In Station Square Sonic raced up to the top of a skyscraper as a massive cleanup effort was underway. Various debris was removed by front loaders as three people attempt to right a car.
"Okay!" Construction Worker said.
Sonic jumped down from the building and ran through the city. She stopped when she heard the sound of someone crying.
"Huh?" she said and the noise was coming from within one of the wrecked buildings. "In there..."
Outside Thorndyke Mansion various furniture items were being loaded onto a flatbed truck as Lindsey hosed down a mirror. Two men were moving Lindsey's dresser toward the truck.
"Okay, that's better. Right here." Men said.
"Oh, dear! All my lovely furniture, ruined!" Lindsey said.
In Chris' school a large helicopter has landed in the yard, where Mr. Stewart and his students are. Mr. Stewart shield his face from the spinning rotors' wind.
"Okay, class, ready to carry the rescue supplies to the cafeteria?" Mr. Steward.
"Yeah!" Students said and the helicopter's door opened, revealing Nelson Thorndyke.
"Chris!" Nelson said and the students ran over.
"Dad! What are you doing here?" Chris said.
"I thought I'd drop in and see how you were doing."
"...I'm fine."
Soon, the kids were packing and stacking boxes. Frances wiped her brow. Other people were present.
"I can't believe it's all gone now..." people said.
"These boxes are heavy. ... Hoo, I need to take a break." Frances said.
"That's okay. Why don't you go play and let me and Chris finish the unloading?" Danny said.
Frances wasn't impressed.
"I can lift as much as you." she said.
"Our son is lost." someone said so they turned to see a mother and father talking with a police officer.
"Did the search parties find a little boy?" Mother said.
"No, ma'am." an officer said.
The mother started crying until Sonic arrived holding a small boy.
"This your kid?" she asked.
"Mom!" a child said.
The mother scooped the child up and hugged him.
"Jim! You're safe!" she said.
"Sonic, thanks a lot." the father said.
"You're wonderful."
Sonic made an "It was nothing" gesture as Chris and his friends smiled.
In the White House the President was busy signing bills with Christina at his side.
"When I ran for this job, I thought I'd be tackling the world's problems head-on. Instead, I'm the most powerful paper-pusher in the world." the president said to himself and a TV showed Sonic defeating Perfect Chaos. "I wish just once I could do something heroic, like Sonic." the president said to himself.
Then he finished signing the bill with the name Michael R.
Then Christina gave him a new bill.
"This bill is a tax cut for citizens in disaster-stricken areas." she said.
"Here's the bill declaring Station Square to be a disaster area."
"Oh well. I suppose somebody has to sign this stuff."
"And this is executive order 1137-8."
"You'll have to refresh my memory."
"A new series of robots will be built, which will be specially designed to combat Dr. Eggman."
"Uh... Good idea." the president said and sighed. "Am I done now?"
"One last thing." she said and gave him another bill.
"What's this?" he asked looking at a picture of Sam Speed on the bill.
"A security clearance. We just hired your new driver, and he starts today. He's called Sam Speed. Apparently he lives up to his name."
Outside Thorndyke Mansion the Thorndykes were ready to leave. Danny, Frances, Helen, Amy, Tails, and Cream stood by while Chris hugged his mother goodbye.
"I'll miss you, darling." Lindsey said.
"Me too, Mom." Chris said.
"This is it... Goodbye..." Cream said and started crying.
Amy and Tails glanced at each other.
"What's the big deal?" Chuck asked.
"Yeah. I promise you'll all be seeing each other again in a month or two, just as soon as we have everything cleaned up with the house." Nelson said.
"Don't forget to send me a postcard." Danny said to Chris.
"Me too, Chris, 'K?" Frances asked Chris.
"I will." Chris said.
"I wish you could stay, Chris. Things won't be the same without you or Mr. Stewart around." Helen said.
In the desert Mr. Stewart followed the moving truck out of the city.
"Just when I was hitting it off with my class..." he said.
Outside Thorndyke Mansion.
"Isn't Sonic gonna come say goodbye?" Chris asked.
"Sonic had to run, but she did say to tell me she'd see you later, Chris." Amy said.
"Oh..."
"Don't you worry, Chris. If you're feeling lonely, just call us, and we'll all hop in the X-Tornado and fly over to see you. And Sonic can run there for a visit in no time at all!" Tails said.
