Three: The Truth
Misuki: "What's going on, Shadow? Why am I here?" Misuki's heart began racing faster than she could count. She tried to calm her breathing but it didn't help. She was filled with both happiness and fear.
"I brought you here upon the Doctor's request." He answered. "He's very interested in your power; just as I am." He stood up and walked toward Misuki, who stood where she was frozen by his cold gaze. "The Chaos Emerald inside you is all we want. What happens to you after we take it isn't our concern."
Those words made Misuki's heart stop completely. She never thought that Shadow would say something like that to her. "Shadow…I can't believe that you…" She couldn't even finish her words. The shock took her over to the point where her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground, staring at his feet. She began crying endless tears that splashed around her. The person that she trusted and loved with all her heart had been consumed by a deep darkness that light couldn't even escape from.
"I suggest you get used to this place." Shadow said as he walked out of the room. "Until we get what we want from you, you'll be here for a long while. So consider this your new home." Shadow left Misuki to cry on the floor, and trap herself in endless sorrow.
When she finally stopped crying, Misuki stood back up and remembered what Sonic told her. 'There's no point in crying.' She thought to herself. 'I have to get Shadow to come back to me one way or another. This is my mission and mine alone. I have to see it to the end.'
Later, Shadow returned to see Misuki sitting on the bed with her knees tucked in and wrapped around her arms. The second she saw him, Misuki looked up with a confident face, ready to get to the bottom of this situation.
Shadow knew she was different the second he stepped into the room. Her energy emanated all over the place. He stood a few feet away from the door, un-phased by her change of attitude. "You look confident. Finally given into the reality that you're helpless to do anything in your position?"
Misuki held her ground as she stood up and took three steps toward Shadow. She stared at him with intensity, remembering the kind person he used to be before all this happened. Taking a long deep breath, she came out and spoke what she was thinking. "Shadow, I want you to tell me everything. Tell me what caused you to act like this."
They stared at each other for a long period of time, trying to read each other's minds. Misuki saw that Shadow was impressed by her will and intimidation. "There'll be plenty of time for that later." He chuckled, crossing his arms and smiling. "Right now, the Doctor requests your presence. We're going to take another crack at taking your energy. Just come with me, and I won't hurt you." Misuki had no other choice but to do what he said. She remembered their last battle, and how Shadow was barely affected by her attacks. Fighting him then and there would've been not only pointless but also stupid. But still, she was ready for whatever Eggman had in store for her. When they finally got to the lab, Misuki saw that Eggman was tinkering with the device that she only guessed that she'd be hooked to. "Doctor, I brought the girl." Shadow bowed to him, keeping a good grip on Misuki's shoulder to prevent her from escaping.
She stared at Shadow as he bowed his head to Eggman. 'It's worse than I thought.' She thought. 'Shadow, you really gave your entire being to Eggman didn't you?'
"So, we meet again Misuki Hikotsu." Eggman approached them, smiling.
The sight of Eggman made Misuki's blood come to a full boil. She did her best to contain her power so Shadow wouldn't sense it. "You're still as creepy and disgusting as ever, Egg-head. No wonder my father cut you from the project all those years ago." She put on a smile because her words were affecting him more than she thought. His face began turning red to the point where it looked like his head was about to pop off his head at any moment.
"I'll shut that annoying mouth of yours soon enough!" Eggman exclaimed. He walked over to the machine and powered it up as he chuckled. "Do you know what this device is?" He asked her.
Misuki looked at it closely, analyzing all of the parts until she realized what it was. "You're gonna hook me up to this thing and try to extract the red Chaos Emerald's energy from me."
"That's correct." He grinned as he rubbed his hands together. "Soon, you're power will belong to me. Then I can finally become the ruler of the entire galaxy!"
"Newsflash Eggman: your plans won't be accomplished." Misuki stated with a smirk. "You tried taking my power from me before, and failed miserably because you couldn't handle the level it was at. It'll just be a repeat of the past."
Eggman continued laughing at Misuki's outbursts and confidence. "You couldn't be any more wrong, my dear." He said. "This time will be very different thanks my own ace in the whole: Shadow." He gestured at Shadow, who did not move a single inch when his name was spoken. "With Shadow on my side, taking over will be mere child's play! All he asks for in return is a chance to exact his own revenge against humanity."
