? ? ?

"Shadow… Help…"

Shadow stares down the long winding halls of the ARK with a look of bewilderment on his face. "Maria? Is that you?"

As if from nowhere, the young girl materializes down the hall, sprinting straight towards him and stopping to take his hand. "Shadow, I just can't leave everyone behind!"

"Who…?"

"Please, you need to help Grandfather's research team! They were all attacked by the GUN soldiers in the laboratory!"

"No… No, Maria, I have to get you out of here, it isn't safe."

"But Shadow…it's already too late for me…" She pulls a hand away from her stomach to show that it's covered with blood—not red, but pitch black. Suddenly, she collapses to her knees.

"Maria!" He ducks down to help her.

"It's too late to save me, Shadow. But it's not too late to save them. If you act now, you can still save our people."

"Our people…?"

Another voice interrupts, "There they are! Get 'em!"

Shadow holds Maria's head down as the GUN soldiers marching in from down the hall begin to open fire. But they aren't aiming for Shadow and Maria. From the other end of the hall, another group marches through the shadows, firing back with bolts of glowing violet plasma, leaving Shadow and Maria caught right in the middle of the firefight.

"They need your help, Shadow. I need your help."

With a gasp, Shadow realizes that Maria's lips no longer move, though she continues to speak.

"Help them. Help me."

The shadowed group marches into the light, revealing the hunched reptilian figures of Black Arms warriors wielding alien weapons, going down one by one to the attacking GUN soldiers. But they aren't GUN soldiers anymore. They too have had their forms revealed by stepping into the light, though these new forms appear only as shapeless, glowing white masses. As the lead figure approaches them, it opens three piercing gold eyes in their direction. Suddenly, as if by some unspoken signal, the shooting stops. The Black Arms and the white masses stop fighting each other. Instead, they all turn their weapons at Shadow and Maria. "Fire!"

—

"Maria!" Shadow bolts awake, this time with a gasp that is very much his own. Taking a few breaths to calm himself, he looks up at the clock on the wall. '06:21'. "That late? These dreams keep getting worse…"

"Help me…"

Shadow looks around in confusion, not finding any source for the distant, whispering voice. He shakes the thought away and gets up off of his mattress. After a moment of thought, he decides to skip his usual stretches, and moves straight for the door instead.

"Help me…"

Shadow's hand stops in front of the door's control panel. "Is someone there?" Getting no response, he gives a groan and another shake of his head before opening the door.

"Mr. Shadow! Mr. Shadow, come quick!"

Before Shadow can realize what's happening, Cream has already grabbed him by the hand and started pulling him out onto the catwalk outside. "Cream? What's going on?"

"There's no time! You have to come see!" Before long, she's led him to the training room, past the obstacle course to the second door down. "In there," she asserts.

Taking a ready stance, he cautiously presses down on the panel to open the door. On the other side, he finds himself face-to-face with a Black Arms warrior.

Sonic the Hedgehog: The Chaos Project

Season 3, Episode 6

Arms Race Part 1

Written by ChaosProjectAuthor

Westopolis…?

Before Shadow can even react, the alien footsoldier in front of him is shot from behind, exploding in a burst of green goop that splatters against the empty doorway as if it were a solid wall.

"Shadow! Perfect timing, get in here!" Up ahead on a cracked asphalt road, Johnny takes cover behind a tall pile of concrete rubble.

Shadow looks around in bewilderment at the flaming, smoggy city that waits on the other side of the door.

"Hurry up, there's another wave incoming!"

Shaking his questions aside, Shadow hurries through the door and takes up position at Johnny's side. Immediately, a pistol is tossed into his hands.

"Get ready to fight."

Shadow takes a look over their shelter to see the small troop of Black Aliens marching down the road towards them, in a sight not so different from his dream.

"Help me…"

With a growl, Shadow tosses the weapon back over his shoulder and runs straight out, armed with nothing but his fists.

"Hey, wait a minute!"

Shadow rolls straight through the front line of the invaders, taking down every one he hits and turning all of their attention to him.

Johnny starts laying down cover fire, picking off the aliens that get too close to Shadow's back, while Shadow swiftly and aggressively punches and kicks his way through the rest. When only one remains, Shadow dives straight into it, pinning it down with one arm and raising the other with clawed fingers as if to rip into it. But there, with teeth bared and attack at the ready, he hesitates, looking down into the large golden eyes that stare back up at him.

"Help us…"

In that moment of hesitation, the Black Warrior grabs Shadow and throws him off with monstrous strength. Before it can keep up the attack, a perfect shot in the head takes it down.

Johnny cheers, "Got 'em! Looks like you aren't showing me up this time either, Shadow." He walks over to offer down a hand, helping Shadow back up to his feet.

Shadow rubs at his head in confusion. "What's going on here…?"

"Pretty realistic, right?" Suddenly, the world around them begins to dissolve in a haze of pixelated colors, leaving behind only a small, box-shaped room with reflective white walls. Tails stands by one of these walls, nodding with satisfaction. "Our new Virtron solid hologram system is working perfectly."

"Virtron?"

Johnny steps up to explain, "Tails dug this tech out of the ruins of HQ, remember? GUN was already working on it before the war, but I guess Eggman ended up perfecting it some time last year."

"Not quite perfecting," Tails interjects. "His holograms were still having a cohesion issue, but that was easy enough for me to fix."

Cream runs in cheering, "That was so cool! How does it work, Tails?"

Tails smirks. "It's probably better if I show you." He presses a few keys on his Handheld Pad, activating the room's walls to create a new hologram with a pulsating glow.

Shadow once again flinches at the sight of the alien warrior, even as it stands in a stationary default pose.

Tails drags a slider across the screen, causing the alien to grow in size exponentially. Shadow instinctively raises his arms to guard against the growing creature, but its head and feet only appear to clip through the ceiling and floor as their view of it zooms in ever faster. Beyond the detail of its scaly skin, the illusion begins to show its true nature. Every square inch of the model's surface is made up of thousands of small, tightly-packed cubes. Tails keeps zooming in until just one of these cubes is plainly visible. Its surface is colored in a soft glowing gradient from red, to green, to blue. "This is a single Virtron voxel cube. Just like the pixels on a screen, you can put them together with different RGB values to create an image that's pretty much indistinguishable from the real thing—only in three dimensions instead of two. Obviously, the hard part is giving them a proper simulation of actual mass, so that it feels like a real object when you touch it. To do that, the walls here are set up to emit directed waves of—"

"This looks familiar." Shadow stares at the floating cube with a distant expression on his face.

Tails nods. "You might recognize it a little better like this." Tails adjusts a few more sliders on his screen, filtering out the green and blue until only the red in the cube remains. "See it now?"

Shadow nods slowly. "The Phantom Ruby."

