"I've given it a lot of consideration," Sally said, a grim look over her face as she met everyone's eyes. Mina, Rotor and Nicole, as well as Knuckles on the monitor. "We have to take Shadow out of the equation. He is taking out too many of our scouts, and leaving behind nothing but scorched earth wherever he goes."

Knuckles sighed on the other side of the monitor. "I didn't want it to come to this. Shadow's helped us a number of times, and even if we didn't always see saw eye-to-eye, he was still a good person. But with the situation as bad as it is, I guess it's too late to try reasoning with him."

"I've always believed that killing should only ever be a last resort, and given his connection with Sonic, I want to give Shadow one final chance. But only one."

"What's your plan?"

"We will lure Shadow out and try to detain him. Take him as our prisoner. Should that fail, we will not give him the chance to retreat. One way or another, we will put a stop to him today."

"But how are we going to detain someone like that?" Mina asked. "His power aside, Shadow's as fast as Sonic is. I've seen Sonic evade enough of Eggman's traps to know it won't be easy."

"We'll lure Shadow to a certain location." Sally nodded to Nicole, who brought up images of a destroyed village on a separate monitor. Knuckles could see it, too. "This is Ring Valley, a village that was once a popular tourist destination, due to the Yggdrasil Tree that produced Power Rings every year."

"I've heard of it," Rotor said. "After taking Mobotropolis, Eggman had his robots attack the village and ripped out the tree, roots-and-all."

Mina clenched her fists. "I went there once when I was six, with my parents. I remember it was filled with such nice people, and I spent all summer playing with the local kids. Now it's just a pile of rubble…"

"Though Eggman has stolen the Yggdrasil Tree, its magic is still present in the soil," Nicole said. "With the Sword of Acorns, we can use that magic to ensnare Shadow and drain him of his energy. Sort of a 'Reverse-Power Ring', if you will."

"The Sword of Acorns?" Knuckles asked. "We can't! It's too risky! What'll happen if Eggman gets his hands on it?!"

"We'll be no worse-off than we are now," Sally said. "Shadow is on the warpath, and at the rate he's going, we won't even be able to leave Knothole at all, let alone take back the region. If we keep playing defensively, people will begin defecting and Eggman will only have to wait us out. The Sword of Acorns isn't just a magical artefact to be protected; it's a weapon, and I think now is the time to use it."

"… I guess the situation really does call for it. Okay, but if the mission goes south, promise me you'll destroy the sword! Don't let it fall into Eggman's hands!"

"Of course. That was already my intention." Turning to Mina and Rotor, Sally said, "This mission will require the two of you to act as bait. We will purposefully leak out information that some of our scavengers are in Ring Valley, that should be enough to lure him out. This will of course be extremely dangerous, so if you would rather not go then I understand."

"I'll do it," Rotor said.

"Me too," Mina followed. "Shadow's done too much harm to the Resistance. He has to pay, and if this is the only way to do it then…"

Sally nodded, and then turned to the other person in the room with them. A black-furred skunk named Geoffrey St. John. "Geoffry, you will be the sniper. If the detainment fails, it will be up to you to take the shot. Can you do it?"

"I'll use my Ixis magic t' conceal myself," Geoffrey said. "So long as I've got a clear line o' sight, he's toast."

"I'm afraid I can't offer any backup," Knuckles said. "We're overwhelmed here as it is. But if you can stop Shadow, morale should shoot through the roof, and we might be able to start regaining some ground!"

Sally nodded. "Okay team, this will be our biggest battle yet! We can't afford to lose, so let's do it to it!"

Shadow entered the abandoned building, stepping over shards of glass and broken debris without any regard, and scanned his eyes across the dark interior, looking for signs of life. "I know you're hiding in here. Come out now, and I'll make it quick."

Heading to the upper floor, Shadow entered the room where he'd seen a silhouette walking by a window from outside. He prepared to attack when he saw movement, but stopped after he realised it was only a training dummy, tied to a toy train that was moving along a track.

