Robotnik stepped into the elevator with a briefcase in hand, and his two useless minions hovering by his side. It was all a nuisance, all of it! That blasted hedgehog was on his way to destroy the Death Egg with the cannon, and it had forced him to take his most important projects off of it - and moving all that research to bases he had back on the planet.
Such useless work, and all that time wasted that could have been avoided!
He saved what he could, anyway - but he didn't want to risk salvaging more. As long as the most important things would survive, then the Empire would do just fine - even with the loss of such a significant base.
The emperor himself knew that staying here for any longer himself was simply unwise - Shadow could be firing that cannon any minute, and Robotnik certainly didn't plan to sit around on the ship while that happened.
The three stood in a line as the elevator went down
"Robotnik, sir-" Orbot spoke.
"What?" Robotnik asked impatiently.
"When will we get to see Miles?"
"I don't know, and that's one of the last things on my mind right now." Robotnik huffed in irritation. "There was an issue at the ball that he's cleaning up after."
"Oh..." Orbot held his hands together in front of him. "What was that issue?"
"A solveable one - not worthy of concern."
"I see..."
"Why are you asking?"
"Oh, um-" Orbot fiddled with his hands. "I just... miss him, that's all."
Breaking into the laboratory was laughably simple - or perhaps she only thought that way because she was an infiltration expert. Either way, the vents were easy to slip through - and both Rouge and Shadow made their way inside without making a peep.
When they entered inside - there were only a handful of Egg Pawns working on the floor, it would seem that the Empire was struggling to replace them after the last batch had been destroyed.
"Hm." She smiled. "This'll be a walk in the park-"
They backed away into a corner behind a stacked pile of metal boxes, but both of their ears perked when they heard the sound of sobs.
"P-please don't hurt us!"
"Cream?" Rouge whispered in bewilderment, turning her head to Shadow. "There's a kid somewhere in here..." She told him, tilting her ears and trying to locate the sound. "I'm hearing it from the office. We're taking a detour to help her out." She informed him of their new plan.
"I'm surprised you care." Shadow remarked.
"Uhhh.. I'm not a monster, jeeze..." She said, a little offended. "Not gonna leave a nine-year-old in danger like that. Adults are a different story though." She tagged on jokingly, but Shadow - predictably - didn't laugh.
"Tough crowd? Alright. Let's bust into this office and get Cream out."
...
Charmy, Ray, and Cream were sat on the floor, bound tightly together by thick rope that was coiled and tired around them. Cream couldn't help herself from sniffing and letting her tears flow.
"Oh, will you stop crying for five minutes?" Starline whined. "Why do I not own any earplugs...?" Sat at his desk, he rubbed the temples on the sides of his head, leaning over the paperwork he was failing to concentrate on. "I could have been at a wonderful celebration tonight if you three hadn't shown up." The platypus continued to ramble pettily. "Maw was supposed to be here hours ago to collect you and he hasn't even responded to any of my texts or calls!"
"Maybe that's because no one likes you." Charmy sneered despite his predicament.
"Playground insults will not save you." Starline retorted. "You were caught, and now the Empire is going to take care of you - there's little use in trying to be cheeky now."
"Wh-wh-wh-wh-what are you waiting for? Where a-a-are you taking us?"
The pathetic squirrel child had a stutter. "The one place that will cure you of your... disturbing thoughts and behaviours. Robotnikland will have you three fixed up right away." He said as he stood up from his chair.
"Robotnikland...?" Charmy's voice quietened in defeat. "No... I've only heard bad things, awful things about it-"
"Of course, it would sound awful to someone like you." Starline said snarkily. "Because you think you don't need it, you believe you have the right to cling to your independence - but trust me, it won't take long for that place to teach you the true way to enjoy your life as a perfect empire citizen."
"You're... you're so mean!" Cream exclaimed through her sobs.
"Not at all, child. Not at all. I could have done far worse things to you, offering you up to go to Robotnikland is simply mercy."
They all heard a crash as the door behind the platypus swung open.
There, Rouge stood - and she immediately swung her fist into Starline's face. He stumbled back, and all she needed to do was deliver just another punch - and he was knocked cold on the ground. A hedgehog lingered behind her.
"Oh..." She said, looking over at the kids. "Not just Cream then..."
Ray and Cream's eyes shone eagerly in relief as they smiled. "Rouge!" They exclaimed happily.
"You... you're here to save us?" Ray asked.
"Thank you, thank you-" Cream dipped her head, still teary-eyed with a cracking voice.
"Rouge...?" Charmy spoke quietly, before narrowing his eyes into a glare. "You two know her?"
"Y-yeah!" Ray nodded. "She's a part of the rebels! Or well, formerly - something happened, I'm not sure exactly-"
"You're on the same side?!" Charmy asked angrily.
"Wh-wh-what's the p-problem?" Ray asked, blinking once.
Rouge decided to step in. "Hold on there boys, you can have this discussion after we get you somewhere safe." She told them. "So let's focus on escaping. Shadow, could you move Starline's body in that closet?" She pointed to it.
"Why?" Shadow asked. "Why not kill him?"
"We'll come back for him later." Rouge replied with a shrug. "And we can interrogate him about everything he knows about Robotnik and we can start plotting his demise. Gives us something to look forward to after we blow up the Death Egg, right?" She joked, despite being half serious.
