SZ: Hey minna. Welcome back to...uh….*looks for Gt*...GammaTron?
GT: *walks in, wearing braces* Right here.
SZ: Ahh...what's with the braces?
GT: I just got them on November 28 and now I have to wear them for 2.5 years. *goes into a corner, waterfall tears going down my cheeks* I can't eat popcorn or sticky snacks or even soft pretzels anymore…!
SZ: *winces* ouch...sorry to hear man.
GT: But...I did get to see Moana before I got these things and ate two big buckets of popcorn before then, so it was all good. Now then, welcome everyone to Omniverse Underground! As you all know, Ragna has been trying, and failing, to stop these triggers Paradox has been warning him about.
SZ: Yup. Two triggers have already happened, which means there's one left...What it is, you'll have to find out in today's chapter.
GT: Exactly. And this will also be the final rest chapter before the next arc. So let's get on with it! *burns the disclaimers since we all know them already before drawing the screen down*
Ragna sighed in annoyance and increasing anger as he paced about a garage. Ben had not reacted well when he saw and was given proof that they were Gwen and Kevin and had ended up collapsing in shock. Mixed in with what had happened earlier and Ragna decided it would've been safer if he just stayed far away from the bus as possible.
"Wrench."
Ragna tossed a wrench to the black and green sports car, where a hand shot out from under it and caught the wrench before going back under the vehicle.
"So tell me, how the hell did you end up going legit? Last time I saw your scrawny ass, it was given to you by me when you tried jumping me at that camping spot," Ragna smirked.
"I still owe you for that," Kevin noted under the car, "And what can I say? A lot happened when Ben was fifteen."
"Yeah," Ragna grit his teeth, "I can tell."
"...Just trying to get some common ground," Kevin noted, having heard the barely held back growl Ragna had let out, "And you're not the only dude who's worried for him."
"He really thought that he had killed you both in an unstoppable rage against the Forever Knights. How do you think it'd go when that was proved otherwise?"
"...Point taken," Kevin muttered as he moved from under the car, wiping some sweat from his forehead.
"It seems that you've been unable to stop the second trigger, Ragna."
"...Does anyone else smell roses?" Kevin asked.
"Oh god," Ragna muttered before the two turned to see Rachel in her familiars-turned-throne-and-pillow.
"Is that any way to greet someone whom visits?" Rachel questioned, taking a sip of tea that Valkenhayne had finished pouring, standing at her side.
"What the…?! How'd you get in here?" Kevin scowled.
"Oh dear me. The foolish idiots have multiplied since I last visited."
"..." Kevin's eye twitched at that, 'Oh that twerp did not just call me a…'
"Oi, Usagi," Ragna spoke up, "You know that guy that's been telling me about those triggers, don't you?"
"Perhaps. Or perhaps not. I may have met him or I have yet to meet the man," Rachel replied, "I am merely here in his place or just here to speak to you myself."
"...The goddamn third trigger's coming, isn't it?" Ragna grumbled.
"Indeed. It seems you do have a brain behind the white broom you call your hair," Rachel smirked before resuming her neutral expression, "And it cannot be stopped now."
"Wh-What?" Ragna's eyes widened.
"Triggers? What do you mean, kid?" Kevin frowned, looking at Rachel.
"Hmph. I see no need to address a barbarian such as yourself," Rachel replied, tilting her nose at his general direction before looking at Ragna, "It cannot be stopped for the key to the trigger will become undone tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
"Yes. I will say this though…" Rachel began as a swirl of roses began to surround her, "Thirteen can be a rather unlucky number."
"...I hate cryptic shit," Kevin grumbled as Rachel vanished.
"You and me both," Ragna agreed before a beeping noise went off in Kevin's pocket, making him pull out his badge.
"Proximity alarm," Kevin informed, turning the lights out, "Hide."
Ragna nodded as he and Kevin hid at the sides of the garage door. For a few moments, a tense silence came until they heard something spark and the garage door slid open. A lanky figure walked into the garage, wearing an all encompassing white bodysuit, littered with pieces of metal bands and collar. An armored backpack laid on their back where a cable was extending, ending with a light that was shining around.
"Access code scanner," the figure noted in a monotone voice.
A tiny rectangular device emerged from the side of the backpack before shining a red light around the garage. As the figure focused on scanning, Kevin placed a hand against the wall behind him and Ragna saw his entire body be engulfed in a layer of the wall itself. Seeing the raised brow, Kevin mouthed 'New trick,' earning a nod from Ragna. The figure finished scanning the area and let the device return into his backpack.
"Confirmed. Detecting residual Omni Matrix energy signature. Collating variance," the man noted.
