Chapter 23: Broken
Chapter 23: Broken
Rainbow groaned in pain, the world dark as the air felt cold to the touch. Where was she? She felt like she was standing, but at the same time…not standing… It was an odd sensation like she was weightless. But soon, the feeling of freezing cold metal registered in her mind. On each of her hooves, she could feel a tight grip.
"IS IT READY YET?" she heard through the grogginess, a synthetic tone to the voice.
"LEVELS ARE STABILIZING," another voice said. "THE DOCTOR SHOULD HAVE HIS CREATION SOON."
She struggled to open her eyes, but through a show of will, she managed to force them open. This let her eyes be met with a blinding light, the feeling of a headache going off behind them. She squinted, her vision coming back into focus as the light dimmed.
"Uuughhhh…" she groaned again, looking to the side just to get the light out of her eyes. "Where…?"
…
…
Everypony in the room went still as she looked to them, and likewise, she froze at the sight of them. Three tall, white badniks stood before her, their beady eyes locked to her. "UMM!" one of them panicked. "SHE'S AWAKE!"
Out of instinct, Rainbow threw a punch at the closest one. Unfortunately for her, her hoof felt locked firmly in place. Confused and shocked, she looked over she to see what stopped her; a shiny metal clamp locked around her hoof. She tried lifting another but found an identical one on it as well.
"DON'T BE ALARMED," the lead one spoke. "THE RESTRAINTS WILL HOLD HER IN PLACE."
"H-hey!" she shouted. "What is this?!"
Now able to take in her surroundings, she saw that she was lying on some kind of operations table with all of her hooves clamped down tightly, so much that they dug into her with every movement. There was a bright operations bulb suspended above her, along with something she couldn't quite describe. It was like a mechanical arm, but it didn't have a hand on the end. Instead, it had some kind of dish-shaped doohickey with a complex antenna in the center, and it was pointed directly at her.
She tried pulling on the restraints again but to no avail.
"TRY AS YOU WISH LITTLE PONY," one of the badniks mocked. "YOU'RE A PRISONER OF THE GREAT DOCTOR EGGMAN. YOU'RE EFFORTS ARE FUTILE."
"Futile my flank," she spat, still trying her hardest to break free, squirming as she pulled and shook the shackles.
"SHE IS A FOOL. JUST CONTINUE WITH THE OPERATION."
"BUT DOESN'T SHE NEED AN ANESTHETIC?"
This resulted in the badnik in question to be slapped upside the head by the lead one.
"DUNCE. WHAT WOULD IT MATTER? ONCE SHE'S ONE OF US, SHE WON'T BE FEELING A THING."
"THAT'S A LITTLE COLD," the third one stated.
"THE DOCTOR TOOK A BIG INTEREST IN THIS LITTLE ONE. AS LONG AS ITS DONE, IT SHOULDN'T MATTER TOO MUCH."
"Hey!" Rainbow shouted, getting their attention. "Where the hay am I?! And what're you talking about 'one of you'?!"
"QUIET YOU! JUST SIT BACK AND GET COMFORTABLE. YOU CAN PUT IN A COMPLAINT ONCE THE ROBOTICISER HAS DONE ITS WORK."
Rainbow suddenly froze. Roboticizer?! "W-what are you talking about?!" she asked with a slight tremble to her voice.
"ONE OF THE FINEST PIECES OF ENGINEERING THE GREAT DOCTOR HAD EVER EMPLOYED!" the badnik exclaimed as it patted the dish. "IT CAN TURN ANY ORGANIC INTO A MACHINE. IT'S HOW THE GOOD DOCTOR GOT MANY OF US IN THE PAST! SOON, YOU'LL BE JUST LIKE US!"
Rainbow's heart nearly stopped. She could feel her mouth hanging agape in pure shock. She didn't know if it was from the thought of her body suddenly being turned into metal, forever meant to do the bidding of some mad doctor, or if she really was gonna end up looking like…them.
She struggled even harder than before, part of her hooves now going red. She was not gonna end up like that!
