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Temporal Shadow:
Roboticized
written by Sonic Remix
Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters and indica © and ™ 1991 - 2017 SEGA | Sonic Team
Please be sure to leave a review!
Contact: shadow@sonadow.com
Visit: sonadow.com
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Prologue
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MOBIUS ALTERNATE TIMELINE

High on a cliff side overlooking the great city of Mobotropolis, a lone black hedgehog stood before a silver shapeless mass that loomed over him. The black hedgehog bared his teeth, staring down the mass. He was at a loss on what to do as he dodged an attack from it. It was trying to surge forth and smother the black hedgehog in its liquid like silvery mass. The hedgehog growled into a communicator on his wrist as he dodged another attack. "Rouge, where is that damn chaos emerald?! I can't fry these nanobots without it!"

Over the radio, the hedgehog could hear the female voice of his partner respond as he back flipped from one of the tentacles of the nanobot mass. "Just a few more moments, Shadow! Keep it busy, just don't let it touch you!"

Shadow growled as he backed up from the mass. "No kidding."

Suddenly he began to stumble in his footing, feeling off balance. He looked back long enough to notice that he had winded up on the cliff edge. "Shit!" That thing had him trapped. He looked forward towards the shapeless creature, which looked like was ready to surge forth and attack. He braced himself as a wave of liquid metal began to surge forth, but a teal glow began to surround it, preventing it from moving.

Shadow faltered. "What the-?!" He looked up to see a silvery hedgehog, surrounded in a glowing teal color, descending from the sky and landing beside Shadow. His arms were stretched out, and he looked like he was struggling. "Silver!"

Silver strained to speak as he concentrated. "I can't...hold it for long...if...you have a plan...better do it now!"

"Keep holding it, Silver! We need to buy time for Rouge to show up!" Shadow said.

"Did someone call me?"

Rouge the Bat came up from behind, her wings flapping as she threw a green colored jewel at Shadow. "Catch!"

Shadow caught the emerald in his hand and looked towards Silver. "Silver, wrap me in a force bubble!"

Silver looked to Shadow momentarily, before he released the silvery monster from his hold, and turned his powers on Shadow. The black hedgehog became engulfed in the teal glow. "Perfect!"

Shadow began to run forward towards the monster, letting the liquid engulf him completely. With the force bubble surrounding him, he was able to keep it from touching him. "Alright you roboticizing monstrosity, time to take you out once and for all!"

He closed his eyes and began to concentrate, drawing power from the emerald in his hand. "Chaos.....BLAST!!!"

From outside, there was an enormous explosion of energy, enough to blind both Rouge and Silver. As Rouge landed on the ground, Silver lifted his arms to cover his eyes, releasing his powers on Shadow.

When the two were able to look again, they had seen that not only had the liquid monster had lost its cohesion and scattered about the grass, dead and lifeless, but Shadow himself wasn't even there.

Rouge gasped. "Shadow...he's gone!"

Silver panicked. "Oh no, what if the combination of chaos blast and my powers-"

Rouge covered his mouth. "Don't even say it!"

Silver pulled her hand away. "I have to go, I need to report back!"

Before Rouge had a chance to say a word, Silver began to glow and take off into the air. Rouge merely stared into the sky.

"...TO WHO?!"
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Chapter 01
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MOBIUS PRIME TIMELINE
KNOTHOLE VILLAGE FREEDOM FIGHTER COMPOUND

Fireworks. Campfires. Music. Cheering. Dancing.

Celebration.

These would be the words to describe the events and atmosphere of the village of Knothole. A great dictator has fallen, all thanks to the heroics of Sonic the Hedgehog and his freedom fighting friends.

But a short distance away from the celebrations, Sonic and his friends were meeting up, a request from the Princess Sally. She spoke up as he and the others approached her. "Isn't this great? We been waiting our whole lives for this moment, Sonic! We couldn't of done it without you."

Sonic nodded cheerfully. "Man, I have no idea what to say, Sal! It feels like a dream. But, why'd you call us here anyway? Shouldn't we be celebrating with the others?"

Sally gave somewhat of a soft laugh. "Well, I wanted to surprise you! I figured it would be better to do so in the company of close friends rather than in front of everyone."

A metallic chuckle came from behind Sonic as a robotic hedgehog with an elderly appearance stepped up and laid a hand on Sonic's shoulder. "Heh heh. Knowing my nephew, he'd probably love all the extra attention from the crowd."

Sonic smirked. "What? I can be a humble 'hog too, Uncle Chuck! Am I missing something though? What's going on?"

Before Sally could answer, there was a sudden crack of thunder, as what looked like a lightning storm was forming high overhead. "Whew, the weather is sure turning fast. Better make this quick before it gets too bad."

She pulled out a box from behind her back. "Sonic the Hedgehog, for your outstanding bravery, bold courage, and strong leadership-"

Sally started to open the box, where a lightning bug suddenly flew out. "Oh! Oh dear, where did that come from?" She watched as it flew away before looking back into the box, where a gold medal laid. "-the freedom fighters award you!"

As she began to take out the medal to put on Sonic, there was another crack of thunder, and a sound was starting to grow louder and closer from above. It sounded like...yelling?

Everyone looked up in time to watch something crash down right into Sonic, knocking him to the ground. "YOW!!!"

"Sonic!" the others yelled and ran to help him get whatever crashed into him off. Sonic groaned and helped push off what looked to be a black hedgehog. He hissed and clutched his chest as some of the hedgehog's quills had jabbed into him. "Ow!"

The black hedgehog groaned and stumbled back as some let go of him to go to Sonic's side. Sally looked worried, having dropped the box with the medal to help Sonic. "Oh Sonic, that looks bad! Let's get you to the doctor."

Sonic groaned. "No argument from me, Sal..."
As he was escorted away with Sally, Uncle Chuck and Tails, Sally looked back at those remaining. "Help him up and find out what's going on!"

Antoine made a salute as Bunnie and Rotor helped the hedgehog to his feet. "Hey, you okay?" the walrus asked.

Shadow groaned as he stumbled a bit, feeling dizzy. "I think so, just feeling woozy...it'll go away I think..."

"Good, good...what's your name?"

Shadow looked to the walrus, his vision starting to clear. "Shadow. Who-" He paused. "...Rotor...?"

Rotor blinked. "Do you know me?"

Shadow looked around. "Bunnie...Antoine?" He turned about. "...where am I?"

Bunnie and Antoine stared at the strange hedgehog as Rotor answered. "You're in Knothole. How do you know us?"

Shadow looked to Rotor for a moment before another crack of thunder sounded. Shadow looked up to see the electric storm overhead. He murmured. "Temporal storm..."

"What???"

Shadow looked back to Rotor. "...what year is this?"

Rotor just stood there, dumbfounded. "....what???"

Shadow grasped Rotor by the arm and pointed up. "See that?"

As Rotor looked up, Shadow continued. "That is a temporal storm. It disrupts time. I must of fallen through a tear in the fabric of time and landed somewhere in the past." He had Rotor look at him. "So I'm going to ask you again. What. Year. Is. This?"

Rotor stumbled as he tried to find his words. "Um...uh...its...um...3235..."

Shadow let go and stepped away, thinking. "3235...3235...the year the first Robotnik war ended..."

"FIRST Robotnik War?" Rotor asked in bewilderment. "We just ended the war!"

Shadow looked back at Rotor. "Just ended? Like how long ago?"

"Yesterday! Sonic destroyed the weapon Robotnik had and he's gone!"

"Sonic..." Shadow murmured, looking around. "Where IS Sonic anyway?"

"Headed to the medical facility. You jammed your quills pretty good into him when you landed on him."

"What?! Shit!" Shadow cursed before suddenly taking off in the direction of where Sonic and the others were headed.

Rotor, Antoine, and Bunnie merely stared at where Shadow took off, before Bunnie looked to the others. "...did that boy just cuss?"
---

As Sonic was getting his wounds tended to by Doctor Quack, there was a rather loud commotion coming from outside. Sally and Chuck stood up just as the black hedgehog came in, pulling one of the people standing watch off his arm. "Let me in, I need to see Sonic!"

Sally came over and touch the watchman's shoulder. "We got this."

He looked at her and nodded, walking away as Chuck stood in Shadow's path. "Who are you? What's your business with Sonic?"

Shadow had to stop for a moment. "Uncle Chuck? You're..." He shook his head. He had never seen Sir Charles as a robot. This was a different time. "Sorry. My name is Shadow. I need to see if Sonic's alright."

Chuck looked back to Sonic before looking to Shadow. "He'll be okay. How do you know Sonic?"

"Long...long story. Please, can I talk to him?"

Chuck sighed. "Let the doctor finish with him first."

After a bit, Chuck let Shadow in to see the bandaged Sonic laying in bed. He sat up when he saw the black hedgehog approached.

Shadow faltered a moment when he saw Sonic. "Whoa...I...um...right...different time, different time..."

Sonic gave him a strange look. "What're you talking about?"

Shadow shook his head. "Sorry. I know you're supposed to be younger but..you look so different."

"Um..." Now Sonic was even more confused. "What are you going on about, dude?"

Shadow sighed in frustration and sat down by Sonic's bedside. "My name's Shadow. Sorry about dropping in and injuring you. I wasn't expecting that to happen."

"Uuuh...yeah, no problem. What about you, are you okay?"

Shadow nodded. "I will be. Just a little disoriented."

"Well at least one of us came out of this unscathed." Sonic chuckled. "I should of known I wouldn't get a day off, even with Robotnik gone. So what happened anyway? Not every day that hedgehogs fall out of the sky...well-" Sonic paused. "I may have, once or twice...but that just makes me all the more curious as to where you come from."

Shadow smiled rather wryly. "From the future, apparently."

Sonic's ears perked up. "The future, really?"

Shadow nodded. "Apparently I accidentally time traveled to the past when I was fighting...some monstrosity...long story..."

"Heh, you look like a fighter. I'd love to hear stories when I'm feeling better."

Shadow smirked a bit. "Something tells me I'm gonna be here a long while until I can figure out what sent me back here to the past." Shadow looked to Sally and frowned a bit. "Um...if you don't mind me asking, is there a place I can stay?"

Sally took note of Shadow's look but nodded. "Of course, I'll make sure that a place is arranged for you to stay at."

Sonic looked to the doctor. "What about me? Can I go home yet?"

Doctor Quack frowned but nodded. "I suppose there's no harm in releasing you. You're all patched up. I would like to check up on you in a few days to make sure your wounds are healing okay."

Shadow nodded and winced as he moved, but managed to stand himself up. "Quite alright with me, Doc. I think I'm gonna hit the hay early." He looked to Shadow and smiled. "It was nice meeting you."

Shadow nodded, watching Sonic leave. "Thanks Sonic...it's...good...to see you again. See you in the morning."
----

After Sonic got home, he prepared to go to bed when he looked down at his bandages. Apparently some spots where he was bleeding through the bandage were starting to turn lighter in color, like an amber brown. He reached to pull off the wrappings to get a better look. The wound was closing up, but the area around it was covered in a amber colored substance, caking up and feeling oily. The first thought that came into his mind was to go back and ask Dr Quack about it, but moments later, he decided it would probably be best to wait till morning. Putting his wraps back on, he went and settled for bed.

