"Sonic!" Tails gleefully yelled as he ran straight towards his best friend and hugged him as hard as he could while the rest of the resistance looked on.
"I'm so glad you're ok! All this time I refused to believe you were actually dead and I was right!"Tails went on with immense joy, which made Sonic crack a smile.
"Thanks for not giving up on me, bro." Sonic replied as he ruffled his best friend's head. "And I'm proud of you for doing so well this entire time."
"I didn't do it on my own." Tails said. "I had some good friends looking out for me."
Tails turned around to see Twilight, Spike, Manic, and Pinkie enter the base.
"Heh, long time no see, Twi." Sonic greeted as he gave her the thumbs up. "And you too, Spike. I owe you guys for making sure Tails was doing all right."
"It was nothing. What are friends for?" Twilight responded. "I'm just happy to see you're still alive."
"Tails, come here!" Amy cheerfully said as she embraced him. She then gave him a glare. "Don't you ever run off like that again! You had us worried!"
Tails just looked down at the ground in a sheepish manner, feeling a little embarrassed due to his outburst.
"Twilight, Spike!" AppleJack happily said as she noticed the two of them. "Good to see y'all are still around and kickin' after all this time. Ya could have called us every now and then."
"Sorry, I was just really preoccupied." Twilight replied.
"Anyway, it's good to have you back, Twilight." Sunset said as she walked over and gave Twilight a hug. She then looked at Tails and Spike when the hug was over. "All of you back."
"And it's good to be back." Twilight agreed.
"Well, I'd say this is pretty good. We have almost everyone here regrouped. Now that the entire team is here, we should take down Eggman pretty soon." Knuckles confidently said as he put his hand into his fist.
Tail's eyes then widened as he remembered the information he needed to tell Sonic.
"I hate to interrupt this moment, but we have some bad news." Tails said as all eyes landed on him. "We ran into Eggman and he told us he had some plan that will destroy all of us within 3 days."
"He didn't say what, but he sounded so sure that it would work." Spike added.
"Unlike the other Eggman plans, we have to take it seriously considering the circumstances." Manic said with dismay as he crossed his arms.
"Three days?!" Fluttershy said, her tone full of fright. "I'm getting scared by the fact that he's going to carry it out in such little time."
"What are you talking about?" Sonic expressed with disagreement. "Three days is more than enough time. A lot can happen in that time."
"Sonic's right. We have three whole days ahead of us. Heck, we can even stop Eggman before he even carries out whatever he has planned." Rainbow Dash agreed as she clenched her fist.
"If we knew more about it, that would be pretty helpful. But Rouge is off looking for intel on her own. Looks like we're going to have to race against the clock." Knuckles said as he put his hand on his chin.
Before the conservation could continue, the computer started flashing red and projected a large red holographic screen ahead for the entire resistance to see as they looked up to see a digital report coming in.
"What the heck? Shadow's taking out our troops in the city. They sound like they need help and fast." Vector observed as he read the message.
"Shadow?" Twilight said as if she didn't hear right. "That can't be right. He's our friend."
"I'm not too sure about that. When I saw him, he was working for Eggman." Sonic told her, which made her put her hand to mouth with surprise.
"There's obviously something crazy going on!" Pinkie said. "It makes no sense for Shadow to work with the bad guys...unless he's being mind controlled."
"Sonic did mention he was with Infinite when he fought him. Maybe Infinite's using his power to control him somehow." Silver suggested.
"True. He could do all sorts of things with his powers. I wouldn't rule out mind control." Rarity chimed in.
"Whatever it is, I'm going to find out. Or knock some sense back into Shadow." Sonic said full of determination. "Besides, I owe him one for kicking me around."
Sonic was going to dash out but suddenly remembered he had something to do.
"But before I do, Sunset, can we talk for a bit?" Sonic requested, much to her surprise.
"Me? Ok." Sunset agreed.
Sonic and Sunset walked to the back of the room for some privacy. Once they were there, Sonic spoke up.
"I didn't want to say anything in front of everyone, but I gotta know, is everything ok with you, Sunset?" Sonic suddenly asked. "I noticed sometimes you get this scared look on your face whenever missions are mentioned. Like when before I went off to the Mystic Jungle. Is there something you need to get off your chest?"
Sunset froze. Was her fear really that noticeable? Or maybe Sonic was just good at this sort of thing. Either way, he knew that something was wrong with her. Sunset saw no point in trying to deny it if he already noticed and just simply sighed.
