---CHAPTER 2---
-6:28 A.M.-
-Downtown Westopolis-
Slash found himself in the middle of a huge city, he stopped running and began to walk.
"Hm...." he said as he looked around, "This city appears to be inhabited by overlanders. I wonder where I can find a location with more of my kind?"
Slash calmly walked through the city, but was stopped by a sudden sighting of G.U.N. Beatles floating through the air, close to the ground.
Slash's face became suprized, "They've pin-pointed my location! The overlander operating the robot I took down outside the base must have seen which direction I ran in!"
Slash quickly ran into an ally way, and stood against the wall. The ally was narrow but long, Slash could fit in just right.
The Beatles passed by the ally, completely missing Slash, who was left speechless when he saw how many of them there were.
"There must be at least 50 of those units guarding the city! I need to find a safer place to go to, but I still need to find out where that place is!" he whispered to himself.
He began to walk slowly down the ally, the dim sunlight faded away as he tried to reach the end of it all. He walked down with his two hands on each wall in search of a door, until finally; he reached the end of the ally and walked into it.
"Erngth!" Slash said as he accidently hit it. He looked at what he just hit and examined it. "Its a door!" He said as he felt the doorknob and opened it.
He came right into the building and found himself in a kitchen. He could also faintly hear a TV and someone walking around outside the kitchen.
".....An apartment?" he said to himself.
Slash quietly moved across the kitchen, and looked out an archway on the other side of the room. He saw a dark blue hedgehog sitting down on a couch, talking on the phone.
"Hm.... maybe I shouldn't interfere. Perhaps those robots have left to search in a different section of the city." he thought to himself.
As he started his way back, he overheard the hedgehog talking about the local G.U.N. base he was just at, and went right back to the archway.
"It what?!...............Well have you launched any search party?................Beatles wont do a thing if this 'creature' can take down a new Bigfoot model in one shot!..............Every local G.U.N. agent?........Fine, I'll begin my search momentarily, send me a Gold Beatle with my equipment and all the info." The hedgehog said.
The hedgehog turned off the TV and got up, not noticing Slash.
"Another agent that wants me encapsulated. I need to find a way to see if I was really just created or if I'm a prisoner of war." Slash thought to himself.
Slash stepped out from hiding and appeared in front of the hedgehog.
"Looking for me, agent?" Slash asked.
"GAH!!!", the hedgehog screamed. The hedgehog quickly pulled out his gun and pointed towards Slash. "Stand down! Now! Don't make me shoot!"
"Oh please, I know you already have been strictly informed to capture me, not stop me. But it doesn't mater, you can put your gun down. I have no intension of harming you." said Slash, stepping closer.
"I'll bring you in unconscious and with a bullet in your body if I have to! Stand down! You think I'll side with you?! HA!" he said.
"I took down the robot you were talking about to save myself." said Slash, trying to reason with him.
"You almost killed someone in the process! And you injured 3 guards!" the hedgehog screamed.
"Those guards were trying to kill me, and I acted upon that. And I may have destroyed the robot, but I never touched the man inside."
"Is this your way of telling me that you're the good guy caught up in something?!" the hedgehog asked with an unsure face.
"Precisely. I'm not trying to harm anyone, but I'm a bit confused. I came to this city for help." said Slash.
The hedgehog put his gun down, and looked at Slash. "Who are you?"
"........." Slash struggled to answer, "My name is...Slash. Slash The Hedgehog."
Slash put out his hand with a very small smile.
"......Krene the Hedgehog." said the hedgehog as he shook Slash's hand. "Strange, I don’t remember them saying they gave you a name."
"That’s the thing. They didn't. I believe that I remember my name from somewhere, but to remember it would be impossible if I was just created. Do you know of someone who can help me?" asked Slash.
"Well I have a lab downstairs. Maybe I can run a diagnostic on you?" said Krene.
"Alright. But what of your 'Gold Beatle'?" asked Slash.
Suddenly the doorbell rang. And a large floating robot could be seen from the windows.
"Hide yourself, this will only take a minute." said Krene, opening the door.
Slash quickly ran back into the kitchen.
Krene opened the door, took his things from the Beatle, and shut the door. The Beatle had brought Krene's battle equipment and a cell phone-looking computer drive with all the information the scientists back at the base had on Slash.
"Wonderful! With this, I'll be able to get into your documents through my own computer. Come on, come downstairs." said Krene as he walked around the corner.
Slash went to him and they both went downstairs, there, there was a huge lab and all kinds of technology everywhere. Krene asked Slash to give him his arm which he strapped with a strange metal ring.