"Right..." Shadow said with a sigh, dragging his body along the floor before tossing him like a lifeless rag doll into the storage cupboard filled with boxes, clothes, and other nonseniscal items - you could just barely make his body out between a pile of coats.
Shadow was still irritated by the fact that the platypus had failed to cure him entirely of his mutations, but realized there was little point in being upset over it now. He looked towards the desk, and the many screens above it showcasing CCTV footage of the laboratory. "I'm susprised he didn't see us coming... we weren't all that discreet."
"I guess the kids provided a good enough distraction for him." She speculated, then gazed down on them. "Although I wonder what you guys are even doing all alone in the first place..."
It had taken a lot of effort to argue with Cheese to convince him to fly back to the island for safety, as he was determined to help his owner. However, after some debating with him, the creature had given up his efforts of trying to follow the group - choosing at last to fly away. Perhaps he realized how important urgency was, and that his presence would just be holding them back.
The group hid around the corner of an apartment complex – looking on towards the main laboratory building. Tangle pursed her lips, recalling the last time she had been here with Sonic and Rouge – and the murder that the latter had attempted.
There wasn't any time to dwell on that though.
"Okay!" Tangle rubbed her hands together, turning to the others. "What's the game plan?"
"I think we should cause a distraction to lure Starline away from the children." Whisper suggested. "While one of us can infiltrate and get them to safety."
"No better candidate for the infiltration than Espio." Vector said, giving his partner an unintentionally firm slap on the back that almost caused the chameleon to trip.
Whisper's head turned to Tangle's, and although the lemur couldn't see her eyes – she presumed she was waiting to see if Tangle agreed with the idea or not.
No, she still didn't trust him – but at the very least, she was confident that a betrayal would be much less likely with the kids being involved.
Tangle nodded. "Okay! That solves that-!"
"And how will we all escape without being pursued?" Whisper then questioned.
"We can make it impossible for them to follow – we need something big – like an explosion." Vector brought his fist into his palm. "Leave our escape to me! I'll use my explosive chewing gum and blast the place!"
"… Your…?" Whisper spoke questioningly before trailing off.
"Your explosive chewing gum?!" Tangle exclaimed excitedly, her eyes shining at the thought. "That's so cool!"
Vector chuckled awkwardly at the compliment the lemur gave him. "Heh – thanks. It ain't exactly common, huh?"
"That instantly makes it to the 'top 10 coolest things I've ever heard about' list!" Tangle grinned before Espio stepped past her.
"Let's move in. We can't afford to keep them waiting any longer." He said, bringing the group into a unanimous agreement.
They had to put their plan in motion.
…
"It's a wonder you guys even survived this long…" Rouge commented, placing her hands on her hips, looking down at the tied up trio. "But I suppose it's impressive."
"Rouge." Shadow said suddenly as he was observing the security footage. "There's something on the feed-"
They both jumped at the unexpected sound of an explosion.
They both heard flames crackling, and beams being fired from somewhere in the facility – even the loud bashing of metal against the walls and floors. The chaos was being captured by the cameras – displaying the perpetrators right on the screens.
Rouge shook her head in disbelief. "Tangle and Whisper? Tangle… with a Chaotix member…?"
"Vector!" The bee exclaimed out of the blue as he also saw the tapes. "Let me go to him already!" He begged the two adults furiously, struggling against the rope.
Rouge smirked. "Shadow." She said, and Shadow's attention immediately turned to her with his ears perked. "Let's talk in the cupboard for a moment, if you would." She told him, opening the door and stepping inside – holding it open for him to follow in after.
He didn't move right away, instead making one last glance towards the kids. His expression wasn't riddled with its usual frown – it was something a little vaguer that she couldn't quite describe.
Regardless, he entered in the storage space with her – allowing her to shut the door after him.
"I've had an idea - an easier way we can get our hands on the Master Emerald – listen close." Rouge said.
Shadow leaned his back against the door, briefly glancing down towards Starline's unconscious body near the back shelves.
"Those three are after the kids, no doubt about it. Right now, we have what they need – and they have what we need. I propose a… simple exchange."
"What makes you think they'd just agree with our demands?" Shadow rose a brow. "Realistically, they'd just fight us for the children – they aren't going to willingly give up the most powerful gem in the world."
"Of course not." She agreed surprisingly. "That's why we don't give them a choice. There's little they can do if we were to state our terms, the tip of a chaos spear being pointed towards the kids' necks… ready to take their lives the moment those rebels try anything to weasel themselves out of our deal."
"You're suggesting we threaten the lives of children?" Shadow immediately questioned, his eyes scrutinising her with a strange fierceness.
"We're not actually going to kill them, idiot. But I think we're both capable enough of putting on a convincing performance – no?" She smiled confidently, her tone light and airy.
The hedgehog swallowed the bile that had risen up in his throat.
"You needn't say a word. I'll handle the talking."
…
A combination of Whisper's laser blasts and Vector's fire breath had resulted in several holes being made in the tall metal barrels – spilling it out bright, bubbling acids onto the ground.
It made the floor entirely more hazardous – and Tangle had to bound and leap around destroy the remaining Egg Pawns working at the labs.