"Yeah, there is." Sunset confessed as she formed a look of guilt on her face. "Sonic, this whole time, I've been afraid. But it's not because Eggman took over most of the world. I've been afraid of Infinite. When I was in the city a couple of months back, I ran right into him. He..he scared me out of my mind. I had never met anyone like him before. And...I ran. I ran away from him. I was supposed to be helping the others but instead, I just turned around and ran. That's why I haven't been out in the field. I've just been using tech support to hide the fact that I'm terrified of running into Infinite again. When I see you and the others going off to challenge him, it makes me feel worse. Like I don't deserve to be beside you guys. Infinite nearly killed you and yet the first change you get, you run off to face him."
Sunset then held her head down, her entire being full of shame. To her surprise, she then felt Sonic's hand on her shoulder and looked up to see him smile.
"Sunset, I don't blame you for running or being scared. All of us have been there and it's nothing to be ashamed of. None of us have been in a situation like this before and it's ok to be scared." Sonic said with reassurance. "But you can't let your fear own you. You've gone through a lot and I know you can beat this. Don't let that masked clown get the better of you. Move on and don't let your fear get in your head. Sunset, you've always been there for us whenever we've had our moments of doubts and it's our time to be here for you. You'll have your time to shine."
Sonic looked past Sunset towards the resistance, who were planning their next move, which made her turn around and realize how many friends she had beside her. It made the anxiety she felt begin to wane. She then turned back to Sonic, whose face was radiating with such confidence, she felt as if though some of it might rub off her. Sunset formed a small smile.
"Thanks, Sonic. I really needed this." Sunset said with gratitude. "Just get out there and find Shadow."
"You got it!" Sonic said as he held his hand out for a fist bump, which Sunset returned.
With their conservation done. Sonic then dashed out towards the resistance exit, leaving a blue trail.
Back in the city, Sonic was rushing through the area, which was in complete chaos. Buildings and other structures were crumblings as fireballs crashed into them. He ran along the road while observing the entire scene.
"This place is even worse than before." Sonic commented as he looked over all the destruction.
In the background, Sonic noticed there were about a dozen Death Egg robots wreaking havoc in the city as resistance members fired their shots towards them from below.
"Is Eggman mass producing the Death Egg Robots?" He wondered. "Just one of those is bad enough. I need to hurry and find Shadow."
Sonic triggered his boost and blazed on the path he was, removing robots and obstacles in his way and he reached the denser area of the city. Due to this, he couldn't just push through with his boost. Instead, he turned into a streak and blitz past enemies in front of him across slopes. He then arrived on a sloping street with a gap in front. Sonic used his boost to make his way along the gap and reached the other street. Sonic continued on downward towards a plaza, which was being guarded by a few robots. The robots aimed their weapons but before they could fire, Sonic pierced through them, splitting them in half as he moved on ahead. He then moved upwards and sped ahead, coming across a shuttle loop which took him into another area of the city.
"There's been a sighting of Shadow." Amy said over the coms. "He's moving above the city at high speed."
Sonic looked upwards but saw nothing.
"I don't see anything." He responded.
"Keep an eye out. He's bound to show up again." Sunset advised.
Sonic continued to make his way through the city and scaled up the side of a building, taking him the rooftop. He then traversed across the roofs in the city until he found a rail to grind him, leading him back to the ground towards new road. Sonic raced along the road and encountered, a squadron of Egg Pawns, which he took care of by boosting into them. He moved through another shuttle loop and reached a higher pathway. Sonic ran along the path downward.
"There's been a recent sighting just up ahead. He doesn't appear to be moving. Be careful." Amy informed him.
" Find out what's wrong with Shadow and bring him back." Sunset requested.
Right in front of him, Sonic saw Shadow standing in place with his arms folded while wearing an emotionless expression. As Sonic got closer, he suddenly came to a stop as he was now face to face with his arch-rival in an enclosed area of the city. He clenched his fight tightly as he stared down Shadow. It had been a long time since he had faced him as an enemy.
"All right Shadow, what's going on?" Sonic demanded in an irritated tone. "Why are you helping Eggman? You've changed and are on our side now. None of this makes sense."
Shadow simply said nothing as he continued to stare at Sonic, not showing any sign of emotion. Sonic raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Well? What's the deal?" Sonic questioned but Shadow remained silent.
"Say something, faker!" Sonic nearly shouted in an exasperated tone. This reminded him of his first encounter with Shadow, where he was also demanding answers from him and received none. Recalling this memory made Sonic feel a bit nostalgic as he let out a smile small.
"The silent treatment, huh?" Sonic continued. "Well, I guess there's only one way this can end then."
Sonic got into a fighting stance while Shadow still didn't move.
"It's been a while since we last fought. Hope you're not too rusty." He mocked. He was also hoping the same for himself. Sonic knew that Shadow could beat him in a fight.
"Really? Nothing at all? No rant about how you're the Ultimate Lifeform and the coolest or how I'm inferior. You're no fun, man." He complained.
