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Sonic Cyber Revolution, Entry 45: I Will Fight Like I Always Have

''Suffer long and it will set you free! Only through trial do we find the strength we need! It's never over, just another day! All hope and tragedies and everything that comes our way!''

– All Hail Shadow by Shadow the Hedgehog (2005, Shadow Theme Song)

xXxXxXx

''Here we are, Infinity Forest,'' Touka muttered as the helicopter lowered, trying to find a place to land, but the forest was too dense for it. However, Team Dark had no problem leaping out and landing using their own means. They looked up, observing the helicopter as it left, then turned to their surroundings.

''It has been quite a while since you've last been here,'' Rouge commented, turning to Shadow. ''It must bring back a lot of unpleasant memories.''

''Tch,'' Shadow scoffed, folding his arms across his chest. Rouge just shrugged, understanding that Shadow wasn't going to get sentimental about the place where he was abused. All he wanted was to find Mephiles and battle him, with Omega sharing the sentiment.

''Scanning for any hostile lifeforms.'' He turned to his surroundings, only for his eyes to suddenly flash brightly. ''Hostile lifeforms found! There!''

''It has started!'' Shadow gritted his teeth as he, Rouge and Touka tensed.

Suddenly, the ground below them turned into crystals, spreading all around the open field before the Codex Research Facility. Not only that, but walls out of crystals rose around them, encompasing them into a crystal structure with a ceiling forming above them.

''Wh-What? What is this?!'' Rouge exclaimed, suddenly feeling nervous. This was certainly not part of their plan.

''Vision and senses have decreased!'' Omega informed them. ''The crystal structure is interfering with my sensors!''

''Stand your ground! This field has just been turned into a battle arena!'' Shadow ordered, managing to stay calm. His gaze was fixed on the sudden shadow that seemingly appeared out of nowhere, followed by a familiar figure. The shadow stopped right before them, with Shadow glaring daggers at his foe.

''I had figured that it would be better to make sure nobody interferes in this battle. Do you like what I had done?'' Mephiles asked, his eyes flashing in a dark periwinkle purple colour, only for the glow to fade. He then chuckled darkly, waiting for a response from Shadow. However, much to his annoyance, the dark hedgehog remained silent. Mephiles' eyes narrowed. ''Tch, what an Edgehog.''

''Don't mind him. The point is that we had finally got the attention of ARMS,'' Toshiro said, walking up to them. He gave Touka a malicious smirk. ''Hey there, big sister!''

Touka gritted her teeth in anger, a vein popping on her forehead.

''I am not your sister!'' Touka shouted back furiously. ''Only because we share DNA doesn't mean we're family!''

''I didn't expect her to get so worked up over that. But, let's be honest, sharing DNA with the very person who attempted to traumatize you and murder you is an inconvenience,'' Rouge commented, glancing at Shadow for a response. The dark hedgehog just narrowed his eyes, his scowl and side-eye being clear enough for an answer. Rouge smiled knowingly. ''Yeah, I had figured you'd feel the same.''

''Also, what's the big idea? Have you really attacked the Hunters so ARMS would send us here or is there an ulterior motivation for this challenge?'' Touka continued.

''Well, I won't lie that one of the reasons was because I still had been trying to become an only child, but I had hoped that you would be a bit more thankful,'' Toshiro replied, with Touka giving him a confused look.

''Thankful for what?'' she asked, blinking in surprise.

''Thankful for finally getting you out of ARMS HQ, obviously! That's what you wanted all along, isn't it?'' Toshiro replied, grinning proudly. However, when Touka didn't respond, mainly due to being too stunned by this revelation. ''Oh, please, don't tell me that you actually wanted to stay there. There is no way they have treated you that well.''

''No, I'm just stunned that you know all of that,'' Touka responded in a deadpan tone.

''It helps that my partner is someone who has eyes and ears everywhere,'' Toshiro said quite proudly, taking note of the paranoid look Team Dark just gave them. ''Also, it was a lucky guess.''

''What?''

''Hiroshi Sakamoto had quite a lot to tell us about ARMS before his unfortunate death. Considering what we knew about Project Shadow and ARMS' general attitude towards it, it wasn't hard to guess how they would treat you,'' Mephiles explained, turning towards Shadow. ''It must be quite frustrating to be surrounded by people who see you as nothing but a weapon of mass destruction.''

''It's no different than my time at the Codex Research Facility,'' Shadow responded in a blunt tone.

Mephiles gave him a hard stare, clearly expecting a more emotional response. ''I suppose that's a fair answer. Nevertheless, I'm certain that the cruelity you had experienced has only been amplified since they finally got to use you the way they wanted. In fact, it wouldn't be surprising if things escalate even further.'' Shadow narrowed his eyes, with Mephiles floating closer to the dark hedgehog. ''Nobody cares about you, and eventually, you will lose your own will. ARMS has indeed more plans for you and for Touka, and this is just the beginning.''

Mephiles was suddenly startled when an orange spear of energy appeared under his chin, with Shadow pointing it at him. The dark hedgehog was glaring at him, clearly irritated with this one-sided conversation. Mephiles managed to keep his cool however. ''Don't you want to know your future? I could help you escape the horrors you'll be subjected to.'' The Chaos Spear was pointed even closer to Mephiles' neck, but he continued to speak without any sense of fear. ''Don't tell me that you're fine working for them. Do you really want to subject Touka to further suffering?''

This made Shadow snap, as he charged at Mephiles, swinging the Chaos Spear in an attempt to impale the latter, but Mephiles disappeared into the void on the ground, the black hole then splitting off into multiple of them, causing shadow-like entities to rise from them. Mephiles appeared next to Toshiro. ''You should've listened to me.''

Shadow frowned, glaring daggers at Mephiles, only to hear Rouge addressing him. ''Omega and I will take care of those things. You and Touka focus on Mephiles and Toshiro.''

''Destruction Mode: Engaged,'' Omega announced, his arms turning into cannons and turning towards the immediate threat. Shadow turned to Touka, who nodded in determination. This time, he wasn't afraid of tapping into her BioEnergy. This time, he was going to go all out in this fight. He could see Mephiles and Toshiro reaching out for each other, both sides shouting and signaling the start of the battle.

''CHAOS SURGE!''

xXx

Lucas's eyes widened as he stared at the documents that were listed before him. ''That's… disturbing.''

''You mean, the possibility of using Irregulars as weapons of war or selling them off to… 'trusted clients' for experiments… Calling it disturbing is an understatement,'' Warren said, feeling quite tired. Fortunately, he and Tails were finally done with their work, and while there were still some things they needed to sort out, the majority of work was finished.

''You'd think that ARMS was the least of our problems,'' Tails muttered, rubbing his forehead. ''I guess that kidnapping Shadow and Touka was just the start.''

''Honestly, if you go by history, the military has always been up to some shady practices, and one would think that nowadays, such things wouldn't happen, but that's not the case,'' Lucas said. ''To make things worse, they're treating all of the Irregulars as non-entities. While it's understandable to be cautious around an Irregular, they are still living beings. This kind of treatment is just downright inhumane.''

''It also seems that their promise not to go after us was only temporary,'' Tails added, reading another file that contained the profiles of all of Team Neos and a note that they would also be targeted again. ''It's a good thing we made a move before ARMS could. What do we tell the others?''

''Obviously, we'll tell them the truth and the same goes…'' Lucas sighed in annoyance. ''Yeah, and the same goes for Dr. Eggman. If I had to choose between the shady military who kidnapped our friends and forced them to work for them and the guy who is interested in turning all of this into a game of conquering the world while following the rules… I'd choose the mad scientist.''

