Sonic Chaos Rivals (Season Three)

by sleepfiction

Framed for a crime he didn't commit, Sonic goes on the run with his friends when a dangerous and incredibly powerful doppelganger makes him public enemy number one. Facing all kinds of enemies- new and old, of Earth or in space- the truth about fifty years ago will be uncovered as Team Sonic tries to prevent this shadowy figure from exacting his vengeance upon humanity. (READ S1&2)

13. Close Encounters Of The Gross Kind

ZERO HOUR.

Chaos had disappeared not too soon before the skies had turned red. When he saw the view of the skies from Angel Island, Moss had hurriedly told his two children to go to the chao garden with haste.

By the time they had gotten there, the smell of Chaos had attracted unsightly creatures of pure terror. The chao's screams had been heard nearly clear across the island, all in fear and horror at what these strange black creatures were.

The Master Emerald wasn't here. It was reformed in space. Chaos was too far away to intervene- but his vessel was there to pick up the slack.

Sticks, Ray and Moss managed to get into the garden in time to watch Bud use the Chao Walker to take out a group of Black Arms with a swing of its arms. He fired off a bunch of long-limbed Omochao, which tied the Black Arms Warriors to the trees and restrained them.

A makeshift spear whizzed by and impaled a Black Arms Warrior that was behind Bud, sticking it to a nearby tree with a splatter of green. Sticks, who threw the spear, pulled out her boomerang next.

"What are these things?" Ray asked.

"The Black Arms. The legacies of the Dark Gaia, Mobius." Moss answered. "They want to suck the life force from the chao to fuel their children. Protect them at all costs!"

Sticks let out a warbling battle cry as she threw her boomerang at full-speed at one of the Black Arms. The boomerang hit the creature in the face, its path undeterred by the smack as it spun in the air on a set path.

The badger was unlike her siblings- she was neurotic, intense and at times, actually nuts- but there was one facet that set her apart from her siblings: she could fight, and she could fight hard. Knuckles was strong, but secluded; Mighty was a pacifist; Ray was very small; and Moss was old.

When Sticks had to defend, and especially when it came to the innocent chao, she wasn't going to hold back. And luckily for her, facing against the Black Arms meant she didn't have to do anything to hold back at all.

She rushed to the next Warrior standing. Before it could aim its weapon (known amongst the Black Arms as a "black barrel") at Sticks, the boomerang she threw came back, hitting the Warrior in the back of its head and knocking it off its balance.

Sticks grabbed a vaguely club-shaped tree branch that fell from the assaulted palm trees, using it like a bat as she swung it directly into the side of the Warrior's face. When the Warrior was flung to the ground, the badger pounced, delivering a flurry of blows and scratches to the upper half of the creature as it flailed wildly to get her off.

Eventually, covered in a spray of olive green, Sticks was finished. She was breathing heavily, her head slowly turning to look at the nearby invaders, one half of her wide-eyed face covered in shadow. The Warriors couldn't emote, but if they could, they'd feel fear for sure.

However, the victory was short-lived. The Black Arms Warrior she attacked rapidly healed, and punched her off of him, sending her tumbling across the ground.

Wind blew hard, taking attention away from Sticks. Ray flew along the gust, soaring in and scooping up the chao that were in the way. He dodged a blast from one of the creature's black barrels, pulling the chao out of the way.

A vine whipped around the end of a black barrel, Moss yanking the weapon from the Black Arms Warrior's hand and flinging it away. The sloth lashed the Warriors with the vines, disarming them quickly. He knew that, if the Black Arms were on Earth, there was little they could do to keep them at bay. All they could do was run.

Moss whipped the vine around the invading Black Arms, pulling them around with his might and flinging as many as he could over the trees, out to the oceans around the floating Angel Island. Seeing what Moss was doing, Sticks and Bud began doing the same, with Sticks tossing and kicking the Black Arms to retreat while Bud flung them one at a time.

Ray continued to gather and soothe the chao further away from the dark invaders. He looked over his shoulder when a shadow came over them- a Black Arms Warrior that slipped through the cracks was there, towering over the flying squirrel.

The chao's screams alerted the other guardians, but they turned in time for the Warrior to point another weapon- a "ring shot" it was called by the Black Arms- at Ray. The squirrel, sitting on the ground, propped himself up with his hands and feet, kicking upwards to knock the weapon from the creature's hand.

With wind to carry him upwards, Ray flipped forwards in the air, bringing his prehensile tail downwards- the end rolled up like it was a fist- slamming into the head of the Warrior to knock it away.

Ray caught the ring shot when it came back down. He closed his eyes and winced before firing the weapon back at its original user, a giant circular shockwave of red-violet energy blasting the Warrior backwards.

After the creature landed on its back, Bud grabbed it, the Chao Walker's strength sending it flying far over the woods at the edge of Angel Island. Ray threw the ring shot into the wading pool in the chao garden, wanting rid of it.

There was a horrid roar from nearby, making all guardians tense up with fear. Suddenly, loud and heavy footsteps lightly shook the ground, coming from the trees that led to the water and coming in closer.

A Black Oak bursted through the trees, clearly headed in towards the chao. As he was the largest and clearly the strongest, Bud commanded the Chao Walker to rush in front of the giant Black Arms Warrior, bringing the mech's arms up to stop him.

The mech suit's legs slid across the grass, kicking up dirt as Bud pushed back against the giant creature. The Black Oak swiped and hit the mech, dragging its black claws through the chao's hard work. Bud directed the hand cannon up, firing the cannon into the Black Oak to force it to stop.

When the creature brought its hand up again, Moss whipped a vine to wrap around it, trying to hold it back from attacking Bud. The Black Oak swung its arm around to pull the vine off, flinging Moss around and over towards the trees.

"Father!"

Ray flew from his spot to intercept Moss, crashing into the sloth's body and tumbling through the air- the flying squirrel used the winds to let them float to the ground easy, unfolding from each other as soon as they hit the grass.

Sticks landed on top of the Black Oak, riding piggyback on the creature. The badger used her boomerang to bash into the large creature's head, but could only do so much. The Black Oak grabbed onto her leg and threw her away as well, focusing on Bud now.

There was a powerful chao inside this mech- the vessel of Chaos- and all that was in the way was this hard shell that bent like putty to the Black Oak's claws. The large creature started slashing at the mech like a feral creature.

Bud slammed his nub into the center console. At the command, a boxing glove on a spring launched out, hitting hard enough to deter the creature, at the very least. Bud directed the remaining cannon arm upwards and fired two Omochao onto the creature, forcing its arms in an awkward position up against its chest and face.

"Hi! I'm Omochao! Did you know that when you drop on Angel Island, you'll get beat to a pulp? Stay tuned for an example!"

It was clear that the Black Oak would be able to tear free- in fact, it was doing so as soon as it was restrained. But Bud didn't care, he was angry.

Rainbow energy sparked off his body, soon covering the entire mech with the multicolored electricity. It shook, a lot of screens and things beeping on the front console. Bud's body shook as well, his emotional indicator turned into a dark, dark 'X' atop his head.

When the Black Oak got its arms free, it was already too late. The entire Chao Walker exploded, the force combined with the chaos energy emitted from Bud creating a powerful blast. Wind blew over the chao garden, while the force of the blast knocked the Black Oak into the air. It soared further than its Warrior brethren, almost becoming a speck of light in the sky as it blasted off and away.

Bud was floating where he was in the Chao Walker when the smoke cleared. He floated down and picked up one of the eye-headlights of the Walker. He had told Cheese when he saw him, but Bud had based the walker on him, his very best friend. Now, with the Walker destroyed, all he could think about is if Cheese was safe.

He felt hands touch him, holding him as he floated. It was Moss, who smiled and offered him a palmfruit. The emotion indicator on Bud's head glowed dimly again, though formed into a swirling vortex on his head, something similar to the agitated spiral that would be seen on a normal chao's head.

"We must bring the chao to the area below the echidna village. Through the pyramid. We will hide there until the Black Arms are gone." The sloth said.

"What about the creatures?" Ray asked.

"We can handle them, but we won't be able to destroy them. The Black Comet has made contact with the Earth, and through it, the Black Arms are powered by the spirit of Mobius. Because of that, they're nearly indestructible, and most likely unkillable."

"What's gonna happen to the people on the mainland?" Sticks scratched her head with the end of her boomerang.

"We can only hope that Knuckles, Sonic and their friends can take care of the issue. The power of Chaos- the Chaos Emeralds- should be enough to destroy the Black Arms. But for now… we must hide and protect the chao. Now come, let's go."

Ray and Sticks gave each other a glance, but did what they were told. Moss continued to care for Bud, carrying him away from the chao garden. As he did, Bud turned around to look past Moss, looking at Station Square that was just barely seen in the far distance.

He could see the Black Comet, and the red clouds swirling around it. Bud watched it with a dim emotional indicator until the trees blocked the view.

---

It had barely been an hour before the Black Arms had totally overrun the entire city. Police had advised everyone to stay in their homes, or to find immediate shelter and take refuge in it. That was before all the televisions suddenly turned to horrifying images, and pulsing images of some kind of red mass, joined by a screech that could crack glass. It was clear by the comet's appearance above the city though: keep indoors.

A few Black Arms Warriors roamed the streets, holding various weapons in pursuit of anyone they could collect for their children to feed. One Warrior was strolling down a side road, one that was only illuminated by streetlights as the Black Comet continued to cast the town in shadow.

As it passed across a crosswalk, it looked down at the bags of groceries that had been abandoned in the road. It nudged it with its food.

Suddenly, it started glowing. Actually, it wasn't going, a light was being cast on it that was getting brighter. The Black Arms could feel it too, and as a nocturnal creature, nearly hissed when it felt the light on its body. The Warrior turned to see the source of the light.

It turned in time to get hit by a car, flung over the automobile from the speed it was going.

The car didn't stop, skidding (almost drifting) around a corner to head down the block. There weren't any other Black Arms in the area, as most of them were communed in the Black Comet for some kind of event. Those on the ground were scattered, as they were told the humans in the city were pathetic, soft and doughy endoskeletal creatures.

As it reached its location, the robin's egg colored oldsmobile didn't stop in time, the front two tires of the car up on the curb by the time it came to a standstill. Both doors opened quickly, a mother and daughter emerging and closing the doors in sync.

When Vanilla rounded the car, Cream was waiting for her, and the pair held hands. Cheese and Chocola, following the pair, were also holding hands- Cheese was given a special mitten so he wouldn't mimic his fellow chao. With her free hand, Vanilla was holding an electric shock baton on her shoulder, keeping an eye out for any other Black Arms Warriors. She had a matching Omochao backpack to be twinsies with her daughter.

They approached the front door to the building, which was closed, the windows boarded up from the inside. The handle made it clear that this building was locked with a smart door lock- Vanilla knew it must've been installed recently.

She turned to her daughter, crouching down to get down to her level.

"Okay, Creamy," she said. "Do you remember how to access the smart electric locks?"

"Hm… let me think." Cream adjusted her glasses with a smile.

The young rabbit approached the door, looking over the lock with her finger and thumb cradling her chin. She tilted her head side to side to get a look at it at all angles. Cream didn't want to break the lock to the point of it being unusable, she just wanted to unlock the door.

This smart lock was something Cream had seen before, while her mom was working on making similar locks from HEXAeco. Cream had been the tester to see how much the other companies' locks could handle, so she was definitely the best candidate for this job.

She reached back into her backpack and rummaged through it, until she had what she was looking for- a handheld computer, which looked like a phone but was mostly meant for workers in a retail occupation. For Cream, she used it for a variety of different applications certainly not meant for the intended use.

For example: she knew that the smart lock was most likely used by the people in this building, using their phones to connect with the lock via bluetooth to unlock it. With the handheld computer, Cream was able to access the bluetooth lock.

