//------------------------------// // Chapter 22: Loyalties // Story: Sonic Origins Vol 1: Rainbow Dash's Story // by LightWinzz //------------------------------// Chapter 22: Loyalties Eggman stood from his seat, his insane but ardent laughter bouncing off the metal plating of the Ark's control room. In front of him was the central control conduit for the whole weapon system, a curved screen situated right above an intricate keyboard that wrapped around his chair. Beyond the screen in the center of the room his pride and joy and the key to all his plans. A containment unit, now in use to store the six Chaos Emeralds he had in his possession in a circular pattern, and in the center of that, the Master Emerald. There was still an empty slot that was to hold the final Chaos Emerald, but that was hardly on the doctor's mind right now. Now, he was solely focused on what was displayed on the screen, the Earth's moon now with a new shape. His face was hardly able to hold the smile that he held. "YES!" he exclaimed. "YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! It's a complete success! Beyond that! The Space Colony Ark is truly a masterful work of engineering! I have to say, I'm quite jealous. My grandfather really was a genius among primitives in his day. To think what he made 50 years ago trumps anything I've made down to the last wire." "It is a sign doctor," Orbot agreed. "Truly this is your inheritance for the great Eggman empire." "I dunno," Cubot wondered in a goofy tone, balancing himself on the top of the keyboard. "That Earth looks much bigger than the ball of cheese." "That's not by any fault of the Ark," Eggman explained. "The weapon was specifically set to use the power of only a single Chaos Emerald. When combined with the power of the rest of them on top of the Master Emerald, it's destructive capabilities are parallel to none. If the rulers of the world refuse to meet my demands, they'll witness this station's full potential first-hand!" As he finished his little speech, he finally noticed the place Cubot was balancing, seeing how close he was to touching any of the various keys on the board. With a growl, he gripped the robot around his small body. "And watch where you're sitting numbnuts! I don't want the Earth to be destroyed before they have time to surrender to me!" He yanked Cubot off the board and tossed him to the side, causing the little bot to slide on his face before coming to a stop. Despite being non-organic and thus not feel pain, he still felt the need to groan in a lucid daze. He picked himself up, his mechanical eyes rolling in his head. "Don't be so hard on them Eggman," a sultry, feminine voice said above him. "After all, you obviously have a lot to be happy about." Cubot shook his head, fixing his malfunctioning eyes as he drifted his vision to the figure standing over him, following up the figure's white boots. Pink hearts popped into his eyes upon seeing her. The figure was a female bat, evident by her jet-black wings on her back. She wore a one-piece spandex suit that led into pairs of white gloves and high-heel boots with a magenta, heart-shaped breastplate topping it off and a thick belt on her waist with several unidentifiable tools tucked away in the pockets, ideal for espionage work. She kept on a seductive look that was only amplified by her makeup, mainly consisting of blue eyeliner and lipstick. The hair on her head was a pure snow white, her ears much larger than that of some of the other mobians. This most likely made her hearing that many times greater than the average person. She walked past the infatuated Cubot with a sway in her hips, leaving the little bot in a seemingly endless trance as he stared off into the distance where she once stood. "Ah, Rouge," Eggman acknowledged but sounding like he wasn't too happy she was in the same room with him. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" "Is that a hint of suspicion I hear doctor?" she asked, but more as a statement than a question. "To think you still don't trust me after all I went through for those precious emeralds." "Don't get me wrong, your assistance in retrieving the emeralds was most appreciate, but don't think that allows you to prowl around my battle station like you own it. You still have a lot to prove before you're an official subordinate." "You may just break my heart," she feigned sorrow. "And last I checked, I don't believe this was your battle station to begin with. Am I wrong? I was under the impression that it was G.U.N.'s." "Well, you're half right," Eggman groaned. "But that's none of your business anyway! Now, did you need something, or can I get back to my work?" "Is this what you call work?" she playfully said, flying up to be level with the monitor. "I wasn't aware you were planning on destroying the whole Earth. Could've just used it as a scare tactic." Eggman huffed. "It serves both purposes. My little demonstration no doubt caught the attention of every major government in the world. Soon enough, they all might as well be worn around my fingers. Of course, I can't make a threat without a need to back it up. If the world still finds it necessary to resist my rule, they'll be of little consequence. I'll simply blow the whole planet to pieces and rebuild the Eggman Empire from whatever rubble remains. Either way, the great Dr. Eggman will be the one standing on top! It doesn't matter if they're all just piles of ash in the end!" he laughed. "Sorry if that doesn't sound too charming on its own," she said plainly. She sighed, letting her eyes drift over to the core that was holding the Master Emerald and Chaos Emeralds. "Don't forget our deal doctor," she smiled at him. "Once this is all said and done, I would very much like to keep hold of one or two of those beautiful emeralds. I'm thinking the blue one. It would go well with my eyes, don't you think?" she teasingly asked, blinking her sky-blue eyes at the doctor. "You'll be compensated for your service," he stated simply. "But I don't want to catch you near those emeralds in the meantime. You got that missy?" he threatened. The bat couldn't help but lightly chuckles to herself, landing away from the doctor as she walked away. "I've already played my part Eggy. I'll just sit and watch for the fireworks." Eggman turned around in his seat at that. "Did you just come up here to beg for some jewels?" "Well, I am a treasure hunter after all," she answered. "I just wanted to be sure all my hard work wasn't for nothing. Don't worry. I won't be far." She walked off to the exit, keeping her natural sway of the hips. She spotted a figure by the door. Well, more like she knew someone was there the whole time. It's obvious thought that he was aware of that fact, and he just didn't care. Shadow was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, never having taken part in the conversation as he just watched her pass. Rouge frowned. She could feel that his eyes were on her even as she came to the door, and she had a feeling it wasn't because of her stunning beauty. His sharp eyes were intense, just as they were every other time she's seen them. She opened the door, leaving the doctor and his hedgehog bodyguard behind as it shut behind her. As soon as she was out of earshot, Shadow huffed to himself, pushing himself off the wall as he made his way over to Eggman. "You know she's not to be trusted." "I'm aware my friend," Eggman answered. True, she was a valuable asset for retrieving the Chaos Emeralds…" "Also, an unnecessary one," Shadow remarked. "…but she has now become more of a liability than anything. I don't think we'll be able to leave the control room without guards while she's here. Even so, I imagine we can find another use for her. As long as we keep a close eye on her, she won't be any trouble. I'll leave that duty to you." "Of course," Shadow said plainly. He crossed his arms, looking up at the large digital clock that was counting down. "I think you give the humans of this world too much credit. They won't bow to you. They're too stubborn and stuck in their ways to change." "It's a simple act of generosity. It's just up to them to accept that generosity. If