Chapter 2: Trash Man
Amy opened one eye, peering through the darkness of her bedroom at the clock on her bedside table. It was three in the morning, too early for milk deliveries and too late for anyone coming home, and so she dismissed the sound of breaking glass she had heard outside as merely being a wild animal knocking over a bottle somewhere. This was going to be the biggest downside of losing her living room window, she told herself. She had taped an over-sized plastic bag over the hole where the glass had been, and already sourced a new window-pane, but she could not pick it up until the next day, and so she faced a sleepless night of hearing every single noise outside. She had closed her living room and bedroom doors, but it made little difference as the walls of her apartment were so ridiculously thin. Missus Lupin complained a lot about the noise she alleged that Amy made, but Amy could hear every single noise the old wolf made too, even down to the incessant clicking of her knitting needles.
When she heard a can hit the ground and roll away, Amy opened her eyes again, listening more carefully. She could hear faint rustling sounds, and came to the conclusion that some sort of nocturnal wild animal must have gotten into the communal waste bins, which were, unfortunately, positioned below her bedroom window. She was three floors up, but when something was making a racket down there, it was hard not to hear it in the dead of night. At the sound of plastic bottles and empty food tins hitting the ground, Amy groaned and got out of bed, stepping into her slippers and pulling on a long bathrobe. Her eyes bleary and her quills scruffy, she moved to her bedroom window, throwing it open, the sound of the noises below becoming magnified instantly: apparently her thin walls did at least take the edge off of some sounds.
She leaned over the edge of the window-frame, poking her head out into the night air. Far below her, the lid of the two communal bins were both fully open and flipped over against the sides of the bins. There were discarded pieces of rubbish lying all around them, and something was rustling about in one of the two bins. Amy hesitated, remembering then that her ground floor neighbours – a pair of young boys who were a little ridiculous sometimes – had told her about something they called the "Trash Man". They claimed that they had seen someone raiding the bins around the two apartment blocks, and that when they had tried to approach, the man had gone wild and chased them off. With that information in mind, Amy decided against going down to investigate, instead using her height advantage to address the situation.
"Hey!" she hissed, calling down in a muted shout, hoping to get the attention of whoever – or whatever – was down there without waking up Missus Lupin, whose bedroom window was almost immediately next to Amy's own. "Hey, get out of there, you!"
The rustling silenced, but nothing moved.
"Get out of there!" she said again. "Go on, shoo!"
One more empty plastic bottle hit the ground, bouncing a few times before rolling down the car park. Amy could see something beneath her then that logically made no sense: wild animals that ate trash usually only had luminous eyes when a light was shined upon them, and yet she found herself looking down at two glowing red circles staring back up at her. She made a small noise of confusion before grabbing the lamp from her beside table and switching it on, stretching it out the window and pointing it downwards. Being a table lamp, it was not exactly as glaringly luminous as an actual torch would have been, and so it didn't really illuminate the creature three floors beneath her. It did, however, seem to be reflecting off of more than it ought to be within the bin, and there were only two possible explanations for that.
Either the bin was loaded with old metal cans, or the Trash Man was Metal Sonic.
Amy retreated back into her bedroom, replacing her lamp to the bedside table and then closing her window. She moved through to the front door, retrieving a small hand torch she kept there, before quietly unlocking and opening her door. She crept out onto the landing, craning her neck in the direction of the door to Missus Lupin's apartment, listening carefully for any sounds of movement. When she heard none, she quietly crept down the stairs, all the way to the front door of the building. She picked up a stone frog ornament by the door – a house-warming gift she had received from Big when she had moved into the apartment – and used it to pin the front door open to avoid locking herself out as she approached the bins. She stopped what she deemed to be a safe distance away – too far to be grabbed by a crazy trash person, but close enough that she could swing her hammer at a crazy trash person – and clicked on her torch, pointing it at the bin.
"Hello?" she whispered.
She heard a rustling of plastic before a blue metallic head popped up over the edge of the bin.
"Metal!" she hissed. "You're the Trash Man?"
He let out a descending beeping sound, and she quickly shushed him.
"What are you even doing?" she asked.
He tapped one side of his head and she pouted, at first assuming he was calling her crazy. Just before she summoned her hammer to smash some sense into him however, he turned his head slightly, showing her a small red light in the top corner of the glass visor that acted as his eyes. She shuffled closer, pointing her torch at it and squinting through the dark, eventually making out a small LED image of an almost empty battery, illuminated in red to further emphasise its point.
