Chapter 10: You Have 24 Hours to Live

Central City 2:30

Sonic, Tails, and Amy were inside the Starbucks, enjoying a little afternoon treat while they discussed what was to be done about the new Robotnik situation. Amy ordered 3 frappuccinos while Sonic and Tails were at the table doing laptop research.

Tails opened the browser on his computer and logged in to the news site. He typed the search bar called "Project Shadow" into the search box and found looking at a page filled with information on a science project that he had been working on for years.

"Here it is. Project Shadow," said Tails. Sonic glanced at Tails' laptop and noticed that there was a picture of Shadow on the screen. The image was taken from behind with some sort of dark shadow, and it looked like Shadow inside the test tube. Sonic's eyes widened as he saw what appeared to be the outline of Shadow's body inside the tank.

"So that's Shadow?" puzzled Sonic.

"Yeah, that's Shadow," replied Tails. "It says here he's being experimented on in the lab base. It says that their scientists are testing out some biological material. And according to this article, the lab is currently using an experimental substance called Project Shadow, using DNA test results from some animals."

Sonic thought hard. "Well, you know what I think? I think that Shadow is not so different from us after all. Do you know he was created?"

Tails nodded. "Yeah, they did some research with him before he became a villain. A scientist named Professor Gerald Robotnik came up with the formula to create him and he used it in his experiments on Shadow. That's why he got sent to live on the moon instead of living in our world. It is called Space Colony ARK."

"Gerald Robotnik?! Is he related to Eggman?" asked Sonic.

Tails nodded again. "Yep. That's how Shadow came to be in Space Colony ARK. They used Shadow to develop the life form we will fight against now. If we don't find out who or what that creature is soon, then we'll have to go after them ourselves."

"Hey, guys," Amy spoke up suddenly, bringing them both back to reality. She carried the tray of 3 frappucinos towards the table. "Here ya go, boys. Three of us have our frappes." She set one in front of each of them, a blue raspberry frappe for Sonic, a chocolate frappe for Tails, and a pink cotton candy frappe for Amy. Then she took her seat next to them.

"Thanks, Ames," replied Tails. He pulled the straw out of his straw and took a sip of the drink. He sighed contentedly as he enjoyed the cool refreshing liquid on his tongue. He closed his eyes for a moment to savor the taste.

"So, what are you guys searching for?" asked Amy as she grabbed a cotton candy-flavored frappe off the tray and took a long sip of it.

"We're just trying to figure out what this experiment is supposed to do, but so far nothing has turned up," said Sonic. He picked up his own straw and took a small sip of his drink.

"Maybe it has something to do with his personality," suggested Tails. "The scientists say that they are experimenting with some kind of genetically enhanced DNA."

"Oh, so you think that Shadow is a clone created by someone else?" asked Amy.

Amy looked over at Sonic and shook her head. "No, I don't think so. This Shadow seems completely different from anyone else. There may be another reason why he's so different. He was created by Prof. Gerald Robotnik, just like in the article."

"Robotnik? Does that mean he's related to Eggman?" asked Amy.

"Probably his grandfather," Tails said. "It happened 50 years ago when Gerald Robotnik came up with the idea for creating Shadow."

"How could his grandfather get involved in such a big project?" wondered Sonic. "Why would he want to create a faker like me?"

"I dunno, but maybe because Shadow's father is the first alien," replied Tails. "According to this article, Gerald Robotnik created Shadow from a combination of DNA from an alien and a hedgehog. So it makes sense if Gerald wanted his grandson to look like the original hedgehog species." Tails paused for a minute, thinking. "That's what he really created him. Maybe it was just a cover story for his true purpose."

Amy was taken aback by Tails' theory. "Shadow is an alien that looks exactly like Sonic?" she asked in surprise. Sonic gave her a confused look and Tails answered. "Uh, well, no offense, Sonic, but you look kinda different. In fact, you look almost identical to Shadow."

"What? How?" exclaimed Sonic. "How am I supposed to look exactly like Shadow? What makes you say that?"

"Well, it just makes sense," shrugged Tails. "After all, you share many physical characteristics with him. For example, your eyes are a lot similar to his. Also, you two have the same ears and tails."

"I guess you've got a point, Tails," agreed Sonic reluctantly. "But still, we have to stop Eggman somehow. We can't let these scientists continue with whatever crazy stuff they are trying to do."

