Dr. Eggman had gotten out of the cockpit of the Death Egg Robot and was now in his Eggmobile, loading cash into the back of the robot like the trunk of a car… only bigger. Egg Fighters were outside the bank combating police. Some were in the bank with Eggman. The bank had so much money, two vaults were needed. Eggman was almost finished cleaning out the first vault, while a few Egg Launchers were busting down the door to the second vault. The total amount of money would give Eggman endless possibilities for building… He would be able to have robots stronger than before, powerful weapons, and even complete ships! But most importantly, he could build the ultimate weapon that he'd been dreaming of for a long time, a weapon that could make his dream of his utopia Eggmanland a reality. Then G.U.N. would pay…

A loud thud sounded as the door to the second vault collapsed. The Egg Launchers and Egg Fighters hurried in and began loading the Death Egg Robot with even more money. The robot be able to handle the weight. Once the second vault was empty, Eggman issued the order "Move out!" and the robots prepared to leave.

Egg Launchers were now joining the battle outside. Policemen were firing their guns, but their bullets hardly did anything to the robots. The Launchers would fire missiles, causing police cars to explode and fly yards away. It was a war zone. The back of the Death Egg Robot closed, and the jets started to fire up. Eggman and the Eggmobile returned to the cockpit, now in control of the robot. Its arms were raised to shoulder level, and it began to walk, crushing any Fighter, Launcher, and car that got stuck in its path. People were running away, scared out of their lives, not wanting to get stepped on.

"Time to show these people what it's like to lose everything!" the doctor said. The robot aimed an arm at an apartment building, and suddenly the arm extended, plowing into the building The arm moved in a sweeping motion, destroying the building more. Eggman laughed while the arm came back to its normal length.

A woman was caught in between two semi trucks, and a thrird was blocking her path, making her stuck. She watched in horror as the robot walked toward, then seemed to look down at her. It pointed an arm at her, ready to fire. The woman lied on the ground and curled up, prepared to die. The robot fired its arm…

…but two red beams of light hit the arm as it fired, causing it to recoil back.

"What was that?!" Eggman yelled. "Hmph! I'll just try again." He aimed the arm at the woman one more time and fired, but a black creature jumped in its path and caught it just before it hit the woman. It was none other than Matthew in his Shadow form. With a loud yell, Shadow pushed the arm back, making the robot go a few yards off the ground.

"What was that?" the doctor asked himself again. Whatever he was, he was strong enough to catch the Death Egg Robot's arms! He had to be eliminated… The robot stood up and stomped its foot, challenging Shadow. It fired its arm at him, but he caught it. With a long strained groan, he struggled to keep it from crushing him. The longer he did, the more his rage would build. He started pushing back, but the robot fired its second arm and landed a clean hit on Shadow. He lay on the street, motionless. He managed to get on one knee, but suddenly it was dark. It was the robot's shadow! The hedgehog tried jumping out of the way, but it was no use. The Death Egg Robot landed on top of Shadow with enough force to flatten a car. His eyes glowing, he clumsily got up. This thing was tough. Who was controlling it? The mustache on the robot reminded Shadow of Uncle Ivo. He was unaware that Uncle Ivo—Dr. Eggman—was controlling it.

Rage still building up, Shadow watched the robot taunt him. That did it. He used his super-jump to tackle the robot in its stomach area, sending them both flying. Shadow had caused a sonic boom with his jump. The tackle didn't seem to hurt the robot. With his strength, he pushed the robot on the ground, doing a barrel roll as it landed. The robot got up, sustaining only scrape marks all over its body.

"Your efforts are futile, you little black rat!" the robot said through Eggman.

"Don't be racist," Shadow snarked in a low, Batman-like voice. It was then that he realized that the robot was Ivo's. He had robbed the bank? Impossible… Uncle Egg Man would never do that, would he? It couldn't be him…

The Death Egg Robot's jets began to fire up. It was going to fly away!

"So long, you nasty little pincushion!" Eggman said. With a loud poooooom the robot started to rise from the ground.

"W-wait!" Shadow said. He went after the robot, jumping and grabbing on to its foot.

"You can handle my attacks," said Eggman, "but can you handle the harshness of space?"

Shadow looked down, but the clouds blocked his view, not allowing him to see anything. He started climbing the robot, hoping he'd find where Eggman was controlling it. The sky started turning from blue to black. Breathing became difficult, and a wave of exhaustion coursed through his body. He was losing. Unable to continue, Shadow let go, falling back into the atmosphere. As he spiraled back to Earth, he fought for consciousness. He started feeling warm. He was becoming a fireball. His body could take endless amounts of damage, but it couldn't take space?

People gathered around the spot Shadow landed in. The impact made a giant hole. He took a few to lie there, to breathe, then attempted getting up. He could feel people's eyes on him. They were just staring at him, not thinking about anything. Just staring. He believed they were looking at him with hate. Unable to take any more of their staring, he yelled and super-jumped away.

"I failed," Shadow, back in his normal form, said.

"How?" Gerald asked.

"He… got away."

He was back in his house with his grandfather. Matthew had made it back uninjured.

"I don't suppose you know where he went, do you?" Gerald asked.

Matthew shook his head.

"Well, I guess it's hard to battle robots your first time…" Gerald said.

"I have more questions," Matthew said.

"I'm sure you do," Gerald said. "Tomorrow, though. Are you going to school tomorrow?"

"Wasn't planning on it."

"Come to Central City, then. I have something I'd like to give you."

"What?"

The professor winked. "Something I know you'll like."

"Wait, I can't go with you? Where will I sleep? How will I eat? I'm starving!"

"Temper, temper. I'm sure you have a friend you can stay with. Till then…" Gerald waved goodbye and walked out the door.

Now that Matthew though about it, he did have someone he could stay with…