Sonic Adventure 2
Prologue
50 years prior to the events of the story, the residing President initiated research on a confidential project: mankind's eternal dream, the search for immortality. The man approached with this idea was the foremost scientist of the day, Professor Gerald Robotnik, grandfather of our very own Eggman. Being a man of ethics, Gerald stubbornly refused to undertake the project. His mind was changed when he began thinking about the plight of his beloved granddaughter, Maria Robotnik (Eggman's cousin). Maria was diagnosed with NIDS (Neuro Immunodeficiency Syndrome), a disease incurable by medicine of the era. Motivated by the thought of finding a cure for his granddaughter, Gerald finally agreed to conduct research on immortality. Studies on Maria's disease were already being conducted aboard the ARK, a giant spherical research facility in space, but the studies gained newfound hope with Gerald's announcement of the immortality project. At first, many were shocked and uncertain. Could a project so reckless and unrealistic have been fabricated by the mind of Pr. Gerald Robotnik? Nonetheless, studies commenced, and the strictly confidential research was dubbed "Project Shadow", named from the irony involved in trying to create a being which does not naturally exist... a "shadow", so to speak.
In the early phases of the project, the Chaos Emeralds were researched with the hopes of applying their properties to living beings. These studies resulted in the development of Chaos Drives, small capsules of energy which could be used to fuel the life support system of the "Prototype of the Ultimate Life". The prototype, modelled in the image of a lizard, initially showed positive results: it possessed the abilities of regeneration, self-restoration, and self-reproduction. The researchers were thrilled, but as the creature continued to evolve, it became unruly and difficult to control. Many began having concerns as to the safety of the residents on board the ARK, and questioned the continuation of the project. Eventually, one or more unknown researchers leaked information on Project Shadow to G.U.N. (Guardian Units of Nation), a military organization, who decided that action must be taken against this dubious research...
G.U.N.'s plan was to shut down the ARK and eliminate all those associated with Project Shadow. They violently seized control of ARK, evacuating all the residents to the planet while killing everyone involved with the ultimate life-form except for Gerald himself, who was incarcerated. Once ARK was cleared and all the research facilities frozen, G.U.N. sealed the prototype creature away in the deepest part of the colony. The entire takeover was completed in less than a week. G.U.N.'s public response was that the ARK was evacuated due to a dangerous accident on board, and that all the scientists lost were victims of the disaster. Gerald himself was falsely accused of causing the "accident", and sentenced to death. But there was one minor miscalculation on G.U.N.'s part...
As G.U.N.'s plan was being executed, Gerald was already putting the finishing touches on another version of the ultimate life, a form vastly superior to the prototype. When G.U.N. troops stormed the colony, Gerald managed to elude their grasp long enough to finalize this true "Ultimate Lifeform". When he discovered Maria's name on the list of casualties resulting from the G.U.N. invasion, it was the last straw. The once-great Pr. Gerald Robotnik became a man obsessed with revenge. He altered his final project, code-named Shadow, and programmed him with a new mission...
Chapter 1: The Ultimate Lifeform
Security alarms blared out around the Prison Island base as the evil scientist, Dr. Eggman, marched into the base in his new Egg Walker machine. After Eggman's attempt to use Chaos as a weapon, the doctor ran out of ideas! So he scanned the internet for any new ideas. He then decided to hack into the GUN files and he discovered his grandfather's journal, telling of the creation of the Ultimate Lifeform. Eggman then decided to find the Ultimate Lifeform and use it to conquer the world.
"Hahahaha! This task is so easy!" said Eggman "These military chaps don't have very good security". With that Dr. Eggman fired a laser blast from his walker at a locked door, which exploded.
The Eggman destroyed security robots that were stolen from his own ideas. He destroyed more locked doors and robots, until he came to a large room. All that was in the room was a small computer console. As if Eggman was Dr. Octopus from Spiderman, he slithered over to the computer and turned on the console. The screen was blue and in black words came "Password required!". Eggman thought hard for a moment and he then grinned eagerly.
He typed in a five letter password.
"Ma-Ri-A" spelt Eggman as he entered the password. Maria was Eggman's older cousin who was killed many years before.
