Cf96: I know, the end is drawing in really quickly at this point...and sort of a sequel is in the works already. Sort of. xD

SonicSonic54321: He definitely remembers a lot in this chapter, that's for sure! And my opinion on Sonic Boom is...I'm looking forward more to the show than the actual game, but I have good expectations for both. :)

...Except that Knuckles redesign. Yow. (But Tails is looking good! *fistpump*)

Chapter 25: Determination's Daybreak

~The Libricated Soldier: For True Story~

"About time you showed up."

That was my ever delightful greeting as I met with Sonic in a tunnel of sorts, a purplish color with yellow and black stripes lining the path. I approached him with my usual stare and folded my arms.

"This isn't anywhere near the cannon room…! Why'd you wait for me here?" I questioned. Sonic gave me a coy look.

"Shadow, you don't remember? We once raced each other here! It's just like old times!"

He hurried out to where the tunnel opened again and spread his arms wide. Rolling my eyes, I followed him.

"Sonic, we don't have time for racing! You should've gone ahead and retrieved the emerald-"

When I stopped at the edge with him, a large pang of familiarity shot through me. I couldn't produce why the mess of paths that crisscrossed above the planet felt so familiar, but I knew it had left an impression on me.

"This is important," Sonic stated, bouncing a bit. "Maybe if you went through here again, something else would come back to you…more memories to help piece together your fragmented past…"

He proceeded to scratch his nose and shrugged.

"And not only is this the fastest way to the Eclipse Cannon…it's also the only way I know of, heh heh. Would make a great grinding spot if it wasn't so crazily lethal-"

"Sonic, don't change the subject," I deadpanned, and he flinched. "Not that long ago you were reprimanding me for wanting to find my past so badly, and now you're helping me do so…?"

I was expecting his wounded look due to our conversation earlier, but he just grinned widely and careened off the edge of the tunnel.

"I'll tell ya if ya keep up! Catch me if you can!"

"SONIC…!"

Space Gadget-

Sonic blasted ahead, free falling and somehow messing with the gravity around the ARK. I found out he did that by hitting specially designed switches. When I struck them as well, gravity changed for me, and I was hurled in the same direction as him.

"I don't remember this…" I murmured, landing on a platform at an awkward orientation. Sonic was just ahead of me, chuckling all the way.

"Yeah, I don't either. I guess the ARK has really come apart since we were last here…"

He jumped up and down and all around, adapting to the morphing path and using the ever-changing gravity to his advantage. Sonic was so hyperactive that I didn't think there was any way I could keep up with him.

"Come on, Shadow! Don't let me get to the Chaos Emerald before you do!" he practically sang, waving me goodbye as he changed gravity and whisked himself away to the next area. I growled, shaking my head.

"Everything is always a game…very well, then. If this is what I need to do to get him to be serious, then so be it."

I bolted ahead, changing gravity myself and taking off after him. There was no way he was getting off that easily…

Nevertheless, he made it very clear he had the advantage. Sonic's natural speed was more than just an asset; it was a blessing, allowing him to navigate the terrain on a dime like a madman, and if it wasn't for his blue afterglow, I'd never be able to tell where he'd been.

A few aliens were lingering about the ARK, probably left behind from Doom's previous attempts to take over the station. I used them to my advantage, taking them out with successive homing attacks and feeling slightly heroic because of it. More were up ahead, so I cleared them out too, using loitering Black Hawks to make my way across gaps and reach some higher ground.

Next thing I knew, I was glowing blue, and I got an idea.

"Behold, my true power…!"

Racing ahead, I closed my eyes and focused.

"Chaos…CONTROL!"

Instead of just simply teleporting, Chaos Control thrust me forward, allowing me to move at speeds I couldn't move at by myself. The ARK and space blurred around me, and I could dodge obstacles within a blink of an eye.

Was this was it was always like for Sonic…?

Speak of the blue devil, during my rushing escapades, I'd managed to catch up with him. He was clearly in a state of bliss until I blasted up from behind him, overtaking him in a rush of power. Once I was a good distance ahead, I cut off my Chaos Control and took over on my own.

"There. Using that technique, there's no way Black Doom could hijack me, even if he wanted to…"

"Whoa, Shadow!" Sonic called, easily catching up to me now that I was no longer rocketing off. He fell into step with me and gave me a thumbs up. "That was pretty neat! With speed like that, you just might beat me!"

"Sonic, how many times do I have to tell you that I'm not interested in racing you?" I asked with a sigh. Sonic just folded his arms behind his head and ran in front of me, starting to run backwards. "I hope you trip."