Misuki gasped, then looked over at Shadow. 'Is that Shadow's plan?' she asked herself. 'There's no way he'd wipe out humanity. That's not who he is.'
"Enough talk. Place her in the machine and stand back." Eggman watched as Shadow took Misuki to the machine and strapped her in tight.
She struggled to get out of it, but was unable to move once all the straps were fastened and secured. "Shadow, wait! Those things that Eggman said aren't true, are they?" She called out to Shadow, which caused him to halt a good distance away. "You don't really plan to wipe out humanity, do you?" Shadow didn't answer her. Instead he waited for a few minutes, and then continued walking over toward Eggman behind a safety barrier for protection. "Shadow, don't go! Please! Help me!"
"Now, let's try this again! Say good-bye to your energy!" The second Eggman pulled the trigger, Misuki was suddenly struck with thousands of bolts of electricity reaching inside of her to find the source of her power. She screamed at the top of her lungs in excruciating pain and torture as her body twisted and turned, desperate to break free. Five minutes into the pain, she began to notice everything around her fade away into nothingness. 'The Chaos Emerald is…fighting back.' She thought. It was almost impossible for her to fully concentrate on what she was thinking because of her screams of torture. It was as if her entire body was about to be ripped to shreds. 'I feel…its energy flowing through me even stronger than ever. Could…Could it be that it's protecting me?'
"Misuki…Misuki." Out of nowhere, a voice called out to her. She looked around to find herself in a blank space, held down by the chains of her pain. Before her formed a figure she recognized instantly. "My daughter, it is up to you."
"Father, is that you?"
"You must do whatever you can to stop Shadow. He is making a terrible mistake, and your voice is the only thing that will break him free."
"But what do I say to get through to him? I still don't know!" Before he could answer her, he vanished into thin air and was gone. "Don't leave me father! Come back!" The pain increased within minutes, causing more electrical shocks to be released into Misuki's body. Once that happened, her screams grew louder and she began emanating the Chaos Emerald's power around herself. The pain caused her to release it unconsciously, and expand it with every second. Soon it took over the machine and caused it to malfunction at a critical level. It shook and spattered little sprockets all over the room until it smoked and finally crashed. Misuki let out a mega sigh of relief once the pain ended. She was barely conscious, but still able to hear what was going on around her. All she heard was the machine letting out a small malfunction siren while Eggman shouted in anger over his failed attempt to take the Chaos Emerald's power yet again. Misuki then felt herself being lifted up and carried. She was able to open her eyes to a certain point, but was still able to see Shadow carry her back to the room. As she stared into his eyes, all she thought about was what Eggman told her. Shadow's plan was to destroy all humans. 'Why do want to kill innocent humans?' When she looked at him, Misuki saw the kind-hearted person Shadow once was, and still is deep inside. Even though he was made to be a weapon, she remembered how he wanted to use his powers to protect her and other people. Shadow set Misuki in the bed and went over to sit by the window and stare out into space. When Misuki tried to speak up, she found she was too weak to even make a single sound. All she could do was sit there and think about what was going on in Shadow's head. 'My father said that I'm the only one that can set Shadow free and make him realize his mistakes. I'm afraid if I fail, everyone on Earth is doomed. But at this point I can't to a thing. My body is still in shock, and everything is still a bit blurry. But I will get Shadow to tell me the truth. One way or another.'
Shadow: To keep Misuki in full health, Shadow gave her medicine to regain her strength and kill the pain she still felt in her body. He waited until she fell asleep and then left the room. He then began thinking of the reasons why Eggman's experiment didn't work. Once he realized the answer, he went to report it to him.
"How are the repairs coming?" he asked as he walked into the lab.
"It'll take some time, but I think I might be able to fix it. However I'll have to make some modifications if we're ever going to get that power out of that girl. It's as stubborn as she is."
"We're going at this the wrong way." Shadow announced.
"What're you talking about, Shadow?" Eggman stopped what he was doing and looked down at Shadow to listen to what he had to say.
"The Chaos Emerald is made up of raw, unstable power that can't be absorbed by a simple machine. With that power, Misuki is basically a Chaos Emerald herself. All you need to do is gather the other Emeralds, and you can obtain ultimate power for yourself."