"Dude, I think we gave him the slip."

Shadow looked down at his feet, where he found a walkie-talkie, seemingly dropped by somebody who left in a hurry.

"Can't believe he actually fell for that! Guess even Shadow can be fooled, huh?"

Shadow clenched his fists, raising his hand to destroy the device.

"Where do we go now? Knothole's too far, and I need a break!"

"I hear there are scavengers out at Ring Valley. Let's head there and meet up with 'em."

Shadow fired a Chaos Spear to destroy the walkie-talkie. "Ring Valley, is it? Then I know my next destination."

After landing in Ring Valley, Mina and Rotor spread out and began setting traps around the area, whilst Geoffrey went off alone to a nearby vantage point. Sally thrust the Sword of Acorns into the ground, where the Yggdrasil Power Ring Tree once stood, and focussed.

"Is there enough magic left?" Nicole asked.

"Yes. I can feel it. It's the same magic that gives the Lake of Rings its power. That kind of magic lingers for a long time. With it, we could regrow the Power Ring Tree that once stood here, returning life to this village… but to defeat Shadow, I'm afraid I'll have to take all of it."

"You can't leave even a little?"

"I don't even know if this plan will work, which is why we have Geoffrey standing by as a backup. We can't take chances on an opponent like Shadow. It's unfortunate, but if this is what it takes to defat Eggman, then it's a small price to pay." Sally drew power from the ground, and the green grass around them began to wither and die. "I'm sorry."

Mina and Rotor returned to Sally's side. "We've finished rigging the area," Rotor said. He noticed the decaying land and sighed. "I guess we don't have to worry about damaging the surrounding area, at least."

"So what's the plan?" Mina asked.

"When Shadow arrives, the two of you engage and create an opening for me. When Shadow is focussed on you, I'll emerge from hiding and bind him with the Sword of Acorns' magic. Geoffrey, I'll give you the signal to fire if I think it isn't working."

"Roger that."

"Update from our scouts," Nicole said. "Shadow's on his way here."

Sally nodded. "Please turn off your hologram for now. It'll be easier to hide." Nicole's hologram disappeared, and Sally pulled the Sword of Acorns out from the ground. "You two, act as though you're searching the area."

Mina and Rotor ran to the centre of town, searching through random piles of rubble. Sally ran to a destroyed building and hid in the shadows, where she had a good view of the outside.

Shadow arrived several minutes later, spotting Mina and Rotor and boosting to engage them. Mina acted surprised by his appearance and boosted to meet him, and the two clashed not far from where Sally was hiding. The wind blew strong as the two forces pushed against each other, each attempting to push through the other.

"How fortunate!" Shadow said. "I came here chasing small-fry, and I find two of my primary targets!"

"No, more like bad luck!" Mina returned. "'Cause you're out here all alone! If it's two-on-one, we can take you!"

Rotor pressed a switch, and drones emerged from some of the traps they had placed around the town. They were repurposed Buzz Bombers that the Resistance had deactivated without destroying, and after they took flight, they all aimed at Shadow and fired.

Shadow sidestepped, causing the momentum from Mina's boost to propel her forwards, and moved towards Rotor, dodging the drones' gunfire along the way. Rotor aimed his Void Wispon and activated it, generating a black hole that began pulling in nearby debris. Shadow skidded to a halt, but still found himself being pulled towards it. He used his Chaos Control to warp behind Rotor and delivered a spinning kick, but Mina came in from the side to intercept him, knocking Shadow to the ground.

Rotor pressed another switch, detonating one of the landmines near where Shadow had landed. Rather than exploding, the mine discharged an electrical current provided by an Ivory Lightning Wisp, which paralyzed the hedgehog momentarily. Mina used the opening to kick Shadow further back, into another one of their traps. Two Gray Quake Wisps emerged from a Capsule and latched onto Shadow's legs, activating their powers to turn his entire lower half into iron.

