Silver got inside the building through a hole near the ground, noticing this one seemed to be in good shape compared to others. But it was obvious it couldn't hold for long.

'A bit of work can do the job done,' thought Silver, having no time to plan anything better.

Flying aliens entered, circling them. The psychic counted five of them, but they weren't making him sleepy. Their movements briefly halted before they raided them. The psychic, with a simple hand gesture, lifted the floor below them, creating a shield. The flying aliens slammed into it, and the hedgehog soared, with them just a few meters behind.

Then he suddenly stopped. Raptors got above them before turning back. The psychic with his power ripped the supporting pillars in half, making the upper part descending, burying everything beneath. The rumble was deafening, and the concrete blocks threatened to crush them all.

Silver, though desperate, didn't decide to commit suicide. Their bodies were engulfed by strong blueish aura, and he flew up like a rocket with crossed hands in front of his face, using his body as a shield to protect the ones behind him. After long seconds, he broke through the collapsing building, making it out and getting rid of the pursuers. But the victory still wasn't in their grasp as this provided only a temporary peace of mind.

The young hedgehog gasped for air, his lungs burning and screaming as he pushed their limits. He quickly descended, slowing down but looking for a hideout. There was a chance more of those creatures could be lurking nearby. He had no idea where he was, but he hoped he had gotten far enough from Shadow to let him use the power of chaos.

The other hedgehog was losing breath and personal space, as the aliens kept getting closer, cornering him in the dead-end alley. How convenient phrase and so well placed.

"What's wrong, Shadow? Where is your Chaos Control ability you were so proud of?" Black Doom mocked him, so sure of his impending victory.

The other growled, clenching fists when a sudden sensation hit him, a very familiar one. A confident smirk appeared on his face.

"In a manner of speaking," Shadow lifted his clenched hand, shouting, "Chaos Control!" His body disappeared in a green flash.

"What! Where?"

Black Doom was confused. Why didn't he use it sooner? Did he need to meet some conditions? During the fight, he had noticed the hedgehog looked slightly different. Was it somebody else? Was he an old android created to combat his army? This needed to be properly investigated.

The starfish turned around in the air, sensing the movements of another group had stopped some time ago.

"The air troop was completely defeated," he muttered to himself.

That light hedgehog had some unusual powers. But what about that third creature? It seemed familiar yet distant, and it yelled they were from Black Arms? This matter needed to be investigated more than he expected.

If the third one was part of his kin, what would it mean? He didn't seem to be directly bound to his hive-mind, and the free-will behavior was strange. What a rare spectacle he had witnessed.

"My Black soldiers, scout the city, find them and bring all three to me alive," he ordered to his mindless minions, and they scattered through the city.

Meanwhile, Shadow overcame quite a distance thanks to that teleportation, but there was no time to rest. First, he had to find Silver. That was quite easy as he had to simply sense his half-brother since they were sharing a loose mind connection, but only if those two were still together. He bit his lip. Was leaving the alien in Silver's hands a good idea? Was there any other choice at all?

Everything happened so fast. Just an hour ago he was chasing Eclipse in his own world, and he would have him if it wasn't for that stupid Genesis Portal. He had no choice but to follow him, and he was sure Rouge, his partner, would chew him out for it later. He tried to use his chaos powers, seeing there was no response meant he was in Eclipse's active range. He made a mental note to try to calculate the active radius if there would be a chance for it.

He turned around a corner, and a big rock landed between his eyes.

"Aught!" he barked, stepping backward, glaring with his right, open eye at sitting Silver.

"Ah, sorry!" the other hedgehog gasped, getting up on shaky legs. "I thought you were one of those birds!"

The ebony hedgehog stopped paying him attention, shifting it to his half-sibling who was sitting behind the psychic on debris with wisps around him. The Darkling jumped down, snarling and ready to fight. The G.U.N. agent assumed fighting stance as well.

The silver hedgehog was standing between them, feeling the tension that was skyrocketing. Both fighters made a stride forward when he yelled, "Enough!"

For someone tired, his voice was strong and clear, making both flinch.

"If you don't stop, I'm dropping a building on you!" With clenched fists, his head snapped to each other. "This isn't time either space for bickering! We have bigger problems!"

Shadow relaxed his pose a bit, admitting the younger hedgehog was right. His frowning glare locked on Eclipse. Wisps gathered behind the alien ready to assist him in the battle.

Silver continued, "Let's calm down!"

The ebony hedgehog snorted, crossing his arms, uttering coldly, "Fine."

While was the psychic happy, the alien loudly growled, and it seemed he might still attack. The time-traveling hedgehog quickly leaped in front of him, whispering something.

The striped alien-hybrid pricked his ears but heard nothing, yet those words calmed his enemy and made him cooperate which was indicated by a nod.

Shadow silently growled. 'What did Silver tell him?'

"Alright, let's go," said the psychic hedgehog with a small smile, yet his face turned grim in the next second, "but where?" He scratched his quills.

The eldest of them sighed. "Just follow me."

Shadow beckoned them, turning away and walking into a halfway torn building. They followed him in complete silence, each of them prisoners of their thoughts.

