DAWN, DARKNESS, AND WAR

Sonic Characters © SEGA
Metroid © Nintendo

Note 1: This takes place five months after Lord of Darkness.
Note 2: If anyone can find the hidden reference in this chapter, then you will get a free spoiler.

Prologue: The Invasion Begins

Five months ago, our heroes formed themselves together as the seven new Dragon Lords consisting of Sonic, Shadow, Silver, Blaze, Samus, Larcen, and Kera. And together, their combined power was enough to destroy Hellsing the Bat before he could awaken the true powers of the Netherworld. The souls that Hellsing had gathered up for the past 1500 years were finally released, but the hideout of the Ministry started to collapse in ruins. The Shredder tried to stop them, but Sabrina held him back and told our heroes to escape before it was too late. The temple had collapsed, along with Sabrina and the Shredder, but it looks like the Shredder was able to survive the destruction and says that a new world order will soon commence and he would be it's new ruler.

- G.U.N. Headquarters -

The scene opens up to G.U.N. Headquarters, the strongest military force on the planet. On the outside of the base, we could see a squadron of G.U.N. soldiers patrolling the base, keeping watch for any signs of intruders that would try to break in here. The forces of G.U.N. soldiers had increased after Sabrina broke into G.U.N. Headquarters and cut down many G.U.N. soldiers like they were nothing, following by taking the Chaos Emerald that was once stored here five months ago.

We move inside the base to see more G.U.N. soldiers that were either standing at attention, or were just wondering around them heading for the break room to rest and relax for a little while. At the center to where the main entrance was at, we could see a few familiar figures. It was the G.U.N. Commander, Rouge the Bat, and Iriama the Shark. The three stood there, as if they were waiting for something.

"Are you sure you delievered the message to Shadow?" The G.U.N. Commander asked.

"We sure did, sir." Iriama nodded before turning to Rouge. "We did deliver the message, right, mate?"

"I just recalled Shadow. He should be able to receive it now." Rouge answered.

As if it was on note, a bright flash of light appeared right in front of the trio. The light died down, revealing it to be Shadow the Hedgehog.

"Hey there, Shadow!" Iriama greeted with a grin. "We were just talking about you, mate."

"What is it you need me for?" Shadow questioned. "I heard that it was important."

"You made it just in time." The G.U.N. Commander said. "Follow us. We'll show you what we mean."

Deciding to follow his orders, Shadow followed the G.U.N. Commander, as they, along with Rouge and Iriama, made their way towards the target arena that was located at the lower base of G.U.N. Headquarters.

The lower base was where the core of G.U.N.'s military might came from. It was filled with many vehicles, G.U.N. soldiers, and hidden traps that were currently disabled due to the training sessions. It was once invaded by the Black Arms over two years ago, back when they tried to destroy the planet. But they were thankfully driven off by Shadow the Hedgehog and the G.U.N. forces. Shadow would later destroy Black Doom, where at the time, he thought he had killed him. And you know the rest.

We see the G.U.N. Commander, Shadow, Rouge, and Iriama approaching the lower levels. At the lower levels, we could see G.U.N. soldiers all over the area. In one area, one group was busy with target practice, another group were busy talking to each other, and another group were busy testing out vehicles to make sure that they were working. The group of four stopped to survey the surroundings.

"Everyone looks pretty busy as usual." Iriama pointed out.

"Where are we suppose to be focusing at, Commander?" Shadow questioned.

The G.U.N. Commander looked around until something caught his eye. "Over there."

Shadow looked in the direction of where the G.U.N. Commander was pointing at. After seeing his target, the four members of G.U.N. made their way over towards their destination. What they were seeing was a large black and red tank that was mostly modelled with Shadow's design. The tank had six wheels, and there were two extra cannons added to the side of the vehicle. The top of the tank featured stylings of Shadow's quills, and the designs of the tank featured dark red fire, like it was blazing through the wind.

There was currently were two people on inspection of the tank. One of them was a regular G.U.N. soldier and the other was a familiar E-Series robot known as E-123 Omega. As they were doing this, the four G.U.N. members had approched them. The G.U.N. soldier and Omega turned to see them arrive.

"Greetings, Commander." The G.U.N. soldier saluted.

"How goes the tank?" The G.U.N. Commander asked.

"After fixing some minor bugs, the tank is ready to be tested." The G.U.N. soldier replied.

"Well done." The G.U.N. Commander complimented.

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "What kind of tank is this?"

