The music of this game is severely underrated. Among my favorites though is the Digital Circuit music. :3

Chapter 2: Seduced by a Taste of Blood

~The March to a Darker World~

GUN Headquarters was in a silent frenzied panic. Everyone was wordless as they uploaded scanners and radars to get a better perspective of the situation. All of them were frightened of what would become of the planet, but not one of them dared to speak up about it. They worked tirelessly and endlessly, continuing to get updates on the situation…

The GUN Commander had returned to the HQ with anchored spirits, silently surveying the progress of his men when a cadet scrambled in, looking panic-stricken but saluting nevertheless. The Commander didn't even bother to face the newcomer yet demanded the news on the spot.

With a squeak, the cadet reported.

"The black aliens have hit six major cities around the world and every city is reporting significant damage and casualties. Among them, Westopolis has received the heaviest casualties due to its weakened defense system. Downtown Westopolis has been almost completely destroyed. Unconfirmed sources have also reported seeing a black hedgehog in Westopolis."

The GUN Commander instantly snapped to attention and glanced over his shoulder.

"Shadow?" He fully whirled around, outstretching his arm and barking out an instantaneous order. "Deploy the troops, now! And if you find Shadow with the black aliens…then kill them all!"

"But sir!" the soldier squeaked, nervously rubbing the back of his head. "Isn't Shadow on our side…sir?!"

"I gave you an order, soldier!" the Commander hissed, silencing the soldier. "He's evil and he's the enemy!"

The soldier said no more and scrambled out the door, having no choice but to relay the Commander's message to his fellow men.

"You can't fool me, Shadow. This is what I've waited for…this time…you're mine."

The Commander's multi-colored eyes narrowed dangerously, almost as if he was recalling something that had happened in the distant past…and it was coming back with a vicious vengeance.

Outskirts of Westopolis-

"Attention…emergency broadcast to all mobile units…Headquarters to all mobile units!" the soldier's voice crackled on the radios of GUN Troops everywhere. "All points bulletin…be on the lookout for Shadow, the black hedgehog…Wanted in connection with the terrorist attacks."

Can't say I didn't deserve that…but all in all, it really wasn't my fault. If the humans really wanted to survive the crisis, they should focus more on the Black Arms themselves than wasting energy on trying to take me out.

"Last seen in the vicinity of downtown Westopolis. Orders are…capture him, dead or alive."

I found myself being stared down by two GUN soldiers who had recently received the report, their rifles aimed at me and hesitantly ready to fire. I remained stoic and continued walking forward, refusing to be intimidated.

"Outta my way! Coming through!" I announced, brushing off the soldiers.

"STOP!" one of them shouted, not taking his eyes of me. "Don't move or we'll shoot!"

"Stupid humans…" I jumped up and kicked them both in the head, knocking them to the ground and continuing on my way. "Hmph…"

"Very impressive, Shadow…"

Black Doom loomed up behind me, a ghostly form of what he usually appeared to me as.

I was secretly grateful that it wasn't just his eye that had shown up.

"Who are you?" I demanded, wanting more information from the guy I had decided to cooperate with.

"You don't remember anything, do you?" he asked condescendingly, which only made me angrier. "You will, in time…but now, there's no time to waste here. Go and access the United Federation's mainframe to receive your next mission. Understand?"

I clenched my fist and replied boldly, "Got it."

With that, Black Doom cast a green light over us, and before I could even question what was going on, we had vanished, reappearing in GUN's main frame…

…but it left me wondering: was that Chaos Control?!

Digital Circuit-

"What…is this…sensation? I feel weightless atop this light…"

I guess you could say I was currently surfing the internet.

GUN's mainframe was much brighter and neon-based than I had imagined it to be, but perhaps that was just how all mainframes were. I was currently curled up into a ball and rolling down a "data stream" of sorts, wondering what I was supposed to be doing.

It almost reminded me of Bingo Highway, with the flashing lights and seemingly endless slides…

I was whipped to and fro, making sharp turns at practically the speed of light. Shades of yellows, purple, and red flew by me, and I could hardly make sense of my surroundings. Eventually, the "surfing" stopped, and I landed on a blue block that was currently shifting up and down.

"Shadow," Doom's Eye called out to me, floating up and not even letting me gain my bearings. "This is the information highway system that they call 'cyberspace'. Delete the core program that controls data flow, and the world will plunge into chaos!"

Well, there was no kidding there- humans couldn't function without their technology nowadays.

"Okay, I get that destroying the mainframe hinders the humans, but how does that help you, exactly?" I inquired, rubbing my forehead.