It barely took Cream a minute to open the door, simply changing a part of the code to unlock it. Vanilla grabbed the door handle and started to pull, but paused and turned to her daughter again.

"Breaking and entering is wrong, Creamy."

"Okay!"

Satisfied, Vanilla opened the door for her and Cream to enter the foyer, the door relocking behind them. The apartment building's foyer was a bit of a mess, the elevator blocked by an overturned table, which also partially blocked the stairway that was in the corner. There was a bunch of luggage and chairs blocking a hallway on the other side of the elevator, blocking a hallway heading back.

Vanilla shuffled Cream in and closed the door behind her. As soon as she did, she heard the cocking of a shotgun before someone came up to point it over the edge of the overturned table, clearly using it as cover.

"GET OUTTA HERE, YOU UGLY MOTHER…" Alianna Hernandez, the one holding the shotgun, paused when she saw that it wasn't Black Arms Warriors coming in. "Vanilla?"

"Alianna!"

The mother crocodile hopped over the table, meeting Vanilla as they rushed to one another and gave each other a hug. Cream, still near the door, pet the worried Cheese and Chocola after the chao were freaked out by the large mobian with a gun.

"This is probably the worst time for a reunion." Alianna said. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to see the Chaotix. They live in this building." The older rabbit pulled out the old business card she received from the detectives, showing it to Alianna. "Do you know where they live? Can you bring us to them? Please, it's really important."

Alianna paused as she saw the business card. She looked past Vanilla, at Cream, who waved at her with a smile on her face.

"Come with me."

The crocodile led the duo upstairs. Every door was blocked off from what they could see, until they got to the floor with the detective's door at the end. Alianna unlocked the door with a bunch of keys she had on her hip- Vanilla quietly wondered how she got those.

When they shuffled inside the office, Alianna closed and locked the door behind her. Vanilla and Cream trailed inside, the chao still hiding behind the latter. Alianna came up behind, helping shuffle them further in.

"...the slime was slithering through the streets, coating the buildings with a new kind of paint, one that made them a glossy blood red." Vector's voice could be heard as they walked into the main area of the office. He was in his chair, his back to them. It was clear he was speaking into his tape recorder. "I wonder in times like these if this city deserves it. If the work put in by the good offsets the seedy grime this city is ingrained with every day. I wonder…"

"Hi Mister Vector!"

Vector thrashed and whipped around, clearly taken by surprise from Cream's greeting. He looked between the rabbits, then up at his mother behind them.

"Ma, what are they doing here?"

"...ma?" Vanilla looked up at Alianna.

"You remember I had a kid when we escaped that doctor." The mother crocodile said. "This is him! This is Vector! You've met him before and you didn't even see the resemblance?"

"I didn't want to assume. Besides, I thought you named him Victor."

"Some days I wish I was named that…" Vector stood up. "Ma, how do you know Van… er, Miss Tarte?"

"We're old friends! Vanny and I lived together for years before she left that old compound. You were barely able to walk when she left! Which was concerning, because you were almost nine years old. She's practically your aunt!"

"Don't…" Vector said seriously, clearly shaken. "Don't ever call her that again."

Cream's attention was taken away from her by something nearby- it was a blanket fort, made up with help from a separate desk in the right corner of the room, held up with some kind of round column in the middle that made it look like a hill. There was shuffling from the fort before the end opened, revealing a bee was inside.

"Oh! Hey Cream!"

"Hi Charmy!"

Charmy climbed out of the blanket fort, followed by some kind of orb with legs. Soon, the entire blanket fort shifted- the middle column wasn't a column, it was a larger android with boxing gloves on. Both of them followed Charmy.

"Whoaaa, who are these guys?" Cream was enraptured by the appearance of the androids.

"WE WERE ONCE CALLED SR-0001 and SR-0002, BUT WE CURRENTLY GO BY THE TITLES OF 'BOMB' AND 'HEAVY', RESPECTIVELY." Heavy replied, gesturing to his smaller companion and himself with his glove.

"They're incredible! Charmy, why didn't you bring them to help with the pyramid stuff yesterday?"

"Heavy's our receptionist, and we needed someone to look over the office while we were gone. Alianna was busy with Bomb helping make repairs. Bomb's the complex's go-to mechanic."

"Enough of the pleasantries. Why are you all here?" Vector asked after Charmy was done.

"Clearly they're looking for something."

Espio appeared beside Vector, scaring him again. The crocodile, angry at being scared yet again, swiped at the appearing ninja- Espio simply ducked under the swing. Near Alianna, another, older chameleon became visible again.

"Oh! Hello." Vanilla said, reaching her hand out to shake his. "I don't recognize you. I'm Vanilla Tarte."

"Inco Kaziwaka. I'm Espio's father."

"Vanilla, this is my man! We're dating!" Alianna put her arm around Inco and pulled him into her side tightly. "We might even get married soon!"

The chameleon wasn't fazed, even smiling as it happened, looking up at the large crocodile while he was pulled in. Alianna saw Inco looking at her and beamed back down at him.

"Oh wow! That's spectacular, Alianna! You two make such a cute couple."

"Enough, enough, enough!" The detective crocodile barked. "Why are you here, Vanilla? What are you looking for?"

"Oh right! I forgot the apocalypse was happening outside."

Vanilla pulled her backpack around to her front, opening it up to pull out a binder she had. It had stickers all over the front, an addition made from Cream that Vanilla loved to look at.

She flipped it open, walking forwards and setting the open binder on the detective's desk. Vector, Espio and Charmy all came up behind her to look over her shoulder at the information inside. Vanilla opened her mouth, but paused and looked at the detectives.

"Aren't there four of you?"

"If you mean Mighty, he's keeping watch for invaders on the roof."

"Oh, I see. Well, you can give him the short version when he comes back." Vanilla paged through a section she had separated with a divider. "A while back, around the same time I hired Amy, Cream was kidnapped by Doctor Ivo Robotnik and taken to some kind of bunker inside of the Mystic Ruins. It's a part of the Robotnik estate after its creation back when the family had their steel making business."

"I met an android in there! May the universe rest his soul." Cream commented.

"Robotnik used it as a base of operations for a while, but since he's currently taken refuge in the orbiting satellite known as the Space Colony ARK, he's since abandoned it." The mother rabbit showed them photos of the ARK, and a picture of the inside of the hot shelter taken by Cream's phone. "But it's a bunker. And according to Cream, it's massive. It's a big task, but I want to track it down and move myself, Cream, her uncle Big, my assistant Tekno and our pets into it until this mess is over."

"Where do we come in?" Charmy asked.

"I don't know where the bunker's entrance is, but according to what Cream's told me about Sonic's adventures, Espio has been there before."

They all looked at Espio. The chameleon looked a bit sheepish and surprised.

"It's been a while. I don't exactly remember where it would be." He said in defense.

"Then you'll have to find it again. Shouldn't be an issue for people who are paid to find stuff out." Vanilla continued. "Find the bunker, make sure it's clear and return to my apartment. If it's safe there, we'll find a way to evacuate as many people as we can from the city into the bunker to save them- I promise that will include the…" Vanilla looked around and quietly counted. "Eight of you."

"Are you sure it's better to risk our lives than to just follow the orders to stay indoors?"

"Velox is a moron. I'm not just saying that because I'm running against him for mayor. The city isn't safe." Vanilla replied to Vector. "Please, I just want to keep my family safe. I'll pay you whatever you want, just please find it for me."

Vector thought for a moment of the dangers he'd be putting himself through by going out and looking for this bunker. His eyes trailed to Espio and Charmy, who both were watching him expectantly.

"I dunno…"

"Vector, you should do it."

"Ma, are… Are you sure?"

"You boys can handle yourselves. You're all very strong together. Plus, I agree with Vanilla… the city is not safe. I want to make sure my boys are safe. All of them."

After a second, the crocodile sighed.

"Alright… We'll do it. Ma, you and Mr. Kaziwaka go with Vanilla back to her apartment, the guys and I will go find the bunker. We'll bring Heavy and Bomb along too."

"Good. Please be safe, all of you. Now how are we going to call down—"

The boards against the windows shifted. Everyone turned to stare at it in surprise, with Vector and the other detectives each pulling weapons to fight against any possible intruder.

After a second, the board moved. Mighty was kneeling on the fire escape, looking in and smiling.

"Hello everyone! Oh, we have guests!" He said, apparently not even fazed by the doomsday outside. "What did I miss?"

---

The packet that Shadow had brought onto the Black Comet had remained intact while he waited in one of the many different rooms within the meteor.

Since all of the Black Arms, minus Shadow, had been created using the matter that was in the center of the alien meteor, the inside of the Black Comet was completely hollowed out. This contained multiple floors housing all kinds of Black Arms creatures inside- from the mighty Death Worms to the infantile Death Leeches. Conduit gel ran through the comet like suspended streams, not contained within any tube. Far below, there was a massive pool of conduit gel that these "veins" all connected to, inside and out.

Light was provided by the red-violet walls, glowing with the godly power of the fire god Mobius as his very essence imbued the matter of the Black Comet. From it, Shadow was able to review the packet given to him by Rouge once more.

After everything he's done. After everything he's been through… was all of it a lie? Did Gerald create a separate, true "Ultimate Lifeform" after Shadow was made to be a weapon? Was he always intended to be a weapon?

Those memories he had were so real. They meant something to him. Were theyeven real?

Then, there was the elephant in the room: he was Black Doom's son. He was always referred to as Black Doom's shadow (ironic given his name change) but he didn't know it was because he was created with Doom's DNA. Given that Shadow was part… Mobian, was it? It would make sense why Black Doom would even bother with a halfling like him.

If Black Doom was his father, did Gerald even love him? Shadow always felt… happier, when Gerald referred to him as "son," even if it was a common title for older people on Earth. Gerald raised him, not Black Doom. But did Gerald even want him?

All of this was making him feel numb. He had felt a bit bad before; that his ties to Maria and Gerald, to their philosophies, went against what he was doing with Black Doom. Now the cat was out of the bag: he had no ties to Maria and Gerald, biologically speaking. So why did it hurt so much that he might not even be the real Ultimate Lifeform?

He thought back to when he first met Maria. Back on the ARK, a little over fifty years ago. She had taken a liking to him, hadn't she? Shadow followed her everywhere. She liked having him around. She was planning on showing him the Earth when she was cured, to let him choose to be whoever he wanted.

Right?

Shadow thought of the promise he made her. Fifty years later, and he still didn't fully comprehend what it was. Even if they had been talking about doing good for everyone on Earth, regardless of who they acted like, he didn't know what the promise was exactly.

Sound vibrated his ears. What was that? He was in a small room, but the conduit gel was refracting some kind of buzzing directly to him.

It was… coming from him. He was humming.

Shadow was humming "Never Turn Back." His favorite song.

The dark hedgehog had caught himself humming it from time to time when he was alone on the ARK, after waking up. He even hummed it one time before he was told anything about his past, which really surprised him when he found out what the tune was. The song was intertwined with his being, pretty much. He remembered that Rouge told him they made more music… he wondered if there were any more like that song.

Rouge. The thought of her made Shadow look to the floor. He closed the packet and set it aside, leaning on his legs as he sat at the edge of what could be considered a bench.

That bat had helped Shadow this entire journey. He knew she was a GUN agent all along- he had suspected, but Doom's Eye had informed him after they returned from the Sol Zone that, after snooping through her things, it discovered she had a direct line to the president.

But she helped him regardless. She opened up to him, regardless. Rouge seemed horrified that GUN killed Maria, and she worked for them. Was that all a ruse too?

Shadow was supposed to hate her, to disconnect with the people he used for his end goal. That's what Black Doom told him. Why didn't he hate her?

Maybe there was hope for him yet. Shadow grunted and actually rolled his eyes as his mind went to Sonic's attempt to keep him from carrying out his mission. That guy irritated him to no end, even if he did have a bit of respect for him. More respect after Sonic actually fought back against him- Shadow finally had an equal opponent, it was refreshing. Even if Sonic caught him off guard.