''Better the Devil you know, I guess,'' Warren said, shrugging. Lucas nodded, taking a deep breath.

''I'll go get Dr. Eggman on the line to tell him what we got. We will need his help to get to ARMS HQ,'' he said, adding under his breath. ''Unfortunately.''

Both Warren and Tails gave him a sympathetic look, well aware just how much of a pain it is to deal with Eggman and silently wishing Lucas luck. Lucas observed the holographic screen opening, inhaling sharply. ''Hello, Dr. Eggman.''

''Ho ho ho, Kinomoto, I did not expect a call from you so soon,'' Eggman grinned in amusement.

''It would've been even sooner if you hadn't been harrassing Warren and Tails,'' Lucas responded in a sharp tone. Eggman just waved his hand in a dismissive manner.

''Don't play the blame game here,'' he said, with Lucas rolling his eyes. ''Now, I assume you're calling me because you want something from me.''

''How'd you guess?'' Lucas asked in a slightly deadpan tone.

''Oh, please, this alliance is based on mutual interest, and not on the power of friendship as your team is,'' Eggman said in a mocking tone. ''You'll tell me what you want, and I'll tell you why I won't comply.''

Lucas frowned, glaring at the Doctor. ''I want to know whether you have figured out where ARMS HQ is and how to get there. Or is that something my team has to figure out as well.''

''Heh, fortunately for you, I'm way ahead of the game. Of course I know where ARMS HQ is, I was just waiting for you to catch up,'' Eggman replied with a devious grin on his expression. ''However, if you really want me to help you and your friends to get to it, you will have to give me a report on the information you had gathered about ARMS. Then you, the Hedgehog and… where is that blue menace anyway? It's not fun to gloat when he is not around!''

''Honestly, I don't know where Sonic currently is. He had just left a bit earlier,'' Lucas admitted, glancing at Warren and Tails, all three of them suddenly realizing where their friend might be. ''Don't tell me…''

''He wouldn't want to miss the battle,'' Tails replied, ignoring Eggman in the background as he tried to get their attention and getting more irritated in the process when they didn't pay any attention to him. ''Let's hope he'll come back in one piece.''

xXx

Sonic raced from Eas towards the western side of Neos City where Infinity Forest was with a determined look on his expression. Sure, he did promise that he wouldn't be reckless and he certainly was going to leave this battle to Shadow, but that didn't mean that he could watch from afar, just to keep an eye on Mephiles. It wasn't as if he was bored from the lack of action; no, absolutely not!

''You're such an idiot!''

Sonic grinned, completely ignoring the Shadow-like voice in his head as he got to Sentoraru and made his way towards Westoru, avoiding pedestrians and cars. He was actually quite in high spirits, as Tails and Warren had informed him and Lucas earlier that they were close to finishing sifting through the data they got, and what they had found was actually rather shocking. They haven't told them yet what it was, but Tails said that this would get them into a lot of trouble with the public. In Sonic's mind, that was good enough.

The azure hedgehog then sped through Westoru and towards Infinity Forest, trying to remember the path towards the Codex Research Facility. It has been a while since he had been there, but he was certain that he would be able to find it. However, what he didn't expect to find was a huge structure made of crystals and surrounded by fire.

''Yikes!'' Sonic realized that this self-imposed mission might be a bit harder than he thought. The crystal wasn't transparent, but more of a purple and red hue, making it impossible for him to see inside. All he could conclude was that there were several layers of crystals placed at the field, keeping him away from whatever battle was happening inside the structure. Sonic then smirked, clenching his fist. ''Well, something like this has never stopped this hedgehog!''

He leapt into the air, curling into a ball and burrowed into the ground, creating a hole just in front of the structure. Less than a minute passed and he emerged again from the hole, breathing heavily and raising an eyebrow. ''Great, even the ground is crystal. Mephiles made sure that no one can enter it.'' He then shook his head. ''No way! If I cannot find a way inside, how will Shadow and the others find a way outside? I have to solve issue as soon as- aaagh!''

Sonic was startled when suddenly a bunch of figures made out of pure shadow and darkness appeared, confronting him. ''Ah, so Mephiles also left a couple of guards. At least things won't be boring!''

xXx

Rouge flew up, delivering a swift kick to the shadow Mephiles had summoned, which was followed up by her quickly flying away when Omega aimed and destroyed that damn thing with a missile. It appeared that the robot was quite enjoying himself, blowing holes into the shadow-like entities. Unfortunately for them, for every shadow-like entity they brought down, at least three more of them had spawned.

''Nobody said that this is going to be easy,'' Rouge grumbled, kicking another shadow-like entity away and hitting another one on the head. ''Still, you'd think that their numbers would decrease eventually.''

''Don't be worried. I have enough ammunition for all of them,'' Omega responded. Rouge wanted to reply how that's not what she meant, but she figured that it was better to say nothing. She did appreciate having a powerhouse like Omega on their side, and his bullets and rockets were easily piercing through the enemy lines. She also took note that some stray rockets did hit the crystal structure surrounding them, but unfortunately, the explosions left only small cracks in it. If they wanted to escape, they'd need to bring out the big guns.

Speaking of which, Shadow was currently locked in combat with Mephiles, both empowered by Chaos Surge. Shadow was currently avoiding crystal-like spikes coming out of the ground, using his natural speed to his advantage, but also being aware that he had trouble getting closer to Mephiles. His dark counterpart was making sure to keep him away from getting closer while also keeping him occupied. However, Shadow knew that he only needed an opening and he'd be able to land a hit on Mephiles. He leapt backwards, summoning a Chaos Spear and destroyed the spike that shoot out of the ground right in front of him. He then charged towards Mephiles, doing his best to avoid more spikes and closing in on the latter.

Mephiles suddenly realized that Shadow was getting too close and summoned a dome of flames around himself, which acted like a barrier. Shadow summoned another Chaos Spear, throwing it at the dome in an attempt to pierce it, which resulted in a minor explosion, only for Mephiles to send a wall of flames towards the dark hedgehog. Fortunately, Shadow used Chaos Control to warp away to safety… at least, that's what Mephiles thought, not expecting Shadow to suddenly appear behind him and kick him in the head. He flew forwards, hitting the ground hard, but Shadow didn't even let him recover as another Chaos Spear formed in his hands. Shadow then leapt forward, attempting to pierce through Mephiles' back, only for his opponent to vanish into a dark void on the ground.

Shadow gritted his teeth, trying to figure out where Mephiles would resurface, taking note that all of his surroundings were dark, only to turn into a purplish-red colour. His eyes widened, and he quickly warped away as a tower of fire emerged from beneath where he stood just a moment earlier. Shadow warped just a bit away from the tower of flames, his eyes narrowing as he observed it, with Mephiles emerging from the flames.

''It appears that we are evenly matched,'' Mephiles said, observing Shadow carefully. ''I am amazed that you are not taking full advantage of the power you had been given. I know you can do better than this.''

Shadow gritted his teeth, knowing that he shouldn't give into Mephiles' taunts. Even if he and Touka had practiced maintaining the Chaos Surge for much longer periods of time, he still wasn't going to take advantage unless he was certain that he had no other choice. So, using a time-stop Chaos Control or a massive Chaos Blast was out of question until he knew that he had Mephiles right where he wanted.

