Chapter 48: My Way

"This sight is absolutely gorgeous!" Tails exclaimed.

Sonic, Amy, Rouge, and Knuckles were silent, but their silence spoke louder than words; the view of space from their rocket ship, and the myriad stars dotting the endless void, was a moment these heroic Mobians were sure to savor.

Tilting their heads to their respective sides, they witnessed the sight of the Earth, and all its majestic glory, becoming smaller as they grew further away from the Earth's atmosphere, the blackness of space serving as a barren backdrop for the planet they had only recently departed.

"Earth really does look like Mobius, doesn't it?" Amy asked.

"Yeah," Sonic replied. "Taller buildings and larger cities, but the land masses look almost the same."

"As they are parallel worlds," Tails clarified, "it shouldn't be all that surprising, but seeing Earth from space is awe-inspiring nevertheless."

Soon did they shift their focus away from the Earth did they plot out the next stage of their plan: boarding the Space Colony Ark.

"We are soon approaching the space station," Tails announced to his friends. "If the government schematics are correct, there should be a landing site that is easily accessible." The orange fox pointed toward the semi-spherical vessel, its flat, circular base depicting the face of Dr. Eggman himself, the Ark's deadly Eclipse Cannon serving as its nose.

"I'm sure the Master Emerald will negate the Chaos Emerald's powers," Knuckles said, holding an open bag of the Master Emerald shards on his lap.

"How long will it take you to put the pieces back together?" Amy asked.

"A mere few minutes," Knuckles replied. "It kinda comes together on its own when I initiate the process, so to speak."

"Echidnas and their secrets," Rouge teased. "Maybe I could help you put it back together?" The bat's gloved fingers crept toward the open bag.

"Absolutely not!" Knuckles snarled, pulling the bag away from the jewel thief. "Knowing you, there would be at least a few shards missing by the time I tried putting the emerald back together."

"Fair enough," Rouge replied, shrugging her shoulders.

As the rocket's speed started to slow, it angled itself toward a small landing bay.

"Tighten your seatbelts!" Tails exclaimed. "The landing's gonna be bumpy!"

"Aren't you gonna activate the landing gear?" Sonic asked.

"Rockets don't have landing gears," Tails replied. "Space Stations are generally equipped to handle incoming and outgoing ships, but we are unexpected company, so the only landing we'll receive is a rough one."

And so, skidding along the surface of the launch bay, the rocket broke through a large metallic door, revealing a garage of sorts spacious enough to fill several smaller vessels intended to transport inhabitants of the Ark to and from Earth. Alas, the garage was empty, and all the smaller vessels were untouched, vacant for the past 50 years.

"Is everyone okay?" Sonic asked, peering around at his friends.

Everyone nodded, giving the blue hedgehog a thumbs up before they proceeded to unclick their seatbelts and depart the ship; even if they couldn't breathe in space, the rocket did not fully penetrate the Ark, thus plugging the hole it created in the Ark.

"Strange," Sonic noted as he peered around the garage. "We didn't seem to trigger any sort of alarms."

"Most of the ship's power is probably being siphoned to give the Eclipse Cannon time to charge," Tails replied, "leaving little to spare for oxygen filtration and other vital functions."

"We don't have time for chit-chat," Knuckles declared. "We need to find the control room."

"Right," Tails nodded in response as he pulled out his Miles Electric. "We can follow my digital map! Let's see…" The orange fox studied the distance between their current location and the control room. "Ah, okay. There'll be some twists and turns, but nothing we can't handle."

Leading the pack, Tails stepped out of the garage and into a hallway where the Mobians could see Earth through its windows.

"The view is even better from up here," Tails said, sparkles in his eyes as he stared at the shimmering blue planet.

Amy, Rouge, and Sonic also stopped to enjoy the view, but Knuckles pressed on, hauling the bag over his shoulders. "The longer we wait, the longer we put everyone at risk. As far as we know, Eggman and Shadow are already aware of our presence."

"Relax, Knucklehead," Sonic replied, scratching the base of his nose. A smirk grew across his muzzle. "We'll get to the control room and retrieve the emeralds in no time flat."

"We better," Knuckles mumbled under his breath.

"Woah, what's that?!" Amy exclaimed, pointing forward to reveal a small group of three watery fiends with translucent bodies partially obscuring a dark blue spine. Each adored an alien-like helmet.