"You know, it's not nice to break in and enter someone's place," Kevin spoke up, causing the figure to turn and look at the two, revealing his green face and red-tinted goggles.
"Now get out of here nice and slow, and we won't have to pound you," Ragna warned as he cracked his knuckles.
"Much," Kevin added.
"Residual Omni Matrix energy signature detected. Beginning further collating variance," the figure stated as he began to walk towards them.
"...Fine. Don't say we didn't warn you," Ragna stated as he charged at the figure, "Hell's Fang!"
Just before Ragna's attack struck, the man was suddenly out of the path. Kevin gripped his fist before the layer over it reshaped into the hammer part of a sledgehammer. He charged and swung at the man, only for the same thing to happen to him.
"This guy's fast despite his looks," Kevin noted.
"Assemble Quark Modulator."
A pair of slots appeared on the straps of the figure's backpack before pieces of metal in the shape of blocks began to float out, forming into a blaster-like weapon of sorts. Grabbing it, the figure aimed and a blast of energy shot out, hitting Kevin and sending him smacking into the wall on the opposite side of the garage, the layer of the wall gone as he collapsed, out cold.
"Osmosian defense too successful," the figure noted before dodging a slash from Ragna and then firing a shot at him, sending Ragna out of the garage and crash into a wall on the other side of the street, "Terran defense too successful." the code scanner came out once more, "Tracking Omni Matrix energy signature."
A lone island greeted the setting sun's rays, the skies turning a multitude of colors from the light of it. Connected to the lush jungle landscape was a large military base. All seemed quiet as soldiers patrolled the base, their uniforms consisting of black bodysuit, white combat vests, combat boots, and gloves, and black helmet with white detailing. However, that silence was soon shattered as a loud explosion rocked the base, startling most of the soldiers as they rushed to where the explosion occurred. That was soon proven fatal as they were all blasted back by condensed soundwaves fired by some Dark Legionnaires in black and sun gold/orange yellow armor.
"Area is secured, Grand Master Maw," one of the Legionnaires, a Mobian bat, saluted as a figure began to walk into the area.
"Thank you," a voice noted as a figure approaching.
The figure was a Mobian Thylacine with a rich yellow fur accented by black markings on the tips of his ears, stripes on his thin tail, and a 'V' on his forehead. His purple eyes gazed out upon the base as sirens were starting to sound, causing a frown to come to his metallic muzzle.
"With our presence now detected, they're going into lockdown mode to try to prevent us from getting within," Maw noted before turning around to look at two gorilla Mobians and a bulky robot sporting gorilla-themed shoulder armor, a rhino-themed helmet, and elephant head-themed armor for its lower legs, "Bash, Throttle, Recks, do be sure to tear down the barriers in our way as we head for our main objective."
"Mmm!" one of the gorillas grunted out as the small group made their way down into the base. Metal doors attempted to block their way, but the two gorillas and the robot tore through them like a hot knife through butter.
=Maw, status report!=
"We are making our way towards the prize. At the rate we're going, I would say that we have about ten minutes to reach it," Maw informed, a hand pressing a small badge depicting the emblem for the Eggman Empire.
=Excellent. Once you reach the prize, input the password and bring me whatever comes out= Eggman ordered.
"Understood," Maw nodded.
Kevin groaned as he started coming to. A shadow made him look up to see Gwen frowning as she looked down at him.
"I thought we had an agreement. You stop sleeping where you put your car, and I stop complaining about you sleeping where you put your car," Gwen scolded.
"...Gwen?" Kevin blinked a bit as he got up.
"Ugh…" Ragna groaned as he entered the garage, "The hell hit us…" he frowned as his memories of last night came back, "Oh yeah. That weird bastard."
"What are you talking about?" Gwen demanded as Kevin shook his head.
"This is bad. This is very, very bad," Kevin muttered, "I think a Weapon Master of Techadon was here."
"A what?" Ragna raised a brow at that, "...Hold on. You say he's from Techadon… That means he's associated with those goddamn robots!"
"Not just associated, Ragna; they build those things," Kevin explained, "Gwen, go get Rook. If we are dealing with a Weapon Master, then we're in some deep shit."
"Okay. We beat them before. We can…"
"You're not listening, Gwen," Kevin shook his head, "We've never beaten those guys because we've never even met those guys. They don't leave their home planet...ever."
"Until last night apparently," Ragna frowned.
"What did he want in here?"
"No idea. He said some mumbo jumbo, something about lists…" Kevin replied.
"He said something about detecting Omni Matrix whatever," Ragna added before his and Kevin's eyes widened.
