Wacky Woods Zone
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
One after another, explosions riddled the forest's floor. Steel and iron was tossed in all directions while the body that held it all together detonated. One by one, many machines went off into smoke and haze, while they were torn through like paper.
"Now this is more like it!" Shadow exclaimed as he pulled his fist back, smiling devilishly toward the many Badniks that arrived to face him.
"What is it with you boys and... ERRAGH! FIGHTING!?"
Rouge's kick slammed into the head of the Badnik before her, causing it to explode in a fiery doom. She flew back with wings flapping, all the while Shadow fired off Chaos Spears to destroy more Badniks in the area.
Shadow and Rouge have entered Wood Zone.
All around them, trees stood as high as skyscrapers. The blue sky and warm sun went covered by the canopies above them, constricting anyone's view of them. However, it was what lay below that really mattered. Wood Zone's forests were known region-wide by the islands of North, South, and East Side. But here they were, being desecrated by Robotnik's Badniks.
They were armed with whirring saw-blades that severed trees by their trunks. Many trees had already been claimed by the deforestation project, though many still stood tall. However – with Rouge and Shadow in the Zone – it didn't look like the program was going to be completed any time soon. Or ever for that matter.
"No! No! No! Stop it! You idiots!" Robotnik shouted.
His fist suddenly slammed down upon his desk as he watched the carnage in his office. The holographic image given to him showed the two mobians destroy yet another band of Badniks he created. The Wood Zone Badniks were created specifically with the purpose of tearing down trees, and despite the fact that they were armed to the teeth with high-end weaponry, they weren't meant for combat operations. Those powerful machine guns weren't going to hit the Black Wind and his comrade, no matter how much they tried.
"What is wrong, Dr. Robotnik?" Maria's voice chimed in as she appeared from virtually nowhere.
"Shadow and Rouge have entered Wood Zone..." he grumbled as he looked up to the faux-woman, "They are ruining everything Maria! The number of Badniks in Wood Zone is steadily dwindling! At this rate, I'll never find Mystic Cave Zone!"
Robotnik growled some more, especially as Shadow performed a spin dash to tear through a Badnik. His fist slammed down upon his desk, causing it to glitch, while he grumbled. Mystic Cave Zone was very important to his operation. If his scans were right – and they always were – then a Chaos Emerald existed within the old abandoned cave. But it was more to it than just one Chaos Emerald.
The strongest point of Chaos activity existed within Mystic Cave Zone itself. He didn't know what caused it, but knew he had to have it.
"Maria!" he suddenly shouted, causing her to jump slightly, "Send the Egg Mobile-SB to deal with Shadow and Rouge. I don't intend on it actually killing them, though that would be some good news to all this nonsense..." he leaned back into his chair, seemingly calming down, while his eyes gleamed a powerful red, "I don't want them discovering Mystic Cave Zone, do you understand?"
"Yes, Dr. Robotnik..." Maria said as she gave a bow, vanishing soon after.
…
The world of digital space was what she was used too. Many people don't know this, but inside of all the computers, all the devices, all the electronics, there lays a world. A world that is created by the very same devices, and who owns them. It was in this world where she held a body. A real and actual body. One with fingers, hair, eyes, skin, and a beating life. Though, even she was smart enough to know this body wasn't actually real. Not fully. She couldn't touch real people, only the data they leave behind. What's the point of having a body if you can't interact with others?
These worlds can be forcibly made by the creators, but if you don't know this place exists, then how can you change it? That's how she felt. The world she lived in was somewhat depressing. It was cold, merciless, and flowing endlessly with robots created to destroy the world. The mainframe of Eggman Inc. wasn't the kind of place she liked. She had emotions, as ironic as that is to say. She even had memories.
Memories of starlit nights, and a large beautiful blue sphere.
She even had hopes. She wanted to – some day – not live inside the cold confines of zeroes and ones. She wanted to live in a world with the wind blowing into her face, a world where she could experience waters and grass like a living human. But she couldn't get that blessing. Not so long as he lived. Not so long as her cousin was bothered constant by his most hated enemy.