CHAPTER 02:

The next morning produced a rather bright sunny day as Sonic came out from his hut, feeling fully refreshed. Waiting outside of his hut was Shadow, who was leaning against the wall near the door. “Morning. Feeling any better?�

Sonic looked to Shadow and nodded, patting at the fresh bandages wrapped around his chest. “Yeah. Changed them out after I got up. Doesn't even hurt now.�

“Good. Last thing I wanted was for you to be left injured because of me.�

Shadow looked up after a moment and sighed. “At least the temporal storm dissapated.�

Sonic tilted his head. “Temporal storm?�

Shadow looked at Sonic for a moment before waving him by. “Let's go get breakfast and I'll explain.�

-

In the central part of the village, a mess hall had been set up for most of the villagers. But since most had been out all night partying, the hall was pretty sparse this morning. Still, Uncle Chuck was still making breakfast for anyone who was hungry this early, and smiled when he saw Sonic and Shadow approaching. “Sonie! Glad to see you're up and about. How are you feeling?�

Sonic grinned. “Feeling good enough to have the chili dog breakfast special!�

Chuck chuckled. “Coming right up!�

As the robotic hedgehog went to get Sonic's food, Shadow looked to Sonic. “Well I see some things never change.�

Sonic grinned as he looked back to Shadow. “Sounds like you know me pretty well in the future.�

Shadow nodded and Uncle Chuck came back with Sonic's food. “It's a long history, but for the sake of not spoiling too much, yes, we do know each other very well.� He then looked to Uncle Chuck. “Bacon and eggs, if you have any.�

Chuck nodded and went to the food warming bins. “Coming right up!�

“Cool!� Sonic remarked as Shadow got his food.

After they settled at a table, Shadow looked to Sonic. “So as I was explaining before, when I came here to your time last night, there was a temporal storm. It usually starts up when someone travels through to that point in time, but settles pretty quickly after the event. I was concerned because my sudden method of time travel may of upsetted the fabric of time. If that were the case, the storm would of been ongoing. But it seems everything is okay, so here I am.�

“Uuuh...sure! Whatever you say. You time traveled. Nuff said,� Sonic responded with his mouth full of chili dog.

Shadow sighed. “Right. Over your head. Don't worry, you'll understand it when you're older...�

Sonic swallowed his food. “Well, what were you doing that caused you to travel back in time? Sounds like it wasn't something you were planning.�

Shadow nodded. “I had to take some time to think about it, but I think I know what happened. See, I was fighting this big silvery mass of roboticizing nanobots, and I needed to use chaos energy to fry the machines all at once. But I had to get to the center of the mass without them touching me. So...� Shadow took a pause to make sure he didn't say too much. “...a friend of mine, who has telekinetic abilities, used his powers to create a force field around me so I could get to its center. And then I drew upon the chaos energy to blast those things and fry them. I think the combination of chaos energy and his telekinetic powers created a time warp that threw me back in time.�

Sonic was nodding as he ate, listening to everything that Shadow said, before he swallowed and spoke. “Okay, several questions. One, roboticizing nanobots?! You mean Mobians are still getting turned into robots in the future? Two, chaos energy? Like a chaos emerald? Three, what's this tele-whatsitis?�

Shadow sighed. He should of known he was going to slip up somewhere. It was hard to imagine a point when Eggman wasn't a threat. “Right. Just defeated the Doctor. I've said too much already-�

Sonic reached out and grabbed Shadow's arm before he could take another bite of his eggs and looked hard at him. “Shadow, if there's a new threat out there, I need to know about it.�

Shadow looked for a moment into Sonic's deep brown, nearly black eyes, struggling with what to say to him. He finally reached for Sonic's hand and began to pry it off, but Sonic seemed to tighten it. While Shadow was used to being rough-handled, something about Sonic's gripped seemed off...stronger than normal. Was Sonic THAT tense about what was to come? He looked at Sonic's hand before looking back at Sonic. “...relax. Nothing is going to happen for a long while yet. Besides, I don't even know what's going to happen for the next few years anyway.�

Sonic looked at him warily for a moment before slowly loosening his grip on Shadow and pulling away. “...how far in the future are you...?�

Shadow took a moment to think. “10...15 years I believe.�

Sonic took a moment to look him up and down. “Yeah, you must have been really little about this time.�

Shadow started to say something but bit his tongue, figuratively. Best that Sonic didn't know about his origins yet. Instead he opted to try and smooth things over. “All I know is that you can relax for a while. Take time to pick up the pieces. This is a critical time for you and your friends, and I know you're eager to scope and repair the damage that the Doctor made.�

Sonic sighed and nodded. “Okay Shadow. Okay.� He finally began to stand up with his empty tray. “Maybe we can...I donno...tour the village or something while we talk? I'm still interested in that chaos energy thing you mentioned.�

Shadow began to stand up with his tray as well. “Sure. But instead of a tour of the village, how about a run in the forest instead?�

As Sonic put his tray away, he looked at Shadow. “Run? Those are my favorite words, but-�

“-I can keep up. Just wait and see.� Shadow said. It also finally dawned on Shadow that when he wound up time traveling, he no longer had his emerald with him, so he could no longer demonstrate his powers. “Who knows, maybe we can find a warp to a special zone...?�

Sonic looked at him with suspicion as they walked out of the mess hall. “You ARE after a chaos emerald! I knew it.�

Shadow held a hand up. “Before you get any ideas about me, let me clarify this. Yes, I would like to be able to get my hands on a chaos emerald. I am able to draw power from it and perform special abilities. But more importantly, I might be able to find a way to get back to my time with it.�

Sonic had to stop in his tracks and take a moment to think about it. “...I donno about this...�

“I know...you don't trust me, let alone trust anyone to get their hands on a chaos emerald.� Shadow frowned. “But...all the more reason for you to go with me. Besides...� he laid a hand on Sonic's shoulder. “Perhaps I can teach you a trick or two.�

Shadow mentally kicked himself for saying that to him. Sonic isn't supposed to learn Chaos Control for years yet, and here he is mentioning the possibility of teaching him. He sighed mentally before inhaling and looking back to Sonic. “What do you say?�

“Well...� Sonic spoke warily, trying to size Shadow up before he finally nodded. “Alright.�

Shadow gave the smallest hints of a smile. “Good. Let's race.�

-

Standing out in the Great Forest, just outside of Knothole, the two hedgehogs were stretching, getting ready for a proper run. Sonic looked to Shadow, smirking. “You sure you want to do this?�

Shadow looked back to Sonic. “Hmph. Remember, I know you. It is you who underestimate me.�

“Riiight. Time to see if you can back that claim up. Ready?�
Shadow nodded, getting into position. “Set.�

“GO!� Sonic yelled, and the two hedgehogs raced off. At first, it looked like Sonic was already ahead, and he chuckled to himself. “Yeah, that's what I thought.�

“Are you sure about that?� Shadow asked as he came up alongside him.

Sonic had to do a double take to see that Shadow was not quite running...but JETBLADING. His shoes had mini blasters on his feet. “Oh...OH! I see how it is! Fine, if that's the way it is, then I'll race you to Robotropolis and back again!�

“You're on!� Shadow called and suddenly surged forth.
Sonic had to take a moment to take in what he was seeing. This guy was good. REAL good. Finally someone who he could race with. Despite the uncertainty of the future, perhaps Sonic DID have something good to look forward to after all!

As Sonic ran, something about his legs were feeling heavier, but not enough to really slow him down. “I must still be tired from fighting Robotnik...� he thought to himself before catching up to Shadow, continuing on towards the city.

Chapter 03:

When Sonic and Shadow arrived to Robotropolis, they were greeted with a horrifying sight: the city itself, which had been half destroyed when Sonic took out Robotnik, was back up and running, with SWATbots marching about, patrolling the edge of the city. Shadow and Sonic ducked down behind a wall and Shadow hissed to Sonic. “And you said you took out Robotnik the other day? What's going on?�

Sonic shook his head. “Honestly I have no idea. This shouldn't even be possible!�

Shadow and Sonic peeked out from the side of the wall to see if the area was clear, only to duck back when a unit of Combots marched by. Once the sound of marching metal faded, Shadow peeked back around, eyeing the citadel in the distance. “Maybe we'd better go check and see who else is home, if you know what I mean.�

Sonic nodded in agreement, looking around to see if the coast was clear. “Follow me.�

He darted off, with Shadow to catch up and follow him. Dodging additional SWATbot patrols and Combot units, the two hedgehogs made their way towards the large, oval shaped citadel in the distance. Sonic lead Shadow to an outer air duct system and pulled off the grate. “Through here.�

Shadow began to crawl inside, with Sonic following in, closing the grate behind them. “Just head straight for a while, I'll give you directions to Robuttnik's old control room.�

“Right.� Shadow murmured and began to crawl ahead, listening to Sonic's directions. As they got closer, Shadow thought he could hear a sound...a familiar voice. High pitched, weasely in tone. It was mostly laughing, but every once in a while, he thought he heard a command such as 'Go run another patrol.' or 'Bring me another drink!'. His eyes narrowed and he looked back to Sonic. “Is that who I think it is?�

Sonic's eyes also narrowed. “Snively,� he concluded. “I should of known. He must have been hiding from the explosion after the Annihilator was destroyed.�

Shadow nodded as he stopped just outside the grate leading down into the control room. Down below, Snively was sitting in Robotnik's old chair, sipping on a glass of what looked to be a fizzy lemonade with a small cocktail umbrella. He was watching old security videos of Sonic beating the crap out of Robotnik, having a good laugh, especially moments when Robotnik was particularly humiliated.

Shadow and Sonic looked up to each other and nodded in mutual understanding.

Snively practically jumped and screeched in a high pitched voice when the grate from overhead was kicked out, dropping to the ground with a clang. The two hedgehogs jumped down, and Shadow was to first grab Snively by the collar and lift him up. “Alright you little toadie! You got some things to answer for!�

Sonic pressed in near Snively as he squealed in fear. “Yeah like how you were able to get Robotropolis running again so fast!�

Snively tried to stutter in an apparent show of trying, and failing miserably, to be furious. “H-how dare you come in here! SWA-�

Shadow slammed the little man against his chair and used his other hand to grasp the few hairs on his nearly bald head. “Call the SWATbots and you can inherit your uncle's completely hairless scalp!�

Snively squealed in sheer terror. “NO NO! Not that!!! Anything but that!!!�

Sonic leaned in again. “Then start talking. How did you get the city up and running so fast?�

Snively began sweating, stuttering. “A-after you and the big round guy had the big fight, I-I took off and hid down in the bunker and waited for the mess to clear up! While I was down there, I worked on getting everything under my control! Once everything was done, I waited till you were long gone and began to reboot the systems!�

“What about the annihilator? Did you take control of it?�

“T-the what?!� Snively yelped, but squealed yet again when Shadow tugged on his hairs.

“ANSWER HIM!�

“I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT! I SWEAR!� he screamed.

