Finding The Truth (Issue 171 Redone)
Back at New Megaopolis, Eggman and Snively are working on a major plan to destroy Knothole City...
"Robotnik, sir. Your new batch of egg grapes have finally been completed and the worker bots are almost done with the teleporter beams." Snively reported as he entered the lab.
"Excellent, Snively. That's only phase one of my plan. Right now I'm preparing to upgrade my Egg Fleet. Those lousy Freedom Fighters won't know what hit them once
everything is finished." Eggman replied.
Suddenly, Shadow comes in with a livid expression on his face,
"Doctor Robotnik!"
"Huh?" Eggman muttered.
The mad doctor peeks over his shoulder and raises an eyebrow,
"What is it, Shadow?"
Shadow starts to clench his fists as they glow with chaos energy,
"My creator, Gerald Robotnik, has a journal that holds all the answers to my past."
He then points at the doctor,
"You've been hiding it from me this entire time and I demand to know where it is!"
Eggman faces the hedgehog, looking disinterested,
"I have no clue what you're talking about."
Shadow clenches both of his fists again and picks Eggman up with one hand while he grabs Snively's six strands of hair with the other,
"Do not test my patience, Doctor. I'll ask again. Where have you hidden Gerald Robotnik's journal?"
"I don't have to tell you anything. You belong to me and you'll do as I say. Release me now!" Eggman commanded.
Shadow decides to focus on Snively, lightly pulling his hair,
"Where is the journal, Snively? If you don't tell me, there will be dire consequences."
Snively panics as Shadow tugs on his six strands of hair,
"No! Don't take the last of my hair, please!"
Shadow repeated himself pulling the hair harder,
"Where. is. the. journal?!"
Snively finally screams out,
"It's in Uncle Julian's private study! Now please, release my hair!"
Shadow smirks softly,
"That's what I thought… but you wasted too much of my time."
The black hedgehog rips off Snively's last six hairs and runs towards Eggman's private study.
"Snively! You double-crossing imp!" Eggman yelled.
"He took the last of my hair!" Snively yelled back.
"Who cares? Having a bald head is attractive!" the mad doctor answered, pointing at his own dome afterwards.
While the two argued, Shadow had quickly rummaged through the private quarters of Robotnik and found Professor Gerald's journal.
"Finally…I found the journal of my creator. Soon, I will no longer be lost." he said while removing a CD from the journal.
His expression changes to a serious one,
"I must go to a safer location. A place with similar technology with people I can trust."
He dashes out of Robotnik's base and heads towards the Great Forest.
At Freedom HQ, Sonic and Tails were doing research on the computer while Knuckles was guarding the door...
Soon, Sally walks in muttering to herself,
"Where can she be?"
Seeing this behavior made Knuckles curious,
"Everything okay, Sally?"
The princess crosses her arms and softly shakes her head,
"Have any of you seen Fiona? She was supposed to meet up with me, Bunnie and Amy for a discussion."
Tails chooses to keep silent at the mention of Fiona while Sonic speaks up, looking troubled,
"Sorry, Sal. Can't say I have. I'm starting to get real tired of these no-shows from her. She didn't even come on the mission you sent us on, yesterday afternoon. I keep
giving her the benefit of the doubt because of how much she's helped us recently but… I don't know if I should anymore."
The chipmunk nods in agreement,
"I think this is the last straw—"
Suddenly, Tails angrily flies out of the HQ, causing Sally to stop mid-sentence.
'I can't take this anymore! I have to tell someone what I know...' he thought.
A confused Knuckles pokes his head outside before facing back towards Sonic and Sally,
"What's up with Tails? I've never seen him fly off like that."
Sonic shrugs,
"I don't know, Knux. Every time we bring up Fiona, he starts to act all weird."
Sally gives her own answer while in a thinking pose,
"Sonic, Tails probably still has a crush on her."
The Blue Blur lets out an exasperated sigh, gazing at the ceiling as he does so,
"I know about his crush on Fiona, but I thought he's moved on at this point."
Sally shook her head once more and pointed at the entrance,
"Obviously he's not from what we just saw. I suppose he doesn't like it when we speak badly of her around him. We should talk to him."
Before Sonic can give his thoughts on her suggestion, they both hear electrical strikes coming from outside.
"Sonic! Sally! Shadow is heading this way and he's under attack!" Knuckles yelled from entrance.
The princess focused back the blue hedgehog beside her,
"Sonic, you go with Knuckles and help Shadow. I'll stay here and keep an eye on the base."
Sonic gives Sally a funny salute along with a cheeky grin,
"Yes, ma'am!" he cheered, earning an amused head shake from his partner.
He dashes outside and stops right beside Knuckles.
"Let's lend Shadow a hand, Sonic." Knuckles told him.
Sonic nods and gives a thumbs up before they both head in Shadow's direction. The black hedgehog is seen running away from two Egg Flappers shooting electric
shocks at him.
They were about to fry the disk that was in his hand, but Sonic spin dashes cleanly through the first Flapper and Knuckles slams the other down to the ground with
both his fists.
"Wooo! That felt great! We tore through those bots like butter!" Sonic exclaimed.
