Review Responses:

To Void Reader: Yes, Trevor Burrows and Spike the Porcupine are dead. They are never going to return. As for negative traits, yes, Archie Sonic has them. He's far from a perfect character. I designed for Spike to be that way as a parody of a toxic former fanboy who wants to be the better version of their former idol out of jealousy and envy while taking the easy way out of life instead of striving to better themselves. The reason why Nazo Unleashed (at least this alternate version of it) is canon was to make Dark Sonic canon. It's going to be a plot point later on. The difference is that Sonic and Shadow used Chaos Unification to merge into Shadic and killed Nazo sooner, meaning no Perfect Nazo. This is why Sonic is more proactive and on edge rather than being reactive and normally laid back. And yes, Sally has used the Deep Power Stones by herself like in SatAM, but "Doomsday" was called the "Day of Reckoning" in this continuity.

Boss Teal: Scourge exists, but Moebius doesn't. This continuity mimics the games more than other media. The parallel word to Mobius or the Prime Zone is the Sol Zone, which is just an alternate Mobius four hundred years into the future. So, Scourge is in the Sol Zone.

That's all for now, on with the show.

Chuck's laboratory, Ministry of Science, New Mobotropolis

"Smashing!" The king of Acornia gasped excitedly.

Upon returning from the mission, Team Sonic, Amy, Sally, and Bunnie had gone to search for his majesty, only to find King Max discussing certain matters with the older hedgehog in Sir Charles' lab. And the first thing that Sally did was present her keepsake to her father.

Now, the king had held a real Chaos Emerald in his hands, ecstatic at the reality that he and a lot of his people believed to be a concept to be merely a myth.

"My father has only told me about these in legends…" Max stated below an indoor voice. "And yet, here is one of them in the palm of my hand. A Gem of Miracles, a Chaos Emerald."

Sir Charles also marveled at the cyan-colored gemstone, much to the delight of the group. The war veteran turned to teenagers and spoke to them with high regard. Namely, he looked towards his nephew.

"I knew you were going to do great things when you grew up, Sonny-boy, but your adventures have led to a rediscovery that is revolutionary." Sir Charles said with excitement in his voice as well. "You, your friends, and the princess alongside Bunnie have done an incredible job recovering the gem. Now, we are only closer in the field of research scientifically, but we are one step closer to our goal in putting an end to this war. Great job."

The group smiled amongst themselves, proud of their work while the younger azure hedgehog gave his uncle a thumbs up.

"Hehe! No problem, Uncle!" Sonic said with a smile.

Upon finishing the inspection of the emerald, the king handed the Chaos Emerald back to his daughter, who allowed Sir Charles to hold onto it for the time being in order to study it in his laboratory.

"With that being said, a formal mission report is in order," Max informed in a regal manner.

"Well, the first half of the mission went like this…" Sonic started, explaining the first part of their time in Sand Blast City when the Phantoms were attacking the city, everybody's contribution, and the arrival of the now-defunct Desert Raiders trio.

"Hm…That seems to line up with what the baron told me." King Max confirmed.

"Yeah… However, the next part is split up into separate accounts." Sonic revealed while inhaling, turning his head in Sally and Knuckles' direction. "Knux, Sal, take it away."

Knuckles then recounted his side of the mission, and how Bunnie, Amy, and himself realized that the Desert Raiders (as in Spike and Tremor) were traitors that set them up in a trap. Knuckles went into detail that he had to fight and defeat Tremor in a one-on-one brawl, which ended with Knuckles not only collecting the second piece of the Master Emerald but allowing him to save Bunnie and Amy.

After that, the king's daughter finished by addressing Spike's betrayal, the fight between them against the porcupine with the assistance of the reluctant Sonar. Sally spoke about the integrity of Tails which played an important part in Sonar's development and eventual switching of sides. She then intentionally skimmed over the details of Spike's defeat, finishing the mission report.

Seemingly satisfied, the king dismissed everybody to carry on with their day except for Sally, whom the king told to stay behind. As everybody left, Sally turned to recognize the look that both Sir Charles and King Max had on their face, knowing full well that she was withholding information.

"Is there something else that you need, Daddy?" Asked the seventeen-year-old princess.