"He's after Ben," the two said in unison.
"Is he still under that tree?" Sonic groaned, seeing Ben sitting under a tree, his knees covering the lower half of his face as he held them close.
"Dude received a major shock last night," Manic replied before looking over at Tsubaki, the only one of the girls that had come down from their bedroom, "Along with others. You feeling okay?"
"As much as one can be when they learn their home is gone," Tsubaki sighed, "But one of us needs to be strong for the others."
"Yeah…" Sonic nodded a bit before sighing, "Damn...just when things were starting to look good once we got Mobotropolis back…."
"Yeah…" Manic agreed as he plopped his head on the table, "It's not as if this week can get any worse."
"...Manic, y-"
"Yeah yeah. I just realized I jinxed it," Manic sighed.
"Ben-san?" Ben didn't even seem to move or acknowledge Roll's presence beside him, "Are you...hungry?"
"..."
"Oh...S-Soka," Roll's ears drooped.
A wind began to blow while Roll's ears twitched. She looked out and gasped, seeing a large blue and dark silver cube float down towards them, easily the size of a two-story building. It landed, crushing a few trees with its large size, before a panel opened up, revealing the Weapon Master.
"Omni Matrix signature detected," the Weapon Master noted as he exited, "Device is fused with a Terran."
"..." Ben said nothing as he ignored him.
"Deploy Schenallysys Array," the Weapon Master stated as a series of devices emerged from his pack and pulled Ben's Omnitrix arm out of its position and began to examine the device.
"...A-Ano...Who are you?" Roll asked.
"Multiple code variance extant. Energy patterns deviate from known exemplars," the Weapon Master stated as his devices returned, "Close examination is required." he grabbed Ben's wrist and picked him up by just his wrist alone.
"?! H-Hey!" Ben yelped, "Okay, that's it!" he quickly activated the Omnitrix and slapped it down, "Omnikaka!" Omnikaka looked down, "Meow! Stupid Watch thingy! Omni wanted Spinny Turtle Guy!"
"Oi!" Roll spoke up, pulling out her sword and aimed it at the Weapon Master, "Let Ben-san go!"
"...Deploying concussion swarm," the Weapon Master stated as a small swarm of metal spheres floated out of his backpack, the spheres starting to glow red.
"Uh-oh," Omnikaka blinked twice.
She then managed to kick the Weapon Master away from her before she and Roll began to run from the swarm, said swarm starting to follow as they began to beep rapidly. Yacker yawned, poking a bit out of Roll's hair while wearing a tiny night cap, before seeing the swarm coming at them. His eye widened before grabbing his night cap and putting it away.
"LAZER!" Yacker shot into Roll's katana, turning it into the Lazer Rapier.
Roll spun around and swung her blade, releasing a horizontal laser that struck all the little spheres, creating a series of large explosions that sent the two tumbling away and stopping near Sonic, Manic, Sonia, and Tsubaki as they had just finished getting out of the bus.
"What's going on? Are we under attack?" Sonic was the first to ask.
"What happened here?!" Sonia gasped, seeing the large area of destruction as the smoke was clearing.
"Someone is after Ben-san!" Roll explained.
"Deploying Molecular Vice."
"Gah!" Ben yelped as metallic pale-blue straps shot out and ensnared him.
"Ben!" Sonia gasped as the straps tightened and retracted, pulling Ben with them into the dissipating smoke.
"Omni Matrix retrieved," the Weapon Master spoke up as he turned around, walking back to his ship with the ensnared Ben in tow.
"Oh I don't think so," Sonic frowned, bringing out his sword as he dashed at the Weapon Master.
The Weapon Master entered his ship and it sealed shut behind him. Sonic swung his blade and no damage was dealt to the vessel. It was the sight of Sonic slicing at the thing that the black and green sports car came upon. Kevin was the first out followed by Gwen, Ragna, and then Rook.
"Where's Ben?" Ragna demanded.
"Some creepy dude just came by and snatched him," Sonic replied, panting a bit as he lowered his sword.
"Damn it...we're too late then," Ragna growled in frustration, 'God damn it...That Weapon Master is the Third Trigger, isn't he?!'
A dent appeared in a thick metal door. A second one joined followed by a third. Finally, the door was blasted apart as two gorillas roared, carrying a robot with a rhino, gorilla, and elephant theme to it like a battering ram, while charging.
"Mmm! Area secured!" one of the gorillas grunted out.
"Thank you," Maw said as he walked in, looking around the area for a moment, "Now where is that...ah. Here it is," he gave a smile grin as he walked up to a console, blowing a bit of dust off it, "Hmm...rather rustic, but still operational."
