Cf96: Yes, the title was named after the song in the game because that was originally where the Semi-Hero story was going to end before I rearranged everything. Technically it still kinda fits. :)

SonicSonic54321: Hee, I've never played the game either. xD; And the previous chapter was technically the last in the Semi-Hero story, while this one starts the Pure Hero path (in my novelization, anyway. Lethal Highway, Circus Park, Mad Matrix, Space Gadget, and Cosmic Fall was the original sequence for the Semi-Hero path, but I swapped Mad Matrix and Space Gadget for Death Ruins and Lost Impact, respectively.)

Chapter 24: Turning Sorrow Into Strength

~At Vengeance's End~

"Aren't you done yet?!" Vector howled, still standing over Espio's shoulder many minutes later. "At this rate, the whole day will be wasted!"

"Yeah, and by the time he finishes, there probably won't be a planet to return to," sneered Charmy. Espio grimaced at that last comment but kept on working.

"This isn't easy, you know!" Espio exclaimed, almost angrily pounding on the keyboard. "If a genius with an IQ of three hundred couldn't crack into these codes, why do you think I'm going to be able to within a few minutes time!?"

"Because it's important!" Vector exclaimed. "This could be our only chance to get this data! No one's even seen this for fifty years, and it could be valuable!"

"Yeah, can't have you screwing this up, Espio," added Charmy haughtily. Espio glared again and gritted his teeth.

"Hey, back off! Data retrieval isn't my specialty!"

Vector put on a blank look. "And you really think Charmy and I are going to have a better chance at this?"

"Hey, you can let me do it!" Charmy cried, starting to pull at Espio's chair. When Espio didn't budge, Charmy resorted to singing. "Let me try! Let me try! I wanna TRY-!"

"Stop BUGGING him, Charmy!" Vector bellow, planting a hand right onto Charmy's face. His huge hands were enough to envelope Charmy's whole head, causing the bee to squirm helplessly in Vector's grip.

"I wanna try…!"

"You guys are going to get nothing done."

Vector, Espio, and Charmy all froze, turning to face the opening door. Espio instantly jumped ahead of everyone and took a fighting pose, a shuriken poised between two fingers.

"It's an assassin!" he yelled.

However, once they saw it was only me, they dropped their guards, and Vector proceeded to whack Espio over the head.

"You are so PARANOID! It's only Shadow!"

Espio hastily rubbed his head and looked over curiously at me.

"Aren't you supposed to have rendezvoused with Sonic?" he asked, visibly perplexed.

"Yeah, your timing is pretty impeccable," added Vector.

"I never left," I said simply, stepping into the room. "Knowing Sonic, he probably took the scenic route, and knowing you bumbling fools, you probably can't crack into that database without me."

Espio was about to object to "bumbling fools", but Vector held him back, grinning eerily suspiciously at me.

"Hey, Shadow…you know that Eggman fella pretty well, don't you?"

"More than I would like to," I admitted truthfully.

"Well, he was the last one to attempt to open these files, so his traces are all over the firewalls of this database, and uh…"

"Just spit it out already, Vector."

Vector glanced away and scratched the back of his neck. "…okay, fine, we do need your help. But don't ask why! And we really don't have any more time to waste!"

"Hm…well, what a coincidence! I was wondering what the good old doctor was up to, especially since he disappeared off every radar on the planet…perhaps messing with what was once his will draw him out of hiding!"

"You sure you want to go through with this?" asked Espio. "After all, you still have the alien invasion to deal with, Sonic to meet up with, and the final Chaos Emerald to find…"

That all was true but…

"…I can't leave any questions unanswered, and this shouldn't take too long anyway," I finally said, raising my fist triumphantly. The Chaotix was waiting with baited breath for me to show them some ancient hacking secret…but all I did was karate chop the keyboard, which inadvertently caused a portal to open that led right into the mad matrix of the database.

…I must use this power for good.

"Whoa, COOL!" wailed Charmy.

However, I hadn't been planning on entering the thing myself, but as I was the closest one to the portal, I was sucked in without a choice. The Chaotix just stared wide eyed at what had randomly happened, and so consecutively at that; they almost didn't even know what to do.

"…this really maybe be THE big case!" squawked Vector gleefully. Espio rolled his eyes and walked toward the computer.

"…I'm going in there to make sure Shadow can get back out," he stated, facing the inexplicable marigold portal contemptuously. "…and perhaps I can crack the data codes from the inside too."

Vector smiled and patted Espio on the back, this time a lot softer.

"Espio, we're counting on you!"

Espio nodded, before making his leap of faith.

"Roger that!"

And with that, the both of us had been digitalized.

Mad Matrix-

"Arrrrrgh!"

I had not wanted to go into Eggman's mainframe at all. The only reason I'd been lingering around the computer because I was debating on what Vector and Espio had been telling me…and also because I knew they wouldn't be able to break into the computer alone.

And now here I was, regretting my decision.