"There is something we'd wish to speak to you about, away from the others darling." King Max replied.

"...R-Right." Sally nodded, understanding where the conversation was going. "About the mission."

Sir Charles spoke up, clarifying, "Yes, you seemed to have been vague about Oliver's battle with Spencer. Care to explain why that is the case?"

"W-Well…He…" Sally tried to explain but failed.

Sally averted her eyes, given the position she was in. She was still processing what she was back in that small room under the refinery, and it was something unsettling to her. More So than any Phantom she had ever faced. Seeing the usually calm and reserved young lady appear shaken worried the two older men, given their connections to her.

The king asked, "...Sally. What's wrong, dear? You're staring at the floor."

"Did something happen in the refinery?" Sir Charles questioned. "...Did Spencer hurt you?"

"What?!" Sally blurted out loud, returning to her right state of mind. "No! If anything, he got hurt. …But Oliver. Well, I suppose I have no choice but to come clean."

Sally, with a heavy heart, began to recount the instance of Spike's brutal submission at the hands of Sonic. This included the part where Spike backhanded Sonar after taking her brave stand against the Desert Raiders' criminal lifestyle and her (reluctant and begrudged) allegiance to Naugus. This entailed Sonic's rage erupting in the form of a partial change in his appearance and utterly manhandling the porcupine to near death. If it wasn't for her intervening verbally, Spike would have died by his hands.

"...After that, he used the gem to teleport us back to the city. We stayed a while to help out Lord Lightfoot and his citizens after Sir Arthur's departure. We came back here once we were finished with everything." Sally finished.

Maximilian and Sir Charles were both speechless with their blood running cold at the information. Neither of them didn't know how to feel or what to think about the new development Sonic was currently undergoing. Regardless, it was indeed an unsettling one to ponder about.

"...By the Walkers…" Sir Charles sighed, wiping his forehead.

"...Troublesome," The king inhaled. "This is quite the troublesome account indeed."

"Daddy, I'm worried about him. I've never seen Oliver so…unhinged with anger before. If I hadn't stepped in to snap him out of it, he would have-"

Max raised a hand, "Hush, child. We do not think about 'what could have been' or 'what ifs'. What's done is done."

"He's right, princess." Sir Charles added. "What has happened has occurred and there's nothing left to do but to move forward from it. However, this darker state of his has piqued my interest…and concern."

The two royals turned to the nobleman with Max asking, "What is your take on this matter, old friend?"

"This may be just a gut feeling, but I believe Oliver's darker transformation may be linked to his other one." Sir Charles suggested.

Sally's mind then went back to the image of one of their satellites depicting Sonic being covered in a golden light.

"You're not referring to that golden form that he was in while up in space, are you, Sir Charles?" Sally inquired.

Sir Charles smirked, giving the girl a nod while saying, "You're astute as ever, Sally. That's correct."

"How can you be so sure this is the case?" The king debated, cocking an eyebrow at the older hedgehog.

Sir Charles continued to smirk while holding the cyan Chaos Emerald in his hand, looking at his reflection on it.

"...Hm, you call it a hunch if you will. Though, I truly believe that it has something to do with the relationship between powerful emotions and how it applies to Chaos Energy. Once again, this is more of a gut feeling than anything."

"Relying on your instincts, are we, Sir Charles?" Max mused with a playful smile. "Hehe, it appears that your brother has rubbed off on you more than we imagined."

Sir Charles chuckled as well with his eyes still on the gemstone, stating, "I suppose you're right. And somehow, his intuition always ended up being accurate."

"Sir Charles, what do you purpose we do about this… Dark Sonic?" Sally asked while using her fingers as a quotation.

Placing the gemstone by a nearby console, Sir Charles said, " …I'm not too sure at the moment. It's obvious that the boy has issues emotionally and possibly on a psychological level. The fact that he hasn't asked anything about his parents only further concerns me. And he's anything like his father, he doesn't like to talk about what bothers him or makes him feel vulnerable."

"Yes…He is much like Sir Jules in that sense." Sally confirmed before smiling softly. "But Oliver has also shown to carry Queen Aleena's caring heart in him too. He would rather listen and help out with other people's problems while brushing off his own."

The two men nodded, taking in this information.

