While the city was no longer flooded after Chaos' attack, Station Square still had a long way to go before it was fully habitable again. Sonic was doing his part by running through the destroyed city, looking for any displaced citizens. He came to a stop on a building, overseeing the construction and search and rescue crews.
"Man, what a mess."
As he leapt down onto the roof of a car, he heard what sounded like crying. Sonic looked around, spotting a figure inside a store. Narrowing his eyes, he darted inside.
…
Al walked out of his apartment building, a few boxes of things loaded into the back of Kat's truck. Knuckles helped close the back door as Kat locked the apartment.
"Did any of the scrapbooks survive?" she asked.
"A few, yeah. Though most are pretty waterlogged. Sorry."
"Eh, nothing a session with a blow dryer won't fix." She then gave her father a serious look. "You sure you're okay with me and Knux going back to the island tonight? I know yesterday scared you."
"It did," Al admitted. "but it also showed me as long as Knuckles is with you, I have nothing to worry about. Just… try to call in on occasion."
"Can do, dad."
"Come on!" Knuckles insisted. "I don't like leaving the island unattended!"
"Keep your dreadlocks on, we're coming!" Kat shouted.
"Come on," Al spoke. "The Kent's will probably be waiting for us."
…
At the Birnbaum's house, Cream and Helen were packing up the last of her things. When they finished, Big grabbed all the boxes, carrying them outside. Mr. Birnbaum helped him with the boxes, smiling at the cat.
"Thanks for all your help, Big."
"Oh, it was nothing. Froggy and I like helping."
"You know, I'm sure the Kents have room for you as well."
"Nuh-uh. Froggy and I have a home in Mystic Ruin. But we'll come visit with Helen and Cream. They're fun to play with."
"We'd sure like that," Cream agreed, Cheese chirping in response.
"Agreed," Mr. Birnbaum nodded. "You're always welcome with us, Big."
Big smiled, rubbing the back of his head as he blushed.
…
At Naoto Ohshima high school, Keith was helping some other students carry emergency supplies into the gymnasium. Helicopters full of crates kept arriving, everyone working together. As they worked, Mr. Stewart managed to catch up with Keith.
"How are you holding up, Keith?" he asked. "I'm asking as a friend and not as a spy."
"Pretty well all things considered," Keith replied. "I'm just glad we were able to stop that thing."
"We all are. I've also noted you seem surprisingly chipper."
"Well, for the first time since Sonic got here, I was finally able to be useful. And with any luck, I'll be able to continue helping Sonic."
"Here's hoping."
As Keith placed some boxes down, he noticed a woman crying off to the side. Curious, Keith went over to talk to her.
"Is everything alright, ma'am?" Keith asked.
"My son!" the woman sobbed. "I can't find my son anywhere!"
"Hey, I'm sure the police are looking."
Suddenly, Sonic zoomed into the school yard, holding a young boy to his chest.
"Excuse me, but is anyone here missing a 2 year old boy?"
"Mommy!" the kid cried out.
The woman gasped, taking the boy and holding him close. She then dropped to her knees in relief, looking at Sonic with tear-filled eyes.
"Thank you… You're a godsend."
"Just here to help," Sonic reassured.
…
At the White House, the President was in the middle of signing several bills. He sighed, flexing his fingers.
"Disaster relief bills always make my tendonitis flare."
"Just a few more forms sir," Christina told him, placing another paper in front of him. "This is the bill declaring Station Square a disaster area. It also authorizes tax cuts to its citizens until further notice."
The President signed and pushed it aside.
"Next."
"Here's executive order 1137-8."
"Right… remind me what this one is again."
"It gives special authorization to the Guardian Unit of Nations division. Allowing them to build a new line of defense robots to combat Dr. Robotnik."
"Let's hope they do better than the last batch."
He signed the order, and a new paper was placed in front of him.
"What's this?"
"Security clearance for a temporary driver starting today. His name is Sam Kent, and he's got a perfect record in the SSPD."
