Sorry I took so long in uploading this today, I had problems logging on.

What is this demon that has attacked Tails? What has it done to him? What is Eggman planning? Wait, we already know if you've guessed by now. And will Sonic notice that bowl?! Meh, that's not really important so... Longest chapter so far, with over 7,500 words. Bloody hell...

Reading through some of the previous chapters out of boredom, I've found a few missing words and grammar errors. I feel deeply ashamed and embarrased by these as it is not like me to make such mistakes. I have gone through all of the chapters to double- and triple-check that these mistakes have been corrected. Four words: I feel severely violated.

And by the way, a section of this story says Tails puts his right hand behind his back in embarrassment while he writes a note down. To avoid confusion, I've always thought Tails to be a leftie for some reason. I can use the excuse that being left handed is somewhat part genetical to make Artemis left handed too. :P

Oh yeah, I forgot the boring part. Disclaimer: -.-' I don't own Sonic, Tails or any related characters. All copyright Sega and Sonic Team. Amadeus and Rosemary Prower are copyright Archie comics. This story and any OC are copyright me. © see? :)

Read, review, enjoy!

Chapter 5: An old face returns

Sonic woke with a start. First thing's first was his first thought. He slipped out of bed (still not noticing the bowl of warm water) and slipped his shoes on. He walked out of his room, across the hall and into the fox's bed. He found the battered fox sleeping soundly. To check he still wasn't unconcious, he walked over and gently shook the fox. Thankfully, Tails woke up. Bleary eyed, and a little nauseous, Tails slowly looked around, taking in his surroundings. Quickly, after realising where he was, he bolted upright with a fearful look on his face. He looked around for something that Sonic couldn't see.
'Tails? What's the matter?' Sonic said as he tried to calm down the exasperated fox.
'Where is it?!' Tails said in a panicky voice.
'What? Where's what Tails? There's nothing here that can harm ya. Just calm down...' Sonic exclaimed as he looked into the blue irises filled to the rim with fear. Tails slowly began to calm down, realising that he was over reacting to something that no longer existed. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to help calm his nerves. Sonic was tempted to ask Tails what had happened the night before, but thought it better to leave it until the fox had calmed down completely. Instead, after a few minutes of making sure Tails was going to be okay with his absence, Sonic went downstairs to make them breakfast.

Five minutes later, Sonic returned to Tails' bedroom with a tray with two plates of Tails' favourite breakfast meal. Sonic set it on the fox's lap and took one of the plates as the evidently hungry fox began to eat his own.
'So what happened last night Tails?' Sonic said as he realised that Tails had calmed down due to his appetite. Tails gulped down a mouthful before he reluctantly began to explain. It took him a few moments to remember everything and to quickly come up with a story that didn't include putting Sonic's hand in the bowl in the middle of the night. Instead, he said that he couldn't get to sleep and played some games to try to tire himself out when he seen a flash from outside the window.
'I went downstairs to see what had happened, looked outside and there was this great, black meteor that had struck infront of the house,' Tails exclaimed with a hint of fear in his face again. The memory of the attack was too embedded into his mind to fully put him at ease again. He explained the purple gas-like substance taking a physical form and the dream he had in the hospital.
'Why didn't you tell me about this dream, bro?' Sonic asked with anxiety that Tails hadn't told him of such a dream.
'I didn't think it was important and I didn't want you to get worried,' Tails replied while his expression changed to sadness and guilt. Sonic understood and nodded for Tails to carry on. Eager to get off the subject of the dream, Tails carried on immediately.

After a few minutes of explaining, Tails reached the point of where he had been blasted through the door.
'It just suddenly turned into a stream of smoke and hit me in the chest. All I remember after that is you coming downstairs to me and then everything went black.' Tails finished, with another fearful look now that he had to relive the previous night's events.
'Don't worry. If it comes back again, it'll have me to answer to.' Tails' spirit lifted slightly as he thanked Sonic for his promise and the delicious breakfast as Sonic took the plates and tray downstairs to put in the sink before going outside to collect Tails' crutches.

