Shadow: Dark Horizon

Part Nine: Breaking Point

A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for this being a bit late even though I said that it would be released soon. I'll admit though, this part is a MONSTER of a part. Definitely the longest part so far! Heck, I could've been lazy and split it into two parts, but I'm not like that. This chapter is different from all of my other chapters. It's not action packed, but it's pretty dark, informative, and thrilling. I hope all of you enjoy!

Sunlight City - Centurion Tower

A snow white bat flew through the air. A few tears stained her face, drying as they met the oncoming wind. It had been almost an hour since Shadow had continued onward without them, and Rouge couldn't help but worry about the hedgehog.

It's way too dangerous out there… even for him… just too much… The thief thought as she glided through the air.

She looked underneath her to see Omega scouting out the upcoming areas they approached.

"Scanning for hostiles…" The robot informed her as he went out ahead. "Area clear. Moving forward." He responded as he pressed on.

Rouge decided to save her energy and switched back to walking on solid ground. She landed on the ground with a 'thud' and stood up. She ran her fingers through her hair and yawned.

"I should've known he'd have run off like that. I should've just brought him with us anyway." Rouge quietly talked to herself. "Stupid, stupid, stupid! She growled as she hit herself on the head.

"I know it's hard, but thinking about the past won't change anything." The robot commented.

"Yeah, try telling that to Shadow. I'm sure it'd work well!" The jewel-thief retorted with an attitude.

The robot stood silent and just ignored the furious bat. The area surrounding them wasn't as damaged as most of the buildings they had seen before. In fact, it was in pretty good shape. Before them was a huge foundation, almost like a memorial with all sorts of statues and plaques. In the middle of the foundation stood a midsized tower that seemed to loom over everything else. It sported chrome and charcoal based colors, giving it a stealth-like appearance. Something clicked in Rouge's mind. Her eyes started to look around frantically before coming across a large slab of concrete that stood taller than the others. Words were engraved in it that read: "Welcome to Centurion Tower, the first tower to ever be constructed in Sunlight City! This giant stands over one-hundred meters tall and is a treasured monument to the entire city. Enjoy your tour as you gaze upon the history inside!"

"Aha!" Rouge jumped as a light bulb turned on in her head. "Omega, didn't Shadow receive information earlier about a camp being set up at Centurion Tower? A G.U.N. camp if I recall correctly?" She asked as she caught up with the ongoing robot.

"Yes, for that is what the soldier he made contact with told him." Omega responded as he and Rouge stopped in their tracks.

"Well, why don't we just stay here until then. Maybe we could go out with a squad of soldiers and find Shadow. Food and water doesn't sound too bad either." She said as she licked her dry lips at the thought of being hydrated.

"Fine. I will take point while entering the facility, just in case there are enemies present in the area." The bulky robot said as the covering over his shoulders opened to reveal four missiles loaded in each. "Stay behind me." The metalized being spoke.

Omega quietly moved up the steps to the front entrance of the gloriously decorated building. His eyes zoomed in on the inside of the building and scanned it, making sure it was safe for them to enter.

"The area is clear, proceed with caution. I'll watch your back." The robot spoke as he signaled Rouge to enter the building.

She walked up and grabbed the handle of the see-through door and quietly opened it, creating a 'creaking' sound in the process. She slowly entered the untouched building, her eyes searching within it in the process. The lobby contained a huge an animated metal statue in the middle that showed a large star with many others orbiting it. Surrounding the statue was other cosmologic objects like asteroids and stardust. In fact, the whole lobby took up more than half of the building, reaching as high as the tip of the skyscraper itself. The inside color was a light gray that made it contrast with the outside gloominess. She looked around at her surroundings and came to realize that the lobby itself was humongous.

Quite a building… She thought. The more she observed the area however, the more puzzled she became. Where's G.U.N.? They should be here! She thought as she scratched her head. "Omega." Rouge called out to the guarding robot. "No one is here. No one at all!" She now shouted with annoyance.