"I'll still miss you guys."
"Don't worry. Two months isn't all that long, and time passes a lot quicker when you first move to a new place." Amy said with her arms crossed.
"I guess so..."
Soon Chris, Ella, Cream, Tanaka, and Chuck departed in a camper as the others waved goodbye.
"Bye, Chris!" Danny, Frances, Helen, Tails and Amy said.
"Bye, guys! See ya!" Chris said.
It was evident that everyone traveling was sad about the move, especially Cream and Tanaka.
In Area 99 Scientists were developing more robot varieties.
"With these robots, we can defeat Dr. Eggman once and for all." Scientist 1.
"Yes, our designs are technically superior to his in every way." scientist 2 said.
Unknown to them, a spy robot had just recorded their conversation.
Meanwhile.
"That's impossibility. If their robots were better, that would make them smarter than me." Eggman said.
"It does look like they made progress, Doctor." Decoe said.
"If it is true, we will be in big trouble." Bocoe said.
"Then I'll find out. All I have to do is hack into their main computer, and I'll have access to all their robot designs." Eggman said and hacked his way into the GUN computer, and a password screen appeared. "I'll log in." he said and bypassed the password and entered the GUN library.
Then there were several robot varieties.
"Great. We're in. ... How did they come up with all these designs so quickly?" he said and saw GUN Beetle, GUN Hawk, Shield Hunter, Laser Hunter, Rhino Tank, Blue Eagle, Prof. Gerald Robotnik. "It can't be!" he said and started scrolling through Professor Gerald Robotnik's diary.
Then he started scrolling through Professor Gerald Robotnik's diary. One such entry read as follows:
"Dr. Eggman?" Decoe said.
"Is something wrong?" Bocoe asked.
"Unbelievable... This can only mean... This world is the world I was born in." Eggman said shocking them. "This is Professor Gerald Robotnik, who is the greatest scientific genius of his time. He's my grandfather."
"Does this mean there is a connection between this world and one we came from?" Decoe asked.
"But how could that be?" Bocoe asked.
"The two world are in parallel universes, and share the exact same position in time and space. Each is unaware of the other's existence. But thanks to Chaos Control, we traveled between them. Let's see if there is any data on my grandfather that can clear up this mystery..." Eggman said and a password screen appeared. "Let's try "Eggman"." he said and tried to hack his way around the password, but an ERROR screen appeared. "Error?"
Then he continued to hack, but the ERROR screen kept reappearing.
""Robotnik"? ... Gah! No waaay!" he said then a memory of his grandfather came to him.
A young girl was with him.
"Maria! Yes... Yes..." he said and typed in the password. "Ma... ri... a... Come on..."
"You did it!" Decoe said.
In GUN base an alarm went off. One security officer approached another.
"Huh?" officer 1 said.
"It's a hacker. He used an unknown password to get into one of out databases. It holds a top-secret file that nobody's looked at for years." officer 2 said.
"What? Cut off his access!"
At Eggman's base the screen indicates that GUN has detected the hacker.
"They detected us." Eggman said.
"Download proceeding." Decoe said.
"Affirmative. Deleting original file from host computer." Bocoe said.
"File deletion proceeding."
In GUN base.
"Shut down the entire system, and hurry!" officer 1 said.
"I'll try." officer 2 said.
In Eggman's base it was a race against time as Eggman hurried to download the file and delete the original file.
"Download complete in three seconds... Done!" Bocoe said.
"Original file deleted now!" Decoe said as Eggman wiped his brow.
"Whew... Hacking sure is hard work. Now... Let's look at that file." he said and opened the file. "Wha... This is... my grandfather's diary!"
As Eggman reads the entry, a flashback is shown of Gerald in prison at his computer:
"I've done it! My greatest design is now complete - the ultimate creature: Shadow! My enemies think they have defeated me, but Shadow will carry out my orders without question. Now it sleeps, but one day it will be reawakened! Shadow will bring total destruction!" Gerald said and Eggman stopped reading. "Heheh... I will awaken Shadow for you, Grandfather!"
On the President's limo the President, his third aide, Christina, Topaz, and Rouge were in the limo.
"I need your help, Rouge. Now, I don't know much about Project Shadow other than the name. There was a file, but it was impossible for us to read the data." the president said.
"And why's that?" Rouge asked.
