Alarms blared, red lights flashed. Shadow, clutching the infant "Sonic Dark," fled the ravaged ARK. Maria's dying words echoed: "Protect him." He wouldn't fail her.

GUN soldiers swarmed the corridors. He moved like a shadow, dodging laser fire, Chaos Controlling through tight spaces. "They won't have you," he growled.

He reached a maintenance shaft, a precarious escape. He leaped into the darkness, the small hedgehog held tight. He emerged into a service bay, making for a service pod.

"We are leaving now." Shadow said to the baby sonic.

He placed "Sonic Dark" inside, secured the harness, and set coordinates for a remote system. The pod lurched, engines sputtering. The hangar doors buckled, gunfire growing closer.

"Chaos Control!" Shadow warped the pod through the closing doors, escaping into the void. The ARK, a burning tomb, receded. Shadow looked at "Sonic Dark," who looked back with big eyes.

He'd keep Maria's promise, even as a hunted fugitive. He'd protect "Sonic Dark," a symbol of her legacy, from GUN's grasp. Their journey, a flight into the unknown, had just begun.