Shadow tried to move, but his body was too heavy. While he was trapped, he heard singing. Mina had activated her Microphone Wispon, using the Magenta Rhythm Wisp inside of it to turn her voice into a weapon. The world began spinning around Shadow, and all other sounds besides Mina's singing became faint.

Sally saw her chance, and she sprang into action, the Sword of Acorns in her hands. Shadow tried to use Chaos Control, but he couldn't focus enough to trigger the power. Sally pointed her sword at Shadow and unleashed the magic she had gathered.

"No you don't!" Clove jumped from atop one of the deserted houses and landed beside Sally, swinging her scythe to knock the Sword of Acorns away. The magic that was unleashed missed Shadow completely, and the Gray Wisps reverted back to their normal forms, their powers exhausted.

With eyes full of rage, Shadow charged towards Mina. Her singing slowed him down, but it did not stop him, and she was forced to stop so that she could dodge out of the way of his attack.

Sally parried a blow from Clove, and Rotor ran to assist her, using his Void Wispon to pull Clove away. "Geoffrey, do it!" Sally shouted, watching as Clove turned her attention on Rotor and ran right to him. "Geoffrey!"

Shadow knocked Mina onto her back and towered over her, fists clenched and eyes glowing a fiery red. Clove slashed with her scythe, firing a shockwave that damaged Rotor's Wispon, vanquishing the black hole and leaving him open. Before he could activate another of his traps, she planted her boot into his gut, winding the walrus and causing him to fall to his knees.

"Your friend won't be able to help you," Clove said as she turned to Sally. "I made sure of that."

Sally raised her sword to fight, but was caught unawares as Mina was thrown into her, knocking them both to the ground. Shadow warped to them, conjuring a Chaos Spear in his hand. He thrust it down, but Sally blocked it with her sword. She glanced down at Mina and found that she was clutching her head, too dazed to move. "How could this happen? I'm sorry, everyone…"

"Sally, don't say that!" Nicole pleaded. "You can still fight! You're strong, you can-"

"Nicole, get out of here. You should still be connected to the Eggnet, right? Escape there now, and find a way to one of the Resistance's servers."

"Don't say that! You have to win!"

Shadow struck again, this time knocking the Sword of Acorns loose. Sally watched as it clattered along the ground, and then stared up at Shadow helplessly.

"It's over," Shadow said, raising his hand. A teal light enveloped him then, and Shadow gasped. "What?!"

Somebody dropped down from the sky, landing between Sally and Shadow. It was a silver-furred hedgehog, with markings along his arms. His body glowed with the same light that was surrounding Shadow, and as he moved his arms, Shadow levitated into the air.

"HYA!" The newcomer waved his arms, and Shadow was sent flying into a pile of rubble some distance away. "Too close, but looks like I made it!"

The hedgehog then pointed his hand to the Sword of Acorns, and Sally watched as it flew through the air towards her, landing gently in her hands. "Who are you?"

"I'm Silver the Hedgehog."

Clove gripped her scythe with both hands and readied herself to swing, but stopped when she suddenly felt two hands grabbing her ankles. Rotor pulled, and Clove fell face-first to the ground. "I… I'm not out yet!" he declared, rising to his feet.

"Your friend's safe," Silver told Sally. "I found him on my way here. He used his power to just barely get away."

Sally stood ready with her sword as she faced Shadow. "Thanks. Since our initial plan failed, the new plan is to-"

"-Kill Shadow. Knuckles told me all about it." Silver shook his head solemnly. "Shadow, I don't want to do this. Not to a friend. But if you really won't come to your senses, then… for the sake of the future, you must be destroyed!" Silver raised his arms, floating in the air as large pieces of rock gathered around him. He threw them at Shadow.

Shadow dodged the rocks with ease as he closed in on Sally. Sally watched and waited, and then swiftly stepped aside as Shadow attacked, dodging his blow and presenting an opening to strike. She slashed with her sword, only grazing the hedgehog as he continued running.