"It was password-protected. Unfortunately, a file was created by the same scientist who developed Project Shadow, and he never told anyone the password. That was fifty years ago."
"But someone did figure out the password and stole the file from the laboratory."
"Not only did they download the file from our system, but when that was finished, they went ahead and deleted the original file from our computer." Christine said.
"That sounds just like something Eggman would do."
"It was him..." the president said and she nodded.
"So then what's our mission, sir? Do you want us to check out Project Shadow for you?" Topaz said.
"No, we already have an agent assigned to that duty." P.T.A. said.
"I want you to find out why Dr. Eggman is so interested in Project Shadow, and what he's planning to do with it." the president said.
"Okay~" Rouge said.
Then Christina pressed a button to signal the driver.
"Our passengers are leaving. You can stop the car here." she said and driver turned around.
"I know the President wouldn't want me to break the law, miss, so I'll wait 'til I can pull safely to the curb." Sam said.
At Station Square the limo dropped off Topaz and Rouge started driving away.
"All right, Rouge, where do we start?" Topaz asked.
"First, we have to get Eggman to meet with us." Rouge said.
"Fat chance! He isn't exactly fans of ours."
"You're right... So we'll have to find some bait to lure him in, which means we'll need a Chaos Emerald."
An apartment building Chris woke up and looked out the window. To his disappointment, it was not the usual view. Instead, there were cars and pedestrians on the street. He headed to the dining room and sat down. Ella was mixing a salad, while Cream and Cheese were holding cups.
"How are you, Chris? Would you like to have some tea?" Cream asked.
"Chao chao!" Cheese said and Chris sighed.
Chris sighed.
"No thank you." he said.
"What's the matter?" Cream asked.
"Nothing, I guess..."
"You'll get used to it here." Ella said.
"Maybe..." Chris said.
Cream and Cheese glanced at each other.
Meanwhile Chuck's lab was set up on the roof of the apartment. Chuck was working on an invention when he noticed a sad Chris sitting on the stairs.
"What's wrong? Homesick?" Chuck asked.
"Sorta..." Chris said.
Later inside Chuck's lab.
"It always takes some time to get used to a new place when you move, but I'm sure you'll make lots of new friends here. Now you know how Sonic and the others felt. Think about it, Chris. When Chaos Control sent them to this world, they felt themselves far from home, and they didn't know anybody around here. But did they sit around moping?" Chuck said.
Chris gaped in realization as several shots of his friends came to him. Sonic running through Station Square. Sonic running. Tails working in his lab. Amy vacuuming the floor. Amy brandishing her hammer. Knuckles guarding the Master Emerald. Cream and Cheese helping Ella putting away the dishes. Cream and Cheese dancing with Next.
"You're right! They didn't give up, and I won't either, Grandpa." Chris said.
"Atta boy."
In Station Square Sonic was running through the remains of Station Square thinking about what's been going on when she heard a cry for help.
"What now?" she asked and found the source of the person in distress. "It's coming from there. Don't worry; I'll save ya!" she said and uncovered the rubble of the building the distressed person is underneath. "Kid, are you okay?"
Sonic had rescued Bokkun.
"Yeah, I'm not hurt." Bokkun said and uncovered his eyes.
"You?"
'Oh great.' she thought and Bokkun's surprised expression changed to one of anger.
"You rescued me?! I'd have kept quiet if I had known you were gonna help me!"
"I apologize. I'm gone."
"W-wait! Don't go!"
"Why not?"
"Because before you go, Sonic, I wanna tell you that I'm not gonna say thank you for savin' me." Bokkun said. "From now on, if you hear me crying for help, turn around and run the other way, 'cause if you ever try to rescue me again, you're gonna be sorry!"
"I-I know what you're trying to say. You're welcome." she said and left.
"But you can't say I'm welcome because I didn't thank you!"
On Angel Island.
"I still don't see how getting a Chaos Emerald is gonna help us accomplish our mission." Topaz said.
"It's simple. If we want to trick Eggman into talking, all we have to do is bring him something he wants more than anything." Rouge said but got no reply. "I guarantee ya this idea's gonna work like a charm."
Topaz pulled out her GPS and a red dot was flashing on it. Rouge glanced at it.
"It's that way." Topaz said.
At SSTV news station.
"Hello. I'm Scarlet Garcia. I'm a reporter with the affiliate in Station Square." Scarlet said.