"Perhaps these are the ship's defense mechani—" Tails was cut off as the nearest fiend quickly whipped its watery tentacles at the young kitsune, who performed a last-second block using his namesakes.

Performing a spindash, Sonic pierced through its body, but the hole he left behind soon filled itself back in.

"Try going for the head!" Tails exclaimed.

"Way ahead of ya," Amy replied as she charged her Piko Piko Hammer over her head and jumped in the air, bonking its head as she descended feet first, causing the rest of its watery body to explode, leaving only a puddle and several computer chips scattered across the hallway.

"My turn!" Knuckles exclaimed, throwing several punches at the second fiend, decapitating it in the process. Finally, Rouge performed a screw kick from above, piercing the head of the final enemy.

"Hey, you guys didn't even leave any for me!" Sonic complained.

"Maybe next time, sugar," Rouge replied with a wink.

"Let's just hope there isn't a next time," Tails said as he pulled out his Miles Electric once more. "Okay, we just need to head to the elevator. From there, we should have easy access to the control room." He proceeded to guide the rest of the party to the elevator, meeting no resistance as they were brought down to a lower floor. Piling out, they were met with another batch of aqua blue fiends.

"I've got this," Tails replied as he pulled a wrench from his namesakes. With a grin across his muzzle, the fox threw the makeshift weapon toward the enemies, the tool spinning as it tore through their helmets. The wrench returned to the orange fox like a boomerang as their heads exploded, painting the hallway with water.

"Okay, next time I call dibs," Sonic complained.

"Oops, sorry, I forgot," Tails replied with a blush as he scratched the back of his head.

"Nah, don't sweat it!" The blue hedgehog gave the fox a thumbs up. Tails quickly returned this gesture with his own.

Finally, the heroes arrived at a large room, one without a floor but, rather, a long bridge that led to a central platform housing a computer system. They could see the glow of the seven Chaos Emeralds from the entryway.

"It's totally unguarded," Sonic noted.

"Maybe I won't even need to use the Master Emerald if we can just pluck the Chaos Emeralds from the terminal," Knuckles said.

"Only one way to find out," Amy replied.

"Yes," Tails nodded in agreement.

"Let's go retrieve the emeralds."

"Wha-?"

Just moments earlier, Helen was in a conference room in a NASA facility, but now…

"…I'm in…space?"

Helen rolled closer to the large window to reveal the site of the glistening blue planet.

"It's…beautiful," Helen said, her eyes glistening.

"Hmph…"

The young girl peered at Shadow, whose arms were crossed and eyes closed.

"Shadow…why'd you take me here?"

"To be honest," Shadow replied, peering over at the human child as vivid memories of her long-lost friend permeated her mind, "I don't quite know." The ebony hedgehog approached the windowed wall, placing her gloved palm against it as she stared at the Earth. "My memory is fuzzy, but you remind me of Maria in so many ways, and it was almost as if I heard her voice in my head asking me to take you along for the ride."

"You really miss her, don't you?" Helen asked, tilting her head in concern.

"That is none of your business," Shadow replied, crossing her arms once more. "But if you must know, something is…off."

"What do you mean?" Helen rolled closer to the ebony hedgehog.

"The thing is…I remember Maria as the sweetest person I've ever met. Kind, compassionate, and willing to help others in need." Shadow shook her head. "Yet my final moments with her before I was frozen…I have an…incomplete memory, but a memory nonetheless, of her wanting me to seek vengeance on humanity."

"Is it possible," Helen theorized, "that your memory may not be accurate?"

"No," Shadow replied. "I was assured by Gerald Robotnik's heir that my family would've wanted us to seek retribution on humanity for the military's actions."

"But," Helen interjected, "what do you truly think?"

Shadow stood in silence, unmoving and unblinking, as she stared at the Earth once more.

"I'm sure if Maria were with us today," Helen continued, "she wouldn't want this violence."

"Do not put words into her mouth!" Shadow exclaimed, raising her fist. Before her knuckles could land a blow, however, she froze.

"Sh-shadow?" Helen asked, slowly lowering her arms when it was clear she was no longer in danger.

The ebony hedgehog's vision of Helen was obscured, cycling in and out between the young girl alive today and her long-lost sibling. It was as if the two were indistinguishable in Shadow's mind.

Shadow gripped her forehead with her palms, gritting her teeth as she fell to her knees.

"Shadow!" Helen gasped. "Are you alright?" The young girl never felt so helpless, unable to help the ebony hedgehog in need.