"ROBOTICIZER AT 100%," the badnik at the control panel stated.
"EXCELLENT. PROCEED WITH THE PROCEDURE."
The dish lowered in front of her in response, a subtle green energy converging toward the center.
"Hey! Hold it! I-I'm not wanting to end up looking like you guys!"
"YOUR COMPLIANCE ISN'T A FACTOR."
She felt herself sweating bullets at this point. What was she supposed to do?! These clamps had her stuck in place with no way of escape! She could see the green energy increasing in size around the antenna, a mechanical hum increasing in volume all the while. She had to think of something. Anything! She wanted to reach out to her element of harmony, but she couldn't feel anything. She must be too far from wherever the Chaos Emeralds were now.
It suddenly clicked in her mind as well. What happened to everypony else?! Did they…? NO! Surely, they didn't let themselves get roboticized! But…what if they did? What if they were nothing more than Eggman's personal automatons right now, and she was just the last one to the chopping block?! And—
Her eyes went wide again. What happened to Sonic?!
"Ugh! Darn it!" she swore. She didn't want to do this just yet, but she had no choice. There was no other way out of this predicament. She closed her eyes, envisioning Sol in her mind. If she couldn't break the cuffs, she could just try leaving back through the Time Gate. At the very least, she may be able to come back to this time just after this happened. Then she could properly sort things out.
She focused and focused, the mountainous green lands of Sol fixated in her thoughts. But…she felt no comforting sensation that she felt every other time she did this. No matter how hard she envisioned the location, she just seemed to get pulled back to the here and now. Darn it! What was going on?! Why did it feel so hard to do anything?! Why did it feel like…so much weight?
…
Zayn…
It had to be. It felt just like when she tried fleeing from Chaos; like a weight was just coming down on her shoulders, and partially her mind. It was whatever he did to her last time she was in this timeline. But…before she could go back home after Sonic defeated Chaos. But why not now?! Why Now?!
"ROBOTICIZER ACTIVATED!"
She was broken out of her thoughts when the green energy suddenly became a ray, striking her body as it caused her to lurch in sudden pain. She yelled out, the energy now starting to coat her entire body. She could feel it seeping into her very form, her muscles tense and a petrified sensation to her bones.
"Dang it! Dang it! Dang it! N-no!" she yelled out, his eyes shut tight as mind slowly started going dark. All she could really focus on now was the ardent laughter of the badniks.
However, this laughter seemed to filter out on their own, seeming to stop at the tapping noise she heard over the pulsing of the energy.
Indeed, the badniks all stopped their laughter, taking their beady eyes off the squirming pony and looked to their feet to the tapping noise. The lead one, in fact, felt a small tap on its mechanical foot, caused by a small, greyish ball rolling into it.
"WHAT IS THIS?" it questioned, reaching down to pick the object up. "HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BEFORE?"
"NO, SIR," one of the others said. "IT IS AN UNKNOWN."
"UHH, WHY IS IT BEEPING?" the last one stated nervously.
The one holding the sphere took a better look at it, turning it over in its hand. Indeed, there was a sharp beeping coming from it, along with a tiny red light that flashed in sync with it; that, and the beeping was getting progressively faster. They all just looked between one another, the lead now looking downtrodden.
"UH OH—" it spoke, just before it was consumed by a large burst of electricity. The streaks of lightning arched out of its hand, striking it all over its body as the badnik spurred and jerked, his systems going haywire. It didn't end there either. The electricity continued, reaching all the way up to the roboticizer and the light. Then, sudden darkness, the green energy leaving Rainbow's body as the machine short-circuited and the light breaking apart in a flash.
"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER AL—" one of the other badniks yelled in the now dark room, only to be cut off at the sound of struck metal.
Rainbow was still recovering from the experience her body was going through, breathing heavily as the nervous sweat poured from her body. She opened her eyes to the loud noise, but the room was still dark, so much so that she couldn't even see her body when she looked down. Then, with a resounding blast, gunfire overtook the far end of the room, the orange light of the muzzle flash being the only thing to illuminate parts of the room in short bursts. But soon, even that fell silent, the gunfire gone. She fell still, almost terrified to the sudden change in events, too scared to say anything as she was entrapped in pure darkness.