The train of thought was interrupted with the wall opening in front of him- it peeled and rolled to the side like a can of sardines, revealing a similar hallway outside.

It was Doom's Eye.

"You are needed. The promised time is here."

At what the floating eye said, Shadow slid up to his feet. He knew Black Doom wanted him for something special- something flashy that was purely for Black Doom himself, and not for Shadow at all.

What Sonic said to him echoed through his head as he left the room to follow the eye.

"Is that what Maria wants? Did she die saying you need to wipe out all life on Earth?"

Shadow didn't have an answer. All he could think about is what her last words to him were.

Don't be what they made you.

---

Even on the outside of Station Square, at the Mystic Ruins, the sky was still red. It seemed that the clouds that accumulated around the Black Comet were the cause of the reddened sky, rather than actual phenomena that turned the sky a different color.

The back of Vector's sedan nearly dragged along the road with Heavy in the backseat. He sat in the middle of the back, holding Bomb, with Mighty and Charmy on either side of Heavy both staring outside. It was Heavy's request to sit in the middle.

Espio, in the passenger seat, had his head leaned against the window. He looked through the glass at the world around them- the view was a plus, he was actually just keeping an eye for anyone tailing them.

Vector tapped his steering wheel, humming along to the jazz piano playing. He had his phone connected, one of the songs he knew by heart playing. It was also one of the songs he could play on piano by heart. It may or may not have been a song used in one of his favorite old noir movies. But hey, anything was better than the screeching the Black Arms was putting through the television.

They passed the police tape that was set up around the entrance to the plateau holding Tails' workshop. GUN had all but abandoned the place when the Black Arms showed up, probably even before it. Vector turned the sedan to a stop in the "park-n-go" lot in the front of the Mystic Ruins woods.

It took a solid few minutes for Heavy to get out of the sedan without tilting it sideways, but they eventually got the robot out. They all parked, now it was time to go into the woods, just like the sign said.

Veering off the trail, Vector started trying to get his phone to work, tapping on it with a frown on his snout. Espio and Charmy noticed.

"What's the prob, boss?" The bee asked.

"I'm trying to pull up the map Tails gave us to the bunker, but I can't find it."

"You do realize he sent it like, half a year ago, right?"

"I know that, Espio! But it's not like we're best buddies, we don't have that big of a chat log."

"Maybe it just didn't load in." Charmy leaned on one of Vector's arms to look at what he was doing on the phone screen. "Ewww, Vector, what the heck is this?"

"What?"

"I think he means the brand of phone you have, Vector."

"What's wrong with it?"

"It's a Thorndyke Drone! I thought you had the rPhone?"

"I did, but I gave that to you when my ma adopted you, Charmy."

"Oh yeah…"

"I'm not made of money, I had to get something affordable."

"The picture quality is terrible."

"At least it doesn't shatter if you tap too hard."

"You two, stop it." Espio said, agitated.

"PERHAPS I CAN SEARCH FOR THE IMAGE. I WAS MADE TO HANDLE COMPLEX TASKS, REGARDLESS OF MY ENORMOUS STATURE."

"The last time we let you hold something small and made of glass, Heavy, you shattered Mighty's favorite detective mug."

"It was signed by Inco and everything…" Mighty murmured sadly.

"My father gave you a new one."

"It wasn't the same."

"Oh man, I really hope Charmy isn't rubbing off on you." Espio ran a hand down his face.

There was a flapping that made them all look up, before something landed with a heavy slam next to Vector's sedan, on the opposite side from them. It was a giant, avian creature- it had a body almost like a vulture, but without feathers, it was a leathery being of black and red. It had gold armor around its torso, connecting to a bit of head armor that covered everything except for small holes that presumably let it see.

Inside the Black Comet, they would call this thing a "Black Volt." However, other creatures on Earth had referred to this as…

"A Stalker…" Mighty whispered as he saw it.

"A what?" Vector said quietly.

"It's a birdlike creature that I saw all around the city limits in Station Square. I think they were positioned there to make sure nobody could leave the city."

"It followed us here?"

"I'm sure of it." The armadillo replied to Espio. "I just don't know why it hasn't seen us when we're right here…"

They continued to watch the Stalker stay around the sedan. It looked around, eventually turning to look down at the hood of the sedan. Charmy narrowed his eyes as he watched it peck at the hood of the car again, and again, and tilt its head curiously like a parrot.

His eyes widened when he thought of something.

"I think he can only see temperature!"

Vector, Espio and Mighty all pressed their hands to Charmy's mouth. The Stalker's head whipped around to look at where the voice came from- actually, it whipped its head to the side so one of its eyes could look where the noise was from. The eye was visibly clouded over and stark white, with no pupil.

After a second, it turned back to the hood, starting to peck at it again.

Mighty slowly shuffled behind Vector.

"Mighty, what're you doing?" The croc whispered.

"If what I read about animal biology is correct, then you, Espio and Charmy are all cold-blooded creatures. Armadillos are not!"

Charmy pulled his head free of the grip on his face.

"We can't move like this forever." He said. "How're we gonna get to the bunker?"

It was quiet for a second. Suddenly, Heavy picked up Bomb and chucked the small robot at the creature, causing a small blast that echoed through the woods.

The heat created from the blast of air made Bomb visible to the Stalker. The small robot started running- Heavy turned so he could face the others.

"FIND THE BUNKER. WE WILL LEAD THE STALKER AWAY. IT CANNOT HARM ROBOTS. WE WILL MEET YOU BACK IN THE CITY."

Heavy quickly sped off, scooping up Bomb as he rushed by to carry him above his head and lead the Stalker further away- the birdlike creature fell for it, following the warm ball with arms and legs further into the forest and away from the detectives.

Team Chaotix watched the Mechanix rush away. After a second, Vector's phone lit up, and he looked at it with surprise.

"Hey, I got the map up! Let's go, guys."

They quickly shuffled away, wanting to make sure their friends' distraction wasn't in vain. Vector used his phone to look at the map, following it from the spot they entered all the way over to where the bunker's entrance was.

In the area where a river split, following the stream down and staying in the center. They eventually found the bunker's entrance, covered with overgrown weeds and a few flowers. Charmy picked up a flower and smelled one, then promptly sneezed when he did.

"Oof! Bless me."

Mighty turned the pressure valve to loosen the door. Vector grabbed the end of the bunker entrance and pulled it up, opening it for the detectives, a hiss heard as he got it up.

Vector, Espio and Charmy's phone lights shined down in the deep entrance of the bunker- one without a ladder of any kind. After getting in a good position, with Espio on Vector's shoulders and the croc holding Mighty, Charmy was able to lift them up and slowly hover them down to the floor of the hot shelter.

With the phone lights as the only guide, they walked into the hot shelter. They entered a long hallway, one with webbing lining the top corners from spiders that had made that old abandoned base their home.

"We gotta check if it's safe in here." Vector said. "Espio, you're with me. Mighty, go with Charmy. We'll split up."

"I wanna go by myself!"

"Charmy, you don't know what kinda weird things are in here. Doctor Robotnik might've put some kind of defense droid in this place! That could really mess you up, and then that would make ma mess me up."

"I can handle it with my cool nunchucks!" Charmy took it out of his vest. "C'mon, I don't think there's anything in here!"

"Ugh… fine. But if you get hurt, you don't tell ma."

"Okay!"

"Mighty, go with Espio. We'll look through a room and come back here immediately after."

With that, the chase was on. Charmy hovered away, phone in one hand, tucking his nunchucks back into his vest. He floated into a massive room, one with only one computer in it. However, it appeared the computer wasn't the main interest- it was the many small lockers on the walls. It was a mini vault room, or a bank room with safety deposit boxes.

Charmy shined his light around, reflected off the shining metal doors that would open to the drawers inside. Charmy wondered what was in these many little vaults- his questions would be answered with large signs on top of the rows of drawers.

"ROBOT DESIGNS"
"INVENTION BLUEPRINTS"
"WEEK MEAL PLANNERS"
"OLD STUFF THAT WAS HERE WHEN I GOT HERE"

That last one stretched over a large section in the vault room. Either it was because it was a long sentence, or because there was a lot of stuff left in the bunker when Ivo moved in, Charmy wasn't totally sure.

When Charmy looked over the last section, he thought he heard a shuffling to his side. The bee shined his light towards the desk, but found nothing in that area. Slowly, he returned his light to the old stuff section.

He had his light shining over there because he saw something peculiar: one of the little drawer doors was opened. Charmy slowly floated over to the opened vault drawer, shining his light in closer.

The little vault box was empty. Charmy looked over the door as well, wondering if there was anything weird with that, and there was. There were fingerprints through the dust on the door.

They were fresh. Someone's been here recently.

Charmy suddenly became acutely aware of a presence behind him. Maybe it was because of his antennae letting him in on the area around him, but he could feel someone large that was slowly moving in.

It wasn't Vector, because Vector wouldn't (couldn't?) be quiet. Mighty and Espio weren't this big. It was something totally different. A Swat-Bot? Maybe a defense droid like Vector said?

Charmy slowly slipped his hand into his vest and pulled out his nunchucks. Once they were fully out, he could feel the strange figure reaching out to touch him.

He immediately turned around to strike.

"NUNCHUCK ATTACK!"

"UNGH!"

The attack to the head was enough to knock the figure back. As they were knocked on their back, Charmy watched through the dim light as it seemed their head came off entirely, bouncing across the bunker floor.

Charmy heard the footsteps of his fellow detectives. They all came in at once- Vector, Espio and Mighty rushed to Charmy.

"Charmy! Are you alright?" Espio asked.

"I-I think so, but… but that guy's head fell off!" Charmy said, pointing and sounding terrified.

Mighty left the group to retrieve the head in the dimness. He picked it up, bringing it back to the group, who stepped back in shock.

"Don't worry, friends! It's not a human head! I don't even think it's a head at all!"

"Oh! What is it, then?"

Vector, Espio and Charmy all shined their lights on the object- it was a head, but not the kind of head they were expecting.

"It's…" The crocodile's eyebrows furrowed. "A Meh Burger Burgerman mascot head?"

Groaning came from the person Charmy hit, making them all turn their lights towards the random mascot person that was now sitting up. The blonde in the mascot suit didn't have her head anymore, making her hold her hand up to block the light until she quickly adjusted.

"Ugh… what the heck, man?" Topaz asked, rubbing the back of her head with her hand, still large and exaggerated from the mascot outfit.

The mascot head was dropped with surprise.

---

"It's nice to see you again, Topaz. How's your step-mother?"

"Eh, I haven't talked to her in a while. Even if I told her what was going on, she'd only care about paperwork anyway."

The blonde agent sat at the table with Vanilla, teacups set in front of them. Tekno came by, pouring tea from a kettle into the teacups for the pair to have drinks as they talked to one another. Vanilla nodded to her assistant as she went by.

After the discovery of the empty bunker, and the secret agent wearing that uncanny mascot, Chaotix returned with Topaz to Vanilla's apartment. They even brought Alianna and Inco to the large apartment for more company. The Burgerman mascot suit was resting on the couch, almost like it was sitting itself, with Topaz only in her underclothes- a tanktop and black joggers.

As Vanilla put honey and lemon in her tea, she noticed Topaz pull out something in a square wrapper. She opened the wrapper and pulled out what was inside- some kind of patch. Topaz pulled the paper from the sticky side and stuck it on her bicep.

"I could make coffee for you if you want, Topaz. If you need caffeine."

The agent looked confused for a second, before realizing she was referencing the patch.

"Oh yeah. Caffeine. Right." She replied, coughing a bit awkwardly. "I'm good, the tea is fine. Thanks, Miss Tarte."

Though the pair were seated at the table, other people of the apartment were situated near it so they could hear what Topaz was going to say. The only real exception was Big, who was sitting and playing with Froggy, Cheese and Chocola.