Shadow spun around, firing a volley of Chaos Spears, which Sally blocked with her sword. He then boosted towards her again, extending a hand. Silver dropped between them and grabbed Shadow in his telekinesis, freezing him in place. Or it should have frozen him, at least, but Shadow's hand continued to move, albeit slowly, even as Silver strained to keep him trapped.

Over to the side, Clove had managed to escape Rotor's grasp and climbed to her feet. Rotor also stood, and Clove swiped at him, forcing him to jump back. Mina attempted to tackle Clove from behind, but Clove felt the attack coming and nimbly dodged it, tripping the mongoose up as she passed her. As Mina rolled, Rotor threw a punch. Clove blocked it by raising her scythe, but she underestimated the force of the blow, which made her loosen her grip. With one more punch, Rotor knocked the scythe out of Clove's hands, leaving her unarmed.

Clove ducked to avoid a third blow, and delivered an uppercut that pushed Rotor back. Mina jumped in with a spindash, knocking Clove away.

Shadow's body shimmered, red-and-black cubes rising from his fur, as he finally broke free of Silver's hold. Losing his psychic hold stunned Silver momentarily, and Shadow raced towards him, arm outstretched. He was stopped when Sally slashed him from behind, creating a long gash down his back, but no blood was spilled. Even the Sword of Acorns remained clean, and instead, only those same red-and-black cubes floated out from the wound.

Despite the injury, which would leave most unable to continue fighting, Shadow managed to climb back to his feet, clenching his fists as he directed his gaze towards the Princess. She readied herself as Shadow took a step forwards, but before he could approach any further, a cloud of black smoke appeared behind him. Geoffrey emerged from that cloud, pressing the bolt loaded onto his crossbow directly to Shadow's back. "G'night." Geoffrey fired, and Shadow fell, his expression blank as his entire body began to dissolve into those red-and-black cubes.

"These things again," Sally said as she watched his body disintegrating. "What are they? What's happening?"

"No clue, but we can't stop yet," Geoffrey said, breathing heavily. The two of them turned to Clove, who was still fighting against Rotor and Mina.

Clove kicked Rotor again to wind him, and after dodging another of Mina's attacks, drove an elbow into her face. With the two momentarily distracted, she retreated to reclaim her scythe. As she picked it up, however, she found Princess Sally standing before her, sword raised and ready to fight. A click to her side alerted her to Geoffrey's presence, as well, his crossbow loaded, and above her, Clove found Silver, carrying two large boulders in his psychokinesis.

"It's over, Clove," Sally said. "Shadow is gone, and we've got you surrounded. Surrender, and we'll show you mercy."

Clove backed-up, only stopping when she felt Rotor's presence behind her. Clutching her scythe, she scanned each of her enemies carefully, assessing her situation.

"No funny business, love," Geoffrey warned. Suddenly, he felt light-headed, and fell to one knee, dropping his aim.

"Geoffrey!"

Clove noticed how Sally and Silver both turned their attentions to the skunk, and she acted fast, throwing out a canister that rolled along the ground. Before they could realise what it was, the flashbang exploded.

"She's getting away!" Rotor yelled out. When the light faded and everybody could see again, Clove was gone. "Should we go after her?"

"No, let's not push our luck," Sally said, putting away her sword. "We caught her by surprise here, but that was only thanks to Silver's help. Clove is still plenty dangerous."

Mina ran over to Geoffrey, helping him to his feet. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, mate. Just… her blow earlier hit me harder than I thought."

Silver landed next to Sally. "Thanks for the save," Rotor said, approaching the two. "Things could've gone bad for us if you hadn't shown up."

The look Silver gave him was grim. "If I hadn't shown up, things would have gone bad, for the whole world."

"I know we took an awful big risk, but-" Sally began, but Silver cut her off.

"You have no idea. Listen, this might be hard for you to believe, but I'm not from your time. I'm from the future." Sally and Rotor exchanged odd looks, but they let Silver continue. "In my time, we lost the war, and the world has been destroyed by Eggman. It's so polluted there are barely any places where it's safe to live! Even two hundred years later, the damage the Eggman Empire has caused is still present. I came back to this time to change the course of history. When I heard from Knuckles that you were planning to kill Shadow here, it suddenly hit me that this must be the day that you died!"

