Author's Note: I'm pleasantly surprised at how much attention and support this story has received in such a short time. Thank you all so much.
To those who reviewed:
bajy - Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. Here's the next chapter for you right now.
IcyPinkFlower - Thank you! I'm happy to know my proofreading has kept typos out so far.
Gadget The Critic - Sonic NextGen, this time with 100% less princesses.
And without further ado...
Chapter 1 - Breaking Dark
Light was quietly fading over the southern hill country of Mobius. Sunset bathed the still and peaceful landscape in a golden glow, and the soft breath of a slow wind over the grassy slopes was the only natural sound to be heard. It was a beautiful scene, for anybody would have taken the time to enjoy it, but the only being in the area had no time for such simple pursuits. His dark form raced over the hills at supersonic speed, the sonic boom in his wake disturbing the otherwise peaceful atmosphere. Fast, focused, and determined, the figure had no care for anything other than his mission.
Perhaps once, in another lifetime, he would have enjoyed the scene. In his youth he would have appreciated the beauty of the natural world, and he would have delighted to share it with the one who had been like a sister to him. But that was long ago, before time and life had broken him and remade him into what he was now. He had left that self behind, and dwelling on the past was not something he cared to do again. With the sun slipping beneath the horizon behind him, Shadow the Hedgehog pressed onward into the darkness.
As the last vestiges of daylight faded away to the west, Shadow arrived at his destination. Slowing to a run, he climbed the final hill before crouching himself down atop a rocky bluff at the outskirts of a wide valley. Activating the communicator on his wrist, he spoke in a low tone: "Rouge. I've arrived at the coordinates."
A burst of static issued from the device before a sultry voice responded: "What can you see?"
From his vantage point, Shadow stared out at the valley below, from which rose a towering pyramidal structure, surrounded at its base by various industrial plants and power generators. "This is definitely one of the Doctor's facilities. A very large one at that. I suspect the shipments we traced here are part of something big."
His ally's frown at the deduction was detectable even without a face-to-face connection. "How big are we talking about here?"
"It's the biggest installation we've come across in years." Responded the ebony one as his eyes scanned the structure, illuminated by many various floodlights and searchlights. "Including the supporting structures and the security fencing, the base covers several square miles at least. It's amazing the Doctor managed to keep something this big a secret for so long." He shook his head. "Whatever he's doing here, it can't be good. I want to take a closer look myself before we send Omega in and start making noise."
"Do it to it Shadow" came the reply. "Just don't take too long. I know Omega is getting antsy."
"YOUR PATRONIZING TONE IS DETECTED AND NOT APPRECIATED." A robotic monotone broke in. "EVERY SECOND WASTED RISKS THE DOCTOR BECOMING ALERTED TO OUR PRESENCE. WE MUST STRIKE NOW."
"A few minutes won't hurt, Omega." Rouge fired back. "Besides, Shadow knows how to get in without being seen."
"EXCESSIVE DELAY WILL NOT BE TOLERATED."
"Just shut up and let me work!" Grumbled Shadow, as he switched off the communicator. That robot is more trouble than he is worth sometimes.
Standing up and looking down into the compound below, Shadow reached into his quills to grasp the green chaos emerald, the only one currently in his possession. With a murmur of "chaos control", he vanished from sight.
Reappearing in a dark alley inside the compound near an entrance to the large pyramid, Shadow tucked the emerald away and darted inside. Ducking from corner to corner, avoiding robotic patrols and security cameras, he made his way into the heart of the structure. As he moved onward he passed through a multitude of factories and assembly lines, endlessly working to build the latest generation of eggpawns. Further in, the factories became much larger, machining and welding parts to what looked like giant death egg robots. The Doctor is mass producing those now? How did he keep this a secret for so long, and how much time do we have before an army of those machines is let loose?
With these troubling questions in mind, Shadow pressed further. A bad feeling was starting to manifest itself in his gut. Discreetly following a cart loaded with missile warheads, he found himself moving underground, into a large storage area carved out of the earth under the base. Nimbly climbing atop a storage rack, he surveyed the cavernous room in shock. Spread out for what seemed like miles were shelves and racks filled with warheads of every shape and size, missiles to mount them on, bombs of every type, thousands upon thousands of dormant eggpawns, and a plethora of other weapons and bots that had issued from the mind of the evil genius.
This is worse than I suspected. How long has he been stockpiling like this? And what else does he have hidden away like this facility was?
As if in answer, a series of yellow lights started flashing through the room, and a robotic voice announced from loudspeakers that security was being heightened to yellow alert. Shadow immediately feared that he had been discovered, and he quickly made his way back up to the surface levels. But just as he reached the entrance to the pyramid and was preparing to chaos control back outside the compound, he looked up and realized why the base was on alert. Flying into a brightly lit and open hanger near the top of the pyramid, was a spherical open-topped vehicle.