"H-hey! Who's there?!" she finally yelled into the darkness.
She received no answer, which only heightened the tension filling the room. Thankfully, the buzzing of the light above her returned, the light slowly brightening the room once again, only a little brighter this time with its glass casing completely broken. Taking the opportunity, she hastily looked about the room where she could see, doing what she could to lean her body over the edge of the table. She spotted the three badniks who held her captive, all of them either sizzling with smoke and traces of electricity or just completely broken apart. But that wasn't what caught her eye the most; rather, it was the figure that was standing over one of them, their body obscured by the shadows of the room.
"Alright, buddy!" she yelled over to them, not really caring who they were or what they wanted. "I don't know what your game is, but you need to get me out of this thing, pronto!"
"My my," the figure spoke in a very feminine but sultry tone. "Someone is impatient."
The figure stepped over the badnik finally walking out of the shadows and into the light. Rainbow was a bit shocked, as the character looked nothing like she had initially imagined. She was a rather pompous looking bat-girl, as displayed by her large ears and the pair of dark wings folded behind her back. Her fur was a finely combed white color and she was clothed in what looked like a jet-black one-piece uniform with white and pink colored gloves and boots. The gloves and boots themselves had small hearts on them, matching perfectly with the pink heart-shaped breastplate she wore. She had on a confident smile as she walked, hands on her hips as they swayed seemingly naturally with each step. Rainbow couldn't help but think of Rarity when she was close enough to see the extravagant touches of makeup on her face, which she couldn't help but grimace at.
"Hmm, Eggman was right," she chuckled. "You are quite the hot-head."
"Say what!" Rainbow fumed. Hot-head?! Why this—little— Well…maybe… But—that's not important right now! "And who are you? President of his fan club or something?"
"Nothing so vulgar, hon," she jested, walking over to the controls to the table's side. "And you can call me Rouge."
"Rouge?" Rainbow questioned, the name seeming familiar to her somehow. Then it clicked. "Wait a second. I think I heard Egghead saying something about you back on that island! You were working with him and Shadow back there, weren't you!" she stated.
"Aww, so the big boy took the time to mention his little helper?" Rouge cooed feign ignorance. "I suppose it's only fitting. He wouldn't have made it to steps inside if it weren't me. Although I have to say I'm flattered."
Rainbow just growled, absolutely hating the fact that after only a split second of potential freedom, she was yet again shown that she was trapped and at the mercy of yet another enemy. But...then again… "Wait for a second, if you're with Eggman, then what's with you smashing his cronies up like that? You could've just knocked, ya know," Rainbow pointed out jokingly, but still with curiosity.
"Good question," the bat said, pulling out a tiny computer chip from her utility belt. She took it to the computer, inserting it into one of the many small slots that lined in. "It could be that I don't actually work for the big man."
With a small flash from the chip and the computer, the shackles around Rainbow's hooves suddenly clapped open, the great pressure on them finally being relieved. She instantly sat up, going to rub each of the red areas. "Wait, so you're not with him? The what the hay are you doing here?!"
Rouge gave her a sly smile, reaching back into her belt as she put away the device and pulled out something else, a brown leather patch with a bright yellow badge. Rainbow had to squint to see the three letters that were displayed on it due to the light shining off, but once she did they were as clear as day.
"Hold on. G.U.N.? You're with G.U.N.?!" Rainbow questioned in disbelief.
"You sound surprised," Rouge jested. "G.U.N. has been keeping an eye on Eggman for a long time. When they found out he was looking to use the Ark, it was only natural they'd send in their top undercover agent to keep an even closer eye on him."
As Rainbow took in the info, she climbed off the table. Right as she stood, however, she felt her legs immediately giving out, nearly stumbling. She managed to keep upright but now started to feel all the damage that littered her body. An excruciating ache seeped into her muscles as she could feel some of them pumping, and that didn't even account for the visible damage to the surface of her body. Now that she felt it all, she somewhat remembered the events that led up to this moment. The aching definitely felt like that of the same pain she felt whenever she used too much of her energy. Thankfully she was still standing, but she needed to be more careful with it from here on out.