"I'm…fine…" Shadow pulled herself up and rubbed her eyes. When she opened them, she found Helen watching her in concern. The Maria hallucinations appeared to have ended.

"Can I be honest with you, Shadow?" Helen asked.

"…sure."

"I think we both know what's going on here," Helen said. "Eggman is using your spotty memory to his advantage. He has not revealed the entire truth about your past, and I'm sure Maria and Gerald weren't bad people."

"Your assessment on my grandpa and sister are…accurate," Shadow replied, shaking her head once more. "I just need…time to think."

"Of course," Helen replied, hoping she hadn't pushed the ebony hedgehog too far.

The two continued watching the view of the Earth from the comfort of the Ark.

"Maria always wanted to visit Earth," Shadow said. "But due to her condition, she never got the opportunity." She sighed. "Maria always talked about the places she'd go once she was cured…"

The two watched in silence once more.

"Do you want ice cream?" Shadow asked.

"Ice cream?" Helen replied. "Such an odd request."

"Well, it was Maria's favorite treat when we used to gaze down at the Earth," Shadow replied.

"In which case, sure!" Helen replied. "Mint chocolate chip if you got it."

"One moment," Shadow replied, speeding away down a long hallway only to return less than a minute later with a tall ice cream cone complete with multiple scoops. "Just be thankful Eggman has a sweet tooth." She handed the cone over to Helen, who proceeded to enjoy her treat as the two continued watching the sights.

Minutes went by, and as Helen was nearly finished with her ice cream, Shadow's wristwatch communicator rang.

"Shadow, do you read me?"

"Yes, Doctor," she replied.

"There appear to be some interlopers who made their way onto the Ark," Eggman said. "No doubt Sonic and his little friends are trying to sabotage our plans for world domination."

"I will investigate," Shadow replied.

"Very good," Eggman said. "They appear to be headed for the control room. I don't have to remind you what will happen to our plans if they get a hold of the Chaos Emeralds?"

"No, you don't," Shadow replied. "I'll take care of the thieves."

Without a 'thank you', the evil doctor disconnected the call.

"Shadow, don't do it," Helen pleaded. "You know Eggman's evil. Don't let him use you to do his evil deeds."

"I'm sorry, Helen," Shadow replied, "but it must be done." The ebony hedgehog sidestepped the young girl, but Helen overtook her, blocking her path. "Step aside," Shadow demanded, tightening her fists. "Don't make me hurt you."

"Look in your heart," Helen pleaded, her eyes glistening as fresh tears started to form. "Is this what you want? To see the Earth, the planet Maria cared so much about, succumb to Eggman's tyranny?"

"Maybe if this world were fair, Maria wouldn't have been murdered by the humans 50 years ago!" Shadow barked. "Even if Maria wouldn't want me to enact my revenge, I simply can't let it go! Justice demands that the people of Earth pay the price."

"Listen, Shadow," Helen slowly rolled toward the ebony hedgehog, "I get it: in an ideal world, Maria would not have been killed, but just because there are a few bad people out there doesn't mean everyone's evil."

"I…"

Shadow was at a loss for words, overcome by Helen's emotional and logical plea.

"Please, Shadow…" Helen rolled even closer to the ebony hedgehog, enough to extend out her arm and clasp her gloved hands. "Let's put a stop to Dr. Eggman's scheme, here and now. This is what Maria would've wanted."

Shadow's eyes dilated at the mention of Maria and her wishes, and she started hallucinating her deceased sister once more, once again confusing her with the girl before her. Shadow fell to her knees, this time clasping her forehead, her fingers digging through her fur, drawing blood.

"Shadow…" Helen looked on, powerless once more. "Please, listen to me."

"All you humans are the same."

"What?" Helen gasped.

"All you ever try to do is manipulate me to do your bidding. Eggman manipulated me to take over the world. The military wished to use me as a weapon, at least before they froze me. You are trying to manipulate me for your own self-interests. Hell, even Gerald's desire to develop a cure for his granddaughter led to my creation."

"I've had about ENOUGH!" Shadow's eyes shot open as a dark aura erupted from her, sending Helen tumbling back, rolling out of her wheelchair and causing the alarm system to activate.

"I'm through being everyone's pawn." Shadow peered down at the young girl, who could only muster up the strength to extend her arm up as if to make one final plea to the ebony hedgehog. "From now on, I'll do things my way."

