Cf96: You're welcome! But, I dunno, I just can't really see Shadow in a relationship, that's all. But to each their own, and I'm okay with that. :D

. . .

Anyway, stepping away from Shadow and a potential girlfriend, let's see what's going on with our favorite ebony hedgehog now...

Chapter 4: Perfection Lost By Darkness

~Life is Guilty~

White House-

"Mr. President! There's an emergency!"

His secretary's voice screamed from the blinking answering machine, with the President sitting at his desk signing some of the paper work that had begun to accumulate during the crisis. However, upon hearing the urgency of his secretary's voice, he pressed the button and retaliated with his own voice.

"What now?"

"It seems as if our ground troops have been able to contain the Black Arms, but apparently enemy reinforcements have arrived, and Central City is being invaded!"

The President flew forward in his seat, staring down at the answering machine with shocked eyes. "How? How can this be?!"

He arose out of his seat in a flash, moving so fast that the chair whirled around and whacked into the desk. The President hardly gave that another thought; he rushed to the window, now gazing out as a whole new swarm of Black Arms descended upon his fair country.

Scowling deeply, he pounded his fist against the window, feeling as though he had failed.

If that wasn't bad enough, the White House sat at the very center of Central City.

Central City-

I had originally entered Central City to locate a possible Chaos Emerald, but in the midst of the arriving reinforcements for the Black Arms, I'd managed to get intercepted by Black Doom and a squadron of his personal forces.

This was going to end nicely.

"Shadow…" Doom whispered to me as we made our way into the heart of the city for his own reasons that I wasn't aware of…yet. I was sorely tempted to finish associating myself with Black Doom once and for all after my little rendezvous with Amy, but he said something that drew me right back in.

"Let me share with you a piece of your past…"

A piece of my past, any part of my past- the one thing that I would wipe out armies for, one thing that I would bring down cities for, one thing that I would take over the world for…

I just wanted to know something about myself, that's all.

"Your past…it's filled with nothing but hatred and contempt for the humans…"

My ears perked as they received the information, closing my eyes to connect the words to some sort of memory that would now be able to surface itself.

"Hatred and contempt…for the humans…"

I could understand that- humans had done everything to get in my way, to try and stop me, to try and kill me…whether they were under orders from the GUN Commander or the President, or were among the likes of Dr. Eggman, they all had it out for me.

I guess I was just going to have to turn the tables.

"You were the ultimate life form, but the humans feared you and wanted to destroy you! Now, you must amass revenge on those humans! Unleash your anger and ultimate powers on them!"

"Understood…just tell me what my next course of action is."

An absolutely abysmal smile adorned Black Doom's expression, and if I hadn't just been gifted with a critical piece of information, I would have beaten him down and made a run for it. Now that he had given me a piece of myself back, the least I could do would be to carry out his next order.

"Ah, Shadow…we have set up five bombs that will annihilate the city. Trigger them, and the city will be destroyed!"

And my inner conflict festered up again.

I know I said I'd do anything for my memories, but something like that didn't sit well with me. It brought me back to the time I was in Grand Metropolis, with Omega willing to turn the city to rubble simply because Eggman's influence was there, while Rouge refused to be a part of it and declared that it was the wrong course of action.

I felt like I had to make that decision all over again, but with much higher stakes.

As I headed into the city go activate the bombs, I remembered one very important thing, which unfortunately had nothing to do with me.

Knuckles was supposed to be in the city, and I was supposed to be blowing it to smithereens…

Now slightly alarmed, I picked up speed and tore down the road. There was an echidna I needed to find.

. . .

I took a left at an intersection, this one much less havoc-stricken than the ones in Westopolis. Central City still looked like it could be habitable, as it lacked flames, felled buildings, and monstrous aliens cruising down the sidewalk.

Even though it wouldn't stay that way for long, once I had the bombs.

