[WolfEx]

Watching Eggman exiting his machine was like watching a man descend from heaven. That machine to Eggman was like a safety net, a private getaway where one can escape and enjoy their own fascinations. For Eggman the fascination was with technology, he was at home inside machines and tinkering, that was his hobby, his niche, what made him smile when things were tough. Shadow could understand that about Eggman, he was a man with no friends besides his robots, and that was a sad way to live. Shadow could never stay mad at Eggman forever, because they share similar pains, pains that could not be easily explained but easier felt. When Shadow saw Eggman face him still in a machine, a slightly smaller machine, but still a machine none the less, it was a sign in which told him the doctor was not ever going to change his ways. Shadow should have known he wasn't going to stand on his own feet to a hedgehog he didn't entirely approve of. However, Shadow let this notion pass as unimportant, at least Eggman was closer and in a less threatening mechanism now.

"Well. you aren't entirely doing what I have asked of you, but I suppose that'll do." Shadow said after Eggman asked a rather simple question. Why would a villain NOT want to plot anything was the first thought that Shadow flashed in his mind. Shadow knew he wasn't misinformed though, there was something going on between him, Bowser, and K.Rool and he was going to find out just what. "And don't play dumb with me Eggman. Lying gets you nowhere with a creature who can see right through it. What is your connection with K. Rool and Bowser, tell me what the meaning of this little triangle of business is." There was no telling exactly what response Shadow would get whether Eggman was going to be truthful or lie his rear off about everything. The tinkerer only partially listened to Shadow when he was asked to speak with him face to face, there was no telling how much trust if any at all was between the two of them and this little conversation could go completely nowhere because of both their histories with one another. Shadow was in for a long night.

[Mr. Game & Watch]

Eggman’s armless sunglasses shimmered in the blaring red tint that ruled the room as he watched the hedgehog, keeping his guard waiting for the creature to pounce at him. He had plenty of reasons to feel paranoid since this wasn’t the first time a potential enemy had raised a white flag for a cheap ploy. Shadow wasn’t always an easy one to pinpoint for his actions or reasoning’s not because he was chaotic by nature, but because his allegiance more often than not wavered from one side to the other.

The ovular man slightly scoffed at the rodent’s statement, showing a bit of his teeth as he did. “That makes two of us” he rebutted toward Shadow’s comment about him not completely complying with his terms. The amount of leniency he was allowing toward Shadow was rarer than finding two chaos emeralds in the same area. “You of all people should know Shadow, I never play dumb.”

“As I said before, Mario and Sonic aren’t the only ones that have their own agendas. Bowser, K Rool, and I all had a disagreement after Mario and Sonic relieved their plans. The difference between us and those two is that our reputation is rather… poor. You don’t even trust me and I’m the one who freed you from that holding cell! It seemed as though we all came to the same conclusion, only the criminals and other likeminded scum could trust us. They make up a very small amount of the Life Sphere’s population. K Rool and Bowser are so big headed that they refuse to convert to any plan that isn’t their own, so now I have to waste my troops in order to get the support I need.”

[WolfEx]

Be it as it may that Eggman might be telling the truth, he still wasn't giving Shadow ALL the details, at least not the important details the hedgehog was trying to pry from him. Shadow didn't care how many troops Eggman would waste personally, because he knew all of Eggman's troops were simple toys that could be reproduced tenfold for deadly maneuvers in a matter of hours. There wasn't enough valid information for Shadow to make any judgments yet, but there was an ability to chat with eachother without tearing one another apart, and this was a beginning to an understanding at the very least. "You may not play dumb Eggman, but you know how to pretend very well that you're something you're not. You should consider acting. There are no good or bad sides, just roles that need to be filled. Isn't that what you do? You choose what benefits you the most, whether that be the good guys or the bad."

This was very true to Shadow without a doubt. He's seen Eggman switch allegiances like a farmer changes his animal's troughs. "I've chosen the side of the righteous now. And that means saving people and taking on missions that bring Life Sphere to maximum efficiency. You keep beating around the bush, but you still haven't truly told me your plan. So tell me. I don't care if you did release me or not. Villains don't change so easily." Shadow was still relatively new at this whole good guy thing, and even moreso new to the idea of adapting to the planet and the Life Sphere and communicating more with others extending his vocabulary and making him more social than he's used to. But it had to be done, he had to make himself available to others in order to get things done around the Life Sphere and contributing to everyone's health and safety. And he felt good doing it, the only thing he's felt in a very long time.