"You don't think that Miles or Oliver's other friends knew about this form either, do they, daughter?" The king asked Sally.

The chipmunk shook her head, "Not that I know of. Tails was just as shocked as everybody else. But I think he suspected an issue with Oliver's overall attitude. It was like he was suppressing his feelings. Bottling them up inside."

Sir Charles' face frowned at this as he said, "He must have been doing this to himself since the separation. Poor child."

Upon thinking over what should be done, the king announced, "...If that is the case, then a mission is in order."

Sally and Sir Charles turned to the king with their complete attention on him.

"From what I have gathered, Oliver's mental state is being questioned, for there is a darker power lurking from within him. The two of you seem to be the only select few that he listens to. With that being said, we must take precautions in case things get out of control. The last thing we need is for Oliver to become a danger to himself, and other people including the kingdom." The king said as he turned to Sally.

"Sally, Oliver needs an emotional anchor. A person to trust whenever he's in need of a confidant who is willing to listen and be patient with him. And since Oliver values your opinion and your words, you're more than qualified to quell those feelings of repressed rage and anger. Your mission is to pay close attention to Oliver. Make sure to regulate his emotions to avoid that darker transformation. If there's any information that can be of use to us involving either Oliver or anything related to his transformations, report it to me and or Sir Charles."

Sally gave her dutiful nod, saying, "I will."

Turning to Sir Charles, Max said, "While Sally is maintaining her end of the mission, you can take the time to further the progression of your Chaos Theory. Now that we have one of them, results should come about much sooner, especially if your flesh and blood are involved and since we have a real Chaos Emerald on our hands."

"It should be so, your majesty." Sir Charles said.

"Good, then it's settled. This operation must stay between us three until further notice. This needs to be conducted extremely delicately, given the nature of this kind of mission. Until we are certain of what we're dealing with, it must be kept secret unless I say otherwise." King Max finished.

Sally and Sir Charles nodded for the last time before Max ended the conversation, allowing Sally to leave the laboratory.

Eggman's Base, Great Forest Mountain Range, Acornia

"Curses!" Shouted an irate roboticist known as Dr. J. Ivo Robotnik, who sat on his chair by the main computer of his base of operations. Beside him was the ever calculating Ixis Warlock, Naugus the Dark.

At this time, the doctor had received news from the troll that the wizard's servants that acted as his counter ops had found an emerald. However, upon fumbling in the last minute, the ops had lost the gemstones to Sonic and the Freedom Fighters. Needless to say, the aspiring conqueror was displeased at the news.

"Damn that accursed hedgehog and his meddlesome ways!" Spat the large Overlander. "Not only does he and his annoying little friends show up, but he joins your merry band of misfits! And thanks to that and your spy group's little muck up, we've lost the first emerald to the enemy!"

While the "Eggman" spent a solid two minutes complaining, Naugus initially tuned him out, playing a certain memory of two individuals he had properly dealt with beforehand, Once the scientist was done, Naugus spoke to Robotnik in a causal manner, much to Robotnik's chargin.

"Calm yourself, fair doctor," Naugus said in a calm yet chilling manner. "Team Sandstorm's blunder falls in my hands. And believe me when I say that I took full accountability on my end."

The evil scientist snorted, saying, "That's a fine thing, Warlock. But that doesn't remedy the issue that those rodents are a Chaos Emerald ahead of us! Blasted! ...I knew a few of my robots should have accompanied those fools. At least machines can obey without question."

Upon hearing a pattern in his machines, plans, and strategy, Naugus started to believe that there was a recurring denominator that the troll didn't account for until a certain porcupine brought it to his attention as well.

Turning to Robotnik, Naugus asked the scientist, "I would like to know something, doctor."

"Oh yeah? What is it?" The doctor asked flatly.

"I would like more information about this mortal adversary that you have." The wizard clarified, immediately getting the attention of Dr. Robotnik.

Nodding in a huff, Dr. Robotnik's chair swiveled in the direction of the computer while the man began typing on his keyboard. With a few clicks, an entire file was brought up.

"SNIVELY, bring up the HEDGEHOG files."

"A password is required, sir." The droning AI stated.

"P-I-N-C-U-S-H-I-O-N."

