a/n: Changing the game. #herewego

Revolutionary Operation, Type Zero

Kinetic Sky

15. Focal Point, Act 4

Shadow rapidly tapped numbers into the keypad beside the metal door. It slid open with a hiss and he walked through, Tails following behind. They were greeted by a stark white room, large and open. Lines and circles were painted into the floor in varying colours, with equipment placed in specific spots to capture data. One such area had a temporary set of walls with caution signs on the outside.

"Seems to be the area of the failed experiment," Shadow muttered as he pushed the heavy plastic door open. In the middle of the quarantined zone lay a solidified puddle of black and grey metals.

"The heck happened here...?"

"They said it was a malfunction. An overload of energy after some stimulus was introduced."

"Wonder what it was?" Tails mused. "Did they lose the chip?"

"No. The data from the chip was copied to a substitute. The original...is with the real Metal Sonic now."

"Figures."

Shadow and Tails exited the quarantine area. "If we can destroy that chip, the connection he has to the earthly plane should be severed. That much I could conclude from what Rose was saying earlier."

"What are you thinking from a realist perspective?" Tails asked.

"Hmph. Well...I don't believe we're going to reach the original before he fully integrates himself. Which means that we'll have to find a way to completely annihilate him, soul and all."

"That sounds about right."

"Let's check the computer," Shadow said, nodding towards the large monitor nearby.

"Yeah, we'll do that. Let's just siphon some data while we're here..." Tails pressed a button on the red metal bracelet around his right wrist. A small memory drive popped out and he stuck it into a slot on the console in front of him. "We're live. Let's see, now..."

Shadow felt a small vibration on his hand. He tapped the cuff of his glove.

"This is Shadow."

"Hey, it's me."

"Rouge. Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine, nothing to worry about. I found the shard a minute ago. It was just floating there in the hallway."

"Alright. Head back to the lobby and wait for everyone to gather again. Was there something else?"

"Ah? I was just giving you a sitrep, you know? Nothing special."

"...yes. I see."

"I...yeah. I probably could have told you all this once we met up, eh?"

"Probably."

"Sorry to be a bother, partner. I'll catch up with you when you're done, yeah?"

"Of course." He thought he could hear a small sigh before she hung up, but he wasn't sure. He thought on it for a moment before turning back to Tails.

"Was that Rouge?" the fox asked as he typed away.

"Yeah. Just a situation report. She was being cautious."

"Alright. I'm really getting nowhere with this...most of the data's corrupted. Nothing doing..."

"Unfortunate, but..."

"I can use this for something else. The satellite imaging and GPS systems are working, so I can force an algorithm or two into this mapping program here...and track the proliferation of cyberforming across the planet."

"Fine, go ahead."

"Yes, sir." Tails continued to type quickly, manipulating the existing map program to show the spread of the darkness across the planet. Shadow watched his movements and kept up with them, all the while impressed by the fox's expertise.

"And done."

"Yes, I see. So...this is what it all looks like," he said as he looked at the reconfigured map. The areas covered by darkness were not as extensive as he thought earlier. Predictably, heavily developed and populated areas on the planet were already completely transformed. "Thirty five percent, is that correct?"

"Yeah. Actually, from tracking the vectors...the spread has slowed down a bit. No clue why, though."

"The contours," Shadow noted as he pointed towards an area on the screen. "Metal Sonic is taking height into account as well. The silos all seem to sit on high points, so that probably helps the spread. It's also much slower over the water."

"Yeah. It didn't extend out as far from Central City as I was thinking, for example. But it moves really fast through the air, especially as storm cells. Believe it or not, there aren't thunderstorms everywhere the darkness is."

"Prower, can you track the trajectories of the silo launches?"

"Way ahead of you." Tails held down two buttons and an array of lines appeared, leading away from each of the devastated areas.

"G.U.N bases...many of them were carrying versions of the Doctor's cyberforming technology. Metal Sonic must have infiltrated them through the central network and modified the technology remotely, then launched them." His red eyes roamed across the screen before stopping. "There."

"Hm?"

"What's that? Inside of the Arctic Circle..."

"That...something got shot down," Tails said. "It's one of the silos."

"So it never did manage to take hold...I'm sure this was a freak accident, but it's an opportunity. NORAD must have taken it out before it was compromised. What's the nearest location?"

"Alert."

Shadow grunted. "Cute. Is CFS Alert still active?"

"Can't tell. These silos put out a lot of EM waves as it is...communication at this point over such a long distance might be useless."

"You have a point. Alright, we have all that we need. After completing these tasks, we'll have a better understanding of the situation."

"Wait...what about this place? Here," Tails said as he pointed to an area in Europe. "Everything around it has been affected, and there's an active silo really close by. But according to what we're looking at, the country is fine."

"So it is. The Kingdom of Soleanna."

"The Queen is still there, in the palace. From all of the reports I can gather off the web, there are a bunch of rumours about her...some are saying that she's locked herself in her room, refusing to eat and praying daily in order to keep the kingdom safe from the darkness."

"Intriguing...superstition or not, there's definitely something keeping the cyberforming at bay, especially if Soleanna is in the heart of Europe like that. We'll need to investigate that as well...I have an idea of what needs to be done," Shadow said firmly.

"Okay. Just lemme grab this data before we go...and...presto." Tails removed the small drive from the computer console and popped it back into the slot on his bracelet. "Good to go. Let's head back."

"Right." He gave Tails a look. "Have you thought about joining G.U.N on a permanent basis?"

"Eh...maybe when I'm a bit more grown up," Tails said with a smile.

"How much growing up do you have to do?" Shadow asked.

"Enough. But I'll honestly give it some thought."

"Fair enough."

"I'd probably end up being your boss, though. You'd be working under me, you know?"

Shadow chuckled lightly. "That doesn't sound like a bad place to be, kid."

"Your Highness...keeping this up is taking a toll on your health."

"You're right. It is."

She stood on her balcony, raising her blue eyes to the heavens.

"Such is the price of hope in these times. Will you make me another one of those drinks, please? I feel parched."

"Of course, Your Highness."

"Such is the price of hope...and I am willing to spend all that I have. I can rest soon...once he arrives."