"We know who you are." Man 1 said.
"Your report on Chaos was an outstanding piece of journalism! Can I have your autograph?" Man 2 said.
"Thank you." Scarlet said and walked into another room with another man. "Everyone here is so friendly."
"Your reports are terrific, which is why our news director here wanted to-" a man said and laughed.
There was a man with shoulder-length blond hair at the window.
"Oh, there you are, Franklin. Scarlet Garcia is here to see you." he said then Franklin turned around, revealing he was Mr. Stewart. "Hello."
"Scarlet, This is Franklin." the man said.
"Uh... Hi." Scarlet said and shook hands.
"He just joined the channel as news director."
"That's great. Very nice to meet you, Franklin."
"We have a lot to talk about, Miss Garcia." Mr. Steward said.
Soon Scarlet and Mr. Stewart were seated opposite each other on couches. Scarlet was holding a pamphlet labeled "The Secret of the Project Shadow".
"There's an important story here, Scarlet." he said.
"Project Shadow?" she said confused.
"Yes. You're familiar with the story?"
"I... am."
"I understand your late father was also a journalist, and that he investigated Project Shadow years ago."
"I'd appreciate it if you get to the point."
"It's simple. Somebody's kept the real story about Project Shadow a secret for years, and I need a reporter with guts to find out who and why."
"No way."
Mr. Stewart leaned across the table.
"I want to know, and so do you! Aren't you curious? Wouldn't your father be? ... I'll watch your back and risk my life to make sure that you're safe. I promise you, Scarlet. Trust me. We can do this together." he said.
At Angel Island Rouge, who was wearing her balaclava, was flying away with the Master Emerald. She struggled to keep it aloft.
"This is much better than a measly Chaos Emerald... but is sure is heavy." Rouge said.
"Hey!" someone said and she looked back to see Knuckles speeding toward her with Chomps behind him. "Bring the Master Emerald back here! I'll stop you!" he said and punched a rock, breaking it up and sending it toward her.
'I don't need a Sleet and Dingo repeat.' he thought while Chomps growled.
Sleet snickered.
"Brilliant plan, sir. We are on our way. Sleet out." he said and switched off the screen. "Put that in your backpack and let's go find the echidna."
"Er, what's an echidna?" Dingo asked.
"Not "what", you dolt! "Who". It's who guards this island. His name is Knuckles, and he's in for a big Robotnik surprise. He's tough, and he's especially known for his-" Sleet said. "TRAAAAPS!" he said and fell into a pit trap.
"Whoooaah!" Dingo yelled and landed with a thud.
Later.
"You wolf-faces should have stayed home. Now you get to be dinner!" Knuckles said.
Sleet and Dingo also noticed they're tied together to a rotisserie.
"You- you're gonna eat us?!" Dingo said.
"No."
"Oh, phew!"
"Good." Sleet said then Knuckles whistled and Chomps appeared from a bush.
"Waarrgh!" Sleet and Dingo yelled.
"But Chomps will." Knuckles said.
"You've got us all wrong, Mr. Knuckles. We are your friends!"
"Of course! All my friends sneak onto my island. I don't think so!"
"No, you don't understand! We're here to stop the real invaders! Three hedgehogs! I can prove it!"
"How?"
"Look in my pocket." Sleet said and Knuckles picked up a remote. "Press that button."
"Er, Sleet-" Dingo said while feeling the heat.
"Shut up! The red button."
"SLEET!" Dingo said.
"Put a cork in it, Dingface! Check it out."
"Gotta cruise, dudes! We gotta find that Chaos Emerald before that dopey defender Knuckles gets us!" Hologram Sonic said.
"You are not often right, older brother, but on this occasion I agree. Come, Manic!" Hologram Sonia said.
"We are more clever than that dumb Knuckles guy!" Hologram Manic said.
"M-Mr. Knuckles, we're getting a little warm here, if you don't mind, eh..." Sleet said.
"Those hedgehogs want the Emerald, do they? Well, they'll have to get past me! All right, you wolf-faces are free to go - this time. But you must leave the island now!" Knuckles said.
"An amiable deal, my friend. We'll be off the island faster than you can say "Sonic the Hedgehog"."
"Sorry, Chomps. But cheer up! I hear hedgehogs have just come into season..."