I knew GUN had a very effective system for evacuation, so there was no need to worry about any humans getting hurt (even though blowing them sky high would be a very suitable comeuppance for what they apparently did to me in the past), but I also knew that Knuckles was still in the city somewhere, and if he were to get caught in the explosion…

Well, more people than GUN would be willing to kill me.

I had no idea where to look for the red echidna, though he couldn't be that hard to spot. Previous experience with him led me to realize that he wasn't subtle with the way he did things.

Good thing that still rang true.

I came around to a light post that was standing stoically in the middle of a pile of Black Arms, with a fresh one being tossed to the top of the mound, followed by a disgruntled groan. I poked my head around the corner to witness Knuckles heaving another hulk into the air to join his fallen friends. I stepped out of the shadows, which seemed all too fitting for me, and Knuckles ceased his fighting frenzy, not expecting me to be there.

"Hey there Shadow," he greeted me casually, wiping some sweat off his forehead. "Long time no see!"

That was shockingly pleasant, coming from him.

"You've got good timing! The black creatures have huge bombs that they're trying to set off here in the city! We only have a few minutes before the bombs detonate and destroy the city! You've got to help us!"

"Uh yeah, Knuckles, we need to discuss that actually-"

"There's twenty bombs, and they're all set to go off within eight minutes-"

"I recommend you get out of here at the earliest convenience."

Knuckles ceased his matter-of-factly moment to gawk at me awkwardly. "Wha…what?"

"This city will blow no matter what you do," I explained as calmly as possible. "There's nothing that can be done to stop it."

"What…yes, there is!" Knuckles protested. "There are specially designed Vacuum guns in this city that the government dropped, and we can use them to suck up the twenty small bombs and harmlessly dispose of them."

I sighed, as I should've recalled Knuckles' ability to be disturbingly stubborn.

"Well, Knuckles," I stated, hanging my head so he couldn't see my expression. "I can promise you that I'll be taking care of bombs as well, so you don't have to worry about me."

"Good to hear, Shadow," he replied honestly, running over to a discarded crate on the sidewalk and kicking it open. Inside was one of the vacuum guns he was talking about, and Knuckles was all set to get going.

Personally, I wanted to know who instructed him on how to use the thing.

"I'm counting on you," Knuckles told me, before running down the opposite street that I had planned to take. I frowned, starting to streak down the other sidewalk.

"Everyone's counting on me for different things," I murmured to myself. "But who am I supposed to count on?"

. . .

Something told me I should've stayed with Knuckles- and not just because I didn't want him getting seriously injured when the city detonated.

"Yes, there are five large bombs in this city," Doom's Eye explained as it followed me endlessly. "But there are also twenty smaller bombs- the smaller bombs will detonate quicker but will leave less of an impact, while the larger bombs take a bit longer, yet leave more of an aftermath. Hence why I want you to activate the bigger bombs now."

"Do the twenty smaller bombs not matter to you?"

"Well, seeing that a red pest is clearing them out for me, I suppose I really don't have to worry about them," he responded darkly. "Because when the five big bombs go off…he'll be going along with them, and there'll be nothing left of this city but a crater!"

I said nothing after that, simply scouring the city for the bombs as was requested of me. It didn't take long to come across the first one, considering that it was sitting smack in the middle of the road and was surrounded by Black Arms forces.

"Detonate this bomb, and take the human's destruction in your own hands!" Doom ordered.

I picked up a discarded gun up off the ground, slowly taking aim at the foreign bomb. With a few quick shots, it spontaneously detonated, and I could sense the vibrations as several structures within the city began to crumble.

I, however, was unscathed.

"How did I not get hurt in that blast…?" I wondered aloud, staring down at myself.

"Well, Shadow…" Doom trialed with a sickly sweet tone that did not suit him whatsoever. "It was a Black Arms bomb. Do you think we designed them to hurt our own kind?"

"But….I'm…?"

Doom's Eye would've flashed me a grin if it could. "You figure it out."

Like I said, I should've stayed with Knuckles.