"Oh!" she said softly, moving the torch to the middle of his face as he turned back to look directly at her. "Well, why don't you come inside and I'll plug you in?"
It occurred to Amy that she had no idea how to plug Metal in to recharge him – she could only imagine where the cable might attach to him – and, equally, with a jet engine to power, he would likely be a huge drain on her electricity, and she suspected she might not be able to afford the bill. As she was weighing up her options, something happened that made her drop the torch and become very still: Metal grabbed a hand around his needle-nose and pushed upwards, detaching his head from his body to reveal that it was basically a lid, with a hidden hinge at the back of his neck. He dropped a banana skin and an apple core into his body cavity and then clicked his head back into place. There was a small whirring sound, followed by a soft ping – not too dissimilar to the sound a microwave made when it had reached the end of its timer – and then Metal turned his head, tapping at the side of his visor to reveal that the red battery light was now orange, and slightly fuller.
"You-you're fuelled by garbage?" Amy asked in a low voice. "You literally eat trash to survive? You are literally the Trash Man!"
Metal stared blankly at her for a moment longer before dipping back down out of sight and rummaging in the rubbish again. When Amy noticed a light going on in the window next to her still open bedroom window high above them, she panicked. As she saw Missus Lupin's silhouette appear at the window, she shrugged off her bathrobe. As the curtains began to part, Amy deftly leapt up and into the rubbish bin. As Missus Lupin appeared at the window, positioning her tiny round glasses low on her nose, Amy threw her robe around Metal and grabbed his shoulders, hauling him up to his feet. As Missus Lupin began squinting down at them, Amy flipped the lid up and over, closing herself and Metal into the bin, leaving the lid open just enough that she could peer up at the bedroom windows overhead.
"Oh, it stinks in here!" she grumbled. "Do you see the trouble you're getting me into, Mister?"
Metal made a quiet whistling sound and Amy narrowed her eyes and glared at him.
"Why can't you talk that quietly when you're in my apartment?" she growled. "Or... Are you going quiet because your battery is so low? Maybe I should switch you off until I can sneak you inside..."
Metal made a loud, harsh wailing sound and Amy gritted her teeth.
"Fine, it's not like I know how to switch you off even if I wanted to anyway!" she said, rolling her eyes.
She peered out of the gap again, waiting until Missus Lupin had retreated from her window and her curtains had stilled before pushing the lid up again and scrambling out of the bin. She stood in the car park by the bin, her arms out at her sides, her tongue out and her face twisted as she eyed herself over. One of her slippers had a brown paste smeared over it and the other was stepped into the foil wrapper of some sort of giant spicy sausage. She made to turn her attention to Metal, to tell him it was safe for him to come out too: but before she could, the bin lid swung open wide, clattering against the back of the metallic bin, bouncing a few times, the noise making Amy cringe. Metal levitated up out of the bin and brought himself to a landing at her side. She looked up at Missus Lupin's window – the light was still on, but the curtains remained closed and there was no shadowy hint that the old lady might be close to the window – before turning back to address Metal.
"Ugh, must you do that?" she groaned as she caught him with his head flipped open again, each of his hands dropping semi-rotten fruit and vegetables into his carcass.
Metal then took hold of his head in both hands, bringing it back over and clicking it back into place.
"I mean, I suppose it's good that Eggman is developing environmentally conscious solutions to fuelling his robots, but – whoa!"
Amy grabbed Metal's arm and pulled him around the other side of the bin, waving at him to stay still and quiet. She was surprised when he actually did as she asked: something she had been forced to do when she had heard someone approaching the front door of her apartment block. She waited, silently for a few moments before daring to peer around the edge of the bin. There was nobody in sight, and so she crept all the way around until she was standing in front of the front entrance once more. She peered through the still pinned open door, but couldn't see anyone standing there or any sign of movement. She started to sigh in relief, but almost chocked on the air when she suddenly noticed Metal standing right next to her, looking both harmless and ominous thanks to wearing Amy's cute bath-robe that hid most of his form, but also, with the hood up, cast a shadow over his face that made his eyes glow eerily.
"Okay, I'm going to sneak you in," Amy told him once she had recovered from her initial shock. "I can't leave you out here. If Missus Lupin sees you, it will be chaos. Just keep your head down and please stay quiet."
