Even though they were far apart, Westopolis and Central City were closely associated with each other. Westopolis was always compared to Central City. Central City was not as rich as Westopolis, but it had a more stable infrastructure. Its crime rate was much lower. Its citizens had more opportunities. Its people were safer. If anyone wanted to escape the harshness of Westopolis but wanted to stay in the city environment, Central City was the way to go. There was also a third city… Empire City, but it was on the other side of the country.
Matthew was in his Shadow form, super-jumping on the as-the-crow-flies route to Central City. He almost landed on something important, like a car, a couple of times, but it didn't matter to him. It was a cloudy day. The clouds weren't as black as they were in Westopolis, the city of dark. The clouds in Central City, the city of light, had a bluish hue, like it would rain. As Shadow got closer, he felt the air become cooler. He could smell the rain forming in the clouds. He always loved rain. He wondered what it'd feel like if he flew into it. Once he landed on the ground, he put extra effort into his next super-jump. Once he gained incredible height, his vision became blurred by the clouds. His black hair instantly became wet. But Shadow felt something. It was that weak feeling he'd gotten at the end of his battle with Eggman. The rain felt like it was weighing him down. Unprepared, Shadow hurdled towards the ground. Not again, he thought.
He crash-landed into the paved road below. This landing was more painful than the last. Still weak, he struggled t roll over on his back. He looked at his handed and watch as water dripped off of it. The rain… was that what made him weak the last time, too? He clenched his fist, feeling the rage burn inside him. The water had mostly dried off now, and Shadow got up. Lightning flashed above him.
"I better get moving if I want to outrun this rain," he said to himself. "But… how did the rain do that? Does it really… weaken me?"
He decided super-jumping was too dangerous. He could see the Central City skyline. He used his fast running speed to get there. It wasn't as fast as super-jumping, but it got the job done.
He wondered what it was that Gerald wanted to give him. He said Matthew would really like it. What he wanted more than anything was a way to find his mother. He wondered what she was doing right then, but nothing came to mind. She could be anywhere, he thought.
Shadow wondered how he would find his grandpa. He hadn't given him any directions, and place where they'd meet, or where he lived. Once he was in Central City, he found an alley and transformed back into his regular Matthew self. He was wearing sweat pants and a hoodie… courtesy of Amy's dad, who he stole them from. Matthew wanted money, so he could buy food and clothing. He stepped out of the alley and felt a raindrop fall on his head. More lightning flashed in the clouds, and soon a downpour commenced. Matthew prepared himself for the weak feeling but never got it. No one was around, so Matthew turned into Shadow, and immediately fell to his knees. Each raindrop actually hurt, making it the first time Matthew had ever felt pain as Shadow. He was lying flat on his stomach now, groaning in misery. He put all of his energy into turning back to Matthew. It was hard, but he eventually succeeded. The weight of the rain was lifted, and Matthew felt fine. Weird, he thought. Is water… my weakness? He laughed. Water hurts me, but not guns.
"Stay away from water when you're Shadow," said a voice. Matthew turned to see Gerald in the alleyway.
"Grandpa! How'd you find me?" Matthew asked.
"I just did," Gerald said mysteriously. He signaled to Matthew. "Come here. We're going to my lab."
"Lab?" Matthew followed him without further questioning. It was a long walk in the rain, but soon they came to a desert-like area behind the city.
Gerald pointed to the ground. "There."
"Where?" Matthew asked.
"There." The professor then chuckled. "It's a genius spot to put my lab. Look close to the spot on the ground."
Matthew did. There was a hexagon-shaped crack in the ground, probably the size of the trunk of a tree.
"Put your hand on it," Gerald instructed.
Matthew cautiously reach for the piece of ground. He carefully touched it with his fingertips. The piece started to glow. Now Matthew figured it out.
"You have an underground lab?" he asked.
The professor shook his head. "You do."
"Huh?"
The panel stopped glowing and made a clicking sound.
"Now step on it," Gerald said.
Matthew obeyed. He slowly took a step on it. Nothing happened.
"Both feet," Gerald said. "It's weight activated."
"But what's to stop someone from standing on this spot and getting in?"
"That's why you have to touch it."
Matthew put both feet on the panel. It made another clicking sound, then started to lower. Matthew was surprised at first, but how else would he get into the lab. He stood there as he sank into darkness. The panel stopped and made a pshhh sound. The natural light revealed a hand scanner.
"Step off it for it to go back up!" the professor yelled from above.
Matthew blindly did. The panel click again and started to rise. It was dark for a second, but then the panel lowered again with Gerald on it.
"You're going to love this place," Gerald said after stepping off the panel. He put his hand on the scanner. When it was finished recognizing, a computer voice said, "Welcome."
"Change DNA recognition," said Gerald.