"The Phantom Ruby is basically just an ancient magic Virtron. Or…a hyperadvanced Virtron using technology beyond my comprehension, jury's still out on that one. Either way, it creates virtual reality replicas in exactly the same way. It's…just a little bit more portable than this. These systems are all locked to the walls here, so what we have is pretty much just the Holodeck from Chao in Space Next Gen."

Johnny adds, "This one is based on the same Expert Training simulation you did back when you were recruited, Shadow. Just a little bit more interactive now."

"So there aren't any real Black Aliens here?"

"Nothing but this replica here."

"You're sure?"

Tails cocks his head to the side in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Shadow closes his eyes to think for a moment. "Can we talk? Privately?"

"Of course. Anytime." Tails shuts off the hologram projectors and walks Shadow out into the main training hall. "So what's on your mind?"

Shadow seems to think about that for a while longer. "It's…lately, I've been having these…dreams. About the Black Arms returning to Earth."

"Oh. I guess that simulation didn't help with that, did it?"

"It's fine. I just…I'm trying to figure out what it all means. This morning, it stopped feeling like a dream. It's like I can hear someone calling out to me. Someone who needs my help. We know now that they're still out there somewhere. And if there's even a small chance that they're here…it could be real. They could be putting someone in danger."

"Well…I don't know much about this feeling you're having, but…I do know that dreams can sometimes be more than dreams. It could be that your subconscious is trying to tell you something. Maybe something you have to learn, or something you need to do. For a long time, I was having dreams about Sonic and me being turned against each other. If I'd been paying closer attention…things might've gone a bit differently."

"So you're saying…?"

"I don't know what I'm saying. I'd call up an expert if I could, but the best I can do is tell you…that if it's bothering you, you should figure out what you can do about it. My dreams stopped when I realized that I needed to apologize to Sonic."

Shadow takes another moment of deep thought."Tails…could you do me a favor? Don't tell Sonic about this."

"Huh? Why not?"

"I don't want him to worry. I just…need some more time to think."

Meanwhile, in the Virtron room, Cream comments, "You were really good, Mr. Naka."

Johnny laughs, "Please, Mr. Naka was my grandfather. You're welcome to call me Johnny like everyone else. Is there…any particular reason you asked to watch me train this morning, Cream?"

"Oh…well…it's just that I've noticed…how hard you're always working.I know that you think you're behind everyone else, so you're always training to catch up. I…I want to be able to do that too."

"You want to learn how to be a soldier?"

Cream shakes her head. "No, sir. I just want to learn how to train. At everything. So I can be just as good as everybody else."

"Well, if that's all, then you've come to the right place. How'd you like to be my protégé?"

Cream cheers, "That would be great!"

Cheese agrees, "Chao chao!"

Johnny nods in satisfaction. "Well for today, you can just keep watching. Pay close attention to how I respond to similar situations each time. See if you can spot how my strategy changes."

At that moment, Tails walks back in through the door.

"I'm ready for another round, Tails. What else can this thing do?"

Tails looks down at his Pad. "I've got the whole Expert course ready to go here. Any suggestions for which battlefield to try next, Shadow?" Tails takes a glance behind his shoulder, realizing that Shadow isn't there. "I…guess he left. We should try something that tests these graphics a bit harder. How would you like to try 'Digital Circuit'?"

"Sounds like fun."

—–—

Daily log, July 3rd, 2 A.E. Shadow the Hedgehog reporting.

I don't know where I'm going. I don't know why I'm going there. But I can't shake the feeling that it's somewhere I have to be. Somewhere I have to go alone. I just hope I'm not too late.

…

But there's a part of me…deeper down…begging, screaming for me to turn and run the other way. That would probably be the smarter thing to do. But I don't run. I'm going to find out why this is happening, one way or the other.

There was a time when my instincts were all I had to tell me who I am. Right now, those instincts are telling me to press on. To do what's right. "Help me," she keeps saying. It's all I can hear anymore. "Help me." If I'm the only person who can help, that's what I'm going to do.

…

Wherever it is that I'm going, the transport vessel just arrived. Let's find out.

—–—

Meta Junglira Zone

Thin shafts of light filter through the otherwise dense canopy of a thick, humid jungle. Shadow trudges through a pool of swampy mud, scanning in every direction for anything he can see.

"Help me…"

Shadow calls out loud, "Where are you? What's going on?"

"You're close… Keep going…"

Shadow looks up in surprise at hearing these new words. "I want to help you! Just tell me who you are!"

"I've been waiting for you… Shadow the Hedgehog… You're finally here…" "I can't believe it's really you!"

Shadow is hardly able to gasp at the suddenly audible sound of the voice before a pair of arms fly around him, wrapping him in a tight embrace. "Wh— What're you—!? Get off!" Shadow pushes the stranger away, finally getting a look at her.

She wears long brown robes, with a jeweled necklace and decorative rings around her fingers. Her skin, of a soft featherlike texture, is pitch black, accented by streaks and caps of sharp red. On the center of her forehead is a lone crescent-shaped red mark. "I'm sorry, I…I've just been waiting so long to meet you."

"What do you mean? Who are you, why do I keep hearing your voice in my head?"

"My name is Luna." She takes Shadow's hands, and looks straight into his eyes. "I know this must all be very confusing. But I need your help. Come with me, and everything will be explained. Please, we have to hurry."

For a moment, Shadow's eyes seem to grow distant. Then he gives her a brief nod. "Lead the way."

She does just that, pulling him by the hand onwards through the jungle. "Luna…it feels like…I know you somehow…"

"I feel the same way."

"But how is that possible? I've never met you before…"

"I've been trying to contact you for some time now. I was too far away to reach you, but…you must have felt my mental touch."

"What is it that you need my help with? Are you in danger?"

"At this moment? Yes, that's why we need to hurry."

"From what?"

She suddenly stops, pointing out ahead, where a swift figure can barely be seen darting between the trees. "From them."

"Them, them who?"

"Stay behind me, I'll keep them off of us."

Shadow takes a step back, watching in surprise as Luna's feet lift off of the ground by an unseen force. A bolt of plasma is fired from somewhere in the thicket. "Look out!"

Luna becomes covered in a hazy blue aura. She swats the oncoming projectile away with a hand, and takes off along the ground in telekinetic flight. As she flies, her aura begins to split off from her, creating a ghostlike duplicate of her that takes off ahead, drawing the assailant's fire while she breaks off in the opposite direction. She throws out a hand, causing a tall wave of mud to fly up and crash towards the attacker's turned back. But the attacker seems to recognize this ploy, and dives into a roll out of the way, rising back up to turn and fire a shot back at Luna, knocking her out of the air. The moment she is struck, her duplicate fades away.

"Luna!" Shadow runs in to help her.

