Remember Me?

"Intruder alert. Intruder alert. Somebody has been spotted making their way deeper into the facility," a voice said over the intercom, trying to remain calm. Men, women and robots blocked the halls, ready to put their lives on the line to protect the heart of the secret GUN base, Iron Gate. Not even they knew what they were protecting, all they knew was that it could doom the entire planet if it was released. The soldiers heard a pounding on the wall, until a checkered wrecking ball swung through, destroying the bridge they were standing on and plunging them into the darkness below.

The wrecking ball read… "E.G.G.M.A.N."

"OHOHOHOHO!!!" A voice laughed, metallic footsteps echoing throughout the halls. "So nice to finally be back on United Federation soil. I've missed this place so much!" The intruder exclaimed as he emerged from an explosion. His undamaged mech rolled its window down, revealing the face of Lord Robotnik. Recently, he had spontaneously decided to embrace the name Eggman, a name he used to despise. His Egg Walker mech stepped on and carelessly shattered the spine of the one GUN Soldier lucky enough to survive the initial swing of the wrecking ball. "This is where my grandfather's ultimate weapon has been kept all these years… The military must have really feared it! Luckily, they did a shoddy job patching this place up when I shattered the planet. Otherwise I may have not been able to get in! I just hope his top-secret project wasn't damaged." Eggman shot down a sliding steel door, breaking through and continuing his leisurely stroll through GUN's defenses. Nothing GUN threw at the Eggman could stop him. The Egg Walker stomped all over their proudest soldiers, and completely outclassed their most formidable robots. Eventually, Eggman reached the deepest level of the facility. The final thing standing in his way was a keyboard attached to a monitor. His last hurdle to get to the government's secret weapon was figuring out a password. "Ha! It's just too easy." Eggman approached the console. He typed away at the keyboard.

"M-A-R-I-A… Maria!" Eggman exclaimed, pressing enter. DING. The door opened in a blast of steam. As the fog cleared, Eggman could see that the room was relatively small. For a second, he questioned if he went to the right room. "I wasn't expecting my grandfather's secret weapon to be anything short of giant. I wonder what it could be." Eggman looked up at a capsule held high above the floor. It was filled with a strange dark red ooze.

Eggman walked forward and pressed the "RELEASE" button. He heard the old mechanism power on, as the glass protecting the weapon slid open loudly. Something began to rise from the capsule. Eggman was expecting some kind of bomb, but instead, he got… a robot? Could that be what he was searching for this whole time?

As the figure stood up, Eggman could see three spines. It appeared to be an anthropomorphic hedgehog. There was nothing robotic about the way it moved or looked. He gasped, stepping back. "No way… it's you… SONIC?!" Eggman shouted. The hedgehog jumped down, landing in front of Eggman. Up close, he could see… it wasn't quite the Sonic he knew. It was like a darker version of him. His spines were pointed upwards, almost like Super Sonic. "Ah… I always suspected that the Dark Gaia Force would take over your body eventually. Is that all? Was this another one of your feeble attempts to catch me off-guard?" The hedgehog smiled.

"My name is Shadow the Hedgehog. I am the world's Ultimate Lifeform," the hedgehog stated. His voice wasn't like Sonic's at all. "Is it you, Gerald?"

"No, my name is Lord Ivo Robotnik. But you may call me Eggman. Apologies, I had you mixed up with somebody else. I actually came here to release Gerald's ultimate weapon. I just didn't think it would be a living being," Eggman replied, puzzled but intrigued. Shadow seemed to be on the same page. "Gerald was my grandfather, you see. I spent my entire youth studying under him. He has since passed away, but I would be glad to help you accomplish the mission you were created for in the first place."

"My mission," Shadow hummed, closing his eyes and ruminating on those words. "Very well. I accept your offer—!" The alarms blared louder, as a giant GUN mech flew forth into the room. They were cornered.

"This is B-3x Hot Shot, I have found the intruder. He has an accomplice, and they seem to have already obtained Gerald's superweapon!" The soldier inside the mech shouted. "Initiating attack mode!"

"Blast it all! They've found us!" Eggman exclaimed, slamming his fists down on the Egg Walker's controls. He then shot at the large mech. His bullets bounced right off. "Oh no! Our weapons are useless, Shadow!" Eggman rolled up the window on the Egg Walker's cockpit as he was blasted back by a rocket coming from the Hot Shot in retaliation. Shadow stepped forward.

"Hmph… pathetic GUN Soldier," Shadow growled. The Hot Shot blasted some more rockets their way, but Shadow kicked them right back at it. They blew up, knocking the mech back. He summoned a green crackling lightning spear, shooting it right up into the mech and nailing Hot Shot to the ceiling. He then clung onto the wall, and shot another spear through the side of the mech. He zoomed around the entire room in a blur. "Disappear!" He exclaimed, shooting bolts of green energy out of his hands into the mech. Until eventually, the Hot Shot was attached to the walls and ceiling by dozens of lightning spears. Shadow then rose his hands into the air, creating a small EMP. BWOOOM! The spears turned solid, the Hot Shot shut down completely, and the pilot was knocked out. "Hmph… Let's see how you like your stay here. I hope nobody finds you."

Eggman's jaw dropped, amazed by Shadow's power. "Hah! Well done, Shadow the Hedgehog!" Eggman congratulated him giddily. He could almost feel the powerful electricity tingling his mustache from afar. It was most definitely Chaos Energy, but… it somehow felt stronger than Sonic's. Shadow turned to him.

"That was only a fraction of my true power," Shadow replied, crossing his arms. "If you wish to pursue an alliance, meet me aboard the Space Colony ARK. There, all will be revealed." Shadow walked out of the room, taking a deep breath of air. He grinned. "I believe we will be capable of great things together, Eggman." Shadow skated off with his Hover Shoes.

"The Space Colony ARK? But that place was abandoned 50 years ago…" Eggman thought out loud. "Very well… Let's get going, then!" Eggman stomped off in the Egg Walker. With the power of the Ultimate Lifeform now at his fingertips.