…
At the Kent house, both the Winters and Birnbaums cars pulled up in the driveway, with Keith, Chuck, Ella, and Tanaka standing outside to greet them.
"Welcome everyone," they all greeted.
"Thanks for having us," Mr. Birnbaum replied, helping Helen out of the car.
"Don't mention it," Chuck insisted. "This house is big enough for everyone, and we were untouched by the flood. It's the least we can do."
"I hope so," Amy's voice called out as she walked up the drive, three flickies in tow. "I'm only sharing my room with Lily, Willow, and Sakura."
"Well it'll be good to have everyone," Keith commented. "It'll be like old times."
"Ah, so this was your idea," Kat realized, gently elbowing Keith.
"What? You get to hang out with Knuckles every day. You're not exactly in a place to judge."
"Who said I was judging? You're giving my dad a place to crash until the apartment's cleaned out. I'm grateful as can be."
Keith just smiled in response. Just then, another car pulled into the driveway, much to their surprise.
"How many people did you invite to stay?" Tails questioned.
"No one else,"Keith replied.
"Keith! Kathryn!" Mr Stewart called from his car.
"Mr. Teacher-Spy!" Kat called back.
The two teens headed for the car, where they noticed several boxes in Mr. Stewart's back seat.
"Don't tell me you're moving in too," Kat remarked.
"Moving, yes," Mr. Stewart replied. "My superiors are sending me on a special assignment for a few days."
"Taking advantage of the extended school vacation I take it," Keith guessed.
"Essentially. I just came to wish you all luck, and to tell you I'll hopefully be back in a week or so."
"Good luck," Keith told him.
"You too," Mr. Stewart replied before driving off.
"Wonder what his new assignment is," Kat wondered.
"No idea," Keith replied.
…
Meanwhile at G.U.N. headquarters, a man in a suit with a beard oversaw the production of various combat robots.
"We're proceeding on schedule, Agent Stone," a scientist replied.
"Good," the man replied, looking out at the various robots dotting the warehouse. "Area 51's Beetle drones were mere children's toys compared to these. Robotnik doesn't stand a chance."
Unbeknownst to them, a small spy bot was attached to the ceiling, watching and recording everything.
…
"How dare they believe they can match my brilliance!" Robotnik let out. "No backwater humans are going to outsmart Dr. Ivo Robotnik!"
"Still, you have to admit, they've made some progress," Orbot commended.
"And they've gotten a lot done too," Cubot added. "We might be out of a job soon."
"That might actually mean something if I paid you," Robotnik retorted. "Still, I do believe I still owe these chumps for stealing my designs. Maybe I should return the favor."
Robotnik then guided the spy bot towards the main computer, a few wires snaking out and attaching themselves to the console. Robotnik then managed to hack into the system, and sifted through the various designs.
"I must say, these are… slightly impressive. How did they manage to come up with all these designs so-"
He stopped dead, his jaw dropping. He took off his glasses, cleaning them before putting them back on.
"Impossible..."
"What is it, Doctor?" Orbot asked.
"It's… it's him…"
The two robots looked at the screen in shock, seeing what looked like an older version of Robotnik.
"He almost looks like-"
"You!" Cubot cut off. "You worked with the good guys?! Everything I know is a lie!"
"That's not me, you imbecile!" Robotnik told him. "That's Professor Gerald Robotnik. One of the greatest scientific geniuses of his time, and… my grandfather."
"But, how is that possible?" Orbot questioned. "How do these earthlings have information on your grandfather when we're from Mobius?"
"I don't know. Unless…" His eyes went wide and he fell back in his chair. "Unless… I wasn't born on Mobius… but here!"
"Does this mean there is a connection between Earth and Mobius?" Orbot asked. "Is that why Chaos Control brought over parts of Mobius rather than transport us all back home?"
"It's possible," Robotnik mused. "We know the two worlds exist in the same place in space and time, but are separated by dimensional barriers. It's only through Chaos Control that we can travel between them. Let's see if there's any other data that can clear things up."
As Robotnik tried to dig deeper, he came to a password screen.
"Another password… Let's see… Robotnik?"