Sonic and Shadow looked at each other in suspicion and concern before Sonic looked back to Snively. “The Ultimate Annihilator? The weapon that Robuttnik was working on?�

“What are you talking about? He didn't have any such weapon!� Snively responded with terrorized confusion.

Sonic and Shadow looked at each other again before something came across Shadow's mind and looked back to Snively. “How did Sonic take out the Doctor then?�

“S-Sonic had gotten the chaos emeralds back from Uncle Julian while on the Death Egg, and took him and the station out!�

Shadow looked at Sonic again, who looked bewildered before looking to Snively. “That can't be right, I took out the Death Egg six months ago, and that wasn't what happened at all!�

“I think I know what's going on,� Shadow said, before letting go of Snively and shoving him in the chair. “Stay. Call SWATbots and I will destroy you.� he warned him before turning to Sonic. “Remember when I appeared yesterday? There was that temporal storm. It must of lingered and messed with the timeline here.�

Sonic looked spaced out for a moment, deep in thought. Shadow touched his arm. “Sonic?�

Sonic jolted slightly, looking at Shadow. “Sorry. Was thinking...just that...why wasn't Knothole affected if that was the case?�

Shadow had to think for a moment before Sonic suddenly answered his own question. “Oh wait. I remember something about the Annihilator affecting Knothole to where its in its own time zone or something like that. Three hours ahead of the rest of the world.�

“Oh, you're right. I wonder if the temporal storm affected the timeline because of the presence of that time bubble? Mixing time stuff? I'm not exactly a temporal mechanics expert.�

Sonic turned and walked over to the computer nearby. “Maybe I can get some information about what the world is currently like.�

As Sonic started typing furiously on the computer, Snively spoke up. “You'll never be able to get access to those computers. I encrypted the system with a security key so complicated that not even your-�

“-I'm in,� Sonic said as he began to look up information.
Shadow did a double-take while Snively yelped. “BUT THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE!!!�

“Sounds like you're really bad at security,� Shadow merely said as Sonic sifted through information.

Sonic looked back every now and again. “Yeah it looks like the timeline has really been muddled. Technically, Knothole isn't even in the system.�

Shadow looked to Sonic and came over to look at the computer screen. “If Knothole doesn't exist, where are the Freedom Fighters SUPPOSED to be?�

Sonic shook his head as he searched. “Some pockets of resistance within the city, but the only thing out in the Great Forest that Robotnik's been looking for and failed so far is some place called 'Sanctuary'. I'm now wondering if that's the area where Knothole now is.�

“Maybe we better make a copy of this information to take back to Knothole. Sally's going to want to know about this, I'm sure,� Shadow suggested.

“Way ahead of you. I'm trying now to see if I can network with Nicole and transmit the information,� Sonic responded.
Shadow looked to Sonic, surprised. “You can do that?�

“Actually...yeah-� he suddenly stopped, lifted his hands up, and looked to Shadow. “...why do I suddenly know about computers and how they work? I never understood any of this before now!�

Shadow frowned. “Get back to sending the transmission, we'll worry about that later.�

Sonic nodded and started typing again. Shadow watched the screen in thought. “I wonder if the time changes are starting to affect you.�

“I don't think so. Something in my gut tells me its something else,� Sonic said, looking frustrated at the computer. “Do you feel any different?�

Shadow paused for a moment in thought. “...no. But then again, I'm the cause of the temporal changes. Maybe I'm immune from it.�

“We'll have to check it out back at home. But right now, it looks like we won't be able to link to Nicole from here. I can't connect,� Sonic said, pulling away. “I think its because of the time bubble over Knothole, the time differences is interfering with the signal.�

“Sounds like we need to get back and get Sally to bring Nicole out here,� Shadow said, starting to turn around. “Meanwhile we can take-�

Looking behind him, Shadow noticed that the chair was empty. “Shit, the little fucker got away!�

Sonic looked back at him before pulling away from the computer. “Time to go then!�

He grabbed Shadow's hand and began to take off running, just as alarms began to sound. “Dammit, I should have been paying attention to the twerp!� Shadow grunted.

“Do you always swear?� Sonic asked as they ran down the hall, the sound of robots marching down from behind to find them.

“Does it really matter?� Shadow responded as they made it to the door leading out. He opened it, only to immediately shut it when lasers started shooting at them. “FUCK.�
Sonic looked around, trying to think. “When I say so, open the door and hide behind it. �

Shadow looked back and ducked as SWATbots came around and started shooting at them. “You sure about this?�

“Trust me,� Sonic responded as Shadow reached up for the door. “NOW!�

Shadow flung the door open and ducked behind it with Sonic. With lasers firing outside and inside, the two parties of SWATbots were caught in the crossfire, shooting each other out. When they fell, the two hedgehogs peeked out from behind the door.

“That was quick thinking,� Shadow said.

“When am I not quick?� Sonic grinned cheekily before headed out the door. “Come on, we'd better get out of the city before more reinforcements come this way.�

The two hedgehogs ran through the city, forced to duck behind walls, into alleys, and behind garbage piles. Shadow grunted. “The twerp works quick. Every robot in the city must be on alert.�

“This is not gonna work,� Sonic muttered. “If we can get to my uncle's hideout, maybe we can stay there until the commotion blows over.�

Shadow nodded. “It's the best plan we got. Lead the way.�

CHAPTER 04:

It took some extra time to sneak around the city to get to the hideout, but once the two hedgehogs were in, Sonic breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, we're gonna be here a while, best to get comfortable.�

Shadow looked around. The hideout, which had been set up in the middle of the junkyard, was a rather metallic looking room, though it was dark. “There a way to see in here?�
Sonic looked around. “Don't tell me it's too dark in here for you.�

Shadow looked in the direction of Sonic's voice. “Yeah, can't you tell?�

“Lighting seems fine to me. But let me see if I can find a light source...�

Sonic searched the room for a bit before finding a small LED light on a desk where a computer was set up. “Here we go.�

He flipped it on and Shadow could see a bit better, though it mostly illuminated the desk area. “Not much, but it works.�

“I think because too much power diverted would of drawn Robuttnik's attention,� Sonic said, settling at the desk and turning on the computer. “Let me see if I can get a cooler fan running in here. It usually gets like a hot box in here with Robotropolis's pollution trapping heat in the city. Uncle Chuck needed a fan to keep his circuits cool.�

Shadow nodded, watching Sonic work. “You definitely seem different.�

“You mean the part where I seem smarter than before?� Sonic asked.

Shadow had to think about it a moment. “Don't get me wrong, you definitely start to understand a few things better when you're older. But you've never been exactly tech savvy. You always had Tails and Rotor for that stuff.�

Sonic nodded, continuing to type on the computer. “And my Uncle Chuck. I wonder just how smart I'm getting. I can't explain it, but I actually would like the idea of being able to help Uncle Chuck with a project. Maybe even help find a deroboticizing solution for him and the other victims of Robotnik.�

Shadow patted Sonic's shoulder. “But why is this happening? Having that extra knowledge is good, but the fact that something IS affecting you, bothers me. It tells me something is wrong and we need to find out what it is.�

Sonic paused after a moment, his ears twitching as he looked around. This concerned Shadow. “What is it?�

“Do you hear voices?� Sonic asked.

Shadow blinked and shook his head. “No. What kind of voices?�

Sonic shook his head. “Hard to say. I want to say more like whispers...maybe even digital. In fact, I don't know if its actually VOICES...�

Shadow tilted his head at this. “Well that doesn't make much sense to me.�

“I don't know how else to really explain it,� Sonic said, scratching a bit at the bandages on his chest. He looked at his hand a moment before quickly wiping it on his leg and getting back to work on the computer. “Hold on a sec, let me get the fan on.�

Shadow nodded, watching Sonic as he typed a few commands on the computer before an overhead vent fan began to whirl to life. “There, that should draw the heat out.�

“Good, it was starting to get warm,� Shadow said, wiping some sweat from his brow. Having black fur didn't help.

Sonic looked to Shadow after a moment, leaning back. “So, you seem to know about me. Is there anything I can know about you?�

Shadow frowned. “Not sure if that's a good idea...�

“Right the whole time travel thing. But if what you're saying is true, things are already changing, and there's not much point in holding back information.�

Shadow had to sit there for a moment. Sonic could see that the hedgehog was deep in thought, debating the information. Shadow inhaled after a moment, looking up at Sonic. “I'll talk about myself...and only myself. That good enough for you?�

Sonic nodded in agreement. “Seems fair to me.�

Shadow nodded, trying to think on where to start. “Well, for starters, I'm not a normal hedgehog.�

“Nooo, I couldn't tell,� Sonic snarked with a grin. “So what makes you so special?�

Shadow looked at him with a serious deadpan tone. “I was created.�

Sonic's ears perked up in interest and genuine surprise. “Created? How?�

Shadow frowned. “Well, the scientist that created me was trying to create the Ultimate Life form. Someone who could live practically forever, resistant to disease.�

Sonic nodded, listening intermittently as he was starting to get a thought in his head. “So you can live forever? Can't get sick?�

Shadow nodded. “That's right.�

After a moment, Sonic began to get up and started to rifle through tools on the shelf. Shadow looked up to him. “Now what are you doing?�

“Not sure. I think I'm getting some kind of idea in my head. I wanna see if I can bring my uncle's tools to him back at home.�

Shadow continued to watch as Sonic grabbed a backpack and began to toss random items into it. “Okay...I would help, but I can barely see in here as is without the light.�

“That's alright. I think I got most of it...� He looked back to Shadow. “So...ultimate life form, able to live forever. What happened when you were created?�

Shadow rubbed his arm, looking down. “Well, I got to spend time learning about the world around me. The scientist who created me was like a father to me, and his granddaughter and I were close. She was my sister, my best friend.�

Sonic could detect some sadness in Shadow's voice, and he approached him, sitting down. “...what happened?�

Shadow inhaled deeply. “The military, who was keeping tabs on my development, decided that they wanted to raid the station that we were on and capture me. They wanted to use me as a weapon.�

Sonic frowned at this. “Military? What military was this? Surely not Mobotropolis...�

“No no no...this...this was LONG ago...and somewhere that Mobians don't actually know about. No, this was a different military, and let's just say, back in those days, they were incredibly corrupt.�

“I...I see..what...what happened next?�

Shadow looked down when Sonic asked. “The raid on the station was...violent...scientists were captured...or shot...Maria...she was trying to help me escape...�

It took a moment for Sonic to understand the gravity of what happened and covered his mouth in shock. “Oh...oh Shadow...I'm so sorry....�

Shadow nodded. “It took...a long time to move on. But I feel I finally have.�

Sonic smiled a bit. “That's good-�

Sonic suddenly paused as his ears twitched, like he was straining to hear something. Shadow looked to Sonic. “More voices?�

Sonic held a finger up. “Shh...�

The two sat in silence for a moment before Sonic began to put on the backpack. “SWATbots. They found the hideout and have it surrounded. Get under the desk, they're gonna try to blast the entrance open.�

Shadow began to crawl under the desk where Sonic joined him. “Then what?�

“We're going to run.�

As Sonic got under, next to Shadow, the black hedgehog looked to Sonic. “How ARE you able to hear them?�

“Shh!� Sonic said and grabbed his own head, curling up. Shadow looked at him before the place suddenly shook, an explosion, causing Shadow to follow suit and grab his head, curling up.