"So how long have you been the Burgerman, Miss Topaz?" Cream asked, standing next to her mother, leaning against the table.

"Since the Chaos Crisis ended. I was shuffled into an undercover mission- the mascot idea was clearly Tower's idea of punishment for affronting him during the Chaos stuff." Topaz sipped her bitter tea. "While Rouge works undercover with the bad guys, I had a special mission."

"Is that why you were inside Doctor Robotnik's bunker?"

"Yeah, exactly."

"What kind of mission were you on?"

"Uhh…" Topaz paused. "Eh, the world's ending anyways, what the heck." She looked over at Cream. "There's a bag in the right hand of the mascot outfit. Looks like a clutch. Can you get it for me?"

"Okay!"

The teenage rabbit did as she was told, reaching down into the large hand of the mascot suit and retrieving a rectangular black bag. She skipped back to the table when she had it in her hands, setting it down in front of Topaz.

"Thanks." The agent said. "So, my undercover mission involved me searching for five top-secret disks."

"What's a top secret disk?" Charmy asked.

"I know right? That's what I said." Topaz opened the bag. "Basically, these DVDs were information redacted from GUN archives by order of ex-President Tanaka, fifty years ago. Each DVD contains an encryption key, or at least part of one. When you play one disk, nothing happens, but when you play all five disks at once, the encryption key is completed, and the file that was intended to be hidden is generated."

"What's on the file?"

"Allegedly, it's the final journal entry of Professor Gerald Robotnik. He recorded it the day before the accident that caused the ARK to explode, the same explosion that killed his granddaughter." Topaz replied to Vanilla. "I was ordered by Commander Tower to retrieve the disks and access the video file inside. The last disk was inside the bunker, and I had just found it when you guys knocked me off my feet."

She stared at Chaotix. The detectives- or at least Charmy- looked a little sheepish.

"Anyway, I just need to find someplace to play all these disks at once. Especially since computers and televisions don't come with DVD players anymore…"

"The HEXAeco building has a computer that can play multiple disks at once." Vanilla said to her. "It's the one in my office, top floor."

"Would I be able to use it?"

"Considering the fact that it's currently covered in what I can only hope is the snot of the Black Comet, that's gonna be a no." Tekno replied for her boss.

"The conduit gel covering the building isn't harmful. It just transfers things like energy and information through it." The agent said. "That's why all the televisions are playing horrifying imagery. It's those weird creatures trying to intimidate and terrify us by transmitting a message through it."

'This is exactly why I don't watch television." The canary commented.

"I need to use the computer to access the files."

"Is it really that important?"

"More important than you know, Miss Tarte. Look, this is a job that's very dangerous. I understand the risks, I've been putting my life on the line for a long time. That's why I want to offer this: I know who to contact to get things like boats, buses and trucks here in no time flat. I'm not a monster, so I'll still call them, but I need to play these disks. So I want to cash in the solid you'll owe me for it, right now, by asking to play this video. Please."

Vanilla looked conflicted. It was a lot of risk and danger for a simple video… but then again, Cream did tell her how literally psychotic Commander Tower was acting. If Topaz didn't get these files in, who knows what would happen to her. That man was off the deep end.

She stood up. When she did, Topaz stood up as well.

"I'll do it. Any help for evacuation will go a long way."

"I can't promise anything, but I do want to help. Even if I don't live here."

The pair shook hands and nodded.

Then the window to the apartment shattered.

When everyone turned and looked, they saw Heavy and Bomb were the reason that the window of Vanilla's apartment was busted, both of them not moving and pressed against the front wall, completely covered in Death Leeches. However, by the fact they were moving, it was clear the leeches didn't affect them at all.

"HELLO AGAIN, FRIENDS." Heavy said. "UNFORTUNATELY, WE HAVE COMPANY."

Shade overtook the apartment as figures filled the open window. It was Stalkers- a group of them, all led by the Stalker that had been watching the Chaotix before. Maybe they had accessed the Mechanix's information files with conduit gel, or they were following the detectives back to the city, but regardless- the group was found.

The quintet of Stalkers swarmed into the apartment, immediately causing a panic.

Though one immediately went for the playing chao, Big immediately was up on his feet, grabbing both ends of its opened beak with his hands and holding it there. Cheese and Chocola, the latter carrying Froggy, hid behind the large cat as it protected the smaller beings.

While the Stalker was struggling to close its mouth with Big's hands in the way, it was suddenly hit in the eye with a coaster thrown by Inco. To follow up on the coaster, Alianna leapt forwards, hitting the bird-like monster with an elbow drop that slammed it into the ground.

Another Stalker on the opposite side of the room dove to try and grab anyone from the dining room table, but only managed to crash through the table and destroy it.

Tekno grabbed the kettle she used for tea earlier, opening the top and splashing the hot remains into the eye hoe of the Stalker, making it screech. When Tekno hit it with the kettle next, she immediately dented the metal pot beyond further use. She huffed and tossed it to the side- she didn't have her crossbow on her, or her earrings.

A laser rifle was tossed into her hands.

"Use that." Topaz said to her.

"Oh, thanks."

"No problem."

The agent reached into her jogger's pockets. When she pulled them out again, her knuckles were aglow with the red shine of the GUN hammer knuckles. She rushed in and sucker punched a Stalker at the side of the face, just before it could land a bite on Espio.

As the Stalker's head swung the opposite direction, Vector was on the other side with his brass knuckles on, sending another punch into the other side of its face. As the Stalker's face moved from side to side, Vector and Topaz continued to punch, playing a violent form of tennis.

Espio looked up, seeing the creature was positioned right beneath the hanging light of the room. He leapt upwards quickly, throwing two roped kunai that attached themselves to the light.

As he came down, hands holding each rope, Espio pulled with all his strength, slamming his fists into the ground. The light detached, crashing down onto the head of the Stalker, putting it down for the count. Espio would repay Vanilla later.

The detectives (and Topaz) were pulled away from their defeated Stalker at the sound of Charmy screaming.

One of the Stalkers had Charmy's leg in its mouth, the bee swinging his nunchucks wildly to get it off but to no avail. The Stalker eventually let go with a sharp pop that hit the side of its face.

Bomb rebounded back into Heavy's hand- the larger robot threw his companion at the Stalker to stop it from eating Charmy, and it worked, the small explosion let Charmy escape the jaw of the avian monster.

The giant robot threw Bomb again, creating another explosion that made the Stalker roar in anger. Heavy didn't catch Bomb this time, instead using his boxing gloves for their intended purpose, swinging two hits into the side of the Stalker's head. He brought both his fists around for a final swing, slamming both into the side of the avian's head and making it flop to the ground unconscious.

Nearby, Mighty was doing what Big was before- he was holding the mouth of a Stalker open before it could try and bite him. He grunted as he strained with his muscles, holding it open as wide as he possibly could.

Vanilla came in with a dining room chair, sticking it in the Stalker's mouth, letting it keep it forced open when Mighty let go. Vanilla made Mighty step back, before giving him a frying pan- she had a cast iron in her hand.

"Swing on either side of its head when the chair breaks!"

Mighty didn't question the rabbit. Soon, the Stalker destroyed the chair with a powerful CRUNCH that sent wood splinters flying. As soon as that happened, Vanilla and Mighty rushed in and swung their frying pans on opposite sides of its head.

It hit the metal, almost creating a sound like a gong being hit as it hit the gold head plating. The Stalker skittered back, screeching in anger and confusion. It seemed very upset at this development, and the fact that its pack of Stalkers were being completely destroyed, so it started to clearly retreat.

The other Stalkers, though damaged in different ways, all got up and retreated, their injuries healing almost instantaneously.

As they all left though, Vanilla looked around.

"Where's Cream?!"

"MOM!"

Out the window, the group could see it- one of the Stalkers had Cream in its talons, the teenage girl being carried away at rapid speeds.

"CREAM!"

"Oh my god!" Tekno said, joining Vanilla at her side.

"Cream…?" Big quietly said, his big ears folding flat.

Watching Cream carried away by Stalkers, Cheese's emotion indicator turned into an X. After a second, unsure of what to do, he floated in a spot next to Big and started to cry, wailing loudly. Chocola hugged his side to try and help.

"Where are they taking her?!" The older rabbit asked, looking back at anyone who could answer.

"They must be making a nest somewhere." Topaz said.

"But where?!"

"Hold this."

Tekno gave Vanilla the laser rifle. She brought her hand up to her working eye, covering it up. After a second, the eye behind her bang started to glow as she began using her clairvoyance. She didn't touch any of the Stalkers, sure- but she did touch Cream.

She looked through Cream's eyes as she was carried through the city. The Stalkers soared over the buildings, going higher and higher- eventually, Cream looked up to see where they were headed.

"They're going to the HEXAeco building." Tekno said as she finished. "That's where their nest is… because of course it is."

Vanilla looked down at the laser rifle in her hands. After only half a second of thought, she held the rifle correctly, turning and starting to march towards the front door, past everyone else in the room.

"Vanilla, where are you going?" Big asked, still looking upset.

"I'm going to get my daughter."

"The city is swarming with creatures!" Alianna said. "You could get hurt!"

"I'm going with her." Tekno added on, quickly catching up. She looked at the others behind her and smiled a bit. "She signs my paychecks after all."

"Bringing the Stalker here was our fault. We'll help too." Vector agreed, moving to walk with the others.

"Yeah, let's go save Cream! Rescue mission!"

"Boys!"

"Stay here, ma. We'll be back soon."

"Big, stay here with Cheese and Chocola." Vanilla shouted as she paused by the front door. "Take yourselves, Alianna and Inco to the panic room I have. The door to it is in my room's closet. Stay in there until I come back."

"Heavy, Bomb, stay in the apartment." Espio said to the robots as they pulled Death Leeches off themselves. "The Stalkers can't see you. If they, or any other Black Arms comes around, get rid of them. Keep the panic room safe."

"SURE THING, BOSS."

Espio glanced at his father. Inco clasped his hands together and nodded.

"Stay safe, my son. And all of you, as well." He said.

Eventually, Topaz came up to the door. She opened it up, gesturing for Vanilla to go through.

"I have to come anyway. The disks and all." She said. "But I'll help you save your daughter."

"Once I get to the HEXAeco building, you all won't have to help. I assure you."

They all left swiftly. Vanilla led the group, still holding the laser rifle as she marched down the street. Tekno was able to retrieve her crossbow from her car, but also grabbed the shock baton Vanilla had been using for backup.

The group stayed together, though it was clear who was leading who. The HEXAeco building was just a few blocks away, and as they headed further into the heart of the city, the more Black Arms started to appear around them.

Vanilla shot a few down before they reached her. The others helped with any that came up the side- Tekno shot a Warrior in the face with her crossbow, Topaz punched one into a display window of a nearby clothing store. Charmy assisted Vector, hitting one upside the head with his nunchuck so Vector could grab the Warrior by the head and throw it into a car through the back window.

It didn't stick though. Nothing they did slowed the Black Arms down. They all got up, some slower than others, and eventually started pursuing the Mobians (& Topaz) as they were making their way downtown, walking fast.

People in their homes and businesses were watching. They watched the group make their way down fearlessly, even when more Warriors started coming after them from behind.

Whispers started happening amongst groups. Silent agreements were made.

"Do they just not care?"

"They're going to get themselves killed!"

"Those guys are so brave."

"Those creatures aren't so tough."

"This is our city!"

"We have to do something!"

"We need to help!"

"We can't keep waiting for Sonic forever!"

"Nobody messes with Station Square!"

Eventually, people started coming out of their buildings. Some timed it perfectly so they could get the drop on the aliens. Whether intentionally or not, Vanilla's fearlessness in the face of complete chaos and danger once again inspired the people of Station Square- this time, not to assist, but to defend. Just like a leader would do.