He typed it in, but was met with an Error message.
"Of course. He'd never use something so blatantly obvious."
"Maybe try, 'Mobius'?" Orbot suggested.
Robotnik tried it, but another Error message came up.
"I got it!" Cubot declared. "Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, Start!"
Robotnilk didn't even bother trying it, just looking at Cubot.
"Well it's worth a try."
Robotnik just leaned back, trying to think.
"What would my grandfather use as a password? What did he care about? What would always be on his… mind..."
He trailed off as a fuzzy memory surfaced. It was an old photo he had of Gerald where he was holding a young, blonde girl in his arms. There had been an inscription on the back, reading "Gerald and Maria" as well as a long faded date.
"Maria..." Robotnik said softly.
He typed in the password, finally gaining entry into the system.
"Finally!"
…
An alarm suddenly went off in the G.U.N. base. A security officer ran towards Agent Stone, a frantic look in his eye.
"Sir, we've just been hacked! Someone's accessing the classified files!"
"Which ones?" Agent Stone questioned.
"The ARK files."
"What?! Cut his access, now!"
…
An alert popped up on Robotnik's screen, eliciting a small yelp from the doctor.
"They've detected us already?!" he exclaimed.
"Hurry, Doctor!" Orbot insisted.
"I'm working on it! Once I finish downloading the fire, delete the original!"
"You got it boss!" Cubot saluted. "I love deleting stuff!"
…
Stone watched as the security officer tried everything in his power to kick Robotnik out of the system. Unfortunately, none of it seemed to be working. In a fit of desperation, Stone came up with a plan.
"Shut down the entire system!" he ordered. "And hurry!"
"Working on it, sir!"
…
"Download complete in 3...2...1!" Orbot reported.
"Original file deleted!" Cubot added. "That was so much fun! Can we do it again?"
"Maybe another time," Robotnik told him. "Now, let's have a look at what we got."
Robotnik scrolled through the file, finding something of note.
"My Grandfather's diary, eh? Wonder what secrets he held.
Robotnik scrolled through the diary, finding no mentions of Mobius, but several relating to a "Project: Shadow", including the final entry.
"Based on my original projections, I was able to complete my project. Shadow. I designed his mind to be perfect, pure. I will leave everything to him. If you wish, release it. Awaken it to the world!"
"If you wish to fill the world with destruction…" Robotnik read off before smiling maliciously. "Seems the villainy apple didn't fall far from the tree. I will release Shadow for you, grandfather!"
…
Back in Station Square, riding in the President's limo, Topaz and Rouge were read in on Robotnik's attack on G.U.N.
"We're still not sure exactly what he took from the ARK files. There's so much red tape and classifications that even I've been given the runaround. What's even worse, apparently Robotnik deleted the original files once he got what he wanted."
"Surely there are other copies," Rouge insisted.
The President shook his head.
"Whatever those files contained was so top secret that all hardcopies were deleted. The only reason those files were spared was because their creator had them protected with more cyber security than NATO."
"Then just ask the guy for the password," Rouge insisted.
"We can't. Not only are the files 50 years old, but their original owner has been dead just as long."
"So where do we come in?" Topaz questioned. "Are we investigating this matter?"
"No. I've already arranged for another operative to handle that. Your mission is to get close to Robotnik and find out exactly what he's planning. Do whatever you need to do."
"You got it," Rouge said with a smirk.
The President nodded, then knocked on the window splitting the main part of the limo from the driver's seat.
"Our passengers are leaving. Please pull over."
The driver, Sam Kent, gave a thumbs up.
"Let me find a safe place to do so and I'll be more than happy to oblige."
He found a spot on the curb and pulled over, allowing Topaz and Rouge to disembark. As the limo drove off, Topaz looked down at Rouge.
"So, what's our first move?"
"We need to arrange a meeting with Eggman."
"That's not gonna be easy. He's not exactly a fan of ours."
"I know. That's why we need bait. And it just so happens, I know just where to find some."