The password was accepted and several options appeared on the screen. Eggman read them and selected Activate Ultimate Lifeform. There was a sudden loud grinding sound and a large column emerged from the metal floor. But to Eggman's surprise, standing on top of the column, was some sort of hedgehog.
"Sonic! Is that you?" snarled Eggman "I'm warning you, stay out of my way this time!".
This hedgehog was not Sonic. This hedgehog was coloured black as the night sky. He had five long quills lancing out of his head, each highlighted with a single red stripe. He had similar red stripes down the side of his eyes, which were burning crimson red. A small tuff of white hair sat on the hedgehog's chest. The hedgehog wore golden rings on his wrists and ankles. He also wore red and white rocket shoes on his feet. On his arms and legs were short pointed red stripes.
As Eggman continued raving, the black hedgehog spoke up. "My name is Shadow the Hedgehog. Also known as the Ultimate Lifeform!" explained the hedgehog. Eggman looked at him curiously.
"Oh, so you are not Sonic" said Eggman. Shadow shook his head, his black quills moving like floating serpents.
"Right! I am Doctor Eggman! Super genius and inventor extraordinaire!" announced Eggman and shot out a pose.
Shadow raised an eyebrow.
"Well Dr. Eggman, since you freed me, I shall grant you a wish" said Shadow smirking. Eggman cocked his head in confusion.
"What are you some sort of fairy godmother?" snapped Eggman. Shadow glared at the doctor with such a threatening stare, Eggman backed away.
"I am not kidding around doctor" said Shadow.
Eggman didn't know whether to think this wish thing was a valuable offer or a nauseating come-on.
Suddenly, alarms started blaring and red lights flashed around the room. There was a loud rumble from the ceiling, which caved in as a large machine flew into the room. It was green, black and red, with two large yellow blocks on its back.
"B-3x Hotshot to G-4y Blaster...I've found the intruder with the prisoner...commencing attack" said a man within the robot.
Eggman backed off as Shadow jumped from his platform and landed in front of the scientist.
"Stand back doctor!" said Shadow, his rocket shoes levitating him up into the air "Let me show you my true power!".
With seconds, Shadow was racing towards Hotshot, who flew up into the air and began firing bullets at Shadow. The black and red hedgehog swiftly dodged the bullets and flew up to face the robot. He sent a speeding kick into Hotshot and knocked it down. Hotshot got back up and launched a series of homing missiles at Shadow. Shadow leapt up the missiles and creating a golden spear in his palm, Shadow cried out
"Chaos Spear!" and slammed the attack in the cockpit of Hotshot. The man in the cockpit shielded his face as it exploded and Hotshot fell apart. Shadow landed on the ground triumphantly. Eggman came out of his hiding place, grinning.
"Impressive" said Eggman "But what did you mean by granting me a wish?". Shadow approached Dr. Eggman and smiled.
"Just find the Chaos Emeralds" said Shadow "I'll be waiting in the central command room of the Space Colony Ark!".
Eggman smiled.
"Well, it just so happens I have one here" said Eggman and produced the Grey Chaos Emerald. Shadow smiles and takes the emerald from Eggman and proudly looks at it.
"Perfect" said Shadow and looked at his creator's grandson.
"From now on, no one will be able to stand against the full power of Dr. Eggman and Shadow the Ultimate Lifeform!" announced Eggman and he started laughing.
Chapter 2: Shattering of the Master Emerald
In some desert ruins, Knuckles the Echidna stood on one side of the giant Master Emerald, breathing heavily. On the other side of the emerald, was a white female bat with black wings. She wore a black battle-costume with a pink heart stitched into the front. She wore long white gloves, which matched her large white boots. She looked at Knuckles closely through half open eyes.
Knuckles had caught the bat stealing the Master Emerald and making her escape from Angel Island. Knuckles chased after her and managed to knock her down into his sandy desert.
"I think it would be best if you just let me take that emerald" insisted the bat.
"Not a chance, bat-girl!" snarled Knuckles quickly "The Master Emerald is not just an ordinary gem. It neutralises the power of the seven Chaos Emeralds".
"I don't care if neutralises the power of a microwave!" snapped the bat, not giving a toss about the emerald's purpose "Now hand over the emerald!".
"Never! Not in a million years, bat-girl!" replied Knuckles.
