The next morning, Dr. Eggman was driving on a highway leading to Westopolis. Its skyline loomed over him, even though it was barely a mile away. He was in the Eggmobile, with large monster truck tires attached to the bottom. A large exhaust pipe stuck out the back.
"Hee hee hee…" chuckled the scientist. "Just a while longer, and Westopolis will fall to its… Wha?"
Eggman could hear the blare of police sirens behind him. Three cop cars drove up behind him.
"Surrender now, Robotnik," came a voice from a megaphone, "or we will use force."
"Oh no!" Eggman cried, feigning hopelessness. "What ever will I do? Heh! My, those vehicles look so terrible! How about… a makeover?!"
Eggman slammed a large red button with his fist. An antenna poked out the Eggmobile's exhaust pipe. The antenna began to vibrate as it started emitting a signal.
"Hopefully those cars won't cop out! Oh ho ho ho ho ho hoo! Au revoir!" The tires detached from Eggmobile, and the hovercraft became airborne. Eggman flew away, still laughing at his jokes.
The police cars suddenly came to a complete stop. "What the hell?" one officer asked to himself. It was the last thing he said before an airbag exploded in his face. The cars then began to change. They folded themselves in half andf started to transform. They turned into terrifying, colossal mechanical beasts. The officers were ejected from the monsters' bodies, then were blasted to death by their arm cannons.
The monsters began their rampage. They squashed, threw, and crushed every car they saw. The twenty-five foot beasts had the same color scheme as the cars they'd transformed from. The red, white, and blue lights flashed on their heads. The Eggman emblem was visible on the middle of their chests. They had red eyes on their evil faces. One of the monsters raised its arm cannon to the air and started firing at the sky, while the other two robots continued terrorizing the highway.
Matthew was awoken by Amy sitting on his thigh wrong. He winced in pain as he was brought up from the depths of sleep. Amy had her head resting on his shoulder, with her arm around his chest. He ran his fingers through her hair delicately as she kept on sleeping. His back was stiff from sitting in an uncomfortable chair all night. They were still in the interrogation room, but it seemed darker than before.
A soft buzzing noise sounded in the room, then Agent Whitely and Officer Jones entered. The latter looked solemn and pained. Amy stirred at the sound and woke up. She looked confused at first, as if she hadn't remembered what'd happened last night. Then she looked up at Matt and smiled.
Agent Whitely spoke up. "You were asleep, so we decided to just you two be."
Amy got off of Matthew and took a seat on the table. She grabbed the TV remote and fiddled with it. Matthew sat up and stretched, his back making faint popping noises as he did so. Amy turned on the TV. It was on a news station, showing footage of three robotic monsters rampaging around a highway. Matthew leaned forward in his seat, trying to get a better look. He immediately feared that this was his uncle's doing.
Officer Jones turned away from the TV. Agent Whitely, Matthew, and Amy exchanged glances. Whitely hastily grabbed the remote from Amy and turned it off. Matthew's mind was reeling. Another attack from his uncle… But what was he after this time? All he knew was that it had to be stopped before he found out.
"Well," said Whitely, "breakfast will be here soon."
"Can I use the restroom?" Matthew asked.
"Officer," Whitely said to Jones, "can you show Matt the way to the bathroom?"
Jones nodded but didn't say anything. He opened the door and escorted Matthew out.
"Six of my fellow officers have been killed by those things," he said they walked down the hall. "Nobody can stop them, except Shadow."
"You think he's good?" Matthew asked.
"Matt, everyone has a little bit of good in them. You realize that as a cop. Shadow prevented Robotnik's robbery from getting any worse, whether helped or not. I'm a firm believer that there's some good in Shadow and the city.
"I'll be back in the interrogation room," he told Matthew as they approached the bathroom door. "You know where it's at."
It was a private bathroom, with one toilet, one sink, and a lock on the doorknob. Matthew locked the door and looked himself in the mirror.
Okay, Matt, you said you weren't going to, but now you have to, he thought. Officer Jones believes in me—in Shadow—so you have to believe in yourself.
Matthew closed his eyes, curled his fingers into fists, took a deep breath, and transformed into Shadow. He looked at himself again in the mirror. His stern glare, his scowl, the crimson stripes on his spikes, the tuft of white hair on his chest, his gloves, his Inhibitor Rings, and his Hover Shoes… Shadow looked prepared for a little robot rock.
He took a step back and fired his Beam Vision at the ceiling, forming a hole to the second floor. He charged up his Hover Shoes, then took off. He shot through more floors, never blinking once. His posture never budged, never breaking away from his arms at his sides and feet together. He blasted through the roof of the WPD and came to a stop. He looked in the direction of Lethal Highway…
The three monster-like robots never let up on their rage. They tore chunks off the highway and threw them at cars. Plenty of people were unaware of the attacks and were driving into them. The monsters snarled as something fell from the sky. E-123 Omega landed in the middle of the road and began to load his guns.