A Warrior tried to come up and swing a dark jagged sword- a black sword as it was called by the creatures- at Vanilla. Before it could, however, a big emperor penguin came up from behind and put the alien in a full nelson hold, making it drop the sword.

"Giga…" Thomas Pen reached down and wrapped his arms around the Warrior's waist, before leaning back to slam the creature back in a suplex. "THOMAS!"

The sword clattered away, but was stopped by a foot. Desdemona Tobikoshi-Pen picked up the black sword and held it above her head, letting out a loud, glass-shaking rattle call that acted as a war cry.

Citizens from either side of the streets came in, joining in together with one common goal: destroy the invaders. The Black Arms were overwhelmed by the human and mobians all coming together, instantly outnumbered as they underestimated the capabilities of the people in Station Square.

With the Warriors busy being injured over and over by the swarming denizens of the city, Vanilla's group moved faster, on the same block of the HEXAeco building. They all looked up, following the trail of red ooze that was splattered all over the side of the building and the street to the Black Comet above them.

"The Stalkers are swarming at the top floor." Espio said.

"How convenient." Topaz grumbled.

They got to the front door after stepping over and walking around the red ooze. The glass door was intact, but the inner side was lined with a red-violet material that looked like it was constantly pulsing.

"Vector, Mighty."

At Vanilla's command, the pair stepped up, using their combined strength to punch the door. The glass shattered, but the force knocked the nesting out of the way. Vanilla stepped in again, but headed the opposite direction of the upwards elevator and stairs. She rested the back of the rifle against her shoulder and pressed the button to her private elevator.

"Tekno and I have to go downstairs to the labs." She said, joined soon by her assistant. Vanilla tossed the laser rifle to the blonde agent. "Topaz, Chaotix, you all fight your way upstairs if you can. We'll reconvene on one of the higher floors. Good luck… I believe in you guys."

Vanilla could feel their fear, but she also felt something else- something that gave her a little ounce of courage in her body- she felt hope.

As the CEO and her assistant stepped into the private elevator to go down, the others stood around in the lobby for a minute. Eventually, Topaz pressed the button for the upwards elevator. Surprisingly it came, and surprisingly it was intact. They all piled in, with Topaz pressing the button for the top floor.

Vanilla and Tekno reached the lab levels. The rabbit pulled her ID card out and scanned it immediately. After passing the slowly rotating room, Vanilla and Tekno went in and to the right, to a large hexagonal containment cell that was covered in shutters.

"Got the keycard?"

"Never leave home without it."

At either side of the cell's front wall, Vanilla and Tekno swiped keycards at the same time. They stood beside each other in the middle as a loud beeping was heard behind the wall.

"HIGH SECURITY CLEARANCE NEEDED." Omochao's voice, used as the computer's voice, spoke above them. "PLEASE STATE PASSCODE."

Vanilla took a deep breath.

"Romeo Alpha Boy Boy Ocean Tom."

There was a second of silence.

"ACCESS GRANTED. THANK YOU!"

The shutters of the containment cell slowly started to raise, illuminating the room with the lights shining inside and showing what was being contained.

"Phonetic alphabet, right?" Tekno asked. "Heck of a way to spell 'rabbit'."

"That's because I wasn't spelling that."

"OFFENSE & RECOVERY CRUCIBLE HARDSHELL, MODEL 1-D, AKA ORCHID, IS FULLY OPERATIONAL. FOR EVERYONE'S SAFETY, DO NOT USE IF EVIL, NEFARIOUS, OR ORIGINATE FROM JERSEY."

"Miss Vanilla, are you sure you want to do this? We haven't tested it in any field performance."

"We didn't build this for consumers, Tekno. We built it for me. And now is the best time to test it out."

Tekno watched as Vanilla walked into the containment cell, eventually disappearing into the bright light.

---

When Cream woke up, she woke up somewhere really… gross.

She could open her eyes, but that was about it. Her body was packed into some kind of red-violet material as if she was vacuumed sealed into it, but only around the sides and back of her body. Her entire front half, as well as her face, was freed.

The rabbit could open and close her mouth, so at least she had that. She looked around- she recognized this place. She was in her mother's office, on the top floor. The Stalkers, and maybe even the rest of the Black Arms, had decided to make this area their nest.

It was really gross where she was. She had to get out, and fast.

Cream let out a little noise of shock as a Stalker leaned its head in, appearingly having been standing just out of view of the rabbit. It stared at her curiously, tilting its head back and forth.

After she was finally calmed down, Cream thought to herself quietly.

She wanted to try something. Maybe it was stupid, but it could be stupid enough to work.

"Man…" Cream began. "This nesting sure is nice. It's so nice here. Wouldn't you wanna be in here, in my place? It's so comfortable."

The bird tilted its head again.

"You wanna be in here. You want to take my place. You want to be trapped in this."

Orange energy pulsed down Cream's ears, even if she couldn't see it. The Stalker's eyes flashed orange, the rabbit's mind trick finally settling in.

The Stalker reached forwards and grabbed Cream's teal scarf, pulling her out through that. The rabbit turned around so she was sitting on the ground, watching the Stalker move forwards and press its body into the nesting. Eventually, it slowly started sinking in.

Cream got up, dusting any gross nesting from her dress. She quickly shuffled to hide behind her mom's desk, which remained intact from the sudden influx of alien creatures. Cream quickly checked behind the desk for the multi-disk player, and saw it was still there. At least Topaz could play those top-secret disks.

She looked to the exit, seeing it was wide open and free of nesting. However, at the sound of some kind of squelching nearby, Cream turned her head again. Looking at the wall of the office where more nesting was.

There were more people in the nesting. Citizens that had been captured on the street. There were barely half a dozen people in the wall, but they were people nonetheless. Unlike Cream, however, they didn't have any powers to help themselves out. They had clearly been there a while, too, as they were pretty submerged inside the nesting.

After one last glance to the door, Cream knew what she had to do. She looked over her mom's desk for something specific- a letter opener, one with a little golf club on the end. Apparently it was left over from when Narasu ran the place, and Vanilla didn't want to waste any money getting a new one. Cream slowly took the letter opener off the tabletop.

The teenager snuck over to the wall with the people in it, getting to one of them. With a big swing, she stabbed the letter opener into the nesting, getting it in deep. She grabbed the letter opener with both hands, grunting as she used all her strength to pull down, creating a long incision in the gelatinous goop.

She eventually reached in and grabbed the person, a middle aged man, and pulled him out. He gasped as he exited, almost waking up from a bad dream. He stumbled down, Cream helping him sit on the floor.

"Where… Where am I?"

"You're in HEXAeco. Stay down, I need to get the others out."

Cream held her hand out to silently tell the half-laying man to stay. She got up, the letter opener still in her hand, and turned around. She was greeted with another, separate Stalker towering over her.

She was shocked, at first, gripping the slimy letter opener tightly. Cream quickly replenished her resolve, taking a deep breath.

"You're going to turn around and fly out of the building." She said. Her ears flickered orange again at the command.

The Stalker's eyes flashed orange for a second. However, just as soon as they did, they immediately turned completely black right after.

NICE TRY, MORTAL. The voice of Black Doom came from the Stalker's beak. BUT THE BLACK ARMS ONLY FOLLOW THE WILL OF THEIR GOD.

Cream shrunk a bit in fear at the sudden deep voice. She held out the letter opener again like a weapon, ready to defend both herself and the weak man she just rescued. The black-eyed Stalker let out a loud roar as it readied to attack.

That moment never came. Instead, a blast of fire hit the back of the Stalker. It was strong enough that it sent the Stalker over Cream and the man, out the nearby window and down the drop next to the building.

The rabbit followed the Stalker as it flew out, and looked back to see who hit it- standing next to the desk was a lavender cat, with fire in her palms.

"Blaze!"

The fire extinguished as the princess caught Cream in a hug, the girl leaping into her arms.

"Hi, Cream."

"Boy am I glad to see you! What're you doing here?!"

"You lost something."

Blaze handed Cream the wooden flute- the same one she gave Cream a while ago.

"My flute!" Cream took it. "I was wondering where I put that…"

"I'm glad I came when I did. What are these things, Cream?"

"They're bad news. I'll explain everything in a minute- right now, we need to get these guys who are in the goop out of here and out of the building. Can you help me get them out?"

"Sure thing. Stand back, Cream."

The princess' hands became ablaze again as she shot a stream of fire into the nesting on the walls, illuminating the room with orange and yellows as she burned the nesting into ash.

---

OUR PROMISED TIME AS COME. A NEW AGE OF DARKNESS SHALL REIGN ACROSS THE EARTH, AND ONCE ALL LIFE IS DESTROYED, WE CAN BEGIN ANEW WITH LIFEFORMS DEVOTED TO OUR FATHER, MOBIUS.

There was a big room in the Black Comet that a massive balcony overlooking it. It was like Black Doom molded this room to make announcements to the members of the Black Arms, and he was currently using it as such.

Many Black Arms Warriors were standing below, among Black Oaks, Stalkers, Black Arms Assassins and Death Worms. Death Leeches lined the ceiling of the cavernous room, looking down at their older brethren.

Shadow was standing next to Black Doom, staring down at the members of the Black Arms alongside the being he now knew was his father. A fact that still sent a chill down his body.

This was it. This was what he was prepared for ever since he woke up in the Earth. The moment of victory, where he would lead the Black Arms as a colonel, shaping up the armies of darkness to overtake all of the planet and wipe out any sentient life.

He felt nothing.

Shadow stared blankly into the group below. Though he tried to forget about everything that transpired, the feelings he's been having ever since he left those heroes behind to die, the more he made himself not think about it, the more he felt the pain that came with it. He couldn't escape it.

AS WE ACCEPT OUR NEWFOUND HEIR INTO THE BLACK ARMS, I PRESENT TO HIM A GIFT. AN OFFERING MADE TO UNIFY HIS DEFECTIVE, MORTAL SIDE, AND HIS DIVINE, BLACK ARMS SIDE.

Doom's Eye came in, holding something on a rectangular platter. Or what looked like a platter. It was a deep red, probably something fleshy and pulsating. It didn't matter. Shadow didn't visibly react to it.

On the platter was a gun- a rifle to be exact. One that would take two hands for Shadow to fire. It looked similar to Earthling weaponry, but of course with the black-and-red color scheme that came with the Black Arms.

I PRESENT TO YOU, MY SHADOW OF DOOM, PRINCE OF THE NEW DARK WORLD… THE SHADOW RIFLE.

It took the black hedgehog a second to realize that the rifle was being presented right in front of him. He slowly reached out, using both hands to pick up the rifle. He didn't visibly react, and after staring at the weapon for a moment or two, Shadow became aware of how Black Doom and Doom's Eye were staring right at him.

He looked up at Black Doom. Shadow grunted and nodded his head once.

Black Doom hesitated. It was obvious that this wasn't the reaction he wanted. However, he turned around and continued to speak to the Black Arms.

Shadow stared down at the handle of the rifle. It had the marking of the Black Arms- the long-spiked spiral- on it. Even though it was clearly made to mimic human weaponry, it still had the insignia of the race on it.

By the time he returned to reality, he heard the cheers and roars of the Black Arms down below. The ceremony they were having was over. Shadow slipped his rifle around to hang on his back, discovering it made a back holster made of conduit gel on its own.

The dark hedgehog left quickly, not even waiting for Black Doom or Doom's Eye to go first.

Shadow trailed through the Black Domet, his mind still on all the problems happening in his life at that very moment. Eventually, he found himself down, deep in the Black Comet. He stood at the edge of the pool of conduit gel at the very bottom, staring down at the red lake in front of him.

He stood there quietly, silently for a few minutes.

WHY ARE YOU HIDING YOUR MIND FROM ME, ECLIPSE?