"Where the hell even is Starline?!" Vector snapped, and Tangle shared in his confusion.
"Maybe he's preparing something?" Tangle suggested. "Like a mech or-?" The lemur cut herself off.
She skidded to a halt – laying eyes upon a face that she hadn't wanted to see.
"Rouge?"
Even over all of the blasts and weapons firing, they ceased immediately as a single name was spoken. It wasn't long before Vector and Whisper fell beside the lemur.
The crocodile clenched his fists at his side. Whisper glowered, raising her weapon slightly – but not making it so that she was entirely aiming. She was holding off on that for now.
"Hello!" Rouge waved, striding over slowly and then placing her hands behind her head. "Just the people we were looking for~"
"What are you doing here?" Tangle asked, watching the bat carefully.
"No 'Hello Rouge, how are you today?', hm?" Rouge questioned her mockingly. "But I suppose if you're eager to cut to the chase – I will do so as well. You're after the children, are you not?"
"You have them?" Tangle's eyes widened. "They're safe?" She added worriedly.
"They will be… as long as you comply." Rouge leered.
"Wh-wha-?"
A door opened from behind the bat's position, and of all people that had to show up, Shadow approached – and to the group's horror, he dragged out the three children – tied together by a mass of rope.
Cream quivered, crying silent tears. Ray held his head down low in shame while Charmy growled as he continued to writhe for a way of escape.
With three at his side, Shadow summoned a bolt of energy – a spear – and held the tip down – inches away from their faces.
"You wouldn't dare…" Vector spoke, a fire of rage ignited in his eyes. Tangle was surprised he didn't launch himself right at the bat for an attack.
"We took care of your Starline problem – so as long as you don't make this difficult, it'll all be smooth sailing." She informed them. "All we want is the Master Emerald. Give it to us, and the kids will get to live to see another day." She spoke so nonchalantly that it gave Tangle shivers.
"You wouldn't…" Tangle choked, her voice breaking in utter disbelief… but also disappointment. "You wouldn't do that."
"Perhaps I couldn't quite take their lives myself…" she began regretfully, "… but he certainly will." Rouge indicated to Shadow with a small head tilt.
"I'll punch you into the ground before you even think about laying a hand on him!" Vector yelled, suddenly beginning to march forward – but as soon as he moved – Shadow moved the spear just slightly closer towards Charmy's cheek. The bee recoiled, gasping with fear.
Vector stared at Charmy in horror, realising that by fighting back – he was just endangering the kid further. Reluctantly, Vector stabbed back in line as the hedgehog and crocodile locked gazes.
"Why?" Tangle asked, raising her voice. "Why go to such lengths?!"
"Because we are the ones actually willing to do whatever it takes for our goal." Rouge replied softly. "Getting hung up over morals doesn't get you all far in the real world – which is a lesson you seem to be learning far too late."
Whisper's ears flicked.
"I don't understand… I don't understand you. Were you always…?" Tangle let out, defeated.
"Less babbling and more decision making." Rouge interrupted her. "Are you going to give us the emerald, or are you going to let them die?"
"I'm not the one who can make that call-" the lemur's voice strained. "It's not my emerald."
"The Guardian isn't here right now, is he? So, I'm asking you… whether you like it or not, it's your call now."
Tangle gulped. "I-"
"We don't have all day~"
"I won't-"
"AAAARGH!" Shadow suddenly shrieked, and everyone's heads turned to him. It wasn't clear what was happening at first until the body of Espio revealed itself behind him.
The chameleon had managed to dig a blade through Shadow's back, and with how loud Shadow had yelled – Tangle shuddered to think of how deep it had been driven in.
Fighting through her shock, she used the opportunity provided to reach out her tail – wrapping it around the children and pulling them towards her – finally away from the danger.
"Shadow!" Rouge exclaimed – voice cracking with a surprising genuine fear. She started to run towards him, but suddenly backed away when she saw the hedgehog's body glow red.
She disappeared, looking for a place to hide.
"CHAOS BLAST!"
The room was bathed in a scarlet flash that died down as soon as it had come. Espio's body was flown across the room until it collided with the wall, and he dropped to the ground unconscious.
The others had barely been out of range of the blast – feeling hot burns against their skin – it was clear Shadow's target had been Espio, otherwise they would have been in a much worse state.
Rouge emerged from behind a barrel once the coast was clear, racing towards the hedgehog. "Shadow! Are you okay?"
Shadow grunted and winced – about to keel over due to his wound and exhaustion, but miraculously – he held himself up, refusing to fall. "I'm done… playing games-" he said.
He snapped his fingers.
"Chaos… control!"
…
She had only blinked - yet she found herself suddenly entangled in the rope, pressed against the bodies of Whisper, Vector, the three children, and even the unconcious Espio. How? She had been standing somewhere else one moment, and now she was here...
Tangle wasn't the only one confused - they all exchanged panicked looks with each other. Their muscles ached and throbbed due to the pevious blast, making it harder for them to attempt to escape.
"How did-?" Rouge looked around, even she didn't know what was going on. "How did that happen-?"
Shadow ignored her questioning, making his way forward to the tied up group on the ground. He leaned down in front of them, his red eyes dull and icy - nothing there but a stone cold rage.