A guard bot floated past the entrance. It stopped for a moment and looked around the desert wasteland that surrounded the base. It then turned forwards and carried on with its route. Had it been living, it would have quit a long time ago. Nothing ever attacked or infiltrated the base. Until tonight.

A dark figure swooped high over the base. Picking a spot, the trespasser retracted its wings and dived towards the landing spot. As she got closer, she spread her wings back out and landed safely on the roof of one of the many bunkers outside. Spotting a grate on the rooftop, she walked over to it. Opening the grate, she slid into the ventilation shafts, where she would be able to access the entire base. Securing the grate back on, she carefully slid down the ventilation system. When she landed, she removed her mask so she could breathe properly. Eggy sure isn't showing off this time Rouge thought to herself. Indeed, instead of a series of bunkers, Eggman would normally build a large tower, or his desired 'Eggmanland'. Rouge began to navigate her way through the maze of ventilation shafts. Unlike normal, her target wasn't information, or a chaos emerald – she already had one and this base didn't hold any anyway. Eggman kept his only one on his personel all of the time. Taking out a small PDA system, she pressed a few buttons and a map of Eggman's ventilation system quickly appeared on screen. Having pre-plotted a route, she followed the directions towards her desired location.

It took the bat a little less time than she had anticipated. She had come across three laser grids that had been marked on her map, so she was sure it was correct. Reaching her destination with little hassle, she stowed the PDA before checking the room below was clear. Once satisfied there were no robots or security cameras, she quietly opened the grate below her and slid into the room. It was very dark, so Rouge used her trusty supersonic waves to track where everything was. She quickly found what she was looking for and took out a glowing white chaos emerald from her heart-shaped storage compartment on her chest. Walking over to a pedastal, she placed the chaos emerald in a slot next to a large object that it was connected to. The lights suddenly came on. Rouge jumped at this and thought she had been seen. After a few moments of silence however, she was certain she hadn't.

Light temporarily blinded his eyes. They quickly adjusted and everything began to come in to focus. A few bubbles floated past his vision as the breathing mask let out some carbon dioxide. A figure moved over the cryo tube as it examined the activity. You took your time the container's occupant thought to himself with a rarely seen smile as a hissing sound could be heard. The container's door swung open followed by a familiar voice.
'Well, look what the bat dragged in' Rouge exclaimed in a mocking voice to the mystery figure. The steam cleared to reveal a black and crimson hedgehog removing the breathing mask. Shadow stood up and rolled his head from side to side. I hate being in that thing Shadow thought to himself. Then he looked at his partner and nodded to show his appreciation.
'Typical. You help a guy out and all he does is nods,' Rouge retorted in mock annoyance. Shadow let the matter go and took the chaos emerald that was used to release him from the cryo tube. He placed his hand on Rouge's shoulder, closed his eyes, focused on a particular place and said 'Chaos Control!' and instantly, the duo disappeared in the blink of an eye.

What was that thing? Where did it come from? Tails was relaying the previous night's events without feeling scared anymore. But he didn't know what had happened to it afterwards either, and feared it could return at any moment if it chose to. Tails decided to go downstairs to inspect the wreckage. Climbing out of his bed, he reached for his crutches and slipped them on. His arms had lost quite a bit of energy from last night's attack and slowly and unsteadily headed for the stairs. Then he remembered about the bowl. He listened for any activity coming from Sonic to check he was busy. Sure enough, he was cleaning the dishes and Tails siddled over to the other side of the hallway and into Sonic's room. He dashed over to the table as fast as the crutches would allow him to and grabbed the bowl, hoping Sonic hadn't noticed it beforehand. With the bowl in one hand, he limped over back to the hallway and towards the bathroom where he emptied the contents. He then limped back to his room and slipped the bowl back under his bed. That was close Tails thought to himself before setting off downstairs to help out Sonic, who he knew would object anyway and would tell him to just sit down and watch the television or something.

