadows of a darkened cell, a haggard figure leans into the back wall, the pen in his hand making a near continuous squeak as it inscribes incomprehensible notes and symbols into what little empty space on the wall still remains.

"You've been busy, Professor."

Professor Gerald Robotnik remains completely focused on the wall, responding curtly in his grizzled old voice, "I ran out of paper." His work seems to be nearing completion. Stopping for just a moment to stare at the last remaining blank space, he finally marks down the conclusion of his formula. '27:53:00'. "It is done."

The SCOPE Master Sergeant, hardly looking any younger even these decades ago, takes a step closer to the cell bars to see. "What exactly is it that's done?"

Professor Gerald finally turns away from the wall, revealing his gaunt face and drooping mustache. "This is the code. The code that will unlock his mind, just as you asked."

The Sergeant stares at the numbers on the wall, quickly committing them to memory. "Fascinating…"

"Sir… It…" Gerald's voice begins to tremble. "It's been ten years. My granddaughter, Maria… It's her twenty-first birthday today. Please, if I could just see her, if only for a few—"

"Now, now, Professor. You know the deal. You will be reunited with your granddaughter after your work is complete."

"It is complete. There's nothing more I can do without having the life form himself here to work on."

"Well, in that case, I have some good news for you. Come with me."

—–—

Gerald places his hand flat against the glass separating him from the inside of Shadow's stasis pod. "So it's true… Shadow… After all this time, I was beginning to wonder if they had been lying to me, about how you escaped with Maria. But here you are. Does that mean you know where Maria is now, I wonder?"

The Sergeant stands attentively behind him. "How long will this take?"

Gerald's gaze remains transfixed on the unconscious form of Shadow. "The calculations are already done. It will only take a few days. Then you will have your perfect soldier. And I will see my granddaughter again."

"That's right. You'll be seeing her again very soon."

Sonic the Hedgehog: The Chaos Project

Season 3, Episode 1

Civil War

Written by ChaosProjectAuthor

Daily log, February 4th, 2 A.E. Sonic the Hedgehog reporting.

I wish I could say that things are back to normal. I was only gone for six months, but…it still feels like a different lifetime. A time when we all trusted each other. A time when our troubles were drawing us together, instead of apart. A time when Tails and I were still best friends.

A time when going out on a mission didn't mean sitting in an underwater coffin for three hours. The two things I hate most. Tight spaces. And water. Of all the choices Shadow made while I was gone, approving this new base was definitely the worst. I know Tails did his best, turning these escape pods into transport vessels, and obviously there's nothing better to be done about it now, but…this isn't exactly my idea of travelling in style.

So anyways, other than my multiple panic attacks on the way here, my first mission back is going great. The goal is pretty straightforward. Show the world that Sonic the Hedgehog is back. And hopefully, undo some old damage in the process. Shouldn't be too much trouble. In fact, I think I see my rendezvous now.

—–—

Shamar

Human citizens walk through the bustling streets of the oasis city, protected from the harsh sun by the traditional draping clothing they wear, and by the many canopies set up above the stands of as many street vendors selling all kinds of wares. In spite of the bulky guard robots that patrol the streets alongside them, they appear to be living out their normal lives.

Hidden in a shadowed alleyway between two whitewashed buildings, Sonic the Hedgehog spots the figure ducking down as he turns into the same alley. The figure pulls down his hood, making his identity known. "Hey, Cap! Long time no see!" Sonic waves in greeting to Captain Fox.

"Sonic the Hedgehog, I'll be darned. You really are back to your old self. No more iron head."

Sonic smirks confidently, holding the thumb of his black gloved hand up to his chest. "Back and better than ever."

"Or at least, that's what we're trying to get everyone thinking, yeah?"

"Exactly. Katherine doing alright?"

"Back on her feet and ready work. Not that being off her feet stopped her from working against my wishes, mind you."

"Glad to hear it. Hey, I'm…sorry, about all that."

"Wasn't your fault, man. It wasn't you. I'm just glad the world has its hero back."

"Let's make sure the world knows about that, shall we? Shadow and Knuckles are already in position, we're just waiting on your signal."

"It'll be any minute now. You clear on the plan?"

"No, not really. I was told you'd fill me in on the details."

"Alright, no problem. You see that building over there?" He points out of the alleyway toward one of the tallest buildings in the city, where a large number of guard robots stand just outside. "We're gonna blow it down, and the world will see that you're the one doing it."

"Is it a robot factory?"

"Not exactly. It's a sort of…Imperial think tank. Eggman plucks out the best and brightest and sends them to remote cities like this one, where they get shut in to work on his advancing weapons technologies for him."

"Are the people already out of there?"

"Timing's gonna be tight on this one. We can't clue anyone off too early. We've rigged a series of timed explosives to make the biggest show we can. When the first explosion goes off, you need to clear the people off the streets nearby. That's when Shadow and Knuckles will pull any civilians out from inside. There shouldn't be many. From there, you have sixty seconds to help them if they need it, make a speech if you can, and book it out of there right when the rest of the explosives go off. And everyone will see that Sonic's back."

"I'm not sure I like the sound of—" Sonic is cut off as the ground is rocked by a nearby explosion.

"There's your cue. Go show the world who Sonic the Hedgehog really is."

Shaking aside his objections, Sonic races for the source of the explosion. Out in the streets, the source is easy to identify from the citizens fleeing in all directions away from it. A large smoking hole lies centered a few floors up the Imperial structure.

On the road directly below, Knuckles holds a large chunk of fallen rubble above his head, ushering a small group of people out through the open entrance behind him. Guard robots run opposite to the people, setting their sights on Knuckles. "Priority one rebel detected! Surrender immediately."

Knuckles responds by hurling the chunk of rubble at the closest group of robots, crushing them all underneath. He quickly ducks under a shot fired from another direction. "Shadow, get your head in the game!"

A moment later, Shadow strikes the attacking robot from behind. Landing on the ground, he shouts, "Sonic! There's more people trapped inside!"

"What!?" Sonic rushes into the building, wiping off his look of surprise.

The mechanical interior of the building sits in stark contrast to the traditional appearance outside. The floors and walls are piled with machines, computer parts, and metal materials of all shapes and sizes. A distant voice calls, "Help! Help!"

"Don't worry, I'm coming!" As Sonic follows after the voice, the building begins to rumble, destabilized by the explosion. On an upper floor, where the hole has been blown open in the wall to expose the air outside, he finds the doorway blocked by the rubble of the collapsed ceiling, metal mixed with brick and stone.

Someone pounds on the door from the other side. "Help! Please! We can't get out!"

"I'm here, sit tight!" He shouts through the hole to the outside, "Shadow, Knuckles, get ready to catch some people!"

Knuckles' voice shouts back, "We're ready!"

Sonic has already run up to the rubble, and begins lifting pieces away, one at a time though at super speed. Soon, a wide enough hole in the pile is made to reach the door. Wasting no time, he jams the fingers of his black-gloved hand between the door and its frame, and rips the entire metal door away. For just a moment, he marvels at the strength of the new robotic hand.