The attacking figure marches closer through the shadows of the trees, charging a more powerful plasma shot in the cannon attached to their arm.

As Shadow takes Luna's hand, he shouts at the attacker, "Stay away from her!" In time with his shout, a massive shockwave bursts out from the point where their hands touch, sending mud flying away in a perfect circle, tearing through and toppling trees, and sending the attacker flying away through the chaos. Shadow gasps. "Wh-what was that? That wasn't you?"

With Shadow's help, Luna climbs back to her feet. "That was us. Our power is much stronger together."

"Our power?"

Luna gets her hands around Shadow's head, and turns him to look her in the eyes. "We can't stay here. There will be more where that one came from. We have to keep moving."

Once again, Shadow's eyes grow distant as he listens to her words. "Right… Keep moving…"

Not wasting time with running this time, Luna lifts back into the air, and seems to lift Shadow up along with her. Still guiding him by the hand, she flies with him deeper into the jungle.

On the edge of the destructive crater they left behind, the defeated figure rises back to their feet. Their cybernetic white and blue armor appears to have protected them well enough from the attack. "White Dove contacting White Dreamnet. The target has escaped. She's not alone. Returning to Veimue 11 to pursue."

—–—

The Eggshelter — Rebel Camp Alpha

"What do you mean, he's gone?"

Tails does his best to explain to Sonic, "He said he…wanted some time to think. When I went to go look for him, he was gone, along with one of our transport vessels."

"Time to think? About what?"

"Uhh… Well…"

"Tails, is there something you're not telling me?"

"He…said it was personal."

Sonic lets out a groan as he drags a hand down over his face. "Dang it, Shadow. Have you not realized by now that your personal problems are always magnets for trouble?" He closes his eyes to think for a few moments. "Alright, we'll just have to track him down before things get out of hand. Get the Chaotix together, we have a missing person to look for."

—–—

Luna sets Shadow gently down in a clearing in the woods. She waves a hand out into the air, and something there begins to shimmer. The effect soon solidifies into the form of a sleek black craft with a familiar shape. Its exterior more closely resembles scaly skin than metal. "We're here."

"This…this is…"

"Our bioship, the Black Manta."

"Our?"

"I didn't come here alone. Shadow, it's time for you to meet my partner. Saturn?"

Shadow's mind is suddenly assaulted by a loud, forceful voice. "This one Shadow? Shadow…is puny." At the back of the bioship, a circular valve -like structure irises open, allowing a tall, imposing figure to step out from the inside. "Saturn is superior." The figure, Saturn, is tall and muscular, with clawed hands and feet. His skin, much like the ship he steps out of, is scaly and black, accented with red and a single tuft of white fur on his chest. Like Luna, he wears a simple brown cloth, though only as a cape draping from shoulder pads, clasped together by a single small jewel There is no recognizable mouth beneath his sharp yellow eyes.. "Friend Luna is certain about this one?"

"Yes, Saturn, this is the one. You'll have to forgive my friend here," Luna explains to Shadow. "His species doesn't have a verbal language, so he's still getting used to communicating in a way the rest of us can easily understand."

"His species?"

"Skenouan. Well, half Skenouan."

Saturn confirms, "Half Skenouan. All powerful."

Shadow takes a step back in rapidly growing concern, looking over the strange yet familiar two—three—creatures before him. "Skenouan…? Isn't that a dead planet? And that ship…? And both of you…"

Luna offers him a soft smile. "I'm surprised, you know your galactic history. We all have our own stories to tell. But we can do that on the way. Please, come aboard with us."

Shadow takes another step back. "No… No, I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what you are. That ship is Black Arms. And both of you…your powers…"

Luna corrects, "Our powers. They're the same as yours, Shadow. I don't know why you're asking when you already know the answer."

Saturn explains, "Black Saturn. Black Luna. Black Shadow. Three Black Heralds, together finally."

Shadow's hands clench into fists, as his lips curl back in a snarl. "I am not one of you. You are not welcome here. Leave this planet, and never return."

Luna pleads, "Shadow, I know that you're confused, and frightened, but please believe me when I say that we intend no harm to you or anyone else on this planet. We're here because you're the only person who can help us."

"I won't help you. You've been warned. Leave."

Luna closes her eyes solemnly. "I'm sorry it had to be this way, Shadow. All I ever wanted…was to know you. The one person in this galaxy who understands us. But maybe you don't understand after all. Saturn?"

Saturn steps up behind her, silently placing a hand on her shoulder. "Puny Shadow will look Friend Luna in eyes. Tell her again she is forbidden from existing in Puny Shadow's presence, why? Reasons Friend Luna controls not."

As Luna opens her eyes, Shadow glares into them, ready to repeat his ultimatum once again. But he hesitates.

Two voices speak to him as one. "Help us. Come with us."

"I won't…"

"Help us. Come with us."

Shadow tries to turn his head away, but he can't seem to break the eye contact. "I can't leave. This is my planet."

"Help us. Come with us."

"You can't take me without telling me where we're going."

"Help us. Come with us."

"But if I do…" Shadow's eyes grow ever more distant.

"Help us. Come with us."

"Fine! Fine, I'll go. Just…stop doing that."

Luna puts a hand over Saturn's on her shoulder. "Thank you for your help. We should get going, we've already lost a lot of time." She and Saturn turn to climb back into the porthole in the back of the ship.

Shadow holds a hand up to his head. "What just happened…?"

Luna calls from within the ship, "Hurry, Shadow!"

Shaking his doubts aside, Shadow rushes in after them.

—–—

In a flash, Sonic drops Tails and the Chaotix down onto the sand. Tails quickly gets a look at the readings on his Pad. "Judging by the initial heading the transport vessel logged to the computer when it launched, assuming standard ocean currents, it should have ended up right about…"

Vector calls out, "Here!" He points down at the transport vessel washed up on the sand.

Charmy is quick to point out, "Footprints. Heading straight into the jungle."

Espio corrects, "Not quite straight. You can see that he doubled back at least twice before he even made it off of the sand. All the prints are cautiously close together. It appears to me that he was quite unsure of the path he was taking."

Sonic nods along. "But he took it anyways. Let's hurry and keep on the trail, he might—"

Sonic is interrupted by a loud whooshing sound, preempting the appearance of the Black Manta, punching its way out through the jungle canopy and arcing up towards the sky at high speed, leaving a glowing blue trail behind it.

"Was that…?"

Sonic is once again stopped before he can finish by a second craft, hot on the tail of the first. This one is metallic, white and blue, and teardrop-shaped, with a wide windshield in front and a small black docking port in back. It opens fire on the ship in front of it as it pursues, quickly gaining in speed. Before long, both ships can be seen as nothing but distant flashing specks in the sky.

"Dang it, Shadow… Always a magnet for trouble…"

—–—

"Direct hit to our aft shields," Luna exclaims. "Still holding at full strength."