The whole place filled with debris and smoke, and general light from outside began to illuminate the room. The SWATbots had blown a sizable chunk of the entrance wall and were now marching in, scanning the area for signs of life.

One SWATbot swung its arm around, and spotlighted the spot where Sonic and Shadow were. “PRIORITY ONE: HEDGEHOG.�

“RUN!� Sonic yelled, darting forward and spin dashing into the SWATbots.

Shadow surged forward, and on pure instinct, leaped up to deliver a swift roundhouse kick to knock out another robot. He focused for a moment on trying to chaos control to another robot, but upon forgetting that he didn't have a chaos emerald with him, he instead fell clumsily to the ground. “DAMMIT!�

He scrambled to his feet as Sonic landed from a second spin dash. He looked to Shadow. “I'll clear the way, you just run! I can handle this!�

Shadow grumbled a bit at this. “Make sure you're right behind me.�

He took off, bolting for the blasted hole in the wall, dodging laser fire as more SWATbots were starting to gather in the junkyard. Shadow dodged behind a scrap metal pile and yelled out. “SONIC!!!�

It took a moment for a blue blur to dart out, rushing to Shadow's side and looking to him. “Okay, so at this point, we're going to HAVE to cut through the junkyard to get out. SWATbots are covering all the exits.�

“Tell me you have a plan,� Shadow said, exasperated by the situation.

Sonic looked at Shadow. For a moment, he wasn't sure. But then he started scanning the junkyard, analyzing them. He suddenly pointed to a pile. “Run for that pile and hide behind it.�

Shadow looked at Sonic for a moment, looking unsure. But he's been right so far, and began to make a wild run for the junk pile, dodging more laser fire as Sonic followed suit. Once they were behind the pile, which was quite a distance away, Sonic looked to Shadow. “It'll take them a while to detect us, there's scrap copper in this pile that will block their scans.�

Shadow looked to Sonic. “How can you tell?�

Sonic frowned, looking around at other junk piles. “I...don't know...�

“That does it, you're seeing the doctor when we get back. This is NOT normal,� Shadow stressed.

“No kidding! It's freaking me out too!� Sonic responded, continuing to look around. He pointed to another junk pile. “Run there.�

Shadow sighed and nodded, and the two hedgehogs took off again, running a long distance across the yard towards the pile. Some of the robots spotted them, but giving chase was useless when they couldn't keep up, so they lost track of them when they got behind the new junk pile. Shadow looked to Sonic. “Did I mention I hate time travel?�

“I can see why,� Sonic panted. “Everything's getting messed up ever since you showed up.�

“Trust me, it wasn't my choice to be dropped back in time,� Shadow sniped, rather cranky by this point. “Let's just get the fuck outta here already.�

“Dude, quit with the swearing already!�

Shadow growled, his old rivalry instinct kicking up. “Make me!�

Sonic, rather aggressively, grabbed Shadow by the wrist with unusual strength and began to throw him to the ground. “I'm more than willing to do so!�

“AAARGH!� Shadow yelled and darted forward to tackle Sonic to the ground, wrestling him and rolling around in the grime and dirt, rolling against a rather unstable pile of scrap. “You are such full of crap, you know that?!�

“I'm not going around changing time with my mere presence!� Sonic sniped back, trying to throw a punch to his face. Shadow moved his head to one side to dodge the punch, causing Sonic to hit the already unstable scrap metal pile behind him.

Shadow looked up, to see the pile begin to tumble down. “Sonic, look out!�

Sonic barely had time to look up before the two hedgehogs were piled on with extremely heavy scrap metal, effectively burying them...

CHAPTER 05:

There seemed to be an hour there where SWATbots were searching the junk yard for any signs of the hedgehogs. Eventually when they turned up nothing, they moved on.
The junk that had fallen on top of the hedgehogs eventually began to move and lift up, supported from beneath by Sonic himself as he looked out from under. He grunted to Shadow beneath him. “Nngh, they're gone.�

With great strength, Sonic began to toss the large scrap metal away. Shadow panted a bit as he crawled out from other. “Thanks Chaos. I don't think I could of handled being trapped much longer.�

“Yeah I could actually sense you beginning to panic a bit when we got buried. You okay?�

Shadow nodded as he helped Sonic out of the remaining rubble. “Yeah, I just don't do well with tightly enclosed spaces. Long story. Tell no one.�

“Oh, believe me, I got my own problems. It's cool,� Sonic grunted as he brushed his gloved hands off, though most of him still had bad oil splatters on his bandages, gloves and fur.

Shadow nodded. “Water, I know...� he paused for a moment, looking to the tossed scrap metal. “Um...now that I think about it...how did you-�

Sonic waved him off, knowing he was about to ask how he lifted all that heavy metal by himself. “Like everything else, I DON'T KNOW...�

Shadow held his hands up defensively. “Okay okay. Let's just get out of here while the way's clear.�

“My thought exactly,� Sonic agreed, as the two ran towards the edge of the junkyard to get out of the city.

KNOTHOLE – HOURS LATER

“Sonic, I expected better of you!�

The two hedgehogs stood there in the village as Princess Sally paced back and forth in front of them, berating the two for leaving the village. “You know you were supposed to wait until I had everyone prepared to go into the city. We don't know what dangers we would see in the city, and I don't want to see you getting hurt!�

“Well, to be fair, he wasn't alone,� Shadow pointed out. “And-�

Sally stopped in front of Shadow and glared at him, cutting him off. “I don't know who you are, and for all we know, you could be an ally of Robotnik trying to take out Sonic after the fact as a form of revenge.�

“Excuse me? Paranoid much?� Shadow asked, his quills raising rather defensively in rising anger.

“Yeah Sal, he's cool, really!� Sonic spoke up, looking to Shadow and putting a hand on Shadow's shoulder to try and calm him down.

Shadow looked to Sonic in mild surprise, as the blue hedgehog offered a bit of a smile. Sonic was sticking up for him, even after the two had a fight?

Actually that seemed on par with Sonic's nature.

Sally continued to glare at Shadow, not trusting him. “Friend or not, don't encourage him,� she warned the hedgehog.

Sonic threw his head back and groaned in exasperation. “Sally, if we hadn't of raced to Robotropolis, we would of never discovered that the city was up and running, or that Snively was running it!�

“And it sounds like you were lucky to get out!� Sally snapped back.

Sonic threw his hands up. “I give up, I'm going home! I need to change my bandages anyway.�

“Fine!� Sally yelled back and marched away.

Shadow could only watch as the two parted ways, and Shadow followed after Sonic. “Hey, you okay?�

Sonic sighed. “Sometimes I think Sally doesn't give me enough credit. I can take care of myself!�

“Sounds like she cares for your well being, that's all,� Shadow responded.

Sonic looked back to Shadow as they walked. “Maybe. I mean, I know she just recovered from her accident and all...but...�

“...what?�

Sonic sighed. “I don't know. Something's nagging at my brain. I can't put my finger on it.�

Shadow shrugged. “I think you're just frustrated, that's all. Doesn't help that you're going through changes. That reminds me, we'd better get you to the doctor.�

Sonic shook his head. “No...I'm fine. Really. I just want to get home.�

“Sonic, I really don't think-�

“Shadow-� Sonic began, stopping where he was and turning to face Shadow. “I can see that we're friends in the future, and its obvious you want to have that friendship with me. I think it's cool. You're able to run with me and keep up. Barely anyone can do that. So please...I ask you...trust me. I can't go to the doctor. Not yet.�

Shadow frowned, staring at Sonic for a moment. He didn't like what was happening to Sonic. But at the same time, he did want to trust him. He wanted to have a friendship with this Sonic, to really start over and not just be that rival to him. He didn't want to admit that he admired the hedgehog. If he could be a better friend...this was probably his only chance. So he nodded hesitantly. “...okay. I trust you.�

Sonic gave him a soft smile. “...thank you. That means a lot.� He finally turned to continue heading home.

Shadow followed after him. “By the way, thanks for sticking up for me back there. I know we just had that fight and all-�

“It's okay. I was frustrated, you were frustrated. I donno, something just tells me to trust you...� Sonic responded. “Anyway, mind if I have some time to myself for a bit? I need to take care of some things.�

Shadow nodded. “Yeah, just come find me later when you want to talk some more.�

“I will,� Sonic said as they parted ways.

Shadow stood there, trying to think for a bit before he headed back to village center, wandering about and looking around. He was trying to let everything sink in and hope Sonic would be as okay as he promised.

Eventually he spotted Uncle Chuck in the distance and approached him. “Excuse me, Sir Charles?�

Chuck turned, facing the black hedgehog. “Yes? Shadow, right?�

“Yes sir. Would you be okay if we spoke privately for a few minutes?�

Charles nodded and led Shadow over to an area just out of sight of public. “What can I do for you?�

Shadow sighed. “It's about Sonic.�

Charles nodded with understanding. “I heard about your unauthorized trip to Robotropolis. My nephew's a handful, isn't he?�

Shadow shrugged. “I'm used to it. But that's not my main concern.�

Charles looked at Shadow for a bit. “What's on your mind, lad?�

Shadow sighed and took the time to explain all the things about Sonic that he observed...the increased sight, hearing, strength, knowledge. Charles frowned as he listened. This wasn't good. “I honestly think that the temporal storm has affected things outside of Knothole,� Shadow concluded. “And its getting to Sonic somehow.�

“What draws you to this conclusion?�

Shadow frowned. “Because when we confronted Snively, we learned that Robotnik wasn't taken out by the Ultimate Annihilator, he was taken down with the Death Egg.�

Charles did a double take at this. “That can't be right...�

Shadow nodded. “Information in the Robotropolis computers were also off. Knothole was not in the database at all, and mentions of resistance scattered about under the city was also mentioned. I do believe it would be vital to try and get more information when we do go back to the city. If there are others below the city, we should try and find them.�

Charles frowned. “Anything else?�

Shadow shook his head. “Nothing that we were able to get for the time being. I'm more concerned about Sonic right now...�

BACK AT SONIC'S HOME

Sonic emptied the contents of his backpack on a table. There were more than just tools in the bag, as he had grabbed some scrap metal when they were buried in the junkyard earlier. He grabbed a tool and began to fiddle with some pieces. He frowned after a moment, looking at his bandages. They seemed to be soaked in motor oil. He set down the tool and metal, and went to take off the bandages, revealing a few patches where Shadow had punctured him with his quills. The wounds were scabbed over with metal, with slight oil leaking from the edges. Biting his lower lip, Sonic went over to the shelf where he kept his bandages at. But as he reached for the tool, he stopped, looking at his gloved hands, stained with oil from earlier. He slowly reached to pull off a glove, revealing metal-covered hands. He looked at his metallic hand, studying it with worrying eyes, before he pulled off his other glove, looking at it as well.