Eggman thought about it for a while, then finally came to a conclusion. "Perhaps you're on to something, Shadow. I'll collect all the Emeralds and rule the universe!"
"Counting Misuki, we already have three Emeralds in our possession, while Sonic and his friends have one."
"We'll have to find a way to steal their Emerald." Eggman said, stroking his mustache.
"Leave that to me, Doctor." Shadow said with a smile. "I already have a plan that will force them to hand their Emerald over to us willingly. Just leave everything to me."
"I'm counting on you, Shadow. Don't fail me."
Shadow dismissed himself from the lab to set his plan into motion. His idea was to send out a message to Sonic, and tell them that he and Eggman will return Misuki safely to them, in exchange for the Chaos Emerald. But he won't hand her over to them. Once Sonic gave up the Emerald, he would be locked in a space pod and sent flying out into space for eternity. It was a plan that couldn't fail.
"Do you really want to do this, Shadow?"
Shadow stopped the second he heard a voice ask him that. Suddenly he sensed the presence of another person on the ship. He pulled out his gun and turned around to fire. When he turned around, he saw the illusion of a young girl with a sad face looking at him. "Who are you?" he asked, holding the gun to the girl's head.
"You don't remember me? I'm Misuki when she was a little girl." Shadow did his best to remain calm. Looking at her, memories of him and Misuki flashed through his head. "You and I used to play together. Back then, you were happy and wanted to protect humans. You promised me that one day you'd go back to Earth and protect everyone that lived there."
Shadow lowered his gun and turned away from the illusion. "Things change." He scoffed. "Those people on Earth are selfish idiots who kill things they don't understand. Well I'm going to make sure they're all put in their place. This is my purpose as the ultimate weapon." He continued walking down the hall until he couldn't sense the girl's presence anymore. He knew that he was never going to go back to the way he used to be. How could he when humans took away his life twice. They saw him as a threat, and did their best to get rid of him so it seemed as if he never existed. 'They can't get rid of me that easily. I'll never be put to rest; not as long as revenge still runs through my core.'
He opened the door to Misuki's room to find her sitting by the window, waiting for him to come back. "Shadow, it's time for our talk."
Shadow chuckled. "Fine, I'll humor you. Ask me whatever's on your mind."
He watched Misuki take a few deep breaths before finally speaking. "Tell me why you're with Eggman, and why you want to take revenge on humans."
"It seems your memories are worse off than mine are." He said, putting his hands in his pockets. "You of all people should know all too well what happened and why I'm pissed off at everyone. It's because you and the other scientists lied to me, and abandoned me in that underground lab." Shadow let out a low growl, re-living the horrible betrayal he faced all those years ago. He gritted his teeth and continued the story. "Right after you and your father faced Eggman, I saw that things were changing."
"What do you mean, Shadow?" she asked, standing up.
"Everyone began looking at me as just an object; a weapon for them to use in times of global crisis!" His voice roared around the room like thunder; his rage building faster and higher. "It was all because your father thought I couldn't protect you, and instead ran away from the incident to save myself! They blamed me, because of your stupid actions."
"Because…of…me?" Words couldn't describe Misuki's expression, nor feelings toward Shadow's story.
Shadow continued on, savoring the look on her face. "You locked me in that chamber and put me into hibernation mode. After that, you ran off to help your father fight off Eggman. You stood there as they did countless experiments on me and put me through intense training, letting me take the fall for your stupid acts of bravery, as you would call it. Then the worse thing happened that I'll never forget. You sealed me up again two years later and never came back for me. I was left alone in the earth forever. If it wasn't for the Doctor coming in and reawakening me, I would still be down there in that chamber. But soon, I shall have my revenge on you and the rest of the world!"
"Shadow, you have it all wrong." Misuki pleaded, taking two small steps toward him. "That's not what happened at all. We didn't abandon you, nor were you being punished for not protecting us from Eggman."
"Enough talk!" Shadow stomped toward Misuki and grabbed her by the wrist, squeezing it as tight as he could.
"Shadow, stop. That hurts." Misuki pleaded for Shadow to let go of her, but he didn't listen to her.
"It doesn't matter what you say now! Your fate is sealed. Just like the fate of everyone on Earth. Soon, they will all feel my wrath." Shadow drug Misuki out of the room and into the computer room, where he was about to put his plan into action.