Omega proceeded to look around himself and scanned the oversized lobby himself. Not a thing at all.

"No active life forms are present in the area." The robot concluded.

"Huhhh… You've gotta be kidding me…" Rouge breathed out as she rubbed her eyes with her hands. She looked behind her and found a seat. Why not? She thought with ease. What could a little rest do? The crimson and slate robot approached her and stood next to her.

"It is imperative that you rest. I'll stand guard and watch for hostiles." The robotic titan informed her.

"Thanks Omega…" The albino bat yawned as she stretched and sat down in the cushioned chair.

She closed her eyes until she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Was that a water fountain? She thought to herself as she remembered how thirsty she was. She hadn't had a drink since the whole medical incident with her legs.

She hoisted herself from the chair and quickly made way to the drinking station, her lips longing for the quench of H2O. As she pressed the button for the fountain to shoot out, she gulped all the water she could. She wiped her hand with her forearm and turned around with her eyes closed. As soon as her eyes shot back open, she was trucked by two men in tactical armor.

"Ah!" She screamed as she hit the floor, getting the wind knocked out of her.

"Hold her down, hold her down!" One of the men barked as he and another armed man pushed her arms to the ground.

"Wha… you creeps get off of me! Who the heck are you? OMEGA!" A furious Rouge screamed as she struggled against them as they held Rouge to the ground.

The men then proceeded to violently flip her over face-down on the ground. As she was being forced to the ground, out of the corner of her eye she saw Omega.

"Omega! Help me!" She begged.

Something was wrong, terribly wrong. He was sitting there all slumped and not doing a thing! Why?

"Alright, now inject her with the sedative. That should put her out long enough…" The man to her right commanded.

"No! What do you think I am, some kind of wild animal?" Rouge frantically struggled as she gazed at the man's covered face.

The black mask covering it merely turned.

"Exactly…" He said with a frightening tone.

Before she knew it, Rouge felt a cold rush of pain flooding through her veins around her neck.

"You guys… l-let me go… now…" Her voice became increasingly weak until fading into nothingness.

"Cloaking: off" a voice commanded.

Out of nowhere, a large squad of armored soldiers emerged from the shadows. One became visible behind Omega, holding a strange device that had multicolored lights and a hooked head. He simply tossed upwards and caught it, showing satisfaction with the unknown tool.

"Squad, group together the two prisoners and put them somewhere they can't escape when they reawaken." The squad leader informed his men.

"Aye, sir." Four of the men responded as they picked up the dead-weighted body of Rouge.

"Where shall we place her sir?" One of them questioned, emotions hidden underneath the dusk black mask that hid his face.

The squad leader pulled out a blue touchpad from one of his pouches.

"Alright, so that's three out of seven…" He mumbled to himself as he made a few finger motions before bringing up a map. "The Commander requested the least accessible level, so Room 16-C. Same with Omega, but make sure you put some sort of barrier around him, otherwise it'll be too easy for him to escape." He commanded as he swiftly put away his touchpad in a quick fashion.

"Yessir." Another man responded as they dragged Rouge's body to the nearest stairwell since the elevators were taken out.

They dragged her effortlessly up the stairs as they made their way to the very top of the building, the 16th floor. When they arrived at the door of the huge room, they simply opened the door and hurled her into it.

"Now it's Omega's turn…" Another man commented as he and the other three soldiers made their way back downstairs. After struggling to carry the burly body of Omega, they carried him over to the center of the room and tossed his body underneath a huge stone statue of a crescent.

"You have that tool?" One man questioned.

"What do you think? Of course I have it!" The questioned soldier barked back as he activated the tool.

Blue lights and a small electrical field surrounded the instrument. After pressing a few buttons, the soldier pointed it to Omega's area and cast the energy wave. It surrounded Omega and a blue colored dome surrounded itself around him.

"That should keep this thing held tight…" The soldier commented as he exited the room.