they don't, I'll lose little enough to care." Eggman stood up from his seat, hands held behind his back as he walked to the observation window. He stopped to gaze out at the massive spire that stood from the ventral side of the Ark, the tower overshadowing every other structure that stood out. "This station was my grandfather's inheritance to me. He saw the importance of a uniting force to overcome his enemies. It's only poetic that his grandson is the one to take up the mantle! I'll take his greatest creation of Space Colony Ark and destroy all those who dared to defy us!" Eggman suddenly felt a cold glare aimed at the back of his head. Sweating bullets, he quickly turned around with a nervous smile. "U—uh—second only to you Shadow! Of course, none of this would've been possible without your most helpful cooperation!" "Of course, doctor," the black hedgehog replied simply, turning to the door. He had more important business to take care of than listen to this human ramble on all day. He needed to make sure that bat didn't try anything that would undermine the doctor's plan. He narrowed his eyes. Of course, by doctor, he meant Gerald Robotnik, the grandfather of this idiot was working with. It was almost unbearable; the product of Project Shadow being reduced to a mere henchman. But it wouldn't matter at all soon. As soon as the Ark's firing sequence was complete— He stopped, his head jerking up. Eggman froze up at the sudden change in motion, and it didn't help his nerve at all when Shadow suddenly started walking in his direction, a fierce look in his eyes. Thankfully, it didn't seem this was being directed at him. Shadow stopped at the window, looking out at the blue sphere that was Earth. "Shadow?" Eggman questioned. "So," Shadow began, his fist clenching as he glared, the doctor swearing he saw a hint of red shining from his already crimson eyes, "they decided to come after all." "What are you talking about?" Shadow closed his eyes, almost in a contemplative manner. "That blue hedgehog again…he's got something we need." Rainbow was hunched over, her stomach feeling like it was weightless as she held her hooves around the safety handles to either side of her. The whole cockpit she was in was just waves around her. All those apple pies form earlier…oh, she was starting to regret eating so many in one sitting. Never…ever…before any other one of these missions…again. "Hey, you holding up alright Rain?" Sonic questioned. "Wh…" Rainbow groggily answered, "where's the barf bag…?" Sonic snickered behind her. "Remind Tails to install those when we get back to Earth." The way they were seated didn't help with her stomach issues at all. Once they found out how to get to the Ark, Tails managed to find one of Eggman's old bases hidden inside a pyramid. Apparently, it had something they could use to get up there before the day was up. It was easy enough to get inside. Even the massive golem Eggman left for them was of little issue. Now the worst part of it all was their transportation. Rainbow was expecting it to be some kind of teleportation thingy that they could use, or maybe some kind of chaos control machine so they could do the whole time skip thing like Shadow did to her. Oh, Celestia, she was wrong… Now she was always up for some high flying, especially at the high speeds she was known for. But she was never prepared for Tails trying to fly the Tornado into space…while having it connected to a massive space shuttle that they found at the base! The bumps from the turbulence alone were enough to convince her to never fly again in her life, at least not with this kid at the helm. Now they had finally broken through the Earth's atmosphere, and they were safely floating through the emptiness of space once more, just like the Death Egg when she first came here. The other issue came with their seating arrangements. With only four cockpits and five passengers—that being her, Sonic, Amy, and Knuckles with Tails as the pilot—two of them had to double up. Those two being her and Sonic. Current he was situated behind her, leaving enough space to where she could sit in the space between his legs. She had to admit though, it was nice of the guy to let her have the safety handles to herself to hold onto during takeoff, leaving him to hold onto the sides of the seat they were in. That didn't make it any less embarrassing though, and the more she thought about it, the more her blush deepened. She tried to shack off the feeling, but for whatever reason, it just wouldn't leave her alone. Just the thought of her body pressing back against his…he himself seemed oblivious to her predicament, either that or was just wasn't too worried about it. "You could've gone a little smoother with the takeoff, Tails," Knuckles scolded from the rear cockpit. "I'm sorry," Tails apologized. "This is the first time I've tried an atmospheric launch with the Tornado. I'm not used to the controls yet. Besides, I haven't tested the Tornado in space flight at all just yet." "You mean we were a field test just now?!" Knuckles stated in shock. "You can't blame him for that, Knuckles," Amy consoled. "At least he got us here, right?" "I mean…yeah. It just would've been nice if he had said something." "Well don't look now, but we've got an Egghead to crack open," Sonic laughed in a snarky tone. Rainbow looked on, getting a good view of the Ark that sat before them. It was massive. Much larger than the Death Egg and going by the display that Eggman gave everypony earlier, more threatening as well. Its size cast a long shadow over the planet below them, causing a quasi-eclipse. She looked to the moon in the distance. Never before would she have thought she'd get to see a moon up close like this, even if it was thousands of miles away. She couldn't help but wonder…was it possible to visit Princess Luna's moon as well? She had no idea what would even be up there, but the idea just fascinated her. Looking back at the Ark, she narrowed her eyes, a sense of uneasiness clouding her mind. There was something up there other than Eggman or that other hedgehog, but it was just hard to place, more so that she was hoping what she thought it was wasn't the case. 'I don't want to believe it, but…it has to be,' she thought. 'I know you're there Zayn…you big jerk.' "You alright Rainbow?" Sonic asked. Rainbow shook herself out of her stupor. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just ready to get up there and kick some flank is all!" "It's about time. I was getting tired of stealing the spotlight all for myself all the time. I need some competition for once," he laughed. That was a mistake, as he felt the rainbow pony sudden lean back, pressing her body right into his as she roughly jammed his head into the seat with the back of her own. "What was that?! You don't think I can keep up?!" "I thought we were ok now girly…" he mumbled in pain, most of his words drowned out by the pressure. "We are," she leered with a smile. "I'm just putting some punk in his place is all." He deadpanned. "I think I liked it better when you were just some crazy lady I knew…" As their bout continued, an alarm rung in their ears, all the cockpits turning red. "What's going on?!" Amy faltered. "It's the Ark!" Tails answered with fear. "Its defenses are coming online! They must've detected our approach!" Rainbow finally decided to give Sonic a break, at least so he could breathe, which he did as soon as he was released. "What are we looking at, buddy?" he asked on his first intake of air. "I don't know where to begin…" Tails shuddered. "I'm getting readings all throughout the station. Most of them are surface turrets, but I'm getting some strange badnik readings too!" "Come on! How many?!" Rainbow questioned. "Too many! It's like they're covering most of the station already! I can't imagine what kind of production capabilities that thing has if he really made that many in less than a day!" "All the more we get to bust up then," Sonic said cockily. "Can you get us in close?" Everyone heard the audible gulp from Tails's side of the comms. There a long silence for a good amount of time. Eventually, though, he answered. "I can do more