Dr. Eggman's Subterranean Base - Oasis Canyon - 06:53:02 PM



"Alright. Rouge, you get Omega a way into Eggman's Weapon Shelter. I'll scout ahead and make sure you have a clear path.", Shadow told his teammates, before speeding down the hall. It had only been three hours since Team Sonic were launched into space to search for the Ancient Wisps. As expected, Doctor Eggman had already started scheming. Of course, due to Sonic and Co. being absent, that left it up to Team Dark to keep Doctor Eggman at bay. "Well, alright, Mister Impatience.", Rouge said aloud to herself, before she snuck into the vent shaft to her left. "Stay alert, Omega.", she said to the hulking war machine. "MY OPTICS AND AUDIO PROCESSORS PROVIDE ME WITH MAXIMUM ABILITY TO DETECT ANY ENEMY WITHIN A HALF-MILE RADIUS.", he replied. "Yes, dear, you've made that clear. Now, then..."



Rouge headed down the vent shaft, off to locate the security system.

Meanwhile, Shadow sped through the various halls and rooms throughout Eggman's base, destroying Badniks with ease. It wasn't long before Shadow found his way right into the Doctor's Control Room. "Well, well, Shadow. Looks like you've once again stepped foot in places you don't belong.", Eggman told Shadow, before firing a missile. Shadow let out a small "Hm.", before teleporting out of the way of the Missile, and behind the Doctor's mech. Shadow performed a homing attack into the machine, but was quickly knocked to the ground by an invisible Energy field. "Oh, please. That's always yours and Sonic's first moves." The Doctor turned his mech to face the Black Hedgehog, firing a few small laser blasts. Shadow quickly dodged, and the arm of Eggman's robot swiped at him. Shadow jumped onto the arm, and ran up it, preparing to fire a Chaos Spear at the cockpit.



However, Shadow was almost immediately sent flying into the wall, collapsing on the ground. He slowly stood up, but was knocked through the wall by a fierce kick from the Doctor. Shadow grunted. He teleported under the mech, but a laser fired from the bottom, knocking Shadow unconscious.



...



Shadow awoke, minutes later, inside a capsule built by the Doctor. Eggman stood in front of him, an evil grin on his face. "Heh. That was simple enough." Shadow groaned. His head was throbbing. It wasn't long before he realized a strange device on his head, with thin, long wires running from his temples to a console in the room. The screen read 'Memory Transfer: 100% complete.' Shadow's eyes widened. "Memory transfer!?" A loud bellow emerged from the Doctor's mouth. "Hohoho! Yes, that's right. Might as well explain my plan to you now. There won't be any point hiding it from you. Take a look to your right, Shadow." Shadow looked, and there, he saw himself. A completely Biological copy. More wires emerged from the other side of the console, connecting to a second device on his copy's head. "What?!", he yelled. "You see, Shadow...I know very well how dangerous you are. You're strong, quick, powerful, immortal. And that is why I had the brilliant idea to replace you with an exact copy!" Shadow clenched his teeth. "And how will that help you?", he asked. Eggman's expression turned to an evil, almost insane one. "Because I will know every single thing your copy sees. Hears. Thinks. Every thing it knows...I know."



It was then that the Black Hedgehog broke free from his capsule. "Not if I stop you first. CHAOS...SPEAR!"

...

Instead of a Chaos Spear forming in the palm of Shadow's hand, he instead felt a large burst of pain in his wrists. He looked, and his inhibitor rings glowed with a yellowish-orange aura. "What?!" Shadow was taken aback. "What did you do?!"

Eggman laughed once more. "I simply replaced your inhibitor rings with new ones! Ones that can't be taken off, and will contain your Chaos Energy...To an extent." "An extent?", Shadow replied. "Yes," The Doctor began to pace the room. "If you let out too much Chaos Energy into your rings...They will explode.", he told Shadow. "And if they explode, the effects could be equal to that of a nuclear bomb. And I know that's a bluff you don't want to call. So I recommend you don't play with any Chaos Emeralds anytime soon."



Shadow stepped forward, fists clenched. "I'll defeat you with or without my Chaos Energy!" Shadow ran at the Doctor, who pulled out a strange weapon from his jacket. "Maybe eventually, but no time soon.", Eggman said, before firing it at Shadow, who vanished in an instant.