"They seek to challenge Saturn in flight? They soon see, Saturn is superior."

The inside of the bioship bears no recognizable controls nor computers—only dark, smooth, slightly slimy walls. A single translucent screen at the front of the cockpit offers the only view of what goes on outside, as the sky darkens into a field of stars. At opposite sides of the screen, Luna and Saturn each stand at a tall basin filled with a glowing red fluid, their hands both dunked inside.

Shadow, standing behind them, still seems to be taking in the alien sights. "Are…are these the same ones from before?"

Luna gives a quick nod, still focusing her attention on her hands in the pool. "We can't go to Mega Warp with our combat shields up. We have to—" The ship is rocked by another round of fire. "Another direct hit. Shields are at green. If you have a plan, Saturn, you need to get on with it."

Shadow presses, "What can I do to help?"

Saturn responds, "Stay behind and watch close. Saturn want to brag later." He shifts his hands around in the basin, and the ship responds, turning into a tight curve that forces Shadow to crouch down and brace himself against the ground. The view from the front screen turns all the way around, until the ship pursuing them and the planet behind it comes into view. "Firing full worm salvo."

"Wait!"

Against Shadow's objection, a volley of six missiles fire from the ship's front, each arcing at a different angle to converge on the opposing ship from every side. They all explode at once, revealing the ship's spherical blue shield that keeps it well protected.

Luna announces, "No effect."

Shadow interjects, "That's a White Arms vessel. You didn't tell me the White Arms were after you. What did you do?"

"They're the White Arms. They don't care what we did. All they care about is what we are. You should know that."

Saturn hesitantly explains, "They…improved their shields. New plan is coming."

Shadow demands, "Let me talk to them."

He seems to go ignored as Luna continues to read off, "Their weapons are charging…but they're holding position. Hailing us with a demand for immediate surrender."

Shadow presses, "They don't have any reason to attack me, we can end this peacefully! Let me talk to them! Please!"

Luna and Saturn take a momentary glance at one another, sharing some silent communication. Something begins to grow out of the floor in front of Shadow, rapidly shaping into a third basin, which is pumped full of the same red fluid from inside. Luna nods to Shadow. "You have full access to the ship's systems. Put your hands in and speak. The ship will do the rest."

Hesitantly, Shadow dunks his hands into the basin. The viscous liquid inside takes shape around his hands, taking on a soft glow. "White Arms vessel, this is Shadow the Hedgehog of the sovereign planet Earth. You've attacked this ship without provocation. You have no jurisdiction here. You are asked to stand down and leave peacefully."

A moment later, a response is channeled directly into his head. "Shadow the Hedgehog, this is the White Arms scoutship Veimue 11. You are aboard the vessel of a known terrorist group. We have full authority to subdue these terrorists by any means necessary. Drop your shields and prepare to be boarded. If there is a misunderstanding, it will be resolved."

Shadow pulls his hands out and spits at Luna, "Terrorists?"

"They thought the same thing about you when you met your first White Kaosian."

'How would you know that?"

"I was there, connected to your mind, when your emotions were heightened. I helped you escape."

"That was you? You're the presence that…that was in my dreams? With Black Doom?"

Luna shakes her head. "Not him. That was my father. Black Gladius."

With a growl, Shadow submerges his hands back in the basin. "I'm lowering the shields."

"We can't surrender to them, Shadow. They'll execute us. And you, for associating with us."

"I realize now that was never my choice. And as for you…good riddance."

Saturn goads, "Puny Shadow is coward. None surprise to Saturn."

Luna announces, "Our shields are down. They're powering down weapons…and shields. They're extending a docking clamp."

Saturn presses, "You choose to be Saturn's enemy? At least give Saturn pleasure of going down proving superiority to Puny Shadow."

Shadow pulls his hands out to raise his fists. "Gladly."

Saturn physically snorts what might be a laugh. "Saturn regains ship controls. Firing full worm salvo."

"What!? No!" Shadow dives back towards the basin, but it recedes down into the floor before he can reach it.

Another volley of organic missiles fire out from the ship's front. With no shields to block them, the Veimue is torn apart from every angle, detonating in a fiery chain reaction.

Shadow watches the explosion in horror. "What did you do…?"

"Exactly same as Saturn's promised plan. Enemy is eliminated. Saturn is superior."

"That was your plan, and you called me the coward? I gave you both the chance to leave, and now someone's dead because you didn't. I wanted to believe that you were being honest with me. But now I see you're exactly the coldblooded monsters I thought you were." As he speaks, a red aura flares to life around him.

"Fight continue? Saturn pleased." Saturn lifts his chin and holds out a clawed hand threateningly.

"This won't be a fight. This will be me getting rid of two scourges of the galaxy before they can take any more innocent lives. By any means necessary. Chaos…"

"Sleep!" Luna places a hand directly over Shadow's head, glaring into his eyes as she compels him.

Instantly, Shadow's aura fades as he drops to his knees. Though his eyes grow distant and his eyelids seem to grow heavy, he fights to stay alert. "No… No…"

"Saturn, I need your help."

Saturn places a hand on Luna's shoulder, and they command as one, "Sleep."

Any strength Shadow had left leaves him, and he drops the rest of the way to the floor. Still, his eyes remain just barely open.

"There's no need to be afraid. You'll be thanking us soon, Shadow."

"Where…? Why…?"

"Home. We're taking you home."

As Shadow's vision fades away, a faint, soft voice can be heard starting to sing. Though there are no words, the same message seems to be imparted through the melody. Don't be afraid. You're going home.

—–—

Vector runs his hand over one of the circle of fallen trees in the newly-made clearing in the jungle. "Obviously, these weren't cut. They were knocked over by a sudden force, like an explosion."

Charmy adds for emphasis, "Boom!"

Sonic questions, "A Chaos Blast?"

Espio shakes his head. "If that were the case, we would expect to see a much clearer scorching pattern."

Vector agrees, "All we have here are a few pockmarks, probably from some kind of laser or plasma weapon."

Tails appears to be running a search of his own. "This looks more consistent with a sonic boom. Just a sudden, very intense pressure wave through the air."

Charmy looks up from his own investigation. "Whatever it was, the trail ends here. No sign of anyone leaving after this. Could be that they all disintegrated."

Sonic chuckles at the morbid joke. "More likely, they flew out. Shadow got on one ship, and whoever he was fighting got on the other."

Espio notes, "Or he was taken onto a ship. Judging by the struggle, this could very well have been an abduction attempt."

Tails glances away nervously.

Sonic continues, "That doesn't explain the second ship."

Vector interjects, "I hate to say it, but…it looks like we may have one more lead in that area." He points straight up into the air, where the flaming remains of the Veimue can be seen hurtling back down through the atmosphere.