I landed abruptly in the digital realm, skidding across the ground among the masses of data. I groaned disgruntledly, standing back up while grabbing my head.

"Hopefully time runs slower in here…" I muttered. "I don't even know how I'm supposed to get out of here this time…"

"Well then, it's a good thing I do."

I turned around to meet with Espio, who materialized in the Mad Matrix without even a trace of struggle. Naturally, this was questionable.

"…how did you not get thrown in here?!"

"Easy," Espio explained calmly, moving into a more relaxed position. "I came here willingly and braced for impact. You didn't."

I was amazed none of his 'ninja stealth' had anything to do with it.

He took a quick look around, as if confirming his location. I just stood off to the side and gawked at him.

"…why'd you follow me in here?"

Espio glanced at me with a straight face, but a smirk was teasing me just under the surface.

"Actually, it's far easier to extract the data out of Eggman's stolen files from the inside out…but also, I needed to make sure you can get back out."

He folded his arms and closed his eyes.

"I know you and I have had our disagreements in the past, but I do need to repay you for your help earlier…and just as well, I'm beginning to understand you a bit more; much more than I did in our last meeting."

Previously, I hadn't seen him since he and the rest of the Chaotix went scrambling after Eggman on the Final Fortress after nearly being gipped out of their pay…and before that, I had beaten the snot out of him aboard the Power Plant and argued with him a few times after that.

I guess we really weren't on good terms…

"I'm amazed that Charmy escalated from rival to fanboy…" I murmured under my breath. Espio caught my message but didn't comment on it. Instead, he held out a hand to me as if offering an olive branch.

"I'm well aware we started off on the wrong foot, but beforehand, I wasn't clear on the details of your situation…which may have come off as insensitive, so I do apologize."

"Um…accepted, I suppose," I replied, shaking his hand and wondering what just happened. Satisfied, Espio darted forward a few steps and beckoned to me.

"In that case…let's move. We're only getting out of here once we unencrypt the data, and I know you have places to be…"

I followed closely behind, bemused at the whole situation. Next to Knuckles, Espio was turning out to be one of my more reliable and respectable allies.

And as the world was on the verge of ending, I was making friends with a ninja chameleon.

. . .

"According to Vector, there are total of four terminals that we need to extract the data from," Espio had explained as we infiltrated deeper into the database. "As soon as we reach the core, it should be obvious where the terminals are located."

I tried looking ahead into the distance, but my view was quickly obscured by a firewall. I nearly slammed into it due to its transparency, but Espio had sensed it and stopped on a dime. Glancing at the ground, I could tell the firewall could be disabled by changing the colors of the buttons on the floor, but Espio beat me to the punch.

He threw a shuriken right at the middle of the wall, causing it to shatter right on the spot. I had only just turned one of the pads green when it had happened. Espio walked forward and plucked the ninja star off the ground before pocketing it again.

"…and I thought I was unconventional."

"Unconventional?" Espio asked, now perching his weapons between two fingers. "I was thinking more along the lines of convenient."

Maybe he and Omega should have a chat sometime…

Espio darted ahead, way more into the mission than I was. I simply let him take the lead and show me the way…at least, until we reached a small snag in Espio's plan.

The two of us were also greeted by some Eggman robots, and Espio had grabbed me and dragged me into hiding.

"What're we ducking around for?" I asked hastily. Espio held a finger to his lips.

"Eggman's guardian mechs are in the area, as I suspected…they're acting as an antivirus. It's imperative that they don't shoot us; let's just try slipping past them…"

"If you say so," I shrugged, sliding along the wall after him.

While Espio had the power of simply blending into the environment around him, I didn't, so I knew that as soon as we inched by, the robots would find us instantly. However, Espio grabbed my wrist and promptly vanished from sight, taking me with him.

Silently, we snuck past the Egg Pawns, and as soon as we were out of their range, we bolted.

"And there'll be more where that came from," Espio muttered, returning back to sight. Once I was visible again, I gave Espio a look.

"What was wrong with just attacking them?"

"They'd attract Eggman's attention," Espio explained. "You wouldn't believe how closely guarded this information is…whatever Eggman wanted to find out, he really didn't want anyone else to know."

I tried to think of what could possibly drive Eggman to take so many precautions in protecting information he hadn't even broken into, but I've learned not to question his motives at this point.

Sometimes I even wondered if the doctor knew what he was doing.

. . .

After our little rendezvous with the Egg Pawns, Espio and I found ourselves working our way up a blue-colored tower, climbing up purple blocks and using green lasers to gain some ground. Espio gracefully leapt over any and all projectiles, while I found myself even more worn out from navigating than I had been in Digital Circuit.

"Oof…what's the point of going up if we're trying to get out of here?" I asked disgruntled, pulling myself up to the next ledge. Espio was already there and trying to depict his next move.

"Because, one of the terminals we're looking for is in this direction, under heavy surveillance…"

"Well, I haven't seen any Egg Pawns yet."