As expected, this is exactly what happened. Half an hour had passed since Tails' trip for the bowl and already Sonic had convinced him to sit down and relax while Sonic did all the chores. Lucky for Sonic, there weren't many anyway, so he had gone outside for five minutes for a short run up and down the meadows. Tails sat and channel flicked to find something suitable and enjoyable to watch. Eventually giving up, he switched it off and was tempted to go down the workshop that Sonic had still barred him from. He stared longingly at the door that lead down to it, but knew better than to disobey Sonic, or anyone who was concerned for his health for that matter. Tails was left in utter boredom. Unable to do his hobbies, unable to run with Sonic and unable to watch anything that suited his interests left Tails in a state of dissatisfaction and somewhat lonliness. Tails eventually gave up on thinking and lay down, using his tails as a pillow. He began to close his eyes, in the hope that when he woke up he would have something to do. A dream began to form in his mind to entertain him in the meantime.

The next thing to happen, Tails wished that the events were a dream. A sharp, short jab of pain bursted throughout his entire body, causing him to sit upright immediately and brought him out of his almost sleeping state. Tails breathed deeply for a few seconds, thinking it was just his imagination being over active again. But the pain returned, only it lasted for a much longer time than half a second. A tightening pain began to envelope his body. It wasn't concentrated on any part of him. It ranged from his toes to his ears and tips of his tails. He rolled over the side of the sofa and onto the floor on his hands and knees. The crushing pain quickly tightened around his body as Tails began to shake violently. It felt like being crushed in a car compactor that was very slowly closing, stopping at the border line of crushing the helpless victim. Tails fell on his side and began to squirm, his face contorted in pain. What felt like electrical surges began to pulse through his body in long, lasting, painful waves. The devastating feeling of being tortured from the inside seemed to be returning on a much larger scale. Tails couldn't hear anything, not even his own voice when he tried to call for help. Seconds felt like hours as the pulsing/crushing mixed pain continued to weaken the poor fox as his body began to give up. His vision began to black out, all feeling within his body began to numb. NO! I... can't... give up... Tails thought to himself. But... how? He had no idea on how to fight a force powerful enough to hurt him like this without an external source and without any kind of help available.

He kept his eyes closed, trying to think. But all thinking did was bring back sad times where he had been treated unfairly or bullied. These images reminded him of the pain he had been through, how it had scarred him throughout his life and the damage it had caused to him as a whole. Tails began to cry at these thoughts, along with the unendurable pain, as they streamed through his mind. As he did so, the pain began to get worse. It felt like his skeleton was on the brink of obliteration and the electrical surges would soon fry him enough to make him edible to anyone who wished to. As images continued to stream, so did the pain. The image of Cosmo as a gigantic tree with the Sonic Power Cannon primed at it flashed in his mind. Remembering when he fired how much pain it had caused him. The despair that followed. These final images seemed to have done something to the pain. It suddenly began to tighten at a massive scale, his body feeling like it was now being crushed to a pulp and he was sure that the electrical surges would duelly kill him if the crushin didn't. Then Tails realised that the pain was possibly being somehow fuelled by his thoughts. Maybe if I think happy thoughts... maybe the pain will go away... he wasn't sure if it would work, but it was worth a try. He tried as hard as he could to think of the good times he had. When he first met Sonic and how happy he was when he was finally appreciated for his unique abilites. Success! Tails thought to himself as the pain imminently began to loosen up slightly. He started thinking of more things that had made him happy. When he had first met Chuck. When he had helped Sonic to save Cream and Cheese from a military base. When he had disarmed the bomb in Station Square and everyone cheered for him. He thought of all the times he had done his little part to contribute to Eggman's defeat. How he had figured out a way out of a Metarex trap and saved his friends. When he first met Cosmo. All these thoughts began to beat away the pain like a tornado beating away flies. Tails slowly began to ease as the pain decreased as quickly as it had come. The pain rapidly declined as he thought of the happiest thoughts he could think of. After what felt like hours of breathtaking and bone-crushing pain, it finally ceased to exist entirely. Breathing heavily and still tense, Tails rolled over onto his back. He kept his eyes shut to help himself calm down from the unexpected attack. I guess... the pain I've suffered all of these years... has come back to haunt me... But how can mental pain turn in to physical? A few moments of thinking and it struck him. That creature last night! It's... no... it can't be... Tails sat up and clutched his stomach, still keeping his eyes shut and fearing the worst. If it's inside of me... then what does it want?! Tails had no idea if his theory was true, let alone possible, but it seemed to be the only logical answer to the disappearing monster and the episode he just experienced.