Tails reads off of his scanner, "That's the second ship. The metal one."

Sonic watches it fall with disbelief. "Either Shadow was on that ship…or he was on the ship that shot it down. Charmy…you bring a medkit?"

"Always."

"I doubt you'll have much use for it, but…be ready. We'll see what we can find."

They all shudder as the ship collides with the ground in the distance.

—–—

Thousands of lightyears away — Planet Orthan IV

The Black Manta pierces through a thick layer of dark clouds, entering the lower atmosphere of the alien planet. Much like the interior of the Black Comet, the planet's surface bears roads paved with alien markings, rivers that run purple and red, and scaly structures that grow straight out of the ground. The roads are lit by a constant dim bioluminescence, and the occasional blue burning torch, sprouting periodically from the ground just like everything else. Black Aliens of every kind march through the streets in even groups and with mirrored movements, some carrying unformed materials, others wielding familiar weapons, and still more leading groups of a different kind of alien, bound together in slimy, writhing chains. In the center of the stange city, a massive tower grows above the rest like a mighty tree, covered with spots of white light, and with a wide glowing bulb expanded near its top, looking down on all the rest.

The Manta sets down gently near the base of the central tower. The moment its back hatch irises open, a black blur darts out from the inside.

"Shadow, wait!" Luna reaches out after him.

Saturn steps up behind her. "Friend Luna should concern none. Puny Shadow will complete first task of own free will. We simply lead him there."

"It's him that I'm concerned about. We were supposed to prepare him first…"

Shadow races through the alien streets, keeping the tower at his back and his eyes straight forward. "Have to get away…" He skids to a halt as he comes upon a group of aliens in his way. Guarded by an armored Black Assassin in front and back, the convoy of prisoners, all of the same unfamiliar birdlike species, are bound together by one long, thin, living creature—a worm that wraps around each and every leg, writhing and wriggling in the space between them.

One of the prisoners notices Shadow with a look of terror on his face. "You! Whoever you are, you have to help us! We—" The prisoner is struck in the back by a low-power blast from the rear guard's laser Refractor weapon, doubling over in pain.

Shadow moves as if to help him, but finds his foot stuck to the ground. With a wince of pain, he looks down to find the teeth of a larval Death Leech latched into his ankle. A swarm of leeches appear to guard the prisoners' feet, and all of them writhe over the ground in a move to converge on Shadow. The Black Assassins both point their weapons at him. With a growl, Shadow rips the leech off of his leg and runs the other way, ducking under shots from the Black Assassins as he goes. The laser blasts bounce off of walls ahead and fly right back towards him. This time, he leaps over them, and they strike the closest leeches behind him, covering his escape.

Something stomps into Shadow's path. The towering Black Oak soldier wields a Dark Hammer in one muscular arm, holding out the opposite hand as if commanding Shadow to stop. Rather than risk a fight, Shadow turns and races off in a new direction. Another Black Oak waits not far ahead, forcing him to turn again. More of them close in from every side, attempting to encircle Shadow completely. The closest one tries to bring the hammer down on him. He dives to the side, and the hammer crashes down hard enough to crack the tiled road. He leaps over the attacker's head and keeps on running.

Shadow's new path takes him straight towards the dark river. A Black Warrior flies down the river at high speed on a bladed Air Saucer. Shadow leaps out over the water, ramming the alien off into the river with a shoulder to take the ride for himself. He leans his weight forward as far as he can, increasing the saucer's speed even higher, and leaving a wake in the water behind him. More Black Warriors march to shores ahead, pointing their twin barrel Flash Shots and Light Shot ray guns at him to open fire. Shadow ducks down on his saucer, swerving to evade the constant fire coming from both sides.

"Look out!"

Shadow flattens down even lower to avoid a creature that dives at his head from behind. Looking back over his shoulder, he finds a small swarm of batlike Black Wings chasing him down. Another one of them takes a dive at him with a screech. As Shadow swerves to the side to avoid it, he growls, "Get out of my head!"

Luna's voice answers, "I don't want you to get hurt…"

Shadow repeats with even greater ferocity, "Get out!" As he does, he hurls a Chaos Spear straight back over his shoulder, nailing one of the Black Wings directly. The remains of its body splash down into the dark water.

Ahead, the river flows into a narrow tunnel. Shadow keeps his head low to fit inside. Behind him, the Black Wings fly mindlessly headfirst into the wall, leaving Shadow, momentarily, alone in the tunnel with bright glowing walls.

"You should listen to me if you want to make it out of this."

"Leave me alone."

"I can't do that. I only want what's best for you."

"Stop pretending like you care. If you cared, you wouldn't have kidnapped me in the first place."

"Do you want the rest of your life to look like these last five minutes? This is a big planet. You can run, you can hide, but there's nowhere you can go that he won't find you. If you just listen to me, those enemies could be friends instead."

"I already have friends. And I'm going to do whatever it takes to get back to them." This seems to be enough to silence Luna's voice. Shadow turns his focus on ahead. At the end of the tunnel, a wide valve-like door irises open at Shadow's approach. Instantly, the water of the dark river begins to pour out through the unsealed opening in a rushing cascade, apparently into a long dropoff. Already committed to his forward movement, Shadow simply braces himself for the fall.

His saucer flies out over the top of the waterfall, revealing the massive circular pit below. Shadow leaps off of the saucer before it can fall out from underneath him, landing on a circular, floating stone platform, which glows with faint purple patterns. On the more stable ground, Shadow takes a moment to look around. The walls of the pit appear to spiral upwards, though not in any way that resembles a stable path. Around him, other stone platforms like his are arrayed evenly around the walls, all orbiting slowly around the pit's center. Below, the bottom of the pit fills with a steadily growing pool of dark water. There doesn't appear to be any way out, besides the entrance that now lies too far above and behind him to reach. But there is a large shadow that moves through the water below. Something causes the entire arena to rumble.

"He's awake."

"He?"

A massive reptilian figure bursts out from the center of the center of the pit, sending the dark water spraying in every direction. It keeps soaring higher with powerful flaps of its membranous wings, letting out a roar as it goes. It has a spiked, scaly body and powerful clawed arms, but no legs to be seen—just a long, finned tail. Its head is far more insectoid in appearance, with sharp mandibles framing three eyes—two completely red compound eyes, and one with a glowing green pupil in the center.

"What is that thing…?"

"That's Black Rex, king of the Black Beasts. He's been in a constant fury since the death of his master."

Shadow concludes, "Black Doom."

One of Black Rex's eyes swivels independently to spot Shadow. The other eyes all turn to match. Turning its focus on him, it roars and changes its path.

"It's all I've been able to do to keep him asleep here since that day."

Shadow tenses up as the massive creature flies towards his small platform. "Well, call him off!"