"Trip? ME?" Sonic guffawed in mock offense. He even backflipped right over a change in elevation of the ground with his eyes closed before winking at me, as I jumped over the obstacle in a less ostentatious fashion. "You underestimate me, buddy!"

"Whatever. You probably knew that was there."

"Nope." He turned back around and ran alongside me again. "I just kinda sensed it. There's no way I'd remember every aspect of this path anyway- I had to run through it after being jettisoned into space, after all."

This threw me for a loop, and I was the one that almost tripped. "Er, what…?"

Sonic blinked. "Sorry, sorry! You might not remember that…"

"To be perfectly honest, I have fragmented memories of everything that happened eight months ago…up until I blew up the moon. Then it's all a blank slate until Rouge found me."

"Well, there's not too much to remember after that," Sonic stated, frowning a bit. "You, Eggman, and Rouge gave the world a twenty-four hour limit to surrender, otherwise you'd blast the world with the Eclipse Cannon. But when me and my friends went up there to make the cannon malfunction, Tails made a small error, and…well, I was thrown from the ARK in a capsule."

My pupils shrunk, beginning to recall something. "C-capsule…?"

XxX

I remember that I had been residing in the ARK, sometime before it had begun hurling into the atmosphere of the planet. I was quietly waiting for the world to be explicitly blown up by a single blast from the Eclipse Cannon, but instead of a large death bringing laser, I saw a capsule be expelled from the ARK, forced to drift about the emptiness of space. I leaned in toward the window, trying to see what was inside, and I'm pretty sure there was something blue residing within.

"What do you know…"

It wasn't but a minute when the capsule started glowing bright yellow, and within the time it took to blink, it erupted in a spectacular display of light, debris going everywhere and smoke emerging from the remains. It was like watching a somewhat depressing firework display, and in an ironic twist of fate, I had felt…disappointed after seeing that.

"I guess he was just a regular hedgehog after all…"

XxX

I glanced at Sonic, who was happily running alongside me and looking very in his element. He noticed me studying him and raised an eyebrow.

"Um, something you wanna say?"

"Yeah," I stated obviously, grabbing my head. "I…remember seeing your capsule jettison, but…it exploded!"

"Yup!" Sonic exclaimed far too cheerfully. "See, Tails had accidentally revealed that we were giving Eggman a fake Emerald, and then Eggman trapped me in the capsule-"

"How did you survive…?" I interrupted, completely in disbelief. "You were in the capsule when it detonated…you should've died…so how are you standing before me?!"

Sonic stared at me with a sad look. "In a way, I could ask you the same thing."

I huffed, turning away and trying to gain some ground on him. He always had to turn the situation around and make it cryptic at the most inopportune moment…especially when I couldn't answer in turn.

I whisked forward, taking Sonic by surprise and leaving him in my Jetstream. He stumbled a bit due to being unprepared for it, while I made my way to higher ground. Sonic grimaced and took off after me, leaping from platforms and grabbing any footing he could get in order to catch up. I knew he would eventually, but I was going to enjoy my lead while I had it.

Which really wasn't very long.

"Hey, why're you running away?" Sonic asked me, popping up behind me. I glared over my shoulder.

"Hmph, you're the one beginning me for a race."

"Well, yeah, but we were talking and you sprinted away!" he stepped in front of me again, irritating me to no end. "Did I strike a nerve?"

I glowered at him with my red gaze. "What do you think?"

He held up his hands and retreated for the moment. "Sorry, jeez. I know you're easily excitable but you can tell when I mean harm or not."

I lessened my gaze, but I didn't stop glowering. Sonic sighed and turned back around, only to whistle at what he saw. "Hey…check it out, Shadow! Look at the view of the planet!"

"I know, blue and round," I muttered, shaking my head. "You have no idea how many times I've seen the same view in these past two days alone…"

"I've seen it plenty of times too," stated Sonic, a glazed look in his eyes. "But…I was only able to get a really good look at it from the ARK, after saving the world from total annihilation. Isn't it just as cool and blue as me?"

I put on a blank look. "It's definitely blue…"

"You know, I've been thinking lately…one day, I want to go out and see the entirety of the world, and all it has to offer," Sonic told me, sounding blissful. "I know I've been around the globe plenty of times, but I've never actually gotten to experience it, you know?"

The path ahead of us dipped downward, making it appear like we were running straight into the planet itself. Sonic spread his arms and let himself go, falling into step almost instantly. He was such a mystery- the Black Arms could destroy that planet any second now, and here he was, living in the moment…

I wished I could be as carefree as him.

"Your love for life is impressive," I hummed. Sonic had heard me, and he just barely shrugged. "But that only brings me back to the question…how are you still here today?"

"What can I say?" Sonic replied, using that tone of hidden irony in his voice. "I die hard."