As for Touka, she had to rely on the Chaos Surge not to get killed by Toshiro. Her so-called younger brother summoned miniature crystals in the air and forced them down on her, almost impaling her if she hadn't warped away. Touka gritted her teeth, hoping to finish this battle as quickly as possible. She needed to cut off Mephiles' supply of BioEnergy by defeating Toshiro and she had hoped that he wouldn't have as much fighting experience as she had, but unfortunately, it seemed that Toshiro actually knew what he was doing. She snapped her fingers, summoning a Chaos Spear and held it tightly.

''What's the matter, sis? Are you already getting tired?'' Toshiro asked, giving her a deranged smile. Touka furrowed a brow, giving him a glare. One thing was certain; after having gone through all of the suffering her so-called sibling put her through, Touka wasn't going to let him get into her head. She had already dealt with one mental breakdown and managed to get through it, and she wasn't going to allow herself to suffer another one.

''I could ask you the same,'' Touka told him, holding up the energy spear and pointing it at Toshiro. ''Seriously, if you're calling me your sibling, why do you want to kill me so much?''

''I had been created to surpass you, and the only way to achieve that is to make sure you're gone,'' Toshiro replied in a casual tone, snapping his fingers and causing multiple crystals to surround Touka. Fortunately, using the spear in her hands, she destroyed them with ease.

''You're such a dumbass!'' she responded, with Toshiro being a bit surprised by her tone. It really sounded like an older sibling scolding a younger one. ''So, Hiroshi Sakamoto is gone, but you're still following his wishes? I thought you'd be better than that!''

To Touka's satisfaction, Toshiro frowned, clearly not happy to hear that response. ''I don't care about that man's wishes! I'm doing this because I want to!''

''Yeah, yeah, sure…'' Touka had figured that, if Toshiro could play mental games, then so could she. Despite being enemies, both still had in common one thing – their mutual hatred for the man who had created them. ''Idiot…''

''What was that?!'' Toshiro growled, raising his clenched fist. Touka smirked.

''I'm just saying, unlike myself, it seemed that Sakamoto forgot to give you a sense of maturity! That's why you'll never surpass me, little brother!''

''Why you-?!'' Toshiro rose a row of spikes, hellbent on impaling Touka, but she suddenly vanished, and as he searched for her, she warped right in front of him, hand clenched into a fist, and delivered a hard punch to his face, sending him flying.

Touka then sighed, waving her hand and turning to Rouge and Omega, who looked quite impressed by her move. Rouge then commented, ''That was sure satisfying.''

''You have no idea how long I wanted to just punch him in the face,'' Touka replied, looking quite pleased with herself, only for her smile to fade into a frown and shuddering. ''Though, calling him my brother still sends shivers down my spine.''

xXx

Sonic shredded through the shadow-like entities, pinballing from one to another easily, but the issue was that he also needed to avoid the flames and the crystals that were keeping him from getting through the wall. He had actually managed to run around the structure, taking note that it was way bigger than he initially thought. He had to give it to Mephiles, the guy was determined to make sure no one gets inside those walls.

''Woah!'' Sonic suddenly stopped due to a black hole opening right beneath him. He sunk, trying his best to free himself, but when he looked up to find a branch or something to lift him up, he saw the crystal walls suddenly turn black and purple. His emerald eyes widened. ''Oh, no…''

However, before Sonic could move, everything turned black. Only a moment later, the light returned and he was quite disoriented, only to hear a car horn and quickly leap off the street. It took him a bit, but he realizes that he was somewhere in the eastern part of Souto. He was quite baffled when he realized what had happened.

''How in the world did Mephiles teleport me to Souto?'' he muttered under his breath, his gaze turned towards the west where Infinity Forest was. A sense of worry bubbled in his chest, but he shook his head. He knew that Shadow could handle this.

xXx

Mephiles suddenly fired a sphere of black energy spawned from his hands, which homed in on Shadow. The dark hedgehog spam warped around, trying to dodge it, only to be met by a beam of energy, knocking him against the crystal wall.

''Shadow!''

Shadow groaned, feeling a wave of pain washing over his body, but managed to get up. It appeared that Mephiles had even more ways of fighting than summoning shadows, crystals and flames. However, Shadow wasn't going down so easily. He saw Mephiles summoning more of those black spheres, firing them towards Shadow, who quickly warped away, stepping right in front of Mephiles and throwing a punch. Fortunately, it connected, with Shadow following with more, only for Mephiles to disappear right before him, merging with his own shadow. The dark hedgehog was caught off guard for a moment, only to get his point-black from behind by a blast of energy. There was a smell of burnt fur in the air, which Shadow's back quills being scorched.

Shadow could hear his teammates crying out for him, but he ignored their voice, forcing himself to get up. He looked up, realizing that Mephiles was before him. ''Your attempts to defeat me are pathetic.'' Suddenly, he rose his hand and Shadow heard cries of surprise from behind him. He managed to turn his head just to see Touka having thrown a Chaos Spear at Mephiles, only for it to get blocked by a wall of crystals. Then, more crystals appeared around her wrists and chest, suddenly pinning her to the wall. Touka struggled to break free, with Rouge attempting to help her, but both her and Omega got also subdued by the crystals.

Shadow made a move to help them, only to be stopped by an arm, with Mephiles being now right next to him, way too close for comfort. ''Don't worry, they're not in any pain. As for you, I will give you one last chance to join me. You have gone through so much already, and soon, there will be people who will make you suffer even more, whether by imprisoning you because they fear you or mentally break you until you are nothing more but a husk of your former self.''

''That is what ARMS plans to do to me, isn't it?'' Shadow muttered in a calm tone, matter-of-fact, his eyes fixed on Mephiles.

''Indeed. There is much more to their plans than you could even imagine. But, there is still time for a proper retribution. If you join me, we could teach them and the whole world a lesson they will never forget,'' Mephiles told him.

''Tch, don't try to deceive me,'' Shadow responded, feeling the Chaos Surge energy coursing through his body, growing stronger with every moment.

''What?'' Mephiles stared at the dark hedgehog as he took a step forward, passing Mephiles and turning his head slightly.

''You have no desire for revenge. You only crave destruction. Your only lust is to see this world turn into ashes,'' Shadow told him, and kept walking calmly towards his teammates with the intention to free them. Mephiles closed his eyes, sighing in disappointment.

''It's a pity, Shadow The Hedgehog,'' he whispered quietly, only to raise above Shadow. ''Truly a shame that you wish to go against me!''

Mephiles suddenly summoned an sphere of black energy, only to feel a sharp sense of pain spread through his chest, the glow in his eyes dimming for a moment when he realized that he was struck with a Chaos Spear. ''Y-You planned this!''

Shadow just glanced at him, a smirk appearing on his lips and then quickly rushed over towards his teammates, spin-dashing and destroying the crystals that kept them pinned, with Touka, Rouge and Omega giving him a quick nod of acknowledgement that they were unharmed.

As for Mephiles, he placed his hand on the Chaos Spear in his chest, and broke it, with the wound on his chest healing. He took a deep breath, feeling a wave of pain in his chest, despite having healed his injury. He was joined by Toshiro, who suddenly felt his own BioEnergy getting drained. However, he couldn't care less about that.

''You will not stop me… It is futile…''

Shadow, Rouge, Omega and Touka turned towards Mephiles and Toshiro, taking note of the fact that both of them were glowing in a dangerous purple aura. It felt as if Mephiles was pulling all of the energy not only from Toshiro, but also from his surroundings, as the shadow-like entities vanished and the crystal walls that surrounded them started to crack.