The Doctor is here.
Quickly activating his communicator again, Shadow gave a brief update to Rouge. "This place is bigger than we could have imagined. Weapons and bots are being built and stockpiled here in massive numbers. Bigger mechs than we've seen in ages are being mass produced. And the Doctor himself is here."
"Sweet chaos." muttered Rouge. "How did we not know about this sooner? And Eggman is there?!"
"Yes. This place is far too large and heavily fortified for us to take down ourselves without a lot more preparation. I recommend we pull back and flush out a better strategy before we assault this place. Right now I'm going to trail the doctor, and see if I can find out exactly what he's planning. It can't be good."
"Alright. I'll tell Omega that we..." The bat suddenly went quiet. There was silence on the line for a moment, and Shadow was about to ask if she was still there, before she spoke up again in a low, worried tone. "I think we have a big problem Shadow."
"What is it?"
"As soon as he heard that the Doctor was on site, Omega turned off his comm and started his approach to the base. That stupid bucket of bolts is going to get himself killed!"
At that moment, as if to punctuate Rouge's statement, sirens started blaring all around and red lights flashed. A series of increasingly colorful expletives ran through Shadow's mind, and he groaned aloud.
"You would think a robot would have more sense than to charge into this armory guns blazing!" He yelled over the alarms as distant explosions sounded. "Hold on, I'm going to get him out of here!"
With a low whine, Shadow's hoverskates activated and he rocketed towards the source of the gunfire and explosions. Sentries spotted him, but they were destroyed before they could raise additional alarm. With a determined scowl Shadow quickly ripped through everything in his path, ruby eyes glinting in the electric light of the base they darted from target to target.
The voice of robot that had caused all this commotion suddenly sounded from communicator. "E-123 OMEGA REPORTING. EXTERMINATION PROCEEDING WITHOUT INCIDENT. DOCTOR EGGMAN SIGHTED. IN PURSUIT."
"Extermination?!" Rouge practically screamed. "You idiot! You're going to get yourself killed! And Shadow too!"
"Hmph." Was Shadow's only reply. Omega? Perhaps. Me? Not likely.
"UNKNOWN ENEMY SIGHTED. ENGAGING."
Three more sentries went down as Shadow skated through the compound, as searchlights circled in vain trying to catch a glimpse of him. He quickly found and followed the trail of devastation left in Omega's wake, skating effortlessly above the flames and debris.
"POSITION COORDINATES LOST. SENSORS MALFUNCTIONING. DAMAGE TO PARIETAL LOBE REGION."
Shadow cursed under his breath and pushed himself to go faster, scaling the side of the pyramid on his way to the open hangar that the robot had pursued Eggman into, fighting past the sentries and turrets blocking his way.
"Omega?!" Shouted Rouge. "What's going on in there?"
"CASUALTY REPORT: ROUGE DEFEATED. SHADOW MORTALLY WOUNDED."
"What the hell is happening to him?" Shadow yelled over the din of battle around him.
"UNIDENTIFIED SYSTEM INTRUSION. EMERGENCY WITHDRAWL. MAIN SENSORS FAILING. I AM E-123 OME-" The transmission abruptly cut off in a burst of static, and Shadow watched as a burning and badly damaged Omega rocketed out of the hangar above him, flying away over the facility below and out over the dark hill country surrounding it, until the robot could not be seen any longer.
"Omega made it out." Shadow reported back as he watched his teammate flee. "He flew off to the east, but he looked like hell. I want to know what happened to him."
"Be careful Shadow. I have a bad feeling about this."
"I'll be fine." He grunted as he reached the hangar, dropping into a defensive stance as he studied the room's only other occupant.
It was an unknown creature, perhaps a canine of some sort. He was dressed in black, with a pointed silver mask on his face and a strange glowing object on his chest. When he spoke, it was in a deep and malignantly distorted voice, filled with scorn.
"Ahhhhh. Still more wonderful. Another guest. Not-so-tall, but just as dark and perhaps a bit more brooding than the last. Welcome, Shadow."
Shadow simply glared at the stranger in response. Just my luck. Another lunatic with a big mouth. "What did you do to Omega."
The stranger remained inscrutable behind his mask. "The world's most powerful robot? He was no more a challenge than crabmeat. My power is without peer, it is the ultimate strength!"
"And what power is that?" Shadow questioned with a raised brow.
"It is mine, and not for you to concern yourself with. Come now Shadow, our long awaited reunion, and yet you focus on such frivolous topics."
"I don't know you. And the only thing frivolous around here is that big mouth of yours."