"Sonic."

"Oh, fine." He turned and grinned at me. "I used your Chaos Control!"

"Wh-what…?"

XxX

"You never cease to surprise me, blue hedgehog."

I remember we were in the same tunnel where we rendezvoused, only this time, the atmosphere between us was uncomfortably palpable. Sonic was standing in that tunnel, getting ready to rush off somewhere, but I had stopped him, dramatically emerging from the darkness to confront him.

"I thought that capsule you were in exploded in space. I could've sworn you were blown to bits a short time ago."

Sonic shrugged and smiled smugly. "You know, what can I say? I die hard."

He fell into step with me, the two of us making our way to the other side of the tunnel, and it was almost like we were friendly rivals rather than mortal enemies. Sonic even dared to pull out the yellow Chaos Emerald and wave it in front of me. "You actually saved me, you know."

"It WAS a Chaos Emerald, wasn't it?" I had asked, my voice hitching in surprise. Sonic grinned wider and shook his head at me. "But…there's no way you could've activated the Chaos Control using an Emerald that's fake!"

I had thought I was the only one who could use Chaos Control…

We both suddenly picked up speed, and it was in that moment did we realize we were headed for the same destination: the Eclipse Cannon.

"So there is more to you that just looking like me," I had told him, studying the blue hedgehog before me closely. "What are you, anyway?"

His eyes shined as he spread his arms and gave a simple enough answer. "What you see is what you get- Just a guy that loves adventure! I'm Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"I see…but you know, I can't let you live." I changed from a light jog to air skating while Sonic increased his running speed. "Your adventuring days are coming to an end!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Sonic cried, flashing forward. "All right Shadow…time for me to finish this!"

I just simpered and stepped ahead of him, readying myself for a fight. "Before this is over…I'll show you the true power of Chaos Control!"

XxX

Sonic realized that I must've been recalling something again, because he had fallen silent and ran up ahead. I shook off my dazedness, trying to come back to reality.

"There was a time…when I genuinely wanted to kill you…" I realized. Sonic overheard that and huffed over his shoulder.

"That's one thing that hasn't really changed," he scoffed scathingly, before hanging his head with a sigh. "…but man, it really has been a long time since the two of us ran along here together…"

I love how he kept avoiding the fact that we were FIGHTING during that run…

He jumped up, knocking into one of the gravity switches and sending us into a new rotation. I felt myself lifting off the platform and drifting toward another one. Sonic happily accepted the change, embracing his small moment of weightlessness.

"So let's kick it up a notch!"

He kicked the next one, bringing us back down to solid ground. Sonic boosted ahead while I activated my jet shoes in order to at least stick to him.

The path was incredibly broken, with pieces lingering far out from where they had originally been. But considering the majority of it was still intact, Sonic was content with racing around, taking in the memories all by himself. I couldn't really share in the sentiment much, but I could at least tell this was definitely a place I'd been before.

We came across a zipline at one point, which we reached at the same time and ended up grabbing onto simultaneously. It brought us somewhere inside the ARK, and Sonic instantly got excited.

"I know this place!" he cried, hopping ahead of me. "I remember coming this way to the Eclipse Cannon after I defeated you!"

I started following after him, up until he finished his sentence.

"What do you mean you defeated me…?"

Sonic stopped in his tracks, his quills bristling as he turned around. "Well…you were trying to reach the cannon to activate it, while I was trying to get to it to make it malfunction and prevent it from blasting into the planet…long story short, I won."

"You…won?"

XxX

"So that's how you want to play, huh Look-a-Like?" I remembered howling, chucking bolts of light at Sonic. "It will be an honor to kill you!"

Bolts of light…? How was I doing that?

Despite my strange attack methods, Sonic easily sidestepped them all as he held the fake Chaos Emerald high above his hand, glancing over my shoulder to simper cockily.

"I'll use your technique! Chaos Control!"

He vanished in a green flash, leaving me stunned, shocked, and surprised. In fact, I was on the verge of going absolutely nuts with my frustrations at the blue hedgehog, hurling those bolts of light in every direction…until I took into consideration just where Sonic was going to teleport.

I ducked and Sonic went flying over my head, crashing on the ground ahead. I shook my head pitifully.

"Let me show you how it's done…and I don't even need a Chaos Emerald!" I had exclaimed, vanishing on the spot. "Chaos Control!"

I recalled Sonic's panicked scream as he rolled out of the way, just before I landed a kick to his head. Sonic took the chance to quickly dart away, with me following hot on his heels.

"What's the matter?" I asked maliciously. "Afraid you won't be able to save your pathetic planet from being blown into bits? Every last one of those selfish humans will die, just like they deserve to!"