He held a ball of chaos energy in his hand, and held it right up to Tangle's cheek. She could feel it tingle sharply on her skin, and she flinched from the pain. The lemur had to shut her eyes to avoid being blinded by the glow.
"We last fought the Guardian in Shamar." Shadow said. "Where is he now?"
"I genuinely don't know." She told him desperately.
"Is he on the island?"
She whimpered as the energy stung. "I don't know-!"
"No!" Whisper answered abrutply. "At least, he shouldn't be..."
Shadow immediately faded away the energy ball, standing up and making his way back to Rouge. Tangle turned her head around to the wolf, startled. "But... why did you?"
"He was fully prepared to kill you if you did not give an answer." She said, causing Tangle to look away.
"If the Guardian is still in the desert, and these fools are here - then there is no one currently on Angel Island that can defend that emerald, correct?" Tangle heard Shadow ask his partner.
Rouge nodded. "Yeah... but, can we really do anything now? You literally got stabbed-" She mentioned with worry.
"I am perfectly fine! I'll heal-" Shadow growled in irritation. "I can't falter here. We have to move quickly." Shadow stressed. "Guardians have an innate connection to the Master Emerald - as soon as move it, he'll know. So we just have to send him running in the wrong direction."
"How-?"
"Get back in the office - get something to write on, and listen to what I want you to put down."
The only thing the echidna could think to do was retreat back to the air ship.
Knuckles had done all he could do in regards to healing - which meant most of the cuts on Sonic's body had disappeared, while few only appeared faintly and were sure to fade away later.
Yet despite it all, Sonic didn't seem to be waking up any time soon.
Knuckles sighed softly. He had found these things labelled as 'Facial Wipes' in one of the air ship's compartments - and they were supposed to clean according to the words written, so he had resorted to using them to clean up the blood that had dried up on his face - gently pressing them against Sonic's cheeks.
He felt sorry for him, obviously - but a significant part of him felt furious. Angry that he'd ever let Sonic take a hit for him, when he was supposed to be the one protecting the hedgehog! What were his ancestors thinking now...?
Not only that, he realized - he also just... didn't want his friend to be hurt. Why had he thrown himself in the way like that...?
The hedgehog's chest rose and fell rythmically, assuring the echidna that Sonic was going to be okay.
At the very least, Sonic looked peaceful. Knuckles found himself staring for a moment, unable to help himself. Looking at him now... it truly dawned on Knuckles just how pretty Sonic was.
Wait, what? He didn't just think that- There was nothing to admire! Not his goregous, shining quills, nor his perfectly clear skin that was soft to the touch, and certainly not his beautifully toned frame-
Knuckles needed a distraction, his face covered in a deep blush as he looked away from the hedgehog in embarassment.
There were other, more important things he should be thinking about right now - but why did his brain insist on thinking about the stupid things?
For better... or for worse, he was soon snapped out of his flustered state.
A pain shot through Knuckles' nerves like a jolt of electricity. He clung to the ship's control panel, struggling to breathe as it felt like an uncomfortable knot was twisting sharply in his stomach.
Despite never having felt pain like this before, he knew exactly what it was. "No..." Knuckles whispered. "No, no, no- not the emerald-!" For a brief moment, he froze - without the slightest idea of what he could do.
This had never happened before, the emerald had never been taken under his watch - not even once.
He needed to go back to the island - quick. Sonic was the issue though, he couldn't just leave him here! What was he to do, what was he to do...?
To hell with it - he was coming with him.
...
Knuckles warped to the altar of Angel Island - and the emerald was gone.
Lanolin the Sheep was running up the steps, and Knuckles didn't try to stop her. "Knuckles! I- You're- I'm so sorry, none of us realised what was happening! There was a hedgehog that suddenly appeared and took the emerald and disppeared as soon as he arrived-!"
Knuckles had his attention focused on one thing only. He stared down at a notebook that was left in the emerald's stead, opened up to a single page that read:
Your friends need you in Station Square. They don't have much time left.
- S & R
"I-" Knuckles' shook his head. "Lanolin - listen to me-" He looked to her ugently. "Now that the emerald has been removed from the altar - the island has begun a slow descent towards the ocean. Don't panic. I will have my emerald back before then-"
"Knuckles-"
"I need to go-!" The echidna said, and he was already gone.
...
Knuckles' heart beat loudly like a drum - drowning out everything else. He searched for the blue trail, indicated where Shadow had previously been with the emerald - it would reveal the location of the others.
He sprinted as fast as he could, still holding the passed out hedgehog in his arms. Knuckles didn't want to leave him on the island, because if there was going to be a confrontation with Shadow - Sonic needed to be there.
The echidna didn't understand it fully, but... Sonic just... knew something. He knew something that no one else did, perhaps due to his divine revelations. He was the one determined to talk with the enemy rather than fight.
He turned several corners until he made it to a large facility that was already partially torn apart - as though a skirmish had taken place.
Running inside, he hopped over pieces of rubble and scattered robot parts - before feeling a huge swell of relief as his gaze lay upon the friends that he recongised. "Tangle! Whisper!" Knuckles exclaimed. "You're okay! Where are those-?"