Amy turned to Metal and closed her bathrobe fully across his body, tying it in place with the tiers, before taking hold of them and hauling him with her as she re-entered her apartment building. She quietly slid the frog ornament back into place and closed the door behind them before starting up the stairs. She was pleased that Metal moved quietly behind her, and, as she reached the midway point, she started to relax, started to believe that she would get him back to her apartment without anyone intercepting them. As she turned onto the last stretch of stairs however, she heard the sound of a door closing, the lock clicking into place. She stopped on the split landing and looked up the stairs, finding Missus Lupin standing at the top step, in a house-coat and sleeping cap that looked like something Amy had once seen in an old picture book.
"Amelia, I heard noises outside," she said. "And I came out here and found your apartment door wide open."
"Oh, yes," Amy started, racking her brain for a suitable alibi.
"I see you have your torch with you there," Missus Lupin continued. "Did you go out to investigate the noises too?"
Amy looked down at her torch, her eyebrows shooting up in surprised relief.
"Yes, I did!" she quickly recovered, turning her attention back to the old wolf.
"A young lady like you shouldn't be going out in the dark on your own like that," Missus Lupin replied.
"Well, I'm a pretty capable person, Missus Lupin," Amy started.
"Though I see you had the presence of mind to bring your gentleman caller with you."
"Yes, I – wait, what?"
"Mm-hmm, you think I didn't know about you and that young man?"
Amy's face twisted. She wanted to ask Missus Lupin what she was talking about, but also she was conscious that continuing the lie would allow her to take Metal into her apartment without any further suspicion cast upon him.
"I suppose this means he'll be moving in with you?" Missus Lupin continued.
"Well, I mean, I haven't decided on that," Amy muttered.
"Personally, I think he's an absolute horror," Missus Lupin said. "He's untidy, he's unclean, he's rude, he's disrespectful…"
Amy realised then that her neighbour was probably talking about Sonic. Sonic had only been to Amy's apartment a few times, and most of those visits had been recent ones, just before he left to find Eggman, and he had been unclean one way or the other every time – and every time, Missus Lupin had come out onto the landing to talk to him, and he had laughed off most of her accusations before sniping at her with his characteristic dry wit.
"Well, you know, that first time, he'd been out working on an experiment, and he fell in the mud," Amy began.
"Mud?" Missus Lupin barked. "Is that what you young people are calling it nowadays? In my day, we called it tar."
"Tar?" Amy echoed.
"I'll just say that a nice young lady like you could do so much better."
"Well, you're just saying that because you don't really know him."
"And nor do I want to. I would much prefer it if the both of you moved somewhere else. And also if you took that awful brother of his with you."
"…Brother?"
Amy frowned. Missus Lupin couldn't possible be speaking about Tails, since Tails was always very polite to her when he visited – she had even once baked him an entire batch of cookies – and neither Knuckles nor Shadow had ever been to Amy's apartment, so she was sure Missus Lupin wasn't talking about either of them.
"Wait," she said slowly, as an idea dawned on her. "Are you talking about Silver?"
Silver had, however, twice been to Amy's apartment. Once with Sonic during a visit he was making to their time, and then, during a second visit to their time, he had tried to reach Amy first, and had started knocking on her bedroom window, floating outside of it; only he had knocked on the wrong window, and Missus Lupin had been forever traumatised by the flying hedgehog who appeared at her bedroom window while she was cleaning her false teeth.
"His name is Silver?" Missus Lupin asked. "That's a ridiculous name for him. He's more oatmeal than silver."
"…What?" Amy muttered.
"Well anyway, I hope you're going inside and you're going to keep the noise down," Missus Lupin said dismissively.
"Yes," Amy said, nodding her head. "Yes we are."
"Well then. Good night."
Amy waited for Missus Lupin to close and lock herself back into her own apartment before continuing up the steps, dragging Metal with her. She reached her own from door and pushed down the handle, leaning into the door. When it didn't give way, she tried again, before gasping in panic as she realised what had happened: she had left the door open because the lock was still on, and, when Missus Lupin had closed the door, it had locked.
"Oh no!" Amy hissed.