"Password accepted. Accessing the HEDGEHOG files."

Suddenly, a full-body picture of Sonic appeared which included his past adventures and his abilities on smaller screens on the sides. Sonic's iconic grin appeared on the irises of Naugus and the glasses of the doctor.

"In all my years of combat, research, and inventing, never has a person or concept ever challenged my intellect or my patience profoundly like Sonic the Hedgehog. This…child, his ungodly speed, and the hyperactive kineticism he possesses have constantly bested every critical and carefully calculated course of action I had laid out. Everything that I've thrown at him, he learned, adapted, and countered. And with every loss, I too grew and learned. This charade of cat and mouse has been going on for eight years, nearly an entire decade of my time wasted. Even so, I cannot get rid of this literal thorn on my side for the life of me!"

As Naugus listened to the doctor's rant, the troll couldn't help but lean closer to the computer's screen, looking at the picture of Sonic. For some strange reason, something stood out about Sonic. Something that irked the sorcerer.

Sonic's eyes or his eye color to be precise.

He had seen them before. Upon further inspection, he glanced at Sonic's appearance and found a familiarity with the color of his fur and the shape of his quills, a strange sensation of realization had finally clicked. But instead of merely getting angry, a strange expression of twisted interest formed on his face.

'...Oh! Well, what do you know? It looked like he survived after all. …Good, Good.'

"...I believe that I have come to an understand of the situation at hand." Naugus cryptically stated with a crooked smirk, which piqued Robotnik's curiosity.

"Huh? What are you on about?" The doctor asked. "I mean, great! ….What exactly do you understand?"

"What has come to my attention is that your enemy is also my enemy. As you see, Julian, you're not dealing with the average Mobian hedgehog. Rather, you're dealing with something...more."

Robotnik gave the wizard a flat stare, acquiring the feeling that Naugus was insulting his intelligence.

"...Yes, like I haven't already fathomed that." Muttered Robotnik. "Where are you going with that?"

"Tell me, what do you know of the lost kingdom of Azuron?" Asked the master magician.

"Eggman" was about to answer, yet he paused upon not having a response.

"I...uh...Huh. I don't think I've ever heard of it before." Robotnik said while running his fingers through his mustache.

"That should be the case, given that was my doing. Nonetheless, the Kingdom of Azuron formerly was a nation that covered what is now considered the Great Frontier. It was founded in the Era of Alexander Acorn by King Arthur Cobalt I three hundred years ago. For fifteen generations, the House of Cobalt had been blessed with incredible powers and abilities by the members of their family in each generation. This, and its reputation for having a phenomenal military force and stronghold made it one of the most powerful nations on the planet. Its prestige allowed them to form a long-lasting alliance with the Kingdom of Acornia." Explained Naugus.

"That's a fascinating tale. However, I don't see how this has anything to do with my problem." The doctor stated.

"Patience, doctor… I'm getting to that," Naugus said calmly. "The last Queen of Azuron was a young wench named Aleena. She was accompanied by two knights of the remaining Order of Azure: the studious and cunning Sir Charles and his accursed annoyance of a brother, Sir Jules. They survived the fall of Azuron and lived a life of semi-normalcy. And somehow, Aleena and Jules married and conceived a child."

Naugus smiled at Dr. Robotnik as he continued, "What's an interesting fact is that typical phenotypes for Azurite hedgehogs are usually described to have various shades of blue fur and quills that curve back. And something that the Cobalt lineage possesses irises with an emerald green hue. ...Does that sound familiar?"

As the wizard's words ran through Robotnik's mind, what was being conveyed quickly took a hold of the mad scientist.

"...Are you saying that-!?"

"...Exactly so, doctor. Sonic the Hedgehog is the last son of Azuron. Prince Cobalt." Naugus revealed.

"...You're kidding, right? The rodent, royalty? Please! I found that rodent in the neutral territory during one of my first outings for conquest! As far as I know, Sonic's a common South Islander!" The "Eggman" ranted before stopping as he leaned to the wizard with a suspicious expression. "...How do you know about the boy's so-called heritage?"

Naugus chuckled darkly as he explained, "Let's just say that I have... a history with those hedgehogs. Particularly, the boy's bastard father. No matter, there's no use in speaking about the dead."

