> Sonic and EQG: Total Eclipse
>  by SonicAKG
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Total Eclipse
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total Eclipse

Today wasn't an ordinary day in the city of Canterlot.  The entire city appeared to be in celebration for an event. Decorations such as blue banners depicting the unity of different figures were placed in front of the buildings while a variety of different colored lights lit up the city. There were multicolored lantern and balloons displayed everywhere with a connected tree painted on them.  Fireworks for later were already being set up alongside  streamers. In addition, a few performances such as live plays and concerts were being prepared as crew members were busily working on the stage in order to make sure everything was ok. Today, Canterlot was celebrating Familial Day, a holiday that was dedicated to appreciating and recognizing one's family. As a result, all the towns residents were getting into the spirit of the holiday by either working on decorations of their own or buying gifts and spending time with their loved ones.

In particular, at Sweet Apple Acres, AppleJack and her friends, which consisted of the Rainbooms alongside Sonic and co. were busy on the property. They were preparing AppleJack's home for some kind of gathering as each of them took on different roles. Sonic, Rainbow Dash and Silver were in charge of setting up the chairs around the area while Rarity,  Tails and Manic worked on the decorations and light on the inside.  Knuckles and Big Mac placed the large table down in the living room while Fluttershy and Twilight set it up for dinner later on.  Pinkie Pie and AppleJack were in the kitchen as they helped Granny Smith prepared the large meal to come while Sunset worked on setting up the music in the backyard. She was joined by Starlight Glimmer, a girl with light pink skin and deep purple hair that contained cyan streaks in it. Like Sunset, she too came from Equestria, a magical world inhabited by ponies and she was the student of Princess Twilight. She had come back to the human world with Sunset, who had gone there earlier to receive a new journal to communicate with Princess Twilight and had even received permission from her mentor to stay there longer. The two of them finished up as the Crusaders, who consisted of AppleBloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo ran past. 

Suddenly, a blue streak zipped in front of  the two girls, causing their hair to blow as Starlight looked like she was about to faint while Sunset was clearly used to it. It then revealed itself to be Sonic.

"Ok, so all the chairs are good to go." Sonic told them as he gave the thumbs up as Starlight shook her head to regain her composure.

"I'm going to be honest. I'm still not used to this. You're fast, even faster than Rainbow Dash." Starlight admitted with a tired sigh.

"Maybe the other one, but not this one." Rainbow Dash declared as she and the rest of the group walked over to join the three of them as Sonic playfully rolled his eyes. Pinkie and AppleJack then emerged from the kitchen as they hung up their aprons.

"The foods almost ready, y'all. Big Mac and Granny went out for some ingredient.  Yer all in for a treat!" AppleJack promised.

"Your taste buds are going to explode!!" Pinkie shrieked excitedly as she nodded in agreement as she made the motion with her hands.

"You know, now, I'm pretty glad Twilight gave me permission to stay here." Starlight said as she sat down on the grass for a small break. " It gives me a chance to observe the customs of this world, such as this one. Reminds me a bit of the Sunset Festival I have back home."

"I'm glad you feel that way, Starlight. Believe me, you can learn a lot from this world. ." Sunset responded.

"I think we all owe it to AppleJack for inviting all of us and our families here in the first place." Tails said as AppleJack slightly adjusted her hat.

"It was nothin'. This day's all about celebratin' with  family and I figured it would be better with ma friends too. Besides, I remembered that some of y'all wouldn't get the chance to experience what the holiday is like." AppleJack explained as she turned to Knuckles, Silver, and Sunset, who didn't have any biological relatives. "I didn't want y'all feelin' left out."

"You didn't have to go all this way. I mean, I've been doing alright on my own for a while." Knuckles said as he pointed to himself, earning a snicker from Manic.

"Yeah, sure. How many times have you been tricked by Eggman, again?" Manic quipped as Knuckles lowered his eyelids in annoyance.

"While I never got to know my birth family, I had my master, who I guess was like a father to me. He taught so much. Not to mention I also had Edmund looking out for me. He was like my second master, I suppose." Silver elaborated.

"And now, we all have each other. You've all made me feel a part of this world, this feels more like my home than Equestria honestly ." Sunset added as she put her hand on Silver's shoulder as the others looked on in agreement.

Suddenly, Twilight just remembered something as she was petting Spike.

"Wait, where's Shadow? Shouldn't he be here as well?" She brought up as all eyes were on her now.

"Give him some time. I already sent him a text telling him to come here, but he doesn't check his messages often." Sonic casually said with a handwave.

"Shadow? Is that the guy we ran into at the mall and he just teleported away without even saying hi?" Starlight asked while raising an eyebrow.

"Sounds like him." Spike dryly said.

"Oh, well, I get the feeling he doesn't like me very much." Starlight confessed.

"Don't take it personally. He doesn't like anyone." Manic reassured.

"Except me!" Pinkie exclaimed cheerfully from the back as she then put her arms around Starlight. "Don't you worry about, Shady! He may look all grumpy, but he's super duper nice! You'll see when he comes and joins us!" 

Starlight wasn't so sure, but she guessed she'd just have to wait and see.

"I hope he comes soon, I'd hate for him to be all alone, especially today." Fluttershy expressed with a concerned look.

Suddenly, a large green flash appeared in front of the barn, gathering everyone's attention. The source of it was revealed to be Shadow as he knelt down on the ground.

"Talk about perfect timing. Glad, you could make it, Faker." He then heard Sonic say as he turned to see him and the others. Shadow rose up from the ground and examined the state of  Sweet Apple Acres before his eyes landed back to the group.

"Sonic, I just read your message. What is so important here that you called me?" Shadow inquired.

Before Sonic could explain, Pinkie appeared in front of Shadow's face up close with an extremely excited look on her face.

"Well, we called you here because today is Familial Day and AppleJack decided to host all of us here today so we can celebrate with all our families together! It's really important that you come here as you don't have a family of your own and AppleJack especially wants you here so you can have a great time whether you have a family or not!" Pinkie rapidly informed him as she backed up.

'You don't have a family'. Those 5 words echoed in Shadow's head as his eyes widened as he contemplated over what they meant exactly. Shadow's face changed from a look of surprise to a more serious apathetic look while Pinkie still stood in front of him with a cheerful grin. It was clear she didn't realize what she had actually said.

"You're right. I don't have a family. So there's no reason for me to be here.." Shadow responded as Pinkie's expression changed from happy to confused while the others also gave him puzzled looks. 

"See you around." He added as he turned around and started to walk away from the group.

"Shadow, wait! Didn't ya hear what Pinkie said?! Ah planned all this so you could feel included!" AppleJack called out, making Shadow stop in his tracks.

"I did." He responded without even turning around.

"Come on, Shadow. AppleJack went out of her way for you." Silver told him.

"Yeah. Not just for you. For, me, Silver and Sunset as well. She know's we all don't have families either, so she did this all for us. We're like you, so you can stick around." Knuckles offered as he stuck his hand out.

"That's where you're wrong. We aren't alike." Shadow denied.

"Come on, Shadow. Can't you cut off the whole misunderstood loner act for at least one day?" Rainbow Dash said with an annoyed look as she put her hands on her hips.

"Hey, Dash. Take it easy." Tails reprimanded as she slightly grumbled and crossed her arms.

"I already told you, I have no interest in these formalities." Shadow insisted. "Now if you'll excuse me."

Shadow took more steps forward but Pinkie suddenly appeared in front of him frantically.

"Shady, you can't be alone on today of all days! It's all about celebrating how close you are with people!" Pinkie yelled.

"Pinkie.." Shadow said but she didn't hear him.

"We also do a lot of fun things to show it! We decorate together and make things look so pretty! We make all sorts of delicious treats!"

"Pinkie..."

"And after that, when all the family comes together, it gets really fun!

"Pinkie.."

"We play games! Share stories! Exchange gifts and traditions! We even get to-

"Pinkie Pie!" Shadow firmly yelled, much to her astonishment as she stopped in her tracks to see Shadow's solemn expression. Her smiled then faded as Shadow sighed.

"...Look, just enjoy your day, alright? I already told you I have no interest or need to participate. Don't stop that from letting you celebrate with the others. Just leave me be and I'll do as I please." Shadow said before he disappeared in a green flash as everyone looked on. Pinkie put her head down as she looked pretty disappointed while her friends exchanged looks. Starlight looked uncomfortable due to everything that had happened.

"Well, he seems nice....ish." She awkwardly said but she wasn't fooling anyone.

"Yep, that's typical Shadow for you." Manic said with a shrug.

"I don't get it. Why would he want to be alone after I made him feel welcome?" AppleJack wondered.

"I know! That was quite rude if you ask me! Even after you invited him, he declines. Someone needs to work on their manners!" Rarity expressed with disapproval.

"Believe me, I know Shadow hasn't had it easy. But something seemed off about the way he acted. It was different from his usual brooding." Sonic pondered as he rubbed his chin. "Especially what he did at the end with Pinkie."

"You think something's bothering him that?" Twilight asked but Sonic simply shrugged.

"Could be. Honestly, I can never read that guy." Sonic admitted.

" I say we give him some time. After a while, if he still doesn't want to join, then that's his decision. We still have stuff to do." Knuckles proposed.

"Knuckles is right. We still want the place to look good for when everyone else gets here." Rainbow Dash said.

"Y'all are right. Let's get back to work." AppleJack agreed as she and others stood up and started to head back to their post. Pinkie was still standing in the same location with a melancholic expression as she held her arm. She was clearly bothered by what happened with Shadow. Starlight noticed it and walked up to her and put her arm around her.

"Hey, I know you're feeling down, but there are still plenty of other people who you can make happy.  And who knows? Maybe Shadow'll come around." Starlight comforted as Pinkie let out a a disappointed sigh.

"Yeah. Maybe." She uttered as the two of them walked back to the barn.

Meanwhile, Sunset was looking out as she thought about Shadow's reaction.  She hadn't moved for a while as everyone else was getting back to work. She did this for a while before she came to a decision.

"You guys get started without me. There's something I need to do." Sunset called back to her friends as she started to leave Sweet Apple Acres. She then rushed out quickly.




On the rooftop of Canterlot High, Shadow was standing on top of it as he stared out into space with his arms crossed. 'Family.' What did that word mean to Shadow exactly? Aboard the ARK, Maria had been like a sister to him before she was taken away and Professor Gerald had created him. After that, Shadow had thought he had no other family. Until the emergence of the Black Arms, a warlike species bent on conquering earth. Like Shadow, they were dominated by a red and black color scheme. During their invasion of the planet, they had approached Shadow and attempted to use him in order to aid in their mission. All under the orders of their leader, Black Doom. Shadow didn't understand why they had seemed so fixated on him until it was revealed that he had been created using Black Doom's DNA. Thus, he too, was a member of the Black Arms. Ultimately, he didn't side with them and he took down Black Doom and his followers. Personally. Sure, the Black Arms had been a violent war-mongering race and they had threatened the planet Shadow was sworn to protect, but nonetheless, they were still his own kind. Shadow had to wage war and doom his own race to near extinction. That is why Shadow truly didn't know what to make of the word 'Family'. He himself was the reason why he had no living kin. The only Black Arms left were himself and that other one.....

"You and I are the last remaining Black Arms. I propose we work together. You’re the closest thing to family I have left. Leave behind these weak creatures. You don’t belong with them. We’re better off with each other." Shadow remembered Eclipse telling him.

Shadow couldn't work with Eclipse. It would go against everything he had promised to fight for. But at the same time, did he really belong with Sonic and his friends? He had always been distant from them despite Pinkie Pie's efforts. Perhaps there was a reason for that....

"I figured you would be here."Shadow heard Sunset say as he turned around to see her approaching him. He then faced her.

"I already said I have no interest in this Familial Day or whatever." Shadow reminded her. Sunset raised her hands in defense.

"I know. I'm not going to force you to come and join us. But I want to understand what's going on with you. Clearly, there's something more to this that you're not sharing." Sunset stated as Shadow raised an eyebrow.  He had to give her credit. She was good at this whole 'feelings stuff.'

"You would not understand." Shadow just said as he turned away from her.

"I won't know unless I try. Shadow, you have so many friends who accept you and are welcoming with open arms. Why are you pushing us away?" Sunset said in a quizzical tone.

"Hmph. I don't recall ever becoming a part of your little group." Shadow responded. He then saw how sincere Sunset's face and his expression softened a bit.

"Sunset, you should go. As I said before, I wish to be alone. Go back to your friends." Shadow then said as he turned around away from her.

"They're our friends. Shadow, please!" Sunset pleaded as she reached out her hand. As she did, took a hold of his hand unintentionally and stopped in her tracks as her eyes flashed white.




Sunset could now see Shadow's memories and feelings. She saw him standing on the outskirts of a large city as the sky turned red and made a void. From it, a series of creatures with jet black and crimson skin, somewhat resembling Shadow emerged as they react havoc on the city. She then Shadow was in a red void and standing next to a figure with a menacing appearance who had 3 orange eyes and twin horns sticking out of its head. It had a worn robe with various chains and jewelry hanging around it and no lower body with three clawed hands. Next, Shadow was in a ruined city that the creatures were attacking. He teleported and kicked a flying one away, vanished again to knock down a brute before he teleported once more to punch down a soldier. Shadow then took a large purple curved sword as he ran a giant monster through. Later, Shadow was in a different section of the city as he battled against a large winged creature that looked like a cross between a maggot and a dragon as it had one green eye in the center with a very blubbery body. The next time she saw Shadow, he was golden and airborne as he was in combat with a giant one eyed gargoyle of some sort whose lower half was rooted to a large boulder with spines on its torso.  Lastly, Shadow was lifting a giant comet in space as he faced a giant spacecraft. From it, a large green laser emerged that vaporized the comet. 





Sunset's vision ended as she gasped out loud to see Shadow staring at her.  He wasn't kidding. She really had no idea what he was going through. Sunset was totally at a loss for words. She had dealt with her friends issues before but this was on a totally different level. What was on Shadow's mind was intense.

"Shadow..I...I.." Sunset tried to say but truth be told, she didn't know what to tell him exactly.

Before she could go even further, a blue blur then zipped up on the rooftop, making both her and Shadow turn in its direction. It was Sonic.

"Ha, knew, I'd find you here, Sunset. The others were asking for you as-wow.  Am I interrupting something?" Sonic suddenly said as he noticed Shadow and Sunset holding hands.

Sunset realized what Sonic meant and quickly let go of Shadow's hand in a flustered manner while Shadow just didn't react.

"No! It's not what you think!" Sunset quickly explained as Sonic walked up.

"If you say so." He responded before he turned to face Shadow. "So Faker, changed your mind?"

"No. Now, this is my cue to leave." Shadow replied.

"Shadow, we-" Sunset began before she was interrupted by Shadow teleporting. Sonic and Sunset then exchanged glances.

"So, I take it you didn't have much luck trying to understand him?" Sonic asked her.

"Sonic, you have no idea." She just said as she started to feel awful that she couldn't do anything to help Shadow.




A base that belonged to G.U.N, the Guardian Unit of Nations and the organization that Shadow was a part of, was seen. The inside was a grey coloured military area that contained many soldiers dressed in black military uniforms with clear visors and wore guns.  The symbol, which was the letter 'G' wrapped in a wreath with stars could be seen everywhere. Underneath the top part of the base was a dark corridor. In it was a large glass wall that covered a dark red room that was meant to be a holding cell. In the room was a prisoner who was strapped to a table with metal cuffs. This prisoner was Eclipse the Darkling, the last full blooded Black Arms and Shadow's 'brother'. The black alien with red markings and a headpiece similar to Shadow's hair wore a heavy scowl on his face as a smiling soldier came  in front of him.

"How you doin' alien scum? He taunted as Eclipse's yellow eyes and black sclera glared intensely at him and grit his sharp yellow teeth.

This was all Shadow's fault. This human should have been food, but instead, he could talk down to Eclipse because Shadow, that traitor, had sworn to protect their world rather than the Black Arms! How could he so easily betray his own kind?

"Just wanted to let you know, today, we're  going to examine that ship of yours! We finally found the time and resources to do it.  I wonder what you were hiding." The soldier mocked as he walked away to leave the bitter Eclipse.

As Eclipse was captive, his face suddenly broke out into one of horror. What if the humans found his special project?! Then the Black Arms would be done for!

Eclipse tried to struggle, but it was in vain. The straps restricted his powers. All he could now was to just hope that his Dark Arms would be alright.




Meanwhile, in another underground section was a large white room.  Eclipse's spaceship, which was beige clam shaped vehicle with two protruding boosters in the back was attached to a series of wires as a dozen G.U.N soldiers and a scientist, who was a bald and tall middle aged man wearing a white robe came to examine it.

"All right. See what you can find! What is in there could prove to be useful." The scientist instructed as the soldiers entered it with their guns ready.

The inside of Eclipse's ship was colored red and quite damaged as there were broken pieces of alien technology everywhere such as monitors and ship handles due it having had crashed on the planet. A broken chair in half was in the center The soldiers were on their guard as they kept a look out on the area, aiming their guns about. Suddenly, one soldier noticed something on the left in a small section of the room.

"Hey, I found something!" He yelled as his fellow soldiers came to see what he had found.

The soldiers were looking at 4 large red shaped pods of some sort. They appeared to be organic, perhaps eggs. The troops  had their weapons aimed at them but looked on with curiosity.