“...can't help it...I'm scared...� he seemed to murmur to himself. He turned to head to his room and grab some clean gloves from the drawer. “I know...I know...I'm just worried about how the others will react...�

As he put the gloves on, he sighed. “...yeah...its hard to respond silently...the talking in my head throws me off, really.�

He eventually went back to grabbing the bandages. “...well, if you're right about Shadow...I'm glad we met. I'm just not ready to tell him. He'll start blaming himself. He's already getting to believe that his mere presence is affecting me. If he knew about you guys...well...we can only hope we can stop the others before Shadow accidentally infects anyone else.�

He wrapped up his chest, covering his wounds. “Are you sure you can't reverse the effects?�

Sonic walked back over to the scrap metal he was working on. “No...I totally get it. Let's just try and get this machine together...before its too late.�

As Sonic stared at the project in his hands, his eyes began to glow red a bit.

CHAPTER 06:

The next morning, Shadow was up bright and early. He hadn't heard from Sonic all night and wanted to make sure he was alright. He walked up to his door and knocked on it.

After a few moments, and several series of knocks with no answer, Shadow texted the door to see if he could open it.
It seemed that Sonic trusted people not to break into his home.

Shadow opened the door and walked in, calling out. “Sonic?�
No answer.

Shadow began to look around, wondering if he could find a clue of where he went. Rounding a corner, Shadow found something in the common room: some kind of strange device. It had a circular base, with four poles supporting a similar round top. Shadow took a moment to inspect it. “Sonic, you been busy...�

He didn't like this. It looked to be some kind of machine, with some eerily similar designs to the roboticizer. What to do? He could go to Uncle Chuck and ask him, since he invented the roboticizer. But the idea that he went into Sonic's house without permission may rub the roboticized hedgehog the wrong way. Yeah, that's the last thing he wanted, if he wanted to be friends with Sonic.

Shadow sighed and continued to search the house for any clue of Sonic's whereabouts. In a wastebasket in Sonic's bathroom, Shadow found oil-soaked bandages, and oil-stained gloves on the floor. He picked them up and inspected them. “That's...weird.�

He was getting increasingly worried about Sonic. Just how badly did his presence affect Sonic? Not to mention the rest of the planet. If only he could get back to Robotropolis and get some more answers!

There was also the thought of trying to find a chaos emerald so he could get back to his own time. But then how messed up would his own time be?

Has he ever mentioned how much he HATES time travel?
Shadow groaned again and pressed his forehead against the medicine cabinet mirror. “Why me...� he moaned.

Finally he got an idea, and left the house.
In the village center, Shadow headed for the community hall, and sure enough, he saw Tails getting breakfast. He approached him. “Excuse me, Tails?�

Tails looked up from where he was eating at the table, watching the hedgehog sit down. “Uuuh, yeah? Hey, you're that guy that fell from the sky and hurt Sonic.�

Shadow rubbed the back of his neck. “That was an accident.�
Tails sighed. “I know. I'm just worried about Sonic. He's been acting weird ever since you showed up.�

Shadow nodded. “I know. I'm trying to do what I can to help him. Actually, that's why I came to see you.�

“Me? What can I do? I mean, I'd do anything to help Sonic!� Tails said rather quickly.

Shadow nodded. “I know. You're his best friend and little brother after all. First off, have you seen Sonic this morning? He wasn't home when I went to check on him.�

The two-tailed fox paused for a moment. “I did see him briefly. He was heading out for a bit, but he didn't say where. He was rather in a hurry, didn't really talk to me.�

Shadow frowned at this. “Hmm, makes me wonder...�

“What?�

Shadow looked at the questioning kit and shook his head. “I don't have a solid answer yet, but there is something else you can help me with.�

“Yeah?�

Shadow paused, trying to choose his words carefully. “When Sonic didn't answer the door, I went in JUST to make sure he wasn't unconscious in the house or anything-� he said quickly, trying to assure the fox that he wasn't breaking and entering. “Anyway, when I was looking around for him, I saw a strange device in the common room. Something he apparently...built.�

Tails' ears perked up. “Sonic made something?�

Shadow nodded. “I was thinking that maybe you could look at it, try and figure out what Sonic was trying to make.�

Tails nodded, immediately getting to his feet. “This I gotta see. I knew Sonic was acting weird, but making machines? Now I KNOW something's off.�

Shadow nodded and took Tails out to Sonic's place, bringing him inside to look at the device. Tails circled it, gazing at it in awe. “...whoa...Sonic made this???�

Shadow nodded. “Any idea what it could be?�
Tails took a closer look, trying to look at the mechanics of the device. “Well, while it looks to be in similar shape as a roboticizer, it seems to function as some kind of neutralizer. Not quite like an electromagnetic pulse, but similar...more precise a focus. But the machine is unfinished. It doesn't work yet.�

Shadow frowned. “Is it possible that Sonic went out to get more parts of the machine?�

“Well...its a thought, but Sonic would need to go to Robotropolis to get any parts...�

Shadow looked back at Tails. “Now that I think about it, Sonic DID bring home parts from the city yesterday. This must be what he did with them.�

“But why? Why is he making this?� Tails asked.
Shadow shook his head. “I don't know, but I got to get back to Robotropolis to find him.�

Tails looked to Shadow before stepping in front of him. “Take me with you. Maybe I can help figure out what's going on with Sonic. He IS my big bro, after all.�

Shadow frowned. “...Princess Sally would KILL me if she found out I took you to the city.�

Tails sighed. “Aunt Sally always treats me like a baby. I'm able to do things on my own. I was able to before!�

“Oh believe me, I know what you can be capable of,� Shadow said. He then sighed. “Don't tell her I brought you with me, alright?�

“I won't if you won't,� Tails promised, before heading outside with Shadow. “Let's get going!�

IN THE GREAT FOREST

Tails flew through the air as Shadow jetted across the ground. The kit called down to Shadow. “So you say things may be different in the city?�

“Yeah, the temporal storm seems to have affected time outside of Knothole. Be aware of anything that's different and tell me. I'm not used to this time frame.�

Tails nodded before they made it to the city edge. Shadow ducked down behind a wall, before the two began to scan the area. “Normal activity here.�

“Let's edge our way to the junkyard. That's where Sonic most likely would be if he was looking for parts.� Tails suggested.

“What's to stop him from taking the parts from working machines?�

“He probably doesn't want to risk drawing attention again,� Tails concluded.

“Good point. Let's get to the junkyard,� Shadow agreed.
When they got back there, Shadow and Tails looked around. “How are we going to find him?� he asked Tails.

Tails frowned. “Maybe start with what's left of Uncle Chuck's hideout? He had a lot of tools and parts there.�

Shadow nodded and headed in that direction. He sighed. “I really wish there was a simpler way to fix all this.�

“Nothing's easy, Shadow. Even I know that,� Tails piped up. “You just gotta do your best and move forward.�

“I know, I know. In fact it seems like my whole life has been nothing but a series of missteps and mistakes. I was kinda hoping that maybe, while I was here...I could get a fresh start,� Shadow admitted. “Especially with Sonic.�

“Why's that? Were you not friends with Sonic in the future?�
Shadow shook his head. “Not really, no. As a matter of fact, we started out as enemies, before things happened, and we became rivals. I'd work with him every now and again, but to say we were friends? Not so much.�

“Actually that sounds eerily similar to what happened between Sonic and Knuckles. I would ask if Robotnik was involved, but he's gone now...�

Shadow walked on silently, causing Tails to stop and look at Shadow. “...right?�

Shadow eventually stopped at this, but didn't respond, causing concern for Tails. “...Shadow?�

“Yeah...right...� Shadow slowly said, but the tone alone wasn't enough to convince Tails.

The fox sighed. “I know, you can't say anything about the future...that's not gonna stop me from worrying now...�

Eventually the two continued forward towards the ruins of the hideout. Shadow stopped short and held his arm out to stop Tails as well, lifting his other hands to place a finger against his lips, signaling the fox to remain quiet.

The two stood there for a moment, listening before hearing clanking sounds from inside.

Shadow started to reach to his side, grasping at empty air before he looked down. Oh, right...he didn't have his gun.
Shadow began to creep forward, waving for Tails to follow him. Together, the two silently approached the blasted open entrance and peeked inside.

They could make out a hedgehog shape trying to dig through the mess, like he was trying to look for something.
Shadow hesitated and began to call out, before he was interrupted by Sonic. “Not exactly the most silent approach.�
Shadow frowned as he came in with Tails. “We just had to be sure it was you in there.�

Sonic's figure paused for a moment without looking up. “It's me...but you may not like what you see...�

Shadow cautiously approached. “...what's happened?�
Sonic waited a moment before getting back to digging. “They weren't all destroyed. The chaos energy neutralized some...hitched a ride on you..in your fur, your quills. I'm surprised they haven't been able to affect you...�

Shadow blinked, taking a moment to absorb what Sonic just said. “You're talking about the nanites...�

“As far as I can tell, the ones on you right now are still dormant...but I don't know how much longer. The chaos energy has corrupted their programming...made them more dynamic.�

Shadow stood there, debating on moving closer. “How do you know this?�

A wry chuckle from the blue hedgehog. “As I said...they were on your quills...and when you came through the temporal portal...�

It suddenly dawned on Shadow. “....they got in your body when I accidentally jabbed you with my quills.�

“Mm...� Sonic responded, looking up towards them. All the two could see were lightly red glowing eyes. “Shadow...Tails...�

He stepped into the light, showing off his half roboticized body, with mechanical legs, an arm, and his eyes were a glowing red. “...I'm being roboticized.�

Chapter 07:

“Please, hear me out.�

Sonic pleaded to Shadow and Tails, who backed up out of reaction. Shadow stared at Sonic. “...Sonic...I...�

“I don't blame you. It was an accident, I know,� Sonic nodded.

“How much longer can you fight this though? Surely the mental strain of keeping your mind from being converted-�

“-I'm not.� Sonic said, cutting him off.

Both Shadow and Tails stared at him at this. “WHAT?!�

Sonic held up his hands, one robotic, one still gloved. “It's not going down the way you think it is, I promise. I'm...I'm not going to turn bad, I promise.�

Shadow rubbed his head. “Help me to understand this then. What, exactly, is happening to you?�

Sonic sighed, folding his arms. “When the nanites got to my brain...they were in a confused programming state because of the chaos energy. When they began to convert my brain to machine and programming, they were able to...absorb...my thoughts...my feelings...my moral convictions. They began to understand that what they were doing was wrong.�

Shadow tilted his head. “Then why are you still being roboticized if they know its wrong?�

“...to save my life.� Sonic responded. “By the time they began to realize that what they were doing was wrong, it was at a point that simply stopping the process would kill me. Not like Bunnie's condition at all.�

Shadow faintly thought about Bunnie's half roboticized form. “...and they can't reverse it?�

Sonic shook his head. “I asked. Reversal is not possible for them. However-�

He paused as he lifted his gloved hand to his ear, as if he was listening to something.