[Mr. Game & Watch]

Eggman laid back in his chair as he continued to listen to Shadow’s words. His face remained unexpressive while his mouth was neatly tucked behind his collar. His fingers twiddled against his console as he waited for the hedgehog’s spiel to be over with. He’d gotten a similar enough speeches from Sonic plenty of times over, at least Shadow was slightly less pandering about it. He also didn’t wag his finger in Robotnik’s face so that was another plus.

“Heroic or villainous, what does it matter? We all have a common enemy that’s outside the Life Sphere, not in it. It just so happens that I’m swept up in something I can’t just ignore or give in to. The defenses around this city are poor even when there are any, that last invasion should be proof enough of that. I’m the only one with the knowledge and the resources to put up defense towers and auto-sentries. If it were up to me this place would be armed to the teeth, letting no infected creature even within a mile radius of here. As it stands though, I’m going to need more workers to get it up quickly. As well, Bowser or K Rool would sooner tear it down than we could get it built” he explained as he leaned in once more. “And by workers, I mean something outside of these Egg Pawns, they’re better secretaries than they are construction workers.”

[WolfEx]

Now that Eggman finally revealed his real plan Shadow started to have interest in the idea. He began to, however impossible that it may sound, actually agree with Eggman. There was nothing in which he stated that had any bad intent or consequences, but even still, why would Eggman want to do something so generous? Shadow would have figured he was hatching a plan to sabotage Life Sphere to only protect him in some way leaving everyone else to be bait for the Infected. There was definitely some hesitance in Shadow's reaction to the scientist's suggestion, but eventually the Life Sphere would be obsolete barely surviving another attack like they had in the past and resources would deplete. They needed a new plan, new support, and Eggman could buy them some time at least with his skills and his own materials. Shadow was perplexed by the mention of Bowser and K. Rool for the thought of what they themselves were plotting. Curiosity was overwhelming the hedgehog at the present time.

"I must say Eggman I am impressed that you concocted such a tactic that was actually beside your usual deviations. If you're telling the truth to me right now, and that is a giant if, then I may actually want to help you surprisingly enough. But am I to expect some disastrous consequence for this decision? And from your perspective, are you telling me Bowser and K. Rool only mean ill will to the Life Sphere?" Eggman may be a much better liar than Shadow ever had assumed. He was being very convincing to the dark mannered experiment, but if Shadow went through in helping Eggman, it is possible he may never hear the end of it from others in the Life Sphere. "It's not like you'll tell me in all actuality whether this will backfire on me and the rest of those innocent people in the Life Sphere or not, but mark my words, if you dare...DARE...betray us upon me helping you Eggman....I PROMISE your corpse will be on a trophy stand...for eternity." That was the most serious statement Shadow has ever made to Eggman to date. He wasn't the blue annoyance known as Sonic, he was just the opposite. He didn't care if he had to kill his enemies, he's done it before. And he would be dishonest to himself if he said killing Eggman had never crossed his mind. Death was second nature to Shadow, and he had no problem partaking in such results if it were for the greater good.

Shadow straightened his white gloves and folded his arms, already regretting his decision as he waited for Eggman's response. There was a deep fire in Shadow's eyes that hadn't been there in ages, a violent and rageful burning in which could not be ignored. Was this a sign of things to come? Shadow was uncertain about what he was feeling right now, but it wasn't just being moody. That was clear.

[Mr. Game & Watch]

Eggman grew his trademark grin as Shadow accepted his plan. A gleam in his sunglasses as he adjusted them slightly with his huge fingers. His machine descended to ground level, a collection of rods grew around the smooth under carriage of his Egg-Mobile to act as stands to keep the spherical object in place. His surprisingly lanky legs revealed themselves as he stepped out of his hovercraft. The doctor easily towered over the hedgehog being more than twice his size, but his rounded yet thin body was too weak to radiate any power over him.

“Egg Pawns, stand down” his scratchy voice echoed around the room. The robots surrounding the two lowered their weapons and waddled off afterwards. “Try to get the power back on, this red tint’s going to drive us all mad” he commanded as he wandered a bit closer toward his foe’s ultimate rival. He paused when he felt he closed enough distance between them for a more comfortable chat. He placed one oversized fist at his hip and the other at his chin.

“No one gets taken by the Starvia. I’ll make sure of it, every troop we lose they gain another. Its simple math really, we cut off their source and they don’t get the army they need. The disastrous consequence will be on the enemy’s court, not OURS” with Eggman’s emphasis on his words, he pointed to himself.