Then again…
What did she exactly do to use so much energy at once? She remembered her hooves coming free from the cuffs, and then Shadow right in front of her, but little after that. Just Shadow's angered glare as he hovered over her, then she was here…
…no, there was something else. There was…a girl? A very young human girl. But it was only for a second and in a sudden flash. Rainbow groaned, clutching the side of her head in confusion.
"Are you alright, hun?" Rouge asked.
"I'm fine," Rainbow shook her head. "Thanks for the save by the way…uuhhhh…"
Rouge just chuckled to herself. "Rouge."
"Yeah, Rouge. Hey, how long have I been out? There's a lack of clocks in this place, soooo…"
"Judging by when Eggman first initiated the defenses, you've been out for some time now," Rouge answered, walking past her.
"But how long?!" Rainbow questioned hastily. "Isn't Eggman going to blow up the Earth or something?!"
Rouge seemed hesitant to answer for a second. "Sadly, we have about 30 minutes left before Eggy finally decides to pull the trigger."
Rainbow felt her stomach sink at those words. "30 Minutes?! I've been out for nearly a whole day?! I thought you were supposed to be taking care of this place! You are an uncover agent, aren't you?! That's like…rule #1 of spy stuff, right?!"
"It wasn't my mission originally, but now that seems to have changed."
"Wait, then what was your mission if not to stop Eggman?" Rainbow asked, confused.
"Well…" Rouge started, seeming to contemplate answering, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you. It's already done anyway. I'm not exactly sure how, but Eggman managed to steal some very important documents from G.U.N. a while back. No one was ever able to access them, but somehow Eggman did. So, I did a little searching through his computer's history and found a nice little secret."
"Like?" Rainbow asked.
"The files belonged to his grandfather, Gerald Robotnik. He was the one who made the Ark, using it as some kind of secret laboratory."
"So, you're telling me Eggman really didn't make the Ark?"
"Not in the slightest," Rouge chortled. "But there's more. It has to do with a secret project that took place 50 years ago on this very station. Apparently, Gerald Robotnik was experimenting with genetics. You do know what those are, right?" she looked to Rainbow.
"Uuuuhhhhhh…" Rainbow blanked.
Rouge just sighed. "He started experimenting with DNA. He had many creations that involved different animals. Why he was doing this, I'm not quite sure, but one of his projects sparked some interest, specifically, one called Project Shadow."
That quickly caught Rainbow's attention. "Wait. Shadow? You mean he…?"
"Was created in a lab," Rouge finished. "But I don't think you need the details as to how. That's where G.U.N.'s regulations come in for sensitive information."
That was a new one for Rainbow. The science mumbo-jumbo never was down her alley, but she couldn't help but sit there, starstruck as to the revelation. Shadow…wasn't even born…he was created? That was a scary thought to wrap her head around. Even so, that didn't excuse him of what he's been doing now.
"Hey," Rainbow spoke with curiosity, "did…those files ever happen to mention a girl? Like, a human girl?"
"Hmm," Rouge thought back. "There was something about that. Gerald did mention he had a granddaughter that stayed here on the Ark with him, but what a mad scientist saw in having a little girl on a top-secret space station, I don't really know. I suppose that he was mad for a reason."
The two reached the door, and Rainbow pondered this as Rouge messed with the controls to the passage. As Rainbow thought about it, Rouge was right. What reason could somepony have to bring a girl that young to a place like this? This wasn't exactly the kind of place for a summer home. Plus, the only time Rainbow saw the image of her was when she rushed Shadow. She was no detective, but she was sure that there was more to this.
Then a thought hastened to the front of her mind. "Oh, pony feathers!" she swore. She took a quick glance at Rouge. "Hey, Rouge! Do you know what happened to everypony else?! They weren't robotized or whatever that's called were they?!"
