Chapter 1: Episode Shadow[]
(It was a few months before Doctor Eggman took over the world...)
(Shadow the Hedgehog was just tasked to recover the Phantom Ruby, which had mysteriously showed up at Mystic Jungle)
(Eggman's Facility (White Jungle RMX) starts playing)
Shadow: (Races across the water) "If Omega's coordinates are correct, the Phantom Ruby should be somewhere here."
Rouge [Over speaker]: "Just be careful. Eggman might be sending out the Jackal Squad to hunt you down."
Shadow: (Chuckles to himself) "Do they REALLY think they can stop me?"
(From afar, 5 mysterious figures can be spotted as Shadow boosts through the water and platforms up to the location of the Phantom Ruby)
Shadow: (Stops near Eggman's secret lab) "Of course it'd be here. Eggman always finds a way to weasel his way into every little thing I do."
(Suddenly, the Jackal Squad can be seen approaching Shadow)
Shadow: (Notices this and teleports away, much to the confusion of the Jackal Squad, and shoots a Chaos Spear at them from behind, sending all of them into a wall) "What? You think I'd just stand there and take it?"
Jackal #1: "Should we retreat?"
Zero: (Gets up along with the rest of his team) "No! I'll show him why they call me the Ultimate Mercenary! Get him!"
(The Jackal Squad then all rush at Shadow, but to no avail, as he singlehandedly takes on all of the members without breaking a sweat)
Zero: (Rushes towards Shadow) "Take THIS!"
Shadow: "Chaos CONTROL!" (Uses Chaos Control and roundhouse-kicks Zero into his teammates, sending them into a wall)
(However, the boulder that was on top of the wall falls off due to the impact of Shadow's kick and crushes the Jackal Squad)
(The music ends)
Shadow: (Flinches at the sight of his foes being crushed, clearly not expecting the outcome of his attack)
(Suddenly, a voice can be heard from inside Shadow's mind)
"Please do it for me... for a better future."
(After Shadow hears the voice in his head, who he recognized as Maria's voice, he looks at the boulder that crushed the Jackal Squad in guilt)
Shadow: "This isn't what Maria would've wanted... But alas, I'll never have to see those pathetic faces again."
Zero: (Wakes up and exits the rubble before seeing his entire squad killed) "No!" (Tears up at the loss of his only friends) "You killed them!"
Shadow: "Worthless. Don't show your pathetic face around me again..." (Leaves without the Phantom Ruby, assuming it had been crushed alongside the squad)
Zero: (Turns around as his sadness turns to anger) "Pathetic?! Me... He's calling ME weak!? No... I'm not weak... I... I'm NOT weak!"
Jackal #3: (Crawls towards Zero) "Zero! Help me!"
Zero: (Looks at his fallen brethren before looking back at Jackal #3 while shaking and breathing heavily. Clearly, he had reached his limit) "I'm DONE saving you guys..." (Kicks Jackal #3 off the cliff and grabs the Phantom Ruby, which had survived the boulder) "I... AM! NOT! WEEEAAAK! URRRRAAAAAAAAAGGH!"
(The City, 2 months later...)
(Enemy Territory (Westopolis RMX) starts playing)
Shadow: (Is racing through the city, trying to find what was causing all the destruction)
Rouge [Over speaker]: "Anything on the destruction over at the city?"
Shadow: "No, nothing yet."
(Suddenly, a helmet hits Shadow in the face. The helmet came from a soldier that was choked by Zero, now known as Infinite)
Infinite: (Drops the soldier as soon as he sees Shadow) "You!" (Throws Phantom Cubes at Shadow)
Shadow: "What do you mean "me"? What did I do to you?! I don't even know you!"
Infinite: "You say you don't know me, yet I remember you so well... Perhaps we should recall that day... The day you killed Zero."
Shadow: "What?" (Genuinely curious)
(Two months prior...)
(Throughout the flashback, Zero can be seen putting on his mask and a finalized Phantom Ruby Prototype)
(Cutscene - Infinite's Beginning starts playing (Specifically, 1:21 into the song))
Infinite: "That day, I gave up my own unsightly face... and let go of the old me, the one that was so weak, so that I can become stronger... And then, at last... I obtained the power. The power to make all yield to my will..."
Infinite (Flashback): (Extends his arms and causes a shockwave of Phantom Energy)
(Cut back to 2 months later...)
Infinite: "...The power to make you suffer. Though, I supposed you don't think a pathetic face like mine could possess such power..."
Shadow: "That was... you?"
Infinite: "Indeed it was, Shadow. I am Infinite. I... AM! REBORN!" (Causes a shockwave that corrupts reality, turning it into a red, glitchy copy of the City, and sends Mephiles Copies to attack Shadow)
Shadow: (Smirks) "Heh. Your power is no match for the Ultimate Lifeform!" (Kicks one of the copies, spindashes into another copy, and punches the rest)
Infinite: "We'll see about that." (Shoots Phantom Cubes directly at Shadow, knocking him out, and laughs maniacally as it cuts to Shadow's vision going black)
([INSERT AREA HERE], 1 month later...)