=Maw, status report now!= Eggman demanded.
"We've arrived at where the target should be, sire," Maw replied, "Awaiting for the passcode."
=It just finished decrypting. The code is 'MA-RI-A'=
"Maria," Maw nodded as he typed the five letters into the console.
The empty space before the console began to rumble a bit before it slowly began to open up, steam and smoke slowly escaping it as something began to rise. After a few moments, the object was fully raised out of the floor, revealing it was a containment pod of sorts. But what was weird was...it appeared to be already open.
"...That is odd," Maw noted.
=What? What's wrong?= Eggman asked.
"It would seem whatever Project Shadow was...is no longer here," Maw answered.
"Sir. There's a note in the pod," a lanky robot noted, being carried by the Bat Mobian to let him grab the note within before they flew over and presented it to Maw.
"'I owe you one artificial lifeform. Due...the end of time. Signed, Azmuth,'" Maw read.
Eggman's eye twitched, "...Lien-Da!"
"This did not happen where I came from," Lien-Da informed quickly.
"Logically, there would be differences that she could not account for," Shockwave noted.
"True…" Eggman scowled, "Maw, attach the teleporter and bring that entire room here. We'll see if there's anything inside of the mainframe."
=Yes, sire=
"My liege, why don't you get it from there while it's still there?" Sleet asked.
"Because GUN is most likely mobilizing their remaining forces to get in there and possibly destroy the entire room," Eggman replied.
"He's right you know," Lien-Da spoke up, "GUN tends to not leave any traces of themselves behind, including large facilities."
"...And what if there are witnesses?" Sleet nervously asked.
"Send you to Prison Island for who knows how long until you crack and go insane," Lien-Da answered, making him pale further.
"Sir, Grand Master Maw is now on the island with room intact and his troops as well," a robot at a console informed.
"Excellent. Now let's see if we can find just who took my grandfather's Project Shadow, shall we?" Eggman smirked.
"...Ugh…" Ben groaned as he began to regain consciousness.
He tried to move a bit before he noticed he was strapped to a large metal table, his arms and legs bound by metal cuffs. He soon looked up to see the Weapon Master, his back turned towards him as a table hovered before him, various tools laid out on it. He began to struggle.
"You know, I've been having a bit of a bad time lately, so letting me go now is probably your best choice to not get crushed by Grimlock!" Ben grunted in his struggles, "Don't you know who I am?"
"Benjamin Kirby Tennyson. Terran. Human. Semi-Activated Plumber Agent. Planetary and galactic protector," the Weapon Master replied as one of the disc-shaped devices floated up, blades extending from it, as he turned and walked towards Ben.
"...Guess you do," Ben noted with a small frown.
"New data suggests that the Omni Matrix has been modified," the Weapon Master observed, "Directive: Galvan technology must be acquired and exploited." the blade began to spin at a high speed, slowly approaching Ben's arm, "Organic component is superfluous."
"...Seriously, you don't want to do that," Ben warned as the device was nearing his arm, "...You cut it off me, and boom."
"...Boom?" the Weapon Master repeated as the blades stopped spinning, "Please define 'boom.'"
"'Boom' as in 'big, honking explosion that can destroy the entire galaxy we're in,'" Ben replied, "As in 'no more...whoever you are.'"
"I am Inspector 13. Weapon Master of Techadon," the alien replied, "You are implicated in my ongoing investigation of failed Techadon units."
"...You're a Weapon Master?" Ben blinked in surprise, "Wow. No one's ever seen one of you guys."
"...Correction; no one has ever seen us...and lived," the now dubbed Inspector 13 stated.
"Well we're not gonna survive if you cut the Omnitrix off me," Ben informed.
"..." the device retreated its blades before floating back to the table, "Deploying Code Spool. Access Galvan security measures and breach."
A panel vanished on the metal table, deploying a metallic worm-like device. It sprouted two tentacles and let out smaller wires that connected to the Omnitrix.
=Accesing Galvan Code=
"...Heh. Good luck hacking the Omnitrix. There's no way you c-" Ben began with a small cocky smirk.
=FIREWALL ONE: BREACHED=
=FIREWALL TWO: BREACHED=
=FIREWALL THREE: BREACHED=
"...Uh...Yeah. Okay. But there's no way that you'll get Master Control a…"
=MASTER CONTROL: UNLOCKED=
=MASTER CONTROL: GRANTED=
'I really need to keep my big mouth shut,' Ben mentally facepalmed as he looked at Inspector 13.