"I'm called Rouge the Bat!" said the bat angrily "I'm warning you! Hand over the gem or you'll be sorry".
"Sorry? If your meaning you will attack me, you must be mad!" laughed Knuckles, folding his arms and looking away "You cannot possibly stand up to a martial art expert like me!".
Knuckles then opened his eyes and gasped. Dr. Eggman was lifting the Master Emerald up into the air with his hovercraft.
"I was looking for a Chaos Emerald, but I suppose I can use the Master Emerald for something…" said Eggman, and began to fly off. Knuckles thought fast. He sprinted after the fleeing doctor, leapt upwards underneath the Master Emerald, and with his spiked fist, he slammed right through the giant green gem, shattering it to pieces. The fragments disappeared within seconds. Eggman shrugged, not disturbed by the sudden event.
"Oh well…" said Eggman and flew away into the sky.
Rouge, however, didn't take it to well. She seized Knuckles by the chest screaming with rage.
"Why did you do that you dreadlocked dummy!" screamed Rouge, shaking Knuckles like a baby shaking a rattle.
"I'd rather have the emerald in pieces than have Eggman steal it" replied Knuckles "And besides, the Master Emerald can be rebuilt".
"Fine! I shall find the pieces of the Master Emerald, rebuild it and claim it as my own!" declared Rouge.
"Tough break! I have a sixth sense, which allows me to locate the Master Emerald pieces…" said Knuckles.
"Is that so, I have the same ability" snickered Rouge delightfully. Knuckles was in shock, as Rouge spread her black wings and flew away, eastward.
Knuckles glided westward and landed safely in a crevice of a canyon. He could already sense three pieces of the Master Emerald. So he took up a wall, his fists digging into the cliff and he went upwards. He edged along it going to right. The first fragment was large and was imbedded in the ground on a high cliffledge. Knuckles pulled it out and placed it in a secret pocket in his side.
Rouge had landed a few miles from where Knuckles was. She had landed in a small area named Dry Lagoon, but despite its name, Dry Lagoon was actually a very damp region. Rouge looked around eagerly.
"Now where could those emerald pieces be hiding?" she asked aloud. Rouge then heard a crying noise and she saw a large turtle sitting on the grass, tears in its eyes.
"What's wrong with you?" asked Rouge, approaching the turtle. The turtle sadly looked up at her and then looked towards its shell. Rouge gasped. There was a piece of the master emerald, the sharp end inserted into the turtle's shell.
"Oh my!" shouted Rouge "Hang on! I'll get that beauty out!". Rouge placed her hands firmly on the shining emerald fragment and pulled hard at the piece. After several minutes of frustrating pulls and mad cries of pain from the turtle, Rouge managed to successfully pull the fragment from its spot.
"There you go little fella" said Rouge "Off you go!". The turtle was grateful and it pulled itself to a small pool of water and disappeared underwater.
As for Knuckles, he had discovered another fragment, which was no bigger than his thumb.
"Now where could that other fragment be?" asked Knuckles. His senses managed to pick up a far away signal of a Master Emerald piece. "Well, at least I know it's still around" sighed Knuckles and jumped off the ledge he was on, glided down the canyon and arrived in a small area, with a giant stone head buried in the sand.
"Whoa! The signal is very close" said Knuckles. Then he saw it! The third emerald shard was stuck in a crack in the stone head. It looked like it was in very, very deep. Knuckles took several steps back and then charged forwards in a ferocious speed, his fist leading the run. Within seconds, Knuckles slammed his fist into the crack where the emerald piece was, and the whole head was covered in cracks and fell apart. Knuckles picked up the green emerald piece from the rubble and smiled.
He then tried to sense anymore fragments, but none responded.
Rouge also has managed to successfully find all the shards. "Piece of cake! Hmmm…Maybe I should go and do my mission now" said Rouge, and she spread her wings and flew away into the air.
Is Rouge more then a treasure hunter?
Chapter 3: City Escape
Above the Capital City, at about 13:27, a black military helicopter flew at a slow speed. Imprinted on the side of the helicopter were the initials "G.U.N".
"Alpha-sigma to delta-gamma. We have the hedgehog on board. Please confirm permission for us to return to the base. Over!" said the helicopter's pilot.