She turned to Metal, ready to ask him if he knew how to pick a lock: but the memory of him punching a hole through the door and reaching a hand in to open it from the outside was still too fresh in her mind, and so she shook her head. She bit her lip and began looking about herself desperately. She did have two spare keys, but one was inside her apartment and the other was with Cream. As she was weighing up which option was less terrible – visiting Vanilla in the middle of the night for her spare key or asking Metal to fly her up and through the plastic bag covering her broken window – she heard movement on the ground floor. She moved to the railing by the stairwell and leaned over it, peering down as a cloud of smoke crept out into the hallway below, bringing with it two of her downstairs neighbours. She suppressed a groan at the sight of them – had she known they lived in the building, she never would have taken the apartment – but luckily they slept most of the day and usually only came out at night. They lived in one of the small apartments, with no bedroom, and Amy never liked to try to imagine where two brothers slept when they only had the one, single, pull-out bed.
When they started up the stairs, Amy shot back, pressing her back against her door. Metal did not move, still standing in the middle of the landing, enshrouded in Amy's bath-robe. As she looked at him, Amy realised that this was one occasion where she at least would not have to worry about hiding Metal: the two brothers were both too stupid to recognise him as he was and in enough trouble with any sort of authorities themselves to bother drawing any more attention to themselves by reporting him.
Amy took three steps back from the railing as the brothers rounded the corner and came fully into her line of sight, ascending the last set of steps to join her and Metal on the top floor.
"Lost you keys, starting to fumble?" the smaller one asked. "Looks like a job for Rough and Tumble!"
Amy let out an unashamed groan and slumped where she stood.
"I didn't realise you had a thing for me, Amy," Rough continued, grinning at Amy.
"What?" she grunted.
"I heard what the old lady said," he said, producing a giant ring of keys. "You heard what she said, right bro?"
"Yeah," Tumble agreed, nodding his head. "The old lady said you're dating my brother!"
"No she didn't!" Amy began. "She saw me with someone and she thought it was..."
Amy's voice trailed off as both the realisation hit her that Missus Lupin had been talking about Rough and his awful brother Tumble – hence her saying he looked more "oatmeal" than "silver" – and she was stunned when Rough managed to unlock her front door with one of his keys.
"Why do you have a key for my apartment?" she asked.
"I got keys for all the apartments in this block," Rough casually replied, holding up his massive ring of keys to demonstrate his point. "Also all the apartments in the next block over. If you ever need anything, maybe I could help you out. I mean, if we are dating..."
"We're not dating, Rough," Amy flatly replied. "You are a crude, rude, dirty, smelly boy. Also your apartment smells of skunk."
"Well, we are skunks," Tumble said.
"And also your apartment smells of skunk," Amy answered him.
"You already said that," he said.
"I know what I said," she said, before putting her hands on Metal's back and pushing him through her front door.
She hesitated in the doorway, before looking back over her shoulder, looking first at Tumble before deciding to address Rough, since he was at least the slightly more intelligent of the two.
"Um, do you have any idea what "tar" might be a slang word for?" she asked.
"Low-grade heroin," Rough plainly replied. "But we don't touch that stuff. That's dirty stuff. Is that what you like?"
Amy swallowed carefully as she tried to forget that her elderly neighbour had both accused her of dating Rough and of having a drug habit.
"If you ever use those keys to enter my apartment again, I won't show you any mercy!" she warned, before closing herself into her apartment and locking the door.
She paused there, before sliding on the security chain, a feature she had never used until that moment. She heard a noise behind her and moved into her kitchen area, where she found Metal picking through her rubbish bin. She groaned.
"I'm going to bed," she told him. "Try to stay quiet, try not to break anything, and... I don't know, maybe have some downtime?"
He turned his head and his eyes glowed at her across the room.
"I'm gonna take that as your acknowledgement and understanding of what I said," she said quietly, before sighing and going back to her bedroom. "Sonic, you better make it back here soon..."
Tails crept out of the small, concrete bunker, blinking against the rising sun. After the group had decided to camp for the night in the little bunker, they had hoped the storm would ease up, but the morning was proving to be just as windy, the air dry with sand and dust. It was a little better than the day before, and, by his own calculations, they were close to their destination: for although he had yet to tell Sonic or Knuckles, he was now certain they were heading directly to Doctor Crick's rumoured laboratory. Squinting against the sandstorm, he realised it was now impossible to make out any tracks Eggman may have left, which meant he would have to continue based on where rumours told the old laboratory was located.