"Now that he's awake, there's little else I can do. It has to be you."

Shadow leaps off of his stone platform and onto the next one, just before Black Rex can come flying in to smash it into rubble and dust that splashes down into the water below. Shadow is forced to keep up his run, leaping from one platform to the next as the beast behind him continues its rabid pursuit. Before long, Shadow has made the full loop around, and his path of escape is blocked by the lack of the platform that was destroyed. Before he can consider any other option, Black Rex catches up behind him, smashing him aside with a swipe of its powerful arm. Shadow crashes into the wall and tumbles down towards the water. At the last moment, he gains control of his fall and kicks off of the wall, landing himself perfectly onto the Air Saucer that fell there when he entered.

Black Rex roars, diving straight down at Shadow. Shadow propels his saucer forward, narrowly avoiding the creature as it splashes back down into the water. Shadow struggles to keep track of its silhouette as it darts around under the surface of the water at an even higher speed than it did through the air. As it seems to momentarily stop directly underneath him, Shadow leaps off of the saucer before it can breach back up through the water, smashing through the saucer and sending it flying away. With no footholds left, Shadow grabs onto the base of a torch that grows out of the wall. Black Rex catches sight of him hanging there, and prepares for another flying charge.

"Behind you!"

Shadow takes a look back at the wall he hangs from, noticing a continuous trail of red slime that spirals up and around the wall. As Black Rex draws closer, Shadow snaps the torch from its place and slams his opposite hand against the trail of red slime. Instantly, the slime seems to suck him in, drawing him rapidly up the length of the trail. Black Rex slams headfirst into the wall, stumbling back through the air with a cry of pain. Shadow is spit out at the top of the slime trail, and comes hurtling downwards with his broken torch aimed like a spear pointed straight at the creature's central eye.

"No, stop!"

Shadow diverts his weapon at the last moment, stabbing into Black Rex's shoulder instead. He swings off of the buried spear to launch himself back up, hitting the creature's eye with a Spin Attack before landing back on one of the floating stone platforms.

"He doesn't know what he's doing. You can help him, you just have to calm him down."

As Black Rex's pain subsides, it grabs at the torch in its shoulder, rips it out, and snaps it between its fingers like a twig. A thin stream of green blood trickles out from the open wound. The creature sets its sights back on Shadow.

"And how do you expect me to do that?"

"The way that only you can, child of Black Doom. Show him who his new master is."

Before Shadow can inquire further, Black Rex lets out another roar—this one mixed with a strange gurgling sound. After a moment, its mandibles snap open even wider, releasing a stream of living creatures from inside. The swarm of full-sized, board-winged Black Hawks all head straight for Shadow.

"I've had about enough of this." As Shadow's platform floats around the wall, it passes another stream of red liquid. Shadow reaches his hand back to brush against it. This time, instead of being pulled in, he pulls some out. The liquid condenses into a solid shape as he pulls it away, finally forming into a weapon in his hands. Like most Black Arms weapons, the long pointed rifle gives off a soft purple glow from inside. The top of the handle is marked by a familiar crimson symbol, once found on the Black Comet, and since taken by Shadow to use as the Black Cloak. He pumps the personalized Shadow Rifle with a scowl on his face. Then he opens fire. Each Hawk in the swarm is dealt with in a single exploding shot. The very last one takes a glancing blow, and spirals down to crash in a heap at Shadow's feet.

Struck by a new idea, Shadow kneels down to place a hand over the fallen Hawk's head. "Fly." At his single command, the Black Hawk pushes itself back off of the ground with a flap of its wings. Shadow swings himself onto its back, keeping a hand gripped around one of its horns. "Forward." The Hawk takes off with Shadow as its rider, just in time to get away from Black Rex as it once again destroys the stone platform he had been standing on.

"That's right, you've done this before. The Black Hawk respects your authority. Rex will do the same, if you prove your strength to him."

Shadow flies in a circle around the arena as Black Rex pursues him. Though their speed seems even, Black Rex closes the gap with a breath of white hot flames. Shadow dives down to keep clear, and turns back to fire off a shot from his Shadow Rifle. Black Rex, struck in the chest by the powerful shot, cries out in pain and fury, ceasing its breath of fire. In its struggle to keep flying, Shadow gets a clear shot straight at its eye. His finger hesitates over the trigger.

"His life is in your hands. You know what's right. Do you want to be a killer, Shadow?"

With a growl, Shadow tosses the trembling rifle into the abyss. Regaining its senses, Black Rex bellows an even greater stream of fire from its mouth. Shadow pulls his Black Hawk into a vertical climb before leaping off of its back, over the flames and onto the beast's head. He slams his hand down onto its forehead just above the eye, shouting, "Hear me!"

All around them, the world seems to dissolve into blackness, leaving only Shadow and Black Rex floating in the void.

"I feel…your anger. You feel…lost. Alone."

Black Rex groans in a pain that sounds more emotional than physical.

"You feel that…nothing can replace what you've lost. But that isn't true. I'm here. I claim my right…as Black Doom's heir…to control you. I am Shadow the Hedgehog. Know my command. Know that it is no longer his. My command is that your rampage ends. Be at peace…weary creature…"

Black Rex's tone softens, almost to a purr.

A hand appears on top of Shadow's. Shadow looks up in surprise to see Luna standing there next to him in the void. "You—"

"He needs rest, now. A true rest. At peace. Let me help you."

Shadow silently looks back down at the beast's eye. Together, he and Luna both softly command, "Sleep."

Black Rex's wingbeats grow heavy and sluggish as it lowers slowly to the ground, where the last of the black water appears to be draining away, leaving a soft, fleshy ground for it to lie down on. Its head drops, and its eyes close as it begins a deep, rumbling snore.

Shadow gently strokes his hand across the sleeping giant's forehead. "I'm sorry that I ever thought to take your life. This rest is the only apology I can offer you."

He looks up to his side, surprised to see that Luna is no longer there. Still, she speaks into his mind, "You did it! You were amazing!"

"Shut up. I'm still getting off of this forsaken planet."

"Saturn request Puny Shadow reconsider."

Shadow tenses up as he turns to face the hole through which all the water has drained, seeing Saturn stepping through. "That doesn't sound much like you."

Saturn snorts out a laugh. "Puny Shadow speak truth. Saturn much prefer subdue Shadow than speak silly words."

Shadow hops down from the head of the beast, approaching Saturn confidently. "Then how about we make a deal? Subdue me if you can. But if I beat you in a fight, you all let me go."

"Saturn impressed by Puny Shadow's triumph over Great Rex. Saturn still superior. Saturn accept combat terms."

Luna's voice cautions, "I don't think this is such a good idea…"

"Friend Luna worry too much. Puny Shadow weak from first fight. Saturn defeat easily."