Shadow raised an eyebrow. “...howeve-�

“SHH!� Sonic waved him off with his robotic hand and continued to listen. Shadow looked to Tails, who shrugged. Sonic finally looked at them. “There's a unit of combots gathering at the gates to the city. We need to find out what they're up to.�

Shadow frowned. “Well...�

Sonic looked at them. “Shadow...Tails...please...I'm going to be alright...please trust me.�

Shadow looked into Sonic's slightly red eyes. “...I do.�
Tails looked up. “I do too, Sonic. I seen you as Mecha Sonic. I really think you're still good.�

Sonic smiled softly at this before he looked to his gloved hand. He pulled off the glove to show the roboticization actively spreading up his arm. He sighed. “Won't be much longer now. Let's go check on those combots.�

The trio took off, making sure to stay hidden out of sight of the robots patrolling the area. With Sonic's advanced scanning technology, he was able to devise the best area to stake out a spot to spy on the gathering combots near the gates of the city.

The large army appearing robots stood in a platoon formation, with one, looking slightly different from the rest with somewhat of a more formed face, paced back and forth in front of the unit. “Attention! The Great Snively Robotnik has declared that we take the time to finally locate the hidden Sanctuary that Robotnik has tried for years to find.�
Shadow leaned in and whispered to Sonic. “What's Sanctuary?�

“I'm not su-�

The head combot continued. “We believe the location has finally made itself known with the reveal of several time and zone anomalies. We found a zone anomaly in the Great Forest just hours ago.�

Sonic and Shadow looked at each other. “...Knothole!� the two concluded.

“Our orders are to search out Sanctuary, capture the children and any resistance members guarding them, bring them here, and send them to the Roboticizer.�

Sonic immediately looked to the other two. “Shadow, Tails, you need to get back to Knothole and warn them about the invasion. I'll stay here and try to stop them.�

Sonic started to get up, before Shadow grabbed Sonic's arm, looking directly at him. “...I'm staying. I'm going to help.�

Sonic didn't like this. “And do what?�

Shadow smirked. “I may not have a chaos emerald, but get me a gun and watch me work.�

Sonic watched Shadow for a long moment before he finally nodded. “Okay. But Tails, you still need to warn the village.�

Tails nodded. “I'll get there fast!�

Before Tails left, Sonic called back. “And Tails?�
“Yeah?�

Sonic looked at him seriously. “Don't tell Sally what's happening to me. I don't need her trying to determine if I'm going to turn or not.�

Tails nodded in understanding. “Promise. Be careful!�

As Tails took off, Shadow stared at Sonic for a moment. Sonic looked back. “What?�

Shadow looked towards Sonic's other arm, which finally roboticized. Sonic looked at it and sighed, flexing his robot hand. “Nothing I can do now. Let's go find you a weapon and take out those combots.�

IN THE GREAT FOREST
30 MINUTES LATER

The combots, lead by the commanding combot, spread out across the forest, trying to narrow their scans for the zone anomaly that would indicate their target. One combot stopped, and began to scan before radioing to the commanding bot. “Commander Cor, lifeform detected and enclosing.�

“Scouts. Units 4, 5 and 6, halt your search and take out the intruder in the area,� Cor responded, looking around.

Three combots broke away from the search group, using their scanners to try and zoom in on the life readings. Far enough away from the others, the three enclosed on a brush where they detected the intruder at. Believing it to be hiding, the combots raised the weapons built into their arms, preparing to fire through the brush and hit their target, when one suddenly exploded and fell, having been shot at from somewhere behind and overhead with a laser blast. The shot combot's head had been blown clean off.

Caught off guard, the remaining two combots whirled in the direction that the shot came from, trying to detect whatever had set it off.

The distraction was enough.

From the brush, shots were fired from a projectile weapon, laying several bullets into the second combot's head with marksman precision. Its systems severed, it fell over, lifeless.

The remaining combot turned yet again to the source of the projectiles fired, this time coming face-to-face with Shadow, holding up a projectile pistol to its head. He smirked, moments before the combot's head just exploded, falling over. Behind it, Sonic stood, his right arm lowering from where he shot a laser from his wrist. The roboticization had spread up to his chest.

Shadow looked to Sonic. “Well, guess its a good thing those came online when they did,� he gestured to the lasers on his arm.

“The nanos made sure to get them working quickly for me. We actually work together quite well. They're even masking my life sign from their scanner.�

Shadow smirked a bit. “Sounds like you have something of a relationship there.�

“A symbiosis. Something they learned after picking my brain really. We talk to each other,� Sonic admitted.

“And you're sure they're not influencing you...� Shadow asked cautiously.

“Not in a bad way, no, I swear. Anyway, we still got more combots to deal with,� Sonic reminded him.

Meanwhile, Commander Cor had heard the gunshots and sensed the deactivation of three combots. “All units, halt your search and converge on the intruder. We now have a priority alert.�

There were several more shots fired, follwed by another combot deactivation, before the sounds of multiple laser blasts resounded in the forest. More and more units were descending on the intruder, and Cor received the report that there was a second undetectable target accompanying the intruder.

At that moment, Shadow and Sonic were standing in a circle of destroyed combots. Sonic looked up, his red eyes scanning. “Shadow, we got more incoming. We gotta get back to Knothole quickly.�

Shadow checked the clip of his gun. “Just as well, I'm out of ammo.�

The two took off across the forest, spotted from a distance by the commander. He focused his sights on the nearly roboticized hedgehog. “So then...�

Sonic and Shadow made their way to the Great Slide that was their way in and out of the village, jumping in quickly.
They slid through, landing hard in a pile of hay, nearly getting buried in the stuff. Shadow was the first to poke his head out, seeing himself surrounded by Sally and the others, including Tails.

Sally didn't look too happy. Shadow looked at her. “Sally! I see Tails made it back alright-�

“Save it! Besides the fact that you lead Tails into a dangerous area without my permission, you and Sonic went to Robotropolis unauthorized, AGAIN!�

“Which if we hadn't of gone, may I point out, you and the others wouldn't of had time to prepare for the incoming invasion!� Shadow pointed out, before something occurred to him. He looked beside him. Sonic was still hiding in the hay pile. “...Sonic, you okay?�

A muffled reply came from beneath the hay. “I'm fine...I just need a moment.�

“Sonic...� Sally said sternly, knowing better of the hedgehog.

“Sally, just go! There's robots coming here!�

“SONIC.�

There was a sigh, and soon the hay began to shift and part.
Mobians gasped and took steps back at what they saw.
A fully roboticized Sonic popped his head from the hay pile, looking at everyone.

“Sonic...what...� Sally, stunned, didn't know how to respond to this.

“Okay look...� Shadow started. “I know this looks bad, but I promise you that-�

“YOU DID THIS.�

Shadow, Sonic and Tails were taken aback by Sally's sudden raging tone as she turned her anger upon Shadow. “This is all YOUR fault!�

CHAPTER 08:
“I KNEW I couldn't trust you! Dropping out of the sky, injuring Sonic, leading him to Robotropolis...you somehow roboticized him!� Sally glared at Shadow. “You probably even are leading the combots here!�

Shadow's own anger was starting to rise. “Now wait just a damn minute, Princess, I did no such damn thing!�

“HEY!� Sonic shouted, drawing the two's attention. “We don't have time for this, those combots are gonna be here any minute!�

“And you could turn on us any minute,� Sally pointed out. “I can't risk you attacking us again like last time.�

“I'm not going to turn, I can promise that!� Sonic protested. “I can fight the combots!�

“I can't believe you Sonic, you could be programmed to lie to me.� She turned to the others. “Rotor, you know that device you been working on in these kinds of emergencies?�

Rotor paled a bit at the mention. “The...the EMP Cannon?�

She nodded. “...go get it. We're going to need it.�

Absolute chaos erupted in that moment as those with technology background knowledge were immediately appalled at what Sally was suggesting.

“EMP? As in Electro Magnetic Pulse? That thing that can shut down machines and wipe out programming?� Shadow asked rather angrily.

“Sally, that could kill him!� Chuck spoke with fear.

“You CAN'T DO THIS, Aunt Sally!� Tails protested.

“Sally, I don't even know if the cannon works! It could still backfire!� Rotor responded. “I can't use it!�

“QUIET!� Sally screamed, to shut everyone up. She looked at them, frowning. “Sonic is DANGEROUS now. Did you all forget what happened the LAST time Sonic was roboticized?�

The argument was interrupted by the sounds of crashing, the Great Slide shattering and leaving a gaping hole, as combots invaded the village. Chaos ensured as freedom fighters either ran or tried to fight back, with combots shooting at and grabbing them.

One combot went over and began to form a cage made of pure energy, tossing the first of freedom fighters within.

“We got to stop this, now!� Sally yelled out. “Take them out!�

“On it, Sal!� Sonic called out, warming up and aiming his laser towards a few combots.

Suddenly Shadow looked up, before calling out in warning. “Sonic, watch out!� he tackled the robot hedgehog, narrowly missing being hit by a laser blast. Sonic and Shadow looked up to see the commanding combot approaching them, laser aimed at them.

Sally ran over to check on them as the commander spoke. “Well well, I see we have a deserter in our midst.�

“Who are you?� Shadow demanded.
The commander scanned him for a moment in thought. “I don't have you in our database, so I'll believe for the moment that you really don't know who I am. I am Commander Cor, and I'm in charge of all offensive officers in the robotic army. Combots, SWATbots...even former recruits like Mecha Sonic...�

“I don't remember you,� Sonic said, as he stood up, his laser aimed at the combot in defense. “But that's because time outside Knothole has changed.�

“Your memories are in error then. Where are the children?! You couldn't of moved them all out of here without notice.�
Sally stared. “Ch-children?!�

“They think this place is someplace called Sanctuary. Hate to break it to you, Commander, but this isn't the place you were looking for,� Sonic responded, glaring at the combot.

“Explain yourself, recruit!� Cor demanded.

“Time has changed, Commander,� Shadow spoke up. “Between recent events in our timeline, its created a change. This place, Knothole? It's in a protected time bubble. Time around it changed. We must of entered your timeline, replacing the area you call Sanctuary.�

Cor, still keeping his laser aimed at them, took the time to scan the area. “I cannot confirm your story...but neither can I deny it. But tell me something...� He looked at Sonic. “How were you roboticized? I have no record of your re-enlistment.�

“Complicated,� Shadow answered for him. “It's not important-�

There was a sudden explosion, followed by yelping as nearby, Rotor fell back, a smoldering mass of metal near where he WAS standing. Cor looked over. “What was that?!�

Suddenly Cor had a laser blast him in the shoulder that stored his laser, damaging him greatly as Sonic held his smoking laser arm. Knowing the next shot could trash him, he quickly drew a kick to Sonic to knock him away and take off before Sonic could shoot him. Shadow ran over to help Sonic. “I got you!�

“Don't worry about me, stop him!�

Shadow nodded and started to stand up, only to jump back down as another combot came over to attack. “Maybe not.� He pulled Sonic to the side to avoid another shot, inadvertently rolling the roboticized hedgehog on top of him. Sonic quickly raised his arm and aimed to shoot down the attacking robot.

Shadow groaned. Good thing he was strong, Sonic was really heavy as a robot. He looked up, catching Sonic's eyes for a moment. Before either had a chance to react, Sonic, felt hands tugging at him from above to pull him off Shadow. He used his own power to get off the black hedgehog, looking to Sally, who was the one to help Sonic off. The robot hedgehog looked at her. “Do you believe me now?�

“GET DOWN�! Shadow yelled, and Sonic grabbed Sally to duck, narrowly missing another laser blast from a combot approaching. Sonic fired at it, destroying it.