Apparently I hated humans back then far more than I do now…

Sonic slightly recoiled at my sudden nasty outlook, but he somehow managed to maintain his cool. "Of course not! I'm the fastest thing alive! I'll make it no problem!"

"There's less than five minutes left until that cannon blows the world all over the universe! You can't even get there in time, let alone stop the cannon!" I continued to hiss venomously, almost a little delirious. "They'll all pay for taking Maria away from me. This was her last wish, and that is what I'm going to fulfill, and I won't let a scrub like you stand in my way!"

Before Sonic could even retort to my incredulous statement, I struck him with another round of spears of energy.

"I told you I'm the Ultimate!" I cried, grinning down at Sonic with my fangs showing.

Sonic received several markings and bruises from that attack, but carried on nevertheless. He locked eyes with me while still struggling to keep running, fighting fiercely just by staring at me with his sharp green gaze. I was amazed he was still in one piece after the pummeling I'd given to him…

"And I'm not going to let you destroy the world just because of one little thing! There are innocent people on that planet, ones that weren't even around fifty years ago when your Maria was killed!" he insisted, and I couldn't help but be taken aback. His will was resilient… "You can't possibly blame all of them for what happened! I'm going to stop you because those people deserve to live, and they deserve to be happy!"

I seemed to lose focus after hearing that, giving Sonic the perfect chance to strike with a spin dash. He rammed harshly into my back, and I lost my balance, falling to the ground. The ground was cold and unforgiving, so as soon as I gathered my wits about me again, I picked myself up, snapping and snarling once again. I chucked more of the energy spears at Sonic who dodged all but a few easily, yet the cuts he'd taken still wouldn't slow him down.

"Guess what, Sonic?" I seethed, rising to my feet again as I raged after him. "The stars don't twinkle, and the moon doesn't shine!"

I hadn't even known what I'd meant by that, but I said it with such voracity that it left an impact anyway. I brought my leg up in a mighty swing, kicking Sonic harshly between his back spines. The strike stopped our run in its tracks. Sonic face planted on the ground, coughing and sputtering with the wind completely knocked out of him. I walked up to his side, eyes set ablaze. He rolled on his side and looked at me, sarcastic contempt in his eyes.

"Thanks for the life lesson, Shadow. Did you know birds don't sing either?"

"Hmph…" My hand suddenly started glowing. "I guess the wind doesn't blow either."

My face then broke out into an abrupt grin. "At least, not to the perfect existence…which is me, and only me! You'll see I'm right…"

Sonic had taken my split second to speak as an opportunity to curl up and use his Light Speed Dash attack on me. I'd been so busy gloating that I hadn't expected him to get his wind back and attack again. His quills had become increasingly sharp, and the power he charged up with reinforced his already impressive fighting ability. I was being knocked about from every which way in quick succession, like being assailed rapidly by meteors from the heavens…yet they hurt like hell! The several hits and strikes against me were just about too much for me to take…

"Guess what, Shadow?" Sonic retorted, using a mock tone. "Something tells me you struggle against despair-"

I seethed like a bull, as the comment had struck a chord, and I plowed a fist straight into Sonic's stomach before running off. Sonic's breathing heaved once again before curling back up and zooming after me.

"I mean it, Shadow. You won't get away with this."

He was dead serious, too.

I wasn't going to show the Faker that I was growing weaker by the second, but I steadily felt my fighting ability start to lag. I had attempted to turn around and spear Sonic once last time, but the blasted hedgehog had caught up with me and started pummeling me rapidly with spin dashes.

I couldn't take this anymore…his will to fight…was somehow stronger than mine…

"Impossible…I am the Ultimate Life…" I trailed in a hoarse whisper as I suddenly fell to the ground, feeling more defeated emotionally than physically, but I couldn't find the motivation in me to move. Sonic was panting as heavily as I was, but he still had enough strength and willpower to forge on.

"Game over, Shadow…" Sonic murmured, taking off for the cannon in what little time he had left, leaving me with nothing but my melancholic thoughts on the ground.

XxX

Sonic was all too willing to lead the way, because with what little I membered of the ARK or the Eclipse Cannon, I hadn't even known about this particular path to the Cannon's Room.

"The ARK…will I ever find the rest of my memories here?"

"Stop yakking about your memories for a moment," Sonic ordered in a hushed tone, sensing something in the door ahead. Taking a deep breath, he ran by it at such a speed that it blasted the door right off its hinges, revealing a series of aliens behind it. Sonic must've sensed what was coming next too, because he abruptly ducked as I let loose with my Shadow Rifle.

And nothing was left standing.