"Roger that alpha, confirmation…er…confirmed" replied a man.
"Right…anyway, how is your wife? Is she still eating soap and…What?" said the pilot, but was suddenly cut off.
"What is wrong?" shouted the second man.
"The hedgehog! He's taken everyone out on board!" replied the pilot.
At that moment the helicopter door was kicked open and out of the flying vehicle came Sonic the Hedgehog. He jumped to one of the wing and ripped a metal plate of it.
"Halt! What are you doing!" shouted a man, holding a gun. Sonic looked at him and smirked.
"No food or in-flight on movies! I'm out of here!" said Sonic and jumped off the helicopter, using the metal plate as an airboard. He went spinning down to the capital city. Within seconds, Sonic landed onto a steep downhill road in the middle of the city. He dashed down the road on his board, which is now a street-board; sparks flying from the metal connecting with the hard stone. Sonic looked around at his surroundings as he went past them. It was basically your average streets: Houses, cars, lampposts, fire hydrants, letterboxes, etc.
"Why are all these cities trying to look like San Fransisco!" complained Sonic. Sonic's ears were erupted by the sound of sirens. Sonic knew his old pals; the policemen, were chasing him again. Sonic ditched his street-board and ran on foot, now getting way ahead of the cops. Sonic became a blue blur, travelling at over 700 mph. As he went, Sonic smirked.
"This cool…" cheered Sonic.
As Sonic ran on, he suddenly broke into song:
"Rolling around at the speed of sound,
Got places to go, gotta follow my rainbow.
Can't stick around, have to keep moving on,
Guess what lies ahead, only one way to find out!
Must keep on moving ahead,
No time for guessing, follow my plan instead.
Trusting in what you can't see,
Take my lead I'll set you free.
Follow me, set me free,
Trust me and we will escape from the city.
I'll make it through, follow me.
Follow me, set me free,
Trust me and we will escape from the city.
I'll make it through prove it to you.
Follow me!
Oh yeah!
Danger is lurking around every turn,
Trust your feelings, got to live and learn.
I know with some luck that I'll make it through,
Got no other options, only one thing to do!
I don't care what lies ahead,
No time for guessing, follow my plan instead.
Find the next stage, no matter what that may be.
Take my lead, I'll set you free.
Follow me, set me free,
Trust me and we will escape from the city.
I'll make it through, follow me.
Follow me, set me free,
Trust me and we will escape from the city.
I'll make it through prove it to you.
Follow me!
Follow me!"
As Sonic finished his singing, there was a loud rumble and from a road came a giant black lorry, with G.U.N written under the windscreen. Sonic sped away down the road, and the truck followed, as if it was a cat chasing a mouse. Sonic charged down a long downhill road, the truck just inches behind him. Sonic attempted to abandon the chasing lorry by doing sudden and unexpected turns and rushing down thin alleyways. But wherever Sonic went, the black lorry was following him like a magnet. Sonic then passed under a small archway and carried on running. He then suddenly heard a crash and the sound of falling metal. He skidded to a halt and turned around, to see the black lorry stuck underneath the low archway, the roof crumbled and the windscreen cracked from a falling brick.
Sonic smirked and stood triumphantly before the lorry.
"Ha! If you want to outrun me, I suggest you take jogging and driving lessons!" said Sonic and he raced away.
Meanwhile, Eggman stood outside a giant pyramid that stood in a quick sand desert.
"Those fools from the military will never find my new base inside this pyramid" laughed Eggman. Eggman entered the base in his Egg Walker. He walked down a long corridor, with hieroglyphics on the walls, all designed after Eggman. Eggman then entered a small round room with a large computer console and several video screens. Standing beside the console, was a robot. He had a blue titanium body and a large head that had three spikes lancing out in different directions. He had a black visor, with blood red eyes that stared at Eggman evilly.
"Greetings, Dr. Eggman" said the robot.
"Hello Metal Sonic" said Eggman "Did you find anymore Chaos Emeralds?".
"Negative!" replied Metal Sonic "But I believe this recorded news report might interest you…".
Metal Sonic hit a button on the console and one of the fuzzy screens flashed on and played a news report.