''So you say…'' Shadow responded, observing Mephiles carefully.

''This world will betray you, like many others that came before you.'' Mephiles started with a whisper, his voice growing louder and louder. ''Yet, you are willing to risk your life for all these people, all of these strangers.'' To Team Dark's shock, a whirlwind of darkness suddenly started to surround Mephiles, engulfing him and Toshiro and growing larger and larger, even destroying the walls of the arena he had created.''Why fight it all?! Why risk your life for those who will persecute you later?!''

Suddenly, a giant entity rose from the darkness, its body consisting of shadows, crystals and flames, with the crystals forming the armor around its formless shape. It sprouted four arms, breaking the crystal ceiling and causing shards to rain down. There was a sudden chill in the air as they heard Mephiles laugh darkly, his voice like ice and filled with nothing but calculated intelligence and insanity.

''Your heart was filled with nothing but hate for this reality and its people! So, why don't you join me in destroying it?!''

Team Dark couldn't see Mephiles nor Toshiro anymore, as it seemed as if they had been swallowed by the entity they had created. All they could hear was Mephiles' voice, seemingly speaking through the entity. Touka, Rouge and Omega turned to Shadow, with Touka and Rouge's expressions clearly showing concern for Shadow, and even Omega was apprehensive to the whole situation, his cannons already pointed towards the entity Mephiles had just summoned. Shadow, on the other hand, was just staring at the entity silently, his expression unreadable. He then turned to his teammates, his expression slightly shifting to that of pure of determination, only to face the entity once again.

''I may have hated this world once, because it stole someone precious from me. I also feel no obligation towards it or towards its people. Even if the world chooses to become my enemy, I will fight like I always have,'' Shadow responded, reaching for the golden rings on his wrists, twisting them and letting them fall on the ground. He could feel the Chaos Energy flowing through his body, almost bursting out, his hands crackling with energy. ''That said, you made a mistake endangering those I care about!''

Suddenly, everything stopped, and time and space warped. The entity couldn't even move, despite Mephiles efforts to break through. For some reason, he wasn't affected by whatever was going on, and his attempts to control this entity – Iblis – have failed. Then, Shadow appeared right in front of the entity, his size diminutive in comparison to the monstrous being, but his whole body was sparking with orange energy, his eyes glowing as he gathered all the power he could muster. His fingers were curled and he placed both of his hands together at chest level facing the same direction, with the palm on the back of the other. He knew that he only had one shot, and he could sense the Chaos energy, Mephiles' Chaos energy, within this monstrosity. All he had to do is to aim.

''CHAOS BLAST!''

Thrusting both of his hands forward, he fired a powerful blast of energy, the beam tearing right through the entity, not only powered by the Chaos Surge and the latent Chaos Energy that was concealed by the Inhibitor Rings, but also by Shadow's strong emotions and desire to protect everyone. He could hear a wail of distress as the entity, which had just formed before him was shredded, its wretchedness only gracing this reality only for a moment. Shadow was not going to allow it to exist any longer than that.

Then, everything went silent, and Shadow closed his eyes. Everything went dark, and he found himself falling into a deep abyss. His body couldn't move anymore and his mind was as empty as the nothingness that embraced him. Or was it?

''Shadow? Shadow?!''

Shadow could feel a sense of warmth, and he forced his eyes to open despite the pain and numbness. He never felt so broken and exhausted before. Staring back at him was Touka, having somehow managed to catch him mid-fall, her eyes having gone from crimson back to dark brown with that hint of red in them. She looked just as exhausted as he was as she cradled him in her arms, kneeling on the ground. On her right was Rouge, holding one of Shadow's Inhibitor Rings and looking relieved to see him alive. On her left was Omega, holding Shadow's other Inhibitor Ring, and while he certainly had no expression to show, it was clear that he was quite impressed by the destruction the dark hedgehog had caused.

As for Mephiles and Toshiro, they were gone. The crystal walls were still standing, but only barely, as more and more cracks started to form inside them, shattering and falling apart. Shadow narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the empty field, aware that despite the destruction he had caused, they were probably still alive, only barely escaping his wrath.

''What was that?'' Rouge broke the silence, still shocked by what had just happened. Shadow wanted to answer, but Touka was faster.

''That was Chaos Control, but in the sense that Shadow had stopped time itself,'' she responded. Rouge gave her a baffled look and turned to Shadow.

''Wait, you can actually do that?!'' she asked, her voice a bit too loud for Shadow's comfort.

''That is only possible with the power of Chaos Surge,'' Touka added, sighing tiredly. ''Even then, it is a technique that drains both of our energy, so we have good reason not to use it too often.''

''It was my last resort, and I was fortunate Mephiles had drained all of his own energy and Toshiro's BioEnergy to summon that entity. It only took one blast…'' Shadow explained, trying to get up. His and Rouge's ears the flicked as the group heard the helicopter getting closer and closer. None of the members of Team Dark were happy to see it, as that meant returning back to ARMS HQ and have to endure their frustrating stay even longer. Still, they were too exhausted to fight back… well, three of them.

''If you don't wish to return, I will just shoot the helicopter down,'' Omega offered.

''No!''

''Absolutely not!''

Touka and Rouge made an ''X'' sign with their arms, denying Omega the opportunity. They were well aware that they would suffer the consequences, because there was no way they would get away with this. Shadow, on the other hand, remained silent, having put the Inhibitor Rings back on his wrists and deciding to leave this conversation to his older sister and the treasure hunter. He managed to recover enough to climb into the helicopter on his own, wondering how long it would take for him to get back to his old condition. He pressed the lower part of his palm against his forehead, knowing he'll probably sleep like the dead in their graves the moment he was back in his bed. The helicopter then took off, but not before another scream pierced the air before it could be drowned out by the noise of the helicopter.

''Shadow! Shadow!!''

''Wait, is that Sonic?!'' Touka gasped in surprise, as the door to the helicopter hadn't been closed. Shadow immediately got up, his eyes wide as he leaned out of the helicopter, holding onto a nearby strap. To his bewilderment, Sonic was shouting and waving at him, and he could see the playful grin on his expression. Shadow mentally facepalmed, and despite saying nothing, it was obvious from Sonic's expression that there was nothing he needed to say. Sonic was simply relieved to see that Shadow was fine, while Shadow couldn't help but crack a genuine smile and even chuckle lightly, well aware that there was nothing that would stop Sonic from supporting his friend and rival, regardless of the methods.

Sonic, you're such a reckless idiot… Thank you.

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#Sonic Cyber Revolution (Masterlist)

#Sonic Cyber Revolution #shadow the hedgehog #rouge the bat #e-123 omega #mephiles the dark #sonic the hedgehog (2006)#sonic 06 #Listen to Tot Musica by Ado (One Piece Film: Red) for this chapter.#sonic the hedgehog #miles tails prower #dr eggman #iblis sonic #sonadow

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tenebraevesper · 12 days

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Sonic Cyber Revolution, Entry 44: When The Shadow Calls

''A shadow of myself, just who am I? Scan horizons- A tragic mystery… You could have left me here, sealed inside the pod. No one would ever know – The chaos control. My true identity- The power that is me!''

– This Machine by Sonic Heroes (Team Dark Theme Song)

xXxXxXx

Sonic narrowed his eyes as he watched TV, turning the volume up. Midorikawa and Kero were at a cluster of warehouses at Souto, reporting the events that happened the previous night.