"Don't get your feathers all bend out of shape, dear," Rouge waved off. "I haven't gotten to them yet, but they're safe and sound for now, locked away in a holding cell somewhere. You just happened to be the first pick of the litter. Lucky you," Rouge laughed.
Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief. At least she didn't have that to worry about. But… "Does that mean Sonic too?" she questioned.
This time there was just silence, and she could see that Rouge had even stopped working on the door. She could almost see the bat girl's eyes nervously looking back and forth between her and her work. Rainbow's breath hitched slightly, not liking where this was going already.
With a heavy and audible sigh, Rouge answered, "He's gone, hon."
Rainbow blinked, her looking like she had just gotten smacked in the face. "W-what do you mean?"
"He was unconscious in a pod from what I know. I…uh…actually saw it firing off toward the Earth from the station…Eggman detonated it before it reached it…"
Rainbow took a step back, a new wave of shock passing her over. Detonated? Like…blew it up? The realization hit her so hard she felt almost nauseous. Then that meant Sonic was…
"Arrrhhh, dang it! What do mean?!" Rainbow asked furiously.
"What do you think I mean?!" Rouge shot back, the door finally opening from her meddling. "I mean he's gone. He's dead."
Rainbow froze, her breathing now completely hitched. So that was it. She remembered seeing his still form inside that glass casing, wholly defenseless and unaware as to what was transpiring right outside. But if it was true that he was blasted out into space like that, then it meant…had she failed?
"No! No way!" Rainbow yelled. "No way he would just go out like that! Not after everything that I've seen him do!"
"I saw it myself. I have no reason to lie to you now."
"Yeah right! You know what, I bet you really are still working with that Egghead! You're just trying to mess with my head! Well, guess what! It's not gonna work on me!"
Rouge just scoffed at her words, an incredulous look on her face. "I don't know where you're getting all this nonsense from, but you need to back it up right there, missy. If I was still your enemy, do you really think I would've wasted my time freeing you back there? Besides, I realize you two were friends and all, but that's no reason to deny facts."
"It's not a fact!"
"And how do you figure?"
"I just—" Rainbow hesitated, her mind not even in control of her words right now. "I just know that Sonic wouldn't go out like that! He…never would."
"I'm just telling you what I saw," Rouge stated. "I'm sorry, but we can't waste any more time."
Rainbow just stared off blankly. Sonic…no…he couldn't be gone. If he was…then, she could do nothing. She failed. She can't go home and fix things. She can't reverse the clock. If he really was gone…her whole purpose here was finished.
"Dang it!" Rainbow yelled, her hoof striking the floor with a resounding echo. 'Why did he have to go and die like that!' she thought intensely. 'Idiot! No. I'm the idiot. We could've taken Shadow, but no. We just messed up big time and because I wasn't able to do anything, now Sonic is dead!'
'Just when…we were starting to get along too…'
Rainbow felt a small sensation in her eyes, and she rubbed them with a hoof. "Dang it…" she swore, feeling the wetness in her eyes, bordering on shedding a tear. "Why am I getting like this all of a sudden?"
Rouge sighed again. This wasn't in her job description, so she couldn't help but feel a bit awkward to the whole situation. "I'm sorry, hun. But it's not something that can be changed sadly."
Rainbow just stood there, silent. Her head was hung low, her rainbow mane covering her face. At least she wasn't lashing out anymore. Now then, it's time to get—
An alarm blared throughout the hall, prompting the two to shift their attention to the new noise. "ARK CORE AT 85%," a synthesized and deep voice resounded. "ECLIPSE CANNON SEQUENCE COMPLETE IN T-MINUS 25 MINUTES."
The alarms still rang, but the voice was now gone, leaving them with this obnoxious echo. "Looks like we spent too long here," Rouge stated. "Now what I think we should do is—"
She didn't get to finish her sentence, as without warning the blue pegasus dashed off down the hallway, her rainbow trail left in her wake as Rouge braced herself against the back blast. "Never mind," she said to herself, her hands now finding their way to her hips. But, she couldn't help but form her perfect, sly smile. "Now that she's doing her job, however, I can finally do mine."