A double-bladed weapon floated into the inspector's hand. He approached Ben and stopped before the Omnitrix arm. He raised his arm, preparing to sever the limb, when an alarm went off.
=WARNING. WARNING. ANODITE ENERGY SURGE DETECTED. COUNTERMEASURES FAILING=
A magenta spark appeared nearby before a dome of magenta-colored energy appeared and quickly dispersed, revealing the others that had been outside the cube.
"Hell's FANG!" Ragna roared, shooting out with his fist engulfed in the black and red flames.
Inspector 13 dodged the strike before he began to move away from the attempted slashes of Kevin's arms-now in the shape of scythes-, Sonic's sword, and Ragna's sword. He grabbed a handle on his belt and formed a plasma sword only for a mana shot, a magenta energy shot, and a plasma shot to hit him, sending him tumbling into a wall.
"Okay, that was tight," Manic noted as Sonia blew the smoke on the barrel of her keyboard blaster.
"Gwen-san, daijobu?" Tsubaki asked as she caught the stumbling Gwen.
"I'm fine. Teleporting just…" Gwen paused, taking a moment to breath as she stood back up, "I'm fine."
"Now we just need to get you out, Ben-san," Roll noted.
"I think I can handle it," Ben replied, looking at the Omnitrix, 'He unlocked Master Control, so that means…' "I've actually wanted to see what it is..."
"Eh?" Roll blinked, hearing the last words he said under his breath.
"Omnitrix, access Mobian DNA sample," Ben ordered.
=ACCESSING=
In a flash of light, Ben was replaced. For Ben, time slowed as he changed. He felt his body shrinking down to the size of Sonic. His body racked with pain as black quills grew out of his body, his clothing vanishing. A white tuff of fur grew on his chest as red quills grew in various parts of his body's quills. White gloves and socks formed on his hands and feet before gold rings covered his wrists, a piece of black and red leather coming out of them. White shoes with red metal on the soles form on his feet as bronze fur grew on his muzzle. Yet...Ben couldn't feel it. In fact, he couldn't feel anything...he couldn't...couldn't...co...Unbeknownst to everyone, the Omnitrix Symbol flickered between green...and black/red before sinking into the white tuff of fur.
"This is…his Mobian self?" Tsubaki pondered.
"…heh-heh-heh…" everyone looked at the new Mobian as his held up form trembled, "…heh-heh-heh-heh…Ha-ha-ha-ha…! Ahahahahaha!"
"B-Ben…?" Roll pondered, taking a few steps back, as Ben continued with his maniacal laugh for a few more moments.
"Shadow…the Hedgehog," the Mobian spoke before opening his eyes, revealing they were a burning red color instead of the normal noble emerald, "Finally…! Mobius…" he looked around, "I thought that the fool Azmuth would've removed me from the Omnitrix, but it seems that he wouldn't do so."
"...Scanning new life form," Inspector 13 spoke as one of his machines scanned Shadow, only for it to explode, "Threat level...Infinite."
"Is that bad?" Manic asked before his eyes widened, "?!"
Inspector 13 collapsed, a black liquid trickling out of where his head had been. Shadow smirked as a sickening crunch/squish echoed in the room before the black hedgehog dropped a pile of mush that had once been a head.
"Y…You killed him…" Manic gasped as Sonia turned away, throwing up a little.
"Hmph," Shadow snorted before looking at Kevin before he was inches away from him.
"?!" Kevin's eyes widened before Shadow's foot slammed into his face, sending Kevin crashing into a wall.
"Kevin!" Gwen gasped.
"...Heh. Good to see I haven't become rusty," Shadow smirked as he walked up to the downed Osmosian.
"Ben, what the hell?!" Sonic demanded as Shadow reached down to Kevin.
"...It all starts with this," Shadow informed before pulling out the green Chaos Emerald from Kevin's pocket, "A jewel containing the ultimate power."
"That's a…Chaos Emerald!" Tsubaki gasped.
"Hey. What're you gonna do with that Emerald?!" Sonic demanded.
"As if I'll answer that, faker," Shadow scoffed.
"What?! If anyone's a faker here, it's you and the Omnitrix, Ben!" Sonic argued as he charged at Shadow.
"Chaos…" Shadow clenched the emerald tighter, "CONTROL!"
The emerald began to shine before Shadow seemed to have vanished. Sonic slowly looked to his right to see Shadow moving by him, their eyes locking for just a moment. Sonic skidded to a halt as Shadow appeared on the other side of the room.
"Whoa! This dude's fast!" Manic exclaimed.
"No...I think he used that Chaos Emerald to slow down time," Tsubaki whispered, her eyes widened in shock.