than that." He pulled back a level, a huge jerk to the Tornado under them. "Disconnecting from the shuttle! It's just going to weight us down!" True to his word, another jerk passed by them, the mass of the shuttle leaving their view underneath them, leaving the Tornado to free-float. "Are you sure this thing is ready for flying in space already?!" Knuckles asked incredulously. "Before you just got done saying how you've never tested it!" "We're about to find out then!" Tails shouted back, attaching a glass eye-piece over his ear. Almost immediately the tactical data all started to flood into his vision. Enemy placement, power readings, the works. He took a firm grip of the controls, placing his other hand on a nearby lever. "Everyone ready?!" "We were born ready Tails!" Sonic gleefully shouted. "Colors?" "My name is Rainbow Dash! And I'm more than ready Pinhead!" she smirked. "INCOMING PROJECTILES," the onboard computer stated. "SHALL I ACTIVATE AUTOMATED EVASIVE MANEUVERS?" "No," Tails stated, indeed seeing the plethora of fire heading their way. "I'll take us all the way. You guys may want to hang onto something!" "Come on," Rainbow rolled her eyes. "How can it be any worse than the takeoff earlier?" Almost immediately, Tails pushed the throttle forward, an image of the Chaos Emerald power source sending waves of energy to every part of the jet, the once red or yellow meters turning a bright green. The engines kicked in, sending the plane shooting towards the Ark with a trail of bright flames following them. The sudden force caused Rainbow to fall back into Sonic. They were both holding onto whatever they could, the sheer change in speed causing both of them to go wide-eyed as they nearly sunk into the seat. Everyone else was fairing just as bad, all except Tails, whose focus was solely on what was before him, his body not even realizing the full effects of the actions he took. "PROJECTILES WITHIN STRIKING DISTANCE." "I know!" he yelled. He rolled the Tornado to the right, a stray shot scraping right across one of his starboard wings. Several more followed and he completely upturned the plane to dodge them. A flipped back, pushing the engines to their max as another volley came in, this time a barrage of missiles. He flipped up a switch on his controls, pressing the button now under his thumb. The action rewarded him with a shower of flares firing out from his ventral side. Just as he thought, the missiles were redirected, following the newly found heat sources. By the time they detected the Tornado's engines roaring past them, they were already long gone, the missiles exploding shortly after as they grazed the intense heat of the flares. Everyone inside felt the jerk of the shockwave from the explosions, everything inside rattling wildly. Rainbow watched as many blazing lights flashed outside the cockpit window. It was an amazing display no doubt. It just would've been nice if she could get a clear look at all. With all the spinning on Tails's end, it was practically impossible to see anything. It also didn't help that a certain queasy feeling in her stomach was now returning and judging by the groans from Sonic and the others, they were fairing no better. They were upon the Ark now, passing by the spire that was the primary weapon. "We need to get to the base of that weapon!" Tails shouted. "How are we going to do that?!" Amy yelled in confusion, shrieking as another shot scraped her cockpit. "Just hang on! I'm going to try something!" Several markers appeared on Tails's eyepiece, highlighting the badniks lining the exterior of the station. There were so many. But even so, with the Tornado's new upgrades, Tails only smiled at this chance to test them out. Shots flashed in the distance, Tails's pilot instincts kicking in as he strafed the plane past them all. A few hit the surface here and there, that was just a given due to the sheer number of projectiles coming their way. But Tails wasn't an ace for no reason. He was at least able to keep all major systems online, making sure nothing hit anything important. A single shot sparked across Rainbow's and Sonic's cockpit, causing the two to flinch. "Hey! Watch it!" Rainbow scolded. "Sorry! Sorry!" Tails apologized, but with little attention to his or her words. All his attention was on what was in front of him. "Uh, Tails?!" Knuckles questioned, a slight shudder to his voice. "You know there's no opening there, right?!" The rest of the group looked at where he was concerned. It was true. There was no opening anywhere in the station where Tails was flying to. It was just a flat surface of metal, beams, and surface lights. "Hey, he's right!" Rainbow yelled. "Are you crazy?!" "We're about to find out!" Tails stated. The shots were becoming sparser as they neared the station, the Tornado being cast in shadow. Tails peered at a display to his side. It showed the Chaos Emerald again, working tirelessly to power the exuberant amount of thrust given to the engines. It was surprising to him that they haven't melted under the heat yet. But he was focused on something else; a meter that was slowly climbing from red to yellow, and eventually green. Tails gulped. He really hoped this would work. If it didn't…well, deep end it was. The wall of the station was finally upon them, approaching much faster than they would've liked. "We're gonna crash!" Amy cried, hiding her face in her hands. "I hope you've got a plan Tails!" Sonic yelled, his fingers tearing holes in his seat. "Just a little more…" Tails muttered, the meter nearly at full power. "Turn around! Turn around!" Rainbow screamed, nearly banging on her cockpit window in desperation. Finally, the meter flashed full, a bright green bar now appearing. "Now!" Tails yelled, throwing another lever. The second the lever was thrown, the Tornado looked as if it had slammed its nose square onto the surface of the Ark. Everyone was braced for the worst, but it never came. What happened differed greatly from a crash. The entirety of their cockpit windows shined with blinding white light, the whole plane feeling…lighter in some sense like it just wasn't there. Rainbow clutched her heart, her red aura shooting up on its own. She was shocked at the feeling but too distracted by what was going on to bother lowering her aura back down. She knew this feeling. It was so familiar to her, aside from just the obvious energy from the Chaos Emerald. No, this was something more prominent, like, the emerald was releasing a ton of energy all at once, and some of it was pouring into her. Then it hit her. She did know it. This was the same feeling she had whenever she and her friends travel between Equestria and Sol, the same thing that happens when Silver and Blaze do… "Chaos Control," she stated to herself. Just as soon as it came, the light vanished, and everyone expected to be right back where they were, a split second away from smashing into what might as well be a small moon. But no. Everything had changed. No longer were they looking at the darkness of space, surrounded by glittering stars. They were now surrounded by metal, now inside a massive square room. All the Tornado's occupants, aside form Tails, were still stunned at the sequence of events. Tails just smiled proudly at himself. It had worked! After all this time, he had finally gotten it to work! Well, he was sure it was going to work this time, but even so, he couldn't help but smile widely at the turn of events. That smile soon vanished, however, as the Tornado suddenly jerked, the engines completely giving out. Tails suddenly started panicking, the display to his side now flashing red as the thrusters shown extensive damage inside and out. Because of this, the craft slowly started to decline. He gasped, reaching for another lever as he flipped it. The Tornado jerked even harder, everyone inside jumping partially out of their seats. They could feel the whiplash as the Tornado skidded across the floor, a horrible screech from metal on metal reaching their ears. Rainbow felt herself fly back against Sonic, the straps digging into her shoulders as their speed barely let up. She had a death grip on the safety handles, swearing