"Earlier this evening, a local jewellery store in Capital City was broke into and the Chaos Emerald was stolen by the world hero, Sonic the Hedgehog. Military personal and police officers are searching for Sonic now and will take him for questioning…if he is caught" said a news reporter.
The news report then showed a photo of a shadowed hedgehog. Eggman, however, noticed that it wasn't Sonic, but Shadow!
Meanwhile, Shadow stood on a big, red arch on a bridge that resembled the Golden Gate Bridge. Police officers stood miles below, looking up at the black hedgehog.
"Freeze! Drop the emerald and put your hands on your head" said a policeman through a megaphone. Shadow ignored the calls of the policeman and looked up to a certain bright star in the night sky.
He suddenly had a flashback:
Shadow was trapped in a clear glass tube, his hands pressed against the glass, his mouth agape. On the other side of the room he was in, was a frail girl with blonde hair and ocean blue eyes. She wore blue clothes, and she sat by a computer console.
"Shadow…for all the people in the world…give them a chance…" whispered the girl. There was a splodge of blood on his blue shirt.
"Maria!" cried Shadow from within the tube.
"Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog" cried the girl named Maria, and she hit a button.
"Maria! No!" shouted Shadow, as the tube vanished.
Shadow returned to reality, the image of Maria floating in his mind's eye.
"I will do as Maria said!" said Shadow "For the people of the world, I promise you, Maria…revenge!".
Back to Sonic, he found himself in a small back street with large crates. Sonic was bored.
"This game of tag is boring…" said Sonic. He suddenly noticed a giant green machine flying down towards, Sonic firing missiles at him. Sonic somersaulted out of the way as the missiles headed for him. The machine landed.
"F-6t Big Foot, come in! Target sighted! Preparing to capture!" said the pilot of the machine. Big Foot rose into the air, just as it had landed and continued to fire missiles at Sonic. Sonic swiftly dodge with help from another somersault and leapt at Big Foot. In mid jump, Sonic transformed into a rolling ball and used his Homing Attack on Big Foot, ripping right through its metal frame and defeating it. Big Foot burst into flames and fell to the ground. Sonic walked away, grinning. He slowly turned around to look back at the remains of Big Foot and then gasped with amazement.
"What?" cried Sonic.
Standing on the flaming Big Foot, was Shadow, his arms folded.
"Who are you?" asked Sonic to Shadow. Shadow unfolded his arms and revealed to have the green Chaos Emerald.
"So it all starts with this…a jewel that contains the ultimate power!" said Shadow, holding the emerald up to sky as if it were some sort of god.
"That is a…Chaos Emerald!" cried Sonic. "I am Shadow the Hedgehog, the world's ultimate lifeform!" said Shadow, grinning.
"Wait a minute! You're that hedgehog who framed me of being a criminal, and now your military buddies are chasing me!" shouted Sonic.
Shadow ignored him. Sonic grew angry and dashed at Shadow. "Say something! You fake hedgehog!" said Sonic. Shadow smiled, threw the Chaos Emerald into the air, caught it and then held it in front of his face, striking a pose in the process.
"CHAOS CONTROL!" shouted Shadow, his voice echoing. Green energy suddenly spluttered from the Chaos Emerald and time began to slow down. Shadow jumped off Big Foot and ran past Sonic, who was still running towards Big Foot, completely oblivious to Shadow's movements. Chaos Control ended and Sonic stopped, realising Shadow was gone. Sonic spotted Shadow standing on a high building.
"Whoa! He's fast!" said Sonic "Wait…he didn't use his speed!".
Sonic then eyed the green gem within Shadow's right hand, and a thought suddenly came to his mind.
"You used the Chaos Emerald to warp, didn't you?" questioned Sonic.
Shadow watched Sonic with his burning red eyes. He flipped the emerald up and down in the air, while catching it.
"You are correct, but there is no time for games. Farewell!" said Shadow, and with a flash from the Chaos Emerald, he was gone.
"Shadow…just what is he?" said Sonic curiously, when suddenly the blurring sound of sirens burst into Sonic's ears. Spotlights flashed on and Sonic found himself surrounded and trapped by armed military troops, policemen and their cars and several helicopters.
"Freeze! Keep your hands high above your head!" cried a soldier.
"Oh great! What will I do now!" moaned Sonic.