"Wow! What do you think these are?" One trooper asked.

Suddenly, the eggs began to wobble, startling the soldiers as a large crack appeared on one of them....




In his cell, Eclipse couldn't stop worrying about the search in his spaceship. It was driving him insane.

"(I can't let them get to the Dark Arms! I worked so hard to cultivate them and they are the last chance for the Black Arms to survive! There has to be some way I can escape!)" He thought to himself desperately.

Suddenly, Eclipse heard the sound of what appeared to be yelling. He heard a few gun shots fired and what sounded like things being crashed on the wall. It seemed like a fight was going on as Eclipse looked on with a stumped expression. 

It was silent for some time before a soldier was suddenly thrown on the floor as he slid against the ground. He was knocked out as his visor was cracked and he moaned. Eclipse then turned from him to see the source of his pain. When his eyes landed on them, he let out a large sigh of relief and his face formed a huge grin.

"You're alive! This is wonderful! No, don't be afraid, little ones! I am here to look after you! Train you!" Eclipse said as four shadowed figures appeared before him. Some noises, which sounded like a mixture between croaking and beeping were heard.

"And then, we will have our vengeance and devour this world!" He promised in a dark and menacing tone.
> Shadow Fall
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shadow Fall

Shadow was walking through the city of Canterlot. As he did, he noticed all the decorations that had been prepared for Familial Day. It was anything but subtle. The residents were clearly going all out for this special occasion.  Seeing this reminded him of his earlier encounter with Sunset Shimmer and how she had made an effort in an attempt to understand what he was going through.

"(After seeing what's in my mind, she can now see that this something beyond her comprehension. This something only I can deal with)." He thought to himself. But truth be told, Shadow himself didn't quite have the answers to his problem either. 

As Shadow continued to walk , he suddenly stopped in his tracks as a scent came across his nose.  The scent was quite sweet and freshly made, indicating it was something that had been baked. Normally, Shadow didn't really have an interest in baked goods. Pinkie Pie always bombarded him with cupcakes and whatnot and maintained a neutral attitude towards it. However, to Shadow, this scent was pleasant and appealing to him.  He then felt a sudden craving in his chest, much to his confusion.

"(What is this feeling? I feel like I just can't ignore that scent I just smelled.)" Shadow thought in a puzzled tone as he took a whiff again, making his desire stronger. "(Hmmm, I should probably follow the smell to make sure this feeling doesn't annoy me later on.)"

Shadow then began to follow the trail of the smell. It wasn't too far away and Shadow found himself standing in front of Sugar Cube Corner after taking a couple of steps. The scent was much stronger as Shadow faced the door. He then opened the door to enter the restaurant. It was looked pretty empty except for two people sitting in the window seats. At the Cashier was Mrs. Cake, who was putting down a plate of freshly baked strawberry Swiss Rolls, which were smoldering. Shadow eyes then turned to the cylinder shaped treats as he identified them as the source of the smell from earlier.

"Oh, hello there, Shadow!"Mrs. Cake called out as she waved to him in a welcoming manner. Shadow's response was to walk up the cashier.

"Mrs. Cake." He greeted before he  turned to the Swiss Rolls. "What are those?"

"Oh, these are a fresh batch of Swiss Rolls I just made. Would you like to try one?" Mrs. Cake answered as she offered the plate to Shadow.

Shadow felt that strong craving again as he looked at the plate. He then stuck his hand out as he took one of the Swiss Rolls. He then brought to his mouth as he took a bite. Once he did, Shadow's eyes widened as the strawberry filling melted in his mouth and his taste buds danced after he swallowed it. This was.....good.

"You like it?" Mrs. Cake asked.

"This is...adequate." Shadow replied before he finished off the Swiss Roll, tasting the delicious flavor once more. After that, he then reached his hands into his pocket and pulled out his wallet.

"I'll take them all." He requested as he pulled out some cash, much to Mrs. Cakes surprise.

"Oh. Are you certain? I mean, I was-" Mrs. Cake started before Shadow cut her off.

"I'll take them all." He repeated as she now looked into his eyes. She could tell that he really wanted these Swiss Rolls.

"Well, if you insist." She agreed as she took the Swiss Rolls and placed them all in a small box, which she then handed to Shadow. Shadow then paid for his treats and he then turned to leave.

"Happy Familial Day!" Mrs. Cake called out but Shadow didn't respond to her at all.

As Shadow was about to leave the Sugar Cube Corner, he saw on the other side of the door was a middle aged woman with brown skin. She had thick brown curly hair and blue earrings as she wore a large white necklace. A large coat draped her entire body as she had multiple bags in her hands. She looked like she was struggling to open the handle to the door due to the amount of bags she had. Shadow noticed this and opened the door, much to the woman's relief.

"Oh, thank you so much, young man! It was a hassle with all that I was carrying." The woman said as she entered and stopped to thank Shadow.  As she did, she then began to observe Shadow before her face broke out into a smile.

"Oh, you're, Shadow, aren't you?" The woman suddenly stated, as Shadow raised an eyebrow.

"You know me?" He asked in a slightly confused manner. Aside from the Sonic and the others, Shadow didn't talk to anyone in Canterlot.

"I should introduce myself. My name is Matilda. I'm the wife of Cranky Doodle.  He's a teacher at CHS." The woman introduced. "I also happen to be friends with Pinkie Pie and we chat every now and then. I recognized you from one of the pictures she showed me. She talks a lot about you, you know?

"Does she now?" Shadow responded in a neutral tone.

"You bet. She always goes on and on about how such a great friend you all. She tells me how she'd love to see you smile one day! Isn't that just lovely? You're lucky to be such good friends with someone like here." Matilda elaborated.

"I...suppose." Shadow replied. He started to remember all of the antics Pinkie did for him. Surprise cupcakes, hugs or hello's out of nowhere.  Organizing attempted parties just for him, not to mention the dozens of gifts he received on different occasions.

Before Shadow could dwell on the matter any further, he suddenly heard a beeping sound coming from his wrist as he looked down towards it. He then gripped it and faced Matilda.

"Ma'am, I have an important call I need to answer. If you'll excuse me." Shadow said as he quickly walked past Matilda into the city, causing her to watch him as he left.

"Oh, all right. We'll chat some other time!" Matilda called out as a smile rested on her face. "What a nice young man."

Shadow walked in Canterlot for a while before he pulled himself into an empty bus stop. He then teleported in a green flash.




Shadow then reappeared into his usual spot behind the forest near a small body of water located near the outskirts of the city. He put down his box of Swiss Rolls and thenplaced his wrist near his mouth after he clicked it.

"This is Agent Shadow." He answered.

"Shadow, am I glad to hear from you." Rouge's voice said with relief from the other side. She was also an agent of G.U.N like Shadow and also happened to be one of his closest friends.

"Rouge? What's going on?" Shadow inquired. "Am I needed for some assignment?"

"Shadow...you're really not going to like this. Eclipse has escaped." Rouge informed, making Shadow's eyes widen with panic at what she had just said.

"What?!" He nearly yelled.

"Yeah, he escaped from G.U.N custody earlier today while his ship was being investigated." Rouge explained.

"Are you serious?! I told them that he should have been finished off! The Black Arms are not something you mess around with?! Why didn't they listen?!" Shadow expressed with frustration as he clenched his fist tightly. Rouge sighed.

"You know how G.U.N can be sometimes." She dryly said.

"Do they have any idea of his whereabouts?"Shadow demanded.

"Unfortunately, no. G.U.N wasn't able to track him down. However, we have reason to believe he will likely come after you, seeing as you are responsible for his imprisonment. Not to mention killing off his race." Rouge said as Shadow's face darkened.

"Then let him come! I can end him on my own!" Shadow confidently boasted.

"Wow, hold on Shadow. First, if Eclipse is anything like you told me and adding to the fact that he's Black Arms, he's extremely dangerous. Second, when he escaped, I was informed he wasn't alone. There were 4 unidentified creatures with him or something that came from his ship and are responsible for his escape. It's too risky for you to handle Eclipse on your own. If you find him, do not engage." Rouge ordered, much to Shadow's disbelief.

"Rouge, you can't be serious. I can handle Eclipse!" Shadow insisted.

"Shadow, please. Eclipse poses a huge danger to you. We plan on sending a team on the lookout for him. I repeat, don't go after him alone, got it?" Rouge elaborated, making Shadow grumble silently.

"....Fine." He begrudgingly agreed.

"That's good. If you hear anything, contact G.U.N as soon as you can, ok? And please don't do anything stupid or try to get yourself killed? I'm going to do some more investigating on the escape, try to find more leads. Rouge, out." Rouge said as the transmission ended, leaving Shadow alone.

Shadow then crossed his arms with an irritated look. Honestly, he hated the orders he had been given. Eclipse was his problem, so he should be the one to handle it.

"I can't stand around here and just wait for Eclipse to find me. I should hunt him down and put an end to him once for all." He said to himself.

"Yes, that tenacity of yours is admirable. It was useful when you carried out our missions." Shadow heard a familiar deep and menacing voice say from behind, startling him as he turned around. When he saw the source, Shadow formed a look of horror as he froze.

Standing in front of him was Black Doom. He was floating as the entire area around Shadow was colored red. Shadow backed up a bit.

"Black Doom?!" He cried before he shook his head. "No, that's not possible! Black Doom is gone!"

"Yes, he is and so is our entire race! Because of you!" Shadow then heard a series of small voices yell in an accusing tone. He looked down to see many small purple leeches with one eye heading towards him, making him more unhinged at their sight as he fell to the floor.

"No! That can't be! I exterminated the Black Arms!" Shadow said to himself as he gripped his head and started to sweat profoundly. "They are no more! So why am I?-

Shadow's face suddenly perked up as he realized something. He then clenched his fist as he formed a look of rage.

"Enough of your mind games! I'm here alone, so come out and face me!" Shadow yelled.

"Well, if you insist." Eclipse's voice said as Shadow turned to his right. In front of him was the malicious alien as he approached Shadow with a smirk on his face. 

"Eclipse." Shadow said, his voice full of venom.

"Greetings brother. What's wrong? You seem tense." Eclipse mocked as he stopped in his tracks, causing Shadow to give him an intense glare.

"Shut up! I'm going to finish you right here and now!" Shadow declared as he got in a fighting stance while Eclipse just sighed in disappointment.

"Shadow, do you realize what you're saying? Our race is endangered and you still want to kill me?  You don't belong here brother, you belong with me." Eclipse pleaded as he stuck his hand out towards Shadow. "I should want you dead for what you've done, but you are still my family, so I'm just giving you one more chance. Join me."

Shadow looked down at Eclipse's hand as he appeared to be in thought over what Eclipse said. After a while, he turned to him with a determined expression.

"No. I will never join you. You and the Black Arms are a threat to this planet. The planet I swore to protect." Shadow responded as Eclipse frowned and took his hand back.

"Looks like we're doing this the hard way." Eclipse muttered.

Shadow charged towards Eclipse as he became a yellow streak. As he did, Eclipse snapped his fingers just as Shadow was about to collide with him. When he did, Shadow felt himself crash into something hard as he was suddenly blown back with enormous force and sprawled on the floor. When Shadow looked up, he saw Eclipse's body had changed. His body was now a dark blue color.

"What is this?" Shadow questioned as he picked himself off the floor.

"Oh, just a trick up my sleeve." Eclipse told him as he grinned. "Believe me, you don't stand a chance."

"We'll see about that!" Shadow stated as he generated a Chaos Spear in his hand and tossed it towards Eclipse. Shadow's attack bounced harmlessly off Eclipse, much to his surprise.

"Ok, my turn!" Eclipse yelled as he lunged at Shadow. Eclipse grabbed Shadow's face and smashed him down on the ground, making a large crash.  He then lifted Shadow off of it and palm struck him in the chest. Shadow felt a burst of pain explode in his chest as he was blown back and crashed into a tree, cracking it slightly.  He then fell to the ground in a dazed manner.

"Oops. Guess I don't know my own strength." Eclipse said with a shrug. "Now, let's try something new."

As he was coming to, Shadow vaguely saw a black shadow leap off from Eclipse's body before another one attached itself to him. Shadow saw that Eclipse's arms were now cyan colored as he aimed one at Shadow. There was an eye on the palm which started to glow cyan. Eclipse then fired a beam at Shadow, who dodged it using his speed. Using both hands, Eclipse kept firing lasers at Shadow, who managed to evade each of them as he left a yellow trail.  During the last one, Shadow jumped and had a clear shot at Eclipse. He then fired another Chaos Spear at Eclipse. However, Eclipse countered by firing a laser from both hands, which hit through Shadow's spear and zapped him in the chest.

"Arrgh!" He yelled as he started to come down on the floor.

As Shadow was falling, Eclipse aimed his two hands at Shadow and fired two beams which hit him, blowing Shadow on the ground as he rolled onto it. Shadow was quite injured but he hadn't lost conscious yet. As he rose from the floor, he heard some noises which sounded similar to croaking before he turned to face Eclipse once more. This time, Eclipse's arms were now two large red wings as he displayed them to Shadow.

"(Just what is this power of his?)" Shadow thought to himself as Eclipse started to rise in the air.

"Ha! I do enjoy toying with my prey!" Eclipse taunted as he airborne. He then came down towards Shadow and tried to charge into him but Shadow rolled out of the way. Eclipse then came back once more but Shadow evaded it again. As Eclipses back was turned, Shadow charged towards him in the air as a yellow streak and released a flaming kick from his rocket skates, knocking Eclipse towards the ground. Shadow then dashed towards him as Eclipse was falling with a clenched fist but Eclipse turned around and smacked him away using both wings. Shadow crashed on the ground while Eclipse landed, though he wobbled a bit.

"That was close, hehe." Eclipse said as he turned to see Shadow's state. "Now then, let's finish off the demonstration, shall we?"

Shadow could only see Eclipse's feet, albeit blurry, as he heard the same familiar noise from before. By the time Shadow raised his head, he saw Eclipse aiming a purple arm cannon with an eye out towards him. Before Shadow could react, Eclipse fired a large purple soundwave which blew Shadow across the ground, leaving behind a destructive force. Shadow then felt pain over his entire body and he couldn't think straight either. He tried to move, but he just couldn't.

"What's the matter, brother? You don't look so good." Eclipse sneered as he walked up to Shadow. "Did you forget? I was specifically created to counter you. I limit your abilities and movement and cloud your mind."

Shadow groaned in pain. He still tried to move as Eclipse looked on.

"You're probably wondering about all those mutations I had. Well, let me introduce you to my Darks Arms." Eclipse then said.

From behind Eclipse, Shadow saw four small aliens emerge from him which were all dark blue. One shaped like a block with three glowing blue eyes and small legs with jagged teeth. Another was shaped like a musical note with two small legs and a glowing purple eye. Flying above was an alien that resembled a shrunken eagle with three glowing orange eyes. The last one was shaped similar to an eel and a lighting bolt with two cyan glowing eyes and jagged teeth. The mouths of the aliens gave off their respective colors as they all made sounds towards Eclipse.

"Meet Rhygenta, Cyzer, Blurk and Cregal." Eclipse introduced as the Dark Arms crowded around him. "These are the Dark Arms, a Black Arms sub species I cultivated from an alien race known as the Wisp for a project of mine. I had more but unfortunately, when I crashed on this pathetic planet, most of them didn't make it except for these four. They can fuse with me in order to grant me a variety of powers as you saw from before."

Eclipse then smiled towards the Darks Arms as they cuddled up towards him in an affectionate manner.

"Together, we are going to restore the glory of the Black Arms." Eclipse declared as he raised his hands towards Shadow. "But first things first."

Eclipse walked over to Shadow and stood over him as he stared him down.

"I should have done this from the start."Eclipse said as he placed his hand over Shadow's head, causing Shadow's eyes to widen and his mouth to open in shock as green energy emerged from Eclipses's hand.




Shadow found himself floating in a black void when his eyes opened. He looked around but saw nothing. Suddenly, a giant red flash shone on him, causing him to cover his eyes.

"Shadow, don't try and resist! You cannot deny the Black Arms blood that flows through your veins! You don't belong with these earthlings and you know it as well as I do! I can give you a purpose and sense of belonging!" A large image of Eclipse said in a dark and echoey voice, making Shadow wince.

"No. I'm not listening to your nonsense." Shadow declared as he surrounded himself in a blue aura. He then flew away from the image of Eclipse.

"Don't try and fight it, brother!" Eclipse yelled after him as Shadow tried his best to ignore him.

As Shadow flew to the top, an image of large black and red starfish shaped eye blocked his path, sending him below. This was a manifestation of Black Doom's third eye.

"Shadow, whatever you think you have in this world is meaningless. These 'bonds' are just temporary. They'll all be gone one day, so why try to hang on to them? Join your immortal brethren and the Black Arms will live on forever!" Eclipse's urged on as Shadow fell into his palm.

"No...I...promised...." Shadow resisted as Eclipses palm attempted to engulf him entirely. He grabbed his head in pain.

"Your promise is void! Your mission and purpose are to serve the Black Arms!" Eclipse declared as his palm enclosed Shadow.