When all of the men were clear of the room, another soldier came up to the door and slammed it shut.

"Seal the door." A soldier commanded as he and the others took their business back downstairs with the squad leader.

The soldier pulled out an edgy looking tool that started to shoot out liquid metal. He aimed the oozing metal at the creases, completely isolating the room from everything else. After the liquid metal hardened, the soldier followed his comrades and made his way down to the main lobby. Although it was about 9:00 A.M., light couldn't find its way into the sealed room. The body and machine laid there lifeless as the dark of the room consumed their blank minds…

Sunlight City - Ocean Spine Parkway

Shadow the Hedgehog slowly opened his eyes, welcoming the flickering light the sky gave off. With eyes wide open, he stared at the sky for what seemed to be an hour, but in reality only lasted a minute. The second Shadow tried to move his body, pain halted his actions.

It consumed me again… Shadow thought as he breathed out.

His hatred, afflictions, grudges, everything, was set free by the dark energy that possessed him. But wait a minute, how could that of happened without a Chaos Emerald? The powerless hedgehog simply shook his head and attempted to stand up. The pain was sharp, but he took it. He needed to set himself back on course with the metallic object, or else he would be far too late. As he slowly regained some of his stamina, his surroundings made his eyes go wide.

I… did this? He thought to himself.

The area of the city surrounding him was completely decimated, nothing more but piles of smoldering rubble to mark its demise. The destruction he caused was far worse than he thought. His only intention was to kill his enemy, not level an entire area! His environment wasn't the only center of attention for the ultimate life-form. He felt week, absolutely week. His body ached and he could barely stand it. Shadow held his head low and shook it.

Sacrifices have to be made unfortunately… He thought as he started to limp towards his intended destination.

The object was starting to become a lot closer now. All he had to do now was take Streamline Highway for about six miles and he would be there. However, with the condition his body was in, he wasn't going to cover that ground any time soon. After about five steps, a bright flashing light started to make its presence known in the sky.

That's odd… the ebony hedgehog thought. Out of the light emerged a silver aircraft with a jagged body and heavily armed with missiles and other weaponry.

Did that aircraft just exit a warp? The shocked hedgehog questioned as he scratched his ears.

The closer the aircraft came, the more details that showed up.

That's no ordinary gunship… The ebony hedgehog thought with suspicion, and it certainly looks familiar… The hedgehog pondered as he stood still.

His eyes opened widely as he then identified the chopper.

So that's why it looks familiar! Shadow thought as he realized what it really was. It was a G.U.N. aircraft!

Signaling the chopper wouldn't be a bad idea. They could probably give me a lift… He concluded as he started to signal the intimidating vehicle.

He summoned a bright red ball of energy in his hand and started to point it in the air, trying to get the gunship's attention. They'd notice him, right?

The aircraft simply soared over his position and avoided him entirely, making a deep humming noise as it went by. It had completely ignored him! Shadow's jaw dropped and he started to curse in his head. Didn't they see him? He was right out in the open and they acted like he was just another piece of debris on the ground!

Why did I sign up for G.U.N. again?He thought angrily as he continued walking toward the object.

Now, six miles were all that stood in his way…

City Skyline – G.U.N. Gunship #659

A pink hedgehog awakened from her drowsy state. She felt light headed and could barely open her eyes. She was dead tired, but why? She groaned and rotated her head to look around. Where was she? Then she remembered. She had been captured, sedated against her will. She breathed out and shook her head.

How could this have happened again? She wondered as she looked around the tiny room. Heh, it wasn't even a room, just a tiny space in who knows where.

What do those men want with me? They just came out of nowhere… She asked in her head as if someone would answer.

A few voices startled her, making her jump a little bit. Before she knew it, she felt pressure welling up in her ears.

Almost like… Amy paused. Oh… now I remember… She said as she realized where she had been taken.

She was loaded onto some aircraft taking her somewhere… but where exactly? The question made her shiver.

What will they do to me? She thought in fear.