"Ugh, you are so lucky I know you so well," Sonic huffed from the ground, standing back up and dusting himself off. "You probably would've shot those bullets as close to my ears as you could get or something…"

"It would certainly be an interesting challenge," I stated, making Sonic do a strange combination of rolling his eyes and cringing. "Now, come on- the way forward is through this door!"

When we stepped through the doorway, I had to give Sonic a long hard look.

"Did this passage in the past have green energy liquid overflowing in it…?"

"Heck no- the aliens must've put it there," Sonic insisted. "But hey- there's a saucer we can use to get across! I call driving!"

Before I could even really register what was going on, Sonic had leapt onto the alien saucer and was raring and ready to go. Groaning, I stepped onto it behind him, and I felt like Knuckles had when we were racing away from the space worm back on the Black Comet.

"Woohoo! I should've have done this a long time ago!" Sonic whooped. I just leaned forward and held on for dear life.

"Can't you go slightly slower?! The green liquid is splashing around and I can guarantee that neither of us want to touch it!"

Sonic proceeded to make a huge wave out of the liquid, just to irritate me, and I only growled in retaliation. He chuckled and went back to driving it normally, plowing it through the doors and going from room to room like a mad man.

Yeesh, what I wouldn't give for the motorcycle…

He drove through room to room, while I sniped any Black Warriors and the like that happened to be crawling around. Eventually, we didn't need the saucer anymore, so the both of us jumped off of it and ran through the next door, finding ourselves back outside.

"Almost there! C'mon- here's a shortcut!" Sonic called, jumping off the edge, free falling for a while, and landing on a grind rail. I looked down at him incredulously. "What's the matter Shadow? Can't keep up?"

"No, I'm just wondering how many reckless stunts you can squeeze into the span of your lifetime."

"As many as I can, buddy!"

Ugh.

In any case, I did eventually follow after him, riding a rail separate from his. Rail grinding was never my thing, but Sonic always seemed to revel in it. It was like a second nature to him- or a third nature, if running had already captured the second spot.

We glided on the rails with the planet beneath us, almost like it was a small reminder as to why we were even risking our necks in the first place. Probably more so for Sonic than for me, but…I guess it was a nice start.

"Now it's time to dash for the finish line!" I heard Sonic called from a rail above me. I smirked in his direction and started glowing blue.

"Fine, if you insist. Behold, my true power!"

I was now moving so fast on the rail that it felt like I was flying without any effort at all, and it was almost a euphoric feeling. Even though the universe seemed to blur around me, I was experiencing all at once, and it was just a nice sensation…

For that small moment in time, I felt free.

Sonic tried his best to stick to me, and he did one heck of an excellent job doing so. In fact, he didn't even trip up until we were gaining on the entrance to the room that housed the controls for the Eclipse Cannon. It was then that my Chaos Control wore off, so I used a smaller one to teleport the remaining distance and cross the imaginary finish line that Sonic had conjured up. Sonic was only a step behind, actually panting for once and collapsing to the ground in a fit of heavy breathing and laughter.

"Even though you totally cheated, I don't think anyone's given me a run for my money like that before…!"

"I didn't cheat; I was only being resourceful," I insisted, helping him off the ground.

"I told you taking that way would make you feel better!" Sonic chirped, coming back to his senses. I slightly frowned.

"…Not exactly…" I stated, shaking my head. "Sonic…now I remember…that day we fought aboard the ARK!"

"That's good!" Sonic cheered. "…that's what you wanted, right?"

"Well, yes, but…it's still not enough," I murmured. "I don't have enough memories to understand…"

"…Understand what, Shadow?" Sonic asked, suddenly becoming dejected.

"I don't understand…the 'why' behind it all. I have sequences of events that happened in the past, but without the why…it's all practically nothing…"

"Well you can mull later," Sonic interrupted, a harsh edge to his tone. When he noticed my surprised look, he softened a little. "…let's just go get the seventh Chaos Emerald and go home, m'kay?"

I wanted to argue his claim, and also pry on why he was so against me finding my memories, but I didn't. That emerald was of utmost importance right now, and I didn't have the time to argue.

So I just nodded once in Sonic's direction and said, "Okay."

Eclipse Cannon-

Sonic and I headed deeper to the Eclipse Cannon room, looking for the Chaos Emerald slots where I had imagined Black Doom would've placed the red emerald. As we searched, I noticed that Sonic was looking worse for wear, but he said nothing, knowing that it had been far rougher for me than for him.

"Damn it!" I thought to myself, angrily clenching my fist. "What does this all mean…?!"

There was still a few critical pieces missing in my life story, and while Sonic had softened the blows a bit with his explanation of what went down between us on the ARK, there were still glaring holes in my memory that were burning away inside my head, and it was driving me mad not knowing.