Knuckles smirks in agreement,
"Yeah, these badniks are ready for the junk pile."
Sonic turns to Shadow with a smirk and half closed eyes,
"We can never meet normally, huh Shadow?"
Shadow smiled at the unharmed disk in his hand before turning his attention to Sonic,
"That was a little too close, blue hedgehog. But you have my thanks regardless."
"So what brings you out here, faker? I'm guessing it has something to do with that disk your smiling at." Sonic asked.
Shadow's expression changes to a more melancholy one,
"You're correct… the Freedom Fighters are the only ones I can trust right now. I've been lost in the dark for too long and this disk will help me find myself."
Sonic chuckles,
"Heh, I find it ironic that you're lost in the dark, "Shadow"."
The black hedgehog glared in response and pointed at Sonic's chest,
"This is no time for bad puns, Sonic! This disk contains the journal of my creator, Gerald Robotnik. It will tell me why I was made and what purpose I serve."
The Blue Blur waves his hand and smiles,
"Cool it, faker. I'm just messing around. Of course we'll help you out."
Sonic glanced at Knuckles,
"C'mon, Rad Red. Let's get back to the HQ."
After a few minutes of explaining what happened, Sally had Nicole run a diagnostic on the disk Shadow gave them...
"Diagnostic complete, Princess Sally." Nicole informed her.
"Alright, Nicole. Tell us what you found." Sally replied.
"The data is still relatively intact, but it is very fragile. If we attempt to access the files, there is chance that it could corrupt after short period of time." the holo-lynx
explained.
Shadow, with a determined look, states firmly,
"I've gone too far to stop now. I have to take the chance."
Nicole replies,
"Very well. If you want, I can physically interface with the disk. It would make it a lot easier to find what you're looking for."
"Do it." the black hedgehog responded.
Sonic smiles at Sally,
"Wanna join us, Sal? It'll be fun."
Sally smiles back,
"Usually I would, but I'll sit this one out. I want to watch you both from outside of the monitor and make sure things run smoothly."
"If you say so." Sonic said with a shrug before turning to Knuckles.
"What about you, Rad Red?"
"No can do. I'll be keeping watch outside to make sure no one interrupts you guys." he answered.
Even though Sonic understood, he still rolled his eyes,
"Whatever."
Nicole announces,
"Everything is ready."
Sonic and Shadow both nod at each other before teleporting into the computer. When The two hedgehogs scan their surroundings, they realize that they're in a virtual
recreation of the Space Colony Ark.
"This ring any bells, Shadow?" Sonic asked.
Shadow had a look of awe,
"Yes, I remember this place as my home."
They both hear a voice behind them and turn around to see a Mobian Lynx in a purple dress.
"As I said before, the data is still very fragile. I calculated that we have approximately twenty minutes before this place withers away from fragmentation."
Both of Sonic's eyebrows were raised,
"Whoa! Is that you, Nicole?"
Nicole turns her back and smiles timidly,
"Indeed, it is. This has been a little side project I've been working on. What do you think?"
"I think you look cute. It suits ya." he answered.
Nicole blushes,
"Thank you."
Shadow glares at the two,
"What's the hold up? We only have eighteen minutes now." he complained.
Sonic sheepishly smiles at Shadow, adding a shrug as well.
"Whoops. Sorry, faker."
They three start searching the vicinity for clues until their ears pick up another female voice,
"Shadow, over here!"
The familiar voice made Shadow turn his head swiftly,
"Maria!"
Meanwhile back outside of the monitor, Sally observes the blonde girl who appears on the screen...
'I wonder who this girl is? She looks very similar to that other little girl. What was her name...Hope! It was Hope Kintobor!' Sally thought.
Suddenly, the base's alarm starts to go off loudly, ripping the princess away from her thoughts. She then notices that Snively's hairs were blinking red at the tips.
Knuckles runs back inside,
"What's going on?!"
The princess answers him with a disturbed look on her face,
"It's Snively's six hairs… they... have trackers in them..."
The echidna raises an eyebrow,
"What?! Why am I even surprised? He and Robotnik are total nut jobs."
He ran back outside while yelling,
"I'll go handle him! Just make sure those two make it out of the computer!"
When Knuckles exits the HQ, he discovers that Snively had already been waiting for him in a giant lobster mech, looking extremely
agitated.
"You're not Shadow! Tell him to come out at once! I know he's inside your base and if he doesn't return my hair, I'll destroy it!" he threatened.
Knuckles frowns,
"No…you won't."
He jumps towards Snively's mech and attacks the legs first.
"I've been lost just like Shadow and I won't let you stop him from finding his purpose!"
Knuckles punched two legs off of the lobster before getting swatted away.
"Too bad! He took my last six hairs and I'm going to make sure he suffers for it!" Snively yelled.
The mech fires a barrage of lasers, with Knuckles barely dodging them.
Back inside Gerald's journal...
Shadow runs towards his old friend and holds her hands with a sappy smile appearing on his face,
"Maria…I thought I'd lost you forever."
Maria raises his hands higher, smiling down at him,
"Shadow, we'll never be apart as long as you keep me in your thoughts and heart."