. . .

Speaking of the red echidna, I ran into him again after dispatching the second bomb, located in the corner of an alley. Doom's Eye had slipped away somewhere in the process, and Knuckles had no idea about what I had been doing.

"Shadow! How many bombs have you found so far?" he asked, looking hopeful. "I've already collected eight myself…you know, if it wasn't so dangerous, finding these things would almost be fun!"

"…I've technically only dispatched two," I stated, not daring to look at him.

"Well, we'd better pick up the pace," Knuckles decided, turning around and stalking down the street. "After all, two of them already went off, and there are already reports that two fifths of the city is no longer intact…"

"Were you anywhere near the detonations?" I asked seriously. Knuckles shook his head.

"No, not yet, but I fear it'll only be a matter of time…"

"It feels like it takes forever to get around, but it hardly takes more than thirty seconds," I realized. Knuckles nodded.

"I know. It's like all the bombs should've blown already, but we still have four minutes and forty-five seconds."

"How do you know that?"

Knuckles showed off his wrist communicator, and I was wondering why I didn't have one, especially if Amy and Cream did.

"Yeah, GUN managed to track the time of arrival and estimate how long it would take for the city to be annihilated. It was uploaded to all our communicators…don't you have one?"

"No, I do not," I replied steely, walking on.

"I figured someone would've given you one at least at the start of this crisis…" Knuckles stated. "But maybe it was just because you were gone for so long…"

"Most likely."

We were silent as we walked, Knuckles occasionally finding a small bomb and slurping it up with the gun. It wasn't until he found a total of twelve that I found my next bomb, and I knew that if I detonated it with him in range, he'd get hurt.

And I didn't even want to get back to thinking about why I didn't become injured.

"Hey, Knuckles," I said under my breath, Knuckles quickly picking up on it. "I think there are a few more bombs over there."

"Where exactly?" Knuckles asked, glancing frantically around.

"Behind the building and slightly down the street…just a hunch though, so it might probably be nothing."

"Might be worth checking out," Knuckles proclaimed, hoisting up his vacuum gun high and heading off.

Stubborn, yet so painstakingly gullible.

Once he was out of sight, I pulled out the gun I had picked up earlier from my quills and proceeded to detonate the big bomb I'd found in the alley.

"Remember…" Doom's voice echoed out to me from wherever he was watching. "The bombs will only stay active for a few minutes. Do not fail your mission!"

"Wait…what?" I questioned, narrowing my eyes. "My bombs are active and need to be detonated manually, while Knuckles' bombs are supposedly not active until their timers go off, which is when they explode? Ugh…"

Well, I hope I can cross demolitions expert off my list as "Potential things I was in the Past".

Knuckles then came running back, looking panicked.

"Shadow, did you hear an explosion and something falling?!" he cried. "I think another bomb went off!"

"I know," I said acidly, trying really hard not to reply sarcastically and give myself away. "It was really close this time."

"I didn't see any bombs over there, but I did take out a couple of black aliens," Knuckles explained. "They were really strong though…I almost didn't get away."

I turned away and scowled to myself, just as Doom's voice returned once again.

"Our giants, heralded for their pure strength form the core of our army!"

Knuckles blinked and glanced around. "Erm, Shadow, did you hear that?"

"Unfortunately," I murmured, shaking my head and marching away.

. . .

"Hurry Shadow! There are two more! Don't let their cores run dry…"

I really wanted to know where Doom's voice was originating from, but I couldn't question it aloud because Knuckles was still palling around with me.

Hated to say it, but he was better company than Sonic. He rarely spoke.

Currently we were inching our way around buildings, avoiding marshy green ooze that flooded a few of the streets. A few GUN soldiers had arrived to help clear out the bombs and some of the Black Arms, but as always, they weren't really doing much.

"Do they really think sending in reinforcements will help? Pathetic fools…" Doom's voice grumbled.

