The Emerald Eyes of Protection.

Chapter 6

The quiet footsteps of Shadow's metal hover boots were the only sound inside the laboratory. It really was completely abandoned without any sign of life. But the ebony new, deep down, that the crazy scientist was most likely just in hiding. Probably trying to escape law enforcement until things calmed down a bit. It did seem odd, though. Ever since the fight, Eggman's shenanigans screeched to a halt. There was absolutely no sign of him. Why did he decide to cower in fear now? Was it because of the fight? Maybe he was just mourning Celik's death, something Shadow could certainly relate to. He decided not really to think of sad topics and instead concentrate on the mission. He silently stepped into the main headquarters where Eggman did most of his research. He glanced around the room looking for some kind of computer he could hack. As he searched, he came upon a wall filled with many pictures.

He only glanced at them for a second, but one of them really stood out to him. it was an image of the young scientist himself. Pale face, bright green eyes and soft pink lips really popped against the relatively bleak background. He was dressed in a very white and frilly tuxedo with a cheerful smile that looked eerily similar to the azures'. Next to him stood another human man. He was much dark than Ivo, but that wasn't saying much. His bronze face, sunken eyes and incredible physic made the ebony assume he was some kind of athlete. But above all, the thing that surprised him the most was the presence of a cute little cobalt hedgehog standing in front of them. He looked to be quite young, still in primary school at the very least. However, he didn't look like his typical self. His smile was obviously forced, and his body was very stiff as if he was trying to solute in the army. His cute little tuxedo looked just a tad too large for his tiny little body. Shadow chuckled a little as he decided to move on, but that picture really spoke to him. Sonic must have been a very frustrated kid... Whatever was going on in the picture did not make him even the slightest bit happy. Shadow wondered, though... Who the other man could possibly be.

The ebony continued walking through the lab attempting not to get distracted by any more odd findings until he located the central computer. It was a huge PC box hooked up to three really large monitors and Shadow quickly whipped out the hacking CD the general had given to him and slipped it into its cartridge. He then pulled out his walkie talky and quickly turned the dial to let his voice be sent to Iskra.

"Beaker 1-9. Do you copy, Iskra?" He spoke clearly into the device, making sure his voice was coming out loud and clear.

"Roger. What's your twenty? Over and out." Slight crackles and beeps flowed out of the communicator as Iskra gave his response.

"The primary information and planning room. I seem to have found a computer with some valuable information. Do you want me to hack it?" Shadow leaned against the chair as he irritably scratched his left ear in slight frustration.

Hopefully, his hacking reflexes would come back to him with ease. He hadn't done something like this in almost half a year. It even felt slightly exhilarating, dare he say. Certainly, a feeling he never thought he would desire and yet it felt so appealing.

"Affirmative. I will send you the hacking code. I assume you have the disk?" Replied Iskra as Shadow started booting up the PC and getting himself mentally prepared for hacking.

"Roger that... Disk in my possession and loading on the computer. Shouldn't be too long now before I get online." The ebony glanced at the computer screen which lit up with a line requiring Ivo's password.

"10-4. Send some pictures of the information when you get them. Good luck Shadow. The hacking code is 4-20-9000." The disc finished installing, and Shadow was relieved when he was given a relatively easy hacking code.

"Roger that. Over and out." The ebony finished as he turned the dial off so he could concentrate on the mission at hand instead of Iskra's squawking unique voice.