It was a bit of an odd sight now that Knuckles was able to properly process it. Why was that crocodile and chameleon he had faced the first time he met Sonic... with Tangle and Whipser now? Knuckles watched as the crocodile stood and tore away a rope - but his movements were stiff, and he was clearly struggling to move. Ray and Cream were there - and they scrambled out as soon as they were free - as well as a bee Knuckles didn't recognise.
Tangle held her head down as she stood, and Whisper looked towards Knuckles.
"There's no danger here. Not anymore." The wolf said. "They just needed to bide themselves a little more time... so they sent you here. They're... likely boarding a shuttle to the ARK as we speak."
Life drained from the echidna's face, leaving him pale - too stunned to speak.
He had fallen for a trick - a stupid trick!
"We can still... we can still chase them though." Tangle said. "Right? We just need to get a shuttle! We just need to sort... you guys out-" She turned to Vector, Espio, and the children. "Can you guys get to Angel Island on your own?"
"Yeah... Charmy can fly me and Espio up."
"The other two can fly as well. Good - get to safety." She told them firmly.
"You... don't mind us being in your base?" Vector asked in shock.
"I do mind... but I don't exactly have a choice right now." Tangle admitted, quickly turning heel to face Knuckles. "You can hand Sonic over to Vector and they'll look after him-"
"No." Knuckles cut in. "We're taking him with. We'll need him when he wakes up."
Tangle bit back her tongue - looking as though she had so many questions she wanted to ask - such as how Sonic had even ended up like that in the first place, but there was simply no time - there was nothing to be done about it.
"I have had experience using Empire vehicles of many varieties." Whisper said. "While none of them have been... space shuttles... I should hopefully be able to figure it out quickly."
Tangle gave her a nod. "Good. Then... I guess it's us four?" Finally, she glanced towards Knuckles - awaiting his approval.
"Us four." He said, not wasting a beat.
They vanished into thin air - heading straight to the pyramid base, hopping on board a shuttle as quickly as possible.
The entire world was now at stake, they couldn't afford to waste a single moment.
"We have to hurry!" Shadow yelled back to Rouge. The two hopped out of their shuttle as soon as they had made it aboard the ARK. "Before they come after us!"
Shadow held the emerald above his head as they begun sprinting down the many halls of the galactic space station.
Rouge could only follow Shadow's lead, panting as they drew closer to the control room.
She still didn't understand those rebels – couldn't they see that destroying the Death Egg helped their cause? They wanted the Empire to fall, didn't they? So why weren't they letting her do this?
They at last made it into the room. Shadow activated his rocket shoes, hovering up to the holder atop a dark purple pillar. The bat watched on with bated breath, watching as the emerald perfectly fit within the slot.
Pale white and green energy immediately began to crackle like bolts of lightning around the central computer, until it all suddenly dissipated. Rouge stepped closer, watching as Shadow furiously typed on the keyboard to get everything running.
The bat managed to get a glimpse of the last thing he typed by looking over his shoulder.
MA-RI-A
"When you're ready…" Shadow said, stepping away from the computer to make room for her, "… after you."
For a moment, she was speechless, her heart racing in her chest drowned out even her own thoughts.
"Right…" She breathed out. "Finally."
There was a large glowing button – and all she had to do was press it.
Despite Whisper's inexperience, they had made swift progress through space. The space station was getting bigger and bigger as they drew yet closer and closer.
But it wasn't fast enough.
Never once Knuckles had thought he'd live his island, let alone reach the heights of space – but he couldn't bring himself to admire the view from the windows.
How had he failed so badly? How had he let his emerald slip right into the enemy's hands?
"Guys!" Tangle suddenly called out, jogging up to the cockpit. The lemur pointed out the window ahead. "The ship! It's glowing!"
There was a crack within the centre of the spherical space station, and a bright blue light began to seep out of it. Half of the ARK began to crack much to their confusion as they tried to figure out what was going on.
There was an explosion. Chunks of debris flew out across the expanse of space as the ARK was reduced to half of its original size.
Confusion melted away into the horror as they finally saw it - the cannon was finally exposed.
Knuckles' teeth clenched. "Can this shuttle move any faster?!" Knuckles asked Whisper, growling with each word.
"This is as fast as it can go." Whisper said regretfully, unable to keep his eyes off of the scene in front of him.
A long attachment connected to the ARK was opening up, revealing a bright light in the centre that swelled in size. Knuckles found himself rooted to the spot, standing powerlessly, holding onto a breath as he knew… that they had just ran out of time.
A blue beam shot out towards the Death Egg - and it was obliterated in a single blast.
She had witnessed it through the monitor screen.
Rouge almost couldn't fathom it. She stepped backwards in her shock, gawking as the once infamous Death Egg was vaporized in mere seconds.
The emperor's former base of operations… torn down to nothing but pieces of rubble scattering themselves among the stars.
She had done it.
A gleeful giggle escaped her lips, and she quickly covered her mouth – but try as she might, her joy couldn't be contained.
"I- Ha! I did it!" She exclaimed, flying upwards as she couldn't contain herself. "They must be panicking down below now! Oh, wow… this is… holy shit, if only I could see that old man's face right now! I-!"
She landed down, beaming at Shadow. "Just imagine how angry he must be now that we've taken out his biggest facility! And this is just the first domino to fall! Think about how else his perfect Empire is gonna collapse!" Her heart fluttered with delight.