She shook her wrists and her ankles, trying to break free from the forged metal rings that confined her to the wall.

Shoot! No good! She thought as she stopped struggling. Once again, some voice sounded its way through the door. Just who were these people?

Beyond the steel door that captivated Amy was a medium sized control room. About ten heavily armed men occupied the area and worked controls for the aircraft they controlled. The sides of the area were mounted turrets that were attached to the doors. In the front sat one soldier who piloted the vehicle. Behind that was another soldier sturdy armor, signifying that he was the leader of the entire squad on board. One of the soldiers walked up to him and saluted.

"At ease soldier." The squad leader replied as he motioned his hand.

The soldier rested his arm and started to question him. "Sir, you do realize that we just passed Shadow the Hedgehog, right? We could've captured him and-"

"Silence! I am aware we did that, yes. However, we are waiting for the right moment to strike. It just takes patience, which apparently you don't have…" The squad leader replied coldly as he eyed the soldier behind his black mask.

"Fine, whatever you say…" The soldier replied sarcastically.

The squad leader just snickered and returned his attention to the holographic screen in front of him. He was receiving an incoming call from a higher officer.

"This is Gunship #659, you wanted something, sir?" The squad leader asked his commanding officer when he answered it.

"Yes we did" A deep voice sounded. "Did you successfully collect 'the package'?"

The squad leader put his hands together and cracked them. "Yes, sir we did, and it was a cinch."

"Good, good. What about the others?" The commanding officer asked.

"They were left behind since Amy Rose was issued as a high-priority target by the Commander." The squad leader answered. "However, the commander said that he had something special in mind for the rest of them."

"I got the same response…" The commanding officer replied. "Just so you know also, our little 'camp' ambush at Centurion Tower worked. We have successfully captured Rouge the Bat and E-123 Omega. We are now waiting for a chopper to pick us up."

The squad leader clapped once and rubbed his hands together, "Excellent… the Commander will be pleased…" He hissed.

"Indeed he will. What is your current ETA?" The commanding officer questioned.

"Should be about ten minutes at least…" The squad leader answered.

"Good. I will see you at the loading dock then." The commanding officer concluded as he ended the call. As the call ended, the squad leader summoned one of his men.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" The soldier replied with a salute.

"Yes, check on Ms. Rose to see how she is doing." The squad leader commanded. "Oh, and If you need to restrain her further, you have my clearance to do so."

"Yessir!" The soldier replied as he headed toward the door that contained her…

Those voices… they just kept getting closer! Amy Rose practically jumped out of her skin as they kept getting louder… and louder… and louder! Amy felt weak, like she couldn't do a thing.

Just wait until Sonic gets here. Her thoughts seemingly reassured her. Sonic… The name reminded Amy of Sonic's last words to her before she was abducted.

"You're not helping Amy!" The words just lingered on in her end. She sighed. When was she going to finally let herself get rid of this fantasy that she had about her and Sonic? It'd never ever come true, no matter how hard she tried. Tears started to well up in her eyes. Ohhh why did he do this to her?

Just give him time, he'll come through eventually... Her thoughts halted. Amy, just stop waiting for him. It's his loss. You know that you'll find someone better than him!

"Not true!" Amy screamed to herself. She halted her screams when she heard the door start to creak.

Oh no… She thought. They're coming for me!

She tried her best to free herself, arms and legs pushing against the rings that held her by her wrists and ankles. Too late. The door opened and Amy directed her gaze away from the man. As the door opened, the soldier walked in and then closed it. She could see the masked man from the corner of her eye.

"What do you want from me?" She angrily spat at the soldier. The fluid landed on the soldier's mask and he calmly wiped it off. Suddenly, he walked towards her real fast.

"Talking that way will get you nowhere while you're with us!" The soldier yelled at her as he pointed his finger in her face. Amy quickly bit his finger and he yelped. He quickly retaliated and slapped her across the face with the back of his hand. Amy's cheeks burned and more tears started to well up.