Shadow puts on a scowl. "You realize I can still hear you, right?"

"Problem? Puny Shadow too much coward to fight while weak? Puny Shadow will run away again?"

"Unlike you with your dirty tricks, I'm no coward."

"Where Saturn come from, coward avoid fight long time. Superior win fight any way necessary. Saturn is superior. Fight if you dare, Coward Shadow."

Shadow takes the invitation, leaping in for a direct punch in a blur.

Saturn catches Shadow's fist in an open hand, stopping him instantly. He lets out a snort as he meets Shadow's surprised eyes. "Pathetic." He tosses Shadow's entire body aside with little effort. As Shadow tumbles across the ground, Saturn raises his chin with an audible growl, exposing two red fluid sacs at the base of his neck, which appear to be inflating. He reaches up with a single claw and dips it gently into a valve in one of the sacs, drawing out a long stream of red liquid. The slime takes a jagged shape in his hand as he draws it away, forming into a long, lightning-shaped blade with a purple glow. He brandishes the Black Sword in Shadow's direction. "Opponent Shadow is warned to stay down."

Climbing back to his feet, Shadow presses his hand back into the stream of red slime on the wall behind him, drawing out a blade of his own. "I'm just warming up." Shadow rushes in at Saturn even faster than before.

Saturn waves his free hand above his head, leaving behind an arc of pulsating lights that seem to spew smoke from within. "Then begone!" Each light above his head sends a rain of small meteors flying straight at Shadow.

Shadow cuts through each oncoming projectile as he runs, slashing from one side then the other in a blur of motion.

As Shadow closes the gap, Saturn parries a rapid barrage of slashes with minimal movement. "Puny Shadow fast. But not strong." With a growl, Shadow leaps up, flipping through the air with an even more furious flurry of strikes as the blade follows his movement. Saturn keeps a firm stance, blocking every blow until the two blades lock together, forcing Shadow onto the ground to keep up the pressure. Saturn sneers down at Shadow as he pushes against the blade, trying to break the sword lock. "There is strength Saturn expects. But not enough." Saturn puts on greater pressure, beginning to push Shadow's sword closer to his face against his strongest effort.

Shadow is forced to duck down and break the lock to avoid being sliced, exposing him to attack. Saturn raises his blade up high and brings it down with his full strength. Shadow throws his sword back in the way to parry, but the force of the blow sends him staggering back. Saturn now moves on the offensive, pressing forward with a series of slow but powerful two-handed swipes. Though each attack leaves Saturn exposed, Shadow is left with no time to take advantage, barely able to recover from each blow before blocking the next, driven back step by step. The back of his foot hits the wall. Saturn raises his sword for his strongest slash yet. Shadow ducks down at the last moment, and Saturn's sword is buried into the wall.

Shadow smirks. "You're strong. But not bright." He leaps up into a kick at Saturn's hand, knocking him away from the sword before he can pull it back out. He flips his own sword into a reverse grip and keeps the momentum of his kick going into a slash straight at Saturn's chest.

In a flash of light, Saturn vanishes, reappearing instantly behind Shadow's back. "Bright enough to illuminate Puny Shadow's plan." He grabs at Shadow's wrist, twisting it tightly and forcing him to drop his own sword.

Shadow gasps in surprise. "Was that…Chaos Control?"

"Saturn have many tricks." With his grip on Shadow's arm, Saturn hurls Shadow all the way over his head, and slams him into the ground. "Strength above all."

Shadow, bruised and battered, struggles to get up from the ground. But his arms give out beneath him, and he collapses back to the ground.

Saturn pins a clawed foot over Shadow's back. "Puny Shadow fight well. But Saturn is superior. Shadow yields?"

"Superior…wins by any means necessary. Isn't that right? Well…I have some tricks of my own."

Before Sautrn can respond, he is knocked backwards by a Black Hawk flying straight into his face. He stumbles back with flailing arms. "No! Bad Hawk! Down boy! Down!" He finally manages to pull the creature off of his face, only to find Shadow's fist flying at him behind it. He hastily raises an arm to block the blow, staggering back another step under the force of it. He readies a counterattack, but his claws only fly through a flash of light as Shadow teleports behind him, landing a kick against the back of his head and knocking him to the ground. He quickly starts to climb back up, only to find a Black Sword pointed at his throat, stopping him in place.

Shadow smirks as he keeps his reclaimed blade held steady. "Your turn. Do you yield?"

"Only one answer possible. Saturn…yield…never."

"Then you leave me no other choice." Shadow raises the blade for a finishing blow.

"No!"

Shadow tries to bring the blade down, but finds his arm frozen in place. "What?" A moment later, his feet are lifted from the ground.

Luna stands at the entrance hole of the arena, her eyes clenched shut, the symbol on her forehead glowing, and her hand held out at Shadow. "You're not a killer, Shadow."

Saturn takes quick advantage of Shadow's incapacitation. "On guard! Swift Strike!" He rises up to his knees to sweep a hand at Shadow, creating a disc of concentrated energy that blasts into him at point blank, knocking him out of the air. He falls to the ground, unconscious.

Luna steps up beside Saturn to look down at Shadow's fallen form. "He had that fight won."

"Saturn get help. Just like Shadow. Win by necessary way. Saturn and Luna are superior. Saturn alone…is unlucky."

"You're going to get yourself killed one of these days. I won't be able to protect you forever. What would I do then?"

"Friend Luna worry too much. Saturn and Luna are unbeatable team."

"Are you sure we could've stopped him if he was fighting at full strength?" They both look down at Shadow to contemplate the question. The Black Hawk flutters down to the ground at their feet, staring up at them with curiosity. Luna kneels down to give it a pat on the head. "Sorry that you got mixed up in all this, little one. You're free to go, until you get new orders from Father."

At her advice, the Hawk takes back off into the sky. She smiles as she watches it go.

Saturn shakes his head. "Good riddance, little savage." The Hawk shrieks an incoherent response.

Something else flies back down in the Hawk's place. A distant voice grumbles, "Show me…"

Luna gasps, and drops quickly to her knees. Saturn looks around in confusion. Luna flicks her hand in Saturn's direction, forcing him to mirror her motion.

The creature that flies down is rather small. It propels itself through the air with many long tentacles connecting to one bulbous head, with a single yellow eye to glare down at them. "Show me the traitor…"

Luna bows her head even lower. "As you wish, Father. Saturn?"

Saturn steps forward to pull Shadow's unconscious body off of the ground, propping him up onto his knees while keeping a tight grip around his arms.

Luna places a hand over Shadow's head. "Awaken."

Shadow's eyes groggily flutter open. "Wha…?" When he finally refocuses his vision, he finds himself face-to-face with the small alien creature. The Eye of Luna's father, Black Gladius.