Sally's eyes widened as she was taken aback by his statement. "Um, excuse me?"

"In the future, not much is known about what really happened during the war. So much of the history has been lost, and what remains is doubtful, because it was written by Eggman. But there are some key events we do know about, and one of them is that Princess Acorn is killed fighting Shadow the Hedgehog, and the Sword of Acorns is destroyed."

"So if you hadn't shown up," Rotor began, but he didn't want to finish the thought.

"That's why I had to rush over here right away! I'm so glad I made it. Supposedly, after the sword is destroyed, Knothole falls within the next hour. It was a massive blow to the Resistance."

Sally regarded Silver with a curious look at that. "That can't be right. Even if the Sword of Acorns is destroyed, Knothole shouldn't fall that quickly."

"But isn't the Sword of Acorns what keeps Eggman from finding Knothole?" Mina asked, walking over with Geoffrey hanging over her shoulder.

"The sword only protects the forest from outside attacks. The magic that hides us comes from the forest itself, and should still keep us safe for a time, at least until he tears down the whole forest looking for us. The only way he could break through it is if he already knew where to look."

Silver snapped a finger. "Then there must be a traitor! Someone who leaks out the location of Knothole!"

"I don't wanna believe we have someone like that living under our noses," Rotor said.

Sally hummed in thought. "Even if there was a traitor, that wouldn't explain how Clove knew that we'd be coming here. The plan was shared only between the five of us."

"'Five'?" Silver asked, counting the number of heads present.

"Hello," Nicole said, her holographic form appearing from Sally's handheld.

"AHH!" Silver jumped back, startled by Nicole's sudden appearance. "Where'd you come from?!"

Nicole giggled. "Long story. See, my body was digitised by Eggman long ago, and-"

"Ah-HAH! So it's you! You're the one working with Eggman!"

Nicole gasped, looking around nervously at everyone around her. Geoffrey eyed her curiously, but Mina and Rotor clearly weren't buying it, and Sally was directing a glare towards Silver. "Nicole's no traitor," she said sternly.

"But-"

"I trust her. I know she would never betray us, end of discussion."

Silver looked at the others. Rotor and Mina both nodded. "If the Princess vouches for her, that's good enough for me," Geoffrey said.

Silver sighed, bowing his head. "Sorry. Guess I jumped the gun a little."

Glancing to the side, Sally spied the airship they had used to travel here. She wondered why Clove hadn't taken it when she fled. It was one of Eggman's, so she would have known how to use it. "I wonder…"

Everybody followed Sally as she ran to the ship. "We already checked this ship for bugs and trackers," Rotor said.

"Yes, when we first acquired it," Sally responded, "But what about between missions? This is the same ship we used to rescue those Wisps. The one where Cassia flew up and boarded us." She asked Silver, "Can you lift it with your powers?"

"Sure." Silver used his psychokinesis to levitate the ship, just enough for Sally to get a good look under it. "See anything?"

"Yes. There's a tracking device." Sally reached up and pulled out a small device, hidden behind some of the framework. She crushed it in her hand, and then Silver lowered the ship back to the ground.

"I can't believe we missed that." Rotor said. "Sorry, Sal. I'll make sure we start checkin' every ship thoroughly whenever they've gone out."

"Does this mean Eggman knows where in Knothole we're hiding?" Mina asked.

"Yes, but so long as the Sword of Acorns is in Knothole, he won't be able to reach us," Geoffrey said. "Princess, you need to return immediately, and be sure to never take the sword out again."

"I guess we have no choice. But at least we accomplished what we intended to today." Turning to Silver, Sally asked, "Are you going back to the Resistance HQ?"

"Not yet. There are still other outposts that need my help. There's no telling what event was the deciding factor in this war, so I'm going around doing whatever I can to alter the course of history."