"So much for the Ultimate Lifeform!", The Doctor bellowed. "Now, then." He placed Shadow's communications device in the clone's ear, just before Rouge and Omega burst in. "SHADOW!", Rouge yelled, before kicking the Doctor out of the way. Rouge and Omega broke 'Shadow' free, and he woke up. "H..Huh? Rouge? Omega?", 'Shadow' muttered. "THE DOCTOR MUST HAVE CAPTURED YOU. I DETECT NO SERIOUS INJURIES ON YOUR BODY."



"Oh, Team Dark!", Eggman called out. There, he stood in another mech, equipped with twin turrets on each side. 'Shadow' turned to face the Doctor. "You made a mistake, Doctor.", he said, and ran at the Mech, his allies at his side, beginning another battle.



...



Unknown Location - Unknown Time



Shadow woke up. It felt like he'd been out for hours. "Where...?" He looked around, and found himself surrounded by strange, electric-blue...Phantoms..? Shadow jumped back, and the creatures launched themselves at him. There was a loud noise, and they were gone. He turned, and saw an armored soldier, holding a weapon. The soldier's mask split open, and was revealed to be a Snake. "You alright?", the Snake asked. "Yea...I...Where am I?", he asked. The Snake gave him an awkward look. "Um...Equinox Ruins? Did you lose your memory or something?"

Shadow groaned. "Thankfully not. I...Wait, Equinox Ruins?" Shadow had never heard of such a place.

"Yea..Under attack by those blue creatures? This is an evacuation, Hedgehog!" Shadow stared at him, blank-faced. "Look, just, come on. I'll get you to a safe zone." Shadow opened his mouth to say something, but decided to just go. This soldier seemed alright. Besides, if this was an active war zone, maybe Shadow could be some assistance. But after that, he would have to get back to G.U.N. before Eggman did too much damage.



The Soldier escorted Shadow out of the building, to where Shadow was greeted with a strange-looking city, swarming with those creatures. In the sky, massive, winged arachnoids fired down at the city, while ally ships attempted to shoot them down. As they sped down the roads, Shadow noticed multiple soldiers being deployed from armored vehicles, with large, manned turrets on their roofs. "A lot more productive than G.U.N has been recently.", he thought to himself.

Before they could make it out of City limits, one of the arachnoid creatures landed in their path. It charged up an energy shot, and Shadow almost performed a Chaos Control. He leaped out of the way, and ran up the building to his left, leaping off of it, and slamming his fists down on the creatures' head. It collapsed, and tried to get back up, but not before the Soldier shot at it, killing it.



"Well, I'll be damned, that was some crazy stuff..uh..What's your name?" Shadow turned to face him. "My name is Shadow the Hedgehog. The Ultimate Lifeform." The Snake wore a confused expression on his face. "Huh?...Are you sure you're alright in the head, Shadow?" Shadow tilted his head. "Have you...really not heard of me? I was the one who defeated the Black Arms and killed them before they could destroy Earth." "...I have no idea what the hell a 'Black Arm' is, or what dirt has to do with anything. I'm gonna get you taken to one of our doctors back at the safe zone."



"This doesn't make any sense. How does he not know what Earth..or the Black Arms are?", Shadow thought, before realizing. "Wait...Eggman fired a weapon at me, but I woke up here...And if you don't know what Earth is...Then I must be in another dimension!", Shadow said. The Soldier shook his head. "Dimensional Travel? You believe in that garbage?", he said. Shadow turned to the Snake once more. "Believe me, it's real. And I don't have time to sit here arguing with you about its existence. Now then...What is your name, anyways?" "Donovan Oakes. Commander of Timber Battalion. Now let's move."



Shadow nodded, and they headed out of the City.

Before they made it out, however, several bright lights appeared in the clouds above them, and blue lasers pierced through, causing large explosions. Slowly, the ground around them began to crumble.

"SHIT!", Donavan yelled, before the ground began to fall apart. Shadow was able to stay above, but Donavan fell onto a part of the ground which collapsed several hundred feet down. All around, the city appeared in ruins. The only sounds were screams from the commanding soldiers and the terrified civilians. Shadow kneeled down before the crevice. "Are you alright?!", he asked. Donovan looked up. "Y-Yea..May have broken my arm...", he replied.

"Can you find a way up?" "No, It's too dark down here and my night vision goggles broke from the fall!" Shadow clenched his teeth. "I'll try to find you a way out! Don't move."



He turned, and leapt over the various cracks in the ground.



Wherever Shadow was, he certainly wasn't in a place from his world. But that didn't matter.

First things first. Rescue soldiers and civilians, then get back home.



End of Chapter 1...