that she was about to tear them straight from their placements. The Tornado bucked again, the plane rotating to the left as Tails tried to stop it. Soon, the insane speed seemed to lessen, but that wasn't saying too much. Rainbow gritted her teeth, almost not even having the will to hold on anymore, but too afraid to let go. The Tornado jerked, and it was sent flying into the air. Rainbow looked out the cockpit window but was both terrified at the rolling and perplexed at the sight of a huge mechanical leg appearing from underneath the body of the plane. The leg impacted with an incoming metal wall… With the sudden stop, the straps over her shoulders broke loose, and the pegasus was flung from her seat. … … Everything had quieted down now, only the sound of the Tornados sputtering engines breaking the silence. The plane was lop-sided, most of its occupants hanging from their seats. Tails breathed heavily, sweat pouring from his fur as he let himself fall back against the seat, sighing. He looked out the window, a thick metal wall just a few feet from hitting the body of the Tornado, the wings had barely grazed it, several markings showing where they had dragged across it. He craned his neck to look further down, seeing what had saved them. It was one of the legs of the Tornado. It looks like he had activated its battle mode just in time, and not a second too late. Given the success of the previous Tornado's battle mode, it was only right that he should install it on this version too, only this was a much bigger undertaking with its size and newly integrated systems. He was just glad they worked out. "Hey," he spoke into the radio. "Is everyone alright?" Several painful groans were heard in response, giving him everything he needed to deduce their answers. Alive, but probably not happy. "Tails…" Knuckles said, threat evident, "If you weren't the only one who knew how to fly this thing…" "I want to get out now, please…" Amy whined weakly. Tails sweatdropped, knowing he was gonna have to deal with plenty of angry passengers eventually. He cleared his throat. "Sonic. Rainbow. Are you both alright?" He waited, but he got no response. "Hey. Are you there? Guys!" His voice indeed went over the radio, bringing Rainbow out of her daze. She groaned, a sharp pain searing itself on her head. She had flown out of her seat, but she was surprised to know that she had not been ejected from the cockpit by the force of the crash. She winced, trying to lift her head from the hard surface it was against. She opened her eyes, trying to pick herself up, but she was being held down by something. Her vision focused and finally noticed the weight that was on top of her. From the looks of it, he just noticed as well. Sonic… The back of her head was against the control panel, likely what she hit against during the crash. Her rear hooves were still partially hanging from the seat, although her flank and part of her back were on the floor. Then came Sonic. When the straps came loose, he must've been flown from the seat as well, as he would be laying directly on top of her if he hadn't caught himself with one arm. Their faces were a mere inch from one another, his breath reaching her muzzle. Both looked at one another perplexed, almost frozen in place as they just stared at one another. Rainbow felt her face heat up from the close contact, and she just prayed that it wasn't visible, but she couldn't help but feel that it was. She had no idea what to say, or even what to think. She wanted to tell him to get off, but for whatever reason, she just couldn't form the words, like her mind, was just blank. She felt a presence on her hoof. She looked to see it his hand interlocked with it. If her blush wasn't visible yet, her face had now gone full blown red. She must've grabbed his hand in a panic! What made it even worse was the fact that he hadn't let go yet, or even worse than that, she hadn't let go! He winced in slight pain as he moved. "You alright girly?" he asked, his face not even showing the same kind of reaction she had to the contact. "I—uh…I…" she stuttered, her mind just going to mush. "Sonic! Rainbow! You guys alright?!" Tails called over the radio again. Sonic looked up, finally releasing his hand and picking himself up. "Yeah, we're good buddy. Just warn us next time you're about to do that, alright?" he scolded, but with a chuckle. He looked back down to Rainbow, but she was still stuck in place, her eyes filled with uncertainty and a red flush on her face. He raised an eyebrow, confused to her state. "You're not hurt, are ya?" he asked with genuine concern, lending her his hand. She jumped at his words, finally broken out of her stupor. She spotted the hand, and she shakily but gingerly took it. "N—no," she spoke, but weakly. "Just…a slight bump from the crash. N—nothing to worry about…" Sonic popped the hatch on the cockpit, pulling the pegasus up to him. She had to catch herself on him due to the uneven footing, but she quickly moved past the position, the contact from before still fresh in her mind. It was more of a stumble, as her mind just felt like paste right now, but she managed well enough to float down from the cockpit to the floor. Sonic soon jumped down with her, getting a good look at their previous ride while Rainbow kept shaking her head. He whistled. "Man, we're lucky you installed stilts on this thing." It really was a close call. The Tornado X was in its enlarged battle mode, the massive legs keeping it propped up off the ground. The left leg was flat on the floor, while the right one was pressed against the wall, that being what stopped them from crashing. Lucky for them Tails must've worked his tails off to make sure they could hold up that kind of weight. He watched as the other three pulled themselves from their confines, Tails having the easiest time with his two tails. Knuckles was looking more green than red, reminding Sonic of the colors of a Christmas tree, although with a violent shake of the head, he glided down, although down to one knee when he landed, his stomach still not recovered. Amy came out next, although she had just draped herself over the side of the cockpit, unintelligible murmurs that she was trying to form into words coming out. "Ames!" Sonic called up. "Come on we got to juice!" She didn't answer, still slumped over with her face hidden form view. "Oh man," Tails scratched his cheek in nervousness. "I hope I didn't overdo it." "Overdo it?!" Knuckles yelled. "You could've gotten us killed! How many times do we have to have those close calls before we finally become just a paste on the wall?!" "Hey hey," Sonic said, putting himself between him and Tails. "He got us here in one piece, didn't he? Never said it has to be a comfortable ride." "That's not the point, Sonic!" Their conversation was cut by another moan from Amy, the girl still not moving from her position, that is, until they noticed she was slowly starting to slide over the edge, all to the point to where she slid right out, falling to the ground. "Amy!" Tails shouted in worry. Sonic looked at her, dashing over in a blur to catch her in his arms. He breathed out a sigh of relief. "You're not looking so hot Ames," he jested. "You sure you're good for the rest of the trip?" He received no answer, tilting his head in confusion and a bit of worry. Was she unconscious? He looked over what he could see of her head and couldn't find any injuries, at least none that were visible. Maybe she fainted. Can't blame her. As good a flyer Tails is, he's anything but— Without warning, Amy suddenly latched around Sonic's neck. He was shocked at the very least, and a bit uncomfortable to find that she was rubbing her cheek on his. "Thank you, Sonic," she happily sung, her eyes closed in content. "Amy, what…?" Sonic muttered. "You're always there to save me when it counts," she cooed. "He's a present!" She didn't wait for an answer before she planted a small kiss on his cheek. Sonic visibly grimaced at the contact, part of his muzzle turning a sickly blue. "Uuuhhh…I'm just doing my job…" he groaned with a partially forced smile. Rainbow couldn't help but look at the action with a similar look. That girl really needed catch on that Sonic just wasn't up for that kind of relationship. Hay, she figured that out from the beginning when she first saw them together. Amy might as well have been one of those fangirls hoping for their Prince Charming to come along and complete them or something like that. She groaned. Now she was just getting flashbacks from when Snips and Snail when Trixie for came to Ponyville. She was this close to just giving the two toadies a hoof bump straight to their dumb little snouts. Looking at the two hedgehogs now, she couldn't help but feel annoyed. Sonic was trying to set Amy down, but the girl refused to release his neck, doing her best to pull him into a hug. She saw how Sonic was, it was written all over his face. So why couldn't she get that? Although… She couldn't help think back to their little incident a couple of minutes ago. Sonic's face might as well have been pressed right up against hers, but he didn't react at all to it, certainly not as he was with Amy right now. Maybe it was just because of the circumstances, but... 