"You better be right about this." Sonar sighed as he made his way up the steel-grated stairs. The balls on the bottom of his boots were stationary, not letting the hedgehog move around too much as he took each step. "Why do you say that like I'm constantly wrong?" Ro huffed as he followed the others up. The others stopped and looked back at him with the same expression on their faces. "What? In the short amount of time that y'all have known me, have I ever been wrong?" Ro asked. "Well... I mean..." Finch was thinking to himself. Sonar just narrowed his eyes. Eqlips slowly nodded as she shrugged, "He has a point." "See!" Ro dramatically spoke, "Eqlips is my only real friend! A scary, cyborg, kind, and smart real friend! " "Sure, cat-boy." Sonar rolled his eyes and continued. Ro gasped dramatically and ran up to be beside Sonar, "You doubt my declaration?" Sonar looked down at him, "So what if I do? It's not like I'm your 'real friend.'" A small, almost unnoticeable, sly smirk played on his lips. Eqlips spoke up from behind them, "He's just jealous because you aren't praising him." Finch laughed. Sonar glared back at her, color tinting his muzzle. "No. I'm not." "Mhm. Sure." She narrowed her eyes at him and chuckled, "I know what you are~." "And that is?" "A hedgehog who likes cats." "NO! I'm NOT!" Sonar snapped. The red tint on his face was growing stronger. Eqlips sneered, "Awww, you so are!" "Enough!" Sonar barked before turning around and quickening his pace. The stairwell was filled with laughter from Eqlips and Finch. Ro continued up the stairs, his face warm. It wasn't long until they made it to the fourth floor. They slowly opened the door and walked in one by one. The walls were gray, and dark red tiles made up the floor and ceilings. Flickering long lights were evenly spaced, their white light blinding. Each of the doors had keypads beside it. They walked down the comically long hallway to the visible door at the other end of the building. Click. The group froze as a deep, icy-cold voice spoke up behind them from the door that had just opened behind them, "What are you kids doing here?" They slowly turned. The owner of the voice was a yellow, middle-aged fox. His blue eyes narrowed as he looked down at them. His armored uniform was more national blue than any other Low Keepers that Ro had seen. His large tail waved slowly behind his tight form. His arms were crossed as he awaited their answer. "We were just making our way to visit someone, sir." Eqlips gulped. The fox narrowed his eyes. Ro held his breath. "Fine. Just don't bother them if they are working. Many meetings are going on right now, so if they are in a meeting, then don't disrupt them." The fox nodded, walking past them, then going around a corner. A few seconds later, the sound of a door clicking open and closing came. Ro exhaled, "Let's get outa here." The group muttered in agreement and hurried their pace to the door. As they got to the door, they stopped when spotting the lock and chain that kept the door closed. Ro grabbed the lock, and with a soft click, he easily opened it. The chain slackened as he unlooped the lock. After everyone was inside the rustic elevator, he walked in, closing the door slightly, relocking it, and closing the door silently. Finch pressed the button that went to the top floor. The whole group let out a relieved breath. "Eqlips, have I ever told you that you were amazing?" Finch breathlessly laughed. "Yeah. You have." "Aw, you two are so cute together~," Ro smirked. "WHA!?" The two said at the same time. Ah yes. Revenge. ... Revenge? "I-It's not like that!" Finch stammered, his face fully red now. "Yeah! Plus, I mainly like girls!" Eqlips nodded. Ro rubbed the back of his neck. "I know. I was just teasing." "Nah, keep going with it, Ro." Sonar hummed, "She deserves it." "HUSH IT!" "No, you!" The two started bickering loudly. Finch and Ro looked at each other, then at the two arguing before breaking into a fit of giggles. "Guys, let's focus." Finch had calmed himself before he spoke. "Fine." Eqlips huffed. "So, what's the plan from here?" Finch looked at each of them. "We sneak around in the vents, find the emerald, get it, and then get out." Ro simply explained. Sonar slightly raised his hand. "I doubt the vents would be large enough." "Big back." Eqlips huffed. Sonar glared at her as he added, "And the sound of metal scraping around in there would alert anyone that we were in there." Finch thought for a moment, "Well... I think the only person who wouldn't struggle with any of these things would be..." He looked at Ro. "Why can't you also come?" Ro asked. "I'm too large." Finch sighed. Sonar and Eqlips murmured at the same time, "Biggie" Finch ignored them. "So that leaves you. You're tiny, and you don't have any metal limbs." "Fine." Ro sighed.
The group went silent as the elevator came to a halt. Slowly, they opened the door. It was eerily empty. Gulping, Ro slipped through the door and looked up at the large ventilation shaft above him. Sonar walked up behind him, easily lifting him over and onto his shoulders. Ro tried to hold back his squeak of surprise, failing miserably. Pushing open the vent, he climbed in with the help of Sonar. As he shut the vent again, he heard Sonar close the elevator door at the same time. It was dusty and an extremely tight squeeze. Ro had to hold his breath just so that he wouldn't end up coughing. Ro looked down, taking a slow, deliberate breath at an open spot. Below him, two Low Keepers walked by. They didn't speak. Ro took a turn, trying his best to remember the map Eqlips had made and shown him before he went. The vent openings moved from under him to the walls as he took a turn. Looking out, he saw a large open room. In the center was a glowing red emerald. Ro looked around the room, trying to see if he could get a better angle on it. As he looked around, he saw only four guards in total. However, all of them were Egg Pawns, so it kind of leveled out. Ro moved, looking out at every chance he had. "Screw it," Ro muttered under his breath. Slowly, he opened the vent and slowly put his arms out. Using his power, he tried to just lift the stand and bring it towards him. Turns out they have an alarm system. And that the Egg Pawns have eyes. A blast hit the vent, causing it to break, making him fall onto the cold, hard tile. Loud beeps filled the room as red lights flashed. Ro sprinted to the Chaos Emerald, tackling into it, narrowly dodging another blast. Tucking the emerald under his crouched form, Ro made a sweeping motion with his arm. The four Egg Pawns crashed into each other, exploding. Ro panted. That whole exchange happened so fast his mind was still catching up. Standing up, Ro started running towards the door. Within a few steps of it, the large iron doors slammed shut. He skidded to a stop and spun around. The roof opened up, and hovering above him were not only more Egg Pawns but also a dozen Low Keepers. "You've got to be kidding me..." Ro groaned. He shifted his weight. And glared up at the High Keeper who was aura farming. It stood on the roof looking down at him, its red neon lights glowing dimly. Something about this one was different. It looked like he was higher quality. Its metal bits were darker than any other High Keeper that Ro had seen. Not only that, but it had both hands, not one normal hand and a blaster like the other ones. Realization settled in like a brick sinking in water. This wasn't just a High Keeper. It's the original. THE Metal Shadow.