Shadow slowly turned around. Behind him, where the entrance of the room was, Black Doom was there. On either side of him, projected as two videos on either side of the door, Black Doom played the screeching battle chant of the Black Arms. The glowing parts of the wall acted like television screens, playing the same thing that was playing on TV on Earth.

"I'm not."

YOU ARE. I'M NOT SURE WHY. I WANT TO GET A READ OF WHY YOU WERE ACTING SO UNGRATEFUL AND INCOMPETENT AT THE CEREMONY TO CELEBRATE YOUR HOMECOMING.

"I'm not ungrateful."

WERE YOU NOT? I HAVE THE SMITHS CRAFT A POWERFUL WEAPON JUST FOR YOU. I USED INFERIOR EARTHLING METALS. I EVEN NAMED IT AFTER THE RIDICULOUS NAME YOU DEMAND OTHERS CALL YOU WITHOUT MY PERMISSION, AS A SHOWING OF MY HUMILITY AND CHARITY. AND YET, YOU ACT AS IF I'M AS INEPT AS A DEATH LEECH.

Shadow grunted. "I didn't mean to act that way."

THEN TELL ME HOW YOU THINK YOU WERE ACTING. YOU MADE ME LOOK LIKE A FOOL UP THERE. IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED?

"No."

THEN WHY DID YOU ACT LIKE THAT? ANSWER.

Shadow could almost feel Black Doom strain to try and get a grip on his mind. The dark hedgehog was resisting, but he didn't know how. Regardless, he decided to answer.

"I don't know what's real anymore." He said, truthfully. "Ever since I saw that packet that Rouge gave me, I don't know what's real anymore. My past in the ARK. I don't know if all of that is real or merely a fabrication."

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

"Because it made me who I am." Shadow replied. "My whole life on the ARK, it revolved around helping Maria. It revolved around being there for Maria. Even if I was supposed to become this… Prince of the new dark world, it doesn't change how I felt about Maria. Those feelings are so real… but was any of it real?"

Shadow looked up at Black Doom for an answer. All he saw was the one eye of Doom staring blankly down at him.

YOU ARE FALTERING BECAUSE OF THIS.

"I just… wanted to know if Maria loved me."

It was quiet again.

IF THIS IS GOING TO BE A REPEATED PROBLEM, WE WILL NEED TO COME TO A SOLUTION. HOW ABOUT I PLUCK ONE OF THE MORTALS DOWN FROM THE PLANET FOR YOU TO KEEP AFTER WE DROWN THE WORLD IN MADNESS?

"What?"

PERHAPS THAT BAT YOU ENJOY. YOU CAN KEEP HER BY YOUR SIDE, PLAY WITH HER. ANYTHING TO REPLICATE THE FEELINGS YOU HAD WITH THIS… PET, MARIA, AND SET YOU BACK ON YOUR COURSE.

"Excuse me?"

Shadow was more lucid than ever. He was angry.

"Maria wasn't a pet! She was my family!"

FAMILY? SHE WAS A DISEASED MORTAL, WHO WOULD'VE PROBABLY DROPPED DEAD JUST MINUTES AFTER THAT GUNSHOT, IF SHE SURVIVED IT. SHE WAS A MEAN TO AN END. YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT FAMILY? I AM YOUR FAMILY. I AM THE ONLY FAMILY YOU EVER HAD, THE ONLY FAMILY YOU WILL EVER HAVE. I CREATED YOU. YOU BELONG TO ME.

"I've had enough of this. Get out of my way."

Shadow stormed away to walk around Black Doom. However, before he could reach the door, he came to a stop. The hedgehog's mind was trying to make him move, but unfortunately, he was unable to move any of his body.

AHHHH… THERE YOU ARE, ECLIPSE.

After Black Doom spoke, Shadow's body finally started to move- however, it moved in the opposite direction. The hedgehog turned around, taking one step at a time with his arms firmly pressed to his sides.

"What are you doing?"

I CREATED YOU. I GAVE YOU LIFE. I ALLOWED YOU TO ASCEND BEYOND YOUR DISGUSTING LACK OF PURPOSE ALL EARTH BEINGS HAVE. I GRANTED YOU THAT. AND HERE YOU ACT UNGRATEFUL. AFTER ALL I'VE DONE.

Shadow watched as he took step after step, starting to head into the pool of conduit gel. He sank down further, and further, the cool liquid surrounding his body as he walked deeper in.

"I…"

SILENCE.

The command made Shadow stay quiet.

IF YOU'RE SO INSISTENT ON BEING INSOLENT, DISOBEDIENT, AND VEXING YOUR FATHER, THEN YOU CAN SPEND THE NEXT FEW CENTURIES IN THE CONDUIT POOL AS A BATTERY FOR CHAOS ENERGY. YOU MAY EMERGE WHEN YOU FINALLY UNDERSTAND I AM DOING WHAT IS NEEDED. YOU WILL UNDERSTAND, IN TIME.

Shadow was eventually down to his eyeballs in conduit gel. Only his eyes and ears were out of the pool, his body below his nose completely submerged. The conduit gel started to sap the chaos energy from his body, and since Black Doom willed it so, he was stuck there- most likely for the next few centuries.

Black Doom hovered at the edge of the lake, staring down at him.

SINCE YOU WERE SO INSISTENT IN KNOWING, I WILL LET YOU KNOW THIS: YOU WERE ALWAYS CREATED TO BE A MONSTER. YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN A LIVING KILLING MACHINE. THAT IS YOUR DESTINY. YOU DESTROY. YOU KILL. YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A WEAPON. YOU WERE MADE TO DESTROY, AND THAT'S ALL YOU'LL EVER BE.

WITH THAT IN MIND, ASK YOURSELF… DO YOU REALLY THINK GERALD AND MARIA WOULD EVER LOVE A MONSTER LIKE YOU?

The dark hedgehog stared up at his father at the edge of the pool. At what Black Doom said, Shadow felt a chill hit his body. He felt his body slowly grow tired, almost completely worn out. He was physically, and mentally, giving up.

He closed his eyes, the sound of the screeches coming from the screens in the room flooding his mind as he accepted his fate in the pool of conduit gel, still watched by Black Doom.

---

Cream and Blaze were almost halfway down the building when they hit their first real big obstacle.

As they led the group down the stairwell, they faced a few Black Arms Warriors that were perusing about. Blaze blasted one with fire, and Cream slid down the stairs railing to kick with both of her feet to knock it into the wall.

The princess flipped down the stairs, delivering a powerful kick downwards that sliced through the Warrior in a blaze of heat.

Another Warrior aimed its gun at Blaze, but before it could fire a shot at the princess, Cream was behind her. The teenager lifted Blaze upwards, letting her dodge the blast that instead went between her legs and into the wall behind them.

Being as gentle as she could, Cream kicked off Blaze's back, pushing the cat forwards. Blaze spun around in a fiery tornado, propelled by the push from Cream, allowing her to knock one Warrior down the stairwell's center opening and another into the wall beside them.

Cream grabbed onto the gun that was held by the down and out Warrior near her. She fired the black barrel into the Warrior that Blaze knocked into the wall, hitting it again and again. Blaze grabbed onto the creature's shoulders and leaned back, pulling it over her so it also fell into the center pit of the stairs.

Hearing the remaining Warrior stirring, Cream turned to see it wake up. It looked down, then looked at the gun in Cream's hands. Cream looked at the energy gun in her hands and hid it behind her back with a smile.

The Warrior pounced. With a flap of her ears, Cream got out of the way, letting the creature fall down the pit of the stairs by himself with a fakeout. The teenage rabbit dropped the black barrel down the chute after it.

They went down two levels before they ran into a problem- nesting was blocking their way down. Blaze and Cream led the civilians into a floor that was meant for meetings- a lot of clear plastic walls that separated different conference rooms.

The other emergency stairs were across the floor. Cream and Blaze ran together, the former taking up the lead as she started flying with her ears to lead the civilians away.

There was a CRASH as something flew through the plastic walls, hitting Blaze directly with its entire body. Blaze was sent flying, tumbling through more conference rooms until she slammed into a table and came to a stop.

"Blaze!"

Cream turned to see their attacker, still hovering as her ears flapped. It was a massive, blubbery creature of black and red- that was kind of this race's trademark- with long jowl-like extensions hanging around its lipless opened mouth, teeth attached to these things. It had short red wings, and a single green eye staring directly at Cream.

This thing was a war pig for the Black Arms known as the "Black Bull." It was sent to guard the higher floors of the building. It appears that it found intruders.

Blaze got up quickly, bursting forwards and grabbing Cream before the Black Bull could unleash a blast of purple fire upon her. Blaze put Cream down and turned around, facing the giant floating creature head-on.

The princess blasted fire at the Black Bull. The Black Bull breathed more purple fire at Blaze. Right away she could feel that this thing's fire was… different. It wasn't normal fire, it was fire that burned from something else. Something harsher.

Blaze was overpowered by the blast of fire from the Black Bull. She fell backwards, shaking her jacket's sleeve as it caught fire with the intense purple fire. Cream was by her side, putting her hands on the princess' arm. The civilians had ran back to hide in the stairway, knowing it had to be much safer than this.

The Black Bull hovered over the princess and the teenager.

From nearby, the private elevator dinged.

Everyone looked- even the Black Bull, which turned its massive body to look at the dinging elevator to see what was coming.

The doors opened. Whirring and stomping was heard as something massive came out, one at a time, stepping onto the floor it detected that Cream was at. It was large and white, with two arms and two legs, and a pod that sat in the middle. The pod was made of glass, allowing them to see who was inside: Vanilla.

Vanilla piloted the ORCH1D to step onto the floor and soon stop when she was out of the elevator. She made the mech suit raise an arm, showing she had something in her wrist that ran down her arm and pointed out the palm- from the looks of it, it appeared to be some kind of miniature railgun.

"Get away from my daughter, you alien freak!" Vanilla shouted, amplified by the mech's speakers that transmitted her voice.

Vanilla fired the arm cannon. The bright blue shot hit the Black Bull and flung it backwards- but didn't piece its skin or really damage it beyond that. The mother rabbit piloted the ORCH1D to run after the Black Bull, moving past where Cream and Blaze were.

"Holy crap." Cream said in astonishment.

Tekno rushed over, grabbing Cream's arms.

"Cream! Are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine! I'm fine, Tekno…"

The canary seemed satisfied with that answer. She stood up, noticing Blaze beside the teenager. Tekno eyed the princess, her hand moving to tuck a feather back behind her earring.

"Who's this?"

"Oh! This is Blaze! I told you about her!"

"You did?" Blaze asked Cream.

"Oh yeah, she did. It's nice to put a face to the name. I guess you helped her out of a sticky situation, huh? I can't thank you enough for that."

"Both her, and…"

Blaze pointed at the civilians still in the stairway. Tekno hummed, tilting her head to get a look at how many were there.

"...let's get them in Vanilla's elevator to get them in the lobby." Tekno said. "C'mon, girls!"

Meanwhile, Vanilla punched the Black Bull across the face with her mech's giant hand. The giant creature seemed to shrug it off, roaring back in front of Vanilla's pod and trying to clamp its toothy jowls around the glass.

Vanilla pressed the throttle forwards on her HOTAS joysticks in the pod, the thrusters placed on the back of the mech firing up. The ORCH1D rocketed forwards, its metal feet dragging on the ground as Vanilla pushed it through more and more plastic walls.

She got the creature further and further away from Cream- that was the only mission she really cared about.

As they passed into a conference room, Vanilla shoved the Black Bull off of her. She reached around, the pod staying still as the top half of the body swiveled around the glass, allowing the arms to reach the nearby conference room table. She turned the body back around to fling the table into the Black Bull, shattering it against the creature instantly.

When she turned and grabbed an office chair to swing next, the Black Bull blew purple fire onto it. The dark fire melted the chair immediately, destroying the makeshift weapon before Vanilla could properly use it.