"These memories…the doctor's words and actions...everything you've all told me…nothing make sense!"

"A lot of things never make sense," Sonic stated unhelpfully, scratching his ear with his pinkie. "That's why I don't question them and leave them be."

"You can't understand it from my perspective, Sonic," I exasperated, grabbing my head. "I have several of the pieces, but I can't fit them together to make them coherent…it's like I'm missing something that ties it all together!"

"Take it easy, buddy!" Sonic exclaimed, putting a hand on my shoulder. "You made it this far without knowing everything; you can't let it get to you now…"

"I know, I know, but I still find myself wondering…" I held out my hands in front of me, losing my cool. "…was it real?"

I had expected Sonic to hit me with some sort of inspiring or cheesy wisdom, but he was far more distracted by something.

Or instead, a lack of something.

"The Chaos Emerald isn't here!" he yelled, and I hurried next to him to see for myself. Sure enough, all the slots in the Eclipse Cannon were empty.

However, not only did we not find the Chaos Emerald…

…what we did find was far more alarming.

A set of unprecedented footsteps walked up behind us, and the two of us froze, daring to look over our shoulders.

I was personally met with a gun between the eyes.

"It's been a long time coming, Shadow…" the GUN Commander's voice rumbled in the darkness of the ARK.

"Oh what, I don't get a hello after that riveting time we battled side by side?" scoffed Sonic. The Commander dared to turn the gun on him, which was enough to get Sonic to scoot away and stay out of the issue.

However, this was the last guy I wanted to deal with, and at a time like this, no less…I only knew him as the commander of the darned military who had sent orders to every one of his men to kill me, and not only did he try to do it himself once…he was trying to do it again!

"Who ARE you!?" I barked, taking a fighting position. "And HOW do you know me?!"

"I know you…Shadow the Hedgehog," he susurrated darkly, keeping his pistol trained on me. "A shame that you don't recognize me, though. After all that we've been through…unless of course, you're faking through this amnesia like I know you are!"

Sonic flinched at the accusation, while it only served to flare up my anger.

"Faking?! Faking?! What could I possibly gain by faking this?! It's caused me nothing but grief and misery, and you claim I'm doing this for just some sick kick?!" I spat rapidly, completely in disbelief. "How dare you harbor such hatred for me when you don't even know me! I don't have the slightest idea who you are, and yet we're standing here with you at more than an advantage!"

The Commander scowled, his grip on the gun tightening. "You little snot…you've always had everyone supporting you, without ever knowing the dark truth of your creation…but I never fell for the façade! I tried so many things to get you destroyed, but nothing ever worked…! And your mere existence served to ruin my life!"

I stood slackjawed, unable to believe this guy.

"Who…ARE…YOU!?"

"ARGH!" The Commander shot a warning shot and leaned into my face. "Look me in the eyes….AND TELL ME THAT YOU DON'T KNOW ME!"

I was more than ready to do so, matching my red gaze to his and prepared to rant…until I saw what colors his eyes were.

And yes, I meant colors.

One blue, one brown…one light, one dark…

And there was only one person in my shattered memory who matched such a description.

"…Abe?!" I guffawed, unable to believe it. The little runt that had always gotten in the way back up on the ARK, the kid that had only appeared in one of my major memories, but left a jarring impact on me, the ten-year-old child who always had his conspiracy theories about me and tried to get me destroyed, and the same preadolescent who had made me question my reasons for existing…

…had ended up being the ever-vengeful GUN Commander, Abraham Tower, who was now standing before me.

"Awkward…" hummed Sonic from the sidelines, turning away and whistling.

Tower glowered at me, and he almost loosened his grip on the pistol. "Fancy that. You can remember my name, but you can't remember the devastation you caused aboard the ARK all those years ago…"

"It is funny, because I think you're the one thing I want to stay forgotten," I hummed. "But I suppose we can't change the past, can we?"

"You arrogant abomination! Do you think this is some sort of joke?!" Tower howled at me, rage flaring in his stare. "Do you think it's funny that you killed everyone I loved?! My family…Maria?! I've been waiting a long time for this day!"

"What?! Me…and Maria?!"

I didn't kill her! I'm not the one that shot her! That was one thing I remembered clearer than anything else…

I locked eyes with him, flashing back to that moment when we parted at the Gun Lift. He had been standing the same rigid and tortured way he was now, the same amount of hate radiating from every bit of his being.

"One day, Shadow the Hedgehog…I will right the wrongs that your existence brought upon us…"

"She was like a sister to me," Tower explained, the harsh tone in his voice softening as he recalled Maria. "She was the only family I knew on the ARK, and because of you…she was killed!"