"Small blows against humanity make a big difference in the end…" he hummed cryptically. "Just destroyed the mainframe, and watch as the changes happen right before your eyes…"

Frowning, I now knew my mission regardless, even if it was vague, so I skated away from Doom's Eye and jumped across platforms that came together right before my eyes- pieces of data joined together to make me a walkway. Doom's Eye floated behind me diligently, not nearly as impressed at the mainframe as I was.

Up ahead, a few GUN drones were lurking around the place, digitalized defenders of the government's most pertinent information. Upon catching sight of them, Doom instantly desired their destruction.

"Mere children's toys…crush them!"

I complied instantly, leaping forward, curling into a ball, and sharpening my quills defensively. With a loud shredding noise, I tore the robots into mere scrap.

"How come you never fight your own battles?" I grumbled to Doom under my breath. His eye narrowed as he hissed as me.

"As much as I would love to strangle my enemies with my tentacles-"

"Well, you could also always stare them to death."

Doom glowered at me, and I just went back to smashing GUN drones. I didn't need Doom's help anyway; destroying robots was always easy…

Especially if they were Eggman's robots.

"Huh…Eggman…"

Now that it came to mind and I really thought about it, Eggman possibly held a key piece of my past with him…

"I was locked up in the containment chamber…" I mused to myself, wandering aimlessly through cyberspace. "He was the one who put me there, so he has to know something about me as well."

I recalled how I ran through seven zones with Rouge and Omega to get information from the doctor for the very same reason, only to realize that I'd been chasing a fraud and that the real Eggman was still at large. I hadn't thought about going after him when I had the chance afterwards, but maybe that was because I was exhausted from saving the world from being overrun by robots.

I decided to see if I could squeeze any information out of the doctor the next time I ran into him, but since I didn't know when that would be, I decided to briefly put the thought aside and tried to focus on getting to the core.

However, that's hard to do when a monocular starfish creature suddenly puts his tentacle on your shoulder.

"I suppose there is something I should tell you, Shadow…" he trailed, almost as if he was unsure of how to go about it.

"Is it about my past?" I asked hopefully.

"Not quite…it's about your Chaos powers…"

I stopped walking instantly, causing a small red ball of Chaos Blast to form between my hands. I looked up curiously at Doom's Eye.

"What about them?"

"As long as you serve with us, as you should, you will be able to use Chaos Blast…" he began to explain. "But if you betray us, even just a little, you won't be able to…and your Chaos Control will grow stronger as a result. But I forbid you from using Chaos Control."

"Why?" I asked sharply, wrenching away from the floating eye to glower at him properly. "Chaos Blast is triggered by negative Chaos Energy…and I hate feeling that way, because I get so angry and out of control for no reason that's apparent to me…but with Chaos Control, it's triggered by more positive energy, and when I use it, I feel more confident and heroic, even."

"Chaos Control is a neutral power," Doom rumbled deeply, almost looking annoyed. "For you, yes, it comes from your more positive energy…but don't use it."

"You still haven't told me why," I shot back dangerously, almost ready to attack.

"If you want to find out who you are, you will heed my orders!" Doom's voice rose, spiking upwards and making me sound insignificant in comparison. "Feel free to use Chaos Blast as you wish. Don't you see that it's much better than simply teleporting? It decimates anything that gets in your way, clears out anything that stands against you…it's raw power, Shadow. Use it every chance you get."

He flew away to leave me alone for the moment, but he just left me furiously frustrated, and I wanted to release the anger in any way I could. I started to glow red, clenching my fists and quivering slightly…

But I forged on. I wouldn't be destructive unless absolutely necessary.

I hated being so destructive.

I hated feeling so angry.

. . .

It didn't take long to realize that cyberspace was actually a very lonely place, but I was glad that Doom's Eye had stopped pestering me. I was even debating over whether I should continue to follow his requests, sick of the way he implied all these little things without delivering any concrete information. It was true that whenever I did what he said, negative Chaos Energy would run rampant within me, and I wondered if the presence of the Chaos Emerald had any effect on this. My cycle of pondering came to an abrupt stop when someone came flying up to me, landing in front of me and giving me a flirty wave.

"Oh, Shadow!" Rouge exclaimed, her eyes filling with pleasant surprise. "What a coincidence running into you here!"

"Indeed," I agreed. To tell the truth, I was happy to see her, being my best friend and all.

She was definitely a step up from a floating star stalking you and depressing you all the time.

"What brings you to cyberspace?" I asked, honestly curious. Rouge looked around nervously, as if it was confidential, but eventually she caved in and told me.

"Actually, I'm on a government assignment to track down information on where the Chaos Emeralds are…" her eyes lowered as she turned to me. "Sonic said you were looking for them too."

"Oh, you ran into him," I huffed, slightly put off.