Maria notices the other two Mobians accompanying him and points at them,
"Who are they?"
Sonic answers her with his own smile,
"We're just friends of his. We came to help him find some answers about his past."
"He speaks the truth, Maria. After being in cryosleep for fifty years, I've forgotten everything. My purpose and past are a mystery to me." Shadow explained.
Maria gasped,
"Has it really been fifty years? We must speak to my grandfather immediately!"
The young girl grabs Shadow's hand and leads him along with the others to her grandfather.
Nicole took a quick peek at her timer and saw that they only have eleven minutes left.
'I hope I don't have to cut this reunion short.' she thought.
Eventually they stop in front of a man who looks similar to Eggman, except he was slimmer and had a grey mustache.
"Gerald Robotnik?" Shadow asked.
"Yes, it's me my son. Fifty years is a long time to wander in the dark." Gerald replied.
Sonic also glanced at Nicole's timer to see that they now have nine minutes left.
"Yo, professor. Can we get a short version of his past and what his purpose is? We don't got much time to spare."
The professor nods,
"Why of course." he agreed before turning to his "son".
"To put it briefly, I created you to be the absolute protector of Mobius and its inhabitants."
Shadow looked confused,
"I'm... a guardian? But, why?"
"Honestly, that wasn't what you were planned to be at first. Initially, you were created to be a cure for Maria. She had developed an incurable illness known as
neuro-immuno-deficiency-syndrome. I was hoping with your body's enhanced cells, that it would be possible to cure her… but it proved fruitless." he explained.
The professor's expression then became sad as he continued,
"Everything I tried wasn't working and I didn't want to lose the only family I had left. So I became desperate and decided to use otherworldly means of assistance. As I travelled through space, I ran into the Leader of the Black Arms alien group. He went by the name of Black Doom and after sensing you in my ship, he became obsessed with the notion of turning you into a weapon. Because I was so blinded by grief, I allowed him to insert his blood inside of you so I can study it's properties. It was this
same blood that granted you your powers of chaos control. After the procedure was completed, Black Doom told me that he would allow mankind to use you for fifty years. Once the time was up, he would
then come back to reclaim you. When I discovered that his blood didn't improve Maria's status at all, I realized that I had made a horrible mistake. This is what led to
me re-purposing you as a savior rather than a weapon."
The professor places a hand on Shadow's shoulder and smiles gently,
"In the end, I created you because of my love for the people of Mobius. I wanted you to protect them from Black Doom's eventual return in fifty
years. I'm sorry for placing such a tremendous responsibility on your shoulders... but I know you have the power to do it."
Nicole looked at the timer again. They only had one minute left...
"Shadow, the digital matrix is about to collapse! We need to leave!" she warned.
Shadow's gaze fell to the ground and he clenched his fists,
"I can't! I still have so many questions and I can't leave Maria again!"
Maria put her hands around Shadow's cheeks and smiled lovingly at him,
"Shadow, it's okay. Mobius needs you now more than ever. Just remember that you'll never lose me…"
Shadow finishes her sentence while looking up at her with tears in his eyes,
"As long as I hold you in my thoughts and heart… Goodbye, Maria…"
"Sayonara, Shadow." The blonde girl whispered while hugging him.
"Shadow, c'mon you slowpoke! The floor's starting to disappear!" Sonic scolded.
Shadow exits through the virtual door with Sonic, traveling back to reality. They both tumble out of the computer and crash into a wall.
"What a crazy trip!" Sonic exclaimed.
Sally runs over to the two hedgehogs,
"Good to see you two made it out in one piece. While I was monitoring you both, Knuckles has been dealing with Snively outside. Apparently he wants his six hairs back from Shadow."
Hearing this made Shadow snap and quickly said the six hairs. The black hedgehog then rushes outside and destroys Snively's lobster mech with one powerful spin
dash, freeing Knuckles from the metal pincers.
Sonic, Sally, and Knuckles then watch as Shadow towers over the destroyed mech and Snively,
"I am Shadow the Hedgehog. I was built with the love for the people of Mobius. I am the ultimate life form. And I am the protector of Mobius! Retreat back to your city
and tell Robotnik, this is who I am!"
He threw Snively's hair in his face and left for Station Square.
Sally giggles,
"He certainly knows how to build himself up. Maybe he'll be more positive from now on."
Sonic put his arm around Sally's waist and smirks,
"Eh, maybe. I'm sure that edge of his isn't going anywhere."
Knuckles speaks up,
"I'm just glad he isn't lost anymore. He knows his purpose now and hopefully he'll help us out in a pinch if we need it."
The echidna then takes out his warp ring,
"Anyways, I'm going to head back to Angel Island. I'm sure Julie-Su is worried sick about me."
Sonic and Sally both wave goodbye to their friend as he disappears through the warp ring's portal.
After making sure that Snively left, Sally glances at Sonic with a serious expression,
"Okay, back to what we were talking about before all this happened."
Sonic nods,
"Right, we need to talk to Tails and figure out if he knows something about Fiona."
They both walk back towards Knothole holding hands.
End