Shadow then saw a series of visions. He first saw Maria in her last moments before she sent him down to earth with a smile. He then remembered his duel with Sonic aboard the Space Colony Ark. He then saw the G.U.N commander, a middle aged man with white hair wearing a dark blue uniform decorated with red and yellow stripes, inviting him into the organization as he saluted Shadow. Shadow then remembered his first day at CHS where Sonic introduced him to the Rainbooms and Pinkie Pie greeted him as she came up close to his face. Another memory of Sunset showing him around the school with a smile while he appeared disinterested was shown.  An image of Rouge and E-123 Omega, a red and black robot with a stocky upper body with spiked golden bands above his claws wearing the omega symbol on his right shoulder while having a rectangular head and two red dot eyes. He was also a member of Team Dark alongside Shadow and Rouge. A vision of the team first forming in one of Eggman's secret bases was shown as well.  Shadow saw Sonic giving the thumbs up with a smile.  Two memories of Pinkie Pie waving quickly while wearing a huge grin and Sunset offering her hand with a smile were the last things that appeared in front of Shadow before all his memories went black.




In the real world, Eclipse fell back as he let go of Shadow's head. He was then caught as Cyzer and Cregal wrapped themselves around his arms as the Dark Arms looked on with concern.

"*huff* *gasp*, I'm alright little ones." Eclipse reassured them in a tired tone as he turned to Shadow. "Let's hope this works."

Shadow then clutched his head as he started to rise from the ground with his eyes closed. He let out a few small moans.

"My name is Shadow and I...." He started to say before he opened his eyes, whose pupils vanished, making them entirely red.

"I am a servant of the Black Arms." He finished in a monotone voice, much to Eclipse's pleasure as his face broke out into a wide smile.

"It worked!" Eclipse shrieked with delight as he and the Dark Arms now surrounded Shadow.

"Little ones, welcome back your brother!" Eclipse proudly said as the Dark Arms looked up to Shadow. They then expressed noises, which suggested happiness. Shadow didn't respond.

"Now, that we have Shadow, phase 2 of my plan can commence." Eclipse said in a cryptic tone as he looked at his comrades. As he looked back, he noticed the box of Swiss Rolls that Shadow had ordered before. He formed a curious look as he came towards it.

"What could this be?" He wondered as he took the box. Eclipse then opened it up to reveal the Swiss Rolls.

"What is this? Earthling food?" Eclipse said with distaste before he took a whiff of them. His expression then changed as he formed a slightly surprised look. Eclipse then took one Swiss Roll and took a bite.

"Mmmmm..Mmmmm!" Eclipse gushed as he formed a small smile and finished the roll. "I hate to admit, but this is at least one good thing about this planet. I'll save the rest of these for later. Time to head out."




Back at the G.U.N base, a few soldiers were on the run as they prepared to head out. The base seemed to be on high alert as other members in uniforms were rushing around it frantically. A  few sentry bots floated mid-air as well. Suddenly, a mechanical gate opened, catching the eye of one trooper. When it was done, it revealed itself to be Shadow as the soldier looked on.

"Agent Shadow?" He asked, not expecting to see him. "What brings you here? Did you manage to find the escaped alien?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes." Shadow said in an ominous tone.

The soldier was puzzled by Shadow's answer before his face broke out into one of dread. Standing with Shadow were Eclipse and the Dark Arms. Eclipse wore a menacing grin.

"It's time for our revival!" Eclipse announced as the soldier backed away with fright as Shadow and Eclipses's shadows's  overcame him.
> Into The Unknown
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Into the Unknown 

Sonic and Sunset had returned back to Sweet Apple Acres after failing to convince Shadow to come and celebrate with them. There, they had joined the rest of their friends in preparing the place for the celebration later today.  It didn't take too long as only a few minor adjustments were needed and everything was good to go in no time. The group then met up in AppleJack's barn as they looked over what they had done while her family had gone inside. The chairs and music were set up along with outdoor decorations, the large table was prepared for the feast and the evening dinner had been finished.

"Perfect!  Everythin's just perfect! AppleJack said proudly as she tipped her hat. "Great work Y'all!"

"Oh, I can't wait to try the dinner." Spike fantasized as he drooled in Twilight's arms, making her laugh slightly.

"I have to say, this is looking like it's going to be really nice. I'm really looking forward to this evening." Starlight stated.

"Too bad it's missing just one more thing." Pinkie expressed in a disappointed tone, causing all of her friends to turn towards her. It was pretty obvious what she meant. She was speaking about Shadow's absence.

Knuckles then folded his arms as he turned to face Sunset and Sonic.

"So, you two didn't have any luck trying to convince him?" He asked.

"Knuckles, I saw what Shadow was going through." Sunset explained in a tired tone. "Honestly, I really don't have any idea what we can do."

"But it's still wrong for him to be all by himself. He should be with his friends." Pinkie insisted before Sonic put his hand on her shoulder.

"You heard Sunset. Shadow needs to deal with this on his own. Until then, I say we should just give the faker his space and before we know it, he'll be back to his slightly less brooding self."Sonic told her but Pinkie didn't seem too convinced by that answer as she rubbed her arm.

"In the meantime, since everything's all done, I'd say we have some time to kill." Rainbow Dash brought up. "Anyone got any good ideas on how to spend it?"

Before anyone could answer, a large beeping sound was then heard in the back, catching everyone's attention. Tails recognized the sound as his face perked up.

"That's my Miles Electric."Tails realized as he went to the right corner of the barn where had placed it as all eyes were on him now. The screen of his portable computer was giving off a horizontal beeping signal, which indicated that a transmission was coming. Tails then picked it up as he went back to his friends.

"I'm receiving an incoming call.' He announced, causing Knuckles and Twilight to overlook his shoulder.

"Who could it be?" Knuckles wondered as Tails answered the screen.

The screen then became one full of static, revealing Rouge's face on it much to Tails surprise, Twilight's curiosity, and Knuckles''s dismay.

"Hey there, Tails." She greeted out loud in a static and muffled voice for everyone to hear before she noticed Knuckles. 

"And Knuckles." She added in a playful manner as she wiggled her fingers at him. Knuckles slightly fumed as he crossed his arms and turned away from the screen.

"Who's she?" Twilight questioned as she pointed to the screen.

"This is Rouge. She's an agent of G.U.N, the organization that Shadow works for." Tails explained as Rouge winked.

Tails then held up his Miles Electric above for the rest of the group to see as Rouge's eyes landed on all of them, which caught Sonic's interest.

"Rouge? What's the occasion? You don't usually call to just say hi." He inquired as Rouge got a serious expression.

"I'm calling because I need your help." Rouge stated.

"Uh oh. I get the feeling you have some bad news, don't you?" Manic expressed with displeasure.

"It's urgent. I'm calling because of Shadow." She said, causing the group to become alert at the mention of his name. 

"Shadow? What's wrong? Is he ok?" Pinkie questioned in a voice full of concern and all quickly.

"I can't really explain here. I could barely make a call with the state of the base. I just need you to come to the G.U.N headquarters right now. I'll fill you in on the details there." Rouge answered before the signal suddenly cut. With the transmission gone, everyone exchanged looks.

"What could Shadow possibly  have to do with all of this?" Silver wondered out loud.

"I don't have a clue. But from the way she worded, it sounded like he could be in trouble. Sunset suggested.

"I knew we shouldn't have left him all on his own." Pinkie said with worry in her voice.

"Well, we aren't going to find out by just standing around. You heard, we gotta go now!" Rainbow Dash eagerly said.

"You said it, Dash." Sonic agreed. "Let's do it to it!"

"Wait, before anyone does anything, could someone please explain to me what's going on? I'm kind of lost." Starlight asked as she faced the others.

"Long story short, that was an agent of G.U.N, this  military organization or whatever that Shadow's a part of." Manic informed her.

"A secret organization? This situation sounds like this is something cool!" Starlight gushed before she remembered why Rouge had made the call in the first place as her expression changed to a slightly embarrassed one. "Oh, and awful!"

As the others prepared to move out, AppleJack suddenly made an announcement.

"Hold on y'all. I know somethin' big is going on, but what about the dinner?" AppleJack said in a quizzical tone.

"AppleJack, darling, normally you tell me this, but there are more important things at stake here." Rarity told her.

"She's right, AJ. The dinner can wait until after whatever this is." Knuckles agreed.

"Oh, I hope we don't miss it." Spike said with a smile on his face at the thought of all that food.

AppleJack realized that there was nothing she could really do at this point, so she just dropped the subject and joined her friend in as they headed out towards the G.U.N base.




The Rainbooms had ponied up, giving them the power of flight as they flew onward with Silver. Tails was in his biplane, the Tornado with Starlight Glimmer in the passenger seat while Knuckles held on to a wing on the top, leaving Sonic and Manic to run across the terrain. Tails had placed the coordinates of the G.U.N base on his Miles Electric and lead the rest of the team towards the base.  They then came across a mountain ridge after gaining some considerable distance from Canterlot. Behind it, was a large metallic facility that housed the G.U.N logo. However, there was smoke coming from it, indicating it was damaged.

"That doesn't look good." Starlight commented.

"We should get in for a closer look." Tails suggested as he began to descend his plane.

Tails parked the Tornado in front of a large square shaped hole where a metallic door should have been. The Rainbooms and Silver descended shortly as Tails, Knuckles and Starlight got off the tornado while Sonic and Manic joined them instantly. After that, they entered the entrance into the G.U.N base.

When the group was inside the base, they were astonished by what they had seen. The area was damaged as there were various holes in the wall and ceiling. Broken pieces technology such as parts of computers and robots littered the floor as electric wires hung around. Various G.U.N members were rushing around with collapsed stairway in the back. There were injured or unconscious and bruised soldiers scattered as some of them were being treated by doctors and loaded on stretchers

"Wow. Where I'm from, there are still remnants of G.U.N in the future. Honestly, it's disappointing that G.U.N in the present looks how it does in my timeline." Silver dryly observed.

"Oh, I just hope whatever did this is gone." Fluttershy fearfully said. "I'd hate to run into it."

"Over here." Rouge's waved on the right, as everyone turned over to see her. Rouge then walked up to them.

"Good to see you, Big Blue." Rouge said to Sonic who just gave her a slight smile. Her eyes then landed on the others and the Rainbooms.

"I remember all of you from that one time."Rouge recalled as she recognized them. She then saw Starlight. "Except for her though."

"Oh, I'm new. I'm Starlight Glimmer." Starlight introduced.

"Rouge." She replied as she gave her a salute with two fingers.

Suddenly, Pinkie dashed in front of Rouge and gripped her shoulders tightly, making her slightly uncomfortable.

"What of Shadow?! What's going on with him?! Where is he?!" Pinkie demanded in a hyperactive tone as she shook Rouge very quickly.

"Wow, Pinkie, take it easy." Sunset said as she pulled her off from Rouge, who was slightly dazed. She then regained her composure.

"That's the thing. Shadow's the reason why the  G.U.N base is in ruins." Rouge suddenly said. Hearing this caused her to be on the receiving end of looks of disbelief.

"Shadow?! Are you sure?" Sonic inquired as Rouge nodded her head.

"Yes. As you can see, it was quite the mess. I was lucky I wasn't here as I wouldn't have had a big strong hero to save me." Rouge said as she winked at Knuckles, making him frown.

"Get on with it, Rouge. What happened?" Knuckles replied. '

"Yeah, why the hay would Shadow do this? He's on our side?" AppleJack further questioned.

"Not anymore."Rouge expressed with a slightly sad tone. "Earlier today, Eclipse, the last Black Arms who we had in custody managed to escape.  Eclipse must have tracked him down and despite me telling him not to, Shadow must have engaged Eclipse. After that, he must have placed him under his control. You remember that Shadow's part alien, right?

"Eclipse? He was that alien from last time right ?"Tails remembered  as Rouge gave a nod to confirm.

Hearing that Shadow had alien DNA was actually news to the Rainbooms, except for Sunset as she had read his mind earlier. Their eyes widened with surprise after hearing that. 

"Hold on, Shadow's part alien?!" Twilight suddenly exclaimed with a slight tone of excitement. "This is incredible!  There are so many questions I have to ask him!I wonder what their civilization or culture could be like! I mean-

"Twilight? Now's not the time." Spike interrupted, causing Twilight to look at the others, who were giving her strange looks. Her cheeks then turned red.

"Oh, please go on." She then said in a shy tone.

"After that, they came back here and wrecked the base. We're still checking the damage done." Rouge finished.

"Great. Shadow's on the side of a murderous alien. Please tell me you at least know their location?" Manic said in a quizzical tone.

"We still don't have any clue on their whereabouts." Rouge broke to him.

"Rouge." A deep robotic voice suddenly said, making Rouge and the group turn to see it belonged to E-123 Omega as he was walking towards her as everyone turned to see him.

"Rouge, the commander wishes to speak with us in the briefing room." Omega told before he turned to see  Sonic's group.

"What is with the excessive presence of meat bags?" Omega asked Rouge, while he pointed to them, causing Rarity to form an offended look.

"Ah! How dare you refer to us as meat bags! We have names, you know? She scolded but Omega just ignored her.

"They're with Shadow. They're here to help us." Rouge told him as Omega then put his head down slightly.

"I desire to slaughter the aliens myself." Omega expressed, making the group turn to each other with slightly disturbed looks while Rouge formed a small smile.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. We just want our friend back, no slaughtering." Sunset reassured Omega, causing him to lift his head up.

"This pleases me." He then stated.

"Come on, we should get going." Rouge suggested as she headed towards the briefing room as the others followed her. While they were heading there, Fluttershy found herself in front of Omega. She was intimidated by his presence as she nervously stared at him as Omega looked back, making her more uneasy. His silence was unnerving.

"Uh....hello there Mr. Robot." Fluttershy slowly greeted as Omega continued to observe her.

"I advise that you gather some distance from me. There is a possibility I might crush you." Omega  bluntly said, making Fluttershy yelp as she took his advice and walked ahead forward in a rapid manner.




The briefing room was a large white room with a series of desks in the back. In front of the room was the G.U.N Commander as he stood near a large platform. On his right, a large blue door with the   G.U.N symbol then opened, revealing Rouge, Omega and the group as the Commander turned to see them.

"We're here Commander Tower." Rouge said.

"Excellent, Rouge." He said before his eyes turned on Sonic.

"Sonic, nice to see you." He told him as Sonic gave him the thumbs up. He then noticed the Rainbooms and Starlight, making him get a slightly confused expression.

"And you're with...students?" He said in a puzzled tone.

"Hey, we've saved the world plenty of times and have had our share of kicking bad guy's butts." Rainbow Dash boasted as she pointed to herself. '"It's not a big deal."

Commander Tower just raised an eyebrow, but he didn't have time to waste on questions. 

"All of you, take a seat." He instructed, causing everyone except Omega to take seats in the desks in the back. Omega just stood  in front next to Rouge.

"I have some dire news. After some investigation, we found out that a G.U.N spacecraft is missing." Commander Tower started, causing the group to form alarmed looks as they became aware of how serious the situation was, especially the Rainbooms and Starlight. They had dealt with a lo of things before but space was on a complete different scale

"It is clear that Eclipse and Shadow must have taken it. Luckily, after the discovery of the theft, we were able to track the coordinates of where it was headed." Commander Tower continued.

Commander Tower then took out a remote and clicked it, causing a blue holographic image to appear in front. On it was the picture of a moderately sized lush green planet as the party looked on with interest.

"Oh my, that looks lovely." Rarity praised.

After getting a better look at it, Tails eyes widened as he recognized it.

"Hey, that's Planet Wisp!" He exclaimed, making Sonic realize what Tails said was true.

"You're right, bro! It is the Wisp's planet!" Sonic agreed.

"Uh, what's Planet Wisp?" Starlight asked.

"Planet Wisp is home to a species of aliens called the Wisp. Sonic and I visited it one time when we had to save them from Eggman's interstellar amusement park." Tails explained.

"Oh man, if Eclipse is going there, then the Wisps are in trouble!" Sonic said with worry.

"Yes, it is a problem. We believed that Eclipse was going to try and take over our world, but seeing as he's gone and done this, we fear he's plotting something big." Commander Tower went on.

"So, what's the plan then?" Rouge questioned.

"Whatever Eclipse has planned, we cannot let him succeed. A large fraction of G.U.N are elsewhere on missions and the attack on the base has set us back severely.  That is why I need Team Dark to head out and go stop Eclipse. You're the only ones capable of doing this." Commander Tower ordered.

"I alone would most likely be sufficient." Omega commented.

"Hey, Commander guy,  you're also forgetting about Shadow. He needs to be saved too." Pinkie brought up as she waved her hand rapidly in the air.

The mention of Shadow's name caused Commander Tower face to darken. He then cleared his throat.

"On the topic of Shadow, I'm not so sure if that's the most realistic option." Commander Tower started, making everyone in the entire room stumped at his words. They weren't sure what he was getting.

"What do you mean, not sure if that's realistic?" Silver inquired.

"Eclipse managed to brainwash Shadow and not only did they wreck a G.U.N base and injure a large number of soldiers, they went go harvest another world. Shadow is dangerous." Commander Tower sternly said, much to the dismay of everyone in the room.

"Are you serious?! Shadow's the one who saved us from the Black Arms last time! He's the reason you're still around to  call him dangerous." Rouge shot back.

"I concur with Rouge." Omega said, backing her up.

"Shadow has proven himself to be a liability. This world already has enough threats as it is. We don't need Shadow on the side of an alien invasion. That's why I'm just making the correct decision." Commander Tower firmly said.