"While you were gone, we were developing a new tank that only you would be able to use and no one else." The G.U.N. Commander explained. "We call it the Chaos Tank."

Shadow didn't look really impressed by this. "I don't need a tank to help me fight. I have my own abilities to work with."

"But that's the thing." Rouge said. "This vehicle is no ordinary tank."

"What are you saying?" Shadow questioned her.

"The Chaos Tank is an advanced which that can allow you to use your Chaos abilities from inside the tank." Rouge explained. "Like we've said before, it's a special tank that only you will be able to use."

Shadow looked suspicious of this tank. So he decided to inspect it by walking around the tank, making sure nothing about it looked odd. The others around him watched silently until the black hedgehog made his round. When Shadow was done, he stopped right back at where he was originally standing.

"The tank's window is open. Just climb in and it will start up automatically." The G.U.N. soldier said.

Deciding to try it out, Shadow hopped inside the tank with one jump. When he was inside, the tank's window automatically shut itself on top of Shadow, as the tank itself was already online. The engine started to roar a little, as the others around it could hear it.

"All right, Shadow. Now give it a little test drive." The G.U.N. Commander told him.

Shadow used his foot on the pedals to move it forward a little. He turned the wheels on the tank and went left. Shadow decided to turn right to get a smooth feel of the tank's running power. He then turned around and went back towards his original position after giving the tank a little runaround and stopped the tank by putting on the brakes. Once he did that, the window opened and he hopped out of the tank.

"So Shadow, what do you think so far? Pretty smooth, ain't it?" Rouge asked with a smirk.

Shadow glanced his eyes at the wheels, inspecting them. "Why are there six pedals if there are only four directions?"

"The wheels on the Chaos Tank can move as fast as you, determining the amount of Chaos energy you put into it." Omega replied. "And it can also be used to shoot out Chaos Lasers from the sides and the main cannon is known to be called as Chaos Missile Launcher."

"Chaos Missile Spear?" Shadow asked.

"It's the most powerful weapon of the Chaos Tank." Rouge explained. "It is able to shoot more than capable of destroying any barriers, whether it is visible or not."

Shadow glanced over at the Chaos Tank. "So it's able to detect any stealth traps."

"Exactly, mate." Iriama said with a grin. "It's pretty nice offensive maneuver in case you need to get through something that you can't see."

"Like that barrier that was located at your former hideout." Shadow obviously pointed out.

"Well, yeah." Iriama rubbed his head nervously. "I guess if you want to put it like that..."

"Hmm..." Shadow eyed the entire Chaos Tank once again. After hearing about it's new features, he didn't really believe this thing was that useless after all. In fact, it seemed very satisfying.

Suddenly, the alarm sounded. Everyone in the lower levels heard this, mainly our heroes.

"What's going on?" Rouge asked. "Is there a break-in?"

"That's impossible." The G.U.N. Commander replied. "There's no way anyone could've gotten through our reinforced ranks." Suddenly, he heard beeping coming from his communicator. He pressed a button on it to respond to the call. "Report."

"Commander! It's an emergency! There is a large army of unknown invaders that have already penetrated our outer-perimeter!"

"What?!" The G.U.N. Commander reacted. "Can you identify the invaders?"

"We're not sure what these things are. They may look like aliens, but-"

Then suddenly, a loud scream was heard from the communicator. The G.U.N. soldier on the other end started to make moaning noises before falling into silence.

"Come in, soldier! Can you hear me?" The G.U.N. Commander asked. There was no response, much to the disappointment of the G.U.N. Commander.

Iriama looked nervous as usual. "Uh...what just happened there, mate?"

Fearing that this might be trouble, the G.U.N. Commander turned to all of the G.U.N. soldiers that were already standing at attention. "Attention all command units, prepare to strike back against these invaders. Whoever they are, they must be stopped at all costs!" The G.U.N. Commander shouted.

"Yes sir!" The G.U.N. soldiers saluted as they each grabbed a weapon and ran towards the upper levels to meet the unknown enemy into combat.

"Commander, what do you think these invaders are doing here?" Rouge asked. "There's nothing we have that's important. And we don't even have a Chaos Emerald, for that matter."

"I don't know, Rouge." The G.U.N. Commander answered with uncertainty. "But we can't wait around here to figure it out." He then turned to Shadow. "I think now would be a good time to officially to try out the Chaos Tank in action. Use it and head towards the Command Center. If anyone of the invaders gets in your way, you know what to do. Rouge, Omega, and Iriama will accompany you."

"But how, sir?" Iriama asked. "That tank could possibly go very fast, we might not be able to catch up with it."