"Dead? What makes you think that they're dead?" Dr. Robotnik questioned. "I know how resilient they can be."

Naugus only glanced at the doctor with the same dark smirk, peering into the soul of the mad doctor. The looming and menacing aura that surrounded the wizard along with the devilish stare gave the doctor a clear answer to his question.

Robotnik gasped, "...You-!"

"Hahaha!" Naugus laughed deviously. "Ah...And now, their son still lives. Finally, I have found a window of opportunity to enact more agony to a Cobalt, and one that's grown to be more than a challenge no less."

"...Let's say that I humor you about this, what can this knowledge do for us?" The evil Overlander questioned.

"This means that I may have a few ways on how to take care of your little hedgehog problem. With my help, the certainty of the destruction of Cobalt is guaranteed." Grinned the wizard.

Standing straight from his computer, a crazed and desperate face twisted on the face of Robotnik as he pleaded, "You must tell me! I beg of you! That vermin has tormented my consciousness for too long! I need retribution!"

Naugus could only smirk as he stated, "Very well...But for the ultimate outcome to be of satisfaction, we will conduct things my way."

Robotnik nodded as he glared at the screen that displayed the image of his archenemy.

Abandoned House, Ruins of Castle, Ruins of Soleanna

Shadow entered the old home, which happened to look quite bigger and vast than what the outside had previously alluded to.

It was like the black hedgehog had stepped into a pocket dimension that was the size of a small mansion with another story for good measure.

The best way to describe the aesthetic of the Victorian. The decor was an ornamental and lavish style, containing opulent furnishings, tapestries, patterned wallpaper, rich colors, flowers, and sentimental pictures and drawings. The rooms themselves were heavily decorated with rich furnishings, patterned wallpapers, colored tiles, pictorial tapestries, large houseplants, and chintz china. And the surface? Adorned with fleur-de-lys, medallions, arches, ovals, garlands, and wreaths.

As he looked around, Shadow felt something…odd to say the least about the air and atmosphere. The strange sensation was not too strong for Shadow to act upon it, but its presence was great enough for the hedgehog to stay on guard as it sat in his mind.

"...Strange. This house not only seems to be the only one to be completely intact after the explosion thirty years ago, but it is much large in scale from the inside than on the outside." Shadow said, walking around

As he looked around, Shadow ended up in the living room. The setup was followed by a small table that had a victorian couch behind it with two chairs adjacent. On the table was a set that had a teapot, china plates, and teacups for three people. Near that spot were a window and seven steps away from the window was the china cabinet. And away from that going south was a fireplace that held candles and a small miniature grandfather clock.

Turning to the right, Shadow's eyes widen from what he was looking at.

Next to a flag of the royal emblem was a portrait of a group of important individuals outside of the old palace. One of them that took front center was a middle-aged scientist with a brown coat, tie, and shoes. He had white hair and a reasonably sized white beard. He wore dark brown pants. Under his coat, he wears a blue suit with yellow buttons on it. Next to this scientist were two important figures. One was a man who was an older man, though not as quite as old as the scientist, He wore a fez, a white coat with the royal symbol on his right breast, matching trousers, and black boots. Right beside him was a young girl who looked to be seven years old. She had on an orange layered shirt of short-puffed sleeves with red and white triangle-patterned trims at the middle of them, and a pink transparent collar at the top of the shirt; orange puffy pants with red and white triangle-patterned trims at the end, a golden belt of black edges with a bow at the back, and red Mary Jane shoes.

Recalling those two figures, Shadow realized that this was the late King of Soleanna, Pietro Pesaro V di Soleanna, and his late daughter, Princess Elise Leonor III di Soleanna.

"Hmph. So this was the home of either a monarch or somebody related to the crown."

Shadow's extrasensory ability flared as that same sensation filled the air. Its weird power led the hedgehog to a bookshelf. He glanced at the small group of books, his communicator went off. A flat half lid face formed quickly, almost like he anticipated the call.

"...Here it comes," The hedgehog droned before turning his communicator on his wrist. "And whom do I owe this call to?"

"Oh, I am not hearing this from you! What do you think you are doing alone, Shadow the Hedgehog?" An irritated yet sultry voice.