"Hey, buddy," Sonic greeted him as he stepped outside to join him, stretching his arms above his head.
"Hey, Sonic," Tails answered him.
"What's the plan for today then?" Sonic asked him.
"We go that way," Tails replied.
Sonic looked in the direction Tails was pointing, holding a hand above his eyes and making an exaggerated gesture of looking before turning to Tails with a grin.
"How can you tell – every way looks the same!" he said. "It's sand that way, dust that way, and more sand that way."
"I, uh, I think I know where Eggman is," Tails admitted. "And it's not good. We need to catch up to him, and quickly."
"Sounds good to me, quickly is the only way I know to do anything!"
"Ugh."
Tails and Sonic turned to see Shadow had emerged from the bunker behind them, and he was giving Sonic a strange look.
"Is it far?" he asked, turning his attention to Tails.
"I don't think so," Tails replied. "And I don't recommend running there. Not in these conditions. We should head for the hills, we can probably get above the sandstorms, and then we can move faster from there."
"Is that a quicker way to get there?" Knuckles asked as he joined them.
"No, it's much longer," Tails admitted. "But it's safer."
"What's the shortest way there?" Sonic asked.
"Sonic, it's not a good idea," Tails replied, shaking his head.
"Well then why don't we split up?" Sonic asked with a shrug. "Two of us can go the quick way, and the other two can go the long, slow, boring way. Right guys?"
He turned to Shadow and Knuckles.
"Whatever gets this over with quickest is fine by me," Knuckles said.
"Shadow?" Sonic pressed.
Shadow took a moment to glare just long enough that it felt uncomfortable at each of the three faces watching him.
"I'll go with the fox child," he eventually decided.
"Aw, Shad, you'll be going the slow way!" Sonic teased him.
"Better that than listen to your awful quipping or that knuckle-head's stupidity," Shadow dryly replied.
"Gee, thanks, Shadow..." Tails muttered.
"Come on Knux, let's get there first!" Sonic said to Knuckles.
"Do you two even know which way to go?" Tails asked them.
They paused and Tails sighed, clawing through his backpack for the paper map he had brought in case his electronic sat nav device failed in the sandstorms. He quickly drew a line for them to follow and passed them the map.
"Good luck, and we'll see you there," he said.
"Yeah, but by the time you two get there, we'll have taken Eggman home and come all the way back just to find you both," Sonic replied as he accepted the map.
"Let's go, Sonic, I don't wanna drag this out!" Knuckles said.
"Team Cool heading out!" Sonic said.
Tails watched them bump fists before running off into the sand clouds, coughing along the way.
"Idiots," Shadow grumbled. "Come on boy, let's get moving."
Tails pouted as he hauled his backpack over his shoulders.
"I'm not a child any more Shadow," he complained. "I'm eighteen!"
"Still small," Shadow commented.
"I'm a foot taller than you!" Tails whined.
"Still a child."
Tails gritted his teeth.
"I suppose it seems like I am, what with you being a 75 year old senior citizen..." he grumbled under his breath.
Shadow stopped walking so abruptly, Tails almost walked right into him, being forced to hop to one side to avoid the collision. He stopped there and turned wide eyes to Shadow, who was already glaring at him with narrowed eyes.
"This journey will be easier and quicker for both of us if you stay quiet," Shadow told him.
Tails made a small noise of disappointment that Shadow apparently took for compliance, as he nodded his head and started walking again. Tails hurried after him, falling in line next to him. They did walk in silence for some time, during which Tails mused over the fact that, in the last several years, everyone he knew had grown taller except Shadow. He wasn't sure if it was something to do with Shadow's origins as the "ultimate life form", but he was now noticeably shorter than Tails, Sonic, Knuckles, Amy and even Cream. However, none of this ever appeared to bother Shadow, who remained as surly and stand-offish as he always had been.
"So, um, I haven't seen Rouge in a long time," Tails tried. "How is she?"
"How would I know?" Shadow responded.
"Aren't you guys best buddies?" Tails asked.
"We collaborate when we must, just like you and I do."
"Oh..."
Tails began racking his brain, determining not to spend the entire journey in awkward silence.
"Will you be going to Cream's sixteenth birthday party at Amy's place next week?" he tried.
"I am not Sonic, you and I are not friends, this idle chit-chat is not necessary," Shadow coldly replied.