"That's because they were supposed to stop us when we first entered, although I'm sure there's more scattered about the database," Espio stated confidently, beckoning to me to hurry up. I rolled my eyes and tried to hasten my pace.

"Can't just hack the files like normal people…" I huffed under my breath. The last thing I needed was to wear myself out doing something like this when I figured I'd be confronting Black Doom sooner or later…

I really should've taken that nap he suggested.

Nevertheless, when we reached the top, there was path leading straight to the terminal that Espio sought after. Like Espio said, it was rigged with an alarm system, and two vertical lasers keeping us from reaching it.

In actuality, it was pretty easy to avoid.

"Yup, that's one of the terminals Vector told me about," Espio stated, rolling forward and straight between the moving lasers just before they crossed where he had once been. Once safely inside, Espio took out a jump drive of sorts and stuck it into the terminal.

"All right, let's…WHAT?!"

I jumped at his sudden raise of voice, stunting my way into the terminal area to see what the matter was. Espio had gotten the data easily, but he managed to figure out that something was wrong.

"The data is fragmented! These terminals aren't linked!" he exclaimed. Espio turned to me looking perplexed. "That might be why Eggman never fully unlocked the files; he never had all the pieces!"

"Okay," I stated, trying my best to sound interested. "So…now what?"

"If we head to the other terminals, and I take the fragmented data from them, Vector, Charmy, and I should be able to piece them back together manually on the ARK's supercomputer," Espio explained. "It puts a small dent in the plan, but…we'll just have to make do."

We were all set to turn around and go back the way we came when the whole area burst into light, enveloping us and lifting us off the ground.

"Argh! I wasn't warned about this!" Espio cried. I just blinked.

"Life's not fun without surprises," I deadpanned. Espio flat out glowered at me.

"You tone of voice fails to convince me that your statement is true."

Our argument was vaporized just as we were, being warped from wherever we had been to even more foreign territory.

. . .

When Espio and I regained control of ourselves again, our sight was exposed to the reddish world that was the database, fit with neon colors representing all the networks that crisscrossed the area.

And we were in the middle of it all.

"…I guess we're right where we need to be," Espio admitted, standing up and taking in the vastness of what lie before us.

"You don't say."

Easily enough, it was definitely the main area of the Mad Matrix. From our point, we could see three large towers in the distance, with a massive networking system that intertwined them all. To the north was the red network with the Red Tower; west was Yellow, and east was Green. Espio dared to step out into the open and turned around, discovering that we had just left the Blue Tower.

"...all the terminals we need to get to are located within the towers, but it'll take way too long to walk from one to the next…"

I glanced down, seeing a glowing path before us…all the networks; they were just like the Digital Circuit.

"I know what we're gonna do," I stated boldly, catching Espio's attention. "We can get across this huge area as long as it takes to send an email!"

I motioned to him before curling into ball form.

"Just follow my lead!"

I merged into the beam of data, with Espio shrugging and going through the same motions I did.

We surfed along the lines of the blue networking, whisking around all the twists and turns it took. I could hear Espio grumbling in discomfort behind me, as he didn't have the experience with the haphazard way of travel as I did, but the only way to get used to it was to use it.

Eventually, the blue path turned yellow, and at some point, we reached the area surrounding the yellow tower. I emerged out of the data stream and landed on the platform; Espio was right behind me.

"No doubt about it; this is the entrance to the Yellow Tower," he stated obviously. I chose not to respond and simply worked my way into the tower. More violet blocks were ahead, plus they were moving back and forth, but I made a path out of them and forced my way into the tower.

"You can't go any farther," Espio interrupted me, just as I was about to run into an invisible firewall. More colored buttons were on the ground, but Espio held me back and pulled out another shuriken. Taking careful aim at the wall, he struck it right in the middle as he had done before, shattering the firewall and allowing us to pass through with ease. I still couldn't help but wonder about his unorthodox methods.

"…I know it's more efficient or whatever, but why do you insist on breaking through the firewalls in the manner that you do?"

Espio kneeled down and scooped up his ninja star before he answers.

"I don't know…just in case this is the last time I do something truly important…" Espio stood back up and turned to me, smirking a bit. "…I want to go out with style."

I could respect that.

"Then let's stylishly work our way through these towers," I suggested, running down the path Espio had opened. Espio was on my heels in an instant.

. . .

"Two Egg Pawns ahead," I told Espio, who silently nodded in retaliation. The two robots were marching back and forth in front of the entrance to the terminal area, and Espio was still adamant that they shouldn't spot us. I gave him a blank look before grinning evilly and teleporting directly on the other side of them, walking away without being spotted and without a care in the world. Espio just gawked at me as he turned invisible and did the same thing in his own way.

"You could've taken me too, you know," he huffed, returning back to sight. I just shrugged.

"Hey, I would've, but I wasn't even sure if it would work. My Chaos Control hasn't been exactly trustworthy, considering that Black Doom can hijack it whenever I try to use it."