“I'm starting to...� Sally admitted begrudgingly as they got back up.

Sonic looked around. “Cor's trying to distract us while he escapes. We're gonna have more combots attacking us any second.�

“Sally!� Rotor called, running towards them. He was still sooty from where the explosion occurred. “Sorry, I tried to use the weapon, but as I thought, it wasn't ready.�

“It's okay Rotor. I probably asked too much for that,� she responded as Shadow got up. “Sonic, we need to destroy the remaining combots. We'll worry about Cor later. We also need to get the others freed of the energy cages.�

“I can help free the others,� Shadow spoke up.

Sally looked at Shadow warily, still not trusting him, but realized she could not afford to deal with more problems than they already had. “...fine, see what you can do.�

Shadow nodded and looked to Rotor. “You, let's go find Tails and find a way to disable to cages.�

Sonic looked to Sally. “Thank you...�

“Just go, you can thank me later!�

He nodded and took off to the sky, using his thrusters.

Left and right, Sonic was able to target and shoot down combots, helping those who were cornered and close to being captured.

Not too far away, Bunnie and Antoine were being surrounded by combots, with the coyote cowering and the half robot rabbit aiming her pulse blaster to try and ward them away. She would shoot one, only to duck being shot and turning on another.

Suddenly Sonic landed beside her and immediately shot one that nearly enclosed on her. “You guys look like you could use extra firepower.�

“I more than welcome it, sugar!� Bunnie responded with a grin. “Let's show these tin cans not to mess with Freedom Fighters that have big guns!�

On the other side of the compound, Shadow, Rotor and Tails were ducked behind a building corner, watching as the one combot was forming more energy cages for captured freedom fighters. Shadow whispered. “It looks like its only one combot doing this. If I had more ammo for my gun, I could take it out.�

Rotor whispered. “I know how you feel, I don't even have an experimental gun to fire.�

Tails continued to watch the combot. “Where's the power for the cages coming from? If we can disable it, that should make the cages go away.�

Shadow scanned the area for a bit. “I don't see any kind of generator...�

“Wait, look at the combot,� Rotor pointed out. Sure enough, there seemed to be a large, bulky attachment attached to the backside like a backpack.

“That's our target then. I'll distract it. Tails, while I have its attention, you fly up and disable toe generator on its back. Rotor, you help get the freed fighters to safety,� Shadow said, standing up.

“Got it,� Tails nodded.

“Ready when you are,� Rotor added.

Shadow nodded and surged forth, yelling. “Hey, over here!�

The combot turned, spotting the black hedgehog waving his arms, and began to move after him. Aiming its arm, it began to shoot an energy net at Shadow, who merely dodged. “Too slow!�

Tails, using his two tails, began to fly up and sneak behind the robot. When he found an opening, he landed on his back, holding on tightly. The combot realized something was on it, and was trying to throw the fox off. “Whoooa!�

Shadow stopped and tried to draw the combot's attention. “Hang in there, Tails!�

“I'm trying!� Tails yelled as he reached for the generator panel.

Shadow shifted his position, trying to get closer to the combot and tempt it to try and grab him. For a moment, it worked as the combot stopped trying to buck Tails off long enough to grab Shadow with its large hand. Focused on wanting to cage the hedgehog, it began to move towards an energy cage where others were, before it suddenly stopped. Not only did it suddenly fall over, but the energy cages disappeared, and Shadow was released from its grip.

The collapsed combot had wires ripped from its generator backpack, Tails hovering over it with a grin. “Too easy!�

“I'll say,� Shadow nodded, watching as Rotor was helping the others get out of the area. He looked back to Tails. “Let's go check on Sonic and the others.�

“No need,� Sonic called from above, landing before the two as the others approached from behind. “We're just mopping up what's left of the combots now.�

Shadow nodded. “Sorry I couldn't of been much help. If I only had more ammo...�

Sonic waved him off. “It's okay, you helped freed the others, that's help enough. Besides-� he looked behind to Bunnie. “We had more than enough firepower.�

“We sure did, sugar! We blasted those bots right out of Knothole!� Bunnie cheered, along with the others who clapped.

“Now we need to build up the defenses of Knothole. That commander's gonna bring back reinforcements,� Sally said, approaching.

“Not if I stop them first,� Sonic said, looking at her.
Sally looked at Sonic, not sure if this was such a good idea. “Sonic-�

“Sally, I can do this. I got the firepower, speed AND strength now. I can wipe what's left of Snively's robot army and you will still be able to send the excursion team into the city,� Sonic tried to reason.

“I don't like the idea of you doing this alone!� Sally protested.

“He won't have to be alone.�

Sally and Sonic turned, looking at Shadow who spoke up. He looked at them. “Get me some guns and ammo, and I'll show you what I can really do.�

CHAPTER 09:

“Shadow, I have a confession to make.�

Welp, those were words Shadow wasn't ready to hear as he and Sonic were making their way back to Robotropolis. The black hedgehog looked to Sonic as they ran. “What is it?�

“You know that cannon that backfired on Rotor?�

“...please don't tell me-�

“NOT ON PURPOSE!� Sonic said quickly. “No no, I just took parts from the cannon that I needed. I was raiding Rotor's workshop while he was out last night and found it. I took the parts I needed. I didn't think Rotor was going to need to use it, and I certainly had no idea if was going to explode without the parts.�

“Yeah, about that,� Shadow started. “Why ARE you taking parts from Robotropolis and others? Is this about that device inside your house?�

“You saw that, huh?� Sonic asked. “...yeah, I REALLY needed the parts.�

“What IS that thing anyway?� Shadow asked. “Looks like a roboticizer.�

“That's because we decided to use the structure design of the roboticizer as a way to focus the energy,� Sonic responded as the two made it to the gates of the city. Looking around, the two began to sneak within, avoiding SWATbot patrols.

Once it was clear, Shadow murmured softly. “'We'?�

“The nanites and I,� Sonic said, tapping his temple. “We work together.�

“I...see...� Shadow nodded slowly. “So what is it?�

“Basically? It's an EMP Focuser. We had to find a way to safely deactivate the rest of the nanites that are sitting dormant on you right now. The nanites that are inside me may have gained a consciousness independent of their programming, but we don't know if the same could be said for the rest. We mutually decided that we didn't want to take the risk of the rest of them waking up and start roboticizing everyone.�

Shadow could only look at Sonic for a moment, thinking about it hard. “Well, if it's safe to use...�

“By the time we get done here, we should have the last of the parts I need to finish the device.� Sonic said before focusing ahead, pointing to a building. “There should be a good amount of firearms inside there. Let's get you loaded up.�

A SHORT TIME LATER

“The only think we're missing is a chaos emerald,� Shadow said, looking at all the guns and ammo he had strapped to him. He was wearing a vest to make sure he was able to carry many of the items.

“We'll have to do without one for the time being,� Sonic said, scanning the area. “For now, we'll have to make do with what we have to take out the combot army. There's still a lot of them and SWATbots to deal with.�

As Shadow stood there loading up his first weapon, a thought came across to him. “I think I just got an idea.�

Sonic looked to him. “What's that?�

“...would it be possible to set up a kind of...EMP bomb that we can set off in the middle of the city?�
Sonic had to think about it for a moment. “I would need time to put one together, set it up, and get away from the bomb before it's set off, but yeah, it's possible. Do you have a plan?�

A FEW HOURS LATER

Shadow wandered about Robotropolis by himself, pistol in hand, as he scanned the area for combots. Just ahead, he spotted a troop forming near a building and he smirked. Raising his weapon, he took aim and immediately shot down one of the combots. The combots turned, looking at Shadow as he shouted. “Hey, who's ready to tango?�

Immediately they began to shoot at Shadow, who dodged before taking off, shooting back at the combots and drawing their attention.

Rounding a corner, he nearly ran into another troop that had ben approaching the commotion being heard. Ducking fire, Shadow quickly ran into the building he was next to, a storage warehouse.

Ducking behind some metal barrels, Shadow watched through a gap as combots came in and began to scan the area. Knowing he was gonna be spotted any second, Shadow took the time to aim his gun through the gap, before shooting down another combot.

Quickly leaping up as the combots turned in his direction, Shadow kicked down the barrels to block the combots from approaching him immediately and took off running for a stairwell. He grabbed a radio clipped to his vest and yelled into it. “ETA, ETA!!!�

TOWARDS THE CENTER OF ROBOTROPOLIS

Inside an old workshop, Sonic was using the quiet moments to quickly work on the EMP bomb. Over his internal radio, Sonic could hear the sounds of Shadow shouting. “ETA, ETA!!!�

Sonic radioed back as he concentrated on soldering some wire. “Just a few more minutes. Keep them busy!�

Suddenly, there was a loud sound of a door being kicked down, and Sonic looked up to spot Commander Cor breaking into the building. “Wrong, you just ran out of time, recruit!�

Sonic stood up and began to shoot at Cor with his laser. “Forget it, Cor! We're not going to let you invade Knothole. The reign of Robotropolis ends here, tonight!�

As Cor dodged Sonic's laser blasts, the robot hedgehog radioed back to Shadow. “Mayday, mayday! Cor is in my location. I need help so I can finish the bomb!�

NOT TOO FAR AWAY:

Shadow radioed back to Sonic. “Hang in there, Sonic. I'm coming!�

He shot another robot before taking off in Sonic's direction. Knowing he had to lose to bots fast, he grabbed a grenade from his vest, pulled the pin, and tossed it behind him.

The following explosion sent the bots flying over, shrapnel embedded in their bodies, some of which badly damaged them to the point of being unable to continue pursuit.

Shadow bolted, using the rockets on his shoes to give him a speed boost towards the old workshop where Sonic was. He ran in the kicked down door to find Sonic ducked down behind an overturned table, gripping the device in his hands while trying to shoot at Cor, who was hiding behind a support beam. When Cor aimed to shoot again, he was suddenly blasted in the arm by a shotgun shell. He looked up to see Shadow holding up a shotgun he had been carrying on his backside. “HEY! Tin can! It's you and me.�

Cor glared at Shadow. “You can't take us all on! Soon reinforcements will arrive, and we will destroy you, Sonic, and all the enemies-�

Shadow suddenly shot him again in the chest, glaring. “Spare me the bad guy monologue. What the hell is with your armor? I just blasted you twice with projectile weapons and I've only made little more than a few dents!�

Cor merely looked at him. “It's a strong alloy, made just for me. I am the commanding officer after all, I need to stay functioning-�

He was suddenly interrupted when a laser blast shot at the back of his head. He whirled around, to see Sonic standing up, his laser arm aimed at Cor, the device in his hand. “Really, recruit?�

“It was worth a shot...� Sonic responded, backing up a bit.

“Yeah? Well here's my shot,� Cor said and took aim, blasting at the device, destroying it in Sonic's hands.

