//------------------------------// // Resistance HQ: Episode Shadow // Story: Sonic Forces: Resistance is Magic // by MetalJrock //------------------------------// “What were you thinking, Knuckles?!” Sonic was now scolding his longtime echidna friend after hearing about the battle in Metropolis. Everybody took a step back upon hearing his raised voice. Knuckles hung his head in shame as Sonic continued, “I leave for one mission and then you went and pulled the dumbest stunt I’ve seen from you in a long while?! Come on.” Knuckles was silent. Twilight gestured to the hedgehog, “Sonic, I think you should-“ Sonic raised a hand, “No. I’m not calming down.” he faced Knuckles, “Not only did you enter Eggman’s capital without taking time to plan it out, you also put everyone here at risk and now some of the Resistance is held captive!” he then glared at Rainbow Dash as well, “You shouldn’t have encouraged him, Dash.” “Oh, so you’re blaming me now?” Rainbow snapped. “You should’ve known it was a bad idea.” Sonic scolded the cyan pegasus. “Celestia forbid I wanted to help!” Rainbow said in annoyance. Knuckles managed to speak, “You know, this is rich coming from the guy who nearly killed us last time Eggman caused trouble. So I don’t think you’re one to talk.” Sonic clenched a fist, “I thought we moved past that, Knux.” “Your stupidity almost got the entire planet killed! It’s rather hypocritical of you to act like you have the higher ground. If you were here, you would’ve been all for that plan because of course you have to be the shining hero of hope once again.” Knuckles said. “Guys...” Fluttershy muttered. “If you thought that after what happened on the Lost Hex, then you must be the same Knucklehead I’ve always known.” Sonic retorted with a thin smirk. “Oh, alright! That’s it!” Knuckles finally snapped and tried to punch Sonic. Sonic leaned back and tried to counter, “Fine then, bring it in!” However before anything else could happen, Tails stood between the two and pushed him back with help from Twilight, who created a magic barrier, “That’s enough! I thought we grew out of the two of you fighting!” the fox said. He sighed, “Take it from me, you two. The last thing you want to do is start inner turmoil. What happens next may not be good.” he looked at Sonic sadly in shame. Twilight said, “Okay. I’m going to lower my barrier, and you two have to talk it out.” “...Fine.” the two agreed. With that, Twilight dropped the purple field. Sonic scratched his head, “Okay yeah, Rainbow and Knux. That was, uh, rather uncool of me to do. I’m just a little peeved and stressed. Sorry for mocking ya.” Knuckles exhaled, “No, you’re... you’re right. I’m not fit to be commander. All this time we’ve made zero progress in stopping Eggman until you and the girls showed up. I just... I just wanted to do something that mattered and let it go to my head... and instead it backfired big time.” “Yeah, when Eggman started taking soldiers, even I started to realize it was a bad idea. Sorry...” Rainbow admitted. The echidna exhaled, “You should be taking charge, Sonic. Today, I proved I’m not fit to lead.” Sonic shook his head, “Dude. If I wanted to be commander, I would’ve brought it up the second I got back. My leading skills only matter with the usual Eggman scheme. This isn’t those times. I mean, there’s a reason I haven’t complained once about our new hierarchy.” Raising a brow in confusion, Knuckles asked, “What do you mean?” “What I mean is that you’re the best combat strategist I know. You kept Tails and me on our toes the day we met. If anyone’s fit to lead an army during a time like this, it’s you.” Sonic admitted. “Wait, did he really do that?” Fluttershy wondered. Tails responded, “He did. Let’s just say that guests weren’t exactly welcome on Angel Island and we didn’t know our goals were the same back then.” “So, what? You think I should stay commander? This isn’t a game anymore, Sonic. We could use a proper leader, one who won’t screw things up even more like I did.” Knuckles said in a dejected tone. Sonic raised his hands, “What you did was dumb, I’ll never say otherwise, but not even that will change my mind on you being the commander.” “I agree with Sonic. I don’t think any of us are fit to lead you all in a war. This is nothing we’ve ever faced in Equestria and until we get back I personally feel it’s for the best.” Twilight admitted. “Maybe I am fit...” Rainbow muttered, earning a not-so-gentle nudge from Applejack, “Ow, okay yeah. We’re not.” Knuckles scratched his head, “Wow, uh, thanks I guess. I didn’t you’d give me a second chance.” Twilight said, “I’ve forgiven ponies who have done much worse deeds, and they’ve made a change in their lives. You’ve done nothing but help us in the time we’ve known you, and even though what happened in Metropolis can’t be fixed, I’m willing to stand by your side still.” Applejack agreed, “Same here.