'No no no no no no no no no!' she frantically thought, blushing. 'Get a hold of yourself Rainbow! Like he was thinking anything like,' she mentally laughed. However, that didn't make it any easier to think straight, not with that thought now in her head. Sonic had finally managed to free himself from Amy's grasp, much to her disappointment. He dusted himself off casually and looked to Tails. "So, what's the next part of the plan buddy?" Tails perked up. "Oh! Right!" he exclaimed. Spinning up his two tails to head back up into the cockpit of the Tornado. With a creek and a jolt, the large mech started to move, prying its right leg from the wall as it righted itself, the floor shaking with each step it took. After it was finally level, he popped out over the edge of the cockpit with a shiny object in his hands. "Sonic! Take this!" he yelled, throwing said object to the blue hedgehog. Sonic caught it, and the group now saw what it was. The yellow Chaos Emerald that had powered the Tornado. "You're giving us the emerald?" Rainbow asked. "Doesn't that mean your plane just…doesn't work now?" "It wouldn't if that was the real Chaos Emerald," Tails smiled. The group now grew curious and eyed the gem with suspect. Now that he mentioned it, it didn't have the same life-like glow to it as they've seen before. In fact, it was quite dim. "What is it?" Knuckles asked. "I don't sense the same kind of energy inside it as the other emeralds." "It's a synthetic Chaos Emerald I made using the real one inside the Tornado as a template," Tails explained. "It doesn't have the same kind of power output as the real one, but that's what I made it for." "What do you mean?" Amy questioned. "When Eggman fired at the moon, I did some scans. Whatever the weapon outside fires is supplemented by chaos energy, just like the form Chaos was made of. My theory is that Eggman is using the some of the other emeralds, and maybe even the Master Emerald, to power it." "But what would a fake emerald get us that we can't just do ourselves?" Rainbow questioned, her brow raised. "It's just a theory, but if I'm right, if we can insert this emerald with the fake ones, the others may react negatively to it. It could cause a chain reaction and destroy the station outright." "But it's not a guarantee," Knuckles pointed out. "No, it's not. But if we can't stop the weapon otherwise, we'll at least have another option." "Sounds like a plan to me!" Sonic stated, clutching the emerald tight. "Yeah!" Rainbow exclaimed. "What're we waiting for?! Let's put that plan into motion!" Tails brought the Tornado about, the floor shaking beneath their feet. "Alright," he agreed, looking at his scanners. "From here, the signature from the closest emerald is coming from," he pointed down to the end of the large room, a large cargo hatch on the other side, "that way!" "Well," Sonic tossed the fake emerald in the air before catching it again, "lead the way Tails. You're the leader for this mission." Tails responded with a salute, closing the canopy and bringing the Tornado about. The lumbering machine walked with reverbing echoes off the walls, Sonic and the others following at its side. The carbo hatch at the end extended into a long hallway, and thankfully it seemed that it was just big enough for the Tornado to fit into. In the time they had spent walking now, Rainbow was surprised they hadn't seen anymore badniks along the way. They must still be looking for them outside, either that or they just thought they impacted with the Ark and that was that. This, in turn, made the trip spent in the halls all the more boring, even more than Twilight's weekly book club that she forced her into. She wanted to stretch her wings after that long flight. She could already feel the tingle of restlessness in them. Now she and Sonic could've easily made it to their destination in a flash. Although, splitting up so early in the game with the Tornado's engines essentially melted didn't seem like the best idea, especially when it may involve leaving the others behind. Too bad, she was looking forward to meeting that black hedgehog again too, just to give him a little payback for earlier. That hedgehog. He's been on her mind more than often lately. Silver had shared a bit of information about him before they found the space shuttle. It was hard for her to believe, but according to him and Blaze, he was a…a friend of theirs? Well, she supposed friend was a bit of a loose term regarding him. Shadow. She just couldn't believe that. He was supposed to be one of Sonic's friends, but he was anything but from what she's seen. It surprised Silver and Blaze too, as they had no idea Shadow was even involved in this part of the timeline. That's just great. Another mission of going in blind. Just what she needed. Still, if it was true that he was a friend of theirs, why was he with Eggman of all people? Surely, he didn't like the guy. Just from their first encounter with Shadow, she could easily tell that much. They spent nearly half an hour moving down the halls of the expansive station. The Tornado's steps did little to keep them low profile. Strangely enough, they still encountered no resistance. "I don't like this," Knuckles stated. "We've gone too long without seeing any badniks. Does the doctor really think we're not here?" "Maybe he's just scared," Rainbow chuckled. "Probably tired of us kicking his big egg-shaped flank over and over." "I don't know," Tails spoke from the cockpit. "According to this, there aren't even any alarms going off, not even for possible security breaches." "Sounds to me like he's setting up a trap," Sonic smirked. "But," Amy voiced, "would a trap work if we already know there's a trap?" "Only if we want to spring it," Sonic laughed. "Which I'm looking forward to doing." After another minute, they came to a large sliding door, but it was already opened, revealing a circular shaped room on the other side. "See," Sonic said, "he's already inviting us in." They all stepped into the room, now seeing it was an observation deck, the bright blue planet that was Earth within perfect view. The ceiling was very tall, even compared to the Tornado and aside from the cross guards, the whole floor was made of glass. Tails had stepped on one of the panes and worried for a second that it might break. Thankfully, that wasn't the case. Whatever this glass as made out of, it was strong enough to easily hold the weight of the plane. "Wow," Rainbow stated in wonder, trotting over to the large window. "This reminds me from when we were on the Death Egg. Umm…is it strange that I'm slowly starting to get a fear of heights doing all this space stuff?" Sonic heard a snicker from Sonic. "Strange? That's just crazy talk coming from you. Man, Eggman really did go all out with this thing, didn't he?" "Crazy to think that he managed to build something this large," Knuckles observed. "Forget the Death Egg. We might as well be inside a small moon." "But that's the thing," Amy pondered, sticking back to gaze around the room itself. "I don't think he built this. Remember, Rainbow Dash? He