Espio nodded with sympathy. "I see…but you seem fine when you teleport short distances."

"Yeah- that, and also the fact I haven't seen Black Doom since I took down the Black Bull a second time in Death Ruins with this."

I pulled out my Shadow Rifle and held it high. I hadn't used it in a while, and I probably wouldn't be using it anytime soon in here…

"It's an impressive weapon," Espio admitted, walking on. "But I'm not a fan of firearms myself."

"Too bad," I stated seriously. "You would make a decent sniper."

During our walk and talk, Espio suddenly halted, grabbing me and diving to the ground. Before I could yell at him for the unwanted action, a large black alien worm tore out of the ground. It leaned forward and roared at us, and I sighed to myself.

"Just when I thought I could be free from aliens for a while…"

"Espio looked dazed. "How the heck did something like that get in here…?!"

"I've learned not to wonder about it too much; it just comes to bite you back later," I said wearily, glowing a faint red. "Just let me annihilate it…"

Espio held out his hands and stepped back as I charged up a Chaos Blast, then condensed it to the palm of my hand and threw it at the black worm. It howled in pain and recoiled on the spot, with Espio pulling out a knife and flinging it at the monstrosity. With a sickening tear, the worm was sliced in half, and put out of commission.

Espio and I just stared at it as it went down.

"…so the terminal's up ahead?"

"Yup, and I don't detect any more foes either."

"That's good."

Three minutes later-

After an excruciatingly painful ride on a dreadfully slow elevator mechanism of sorts, neither of us were sure what to talk about, but we didn't have to wait long, because when the elevator finally crept to a stop, it took us straight to where the terminal was located.

"Ah, thank goodness," I groaned, jumping between the lasers behind Espio. "If getting the other two is this much of a rigmarole…"

"Relax," Espio told me, riding through a data stream before ending up next to the terminal. "We'll be done in plenty of time."

He stuck his drive into the terminal, collected the second fragmented piece of data, and motioned for me to follow him. Once I was next to him, the mystery light returned again and swept us away.

However, it only turned out to be an exit from the Yellow Tower, and we emerged from the underground exit we had bypassed when we entered the tower. Pulling ourselves together after the trip, we looked straight ahead and found the Green Tower looming in the distance.

"Four Towers, blue, yellow, green and red…" Espio mused. "Want to head to the Green Tower next?"

"Why not?" I shrugged, curling up and rolling along the green data streams.

Anything to get us out of here faster.

. . .

During our trek to the green tower, I couldn't help but wonder about the files we were collecting. I mean, Espio made sure to remind me that it was so important, but I still didn't know what was so important about it.

And if I was going to waste time helping him get this info, I would've liked to know what it was.

"Espio, can you hear me?" I asked, my voice carrying along the data stream.

"Yes, just fine," Espio's reply came forward. "What's up?"

I rolled the thought around in my mind, because I wasn't completely sure as to what I wanted to ask.

"…what was Eggman so desperately after this information for? And if he didn't even know what was in the files, then why would he go through the trouble to keep it so safeguarded…?"

"Ah, excellent question," Espio hummed. "It might be a bit hard to understand, but…these files were written, coded, and developed by Gerald Robotnik, who I'm pretty sure you know was Eggman's grandfather."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that," I stated.

"Good. Well, eight months ago, just before he broke you out of Prison Island, Eggman was flipping through his grandfather's old journals- which are essentially how he came to find out about you," Espio explained. "But also within those journals, Gerald mentioned his darkest secrets being stored inside a data base…which is the one we're in right now."

The Professor's darkest secrets…that's what we we're after?

"The five discs you and Charmy found on Prison Island also were developed by Professor Gerald, and we feel that there's some connection between the information stored on both…" finished Espio, shaking his head. "And I guess Eggman safeguarded the information here because he didn't want any outside sources getting their hands on his grandfather's secrets…"

"I understand that, I guess," I stated, thinking deeply. "But I guess I really can't speculate anymore, and we definitely can't ask Eggman himself, since he vanished off the planet and everything…"

"Yeah," agreed Espio. "The only way to learn of its value is to get our hands on it and crack the info ourselves…"

That was something I definitely knew by now.

. . .

I was feeling contemplative by the time we reached the Green Towers, now thinking about mysteries besides ones that concerned me. It was a refreshing change of pace, thinking about someone else's troubles for a bit, but I knew I wasn't that lucky- surely all of this was going to stem back to me in some way.

"And yet another color puzzle…" sighed Espio, glancing at the ground before the firewall blocking off the Green Tower. He glanced at me. "Do you want to solve it this time?"

My look was more than enough for an answer; he chucked another of his weapons at the barrier and shattered it, and we were on our way again.

The interior of the Green Tower mirrored the Yellow Tower perfectly; the puzzles, firewalls, and platforms were all in the same spot, along with another burrowing worm. But when we approached, we found a small squad of Egg Pawns herding around the worm, trying to vanquish it. Espio seemed shocked by this.