“ “The Resistance lasted this long for a reason, I guess.” Rainbow shrugged, “So why not?” “What do ya say, Knux? You up for keeping the title?” Sonic asked his friend. Knuckles smirked, “I guess I am.” Sonic nodded and said, “And speaking of second chances, I think it’s time we spoke to someone who already got one and needs to explain themselves again.” And at that moment, Shadow the Hedgehog stepped into the room. The Chaotix, Classic Sonic, Spike, and the Equestrians all got into a fighting stance. Rainbow Dash growled, “You again!” Shadow huffed, “Please, I have better things to do than pick fights with all of you.” “That’s not what you did when the Time Eater attacked.” Sonic quipped. Shadow crossed his arms and ignored that comment, “I noticed that this group is a lot smaller. Where are the others from the city attack?” Amy said, “In the med bay right now, no thanks to you.” “I see. Then I apologize for what happened. I’ll explain myself once they get better.” Shadow said. Rouge gazed at her friend and muttered, “Are you the real Shadow?” Shadow replied, “I was never a fake. These past six months were Infinite’s doing.” “That’s all he told us so far.” Tails said. Twilight stepped forward to greet the newcomer, “So, Shadow... It’s a pleasure to meet you.” “For real, I guess. But I got my eye on you.” Rainbow told him. Shadow rolled his eyes as he continued talking, “You must be the ponies Sonic mentioned. I assume the Lunar princess isn’t here as well.” Twilight blinked and took a moment to process that, “...You met Princess Luna? She never said anything about...” Sonic raised a hand, “Yo, hold up. You met one of them and never said anything about it?” The black hedgehog sighed, “It was never any of your concern, but yes, I did. She appeared in a dream and we conversed. I am unsure of why, but it happened.” Spike and Classic Sonic walked into the room after checking on their friends in the medical bay, “Whoa, who are you?!” the dragon asked aloud. “Spike. This is Shadow the Hedgehog.” Twilight introduced her friend. Shadow gave a nod to the dragon and took noticed of the smaller Sonic, “So, you’re here as well. I imagine you weren’t exactly brought here on your terms.” Classic Sonic nodded at that. “Is it just me, or does Shadow look cool?” Spike asked Classic Sonic. The hedgehog merely shrugged. He really hadn’t gotten to know Shadow for long last time they met. A memory flashed in Modern Sonic’s head, “Heh. Hey, Shadow. Remember when Classic and I fought Eggman and you showed up and said, ‘You got this Sonic’? Good times.” Shadow curled a fist and snarled, “I’ll give you a reminder of what will happen if you bring that up again.” Modern Sonic flinched, “Okay, jeez. Go back to being brooding I guess.” Walking away, the black hedgehog said, “Round up the rest of the Resistance. It’s about time I explained everything you want to know.” “Alrighty then.” Rainbow replied. While, Knuckles walked to the med bay, Sonic tapped Rainbow Dash’s shoulder. “Hey, Dash. You and I are still cool right? I mean, I don’t blame you if you’re upset that I snapped at you.” Rainbow waved a hoof, “We’re cool. But at some point, you and I are teaming up again.” “Deal.” The entire Resistance was all round up in the main briefing room. Standing in front of them was Shadow the Hedgehog himself. First, he gave a small apology to everyone he roughed up and for “turning traitor” over six months ago on the day of Sonic’s defeat. Tails was the first to ask questions, “Alright, was that actually you who fought Sonic and I that day?” Shaking his head, the black hedgehog responded, “That was a fake as well. I was put under the Phantom Ruby’s influence sometime after that.” “I think it’ll be best if you start from the beginning.” Twilight suggested. Closing his eyes, Shadow said, “Very well.” Seven months ago... ‘I was on a solo mission in the Mystic Jungle. The mission was to destroy whatever labs the doctor had around the world. So far I was making quick progress and was at the very last known location GUN had spotted.’ Shadow ran through the jungle, the grass burning slightly as his hover shoes passed right through it. He made his way into a small cavern and a slope gave him enough momentum to leap into what appeared to be a water slide. Suddenly, Motobugs started sliding down next to him, trying to ram into him and bump him off into the chasm directly below. The agent smirked as he heard Eggman yell, “All defense units, engage Shadow the Hedgehog immediately! Do not let him anywhere near the lab or the experiments!” Sliding down the right in the fork of the slide, Shadow huffed as he pushed a Motobug away, causing it to bump into another and making them both fall. “Hmph. Should’ve hired a defense squad for your defense squad, doctor.” he mocked Eggman, finally reaching the end of the slide. He saw a robot launching missiles at him. Shadow hopped on one of the missiles and leaped off of it, landing on another, he repeated this until he reached the robot, Homing Attacking it with ease. Shadow found a handle and tugged on it, getting flung to the other side of the jungle. He landed with a roll and observed his surroundings. Nothing, he noticed. With that deduction done, he wandered on. He heard bushes rustling and noticed the trees moving. Then he saw a shadow jump to another tree. Then footsteps and the sound of crops getting rustled some more. It was at this moment, Shadow realized he was no longer alone and readied himself for a fight. He turned his gaze around, hoping to get the upper hand. ‘It was there I crossed paths with the Jackal Squad: One of the toughest groups of mercenaries in Mobius. Not much is known about them beyond that however. As I discovered, they were working for Eggman, and I am assuming the alliance only came about because of the Phantom Ruby. Their leader wasn’t present at this point.’ A jackal wearing a bandana leapt out of the dark and tried to tackle Shadow. The black hedgehog reared his fist back and drove his fist directly into back of his neck. Shadow spotted another jackal jumping from above and leaped while curling into a ball, pushing them back upwards with a Spin-Jump to the gut. They gagged as they were shoved aside by Shadow as the first merceary struggled to stand. The first jackal tried to claw at Shadow, but the agent saw it coming and kicked him right in the jaw, where he was down for the count. Sensing another jackal trying to take him down, the agent leaped back and reared his fist back. Shadow then delivered a Chaos-enhanced punch to the newcomer jackal’s stomach and pushed him back right through a tree, causing it to topple over with a loud shockwave. “Hmph. So, you’re the infamous Jackal Squad. I must admit, I’m not impressed.” he admitted to the mercenaries fighting him. The black hedgehog uppercutted a jackal wearing broken goggles and followed up with a powerful ax kick. Shadow raised his arm and caught the falling assassin, dropping him right in front of his feet. He dished out another swift kick to take them out as well. Three more jackals hopped out to attack at once. One of them revealed his claws and slashed at Shadow. The black hedgehog moved to the side and dodged, “Try again.” he quipped, landing a left hook to their cheek. The second held one of his arms back as the third got to punch his muzzle, “You’ll regret that.” he snarled. He snapped his fingers and created a small Chaos aura, catching the mercenary off guard. He brought his hands to his sides and used a Chaos Burst, pushing back the jackals and giving him a moment to attack back. He used Chaos Control and dive-kicked one mercenary before Homing Attacking another in the chest. Shadow then noticed that all of the Jackal Squad came to at the same time and plotted to strike him down at the same time. He dodged one strike, but was then shoved by another assassin. Shadow retaliated with a backhand, but was immediately countered with a claw slash to his chest. Shadow tried to uppercut, but cringed in pain as he was kicked directly on his hip. He was pushed onto the ground and managed to draw one away by activating his hover shoes, a bright flame appearing underneath it for the moment. The agent grabbed one of their ankles and flung them aside as he struggled to get back on his feet to continue fighting. ‘Realizing that I was outnumbered and needed to hurry. I had no choice but to use... drastic measures as it were. Unfortunately for the mercenaries, I had no qualms or regrets in doing so.’ A red aura suddenly appeared around Shadow while he tried to channel as much Chaos Energy as possible. He closed his eyes and gripped the ground. Gritting his teeth, he stood up, an aura burst pushing back the Jackal Squad. With two words, he decided to end the battle. “Chaos... BLAST!” A large red explosion enveloped the jungle, being the brightest source of light in the moonlit jungle. Eventually, the red light faded and all that remained standing was Shadow the Hedgehog, panting from exhaustion. He held his chest and exhaled, feeling sweat drop from his head with how tiring that moved pushed him. He reminded himself to not go all out like that again for the rest of the mission. Looking down, he found the entirety of the Jackal Squad, lying on the floor, unmoving and eerily still, not that Shadow cared of course. “So much for being tough mercenaries.” Shadow mocked. He pushed on, his skates once more burning the grass. Shadow huffed and jumped off a ramp, holding onto a nearby zipline with one hand. The hedgehog landed and found a swarm of robots in front of him. Choosing not to fight them, he performed a Boost, letting them all explode in his wake. He heard alarms blare in the distance and leaped over a brick wall, finding himself closer to his objective. Shadow pursed his lips, “The lab. The doctor must really want this place secured if he’s sending everything after me.” In the distance, a lone jackal with a scar over his eye and a bandana around his neck leaped around in order to avoid Shadow’s line of sight. His communicator went off, blaring the voice of Eggman, “You! You’re the leader of the Jackal Squad! Your crew failed in stopping the hedgehog! If you fail me—“ “Yeah, I get it. Eternal punishment and junk. I can handle it.” said the leader jackal. He crouched down to observe Shadow’s movements. Finally, Shadow arrived at the lab, ready to shut it down. However, the Jackal Squad leader jumped down to reveal himself at last to the GUN Agent. ‘Once I arrived at the lab I encountered the leader of the Jackal Squad. Not much is known about him either, other than the fact the he is considered the ‘Ultimate Mercenary’. A title in which I tested him to prove. He has no name, no intel besides his time as a mercenary. Almost like a ghost.‘ The Jackal Squad leader smirked at the black hedgehog, unsheathing his purple sword and pointing it forward, “Well, I never thought I’d see the day. Shadow the Hedgehog himself facing me. The Ultimate Life-Form against the Ultimate Mercenary. I must admit it’s quite an honor.” Shadow growled, “Enough with the pleasantries. If you don’t get out of my way, you’ll share the fate of the rest of your squad.” “I’m afraid I can’t do that. The doc says it’s important, and I really need a paycheck.” Jackal Squad leader said. With a scowl, Shadow replied, “Very well. You asked for it.” The Ultimate Mercenary dashed and swung his blade at Shadow. The GUN agent gripped the blade with his palms and flicked it away. The mercenary jabbed Shadow in the chest before he could attack. Seeing Shadow stumble backwards, the jackal kicked him. Shadow fell on his back and backflipped in order to get his bearings. The Ultimate Life-Form sneered and created a Chaos Aura around his fist, boosting his punch so that the jackal was knocked back farther than with a usual punch. The Jackal Squad leader slid on the dirt as he adjusted himself, his claws and blade digging into the ground. He smirked, “Not bad at all. I should’ve expected this much fight from you.” he leaped and swung his sword around in a flip. Shadow teleported away from being sliced and watched as the jackal landed perfectly on his feet, “Ha! I knew you couldn’t take me on, Shadow!” he taunted the agent. “All talk, and yet you barely scratched me.” Shadow mocked back. “You little-“ the Ultimate Mercenary hissed. ‘I will admit he put up a decent fight, but it still wasn’t enough in the end.’ Shadow countered the jackal using his sword by creating a Chaos Burst, blasting the weapon right out of the assassin’s hands with a flick of his wrists. The hedgehog then teleported, grabbed it, and tossed it into a chasm. The act angered the Ultimate Mercenary and he punched Shadow before he could use Chaos Control again. The hedgehog had to admit the punch hurt more than he expected. In response, Shadow dished out a kick to the jackal. The mercenary elbowed the Ultimate Life-Form and then chopped his throat, making the hedgehog collapse and cough. “As an assassin, ya gotta know the best tricks.” the mercenary leader told the GUN agent. Shadow scowled and sweep-kicked his opponent off his feet. “As an agent, you have to know the art of deception. It appears you missed a vital step in being a credible threat.” Shadow replied as he got up. The jackal squad leader snarled and pushed himself upright, driving his feet onto Shadow’s gut. The Ultimate Life-Form coughed, but managed to fix himself so that he could perform a Chaos Uppercut on the Ultimate Mercenary. The jackal got his bearings and flipped back down, jabbing Shadow in the cheek. The agent hissed in pain, and right before the jackal could deliver another punch, Shadow blocked it with his palm. “What?” the Ultimate Mercenary gasped. Shadow smirked and decked the Jackal Squad leader in the face, making him collapse to his back. The assassin snarled again ans tried to sweep kick Shadow again, but the hedgehog jumped and stomped on his stomach before teleporting away. The Ultimate Mercenary stood up and said, “Show yourself!” Then, Shadow teleported in front of him and used a Chaos Burst, launching him backwards. While he was in midair, Shadow teleported one more time and delivered a roundhouse kick, sending the jackal flying so fast that he created a hole in the brick wall covering Eggman’s lab. The Jackal Squad leader struggled to get up and watched as Shadow glared at him, “You’re not even worth the effort of finishing off. Face me again when you’re a real challenge.” the jackal tried to punch Shadow, but he shoved his fist away, “But as some advice, do not stand in my way again because I won’t grant you this pity.” he left for real this time, leaving the jackal to think things over. ‘I thought it was over, but I was sorely mistaken.’ The Ultimate Mercenary had spent a while looking for his squad. And after what felt like an eternity, he finally found them.however, they state he found them in was not good. They were still, unmoving. None of them could hear his words, he tried to wake them, but they did not. The jackal collapsed to his knees in grief, stray tears falling on his face. “My squad... my only family... gone...” he muttered in sadness to himself. With a stricken heart, the Ultimate Mercenary reached for his communicator, his voice strained as he spoke, “Doctor... I wish to aid in your experiment. To avenge my fallen brethren...” Six months ago... ‘Then on the day of the takeover, I received word that Eggman was attacking the city on South Island and set out to rendezvous with Sonic and Tails. Finding Eggman at the time could’ve also given me a clue on Omega’s whereabouts as he was shut down a day earlier at this point.’ Shadow arrived in the city, already overrun by robots. He huffed as he passed by multiple burning buildings. Egg Pawns were seen chasing civilians. Not one to leave an innocent life, Shadow simply boosted through them. The civilians watched as the yellow blur moved on without a moment’s thought. The Ulltimate Life-Form ran up a building and landed on the rooftop, taking notice of all the destruction. “What is the doctor’s game this time?” he wondered to himself. Deciding he wasn’t going to get answers standing around, Shadow skated through the robots deeper into the city. So far he couldn’t find Sonic or Eggman. The Ultimate Lifeform leaped over a small chasm and used the grind rail to reach further into the city as planned. He noticed a swarm of Slicers in his path. Not one to back down, Shadow slid underneath all their pincers and kicked them so hard they exploded. “Pathetic. The doctor must really be trying hard this time.” he spotted more civilians in need of help and set out to do that again. Shadow grabbed an Egg Pawn and tossed it aside, kicking back a charging Motobug. More enemies were coming. He threw a Chaos Spear to short-circuit a Newtron homing in on him. The toughest foe however was the Egg Hammer. It brought down its hammer, to which Shadow leaped back. The agent hopped on the head of the hammer and used a Homing Attack to dent its metallic body. “Look out!” a cat screamed. Looking up, Shadow spotted a Buzz Bomber aiming its stinger at him. He threw a Chaos Spear at it and let it explode. Focusing back on the Egg Hammer, Shadow landed atop of its head and punched right through it, destroying it in a single punch before it could cause more damage. Seeing the area was cleared, he continued his chase. ‘I noticed how things were getting odder than usual soon enough.’ The hedgehog paused however, when he spotted three mysterious equine beings moving in the distance, “What the—?” he cut himself off. Curious, he decided to follow their path, wondering if he could get any leads. So he continued skating, hoping to find exactly that. Unfortunately for Shadow, something pushed him out of the blue and he fell on his face. He heard some strange footsteps and his vision went blurry for a few seconds. Once he was able to properly stand again, Shadow stood up and shook the cobwebs out of his head. His eyes widened, as he realized he was no longer in the city, standing on a metal floor... and gazing directly at Planet Mobius through a glass panel. ‘The next thing I knew I awoke in the Space Colony ARK.’ “How...?” Shadow asked himself. Curious, he slowed his pace and wandered through the labs. Everything was exactly as he remembered it the last time he was here. Yet, it didn’t show signs of age or the fact it was crumbling apart. The fact he was even here was bizarre to him, since he had no clue on how it even happened. ‘Then I discovered there was an uninvited guest.’ Shadow could sense something was off. The hedgehog acted on instinct and swerved to the left, dodging a powerful beam of pure dark energy. He crouched and looked at the culprit. The being looked exactly like him, except his quills were purple and he had no visible mouth on his muzzle. “We meet again, Shadow the Hedgehog.” The black hedgehog scowled, “Who are you?” The being creepily walked towards Shadow, “Your anti-thesis. A being you have long forgotten, and your own Shadow. Mephiles.” Mephiles. Something about that name sounded familiar to Shadow, and yet he couldn’t figure out how. “Mephiles... I do not know you. Now leave before I force you to.” Mephiles laughed, “Impossible. You, Sonic, and Silver thought you were rid of me forever, but it’s not true. I haunt your mind Shadow. The deepest darkest recesses of it in fact. And I have been brought back to the forefront to torment your existence once more.” Scowling, Shadow asked, “How are you here then?” Scretching his arms, Mephiles enveloped himself in a dark purple aura. His form began to look crystalline and his legs were covered in purple mist, “That is something you must figure out for yourself.” Shadow cracked his knuckles, “Very well.” ’I still do not know who this Mephiles is, but he knew us somehow. His wording made that clear.‘ A puddle of darkness appeared beneath Shadow’s feet, keeping him still. The black hedgehog gritted his teeth as he struggled to move. Mephiles began to duplicate himself and surround Shadow. The Ultimate Life-Form activated his hover shoes and threw a Chaos Spear at one of the fakes. “I am surprised you are still powerful after going soft. I am ashamed.” “You act as if we know one another.” Shadow scoffed, hovering over the darkness. Mephiles laughed, “But we do, Shadow. That’s the beauty of it all.” he opened a palm and shot out a sphere of dark energy at the GUN agent. Shadow kicked it aside and touched the ground. He skated forward and elbowed one of the dark being’s duplicates, driving his fist directly onto Mephiles. The dark entity growled and pushed Shadow back with a powerful aura, one similar to Shadow’s own. The being of darkness watched Shadow hit the wall of the lab they were in, collapsing on his knees in an alarming amount of pain for him. Letting out a cough, Shadow rubbed his arm. “It’s strange. I remember fighting you, and yet I don’t. You’re an enigma.” he was then blasted back by Mephiles and kicked aside while he was on the ground. He grunted his pain. Then Mephiles struck him down with a powerful sphere of darkness, covering his entire body in purple mist. “Ah, I must admit I wasn’t expecting