The Eye of Gladius looks past Shadow, to the distant sleeping form of Black Rex, before looking back at him. "So, you managed to tame the King of Beasts? I expected no less from the heir of Famis. Lone successor to the title of Black Doom… Shadow the Hedgehog…"

"Who…who are you? What are you?"

"Hm hm hm… How little you know of your heritage…" The Eye of Gladius looks up, projecting a field of faint red light. Within this light, the form of another creature begins to take shape. Though he bears a unique set of pendants, chains, and sashes, and a third horn that drapes down from the back of his head, his appearance is otherwise quite similar to that of Black Doom. "I am Black Gladius, warrior king of the Black Arms. And you, Shadow the Hedgehog…have been brought here to restore honor and glory to your kind."

Shadow growls threateningly, "You are not my kind. I won't help you. And if you stand in my way, I will destroy you."

"Oh, but you've helped me so much already… To defeat Black Doom…Black Rex…you truly are an expertly crafted life form. Famis' finest, without question. A creation to surpass its creator. You will change your outlook, soon enough. My daughter will see to that. And if you don't…I will get what I want from you, one way or the other…"

Shadow lets out another growl. But there's little else he can do.

"Father, if I may—"

"You may not. You will take Black Shadow to the tower to begin his conditioning. And Saturn."

"Lord Gladius?"

"Ready a message to apprise Morbus of the situation. You will remain with Luna to protect her from harm. Do not leave her side."

"As Lord Gladius wishes."

"And as for you, Shadow…your service to me will soon begin. Don't disappoint me." With these last words spoken, the hologram of Black Gladius fades away, leaving only his Eye behind.

"Damn you," Shadow spits with all the malice he can muster.

The Eye of Gladius merely laughs as it flies itself away.

—–—

Daily log, July 18th, 2 A.E. Sonic the Hedgehog reporting.

It's been over two weeks since Shadow disappeared. Even if we knew what direction he went in, we don't exactly have a spaceship to follow him with. We know that the White Arms are involved in this somehow. But we're under explicit instructions not to contact them. We've just been hoping up until now that they'd have to come looking for their lost ship eventually. It looks like that finally happened. Ten minutes ago, Johnny received a message from White Seraph. She's coming directly to us.

—–—

White Seraph's ship uncloaks in a shimmer of light as it drifts into one of the exposed hangar bay doors of the Eggshelter. Inside, the entire Rebellion waits to meet her. The ship settles gently onto the steel floor, and a circular panel opens on the top. Seraph, in full armor, rises up out of the opening to look down on them all.

Johnny is the first to run right up to the side of the ship, not even trying to hide the big grin on his face. "Seraph! I'm so happy to see you."

"I wish I could say the same." Seraph makes a somersaulting leap off of the top of the ship, landing in a crouch right in front of Sonic. "I'm here to make an arrest on behalf of the White Arms. Shadow the Hedgehog is wanted in connection with terrorist activity."
Sonic looks down and shakes his head in frustration. "That's what I was afraid of…"

Tails takes a cautious step forwards. "W-we have all the data here from…the ship crash…if you want to take a look… The pilot…didn't make it."

Seraph shakes her head. "We already know. We have all the data we need. If you have any material or technology from that ship, I must take it from you. And according to our law, as known associates of the suspect, someone must be taken back to the mothership. Immediately."

Johnny questions, "You're arresting someone just for knowing him?"

Seraph nods. "That is the way of our law."

Sonic nods in turn. "We respect your law. As leader of this group, I take full responsibility for Shadow's actions. I'll go with you."

Seraph finally removes her helmet, breathing a sigh of relief. Most in the room look a bit surprised at her alien appearance. She continues, "That will make things much easier for all of us. I hope you understand, this is…more a formality than anything. Our intention isn't to lock you in prison, it's to enlist your help in tracking down this criminal."

Johnny takes a step forward. "And if he's innocent?"

Seraph takes a moment to respond. "We would need your help to prove that as well."

"In that case, I'm going too."

"I only need one. You invite yourself to the scorn of White Genesis."

"I don't care. I'm doing whatever it takes to protect my friend."

Seraph takes another long pause. "You're a kind man, Johnny."

Tails steps up beside Sonic. "I'll come too. I can offer some of this planet's best technology and science to contribute to the effort of finding Shadow and stopping whatever terrorist actions you think he's involved with. I also…maybe…kinda…can't pass up the chance to study an alien mothership…"

Charmy suggests, "Maybe we should all go!" There's a general murmur of agreement.

Seraph waves her hands in objection. "No, no, my ship will barely be able to fit three passengers, all of you is out of the question."

Sonic adds, "Besides, it's not like we can just put the war on pause while we're away. We don't know how long this will take. Knuckles, Amy, take care of things while we're gone." Knuckles and Amy each give him a nod in response. "Oh, yeah, and contact Sticks from Camp Delta. Tell her I owe her 50 yolks for that bet. Turns out I am, in fact, getting abducted by aliens this year. Who woulda thought?"

Seraph nods them along. "We should be going. White Genesis is not known for her patience."

"Right. After you."

Cream waves farewell as they depart. "Good luck, everyone! Please, bring Mr. Shadow home safe!"

—

Minutes later, Sonic looks out through the side of the cockpit windshield inside Seraph's ship, down at the cool blue planet below.

Seraph works at the controls. While Johnny watches her work, Tails runs a scanner over just about every piece of technology in the ship.

"The Mega Drive is powering up," Seraph explains. "At maximum Mega Warp, we'll arrive at the White Dreamnet in about two days. We'll all be crammed together in here until then. Last chance if any of you want to turn back."

Johnny laughs. "Quarters at GUN boot camp were more cramped than this. I can think of worse ways to spend two days."

Tails looks up from his scans with a grin. "Two days to study a faster-than-light engine? Same here."

Sonic's focus remains on the view of the planet below. "Shadow…just what have you gotten yourself into this time?"

Seraph orders, "Everyone take a seat and strap in. Your first transition to Mega Warp will be…rough."

Behind the pilot's chair, three panels open on the ground, a smaller seat rising out of each one. As Johnny takes the one closest to her, he takes a glance back at Sonic. "There's no need to worry, sir. We'll find him."

Sonic nods as he takes the opposite seat. "Let's hope so."

Tails excitedly sits between them. "We're about to make history, guys."

Sonic notes, "You realize this isn't our first time going faster than light, right?"

"Hey, let me have my moment!"

Sonic chuckles as a smile is returned to his face.

The ship veers away from Earth's orbit, pointing itself out towards the stars. A bright glow reflects off of its trailing fins as its engines activate. For a moment, the entire ship almost seems to stretch off towards a point in the distance. Then, all at once, it snaps forward, disappearing in a distant point of sparkling light, where the conflict between the Black Arms and the White Arms awaits.

To be continued…