Rainbow didn't even give a passing glance to her rescuer. She just flew down the long corridor, not even checking for any badniks. Her mind was elsewhere, her eyes becoming slightly warm and blurry. Dang it. She hated this feeling. It was like someone had stabbed her in the heart. She hated losing friends, but this was on a whole other level. She didn't just lose somepony. She let Sonic die. She couldn't just do her job right. Maybe if she had been faster, stronger, she didn't know. Her wings were on fire, but she didn't care. She didn't feel anything.
She grew curious about something. "Silver…Blaze…you there…?" she spoke weakly. But, she received no answer, only the noise of the artificial air rushing past her ears. She figured. They must've taken her earpiece after she had been captured. So…she was on her own right now.
But even so, right now, she just knew one thing. Sonic may be…gone…but she still had work to do. She could again do something for this world. She may have lost a newfound friend, but she won't lose his world for him. Not now, not ever.
"Sonic…" she muttered to herself. "We may not have always gotten along before, but you can *sniff* bet your blue flank that I'm gonna do right by you. After all, I'm the element of Loyalty."
ECLIPSE CANNON SEQUENCE COMPLETE IN T-MINUS 20 MINUTES," the station AI stated, music to Eggman's ears as he leaned back in his comfy chair. He admitted it was disappointing that the leaders of the Earth didn't finally submit to his whim. Maybe holding onto the slim hope of a miracle rescuing them from this fate. Unfortunately for them, it was all futile in the end, and he could help but smile at the prospect.
"Well, it seems you were right after all, Shadow," Eggman praised his subordinate at his side, placing his hands behind his head in a more relaxed position.
"I told you they would never change," Shadow stated. "They're too stuck in their ways."
"Indeed," Eggman agreed. "I don't know. I suppose I was hoping for a more extravagant end to it all, what with Sonic finally being nothing more than space dust and his friends lining up for the roboticizer, I almost miss the challenge they gave me."
"It's in the past now," Shadow advised, giving a silent but aggravating sigh to the doctor's thought processes. He didn't know what was up with humans and their grandiose plans for the future, but it was downright appalling to him. It was even more so with him. If anything, Eggman was everything Shadow hated about the humans all wrapped up into one being. Selfish, greedy, ego-centrical. The doctor was all of these things and more. This only made playing nice with him all the more infuriating.
A small hatch opened up in the floor next to the chair, the platform underneath rising until it revealed both Cubot and Orbot. It stopped seamlessly in the floor as the two rolled up to their master.
"There you are," Eggman stated, now facing his henchmen. "Is every ready?"
"It is indeed, doctor," Orbot affirmed. "The Eclipse Cannon is at peak efficiency and ready for firing."
"In tip-top shape it be in!" Cubot spoke up.
"Excellent," Eggman chuckled, rubbing his hands together.
Shadow stole a glance at the two help robots, they didn't seem to be looking directly at him. Most likely out of fear. He looked back to Eggman, who was so distracted he wasn't even facing Shadow. A thought made its way into his head. The cannon was already about to fire. Everything was set in place. His revenge on the humans was near. So, why did he really need this large human anymore for anything?
Shadow could feel a strangely cold presence, but not anywhere around him, but almost on the inside. It was like a buzz that just refused to leave him alone…and he embraced it. He raised his hand behind Eggman's chair, his arm coated in a dark aura. He wouldn't even have to know. It would be quick, and it would all be over, for him, and humanity.
Shadow charged a small amount of energy in his hand, readying a Chaos Spear. 'Goodbye, Doctor Eggman,' Shadow sardonically said in thought, the glow getting brighter as he clenched his hand.
Suddenly, an alarm rung throughout the room, many of the warning lights flashing red as they spun.
"What's this?!" Eggman roared. He glared at his two lackeys. "What did you two do?!"
"We did nothing, doctor! Honest!" Orbot cowered.
"It wasn't us!" Cubot agreed.
Shadow growled, slowly letting the energy fade. Now wasn't the time, but it'll come. But first, he needed to see what this alert was all about.