Revenge certainly did taste sweet.
...
The heroes' shuttle landed in the hangar. With Sonic still not awake, Knuckles regretfully had to admit that he couldn't afford to carry Sonic around anymore. They'd leave him for now - and if, when the hedgehog awoke - he'd have to find them.
"This place is pretty big... how are we-?" Tangle began.
"I can sense the emerald's energy! We need to move!" Knuckles announced, already taking off - forcing the two girls to sprint after him.
...
"He finally knows now… he knows what it's like to lose." Saying those words caused more laughter to bubble within her chest, and she allowed herself to release it.
Despite their victory, Shadow remained impassive. She shook her head, grinning at him. "We won! Why are you like that still, huh? Aren't you going to celebrate?"
"No. I'm waiting." He replied.
She tilted her head, to happy to really register what he was saying. "Huh? What do you mean-?"
Alarms blared. The room glowed and flashed red. Rouge quickly sought to cover her ears, flinching at the noise. "Shadow-?"
The monitor suddenly dipped into darkness, before then displaying a timer in bold, red numbers.
30:00
29:59
29:58
Needless to say, she wasn't smiling now. She was able to remove her hands from her ears and looked to Shadow in bewilderment. "What's… what's the timer for?"
He didn't respond, instead choosing to lean against the computer.
"Shadow?" She raised her voice with increasing concern, staring at him.
"They did try to tell you." Shadow said softly.
Rouge blinked. "What are you-?"
"But you didn't listen, did you?"
"You-" She found herself stuttering in her bewilderment. "What are you saying?"
Shadow tilted his head towards the timer on the monitor. "This is showing you the amount of time the world has left. Once the timer reaches zero, the ARK will crash into the planet – and all life… will cease to exist."
Rouge's heart failed to beat. Her skin quickly grew white, her eyes widened and yet – she couldn't see clearly. The world became dizzying, like it was falling into a haze.
She trembled.
"N-no-" She gasped. "You're not serious- You're not, you're not… you're…" No amount of shaking her head could wave away reality. The pace of her beathing quickened. "How…? Why?!"
"Why are you so shocked?" Shadow countered, his voice dripping with ice. "Sonic told you everything about what I intended to do."
"No-"
"It was you who chose not to heed his warnings." Shadow said simply. "But you thought you knew better, didn't you?"
"I never wanted this!" Rouge exclaimed, a spark suddenly igniting within her. All of her fur stood on end. "You were supposed to work for me! You were supposed to help with my goals! How did this-?"
"I serve only one man – Professor Gerald Robotnik, my original creator." Shadow told her, no longer leaning – but standing straight to meet her gaze. "I seek only to fulfil his dying wish – to bring an end to Mobius and its inhabitants."
"This can't-" Rouge's ears flattened as she took a step away from the hedgehog. "Why would you do this? Who would want this?"
Shadow took in a deep breath, closing his eyes – he looked like he didn't really want to answer her. After considering it though, he gave in – and he didn't hold anything back.
"This world has caused nothing but an endless cycle of pain. Deep down, mobians and humans at their core… are selfish and vindictive creatures. They allow greed to consume them and will fight and even kill each other over it!" Shadow raised his voice, narrowing his eyes. He stepped towards her despite her attempts to back away. "You've seen it with your own eyes, haven't you? A world led by a narcissistic madman and his army of heartless soldiers… the planet was but a few steps away from an utter apocalypse!"
"You have no idea what you're talking about!" Rouge snapped back at him. "The world wasn't always like how it is today! A-and people make mistakes, they aren't perfect – but there are plenty of people who are kind, plenty of those who just want to live peaceful lives-!"
"That's why you stole from them, right?"
Rouge's heart dropped within her chest. "Huh…?"
"You were a thief before the takeover, weren't you? You seemed rather proud of it, in fact." He mentioned. "There wasn't guilt, was there? You didn't think about how you were harming the innocent; you didn't care – all you cared about was trying to feed your greed – an ugly monster that no doubt only grew with every heist."
Rouge opened her mouth to speak, but Shadow wasn't finished with her.
"You'd think that, perhaps, an event as monumental as Ivo's takeover would have prompted you to reconsider how you spent your life… but once again, you let your selfishness and hatred for others consume you. You were a part of a team, but not once could you bring yourself to care about other people – they were only ever tools to service you, and whenever they questioned you… whenever they stepped out of line, whenever one of them suggested there might be a better way… you just hated it – didn't you?"
He began to walk around in a circle around her, finally being able to let go of all the resentment he had built up towards her throughout their journey. "Because you're obsessed with control. Your ego is so inflated that you lost to Ivo once – and then made it your life's mission to kill him! You destroyed every friendship you had left because of it!"
Her legs trembled and gave way, and she fell to her knees – staring through Shadow, through everything – as a cold numbness overtook her.
"Then you decided that the only person worthwhile to you was me, someone who you thought was literally programmed to agree with you and fulfil your desires. You ignored all the other's attempts to get through to you because you couldn't bear the thought of losing me – because then you'd have to confront just how exactly alone you are. It's almost sad."
She hung her head low.
"Yet you had the audacity to stutter and play the innocent card as soon as the timer began… as though your actions somehow hadn't led to this." He at last stopped in front of her, looking down upon the bat with nothing but pure disgust.
