Hey everyone, quick disclaimer, I don't own Shadow or any of the characters in the story, and this is MY personal take on Shadow's Origins, throughout the tv series Sonic X and all the games in the past, Shadow has had a very complicated story behind him. Personally, it's what I love about the character. So while reading, keep in mind this won't be his REAL origin. One last thing, this story will be mostly from Shadow's POV, later in the story I may use characters like Rouge or Eggman to introduce thoughts that Shadow hasn't yet learned of himself. Hope you all enjoy!
Chapter 1 - Maria and the ARK.
I woke up at the sound of her giggle. My eyes slowly but surely opened, and I glanced over and saw my favorite person in the world, Maria, playing with her dolls. I sat up out of bed and examined her, she seemed happier than usual.
"Hey kiddo." I said, smirking at her and standing up. I must've startled her, because she jumped at the sound of my voice.
"Hey Shadow! Good morning!" She said cheerfully.
I couldn't help but smile, she was so sweet, so innocent. She ran over and gave me a big hug, I actually had to pull away, she was beginning to hurt him she was squeezing so tight.
"Let's go get some breakfast, kid." I held my hand out for her to grab, and without hesitation, she took it. I took off, skating with her behind me, leading her to the kitchen where we ran into none other than Professor Gerald Robotnik. This man and this place was such a mystery to me, I didn't even remember being brought into the world, but I know he helped create me, and I know my mission was to protect his granddaughter, Maria.
"Well look who it is, my two favorite sleepy heads!" He laughed at the two as they sat down at the table. "What can I get you two to eat?" He asked.
"Hmmm, how about some bacon and eggs!" Maria said cheerfully. "What about you Shadow?"
I let out a tiny smirk. "Pancakes."
"Alrighty, a stack of pancakes and some bacon and eggs coming right up, after we eat, I need to speak with you for a moment if you don't mind Shadow."
"Of course professor, no problem." I replied, looking back at Maria. "So, what do you wanna do today Maria?"
"How about… hmmm… hide and seek!"
I chuckled "Awe, but you're so good at it!" I'd never admit it to her, but I let her win, it brought her so much joy, and nothing made me happier than seeing her smile light up.
"Awe come on Shadow, please?" Her big blue eyes always convinced me, what can I say, she was my happiness.
"Of course we can Maria, after me and the professor talk we will play whatever you like."
She grinned from ear to ear, right then and there, I was the happiest hedgehog in existence. Nothing could ruin this moment… nothing! ...so he thought!
After they finished eating, I waved to Maria before heading to the professor's lab. When I entered, there was a video of a man, wearing a suit, giving orders to the professor. He must've heard me enter, because he quickly turned the monitor off.
"Professor, what was that about?"
"Oh nothing Shadow, that was the president on earth! He just wanted an update on some things, but I'm glad you're here, I have something to give you." He waved me over to him.
I walked over to this glass container that was sat next to him, inside lied these gold rings.
"You're giving me jewelry, professor?" I chuckled and looked up at him.
"BAHAHA, oh no Shadow, these rings are called inhibitor rings. They help you not burn all your chaos energy, you won't get tired as fast." He said as he slid them on my gloves.
I sat there examining the rings, my entire body felt different, I felt stronger, faster, overall I felt unstoppable.
"Professor, you've outdone yourself this time, first the skate shoes, and now this?" I couldn't help but smirk.
"Well that's not all, I think it's time we put your powers to the test." He held out a red emerald.
"Shadow, you're infused with chaos energy, like the kind in this emerald here. Now, there are seven total, we have one here and the other six are lost either on earth or in space. You are very special Shadow, I created you to protect Maria, but come a time where we might need you to help defend us, we should test your ability to know you're ready." The professor pointed me into a room, I entered and the door locked behind me. The intercom came on in the room.
"Okay Shadow, you have the ability to cause Chaos Control, all you need is one emerald, hell, maybe once you master it you can use it with no emeralds, but that's besides the point. Hold up the emerald and say chaos control, as you do it, make sure you think about where you want to go, for this instance, think about getting to the other side of this door."
I nodded and did as he said, raising the emerald "Chaos Control!" a bright light filled the room, and before I knew it I was standing next to the professor. He was amazed, and I have to admit so was I.
"My god, we've done it, teleportation, this is remarkable! How do you feel, Shadow?"
I thought for a moment, rubbing my chin. "Well, when I used it, I felt this, I don't know, this rush of energy." I felt like I would never have to rest again in that moment, it was amazing.
"Anything else you'd like me to try professor?"
"No Shadow that was the big one, but for future reference, I should tell you, if you have one emerald you can use them to sense and find the others, once you get used to your abilities, you'll be able to sense the chaos power without having a emerald."
I shook his hand, he was about to turn around but I held him there for a moment.
"Professor, one more thing… Maria asked me what it was like on the planet down there, Earth? I've never been, but I wanted to ask you if you knew."
"Grab a seat Shadow." The doctor pulled up a chair and sat down.
"Earth is a complicated place Shadow, it's full of people, both good and bad. People fight wars over land, over religion, over just about anything they can start a fight over, really. Not all people like that, Shadow, I truly did create you for Maria's protection, but if the day ever comes when I need to send you down there for anything, you must be ready. Humans can be hard to trust, Shadow." The professor patted me on the shoulder and let out a deep sigh. "You have the power Shadow, to really make a difference, for better or worse. For now, we will stay out of Earth's way and focus on Maria."
"Understood professor." I nodded and walked off to find Maria. After walking down the hall, I sat in thought, then pulled out the Chaos Emerald. "Chaos Control!" I thought about Maria as I said it, and wouldn't you know it, I appeared behind her. She was looking out the huge window, down at the huge planet. She saw my reflection appear behind her and I startled her.
"Sorry Maria, just testing out a new ability." I held my hand out as I smirked. She took it and pulled me to the window next to her. I crossed my arms looking down at the planet. Maria had always wanted to go down there, but She couldn't she was sick… I felt a sadness come over me, she always wanted to go down there, but I never truly knew if she'd get the chance.
"Shadow, you look lost, what's on your mind silly?" her smile illuminated me.
"Just admiring the planet, and how I want to take you there one day." I smirked at her and continued looking out the window.
"Let's get grandpa and get some lunch!" She tugged for me to come along, but I shook free of her grip.
"Go ahead, I'll be there in a minute, I just need to think for a moment." I smiled at her and nodded as she took off.
I sat there looking out at the Earth, no knowing if I should actually admire it or despise it. I turned and began to walk away when something felt… off. I turned my glance back out the window to see a huge ship approaching. The letters GUN, on the side, my ears perked up as I've heard the professor talk about them before, I dashed off to find Maria and the professor. As I entered the kitchen, I found Maria eating a sandwich.
"Maria, where's the professor?" I muttered out quickly. Before she could even open her mouth the ARK began to shake, the intercom came on "Intruder alert, GUN has boarded our ship. Code 4 evacuation."
Code 4… I immediately grabbed Maria and skated off to the escape pods, the sound of gunfire and bullets hitting metal riddled the air. We arrived at the pods, and I grabbed her.
"C'mon Maria, we're going to see Earth!"
Before I could do anything she pushed me into the pod and closed it.
"Maria, what are you- why?" I screamed, I began beating the pod, but it did no good.
Her big blue eyes met me. "Shadow, promise me you'll help humans, promise me you'll do good." She said, a tear began to roll off her face. A man entered the room, a shot rang out and I began to fall into space. The last thing I heard from Maria…
"I'll miss you, Shadow the Hedgehog."