So long as Shadow the hedgehog exists, her dream of having a real body will never come through fruition. That insufferable mobian; she hated him just as much as Robotnik did! And she would show it. She would show just how much she detested Shadow, and how embedded to the Robotnik cause she was.
Maria came to a halt, as she hovered through cyberspace. There was a light before her, one red and blinking. Getting closer to the light revealed itself as a lens of some sort. Gazing through the lens, she could see something on the other end. She watched as the blades of a saw tore into trees. Lifting her fingers, Maria placed it upon the panel that stood directly before the light.
"Eraah...!" she grunted, feeling as green digital lines connected with her body.
She shivered and groaned in pain, biting her lip down hard to focus on something else. So much information was uploaded into her mind, as she downloaded information into the machine itself. Her breathing jumped up a few notches as she and the machine traded data. But soon those pants for breath became laughter, while her blue eyes turned a dangerous red.
Maria was now in control of the Egg Mobile-SB.
…
"Hmph... what pieces of trash..." Shadow grumbled, rolling his eyes whilst tossing a Badnik's head up and down, "I don't even know why we bother anymore..."
"That's what I've been saying since the very beginning!" Rouge practically roared at Shadow's statement, "Why are we even bothering with any of this? Why don't we just go ahead and find the Hidden Palace Zone, and be done with it."
"It's never that easy, Rouge..." Shadow said, finger wagging in a cocky manner, "You should know that by now..."
He dropped the Badnik's head before crossing his arms in their usual fashion. Rouge groaned with annoyance toward his actions, before following him closely behind. Wood Zone's large and luscious forests were marred, but not destroyed. With time, they would get better, that's for sure. He'd make sure they'd get the chance to grow forever, once he permanently got rid of a certain dictator.
Wood Zone was also unusually silent. There seemed to be a lack of life inside, though this wasn't uncommon. Compared to the last few zones they traveled through, this appeared to be par for the norm. West Side Island was just as dead and silent as South Island was during his last quest to defeat Eggman.
But what made it worse was how familiar Wood Zone was to the hedgehog. Walking around Wood Zone, it felt like his own home. Not the one he has on South Island, instead the old one he remembered growing up in with his parents. The trees appeared to have villages and homes carved out into them, reminding him of his youth. He could even see it now; mother and father, yelling at one another.
And by 'yelling at one another', instead having his mother yell at her father who just sits there and takes it. He had quickly taught him a valuable lesson. It's better to let a woman think she's won a fight, even if she really hasn't.
Words to live by.
"Shadow, what is going on with you?" Rouge inquired as he snapped out of his trance, "You were all... mind warped and stuff..."
"No I wasn't..." he replied, looking over to her as he said so.
"Yes you were..."
"No I..." then he stopped, and remembered his father's words, "Uh... yeah..." he then stated, gazing forward again, "I guess I kinda was..."
"Not 'I guess'," Rouge stated, "You were! And..." her ears suddenly twitched, "And..." she looked up, going somewhat wide-eyed while Shadow took notice, "And... hey, Shadow... do you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"That..."
She pointed to the tree's canopies, taking note of something that Shadow couldn't see. For a moment, he thought Rouge had lost his mind. He shifted his hands to his waist, planted them there, then gave a curt and very audible 'hmm'.
But then a very noticeable sound echoed out.
CRRRRRRREEEERAAAAACCCHHHH! Yeah. That's what it sounded like.
Shadow jumped back, eyes wide with shock, while he and Rouge stared up. Surrounding them immediately, various trees were breaking apart. The noise of severing wood and splinters shooting out echoed all around, causing Shadow to grab Rouge's hand. He immediately boosted forward at amazing speeds, his body being covered by a golden-yellow light. The trees were so large, a full minute of dashing did nothing as they continued to fall all around them.
What's worse, the trees appeared to follow them. AS they fell one by one, they constantly course corrected themselves to aim at them and them alone. Shadow took note of this, as he immediately dashed back. He'd random stand on the fallen helms of other trees than to cause more to fall.
"Shadow!" Rouge shouted as he came to a stop, "What are you doing!? The trees!"
"I know..." he stated as he withdrew a Chaos Emerald, watching as one tree fell directly toward them, "I have no doubt in my mind one of Robotnik's Badniks are causing this. I'm going to stop it..." his Chaos Emerald rose higher, "CHAOS CONTROL!"