Tails sighed, but refused to give up. They walked in silence for several minutes before a thought finally occurred to Tails, one that he thought was so fantastic, his blue eyes sparkled and he beamed brilliantly.
"So I was passing by your apartment block last week," he began, trying his best to sound casual, despite how smug he felt.
"I don't care," Shadow grumbled.
"I saw a pretty sweet hog parked out front," Tails said, grinning as he turned to look at the side of Shadow's face. "Is it yours?"
Shadow hesitated before moving his eyes to Tails.
"The Kawasaki Vulcan," Tails added.
"That's mine," Shadow confirmed, his voice slightly less hostile than usual.
"Where did you get it?" Tails asked.
"A police auction," Shadow replied. "It belonged to a crime lord."
"Really?" Tails asked.
He was genuinely so interested in the story of the motorbike, he didn't really find it as unusual as he ought to when Shadow looked at him with a smile.
"I would never go to those things normally," he said. "But Rouge insisted I give it a try. I got it for a steal, but it needs some work done to it."
"I could help you with that!" Tails said cheerfully.
"Never had you pegged as bike mechanic," Shadow commented.
"Are you kidding me?" Tails echoed. "I can fix any motorised vehicle!"
"I've been working on it myself."
"You have?"
"Yes. But it's not really in peak condition just yet."
"I had no idea you were a bike mechanic!"
"It comes with the territory. To get the best experience out of biking, you have to have at least a little technical knowledge and hands-on ability."
"That's so awesome, Shadow!"
"You can come and have a look, but I'll need to see your tools before I let you do anything to my bike."
"Whoa, you're picky about the tools you use too?"
Shadow smiled and nodded, but, just as Tails realised that Shadow was – and had been – smiling, the look faded from the black hedgehog's face.
"What exactly do you think Doctor Crick has that Eggman wants?" he asked solemnly.
"Well..." Tails began. "Best case scenario, Eggman is just looting the place for tools and spare parts."
"And worst case scenario?" Shadow asked.
"Worst case scenario, Eggman gets his hands on Crick's most controversial research," Tails replied. "And..."
"And he starts trying to mutate me and Sonic, right?"
"I hadn't thought of that, but, now that you say it... Yeah, probably."
Shadow nodded.
"Let's hope we get there before that idiot," he said.
"That depends on whether or not Eggman knows exactly where to go," Tails pointed out.
"I wasn't talking about Eggman, I was talking about Sonic."
"Oh."
Tails hung his head and they continued in silence for a little longer before the fox decided to make another attempt to draw Shadow into lighter conversation, if only to distract them from dwelling on the consequences of what they had just discussed.
"I know you say you hate Sonic, but you must have some good memories of our adventures together," he tried.
"None," Shadow flatly replied.
"Really?"
Shadow made a small noise, before a dark grin appeared on his face.
"One," he corrected himself.
"Oh yeah?" Tails responded, breaking into a smile himself. "What is it?"
"That time Amy called Sonic a whore."
Tails's smiled vanished, and, for a moment, he thought that Shadow was being mean. But, after his initial shock had passed, he recalled the exact moment Shadow was referring to, and he started to smile again.
"Oh yeah, I remember that!" he said.
"It was perfect," Shadow said.
"Amy said she didn't mean to say it," Tails replied. "She said she was going to call him a selfish hog, but then she thought it was more appropriate to call him a selfish boar, and she ended up calling him a selfish whore!"
"I prefer to think that's just the excuse she told you," Shadow said, his dark grin returning. "I like to think she fully intended to call him a selfish whore."
"I suppose it is kinda funny."
"It's perfect."
Tails laughed to himself.
"What's your favourite moment?"
Tails was so surprised that Shadow had asked him the question, he stuttered a little before finally forming a coherent answer.
"I would probably have said something different before," he said. "But I changed my mind, and that's now my favourite moment too!"
Shadow let out a small, short chuckle and Tails started laughing again too: he was surprisingly glad that he was travelling with Shadow instead of Sonic or Knuckles.
Next Chapter: Amy manages to get a new window for her apartment, and Big kindly agrees to help her install it – but things don't exactly go smoothly when Rough and Tumble show up again and Amy finds an unexpected surprise in her apartment. Meanwhile, Sonic and Knuckles find the secret lab and start into it, but shortly find some very disturbing things there that make it all the more important that they stop Eggman from taking anything from there. Chapter 3: In the Shadows