said he had found it, like someone else made it." "Yeah," Rainbow agreed. "But who would that be?" "I'll see if I can pull any records from the Ark's computer," Tails suggested, twiddling with his controls. "We may be close enough that I can remotely hack into its systems, but I'm sure how much." The group was all by the window, waiting for whatever Tails could dig up, all except one member. Amy was looking down at the Earth through the glass floor. It was a little disorienting, seeing yourself stepping on nothing but the emptiness of space. Even so, there was a particular beauty to it, the soft blue glow of the Earth shining brightly in her emerald eyes. She hadn't been involved in what they were talking about now, so for her, this was her first taste of action outside the Earth's reach. She sighed. It was so unfair. Sonic and the others were so much more experienced than she was with this kind of stuff, she was almost jealous. Well, for more than one reason. It was hard to say for sure, but…what was with that Rainbow Dash girl? She looks like she hadn't aged a day since they first met. She was only a kid back then; Rainbow seemingly like a young adult at least. Now, she could swear that they were the same age. Not only that but…she couldn't help but feel…jealous of her too…with her and Sonic… A subtle but heavy click of metal caused her ears to twitch. She shook away the thoughts, looking back. She gave out a terrified screech, the sound of working machinery silencing her. The group instantly turned away from the window at the scream. "Amy?!" Sonic shouted with worry. The group turned to see Amy being held off the floor, her face turning a tinge of blue as a massive mechanical hand clutched tightly around her torso. The hand was connected none other than Eggman's eggmobile, a similar looking arm and hand on the other end with the doctor himself sitting comfortably in its seat as he twirled his mustache. "Eggman?!" Rainbow writhed. "Let her go Eggman!" Knuckles ordered, bearing his teeth with a seething rage. "Nah ah ah," Eggman wagged his finger. He punctuated by having the large hand squeeze, starting to crush Amy's body under the force as she tried to scream. Nothing came out however, her air cut off as tears of pain fell from her cheeks. "Don't take another step forward you vermin." "Wait!" Tails pleaded, nearly jumping from the cockpit. "Let's take care of business, shall we, Sonic?" Eggman chortled. "Hand over that Chaos Emerald like a good hedgehog, or else your little girlfriend will be nothing more than a hedgehog-skinned rug." He squeezed again, Amy now having to shut her eyes to the pain. Sonic gritted his teeth, his fist clenching as he watched his arch nemesis squeezing the life out of her. He looked at the Chaos Emerald, a quick though going through his head. Eggman doesn't know that this emerald is a fake one, while the real one is tucked safely away in the Tornado. He looked to Tails and Knuckles, both of them seeing his subtle but sly smirk. They understood. He looked to Rainbow, nothing but anger and worry in her magenta eyes. She looked back, almost looking for an answer to the problem before them. Sonic smiled knowingly, lifting the emerald up slightly. This caught her eye, and while she didn't get it initially, her eyes glinted with realization. It could work. And if it did, they'd take out two birds with one stone. "I won't ask again," Eggman threatened. "Put the emerald down right in front of me," he gestured to the middle of the room, "and then back off." Sonic smirked, gripping the emerald tight. He started walking forward to the spot. "Well, you've turned into a big-time villain doctor," he mused. "Color me surprised." He stepped into the spot, the area being lit up by the circle of light. He showed the doctor the emerald as if trying to show he wasn't trying anything funny. If only he knew… A flash was heard behind him. "Sonic!" Rainbow yelled in shock. "Behind you!" Sonic didn't even have a chance to respond. A sharp pain was suddenly felt as a hand chopped at his nape, her nerves going out of whack in that instance. His vision slowly went to black, the last thing he saw being a smirking Dr. Eggman and Amy with a fearful look on her face. He fell to the floor, the fake emerald dropping next to him. "SONIC!" Rainbow shouted in worry. The new figure stepped over the now unconscious Sonic, tapping the fake emerald with his boot. "A plain fake," Shadow mocked. "Like you could possibly understand the true power they hold." He stepped away, facing the group with crossed arms. Eggman slowly began chuckling, all until it boiled over into one big laugh. "Hah HA! Excellent work Shadow! I knew I could count on you! Now!" Eggman exclaimed, pulling out a remote control from his vest and pressing the controls. With a burst of steam from the ceiling, a glass tube lowered down over where Sonic and the fake emerald laid, trapping them inside. "Sonic no!" Amy screamed in tears. "Well, I don't need you anymore do I," Eggman stated to Amy. He tossed the small girl to the concern of the room, Amy clutching her side in immense pain. "You know, I always imagined it would end this way my spikey-haired friend," he spoke to the knocked-out Sonic. "You trapped in an inescapable prison as you await your imminent demise!" Knuckles growled with a burning fury. "You let him go!" he yelled, charging toward the glass cage with a raised fist. He lunged at it, Shadow not even trying to stop him as the black hedgehog just watched passively. Knuckles struck the tube with all his might, but to his surprise, it didn't even crack, or even buckle. "What the?!" he swore, jumping back as he came to a halt. He grunted. "The heck is that thing made out of?!" "Just a little new invention of mine," Eggman boasted. "I call it diamond glass. Good luck trying to break it, as true to its name, it's harder than even the strongest diamond!" Shadow just huffed. "Just get this over with, doctor," he suggested. "This has gone on too long." "You're quite right, Shadow," he agreed, eyeing the remote in his hand, with a wavering finger. "Say goodbye Sonic the Hedgehog!" "Rainbow!" Silver shouted in the earpiece, nearly deafening Rainbow in that ear. "Don't let him press that button!" She didn't even waste a second. She flared her wings and shot off to the right, flanking around the tube in a streak of rainbow. Eggman was caught off guard but the swiftness she demonstrated, almost dumbstruck. She readied her hoof to strike, but within a split second, Shadow popped into view, leaving a reddish yellow streak as he passed Knuckles by. They impacted with one another, her front leg and his arm locking as their faces laid inches from one another. "It won't be that easy," Shadow shot. She gritted her teeth at the pressure he was pushing back against her. Silver was right; he was strong. Their eyes locked, and her pupils shrunk at what she saw…a flash of red in his eyes, one that flowed out like water. A dark aura covered him head to toe. 'Him?!' she screamed in her mind. 