Helen slipped out of consciousness as Shadow picked her up, placed her in her wheelchair, and brought her along for the ride.

"This is a pretty creepy room," Amy noted as the gang traversed across the long bridge toward the central power supply housing the unguarded seven Chaos Emeralds.

"And from a space efficiency perspective," Tails added, "it makes no sense. Like, why would you have such an expansive room in a space station, where trying to save on space is key, just to dedicate a baseball field's size room to essentially nothing but a long bridge?"

"Yeah," Sonic replied as he peered down over the guardrail, "and what's up with the endless void?"

"This is like that one scene from Star Wars," Knuckles added. "You know, Luke…I am your father!"

"Since when have you become cultured on human films, Knucky?" Rouge jeered.

"Hey, just because I live out in the middle of nowhere spending most of my time guarding the Master Emerald doesn't mean I can't watch some movies from time to time."

"Alright guys, cool it," Sonic ordered, butting between the two arguing Mobians. "Knuckles, weren't you the one who wanted to keep us all on track?"

"Point taken," Knuckles replied, stepping around the party and making his way to the central console. Soon, the rest joined him, watching as the seven Chaos Emeralds glowed majestically, giving the central unit, and the rest of the ship, the power necessary to serve as a genocidal weapon.

"Tails," Sonic turned to his little brother, "what do you think? Is it safe to simply remove the emeralds?"

"I'm not sure," he replied, stepping toward the console. "Removing the gems would power down the Eclipse Cannon, but I don't know the effect it may have on the rest of the ship. The Ark has maintained a steady orbit around the Earth for over 50 years, most of that time running on little energy while in dormancy, but it may be too risky to dramatically cut off the energy supply without first doing some digging."

The orange fox located a keyboard affixed to the central console. Moving the nearby mouse, the large, dusty monitor above flickered on in its CRT glory.

"The system's pretty rudimentary, so I should have no problem identifying all the settings," Tails said as he started clicking away on the keyboard. After several seconds of browsing, he nodded his head approvingly. "Okay, so it looks like the ship's backup power supply is still live, and the Chaos Emeralds fully powered it up, so even removing the gems from the hub will still grant us enough time to flee the ship without having to worry about losing all power."

"Not so fast."

The party turned to the ebony hedgehog, who was pushing an unconscious Maria in her wheelchair.

"Shadow!" Sonic growled. "What are you doing with Helen?!"

"She fell out of consciousness after a little explosion," Shadow replied, "but don't worry: the girl's safe, and I have no intent to hurt her."

"And why exactly is she here?" Tails asked.

"You can ask her that question later," Shadow replied. "That is…if you make it out of here alive."

"Was that a threat, buddy?" Knuckles slammed his fists together in rage.

"Take it as you'd like, echidna," Shadow replied with a scoff. "I have no intention of harming Helen nor her friends, including you…unless necessary."

"Oh yeah?" Sonic asked. "What exactly do you mean by necessary?"

"If you do something stupid," Shadow retorted, "I'll be forced to take drastic measures." The ebony hedgehog pushed the wheelchair toward Tails, who brought it to a gentle stop. "In particular, it'd be well advised for you to step away from the terminal."

"So your master can use the Eclipse Cannon?" Tails asked rhetorically.

"Tell me, fox…" The ebony hedgehog approached the orange kitsune. "Why are you and your friends so keen on defending the Earth so badly? It's not even your home."

"Earth has been our home for months," Tails replied, "but beyond that: it doesn't matter. Think of the innocent lives at stake if Eggman had his way with this level of power, and the billions more who'd be forced to live under his rule."

"Right…wrong…fair…unfair…" Shadow clenched her fist. "What gives you guys the right to be the arbiters of morality?"

"Hey hey, hold your horses there, buddy," Sonic replied with a grin. "Who do you think we are? Superman? Philosophers? Preachers? Nah, man." The blue hedgehog stepped toward Shadow. "When we see someone in danger, we help them. When we see an evil maniac trying to take over the planet, we stop them. Doesn't matter the place. Doesn't matter the victims. We just help people. It's the right thing to do. Easy-peasy."

"Such a simple worldview…I almost envy you." Shadow stepped toward the blue hedgehog. "But would you think the same if the one who was most important to you was savagely ripped from your arms and murdered, especially from those who were supposed to uphold justice?"

"Honestly?" Sonic replied. "I'd like to think so, but I'd rather not test that theory."