"But Shadow's one of you. And you're just going to toss him aside?!' Sunset said with slight disgust in her voice.

"Besides, G.U.N isn't known for always making the right calls." Sonic said as he crossed his arms, a nod to the time they had him wrongfully imprisoned.

"I thought you said you made peace with Shadow anyway. Are you sure this isn't personal?" Rouge said with an edge in her voice.

Commander Tower saw all the looks of disapproval he received and let out a sigh.

"This isn't. I no longer hold any grudge towards Shadow. This isn't an easy decision for me to make and I know that it's not a popular one. If there was a much better option, I would be all for it. Shadow may be my agent but he's also a weapon. It's his life against the countless lives of this planet. A soldier's life isn't always guaranteed in this line of work.  Sacrifices have to be made." Commander Tower said, though there was hesitation and disappointment in his tone.

Commander Towers words were left to sink into the audience in front of him. Before anyone else could say anything, Pinkie Pie suddenly formed a look of stronger anger on her face as she clenched her fist tightly. She then marched out of her seat towards Commander Tower, much to his surpise.

"Well, that's your problem, right there! Shadow's not just a weapon or a soldier! There's so much to him than that! He's a person but more importantly, he's our friend! You may not think his life matters that much but we do and we're not going to write him off! Maybe if you tried treating him other than the weapon you think he is, you'd understand!" Pinkie shrieked at the top of her lungs.

Everyone in the room was amazed by Pinkie's sudden outburst as Rouge had a slight smile on her face. Commander Tower was taken back as he looked down at Pinkie's determined expression with a look of uncertainty. It was clear her words had gotten to him.

"I...I...." He started to say before he sighed once more.

"I trust what needs to be done will be done. Team Dark, you have to go to your spacecraft below. It has been prepared for you already. You're dismissed. Head there immediately. We don't have time for delay." Commander Tower simply said as he walked out the door. 

Pinkie huffed and puffed as the others got out of their seats and headed for the exit and moved past her with looks of concern.  Fluttershy put her hand on her shoulder, calming her down a bit more as she took a deep breath but still wore an unsure expression.




Underneath the G.UN base, Team Dark and the group were standing in front of a small white shuttle that was about the size of a bus.  Next to it was a scientist as he adjusted his glasses.

"This is the only available space shuttle we had prepared and left." The scientist explained. "It's smaller than the ones we normally have and I'm afraid not all of you can go."

"Well, Omega and I are going obviously." Rouge declared. "After all, we were assigned this mission."

"And I have not slaughtered any aliens yet." Omega added.

"So, any volunteers?" Rouge asked as she turned to the others.

Pinkie Pie immediately answered before any of her friends could.

"I'm coming. I'm not going to give up on Shadow." She insisted, much to Rouge's delight, who put her hand on her shoulder.

"I like you, especially seeing you stand up to Commander Tower. That's fine by me." Rouge complied.

"I want to go too." Sunset suddenly said. "I felt bad about not being able to help Shadow from before and I feel like this is a way for me to do something."

Rouge just shrugged, which indicated she was good to go. Pinkie then turned to Starlight, who wasn't expecting this.

"Starlight, I want you to come." Pinkie requested, much to her and everyone else's confusion.

"Wow, Pinkie, are you sure that's a good idea?" Manic cautioned.

"Yeah, why me?" Starlight quizzically said.

"Like I said earlier, Shadow is a good friend and I want for you to see that for real." Pinkie explained.

Starlight seemed quite conflicted as she looked around at Team Dark and the group. In fact, she was looking pretty nervous at Pinkie's request.

"I'm going to admit. This is all really crazy. Aliens, secret organizations.  I mean, when I came here, I didn't expect to go into space of all things. But...if it's to help a friend, I'll do it." Starlight agreed, making Pinkie and Sunset beam.

"Well then, I guess we have our team." Rouge said as she and her party turned to face the rest of the group.

"Ok then, we'll leave it to you guys. Make sure that Faker comes back. Oh, and tell the Wisps I said Hi!" Sonic said as he gave them the thumbs up.

"Do be safe." Fluttershy said in a small voice.

"Also, hit Shadow really hard for getting us into this mess." Manic brought up while Rarity gave him a slight glare, which he then noticed and shrugged.

"What he meant to say is good luck." Rarity spoke.

"I'd love to go see an alien world and kick some alien butt, but since I can't,  get in some good hits." Rainbow Dash stated as she put her fist in her hand.

"This one speaks my language." Omega praised. "I promise to unleash as much havoc as I can."

Rainbow Dash was slightly weirded out by Omega's love for violence and she backed away.

"Oh, take this." Tails said as he handed Rouge his Miles Electric. "You'll need it  to communicate with the Wisp."

"Thanks, Tails." She said as she then turned to Knuckles.

"What? No kiss goodbye?" Rouge teased, causing Knuckles to become flustered as he turned his back to her.

"Just get out of here already." Knuckles muttered under his breath.

"If you don't mind, could you also get some samples from the alien planet? I'd love to study something alien." Twilight asked, making Spike chuckle but he said nothing.

"If ya can, make sure y'all are back just in time for the dinner. I'd hate for anyone to miss out on it, seeing as we worked so hard." AppleJack told them.

"In the meantime, we'll try to keep things delayed. Hopefully" Silver reassured.

"You bet! I Pinkie Promise! And we'll have Shadow." Pinkie promised in return as she made the motion.

"We'll hopefully see you guys soon." Sunset said.

"Ok, then let's get this adventure started. To space." Starlight said, though she sounded somewhat tense as she took a look at the spacecraft.

The five of them then entered the shuttle. Rouge was in the pilot seat with Pinkie in the seat next to her. Starlight and Sunset sat with seats in the back while Omega took up two whole seats on his own. All of them strapped on their seat belts except for him. Rouge then started the plane as G.U.N opened a large pathway in front. The shuttle then floated above the ground as it's engine was activated before it then took off. It passed through the path G.U.N made before it was launched up in high into the sky as it traveled at high speed.
> A Matter of Survival
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Matter of Survival

The team's spacecraft had taken off into outer space and was now traveling in its dark and vast vacuum. The ship had been flying through for some time now. Pinkie, Sunset, and Starlight were amazed by the fact that they had actually left their planet and were in space of all places as they couldn't help but stare at it's never ending darkness. Starlight was actually feeling a little overwhelmed. Excited but overwhelmed. She then let out a large sigh, which Sunset heard.

"Hey, are you doing ok?" Sunset asked her.

"Honestly, I don't know. This is all pretty huge and I just don't know what to make of it. I'm sort of scared and excited at the same time." Starlight admitted.

"You're not the only one. Space is pretty new for most of us, but we've seen a lot of things, remember?" Sunset responded. "We can handle this."

Sunset's word helped Starlight feel more at ease as she gave her a smile.

"Thanks, Sunset." She responded as Sunset playfully punched her arm. 

In the front, Pinkie was still looking out at space as her face was splattered against the glass as Rouge flew the aircraft. She seemed to have a curious look before she frowned and leaned back.

"You know, I thought space would be a little more....fun." Pinkie expressed with disappointment. "It looks just really boring. All we've just seen is black."

Rouge then let out a small laugh.

"Don't you worry. With the speed we're going at, we shouldn't be too far from Planet Wisp." Rouge told her. "I'd say we have a few more minutes or so of flying until we get there."

That news didn't seem to sit too well with Pinkie. Like Sonic, she could be rather impatient at times.

"Also, I'd just like to say thanks." Rouge suddenly said, making Pinkie turn to her with a curious look.

"For what?" She asked.

"For what you said back there to Commander Tower. It was nice to see someone defend Shadow." Rouge told her.

"Well of course! Shadow's my friend." Pinkie told her.

"Good to hear. And I don't care what Commander Tower says. We're not going to get rid of him." Rouge promised. "We're going to bring him back to our side."

Pinkie's face grew then grew less cheerful 

"We have to. Today, I wanted him to have a fun time on Familial Day. I know Shadow's grumpy most of the time and he says he doesn't like those sort of things, but I still don't want him to feel left out while everyone else is celebrating. I want him to know that we do accept him." Pinkie said before Rouge put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. After Shadow hears how you went all this way, I'm sure he won't say no. Well, at least I won't let him." Rouge told her as Pinkie smiled a little. 

Suddenly, the shuttle started to make a loud beeping sound, catching everyone's attention as they looked up with curious looks.

"What's that?" Starlight asked.

Rouge flipped a switch in front of her and it caused the beeping to stop. In front of her came a large holographic map, which she then read.

"Well, it looks like we're approaching Planet Wisp." Rouge announced. "It should come into view right about...now.

The holographic map then vanished from the screen, allowing the others a chance to see Planet Wisp in person. It looked exactly like the image they had seen in the briefing room, but up close, it looked even more vibrant and magnificent.

"Wow,so pretty!" Pinkie gushed.

"I should start expanding my choices for vacation spots." Rouge muttered at its sight. "Ok then everyone, tighten your seatbelts. We're heading in for a landing."

"Ooooh, this is going to be like when the airplanes land! That's always the best part!" Pinkie said as she strapped her seatbelt and eagerly waited for the landing to start.

"I'd hold on to your seat." Sunset told Starlight, who took her advice.

The spacecraft started to descend into the atmosphere of Planet Wisp. As it was, the ship suddenly started shaking rapidly and violently, much to Sunset and Starlight's dismay as they formed fearful looks and gripped on to their seatbelts for dear life. Omega didn't react at all while Rouge was trying to keep calm as she steered the ship in for a safe landing while Pinkie laughed and giggled. The spacecraft passed through the clouds of Planet Wisp before it began to reach for the ground as its speed and shaking increased. Starlight now looked like she was about to pass out while Sunset held on to her seat more tightly. Rouge started to sweat a little as she tilted the ship up as its wheels began to emerge. The wheels then collided with the ground of the planet, making a large bump which made Pinkie more excited while Starlight almost had a heart attack. The ship then traversed across the ground in a rocky manner for a bit before it came to a complete and sudden stop. As it did, Rouge wiped a brow of sweat.

"Whew, made it." She said with relief as she and others unbuckled their seats.

"Again, again! Let's go again!" Pinkie excitedly yelled.

In the back, Starlight rose up from her seat and wobbled as she struggled to get her balance. She let out a few moans as Sunset got up and had a little trouble standing as well.

"Wow, I feel like I might pass out." Starlight weakly said before Sunset latched on to her.

"You meat bags and your frail bodies." Omega criticized as he stood up perfectly fine and walked past the two girls, causing them to give him slight glares.

Rouge and Pinkie walked to the back to join the rest of the team as Sunset and Starlight managed to get over their small ordeal. Rouge held on to Tails's Miles Electric as the five of them stood in front of the door of the shuttle, which then began to open.

"Ok then. Our mission starts now!" Rouge declared as the door finished opening as she and the others came down and landed on the planet's soil. They then stopped as they got a look at Planet Wisp.

Planet Wisp looked like an enormous forest. There was alien flora everywhere that resembled grass and different colored flowers. Ahead were huge trees which were several stories high and had flat leaves covering them as they shot out towards the clear blue sky. There were a few small mountain ridges covered in grass and some which formed arcs as well. Honestly, everyone save for Omega was awestruck by the sight of the planet.

"Wow." Is all Rouge could say

"This place is beautiful." Sunset praised as she looked around the planet.

"I've seen a lot of things from Equestria but this..... This is wonderful." Starlight said in awe as the nervousness she felt was now replaced by a newfound sense of tranquility.

"I'll say! This looks like the perfect place to throw a party! Good thing I brought my cannon!" Pinkie said as she took out her blue portable cannon.

Hearing this caused Omega to suddenly turn to Pinkie with a look of interest.

"A cannon? So you too like to destroy things with weapons?" Omega inquired with slight eagerness in his voice as Pinkie's eyes widened at his statement.

"Of course not, silly! This cannon isn't meant to destroy stuff! It's my party cannon!" Pinkie said as she gave Omega a demonstration. Her cannon then shot out harmless multicoloured confetti which covered the robot.

Omega looked as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard. He then slowly raised his hand as he pointed to Pinkie.

"You have a cannon...yet it does not destroy?" Omega slowly asked as Pinkie nodded.

"I have never felt more betrayed." He added in a melancholic tone as he walked away from Pinkie, who gave him a strange look. He then came next to Rouge.

"May I start shooting now?" Omega questioned to her.

"Hold on. We haven't even found anything to shoot." Rouge reminded him as the two Rainbooms and Starlight came next to her as well.

"So, what's the plan?" Sunset asked.

"Well, this planet is huge and we don't have any way to track Eclipse or Shadow. Until then, we're going to just have to walk until something comes our way." Rouge admitted. It wasn't the most efficient plan, but it was the best one they could come up with for now.

"All rightie then! Shadow, here we come!" Pinkie stated as she pumped her fist in the air. The team then started to move out and explore Planet Wisp.

Team Dark, the Two Rainbooms, and Starlight walked through Planet Wisps's grass as they kept out on the lookout for anything while at the same time, it gave them a chance to sightsee the planet. They had started to walk for quite a long distance before Starlight decided to speak up as she had a slightly stumped look.

"If I remember correctly, Sonic and Tails mentioned that this planet was home to aliens, right? Does anyone else think it's a little weird we haven't seen any of them for now? Starlight pointed out.

"True. It's odd we haven't come across any of the Wisp." Rouge agreed.

"Oh no. You don't think Eclipse has done something horrible to them, has he?" Sunset expressed with worry.

Before anyone could answer, Pinkie suddenly stopped in place as her hair stood up, and started to twitch, causing the rest of the group to stop walking as they all turned to her.

"Wait a minute, everybody." Pinkie said as looked around frantically. "I'm picking something up with my Pinkie sense."

Pinkie's word caused Rouge to raise an eyebrow as she turned to Sunset and Starlight.

"Pinkie sense?" She asked as if she hadn't heard correctly.

"Pinkie somehow has a sense of knowing whenever certain things are going to happen." Sunset explained. "We don't know how it works and it's best if you don't question it either."

Rouge was still slightly confused, but she had seen a lot of crazy things in her line of work, so she just kept silent.

Pinkie started to twitch in place as she continued to move her head. 

"I feel like something's coming up." Pinkie went on. 

"Is it something I may shoot at?" Omega asked as Pinkie shook her head.

"Nah. It's coming from...." Pinkie said before she pointed upward. "There."

The rest of the team looked up to see what Pinkie Pie was pointing towards. Coming down was a small squid like creature with a whitish-blue body. It had three tentacles and no mouth. It had one large eye which was violet and a swirl on its head It looked slightly tired while the group continued to watch the alien as it flew down and came in front of them.

"Wow, I presume this is one of the Wisps." Sunset guessed.

"My first alien... and it's pretty cute actually." Starlight observed.

"I'll say! It's so adorable!" Pinkie gushed as she squeezed her cheeks together due to the Wisps sight.

"This does not even look worthy of eradicating." Omega said with a tone of disappointment

The Wisp then began to move around its body in a rapid manner, much to everyone's confusion and it started to make noises from its mouth which sounded like  warbling gibberish . It seemed to be quite troubled.

"Hey, settle down." Sunset said. "It's ok. We're not going to hurt you."

"Now for Tails's device to come in handy." Rouge said as she held up the Miles Electric and tuned the top, allowing for a translation to occur.

Seeing the Miles Electric made the Wisp's eye widen and it began to make its noises more rapidly.

"Wow, slow down." Rouge told it as the translation was coming on the screen. "Ok. The Wisps says that it recognizes the device I'm holding in my hand and that we must be friends with Sonic and Tails."

"You're right about that!" Pinkie confirmed as she smiled to the Wisp. It then began to make more noises, which were translated by the Miles Electric.

"He says his name is Yacker and he's glad we're here because his world is in trouble. He says to follow him and he'll show us what he means." Rouge translated.

"In trouble? It must be Eclipse." Sunset realized before she then turned to Yacker. "Please, lead the way."

Yacker flew off as the group followed him. He then lead them to the edge of a small cliff which he then descended down into with the others joining him shortly after. When they saw what was down there, they formed appalled looks at the sight.

In front of the team were many Wisps, each which had different colors and a variety of different shapes such as like blocks, lighting bolts, spheres, zigzags and even more. The number of eyes varied on each Wisp.  However, most of them looked extremely weak as they laid down on the ground with their eyes barely open as they seemed to be in pain.  Behind them was a large red glowing tree. The ground around it was different from the rest of the planet as it was devoid of any flora and totally barren.

"This is awful." Starlight said as she put her hand to her mouth as she and the others rushed forward towards the Wisp. 

Pinkie and Sunset each held a Wisp in their hand but they felt so fragile and weak, much to their concern. Mid-air, Yacker's eye started to droop and he began to descend but Rouge placed him in her hand and then gently on the floor as he slightly stood up.

"What happened here? What's going on?" Rouge asked. 

Yacker then made a series of noises in response for the Miles Electric to translate as Rouge stood up and turned to the rest of her team.

"He says that a while back, some black and red alien came with here with these other aliens that sort of looked like Wisps, but they weren't. With him was someone who looked like Sonic except his hair and clothes was black and red." Rouge informed everyone else.

"Shadow!" Pinkie realized.

"According to him, they then planted some seed in the ground, which grew really fast into that red tree over there.  When it did, he and the Wisps suddenly started feeling really sick and could barely move and the grass started to die as well. He says the black alien made some of the Wisps take bites of the trees and after they did, they turned into these red eggs right there." Rouge finished as she and her teammates turned to their left to a series of red eggs growing.