"You're right, Sonic!" agreed Tails. "They must have stopped the experiment before the end. But what do we do now?"

"I wish I knew," replied Sonic. "This is the first time I've been stuck without knowing where to start looking for our enemy."

"Do we have any leads?" asked Amy. "Can you give us a list of possible targets?"

Tails thought deeply for a moment, "Not yet. But we have a good idea of what we should look for."He looked over at Sonic who seemed to be deep in thought. Tails figured that if his best friend wasn't going to come up with anything, then he might as well talk about it himself.

"Hey, Sonic?" said Tails.

"Hmm?" Sonic responded.

"What do we say to take the spaceship?" asked Tails.

"That sounds like a good idea," answered Sonic. "Let's just say, 'Take the ship!' and boom, off we go." He grinned mischievously at Tails.

"I wanna go, too," said Amy.

*That night*

Eggman was at the news studio setting up the camera equipment for his latest video. He pressed a button on the remote and a large television monitor began showing the footage of the news station's newsroom. Eggman watched as his henchmen Orbot and Cubot went back to the control panel to adjust the microphone settings.

"All set, boss. You're on air," said Cubot.

Eggman grinned evilly, "Now let the fun begin."

"Camera rolling in 3, 2, 1… Action!" yelled Orbot as he hit the button. Instantly the cameras were focused on Eggman, who stood in front of a large white backdrop. He reached out his right hand toward the cameras and pressed his index finger down onto the white surface, which slowly lit up green. Then, a huge holographic display started playing behind him.

Outside the news studio, many televisions showed a smiling face of a middle-aged man, with a bald head and a mustache, he wore a red jacket and black pants which citizens caught their attention.

"Greetings, citizens. My name is Dr. Eggman, the world's greatest scientist. Today, I am taking today's events very seriously, and I promise that my plans for world domination will be put into action in 24 hours."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" shouted someone in the crowd.

"Who is this guy and what does he want?!" asked the male crowd.

Eggman chuckled, "My dear listeners, this is the greatest scientific invention ever. As you can see, my inventions make the world a better place! Just imagine if my inventions were made in the past, what a world we would be living in. Instead of robots controlling everything, humans would be the masters of this planet."

"Is this some kind of prank?!" asked the female crowd.

"Of course not, young lady. I am merely offering this information to help you decide if you should follow my program or not. Now listen carefully, because there are only a few weeks left until my attack on the city of Central City! And believe me when I tell you, I am determined to succeed! My Satellite Beam will destroy everything that stands between me and total domination over the entire universe. It is a great time to join my revolution!"

Eggman pressed the button, and up in the Space Colony ARK started to activate Eclipse Cannon. The cannon appeared around him, surrounding him completely. The crowd fell silent as they watched in awe as the massive cannon fired a beam of energy that destroyed a moon in half.

"Holy shit! He destroyed the moon!" yelled the black male crowd.

Eggman laughed evilly, "Now you have 24 hours to live or everyone in your cities dies. Your decision, ladies and gentlemen!"

With that, the televisions had turned off and Eggman disappeared, leaving behind only static and a blank screen.

Sonic, Tails, and Amy ran outside and see what happened to the satellite. They saw the moon in pieces strewn across the sky.

"Look! The half of the moon is gone! Did he do that?" asked Amy worriedly.

"Yeah," nodded Tails. "Looks like he did."

"Eggman! That bastard never gives up!" said Sonic angrily.

"But how did he manage to harness all that energy?" asked Tails.

"It's got to be the Chaos Emeralds. Yeah, that's the reason they were looking for them," said Sonic.

Tails reached his fur pocket and took out a topaz-colored gem. It was a Chaos Emerald.

"Tails..." Sonic trailed in surprise.

"The Chaos Emeralds are like magnets, they attract power from anywhere they can," Tails said. "If I'm right, I can use that to find where Eggman is."

Suddenly, a red and blue flashing light flashed in the distance, a siren sounded in the distance, and two police cars pulled up outside the news studio.

"Freeze! Three of you, put your hands in the air!" yelled one of the officers.

"Oh, fuck! Not this again!" Sonic turned to Tails. "Tails, you go find Eggman. I'll take care of the police officers."

"Got it." Tails nodded in agreement and ran in the opposite direction while Sonic distracted the police cars. Amy stood there worriedly.

"The three of you, that means me, too! Uh! Hey, wait for me!" She chased after Sonic and Tails.