The computer voice paused. "Accepted. Please place new hand on scanner for new recognition."
"That's you," Gerald said to Matthew.
The teen paused before placing his hand on the scanner. Was this lab going to be his completely? When the machine was finished scanning, the computer voice said, "New DNA recognized. Welcome, Matthew Martin."
Matthew smiled. The door to the lab opened, revealing a white room full of machines.
"Here's what I also wanted to give you," said the professor, pointing to a pair of gloves and shoes on a table. "They should make your life… easier."
"What're they for?" Matthew asked.
"They're your Shadow The Hedgehog attire. I made them myself." They were white gloves with black & red cuffs and white shoes with rockets on the bottom.
Matthew turned into Shadow and removed his Inhibitor Rings. He felt enormous power surge through his veins.
"Ergh," he grunted.
Gerald helped him get his things on. Shadow put his Inhibitors back on over the gloves and boots.
"What do these do?" Shadow asked, turning back into Matthew.
"Well, the gloves just go with the boots, but the boots are special. They're called Hover Shoes. They allow to stick to walls, to fly, and to go around like roller skates," said the professor.
"Roller skates? Huh."
"Let me give you the tour." Gerald pointed to a wall line with… guns? Matthew was in heaven. "Those the guns… pistols, machine guns, rifles, what have you."
"Is that a bazooka?" Matthew asked, pointing to a long gun with a missile sticking out.
"Oh, you wouldn't be interested in that." Gerald pushed a red button, opening the wall. Matthew came face-to-face with the most badass motorcycle he'd ever seen. The moment was too short, as Gerald closed the wall.
"That room has the bike and the extra ammo," he said quickly. "Now to the Chaos Room."
Matthew was staring off into space, with a look in his eye.
"Matthew?" Gerald said.
Shadow propelled down the interstate with his new Hover Shoes. The boosted his running speed, and it looked like he really was roller skating. The adrenaline pumped through his veins, fueling his excitement. A car almost ran over him—or maybe he almost ran over the car—but he pounced over it and continued going. He jumped, and the shoes made a blasting sound, and he was flying. Now he truly felt free. The rain had stopped, and now the sky was clear and blue. Flying was much easier than he thought. L he had to do was maneuver his body correctly. He flew between the skyscrapers of Westopolis.
"Wooooooo!" he screamed.
He landed and started running again, looking like he was skating. He easily maneuvered through traffic and sidestepped in between cars. A semi was coming up in the intersection, but Shadow slid under it and continued his run. He jumped and started another flight. People watched in amazement. A black creature that was flying…
He flew straight into the sky, picking up speed and causing a sonic boom behind him. He began laughing, loving this free feeling. The sky started turning black. He was flying into space. If he was part alien, he should've been able to be in space, right? Shadow closed his eyes and continued flying. Soon he started feeling cold. His hair started getting frosty, but not very much. He opened his eyes and saw stars. He looked down and saw the world below him. The sun shined brightly in front of him. He closed his eyes, feeling its power. He opened his eyes and blasted off back to Earth. He swore he could feel himself breaking the sound barrier as he went. Westopolis became visible, and he made a dangerous J-shaped turn just before crashing to the ground. He knew one thing: he loved flying.
Gerald was outside the lab, waiting for Matthew to return. He had said, "I'll be back, Grandpa!" then abruptly left. He was probably just excited to try out his Hover Shoes. He heard a big boom coming from the sky. Yes, that was Matt.
But something else fell from the sky. It was a giant red robot with a massive energy cannon on its right arm and a drill on its left.
"Ho ho ho!" a voice boomed. "The Egg Dragoon!"
The robot seemed to look down at Gerald, who was shaking in his spot. "F-Father?"
Gerald recognized the voice. "Ivo?"
Eggman was seen in the cockpit, controlling the Egg Dragoon. "No one calls me that anymore. I know you have a Choas Emerald, Father. Hand it over!"
"…Never."
Eggman blinked. "Don't make me kill you. Wait, you're associated with those G.U.N. freaks aren't you?"
"N-no!" Gerald said, falling to his knees. "N-not anymore, I swear!"
"Liar!" The cannon split into five min-cannons and started rotating. "You're a liar!"
"And you are a madman and a fool!" Gerald yelled. "I will not give you the Chaos Emerald. You will use it for whatever tyranny you have planned."
"Silence!" Eggman screamed. The mini-cannons formed into one again. The Egg Dragoon raised the cannon, and slammed it on Gerald…
Instantly killing him.
Eggman immediately regretted what he'd done. "Father? Father!" he yelled.
Gerald lay there in a twisted position, his eyes open as well as his mouth. A piece of his glasses had gotten in his eye. Unable to look any longer, Eggman flew away, yelling in sorrow.
A tear dropped from Gerald's eye.