"The butterfly effect," Rotor said. "Even a small, seemingly-inconsequential change could have drastic consequences."

"But are you sure you should be messing with time?" Mina asked. "What if you just make things worse."

"Believe me, there is no 'worse' than the future I came from," Silver told her. He then levitated into the air above them. "Good luck, you guys! Hopefully we'll see each other again when all this is over!"

"When we win this war, come visit Mobotropolis," Sally said. "You'll be welcomed as our honoured guest."

"Sounds great!" With one final wave of goodbye, Silver flew off across the desolate wasteland, disappearing out-of-sight.

"You don't really believe all that stuff about him bein' from the future, do ya Sal?" Geoffrey asked.

"I took the liberty of scanning his bio-data," Nicole said, "And ran a quick query with the data taken from the Eggnet. Silver the Hedgehog. Some time ago, he visited our time from a future that was destroyed by Eggman Nega, a distant descendent of Doctor Eggman. Working with Sonic and his friends, they defeated the two Doctors and trapped Nega in an alternate reality, but Eggman was able to get away."

Mina giggled. "Well that's a story he's never told me! And I thought the one about him becoming a werewolf was crazy."

"A 'werewolf'?" Rotor asked as he, Mina and Geoffrey moved towards the ship.

"Well, he called it a 'Werehog'. It was back during the Shattered World crisis. When it happened, he…"

As her teammates boarded the ship, Sally turned and took one final look at the ruins of Ring Village, and at the sight of their battle against Shadow. 'Today, I made a fatal error. What if this mistake is what cost us the war in Silver's time? Hopefully, what we've accomplished here today will actually mean something.'

"Sally?" Nicole pulled Sally from her thoughts. "About what Silver said… You do know that I'm on your side, right? I'm not with Eggman."

Sally smiled. "Of course I do. I would never doubt you, Nicole."

"But I can't prove it… I don't want the others doubting me, and I really don't want you to think that I-"

"Nicole, I promise, I have your back," Sally said. "I trust you every bit as much as I trust Antoine, Rotor, Chuck, and all the other members of the Resistance. Even if everyone else turns against you, even if the world distrusts you, I never will."

Nicole's ears perked up as she smiled back. "Thank you."

Sally went in for a hug, before remembering that Nicole wasn't solid. So instead, she simply said, "Let's go. We have a lot to report, and even more to celebrate."

"Yeah!"

Upon her return to her base, Clove hastily marched through the halls of the Eggman facility, weaving between the robots carrying out their tasks without paying them any mind. As she reached her room, she found Thunderbolt standing outside, her fur puffed and electricity crackling. "I'm not in the mood," she told the chinchilla, but Thunderbolt simply scoffed.

"Why didn't you tell me what you were doing?! I could've gone out and helped you! We could've ended the Knothole Resistance right then-and-there, but instead, you not only failed, but you lost Shadow, too!"

Clove gritted her teeth. "I said I'm not in the mood! Step aside!"

"Or what, you'll report me to Lord Eggman?! I'll just report that you went out and fought the Princess alone, and lost our best chance of killing her!" Thunderbolt stepped closer to Clove, who gripped her scythe in anticipation of a sudden attack. "You were tryin' ta one-up me to earn favour with Eggman! Admit it!"

Clove blinked, and gently released the staff. "I don't care one bit about earning favour with Eggman. Any achievements I earn, you're welcome to claim as your own. I'm only in this for one thing, and so long as I get that, I will do whatever Eggman asks of me." Crossing her arms and giving Thunderbolt a challenging stare, Clove asked, "Does that work for you?"

Thunderbolt, however, was fuming. "I've got my eye on you, Clove! And don't think I'm not gonna report this to Lord Eggman!"

"I had no intention of covering my failure. Unlike you, I own up to my shortcomings."

"What did you-" A sudden crash inside of Clove's room interrupted their argument, and Clove pushed past Thunderbolt to rush inside. "Hey, we're not done out here!" Thunderbolt shouted as Clove slammed the door shut in her face. With a huff, Thunderbolt turned to leave.

