Dance in Fire
By: Goldenglare
A/N: This story is mostly from the view of Shadow the Hedgehog. It takes place in a fusion of the Sonic Adventure 1-2 world and the Sonic Battle world, after the events of Sonic Battle but before the upcoming 'Shadow the Hedgehog' game (released winter '05). It if rated for language and maybe a wee bit of sexual themes. Enjoy!
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Chapter 1:
He could see the images so clearly. The first time he used Chaos Control in the training arena on the space colony ARK, Maria's smiling face when he completed the doctor's most rigorous training program, the breathtaking view of earth from the control room. His mind began to race and he felt sweat dripping down his forehead. He saw the GUN ships dock and the troops pour out, Maria's agonized gasp as the first bullet hit her, her last breaths and his despair as she launched the capsule containing him towards earth, his last cry of rage as the military finally captured him and firing dart after dart of sedative until he at last went down. The images came faster and more intensely now. All of the people staring up at him in wonder and fear as he stood atop the bridge with his Chaos Emerald, that blue hedgehog's last blow that thwarted his attempts at realizing Eggman's dreams of world conquest, feeling the glow of his precious green chaos emerald one last time as he plummeted to earth…
Shadow the Hedgehog awoke with a cry. A scowl was set across his sweat drenched face. He looked around the crumbling rock enclosure that had been serving as his home for the past month. After making sure that there were no intruders, he tried as hard as he could to remember his dream. 'Just a second ago it was all so clear, but now I can't remember a thing…' Shadow punched the wall in frustration, causing a fragment to fall off. He would have to find a more permanent living space.
The black hedgehog walked the ancient paths of the Mystic Ruins deep in thought. One of the advantages of living in a jungle was that there were little to no interruptions, except the resident cat, which he had the misfortune to run into on occasion. 'I AM Shadow. I AM the Ultimate Life form. But am I the original, or just some mass-produced copy? Am I real… or not? No, I am here, now and it doesn't matter. But why can't I remember my past?'
"You know, you really shouldn't walk around with your eyes closed. It's not safe." The sudden voice caused Shadow to jump.
"Show yourself!" He charged his fist as a warning. Rouge the Bat dropped silently from the canopy.
"What, I can't drop in on old friends?" Shadow relaxed.
"Rouge… what do you want?" The thief fumbled with something clipped to her belt for a moment before producing a computer disk.
"I have something I think you should see." Her face was stern and serious.
"So, what is it?" Asked the hedgehog skeptically. She was silent for a moment.
"Shadow, how would you like to know who you are?"
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