Sonic flung the exploding device in the process of preventing shrapnel from hitting him. “NO!�

“SONIC!� Shadow shouted and shot at Cor again, knocking him over and running to Sonic.

Sonic grasped Shadow's hand and began to pull him. “Let's go, run run run, quickly!!!�

Quickly, the two began to run, with Cor quickly falling behind as they fled the warehouse. “Where are we going?!� Shadow shouted to Sonic.

“Out of the city! We're done here!� Sonic called back as they made their way towards the gates, but not before a troop of combots blocked their way. They skid to a halt, dodging laser blasts coming from them.

“We can't give up, Sonic! Not yet!� Shadow called to him as he pulled out a grenade and threw it at the troop. “GET BACK!�

The two ducked backwards as the grenade exploded, knocking down and damaging the combots.
Shadow turned around, facing towards the city. “We still have a chance, Sonic-�

Sonic grabbed his hand and started to pull him towards the gates of the city. “Trust me, we haven't given up!�
Shadow dug his heels to keep Sonic from pulling him. “I can't run from this. I HAVE to fix this!�

Sonic let him go for a moment. “Shadow, we can't control everything that's happened. We just have to roll with what we got. Honestly, we already did fix it. But we have to get out of here, NOW!�

Shadow looked at him for a moment. “Wait...what are you-�

There was a loud scream from Shadow as he was suddenly shot in the shoulder from behind. He staggered, falling to his knees and gripping at his wound, gritting his teeth.

“SHADOW!� Sonic yelled, before looking up and seeing Cor with his smoking laser arm.

“Mobians. They're so...soft...damage too easily,� Cor responded, watching as Sonic began to aim his laser. He lifted up a piece of metal to deflect the blast. “Why do you still side with them? You're one of us now! A robot Mobian! A...Robian!�

“For a combot, you're rather emotional! Who cares what side I'm on? I'm just the enemy, right?!� Sonic spat.

“You don't have to be! Robots are superior to the flesh! Even that little pesky fleshbag Snively will soon realize that. I was programmed with a consciousness of my own! Soon, I will take control of the simpleton SWATbots, reprogram the REST of the Robians to follow me and we will have our own robot kingdom!�

“Yeah, well there's one problem with that!� Sonic shouted.

“And what's that?�

Sonic looked down to the wounded Shadow, who looked back with confusion of his own. There was a silent moment between them. “...Sonic...?�

Sonic finally looked back at Cor and smirked. “...Time's up.�

“Wha-�

A sudden pulse of energy blasted through, and all the power in the city began to shut down, robots falling dead in their places.

Not only did Cor collapse, powerless, but so did Sonic, as Shadow reached out and caught the heavy robot hedgehog in his arms, ignoring the searing pain in his shoulder. “Sonic?! Sonic!!! NO!�

CHAPTER 10:

Shadow worked hard to bring Sonic home, though it took hours, as Sonic's body had been quite heavy, even for the ultimate life form. His laser wound didn't slow him down, as it was already beginning to heal up, thanks to his ultimate healing properties. He took him straight to Rotor's workshop, begging for help to try and bring him back.

Rotor had taken Sonic in, asking Shadow to go get Uncle Chuck and Tails for help, before the black hedgehog reported to Princess Sally about the success of the mission in Robotropolis, at the cost of Sonic's life.

Sally had went in to see Sonic for herself, visibly upset by Sonic's sacrifice and demanded for the three to work as hard as possible to fix him.

Shadow watched the scene with longing eyes. He wanted so much for Sonic to be okay...he wanted to be friends with him in this timeline. He couldn't lose him now!

Suddenly Shadow pushed his fist into the wall of the workshop, making a dent into the metal, angry at himself. He squeezed his eyes tightly.

The four of them looked up at Shadow in startlement, seeing how visibly upset he was.

Sally was the first to approach him. She tried her best to look into his face, to study Shadow's pain. That's when she saw something for the first time.

“...you....you care about him...don't you?�

Shadow finally looked up, clear pain in his eyes. “I want...WANTED...to protect him...I wanted things to be...DIFFERENT....this time.�

Sally reached for Shadow's hand and grasped it, gently tugging to pull him over to some chairs nearby. “Come sit with me.�

Wary, Shadow eventually sat down in a chair, as Sally joined him. She looked at him. “Now then...what do you mean by different?�

Shadow closed his eyes and inhaled, taking time to collect himself. “If you had any reason not to trust me, I don't blame you. Sonic and I were not friends in the future. We were rivals. He was always good natured about it, always willing to race or fight me. Me? I was rather irritated by his nature. I just wanted to beat him, to beat the smirk off his face. But I respected him at least, and knew when he was...useful.�

Sally frowned as she listened to Shadow's words, appreciating how honest he was being right now. “...but?�

“But...� Shadow sighed, looking down, and clasping his hands together in thought, murmuring, “But but but but....� He inhaled once again and looked at him. “...when I came here, and I saw him...saw what I had done to him...I don't know...it's like...something in me changed. I wanted to make sure he was okay. I wanted...I wanted to protect him...I wanted a fresh start with him....I wanted to be friends with him...�

Shadow looked at Sally for a moment, a softness in his eyes flickering that she saw before looked down. “I haven't given a shit about anyone ever since Maria...um...someone I knew...was killed. I respect the team I work with...but...I just didn't really care about...ANYTHING. I live to forfil and respect the wishes of Maria, which was to protect the planet and ensure the others can live their lives in peace.� He looked back up at Sally. “That...now...has since changed.�

“You care about Sonic,� Sally concluded.

Shadow nodded, closing his eyes, leaning his head back and sighing. “As I said, something's changed ever since I came here. I don't know why...but now...I want to be friends with him.�

Sally watched Shadow with deep thought. “I guess, in the end, that's ultimately Sonic's decision. I mean, knowing him, he'll definitely want to be friends with you. You mentioned you two race?�

Shadow looked at her, nodding. “All the time. I'm the only one who can keep up with him.�

She smiled, a bit wryly. “He loves being able to race...�
Shadow nodded in agreement before a call from Tails drew their attention. “Uh...guys?�

Shadow and Sally both stood up and looked over to where Tails, Chuck and Rotor were all staring at a monitor on the wall.

“What, what is it?� Sally asked.

Tails pointed to text lines on the screen. “Look at this.�
Shadow nearly pushed them out of the way to get a good look at what Tails was pointing to.

On the screen, a line of text read, “CPU BACK ONLINE. AWAITING INPUT.�

“Input? What input?� Rotor asked, scratching his head.

Suddenly the line repeated itself. Shadow grabbed at Rotor's shoulder, silencing him as he stared at the screen, trying to think.

Nearly a minute of silence passed before Rotor spoke. “Shadow-�

Suddenly the line repeated itself again, causing Shadow to interrupt Rotor. “SHH! Everyone be quiet for 5 minutes. I want to see something.�

Within the span of 5 minutes, the line repeated itself exactly once every minute, with Shadow getting more excited with every post. Finally he spoke. “It's him. Either him, or the nanites. Either way, its automated.�

Tails snapped his fingers. “Right. If he has no sensors connected to his processor, he has no way to know if anyone is helping him. We need to connect and give him a response.�

“I'm on it,� Chuck said, already working on opening the side of Sonic's head and beginning to connect some wires from an exposed computer chip to his computer. “If this works, his processor should sense the computer as a communication device. I'll open ports so he can take control of it.�
Shadow was actually smiling a bit, laying a hand on Sonic's chest plate. “Don't worry buddy, we're going to get you running again.�

A hand fell on Shadow's shoulder, and he looked back to see Sally smiling softly at him. He nodded respectfully to her before turning his attention back to Sonic.

Once hooked up, Chuck began to type on the computer. A simple command would be enough to let Sonic know that they could hear him. “SAFE.�

It took only a moment for a response, and boy was it a doozy as a set of instructions and diagrams began to appear on screen. Shadow looked in. “Whoa, what is all that?�

Chuck was positively excited. “They're detailed instructions on how to reboot Sonic safely and get him running again.�

The room seemed to erupt in cheers. Shadow could only sit there, smiling softly as he looked to Sonic. “...see you soon, buddy...�

HOURS LATER

Sonic's visual receptors came on, and began to look around, seeing his friends, and even Shadow standing around him. He gave a soft smile. “...hey gang...�

“Sonic!� They all spoke softly, some hugging him. Rotor looked to Sonic. “Sonic, how did you survive an EMP wave? Your circuits should have been fried.�

“Well, being on the edge of the city helped,� Sonic spoke, trying to sit up. “The EMP was just weak enough by that point to not be as effective.�

“If that's so, then what about Commander Cor and the rest of the robots?� Shadow asked.

“They would need to be repaired in order to come online again, as you guys did with me, and that would take them a lot longer since they can't provide instructions like I did. But I will say this: the EMP would likely not penetrate to the robots working in the underground areas, so...� He looked to Sally. “We need to be careful when we make that excursion into the city.�

Sally nodded. “As always, we'll be careful.�

“There's just one thing I need answered,� Shadow spoke up. “I saw Commander Cor blast the EMP bomb you had made. So what gives?�

“That...heh...that was just the casing. I wanted to trick Cor into thinking he destroyed the device...� Sonic grinned a bit.

Shadow blinked a second before he groaned and covered his face. “Bait and switch...and I fell for it!�

Sonic laughed a bit. “Hey, it helped make things believable.�

Shadow finally turned to the others. “Hey...can I have a moment alone with Sonic?�

After practically hearing Shadow's griefing to Sallyearlier, the others nodded in understanding, before leaving the room for a bit.

Sonic looked to Shadow as he sighed. “What's on your mind, Shadow?�

“I...I wanted to tell you the truth...about us...�

“You mean the part about us being rivals?� Sonic asked.

Shadow looked at Sonic in alarm. “How-�

Sonic tapped his temple. “These guys...which by the way, helped protect my CPU during the EMP wave. They didn't say TOO much, but they did explain the files they had on you to me, when I really wanted to know who you really were.�

“So...� Shadow started. “You knew we were rivals...� He sighed and turned away, rubbing his temples. “...so much for starting over...�

A metallic hand fell on Shadow's shoulder. He turned to look back at Sonic as he spoke. “...but you already did, Shadow. I could tell that you were struggling and really wanted us to get along...and it worked.�

Shadow blinked. “It...it did?�

Sonic nodded with a smile. “I'd be proud to be friends with you. You're a good guy, Shadow. I can see it.�
Shadow smiled softly after a moment. “Friends...I like that...�

“Me too...� Sonic nodded. “The fact I finally got someone to REALLY race with is just icing on the cake. I love a good competition.�

Shadow smirked a bit. “Heh...think you can still keep up with me in a race?�

“Tch, you're on! Soon as I can get unhooked from this table, we can race to Robotropolis and-�

“Uh uh-� Shadow said, covering his mouth. “We had enough adventures in Robotropolis for one day. Let's wait until Sally prepares the excursion before we go back.�

Sonic pulled Shadow's hand off his mouth, grinning sheepishly. “Point taken. But you still owe me a race...buddy.�

Shadow could only smile at this. “Yeah...buddy...�

THE END FOR NOW

NEXT - Temporal Shadow: First Contact