"Robotnik scum," the robot uttered as it pointed its arm to the monsters and launched three miniature missiles from its wrists. One of the monsters jumped in their path and took the hit. The missiles exploded on contact but otherwise did no significant harm to its body. Its body had small splotches of fire all over its body. The three robots roared and charged at Omega. Its hands went up their sockets and were replaced by guns. Omega fired them at the robots, but one of them rammed its shoulder into Omega's body, sending it flying. Sparks erupted out of its back as it flew into a green sign that said, "WESTOPOLIS – 1 MILE."
The robots chortled as Omega's limp body fell to the side of the road. They turned to the scene of destruction they'd caused and started rampaging again. Nothing would interfere with them.
One of the monsters watched as the other two unleashed hell. Something red hit its back. It snarled, thinking it was Omega ready to be pummeled again.
Shadow, eyes glowing, yelled as he tackled the robot in its gut. The black hedgehog lifted it into the air, then chucked it back to the road. Their bodies zipped down the highway as Shadow tackled the robot again. He started punching its gut, yelling ach time to increase his power. The robot peeled him off its stomach on slammed him to the found. With Shadow off its body, they began to slow. The robot dragged him on the road. They came to a stop, and the robot stood up. Shadow did so too, but much more slowly. His black fur was dusty.
The other two monsters were charging after them. The one Shadow had tackled swung it arm at the hedgehog. After dodging a few strikes, he tried burning through its arm with his Beam Vision. The laser slowed down they swing but didn't do too much damage. The robot swung with its other arm, successfully punching Shadow.
These things must have a weak point… thought Shadow. But… where?
The robot roared, interrupting Shadow's thoughts. It threw a truck at him. He caught the truck by its front, then lobbed it back to the robot. He shot another laser of Beam Vision at it as the truck got close enough. It caused an explosion so big, the force sent Shadow reeling. His Hover Shoes stopped his out-of-control spiral. Once the flames and smoke cleared, he saw the robot, its face on fire, stunned. He took the chance and tackled it again. He started whaling on its gut again, coupled with his Beam Vision. The laser began melting the exterior, and with one fiinal punch, Shadow broke through. He grabbed what he could from inside the monster and pulled out a heap of wires. He lifted off from its body and fired another Beam Vision. The robot exploded, throwing plumes of smoke and fire into the air.
Shadow landed softly on the road, breathing heavily. He heard the roars of the other two robots, which had caught up to him. They towered over him and swung their fists at him. At times they would hit themselves or each other if he dodged correctly. He grasped the face of one of them and started punching. The monster screamed loudly as he shoved his fist into one of its eyes. It threw its body around, trying to shake him off. Shadow yelled, and pulled out its eye. After throwing it away, he wrapped his arms around the robot's head and started kicking at the front of its neck. Each stomp made a crunch sound, until finally, he ripped its head right out of its shoulders. The robot stopped moving and fell to the ground.
The third and final robot grabbed Shadow and slammed his body into the ground. It raised its hand in the air, charging for a second time. Shadow's body was thrown to the ground again. He yelled as he struggled getting out of its grip. The robot threw him into a destroyed car and roared. Shadow lay there motionless for awhile, feeling the world spin around him. He rolled to his side and ran his hand through his spikes. He had to keep fighting… He imagined Amy back at the police department, watching the brawl from the TV in the interrogation room. He moaned as he rolled onto his front. He couldn't be weak… He couldn't!
The irises of his eyes began to glow. He pushed himself up and rolled off the car. He slowly stood up, his legs shaking. He looked straight at the robot, and the robot looked right back at him. It hissed, then ran off down the highway toward Westopolis, crushing more vehicles in its path.
Shadow took off after the robot. He fired his Beam Vision at the ground below the robot, causing it to roll like a tumbleweed. His body glowed yellow, then he shot numerous amounts of Chaos Spears at the tumbling robot. Its body became shrouded in explosions, and Shadow fired more Chaos Spears at it. They zipped and danced and whipped around its body before striking. The robot gave one last roar as its body blew to pieces.
Shadow landed next to Omega and knelt beside it.
"You—beep!—came," it said weakly.
"Omega," Shadow said urgently, "tell me what to do to help."
"Take me—beep!—to the lab, Matthew. I can—beep boop!—repair my body there."
"Alright." Shadow lifted Omega onto his back, giving it a sort of piggyback ride. They took off gently, and headed toward Central City. Once they were in its outskirts, Shadow touched they panel, and they were lowered to the underground lab.
Shadow lay Omega against a wall. "What are you going—beep!—to do now?" it asked.
"Going back to Westopolis," said Shadow. "I have a feeling that those robots were just the beginning."
"They came from ordinary motor vehicles," Omega told him. "They were hit by a signal from Robotnik and were transformed."
"I don't think Uncle Ivo will stop there," Shadow said darkly.
"Maybe so, maybe not. If more things do occur, please be careful, Matthew."
Shadow opened the exit to the lab. "I'll try."