"This is terrible! That tree must be a parasite and is poisoning the Wisps and their environment!" Sunset stated. 

"And Eclipse must also be using it in order to make more of those Wisps like Aliens." Rouge deduced. 

"Then we have to do something! We have to get rid of that tree, right?" Pinkie said.

"Hold on. I've seen this tree before and it's very dangerous for us to touch it. I have a better idea. Omega!" Rouge said as the robot came next to her.  He knew what she wanted him to do and he changed his arm into a cannon.

"Finally, I get to destroy something. Though I wish it could put up more of a fight." Omega commented before he unleashed a powerful blast which blew the tree to smithereens as the others stepped away due to the force of the explosion.  All that was left was a smoldering hole. With it gone, the Wisps suddenly began to lose their pained expressions and fully open their eyes as they rose up in the air, much to the group's pleasure.

"All right! They're ok!" Pinkie squealed. 

"I am not satisfied, but it was a start." Omega said as his arm returned to normal.  "Should I destroy the eggs as well?"

Omega and his team then turned to see the eggs. However, Yacker suddenly began to speak quickly as the Miles Electric got a hold of his words.

"He says no. His species could still be alive in there." Rouge said for him before she looked up at him. "I get that you're worried but they could turn into those monsters you saw before."

"Still, it's not a reason to destroy them. Maybe we can fix them somehow." Sunset said in Yackers defense, who nodded vigorously.

Rouge then gave a shrug and turned to Omega.

"You heard them. Keep them around for now." Rouge said as Omega didn't seem too pleased but did as he was told. 

"For now, we have to make sure Eclipses plan doesn't succeed. If we come across any of the trees, we'll destroy them." Rouge added.

"In the meantime, I think we should make sure these Wisps are safe." Starlight said as a few of them surrounded her.  "I'd hate for something worse to happen to them."

Starlight then started to walk forward  As she did, She accidentally stepped on a large yellow flower, which made a large crunching sound. She then lifted her foot up to see it in it's crushed stated and formed a worried look.

"Oh no! I don't want to hurt anything here, even if it's only a plant." Starlight expressed with displeasure.

Suddenly, the yellow flower began to stir, making Starlight surprised alongside the others. A large green root then emerged from the ground as the flower shot up in the air as the team looked on in shock at the sight. The flower then opened itself up and released a roar, which made Starlight gain a look of dread as she fell to the floor. 

"Look, I'm sorry for stepping on you, ok?!" She shrieked as the flower came down to her. Starlight yelped and rolled out of the way as the plant crashed down to the floor and the other Wisp scatter away from it in fright. 4 other large plants then erupted from the ground, making the group horrified at the sight and the Wisps fled save for Yacker.

"I thought this planet was supposed to be peaceful!" Starlight screamed as she looked up at the flowers.

"Those plants don't look native to the planet. They must be ones Eclipse planted." Sunset guessed.

A plant then charged towards Starlight again but before it could hit her, Rouge jumped up and came down as a spiral drill with her legs, smashing it on the floor.  Sunset then came next to Starlight and helped her off the ground.

"Come on, we have to move out of the way." Sunset said as the two of them got away from the battlefield. 

Another killer plant came towards Rouge, who jumped in the air to avoid its attack. She then unleashed a series of powerful kicks on it, which blew it back on the ground. A plant then tried to hit Rouge as her back was turned but Omega fired a series of bullets to get rid of it.

"Finally! Something that fights back!" He said with glee as he fired an array at bullets at another plant.

The plant responded by breathing a stream of fire, making Rouge move out of the way while the blast just annoyed Omega. 

"You call that firepower?! Let me show you what firepower really is!" Omega exclaimed  as he fired a charged shot from his cannon, blowing the plant away.

Pinkie Pie then took a can of sprinkles and sprayed a few in her palm. As they did, her body began to glow pink as her hair grew longer and she grew pony ears at the top. She then noticed a killer plant was charging fire towards Omega. Pinkie then tossed the sprinkles towards it, making a large pink explosion, which stunned it. 

"What is this?" Omega wondered as he turned to see Pinkie had caused the explosion. She then started to throw more explosive sprinkles at the plant, each blow causing to spaz out. She then floated up and filled both her hands with sprinkles and shook them around before tossing them into the plant's mouth, creating a giant explosion that sent it to the floor as she floated down. Omega witnessed the whole thing.

"You." Pinkie heard him say as she saw Omega coming to her.

"You are able to release explosions and destroy things by using your hands?" He began as Pinkie proudly put her hands on her hips.

"Yep! It's my super power!" She told him.

Omega then came up to her and put his hands together in delight.

"I have changed my mind! I like you! We should destroy things together!" Omega requested, making Pinkie slightly stumped. Before she could answer,  the last killer plant let out a roar, making the two of them turn to face it. It charged up to fire but Rouge released an ax kick, bringing the flower down. As it came down, Pinkie launched an explosion from both of her hands, which blew it back before Omega fired two charged shots, defeating it for good. The three of them then regrouped before they were joined by Sunset, Yacker, and Starlight, who seemed pretty shaken up as she took in deep breaths.

"You know, I'm glad we brought you along. Having another explosive teammate comes in handy." Rouge told Pinkie before she turned to Starlight.

"You ok?" Rouge asked her.

"Yeah." Starlight said in a tired tone. "I'll be fine. It's just not every day I'm almost killed by plants of all things."

"It looks Eclipse has affected the planet more than we thought. We have to stop him before the situation gets any worse." Sunset stated as Yacker flew around rapidly in agreement.

"And we have to find Shadow ASAP!" Pinkie added.

However, unbeknownst to the team, above them was the Dark Arms Cregal, who had witnessed the whole thing.  It let out a small roar before it flew way.




In another section of Planet Wisp, Eclipse, Shadow, and the other 3 Dark Arms were walking across a plain that was on the edge of a purple river bank. 

"This is so unnatural...this planet seething with so much life." Eclipse said with disgust before he turned to his Dark Arms.

"Look around, little ones. The planet which we are about to cultivate! Soon, your inferior counterparts will be gone and you will have more Dark Arms brethren!" Eclipse then said, causing the Dark Arms to respond happily.

"And we all owe it to our brother, Shadow." Eclipse said as he turned to Shadow, who still had the same monotone expression.  Eclipse slightly frowned due to his lack of response.

"Hmmm, I might need to fix that once we are done with this planet." Eclipse murmured.

Suddenly, Eclipse heard the sound of squawking and warbling. He then turned to see Cregal coming towards him.

"Cregal!" Eclipse greeted as the Dark Arms came down and Eclipse petted it. "How goes our progress?"

Cregal then released a series of sounds to Eclipse. When he heard them, he formed a look of panic on his face.

"What?! Earthlings followed us here and they already destroyed one of the trees I planted?!" Eclipse shouted with rage. He then smashed his fist angrily on the ground.

"No! I cannot let these vermin ruin my plans! I am so close to reviving our species!" Eclipse said as he grit his teeth. He then began to seethe with rage before he turned back to his Dark Arms, who gave him concerned looks. He then calmed down slightly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you, little ones." Eclipse said before he sighed. "I need to get rid of those pests or otherwise my plans will be for nothing."

Eclipse then suddenly gave off a malicious smirk as he turned to face Shadow. He then walked up towards him.

"Brother, I have your first real task to show your loyalty to the Black Arms. Some earthlings have followed us here and are trying to disrupt our plan. Go find them and kill them." Eclipse ordered. "I, on the other hand, need to find something here with our Dark Arms, the key to our success. Understood?"

Shadow responded by bowing before Eclipse before he lifted his head up, making Eclipse grin.

"Excellent. I will see you later, brother." Eclipse said. "Oh and make sure you don't show any mercy. Make them suffer."

Shadow then turned around from Eclipse before he dashed off, leaving behind a blazing trail throughout the planet.
> A Shadow in the Dark
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Shadow in the Dark

The team had decided to move further across the planet in search for more any more red trees or Eclipse and Shadow. However, Yacker had insisted that he go with them, much to their surprise as he floated before them.

"Oh, I'm not so sure if that's such a good idea." Sunset told him. "The alien we are looking for is very dangerous and if we come across any of the trees, you could get hurt as well."

Yacker responded by making a bunch of warbling noises, which Rouge then translated from the Miles Electric.

"He says that he can keep up and that this is his problem too because it's his planet." Rouge said for Yacker, who nodded in agreement. She then turned to Yacker.

"Sorry to break it to you, but I'm with her. The Black Arms are a threat and it's too risky for you. Also, no offense, you might get in the way." Rouge broke to him, making him look down with a disappointed look.

"But what you can do is fly around and tell the other members of your race to steer clear of the red fruits and get somewhere safe." Starlight said to Yacker, which made him lift his head up as he happily nodded at that idea. 

Yacker then flew high up in the air and then took off as the team watched him leave.

"Bye!!!! See you soon!" Pinkie happily waved as Yacker disappeared from sight.

"May we start moving now? I wish for more things for me and the pink one to destroy." Omega asked as Pinkie seemed a little taken back by his comment.

"Yes, yes, we can. Don't worry, Omega. No one's going to steal your targets." Rouge said with a handwave. "Anyway, let's move out."

The party then prepared to make their way across Planet Wisp.  However, before they could move, Omega was suddenly knocked over by a yellow streak, much to everyone else's confusion.

"Who did that?!" He demanded as he stood up and readied his arm cannon. "Identify yourself so I may terminate you."

The yellow streak then stopped moving and skid against the floor, revealing itself in the process. The team then looked on with dismay when they  saw who it was. It was Shadow,  who stood up straight while looking at them with an emotionless expression.

"Shadow..." Pinkie said in a soft voice as he stood them down.

"Oh no...what did Eclipse do to him?" Sunset expressed with discomfort as she put her hand to her mouth.

Rouge then took a slight step forward towards Shadow.

"Shadow, listen to me, the Black Arms have tried to get into your head before and you've beaten them. You have to fight it, Shadow. Don't let them win." Rouge pleaded as she stuck her hand out towards Shadow

Shadow responded by dashing towards Rouge and her team. However, Omega released a series of bullets towards him, putting Shadow on the edge as he had to move around in order to avoid them.

"Shadow,  desist." Omega stated as he fired towards him. "Otherwise, I-

Before Omega could finish his sentence, Shadow then turned into a yellow streak and knocked him backward before he turned back to normal. Suddenly, Rouge came down with a powerful kick towards Shadow, who blocked it using his right hand. With his other hand, Shadow grabbed Rouge's leg and slammed her down on the floor. He lifted her up and then smashed her down once more. Shadow picked Rouge up again and kicked her to the side, causing Rouge to grunt slightly. He then created a Chaos Spear in his hand and prepared to fire it at her. Before he could, Pinkie tossed an explosive towards Shadow, who narrowly avoided it as he jumped back. Pinkie was now faced to face with Shadow and  wore a melancholic look.

"Shadow, please. Don't you recognize us? We're your friends, remember?" Pinkie questioned.

Shadow's answer was to immediately charge towards Pinkie and grab her by the collar. He then pinned towards a nearby wall and lifted her up as Pinkie looked on in disbelief at Shadow's merciless expression.

"Shadow....please....don't..."Pinkie begged as Shadow recreated his Chaos Spear and prepared to stab her with it.

Suddenly, Starlight leaped onto Shadow as she wrapped around his arm, startling him as he moved back and let go of Pinkie Pie.

"Shadow, you can't! I don't know you that well, in fact, I don't even know you at all. But I do know that you would never hurt your friends!" Starlight frantically yelled.

Shadow then tossed Starlight to the floor with great force as he shook his arm.  She then looked up with fright to see Shadow walking towards her with his spear. However, Sunset came in between the two of them and she made a defensive position as she stuck her hands out.

"Shadow, Rouge is right. You have to fight this mind control. You're much stronger than this. I know you can break free. " Sunset said as she tried to reason with him. 

Unfortunately, her words fell on deaf ears as Shadow was about to launch his weapon. Luckily, Rouge did a spiral kick as she hit him in the back, causing the spear to vanish as Shadow stumbled forward. Omega then came and tried to smash Shadow, who jumped to dodge it. Omega then backhanded Shadow with great force, blowing him back before he landed on his two feet as he slid back.

"This isn't working. We aren't getting through to him." Rouge said with worry.

"This mind control must be powerful. It's like Shadow's just a robot now." Sunset said before she realized Omega was behind her. "Oh, no offense."

"Worry not, fleshie. I do not suffer from these defects you call 'feelings'." Omega told her as Sunset slightly lowered her eyes.

"In the meantime, the situation is not completely negative. I get to test my strength against Shadow." Omega added with a hint of joy before he turned his arms into flamethrowers.

Starlight then turned to Rouge with a skeptical look.

"Are you sure he's on our side?" She asked about Omega while Rouge slightly smirked.

"He just takes the bad guy fighting a little too seriously," Rouge answered

"We can't give up on Shadow. There has to be something we can do." Pinkie said with frustration and determination.

Omega fired two streams of flames at Shadow, who dashed away from them as Omega pursued him with them. Shadow skated up a small mountain arc and vanished in a green flash.

"Teleporting! Look ou-" Rouge said before Shadow appeared above her team and released a blazing kick at Omega, who just managed to block it barely. Rouge then responded with a powerful kick of her own, which collided with Shadow's fist, blowing the both of them away.

"We can't waste more time fighting with Shadow. The longer this takes, the more time Eclipse has to poison the planet." Sunset brought up.

"I know, but Shadow's stubbornness combined with mind control is a really bad combination." Rouge dryly said.

Pinkie looked to be in deep thought before suddenly her face perked up. 

"I have an idea!" Pinkie said out loud as she took a few steps forward closer to Shadow.

"Hey, Shadow! What's wrong? If you are as good as you say, then why are we still around?" Pinkie mocked before she stuck her tongue out.

"Pinkie, is that really a good idea?" Starlight questioned.

Shadow's face didn't respond to her taunting. However, he did charge forward with a small boost from his rocket skates. As he was, Pinkie loaded some explosives into her party cannon before she aimed towards the ground and fired, creating a large pink explosion just as Shadow reached the team. The result was a giant pink smoke cloud which Shadow was caught in and it began to expand around the area. Shadow then let out a series of coughs before he opened his eyes. It didn't help him much as he couldn't see anything around him. He started to look around for his targets, but it was no luck.

"Sorry, Shadow!" Rouge suddenly said as she came from the back and released a downward kick on Shadow's back, blowing him forward as he slid down on the ground.  He then turned back with a look of fury but he still couldn't see Rouge.

"Hey, Shady, over here!" He heard Pinkie's voice say from his right, making him turn there. Shadow then charged towards the sound of her voice as a yellow streak.

However, what Shadow collided with was not Pinkie, but rather, into the arm cannon of Omega. Omega then jumped up in the air and then launched Shadow downward into the ground, making a large crack in the ground which blew the smoke away, revealing the entire team. Before Shadow could get up, Omega came and pinned him to the ground his colossal strength using both arms. The rest of the team then revealed themselves shortly after as they walked forward to the subdued Shadow.

"That was good thinking." Rouge said to Pinkie as she gave her a playful nudge, making Pinkie beam. "But even if we won, he's still under Eclipses mind control."

"I suggest I inflict more trauma to the head. Perhaps it may help." Omega suggested. 

"Yeah, that's not happening." Sunset said as she came in front of Shadow and raised her hand.

"I think you should let me handle this. When I touch people, I can see inside their memories, thoughts, and feelings. If I can see in Shadow's head, maybe I can help snap him out of it." Sunset explained before she took a deep breath. She then touched Shadow's head, making her eyes turn white.




Sunset found herself floating in a dark void, making her look around frantically in a confused manner.

"This is the inside of Shadow's mind?" Sunset said to herself. "I can't see a thing."

Sunset started to float through Shadow's subconscious, hoping to perhaps find something. As she was, she noticed a faint red light that was up ahead on her right, causing her to turn in its direction.

"Hmmm, could that be something?" She wondered as she started to fly towards it.

Sunset got closer to the red signal and when she saw what it was, she gasped. The light contained Shadow, who was suspended mid-air with his head down and his eyes closed.

"Shadow! Thank goodness!" Sunset expressed with relief as she floated towards him. "Shadow, can you hear me? It's Sunset."

Suddenly, a giant black and purple one eyed starfish-like organism revealed itself above Sunset, much to her shock. It's eye was generating the red light that held Shadow.

"Shadow belongs to the Black Arms!" The eye stated as it released a blinding red flash, which stunned Sunset.

"Arrrgh!" Sunset yelled as she was blown back by the force of the eye.




In the real world, Sunset started to pant heavily and appeared to be in pain, much to the concern of the others.

"Sunset, are you ok?!" Starlight asked as she put her hands on her shoulder.

"It's=.aaahhhhh! The mind control....it's...too...strong!" Sunset expressed as she started to fall down to her knees.

"Hey, hang in there." Rouge said as she knelt down to check on Sunset.

"I...can't...... do it alone..." Sunset expressed as she struggled.

"You don't have to! We're here to help, remember?" Pinkie stated as she took a hold of Sunset's free hand, which made her eyes glow as well. Seeing this made Rouge slightly confused and Starlight realize what's going on.