"Okay, that voice is starting to creep me out," Knuckles shuddered, trying to shake it off.

"You have no idea," I susurrated, still inching along the wall.

I found bomb number four plunked in the middle of an intersection, where Black Arms nor GUN soldiers had managed to activate it. I knew that when I did, buildings would fall and soldiers would most likely die, but Knuckles was so-

Where'd he go?

"The red fool is gone, activate that bomb!" Doom's Eye demanded. I smacked my forehead.

"Great, you're back."

"About time too," Doom's Eye hissed. "I was tired of having to hide in the shadows while that insufficient life form continued to believe that there's hope for this city…"

"What'd you do with him?"

"I didn't do anything- he still thinks that getting rid of the twenty small bombs will do something…"

"As long as he's out of the way," I stated, whipping out the gun and taking aim at the bomb. I fired the last few rounds it had and tossed it away, just as bomb number four proceeded to detonate.

I cringed and ducked behind several metal crates. Several structures started to crumble, and I could feel bits of the debris strike my head.

The Black Arms aliens stood in the midst of the explosion, looking rather pleased as GUN soldiers were tossed in all directions, even into the marshy ooze.

That thought was not pleasant at all.

When everything seemed to settle down, I poked my head around the corner to make sure that nothing else was coming down before darting back out into the field.

"One more…" Doom trailed with desire in his tone. "One more and this city is done for!"

The only reason I think the city was being destroyed was because the President lived so close, but I doubted that the blast radius of any of the bombs within the city would actually reach the White House.

Regardless, there was one more, and it needed to be detonated.

As I was looking for it, I heard a distinct moaning noise. I looked for the owner just out of curiosity, but once I figured out it was Knuckles, I knew I was doomed.

He was kneeling on the side of the road, a few tattered obstructions scattered all around him. He was grabbing his shoulder with a pained look, wavering around like he was about to fall over at any given moment.

"Dammit," I growled, quickly rushing over to him. When I reached him, I fell to my knees and tried to get him to talk to me. After wincing a bit, his gaze rolled up to meet mine.

"Argh, Shadow…" Knuckles seethed through his teeth, grimacing in pain. "That last blast…got me right in the shoulder…"

"Are you going to be okay?" I questioned, trying to help him up but he refused my assistance.

"I'll be fine…Shadow, there's less than two minutes before the final four bombs go off…I need you to take my vacuum gun and dispatch them. I'll catch up with you- I just need a breather…"

Knuckles used his good arm to toss his gun at me, and respectfully, I picked it up. It would be useless to dispatch the final four mini-bombs…and also if I didn't set off the last bigger bomb, Black Doom would probably unleash his undying rage unto me. Clutching the vacuum gun in my hand, I glanced away regretfully and walked away, not saying a word.

I didn't want to lie to Knuckles.

. . .

The final bomb was sitting on the edge of a fallen building, its core about to dry up in ninety seconds or less. I took a deep breath as I drew closer, hardly wanting to think of the damage I would cause once it was blown up. I could feel Doom breathing down my neck, wanting me to just rush over there and activate the thing.

"What are you waiting for?" Doom hissed impatiently. "Just attack it! Time's running out, Shadow…don't let me down…"

Time was casually trickling away, but I felt like it wasn't even there. I kept advancing upon the bomb until I was face to face with it. All I had to do was reach out and poke it, and the deed probably would've been finished.

"Do it, Shadow…let us make another strike against humanity! The same race that wanted to take everything away from you! Do this and prove that you have what it takes to destroy them!"

I pressed my lips into a thin line as I nodded, preparing to strike the bomb, until an ear-splitting yelp echoed out, causing Doom and I to glance over our shoulders.

"Shadow?!" Knuckles' tentative voice rang out, approaching Doom and I with a slight limp in his step.

When he said he was going to catch up, I didn't think it'd be that soon. Guy's resilient.