''…Hunters have been destroyed by an unknown Irregular. We're currently awaiting more information from their Commander, Loki the Wolf, to learn just how dangerous this Irregular might be…''

''As you can see, this was quite a battlefield…'' Kero added, pointing at the black scorch marks on the ground and walls, as well as crystals spread all over the place.

''That has to be Mephiles,'' Lucas said, sitting down next to Sonic, keeping his eyes on the TV. ''Out of all times… what is he up to?''

''Commander Loki, is it possible that this Irregular attack is somehow connected to the other Irregular attacks during the past few days?'' Midorikawa asked, lowering her microphone to the wolf ARNav's height.

''Unfortunately, we don't know yet whether there are any connections. The previous attacks have been targeted towards humans, but this one seemed to have been specifically focused on the Irregular Hunters. Not only that, but the Irregular that has caused this is much more powerful than the ones we usually encounter. It might be an anomaly,'' Commander Loki explained.

''An anomaly?'' Midorikawa blinked in surprise. Commander Loki opened his mouth to answer, only to suddenly close it.

''That is just a personal theory. As you know, Irregulars grow more powerful the more BioEnergy they absorb, but I suppose an anomaly might appear that doesn't need as much BioEnergy to cause so much chaos. Nevertheless, we are already working on tracking the Irregular down and eliminating them,'' Commander Loki explained in an assured tone.

''Loki did mention once that he encountered an Irregular who wasn't aggressive, so I guess that's the anomaly he's talking about. If he only knew…'' Sonic said, glancing at Lucas.

''I guess you're right, but why would Mephiles attack the Hunters? We know that he and Toshiro are after Shadow and Touka,'' Lucas said.

''Maybe he's also bored?'' Sonic suggested.

''Maybe, but I'm certain that he probably has more malicious reasons for this,'' Lucas replied. ''I don't believe that their original goal would change, but still, attacking the Hunters doesn't make any sense.''

''Hey, I'm sure we'll figure out the reason why they're doing this… Well, you will, since you're pretty good at piecing this kind of stuff together,'' Sonic said. Lucas nodded, only to pause for a moment.

''Say, do you think that Mephiles and Toshiro would know about ARMS?'' he asked.

''I wouldn't be surprised if they did,'' Sonic replied.

''Maybe they're antagonizing the Irregular Hunters to force ARMS to reveal themselves?'' Lucas suggested. ''I mean, if there aren't any Hunters, ARMS would have to intervene.''

''I think they should reveal themselves to the public,'' Sonic said in an uncharacteristically blunt tone. Lucas blinked in surprise, tilting his head as he looked at his partner. Sonic sounded quite bitter and uncaring, and frankly, he couldn't blame his partner for that. Their friends' life was a complete mess because of ARMS, and frankly, having them become public knowledge would be for the best.

''The question is, if Toshiro and Mephiles are trying to provoke ARMS into fighting them, should we let them do this?'' Lucas suddenly asked, with Sonic giving him a look of surprise. ''I know that we should probably go and tell Loki and the Hunters what we know-''

''We could confront Mephiles and Toshiro on our own,'' Sonic suggested, with Lucas giving him a curious look. ''I don't want the two to cause trouble and hurt more people, and I feel quite bored. So, the least I can do is to try to track these two down.''

''Should I call the rest of the team?'' Lucas asked. ''I don't think it's going to be easy to find the two.''

''Tell them to keep an eye out for them,'' Sonic said, getting up. ''I'll go for a run and see whether these two will show up when they see me.''

xXx

Shadow took a sip of coffee, or rather, diluted coffee bean water as he called it, with Omega agreeing with this assessment, and listened quietly to the chatter in the canteen. He took note that it was mostly the human agents having a conversation, while the Irregulars were quietly eating as ordered. He turned back to Touka, Rouge and Omega, with the former two trying to answer the robot's questions as honestly as possible.

''Unfortunately, we don't know the size of Eggman's forces, but I assume that he should've an army of Badniks,'' Touka said.

''That is fine. The more the merrier,'' Omega replied.

''What do you mean by that?'' Rouge asked.

''The more targets I have, the more opportunities I get to prove my superiority,'' Omega explained. Touka snorted in amusement, giving him a thumbs up.

''Well, that logic makes sense to me,'' she said, smiling. Rouge just exhaled in exasperation, placing her hand on her forehead, although a small smile did appear on her lips. Shadow just quietly kept drinking his coffee, noting that the mood had changed quite a bit since Omega's arrival.

Since she was on her own, Rouge had to constantly stay on guard and figure out a way out by herself. With the arrival of Touka and Shadow, she was given an opportunity to escape, as well as someone she could discuss her options with, but the situation was still bleak. After all, the Commander was adamant to keep a close eye on ARMS Pet Project and use Shadow and Touka as he saw fit, treating them like tools rather than people. Not to mention, the other agents weren't too keen on interacting with them and the other Irregulars were practically zombies, so making any allies was pointless. They were also weighted down by the fact that their teammates were also in danger of being pursued by ARMS, so they tried to be on their best behavior.

However, with Omega the situation was almost comical. The robot had ties to no one, having gone against his own creator and was willing to fight anyone who got in his way, whether it was foe or friend. He was also quite trigger-happy, something the Commander had personally witnessed, making it clear that it would be smarter to keep this powerful robot as an ally before he decided to just destroy everything he came across. Lastly, Omega was also very headstrong and direct, having little to no filter, so the conversations with him were always interesting. In fact, he was quite open about blowing up ARMS HQ if they didn't get to go on some kind of mission. While Rouge and Shadow managed to keep him restrained, pointing out how they had a plan and needed to wait, Touka was on Omega's side, being quite cynical about ARMS. If it were up to these two, they would've blown up the walls and just walked out, but Touka knew well that they had to make sure that ARMS wouldn't go after them ever again. That was the only reason why she didn't try to convince Omega to go through with that plan.

''…an Irregular had completely decimated at least two Irregular Hunter Units.''

''I thought they could handle that.''

''Clearly not.''

Rouge and Shadow's ears flicked towards the gossip from the table behind them, with Touka and Omega also starting to pay more attention. Unfortunately for them, the two female agents were done eating and just got up to leave. Touka then quickly got up, stepping before them.

''I overheard you talking about some Irregular taking down the Hunters. What do you mean by that?'' she asked.

''It's been in the morning news,'' one agent told her in a dismissive tone. ''Apparently, there is an Irregular who had only been attacking Hunters and no one else, and supposedly it is really powerful. The grapevine says that ARMS will have to intervene in this case.''

''Well, that would make sense,'' the other agent said. ''I'm surprised they don't just replace the Hunters with ARMS agents.''

''Could you keep it quiet? I don't think that's something you should talk about,'' her co-worker chided her. The former rolled her eyes.

''So what? Everyone here believes that,'' she pointed out. Her co-worker narrowed hr eyes, nodding with her head towards the table Team Dark sat at. Touka, Shadow and Rouge immediately adopted the same exasperated expression of 'Yeah, these guys don't trust us.', deciding to just ignore it. The agents then left, with Touka turning back to the rest of Team Dark.

''What do you think?'' she asked.

''If the Commander wasn't so allergic to keeping us isolated from the outside world, we would've learned about this much sooner,'' Rouge commented. Shadow just placed down his cup and got up. ''Don't you have anything to say?''

''Not where everyone can overhear us,'' Shadow replied. Touka and Rouge had to admit that he had a point, quickly following him outside along with Omega. The dark hedgehog led them away from the crowd of other agents, regular employees and Irregulars that were roaming the hallways, trying to find a more secluded spot for a proper conversation. ''What is the possibility that this was an Irregular like the ones the Hunters usually deal with?''