"That's why I installed several seating's on the Chaos Tank, remember?" The G.U.N. Commander reminded.

"Wait, really?" Iriama wondered. "I forgot about that."

"What are you talking about, Commander?" Shadow questioned.

"I've included three extra seats that are next to the weapons on the Chaos Tank. The Chaos Lasers themselves will respond automatically to those that are not G.U.N. soldiers." The G.U.N. Commander replied. "But unless they want to be controlled, then two others can use them to to control their firing. The Chaos Missile Launcher's firing can be controlled only by you, Shadow. But it cannot turned without the assistance of someone else controlling the weapon's aiming."

"Hmm..." Shadow hummed to himself as he looked at the Chaos Tank.

"Now, I think all of you need to get moving." The G.U.N. Commander told them.

"But what about you, Commander?" Rouge asked.

"I shall take a different different route towards the Command Center." The G.U.N. Commander replied, as he pulled out his pistol and loaded it. "I'll meet you all there when you make it." With that said, he ran in towards the upper levels where the G.U.N. soldiers ran at.

The others watched him go until Shadow hopped back into the tank. "Let's get going." The black hedgehog told him.

"I call for the big one!" Rouge called out first as she flew towards the control of the Chaos Missile Launcher and sat down. The seats of the Chaos Lasers were for Iriama and Omega, as they both sat down next to the weapons.

Once everyone was in position, the window closed on Shadow and he took off towards in the other direction, where there would be another way path towards the Command Center.

Back towards near the entrance, there were several G.U.N. soldiers retreating towards the inside of the base. Most of them looked panic after rushing inside the base.

"W-What are these things?" G.U.N. Soldier #1 asked.

"I don't know...but these things look almost like the Black Arms." G.U.N. Soldier #2 replied hastily.

"But I've never seen them move like that before! Ever!" G.U.N. Soldier #3 panicked. "They're even stronger than I realized!"

"Don't start worrying now, soldier." G.U.N. Soldier #1 told him. "We can do this! We have to drive off these monsters!"

"But they've already killed most of our outside forces!" G.U.N. Soldier #3 said worriedly. "We're not gonna make it!"

"I said don't panic, soldier!" G.U.N. Soldier #1 shouted at him. "We can handle this!"

Then without warning, something dropped from the ceiling above. The G.U.N. soldiers were already started by this, as they raised their weapons at the new figures that stood on their feet. Actually, these creatures were Space Pirate Troopers. There were a few located back at the Metal Tower in Prison Island, but there were no other signs or trace since they were killed by the Chaotix and Samus Aran.

One of the G.U.N. soldiers already started to panic as he immediately fired his gun. But due to his stated nervousness, the bullets were not even hitting the Space Pirates. One of the Space Pirates charged after the panicked G.U.N. soldier and fired it's Galvanic Accelerator Cannon at the G.U.N. soldier, shooting him in the chest as the soldier fell to it's death.

The other two G.U.N. soldiers quickly moved backwards while trying to fire their guns at the closest Space Pirate. The Space Pirate didn't seemed to be fazed by the bullets, due to it's physical body and bot being affected by regular modern weapons either.

"That thing isn't taking any damage!" G.U.N. Soldier #2 panicked.

Before the other G.U.N. soldier had time to think, the Space Pirate lunged at him with it's sword arm and used it to slice at his chest area. This caused the G.U.N. soldier to scream in pain as it fell to the ground. The G.U.N. soldier moaned once more before falling into silence.

As the Space Pirate looked down at it's fallen prey, the last G.U.N. soldier fired his weapon at the Space Pirates head. For a moment, it looked like it was working. But unfortunately, this only caused the Space Pirate to flinch for a second before glaring over at the G.U.N. soldier with it's glowing green eyes.

The G.U.N. soldier was already starting to panic even more at this moment. Before it could make any movements, the Space Pirate quickly swinged it's left sword-arm horizontally, slicing at the neck of the G.U.N. soldier, and killing him instantly. The lifeless body stood there for a moment as blood started to pour from his neck while falling towards the ground where he landed with a thud.

Once the last G.U.N. soldier had fallen, the Space Pirates turned their heads towards the hallway. Without wasting anytime, the Space Pirates ran through the hallway, heading towards their unknown destination.

Back the lower levels, our heroes were riding their way towards the Command Center in the Chaos Tank. Shadow was driving, while Rouge, Omega, and Iriama were in control of the weapons. So far, our heroes haven't encountered any signs of the Space Pirates, which they didn't know about.