'Tails!' came an alarming voice from nowhere according to the fox. He opened his eyes in shock and looked at the source. A shocked Sonic stood in the doorway, looking like he had seen a ghost.
'Sonic? What's wrong?' Tails asked. He was sure Sonic wasn't talking about the writhing Tails a second ago as it was clear he had only just arrived. Infact, it seemed as though Sonic was looking over Tails' shoulder. Tails looked around his shoulder to see what Sonic was staring at. Then his mouth fell open.

The living room lay in ruins. The table had been smashed into two halves. The counter seperating the living room from the kitchen had a gaping hole through the middle. What left of the Television was sprayed across the ground. The couch lay on one side and on the wall and looked like it had been attacked from an overly excited and savage dog.
'Sonic! I swear! I didn't! I don't even know how it happened!' Tails exclaimed. Wait, I'm the only one in the house, is he really going to believe -
'Calm down and tell me what happened,' Sonic said, although it did seem evident that he was uncertain of the fox's story, even if he knew Tails wouldn't, or couldn't, do so much damage in the space of five minutes. Tails hastily explained the pain he had just gone through. He was desperate to prove it wasn't him. He had no idea how long the pain had lasted, but he was certain the devastation wasn't his own doing. Sonic listened to every word without interruption. Tails started looking exasperated and on the brink of crying again out of fear and desperation.

Tails finished his explanation and nothing more was said for a few moments. Sonic had concluded that there was no way that Tails could come up with such a story so fast, or that he could of done all of this damage anyway. Tails awaited a response from Sonic and worried what the consequences would be if Sonic decided that Tails was lying. I wouldn't blame him Tails thought it does sound a bit far-fetched. But its the truth, you've gotta believe me! Tails' desperation to prove his innocence became so desperate he finally started to shed a tear. Sonic walked over to his distraught little brother and placed a hand on his shoulder.
'Dont worry, I believe ya,' Sonic said as his green eyes stared into Tails' blue ones. Tails, needing comfort from being so upset, leapt forward and took Sonic into a hug that seemed to last a lifetime for the fox. After a while, they departed (Tails reluctantly) and Sonic set about cleaning the place up. Without objection, Tails grabbed his crutches and tried to help out as best he could.

Shadow stood on a hill, over looking the city beyond. He had no idea on what to do now that he was back. He had no intentions on returning to Eggman to try to recover his memory, but on the other hand he had no idea where to begin. He thought the first place to try would be somewhere with great knowledge on the past. The problem was that his creator, Doctor Gerald Robotnik, was originally from Earth and was not well known on Mobius. He supposed a library would be the most sufficient place to begin. Maybe the doctor left behind some work during his time here. Activating his hover boots, Shadow quickly set off towards the city with its towering buildings.

Sky City had everything. From luxury food from around the world to scenic views on its borders. Travellers from everywhere would gather here for such dreamy luxury. Sky University boasts some of the most advanced courses to ever be seen, with the exception of engineering and mechanics. And it was also Shadow's destination. He slid to an abrupt hault at the stairs of the library and headed towards the giant doors. Walking inside, he would have been awed by the amount of bookcases that lingered around the two storey library, had he been that type of person. Unfortunately he wasn't and instead he quickly started scanning the 'R' section, hoping to find something on the doctor.