"You… You're Sonic the Hedgehog." The young man standing in the doorway takes a frightened step back. He wears a professional uniform of red accented with white and yellow, sharing a clear resemblance with Eggman's own outfit. Behind him stands a large group of similarly dressed workers, perhaps twenty of them in total.

"It's okay, I'm here to help. The building is about to collapse, you have to head out through there! My friends are waiting to catch you on the way down, go!"

The man seems to place his fears aside, and climbs out through the hole that Sonic opened, eyeing the hedgehog carefully as he passes. The rest swarm out behind him as Sonic does his best to direct them along.

"Hurry, there's not much time!"

One of the workers at the back seems to be the only one willing to address Sonic without fear for herself. "You have to help Erika, she's still trapped in there!"

"I've got her, go!" Sonic leaps into the opening as soon as there's room, taking one last glance back to see the workers jumping out through the hole one at a time. The building now rumbles nonstop.

This room has machines in even more complete states, towering armor-plated robots of a wide variety of designs. Most of them have toppled over, some shredded to pieces by the rubble falling from the ceiling. One such wrecked machine has fallen over another worker, pinning her legs to the ground. Sonic runs right for her.

"The others couldn't move this, why would you be…?" A closer look at her face reveals her to be little more than a child, perhaps 12 or 13 years old. Still, she wears the uniform of Eggman's trusted workers.

"I've got this, okay? I'm gonna get you out, but I need your help too."

Suddenly, something underneath them gives way, and the floor falls away from Sonic's feet for a moment, crashing down only to stop at a sharp angle, momentarily restabilized. The girl cries out in pain, the fallen machines pushing against her already injured legs.

Sonic moves right back in, quickly getting his hands around the piece of rubble trapping her. "We have to hurry."

The girl gets as good of a grip on it as she can from her angle. "You really are a hero…"

"Don't let Eggman or anyone else convince you otherwise." They both push together, though Sonic's black hand clearly does most of the work.

As soon as the piece is lifted just an inch out of the way, Sonic pulls her away at super speed, and it crashes right back onto the ground where it was.

Outside, Knuckles and Shadow look up in fear as the second set of explosions go off. They watch the walls of the building blast away, causing the entire structure to crumble. "Sonic!"

Knuckles runs for the pile of smoking remains. But he stops as he catches sight of a figure made clear by the settling dust. Sonic stands at the top of the pile, holding the rescued girl in his arms.

—–—

The Eggshelter — Rebel Camp Alpha

The rest of the scene plays out on a screen, with an EGG1 news headline plastered in front. 'Multiple Citizens Injured by Rebel Terror Attack. Potential Kidnapping Thwarted.' The camera watches as the weapons of a dozen guard robots are directed at Sonic. Sonic very carefully sets the girl down, before slowly lifting his hands in the air. He declares something out loud, which seems to be left muted. Then the robots begin to march in on him. Before they can get too close, he suddenly takes off, dashing between two robots before they ever get the chance to fire, and quickly disappearing with no trace left behind.

In the real world, Sonic deactivates the screen of his TAL computer and lets it drop to his side.

On the other side of a glowing red barrier, Fox questions, "Is there any particular reason you showed me that?"

Sonic crosses his arms. "You lied about the mission. You attempted the murder of 23 people."

"Hey, I didn't lie. I told you we'd get the civilians out, and we did. The rest were military targets."

"Were you even watching? That was just a kid! How could you call that a military target!?"

"They aren't just Eggman supporters, they're Eggman's elites. It's not my fault that Eggman's brainwashing propaganda doesn't stop at children. That girl was hand-picked by him to build machines meant to kill us, just like all the rest of them. Anyways, it's not like I wanted them to die. They had a good chance of escaping on their own. But they're our enemies, and their safety wasn't worth risking the mission. And what do you know? They're all fine."

"They're fine because I almost died saving them. Over a glorified publicity stunt. And look at all the good it did us."

"I'd say it did. You just showed the whole world who you are. They were your enemies, but anyone with half a brain could see that you saved those people."

"Saved them from us! How're we supposed to convince people that Eggman's propaganda is wrong when it isn't wrong!?" He turns away with a frustrated growl. "Shadow, did you know about this?"

Shadow faces away from them all, staring off into the distance. "I…came to suspect it, when he had us ignore the top floor."

"And you didn't think to say anything about this, Shadow?"

"I wasn't going to act on suspicion alone. And knowing Fox, it was already too late to talk him out of it anyways."

Fox nods. "He's right about that."

Sonic glares back at him. "You're awfully relaxed about this whole thing. Doesn't it matter to you at all that those people could've died?"

"But they didn't, did they? You're Sonic the Hedgehog, and I trust you to get the job done. And the way I see it, soon enough, you'll realize you still need my help, and then you'll let me out here, and we'll let bygones be bygones."

"I can't believe you…"

"Maybe it's time to start believing, Sonic," Shadow voices. "There are lines that we aren't willing to cross, and that's a good thing. But maybe it's a good thing that there are others who will."

All of Sonic's anger turns on Shadow. "How could you say that!? Are you seriously condoning this!?"

"Whether or not I agree with what happened, the fact remains that he's right. We will need his help. Camp Beta is better equipped to fight a war than we are. And I'm talking about a real war, where the fact that people get hurt can't be avoided."

"I should've known after Oil Ocean that you'd still be on his side. When we founded this Rebellion, we all swore that we would never stoop to Eggman's level. That we would never cross the line to get what we want. And there's no way we're letting anyone else do it for us, or we'd be just as much to blame."

"You can't save the world and police it at the same time, Sonic. That's a sure way to fail at both. You're going to have to choose what you're fighting for. Is it for the people of this world? Or is it for your stainless conscience?"

With each word, Sonic has leaned in closer, showing his seething frustration. But finally, he takes a step back, seeming to realize what he's doing. "For your complacency in the knowing endangerment of those people, I'm putting you on probation. Slip up again, and you'll be in a cell with your friend there." Finished speaking, he walks right past Shadow.

Shadow doesn't turn to follow him, looking the other way as he comments, "You've been handing out an awful lot of arbitrary punishments lately, Sonic. Just how much power do you think you have?"

Sonic stops in place. "Arbitrary. Maybe you're right. And it's past time that we changed that. Come with me."

Shadow hesitates for a moment, before falling in line behind Sonic as they exit the brig.

Fox calls after them from his cell, "Hey, wait! Don't I get a phone call or something?"

—–—

"This is the Rebel Rulebook." Sonic slides a thick stack of stapled papers across the circular table at the center of the mess hall, where the rebels have gathered. "It's a complete account of the standards we're going to hold ourselves to, and the repercussions we'll face if we fail to meet them."

Rouge is the first to comment. "And who, exactly, are you expecting to enforce these rules?"

"As the leader of this team, I would say it's my responsibility."

"And if you're the one who broke them?"

Hero and Bruno object, "He wouldn't. That's the entire point of making this, isn't it, Sonic?"

