Chapter 13

We kept running. And after a while of passing doors and open corridors, we stopped into an empty room to catch our breath. I kept watch at the door in case any Black Arms soldiers showed up. My communicator on my arm beeped.

"Shadow." Rouge's voice called out. "Can you read me?"

"Good to hear you made it on board." I responded raising my communicator closer to my voice.

"I can see you started the party without us."

"Well, I had some help, thanks to Eggman." I took a glance at the doctor.

A smug laugh came through. "How did you manage to get him to follow your orders?"

"I am not meant to be a sycophant, like Agent Stone." He called out. "I am the leader of sycophants, like Agent Stone."

"Let's just say he doesn't actually want to work for a warmonger." I explained simply.

I heard another explosion come from the device. "Shoot."

"What's wrong?" I asked the bat.

"How close are you and Sonic to the main armory?" She asked desperately.

I looked out the door once more and saw a line of soldiers making their way down another hallway. "We got separated. They sent Sonic to get some tests done. I was sent to a holding cell in the lower levels."

There was a pause. "You need to the main armory as soon as possible. I don't think those tests went well."

I gritted my teeth and looked to the others. "We got to move."

Omega walked over to Esme and lifted her into his arms. He then reached for Robotnik and grabbed him to lift him onto his back. "Ready to proceed."

I nodded and we dashed out, following where the rest of the soldiers went. After a while of running, I saw the main armory come into view as chaos reigned. I glared as I saw not only Black Arms soldiers beaten and down, but I caught several of the team hurt and trying to stay on their feet while they avoided attacks. What was going on?

"I'm going down there." I called back. "Omega, keep Esme safe and meet up with the rest of the team."

With a swift motion. I teleported down to the area and dashed over to Rouge and Amy. They looked pretty banged up, but they were alive.

I skidded to a stop and crouched down next to them. "What's happening?"

Amy let out a nervous laugh. "Well…"

We all looked over where the cloud of dust, debris, and smoke was. A shape began to exit. My eyes widened as I realized it was Sonic. But his typical royal blue color had darkened significantly, and there were no details to his eyes. Dark energy escaped from him and I recognized the rage.

"Sonic may be able to handle the power of the Chaos Emeralds." Rouge stated. "But it looks like if he's fused with the Master Emerald alone, he goes Dark."

I frowned. "Keep everyone back and in a safe area. I'll take care of this."

"Shadow, you can't take him alone." Amy said while placing a hand on my arm.

"I'm the only one who can match his speed and strength right now." I assured. "I'll get him back to normal."

Without waiting for any more argument, I teleported away. I reappeared above him and dashed down a knocked him to the ground. It didn't take him long to recover. He reached around and grabbed me by my neck and dashed forward, ramming me into a nearby wall. I let out a grunt but quickly twisted myself and kicked him away. The battle commenced.

I kept him confined to the smaller area so no one else would get hurt. We kept at it for a while, but the Master Emerald seemed to add to Sonic's energy. I was getting tired. And I was well out of my comfort zone. The only other time Sonic didn't pull his punches was after I had hurt Tom. But even then, he didn't want to take my life. He didn't seem like that hedgehog anymore. If we were to end this conflict with both of us alive, I would need to talk him down.

During one time when he pinned me against a wall, I took the risk. "Sonic, this isn't you. And you know that."

He flipped me around and threw me into another wall.

"You're a good person. And you see the best in everyone you meet." I stated, as I pushed myself up.

I blocked another attack but failed to block the following. I slid across the ground, but held my abdomen in pain.

"You're the reason I was able to look beyond vengeance." I struggled. "You gave me hope for a better life."

He walked over to me slowly. I didn't know if my words were going to reach him. I just needed an opening.

"You made me want to be better." I continued. "A better person. A better teammate. A better friend."

There, he hesitated. I took the open shot and shoved the heel of my palm into his chest. He flew backwards, but so did the Emerald. As it fell to the ground, so did I. I stared at the blue hedgehog and waited. Did it work? Was he back to normal?

Sonic's friend ran over to him to check, and Rouge rushed over to me. She carefully lifted me and held me steady as we watched for any sign of hope in Sonic. The dark energy dissipated and his normal color returned. A moment later, he began to push himself up.

"What happened?" He asked groggily.

Amy let out a happy squeal and hugged him. This gained some pink in Sonic's cheeks as he placed a hand on her back. The rest of the team expressed their relief as well. A small smile came to my lips. He was going to be okay.

Knuckles went over and grabbed the Emerald. "I'll keep this safe until we can return to Earth."

Sonic's smile faded a bit.

"We better keep moving, petting zoo." Robotnik's voice called out as Omega showed up with Esme and him.

Sonics brow furrowed and he stood up to be ready to fight. I took the opportunity to step in front. And block his way.

"What are you doing, Shadow?" He asked me.

"He is not our enemy right now." I glanced back at him. "He's the one who told me what was going on. He's the one who made it possible for me to escape my holding cell and get Esme out. He is on our side in this battle. So, you will not fight him today. I don't care what happens next week after this. But for now, he is an ally."

"I'd listen to him." Robotnik stated as he peaked out from his hiding place behind Omega. "And we don't have much time. We need to keep moving before –"

A shockwave of energy rippled through the ship. We ran over to the nearest window and looked down at earth. A beam of energy had been fired down to the planet and began to pulse a wave of energy around the planet. Physical changes began to happen immediately. Areas of large oceans began to have new land appear. Areas of land began to change in shape and size.

"Before that." Robotnik finished.

"Eggman, you better explain what's happening right now or I will make you into an omelet." Sonic glared at the doctor.

"In order for Black Doom to get what he wants. He needs Angel Island, which is on Mobius." He pointed at the planet. "So, he's converging Earth with Mobius. They are becoming one."

"And what's happening to the people down there." Tails asked worried.

Eggman was eerily silent. "I don't know. The way Black Doom described it made it seem that no one on Earth would be hurt."

Sonic crossed his arms and began to tap his foot. "Can we stop or reverse it?"

"If you stop it, it will cause destabilization of both planets. And they could wither away to dust. And you can't reverse it. It would tear the worlds apart."

Sonic looked down to the planet that had become his home. Worry filled his eyes and he placed a hand on the glass. Amy stepped up and placed a hand over his.

"We'll find a way to fix it, Sonic." She reassured. "I promise."

His lips pressed together. "Everything will work for the better if we stop Black Doom first. That's the priority. Let's keep moving."

With those words, we made our way to the bridge of the ship.