"Nice doggy..." Dingo said and Chomps threatened him. "Arrgh!"
One stone struck Rouge in the face, causing her to drop the Master Emerald and crash into a bush.
"Rouge!" Topaz said and raced forward, but stubbed her foot on the blue Chaos Emerald.
Then she picked it up.
"Hey Rouge! Look! I found a Chaos Emerald!"
"Fine. I'll keep this one." Rouge said about to pick up the Master Emerald again, but Knuckles caught up to her.
"Not so fast!" he said.
"Why does everything have to be a problem?" Topaz said.
"Don't you know what that is? You're trying to take away the Master Emerald! You're putting us all in danger! The Master Emerald keeps the power of the seven Chaos Emeralds from going out of control, and you are going to help me take it back." He said while Rouge leaned against the Master Emerald, clearly ignoring him.
"First you'll have to catch me~" she said and fled.
"Come back here!" he said and punched her into a tree causing her mask to slip off. "Got ya!" he said then saw Rouge's face. "You're... that bat!" he said and she instantly went for the Master Emerald and flew away with it. "Just wait."
At an island an explosion rocked the guitar-shaped island.
"What's wrong?" officer asked and the facility went on lockdown. "Intruder Alert. Intruder alert. Hostile forces have penetrated Prison Island defenses at Gate #3. This is not a drill. Repeat: This is not a drill. Secure all entryways. Emergency lockdown procedures are effective immediately. The intruder is headed for the research area. Security units in the area, stand by for an assault. All other units prepare for a counterattack. This is not a drill. Repeat: This is not a drill."
Another fiery explosion revealed a laughing Eggman in his Eggmobile.
"This is more fun than hacking! Let's see... According to that computer file I stole, Project Shadow is this way. If it's as destructive as my grandfather claimed, then I can use it to rule this world, and no one can stop me!" he said.
"Wait up for us, Doctor!" Decoe said and Eggman turned to see Bocoe and Decoe wearing military helmets.
"We are going to attack the lab with you." Bocoe said.
"No thanks. I'd rather go it alone." Eggman said and moved away, and his hench-bots gave chase.
"But I am lean! And mean!" Decoe said.
"I can kick any robot hard drive!" Bocoe said.
"Give us a chance to prove ourselves!"
Then a door above them opened, and a Laser Hunter dropped down to fight them.
Then Bocoe and Decoe hugged each other out of fear.
"So, it's Laser Hunter." Eggman said and the Laser Hunter fired its laser at the Eggmobile, but Eggman pressed a button. "Shield up." he said then force field was projected, blocking the attack. "My turn now." he said and fired lasers of his own, destroying the Laser Hunter then laughed. "I think his hunting license just expired!"
In the President's limo Christina was on the phone.
"He's where?" she said and hung up. "Dr. Eggman is attacking the secret lab on Prison Island."
The President's and P.T.A.'s expressions were grim.
At Prison Island.
"Stop cowering! Let's go!" Eggman said and started moving again.
"Wait, Doctor!" Decoe said.
"Do not leave us here!" Bocoe said.
"Wait for us!" they said and followed, unaware that a GUN robot was just ahead.
"I wonder why no more robots are attacking." Decoe said.
"We must have defeated them all." Bocoe said.
"Not quite yet. There's one hiding up ahead." Eggman said.
The robot ambushed them and opened fire, but the Eggmobile hovered above it and crushed it. Eggman laughed.
"Another crushing victory." he said while Decoe and Bocoe cautiously looked around.
Then they saw that they had finally arrived at the chamber.
"Oh. This room could use a good dusting." Decoe said.
"The machinery has not been used in a very long time. ... Are you sure this is the right place, Doctor?" Bocoe asked.
"According to the records, the Shadow creature is sleeping in that machine." Eggman said and moved over to a keyboard. "Time to wake it up." he said and climbed out of the Eggmobile and started typing on the keypad. "First, I enter a fake user ID, then I enter the password. M-A-R-I-A. No I'll give it some juice with this Chaos Emerald and we're all set!"
After he inserted the Chaos Emerald, the machine started glowing. Steam hissed from the pipes, filling the room. Then a stasis tube opened, revealing a hedgehog-like figure similar to Sonic, but its quills are pointed upward.
"Huh?! You! It can't be...!" Eggman said and the hedgehog stood up and faced him.