'He's the one who's being manipulated?!' "HAH!" Eggman laughed. "Nice try girly! Now—" A shape shot out of the corner of her eye. It was Tails in the Tornado. He had quickly circled around the other side from them, opening up his missile bays and firing them out Eggman. The doctor caught on with an agitated growl, throwing the mechanical arms up to shield himself from the blast. The missiles exploded, the arms getting torn to shreds as the eggmobile careened out of control. The doctor yelled as he was spun about, getting thrown from the vehicle before it crashed off to the side. Eggman skipped off the floor before coming to a halt, laying on his back in a daze as the remote slide away from him. "Grab that remote!" Tails yelled, already bringing the Tornado to bare on the device. By this time, Rainbow and Shadow had pushed off one another, both sliding away before Shadow shot a glare to Tails. He scoffed. "Chaos control!" he yelled, his body disappearing in a flash as he was suddenly in front of the Tornado. Tails was taken off guard, not just at his sudden appearance, but when he struck the Tornado's leg with a kick, causing the large machine to veer off course and nearly trip over itself. Tails grunted as he was thrown about, but he held strong and took aim at Shadow. The hedgehog was in his sights, crosshairs aimed true. He fired, a flurry of shots coming from the Tornado's forward guns. Where it looked as if he managed to score a hit, Shadow suddenly vanished again. Tails gasped but froze still when he witnessed Shadow appearing right on top of his cockpit, a heated, red-eyed glare bearing down on him. "Get over here!" Knuckles shouted, Shadow turning just in time to evade his punch with a simple turn of his body. Tails watched as Knuckles flew over him. Knuckles caught himself on the body of the Tornado and turned right back to face the black hedgehog, who just looked at him with an almost bored expression. He threw another punch, but Shadow just dodged again, flipping over Knuckles as he threw a kick. Knuckles blocked it but was surprised by the amount of strength behind it. Not that it mattered though. He was still stronger. The two clashed for some time, although it mostly just consisted of Knuckles taking all the punishment as Shadow perfect countered every one of his punches. Knuckles soon felt his heel slipping off the side of the Tornado, Shadow coming at him again with a readied strike. He struck Knuckles in the stomach, sending the echidna into the air. Knuckles coughed profusely, watching helplessly as Shadow jumped after him still, readying a kick. "Over here ya Sonic wannabe!" he heard Rainbow shout, her voice getting closer with each word. Shadow grunted in annoyance. "Chaos Control!" he shouted again, flashing away as Rainbow's punch sailed by. "Pony feathers!" she swore. "What're you doing?!" Knuckles scolded, as managed to somewhat rough glide down. "Don't let him know you're there!" "I thought I could distract him!" Knuckles was about to rebuttal but stopped himself as he looked above her. "Above you!" Rainbow shot her gaze upward, spying Shadow who was starting to fall to them. "Chaos Spear!" he announced as he swept his hands across the air. Rainbow was taken back, as several yellow spear-like missiles manifested from his hands. They approached quickly, and she was getting ready to dodge them. Just as they came upon her, however, they diverted around her, passing her by completely. She was confused. He couldn't have missed that badly, could he? She turned around, her eyes going wide. They weren't for her. They were for the Tornado, for Tails. Before any of them could do anything, the spears struck the left leg of the mech, all of them exploding with a furry. Tails shrieked as the Tornado suddenly began falling over, the leg completely gone and leaving the plane with nothing to stand on. It crashed down with a mighty quake, sending Tails flying from the cockpit. "Tails!" Rainbow panicked. She grit her teeth in rage, turning back to Shadow. He was still airborne, shocking to see since he didn't have any wings. She noticed the subtle glow from his boots, small jets on the sole that kept him afloat. "You're gonna regret that buster!" She charged him, quickly trying to close the distance as she readied a buck. He just huffed. "Like you can do anything to change an outcome that was already decided," he taunted. He curled up, going into a midair spin dash as he flung himself at her. Her hooves collided with his spinning body. Their collision resulted in them both getting pushed back, a small shockwave being felt throughout the room. Shadow grunted. This was more troublesome than challenging. Although he had to admit, this pony had some skill to her. Not compared to his own by any means. She was more on par with that blue hedgehog than anyone else. He quickly scanned the room, able to see all his opponents with one glance. The echidna was helping out the fox, who was still recovering from his plane crashing down. The rainbow-haired pony was still engaged with him, already gearing up for another mad rush at him. But there was still one missing, one he couldn't see. "The girl," he muttered, seeing Rainbow coming at him. "Take this!" she shouted as she threw he punch. "I don't have time for you," Shadow told her, leaning back in the air as the punch flew over his stomach. He brought his leg up, kneeing her in the stomach. He could see the pain in her face as she choked. She was disoriented for now. "Chaos Control." Light consumed him, and in that split second, he flipped back up and was on the floor. The light vanished and in front of him was the pink hedgehog, a look of fear and shock on her face. He took his hand and grabbed her by the neck as she ran into it. He lifted her off the floor, his heels skidding to a stop as they nudged something. He looked back very quickly, seeing he had bumped the remote as he teleported, the small device sliding to the other end of the room. So that's was what she was going for. He looked back at the girl, her hands going to his as she struggled to get free. Weak and pathetic, just like the rest of them. He heard a thud, prompting to turn to the group before him. The pony looks to have landed despite his strike a second ago. Her breath was uneven, her body fatigued. Perfect. It would make this next step easier. Shadow presented Amy to them, making sure they could see his hand gripped around her neck. "Give up, or else," he threatened, narrowing his dark eyes. "D-don't do it…" Amy struggled, choking through every word. "S-Sonic will—" she was cut off, Shadow hand tightening. "Let, her, go," Knuckles seethed, bearing his fists. "If you value this girl's life, you'll surrender, right now. If not, her life will be snuffed out with a simple twist of the wrist." "Y-you…" Rainbow muttered, paralyzed. Not with fear, but with great apprehension. What were they supposed to do? Give up? But if they didn't, Amy would… The group was silent, unsure what to do or say. No one moved, the air hanging heavy with tension, the only sound being the hum of the station and the sound of Amy's horrific gurgles. Shadow must have gotten impatient. His eyes glowed with an evil aura, his hand tightening further, causing Amy to be silenced completely, her life nearing its end. "Darn it," Knuckles swore. "Fine! You win…" Rainbow looked at him, shocked. "He what?!" she shouted. "You can't be serious!" "What can we do?! Huh, Rainbow Dash?!" Knuckles spat, putting his hands up in surrender. "If we try anything, Amy won't last. I hate it too, but I'm not an idiot when it comes to a friend in danger!" "He's right, Rainbow," Tails said, downtrodden as he raised his hands as well. "He's got our backs against a wall. Without Sonic, we don't stand a chance right now." "Yeah, but…" she stopped, not even sure how to properly respond. "…this was to help Sonic…wasn't it…?" They didn't get to talk further. The clanking of metal feet indicated one thing: badniks. The metal minions rushed into the room, passing by Shadow and Amy as they bore handcuffs. "HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!" the lead one ordered. It was hard for them, their faces said that much, but with great reluctance, Knuckles and Tails extended their hands out, the badniks wasting no time in slapping the cuffs on them. Rainbow herself was having a harder time. There had to be someway out of this. There had to be. They had fought through worse than this. "HANDS UP!" the bot ordered again. "They're hooves bolts for brains," she muttered under her breath, reluctantly raising her hooves. They instantly cuffed them. The cuffs were heavy, and it made it awkward to stand with her front legs so close together. There was stirring at the back of the room. Low and behold, Eggman had managed to recover from his daze, a large red bump on his bald head. "Miscreants," he spat, rubbing the spot as he walked to Shadow. "You seem to have handled yourself well." "Of course," Shadow boasted, finally throwing Amy down, the girl coughing profusely. "Get up," Shadow ordered, crossing his arms. She didn't respond. Whether it was from a lack of awareness, he didn't know. "I said get up!" he ordered again. After some time, she did so, but not because he said so. She near jumped up, a single angered fist