"The robots guardians are driving the invaders back…who would've thought?"

"Eggman did say he wasn't taking very kindly to the aliens…" I trailed. "However, that's probably just because of his selfish purposes."

"Regardless, we still can't let the robot see us; we wouldn't want to be attacked like those ridiculous aliens…"

Espio grabbed me and turned invisible, whisking us through the fray itself. We had some narrow shaves with swipes from the black worm and shots from all the Egg Pawns, but somehow we made it out relatively unscathed.

"See? No problem," hummed Espio, letting me go.

"Hmph, speak for yourself," I growled, putting out a small flame on my ear. Espio couldn't resist grinning sheepishly, but led on, and once I made sure that I was completely extinguished, I followed him.

Just like in the Yellow Tower, the Green Tower had many platforms that acted as elevators, and they all moved ridiculously sluggishly. Everything was indeed almost the same, except the unexpected firewall.

"Obstacle incoming!" wailed Espio. "If we don't get rid of it, we'll be knocked off!"

"So much for no problems," I murmured, taking out my Shadow Rifle and firing it at the wall. Surprisingly, one shot didn't completely break through it, but it shattered quite a bit. Grunting, I fired a second shot, breaking the barrier completely this time. "…Eggman really didn't want anyone getting in."

"As to be expected," Espio replied.

The elevator then started going up, taking us straight to the terminal. The only snag was the lone Egg Pawn guarding the terminal, so Espio sighed and sniped it with a shuriken from afar. It instantly started sparking and exploding on the spot, with Espio looking proud of himself.

"If it wasn't for the doctor giving us missions to destroy his own creations in the past, I wouldn't know their weak points," he admitted.

"Wasn't well planned on the doctor's part," I mused, stepping off the elevator and into the terminal area. Espio darted ahead like usual and stuck in the drive again, collecting the fragmented data quickly.

"All right, we just need to go to the Red Tower, and once we've taken out all the firewalls and extracted the files, we should be able to get out of here," Espio explained. "With less security, we'll be able to enter and exit at will, if we wanted to."

I nodded with understanding. "Then let's not let too much time get away from us- who knows how long it's been since we were sucked in here."

The light enveloped us once again, and we found ourselves outside the Green Tower once more.

. . .

Espio and I hurried from the Green Tower, running right into the data streams of the Green Network and working our way towards the red. The Red Tower itself was the farthest away, in the northernmost quadrant of the Mad Matrix. Even looking at it from a distance, it seemed rather intimidating, but what we needed was inside, and looks weren't going to keep us from doing that.

The data streams took us straight to the outside of the tower, where it loomed high above us and taunted us with its size. Espio was completely undeterred, jumping into the data stream once again and riding it straight to the entrance. I just teleported the short distance and walked into the entrance.

Unlike the entrances before, this one caved downward, and also led straight into a herd of Egg Pawns. We wanted to get by relatively quickly, so I grabbed Espio and warped behind them, avoiding the pack of robots completely. We then made a mad dash for the terminal, but the elevator area was heavily guarded by lasers, more Egg Pawns, and color-activated switches.

"Wow," Espio whistled, hanging his head. "Definitely spared no expense on security, did they?"

"I'll go hit the switches; you deflect the lasers and distract the Egg Pawns," I informed him, running forward to go activate the switches. Espio put on a blank look.

"Hmph, give me the easy job…"

Nevertheless, Espio turned invisible and readied some shuriken. When the time was right he struck the Egg Pawns in their torsos, naturally causing them to malfunction. Upon malfunctioning, they exploded, throwing metal shrapnel into the air. The little pieces of metal then connected with the lasers, deflecting them away from me long enough for me to activate the elevator.

"Come on!" I called, just as the laser snapped back into position. Espio returned back to sight and bounded forward, jumping up and down to dodge the lasers. With one last leap, he sprung into the air, and I leaned over the side of the elevator to grab him. I'd just barely managed to grab his wrist, but once he grabbed mine, I was able to pull him to safety.

"Thanks," Espio panted, trying to hide the fact he had panicked. I just shrugged.

"Don't worry about it; can't afford to leave you behind, now can I?"

Espio just smiled a little as I stood back up, feeling the elevator come to a stop. The terminal wasn't waiting for us; instead, we got to ride a data stream once again. Curling up, we rolled along the stream of data, hoping that it would take us to our destination and finally get us out of this crazy digital nightmare.

"Whoaa!"

On the other side was a large sphere of nothing but data and information, with blocks appearing to be spinning around it and floating. Espio seemed gob smacked by this.

"What the heck? Who put this here?!"

"I have no idea, but I think the terminal is at the top of that…sphere," I stated. Espio groaned and started climbing up to one of the higher platforms.

"It's days like these that I wonder if it's really worth all the trouble…"

"I have those days too," I muttered, climbing up after him. On the higher platforms was a fan of sorts, which proved to bring us straight up to the top of the sphere, Luckily the current was incredibly strong, because we didn't have enough people for a Triangle Dive, and even if Espio did have some bubble gum, I doubt he had the bubble blowing skills of Vector.