“As for Bowser and K Rool, I’ll be honest with you they wish no ill will toward the Life Sphere any more than I do. They, however, don’t want to see me succeed. If it were otherwise, this civil war wouldn’t exist”

[WolfEx]

The plan sounded almost too good to be true. It was very possible that soon Life Sphere will finally be on track again and have the resources and defenses it needs to thrive on Li. But Shadow also very cleverly knew that Eggman rarely liked to do any hard work that required too much labor, so he started to question just how many people Eggman would need for his plan to work and exactly how much the oval man was going to put in himself for the work load. "Alright Eggman, where do we start? And I do hope you'll help with the building process, because you really need to tone down." Shadow grew bored of continually calling the mad man a chicken's fetus. There was one very important thought that crossed Shadow's mind, and Shadow was sure it crossed Eggman's as well. "Wait a minute. What about Sonic....he's going to be a very big problem if he finds out, which he will." Shadow and Eggman could easily apprehend the blue blur if they really tried, but the biggest issue was, there were many in Life Sphere who surprisingly looked up to him, and Shadow as well as Eggman's agreement will certainly be less than attractive to Sonic and his supporters.

"I suppose we can try to convince him, but he doesn't like being told what to do." This was a well known international fact about the speedy hedgehog Sonic, is that he never followed anyone else's orders but his own, he was a free mason of the Life Sphere and people did things his way or not at all. This is possibly what Shadow despised most about Sonic these days, his ignorance and arrogance. The last thing Eggman and Shadow needed was a third war on their hands with the showoff speedster and a crowd from the Life Sphere protesting the new decision because everyone originally knew Eggman and Shadow as cold hearted villains. Things do change, however, and the small sliver of faith anyone in the Life Sphere had for Eggman or Shadow would have to be enough to get them going and stay determined with their plans.

[Mr. Game & Watch]

It had been quite some time since Shadow and Robotnik have ever agreed on anything. Although, even back in those days Shadow wasn’t the most responsive to his commands, either way this time was a bit different. Eggman combed his wild mustache with his two fingers as he continued to listen to his father’s concoction. “To start, we need to end this war. We need to end the destruction before we can even start construction, I’ll continue to tinker with my machines until they’re ready for the battle ahead, by all means find a way to sabotage anything that Bowser or K Rool are doing. I need time and I need power to fend those two off.”

As for Sonic though, he was going to be more difficult to handle. He might not be good with words or speeches, but he didn’t need to be in order to find people who would stop Eggman at any cost. What the hedgehog said was true Sonic would be the most difficult to convince about the good doctor’s change of heart. “Yes, that pain in the neck will be my largest hurdle. This isn’t the time for ignorance though, he’ll have to work with me just as much as I will have to work with him. The thought alone is enough to give me nightmares” he replied as his body began to shiver at imagining trying to work with the speed demon. “The fool seeks to outright destroy the planet, a whole lot of good that’ll do”

[WolfEx]

Shadow felt that this was the longest conversation he'd had not just with Eggman, but ever at all. He felt his point was made and they both had their agreement, now it was time to get to work. Shadow had to find K.Rool and Bowser and make them stop their planning before it was too late. He chose his ally in Eggman, now he had to live with it and help the tinkerer with his toys. It was the famous ideal of keeping friends close, and enemies closer. Seeing that Shadow didn't entirely have any REAL friends, but plenty of enemies, Eggman would have to do as a enemy being closer kind of deal. Shadow at least knew somewhat how Eggman ran things and how he thought, he could at least easily retaliate should Eggman pull something vile. Without his robots and tools Eggman was powerless, in this case Eggman needed Shadow just as much as Shadow needed Eggman, without the hedgehog, the large doctor's resources and creations would be scarce and very few in comparison, especially since Shadow destroyed a good portion of them already.

"Very well Eggman, I will find Bowser and K.Rool and rip the entire Black Market up if I have to in order to locate them. I don't entirely know how they fight or think, but I am sure I can figure it out." Once Eggman mentioned Sonic Shadow paused to allow a smirk to engulf his face. Hearing Eggman rant about Sonic was bringing back old memories, and nothing seemed to have changed regarding the blue blur, that hedgehog still very much annoyed Eggman in every way, and judging by the words in which the doctor used to speak of Sonic Shadow could implore that Eggman still had trouble finding a way to beat the speed demon. Shadow knew how to stop Sonic, however, and he had been planning it for years. It won't be easy, but he was going to do it if the arrogant brown noser wouldn't cooperate. "Let me deal with Sonic. He won't be a problem." As soon as Shadow finished that phrase, he turned his back to Eggman, pointed his hands to the nearest wall, and fired off a Chaos Sphear breaking a hole in the wall and using it as an exit. It wasn't laziness per say, it was just a faster way to get where he needed to go. Shadow didn't apologize for the damage of the wall or of everything else he did, he simply just walked away and didn't look back.

-End Presence-