"I get it. With contact, we can provide Sunset support to help save Shadow." Starlight said before she turned to Rouge. "Take my hand."

Rouge did as she was told and then stuck her other hand to Omega.

"Omega, hold my hand." Rogue requested.

"Are you certain? I will lose grip of Shadow." Omega responded."And as well, I fear I may catch these 'feelings.'

"Just do it!" Rouge said impatiently, which Omega did reluctantly.

With that done, Starlight used her free hand to grab Pinkies, causing her, Rouge and Omega's eyes to flash.




Back inside Shadow's mind, Sunset was panting and gave a tired expression as she stared at the Black Arms eye. Just then, she was joined by Pinkie, Starlight, Rouge, and Omega as they instantly appeared in front of her as she turned to see all of them and sighed in relief.

"I'm glad you're all here. It's that thing which is controlling Shadow." Sunset said as she pointed to the eye for all of them to see.

"It doesn't matter how many of you there are! You are all wasting your time! Shadow is back where he belongs!" The Black Arms eye declared.

"You're wrong. Shadow doesn't belong with you. He belongs with us, his friends.  I said it once and I'll say it again, I'm not giving up on him!" Pinkie insisted as the eye squinted due to her persistence.

"Fools!" The eye yelled as it released another binding red flash.

However, with Pinkie and Sunset there, the two of them used their magic to generate a small orange/pink shield, which defended the team against the eye's assault, much to its astonishment.

"What?!" It yelled out in response as its attack ended. 

Rouge's eyes then landed on the unconscious Shadow.

"Shadow, I know you can hear me. And I also know you're too stubborn to let yourself be mind-controlled by some starfish. You're the Ultimate Lifeform and you can handle anything thrown at you. So prove it!" Rouge yelled to him.

"While I doubt you could handle me, I am certain you could easily repel some pathetic mind control." Omega added on.

Hearing this caused Shadow to stir slightly as his eye twitched and his hand moved. The team saw this, much to their pleasure.

"It's working! We're getting through to him! Shadow, you heard them? You're too strong to let these aliens mess with your head! Show them that you're in control!" Sunset urged.

"Silence!" The eye commanded as Shadow's body started to move more.

"Shadow, don't listen to anything these aliens tell you. I know you always like to brood and be and alone grumpy most of the time, but that doesn't mean you don't have a place with us. You're our friend and all of us being here for you proves it." Pinkie reminded him, causing Shadow to slightly lift his head up and his motion became freer.

No! Ignore them Shadow! Remember the first human friend you made? She was taken away from you and it caused you so much pain! Is it worth going through all of that for the sake of these worthless earthlings!?" The Black Arms eye questioned.

Shadow began to wince more as he struggled against the red light. It seemed as if though the eye had made a good point.

"Shadow, I can understand what you went through. When I was younger, I was separated from my first friend just like you. It really hurt me and caused me to make a lot of decisions I'm not proud of. I let all that pain control me for so long. But now I know it doesn't have to be like that. Friendship doesn't bring you pain, it brings happiness as I've discovered with all the new friends I've made. And you must know that too." Starlight stated as she pointed to the group.

Starlights words caused Shadow to start to struggle more heavily against the red light created by the eye, much to its dismay.

"No. Shadow, you are our weapon! The key to the Black Arms victory!" The eye stated.

"No, he's not!" Pinkie refuted.

Shadow then began to spread out his arms and legs and raise his head more quickly. His eyes then opened up as he formed a look of determination and clenched his fist.

"She's right. I am Shadow, the Ultimate Lifeform!" He proudly stated. "This is who I am!"

Shadow then released a giant yellow energy wave which dispelled the red light around and engulfed the Black Arms eye.

"Arrrgh!!!!!!!!!!" It screamed as the yellow wave covered everything, making the team cover their eyes due to how bright it was.




In the real world, Pinkie and the others opened their eyes and let go of each other's hand as they stumbled back a bit. Rouge then put her hand on her head.

"Ohh...ok, that was way too sappy for my taste." Rogue muttered.

"Did it work?" Starlight asked as she and the others turned to see Shadow, who Omega had one arm placed on. 

Shadow's eyes started to open as he groaned out loud. He then opened them fully to see Omega on top of him.

"Omega...can you get your arm off me?" Shadow said weakly, making everyone form smiles at this.

"It appears you're in control, so I will comply." Omega said as he lifted his arm off Shadow, who rose up and dusted himself off. He then faced the party.

"I-" Shadow started to say before he was suddenly tackled by Pinkie, who grabbed him a gigantic bear hug.

"Shadow, you're back to normal!!!!!!! I knew we could save you and we did!!!!!!!!" She shrieked with joy as she hugged him tightly, which caused him to groan.

"Maybe being brainwashed wasn't so bad." He said dryly as he winced while Pinkie continued to hug him.

"Pinkie, let him breathe." Sunset told her as Pinkie then let Shadow go, allowing him to see the others coming to him.

"Finally, welcome back, Shadow." Rouge told him as Shadow slightly looked down with an ashamed look.

"I...I was weak. I let myself fall under Eclipses control." Shadow berated. "And I almost killed you all."

"We knew you wouldn't." Sunset reassured.

"But how could you have been so sure?" He then asked.

"Cuz we're friends silly!" Pinkie reminded him.

"Couldn't have said it any better." Rouge agreed. "Shadow, we've known you long enough to trust you in any situation."

Shadow then rubbed his head before he let out a smirk.

"I guess I owe you all a lot." He said as he looked around at the team.

"Anytime. It was nothing." Starlight told him. "Actually, it was probably one of the most stressful things I've ever done, but you get the idea."

Rouge then nudged Omega. He then let out a reluctant sigh.

"I am too glad Shadow is back to our side and I consider him to be one of the few meat bags I trust." Omega admitted, causing Shadow to smirk again before he then got a serious look on his face.

"Now, then, hugs and kisses aside, I need to end Eclipse!" Shadow said as he clenched his fight tightly.

"Wait a minute. You got mind controlled, went off into space, forced us to go after you and then made us fight you and enter your mind and now that you're back to our side, the first thing you want to do is go off on your own again?" Rouge said to him. "I don't think so."

"I'm with her. Shadow, it's too risky for you to face him on your own. We need to think of a better plan." Sunset agreed.

"We're not debating this. Eclipse has humiliated me and I will have my revenge!" Shadow darkly said. "Besides, someone needs to take care of the Black Arms fruits."

"I do not see why you get to have the alien slaughter all to yourself." Omega questioned.

"He's right though. If we don't get rid of the trees, the planet is in danger." Starlight realized. 

Rouge saw that was a valid point and she let out a sigh.

"Fine. We'll head after the trees and you can have Eclipse." Rouge said as her team started to split up for later.

"Are you sure? I-" Sunset started to say before Rouge put her hand on her shoulder.

"I think you know as well as I do that once Shadow's mind's set to something, he'll do it no matter what. And we don't have any more time to waste." Rouge told her. Sunset was stumped but Rouge was right.

"Ok. We'll meet up later." Sunset said as she turned to Shadow.

"Got it.." Shadow said. As he was about to dash off, Pinkie came in front of him, much to his confusion.

"Shadow, Pinkie Promise me you'll meet us later and you won't get caught again?" Pinkie said

"Pinkie, I don-" Shadow started to say before Pinkie cut him off.

"Pinkie Promise." She insisted, making Shadow sigh. He knew she wouldn't let this go.

"Fine. Pinkie Promise" He said as he half heartedly did the motion of cross his heart and stick a cupcake in his eye, making Pinkie beam.

"Alrighty then. See ya later!" She said as she skipped over back over to the others. Shadow then dashed forward with his skates at high speed.




In another area of Planet Wisp near the riverbank, the Dark Arms were waiting beside with 2 red eggs right in front of them. Suddenly, Eclipse appeared in a green flash before them, causing them to come back towards him excitedly.

"Settle down. I wasn't gone for too long." He said, though he smiled due to how affectionate they were.

"My plan was a complete success and it didn't even require a battle. These Wisps are so pathetic if the greatest one amongst them didn't even pose a challenge." Eclipse sneered.

Just then, the two eggs where the Dark Arms were near started to stir, getting Eclipses attention as he walked towards them. Cracks then appeared on the eggs before they then hatched, revealing two new Dark Arms. Both of them were dark blue with three tentacles each. One of them's tentacles were pointed and it had spikes coming from its head along with one purple eye and jagged teeth, revealing a purple mouth. The others tentacles were more hexagonal shaped alongside its head as it had 3 glowing gray eyes and a gray mouth. The two of them floated slightly as Eclipse looked pleased and approached them.

"Hello, there little ones. Don't be shy." Eclipse said as petted the two of them. "There's nothing to be afraid of. You're safe. Behind me are your big brothers."

Suddenly, Shadow appeared before Eclipse as he stopped in his tracks, making him the center of attention as Eclipse turned to see him.

"Ah, here is your other brother." Eclipse said as he came to Shadow with a grin. "Shadow, were you successful with your mission?"

"No." Shadow said, much to Eclipses surprise due to him suddenly speaking. Shadow then closed his fist and got into a fighting stance, much to Eclipses horror as he backed away.

"My mission is to protect my planet. And until you are dealt with, it is not over!" Shadow declared.
> Shadow vs Eclipse
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shadow vs Eclipse

Eclipse stared in horror towards Shadow, who was giving him a hostile look as he prepared to fight. Eclipse then backed up with disbelief towards his Dark Arms, who seemed worried to see him in such a state.

"H-how can this be?! You were under my control! How could you have resisted?! " Eclipse demanded.

"I had some help." Shadow responded, causing Eclipse to form an intense glare full of rage.

"It was those earthlings!" He realized as he clenched his fist tightly. "How dare they! I swear, I'm going to eviscerate them!"

"You won't get the chance." Shadow told him. "Because I'm going to finish you here once and for all."

Shadow started to walk towards Eclipse, whose rage turned to worry as he backed up even further. He then formed a serious look as he stood his ground in front of Shadow.

"Shadow, listen to me, you can't do this. Our species is endangered. We have to stick together. If you turn on me, you're dooming our race to extinction. You don't belong with those earthlings. There's nothing for you if you stay with them." Eclipse pleaded. "Please, don't make me fight you, brother."

"I'm not your brother. I've chosen my fate. My mission is to protect the planet and that means ending you." Shadow answered, causing Eclipse to growl.

"Fine! Then the massacre will start with you!" Eclipse declared. "Cyzer!"

Cyzer leaped towards Eclipse, causing his hands to transform into blue gloves with eyes on the palms. The eyes then began to glow and Eclipse fired a beam towards Shadow, who evaded it using his speed. Using both hands, Eclipse began to rapidly fire lasers at Shadow, who managed to dodge them as he moved around the area.  As he dodged, Shadow suddenly felt his body becoming slower and sluggish as he nearly fell forward. Eclipse saw this and fired two beams from his hands. Shadow managed to lift up his arms and blocked them using his inhibitor rings, though he slid back as a result. He then began to pant as Eclipse smirked.

"You fool, what were you thinking?! Did you forget that I hinder your abilities?! Before, my Dark Arms and I nearly tore you apart! This time, you're as good as dead!" Eclipse boasted as he charged another beam towards Shadow.

Shadow grit his teeth. Everything Eclipse said was true, but he couldn't let him win no matter what. As Eclipse fired his beam, Shadow moved to dodge. However, when he did, Shadow suddenly felt something enter his body, causing the sluggishness he felt earlier to vanish. Shadow felt an increase in speed as well and using this, he easily avoided Eclipses laser and dashed towards with a powerful punch, sending Eclipse backward and to the floor. Shadow then stared at his hand in confusion, while Eclipse looked on in astonishment.

"What?!" Eclipse cried.

"What just happened? How was I able to override his blockage?" Shadow wondered out loud.

Just then, a white aura came on Shadow's body and three white Wisps emerged from him, causing him to stare at them alongside Eclipse.

"Wisp?! What are they-" Eclipse exclaimed before he gasped as he looked behind Shadow.

Shadow turned around to see not just Yacker but a variety of different colored Wisp alongside him. They floated mid-air before they came and surrounded Shadow as Yacker came to face to face with him.

"Of course. Like Eclipse's Dark Arms, you Wisps give special abilities of your own. Those white ones increased my speed and allowed me to attack Eclipse." Shadow deduced, making Yacker nod in agreement.

"Hmph. Well, since Eclipse has his Dark Arms, I guess this only fair. Ok then Wisp, let's use this power of yours." Shadow continued as he turned to face Eclipse with the Wisps behind him.

"You think these inferior creatures can stand up to my Dark Arms?! You're an even bigger fool than I thought!" Eclipse roared as he fired another laser beam towards Shadow. 

As he did, a Cyan Wisp whose body was shaped similar to a lightning bolt entered Shadow's body, making him give off a cyan aura, which deflected Eclipse's laser. Shadow's body then began to charge as Eclipse started to fire more blast. In response, Shadow suddenly turned into a cyan laser that moved in a zig-zag manner, reflecting Eclipse's beams before he crashed into Eclipse himself, knocking Cyzer out of him as he was blown to the ground. Shadow then returned to normal, slightly dazed as the Wisp left his body and he stared down Eclipse.

"Impressive." He admitted as he clenched his fist.

Eclipse rose from the ground as Cyzer was on the floor behind him. Eclipse noticed this and formed a look of concern, which then turned to anger as he faced Shadow.

"Cregal, come to me! The rest of you, tend to Cyzer!" Eclipse ordered, causing Cregal to enter his body while his fellow Dark Arms attended to Cyzer.

Cregal went inside Eclipse, causing his arms to transform into large red wings as he took to the air. Eclipse then came flying down towards Shadow, who braced for impact. Before he could, a Crimson Wisp, which had three eyes and wide spikes emerging from its head, entered him, transforming him into a crimson eagle as he flew ahead, dodging Eclipse's strike. Eclipse scowled as he flew above to face Shadow's new form. The two of them soared throughout the air, clashing as they went through each other. As they were about to collide one more time, the crimson eagle did a mid-air dash, gaining a slightly flaming aura as it crashed into Eclipse, sending him down on the ground. Eclipse landed on the ground as Cregal fell out of him. Mid-air, Shadow returned to normal as he landed safely Eclipse saw the injured Cregal and put himself defensively in front of him.

"We're not done yet! Rhygenta!" Eclipse called as Rhygenta fused with his body, turning his arm into a purple sonic cannon, while the rest of the Dark Arms brought Cregal to where Cyzer was.

Eclipse aimed his sonic cannon at Shadow and released a sonic wave. As it headed towards him, a Magenta Wisp resembling a musical note fused with him, causing Shadow to become a giant musical note as he floated mid-air. The note began to bounce around in the air, releasing purple sound waves that collided with Eclipse's sonic blast. The two attacks began to cancel each other out as they clashed for a while before Rhygenta fell out of Eclipse, exhausted as the same happened to the Magenta Wisp. Eclipse tended to Rhygenta as he placed him gently on the floor while Shadow caught the Wisp.

"You did well." Eclipse told Rhygenta.

"Stand down." Shadow said to Magenta Wisp before he turned to face Eclipse.

"Blurk!" Eclipse yelled, causing Blurk to come into Eclipse as his entire body was transformed into blue armor. He then gave a wicked grin.

"I'm invincible in this form! You don't stand a chance!" Eclipse yelled as he charged towards Shadow. Eclipse then tried to slash him but Shadow jumped as the ground exploded.

Above, Shadow was looking down towards Eclipse before the Blue Wisp resembling a cube with three eyes, entered him, transforming his body into a giant blue cube. The cube came crashing down towards Eclipse, who raised his arms to block it. The result was a giant blue shockwave, which caused both Shadow and Eclipse to blow away from each other as their respective Wisps and Dark Arms left their bodies. The two of them slid against the ground as Shadow approached the Wisp while Eclipse got closer to the Dark Arms. Eclipse looked back to see that his first four Dark Arms were out of commission. He then turned to Pyke and Grake, who looked unsure and somewhat frightened.

"Listen, I know you two are new and it may seem scary, but I need your help. He'll kill us all if you don't. We have to defend our race." Eclipse said to them in a soft tone, making the two Dark Arms turn to each other before Pyke nodded and entered Eclipse. Eclipse's hands then turned into giant pink sharp claws as he displayed them to Shadow with a mad grin.

"Oooooh, I'm going to enjoy impaling you!" Eclipse said with delight as he fired a series of sharp spikes toward Shadow.

Shadow stood his ground as a Pink Wisp with a spiky head fused with him, causing Shadow to turn into a pink spike ball as he rolled towards Eclipse, making the spikes he shot bounce off him. As the spike ball got closer, Eclipse brought down both of his hands as he attempted to stop it, causing his spikes to collide with the spike ball's. Eclipse struggled to hold it in place as the spike ball rolled and Eclipse started to slide back. After a while, the Pink Wisp and Pyke gave out as they left Shadow and Eclipse's bodies as the two of them turned to normal. Shadow tried to kick Eclipse with a flaring strike but Eclipse managed to jump back.