Sonic produces several more copies of the document, and starts passing them around the table. "You all can and should read for yourselves. Believe me when I say, it's thorough. To answer your question, Rouge, if it's the opinion of the team that I'm not meeting these standards, two out of the next three in command can agree to pass a vote of no confidence. Since Tails is on house arrest, that would be Shadow, Knuckles, and Amy. If that were to happen, all of my authority would be removed, and responsibility for enforcing the rules would fall to the next in command—Shadow."

Shadow remains silent through all of this, staring down at his own copy of the rules.

Amy squints to read over the small print. "You wrote all of this yourself?"

Sonic shakes his head. "It uses the old United Federation rulebook as a base. I dictated all the changes and additions to TAL, and had everything that doesn't apply to us removed. To be clear, this is just a first draft. When we're all done here, I want everyone to read over the whole thing, cover to cover. We'll reconvene tomorrow, and every day after that, until we can reach a unanimous agreement about every rule in this book."

Knuckles questions, "What exactly do we mean when we say 'unanimous'? Is Camp Beta a part of this? Vector's still not around to agree on anything. And now that I think about it, I haven't seen Big in a while, either. And then there's…Tails…"

"I'll make sure that Tails gets his own copy. As for the rest…we'll start with what we have. Once we've all signed this into effect, we'll show it to Camp Beta. They can sign on, they can suggest changes that we all unanimously agree on, or they can cut ties with us. Same goes for anyone who isn't here."

Charmy scratches his head as he quickly scans through pages of the book, "That sounds a bit harsh, don't you think?"

Espio counters, "It's a harsh reality that we live in. We've always lived by an unspoken code. All we're doing now is ensuring that our actions remain consistent with that code. I approve of this motion, though I will have to review the details before offering my signature."

Johnny nods in agreement. "This whole thing looks pretty relaxed compared to the strict GUN rulebook I'm used to. I already hold myself to standards like this. If anything, this'll make the place feel a little more like home."

Omega comments, "GUN hierarchical protocols remain in effect. I will continue to follow the orders of my superior officer, including those specified in this rulebook, so long as they do not conflict with lower-level protocols. Further amendment is not necessary. I will sign now."

Cream cheers, "Me too! I think this is exciting."

Sonic holds up his hands. "Hold on, slow down. This needs to be an informed decision, no one's signing anything right now. But I'm glad it sounds like we're all on the same page. Hopefully, we can get this all over with tomorrow, and—"

"It's not going to happen." Shadow has suddenly risen to his feet. "I'm not signing this. Not while it looks anything like it does now."

"Shadow…we can talk about changing—"

"You want to hear the changes I'd make? Throw the whole thing in the fire and start over. The new one will fit on one page. We do what we decide is necessary, when we decide that it's necessary. We can't just preemptively restrain ourselves before we even know what we're facing. And just how pretentious are you, thinking that it's anything but meaningless to punish ourselves for our own wrongdoing?"

"Isn't this what you wanted, Shadow? Rules that put limits on my power as leader? Rules that define how punishment is handled, so I'm not handing them out arbitrarily?"

"What I wanted was for you to realize that you're sabotaging our entire war effort by wasting time on this justice nonsense! Good people, good fighters, are being locked up when they should be fighting! Or did you forget that Tails is still rotting away in his room for saving your ungrateful life? If he didn't break the exact rules you wrote here, you wouldn't be around to write them! There wouldn't have even been a vote under these rules! It would've been predetermined that we couldn't save you! And we'd be losing this war without you!"

Sonic goes silent for a moment. "Shadow…"

Shadow closes his eyes. "I'm glad to have you back, Sonic. But this…" He gestures around at the table "…this needs to change." He turns to exit, leaving his copy of the rulebook behind.

Rouge lets out a sigh. "He gets like this when he's stressed. I'll talk to him." She gets up to follow him, but stops at the door. "He makes a solid point, you know. It's good to have standards. But if we aren't careful…those standards might force us to look over exactly what we need. It's something to think about."

Sonic's eyes move down in deep contemplation.

Knuckles comments, "I don't know what's gotten into him. He's been like this ever since you got back."

Bruno suggests, "Well, it could be that one thing…" Hero shoots a glare up at him.

Sonic looks up in confusion. "What, what one thing?"

Johnny answers, "Shadow got a personal message from the Sergeant while we were up there trying to extract you. Something about knowing the truth."

Bruno nods. "I know it'd stress me the heck out if I were him."

Sonic presses, "But you never found out what he meant by that?"

"Nope. But he did find something in his cell later. He said it wasn't useful, but he had a weird feeling coming off of him. Like the one he had just now before he left." Hero finally gives Bruno a nudge in the side to quiet him. "Yeah, I know it's Shadow's personal business, but it seemed relevant…"

Sonic shakes his head. "It doesn't matter anyways. Whatever it is that's bugging him, I'm worried that it might lead him to do something…drastic."

Knuckles suggests, "Do you want me to start keeping an eye on him?"

"That might be a good idea…" Sonic looks up in surprise as he finds a pair of hands pulling him up to his feet. "Amy? What're you—?"

"Emergency therapy session. Right now. Counselor's orders." She starts to lead him out of the room.

"Wait, you can't just—"

"Actually, I can." She holds up the rulebook in her free hand. "You put it on page thirteen."

"Okay…" Sonic looks back at the table as he's dragged out through the door. "I guess, meeting adjourned, see you all at dinner."

—–—

Amy has led Sonic up to the highest point of the Eggshelter, where the wreck of the Death Egg floats above the open ocean all around. "Alright. Take a seat."

Sonic obediently lowers himself to the ground. "Any particular reason you brought me up here, Amy?"

"Just trust me." She sits across from him. "Now…let's talk. We'll start where we left off. What've you done this week that you're proud of?"

Sonic has to think on this for a moment. "Well…I finally caught up on all the mission reports from when I was gone, I guess that's an accomplishment. It's a shame I missed a chance to see Zero."

"He sends you his best. What else?"

"Umm…I guess…even though it wasn't under the best of circumstances…I was able to save those people. I can be proud of that."

"Absolutely. How would you say you're feeling now, compared to when we started?"

Sonic takes another moment to think. "Definitely…mostly… A little bit better."

"We knew this wouldn't be easy. But it's good that you feel like you're making progress. I notice…that your rulebook wasn't on your list."

"I was happy with it. But…now I'm not so sure."

"What made you decide to make it?"

"Well, it was something that I was thinking about…even before all of this happened. Maybe it was back when Johnny joined up? I just realized that…the longer this all went on…the more allies we recruited…the more lives we affected…the less sense it made that we were just doing whatever we wanted. The rules were my idea of how to…bring a little order to the chaos, I guess."

"You never cared much about rules when you were younger. What changed?"

"I…got older? I mean…it never used to matter. I knew that what I was doing was right, and I didn't need rules to tell me that. But now…it matters. Now I'm a leader. Now I'm not just living by my own feeling, I'm living by the expectations of everyone who's counting on me. I guess that's the difference. Maybe it just took the incident in Shamar to help me realize how much it mattered that I set the right example. If it looks like I'm just doing whatever I want, why wouldn't Fox be doing the same?"