After an hour of continuously searching, he finally found something that caught his attention. An old, seemingly untouched book lay there in the shelf, gathering dust. It was entitled 'Biological creations: the beginning of an Age'. Hmm... I was biologically created... this book may hold some answers. Shadow took the book from the shelf, sat down on a nearby table and began skim reading. The Space Colony Ark was able to be viewed by both worlds, so maybe the professor did some research on Mobius, as well as the Ark. Just as he thought this, a chapter entitled Gerald Robotnik: Project Shadow met the hedgehog's eyes. Shadow sat up at the title. He began to read the full story, bent low over the book. It read:

Gerald Robotnik: Project Shadow

Not much is known about this Project, but much more is known about the Professor. It is said that some of his research was carried out in an abandoned Research Lab deep in the Emulov Jungle. Although this Lab has been found, it has never been accessed and it was soon abandoned after countless attempts to reach the inside, varying from hacking the ancient systems to demolition techniques. None of these seemed to work. This area could hold the key to this alleged 'Project Shadow' and the mysteries surrounding it. Many notes have been inscribed on the wall, including briefly what the project is about and complex mathematical problems where the conclusion made no sense and a brief note saying 'only the ultimate life form shall enter'. The notes suggests to us that Project Shadow is a biological creation of a living being, that is supposedly created to be more powerful than anything to exist (and is nicknamed by Dr. Robotnik, as before mentioned, as the 'ultimate life form'). No one knows if the Project succeeded, let alone exists, but many skeptics believe it does, as well as other things that are most likely false, but still interesting to hear about.

It then went on to unneccesary information and Shadow closed the book and replaced it before setting off at speed (with a yelling librarian on his tail) towards the Jungle. when he reached outside, he realised he had no idea where it was. Well, this City is supposed to have everything. I'll need to look around for a map of the world before I can continue. He set off looking around for some sort of directions that would point him towards an information centre, or something that could help him to the jungle.

Cars jammed up as the rush our begun for people to get home. Angry citizens started yelling as usual. A brown chameleon had jumped out of his car to wrestle a disgruntled Crocodile. Ironically, Team Chaotix, the crime solving team had just happened to be strolling by. Vector, Espio and Charmy strolled through the dispersing crowd. Most citizens of Sky City kept to their cars, despite the continuous rush hours that happened daily. Police regularly patrolled the streets at these times to break up fights that happened during this point of 'crisis'.
'Heheh, good thing that's not us two over there, is it Espio?' Vector exclaimed to his crime-solving companions.
'And it never will be either,' Espio pointed out to the large crocodile.
'Yeah, because I would have you crying in three seconds flat, no doubt about it,' Vector seemed sure that his statement was true, even when it wasn't. Charmy let out a sigh as the needless fight started out.
'If you can catch me'
'Whadda ya mean 'if I can catch you?' Of course I can!'
'Oh really?' Espio said this as he instantly became invisible and slid behind the crocodile.
'Espio, you show yourself you coward!'
'Okay.' Espio rematerialised behind the disgruntled crocodile as Charmy hovered in mid air, completely annoyed.
'Hey, cmon guys, haven't we got a crime to solve?!' Charmy tried to break up the fight.
'No!' Vector and Espio shouted at the taken aback young bee at the same time.

Charmy turned away, not wanting to watch and starting to feel hungry. Just then, he noticed something in the distance. He hovered higher to see what it was. A black streak dashing through the traffic jam.
'He guys, look, it's Shadow!' Charmy shouted at his companions, which finally stopped the squabble. They looked at the direction Charmy was pointing in.
'Hey it is Shadow!' Vector exclaimed and rushed out into the middle of the immobile traffic to flag him down. 'Hey Shadow! Over here!' Shadow heard the voice just as he was about to turn a corner. He looked around to find Vector waving frantically for him. I'm busy right now, but if they know where the Emulov Jungle is, then I guess they could be helpful. Shadow skated over to the team. 'Well, if it isn't our old friend Shadow, where have ya been buddy?!' Vector exclaimed as he slapped Shadow on the back. Ignoring the question, Shadow went straight to business.
'Do you know where I can find the Emulov Jungle?' he was hoping that the 'best investigation team on Mobius' would be able to help him out.
'Yes. Head South for about 10 miles and it should be there.' Espio answered the hedgehog. 'But why?'
'I'm doing research' Shadow answered back, which was technically true. After a short farewell, Shadow headed South, back the way he had come towards the jungle.
'Hey wait! Shadow!' Vector shouted after him, but it was too late.