Suddenly, Shadow could see something from the radar of the Chaos Tank. "There's something up ahead."

Catching word of this, our heroes from the weapons looked ahead to see what was up ahead. There were two Space Pirates charging after our heroes in the tank.

"I don't know what those things are, but I don't think they are happy to see us." Rouge pointed out.

"Sensors indicate that they are known as Space Pirates." Omega stated

"If that's the case, then we better shoot these mates down." Iriama suggested. "Ready, Omega?"

"Roger." Omega stated, as he and Iriama got the Chaos Lasers in position.

Once the Space Pirates got closer, Iriama ad Omega immediately opened fire on them. The Chaos Lasers shot out quick yellow laser beams at the Space Pirates. The Space Pirates staggered forwards, trying to stand straight, but a few more shots later, and they already fell to the ground, dead.

"All right! Two down!" Iriama cheered with a grin.

"Don't get overconfident." Shadow told him. "We still haven't made it to the Command Center yet."

Aware of this, Iriama stayed focused and readied himself for any more Space Pirates that were yet to come. Shadow turned the tank and headed upwards towards the Command Center, seeing as how it was located at the upper levels. More Space Pirates were in the way, but they were either shot down by the Chaos Lasers from Omega and Iriama or they were simply run down by the Chaos Tank. Shadow continued driving to the upper levels without much trouble from the Space Pirates, so far.

"How much farther until we reach the Command Center, Shadow?" Iriama asked.

"We just need to go up one more level and we'll make it." Shadow answered, as he focused his eyes on the road ahead of him.

Suddenly, a whole swarm of twenty Space Pirates jumped from the ceiling, pretty much blocking our heroes from going any further. Shadow stopped the Chaos Tank for a moment to look at the situation.

"Sensors indicate that the Space Pirates are blocking the path to the Command Center." Omega stated.

"What do we do, mates? I don't know if we can shoot all this Space Pirates down with just the Chaos Lasers." Iriama said, looking worried as usual. "I mean, they're all over the place!"

"Then we'll just take them down with one shot." Shadow replied.

"How?" Iriama asked, wondering where Shadow was going with his statement.

"Rouge. Is it possible for that weapon you're controlling to take down all of these Space Pirates down within one shot?" Shadow questioned.

"I'm glad you asked." Rouge replied with a smirk. "In fact, this tank also holds special weapon specially designed to take care of enemies that are in a certain distance."

Shadow seemed to have an idea of what Rouge was talking about. He closed his eyes as a red aura began to surround the Chaos Tank. When the time was right, Rouge fired a glowing red sphere from the Chaos Missile Launcher towards the ground. The energy erupted into a 30-yard radius, instantly killing the Space Pirates. The Chaos Tank was unaffected, seeing as how the vehicle was made from strong Chaos energy. Even Rouge, Omega, and Iriama were unaffected, seeing as how there was a barrier protecting them from the red energy.

Once all of the Space Pirates were dead, the red energy died down and our heroes looked around at the casualties around them.

"What just happened?" Iriama asked, confused. "Whatever that was, it seemed very destructive."

"That was the Chaos Bomb Blast. When fired, it can destroy anything up to a 30-yard radius. It's very risky, because you don't want to use it around others that could be your allies." Rouge answered.

"Then how come we weren't affected?" Iriama wondered.

"You, Omega, and I, were on the tank. And the tank itself is made up of Chaos Energy, and whoever is in and on the tank cannot be affected by the Chaos Bomb Blast." Rouge explained. "So you don't have to worry about getting hurt."

Iriama sighed in relief. "Well, that's one load off my back."

"Omega, how much further till the Command Center?" Shadow asked.

"It is approximately 54 meters away." Omega responded.

After getting his answer, Shadow quickly sped up on the Chaos Tank, as it quickly made it's way towards the Command Center.

- G.U.N. Headquarters: Command Center -

The scene cuts to the Command Center of G.U.N. Headquarters. Where we see most of the humans that were in control of the computers of the Command Center have now been taken hostages thanks to the Space Pirates that had taken them in.

At the top of the control post, we see a new figure standing there, observing the scene. We see the person was a tall-humanoid figure, wearing teal armor. It was wearing a black and green spiky mask, covering the figure's face. The figure was wearing a black cloak along with a green border and an enormous collar encircling the head. It had black armored gloves, and to finish it off, it was wearing pointed, armor, turquoise boots.