"So what you're saying is…you feel like what happened is your fault. At least in some way?"

"Yeah. Something like that." Sonic looks up in the air, watching as a small flock of cawing seagulls passes high overhead.

"I think there's a bigger problem here. One that we've been avoiding."

"And what would that be?"

"The same problem you've had since before we had you back. Control."

Sonic quickly goes silent.

"For six months, you lost control of your own body. And even getting it back was something that you had no say over. It's understandable that now, you'd be seeking out whatever control you can find. You asked Knuckles to spy on Shadow."

"That was a bad idea, wasn't it?"

"It's not my place to say. All I'm saying is that it's part of a pattern. Whenever you feel like you aren't in control of something, it leads to a negative reaction. Your first thought when Fox did something outside of your control was to take control for yourself. You threw him in the brig and wrote up the rules you hope will control him in the future."

Sonic takes on a scowl. "Did you bring me here just to lecture me?"

Amy keeps a calm composure. "Sonic, think about what you just said. What you just felt. Tell me that I'm wrong."

Sonic stops to contemplate. "Right. Sorry."

"To answer your question, no. I didn't bring you here for a lecture. I brought you here for a release." Amy stands up, indicating for Sonic to do the same. "We already know what the source of this problem is. Someone took your control away from you, and you still haven't recovered from how that hurt you." Finally, she takes something out for him to see. It's a hollow metal faceplate, bearing the visage of Metal Sonic.

Sonic recoils at the sight of it.

"It's okay, Sonic. It's time for you to take control." She holds the faceplate out to him. "If you still feel like Cyber Sonic has control over you, it's time to get rid of him once and for all."

Sonic takes the faceplate slowly, staring down at its empty grey eye. "Okay. I'm ready."

Amy steps aside, gesturing out at the open ocean. "Remember that you don't have to. This is something you're choosing to do. For you."

Sonic nods slowly. "For me." Closing his eyes, he reels back, winding up his arm at super speed to hurl the unwanted object as far as he possibly can. The faceplate goes flying, reaching such a distance that it can be seen only as a falling speck as it splashes into the water far off towards the horizon.

"Do you feel any better?"

Sonic gives a quick nod. "I do."

"Well…you know you can always talk to me, anytime. But I'm going to call this our last mandatory therapy session. On one condition."

Sonic raises an eyebrow. "Condition?"

"You still have one last weight tying you down. You need to talk to Tails."

—–—

Shadow stares down at the Sergeant's datapad, the screen still blank and inactive.

"Are you going to let that thing bother you for the rest of your life?"

Shadow looks up with surprise at the closed entrance to his quarters.

"Oh, sorry." Rouge's voice on the other side is joined by a soft chime announcing her intent to come in. Not waiting for his response, the door opens, and she steps inside. "I just don't get why you keep coming back here to stare at it if you aren't planning on just getting it over with. Either read the thing or get rid of it."

Shadow doesn't respond to the remark, looking back down at the datapad instead. "There's something eerily familiar about this situation."

Rouge doesn't need long to think back. "You're talking about Project Sunlight."

"Last time 'the truth' was shared with me, it led to a war."

"Last time 'the truth' was shared with you, it showed you how to save the timeline, not to mention leading to your reunion with your long lost best friend. You told me the full story."

"Then you should know that reading this would be a bad idea."

"If you really believed that, you'd have chucked this thing into the ocean weeks ago. But we both know better than that. It wasn't the information that started the war. It was Blacklight, and a choice that you made to save him. Maybe getting the information is what set you on that path, but the choice was still yours. And whatever information there is on that pad, it will still be your choice what to do with it. Or you can ditch the thing and you'll be no worse off than you are right now. You just have to make up your mind before you drive us all crazy. Yourself included."

"I wish it were so simple."

"Alright then. What's your reason for not getting rid of it?"

Shadow has to stop and think for a moment. "The incident in Shamar…was as much proof as ever that we aren't prepared for every conceivable situation. That's why I can't stand by Sonic's rulebook. We can't assume that it will always apply. We can't assume that we know enough about the future of this war to restrain ourselves like that. If we only knew more…things might be different. And whether we like it or not…the Sergeant knows more than we do. A lot more. He chose to share this information with us…with me…because he knows that we couldn't get it anywhere else. And there's the other question. Why me? We had never even met before, and yet…he singled me out as the person to share this information with. That must mean…that it pertains to me, somehow. All the more reason why I should open it. All the more reason why I should be afraid to."

"If you're asking me to make up your mind for you, you know I can't do that. What I can offer you is my support. Whatever you choose to do, I'll be right here."

Shadow closes his eyes, letting out a long sigh. After another moment, he turns the datapad over to her. "I want you to be the one who sees it. If it's something that I, or anyone else, needs to know, tell us. If it's not, get rid of it. Will you do that for me?"

Rouge nods as she takes the pad. "I will. But…only if you're sure about this."

Shadow nods in turn. "I am."

Rouge looks down at the datapad for a few moments. "Alright. No turning back." With the tap of a button, the screen activates. She only needs a moment to look before she lets out a gasp. "This isn't possible…"

"What, what is it?"

"Shadow…" She quickly scrolls down the screen, absorbing as much of the information as she can, but none of it seems to change her reaction. "Those fifty years you spent in suspended animation after you escaped the ARK… According to this…" She looks up slowly. "…you didn't. You were awake."

—–—

Tails sits at the workbench in his quarters, silently tinkering with his old Handheld Pad. He takes a moment to run his fingers across the small white 'Miles Electric' logo printed at the bottom of the screen, ever so slightly smiling for a moment at the memories. But the smile quickly fades. The piles of junk and unfinished machines on either side of the workbench have grown considerably in size. A chime goes off at his door, prompting him to look up from his work with just a hint of excitement added to his otherwise blank expression. "Shadow?"

"No, it's…just me." The door rises open, and Sonic steps inside.

"Oh…" Tails quickly goes back to his work, returning to his dull, silent expression.

"I, umm…" Sonic awkwardly walks over to sit on the foot of Tails' bed, where he can stare at the back of Tails' head as he works.

"Just tell me what you want."

Sonic puts on an expression of momentary confusion. "Hey, are you…feeling alright? You're not sick or anything, are you?"

Tails continues to work with only a passive interest in the conversation. "No. Why?"

"Well, your voice, it's…"

Tails finishes for him, "Deeper? That's called puberty, Sonic. You went through it too."

"I…guess I was gone a long time, huh? Missed you starting to grow up."

"I think you were missing that long before you left."

Sonic lets out a long sigh, not objecting to the claim. "Anyways…I brought you lunch." He holds out an item wrapped in foil for Tails to take. "Your favorite."

Tails turns back just long enough to take it. He peels back the foil, revealing the chili dog wrapped inside. "Sonic. This is your favorite."

"Well, yeah, but I thought—…"

"Of course you did." Tails shakes his head with exasperation. "You thought that everybody else was exactly like you. Just like you always do." He sets the chili dog aside.