…
The next morning, Keith woke up to the sounds of comotion downstairs. With a smile, he slipped on his glasses and headed downstairs. Almost everyone was gathered around the breakfast table as Ella, Amy, and Mr. Birnbaum brought out a buffet of food.
"Buenos días, Master Keith," Ella greeted.
"We've got breakfast tacos for everyone!" Amy cheered. "Better come eat before the eggs get cold."
"Thanks, guys," Keith replied, taking a seat.
He began piling food on his plate, grinning from ear to ear. Sonic noticed this and smiled.
"Someone's pretty happy," he remarked.
"I'm just happy to have so many people sitting down for breakfast. It used to be just me."
"Aw Keith, you love us," Helen teased.
Keith smiled in response before taking a bite of his breakfast.
"So what's everyone gonna be doing today?" he asked.
"Well, I need to help out with some of the clean-up efforts," Mr. Birnbaum declared. "Being a construction worker has benefits."
"I'm going down to the Stadium to help with the displaced citizens there," Al announced.
"Cream and I are going fishing with Big at his house," Helen declared.
"And I've got quite a bit of work piling up in my lab," Chuck added. "I probably won't be out for a while."
"Sounds like everyone's keeping busy," Keith noted. "What about you, Sonic?"
"I'm heading out into the city to see if there's anyone still missing. Wanna lend a hand?"
"You bet," Keith nodded.
…
About an hour later, Sonic was running through the city, pulling Keith behind him on a pair of skates. Keith had his goggles on, running a scan of the city as they ran.
"Quadrant four is clear of civilians," he reported. "Let's head downtown and check there."
"Right!" Sonic agreed.
As they kept moving, the sounds of someone crying for help, prompting Sonic to stop. He held out an arm, stopping Keith's forward momentum.
"I think your scanners missed something."
Keith checked again, then shook his head.
"Nope. I'm only picking up the two of us. We're the only living creatures here."
"Help me!" a familiar voice cried. "It's dark in here!"
The two exchanged looks, realizing who they were hearing.
"Bokkun..." they said in unison.
Sonic just shrugged, running over and smashing the debris covering the devilish robot. Bokkun stopped crying, dusting himself off and looking around.
"You ok?" Sonic asked.
"Yeah, I'm not hurt," Bokkun replied before looking up and seeing Sonic. "You rescued me?! I'd have kept quiet if I had known you were gonna help me!"
"Well, we could just rebury you if that's what you want," Keith replied sarcastically.
"Nope!" Bokkun hastily replied, powering on his jetpack. "But don't go expecting me to thank you or tell you that I'm grateful to finally be free of those rocks! I'll never say any of those things!"
"Alright, I get it," Sonic replied. "You're welcome."
He quickly grabbed Keith and the two went off.
"But you can't say I'm welcome, because I didn't say thank you!"
…
Meanwhile on Angel Island, Rouge and Topaz were walking through the jungle, the latter beginning to voice her doubts on Rouge's plan.
"I don't see how this plan of yours is going to work."
"It's simple. If we want Eggman to trust us, we need to bring him something he wants more than anything. In this case, a Chaos Emerald."
"And you're certain we'll find one here?" Topaz asked. "Last time I checked, Knuckles forbade anyone stepping foot on this island without his permission."
"Relax. We'll be gone before that Knucklehead even knows we're here."
"Famous last words..."
…
Meanwhile at SSTV news, Scarlet Garcia walked into the building, where she was greeted by two of the station's heads.
"Miss Garcia, thank you for coming."
"I will admit, I was surprised to receive your invitation," Scarlet told them. "I never thought I'd catch the attention of SSTV news."
"Well after your report on the Chaos attack in Station Square, my superiors wanted to sign you on immediately."
"Really? That would be amazing!"
"Well then, right this way."
The two walked into a room, where none other than Mr. Stewart was waiting for them. He was wearing a different suit from before, and he carried himself like a suave reporter. When he turned towards Scarlet and the man, he gave the former a charming smile that almost had her blushing.
"Why Miss Garcia, a pleasure
to finally meet you in person."
"Thank you, Mr…"
"Stewart. Franklin Stewart."