"I need answers!" Eggman yelled, going for his control panel and display. "What is going on?!"
The display showed the underside exterior of the Ark, the grey surface dark. The camera zoomed in on a single spot in a small trench where several lights flashed, explosions from the look of them.
"WARNING," the station AI spoke, "INTRUDER ALERT. INTRUDER ALERT."
"An intruder?!" Orbot exclaimed. "Who would be so bold!?"
Eggman just growled as he smashed his fist into the arm of the chair. "It's not an intrusion! It's a jailbreak!" he yelled, seeing a distinct rainbow-colored trail shooting through the trench. His other hand was clenching the other arm tight, his teeth to the point of breaking as he grounded them into one another.
"Those idiots!" Eggman roared. "I should've known better than to leave that pony alone!"
He rubbed his face, pinching his temple in disappointment as he growled. "Grrrr, Shadow," he spoke.
He received no answer.
Eggman raised his head, looking back for the hedgehog. "Shadow—" he started, but Shadow was no longer standing there. The hedgehog was now in the doorway at the far end of the room, his back turned as he walked through. The sliding door closed with a slam.
Bullets whizzed by, the sharp whistle screeching past her ears. Sometimes mechanical fists flew her way once she was close enough, but she didn't seem to care. Rainbow blurred past every attack, striking each and every badnik with her hooves once she reached them. She didn't have the power that she once had, as the emeralds were too far away, but she still kept going, despite the curling ache that was now entering her hooves.
There was only one more badnik now, the bumbling orange dome-head flailing wildly as it reached for its weapon. But Rainbow was too fast for it, delivering a powerful buck to its belly, leaving a deep dent as it was flown into the wall. Finally, it was over. She landed with an uncaring grace, several badnik wrecks littering the ground. She breathed heavily, her breath cold as it went into her lungs.
She was currently on the exterior of the station in some kind of long trench. The trench itself was bland and was seemingly endless as it spanned the underside of the Ark. The Earth shown blue right above her, but there was another glow that was also catching her eye; an ocean green glow that was enveloping the titanic spire at the center of it all, still a good distance away from her. She could see that it was slowly starting to open, looking so much like a metallic flower with a large green stalk in the middle. That was it; the main weapon for this whole station. The whole place shook as it opened, an unnatural hum radiating throughout the empty space as it started ever so slowly charging.
It was going to fire soon, and it was getting to the point where there would be no going back. She needed to be going faster. There wasn't any time to waste right now. Even so, she could feel every muscle in her body screaming at her to stop for even a second. But she wasn't having any of it. She was so fed up right now, she didn't need to have an internal conflict with her own body right now of all times.
She flared her wings, ignoring the pain. She would see this whole thing done of it killed her at this point. She owed everypony that much at least.
"You never cease to surprise me," she a voice say behind her. She tensed up. She knew that voice. That bland, gruff voice that inspired a deep sense of dread in her heart. She turned her head, seeing the familiar black hedgehog striding up beside her on the opposing side of the trench. "I could've sworn you were going to be one of the doctor's stooges when I next saw you."
"Sorry if you're disappointed," Rainbow spat with disdain.
"I have to admit, there's more to you than meets the eye, pony. Tell me, how did you escape?"
"You think I'd just up and tell you? You're denser than I thought."
Shadow just gave a chuckle, an action that Rainbow found strangely alien for him. "I don't need much of an answer. It was that bat, wasn't it?"
Rainbow just looked at him in stern surprise. "How did you—"
"I had my suspicions for a while now. And I never trusted her to begin with."
"So, what? Big whoop. After what you did to Sonic and everypony else, you're gonna be too busy dealing with me to blow a gasket at her."
Shadow scoffed. "You really don't know why she really freed you, don't you?"
"What're you trying to say?" Rainbow questioned.
"She doesn't just help anyone. You had some importance to her, and you're doing that job to the letter. All you are, are a distraction for me; to get me out of the control room."