"Grake! You're my only hope!" Eclipse called out, making the Dark Arm immediately approach him. The result caused Eclipse to form two giant gray gauntlets on his arms. He then glowered as he came to Shadow and attempted to punch him many times. Shadow was able to dodge Eclipse's strike and when he dodged the last one, Eclipse's fist struck the floor, causing a small tremor which threw Shadow off his balance as he wobbled. Eclipse then was going to release another blow. As he was going to, a Gray Wisp, which looked 3-dimensional and resembled a rock, came to his aid, turning Shadow into a giant iron ball as Eclipses's fist reached him, making a giant shockwave in the process. Eclipse then released a series of punches, each making a gray shockwave, but not moving the iron ball. The last hit Eclipse did caused the iron ball to jump. When it came down, it released a giant destructive shockwave which blew Eclipse away as Grake left his body and he landed on the floor. Eclipse then slowly lifted himself off the ground, though he was quite injured and it was a struggle to rise. He then turned to see Grake lying on the ground, barely conscious.

"Grake? Buddy? We're not done yet.."Eclipse said to him but Grake didn't respond. Eclipse then turned around to see the rest of the Dark Arms. It was clear they were in no condition to fight.

Shadow landed on the ground from the impact as the exhausted Gray Wisp left his body while others flew around him. He then knelt on the ground as he panted slightly, indicating he was somewhat tired as well. He then noticed Eclipse's state.

"It's over. You're finished." Shadow said to him. "Your Dark Arms are out of commission.

Eclipse scowled but he knew Shadow was telling the truth. Shadow had extra Wisp despite his tired state while Eclipse had nothing.

"(No! I've come this far! I won't let him ruin my plan!)" Eclipse thought in a determined tone. ("It seems as though it's time.")

Eclipse then chuckled, much to Shadow's confusion as he glared towards him.

"What's so funny? You've lost." Shadow demanded as Eclipse threw his head back as his laughter grew louder. The Wisp were unnerved while Shadow glared at him more.

"Shadow, you are mistaken. I still have one more trump card left! Observe!" Eclipse demanded as he closed his eyes and concentrated. He then raised his hand up in the air.

"Come, serve me!" Eclipse yelled.

"What are yo-?" Shadow started to say before heard a loud rumbling sound, startling him and the Wisp, making the latter frightened.

"What's going on?!" Shadow stated.

Suddenly, a large violet creature several times the size of the Wisp appeared.  It resembled them somewhat but it had a more sinister appearance. Its head was similar to a garlic bulb and it lacked eyes but had a wide mouth with an array of sharp teeth. It had two curved horns on the side of its head and on the top was a spiky flower-like appendage. Three layers of fringed leaf-like collars made up its lower body while it had several ragged and cloth like purple tentacles. It had two larger tentacles extending from its sides which had large sharp jaws and several pink eyes. The Wisps looked on in horror as most of them fled immediately as they scattered around, leaving Yacker and Shadow, though Yacker couldn't even move due to being frozen with fright.

"What is that?!" Shadow said as he looked up at the monster.

"This, my dear brother, is the Mother Wisp, the creator of the Wisp and this planet! And she is now under my control! I simply fed her some Red Fruit and she became my loyal puppet! She's going to kill you! The Mother Wisp is the most powerful of her species! You can't stand up to her!" Eclipse boasted with a mad grin. 

Hearing this made Yacker's eye widen as the Nega-Mother Wisp looked down at him and Shadow. It let out a loud roar, slightly blowing Shadow and Yacker back before it launched one of its tentacles at them. Using his speed, Shadow was able to pull Yacker out of harm's way as it's tentacle made a loud explosion on the ground, causing dust to cover everything. When the dust cleared, Shadow and Yacker were gone as the Nega-Mother Wisp floated next to Eclipse.

"No matter. They'll be dead once the Mother Wisp ravages this whole planet! Go and kill them!" Eclipse ordered, causing the Nega-Mother Wisp to head out while he looked back at his Dark Arms the same way a parent would look at an injured child. He then approached them.




Meanwhile, Rouge's team had discovered another Red Fruit Tree as they came face to face with it. Omega had turned his hands into cannons and was prepared to destroy it.

"*sigh*, It really is no fun when there is no struggle." Omega lamented.

"Don't be such a sadist." Rouge told him.

Pinkie was looking out as she wore a slightly uneasy look on her face.

"Hey, you guys think Shadow's ok, right?" She asked to the others.

"Don't you worry. Shadow's too stubborn to get killed. And besides, he doesn't make the same mistake twice. I'm sure he knows how to handle Eclipse." Rouge reassured.

"She's right. And also, we have to focus on our own thing, remember?" Sunset reminded her as Pinkie still looked slightly unsure.

In the corner of her eye, Starlight noticed something was heading in their direction from her right. She then turned in that direction as she squinted to have a better look.

"Hey. I think somethin-" Starlight started to say before she was suddenly interrupted by the sudden arrival of Shadow, making her hair blow and nearly knocking her over as she nearly fainted.

"It's almost as bad as when Sonic does it." Starlight murmured as she got her balance.

"Shadow!" Pinkie exclaimed. "See, I knew he was ok!"

Rouge let out a small smile before she faced Shadow.

"Well, that didn't take too long. Did you finish Eclipse?" She asked.

"I'm afraid not." Shadow said, making everyone's eyes widen.

"No? Then that means there are still aliens to slaughter?" Omega eagerly asked.

"Would you cool it with wanting to destroy everything?" Sunset said to him. She then looked at Shadow.

"What do you mean?" She questioned.

Before Shadow could explain, Yacker suddenly started making rapid noises and he seemed quite distressed.

"Wow, wow,  Slow down." Starlight said as she tried to calm him down. "What did he say?"

Rouge looked down at the Miles Electric and then translated.

"He said his mother is in danger." Rouge said in a confused tone. "Shadow, what does he mean?

Just then, the team heard a loud monstrous roar, startling them and causing them to look up to find its source. In the sky, they saw the Nega-Mother Wisp going on a rampage as fired dark purple spheres everywhere on the ground, causing havoc and destruction on the planet. The party looked on in a mixture of surprise and shock at the behemoth.

"That." Shadow said.

"Wow! That's Super-duper freaky-deaky!" Pinkie cried.

"Shadow, what happened?" Sunset said in a quizzical tone.

"Eclipse found the Mother Wisp, the creator of the Wisp and infected her with his Red Fruit. Now it's under his control and at this rate, it could destroy the entire planet. " Shadow elaborated as he and the others watched its rampage.

"How are we supposed to deal with something like that?!"Starlight said in a bewildered manner.

"According to Eclipse, the Mother Wisp is the most powerful Wisp." Shadow added.

"My data show's that its power reading is vastly superior to these other weak creatures we have encountered. It is almost off the scale. I hate to admit this but shooting it would be ineffective. I estimate that something of this scale would require the Chaos Emeralds." Omega stated.

"Perfect. And we don't have any." Rouge groaned as she face palmed.

"A shame Chaos Control doesn't let me traverse across galaxies." Shadow expressed with dismay.

"Well, we have to do something! We didn't come all this way just to let this planet get destroyed!" Pinkie said with determination.

"You're right, but what?" Sunset questioned.

Starlight looked around at the team and the Nega-Mother Wisp rampage. Pinkie was absolutely right, they had to save Planet Wisp. But they were in a tight spot seeing as they didn't have any way to access the Chaos Emeralds. Starlight continued to be in deep thought as she went over all the situations she had been in.  Maybe....

"Sunset, how do you and Pinkie do that thing when you grow ears and float with magic?" Starlight suddenly asked, causing  Sunset to turn to her

"Ponying up? Well, we either have to do something related to the element we have or just concentrate on it." Sunset told her. " Mine is Empathy and Pinkie's is Laughter."

"Yep!" Pinkie happily agreed.

Starlight though about what Sunset had said. She didn't have an element, but she was associated with an emotion that resonated with her deeply. Forgiveness.

"I see. Let's hope this works then." Starlight said, as all eyes were on her now.

"What does?" Shadow quizzically said as Starlight closed her eyes.

Starlight heavily began to concentrate on Forgiveness.  She thought about how she had forgiven herself and the forgiveness that her friends had given her and made that her number one priority in her mind. As she did, her body started to glow a light purple shade, much to everyone else's surprise and she rose up in the air. Starlight focused harder and harder until two pony ears started to form and her hair grew longer. A brilliant purple light shone as Starlight displayed herself to the team with Pinkie, Sunset, Yacker, and Rouge looking on in awe while Shadow and Omega didn't seem to interested as she descended down.

"It worked!" She cheered as she began to examine herself.

"Starlight! You ponied up!" Pinkie excitedly said.

"But, how did you?" Sunset inquired.

"I'd like an explanation too seeing as I don't understand what just happened." Rouge chimed it.

"Well, I thought about what Sunset said about focusing on an element. I didn't have one, but forgiveness is something I'm big on. Also, I've always had a thing with magic, so I'm kind of a natural at using it and figuring it out." Starlight answered.

"Well, I guess it's impressive and all, but how does this help us exactly?" Shadow asked. "What do you have in mind?"

"I heard you guys talk about not having those Chaos Emeralds here. I remembered I know a good transportation spell that usually takes people somewhere or lets me transport things where I want. I figured if I ponied up here, I could tweak it a little to get those Emeralds here." Starlight explained before she turned to Pinkie and Sunset. "The thing is, it requires a lot of magic, so I'm going to need your help to do it. 

"Of course." Sunset agreed.

"You betcha!" Pinkie said.

Starlight then turned to Shadow.

"You mentioned something called Chaos Control. I assume it's something related to those Emeralds, right?" Starlight asked him.

"Yes, why?" Shadow responded.

"For it to work right, I'm going to need you to tap into that power to get those Emeralds. " Starlight elaborated. "While I use the spell, you need to activate it."

"Fine." Shadow agreed.

"You're sure this will work?" Rouge asked Starlight.

"I admit, I'm not 100 percent sure, but at this point, we don't have many options left." Starlight replied. Rouge knew she was right there.

"Ok then, everyone get in a circle." Starlight instructed as she, Shadow, Pinkie, and Sunset formed a circle as Rouge, Omega and Yacker watched.

"Now,  hold hands." Starlight then ordered much to Shadow's dismay as Starlight grabbed Pinkie and Sunset's hands.

"Wait, what? Hand holding?" Shadow said with slight disbelief.

"It's the only way for it to work." Starlight told him.

Pinkie eagerly held her hand out to Shadow as he slightly groaned. He wasn't really on board with it.

"Stop being such a big baby and grab their hands already! We have no time to lose!" Rouge yelled, making Shadow grumble slightly. He knew he had no choice.

Shadow first held onto Pinkie's hand, making her beam to him as he slightly looked away. He then gave his free hand to Sunset, who took it  and gave Shadow a look of reassurance. The three of them were now connected with Starlight. 

"Ok, here goes!" Starlight announced with conviction.

Starlight's body began to glow purple as she shut her eyes tightly and focused on casting the spell. As she glew, Pinkie and Sunset were enveloped in pink and orange aura's respectively, which were then transferred to Starlight, making her aura grow larger and brighter. A green flicker started to appear above her head. Starlight increased her concentration as she started to sweat and struggled to keep the flicker present. It grew larger and started to form a green swirling portal. Starlight tried her best to keep it open as it became more difficult for her.

"Shadow, now!" Starlight called to him as he faced the swirling portal.

"Chaos...Control!" Shadow yelled, causing another green warp portal to surround the swirling portal. The two then merged, making a giant white flash with a green outline. The flash then died down and become another portal of the same color. From the portal, the 7 Chaos Emeralds then emerged from it as they floated in the air with brilliance. This was seen by the others save for Starlight.

"We did it!" Pinkie happily yelled.

Starlight opened her eyes to see the Emeralds. As she did, she released her concentration as she stopped glowing and let go of Sunset and Pinkie's hands, causing them to do the same to Shadow. She returned to normal and looked completely exhausted. Starlight fell back but Rouge caught her before she hit the ground as Pinkie and Sunset rushed to her side.

"It.....worked...." Starlight weakly said

"It did. I have to admit, that was some impressive work." Rouge praised as Starlight gave a weak smile.

"Starlight, are you ok?" Sunset asked.

"I'll be fine....that spell....just took a lot more out of me than I thought." Starlight answered.

The 7 Chaos Emeralds floated in front of the rest of the team as they looked in awe at the gems. Shadow then stepped forward, causing the Emeralds to circle him.

"Now it's my turn." Shadow said as the Emeralds started to rapidly spin around him as he glowed his eyes before they entered his body. 

The result of the Emeralds coming to Shadow caused his entire hair and clothes to turn a golden lemon cream color as he was surrounded by a flaming golden aura, making him now Super Shadow. Super Shadow stood in front of the rest of the group as they looked on with impressed looks. Yacker then made some noises which Rouge picked up with the Miles Electric.

"He says 'Please save my mama'." Rouge said to Super Shadow as Yacker looked at him with a sad look.

"Don't worry, I'm ending this once and for all." Super Shadow declared as he rose up and took off in a blazing aura while the others watched.

"Go get em Shadow!!!!" Pinkie cheered as Super Shadow flew off in the distance.
> Last Way
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last Way

Super Shadow flew towards the Nega-Mother Wisp in a blazing aura as it was on a rampage throughout Planet Wisp, firing purple spheres everywhere on the ground and causing mini-explosions. 

"Time for the ultimate power!" Super Shadow declared as he got close enough to the Nega-Mother Wisp as it was charging a large energy sphere.

The Nega-Mother Wisp released a giant purple orb towards the ground. Before it made contact, a series of red energy arrows collided with it, causing a giant explosion to appear mid-air. The Nega-Mother Wisp seemed confused due to what had just occurred before Super Shadow appeared in front of it as he stared the creature down.

"Mother Wisp, you're under the control of someone else and doing things against your will. In order to save you and your planet, I need to stop you right here and now." Super Shadow stated as he charged up in a golden aura.

The Nega-Mother Wisp let out a large roar in response.  It then formed a series of spiked energy spheres in front of it before it launched them towards Super Shadow. Super Shadow charged towards its attack as his hands glowed red. He then fired a series of small arrows which clashed with the Nega-Mother Wisp's orbs, causing a series of small explosions to occur. Super Shadow quickly flew past them and charged in a red/golden aura while the Nega-Mother Wisp could not see due to the explosions. He then crashed right into the monster, blowing it back slightly as it flinched and began to spaz out as Super Shadow looked on.

"Hmmm...it doesn't appear that my attack was very effective. This creature is indeed a mighty foe. I like it." He said with a smirk as he clenched his fist while the Nega-Mother Wisp regained its composure.

The corrupted Wisp then launched its arms towards Super Shadow in an attempt to swipe at him. Using his superior speed, Super Shadow was easily able to avoid any incoming blow, which allowed him to close in on the Nega-Mother Wisp.  Super Shadow's hand glowed red once more as he charged up another series of arrows. However, before he could fire, the Nega-Mother Wisp suddenly fired a purple energy ember from its mouth, which hit him. Super Shadow then found himself trapped in a purple field and  also felt himself becoming slower and slower as the Nega-Mother Wisp seemed to be getting farther from him.

"What....is this?!" Super Shadow grunted before the Nega-Mother Wisp swiped one of its tentacles at him, sending him back towards the floor as the purple field around him disappeared. As Super Shadow headed for the ground, the Nega-Mother Wisp shot its other tentacle at him, which sent him crashing down onto the floor and making a large explosion. There, he struggled to prevent its arm from crushing him completely.

"Urgh...It's going to take more than that to stop me!" He boasted as he charged up in a flaming aura once more and emerged from the ground as he pushed the Nega-Mother Wisp's arm back, causing it to slightly back way as Super Shadow floated in front of it.




Meanwhile, back on the ground, Eclipse was tending to his Black Arms, making sure they weren't too hurt as he looked on with a worried look.

"It's ok. You're all safe. I promise I won't let anyone hurt you." Eclipse promised before he heard a loud booming area above him, causing him to turn to see its source. In the air, he saw the Nega-Mother Wisp firing a series of red flares to Super Shadow, who was blasting them with a rapid-fire Chaos Spear from both hands. Eclipse grit his teeth and growled deeply.

"Damn you, Shadow! You've ruined everything! And I was so close to harvesting this world!" Eclipse cursed before he turned back to his Dark Arms, making his expression soften.

"*sigh*, This world isn't safe anymore.  We have to get out of here." Eclipse said as he took the Dark Arms. He was carrying Grake, Pyke, Cyzer, and Regal in his arms, while Rhygenta rested on his head and he used his tail to carry Blurk.  He then made his way across the planet to go back to the shuttle he and Shadow had arrived in.




Back in the sky, the Nega-Mother Wisp released a series of energy swipes towards Super-Shadow, who again, dodged them with no problem.  He released a barrage of rapid fire Chaos Spears at the creature as it fired a mixture of purple and red flares in response, putting the two of them at a stalemate as their attacks collided.  Super-Shadow then teleported in a golden flash and appeared above the Nega-Mother Wisp and fired smaller red arrows at its body. The monster responded by slashing them with its tentacles before it shot both of them from Super Shadow from both sides as it tried to crush him. Super Shadow was able to catch them, though it was a struggle as his strength was put against the Nega-Mother Wisps.  As Super Shadow was preoccupied, the Nega Mother Wisp charged up a glowing beam from the petal on the top of its head before it fired a large purple blasttowards Super Shadow, blowing him high up in the sky and towards the atmosphere of Planet Wisp. This was seen by the team as they looked on to see the purple beam going through the sky.

"Shadow!" Pinkie cried out in a worried manner. "Is he...."