"Almost there!" Espio cried, catapulting himself off a floating block and onto the sphere's top. Once there, he stuck the drive in the final terminal and breathed a sigh of relief. "Wow…I honestly thought there'd be more hassle…"

He plucked the drive out of the terminal and saluted in my direction.

"You've been a great help…thank you."

"Hmph…I just did what I could," I murmured. "Now, I really should be catching up with Sonic."

"Right," nodded Espio, tapping some buttons on his communicator. "Our exit point should be just ahead! Let's hurry!"

We both leapt off the data sphere and landed on the other side, rushing into a relatively open area. Espio was gesturing at a specific spot we could leave at, but that spot on the ground suddenly opened up, and revealed the last person I honestly expected at this point.

"Well, well, well…you sneaky rats are at it again, aren't you?" rumbled the notorious Doctor Eggman, glowering specifically at me with palpable distain. "You told me to keep my nose out of where it didn't belong…but here you are, snooping around in my own belongings!"

"Damn, we've been detected!" Espio exclaimed. "How did you even manage to get all the way here…?"

"Clearly you fools have forgotten about my pyramid base- the military certainly didn't," Eggman mumbled, rapidly drumming his fingers on his dash board. "Not only did I receive data from one of my robots about it being broke into, but I also realized that something very important to me had been compromised…and here you two are, standing in the midst of those files!"

He tugged harshly on his mustache, apparently even more ticked off than he had been when I learned that I really couldn't be an android.

"Chaos above, what else can go wrong today?! The aliens attacking my fleet, you trashing my Lava Shelter, the military taking possession of my Circus Park, and then I come home to find that said military is using my teleporter at will, and my top secret files have been hacked into! And the hackers turn out to be none other than you two!"

My goodness, he was hotter than the Lava Shelter…

"Why don't you help me feel better by handing over your six Chaos Emeralds, Shadow…" He continued his spiel, sounding melancholic. "Hand them over, and I'll spare your life!"

"Well, sorry that you're having such a bad day, but we've got to get out of here," Espio stated, folding his arms. "We're not here to fight you."

"Believe it or not, I would've come up here anyway even if you hadn't been trying to steal my grandfather's secrets," Eggman grumbled. "There's something you need to know-"

"Hell yeah there is! I need to know about my past! Who am I? What am I doing here?!" I yelled clenching my fist. "I'm not really an android, which means you still have to explain what I was doing on your base!"

"Are you still wondering who you are, Shadow?" Eggman asked, shaking his head and throwing his hands up. "I'll say it again: there's nothing to tell!"

"Don't listen to him," Espio said, stepping in front of me. "He's just trying to trick you! You've got to focus!"

"I know. I've finally learned at least that much," I nodded, before turning fiercely back to Eggman. "I am not your creation, but I do know you know something about my amnesia, hands down! There's no way I wake up in your base with no recollection of anything, and no connection!"

Eggman suddenly appeared weary, as if thinking about the whole thing had been taking a toll on him. He reached out to me, almost sounding remorseful.

"Shadow, I know I've lied in the past, but listen to me-"

"Ha!" I laughed sharply, cutting him off again. "Now that I think about it…the truth about my past has got to be in your data somewhere!"

Eggman froze upon hearing the statement. Knowing I had him at a disadvantage, finally, I pointed at him.

"Even if it takes everything I've got, I will get the truth from you, doctor!"

"NOOOO!" he yelled, throwing his head back and screaming in agony. "I won't let you! Forget what I was going to tell you! This is personal!"

He rose even more out of entrance he came in from, revealing that he had brought yet another version of the Egg Breaker with him. I groaned and nudged Espio.

"If we work fast, we can take this thing down quickly! I've battled it before," I explained. Espio nodded and readied a kunai in his hand.

"You need to stop worrying about your past because I'm about to make it so you no longer have a future!" Eggman howled, ordering the Egg Breaker to throw its mace in our direction. Espio and I both dodged in different directions before sprinting toward the doctor's mad machine. Espio himself was a whirlwind of chaos, throwing knives and dodging attacks all in the same move. It was enough to get Eggman distracted and frustrated, so I leapt over to his blind spot and took out my Shadow Rifle.

"Hmph, easy pickings," I grumbled, pulling the trigger several times. Eggman never even saw it coming.

"Ooohh, you sneaky little thieves!" growled Eggman, upon finding several bullet holes adorning his machine's armor. "I'll crush you to pieces!"

He wasn't kidding, either- that mace of his came dangerously close to crushing me, and I knew that there truly was something going on behind the scene. He wasn't being nearly as arrogant or pompous as usual, which was sending dangerous red flags up in my opinion.

"All talk, and no action…typical," huffed Espio, grimacing as he ran into the fray again. He climbed onto one of levitating platforms above, leaping front one to the next until he was right above Eggman. Eggman stopped chasing me and started looking for Espio, knowing we'd possibly try the same trick on him twice.