The two shake hands.
"Franklin just joined the channel as a news director," the man informed.
"I look forward to working with you, Ms. Garcia. If fact, I already have the perfect starting story for you."
The man left, allowing Scarlet and "Franklin" to sit down across from one another. Franklin pulled a file out of his jacket, setting it down on the table in front of them. It was labeled "ARK", which caused Scarlet to go wide-eyed.
"The ARK Incident?"
"Yes. Are you familiar with the story?"
"Yes… My father pursued the story when I was a little girl. He died in a car accident not long after. I always had my suspicions about it."
"Those suspicious may be right. I believe somebody's been keeping what really happened a secret for years, and I need a reporter with the guts to find out what and why."
"But… why me?"
"You've proven yourself to be fearless and a good reporter. More importantly, you seem like someone who needs closure. A chance to put this matter to rest once and for all."
Scarlet mulled this over, then picked up the file off the table.
"Where do we start?"
…
Back on Angel Island, Rouge was now wearing her thief's suit again, eying the Master Emerald shrine with a greedy stare.
"Now we're talking. So much better than a measly Emerald. I'll just need to take it carefully."
Just then, she felt a tapping on her shoulder. She turned around to see Knuckles staring at her.
"Hi," he greeted before punching her.
She went flying back into a support column.
"Now that was rude," she muttered, pulling off her mask. "Didn't your mother ever teach you it's rude to hit a lady?"
"She did, but you're hardly a lady!" Knuckles snapped. "Now, why were you trying to take the Master Emerald? Or was it just another jewel for your collection?"
"I don't see why I need to tell a brute like you anything. Now just hand over the emerald andI'll be on my way."
"Forget it! The Master Emerald is more than just some measly treasure. It possesses great power that can neutralize the energy of the Chaos Emeralds, making it dangerous if it was taken."
While he said this, Topaz came up behind him, hitting him on the back of the head. He fell forward, groaning.
"Nice shot," Rouge commended.
"Thanks. Now grab the Emerald before-"
"Hey!" Kat's voice came from above.
The two agents turned just in time to see Kat ziplining towards the shrine. The teen stuck both her legs out, colliding with both at top speeds. Rouge managed to spread her wings, catching herself before she fell. Topaz, however, ended up falling off the edge of the shrine and into a tree, snapping several branches as she fell. Luckily, she ended up falling right next to a shining blue rock. Topaz pulled at it, yanking it out and seeing it was the blue Chaos Emerald.
"Rouge! I found an Emerald! Let's go!"
"Not yet," Rouge snapped, kicking Kat aside. I'm not leaving without my emerald."
Kat snarled, then summoned an exploding ball with her bat.
"You're not taking it, Rouge!" she snapped, hitting the ball and sending it right at the Emerald
The ball collided and the Emerald exploded, raining Emerald shards everywhere.
"No!" Rouge let out. "It's destroyed!"
"Better than you taking it," Knuckles retorted, picking himself up off the ground.
Rouge growled bitterly, then swooped down towards Topaz. She scooped the woman up and they both departed, leaving Kat and Knuckles alone once more.
"Sorry I had to shatter it again," Kat apologized. "I hope Chaos and Tikal don't get mad."
"I'm sure they'll understand. Now we just need to find those shards before she does."
…
That night, at a secret island in the southern sea shaped like a guitar, an explosion rang out along one of the back walls. Security was immediately alerted as alarms started blaring.
"What's going on?" an officer questioned.
"There's been a breach at Gate 3!" another officer answered. "Someone's attempting to break in!"
"I want this entire building on lockdown!" the first officer ordered. "Have all personel rounded up and moved to safe zones. I want this intruder found now!"
"Yes sir!"
…
All throughout the base, security doors were being locked down and guard robots were powering up, ready to deal with whomever was infiltrating the base. Several soldiers also armed themselves, ready to take on this mystery threat. As one of the final security doors went down, it was suddenly blasted open, revealing Robotnik in a sleek mech with legs and a cannon on the side as well as one mounted on top.