Just in the nick of time, he and Rouge vanished into thin air. The tree fell on them, causing a loud pounding sound to echo throughout the entire zone. When it was all said and done, everything grew silent. With there no longer being a target to hit, the trees stopped falling. And only a few minutes later, the culprit revealed itself.
Floating to the very center of the carnage was a hovering being. Dome-shaped, it hovered in the air with powerful thrusters. It looked incredibly similar to the Egg Mobile-T Robotnik piloted in Aquatic Ruins Zone. The main difference was both subtle and jarring.
Instead of holding a great Hammer – like The Egg Mobile-D – this new Egg Mobile model held a great saw blade. A disk shaped one that spun around endlessly and without enough speed and power to tear the strongest objects in half. It's easy to say the 'SB' in Egg Mobile-SB stands for 'saw blade'. Powerful on its own, the Egg Mobile-SB could do the entire job of one hundred saw mills in a relatively short time-period. When sent out to the forests to create more lumber, expect the forest to be gone within only a day. Speaks true to the Wood Zone's size seeing as it was still standing.
The Egg Mobile-SB hovered around constantly, searching for its targets. To its confusion, the two mobians appeared to have become nothing. One would see this as a blessing, but not this high-class Badnik. It knew it's enemies were around here somewhere. Little did it know just how close they were.
"And! Now!"
POW! POW!
In rapid succession, two beings struck the head of the Egg Mobile-SB with amazing power and speed. The dual pounces were enough to push the machine down, before they gracefully leaped away to escape. They landed together, revealing themselves to be a certain hedgehog and bat.
"I knew it," Shadow stated as he clenched his fists, growling at the Egg Mobile before them, "Another one of Robotnik's Egg Mobiles..."
"Actually, I'm surprised," Rouge said as she crossed her arms, looking at the Egg Mobile with acute surprise, "This is the first time we've faced one so early..."
"Which means it will be the first time we destroyed one so early!" Shadow stated, fingers cackling with Chaos powers.
…
"Maria! Maria! Where are you!?" Robotnik shouted, glaring around with eyes crimson.
She didn't heed his call. That never happens. Whenever Robotnik calls for her – no matter how low – she appears almost immediately. But this time, it seemed as if she couldn't even hear him. Robontik didn't show fear however. Instead, he prodded his fingers after a few minutes of not-Maria around him.
"Ugh..." he growled, glaring back at his holographic image of Wood Zone, "You better not have done what I think you've done..." currently, Shadow and Rouge were fighting the Egg Mobile-SB, "You know what happens when you glitch Maria..."
Shadow and Rouge have passed act 2.
…
"Chaos Spear!" Shadow roared.
The Black Wind's hands were placed together, palms aimed toward the hovering machine of destruction. From his palms, various bolts of Chaos Spears were fired, slamming into the Egg Mobile-SB's body. To his surprise, the Egg Mobile-SB was actually being pushed back. Unlike the last few Egg Mobiles which deflected his Chaos Spears, even fully charged ones, this one was actually injured by it.
That's not to say it was defeated with ease. The Egg Mobile-SB constantly fought back, swinging it's blade around to deflected by Chaos Spears with as much ease as it could.
"Rouge, can you get in on it?" Shadow asked, his Chaos Spear volley loosening up a bit.
"I'd like to try," she replied, "But let's be honest; there's no way I'm getting close to that blade! If it an cut through trees with great ease, think of what it could do to my body!"
"Fine then!" the Black Wind retorted, suddenly stopping his volley as he placed one hand's back to the other hand's palm, "I'll just hit it with the strongest Chaos Spear I got! That should work!"
His body began to exert yellow energy, while the earth shook beneath his feet. The Egg Mobile-SB began to steadily approach him, blade at the ready. The red optic that was it's eye suddenly spun around to face the hedgehog, while it approached them slowly.
"Chaos!" he growled, "SPEAR!"
He fired his blast, sending it curling toward the Egg Mobile-SB. It pulled back just in time to save itself form sure destruction, though Shadow's attack slammed into the saw blade's joints. The attack destroyed it, sending the blade flying off due to the force. Shadow, upon seeing it coming, merely stepped to one side. The blade kept going however, flying toward Rogue.