Inside of her room, Clove came face-to-face with Cassia, who was standing over a shattered vase on the floor. "Sorry," Cassia said, grinning sheepishly. "I heard the yelling outside and figured I should give you a distraction, before the two of you killed each other."

Clove breathed a sigh of relief. "Don't worry, it's just an Eggman vase. Not valuable in the slightest."

Cassia nodded, and took a seat the foot of Clove's bed. "So! You gonna tell me why you went out on your own?"

Clove averted her eyes. "I saw that the ship you tagged was moving, so I went to check it out. The Princess was there, setting up a trap for Shadow, so I decided to act."

"That's not what I asked," Cassia said. "Why did you go out on your own?" Clove didn't answer fast enough, and Cassia asked, "Were you going to kill the Princess?"

"… She had the Sword of Acorns," Clove said. "With that, Eggman could win the war and we would no longer have to fight."

"What are you saying? I thought we agreed that as soon as I was better, we'd-"

"And how long's that gonna take?!" Clove shouted, startling her sister. "You know damn well your health hasn't improved! The longer this war drags on, the more danger you'll be in, and if the Resistance wins, we lose our only chance of saving you!"

"Clove…"

"I know! I know it's bad! What we're doing is awful, betraying everyone. That's why I wanted to do it alone, but you insisted on sticking with me through it all." Clove clenched her fists, fighting the tears trying to form in her eyes. "And every time you fight, your condition worsens. I know it's not the physical trauma; it's because you're suffering mentally. The very thought of fighting your own kind, of fighting the Princess, is eating away at you. Do you have any idea how scared I get every time you have one of your attacks?"

"It's not just me though, is it?" Cassia stood and approached her sister. "You hurt, too. I know you put on this 'tough guy' act just to hide how painful it is. That's why I'm here. You won't have to go through this alone! I promise, we'll share this pain together." Cassia hugged Clove, and her sister reciprocated, still fighting her tears. "And it's okay to cry."

Clove shook her head. "No. Not until this is all over."

"I'm fine, Sis. Please don't try to rush things. Just give it a little more time. I will get better before this war is over, and then we can ditch Eggman and join the right side, okay?"

"… Okay." The two held their embrace for several seconds more, before Clove finally pulled away and turned around, hiding her face. "I… have to make a report to Doctor Eggman. Can you give me some privacy?"

Cassia nodded, and turned to leave. "Oh, we lost the signal from the tracking device a short while ago. Looks like they found it."

"… I see."

"No worries! We didn't need that anyway! In a way, I'm kinda glad!" Clove didn't respond, and Cassia left the room in silence.

As the door closed, Clove waited until she could no longer hear the sounds of Cassia's footsteps walking away. Then, she drew her scythe and slashed randomly, slicing through various pieces of furniture in her room. Desks, chairs, shelves, her bed – anything that had the Eggman Empire insignia on it. "Cassia, I'm so sorry. We'll never…" Finally, the tears began to flow freely. "We'll never be able to leave this life!"

Back in Knothole, Sally was finishing giving her report of the mission to Knuckles. She told him how Clove had jumped them, how the plan had almost failed, but was then saved by Silver, and how Shadow was no more. Though that last part had already been reported by Silver, and was spreading rapidly throughout the Resistance.

"It sounds like you had it rough, but I'm happy to hear you all made it back. Good job." Sally nodded, and there seemed to be a question that was reluctant to ask. "What's up?"

"I was just wondering, how are the others taking the news? Those who used to know Shadow as a friend."

"Well… Amy was sad, but she understood that it needed to be done. Tails isn't here right now, and I don't think Cream knows yet. Hopefully, she won't have to find out until this is all over. I figured Rouge wouldn't take it well, but she actually didn't seem to care. She just shrugged and said, 'Oh well, it's his fault'. It kinda surprised me. Just when you think you understand what that bat girl's thinking…"

Sally didn't know much about Cream and Rouge, just that they were more of Sonic's friends who were high-ranking members of the Resistance. She knew Tails well, the little fox having visited Mobotropolis before with Sonic, and she knew of Amy through news articles about Sonic's exploits. She wondered what she would say to them if they ever met face-to-face. "And what about you?"