"…that still doesn't explain why you always harbored such hatred for me…" I trailed, shaking my head. "Even before that accident…I hadn't done a thing to you and you despised me…"

Sonic gulped, not liking the intensity of the moment at all. He looked over at the Commander and winced, seeing him freeze up at the memories of fifty years ago tormenting him once again.

"Professor Gerald…the moment when he finished you…I was there, looking in through the window of the door," Tower elaborated, looking absolutely horrified. "There was something in there with him…something horridly nasty and evil…and just yesterday, I found that it was that hideous leader of the Black Arms, Black Doom!"

"What?!" both Sonic and I screeched.

Fifty years ago…Black Doom had been with Professor Gerald during my creation…was that when I made my supposed promise to him?

"Witnessing it all…the plan to create that monster…all because of that hideous black creature and the insane professor who unleashed it all!" continued Tower, losing his composure by the second. "I don't know what that black alien had to do with anything, but to think that I stood my ground against him yesterday, knowing the part he had in all this…I knew it had something to do with you, Shadow! I always knew!"

"So, the professor created me…with Black Doom!?" I gawked, feeling nauseous just at the prospect.

"The plot thickens…" Sonic whistled again, running his hand through his quills. "Wow."

"You don't fool me, Shadow! It's not just about Maria!" Tower boomed again as he raised the pistol once more. I was starting to wonder if it was just for show. "Thanks to you, everyone I knew and loved was killed when the ARK was raided! Worst of all, MY family! Finally…justice will be served!"

He actually shot the gun this time, but in his blind rage, he missed that I had teleported behind him, arms folded and quietly contemplating what all this new information meant. I couldn't completely remember for myself, but if it caused Abe this much turmoil over the span of time I'd been gone, then…

"…if what you say is true, then I will respectfully accept my fate."

Surprise laced his voice, a mix of defeat and disbelief in one. "You mean to tell me…that you really DON'T remember?!"

"Yeah," Sonic interrupted, stepping next to me. "He can only confidently remember as far back as five months ago…everything that happened before was lost, and the Chaos Emeralds have been spoon feeding him memories here and there, but even then, he still doesn't know the meaning behind them all…"

I sighed, started to walk off. "I just need a little more time…to uncover the real truth."

I proceeded to leave the room; Abraham Tower took one last glance at his pitiful pistol before falling to his knees. Sonic stayed back for a few seconds longer than I did, sticking around long enough to learn that Tower had worked himself into light sobs.

Sonic sympathized with him, but he also felt that some self-reflecting was what he needed right now. After all, spending fifty years blaming one thing on all his troubles, and then finding out that there may have been something more to it all…

Well, Sonic would want to be alone for a while too.

. . .

When Sonic finally caught up with me, I was in the middle of walking along the outer edge of the ARK, trying to figure out our next objective. I knew Sonic was itching to find some way to help me, but there was nothing he could do- sorting out the turmoil in my own mind was a job only I alone could complete.

"…it's kinda pretty to look at," I heard Sonic mumble next to me. I snapped out of my stirring thoughts and turned to him.

"Mm?"

He pointed upwards at where the Black Comet was streaking against the sky.

"Can you believe that comet passes by every fifty years?" Sonic asked, smiling a bit. "We're really lucky we get to see it!"

"Too bad that's where all the black aliens came from," I huffed. Sonic seemed genuinely surprised by this comment, and he blinked.

"Wait…you mean those black creatures are connected to that comet?"

"It'd be an unfathomable coincidence if that wasn't the case," I explained. "Didn't you know? Knuckles and I have been up there already with the intent of trying to destroy the comet…but it would take something much bigger than just the two of us to do that, so we left."

Sonic was completely aghast. "When did that happen?!"

"Probably around the time you were looking for the red emerald."

"Man, I missed a cool trip onto an alien comet…" Sonic pouted. But then, something crossed his mind, and he glanced up at the Black Comet once again. "Hmmm…I bet the key to ridding the world of the black aliens is with that comet. If we were to somehow take away their home, then…well, they certainly couldn't terrorize anyone anymore!"

I was already inclined to agree with him, but I felt that horrendous pain in the back of my head only moments later. I hadn't been exposed to it for a while now, so it kind of jarred me when it happened now.

"Black…Comet…"

The words were ringing inside my head, as if they were trying to tell me something.

I screamed, grabbing my head and falling on my knees. I wasn't about to completely crumble like I did in front of Amy, but this wasn't something I could just walk off either.

Sonic panicked and scrambled over to my side, concern covering his face.

"Shadow, what's wrong?!"