"EYAH!?"
She ran back, tripped, then fell down in her adrenaline fueled escape. The blade came right toward her, forcing her to split her legs in an attempt to not be eviscerated. To her blessed luck, the blade slammed down into the gap of her legs, and got stuck into the earth.
Rouge breathed heavily as she looked at the blade, noticing her reflection in it. When it was clear the saw wasn't going to kill her, she swallowed her spit accordingly.
"Dammit, Shadow!" she then shouted as she got angry, watching as he walked to her.
"Dammit what?" he asked as he gave her his hand.
"Dammit it for that!" she replied, grabbing his hand and helping herself up, "That could've killed me, you know!"
"But it didn't," he retorted, arms crossed, "Don't worry, I was in complete control of everything."
He picked up the blade soon after, staring at his reflection in its perfectly cleaned steel. Raising an eyebrow, he quickly glared at the Egg Mobile that attacked them. Compared to the rest of them, the Egg Mobile-SB was simply under-equipped to handle such a dangerous opponent.
"This is getting ridiculous," Shadow said as he walked to the Egg Mobile-SB, "These games are becoming stupid, Robotnik..." a red aura suddenly exploded around the Black Wind's body, as a charged up an attack in his free hand, "Either you're desperate, or you've finally lost your mind. No matter..." he smiled, "Allow me to send you a message. Chaos! Lance!"
In an attempt to end the Egg Mobile-SB with one last blow, Shadow fired an enhanced Chaos Spear at the machination. The machine didn't even have a chance to escape, for the fast acting attack slammed into its hull. A powerful explosion was triggered, one that shook the very earth. Shadow merely stared into the debris, head shaking in disgust.
But that disgust transformed into surprise, as instead of the fallen carcass of an Egg Mobile, Shadow saw a force-field being generated. It was a light blue color, as well as see-through, and sitting inside was the Egg Mobile-SB. It hovered endlessly, with not a scar or marking on its body.
"Well that's new..." Rouge commented, while Shadow rose an eyebrow.
"You two just never give up!" was their response.
The shrill bark baffled both mobians, who had never heard such a voice before. Shadow and Rouge both got battle ready, while they continued staring up to the Egg Mobile with eyes of utter confusion.
"Di... did that... did that Badnik just talk?" Rouge asked of her ally, "Sh-Shadow?"
"I've... never fought a Badnik that spoke before..." he answered, just as confused as the bat.
"You two keep going and going and going!" the Egg Mobile-SB stated, "I'm getting so sick and tired of you two! Don't you know when to simply give in!?"
What was even more confusing was who spoke. It was the voice of a woman. It was highly distorted and corrupted, but it was a young woman's voice. Rouge knew this; her powerful ears could tell with ease. But for Shadow, that voice was weird. He felt conflicted, really; it was both familiar to him, and distant. He knew he heard it before, but he didn't know where.
But maybe now wasn't the time to worry about such thoughts. Clearly, this Egg Mobile-SB was stronger than he thought it was. Though disarmed, the force-field it projected did not come from any visible area on the machine's body, meaning it was creating the shield from within.
"Dr. Robotnik only wants me to bother you," said the Egg Mobile-SB's strangely feminine voice, "But I will do more than that. I will kill the both of you right here, right now."
"Unlikely..." Shadow replied, before suddenly firing a Chaos Spear at the machine with no warning.
His blast slammed into its shield, vanishing into thin-air while the impact pushed it back.
"As expected..." the Egg Mobile-SB claimed, voice changing in a demented fashion. It dropped a few levels in base, becoming more robotic, "Data claims 'Chaos Spear' is your most basic level Chaos attack, and the one you use most often. Egg Mobile Series 2 were created with the intention of deflecting the attack, in comparison to the Egg Mobile Series 1 of South Island. With my force-field, it will be impossible to penetrate my shields..."
"We'll see about that," Shadow stated as he suddenly couched down.