"Come out, you meddlesome little chameleon…" he beckoned, scouring the area thoroughly. "You know what they say…the more the merrier!"

"Well then, I'd hate to disappoint anybody," stated Espio, falling from above and landing on the back of the Egg Breaker. Before Eggman could figure out what was going on, Espio took his knives and sliced three thick gashes into the exterior of the robot before back flipping off. He landed and ducked under a barrage of bullets before running toward Eggman and skidding between the Egg Breaker's legs.

"Get back here!" yelled Eggman, spinning around and expelling a series of spherical projectiles. Espio cartwheeled away and called out to me.

"Get to higher ground!" he shouting, dodging another sphere quickly. "You'll have a better vantage point!"

"Right," I agreed, running toward the edges of the arena with my Shadow Rifle in hand. Reaching up, I grabbed onto a green bar and let it carry me higher, before letting go and landing on a platform like Espio had earlier. Espio was currently teasing Eggman by disappearing and reappearing rapidly, but Eggman retaliated by smashing the Egg Breaker's spiked fist into the ground and causing a shockwave, which knocked Espio to the ground.

I quickly lowered on one knee and aimed for the Egg Breaker's weak point.

"That's my cue."

Eggman growled and recoiled as he was spontaneously being sniped again, and along with the damage Espio had done, the Egg Breaker didn't look like it'd last much longer. Nevertheless, Eggman wasn't one to give up, and his robotic creation began to glow a dangerous yellow.

"All right, you asked for it!" he yelled, locating me right on the spot and lifting up his spiked fist. It suddenly jetted away from him, flying straight at me, and I hadn't time to figure out how to dodge.

It struck me hard, and I went spiraling off the levitating platform. I ended up landing harshly on the ground, with Espio running up to me looking concerned.

"Are you-"

"Look out!" I barked, shoving Espio away just as fast as he came. I used my strength to roll to the left, just in time to avoid a missile Eggman had launched. I growled at him, baring my fangs, but when I went to reach for my rifle, I found that it was several paces away from me.

Naturally.

"Espio!" I called, gesturing over to my weapon. Espio knew what to do instantly. He dashed

forward, Eggman locking onto him and firing more spheres.

"You know what they say-"

"Yes we know what they say!" cried Espio, being incredibly evasive at that moment in time. At some point, he curled into a ball and rolled along the ground, long enough for him to reach my rifle and slide it to me. "Finish him, Shadow!"

"Got it," I stated, grabbing my rifle and jumping into firing position. "I've had enough of you, Eggman! Take this!"

"AAaarrrrgh!"

Espio backed next to me as I fired, eventually reaching his hand out to stop me. I lowered the rifle as the Egg Breaker crumbled, as the Egg Pod with Eggman inside it was promptly ejected.

"CURSES!" the Doctor bellowed, slamming his fists in all directions. "I won't forget this!"

"Where do you think you're going!?" I yelled, springing up and leaping up onto the Egg Pod. "I have no past…ha! What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I said," Eggman insisted, still trying to get away. I narrowed my eyes and pressed my face against the glass. "You were once a great invention from my grandfather's past, but this is my time…and I won't let you defile his legacy! Now get out of his database!"

He lowered his head, turning his gaze away from me.

"Besides, don't you have your nonexistent memory to recover?"

I shook my head and sneered. "Perhaps this is something I must do on my own…and I must uncover the truth someway. But all I ever required from you was your cooperation, but you refused to give it to me."

Eggman had no response for that.

"Why? What made you go to such lengths to craft such an unforgivable and impossible lie?"

The doctor sighed before yanking the steering on the Egg Pod. "Clearly, you haven't learned the meaning of why some things should be left unknown…"

Precisely what Sonic had been telling me…

"Well I'm sorry," I stated, and I saw him twitch. "There're just some things that I want to come out of the darkness and into the light…things that I can't just throw away."

"…then I'll respect that."

With that, Eggman abruptly tossed me off the Egg Pod and exited the way he came, the only trace of his presence being the remains of the Egg Breaker. I activated my jet shoes just before I impacted on the ground, floating alongside Espio.

"…wow. I wonder what got into his mustache."

"He's probably just ticked I managed to obtain the files he'd been trying to safeguard for all this time," stated Espio. "Now all we have to do is put these fragmented data pieces back together by using the discs Charmy found, and we'll be able to discover Gerald's darkest secret…"

"And now I can finally go after that last Chaos Emerald!" I exclaimed, following Eggman out of the exit he created. "Let's go!"

Space Colony ARK Supercomputer Room-

When Espio and I finally left the Mad Matrix we found the computer room surprisingly devoid of any Eggman…and also Vector and Charmy.

"The heck? Where is everybody?" Espio asked. He was answered by being assailed by a crocodile and a bee who were hiding under the desk.