Through the pain, I managed to look up at him, still grabbing my head tightly. "I…I think you're right. I feel it…they're up there…"

"What's up there?!"

"That's where the answers are…I've got to get up to that Black Comet again!"

"But Shadow, we still don't even know the location of the seventh emerald, and we're running out of time!" Sonic insisted. "We can't just-"

It was then that his communicator went off, and with a swipe of his hand, he answered it on the spot.

"Sonic speaking; what's up?"

"Okay, um…I take it you already discovered that the seventh emerald wasn't in the Eclipse Cannon room, right?" Tails' voice had asked on the other end, getting straight to the point. That was just like him.

"Correct," Sonic stated, shaking his head. "But we did run into the GUN Commander of all people, and to sum it up, he told us that Black Doom had some involvement in Shadow's creation fifty years ago…and he told us that while Shadow was at gunpoint."

"Maybe that's why he wanted his soldiers to dispatch Shadow so badly," Rouge mused. "Perhaps he assumed that Black Doom was here for Shadow, and so if he took Shadow out of the equation, the aliens would leave…"

A reasonable theory, but I'm pretty sure it was just because he wanted a reason to kill me.

"Anyway, uh, you guys…we know where the last emerald is," Tails explained. "…which is the Black Comet."

"I knew it," I stated immediately, folding my arms. "If it wasn't here, Black Doom would've brought it to his home base to lure us there…"

"Well, let us be lured, because we can't let him have that emerald any longer than necessary! ...even though that is an extreme convenience." Sonic exclaimed, raising a fist. "So what's the plan, Tails?"

"…I believe that is where I explain, hedgehog," a new voice interrupted, and Sonic and I cringed. I in particular looked rather faint.

"Don't tell me you got this information from the doctor…"

"We've already checked it out, and his story is solid," Tails explained hastily. "There's nothing of relevance on the ARK that I can detect, and now that I've pinpointed my energy readings in the direction of the Black Comet, there is something on there that's giving off the patterns of a Chaos Emerald…"

"But how did Eggman figure that out?" Sonic asked.

"You found that emerald in one of my old bases, didn't you?" Eggman sneered, and Sonic fell silent. "Like I was just going to abandon an emerald I was lucky enough to possess and not tag it with a transmitter…that is why I originally planned to come to the ARK, in order to tell you that, whether the military used my teleporter or not, or whether the Chaotix stole my data!"

"I'm honestly surprised he hasn't gone back to the computer room," stated Knuckles in the background.

"I still want to know why Eggman's even bothering helping us, after all the turmoil he's caused,"
Amy huffed.

"Hmph…the Chaotix will never be able to break into my mainframe, even if they do manage to put the fragmented data back together," Eggman insisted. "And I'm only helping you out because I'm sick of Black Doom's forces rampaging on the planet! The world is mine for the taking, not theirs!"

I found Eggman's actions way too convenient and suspicious, but I didn't call him out on it, especially considering that he was aboard the Sea Fox.

"So, we're going to meet you outside so we can go to the Black Comet-" Tails had started to explain, but I cut him off.

"No need, Tails. Sonic and I will use Chaos Control to get there, and you guys follow us in the ship just in case we need back up. It'll be faster that way."

There was a bit of a pause after that, but despite that, Sonic couldn't get in a word edgewise before Tails spoke up again.

"If you feel that's the best course of action, Shadow, then so be it. You go nab that Chaos Emerald, and we'll meet you on the comet to pick you up and take you home."

"Sounds good," I stated. "See you then."

"Bye Sonic! Bye Shadow! Good luck!" Tails chirped before cutting off all communications. Sonic just stared slackjawed at me before shutting off his watch and putting his hands on his hips.

"Can we really use Chaos Control? I mean, won't Black Doom just hi-jack it…?" Sonic asked. I shook my head.

"No, Chaos Control is going to work this time…" I narrowed my eyes. "…because Black Doom wants us on that Comet."

"O-kay, but I'm gonna need to borrow an emerald…? Preferably blue, since ya don't have the red one…?"

I chucked the dark blue one at him, clonking him in the head with it. He winced quietly and scooped up the gem before holding his arm out forward. I did the same, our arms crossing at the wrist.

"Chaos…" Sonic began, his blue emerald beginning to glow.

My green one began to shine as well. "…Control!"

With that, we headed into the final stretch of our adventure, ready to confront the alien terrorist Black Doom once and for all.

And I really hoped that nothing would go wrong…at least, not anything more than what I was dealing with already.

Next time, Shadow and Sonic head to the Black Comet to pry the final emerald off of Black Doom's person once and for all...but getting to him might be more physically and emotionally exhausting than either expected.