Sonic takes on a stern expression. "Tails, I'm not here to talk about me. This is about you. And your visits with Shadow."

"What about them?"

"They need to stop. Before we left for Shamar, I ordered Shadow to stop coming to see you."

"What!? You can't do that! That's completely unfair!"

"It's more than fair, and you know it. This house arrest is supposed to be a punishment, not a chance to socialize."

"Just how long do you plan on keeping me in here? There's only so much work I can do like this."

"Until you've learned your lesson, Tails."

"And what lesson is that? You said it yourself, I have to live with what I did for the rest of my life! Is that not punishment enough for you!?"

"Not as long as you still believe it was right to take a life."

"It was right."

"That wasn't your call to make!" Sonic lets out a groan as he realizes how high he has raised his voice. "Look, I just…" He shakes his head in frustration. "I need you to read this." He pulls out a copy of the rulebook to give to Tails. "It's our new rulebook. You have as much say about making changes to it as anyone else, so get yourself familiar with the whole thing."

Tails takes the book silently, and starts flipping through the pages.

Sonic stands to leave. "There's a punishment listed in there for defying orders without just cause. Three to six months confinement. Do you object to that?"

Tails stops flipping, but remains staring down at the pages silently.

"Exactly. I know it seems unfair that I'm not letting you out when I can do that anytime. But when you really ask yourself what accountability looks like, you see that it wouldn't be right to just skip around it. That's why we're moving forward with a rulebook. If this goes through, it won't be my decision anymore. It'll be something we all agree on. Including you." He starts to walk out. "If anything, you should be grateful for those three to six months. The punishment for murder is a whole lot worse." He stops at the door to take one last look back at Tails, and at the untouched chili dog left sitting on his desk. Then a loud crash shakes the room.

—–—

Knuckles presses his ear up close against the door to Shadow's quarters, just barely able to hear the conversation inside.

"You were awake," Rouge voices.

"That doesn't make any sense," Shadow responds.

"That's what I said. But these logs are…" There's a brief pause. "…thorough."

Knuckles leans in closer, clearly intrigued by the conversation.

"What logs? Let me see."

"Hold on. There's a video file here."

Shadow gasps. "That's me. In…a SCOPE uniform?"

A message plays out loud, recorded in Shadow's own voice, flat and uncaring. "Mission report, 2100 hours Military Standard Time. Extraction from the target area, designated Angel Island, is complete."

Knuckles whispers under his breath, "Angel Island?"

The real Shadow objects, "I don't know what this is. This never happened. I never had any missions on Angel Island."

Rouge shushes him as the recording goes on.

"The viral agent created from the blood of the Black Monsters was distributed without incident. As I carry this Black Monstrous blood within my own veins, I am not affected. Within one generation, the Echidna race, and the threat they pose to civilization, will be no more. Indicium sit imperium. End of report."

Shadow and Rouge both go silent.

Then the door to the room is sent flying inwards. Rouge can be seen diving into Shadow to push them both out of the way of the crumpled hunk of metal as it crashes into the room.

Knuckles stands at the empty doorframe, his fist still held where it collided with the missing door. Unsteady breaths shudder sharply through his gritted teeth. An automated alarm blares overhead, casting him in a harsh red light. "You… You took everything from me."

Rouge looks up in genuine horror. "Knuckles! Y-y-y-you heard that? W-w-w-we don't know what—"

"Shut up." Knuckles marches in, grabbing Shadow by the scruff of fur on his chest, and lifting him off of the ground. "You killed them all. My mother. My father. My Nana. My entire race is gone because of you!"

Shadow's eyes have gone blank. He stares off into the distance, seemingly unaware of the world around him.

"Say something, you Lords forsaken murderer!" He turns and slams Shadow's entire body into the wall behind him, deforming the metal plating with another loud crash.

This seems to stir Shadow only partially from his stupor. "I… I didn't know…"

"Knuckles… I know you're upset, but…" Rouge cautiously approaches him from behind. "…this is a surprise to all of us. If we just take some time to—"

Knuckles throws his free hand back, catching her in a punch that sends her flying across the room. "I told you to shut up."

"Knuckles, stop!" Sonic appears much quicker than Rouge did, instantly getting a grip around him from behind.

"Let go of me! I'm gonna kill him!" Knuckles puts up a struggle, but Rouge gets up quickly and runs in to help. Together, she and Sonic manage to pull Knuckles back a few steps, releasing Shadow from his grip. Shadow drops to his knees. Knuckles fights to get free all the while, but the grip of Sonic's black gloved hand proves too strong even for him.

Only when Knuckles finally seems to settle down is Sonic able to speak up again. "Shadow…what's going on here?"

Still seething, Knuckles answers, "I'll tell you what's going on. He is the shadow that released the Doom Virus on my island. He's the one who wiped out my clan. And I demand justice for my people. For all the suffering I've been through, because of him."

Sonic's eyes go wide. "Shadow…is that true?"

Shadow's eyes remain on the ground. "I don't know…"

With Knuckles calmed, Rouge is able to step away, reclaiming the dropped datapad from the ground. "The evidence that says so…is all right here." Keeping his black hand wrapped around Knuckles' chest, Sonic holds his white hand out to take the pad. "According to this…Shadow was a covert Agent of SCOPE for a period of forty years, before Eggman found him."

"That's not possible." Tails stands in the doorway, looking agape at the scene in the room. "Shadow was in a stasis pod. That's where Lt. Alfred put him, that's where Eggman found him. How could…?"

Sonic glares back at Tails with frustration. "Tails, you have no reason to be out here. Go back to your room. That's an order."

"No, I won't!" Tails runs to put himself between Sonic and Shadow. "I won't stand by and let you accuse my friend like this! Shadow would never do this! Those files are faked, I know they are!"

Knuckles spits, "How can you be so sure about that? We all know Shadow tried to destroy the world once before. Who are you to say that wasn't just another item on the list?"

"That was before! Under false memories! That's not who he is anymore, you know that!"

Sonic reaffirms, "Tails, you're in direct violation of your orders. Don't think that I won't extend your confinement time."

"Ground me for the rest of my life, for all I care. I will always protect my friends. You should know that better than anyone, Sonic."

Rouge shakes her head. "This is getting out of hand. If we all just calm down, I'm sure we can figure this out, together."

Sonic swipes through the data on the pad, coming to a stop as a look of shock crosses his face. He reads with a wavering voice, "'The assassination of the Controller and his allies'? It's dated the year I was born…" He looks up to meet Shadow's eyes. "This says that you killed the one who came before me. A hero of this world like me, and you're the reason he died. Is this true, Shadow!?"

"I don't know…"

"How could you not know!?"

"My…my memories…"

"Your memories aren't a good enough excuse! The very last log here is dated after we met! It's labeled as an ongoing mission! Are you planning to kill me too, Shadow?"

Knuckles adds, "Maybe finish off the Echidnas while you're at it?"