Shadow suddenly unfolded his arms and dashed towards Sonic at high speed, taking him off guard. Shadow threw a punch as he reached Sonic, who reacted quickly and narrowly avoided the hit as Shadow moved past him. Seeing a chance, Sonic released a roundhouse kick to but Shadow blocked it with his wrist, blowing Sonic away from him. Sonic slid on the ground and turned to Shadow with a smirk.
"Ok. Now we're talking, faker." He said with enthusiasm.
Sonic turned into a blue streak while Shadow became a yellow one and the two of them clashed with each other many times as they moved around the entire area. After a while, the two of them rammed into each other and had their arms pressed against one another, each trying to move the other back. Their lock suddenly broke as they began to exchange highspeed punches and kicks, matching each other blow for blow. Shadow then released a punch with more force that Sonic blocked, but he was pushed back due to the impact. Sonic into and came towards him with a combo of blows that Shadow dodged. He moved out of the way of Sonic's punch and kicked him in the stomach, blowing him a few feet back. Sonic shook off the damage and charged to Shadow as a blue streak, who avoided it by moving in the air. Shadow then came down to the ground with a punch but Sonic dashed back to avoid Shadow's fist as it collided with the ground. Sonic transformed into streaks once more and knocked Shadow back when he made contact with him. Shadow landed on the wall of a building with his feet and jumped off it to see Sonic jump in his direction and release an ax kick. Shadow then teleported in a blue flashed and appeared behind Sonic and kicked him in the back as Sonic hit the floor.
"Teleporting is cheap!" Sonic complained as he rose up and turned to see Shadow teleport once more.
Shadow suddenly reappeared in front of Sonic and tried to hit him with a right hook, which Sonic barely dodged as he ducked. Sonic then launched Shadow in the air with his two feet. While Shadow was still airborne, Sonic went towards him a streak but Shadow vanished before Sonic could make contact. Sonic then felt his right leg grabbed as Shadow suddenly smashed him on the ground, which made him grunt. As Shadow's hand was still on Sonic's leg, Sonic spun around at high speed in a circle as a small vortex and threw Shadow into a wall. Sonic then got up and using his figure 8 moved, he rushed towards Shadow with a powerful punch and crashed into his dark counterpart, sending them both through the wall and into the more open areas of the city. However, Shadow had caught Sonic's fist, using his rocket skates to move forward and the two of them were now in a stalemate which broke quickly as they moved away from each other.
"Nice to see you haven't lost your touch, faker." Sonic praised as he did a few stretches. "But it's time we kick things up a notch."
With a burst of speed, Sonic zoomed across the streets of the city, with Shadow in hot pursuit. The two rivals then raced next to each other through the region. As the two of them moved through the city, Sonic triggered his boost, launching him ahead of Shadow, who did the same as he was enveloped in a yellowish-orange aura, letting him catch up to Sonic. While in their boost, the duo rammed into each other a few time, repelling them apart slightly. Sonic and Shadow came across a gap in the city, which took them into the air. Moving through the air with their boost, both of them began to get closer to each other until they collided with so much force that undid their boost and were blown apart. The speedsters headed straight for the ground in opposites directions and landed another enclosed city area.
Sonic groaned as he rose up, having hit the ground pretty hard and was slightly dazed. He looked ahead to see Shadow getting up as well and could tell he also took damage from the fall as he had trouble maintaining his balance but was shrugging it off. Sonic then began to pant slightly.
"Ok, Shadow, since you haven't said a word at all, I'm just going to have to guess that you're being mind controlled." He said. "Come on man. This is like what, the 3rd time? I thought you were the Ultimate Lifeform. Aren't you supposed to be better than that?"
In response to Sonic's taunts, Shadow generated a Chaos Spear in his hand and fired at his blue rival. Sonic quickstepped to dodge it, but by the time he had moved, he saw Shadow was preparing to toss another one. The spear was released from Shadow's hand and Sonic ducked to avoid it. Shadow then unleashed a barrage of Chaos Spears that Sonic dodged by moving around the area, but with how fast Shadow was shooting them, he couldn't afford to be sloppy and it took all of his concentration to evade the spears.
"(I can't go on like this or I'll never knock some sense into him.)" Sonic thought as he continued to avoid Shadow's assault.
Rather than being on the defensive, Sonic decided to move towards Shadow and evaded his Chaos Spears using his quickstep, moving from side to side. As Sonic got closer, he transformed his legs into his figure 8 motion. When Sonic was only a few inches from Shadow, he released a shockwave from his legs and jumped back from the recoil. Shadow fired a Chaos Spear which collided with Sonic's attack, making a small explosion.