flying right at Shadow. It never made its mark, as Shadow simply backhanded the girl on the cheek before it landed. She fell back to the floor, her hair a mess, her arms shaky. Without waiting for her this time, two badniks walked up and picked her up by her arms, cuffing her shortly after. "Very punctual, Shadow," Eggman said with a congratulatory glee. "I knew I could count on you. Now, where is that remote?" Rainbow tried moving in her cuffs, seeing that Amy wasn't in direct harm now, but they were too restrictive to move right. "Darn it," she swore under her breath. This was bad. Knuckles looked like he was trying to pull apart his pair now, but it was no use. Whatever these cuffs were made from, they must be strong if even Knuckles couldn't break them. She looked to Shadow, the dark hedgehog staring right back at her. Her blood was boiling now. She just couldn't sit like this. She tried moving again, nearly dragging her hooves across the floor. "Just give up," she heard Shadow comment. "What was that?!" she spat. "Give up," he stated again. "You already tried to change the future, but you failed." "Show's what you know! Don't know if you've heard, but I don't give up, not when I have friends to protect!" Shadow scoffed, clearly unimpressed by her statement. "You're weighed down by that same weakness: your want to protect your friends. You failed because you put too much trust in them, just like how they put too much trust in you. They only end up getting in the way, ties being just burdens." "What are you talking about?! I do trust all my friends, even those that aren't here now! I trust them all, and they trust me! My friends here, I trust them completely! And…I trust Sonic, and I hope he trusts me! But guess someone like you doesn't understand the importance of loyalty!" "I already have my loyalties," Shadow rebuked. "Don't act as if you know me. Friends are worthless. You'd do best to learn that." Rainbow seethed. It was one thing to insult her. It was something else to insult her friends, those she loved, those she wished to protect with her life. She was the element of loyalty! To ask her to forget her friends would be worse than anything she could imagine. "Stop acting all big and tough! If I had to guess, you never experienced what it was like to want to protect someone you love! You don't even show emotion! Just acting all moody and…what? Edgy?! You don't even know what friendship is like!" The red in his eyes seemed to flare at that, his breath seeming to hitch. "You're this close to seeing what I'm like when I do decide to cut loose," he glowered, voice coated with venom as he turned away, Eggman seems to have found the remote. "Worthless pony. You can watch as your 'friend' perishes in space." That last part stuck with her for a few seconds more, and something in her ticked, like a feeling locked in the back of her mind, just let loose. Never in her life did she think she'd hate somepony more than this hedgehog in front of her. Everything he spat was just…wrong! Stupid! Give up on her friends? On the very thing that made her, her? Not only that but to have the gall to threaten them, having no qualms about ending their lives without a second thought. It was infuriating. She felt her hoof scrape against the floor hard, not caring of the pain she felt to it. "Everything you just said was wrong," she muttered, not caring if he heard her or not. Shadow must've not cared enough to answer, but he did turn around. He raised a brow, something seeing off about the pony in cuffs. The others must've noticed too, as they were all mesmerized by the deep red glow that was slowly encompassing her body. It was like a gently rising fire, so much heat being generated that waves were beginning to form in the air. He felt a pulse, looking down at the Chaos Emerald in his hand. It was glowing brightly, more than usual, and he wasn't even using it. "What is this?" he questioned himself. "I don't care what you have to say about me, or what you threaten to do to me…" Rainbow spoke, her voice sounding much more mature for her kind of talk. "But there's just one thing that you never do or say in front of me you dumb hedgehog…" The aura rose further, Eggman now taking notice of it. "What is this?" It was now swirling around her like a miniature tornado, Shadow's fight or flight instincts actually kicking in for once. Just what was— A loud snap was heard, Rainbow's head flying up to reveal her eyes. They were no longer magenta. They were a deep red, a certain sparkle to them as it flowed from her pupils. "What?!" Shadow questioned. "You never tell me to give up on friends!" Like that, the cuffs broke, to everyone's great shock, especially the likes of Knuckles. Not even he could break them, but all of a sudden, she could?! They didn't even get a moment of contemplation. She was gone in a blur, leaving behind nothing but a red flowing aura in her wake. Shadow was the one taken by surprise the most, as before he even knew it, a sharp, unbelievable pain shot through his cheek, Rainbow's hoof striking it with tremendous strength. Rainbow's teeth were bared, her pupils shrunken to near nothing. This was the only time Shadow had ever been struck in such a manner. In truth, he was shocked. He tried to respond, but something was happening in those short few moments. A white light was slowly taking up his vision, all to the point of near nothingness as her hoof pressed further into his cheek. Shadow…please… His vision flashed back to normal, time slowly drifting back to normal. "Maria…" he stuttered, not even realizing he was starting to clutch his fist. The punch sent him flying backward, but Rainbow wasn't done. She flew after him, readying another punch. Her mind just felt blank right now. She was focused on one thing and one thing only. Beating this guy into the ground, even if it cost her life to do it. Her punch flew true, aiming straight for his head again. "Chaos control!" she heard him shout, his voiced raised much more than it had been up to this point. She expected him to teleport away, to reappear somewhere else like all the other times. Not this time, however. An all too familiar feeling came over her. A sense of weightlessness and nauseating wooziness. The entire room suddenly became coated in negative colors, everything looking to be black and white with hints of colors that were harmful to her eyes. Above all else, she felt frozen, just hovering in place, unable to move an inch. Shadow was no longer flying backward. He was now standing up straight, still able to move and eyes full of fiery hate. He disappeared in a blur. She suddenly felt several strikes on different parts of her body, small blurred fists impacting with her skin. They didn't feel like full punches, however. They were more like jabs that hurt initially but left no lasting feeling. In that split second, Shadow reappeared, his hand raised with his middle finger touching his thumb. He snapped them, his gaze never leaving hers. The second after that had to have been the most excruciating moment in her entire life. Time suddenly returned to normal, and all the colors of the world returned. And like that, she felt herself getting pummeled. All those fists from before, it was like they were all hitting her at once, her face, stomach, back and everything else getting repeatedly and repeatedly attacked with unrelenting force, the strikes moving too fast for her even to see them. And like that, it was over. The strikes vanished, and so did her aura. She fell to the floor with a thud, but she never felt the impact. Her eyelids were heavy and swollen, her entire body wracked with lasting pain. "Rainbow!" she heard Tails yell, but it so hard to hear him, like he was in a tunnel with a constant ringing in her ear. Tunnel vision started taking over her, her eyes only able to see the unconscious form of Sonic in the tube. "S…Sonic…" she muttered, not even sure if she was speaking right or not. She felt her body being turned onto its back, her now staring at the ceiling…and a very livid black hedgehog, his red eyes on fire. The last thing she saw after that, was just the heel of his boot coming down on her head.