"...Obviously, I'm on a mission right now," Shadow said, not wanting to be nagged right now.

"I can clearly see that based on your coordinates, thank you! Now, please kindly tell me why I was told by Topaz that you're working overtime?" Rouge questioned like an overbearing work wife.

"...Let's just say that I'm currently shopping for home furniture."

A scoff was heard as Rouge humored the notion by bantering, "Furniture shopping? Seriously? I didn't take you for the type. Tell me what kind of decor are you looking for in this 'store', hm?

The black hedgehog placed his hand on the shelf and began to scan through the many novels until he found a particular book that was labeled "Storia di Soleanna", which was pulled out ever so slightly.

"I'm looking into the rare antiques…" Shadow said as he pulled the book halfway out of the shelf.

"Antiques? You've got my attention. However rare are we talking about?"

Just then, the bookshelf swung open like a door, revealing a staircase that led down to a hidden chamber.

Raising his wrist to put his communicator close to his mouth as Shadow answered, "...Astonishingly victorian."

"Victorian!? That's thousands of years old! That's worth millions! …You better grab some of those valuables, you hear me? And another thing-"

Once again, Shadow was bombarded with that strange mystical presence, spurring him to traverse down the stairs. As he walked down, Rouge interrupted his trance-like state.

"...adow. Shadow…Shadow? Shadow!"

Groaned, he responded, "What now?"

"Didn't you hear what I was saying? You shouldn't be going on missions by yourself!" Rouge said, dropping the humor entirely. "I know that you were meant to be the Ultimate Lifeform, but that doesn't mean that you should be going about taking the brunt of everything on your lonesome."

The black hedgehog shook his head as he thought to himself, 'Ugh. This again. When will she and the others take the hint that this is for them? … It's what the professor and Maria wanted. This is what I was meant to be, who I am.'

"Rouge, I-" Shadow started before reaching his latest destination.

The creation of Gerald Robotnik and Black Doom stumbled upon a study from below the home living room. It was on the far left and right were bookshelves filled with various books that were written in languages known and unknown to Shadow. Straight across from the hedgehog was the front desk that had a chair, an antique oil lamp, a typewriter, a box filled with writing utensils, and a box the size of a shoebox with the royal family seal engraved in gold. Above the desk was a beautiful chandelier while below it was a blue rug with the golden royal seal.

'...A home study...' Shadow thought to himself before Rouge's voice reached out to him.

"Shadow? What was it that you were trying to say?"

"Never mind that, I just found the place of interest mission-wise," Shadow stated, not paying any mind to the bat's question.

"Oh? Do tell."

"I stumbled upon the only building to have survived from the fallout thirty years ago in Soleanna. In fact, what I've described was in fact the interior is in this home." Shadow explained.

"...You're joking!" Rouge gasped.

"You should know by now that when it comes to business, I never joke." The hedgehog said plainly.

"How is that possible! The explosion practically leveled the entire nation. Nothing could have survived that. The blast was too great. There's got to be something else at play here." The former thief said.

Shadow nodded, saying, "Agreed. I immediately detected a presence as soon as I entered."

"Are you certain?" Rouge asked, alerted from his news as Shadow walked towards the desk.

Looking at the dusty desk, Shadow felt extensive foreign energy emitting from the black box the size of a shoebox with the royal symbol.

"Positive," Shadow said as he attempted to approach the box with his other hand reaching for it. "And I think I just found the source of it. "

Shadow's actions were halted by a light blue barrier that appeared.

"The hell!?" Shadow hissed as he reeled his hand back.

Suddenly, space and time within the dimension of the home broke away and shifted where instead of being inside of a mansion, Shadow appeared to be outside with the house being replaced with an empty foundation made of cobblestone. He couldn't try to comprehend what occurred, however, for his eyes were fixated on the floating box, which floated at least ten feet from off the ground. From there, a magical seal in the form of two tusks shaping an "X" appeared. The barrier then turned red and brown. The light brightened before a construct was created, and that construct was given life. The form of this construct took the model of a thirty-foot-tall dragon with crimson bumpy scales, tan and orange skin, brown rocky dorsal fins, yellow horns, large wings, and green eyes.