"Espio, you're alive!" Vector and Charmy bellow, hugging the chameleon as he stood there awkwardly. "We thought you were done for!"

"….why?" Espio dared to ask.

"Because that mean ol' Doctor Eggman burst in here asking what we were doing, and then he entered the mainframe himself!" exclaimed Charmy. "And then when he came back out, he looked really angry, and his face was redder than his jacket!"

"I think you boys made him mad…!" yelped Vector. "It's just a good thing he didn't try anything funny on the computer; otherwise we'd be without a case!"

"That's good," Espio sighed in relief, showing Vector the drive. "We've still got everything we need, so let's get started!"

"All right! Good work Espio!" cried Vector, slugging his teammate on the shoulder again. "Let's throw this puppy in there and unlock ourselves a secret!"

"In that case, I'll leave you to that," I stated, making my way toward the door. "My hacking skills go as far as chopping the keyboard. Good luck you three."

"Good luck, Shadow!" the trio chirped back.

"Get that last emerald and get your memories back," Espio told me, punching his fist in his palm. "Let nothing deter you from that path."

"Not anymore," I admitted, vanishing behind the closing door of the room.

Sea Fox-

Back aboard Tails' ship, Tails was at the main control and monitoring everything on the ARK as he promised, Rouge was his second in command, adjusting things as he called for them. Amy was staring out the window, quietly recalling the events that had happened on the ARK the last time. Knuckles was pacing about with not much to do, until it finally drove him mad.

"Argh! What's taking so long!? They move at the speed of sound, and they're not back yet!"

"Relax, Knuckles, nothing urgent is happening on the aliens' side of things, so we can relax for at least a little while," Tails said, not looking up from any of the monitors. "The Chaotix found the computer room, and Sonic has reached the rendezvous point, so it shouldn't take Shadow very long to meet up with him."

"You mean Shadow hasn't even…ugh!" cried Knuckles, throwing his hands to the sky. Rouge swiveled around in her chair and wagged a finger in Knuckles' direction.

"Now, now, Knuckie; aren't you always scolding Sonic for being so reckless and impatient?" she cooed, and Knuckles put on a blank look.

"This is different! I'm away from the Master Emerald, and I'm not doing anything productive to help…"

"You're supporting them," Amy stated from the window, and the group turned to face her. "I know that I'm not nearly as powerful as the rest of you, but…sometimes just being a person to come back to can be one more reason for someone to fight on, you know? I think…that might be why Shadow changed his mind."

"Mm?" Rouge asked, tilting her head. "What do you mean by that?"

"Before he disappeared, and when the ARK was hurling into the planet…I had found Shadow just staring out the window, waiting for the imminent destruction," Amy explained. "But I told him that there were people on the planet worth saving, and he rushed off to keep his promise to Maria…"

She clenched one of her fists. "But I've been thinking…if I hadn't convinced Shadow to help, he never would've fell from space, and he would've never left us; his memory wouldn't be gone…and maybe we wouldn't be here now."

Tails blinked; the first time in several minutes. He motioned for Rouge to take over as he walked over to Amy.

"Amy…you can't blame yourself for what happened."

"Yeah," added Knuckles. "If Shadow hadn't sacrificed himself, we definitely wouldn't be here now…and, you know, neither would the planet."

"We all wish things could've played out differently back then," Tails stated, his ears drooping. "But things turned out the way they did, and we've got to roll with the punches of the consequences."

"And no one more than Shadow himself," murmured Rouge. Amy winced and glanced away.

They all fell silent after that, until there was a sudden banging on the cockpit's door. Everyone froze as Rouge scanned the screens again.

"What is that?!" Tails exclaimed. Rouge threw up her hands.

"I have no idea- nothing came up on the radar!" she exclaimed. "It's not anyone from our group- the transmission from their communicators would've come up, and it's not an alien, because it would've set off the alarms…!"

"Should we see what it is?" Amy asked with concern. Tails glanced at Knuckles. The echidna sighed and held up his palms.

"Okay, okay, I've got it…"

Knuckles strolled over to the door and grabbed its handle, taking a deep breath before gently pulling it open. In tumbled something large and floundering; all four members of the Sea Fox exchanged a bewildered look.

"What the…?" Knuckles trailed, blinking. He had been hoping to punch something…

"Doctor Eggman!?" chimed Tails, Amy, and Rouge. Sure enough, the doctor had fled straight from the ARK's computer room right to the Sea Fox in his Egg Pod…and with hardly an explanation.

"L-listen to me…" he spluttered, shaking his head. "You need…to go to…the Black Comet...We're all getting ourselves in deep, here…those bumbling detectives are about to open a can of worms they can never seal, and Sonic and Shadow are walking straight into a trap…the Black Comet is their true destination…"

The group just exchanged a look, no longer sure of what direction to take.

Next time...Shadow finally meets up with Sonic, and while racing toward the Eclipse Cannon for the seventh Emerald, some of Shadow's final memories from before his disppearance begin resurfacing...