"No, he informed everyone via communication device," Rouge explained, lifting her wrist and revealing a communication watch. "We're all trying to keep in contact, and keep tabs on the Black Arms force. Amy and Cream went to search Cryptic Castle, Knuckles is searching Central City, Tails is keeping watch on the president, the Chaotix are looking for info rather than Chaos Emeralds…and I believe Sonic is with GUN, but I have no idea why."

"…any word on Omega?"

Rouge put on a blank face. "Oh yeah. We told him to look for Emeralds as well, but once Eggman got himself involved in the mess, he's been reducing the numbers of Eggman's army…classic Omega, right?"

"I see…" I dismissed the topic and walked on, but Rouge began to flap her wings and fly alongside me.

"I also heard that you shot a GUN soldier-"

"I didn't kill him!" I suddenly cried, taking Rouge aback. "It was an accident…"

Rouge suddenly halted, her ears beginning to droop as she made eye contact with me. "I also received reports from the commander that you wiped out dozens of GUN soldiers and you've been associated with terrorist attacks?"

She finished in a questioning tone that unsettled me, and I wasn't sure of how to react.

So I didn't.

"Shadow, your memory might be hazy, but I really hope you recall that I'm a member of GUN," Rouge started quietly, face turned away. "I have orders to capture you dead or alive, and I don't approve of what you've been doing…but I'm willing to give you another chance."

A pained look crossed my expression, but I hid it from Rouge.

"Rouge, I've been given a chance to regain my memories," I explained slowly, getting to the heart of the matter. "It involves me doing things that I don't agree with…but don't you want me to find out who I am?"

"Shadow…a mob of aliens fall from the sky and wreak havoc on everything, and you think that they have the key to getting your memories back, compared to your friends, who were there when you vanished from our lives just as soon as we had finally gotten to know you?"

"Their leader knew who I was," I protested, trying to make her see reason. "If that's indication that he's got information about me, then I don't know what to think!"

"I knew who you were," Rouge shot back, growling and flashing a set of canine teeth of her own. "Sonic knew. Tails knew. Knuckles knew. You never bothered asking them, did you? No, for the longest time you were going after Eggman for answers, and now you're following an alien race. You have really bad luck with associating yourself with the bad guy."

"Stop it, Rouge," I demanded, beginning to glow red again. "Don't make me do something I'll regret."

"There's your explosive anger again," Rouge sighed, though she did take a few cautious steps back. "Haven't you learned to control that in the last three months?"

"Unfortunately, I haven't," I huffed. I spun around and clenched my fist, the red haze seeming to glow brighter. "So unless you want to end up like the rest of the GUN soldiers, I recommend backing off."

Rouge looked like she was about to cry. "You…you wouldn't do that to me!"

"…"

"Shadow!" Doom's Eye interrupted, choosing by far the most inappropriate time to show up. "If this insignificant life form is hindering your progress, dispose of her!"

"That's what you're taking orders from?" gaped Rouge. She completely forgot about my recent threat in order to gaze upon the monstrosity that was Doom's Eye. "Wow, there is really something wrong here."

"Ignore her Shadow!" barked Doom again, thrusting himself at me. "Remember what I told you! Release your true power!"

"He's probably just leading you on," scoffed Rouge, folding her arms. "Really Shadow, I- Shadow…?"

It was an understatement to say I was steaming.

Red aura emitted from me like large furious flames, the fire within wanting to explode but I wouldn't let it. I was better than that. I could control myself… It would be so much easier to do if Doom and Rouge weren't yelling at me.

"Shadow!" "Shadow!" "Shadow!" "Shadow!"

"Enough!" I roared, utterly blazing now as I raised my arms. "Chaos BLAST!"

Rouge screamed and ducked down while Doom started ranting about me opposing him. However, as soon as I felt the blast begin to form, I whirled around and redirected the blast in the opposite direction, which I'm pretty sure wiped out half the mainframe by itself. I gave Rouge and Doom a murderous look before skating deeper into cyberspace.

I was going to take the location of the Chaos Emeralds for myself, and me alone, then destroy the mainframe.

"Shadow! Wait!" Rouge exclaimed, but I was already too far ahead to turn around. Aggravated beyond belief, Rouge whipped around and kicked Doom's Eye right in the…well, eye, causing him to fall to the ground and howl in pain. "I don't know what you're doing with Shadow but you're going to regret it!"

"All life forms will perish under the reign of the Black Arms!" Doom howled, squirming around like crazy as Rouge flew after me. "Your world will be ours! OURS!"

. . .

I was cruising down a data stream, weaving my way in between firewalls that started to crop up, and I assumed that GUN had detected unwanted presences in their mainframe. I easily worked around their defenses, surrounded by nothing but spiraling electronic colors.