The day passed on without much things happening after Tail's incident. Tails had gone about repairing most of the damaged objects while Sonic cleared up debris. Eventually, after fixing and cleaning everything, Sonic had headed upstairs and went to bed. I don't think hes lying. He wouldn't lie to me, even with something like this. So what caused him to have that pain? Could it be something to do with that creature that attacked last night? Sonic sat up for most of the night trying to think things over. Tails had eventually lost it after repairing most of the living room and had forced his way into the workshop, no longer able to take the strain of not being able to do his favourite past time. No doubt he had fallen asleep at the desk again and, as normal, Sonic left him to it. Eggman might know something about this, but I doubt he'll even say anything. Sonic rolled over, tried to forget about it for now and soon began to fall asleep.

Meanwhile, Tails still worked away frantically at the blueprints for a new engine for the X-Tornado. As fast as the current one could go, he still wanted it to go faster and finally beat Sonic at his own game. He went to stand up to go upstairs and get a glass of water before continuing his designs to quench his thirst. However, he forgot his crutches and carried on walking up the flight of stairs. Only when he reached the kitchen did he realise what had just happened. Surprised, he looked at the cast still wrapped around his leg. Maybe my leg's healed. But bones don't heal that fast, do they? Confused, the fox carried on with what he was doing. I've gotta see a doctor tomorrow for a check up anyway, so we'll find out what's going on then. He downed the water in one large gulp before setting back downstairs to the workshop and carry on with the blueprints. Eventually, he began to doze off at the desk. He tried to stay awake for as long as he could, but it didn't help much. Hardly realising, he soon fell asleep.

Tails woke the next morning feeling somewhat more refreshed than he normally did when he fell asleep in the workshop. He looked around for the still non-existent clock. Putting his right hand behind his back in his classic pose of embarassment and letting out a short chuckle he thought to himself I still haven't added one. I'll need to leave myself a note or something. Hand still behind his back, he turned round back to his desk to jot down a note in his notepad before setting off upstairs. He stopped abruptly and realised he wasn't using his crutches. Then he remembered about last night, how he didn't need them then either and decided to take them incase he needed to give them back. This cast itches like crazy, I can't wait to get it off.

Sonic was lounging around on the destroyed sofa that had been put back in place, having just returned from a short run. Sonic reminded him that his appointment would be pretty soon, so Tails quickly ate his breakfast (leaving spilt milk on the counter in a rush). Luckily, the kitchen had remained relatively unharmed from the mystery attacker so the milk hadn't gone off whilst in the fridge. Tails quickly explained to Sonic what had happened to his leg, how it had healed at an alarming rate. Sonic gave Tails the thumbs up and said 'told ya you'd be up and about pretty fast!' Although they both knew it wasn't true as Sonic hadn't mentioned a word on how Tails would recover, slow or fast.

The duo headed outside under a cloudless, bright blue sky where the sun shone brightly, showing it was nearly the end of winter and the beginning of a lovely spring. Tails decided he wanted to go as fast as his tails could propell him. Sonic accepted the request.
'Be careful though, we don't want any more damage to your leg, okay?' Tails nodded with a short chuckle before setting off at a run and spinning his tails as fast as he could and he was shortly lifted off his feet from the propelling and was picking up speed as he raced down the meadows towards Sapphire City. Sonic, who had given him a short head start, quickly caught up. Tails tried his best to go at full speed. The wind rushed by him as they stormed down the meadows towards the City. The long stretch gave Tails plenty of time to stop if he needed to. His bangs went well over the top of his head, his ears nearly flattened backwards as the rushing wind forced them down. Tails blinked a few times to get a few tears caused by the rushing wind out of his eyes. This feels wonderful! I don't think I've ever gone this fast before! Tails thought to himself excitedly as the landscape rushed past in a blur, so fast that Tails would be unable to take it all in. He strived on, trying to keep up the pace in an effort to out do himself rather than impress Sonic. It felt wonderful to go at such a speed without the help of technology.