Touka, Rouge and even Omega were caught off guard a bit by this question, with Touka answering, ''I suppose that this one is quite powerful.''

''Not to mention, the Irregular only targeted the Hunters,'' Shadow added.

''Do you think that it's possible that the Irregular might be someone like us rather than a typical Irregular?'' Rouge asked. Shadow shrugged.

''That's a possibility,'' he responded, his eyes darting to the nearby window, gazing at the blue sky. ''Since it's in Neos City, what are the odds of us going back?''

xXx

''How's the data analysis going?'' Lucas asked, having just arrived at the Taylor Workshop to check up on Warren and Tails.

''Well, the files had been transferring the whole night. It seems like ARMS has quite a lot of stuff to hide,'' Warren said, stretching his arms and rubbing his eyes.

''It also doesn't help that Eggman had been annoying us the whole night,'' Tails added, yawning. ''He tried to get to the files, but we managed to block him… for now.''

''Have you two even slept the whole night?'' Lucas asked in a concerned tone

.''In shifts,'' Warren replied, giving Lucas a tired smile. Lucas sighed, feeling bad for the two. Unfortunately, they were the only ones who could sort out these files, aside from Dr. Eggman, and the Doctor himself wasn't exactly helpful. However, maybe he could do something.

''I'll handle Dr. Eggman. You guys try to get some rest,'' Lucas told the two, tapping on the AR Visor and letting the holographic screen open. Moments later, Dr. Eggman's ugly mug appeared on the screen while he was carrying a coffee mug.

''Kinomoto, I had figured that you would call me at some point,'' he said. Lucas' eyes narrowed.

''Dr. Eggman, why are you trying to interrupt Warren and Tails' work on the ARMS files? I thought we had a truce,'' Lucas asked.

''Oh, we did, but then your friends decided to block me from accessing those ARMS files,'' Eggman replied. ''You should've left them to me from the start and none of this would've happened.''

''Would you have given us access to them if we let you work on them?'' Lucas countered with another question. Eggman was silent for a moment, simply staring back, with Lucas sighing. ''Yeah, I figured so. Despite the truce we agreed on, we still cannot trust you.''

''That I agree with,'' Eggman replied, slightly amused, only to give Lucas a serious look. ''Nevertheless, I want that data, and I will take it. I have already allowed you to use the EggNet and I'm not going to let you mess with my system.''

Lucas glanced at Warren and Tails with a somewhat defeated look on his expression as he tried to figure out how to negotiate in this situation. On one hand, they didn't care about the ARMS files unless it was something that could help them free Team Dark. On the other hand, they were certain that allowing Eggman access to all of that data would be a really bad idea.

''Could you at least give us some more time to get through the data?'' Lucas finally asked. He did not like the grin Eggman gave him, feeling as if the Doctor considered this a win for himself.

''I suppose I could… Once you're done, I'll be taking over the files anyways,'' Eggman replied, chuckling darkly and ending the call. Lucas audibly sighed as he closed the holographic screen.

''That… didn't go well,'' he muttered.

''This is the EggNet, so no surprise there,'' Warren said.

''Even if we try to permanently delete the files, he still might be able to recover them,'' Tails added. ''On the bright side, you did buy us more time to get this sorted out.''

''Right, but unfortunately, Dr. Eggman isn't the worst of our worries,'' Lucas replied, rubbing his temple. ''Sonic and I watched the morning news and several Hunter Units have been attacked and destroyed. We suspect that the culprits were Toshiro and Mephiles.''

''Why would they do that?'' Warren asked, him and Tails being quite confused. Lucas shrugged.

''I don't know, but I have some assumptions. Sonic is currently searching for them,'' he said. ''I have planned to call the rest of the team to tell them to keep an eye out for the two.''

''What's your theory in regards to them attacking the Hunters?'' Tails asked.

''It is possible that they want to draw the attention of ARMS, especially since Touka and Shadow are ARMS Agents now, but I can't be completely sure that this would be their main motivation,'' Lucas replied, his expression grim as he folded his arms across his chest. ''I hate to say it, but these two have really thrown a curveball at us.''

xXx

Mephiles and Toshiro are active again… that's really bad.

Silver sighed, tending to the plants in the greenhouse. He had participated earlier that day in a group call where Lucas told them about his theory that Toshiro and Mephiles were the ones who had attacked the Hunters and asking them to keep an eye out for the two. He couldn't help but feel a chill flowing down his spine once he heard that, especially since he knew that Mephiles was responsible for his ruined future. He made it his goal to prevent this future from happening, but now he was wondering whether this event would lead into his fiery future. He sincerely hoped that this wasn't the case, but how could he know?

Take a deep breath. Makoto said to not let it get to your nerves. Silver tried to calm himself down as he carried the tools back to the shed using his psychokinesis. Once he was done with the work, he walked outside to the rose bushes, with the voice back in his head still telling him about all the possible scenarios of how his future had happened. While he wasn't as much of a nervous wreck as he used to be, his imagination wasn't helping him either. Suddenly, he felt a strong gust of wind, with Sonic appearing next to him.

''Oh, hey Sonic!'' Silver greeted him, happy to see the blue hedgehog. '' I guess you're on another run, right?''

''It's more of a patrol. I'm trying to find Mephiles, but that guy is almost impossible to find,'' Sonic replied.

''What do you mean by 'almost impossible'?'' Silver asked. Sonic gave him a grim look.

''Mephiles and Toshiro had actually managed to lure out ARMS to fight them, and the ARMS agents were defeated,'' he told the grey hedgehog. Silver's golden eyes widened in surprise.

''Really? Where?!'' he asked.

''I've just left Starlight Lake. The field next to it was filled with bodies covered in those weird fire crystals Mephiles uses, both human and Irregulars,'' Sonic explained, his eyes narrowing. ''I did check on them and they were still breathing, but… I had to leave.''

''Have you told anyone about it?'' Silver asked. Sonic shook his head.

''I wanted to find Mephiles first. I think the fight was very recent and I thought I'd be able to find him, but nothing so far,'' Sonic explained. He had to admit that, despite his usual laid-back personality and being able to just go with the flow, he was actually disturbed to see the ARMS agents lying before him. It was a group of five humans and Irregulars, and all of them were motionless, with burn marks all over their bodies and blood pooling beneath their limbs, and Sonic had no clue whether they were even alive until he checked on them. They were alive, but Sonic knew that this was only because Mephiles and Toshiro didn't care to kill them when they had the chance. It also made him realize something else, something far more sinister. ''So far, Mephiles has managed to destroy several Hunter Units and the ARMS agents without any issue. Shadow and I had fought him, and I know he's really powerful, but it is possible that he might be even more powerful than we thought.''

''Considering what he did to the future, I'm not surprised. Not to mention, he is absolutely merciless if he's willing to do that to the Hunters and ARMS agents,'' Silver said. He could feel his own heart racing, with a sense of uneasiness slowly creeping through his body. If they made the mistake and underestimated Mephiles, he would be able to destroy them the same way he did with the Hunters and ARMS agents. ''Still, we can fight him. We all know how to fight and we also have Chaos Surge.''