Vanilla raised the hand with the railgun in it to fire again, but the Black Bull blew purple fire on that too. The rabbit commanded her mech to move backwards, but the fire was powerful enough to start to melt the hand- frustratingly, Vanilla only got to use the railgun once, as now the hand had melted over the end to block it.

Clutching the partially melted hand in a fist, she punched the Black Bull again, knocking it back as hard as she could. It was clear this creature was impervious to actual harm- Vanilla didn't know this was because the Black Comet was connected with the Earth.

Cream, Tekno and Blaze shuffled the citizens into the private elevator. As they did, Cream paused as she watched her mom fight back against the Black Bull. It was pretty cool, seeing Vanilla actually fighting against a giant alien creature.

But from what she could see, nothing Vanilla did could hurt the thing. It was like the giant, blobby creature had skin that couldn't be pierced or bruised. Could a creature like this even become bruised?

There had to be a way to harm it. This thing couldn't fight forever, right?

As the teenager watched her mom punch the floating creature, she saw the giant unblinking eye staring down at Vanilla. Cream could see how hard her mother was struggling.

Cream got an idea. She looked behind her.

"Get the rest in! I'll be right back."

"What do you mean?" Blaze asked. "Cream? Cream!"

"What're you doing?!" Tekno shouted after the running teenager.

Vanilla blocked with both of her mech's arms as the Black Bull bellowed dark fire at her again. By the time the stream of fire ended, Vanilla watched the metal and paint melting off her arms, warping them.

The Black Bull slammed into Vanilla, knocking her away and into a solid wall. The ORCH1D slipped and fell onto its back, knocking the rabbit's head against the back of the pod. She really needed to give her chair a headrest.

A shadow loomed over her. Vanilla watched as the Black Bull was flying above her, and suddenly dropped down. It slammed its body into the mech over and over again, hitting the glass of the pod directly. Vanilla covered her face with her hands as the glass cracked, part of it shattering and falling into the pod as it created a massive hole at the top.

Vanilla forced the mech's mangled arms up, pressing it into the bottom of the giant Black Bull to keep it from pressing against her. Vanilla could feel that, even though she was pressing the joystick forwards at full power, the arms were starting to bend.

She looked at the arms, then looked upwards. She saw the emerald green eye of the Black Bull staring at her, and the pulsing mouth of teeth behind its jowls. It was hungry.

"Hey!"

The eye flicked upwards. Cream was a few yards away, waving her arms.

"Get away from my mom, ugly!"

"Creamy!"

The Black Bull bent the melted arms and slammed into Vanilla's mech pod one more time, rocking the entire thing. Vanilla quickly forced the mech into backup recovery mode, pressing the HOTAS throttle forwards to activate the thrusters on the back. The thrusters started sputtering, slowly waking up.

Meanwhile, the floating creature moved onto Cream. The Black Bull didn't register her as a threat, even if it saw her with one hand behind her back. The giant Black Arms creature floated in front of her, staring down at her with the giant emerald eye.

Cream gripped the letter opener in the hand behind her back.

Covering her eyes with her ears, Cream quickly swung her hand around and aimed for the giant green bullseye in front of her. She heard a roar as the Black Bull was blinded, an indicator that her attack worked- one area that wasn't protected by the impervious skin was the eye.

The teenage rabbit fell backwards from the roar, staring up at the blinded Black Bull. The creature would be able to heal itself rapidly, but before it could, Vanilla rammed into its side.

Using the entire body of the mech, Vanilla crashed through a nearby conference room and slammed the Black Bull into the giant, wide opened window of the room. Vanilla forced the thrusters to go full power, the glass of the window starting to crack.

"Get the hell out of my building!"

The glass shattered. The Black Bull was pushed out, but unfortunately the thrusters caused the ORCH1D to fall forwards as well, even when Vanilla deactivated the boosters. Cream watched both go over the edge of the building.

"Mom!"

Cream got up and quickly ran to the edge. She didn't fear heights, like Blaze, so she could look down.

Vanilla had managed to move one of the arms around, it was now caught in some of the nesting that was oozing down the side of the building. The hand of the mech was only a foot or two below where Cream was standing, and she could see that the pod was still there too, with her mother inside.

Tekno and Blaze came up beside her. Blaze immediately did an about face and walked away with a frazzled look on her face from the height.

The Black Bull was gripping onto the foot of the mech with its jowls. Seeing Vanilla was above it, the floating creature started eating up the leg of the mech, crunching down almost like a slow shredder, getting Vanilla closer and closer to her.

Vanilla looked down in horror. She pressed buttons and moved her controls around- nothing was working, she exhausted the power with the thrusters to push the Black Bull from the building.

She felt the mech rock as something landed on one of the shoulders- it was Cream. Vanilla's daughter looked at her through the shattered glass, before leaning over to look in the massive hole that was at the top of the pod.

"Cream!"

"Mom, give me your hand!"

Cream reached in through the pod. Vanilla hesitated, but undid her safety harness, and grabbed her daughter's hand with both of hers. Cream helped her up on top of the mech, just as it shifted further down into the mouth of the beast. The mech's hand up above them started to creak and snap as the wrist joint was now breaking.

The mother and daughter looked at each other, holding hands. After a second, they both did what rabbits do- they hopped upwards.

The force from their jump was enough to snap the wrist joint. The entire weight of the heavy mech was now placed on the Black Bull, who was stuck with part of it in its mouth. The heavy mech weighed the Black Bull down, smacking it in the eye and sending it down the side of the building.

Cream's ears flapped, holding her mother in the air as they both watched the Black Bull fall to its apparent death. It disappeared as it fell further and further down, before becoming a puff of smoke on the streets of Station Square. It was like something out of one of those old loony cartoons Vanilla let Cream watch as a kid.

The teenage rabbit carried her mother up to the open window where Tekno was. Cream set her mom down, and was immediately pulled into a hug from her mother, which she happily returned.

"Mom, that was amazing!"

"I know! You did spectacular, kiddo."

Vanilla let Cream get to her feet. Tekno was next, hugging Cream and patting her head.

"I'm glad you're alright, Cream."

"Thanks, Tekno."

"Now don't ever do something like that again."

Cream chuckled. They walked further in, meeting Blaze, who was getting over the wave of nausea she felt when looking down the side of the building. She stood up straight when the others walked into the hallway.

"Blaze. I'm surprised to see you here."

"Yeah, well, your daughter lost her flute. I figured something was wrong. I just didn't expect all of… this." The princess gestured around. "I'm gonna stay until I know you guys are safe. Looks like you can use all the help you can get."

"We appreciate it, your highness."

The nearby (public) elevator dinged. The four women got into defensive positions, but were greeted with the rest of Vanilla's group inside the elevator. Topaz and Chaotix were covered in green from attacking different Black Arms, each of them looking tired.

"Vanilla!"

"Cream, you're okay!" Charmy said happily, buzzing into the hall.

"As okay as I can be. The world is still ending outside."

"Hey, still. You're… safe." Charmy stared at Blaze. "Whozzat?"

"Oh! This is Princess Blaze, from the Sol Zone!"

"We worked together when Chaos flooded the city. It wasn't that long ago?"

Charmy scratched his chin, his face clearly showing how hard he was thinking.

"Doesn't ring a bell." He said. Blaze scoffed and rolled her eyes.

Topaz, still holding the laser rifle, stepped up to Vanilla.

"We have a problem." She said to the mother rabbit. "These things won't die. I'm nearly out of charge on the laser rifle and none of them stayed down. They just keep getting up. We had to just take the elevator as high as we could go and leave the creatures behind."

"What's that mean for us?"

"It means that we need to go higher." Topaz replied. "The creatures are following us up. If we can get to the office, maybe we can hunker down in there. I can call in a helicopter to try and pick us up from the top of the building if possible."

"Well, it's better than fighting an army of aliens. C'mon, let's go upstairs."

"Yay, back upstairs!"

Cream's cheer got the team moving. They rushed up the stairs again, heading away from the nesting that was covering the bottom half of the stairwell.

They got up to the top office again. Cream could see that the incisions she made to the nesting had healed over- however, the Stalker she tricked to go into the nesting was now completely submerged inside of it.

Topaz texted someone on her phone. After that, she walked over to the desk, pulling the seat over with her chair. She tossed the bag with the five top secret disks onto the desktop, before scooting in on the chair to get to work.

"Really? At a time like this?!" Vector asked.

"When in Apotos, right?"

The agent got to work, placing the five disks in the reader. She started up the computer and started working on getting the file through.

Cream, near the door, heard the sounds of hissing and loud footsteps.

"Uh… guys?"

Stalkers started swooping in and out of view of the shattered window at the end of the room. Everyone took notice.

"The Stalkers." Mighty identified them.

"They must know we're here. I don't think we have much time." Blaze added, fire flickering between her fingers.

"Just a little… more."

Topaz continued to navigate through the disks. Vanilla, holding the stun baton after getting it back from Tekno, put her free arm around Cream and held her in close as the Stalkers began to circle the office.

From the look on the blonde's face, it was clear she was having difficulties. She huffed at one point, clicking around to try and figure it out.

"Hey Topaz, you might wanna hurry!" Vector shouted.

"I'm trying!" She barked back.

Charmy hovered over, looking over the agent's shoulder.

"Have you tried turning it on and off again?"

"Go play with your friends, kid."

"I wanna help out!"

"I have it under control."

"We're gonna die at any minute, don't you wanna see the thing it's hiding? Here, I'm gonna do it- I'll help you fix it!"

"No, I… what the heck are you doing?!"

"Charmy!" Vector said as he saw the bee. "Stop that, you little—"

The bee knocked into the tower of the computer, hitting it with his nunchucks. Topaz winced, but slowly opened her eyes when she heard a ding. Whatever Charmy did, it managed to knock the entire computer into accessing the hidden file.

Everyone gathered around the computer, behind Topaz. They watched as the file was uploaded to the computer, eventually reaching one-hundred percent. All of them spoke at once.

"Hey, it's working!"

The computer screen cut to static as the Black Arms all started to swarm inside the office. Unknown to them all, as the conduit gel worked two ways, the video was sent up into the Black Comet right above the HEXAeco building.

---

In the Black Comet, the videos on either side of Black Doom changed to static as a video was played back through the conduit gel. It got the attention of Black Doom, who looked over his shoulder.

Eventually, a video came onscreen.

"Archival project video, daily video number 730. Date 5-15."

The voice through the screens made Shadow open his eyes again, looking up to one of them.

Professor?

Professor Gerald Robotnik was on the screens. After the opening statement, he took off his glasses, tossing them down on the desk in front of him. He rubbed his eyes, a long sigh escaping his lips. After a second, he finally looked up at the camera.

"My assumptions were true. A whistleblower or two has told GUN about what I was doing up here… about the Benefactor." Gerald said. "I've heard through my contacts that GUN intends on sending a strike team up here to seize all the project results and information we've made. They intend on arresting all people who knew about the project. Who knows what I've done to Eclipse."

Gerald slowly put on his glasses again, his hand shaking.

"...it was a mistake, contacting that comet. I should have never compromised the safety of the ARK… the safety of my wellbeing… to chase after a cure that I knew was never possible in the first place. It was all for nothing. All of this… was nothing but a mistake."

As he heard what Gerald said, Shadow slowly closed his eyes again, succumbing again to the conduit pool that was around him.

"No it wasn't!"

The second voice made Shadow look at the screen again. Someone else was in the room, standing in the doorway, clearly having overheard what Gerald was saying in his video journal.

"Maria! What are you…?"

"Don't say that Mister Needlemouse was a mistake." Maria said, walking up to stand next to him, looking down at her grandfather. "He wasn't a mistake!"

"Maria…"

"Ever since I came on this ARK, I was scared that I would never be able to be a teenager again. I was scared I would be all alone, surrounded by adults that would just poke and prod at me all day… but Mister Needlemouse was different from all them. I love him for that. He's not a mistake. He's my best friend."