"Keep it up and there'll be more where that came from!" He barked at her.

"Pfft! You'll be sorry when Sonic shows up!" She retorted. If he shows up… she thought.

"The rodent? Ha! Before he even gets the slightest idea of where you're at, we'll have already eliminated him and his friends!" He shouted back at her.

Oh no he did not.

"You'll regret it…" Amy hissed through gritted teeth.

"No, I assure you, we won't." he replied with a dark tone.

"Who is we anyway? Who the heck are all of you in the first place? What do you want with me?" Amy bellowed as she further struggled to get off the wall.

"You don't know who we are? Look!" He laughed as he pointed toward a skull logo printed on his armor.

"G…U…" The last letter stopped Amy. Her eyes widened and she looked at the covered face of the soldier.

"G.U.N?" She yelled as she tried her best break her way off the wall. She felt the ring around her left wrist start to crack.

"Yes, we are G.U.N., new and improved!" He informed her. "And to answer your other question… it'll come in time." He grinned an evil grin.

Those four words made Amy shiver.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She inquired.

"You'll see…" He said as he started to laugh. That was it. Amy had been through enough.

"No… you're going to tell me right now!" She yelled as the ring around her left wrist became even more loose.

"Or what?" The soldier questioned as he laughed even more. Amy paused and looked at him.

"Or else…" She hissed.

The ring around her left wrist finally gave way and became free.

"Amy, restrain yourself or I will!" The man barked as he approached her position.

"Never! Not for what you said!" She screeched as she summoned her Piko Piko hammer.

She bashed the other rings that confined her and made a mad dash towards the soldier. The soldier went to open the door but was way too slow. Amy swung her hammer and hit him with incredible force.

"Aggh!" He yelled in pain as he was sent spiraling toward the wall next to the door.

The force was so great that he was sent crashing through the door. Amy looked through the hole and saw the squad leader pointing directly at her.

"Restrain her! Restrain her!" He barked.

Several men started to approach Amy's position and she had to think fast.

Now what? She thought as her mind searched for .

The men came closer and she realized that she just had to fight her way out. The men pulled out their assault rifles.

"Amy, if you continue your aggression, we will be forced to fire, Got it?" The squad leader informed her as he aimed at her with the rifle.

"Never!" She yelled back as she charged the group of men. The man in front was bashed by her hammer but the others started to fire. Amy covered her face and felt puncturing pain. She looked down to see three needles stuck in her arm. Her body began to grow numb and tears leaked from her eyes.

"Good work men. Next time, make sure you seal the rings to the wall!" The squad leader commanded as his men scrambled to pick up the body of Amy Rose. Tears started to uncontrollably come out of her eyes now. She shook her head lightly.

"Why would any of you do this?" She barely said. "Why…?" She mouthed before her vision faded to black…

Sunlight City - Seahorse Villa

The village stood still with no activity. Air went in, air went out. Sonic's eyes slowly opened and his face was against the road.

"G.U.N." He breathed as he tried to move.

His body felt like it had been sapped of all its energy and moving seemed to be a chore. He looked over to his left to find Tails laying in the grass in front of a house while Knuckles was just starting to get up to his right.

"Knux!" Sonic called out as he noticed his friend's movement.

"Sonic, are you okay? Where's Amy?" He asked as he rushed over to the downed hedgehog and grabbed his hand.

"I'll admit, I'm not." He answered as he was pulled to his feet. "Amy was kidnapped!"

"Kidnapped? What would anyone want with Amy?" He yelled in disbelief as he flailed his arms in the air.

"I have no idea Knux. I'll fill in the details later, but first I'm gonna check on Tails." He informed him.

Knuckles nodded and focused his attention elsewhere as Sonic slowly jogged over to Tails' position. Man, he couldn't even run at full speed! Sonic put his hand on Tails' shoulder and shook him lightly.