Landing in a menacing manner, the rocky dragon let out a ferocious roar in Shadow's direction. While the weird power surged within the beast, Shadow didn't even flinch at the beast.

"Shadow! S..dow! i. Ha..ening? …Can b..rly hear yo.! is t.. Mu.. ! What's on ou. there!? Shadow!" Rouge called.

Shadow simply raised the communicator to near his mouth and told Rouge, "I'll get back to you later. There is a large vermin that I have to exterminate."

"Pest!? Shadow, wait a minute-"

And like that, the hedgehog ended the communication. Shadow and the dragon stared at each other, waiting for either of them to move. He watched as steam smoked out of its nostrils as an intimidation tact tick.

"Hmph. Is that supposed to scare me?" Shadow questioned the dragon. "I'm unimpressed. I've fought bigger lizards than you."

The dragon snarled at Shadow for his insults.

Narrowing his eyes, Shadow began taking a few steps towards the beast as he said, "You have something that I need. But I also know that you're not going to hand it over to me willingly. So I'll just have to take it from you by force, regardless of that strange power that you have!"

And just like that, Shadow charges at the dragon and performs a Homing Attack right into one of the dragon's rocky plates on its shoulder, breaking it off and causing damage to the dragon.

The beast growled in pain as Shadow landed five feet away from it. Seeking revenge, the dragon spat a ball of fire at Shadow, which the hedgehog dodged easily. Taking a different approach, the dragon took to the skies and raised a barrage of smaller but fast-moving shards of flaming rocks at the Ultimate Lifeform. Shadow evaded most of the blasts of flaming rocky projectiles by quick stepping away from them.

Surging with flames around itself, the dragon swooped down to Shadow with the intention of bull-rushing the hedgehog. It failed as Shadow warped away from the attack using Chaos Snap.

Being several meters behind the beast, Shadow began to analyze the dragon.

'This monster is just as sturdy as the Biolizard. Though, it's much more agile and mobile. The armor around its body will be a problem. Perhaps Chaos attacks may be needed in order to immobilize it. Yes, that should be sufficient. But I've got to be wary of its movements.'

Formulating a plan, Shadow appeared five feet in front of the beast, proking it to strike the hedgehog with one of its claws. But before it could reach Shadow, he pulled out his green Chaos Emerald and shouted, "Chaos Control!", stopping time around the dragon.

Capitalizing on this, Shadow spun into a ball in place while yellowish-orange light surrounded him. Of course, this was Shadow's rendition of the Light Speed Attack. After fully charging it, Shadow, being covered in bright light, launched a powerful Homing Attack as time resumed for the rocky dragon, sending it flying in mid-air horizontally until it sprawled onto the ground while sliding on its back.

Seeing that its underbelly was exposed, Shadow appeared in mid-air while hovering with his Jet Shoes. Taking his right hand, he charged a spark of yellow electricity made of raw Chaos Energy.

After five more seconds, Shadow shouted, "Chaos Spear!"

Upon shouting his attack, Shadow launched his volley of smaller yellow blasts of power, allowing it to rain down all over the upper and lower body of the dragon, which took massive damage. From his bird-eye view, Shadow took an interest in the large crystal-like horn on the snout of the dragon that was glowing crimson.

"There! That must be its weak spot!"

Diving into the monster, Shadow landed on its with the intent to finish the job.

"Now," Shadow declared. "Let's try out an advanced skill."

From Shadow's hand, an intense construct of a red lightning bolt formed.

Taking hold of the bolt, Shadow then said, "Never show your disgusting face around me again! Begone, you damned beast! Chaos Lance!"

Plunging the bolt right into the horn, the attack split the appendage down the middle as its energy ran through the dragon's body. Jumping away from the dragon, the chaotic power of the new attack overwhelmed the beast, causing a large explosion to sweep half of what remained of where the house stood.

When the dust settled, all that remained was the black box, which was perfectly left unharmed.

Shadow walked towards it, as he shook his head saying, "...Bothersome freak. Causing so much trouble over the smallest of things."

Shadow took the box and opened it, only to find a book. The harder cover matched the front of the box which Shadow opened previously. What was peculiar about the book was that the cover and the spine did not have a title.

"...Strange. This doesn't seem to be a novel. What could this mean?" The GUN agent thought out loud.