Gerald paused, staring at the desk for a moment, before talking quietly.

"The deal I made with that thing… With Black Doom. It says he's going to return. That Mister Needlemouse was created to be a weapon to surpass Black Doom."

"Surpass? Doesn't that mean he would be better than him?"

"I don't know, Maria. I… I would hope so."

"So if that's the case, wouldn't that mean that Mister Needlemouse could stop Black Doom, too? That he would be strong enough to?"

"He… By the stars, you're right! He would have to be stronger than Black Doom to help them! But I have to… I have to tell him that…"

Gerald paused for a moment, soon he looked to the camera, readjusting his glasses. Maria turned to the camera as well, a hand on her grandfather's shoulder.

"Mister Needlemouse… my son. I'm sending this message to you, to be shown to you fifty years from now, if all my bridges at GUN aren't burnt to nothing. When I first created you, I made you to help Maria. I wanted to try and cure her of a disorder that took my mother away from me. In order to do so, I had to make an agreement with… Black Doom. His DNA courses through you, and his agreement was to make you a weapon.

"But your purpose, what you did, how you changed others- it exceeded the expectations of both cure and weapon. Through you, I got to spend time with Maria… Time I lost trying to cure her when she was growing up. And you… you showed me what it was like to have a son again. What it was like to love someone, unconditionally, again. You're more than just a living cure, or a living weapon… you're a living person.

"Black Doom's DNA is ingrained in your body, yes, but that means you're just as powerful as him. You've shown powers beyond what I was expecting, even before Black Doom was in the picture. You have the strength to stop him, I just know it. So Mister Needlemouse, no matter who you choose to become in the vast blue world below… I ask, please, fight back against the Black Arms. The fate of this world depends on… you!"

"Mister Needlemouse, I beg of you!" Maria said. "Give the people of Earth a chance… to be happy!"

The video came to an end, pausing at Gerald and Maria both looking into the camera with pleading faces. Shadow watched, a tears running down his cheeks and onto the conduit gel that was surrounding him.

Black Doom chuckled.

GERALD, YOU FOOL. ECLIPSE IS ALREADY MINE.

Shadow stared ahead blankly, thinking to himself again. That video was for him. They made it for him. They believed in him. They loved him.

He closed his eyes slowly.

The hedgehog thought quietly to himself. He thought about how he would spend time with Maria. He thought about times he knew Gerald felt proud of him. He thought about late nights spent watching television, and middays spent playing with the two of them.

He thought about Rouge. He thought about her laughing with him in the Sol Zone.

Black Doom's voice echoed in his head.

YOU WERE ALWAYS CREATED TO BE A MONSTER.

And almost immediately, Maria's voice replied.

Don't be what they made you.

An explosion of gold energy expanded from Shadow like a bubble. Conduit gel hissed, parting backwards to get away from him- the hedgehog was putting off so much energy that the gel couldn't absorb it, almost getting destroyed when it tried.

WHAT'S THIS?

Shadow stepped forwards, the red lake parting as he continued to walk as he continued to exhume energy from every quill on his body. His black inhibitor bands started to crack just as he made it out of the pond.

I SEE NOW. I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN EARLIER. YOU HAVE BECOME IMMUNE TO MY MIND CONTROL, ECLIPSE.

"My name…"

The black hedgehog slipped his fingers under his inhibitor bands. He pulled, worsening the cracks and eventually snapping the bands clean off his wrists. The black bands whined, shriveling up and dying in his hands before the Ultimate Lifeform threw them into the ground, making them explode in a puff of smoke.

"Is Shadow." He growled, tears rolling down his face.

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?

"I'm doing what I was made for… I'm keeping a promise."

With the inhibitor bands shed, Shadow unleashed all the chaos energy he had, covered in an aura of pure gold energy that illuminated not only that room, but seeped into other rooms of the Black Comet.

Shadow rushed forwards to hit Black Doom- however, the quasigod disappeared in a flash. The hedgehog came to a stop, hovering off the ground as his jet boots poured chaos energy from them.

HAVE IT YOUR WAY. IF YOU INSIST ON DEFYING YOUR MAKER, THEN YOUR PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE WILL END TODAY! YOU WILL WITNESS MY TRUE FURY!

Honestly, Shadow didn't have time for that. He rocketed off, crashing through the ceiling to face the rest of the comet. Whether Black Doom's hivemind alerted the troops of the Black Arms or not, it didn't matter. Shadow would take them all.

His flight caused him to slice through a Stalker, before he curved at the top and boosted downwards into the floor of the assembly room he was just in. Many, many Black Arms Warriors fired at him, but Shadow was barely comprehending it. With a swing of his arm, he knocked back two Black Arms Warriors and an Assassin, making them fling hard into the wall that was many yards away.

The powerful hedgehog was hit with a barrage of different ammunition that hit the aura of energy around him, but didn't affect him. Shadow rocketed downwards, but disappeared as he passed into distorted space. The Warriors all stopped, looking around as they searched for the missing hedgehog.

They did not notice the shadow that appeared on the ground at the center of the ground. Suddenly, Shadow exited the space, unleashing a burst of force that echoed out in all directions, pushing all the Black Arms away from him.

Shadow reached over his shoulder- he was given this Shadow Rifle as a gift, it would be a shame not to use it. He aimed the weapon, firing at any pursuing Black Arms coming for him. The rifle was powerful, he'll give it that. It fired a blast of red energy that was powerful enough to even make a Black Oak stagger.

He would know, because he tried to fire it at a Black Oak but it barely slowed it down. The giant Warrior shrieked, swinging its fists down to try and crush Shadow. The hedgehog held his rifle up to block the hit, successfully holding the fists up but forced to one knee from the strength.

The rocket boots on Shadow's feet suddenly flared higher, more energy pushed through Shadow as he lifted upwards against the strength of the Black Oak.

Shadow spun, rolling around the fists to let them hit the ground. The hedgehog grabbed the back of the Black Oak's head and boosted down, slamming the creature into the floor of the room and sending it flying into the conduit pool below, where it was sucked up instantly.

There was a rumble and a roar as a Death Worm- no, make that two Death Worms- came up from the ground. Their flayed mouth ends unfolded, showing the horrifying thin teeth that were inside. These creatures were made to terraform, they weren't made to attack.

In a flash of blue, Shadow dodged a lunging Death Worm, appearing floating just a few feet away. The Death Worm lunged again, but missed as Shadow disappeared and reappeared nearby.

It was like this for both worms. Shadow teleported right before one of the worms could catch him in its maw, then reappeared nearby, causing it to start all over again.

Eventually, both worms had him in front of them. They both lunged forwards, but before they could make it all the way, they were restricted right before they could touch the Ultimate Lifeform.

The Death Worms tied themselves together in a knot. They both writhed angrily as they tried to get out from their predicament.

Shadow grabbed one end of the tied worms, and swung it around, throwing it into an entering group of Black Arms Warriors.

He landed on the ground in the assembly room. Shadow knew that more creatures would be in here soon. They were definitely all on their way, and Shadow could feel them starting to shuffle towards the room.

The curved spikes on his head started glowing red. He closed his eyes, feeling the power make his body feel tingly. He heard the Warriors, the Assassins, the Black Oaks and the Death Worms break into the room. He felt the ground shake below him as they all rushed towards him.

They got very close, almost close enough to hit the hedgehog, before Shadow spoke:

"CHAOS BLAST!"

The power Shadow unleashed at full energy was enough to disintegrate half of the Black Comet's insides. As he stood amongst the wreckage, Shadow watched the ash fall around him, holding out his hand to watch it land in his palm.

Suddenly, he felt chaos energy below him. Something was shifting. Something was down there, directly below the Black Comet. The Black Arms part of him told him that there were a lot of Stalkers pursuing something down in Station Square.

His work was done here. Time to destroy the Black Arms in the city.

Shadow zipped downwards, into the conduit pool again, using the belly-sided downpour of the gel as a path to head down. The gel still hissed and tried to get away from him- Shadow pushed forwards anyways.

He felt himself crash through a ceiling- the roof of the HEXAeco building.

Vanilla, Cream, and everyone who helped them witnessed a bright golden light that illuminated the room. A wave of chaos energy blasted back the Black Arms, making them leave the top office. The bright light was seen by everyone in the city, distracting the Black Arms enough for more attacks to hit.

The mobians in the office had to shield their eyes from the light.

"Sonic…?" Vanilla spoke.

Eventually, Shadow came into view. He turned at the voice, looking down at the others.

"No… that's Shadow!" Cream said. "Wow, cool new digs."

Both Vector and Blaze started moving to attack, but Cream ran up and held her arms out at her sides, keeping them at bay.

"Wait, don't!" She said. "I can sense his feelings. He's different. He's not really bad anymore. But then again, he's not really good… Thank you though, Shadow!"

"I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to stop the Black Arms." Shadow said to them. "You all can leave from whence you came."

Suddenly, a thunderous BOOM rocked the building. Everyone went to the opening at the side of the office, looking up at the night sky to see something quite concerning: the Space Colony ARK was suddenly ablaze. It was like it was coming closer.

Shadow didn't move to the office window, but he felt something. A shift in the room. There was the buzz of chaos energy behind him, like someone was standing there. So he turned, and he found someone standing there: Amy.

The pink hedgehog was glowing pink softly. She looked around, and at her hands, as if surprised that she was there too.

"You…" Shadow spoke. "This feeling. You were the one I felt on the ARK before. The spirit."

"Amy?"

At Cream's words, the others all came up behind Shadow, looking at the sudden appearance of the pink hedgehog.

"How are you here? Is it an astral projection? How can we see you if it is?"

"I don't… know." Amy replied to Cream. She looked up at Shadow, clearly remembering what she was doing. "Shadow. Listen, a protocol was activated that is propelling the ARK down to the Earth. It's to cause an extinction level event to destroy all life on Earth- human, mobian and Black Arms."

"The ARK is falling?"

"Yes, it is." The psychic nodded. "Look, I know you hate the Earth for what it did to Maria. For how they were content with letting her die. I felt your pain, and I felt how deep it went… I know a part of you hates humanity for taking her away from you. But these people don't deserve what's happening. They don't deserve death."

She thought for a second before continuing.

"My friend taught me that every person is made with a fractal of goodness and evil inside of them. So even if someone is really bad, or does wrong things… they're still good at their core. There's still goodness in humanity, and all beings on Earth. There's still people down here who believe that the world can be saved from itself. Don't they deserve a chance?"

Shadow's eyes flicked to look Amy in the eye when she said the last sentence.

"Shouldn't they get a chance to be happy?"

The black hedgehog thought to himself.

"I know there's still goodness left in you too, Shadow. So please… help us save the world."

Though he was silent for a moment, feeling the weight of everyone's eyes on him, Shadow eventually spoke after only a mere few seconds of contemplation.

"I have to keep the promise I made to Maria." He said, looking at her again. "And a promise… I'm going to make you, too."

Amy was taken aback, but slowly smiled at that. After that, she disappeared in a burst of pink rose petals, which faded into nothing before they hit the ground.

When she left, Shadow turned around and hovered to the window, the group parting when he floated by. They stood still, watching him look upwards towards the ARK.

"Shadow?" Cream spoke first.

"You must leave. It's not safe here." The hedgehog looked over his shoulder.

After that, Shadow looked back to the ARK. As the group left the office to head out of HEXAeco, Shadow felt his power swell within him. His spikes glowed blue, his energy shifting to another area as he spoke.

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

With that, Shadow disappeared, creating a streak of gold as he flew upwards towards the Space Colony, arcing around the side of the Black Comet.

As he rocketed away from the meteor, he didn't notice the top of the Black Comet. Something from the very top was spit out, a black and red mass that was fired upwards, following Shadow upwards towards the Space Colony ARK.

The city began to rumble as the ARK came ever so closer down.

UP NEXT: Never Turn Back!