From time to time they had to stop for Shadow to search the terrain, trying to find the right direction. During that time, he kept thinking. He knew he had to destroy Eclipse, but he could tell Silver wouldn't be just watching, either he would help him in doing so. His stupid naivety would get in the way.

He was sure keeping Eclipse alive was a bad decision, but for a strange reason, he was docile, not even trying to get into his head. It was against his better judgment, but he wasn't in fighting condition. The battle against Black Arms left him drained, and his brother was blocking his Chaos abilities.

"There!" he gasped, as had finally found the right path.

He was almost sure he got lost, but now he could return. A cold sensation ran down his spine, and he quickly hid behind a fallen block. Above his head flew a small group of black hawks.

'I have to hurry,' ran through his mind, and he resumed his return, hoping they weren't discovered.

Fortunately, he had found them, and together they restarted their journey that, thankfully, ended soon as they reached the destination.

The striped hedgehog carefully observed the nearest area, finding no alien. He gestured the rest of the group to follow him to a partly blocked steel door. Once there, he again scanned the area before focusing on a small panel next to the door.

It was consisting only a touchscreen, and a small LED light was flashing next to it, showing there was running electricity. He smirked a bit, glancing the G at the door. He took his right glove off, putting the palm on the sensitive surface.

The psychic was curiously watching as he had never seen Shadow to take his gloves off. It revealed the red strip from his elbow was ending at his middle fingernail, coloring it red too. The last detail the young hedgehog noticed were sharply shaped nails, or maybe more like nail-claws or claws-nails. Now, he was sure he was tired, thinking stupid stuff. He really needed a rest.

The silent beep sounded, the touch sensor turned from red to green, and the door slowly opened. It soon got stuck; nonetheless, the gap was enough for them to squeeze through. Once they were inside, the agent closed the door from the other side.

Silver shivered. They had entered a dim corridor with flashing lights, with the rest broken. It looked creepy like a ghost was about to pop out.

The silver hedgehog gulped, unwillingly following the others. The air was stale, but it was better than in the sewer. Alongside the walls were boxes, many of them were crushed or broken, but all had a letter G on them.

With quick glances, the psychic hedgehog noticed lying weapons, and if his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, he glimpsed huge robotic armor in the room they had passed; however, it was too dark for him to be sure.

Eclipse was as well looking everywhere, having Dark Arms tightly around his body. Each of them was scared and unsure as this place was grim. The alien frowned upon seeing some room with big screens, but they walked past it, continuing further until Shadow turned into a slightly better lit room.

The interior was messy, and it seemed it was used as a small stock room, as there were metal racks full of boxes, and next to it were blankets, pillows, and other things. Nothing of it mattered to Silver as he was glad he could finally sit down, spreading legs, letting them hang down as he took a seat on a big box. Even the fact his fur was dirtied by the thick layer of dust meant nothing for him. The last hours were so nerve-wracking.

Eclipse sat down with crossed legs, picking a place under a rack. He needed the rest as well. The only one not relaxing was Shadow who went and explored the room. He had found a big hole about ten meters from the entrance, seeing a broken mecha-suit lying on the floor. Its central plate was torn down, and there seemed to be dark stains splattered on it.

He knitted eyebrows, returning to the duo. He came in the moment Silver was yawning, and it looked like he might dislocate his jaws.

The ebony hedgehog whispered to him before the other could close the mouth, "Silver, a word. Now!" A nod gestured him to move further from The Darkling.

The pair of fluffy ears flopped as the yawn was cut short. He was starting to feel good. He quickly got down, realizing his legs were wobbly, as he allowed the tiredness spread through the whole body.

When the other stopped, with ears pointing in alien's direction, Silver wanted to talk but was interrupted, "I'm going to scout the area," announced the G.U.N. agent, "and I want you to keep an eye on Eclipse and his little army. No matter what he says, it's a lie. Don't let him confuse you, he tried that on me too with a little bit of brainwashing as a bonus." He snorted at the last word.

"O-Okay." Silver nodded unable to add anything else.

"And one more thing." Shadow came closer, whispering in the other's ear.

Once he was done, he walked past him, letting him stand there with eyes wide open. Before the ebony hedgehog could leave the room, the younger hedgehog turned around, calling him, "Shadow!"

Since it sounded a bit desperate, the ebony hedgehog looked over his shoulder. There was uncertainty all over the psychic's face.

"Ah," he started, seeing the other lifted an eyebrow, "just be careful," said the psychic after a second, having a sheepish smile.

The ebony agent smirked. "Come on, I'm an ultimate lifeform. I know how to handle a few aliens." With those words, he left, going deeper into the abandoned bunker.

Silver returned to the box, where he was sitting before, sliding down, leaning against it too tired to lift his body. He felt awful.

'Should have I told Shadow about me being...' He abruptly shook his head. 'That can't be possible! I'm a hedgehog.' He looked at his palms. 'Not an alien, right?'

How could he know it for sure? He had no memories of his parents, he could be biologically engineered, for all he knew!

'So, maybe... I can be a man-eating alien?' Another shiver ran through his body, he had to hug it, rubbing his arms. He was scared.

Although, he wasn't the only one immersed in thoughts.