In a few short minutes they reached the border of the City and Tails began to slow himself down. His panting was'nt even very heavy. Infact, he felt so pumped from it, he wanted to go again for the thrill. He stood with a smile on his face, clearly pleased he had been able to keep up the same pace the whole way through.
'When have you been able to go that fast?' Sonic exclaimed, clearly astonished at his little brother's sudden speed boost. Still unable to talk, Tails shook his head, not knowing what to say. When he finally caught his breath, Tails asked 'how fast... was I... going?' Sonic shook his head that said 'wouldn't know', but he knew that Tails had beaten his personal record. He may not be as fast as me, but he's sure getting close. Although the speed he was going at was nowhere near the sound barrier, it was clear that Tails was making quick progress. After a moment of catching his breath fully, Sonic and Tails entered the city and towards the hospital at a much slower, walking pace.

'Strange. It seems that both the concussion and the leg have been fully repaired,' the doctor told Tails as she removed the bandage still on Tails' head and another doctor split the cast open to remove it. Tails put on his shoe and instantly began to scratch his leg due to the itchiness. 'Thanks doc!' Tais said with a smile as he was finally able to relieve the itching sensation that had built up underneath the cast. He stood up off the table to go tell Sonic, who was waiting outside, the good news.
'Cool!' Sonic exclaimed as he gave Tails the thumbs up after Tails had quickly explained that everything was ok and that he had fully recovered.
'We don't know how he healed so fast, but I guess some people do faster than others' the doctor exclaimed as she removed a pair of latex gloves. She said that he was in perfect condition to perfom normal tasks without hassle, but if he encounters any problems, physical or mental, they should contact the hospital ASAP. Sonic wasn't sure whether he should tell them about Tails' painful episode, because it seemed to be a fusion of the two and seemed to have disappeared after much more 'enjoyable' memories. Sonic decided to keep it between themselves, but if it happened again he would be at the hospital doors as fast as he could run. Tails stretched out his leg before they set off for the exit.

Back outside, Tails had seen something that reminded him of a well-known fact about the E&M University. Tails asked whether they could head for the University and Sonic agreed, but bewildered on the fox's intentions. Maybe he wants to see his father at work Sonic concluded. He then realised that Tails had already crossed the road and was heading towards the University. 'Hey Tails, wait up!' Sonic shouted after the over excited fox before giving off a short burst of speed to reach the hurrying fox in less than a second.
'Heheh, sorry Sonic. I guess I'm too excited.' Yep, he's going to visit his dad alright Sonic thought with a smile as he turned his attention to the University as they turned a corner.

After a few minutes of patient walking and crossing roads, the duo arrived at the University. Tails didn't stop to marvel its beauty like he would normally do and headed straight in. He had previously memorised the path to his father's office, and his healed concussion had brought this back ages ago. He followed the mental image he had formed in his mind and soon reached his father's office door. Knocking three times, a familiar voice called 'enter' and Tails opened the door and walked in.
'Hi dad!' Tails greeted his father with a short wave.
'Tails! How's the head and leg?' Amadeus asked as Sonic entered too.
'Good as new. I can remember everything too!' Tails said with joy as his father smiled. 'Dad, I wanted to ask you a favour.' Tails added with a hint of uncertainty in his voice.
'Oh?'
'I was... I was wondering... I was wondering if I can join the University.' There was a pause. Tails' face was eager and somewhat worried, possibly by the reaction that was going to come of it.
'And why do you want to do that?' Amadeus broke the silence with this question which Tails had an answer ready for.
'Well, everyone knows that the University has the best engineering technology in Mobius and I was hoping that by joining I could use them for building things that could help us against Eggman.' Tails looked in the robotic eye of his father. It reminded him of the new-found hatred he had for Eggman, and how much he wanted to get him back for it. Anger began to swell up inside of the fox again, but being naturally passive, it soon resided and Tails quickly calmed down without showing any change in mood.
'You won't be able to join the University,' Amadeus said firmly. Tails' heart took a dive into the pit of his stomach. But... It could help us stop Eggman... 'However, I will give you permission to use the facilities.' Tails' heart immediately returned to its normal resting place at these words before giving a leap.
'Really?! You mean it?!' Amadeus nodded with a smile at his son's gratitude. Tails couldn't wait to get the X-Tornado to the University and give it a new engine. He already had it planned out on his blueprints and all he needed was the parts.