"To be honest, I didn't know Shadow that well. He did save the world a couple of times, and we fought together against the Black Arms. But he made his choice, and as the leader of the Resistance, I don't have the time to feel bad about it."

"It's tough being a leader, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I have no idea why they asked me to lead everyone, but now that I'm here, I have to make all these difficult calls! I don't know how you do it."

"Well, between you-and-me, I don't either. I'm still figuring it out myself." The two of them shared a heartfelt laugh over that. "But it's worth it, knowing our actions are keeping everyone safe and together."

"You got that right. So, what's your next move, now that Shadow's out of the picture?"

"I want to reclaim the region as much as possible, but Clove is formidable. I think it's gonna be a long battle from here."

"Alright. I'll keep you posted on further developments. It's slow-going, but we are making progress! If we keep this up, we'll be able to join all the Resistance factions together and send Eggman running!"

"I look forward to it. Over-and-out." As Sally ended the call, Nicole emerged from her handheld, wearing a white Forget-Me-Knots T-shirt that displayed all of the band members performing onstage. "What's that?"

Nicole grinned, pulling the shirt down to display it clearly. "You like it? It's one of the shirts Mina's band sold back when they were on-tour! I figured I'd surprise her with it at the party!"

Sally laughed, collecting the handheld. "So, you're a fan now?"

"Uh-huh! After hearing their performance that one night, I went online and downloaded all of their songs! They're incredible!"

"Y'know, if you were truly a fan, you'd buy their music."

Nicole blushed. "I-I intend to, obviously! It's just right now there's no way to, and I don't have any money either, so-"

"I'm teasing you," Sally said. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna call the Royal Guard."

Nicole breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. I don't know if I'd survive in prison. I assume they don't have charging ports?"

The two laughed as they left the room together, heading to the party to celebrate their hard-fought success.

The following morning, in a trench running alongside the Efrikan border, two Resistance members, Edmund and Kevin, were sharing a morning coffee as they sat near two gun emplacements, awaiting further orders.

"Did you hear about what happened yesterday?" Edmund asked. "The Knothole group killed Shadow!"

"Indeed, so I'd heard," Kevin replied. "It's about time they finally did something about that guy! I mean how much trouble can one hedgehog cause?"

"Apparently, he's as strong as Sonic. Maybe even stronger!"

"Well, hopefully this means they can reclaim the Kingdom of Acorn and start sending reinforcements our way."

"Maybe this'll be the turning point. With Shadow out of the picture, we might actually win this war! I'm feeling fired-up now!"

Their conversation was halted by the sounds of sirens blaring, alerting them to a coming attack by Eggman's army. As the two manned their guns, they looked for the opposing army and prepared to fire. But noting came.

That was when they heard sounds of screaming and fighting coming from further down their own trench! "The enemy's here?! How?!" Kevin demanded.

"Just grab a Wispon and get ready!" Edmund shouted, tossing a Drill Wispon to Kevin whilst arming himself with a Burst Wispon.

They heard the panicked cry of a soldier just around the corner, and they waited. A silhouette emerged, leaving an orange trail in its wake. Before either soldier could even pull the trigger, Kevin was met with the heel of a black-furred hedgehog, and was sent tumbling into Edmund behind him.

Edmund groaned, finding his Wispon inches away, and he reached for it, but the foot of his enemy slammed down on the device, shattering it. As the Wisp inside of it fled, Edmund looked up to find Shadow the Hedgehog standing over him, his fangs bared and his eyes glowing red. Above Shadow flew another figure – a black-furred jackal in a silver mask. The gemstone embedded in Infinite's chest glowed the same red that was in Shadow's eyes, and he uttered just two words: "Do it."

With the command received, Shadow raised his hand and brought it down on the helpless soldier.