The golden fox's eyes slowly started open. "Ugh…S-Sonic?" he whispered. "What… happened? Where's Amy?" He started to get up and Sonic grabbed his hand.

"Amy's been… kidnapped…" Sonic quietly informed the fox.

"What? Why? Who would do that to her… besides Eggman?" The golden fox breathed in astonishment.

"I'll tell both you and Knuckles in a minute." He calmly said as he pulled his little pro to his feet.

"I feel so… weak." Tails told the azure hedgehog. "I know little buddy. I can't even run that fast right now. Maybe our strength will come back in time?" He guessed as he scratched his head.

He looked over at Knuckles who was staring at the metallic object and motioned him. The echidna nodded and walked over to his position.

"So Sonic, did you see who those people were? I caught a quick glimpse before I passed out but I couldn't recognize much of the image." He informed his friend.

"I did, but first, Tails did you see anything?" Sonic asked his little brother. The fox shook his head.

"I wish I had, but sadly no. That high pitched squeal had me as soon as it sounded off. " Tails explained as he scratched the back of his head. "What about you Sonic? You saw something right?" The golden fox asked him.

"Oh I saw something all right… and you're not gonna believe it…" Sonic answered in a shocked tone. "The men who kidnapped Amy… they were G.U.N. soldiers…"

As if on queue, the fox and the echidna's eyes widened in bewilderment.

"What the heck? G.U.N.?" Tails yelled in a shocked and furious tone.

"G.U.N.? What, did they mistake you for being Shadow again? What in the world is going on?" The raging echidna yelled as a vein pulsed in his head.

"I don't even know. There's no answer to why they really took Amy, and it scares me honestly." Sonic said to his friends in fear.

"Unfortunately, we might be facing more than one type of enemy." Tails spoke as he shook his head. "If G.U.N. has really gone… rogue, then we might have quite problem on our hands."

"What about Shadow and that thief, Rouge? You think they had something to do with that?" Knuckles questioned him.

"I don't think Shadow or Rouge would have a good enough reason to give for G.U.N. to be against us." Sonic said as he defended them.

"I agree with Sonic, something's just not right here. For all we know, they might be allied with that thing over there." The genius fox told them as he pointed his finger in the metallic object's direction.

"That'd be a nightmare come true." Sonic said as he gazed at the deadly thing.

"I still don't understand why they'd all of a sudden turn against us, especially all of the times we've helped them and they've helped us!" Knuckles questioned again, looking for an answer somehow.

"I'm not sure about it either… and I hate it, ...but we've gotta save her. Save Amy." He spoke sadly.

"What about Earth though?" Tails asked, shocked by Sonic's statement.

"Earth is our first priority right now, but rescuing Amy is a close second." The hedgehog admitted. Knuckles and Tails nodded at this.

"So what's our next move then?" The emerald guardian asked his friends.

"For now, let's just push forward. Sometime down the road I would like to start developing those suits I told you about back at the hotel."

Tails told them as he brought up a real-time map on his data pad.

"According to this map, we've got about eleven miles until we reach the object. About halfway, we'll stop and I can make the suits."

"Sounds like a plan." The azure hedgehog concluded.

"Let's move out." Sonic sounded as the team headed forward into the catastrophic city. Something bugged Sonic's conscience however.

"You're not helping Amy!" The words practically repeated themselves In his head.

How could her ever forgive himself for saying that to Amy? Why so many unanswered questions?The hedgehog secretly shed a tear for the girl that he truly cared about. Amy Rose...

A/N: Yeah. VERY Emotional. For those that ask if this is a romance based Fanfic, I want to let you know that it isn't. Although it does play a role in the plot, Action/Adventure/Drama better describes it. What will happen to Rouge and Omega? Will Shadow be safe on his own? What exactly will happen to Amy? How will Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails fare against TWO different types of enemies now? Find out in the next part of Shadow: Dark Horizon! Anyhow, I hope all of you enjoyed the chapter! Don't forget to Read & Review (Reviews inspire me to write more believe it or not!)