"You are one miserable, pathetic creature. A textbook example of just how corrupt everyone on Mobius truly is…"
She couldn't do anything.
Shadow couldn't bare the sight of her much long either, he turned – walking away back towards the computer. "So, I suggest you make peace with what you've set in motion. You have just under thirty minutes to live – I don't care how you spend it."
Of course, he wouldn't care.
There was no one else who would either.
How had she let this happen? How had she been responsible for helping bring about to the end of the world?
Her entirely history was laid bare in front of her eyes by a man who barely knew her – and yet, all he said was true.
It was why she was alone.
Had she always been such a nasty person? Had she ever been of any worth… to anyone?
It would seem all she had done was ruin people's lives, as well as her own – perhaps it really was fate that led her to here, dooming an entire world because of her actions.
She wanted to make it right. There were only thirty minutes left… but she wanted to at least try.
With every last ounce of strength, she brought herself to stand. She grunted, her breathing picking up again raggedly. Her eyes locked onto Shadow as the hedgehog simply stared off into the distance.
She sprinted forward, launching a punch towards his face.
He barely managed to swerve his head to avoid the blow. His expression was stunned – before quickly shifting into a fierce glare.
Rouge kneed him in the stomach, an attack that sent him almost falling backwards. She quickly kicked him again in his side – flinging the hedgehog's body across the bridge.
Shadow was down for now, giving her just a tiny window before he recovered. She flew up towards the Master Emerald on top of the pillar – perhaps if she removed it, everything would shut down! It only made sense, right-?
She reached out for it, praying he'd stay down just for a bit longer, a moment more.
He appeared in the air above, bringing his fists down and sending her straight back down on the ground.
She landed with an unceremonious thud.
Shadow warped back down on the ground, standing in front of her lying, shaking body. "What the hell are you trying to do?"
"I'm trying…. t-to stop the damage I've caused." She said, slowly pushing herself up from the ground.
Shadow viciously stared at her; a flame of rage ignited in his eyes. "What makes you think you even stand a chance?"
"Nothing…" She whispered, standing on quivering legs. "But I have to try."
Unable to believe that this woman was now coming in the way of his plans, he summoned a chaos spear – but instead of throwing it, he wielded it in attempt to strike blows at her. She ducked and weaved between his swings, but she was being pushed back as Shadow kept moving forward.
She took off into the air and Shadow threw the spear. It grazed the side of her cheek, but it was a pain she could live through.
Rouge took off for the emerald once again, but Shadow suddenly appeared behind her in the air – grabbing hold of her legs. He swung her around repeatedly in a circle around his body – before throwing her body up at the ceiling.
She yelled in pain and started to fall to the ground, but during her descent – she brought herself upright, using her wings to slow her fall.
Shadow was waiting for her though. He warped in front of her, and way faster than she could ever hope to react to. He unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks – then launched her with one final blow on her chest that sent her flying into the computer panel.
The severe aching those repeated strikes had left her in caused her to yelp and gasp to regain her breath.
Shadow charged ahead at her before she could recover, picking her up and placing a hand on the back of her head, proceeding to twist her around and bash her face into the control panel.
Her nose cracked as her face was rammed into hard metal, and skin was torn open as her face was cut and bruised against the many buttons and levers.
She howled in sheer agony, and Shadow grabbed her mercilessly by the neck – tossing her aside.
Rouge was trembling and limp on the ground, desperately clinging on to her consciousness.
The dark hedgehog gazed down at her, regaining his own breath. "I will not… falter here. I will avenge her!"
Then suddenly, the timer on the monitor disappeared – giving way to a screen of static. White noise swarmed the air. Rouge looked to Shadow and saw that even he was surprised by these events.
The screen went dark, before fading to display one of the most disturbing things she had ever seen.
An old man sat in the chair, dressed in a lab coat – baring an appearance that resembled Robotnik's in plenty of ways. His head drooped down as though he were a ragdoll, and he was being physically tied to his seat by heavy iron chains.
He appeared to be in some kind of cell, with nonsensical writing on the walls in the background that didn't even appear to be real words.
The man spoke in a weak rasp.
"This is a death sentence for every living being on Mobius. If my calculations are correct, the Space Colony ARK will impact the earth in twenty-seven minutes and fifty-three seconds. All of you will be destroyed, along with your beloved planet Mobius."
…
Knuckles, Whisper, and Tangle picked up the pace – even as the screens flickered on, and the audio begun to play a message – they couldn't let it slow them down. They listened as they sprinted.
They had to stop Shadow.
…
"I plan to give you a taste of my revenge, once all the seven Chaos Emeralds are collected. Once I initiate this program, it cannot be disabled. All of you ungrateful creatures, who took everything away from me... will feel my loss, and despair!"
Rouge's eyes drifted towards Shadow and saw he was transfixed by the footage. She tried to pick herself up but didn't have the strength – falling back down after pushing herself up barely a few inches off the floor.
"Is there anything else you want to say?" A voice spoke from off the camera.
"No…"
"Ready!" They shouted.
"I plan to give you a taste of my revenge-"
Shadow's shoulders jerked at the sound of a gunshot in the footage before the screen cut to black. His mouth was hung just slightly agape as he watched on in disbelief.