The stranger laughed then, an undeniably disturbing sound that carried on far longer than Shadow cared for. "Ah, I suppose you would think so. I have changed much since our last encounter. Do you not remember the night you raided the Doctor's facility in the White Jungle? When you effortlessly destroyed a squad of jackal mercenaries, and then taunted their leader for his weakness?"
Shadow frowned as he remembered the night. The mission hadn't seemed to be anything out of the ordinary at the time. The jackals the stranger spoke of had been no more than cannon fodder for somebody as skilled in combat as Shadow was. Their leader had tried to attack him, and was taught a lesson for it. He had left the bruised and beaten jackal with an insult: "Worthless. Don't show your pathetic face around here ever again." Was this stranger that same being?
The ebony one's recollection was interrupted when the stranger spoke again. "Ahhh, I forget. You don't have the most accurate memory, do you now Shadow?"
The hedgehog in question growled at the insult and responded. "I remember you. I remember how easy to defeat you were."
The stranger simply laughed again. "Yes, I was a weakling back then. A weakling who thought he was strong. But you, Shadow, you showed me true strength. That night I gave up the right to my own face. I donned this mask and I let go of the old me, the weak me, so that I could become stronger. And in time, I obtained the power to make all yield to my will! I was reborn! I am now Infinite, and I am not weak!"
Shadow could only stare. I should have just killed him. It's obvious he didn't take that defeat very well. His musings were interrupted as Infinite clenched his fists and spoke yet again.
"I am what I am because of you Shadow. You showed me my weakness, but now I will show you my strength!"
With that, he unleashed a wave or red energy from the object on his chest. Shadow closed his eyes and braced himself as the wave struck him head on, yet it felt as if nothing happened. When he opened his eyes however, he was no longer in the hangar. Instead, he was back out in the hill country, in broad daylight. All around him floated trails of cubes made of the same odd glow as the stone in Infinite's chest. A few feet away, lay the broken body of Omega, with Rouge standing next to it.
Shaking his head, Shadow ran over to his ally's broken form and gazed mystified at Rouge. "How did you get here? And where's that guy? Where's Infinite?"
Rouge looked at him like he had gone crazy. Maybe I have. He wondered distantly.
"What are you talking about Shadow? We're here to pick up Omega, it's been three months since he was destroyed."
"Three months?!" He shook his head violently, starting to feel a headache. "What's going on? What are these cubes floating around?"
"Floating cubes? Rambling about nothing? Maybe you should see a doctor Shadow." Rouge said with a laugh.
"LIFEFORM SHADOW IS MALFUNCTIONING." Shadow started as Omega suddenly appeared, perfectly intact, next to Rouge. He looked to where the robot's broken shell had lain before, and saw nothing but grass there.
"Omega?" He asked weakly. "But you were destroyed..."
Rouge laughed again, as Omega responded. "NEGATIVE. I HAVE NEVER KNOWN DEFEAT. I AM NOT WEAK. I AM NOT WEAK. I AM NOT WEAK. I. AM. NOT. WEAK."
Shadow fell to his knees as his headache erupted into a migraine, covering his ears as Omega's voice grew louder and louder, sounding more and more like Infinite with every word. The pain in his head became unbearable and the voice in his ears was a constant roar. He collapsed to the ground with his eyes shut and screamed.
At once, everything was quiet. His head throbbing, he got to his knees and opened his eyes to look around. He was back in the hangar. Infinite was staring at him wordlessly.
"What. The hell. Was that." Every word was an assault on his throbbing head, and he could barely force himself to stand.
"That, Shadow, was true strength. My true strength. I didn't know if you'd manage to survive, but you must admit, it was a wonderful show!" The jackal laughed again, and the sound of it forced Shadow back to his knees with his hands over his ears. "This power! Before we've even tuned it! Not even Sonic stands a chance against me now!"
"S-Sonic...?" Muttered Shadow. "What... are you... plotting?"
"Oh, Shadow. You'll see soon enough." With that, the jackal raised a hand and Shadow was sent flying backwards out of the hangar, and into the darkness. He was flung far away from the Doctor's facility and over the hills surrounding it. He barely had enough presence of mind to grasp the emerald from his quills and use chaos control to prevent a hard impact with the ground that likely would have given him another bout of amnesia.
Exhausted, head pounding, and confused beyond all measure, Shadow collapsed on the moonlit hillside and let unconsciousness overtake him.
Author's Note: This chapter turned out a lot longer that I initially expected. Oh well. I realize that some people don't like Infinite's origin story, but it was funny in a way and I honestly enjoyed it. I just decided to tweak a few things and make it a bit more real. "I am not weak" was just too much fun to throw out though. :)
Reviews, suggestions, and opinions are always welcome, and hopefully I can get the next chapter out within a few days. Thanksgiving plans might slow it down a little bit. Anyway, till next time!