Shadow stood on top of a cliff overlooking the Emulov Jungle. As its name suggests (Emulov backwards is infact volume), there was a lot of noise being emitted. These ancient noises no one had ever found the source of – there was no wildlife in the jungle for some strange reason. The abandoned facility was easily visible in a less dense patch in the jungle about a mile from where Shadow stood. It was covered in vines and bushes, but it stuck out like a sore thumb in the sunsetting landscape. Shadow quickly decided on his next plan of action as he jumped down the cliff and soared, free falling, towards the ground. After a second of free fall, Shadow curled into a ball and controlled himself to pull up to avoid smashing the ground. As he skimmed the grassy surface, he pulled out as he activated his hover boots and raced through the loud depths of the seemingly ever-lasting dense jungle, dodging brambles and jumping over roots showing up over the ground with lightning fast reflexes.

After a minute of running and dodging, Shadow suddenly jumped up to the top of a nearby tree to check he was heading in the right direction. He found that he was only actually about twenty yards away from the research lab. Shadow raced back down and towards the abandoned lab, reaching its wall within seconds. Shadow took a left and scanned the walls for an entrance. He soon found the front door, partially concealed in overgrown vines, but still visible. Scanning the front, their seemed to be no visible way in opening the door. Perhaps if I remove some of these vines, I can find a way. Shadow swept his hand over the vines to push them out of the way. As he did so, his hand came in to contact with the door and instatly there was a whirring sound. Shadow took a step back to view his accidental handiwork as the doors slowly slid apart. Shadow entered the one room research facility, examining its contents. Six cryotubes lay in rows, three on each side. A central computer sat at the other end of the room. A table with empty science equipment lay next to it. The current state of the room clearly showed that it had not been used for quite some time. Shadow headed straight for the computer and switched on the power button. Finally, I'm going to uncover my past! Shadow's heart was surprisingly racing as the screen began to load. Once everything had loaded, Shadow began to scan through the multiple files for something that suggested his existence or his bond with Maria. Something else, however, caught his attention. Mysterious black meteor to strike in approximately 50 years. Please watch this. URGENT. Shadow, overwhelmed by curiosity, loaded the file. It had been written before the time he had been created.

Gerald Robotnik's face came up on screen – it was video and audio recorded.
'Hello Shadow.' Shadow was startled by this. How does he – 'if you're wondering how I know who you are, it is because I have especially designed this lab so that only you can access it.
'Now, back to the subject. I want to inform you of a mysterious meteor that will be striking in approximately fifty years from when this video is recorded. I am not sure when you will be watching this. The meteor may have already struck when this is being viewed. But inform you I must. Although I am unaware of its origin, or what it can do, I am aware that it is a... strange... meteor. As you are probably aware, a meteor shower skims the atmosphere of Mobius every fifty years. As they skim the surface, the begin to pick up speed, and they all fall at relatively the same speed, as is meant to.
'However, this meteor fell significantly slower than the rest. It was the first to enter the atmosphere, but the last to leave it. It in fact stayed in the atmosphere for three days. I studied it in this time and found that it left a purple substance behind it. After checking with an ancient civilisation that I had heard had predicted something like this, I think it is safe to conclude that it posesses some sort of creature that can only enter one particular person. I am not sure what it can do, or even if the meteor is just different with no real reason at all, or if it is connected to anything paranormal. But I do advise you, Shadow, that you take a look in to it as it could endanger all of those on Mobius.
'And on a final note, if my calculations are correct, there is a possibility that it could land before the meteor shower, or maybe after it.' The log ended abruptly there. Shadow had no idea what this 'meteor' would look like, or where it would land. Once I've finished here, I'll see whether I can find more about this meteor. Perhaps doctor Eggman can find some more information with the files he still has from doctor Robotnik. Shadow continued to browse through the files and quickly located the ones he wanted and began to watch them. Sadly, they did not suggest much to his origin, except that of what he already knew. Shadow sighed as he turned off the computer and headed back out into the jungle and back to the City. The doors closed behind him and he took one final look. He found a series of complex calculations that lead to a final conclusion: Angel Falls. Maybe that's where this meteor is going to land.