Sonic heard Shadow teleporting and he quickly turned to his right to see him coming down towards him with a kick. Sonic brought his arms up to defend himself just in time as Shadow's foot made contact. Due to the impact, Sonic moved back a few feet. He then lowered his arms and faced off with Shadow, ready to go a few more rounds.
Shadow was charging up another Chaos Spear but before it materialized in his hand, red pixels surrounded his body, stunning him. His hand fell down and Shadow crouched down with his hand placed on the floor, much to Sonic's shock.
"Hey, that's the same stuff that was on Zavok." He recalled as he looked in with curiosity.
Red pixels began to move around Shadow's body as he attempted to stand and his body began to glitch out in the process. Shadow appeared to be in great pain, which was shown by the expression on his face. He could barely move and began to spaz out. Sonic's face then turned to one of worry.
"Yo, Shadow. Are you ok?" Sonic questioned.
Shadow continued to move his body around like crazy as red pixels began to fade in and out. During the process, it seemed like Shadow as splitting in two as a holographic image of him began to appear on his right. The image continued to separate from Shadow and Sonic suddenly heard yelling. The whole ordeal looked pretty painful. The holographic image then began to solidify and now it appeared Shadow had duplicated.
"Arrrgh!" One Shadow screamed as he completely broke off from the other and fell forward while the other Shadow tumbled backward. He was kneeling on the ground and gasping while Sonic looked in on disbelief.
"Another Shadow?!" He exclaimed as he couldn't believe what he saw in front of him.
Unfortunately, Sonic was caught off guard and the Shadow he was fighting suddenly began to skate towards him. He leaped in the air and prepared to drop kick Sonic, who didn't have time to react as he looked up with surprise.
"Chaos...Control!" Sonic heard Shadow's voice say with difficulty.
A blue energy field covered the area, stopping time and causing both Sonic and the other Shadow to be frozen. Shadow then jumped up and released a powerful kick to the stomach on the Shadow who was trapped in mid-air, resuming time. Sonic then saw one Shadow sent flying backward and slammed to the ground while the other came down in front of him.
"Ok, what? Why are there two Shadows?!" Sonic yelled in a bewildered tone.
The Shadow lying on the ground was covered in red pixel and began to flicker before he vanished completely, which made Sonic's eyes widen with astonishment.
"He...vanished." He stated.
"That's because it was a fake." Shadow said as he turned around to face Sonic with his arms closed.
"A fake?" Sonic said in a quizzical tone. Suddenly, he noticed that Shadow was actually speaking and gasped out loud.
"Shadow! You're actually talking!" Sonic said before he frowned. "Ok, we need to back up. What's going on? I'm so confused right now."
"Infinite has the power to make virtual reality constructs," Shadow explained. "Their bodies are physical but they don't have any souls. They are just mindless extensions of his will."
"Virtual reality? So that explains why Zavok, Chaos and even you were part of Eggman's army." Sonic responded, which made Shadow nod.
"Precisely. Infinite can also make an endless supply of them." He added, which made Sonic form a concerned look.
"So you're saying no matter how many we beat, he can just keep making more fakes?" Sonic replied as Shadow nodded once more.
"Correct. This explains why Eggman's conquest has been so successful." Shadow answered. "At this rate, it's almost impossible to win."
"Heh. Well, you know us. We do have a track record of beating the impossible." Sonic said full of confidence as he rubbed his nose. "Now I have a question for you. Where were you this entire time? Why did you come out of that fake?"
"6 months ago, I was on a recon mission for G.U.N. I was looking for Omega, who was apparently destroyed in combat. I found myself in one of Eggman's bases and that's where I met Infinite. Using his power, he made a red flash cover everything with this distortion sound. He had trapped me in a virtual reality. In there, I saw people I knew, but they kept saying and repeating things that didn't make any sense. There were these red cubes after me everywhere I went. Everytime one touched me, I was transported to an area I knew after everything around me turned red and became distorted and I faced a familiar enemy. It was endless. Infinite must've used this to trap me in that replica he made. During your fight, you must've weakened it, which did the same for the illusion I was in and eventually, I was able to break free." Shadow elaborated.
"Wow, sounds trippy." Sonic said. He then formed a grin. "But I'm glad you're not being brainwashed or are evil again. It's good to have you back, faker!"
"Hmph. I don't understand why that fake gave you so much trouble. You should have handled that inferior copy with no problem." Shadow berated, which made Sonic's grin fade.
"Hey, give me a break. It may have been a phony but it was still just as strong as you." Sonic said in a defensive tone as he placed his hands on his hips. "I thoughts, 6 months after all that and not seeing your friends would've mellowed you out. Speaking of which, we better head back to resistance base. They'll be glad to hear you're still on our side and your info will help us a lot."