"According to the information I have already read from your document, you have been identified as a UCEL. An Unbalanced Chaos Energy Life, but I fail to trust these scientists, considering the fact that they've only run one test on you. I want to know what kind of energy you hold, and this will tell me," said Krene, pointing to the metal ring," after that, we'll see if it can connect to anything."
Krene pushed a button on a control board and looked at a large screen in front of him, awaiting the results.
-7:12 A.M.-
-G.U.N. Base-
"You people are truly amazing! How in the world could you let it get away?!" screamed the commander in the meeting room they all met in before.
"Our men were nearly killed, Commander. It was far too powerful and fast to stop." said a scientist.
"And where exactly did this thing go!?" shouted the Commander.
"Our BIGFOOT operator reported him moving west." the scientist said with shame, "On a course to........Westopolis."
"You have got to be kidding me!! What of the search party!?" asked the Commander.
"All G.U.N. agents in the Westopolis area are on the look out for it, along with over a thousand armed Beatles." the scientist said with pride.
"Did you send Shadow??" asked the Commander.
Suddenly, the scientist's face turned white with fear as he looked around to the other listening scientists, then turned back to the Commander.
"S-S-Shadow the Hedgehog was given the green light to head back to Soleanna for his next mission early this morning. We are currently trying to get him back..." he said.
Tower was on the urge of killing the scientist, but he just turned his back and walked away with his hands in fists.
-7:20 A.M.-
-Krene's Lab-
Suddenly, the results came, and Krene began reading.
Krene became very surprised at the results and looked over to Slash, having already explained to him about "Energies" and what the Beatle's data held while awaiting the results.
"What is it?" asked Slash.
"This is unlike anything I have ever seen before...... according to this; you are made up of 4 main forms of energy: Twilight Chaos Energy, Prime Chaos Energy, Corrupted Chaos Energy, and Unbalanced Chaos Energy." said Krene.
"I can't say I know why you're surprised." said Slash.
"Well, according to research, Corrupted Chaos Energy and Unbalanced Chaos Energy could never combine into one without creating a massively destructive reaction. But it has in you." Krene said as he pointed to Slash.
Slash's eyes widened, surprised to hear such a thing.
"Another thing is that your Unbalanced Energy is a mix between Twilight and Prime Chaos Energy, but you already have both of those separated into their own different parts. It’s almost like its incomplete! But it all holds together somehow." Krene said, looking at the results and scratching his chin. "There are 2 questions here: Why is there a mix between Twilight and Prime when both are also separated? And how is it all holding together?"
"Wait........you said I have Corrupted Energy? Correct?" asked Slash.
"Yes." replied Krene.
"Well.........where did that category of energy come from?" asked Slash.
Krene looked down in realization of what Slash just said, confused and unable to answer.
"If you came from the Twilight Zone, into the Prime Zone......that explains those two, and even the Unbalanced part...........but..........where did the Corruption come from?" Krene said.
"Well, how is corrupted energy created?" asked Slash
Krene looked to him, “It’s when two or more different energies interfere with each other so much that they eventually become corrupted. It's the final stage of unbalanced energy, which is why the two don’t usually mix without a horrible reaction." he said, "But you already have the two energies that form you in an unbalanced state. Which means that the corrupted energy can only have been created by some sort of other energy. Which makes no sence........unless...."
Slash spoke, “Something happened to me before I entered this Zone!"
"Which means you have some sort of past in the Twilight Zone that you just can’t remember!" said Krene, smiling.
"I am remembering my name!" Slash said as he got up,".........but how do I make myself remember everything?"
"I don't know......" Krene said, thinking, “Maybe Sonic can help us!" he said with an idea.
".............who?" asked Slash.
"Sonic the Hedgehog! He's the world's greatest hero! He could probably get us a way to help you." Said Krene.
"Well where can we find him?" asked Slash.
"We have to go to New Mobotropolis! Its a city that’s not that far away. Sonic and the Freedom Fighters live there." said Krene.
"Freedom what?" asked Slash, puzzled again.
"I'll fill you in on the way there. But we need to get out of Westopolis without anyone noticing first!" said Krene.
"Well let’s go!" said Slash as the two of them ran up the stairs.
-G.U.N. Base-
-The Chamber of Silence-
The chamber laid, untouched, in the dark. Still in the chamber was the device created to cut through to the Twilight Zone. The Twilight Console. This was like a version of the goal post or super warp ring, but made specifically to operate a portal to the Twilight Zone. Suddenly, the console began to light up and work, ghostly without Chaos Emeralds powering it. A portal to the Twilight Zone appeared, as an arm-looking black shape emerged from it. From it, dripped a drop of black-looking water. But the console suddenly died out again, closing the portal. As the portal closed, a very demonic and dark voice was heard saying...
".............Shadow.............?"