"Why am I so conflicted? The answer should be obvious," I sighed to myself. "Black Doom knows me, and therefore I must do what he says whether I like it or not. But Rouge has a point too- all my friends knew me…but they didn't tell me anything! Rouge didn't even bother until it was almost too late!"

Being in the digital circuit was taking a toll on me (if not eventually causing some sort of seizure), and I just wanted to reach the core and get the heck out of there. However, I was drained from my recent explosion of Chaos Blast, and Doom didn't want me using Chaos Control anyway.

"Why was he so against me drawing on positive energy? What's so wrong with that?"

The data stream I was in eventually came to an end, thus I found myself wandering around once again. However, I wasn't exactly alone.

"He told you not to use Chaos Control?" Rouge whispered, descending down next to me.

"Are you here to make me explode again?" I asked, trying to walk away but failing miserably.

"Shadow, I just want to help…being able to use Chaos Control is one of the greatest things ever!" she exclaimed. "After all…you did use it to save me…"

"It's talk like that that upsets me more," I sighed as I shook my head. "You speak of all these things I've done in the past, and yet I can't recall any of it."

"I'm sorry," Rouge said honestly, insisting to glide alongside me. "If you really want me to leave, then I will. There're other things I should be doing. Just remember- if you act against GUN again, I'll have to interfere, whether I want to or not."

Before I could tell her that she didn't have to leave, Rouge was already in the air, winking at me.

"Chaos Control is a part of who you are. No one can take away something that is part of you."

She flew off, probably to finish her mission, leaving me to finish mine. As soon as I was in a brief state of peace, Doom's Eye flew up to me and started up his own spiel.

"Why didn't you kill her?!" he questioned in a raspy tone, almost quaking with anger. "I told you to destroy anyone that gets in your way!"

"Maybe she didn't get in my way," I replied casually, walking away from Doom's Eye, even though he insisted on tagging along. "Now, are we anywhere near the power core?"

"Almost," huffed Doom. "As soon as you get there, destroy it, and unleash chaos and confusion unto the humans!"

"Of course," I replied, marching onward. The humans were going to get what was coming to them…

But I couldn't help but think; was I plunging everyone into a darker world?

. . .

After crossing through several more circuits, I finally reached the center of GUN's mainframe.

"This is the hidden core area. The core program is up above," Doom explained. "Do what must be done."

I ascended up the core program, only to find a purple cylinder-like thing adorned with red lights. It was a long way to the top, so I curled up into a ball and began to charge light.

"Get ready…and GO!"

I propelled myself up the side of the core, rocketing up like a shooting star and bypassing all the obstacles. I noticed Doom had nodded, apparently impressed.

"Yes…almost there! Take the information about the Chaos Emeralds and delete the core program in one swift move!"

He sounded almost too eager.

Once I was on a platform parallel with the core, I charged up light again, then propelled myself at the core. I landed right in front of it, face to face with endless streams of the government's greatest secrets…

But I didn't want any of that.

"The Chaos Emeralds…yes…so that's where they are…"I trailed to myself, grinning slowly with each location I learned. Once I had the whereabouts of all of them, I struck it with a ton of force, causing it to explode and completely delete itself from cyberspace.

I could almost feel everything suddenly become thrown out of whack…

"Well done, Shadow…" I heard Black Doom whisper to me.

Staring at the broken mainframe, I glanced away and closed my eyes. "…Whatever happens to the humans is no concern of mine!"

. . .

Rouge watched us teleport out of cyberspace from a distance, disappointment clouding her expression. Sighing, she turned on her communicator and whispered into it:

"Sonic…I think you're right."

White House-

The President stood on the balcony of the White House, gazing out at the salmon-colored sky and caught up in a worry all of his own. His answering machine was going off, signaling another incoming message.

He'd been receiving them all day.

"Mr. President, we've received a report from the Central Information Agency. Our ground troops have successfully pushed back black aliens from Westopolis. We've also managed to suppress enemy forces in five other cities," his secretary relayed without missing a beat. "There're also reports that the CIA's mainframe has been compromised. We're investigating the incidents now. It is a strong possibility that this was also committed by the black aliens."

The President pushed a button, relaying back his own message. "Tell the Commanding Generals the United Nations will never surrender to terrorists!"

"Yes Mr. President."

He glanced down at a picture of Sonic and I, one that I had involuntarily taken with him two months ago. Rouge tried to explain that it was for something I had done before I lost my memory, but regardless, I had my back turned in the photo while Sonic was giving a thumbs up and donning a grin.

"This world was once saved from tyranny and annihilation by you two heroes…now mankind must protect this peace, at all costs…We must stand united to defend our world against these invaders!"

…at least, defend the world as best they could.

Next time: After exiting the Digital Circuit, Shadow's morals begin to be truly tested...how far will he go to get what he wants?