While Rainbow took in everything with a grain of salt, she couldn't deny that it made sense, and she felt only aggravation from the realization. "You know, I honestly don't care about that, because this way, I still have a chance to kick your flank so hard you'll be seeing rainbows for days!"
"You can certainly try," Shadow goaded.
The two stood in a standstill for what seemed like hours, neither one moving a muscle. Rainbow could already feel cold sweats pouring down her face, unsure of how she would actually approach this. If she learned anything from before, it was that he was somepony you did not take lightly. Not by a longshot.
She took a small glance up at the Earth, the beautiful, beaming celestial body lighting up their tense standoff. "I…I just don't get it," she muttered.
Shadow didn't respond, but he did have a hint of curiosity on him.
She continued. "I don't understand why you want to just…blast everything away like that! Isn't that your home too?"
Shadow just looked at her with that same passive glare he always held. "You wouldn't understand any of it," he spoke. "You wouldn't understand why the Earth is more of a curse than a home. Everyone there was born to create, only to destroy it later without care. Now, I'm going to destroy somethin that they love, something that they care about."
"What are you talking about? If anything, Eggman is the only human-person I met that's anything like what you're saying. But no, you're working right with him!"
"He's nothing more than a pawn," Shadow seethed. "A means to an end. He was useful in reactivating the Ark, but now that he's finished, so am I. Once I'm done with you and the Earth is broken apart, he'll be next."
Rainbow was silent. She felt that there was no reasoning with this guy. It's like he just doesn't care about anything…but…
"Then…who was that girl?" Rainbow asked, unsure as to why.
That seemed to catch his attention, for better or worse. He froze, but slowly turned his head to her, a heated, red glare piercing right through her. "What did you say?"
"When we last fought," Rainbow started, shaking just from the look, "I thought I saw a human girl…and she knew who you were. So…who the hay was she? And how did somepony like you know her?"
This time, Shadow was the one to remain silent. Rainbow could swear that she saw him shaking slightly, but only just. His eyes were averted, like he was trying not to look at her. Whatever she said, it must've gotten to him more than she thought. His dark aura seemed to start swelling in erratic patterns. Finally, he looked back at her, standing up straight and his eyes glowing the deepest blood-red she had seen.
Then, he started laughing. "You know, I'm actually curious about you, pony," he chortled. "Out of everyone I've faced, you're one of the few to ever catch me off guard."
He took a step forward, moving further down the trench. Rainbow just breathed in, readying herself has she too took a step in the same direction.
"Don't think I didn't notice how my Chaos Emerald reacted to you," he spoke, his pace already starting to quicken. "Whatever you did, it was unlike anything I've seen before. I wonder...just exactly what you are?"
"Are you getting scared without your precious emerald with you this time?" she taunted, now starting to go into a gallop.
"I don't need it for the likes of you." He now started running. "But even so, I'm not going to go easy on you anymore, pony."
"Like I'd want you to. And just so you know who it was that finally kicked you to the curb, the name isn't 'pony.' It's Rainbow Dash! I'm Rainbow 'Danger' Dash and I made a promise to my friends that I'm going to keep, and you better remember it!"
"Heh, fine then, Rainbow Dash," he spat out her name. "But just so you know, I can't let you live!" He now broke out to near full speed, his shoes gliding across the metal surface as the jets beneath them fired off. Likewise, Rainbow also picked up the pace, taking off as she glided across the ground. "Unfortunately for you, your promise will soon be broken!"
With a powerful burst of speed, Rainbow suddenly burst into a dash, a cone already forming around her. It seemed that Shadow had a similar idea, as he too was speeding down the trench and a breakneck pace. This was it. No going back now. She looked ahead, the wide passage heading straight for the spire in the distance. Her goal was in sight... This was where she was going to end it.
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Why does Sonic have Metal Sonic's eyes in the cover art?
9225262
That's not Sonic, actually. It's a villain oc called Zain.
9225262
Indeed. As TheBaconMaster himself said, it is an original character named Zayn that is the villain of the story. He would make his first appearance in "Chapter 14: Attack on the Egg Carrier."
"No.
That would be your MOTHER."
- Spy