The Echoes of Eternity: The Search for Shadow

Chapter 2 - The Riddle of the Shadows

"Well, this is just perfect." Sonic grumbled as he kicked a broken robot across the room. "We've got a riddle we can't solve, a bunch of busted-up robots that aren't even Eggman's, and we're in the middle of who-knows-where with zero clue about what we're supposed to do. Seriously, we might as well give up now." He threw his hands in the air.

Tails sighed, clearly deep in thought. The rest of the team exchanged uneasy glances. Just as the atmosphere grew heavy with uncertainty, Tails noticed something unusual on the back of the riddle. "Hey, guys, there's another note here, attached to the riddle!" he exclaimed, pointing to a small scrap of paper pinned to the corner.

Everyone gathered around, eager to see what it said.

"On the shoulder plate, located under the carbon nanoture, there's a gem I've left for you. Under the gem should be a red button."

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Who wrote this, anyway? And why leave us a riddle and a note? This is getting weird." He rubbed his head, confused.

Knuckles cracked his knuckles loudly. "Doesn't matter who it is," he said with a smirk. "If they're against us, I'll just punch them into next week!"

Tails inspected the shoulder plate with care. It took a moment, but he managed to pry it open, revealing a complex mechanical system and a small, metal cube. Inside the cube was a gleaming red gem. "Found it!" he announced, holding up the gem for everyone to see.

Sonic squinted at the gem. "Okay, so where's this button? It should be under the gem, right?"

"Ah, yes! Here!" Tails shouted as he pressed a tiny red button hidden beneath the gem. Suddenly, the entire lair rumbled violently, and a blast of cold air rushed through the building.

"Uh-oh!" Sonic yelped. "That can't be good!"

Rouge's eyes widened as she pointed to a massive tear in the wall, a swirling vortex shimmering with a strange light. "Everyone, through the portal! The whole place is coming down!" she shouted over the noise of collapsing debris.

Amy rushed toward the opening, with the rest following. Tails hesitated, still inspecting the mechanical plate. "Wait! We need more evidence, and there might be—" But Sonic grabbed him by the hand and pulled him through the portal just as the lair began to collapse.

The portal spat them out into a dimly lit room filled with shattered glass, broken machinery, and rusted metal. Amy was the first to speak, groaning as she rubbed her head. "Ugh... guys, where are we?"

Sonic blinked, slowly getting to his feet. "Uhh, Knuckles? Could you maybe get off me? You're kinda crushing me here."

Knuckles jolted awake, then quickly rolled off Sonic, looking around in confusion. "Wait, isn't this Eggman's lair? But it's... like, a broken version?"

Tails examined the room, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "It looks like we're in an abandoned laboratory or something. Notice the collapsed ceilings and the broken test tubes. Definitely not a good place to stick around for long."

Sonic brushed himself off, then turned to the team. "All right, here's the plan. Tails and I will search over here in 'Sector 1'—" he pointed to a sign on the wall, barely hanging on by a single screw—"Amy and Rouge, you take 'Sector 2,' and Knuckles, you get 'Sector 3.'"