Titling his head, Shadow opened the book from the cover. In doing so, he was greeted by a photo of a familiar face.

It was the older man wearing the brown coat next to the late king and the princess of Soleanna.

"That face! So, that was his house. And that dragon must have been his doing as well. Then that must make this his book. But what makes this book special? And how did it create a creature with such power? …Just another answer that leads to more questions."

Just as Shadow pondered for a bit, his communicator went off. Answering it, Shadow found that it wasn't Rouge who was on the line, but Topaz.

"Agent Black Wind, this is Lieutenant Commander Topaz from HQ. Do you copy?" Topaz called.

"Black Wind copies," Shadow responded while holding the book.

"Agent Facet reported a disturbance in your current location ten minutes ago. HQ has been trying to reach you but to no avail. Are you okay?" Topaz questioned with concern yet with professionalism.

"I'm just fine, Lieutenant Commander. I was simply removing an obstacle that was in the way of my investigation." Shadow cryptically answered.

"I see…" Topaz responded before moving on to another question. "...Well, did you find what you were looking for?"

"Oh…I found something that may be of interest to our mission." Shadow said as he glanced at the book with the symbol of Soleanna on it.

To Be Continued…

Author's Note: Hey guys! It's been a while, huh?

I thought I'd give you another chapter that was a breather before taking a break from writing for a little bit. After all, the first eight five or so chapters were the introduction before chapters six through eight was the first arc. And no, I haven't forgotten about Shadow because he's important to the story just like in Sonic 06.

However, the biggest problem that I'm having is debating on the inclusion of Silver. Now, I don't hate Silver. Far from it, I think he is a very interesting character that just so happened to have debuted in a horrible video game. But the whole reason why he exists is to further the plot that involves time traveling. The thing is that this story doesn't involve traveling through time. Therefore, I am currently having a massive headache in deciding whether or not I should include Silver (and or Blaze).

In regards to the story's tone, it's going to get darker from here. Blood while be mild, and there's no gore, but there will be violence, mild swearing, and potential death. I will try to write breather chapters like this and more light-hearted moments, but this story is still a loose adaptation of Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). And it's more on the empathizes that this is mostly Sonic's story and who he is as a character according to this story's lore.

Another thing that I like to point out is that Dark Sonic can emerge without all seven Chaos Emeralds. Just so long as an emerald, whether real or fake is around and Sonic's inner dark desires and thoughts appear, he can subconsciously harness the negative energy from it. Yet, this only means that he can tap into Phase 1 Dark Sonic. Phase 2 Dark Sonic, or Dark Super Sonic, occurs when he either is exposed to enough Chaos Energy while reaching a new level of anger or if he has four or more emeralds near him (real or fake).

Oh, I almost forgot two things. Firstly, the dragon that Shadow fought was a winged version of the Earth Dragon from Sonic and the Black Knight. And two, Ixis Magick is powerful enough to warp space-time and reality with its illusionary abilities within a confined space.

Lastly, Shadow's Chaos Lance in this continuity is based on Chaos Spear from the Archie Comics and functions similarly. Though, it's just a variant of the attack and can be used as a blast of energy that is stronger than Chaos Spear.

Let me know how you guys like the chapter. What's your favorite part of this one? Who's your favorite character in this story overall? How were they handled? Who would you like to see more of in future chapters? And which character would you like to see make an appearance? Please leave those comments by reviewing the chapter because I love to read what you think. If there is something that I should improve on, also let me know. Also, tell me what I've done well so I can keep that in mind. I can also be reached in PMs if you have any questions.

Final Notice: Starting the next chapter, I will be doing a segment similar to Team182's Ask the Sonic Heroes. You guys will have an opportunity to ask Sonic's crew and the Freedom Fighter crew any question, just as long as it has nothing to do with the future plots or anything critical to the story. This could be trivial things or something outside of the RESURGENCE lore. I'm only going to have two characters as guests while a third character will be hosting. So, ask away by reviewing if you want a chance for a character you like to respond to your question. The first two characters that will be answering questions are…

…Sonic and Sally!

Better get going. ;)

Anyway, I got to go for now. Have a blessed day and I'll see you guys next time!

-DarkShadowGames451