"This heist is the perfect opportunity to test out my Egg Walker."
Robotnik then opened fire on several ariel robots, destroying them instantly. The soldiers attempted to open fire on Robotnik, but an energy shield surrounded the Egg Walker, blocking their shots.
"Nice try. My turn!"
He then locked on to the soldiers, firing a barrage of missiles. The guards all scattered, rushing to avoid the deadly shots. Robotnik just cackled in response.
"This is almost too easy. Now, let's see if we can find my grandfather's shadowy little project."
"Doctor, wait up!" Orbot and Cubot called out.
The doctor sighed, turning towards the oncoming robots. Both were wearing military helmets, Cubot's sealed on with duct tape.
"What are you two doing here?"
"We're obligated to appear in every scene you appear in," Cubot insisted.
"What he means to say is we're here to assist you in your assault on the facility," Orbot clarified.
"Forget it," Robotnik dismissed. "You two are useless in a fight."
"But we are good for cannon fodder," Cubot pointed out.
"Besides, you know we're just going to tag along anyhow," Orbot pointed out.
Robotnik grumbled in response.
"Oh, alright. But try and stay out of my way!"
Both bots saluted, then flew up and sat themselves on either side of the doctor's seat. As they proceeded forward, a blue, white, and red robot with a laser on its hand dropped in front of them.
"Ah, I recognize this design. G.U.N. dubbed it Laser Hunter." He smirked. "Let's see if you live up to the hype."
The Laser Hunter fired its laser at the Egg Walker, but Robotnik just raised his shield again to block it.
"Guess not. Fire homing missile!"
A laser missile then shot out of the Egg Walker, destroying the Laser Hunter instantly. Robotnik let out a laugh.
"Looks like his hunting license just expired!"
…
In the President's limo, Christina, one of his aids, was on the phone. Her eyes went wide and she covered her mouth in panic.
"Sir, Robotik's attacking Prison island."
"What?!" the President let out. "Why on Earth would he be there?"
"Unsure, sir. Perhaps it has something to do with the files he stole."
"If so… we could all be in great danger."
…
Back on Prison Island, Robotnik continued blasting at the guard robots that stood in his way.
"That's enough out of them!" Robotnik declared. "Now, let's go!"
They moved forward a bit more, keeping an eye out for more robots. Surprisingly, the halls remained quiet.
"Surprising," Orbot noted. "There doesn't seem to be anymore guard robots present."
"Maybe we blew them all up," Cubot suggested. "I feel so guilty. Destroying innocent robots just doing their jobs."
"These bots are far from innocent, and there's no way we got all of them," Robotnik insisted. "In fact, I see one hiding up ahead attempting to ambush us."
The final robot then rounded the corner and opened fire, prompting Robotnik to make the Egg Walker leap into the air, landing right on top of it and crushing it.
"Another crushing victory," Robotnik remarked.
"Let us have a moment of silence for our fallen robot brothers," Cubot suggested, taking off his helmet in respect.
"Oh, come on!" Robotnik demanded, grabbing him and pulling him along.
…
After a bit more trekking, the three arrived at a secluded chamber. The chamber was quite old and dusty, the only contents being an iced over capsule attached to several old computers. The glass of the capsule was completely iced over, obscuring the contents. However, the monitors attached to it continued to beep, suggesting that whatever was in there was alive.
"My, this place has seen better days," Orbot commented. "Are you sure this is the right place?"
"Positive," Robotnik confirmed. "Although I'll admit, this Shadow creature is a lot smaller than I expected. No matter, it will still soon serve me."
Robotnik then exited the Egg Walker and went over to the keyboard.
"First, I register the proper user data. Then, enter the password. M-A-R-I-A." he then pulls out a silver Chaos Emerald. "Now all I have to do is place the Chaos Emerald into this console."
Robotnik placed the Chaos Emerald in, powering up the machinery. Steam hissed from the pipes as the machinery powered on. The ice began melting away from the tube before finally opening up. Robotnik stepped back in shock as the creature rose, turning towards him.
"It… can't be…!"