"I…I wouldn't…"

Sonic clenches his eyes shut, letting out a pent up breath. "Shadow…I want to believe you. I want to believe that this is just some convoluted hoax. I want to trust you, like I've trusted you so many times before. But if there's even a small chance that this is true, then…"

Tails presses, "Then what?"

Sonic tosses the datapad aside, apparently having seen enough. "Then Shadow is a danger. Not just to us, but maybe to the entire world. There's a word for what this says you did, Shadow. It's genocide. It's the worst kind of crime there is. The fact that you don't know if you did it could make you even more dangerous. And if you really did…"

Knuckles is able to finish, "It was the only rule in the United Federation lawbook with a death penalty."

Sonic is quick to object, "I had that one changed for ours. No one is being executed on my watch. But the fact remains, Shadow…I'm going to have to order you to the brig while we review this evidence. For everyone's safety. Including your own."

Tails puts on a scowl. "And if the evidence tells you what you already think it does?"

Sonic stares right on ahead. "Then Shadow stays there. For life. Or until we can transfer him to a more suitable prison."

Knuckles growls, "Or until we get that rule changed back to the way it was."

Tails maintains, "This isn't right, and you know it! You're taking the word of SCOPE, an organization of lies, over the word of your friend!"

Sonic looks past Tails to Shadow on the ground. "Shadow still hasn't objected."

"How is he supposed to defend himself when you keep—"

"Tails." Tails looks back at Shadow in surprise, as Shadow slowly rises to his feet, closing his eyes. "I have this to say. I don't know what the truth is. But it is out there. It always is. And I don't think I can trust anyone but myself to find it."

Sonic warns, "Shadow…if you're thinking what I think you're thinking…"

Rouge warns in an equal tone, "Let's think about what we're doing here. We're being turned against each other. We still have a chance to avoid making any decisions we'll regret. All of us."

Rouge seems to go ignored as Shadow finishes slowly, "If what you say is true…then I will respectfully accept my fate. But I just need some time…to uncover the real truth."

"Shadow, no!"

"Chaos Control!" Shadow disappears in a flash of light, taking Tails along with him.

Sonic gasps, "He doesn't have an Emerald, how did he–!?"

Rouge is quickly able to answer, "He has a shard of the Master Emerald, but that's not enough energy to get him far. He's definitely still in the facility!"

Knuckles shouts, "He won't get away that easily!" He breaks free from Sonic's loose grip and races out.

Sonic calls after him, "Knuckles, wait! We don't even know where—" He cuts himself off as he realizes that he already knows exactly where. "The Emeralds!" He dashes out through the door even faster than Knuckles did. Wasting no time with stairs, he grabs ahold of the railing and flings himself right over the side, swinging back onto the catwalk the next level down.

His own quarters are only a few doors down, and the distance is crossed in the blink of an eye. "Shadow, please—" The door opens. No one seems to be there. Sonic runs straight for the cabinet in the back of the room, opening the bottom drawer to pull out the Emerald case inside. He flips the case open. All three Chaos Emeralds are present and accounted for. Sonic finally lets himself breathe, releasing only a small fraction of his tension. "If not here, then where…?"

Before he can finish his thoughts, he is suddenly struck in the back of the head, collapsing to the ground as the Emeralds spill out onto the floor. Rouge bends down to pick one up. "Sorry about this, Big Blue. I trust you. But I made a promise to Shadow."

—–—

Shadow and Tails appear in the Eggshelter's brig, Shadow stumbling a few steps forward as he lands. He growls, "I need more practice with low-energy warps…"

Fox looks up from the inside of his cell. "Well, that was unexpected."

Shadow quickly regains his bearings. "Tails, get that cell open."

Tails asks no questions. "On it."

Shadow takes a moment to let out his breath, glancing down at the datapad he must have grabbed before he left. "I should've known this would only lead to trouble… Can it really be true?"

The barrier to Fox's cell drops, and he takes a step out. "What exactly is going on here?"

Shadow answers calmly, "You were right. We need your help."

"You you, or Camp Alpha you?"

Sonic's voice suddenly blares out through loudspeakers overhead. "Attention everyone! Shadow, Tails, and Rouge have betrayed the Rebellion! They're still somewhere in the base! Find them before they escape!"

Shadow concludes, "Does that answer your question?"

Fox buries his face in a hand, letting out a long groan. "I've got a bad feeling about this… Still, I owe you one… Both of you… More than one. I'll do whatever I can. You've got a place to hide out at my camp, if nothing else."

Shadow nods. "Good." He turns to Tails. "I took you here against your will. If you stay behind right here, Sonic can't punish you for that. You still have a way out. And I don't want to drag you into this. This is something I should do on my own."

Tails shakes his head fervently. "I'm going with you. I'm going to help you find the truth. This is my decision."

"Pretty stupid decision if you ask me." Knuckles pounds a fist into his open hand as he marches steadily towards them from afar. "But thanks for making the trip down here, Shadow. Got Sonic out of my way."

Tails takes a step to put himself between Shadow and Knuckles. "Knuckles, I know how this looks, but you need to stop and think about this! Shadow wouldn't do this!"

"We've already been through this, Tails. We both know that he's capable of it."

Shadow pushes Tails back. "I swear to you, Knuckles. I didn't know."

"Yeah, I'm sure your amnesia is feeling real convenient right about now. I don't care what you remember. I care what you did. And we both heard that recording of you admitting to it. Now, are you going to get the bystanders out of the way, or am I going to have to take all three of you down?"

Fox raises his hands and takes a step out of the way. "Hey man, I don't want any trouble."

"Tails?"

Tails silently takes a ready stance beside Shadow.

Shadow looks over at him with concern. "Tails…"

"I'm with you. Till the end."

Knuckles tightens his fists as he growls, "Then you're against me." He lunges straight at Shadow, letting out an ear splitting battle cry. "Rraaaaggh!"

Shadow goes on the defensive, trying to slide underneath Knuckles' attack. But Knuckles dives straight down from the air, ready to slam right on top of him. Tails flies in from the side, grabbing Knuckles by the ankle and pulling him out of his dive, throwing him at the nearest wall. Knuckles rebounds off the wall, flying back in for a punch that nails Tails across the face, sending him tumbling back onto the ground. Shadow comes up from below in a ball, striking Knuckles in the chest and sending him flying up towards the ceiling.

Rather than pressing the momentary advantage, Shadow leaps back to help Tails. "Are you alright?"

Tails climbs quickly back to his feet, wiping off the side of his face. "I'm fine, look out!" He grabs Shadow by the arm, pulling them both back a step as Knuckles slams into the ground in front of them, denting the floor and setting the room rumbling.

Shadow and Tails attack swiftly, coming at Knuckles from opposite sides. But Knuckles shows his fighting skills, easily blocking an attack from one side while dodging the other, and throwing counters that keep both of them back. But fighting on two fronts seems to quickly wear him down. His movements grow sloppier as his breathing intensifies. Finally, he throws an elbow back into Shadow's chest, knocking him back far enough to focus his attention on Tails. He rams into Tails with a full-force charge, slamming him into the back wall and pinning him there with one arm.

