0 - Prologue

Death. Grief. Rebellion. Defeat. Blood. Conquest. Fear.

This is how it all began…

[Solar Sailer (Basic Slack Remix) – Daft Punk/BasicSlack – Tron Legacy soundtrack
/watch/?v=VwQytlZjhSI&feature=related ]

As long as history itself could recall, man and mobian had coexisted in peace. But one day, one mobian's very existence would create such a great ripple in history, forming events of grand proportion permanently burned into the minds of all. One mobian. A mere hedgehog. A mere hedgehog would be the unwilling cause of one of the Earth's most catastrophic eras. That very same hedgehog will be the inspiration, the hope, the spiritthat flows through those chosen by Fate, those who will undo this period of time that all desire to wipe from their memory.

Sonic the Hedgehog. His existence brought about the mechanical conqueror of this era and the ultimate life form who would oppose him. In his time, Sonic had stopped malicious forces constantly. He never did it for fame, fortune, recognition, or the like. He did it because that's who he was. He never wanted or cared for anyone's thanks. When his time had met its end, the time of Metal Sonic had commenced. Metal Sonic, the twisted mirror image of its "brother", was formed out of hate. Designed to be superior to its namesake, yet failed in its objective, the machine had shared in the hate of its creator, the hate of a blue mobian. As such, following Sonic's leave of this world, Metal Sonic proceeded to destroy any ties to the hedgehog. It first ended the life of its very creator and master, as to ensure that none would command it any longer. It then went on to hunt down Sonic's loved ones as if they were little more than flee-ridden, filthy stray dogs. The rage of this machine lead to innocent bloodshed. Then Sonic's other equal stood to oppose.

Shadow the Hedgehog. A creation of both hate and hope. Designed to act as both a weapon and a cure. The ultimate life form. Despite preceding Sonic, his design was based on mobian-echidna prophecies of Sonic, and thus Sonic played an unwitting role in the creation of Shadow as well as Metal Sonic. Shadow's early life would force him into events that would eventually set in stone his position as a Protector of Earth, a Guardian of Gaia. Keeping true to this title, Shadow gave chase to Metal Sonic and attempted to stop the machine. Unfortunately, he was always just moments too late, always arriving at appalling and horrid scenes of blood everywhere. Everywhere he went, Metal Sonic was always one step ahead, leaving behind it a trail of havoc. One could only ponder on the sheer terror that filled the eyes of the victims of this mechanical monstrosity. The race ended at the house of Sonic's best friend. Shadow arrived to a place worn and ravaged by struggle. As with the others, this place was covered in blood, but he had yet to find a body. Then he heard the churning of machinery and turned to face it. Those piercing black and red eyes. He could only assume the worse of this victim as the machine voiced his thoughts.

"You are too late."

The voice was the sound of metal scraping metal. It vibrated and echoed, both in sound and mind. Its words held true. It was all too true. This machine was nightmare incarnate. And its next target stood before it. But the Shadow of Justice would not allow for this. He would stand. And he would fight.

Arriving seconds before downfall, a red hedgehog came to Shadow's assistance. The two opposed the machine. And they fought with every reserve of strength. Yet, despite their valiant efforts, they were forced to make retreat. They left with their lives barely intact. And they could not understand. How? How could this… thing… – this man-made abomination – overcome them? It was little more than a machine. How could this thing beat them within an inch of their lives? Force them to run, to see another day when they will reattempt to destroy this thing. This monster.

They made their leave, and within the following days, they trained themselves, pushed their limits, whatever it took to prepare for the next battle. When they returned, Shadow had found that history had already begun to repeat. He found himself once again giving chase, trying to reach and preserve innocents before Metal Sonic could reach them. Only this time, the race was on a much broader scale. Now, Metal Sonic had with it an entire army. Thousands upon thousands of copies created in the likeness of Mecha Sonic, one of Metal Sonic's former successors and current predecessor. Metal Sonic and its legions went forth, conquering the entire world, city by city. It was a war that could not be won. Even when the two hedgehogs had beaten the machines to a city, it was a matter of minutes before they would arrive. There were too many. It made no difference how strong the two were, they were just far too outnumbered for it to even matter. Even the Chaos Emeralds, a set of mystic gems capable of granting one vast amounts of power, were of no use. When hunting for the Emeralds, they found that Metal Sonic was too fast, always holding that which they sought moments before they could obtain it. With its own personal army and all the Chaos Emeralds in hand, it was months before the world became Metal Sonic's plaything.

The two hedgehogs retreated to the Space Colony Ark, an enormous satellite and Shadow's birthplace. The Ark bore a massive, planet-shattering weapon known as the Eclipse Cannon. Shadow figured that maybe, just maybe, he could configure it to wipe out all technology on Earth. It was a risky move that could set humanity back, but it was better than allowing Metal Sonic to rule humanity. But of course, Metal Sonic was always one step ahead. When they arrived, they had found that the Eclipse Cannon had been sabotaged, damaged beyond any kind of repair. They found Metal Sonic standing there before them. Laughing. A machine had laughed at them. This simple machine had looked down on the two, one of whom was the ultimate life form.

"You two aren't even worth killing. I will leave you be… for now."

That chilling noise. The machine took its leave, its last words being a challenge to see if they could put an end to its reign after being spared. In a fit of rage, Shadow attempted to attack. It was too late. The metal animal was gone.

The two had lost track of time as they prepared to face Metal Sonic again. They had been on the Ark for so long. Every day, Shadow would look down at the Earth. His vision would begin to blur as more and more thoughts flooded into his head. More and more memories, old and new alike. Memories of all his failures, of all the blood he had witnessed. And Metal Sonic's scrapping echo, "You are too late… You are too late… You are…"

"You there? Come in!"

[Extras Menu – Sonic Mega Collection soundtrack
/watch/?v=iN8urBC4LxI&feature=related ]

Shadow's vision snapped back and became clear and sharp again. He found himself on a damaged highway deep in a crumbling city under a smoggy red and black sky. He had been staring towards the sun, the colors of the sky around it meshing into orange. His memory returned. He had been day-dreaming, reminiscing of a better time, or at least, a time better than now.

"… Yea, I'm in the city." He spoke into his wrist.
"Where?"
"Freeway."
"Out in the open?"
"Yea."
"You nuts? Do you want to blow our cover?"
"No, it's just… Nevermind. Get me an evac. Rendezvous with me at this point. I'm sending you the coordinates now."
"Why you out there anyways?"
"No reason."
"You're putting us at risk… for 'no reason'?"
"Just get over here."
"A'right. Ya know, come'a thinkovit, it ain't often that I get to save your hide."
"Because you can't."
"Exactly! So if you're in trouble-"
"Don't worry about it, just get over here."
"On my way."

Shadow clicked something on the ring on his wrist. He then let his arms drop, looked deep into the sun, and let out a heavy sigh.

= Notes =

-Please leave some feedback. It will determine if this story will be continued or not.

-This fan fic WILL feature OCs… or NSOCs (not-so-original-characters) if you will. Some will be pretty ridiculous (i.e. recolors and clones). If this is a turn off to you, you've been warned.

-Music will be used and linked to throughout the story. If not available on Youtube, the music will simply be referenced for you (the reader) to look up. I apologize if the songs aren't available or are removed. I recommend "YoutubeRepeat". Any music used throughout this work is not mine and belongs to its respectful owners.

-Feel free to ask questions. I'll answer them when I can. Replies will be posted in the Reviews section.