''Yeah,'' Sonic said, perking up. He wasn't someone to give up easily and he was more than ready to charge into battle. That's why he was searching for Mephiles in the first place, to confront him, but before he could add more, a voice suddenly echoed in his head. You're being too reckless! Sonic scratched his head, wondering why this voice sounded so much like Shadow's and noted that this was what the dark hedgehog would probably tell him if he knew what he was up to. Admittedly, he didn't feel like he had been really reckless in the past few days, making sure not to do anything that would make ARMS go after him or after his friends, even managing to temper his own lack of patience to some extent. But, there was only so much he could do. He also had to admit that he kinda missed Shadow scolding him.

Suddenly, the two hedgehogs' attention was drawn to the field close to the small lake, now tainted by what appeared to be a literal black hole in the ground. Both Sonic and Silver's bodies grew tense as they observed a figure rising from the black hole, revealing itself to be a familiar face.

''Mephiles!''

Mephiles the Dark was floating above ground, and Sonic and Silver could sense dark energy emanating from him. It was similar to the Chaos energy they felt when they held the Chaos Emeralds in their hands, but this was far more foreboding. Their quills bristled, and Silver even summoned his psychokinesis, the cyan energy crackling in his arms. Both were ready to fight, but it appeared that Mephiles had other plans.

''I will give you only one chance to stand down. Heed my warning,'' he told them.

''Forget it!'' Sonic exclaimed defiantly and, ignoring the voice in his head now shouting at him to actually listen to Mephiles, dashed towards the Dark, who suddenly summoned a wall of fire. Sonic realized his mistake and curled into a ball, flying through the fire and realizing a moment later that the only reason he wasn't burned was because of Silver using his psychokinesis to protect him from the flames.

Silver then sent a blast of psychokinesis towards Mephiles, but he summoned a spike made out of crystal to block it, followed by a row of crystal spikes that engulfed Silver and Sonic, trapping both of them. Mephiles turned his attention towards Sonic. ''Do you really wish to die in this life as well? Because I can grant you that wish and there are no Chaos Emeralds here to revive you.''

''What do you want from us?'' Silver asked furiously, trying to free himself from the crystals. His arms were trapped between two and his toes were brushing the grass as the crystals have lifted him just above the ground.

''I am here to make you an offer,'' Mephiles responded, his answer surprising both of the hedgehogs. ''We may be enemies, but we do have the same interests.''

''Really? Because I don't recall hurting innocent people being on my list of interests,'' Sonic replied in a snarky tone, trying to figure a way out of his prison. He placed his hands on the crystals, only for them to suddenly heat up, forcing him to retreat.

''That was a necessary sacrifice to draw the attention of ARMS. I assure you, I desire to see their fall as much as you do,'' Mephiles told him. Both Sonic and Silver narrowed their eyes, giving him a cold stare. ''Whatever you and your friends are up to, I doubt that it will be enough. ARMS needs to be shown that they cannot control the Irregulars. There is way more to our existence than what they know.''

''If you think that either of us is going to help you, you're wrong,'' Sonic told him stubbornly. Mephiles laughed at him, his tone cold and sadistic.

''You really don't understand, do you? You will be involved in this battle, whether you want it or not. There are many Irregulars in this world, many like you and I, and once the public becomes aware of this truth, chaos will ensue,'' Mephiles told him. Suddenly, crystal shards started flying around as Silver broke out of his trap with the help of his psychokinesis.

''Is that what your ultimate goal is? Just to cause chaos?'' Silver asked, floating above the ground and surrounded by cyan energy. Mephiles slowly turned towards him, and even though he had no mouth, Silver could imagine a dark smirk on his expression.

''I am a weapon after all, so I'm simply fulfilling my purpose,'' Mephiles told him, his eyes narrowing. ''Perhaps, I could help you fulfill your mission.''

Silver's eyes widened in rage and he suddenly charged up and sent a blast of psychokinesis energy towards Mephiles, but the latter had vanished. Silver gasped, only to feel a sudden chill and turned around, seeing Mephiles emerging from his own shadow and rising his hand, with a pillar of fire enveloping Silver.

''Silver! Agh-'' Sonic grabbed the crystals, only to get burned. Ignoring the pain, he managed to spin-dash out of the trap and hurried towards Silver, who fell on the ground, a smell of burnt fur filling the air. Mephiles was nowhere to be found. Sonic fell on his knees, trying to help Silver up. ''Hey, Silv, Silver! Com'n, wake up!''

''Ughh…'' Silver felt as if a truck ran over him. Fortunately, he could still feel all of his limbs, having been protected somewhat by his psychokinesis. ''That… Mephiles… He baited me.''

''We should get you to Makoto. You don't look too well,'' Sonic said, helping Silver to get up and throwing the grey hedgehog's arm over his shoulder.

''I… I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…'' Silver felt a wave of pain washing over him.

''As you had said, Silv, Mephiles baited you. Let's just be happy that he didn't turn us against each other,'' Sonic told him. Silver nodded. He really hated that Mephiles managed to get to him so easily, but being reminded of his mission by the very person who had caused that disaster really riled him up and he wanted to destroy Mephiles then and there, but he messed up and payed the price.

Nevertheless, he knew that this battle wasn't over yet.

xXx

''What?!'' Commander Williams was completely baffled by the report he had gotten.

After he was informed by the Irregular Hunters that they had been dealing with a particularly volatile Irregular, he had sent several of his agents to deal with the problem. To his shock, not only did the Irregular defeat all of them, but he was also taunting ARMS, treating all of this like some kind of game.

''If you really want to have a chance against me, send in Shadow the Hedgehog.''

Commander Williams pinched the bridge of his nose, having read the report gathered from the survivors. He had no idea how this Irregular even knew about Shadow and his mood was swinging from baffled to enranged, his gut feeling telling him that the dark hedgehog might know something important. In the end, he relented, calling for both Shadow and Touka to get some kind of answer to what was going on. The moment the two entered the office, a holographic screen with the report appeared before them, startling the two.

''I had earlier this day sent several of my best agents to deal with an Irregular in Neos City, only for all of them to come back barely alive, burnt and beaten, and the Irregular demanding that you face him in a battle,'' Commander Williams stated in a stern tone, glaring at Shadow. ''I want an explanation!''

Shadow and Touka remained silent, reading the report and description of the Irregular (any recorded footage had been damaged during the battle and was unusable), quickly realizing that this was Mephiles the Dark who had attacked the ARMS agents. However, neither of them wanted the Commander, or ARMS for that matter, to know that.

''I don't know…'' Touka lied with a straight face, giving the Commander a puzzled look. ''This doesn't sound like any Irregular I have met.''

''Really? Or do you want to tell me that you're covering for someone, Agent Sakamoto?'' Commander Williams glared at her. Touka met his gaze, trying to keep an even expression, despite feeling quite nervous. Fortunately for her, Shadow had saved her.

''We have spent weeks out in the open in Neos City. The odds of us being targeted by another Irregular are high,'' he pointed out in a matter-of-fact tone. Admittedly, he wasn't exactly someone who could lie with a straight face, like Touka, but he was quite good at circumventing a conversation without having to give an honest answer.

''Then explain to me how this Irregular knows about the Codex Research Facility?'' Commander Williams pressed further, with Shadow already having an answer at hand.

''There were many people working at the Codex Research Facility, including Irregulars who had been captured for the purpose of being experimented on,'' he said. ''Information could've been leaked no matter how good the cover-up was.''

''There was no Irregular with this description at Codex,'' the Commander hissed, growing more and more impatient.

''What about Prof. Sakamoto?'' Touka suddenly said, surprising both the Commander and Shadow. ''We don't know where he was nor what he had been doing over the past years. What if this was another of his experiments?''