"Like Sly-Itoko can?" Roll gasped.
"My name is Shadow. I am the universe's Ultimate Life Form," Shadow reintroduced himself, tossing the emerald in his hand, "There's no time for games…" he clenched the Emerald tight, "Farewell!"
The emerald glowed bright once more. When the light died down, Shadow was no longer there.
"He…he's gone," Sonia whispered.
"That form's taken him over," Gwen whispered.
"Not again…" Kevin groaned as Ragna slammed a fist against a wall.
"DAMMIT!" Ragna cursed, recalling what Rachel had said, 'Ben accessing the Mobian DNA...that was the Final Trigger.' he then looked over at the lifeless, headless body of Inspector 13, 'This bastard must've been the one who unlocked Master Control….grr…' he pulled his sword out and let out a rage filled roar, "DEAD SPIKE!"
Everyone moved back as the beast's head formed once more, tearing apart Inspector 13's body. It gave a final roar before vanishing and Ragna put his sword back and looked around.
"Where the hell is the exit in this damn place?" Ragna scowled.
"No idea…" Manic answered as he looked around. He then looked over at Sonic, who seemed to be trembling a bit, "You okay, bro?"
"Just what was that?!" Sonic questioned, "He…And…" he looked over at Gwen and Kevin, "Has Ben ever done this before in one of his forms?"
"You mean get taken over by them? Yeah," Kevin replied.
"It's rare, but it has happened with two aliens for certain," Gwen replied, "Ghostfreak and Big Chill."
"Better add that new form to the list," Sonia added.
"Yeah...remind me to deck Ben in the face once he get's back to normal," Sonic stated with a frown, "Calling me a faker...He's the faker, damn it!"
"Focus on finding a way out first!" Ragna snapped as he ran his hands along the walls.
'Where could he have gone?' Tsubaki pondered.
"Okay, let's see…" Eggman muttered as he typed on the old computer, "Ah. Excellent. They didn't think of deleting the video footage." He then started to play the video, the mad doctor keeping a close eye on the screen, "Okay...let's see who this 'Azmuth' is, and why he stole my grandfather's greatest creation."
The screen turned to static for a few moments. The screen soon turned from static to an old video file. In it, everything seemed normal. It was empty, the container was sealed, and there was a little grey man standing on the console. ...Wait, what? Eggman doubled checked. Indeed, there was a little grey man in it.
"A…a little grey man…?" Eggman slowly blinked before he began to growl out, "A little grey man stole Project Shadow from me?!" a beep went off and he looked at a wrist-mounted device, "I don't have time to read the next entry! I am livid at the moment!"
"Seems to go into rants when he loses like the Eggman from my Zone, too," Lien-Da muttered.
Shockwave walked by Lien-Da and the ranting Eggman before holding his pointer finger to a USB port on the computer. A USB drive emerged from his finger and plugged it into the slot. He aimed his blaster arm at a large white markerboard he had Starscream set up and an enhanced image of the video was displayed on it by his blaster.
"I have a plausible theory as to what happened to your grandfather's Project Shadow, Lord Eggman," Shockwave informed, snapping Eggman out of his rant.
"Explain," Eggman ordered.
Shockwave paused the security footage and zoomed in on the alien, clearing it up to reveal it to show it had whiskers on the sides of its face, wrinkles, and wore a black and green set of robes with silver bits added to it...with the symbol of the Omnitrix evident on the left lapel.
"Considering the few scans I've been able to obtain from the Omni Matrix during my encounters with Ben Tennyson, the logical conclusion would be that the one who took away the project...was the creator of the device," Shockwave informed.
"...So you're telling me that…" Eggman paused as he pointed a finger at the small grey man, "Thing created that watch Ben Tennyson uses?"
"It is the most logical conclusion at this time," Shockwave confirmed, "I do not have a clear understanding as to how he knew of the existence of your Grandfather's project as of yet." he looked at Eggman, "Did his journal mention anything?"
"All it spoke of was unsealing it to grant any desire I wish," Eggman huffed before looking over at Lien-Da, "Tell me, if Project Shadow had been in there, what would've been the next thing we would've done?"
"Most likely, head to the Space Colony ARK," Lien-Da answered, "And only Project Shadow knows its exact location."
"Rats," Eggman frowned, "Now what am I supposed to do?! Project Shadow was taken from me just when I found it, and now….ugh! Can this day get any worse?!" a squawk was heard before something white splattered on his shoulder, "...That was a seagull just now, wasn't it?"
"Yep," Lien-Da nodded.
"...Shockwave."