"Relax. Shadow's in his super form. He's invincible. The only thing that attack must have done is annoy him." Rouge explained to her, making Pinkie calm down.

"Oh. In that case, rip it to shreds Shadow!" Pinkie cheered on. She then noticed Yacker's worried expression and realize that wasn't the best thing to say.

"Erh, I mean, don't hurt it too bad, Shadow. Yeah, what I said earlier was just a slip of the tongue." Pinkie reassured to Yacker.

"I will be disappointed if there is a lack of violence." Omega expressed, making Yacker look worried again and Pinkie shoot Omega, a 'not helping look.'

"Still, from what I see, the two of them appear to be equally matched. If this keeps up, the Planet will be in danger." Starlight said with concern, as everyone looked up at the sky.

"Shadow, you better think of something." Sunset said.




High up in the atmosphere of Planet Wisp, Super Shadow was floating in it. He was going over his battle with the Nega-Mother Wisp.

"This fight is dragging on for too long. I need to find a way to stop the Mother Wisp. So far, my attacks haven't been doing much damage....." He said to himself.

Super Shadow suddenly remembered the large glowing flower-like appendage on the Nega-Mother Wisp's head, where it had fired its laser from. This gave him an idea.

"Perhaps I need to change where I attack." He reasoned before he flew back down towards to resume his battle.

As Super Shadow was heading back down towards the Nega-Mother Wisp, the corrupted creature noticed his arrival due to it seeing a golden flare among the clouds of Planet Wisp. In response, it charged up and fired another purple beam from the top of its head. To counter it, Super Shadow charged up his body in a red aura as he got closer to the beam.

"Chaos....Blast!!" He yelled as he released a giant red explosion from his body which clashed with the Nega-Mother Wisp's beam, making a large eruption of energy be seen in the sky. The result blinded the Nega-Mother Wisp as it was slightly stunned and confused.

Suddenly, a series of red arrows emerged and flew towards the top of the Nega-Mother Wisp's head and collided with the appendage. The result caused the Nega-Mother Wisp to cry out in pain as two petals disappeared from the top, leaving only four remaining. Super Shadow saw this and smirked.

"Perfect. I've found it's weak point." He stated.

The Nega-Mother Wisp recovered from the attack and in fury, tried to slash Super Shadow with its two tentacle arms. Super Shadow fired a barrage of Chaos Spear from both hands, making the arms stop in place before they were lowered. The Nega-Mother Wisp was now slightly tired and Super Shadow saw an opening. He charged in a golden/red boost towards its appendage and slammed right into it, making two more petals disappear as the Nega-Mother Wisp let out a roar and backed away further. There were only two more petals remaining at the top.

"I believe just one more hit should do it." Super Shadow said. "Better make it count."

In his right hand, Super Shadow began to charge up a golden flash of energy as he stood in place.  Meanwhile, the Nega-Mother Wisp had gotten over the recoil from his last attack and saw him charging up his attack. The Nega Mother Wisp then fired an endless barrage of purple and red embers towards Super Shadow, putting him on the edge as he was forced to fly through them to make his attack hit. He tried to fly past them but due to their number, it was more difficult to avoid the attacks this time. As Super Shadow flew through the assault, the Nega Mother Wisp released an energy slash, causing the flares to combustion into small bursts, causing Super Shadow to stop in his tracks due to their force. He couldn't see what lied ahead of him now.

"Damn! This thing is smart. Now I can't properly aim my Chaos Spear." Super Shadow muttered.

Just then, Super Shadow heard a roar and out of nowhere, the Nega Mother Wips's two arms attempted to wrap around him. He was narrowly able to dodge them as he quickly flew high up in the air to avoid them. As he did, he noticed that the Nega-Mother Wisp had finished charging another beam and fired it towards him, causing his eyes to widen as the laser was incoming.

"Argh! I don't have enough time to properly dodge it! I'll have to take my chance!" Super Shadow realized. "Chaos....Spear!"

Super Shadow released the golden energy flash from his hand as a giant yellow spear as it crashed into the Nega-Mother Wisp's beam.  The spear was now at a stalemate with the Nega-Mother Wisp's blast.  In order to push it forward, Super Shadow fired smaller arrows from his palms. The result caused the Chaos Spear to move forward as it pushed past the Nega-Mother Wisp's beam and eventually hit the appendage for one last time. This last hit caused all of the petals to finally disappear as the Nega-Mother Wisp let out a shriek as Super-Shadow looked on.

"Did it work?" He wondered.

The Nega-Mother Wisp began to flail around for a while, giving a vibrating purple pulse before the pulse changed into a pink one. The Nega-Mother Wisp's body then began to glow a hot pink color before the aura was cast off. Now, the Mother Wisp's body was a light pink color and she resembled a jellyfish overall. her head was an ellipsoid shape, with up standing fungus-like hair on the top. It had 3 cyan eyes vertically across its face. She had two collar-like layers beneath her, colored blue and mauve with pink tentacles underneath. She had two longer pink tentacles for arms. Super Shadow formed a look of relief while below, the team saw he had succeeded, much to their pleasure. Yacker began to fly around with joy.

"He did it! He did it!" Pinkie exclaimed as she jumped up and down. Rouge gave a small smile while Sunset and Starlight exchanged looks of relief. Omega's expression remained the same.

The Mother Wisp began to look around in a somewhat confused manner before Super Shadow flew towards it, causing it to stare at him.

"Mother Wisp, you were under the influence of an outside force. I managed to free you from it." He explained to her. "The name of the perpetrator was Eclipse. He has also poisoned your world by planting these Red Fruit Trees and I need your help to destroy them. Will you help me?"

The Mother Wisp responded by nodding. It then lifted its two tentacles up in the air and charged a pink swirl as Super Shadow looked on. He then flew up towards it.

"Let me try this out." He said as put his two hands near the swirl as they glowed in a golden aura.

"Chaos..Control!" Super Shadow yelled as he fired a golden ray into the swirl. The result caused the swirl to crackle with golden energy before a flashing gold and pink energy wave was released throughout the entire planet. Shadow's party noticed this from below.

"Hey, what's going-" Starlight wondered before the Red Fruit Tree in front of her and the others suddenly began to glow gold before it vanished into thin air, much to their astonishment

All over Planet Wisp, the Red Fruit Trees planted by Eclipse began to vanish as they were destroyed by Super Shadow and the Mother Wisp, purifying the planet. The wave went on for a bit before it died down. As it did, Super Shadow then began to descend to the ground with the Mother Wisp towards his friends. When he landed on the ground, he turned back to normal, causing the 7 Chaos Emeralds to leave his body and rise up in the air before they flew at light speed back towards their home planet.  Shadow let out a sigh before he was suddenly hugged by Pinkie Pie, causing him to slightly grunt.

"Shadow, you did it! You saved the Wisp's planet!" Pinkie screeched as she increased the strength of her hug, making Shadow groan.

"Pinkie....please...let me go..." Shadow said, causing her to let him go, though she was still grinning

"Nice work, Shadow. You can add saving another planet to your list of feats. I guess that makes you and Sonic even." Rouge playfully said, causing Shadow to hmph.

"You have efficiently completed this mission. Though I do wish there was more of..." Omega started to say before Rouge, Starlight, and Sunset shot him looks.

".....hugs?" Omega finished in an unsure manner before he whispered to Shadow. "Is that what the fleshlings wished for me to say?" Shadow shrugged before he turned to the others.

"Though I did save this world, I must admit...." Shadow started to say, as all eyes were on him. They were waiting for him to finish.

"Come on, say it." Sunset said with a smile. "You can do it."

"I....I......couldn't have done it without your help." Shadow said in a small tone, making everyone save for Omega beam.

"It was nothing. What are friends for after all?" Starlight told him, causing Shadow to lower his eyes slightly.

"Don't push it." He told her, making Starlight slightly confused. 

"Really? After all that, you're still not going to say we're friends?" Starlight inquired as Shadow just turned away from her.

"You're dependable. That is all." He said. Starlight wasn't sure how to react. Coming from Shadow, it was something after all.

The group then turned to see the floating Mother Wisp alongside Yacker looking down towards them. The Mother Wisp then made a series of noises that sounded similar to the ones made by Yacker, except they were more high pitched.

"Hold on, let me translate." Rouge said as she looked down at her Miles Electric. "She says: Thank you for saving me and my children."

"It was nothing! We do stuff like this all the time!" Pinkie responded as she did a handwave.

"She should save her praise. It's not over yet." Shadow suddenly interrupted in a harsh tone. "I need to find and end Eclipse."

"Of course." Sunset realized. "During all this time, where-

Sunset was cut off by the large sound of an engine taking off, catching everyone's attention as they turned to see where it was coming from. Rising above was Eclipse in a G.U.N spacecraft, much to Shadow's dismay. Eclipse shot him a death glare.

"Shadow, I'm going to remember this." Eclipse vowed

"No! We can't let him escape!" Shadow yelled as he dashed at high speed in an attempt to get closer to Eclipse's ship.

The G.U.N ship rose high enough and the engines appeared to be ready for takeoff as they gave off a blue glow before Eclipse sped off as Shadow tried in vain to reach his ship.

"Nooooo!" Shadow screamed in rage as he watched Eclipse fly in the sky ofPlanet Wisp.

"I need to find another planet to harvest." Eclipse said to himself in the space ship. "In the meantime, I'll-

Eclipse's sentence was cut off by the sight of a small pink portal emerging in front of him, much to his confusion. The portal then grew in size and formed a giant vortex, stopping Eclipse's ship in its track and causing him to lunge forward.

"Argh!" He cried out. "What is this?!"

The vortex then suddenly started to draw in Eclipse's craft, much to his horror as it began to spin around as it was sucked into the portal.

"Nooo! This can't be!" Eclipse yelled as he was fully engulfed by the pink void, which then disappeared into the sky after a white flash. Shadow looked on with a puzzled expression alongside the others. He then turned around to see the Mother Wisp was glowing in a pink aura as her tentacles were stretched. Shadow then quickly dashed back to where he was from before as he stared at the Mother Wisp.

"That was your doing? What did you do to Eclipse exactly?" Shadow asked her.

The Mother Wisp then made her communication noises, which Rouge picked up using the Miles Electric.

"She says she used her Hyper Go-on power to generate an energy hole to trap Eclipse in." Rouge explained. 

"That's good then. That means he can't harm anyone anymore." Starlight stated.

"I think Shadow was pretty keen on the whole ending him thing, but this works too." Rouge said.

"I am obliged to be pleased that Eclipse is no longer a threat yet my desire to slaughter was not carried out." Omega said in a disappointed, making the two Rainbooms and Starlight get creeped out looks and they turned to Rouge, who shrugged.

Shadow looked out into the sky where Eclipse had vanished and started to contemplate what had just happened to his counterpart. He was gone, no longer a threat......at least for now. 

Before Shadow could think about the matter any longer, he was interrupted by Pinkie who made a large gasp.

"Wait! Now that the story has a happy ending so far, there's still one more thing. We have to get back to AppleJack's dinner!" Pinkie exclaimed as everyone turned to her.

"Right. I had almost forgotten about that. Do you think it's over?" Sunset wondered.

"It's hard to say. Time travels differently in space but if we head back using the ship, which could take a while, there's a chance you might." Rouge said, much to Pinkie's dismay.

"We can't miss it! It's like super important!" Pinkie yelled as she came up in Rouge's face and grabbed her cheeks, making her look slightly uncomfortable.

Suddenly, the Mother Wisp began to make her noises as she was now the center of attention. 

"One sec." Rouge said as she pushed Pinkie away from her gently in order to look at the Miles Electric. "The Mother Wisp says as a favor, she'll transport us back in no time."

"Wow, really? You can do that?" Starlight asked, making the Mother Wisp nod in confirmation.




Later, the team had headed to the spacecraft they had used to arrive to Planet Wisp. They were all inside it as they looked out to see Yacker and the Mother Wisp outside. The Mother Wisp made her body glow pink and put out her two tentacles, causing a swirling pink vortex to open up in front. The team took one last look at the two Wisp with most of them having grateful expressions.

"Thank you so much. We're glad we could help your world." Sunset said, making Yacker respond in a series of noises.

"He says: No problem. We owe you after the Sonic look alike helped us.  Hope you guys have fun back on your planet and say hi to Sonic and Tails for us. " Rouge translated, making everyone else save for Omega slightly laugh due to Yacker's comment on Shadow, whose raised an eyebrow.

"Sonic look alike? Don't lump us in together." Shadow muttered as he crossed his arms.

"You know it's trueeeee." Pinkie teased, causing Shadow to pout slightly.

The G.U.N spacecraft rose up in the air in front of the portal before it took off inside it. Afterwards, the pink portal vanished.




Back at the G.U.N base, Commander Tower walked through the underground area where the shuttles were stored. He looked at the area where the team's craft had departed with a stern expression.

"(I wonder. Where they successful in..)" He thought before his train of thought was cut off by the emergence of a pink portal in front of him, startling him as he jumped back.

"What the?" Commander Tower cried.

Through the portal, the G.U.N ship emerged from it as it landed on the ground to a complete stop. The ship's door then opened up, revealing Team Dark, the Rainbooms, and Starlight as they descended down from it, much to Commander Tower's surprise.

"Good to see you, Abe." Rouge said as she waved. "We have your ship back in one piece."

"You're back? But how so quickly?" He asked.

"We had some help from the native aliens." Sunset told him.

"I see. So your mission was a success?" Commander Tower questioned.

"Yep! That icky alien is gone and best of all, we got Shadow!" Pinkie happily said.

Commander Tower then turned to see that Shadow was the last one who came out from the shuttle, which he wasn't expecting.

"You brought him back?" He said in a slightly confused tone.

"Of course. You know, Shadow's the reason why the mission went well.  We got him back to our side and he saved the entire planet on his own from that evil alien." Starlight elaborated.

"Guess you could say he's a hero of two worlds now." Rouge said with a wink.

"I told you he would be back to our side!" Pinkie said to him as Shadow walked up ahead.

Commander Tower listened to everything he had heard before his eyes landed on Shadow, causing the two of them to make eye contact.  It was silent between them for a while as the others looked on.

"Are Shadow and the Commander going to engage in combat?" Omega asked Rouge, who gave him a bewildered look for suggesting such a thing.

"Agent Shadow...welcome back." Commander Tower finally said as he gave Shadow a salute.

"It's good to be back, sir." Shadow replied as he returned his salute.

Commander Tower then walked closer to Shadow as he stared him down. He then suddenly took his hand and shook it, much to Shadow's confusion.

"Shadow, I'd like to apologize...for not trusting in you. You are a valuable member of G.U.N and we're lucky to have you." He told him, making everyone else look on in surprise. They were certainly not expecting this from Commander Tower, considering what he had said about Shadow earlier.

"I appreciate your words Commander." Shadow answered.

Sunset took a look at her watch and formed a relieved expression.

"Guys, we're not too late for the dinner. I'd say at this time, they're just about getting ready." Sunset announced.

"We should get going then." Starlight suggested.

"Wait! Before we do." Pinkie suddenly said. She then walked up in front of Shadow.

"I know you said before that you didn't want to come, but after all that's happened, have you maaaaaaaaaaaybe changed your mind?" Pinkie sheepishly asked.

Shadow looked around, but instead of a usual grumpy look, he had more of an unsure expression. 

"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure it's for me." Shadow admitted.

"Don't be silly. Of course, it is. You heard us in your head, didn't you? You'll always have a place with us." Sunset reassured him.

"Definitely." Starlight added

Shadow looked around at Sunset, Pinkie, Starlight, Rouge, Omega and even Commander Tower.  Despite everything Eclipse had told him, it turned out it wasn't true. He now realized that the bonds he had made here were indeed meaningful and nothing the Black Arms told him could change it. He started to feel perhaps he wasn't out of place after all. 

"Well...I guess it wouldn't hurt." He decided, making Pinkie grin widely.

"Yeaaaah!" She said with excitement as she rushed into give Shadow a bear hug and lifted him from the ground, making him grunt as she put him back down.

"It's good you said yes. Otherwise, I would have forced you to go anyway." Rouge told Shadow as she came up and nudged him, causing him to give her a playful smile at her. " Even you can't brood all the time."

"I should be thankful you're looking out for me." Shadow said in a light but dry tone.

"Then let's go, everybody!" Pinkie exclaimed as she came on top of Omega's shoulder. "Come on Mr. Robot. I'll show you, you can have a good time without blowing things up!"

"This I doubt." Omega answered with skepticism.




Later, in front of Sweet Apple Acres during the evening, the doorbell to the front door rang. AppleJack then went towards it as she opened up. When she did, she saw Pinkie, Starlight, Sunset, Shadow, Rouge, Omega and even Commander Tower.

"Woah, howdy y'all!" She greeted to her friends before her eyes landed on Shadow, taking her back slightly. She figured he wasn't going to come at all.

"Shadow, ya really gonna join us?" She asked him.

"Don't get used to it." He replied.

AppleJack then turned her attention to the G.U.N agents.

"Howdy, my name's AppleJack. Who are you fellas?" She questioned.

"We're Shadow's friends." Rouge told her. " A pleasure to meet you."

"Friends. I suppose." Shadow said under his breath.

"Well, come on in! Everyone else is here and we're just gettin' started!" AppleJack invited.

The entire group headed into AppleJack's home to join in on the occasion. Shadow was the last one to enter and as he did, he closed the door behind him.