Commander Williams leaned back in his seat, thinking about what Touka had told him. Shadow, on the other hand, rose an eyebrow, wondering whether it was smart to reveal this piece of information. However, he did understand why Touka mentioned that, using the late Professor as a bait so the Commander wouldn't be suspicious of either of them. All the evidence was there, after all, and even if they acted as if they had no clue who the Irregular was, ARMS would eventually be able to connect him back to Prof. Sakamoto and the Codex Research Facility. Since the old man was dead, he couldn't confirm anything and therefore they were still speculating on what had happened, so giving them something to hold on was their best move.

''That… That is actually a possibility, even though I don't know where Prof. Sakamoto would get his resources for this Irregular,'' Commander Williams said, seemingly satisfied with this answer. It made sense, after all, as Hiroshi Sakamoto was deeply connected with Project Shadow and Codex. ''Regardless of everything, we need to deal with this Irregular. You two and your teammates will be sent to the Codex Research Facility tomorrow to either capture or destroy the Irregular. We simply cannot let this thing roam free and cause more damage. However, you will only remain in Infinity Forest. I don't want either of you anywhere close to the borders of Neos City.''

''Yes, sir.''

Despite wanting to retort that Infinity Forest was well within the borders of Neos City, Touka and Shadow quickly left the office. They knew that Rouge and Omega, as well as Team Neos, would be quite interested in this turn of events.

xXx

''Hey, Shads.''

''I see that you had actually remembered to whisper during these calls,'' Shadow said, with Sonic rolling his eyes. It was in the middle of the night, and while Team Dark and Team Neos had already exchanged information in regards to the situation with Mephiles and Toshiro, Shadow decided to also call Sonic, feeling that this has already become a habit. He also knew that Sonic would be thrilled to finally have something he could talk about on his end, so he immediately added, ''You had said earlier that you and Silver had confronted Mephiles.''

''Yeah, and I wish that we had managed to deal with him at that point, but he got away,'' Sonic replied, sounding a bit frustrated, then snorted, trying to cover his frustration with some humor, ''So much for being The Fastest Thing Alive if I can't catch up to Mephiles or find him for that matter.''

''Finding Mephiles has nothing to do with your speed. He is someone who lives in the shadows, coming out only when nobody expects him,'' Shadow responded in a matter-of-fact tone. He was well aware that Sonic hated the fact that he couldn't stop Mephiles from hurting the Hunters or even the ARMS agents and Irregulars, so he simply made a logical statement. However, going by the smirk that had formed on his lips, Sonic understood the message a bit differently.

''Thanks for trying to cheer me up,'' Sonic told him, with Shadow giving him a puzzled look.

''I wasn't- That wasn't my-'' He tried to clear this up, only to realize that Sonic already knew that, giving him a wide smile. Shadow exhaled sharply. ''Fine, I suppose you can interpret it that way.''

''You know Shads, you can be as cruel in your honesty as you want, but sometimes the stuff you say feels quite comforting,'' Sonic told him, with Shadow just nodding in acknowledgement. ''So, do you have any idea what Mephiles wants from you? We all agreed earlier that he was antagonizing the Hunters and ARMS to get to you.''

''I believe that all he wants is another battle, just like last time,'' Shadow replied, a grim look appearing on his expression as he remembered their last encounter.

''He'll also probably try to manipulate you, just like he tried to do with me and Silver. Don't give in!'' Sonic said, pumping his fists and giving Shadow a resolute look. Shadow was a bit surprised to see Sonic suddenly turn into his personal cheerleader, but decided to play it cool.

''I'm not going to be swayed by anything Mephiles says. I have unfinished business with him and I'm going to focus on that,'' Shadow told him.

''I'm glad to hear that. Too bad I nor the rest of the team can join you in this battle,'' Sonic said, recalling the earlier conversation. Since Team Dark was going to be at the Codex Research Facility, the possibility of Team Neos helping them was brought up, only to get quickly dismissed when Lucas pointed out that if ARMS finds out that they know about Codex, Team Dark would get in trouble. Therefore, they would have to sit this one out, even though all of the team wanted to join in regardless of the danger.

''I know that I can trust the rest of Team Neos to not interfere, but I doubt that you would just stand at the sidelines,'' Shadow commented.

''Well, I'm trying my best not to do anything reckless lately. It also helps that I hear your voice scolding me whenever I make up my mind,'' Sonic said, sounding somewhat proud of his achievement. Shadow was a bit stunned for a moment, feeling a wierd mix of amusement and that familiar warmth he sensed whenever he talked to Sonic.

''So, you're telling me that whenever you think of me, it's me scolding you for doing something reckless? I don't know whether I should feel offended or flattered,'' Shadow replied in a deadpan tone. Sonic snorted.

''Maybe I should've put this in a different way…'' Sonic suddenly shook his head. ''You know what, forget it. I'd be happy to hear you yell at me whenever I do something stupid so long as I know that you're back at home safe and sound.''

Shadow fell silent, a faint tint of red spreading across his muzzle. His crimson eyes were wide, and he was stunned by Sonic's sudden confession. It was quite unexpected, but at the same time, he knew that Sonic said that because he genuinely cared about him. As much as he wanted to deny it, he was glad that this was the nature of their relationship. It still puzzled him that they were able to tell each other things the other needed to hear, or understand exactly each other's moods without needing to say anything, but he preferred it that way. He wasn't someone who engaged in pointless conversations, but somehow every conversation he had with Sonic ended up in some kind of revelation for Shadow. He felt as if he was learning more about himself this way, and one of the things he understood was that he was going to match Sonic in anything.

''I suppose it would get a bit boring without having you to annoy me, so I'd do the same for you,'' Shadow said, his tone being the usual business-like way he spoke, trying to ignore the strange fluttering feeling in his chest. Why did I even say that?!

''D'aaaww, that's so sweet coming from you, Shads! I appreciate the sentiment,'' Sonic replied, feeling quite happy that he had managed to get Shadow to admit how he felt about him. He couldn't help but chuckle lightly when Shadow shot him a glare.

''Don't think anything of it, Hedgehog. This is just a courtesy. I don't want to be in your debt,'' Shadow growled. Sonic waved his hand in a dismissive manner.

''Yeah, yeah… But you have to admit it, you do care about me,'' Sonic teased him. Shadow was silent, still glaring at his rival, but Sonic knew that this was less because he was offended and more because both knew that this was the truth. He then held up a finger. ''How about this? I admit that I care about you, and you admit that you care about me.''

Shadow folded his arms in defiance. ''That's not going to happen.''

''Maybe you won't say it, but you do care about me,'' Sonic pressed on, still having that dumb smile that irritated Shadow. Despite Shadow managing to keep an unreadable expression, aside from his trademark scowl, he knew that his rival was struggling with this conversation, clearly not wanting to admit the truth, either because of his pride or because he was just too embarrassed.

Shadow, on the other hand, had to wonder how in the world had he ended up in this conversation. Somehow, Sonic had the uncanny ability to rile him up with just a simple smile, and being the stubborn person he was, he wasn't going to back down from a challenge, even if it led him to confess stuff he never wanted anyone to know, not even Touka. ''I have already stated that if the reverse were to happen, I would go to save you. There is nothing else to discuss.''

''Yeah, yeah…'' Sonic was still grinning, while Shadow just frowned, both staring back at each other in silence. Even if some things were left unsaid, they knew exactly how they felt about each other.

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