Spirit of the Phantom Ruby

Part 23 - Thank You, Geoffrey

Eggman leapt into his aircraft and flew out of one of his secret exits. He made a sharp turn away from his crumbling base and zipped along the floor of the forest, hoping the trees would conceal him, when suddenly something slammed into his hovercraft, sending it flying into a tree. He grunted in pain from the force of the blow, and pulled himself out of the aircraft, landing on his bum and staring in surprise at the dark hedgehog who stood before him.

Shadow coolly walked up to him, and despite the doctor's desperate attempts to scoot away, he pulled the fat man up and slammed him against a tree. The sky overhead flashed with red streaks of light, and a low, booming rumble emitted from above, shaking the ground on which Shadow stood on. Still, the hedgehog held him up, sneering at the panicked look on his face.

"Where are the other power sources?" Shadow demanded through gritted teeth, his voice dry and inimical.

"Is there blood... in your ears-?" Eggman was shook violently by the Ultimate Lifeform. "Ah-ah-ah! Ah, OK! They're- uh, they're...!"

The maniacal doctor stalled just long enough for Metal Sonic to catch up and body-slam the dark hedgehog. Eggman's eyes widened in shock when Metal crumpled from the blow instead and fell to the ground, rendered useless, as the dark hedgehog stood still, completely unmoved. His black quills slowly began glowing with a strange, red energy, until it looked like Shadow was totally immersed in flames. Red lightning flashed across the sky, this time more prominent, but Shadow simply closed his eyes until their light faded from the clouds. He opened them again, and their penetrating red irises bore into the doctor's face.

"Who is gonna save you now?" Shadow quoted the jackal powering the doomsday device less than a hundred feet away.

Sonic and the Jackal Squad appeared, surrounding the two.

"Give it up, Eggman!" Mathilda growled, her hands in fists. "Or you'll be killed along with us!"

Eggman groaned, his hands clutching Shadow's burning wrists. "Fine. There's one still in Metropolis, and one in at the newer base you were at half an hour ago. Did I mention I also used the Chaos Emeralds to help power the machine? No? Well they're actually inside the chamber beneath the doomsday device, so you'll need to destroy the other power sources and collect the ruby before you can get to those..."

"Anything else you're forgetting to tell us?" Sonic asked, taking a step forward.

"Oh, yes! There's one in the old warehouse where Infinite blew up my Mech-suit!" Eggman looked extremely bitter. "The Mech-suit that I spent months making..."

"You're one to talk-!" Sonic scoffed, then shook his head. "Never mind. Shadow, take Rouge and Omega with you to destroy the power sources. Team Jackal and I will deal with the Chaos Emeralds!"

Shadow stopped glowing red, and he dropped the doctor into a heap on the moss-covered ground. "On it. Chaos Control!"

Rouge let out a relieved sigh when the black hedgehog reappeared before them.

"Eggman told us where the power sources were. I need you two to help me destroy them." He grabbed Omega's arm and Rouge's hand.

Knuckles scoffed. "Can't I help-?"

Shadow stared him dead in the eye. "Yes. Take care of your little party here." Then with another flash of green chaos energy, Team Dark disappeared. Knuckles quickly rolled underneath one of the tables his fellow team members were using for cover.

"Everyone remain calm!" He called, "Sonic and the others are working on destroying the power sources for the doomsday device!"

Shadow, Rouge, and Omega teleported halfway across the state, landing on one of the floating walkways of a modern, high-tech looking city. The Capital City, Metropolis. Coal-black clouds swirling across the sky contrasted starkly against the bright white exteriors of the sky scrapers and buildings, and the team of heroes knew they didn't have much time to find the power source. Omega scanned the megalopolis.