"Knuckles, I-"

"Stand down, waste of matter!" Doom's Eye boomed, floating between Knuckles and I. "You get a front row seat to the destruction of Central City and the fall of the forces that try to fight against me!"

"Shadow?" Knuckles questioned again in disbelief. "You're working with them…?"

"Detonate the bomb now, Shadow!" Doom barked, and I truly had no idea what to do.

I really buried myself in all this…why did getting my memories back have to be such a pain in the neck? Anyone else with amnesia simply got their memory back by having their memories triggered- several of mine were triggered and I still remember nothing!

Some people just needed to do certain things to stimulate their minds- if following orders from an alien race and putting people you know in danger wasn't stimulating enough, I might as well have cut and run right then and there.

I started glowing red again, and just that fact alone angered me more and made the glow brighter- way too much irony. Knuckles was still looking painfully shocked while Doom was still yelling at me to activate the bomb.

I was tired of being told what to do. I did things people said because I wanted to. No one forces me to do anything, no matter if they're alien or from this pathetic planet. I didn't need to remember anything to establish that for myself.

So when Doom's Eye projected Black Doom with a sinister look of triumph on his face as I struck the bomb with my fist, I wanted to jump up and punch his lights out.

Instead, I jumped back and ran toward Knuckles, thrusting my hand forward and shouting, "CHAOS CONTROL!"

"WHAT?" was all Doom roared out as the fire from the explosion and the flash from the Chaos Control lit up the sky.

Central City looked just as desolate as Westopolis did; another battle scar in the war whose winner couldn't be foreseen…

…but was probably bound to be determined by me.

. . .

Knuckles yelped as he hit the ground, suddenly teleported into a GUN Base. Conveniently, he landed in the exact room Rouge was in (as I intended), and she panicked upon his arrival.

She'd been in the middle of trying to salvage what she could of GUN's database back at the HQ, but when Knuckles made his impromptu appearance, her priorities changed.

"Knuckles!? Knuckles!" she gasped, flying over and kneeling by his side. "What happened?! You're hurt! How'd you get here?"

Knuckles didn't need to explain anything. He solemnly shook his head and uttered one word that told Rouge all that she needed to know.

"S-Shadow…"

An intense blazing fury lit up her eyes, and the weakened Knuckles just watched helplessly as she instantly took charge and started making orders.

"Somebody, get a medic unit down here!" she screeched, marching everywhere and constantly pointing, whipping the entire building into a frenzy. "Get a last defense unit ready too- the Black Arms are bound to be here at any moment, especially if Shadow's leading the charge! They're after the Chaos Emeralds just as we are, and we are not about to let them take ours!"

Soldiers started scrambling everywhere as three humans dressed in white jogged over to Knuckles and began to tend to his injuries. Luckily, nothing was gravely serious, but the combination of it all meant that Knuckles would have to sit back from the war for a while.

Rouge was stampeding all over the room, now with her communicator on and yelling things at her wrist.

"You guys, Shadow has officially gone off the deep end. He's still with the Black Arms or whatever they are and he took part in ruining Central City. Plus he has injured Knuckles, and that's crossing the line!"

She marched over to a glass box on the wall, with the words "Open in Case of Emergency" on them. She kicked the glass box; stabbing the glass with her heel, shattering the casing, and allowing the object within to become accessible. Rouge quivered upon doing so, simultaneously heaving a sigh.

"We have no coordinates of Shadow the Hedgehog at this moment; but once he's back on our radar, all troops are requested to stop him at…almost…all costs! I am confident he will be at the GUN Fortress sooner or later, and we will have to be ready…"

She walked forward, reaching for the sniper rifle within the casing and holding it regretfully.

"…because we will be the planet's last stand at freedom...and most likely survival."

It was static after that, until Sonic's voice replied, "Roger that, Rouge."

He was just as upset at this turn of events as Rouge was.

Next time, it turns out Black Doom has more plans for Shadow up on the ARK, and things only prove to get worse for the amnesiac hedgehog...