As the figure was surveying the scene, a large flash appeared behind it. The figure turned around to see that the flash was from the Chaos Tank that had appeared in the flesh. From the tank, Shadow, Rouge, Omega, and Iriama stepped out of the tank to come face to face with this new figure.

The masked-figure did not react to this, but just simply stared at our heroes. "You must be Shadow the Hedgehog. I was expecting you to show up sooner or later."

"Who are you?" Shadow questioned. "Are you the one commanding these Space Pirates?"

"That is right." The figure replied with a male voice. "I am known as Vi-Zera. Commander of the Space Pirates led by Meta-Ridley."

"Meta-Ridley?" Shadow wondered. "That dragon is still alive?"

"Yes." Vi-Zera answered. "After you defeated the Lord of Darkness, Meta-Ridley and Dr. Eggman had made an alliance together. They spent months trying to create the ultimate army that would rule over the world with Space Pirates and robots."

"If that's the case, then why did you order an invasion of G.U.N. Headquarters? What are you after?" Rouge asked, not looking pleased.

"I am not after anything that you have here." Vi-Zera answered. "In fact, I only ordered this invasion for one reason: To take over G.U.N. Headquarters."

Iriama was surprised to hear this. "Take over G.U.N. Headquarters? What for?"

"This is simply a marking stone in which the beginning of our world conquest will start." Vi-Zera explained. "From there, we can slowly take over all of the other major populaces and make a mark of every new territory that we take over. With each territory we take over, the world will soon become Dr. Eggman and Meta-Ridley's, marking the birth of Organization Fusion: The New World."

Our heroes were surprised to hear this news. Dr. Eggman and Meta-Ridley joining together?

Iriama narrowed his eyes at Vi-Zera. "Sorry to disappoint you, mate, but with us around, you won't be able to accomplish that goal."

"Are you sure?" Vi-Zera asked. "My masters have already made preparations for the next part of our operation. And without your defenses, you won't be able to stop my masters."

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you dodge this!" Iriama challenged, as he opened his mouth and began to form electricity.

"Iriama, wait!" Rouge shouted, trying to stop him.

"Gigas Spark!" Iriama released a small portion of electricity at Vi-Zera.

Vi-Zera quickly reacted by defending himself by swinging his cloak. The cloak's material was able to absorb Iriama's electricity attack, much to the surprise of the shark.

"What the...? My attack didn't work!" Iriama realized.

"My cloak is made up of special material that allows me to absorb any energy attack that you throw at me." Vi-Zera briefly explained.

Shadow narrowed his eyes at Vi-Zera. "What happened to the G.U.N. Commander? Did you kill him?"

"I did not." Vi-Zera answered. "He is being held hostage along with the other prisoners that we have captured. The G.U.N. soldiers that tried to attack was would be killed instantly. Anyone who didn't try to fight back would be held as hostages. And don't try to save them, we have already secured our spot here. However, I am willing to give you a chance to surrender yourselves and join us. Together, our road to world conquest will be that much easier."

Rouge didn't like the situation that she was in. "Shadow, what do we do? We're completely out-numbered."

Shadow stood there, thinking about the situation. Would he surrender and join the Space Pirates? "Your absurd. You're not going to take over the world by my watch."

"What?" Vi-Zera asked.

"I made promise to a special friend of mine. And as a promise, it is one that I intend to keep forever." Shadow noted, as he raised his arm in the air. "Chaos Control!"

Before Vi-Zera could react, the bright flash of light brightened the room for a moment. The light finally died down as Shadow, Rouge, Omega, Iriama, and the Chaos Tank were nowhere to be seen.

Vi-Zera stood there for a moment after our heroes disappearance. "I would expect that kind of answer from you, Shadow the Hedgehog."

Suddenly, the large monitor of the Command Center was online, and we could see the familiar face of Dr. Eggman on-screen. Decoe and Bocoe were also present.

"Is everything in order, Commander Vi-Zera?" Dr. Eggman questioned.

"It is, Dr. Eggman. And we are ready to move on to the next target." Vi-Zera replied.

"Excellent." Dr. Eggman grinned. "Then you may proceed onward towards the next phase."

With that said, Dr. Eggman disappeared off-screen. Once he was gone, Vi-Zera began his next announcement.

"Space Pirates, set a course for our next target: Future City!" Vi-Zera announced.

With this unexected takeover, G.U.N. Headquarters is now a part of the property of the Space Pirates. Will this new band of Organization Fusion keep it's promise? How will Shadow and our heroes fight back against this? And what do the Space Pirates have in store for Future City? Find out on the next Dawn, Darkness, and War!

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