"I don't want you to be collateral damage, Tails. You're my friend too. But don't think that means I won't go through you to get to him."

"You won't touch him!" Shadow races in from behind.

This seems to be exactly what Knuckles wanted. He turns around and throws Tails' entire body at Shadow, knocking them both to the ground. Then he leaps forward, readying another slam attack before they get the chance to recover.

A white figure streaks through the air, crashing into Knuckles and knocking him down into Fox's open cell.

Knuckles and Tails both struggle to get to their feet as quickly as they can, racing for the cell door. Tails makes it first. His hand slams down on the control panel on the side, and the barrier drops, trapping Knuckles inside as he smashes headlong into it. The barrier reflects Knuckles' force, sending him flying back into the wall. Undeterred, he gets back up and charges again, this time slamming his fist into the barrier. It once again sends him reeling back.

Tails watches through the barrier with a look of sorrow on his face.

Rouge steps up beside him. "Sorry, Knuckles. But it's clear you need some time to cool off."

Knuckles growls, "You…"

Rouge turns away from him, looking instead to Shadow as he gets back on his own feet and takes in the situation. "You might be needing this." She takes his hand, and places the purple Chaos Emerald in his palm.

"Rouge, you—"

"We already talked about this. Next time one of us goes off and does something stupid, we do it together. That's what we agreed."

Tails adds, "We're with you. There's no room for doubt about that."

Fox interjects, "Hate to break up the moment, but we should really think about getting out of here before Sonic shows up."

"Don't you see what you're doing here, Shadow?" Knuckles has stepped up to the barrier, closing his eyes and maintaining a surprising calm. "These innocent people—formerly innocent. You're taking their lives away from them, recruiting them to your little gang. What will they do when you're forced to admit what you did? It'll be too late for them to turn back. They'll be criminals just like you."

Shadow turns away solemnly. "I want you to know, Knuckles… You have every reason to hate me. I don't blame you for that." He reaches beneath the red cuff of his glove, pulling out a small shard of the Master Emerald. "I understand that you will not stop pursuing me. I don't think any less of you because of it." He kneels down, gently placing the shard on the floor. "This belongs to you. For as long as you consider me your enemy, I have no claim to it."

Tails follows Shadow's lead, removing his own shard from his sock, and placing it alongside Shadow's. Rouge follows suit, taking a moment to pout at the thought of giving up the gem before resigning to place it next to the others.

Shadow concludes, "This is what you have to do. This is what I have to do. As a peace offering, I know this is meaningless to you. But it's all I have to offer. I hope you'll consider that."

"Shadow! Shadow, stop!" Sonic's voice echoes down the corridor as he races towards them.

Shadow quickly orders, "Everyone, stand close to me!" Tails, Rouge and Fox all lean in, and Shadow shouts, "Chaos Control!"

Sonic skids to a halt, passing through the flash of light they leave behind. He snaps his fingers with a growl. "Shoot. Not fast enough…" He gets a look around the brig, at the destruction caused by the fight, at the three Emerald shards left on the ground, and finally at Knuckles trapped in the cell. "Knuckles…"

"I'm fine. Just get me out of here. We have work to do."

—–—

Hill Top Zone

Shadow's group is dropped onto rocky, shaded ground. Rouge quickly takes in their surroundings. "Where did you take us?"

Tails seems to recognize the crater-like geography, surrounded by hilltops. "This is Camp Beta, right?"

Fox answers, "Not anymore, it's not. At Shadow's suggestion here, we packed up and moved to a secret location. But this'll do for now." He walks over to a nearby boulder, rolling it aside to reveal a small hidden alcove, from which he retrieves an Egg Blaster and radio. "Good thing I left some emergency supplies." He speaks into the radio, "This is Fox. Sorry about the delay. I'm with three others, we're going to need a pickup from a new location, standard initiation procedures. Coordinates will be sent momentarily."

Shadow objects, "If you just tell me where it is, I can warp us straight there."

"Weren't you the one who said that was a bad idea? You don't need to know where we're based, just like I don't know where your base is. Fair warning though, we don't exactly have the luxuries you've gotten used to. I don't know how you guys managed to hide such a large high-tech base, let alone how you built it so fast, but it's not my business. Anyways, we should get moving."

Shadow looks over at Tails. He realizes with worry, "Tails, you're…you're hurt."

"Huh?" Tails looks up from his Handheld Pad, which he seems to have plugged into the SCOPE datapad given by Rouge. He takes a moment to wipe the few drops of blood off the side of his cheek, shifting the white fur to mostly cover the injury in the process. "Don't worry about me, I heal fast. I just need another second here, if you don't mind." He enters in a few more commands. "That should do it." He hands the datapad back to Rouge.

Shadow questions, "What did you do?"

"I sent a copy of the data back to Sonic."

"What? Why?"

"Worst case scenario, they use the data to confirm what they already believe. Best case, we have another set of eyes with a chance at proving that it's fabricated."

Shadow closes his eyes with a long sigh. "And what if it's not fabricated?"

"Then there's no harm done."

"That's not what I mean, Tails. I know you believe that I didn't do this, but what if Knuckles is right? What if I did? How could you throw away everything on that possibility? The only chance you had to make things up with Sonic…" Shadow shakes his head. "Would you really be protecting me if you knew that I committed genocide?"

Tails looks firmly into Shadow's eyes. "Yes. I would. Because people change, and I know who you are right now. I don't care what happened forty years ago. You aren't the same person you were before you met us. You've changed. I've changed. When I was a kid, I never would've had the confidence to make a choice like this. But I believe in myself, and I believe in you. So even if you did all the things that datapad said you did. Even if it means Sonic and Knuckles will be going after you for the rest of their lives. Even if it means I never get to see Sonic again… I'm with you. End of story."

"Tails…"

Fox interrupts, "I know you guys are having another moment, but we really do need to move. Sonic will likely suspect that we came here."

Shadow crosses his arms. "We'll deal with Sonic if he comes."

"I think we need to be clear about something here, buddy. I'll do what I can to keep you safe while you do whatever it is that you need to do. But if it comes down to it, Camp Beta is not going to fight Sonic or anyone else from Camp Alpha. Eggman's still the enemy. We're not doing his dirty work for him."

"Of course." Shadow bows his head down. "That's all I can expect of you. Lead the way."

—–—

The Eggshelter

Sonic sits down at the round conference table, with a growing number of empty seats. He places down his TAL computer, displaying the SCOPE data sent by Tails. "Shadow has gone too far. He's stolen one of our Chaos Emeralds, knowing how important they are in the fight against Eggman. This is as serious as it gets, and we need all hands on deck to get it taken care of. I'm sending search parties to all of the likely locations where Shadow could have gone."

"With all due respect, sir…" Johnny stands from his seat, at attention. "…I am refusing this order."

Knuckles lets out an exasperated groan. "Oh, brother…"

Johnny continues, "I will not participate in the wrongful arrest of Shadow."