"This banter is going nowhere," Knuckles interjected, raising his arms. "You gonna throw down?"

"And do you find it wise to fight alongside this aging technology?" Shadow retorted, gesturing toward the old computer mainframe where the Chaos Emeralds were housed. "So much as a small bump could cause a malfunction."

"So we're at a standstill?" Amy asked.

"Talk about an anticlimactic finish," Rouge added.

"And what's to stop me from simply grabbing one of the Chaos Emeralds out of the console?" Sonic asked, placing his palm on the green gem.

"Do that, and you risk system-wide instability. The Eclipse Cannon may get powered down, but you don't know what other effects this could have if not dismounted safely," Shadow replied. "Besides," Shadow slapped Sonic's hand away from the gem. "I won't allow that anyway."

"So we power down the gems using the Master Emerald," Knuckles replied, the bag of shards across his shoulder.

"Introducing an entirely separate power source to diffuse the Chaos Emeralds?" Shadow replied. "That sounds even riskier. Honestly, do you guys always live by the seat of your pants?"

"That's how we roll!" Sonic exclaimed, giving Shadow a thumbs up. The ebony hedgehog merely facepalmed in response.

"Wooahhooohoohooo!"

The party peered up to find Dr. Eggman floating above in his Eggmobile, Decoe and Bocoe sitting beside him.

"You guys are all words and no action." The evil doctor peered down at the ebony hedgehog. "That especially applies to you, Shadow."

"Me?" She pointed at her chest.

"Don't you think I have cameras stationed all around this space station? You didn't think I wouldn't hear that little girl's pleas which were pulling at your sensitive little heartstrings?" Shadow grumbled at Robotnik's interpretation of prior events. "And getting her ice cream? Really? That was my emergency supply!"

"In any case," Eggman continued, lowering himself further, "I'm afraid this little game ends now. I will program your wavering morality out of you later, but for now…" Eggman pulled a remote from his pocket with a large, shiny red button, truly a stereotypical staple right out of a cartoon. "With the press of this button, the Eclipse Cannon will fire its first shot, directed toward Washington, D.C. It will, of course, cover its entire suburban area as well."

The entire party stood frozen, realizing the stakes at hand; with a single press of that button, Eggman would not only be killing off many of their friends and untold numbers of civilians, but also push the entire United States government into chaos.

"Then I suppose," Sonic replied, "I should…" The blue hedgehog jumped up, snagging the remote from Dr. Eggman's gloved hands. "…take it from ya."

"Why that miserable hedgehog!" Eggman complained. "Shadow, I want you to retrieve that remote by any means necessary."

"Yes, Doctor," Shadow replied, bowing in his direction before setting her sights on the blue hedgehog and the rest of the heroes.

"Nah ah ahhhh!" Sonic waved his finger as the ebony hedgehog approached him. "Remember what you said about the delicate technology here? Perhaps you should take your own advice."

"You have two options, faker," Shadow replied, raising a single finger. "One, you return the remote to me, or two, I disregard all safety precautions and blast you and the entire apparatus behind you. I'm sure the explosion could very well lead to not one, but multiple Eclipse Cannon discharges."

"Alright, Shadsey," Sonic replied with a smirk, "you win."

"Sonic," Tails replied with concern, "what are you d—"

"Relax, buddy," Sonic replied with a whisper, "just follow my lead."

Tails simply nodded in acknowledgement.

The blue hedgehog handed over the remote. Just as it transferred hands, however, Sonic dashed back to the terminal and yanked the green Chaos Emerald away, causing all seven of the gems to stop glowing and sparks to fly from the archaic computer.

"See Shadow, now that is how you lose. Looks like the Earth is safe from Eggman's half-baked sche—" The blue hedgehog was interrupted as a jolt of static from the computer shot through his body, causing him to scream in agony.

"Sonic!" Tails exclaimed.

Just as the bolt released Sonic from its electrifying grip, the green gem floated away from the blue hedgehog's grasp, returning itself to the terminal as if it had a mind of its own.

"What?" Knuckles exclaimed, watching as the CRT monitor flickered on, revealing an old black and white film featuring an aging bald man with glasses and a lab coat, appearing similar in appearance to Dr. Eggman, albeit older and thinner.

"The countdown has begun," he said. "In 20 minutes, the Earth will be destroyed!"

The ground beneath the party started to shake as emergency lights and sirens went off.

Stabilizing himself, Tails approached the computer monitor, only to find a timer ticking down.