these results.” came another voice. Levitating into the room was a being in black, a red aura covering his body, and a mask over his face. Mephiles was still now, as though to give this newcomer an entrance. “It appears my Phantom Ruby can manipulate one’s mind deeper than I anticipated. This will do nicely.” Struggling to break free from his new prison, Shadow said, “Now who are you?” “Hm. How sad you do not recognize me, Shadow. After all, you were the one who elminated my entire squad. If you must know, I am Infinite. And it’ll be the last name you’ll ever hear, but you are lucky I have greater plans for you. A way to torment your existence.” Infinite revealed. ‘It was then I realized that Infinite was formerly the leader of the Jackal Squad. He had found me in the name of revenge for that mission so long ago. Unfortunately, I was unable to fight back.’ “What’s your plan, you weak mercenary?” Shadow snarled. Infinite laughed as Shadow was dropped onto the floor by a pile of red cubes, Mephiles fading away. “Tossing insults now are we?” he wagged a finger, “With my ruby, I can tear everything you know and love apart. To... improve you so to say. The equine proved a successful guinea pig, but knowing your mind is already damaged shall make it easer for me.” he opened his palms and Shadow’s vision was covered in nothing but dark red. ‘That is the last thing I remember until Sonic and Tails broke whatever he did to my mind.’ “So... that’s it?” Sonic asked. Shadow silently nodded and looked at Omega, relieved that his comrade was still in one piece. Twilight thought over everything, writing what she deemed important in a notebook, “So, most of Eggman’s elite are fakes then?” “Most.” Shadow repeated, “I am confident the doctor has a Metal Sonic built, and Infinite mentioned testing his Phantom Ruby on an equine.” Spike whispered to the alicorn, “You don’t think...” “Possibly, Spike. Starlight may not have turned against us after all.” Twilight answered, a small smile growing on her muzzle. Classic Sonic raised a hand, which got Tails’ attention, “What is it?” he asked. The smaller Sonic did a few gestures to explain himself, and Tails replied, “Eggman didn’t use the Phantom Ruby to make fakes in your world? Based on what Shadow explained, it can possibly be a means of both warping space and time and creating illusions.” “So what, all this time we’ve been fighting ghosts? How can they pack a punch then?” Rainbow wondered. “The ruby can mess with our minds and make us believe what we see is real. Almost like virtual reality.” Shadow elaborated for the pegasus. Sonic said, “Then I guess it’s up to us to find a way to counter the Phantom Ruby then. What do you say, Commander?” he asked Knuckles. “Let’s do it then. First we need to come up with a plan.” the echidna said. “I can help with that.” Tails spoke up. Suddenly, a loud beeping noise was heard and the room went dark. Fluttershy gulped, “Oh no! Have we been found?!” Running to the laptop, Amy pressed a few buttons and answered, “No, actually. We’re getting an emergency distress signal.” “Play it.” Knuckles ordered. Amy did as instructed. “This is Commander Abraham Tower calling the Resistance. I repeat, this is Commander Abraham Tower of G.U.N. calling the Resistance. Is anyone receiving this message?” called out an elder voice. Shadow was the first to respond, “We read you, Commander.” The GUN commander audibly growled, “You have no business answering this call, traitor scum.” Rouge was next to respond, “He’s on our side again, Commander. Eggman tampered with his mind.” “Trust doesn’t come easy in times of war, Agent Rouge.” Tower said. Sonic sighed and decided to join, “Listen, Commander. Shadow’s on the side of good again. If it’ll help ease your mind, I’ll tag along. So what’s the problem?” “Dr. Eggman and Queen Chrysalis have launched an assault on Prison Island. Unfortunately, we do not have the manpower to fend them off for long. Are you able to help us?” “Sure thing.” Sonic answered, “Just hold them off a little longer.” The call ended, and Knuckles said, “We all can’t afford to go, Sonic. Some of you will head to Prison Island while the rest of us come up with a plan to bring down Eggman for good.” The hedgehog smirked, “I can live with that. And I think I know just who to bring.” It was time for yet another battle it seemed.