*BZZRT*
*squawrk*
"Thank you," Eggman thanked as he pulled out a tissue and wiped the white muck off his shoulder, "Starscream, bring up any cameras we still have that they haven't discovered in our former base of operations."
"At once," Starscream bowed before a projector emerged from his arm and displayed a video file of Inspector 13's ship, "...That's new."
"It appears to share similar structural design with where Starscream obtained the robot," Shockwave analyzed.
"...If it's still operational, I…" Eggman began before something back and red blurred past screen for the moment, "Wait. Rewind that and slow it down." the video rewound and went to its slowest possible speed, "A hedgehog?"
"Lien-Da, your blood pressure momentarily rose," Shockwave observed before pointing at Shadow the Hedgehog, "This is Project Shadow, is it not?"
"...Yes. Yes it is," the female echidna nodded.
"My grandfather's Project Shadow...is a hedgehog?!" Eggman exclaimed before facepalming, "As if I didn't get enough hedgehogs with the Royal Hedgehog Family."
"...I assure you, he's nothing like Sonic in terms of personality," Lien-Da spoke up, making Eggman look at her, "Also, look what's in his hand there."
"..." Eggman raised a brow as he looked back at the screen, "...A Chaos Emerald? What does that…?"
"Shadow has the power to manipulate Chaos Energy," Lien-Da continued, "He can slow down time, teleport, create spears made of the stuff, even make explosions from it."
"Fascinating," Eggman rubbed his chin in thought.
"Right now, he'll be fixated with finding the Chaos Emeralds," Lien-Da informed, "So if we get one, he'll come right to us."
"...Um, funny thing about that," Starscream spoke up, "You see this morning, during a recon mission with the Combaticons, we….well, more specifically I, found one on one of the nearby islands."
"...And you didn't bring this up why?" Eggman asked with a frown.
"..." Starscream mumbled.
"Speak louder," Eggman ordered.
"A gorilla in a red tie keeps beating us up because it's on top of a large pile of bananas," Starscream quickly spoke.
"..." Eggman was about to say something before an alarm went off at the base, "...I'll deal with you later, Starscream."
=Okay, Sly. Security systems are down= Penelope informed.
"Thanks," Sly noted as he looked out towards a large steel tower surrounded by lights from atop the museum he was on.
=You're still not upset that when we got back to Paris, Carmelita's apartment was bare except for a note for you explaining why she isn't chasing you anymore, are you?= Bentley questioned.
"Huh? No, no. I'm fine," Sly assured before frowning, "Bentley, Penelope, either of you picking up anything in the place?"
=Not really= Penelope replied.
=...It's never this quiet here= Bentley noted.
"Agreed," Sly nodded in agreement, "Even with the place closed, there's still subtle noises like the footsteps of the guards." a gunshot made him look into the ceiling window just in time to see a guard collapse, a hole in their forehead while a hedgehog was standing across from them, "We've got company and not the good kind."
=A hedgehog? Wait...it kinda looks like Sonic= Penelope noted, looking at the feed from the Binocucom.
"Sonic wouldn't use a .47 Desert Eagle," Sly noted, managing to glimpse the gun in the hedgehog's hand as he walked past the deceased guard and approached a glass case, "And it seems they're after what we are."
The hedgehog stood before the glass case. Within it was a stand where a rust-coated object rested. The hedgehog rose a hand before giving a strong chop to the glass, shattering it and causing the alarm to go off. Not like any of the guards would be able to answer the call due to being preoccupied with meeting the Grim Reaper. Reaching in, he grasped the rusted object before it pulsed and the rust faded away into dust, exposing a brilliant deep obsidian-colored blade detailed in gold trimming.
"Wasn't expecting that," Sly admitted before the Hedgehog pulled out a Chaos Emerald, "A Chaos Emerald!" he grunted as a bright light momentarily blinded him before he looked to see the hedgehog was gone, "Darn. He got away."
=Sly, the-FZZZ-are-BZZRT=
"Bentley?" Sly pondered before dropping the sparking Binocucom before it blew up, "That's unusual." he heard the sirens of police and quickly made his escape, 'First Carmelita's gone and now this. What else could happen?'
"Raaah!" Ragna's voice roared out as an opening appeared on the side of the Weapon Master's ship, the silver haired man charging straight out of it, "Fucking finally…"
"Could someone explain to me as to why this is here?" Ragna looked up to see Aleena with a group of Freedom Fighters at ready at her sides.
"...Ugh," Ragna sighed as he stood up, "The guy who created that factory pouring out those robots came here to take the Omnitrix from Ben…" he let out a scoff as he tried to remain calm, "Not that I care because the bastard's dead thanks to that damn black hedgehog Ben turned into."