Espio objects, "There's nothing wrongful about it. Shadow has committed an act of pure evil, and we have all the proof we need of that."

"Legally speaking, Shadow was pardoned of all crimes committed prior to his joining GUN, known or otherwise. That's the only way someone with a criminal record is permitted to serve. It's my duty as a soldier to take appropriate action when an unlawful order is given."

Bruno responds, "We're not in GUN anymore. And this isn't about the law, it's about Shadow being a danger to us and to others." Hero looks up at him with a conflicted expression on his face.

Johnny concludes, "I also have a duty to my friend. If that means you have to throw me in the brig for disobedience, so be it."

Sonic appears to be losing patience. "Fine. Have it your way. Anyone else want to join Johnny in the brig?"

Hero rises from his seat. "Hey, wait, what're you–" Hero gives Bruno a sorrowful look. "Yeah, I know he's our friend, but he chose his side, and we need to be the good guys here." Hero keeps looking back at him as he walks over to stand by Johnny's side. "Giving people a chance? This…this isn't just about Shadow, is it?" Hero shakes his head slowly. "Buddy…"

Sonic hardly seems surprised. "Anyone else?"

Charmy speaks up, "I…I don't think this is right. We shouldn't be fighting our friends, but…"

Cream picks up, "I don't like it either, but…our friends chose to fight us, first."

Amy interjects, "It seems to me that there's a fair debate about who started this. I think there's something we all need to consider here. What do we actually get by going after Shadow?"

Knuckles answers simply, "Justice."

Bruno adds, "Our Emerald?"

Sonic agrees, "Everyone's safety."

Amy nods. "Of course we want all of those. But is it worth the time and resources we'll be putting in? Is it worth putting ourselves in danger? Is it worth fighting our friends when we should be fighting Eggman? We know that Shadow doesn't mean anyone any harm, he's out there trying to find the truth. If we let him do that…what do we really lose?"

Knuckles objects, "We don't know any of that. We don't know that Shadow hasn't been lying to us all along. And even if it's true that he forgot what he did, what happens when he does find the truth? When he remembers being a genocidal maniac? There's no telling what he'll do then."

Sonic adds in a warning tone, "Are you saying that you're siding with Shadow in this, Amy?"

"No. You're still in charge here. I just want to make sure that we all understand exactly what it is that we're doing."

"Good. Now, there's someone we still haven't heard from. Omega?"

Omega, silent for all of this time, responds in a familiar tone, "GUN hierarchical protocols remain in effect. I will continue to follow the orders of my superior officer, including those that require me to combat former allies, so long as they do not conflict with lower-level protocols."

"Last I checked, your existing relationships count as lower-level protocols."

"Shadow the Hedgehog can be identified as an enemy. The destruction of my enemies is a base-level protocol."

Sonic eyes Omega mistrustingly. Still, he relents. "Fine. It sounds like we've all made up our minds. Johnny, Hero, leave your weapons on the table and escort yourselves to the brig. I trust you to follow through with that much. Don't make me regret it."

The soldiers obey, laying down a Wispon and a plasma rifle before turning to leave silently. Hero takes sorrowful glance back at Sonic and Bruno alike.

Bruno whispers, "I'm sorry…"

Amy looks up questioningly at the Wisp. "Was that from you? Or from him?"

Bruno takes a moment before giving a solemn nod. "That was him."

Once Johnny and Hero depart, Sonic turns back to the table. "As for the rest of us, we need to get to work."

—–—

Mirage Saloon Zone

Shadow's group treks single-file through a dazzling desert, the hilltops slowly fading in the distance behind them. The sands are littered with sun bleached wooden structures, perhaps once housing an old western town, now left abandoned for many years.

"This is where we'll find your new base?"

Fox shakes his head. "Not here. You'll have to trust me on this one, alright? Every step is important. We're walking like this so that if anyone finds our footprints, they'll have no way of knowing how many of us there are."

Rouge questions, "I don't suppose anyone brought any water with them? Or food, for that matter?"

Fox grabs a canteen off of his belt and tosses it back to her. "Told you those emergency supplies would come in handy."

Tails silently scrolls through the datapad as he walks.

Shadow looks back at him, questioning, "Have you found anything?"

Tails shakes his head after a moment. "There's a lot of data in here. Assassinations, kidnappings, coup d'états… Dozens, maybe hundreds of logs all authorized by the same person. Agent Black." He shakes his head once again. "There has to be a discrepancy somewhere, but I'll need time to dig through all the metadata. A lot of time."

"You can have all the time you need once we're someplace safer."

"Heads up, everyone," Fox warns. "We're at the coordinates. Our ride is here." They all stop, looking on ahead to a distant object that speeds towards them, kicking up a plume of dust in its wake.

Rouge points out, "There's another one." As she says, something else is speeding towards them from behind.

Tails corrects, "Three of them!" A third vehicle comes in from off to the side, just as rapidly as the other two.

"Those're ours, too. Whatever happens next, you all need to stay calm and go with it. It might get a little rough, but like I said, every step is important."

As the converging vehicles come closer, their shapes become discernible. The vaguely egg-shaped transport vessels, dark orange in color, hover just a few inches off the ground, showing no signs of slowing down. Just seconds off from collision, the three vehicles suddenly veer off into a tight circle around the group, kicking up a tornado of sand and dust that blocks the view from all sides and darkens the light from the horizon.

Tails coughs through the ambient dust. Shouting over the sound of the vehicles speeding around them, he asks, "What exactly do you mean, 'rough'?"

"No one's going to be able to see which one you get into, including you!" At his words, silhouetted figures leap out from their moving vehicles, grabbing Shadow, Rouge, and Tails from behind, and throwing cloth bags over their heads to further block their vision. Fox watches in satisfaction as the three are carried onto one of the moving vessels, and he hops on board to join them. He shouts in, "I know this seems like overkill, but every precaution we take is one that has a chance of saving our lives."

Looking back out of the open cargo door, he sees another familiar face looking back at him from the same position on the opposite vehicle. Vector shouts at him, "That was Shadow! What the heck is going on here!?"

"I'll catch you up when I get the chance, buddy! Thanks for helping out!" Fox grabs the handle on the cargo door, and slides it shut, cutting them out of the clamor outside.

The three cargo vessels take off out of the rising dust cloud in three different directions, with no means of distinguishing between them.

—–—

Prison Station — Location Unknown

"Zed…how did you find this?" Sergeant Ayanna Brown stares in wonder at a massive viewscreen filled with familiar data. The logs of Agent Black.

The jet black Omega model robot beside her answers, "A transmission was intercepted, flagged for containing SCOPE codes. These were the contents of that transmission."

"It must be in here somewhere… Why did you hide it from me, Sergeant?" She swipes through one file after another, until she finally comes across an untitled text file with a very small file size. She opens it, putting on a wide smile as she sees its contents. '27:53:00'. "This is it. This is the code." She looks back at Zed, showing more and more elation on her face. "We may actually have a chance of surviving this battle, Zed. We just have to bring Agent Black back into service."

To be continued…