Shadow slowly relaxed his muscles, but his eyes gave away an undeniable fear and discomfort.
...
Tangle shut her eyes as soon as she heard the gunshot, trying to focus on keeing up her pace.
"You can't let it get to you." Whisper assured her softly.
...
The old man's voice spoke again despite the lack of any visual footage. It seemed to be the playback of an audio log… separate to what they had just witnessed.
"I don't quite know what happened, or what went wrong. Was it a mistake to create the Ultimate Life Form?"
Shadow's ears drooped.
"I thought it would be something that would benefit mankind... But then the military guards landed on the Colony that day. They were sent to destroy the research project that I had been working on. My colleagues at the research facility, my granddaughter Maria, I hope you are all safe."
Whatever this was, it was obviously taken before the video she had just seen – where he hadn't yet known the fate of that girl – Maria. Then, it seemed to shift to an entirely separate audio log – where the man sounded considerably more broken.
"The ARK was shut down under the premise that there had been an accident. I found Maria's name among those who died when the ARK was shut down. She meant everything to me! And I couldn't bear the thought that she died because of my research. I lost everything! I had nothing more to live for! I went insane! All I could think about, was to avenge her! Somehow, someway, I got scared as I no longer was able to control my thoughts."
…
"This…" Tangle spoke, unable to keep herself silent on the matter of what they were hearing anymore – even when their situation was so dire and they had to keep running. "How did such a tragedy even happen…?"
"There's little we can do about it now." Knuckles told her, his stomach churning the more he listened to the frail doctor speak. "Let's focus on what we can do in the present!"
They were almost there.
…
"All I could think about, was that I wanted it all to end. Based on my original projections, I was able to complete my project - Shadow. I designed its mind to be perfect, pure... I will leave everything to it. If you wish, release, and awaken it to the world…"
Shadow felt his blood run cold.
"… if you wish to fill the world with destruction."
He gulped, eyes wide in hurt.
His own creator, the man he called a father – referring to him… as simply an 'it'.
Just a project, nothing more.
Shadow's arms quivered as he leaned against the control panel, heaving in breaths. What was Gerald referring to by… completing him? Making his mind pure…?
"Shadow, your memories aren't real! Gerald made-!"
Sonic's words returned to him… had he somehow known? Was this what he was talking about? Had Gerald… done something to him?
Had he really given him fake memories? Was he being controlled?
Shadow looked around him, but there weren't going to be any answers. If his memories weren't even real then… what did he have?"
The hedgehog held his head in his hands as he abruptly roared in pain – a sharp sting and throbbing starting up in his brain, feeling like a hammer was trying to beat it senseless.
"Shadow…" Rouge said quietly.
He turned around to her with a snarl, his left arm bubbling and contorting into a gooey mess of scales. Claws tore through the tips of his glove, and the two fangs in his mouth grew longer in a mere matter of seconds.
"Don't." Shadow's voice came out sounding distorted. "Must… must serve… my creator. Must…. fulfil the promise… I made to her… that I… think I made…"
His thoughts no longer made sense. His consciousness formed no stream of thought, it was all broken. Just words, images-
Shadow's head jerked to the side, before suddenly doing so again – before it became repeated twitching. "That I made to her. To… to Maria… to her."
He began slowly stepping towards the bat. She wanted nothing more than to run, but she knew her legs would give way as soon as she tried. Her heart pounded, and she turned her head away.
"I watched… from behind glass… as my whole world was ripped… away."
The transforming hedgehog sparked a chaos spear within his hands and raised it above his head. She shut her eyes in denial.
"All alone..."
Hi :) Hoo boy did the action pick up in this chapter! Let's recap:
Robotnik, Orbot, and Cubot have left the Death Egg - so of course they're all fine smh
Starline got punched in the face and locked in a closet
The nine year olds are traumatized
Espio pulled a dope move but Shadow's just a durable mfer
Shadow can still stop time babyyyy
Knuckles is having gay thoughts
The Chaotix and the kids have made it back to safety
Knuckles, Tangle, Whipser, and Sonic have made it to the ARK
The Death Egg is destroyed
Shadow finally got to call out Rouge
She tried to fight him but lost - is she showing signs of turning around for the better?
Gerald's message continues to be traumatizing
Shadow is going crazy and transforming...
Now there's like 25 minutes until the world ends... and Sonic's not even awake
YEAH, that all happened baby - setting up for the next parts of the act finale! Completely random and unrelated question - how ya'll feel about lizards?
Anyways - a couple of fun facts I wanted to share about Gerald's message. First, I switched Gerald's written diary entries for audio tapes because I'm dramatic, and none of the characters would have his diary on hand anyway but I still wanted them to hear it lol. And other fun fact! - I only had to change one instant of Gerald calling Shadow a 'him' - the rest? Gerald legit just referred to Shadow as an 'it'. Talk about being a terrible dad..
Let me know what you thought of this one in a review! Hope it wasn't too confusing or fast paced - there was a lot of cutting between different events, and when characters can warp all over the place it can be a bit much so - hopefully you could follow well! Hope you're all excited for the next parts! :) I know I am~ Next time, we're getting a fight that I think everyone has been wanting to see~
But for now though, I'll see ya'll later! :) Thank you so much for the support so far!