"...Black hedgehog?" Aleena repeated.
"Yeah. Finally accessed the Mobian DNA in that watch of his," Ragna replied, "Bad news though….it pretty much took him over and vanished to who knows where."
"I...I think I see," Aleena noted.
"Yeah...I suggest you put out a warning to the other Freedom Fighter bases," Ragna stated, "Reason...I think he might be after the Chaos Emeralds after taking the one Kevin had….which reminds me…" he turned to face Kevin as he and the others got out of the ship, "Mind telling me why you had a god damn Chaos Emerald, Levin?"
"It was in the garage when we got there," Kevin replied, "Didn't think it was anything important."
"Well you better hope we find the rest of those things, because if that damn black hedgehog gets all seven, some really big shit is gonna go down," Ragna frowned, "And I'm talking Chaos level."
"Agreed," Aleena nodded before motioning to the Freedom Fighters that had come with her and they ran off to spread the word.
"I'll go get the Emerald Radar from the bus's lab," Manic noted as he ran down to the bus, entered it, and then came straight out, "There's an old Greymatter in the bus."
"An old Greymatter?" Kevin repeated he and Gwen blinked in realization.
"...Azmuth." the two said in unison.
"The old frog?" Ragna blinked twice.
"Azmuth?" Tsubaki repeated.
They went into the bus to see what appeared to be Greymatter on the dining table. However, he seemed to be much older with a few whiskers on the sides of his mouth. He wore a green robe accented in black with silver cuffs on his lower arms, waist, and neck. He had a hand behind his back while the other had a tiny metal staff.
"Would someone care to explain why I received notice that the Omnitrix was hacked...again?" the Greymatter demanded.
"You can blame a now dead Weapon Master for that," Ragna responded with a frown, "He kidnapped Ben so he could take the Omnitrix."
"A Weapon Master? Well now, to think one actually left their planet," the alien noted, stroking his long whiskers in contemplation, "Wait." he paused in his stroking and looked at Ragna, "The Weapon Master is deceased?"
"Not my fault, so don't go blaming me, dammit," Ragna scowled.
"Um...Some introductions, dudes?" Manic asked.
"This is Azmuth, leader of the Galvan race, creator of their new home planet of Galvan Prime MKII, creator of the Galvanic Mechamorph race, creator of the Omnitrix, and smartest alien in three, arguably five, galaxies," Rook introduced.
"Thank you," Azmuth nodded slightly before looking around, "Now then, where is Ben? I need to reset the Master Control before he does something foolish."
"…"
"...What did he do this time, Gwendolyn?" Azmuth sighed, feeling a headache coming on.
"He turned into a Mobian to get out of his restraints," Gwen explained.
"Dude looked like Sonic here," Kevin pointed at the blue hedgehog, "But black with red marks on him."
"!" Azmuth's eyes widened, "Shadow has been activated again?"
"Again?" Tsubaki repeated before blinking, "Wait...you know about Shadow?"
"Know about him? Of course I know about Shadow!" Azmuth informed, "Please tell me he had the emblem on him."
"Ano...Iie, Azmuth-san," Roll apologized, "I didn't see it at all on him."
"I was afraid of this," Azmuth shook his head.
"Whoa whoa whoa! Back it up there," Kevin spoke, "You're saying that you knew about Ben's new form this whole time?"
"Yes, and I thought that putting a lock on him would have prevented Ben from transforming into Shadow again," Azmuth frowned.
"Your majesty!" a Mobian dog called out as he rushed into the bus, panting a bit, "I…I have some urgent news! Armed forces are approaching the city!"
"What? Who? It can't be Eggman again…" Sonic said, 'Especially considering what happened with Chaos.'
"No, sir. It's GUN," the dog answered.
"A gun?" Ragna raised a brow.
"A special forces group in Interpol," Aleena explained, "It stands for 'Guardian Unit of Nations.' But..." she then held her chin in thought, "Why are they here?"
=Sonic the Hedgehog!= a voice called out from outside via megaphone =In the name of the Guardian Unit of Nations, you are under arrest!=
"Say what?!" Sonic exclaimed.
GT: Oof...This did not end well for anyone it seems. Makoto and Noel are out of commission due to planet loss, Sonic is now under arrest, and Ben is trapped inside a rogue alien form...again.
SZ: Yup. Things have gone from bad to worst for our heroes...man. They just can't catch a break right now.
GT: So very true.
SZ: Yeah...how will things turn out for the group? Find out in the next chapter, folks. Until then, I'm Seanzilla115…
GT: And I am GammaTron. And we bid you adieu. So read and review.