He suddenly began spinning in place, becoming faster and faster as he did so. After gaining enough inertia, the Black Wind launched himself at the Egg Mobile at sonic speeds. His full-force blow collided with its shielding, causing him to be thrown back by its strength. Shadow was actually quite stunned as he was thrown back, violently bouncing against the earth as he uncurled.
"Ow..." he grunted, before looking back up to the machine.
"The famed, Spin Dash," the Egg Mobile-SB claimed, voice suddenly changing as it became extremely high-pitched and more childish, "You're strike, while powerful enough to destroy lesser Badniks, is not capable of shattering my force-field. With this defense, I am impenetrable."
"Who are you, exactly?" Shadow inquired, eyebrow raised in confusion, "You sound so... familiar..."
"My name is of no importance to you," the Egg Mobile-SB claimed, voice becoming normal mid-sentence, "All that matters is the destruction of Shadow the hedgehog!"
The force-field belonging to the Egg Mobile-SB began to stretch out like tentacles. It grabbed at various forms of lumber and other debris, clenching them and lifting them up high. Shadow and Rouge stared up to the sight together, watching as the Egg Mobile-SB glared at them like a single unblinking eye.
"Today... I will kill the both of you..."
…
His chair came to a sudden halt. His eyes gleamed a burning red as he took in a deep breath. Finger to the bridge of his glasses, he pushed them up as to help his eyesight.
"Maria, Maria, Maria," Robotnik said in disappointment, shaking his head as he stood up from his chair, "Why do you find the need to disappoint me? You're own cousin?"
The room was small. Incredibly small. And yet, despite its size, it held so much inside. Wires were strewn all on the floors, as well as various other machines. Many of these machines were covered and dust, though they were all running constantly. They also held many screens, all of which held various information.
While the dictator walked through, he hovered his hand over a random machine. This caused a piece of paper to print out, as if summoned by his hand wave alone. He picked up the piece of paper which held various lines and other data, then grumbled in amusement.
"I see, I see..." he said before wagging his finger, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, Maria... tsk tsk tsk..."
He walked finally to a black machine that could best be described as a coffin. His fingers lined up and down the machine, before coming to a piece of glass. He wiped the glass clean of the fresh cold air that coated it. Upon cleaning it away, he could see a resting face inside.
The pale skin of a twelve-year-old girl.
"What a glitchy machine you are, Maria..." he said as he shifted attention toward a computer screen, "I've gotta fix you now."
…
RA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA!
A maelstrom of bullets rained upon them, dancing upon the ground in violent spurts. The two mobians darted left and right at sonic speeds, dodging the bullets as best they could. IT wasn't easy actually, especially with how precise it's aim was. The Egg Mobile-SB – though perhaps, Egg Mobile-M would now be a more appropriate name – had pulled in multiple Badniks to help in its mission to kill Shadow and Rouge. The fallen machine's had their guns endlessly fire, even though most of them were already destroyed due their previous bout.
"This is pointless!" Shadow claimed, attempting to destroy some Badniks with a failed Chaos Spear, "That shield is impenetrable!"
"Nothing's impenetrable!" Rouge replied, flying high to dodge attacks as well, "Everything has a weakness, Shadow! That machine included! How would you get through the walls of a place like that!?"
"Your lack of strategy is entertaining," the Egg Mobile-M claimed as it continued to attack them, "Is this how you two normally operated? Screaming and yelling at one another like children? How do you two continue to win in fights you are utterly unprepared for? It speaks well to your tenacity... or luck. This is information we should continue to monitor... if you live to see your next encounter, of course..."
"You are an annoying wretch..." Shadow claimed as he growled, "I'll end this in one blow!"
He parted his legs and hunched down, while his hands stretched out wide. Suddenly, powerful amounts of Chaos energy began to surge between his two palms. While bullets rained down upon him, they were deflected by an aura that took over him. Shadow aimed his two palms toward the Egg Mobile-M, then smiled mischievously.
"Chaos Blast!" he roared before launching a powerful beam of chaotic energy toward the floating death machine.
His beam clashed with the Egg Mobile-M's force-field, where the two entered a power struggle. To Shadow's surprise, his powerful technique couldn't break through the machine's shield. However, his attempt to overpower it created yet another opportunity. The Egg Mobile-M was so occupied stopping his beam, it didn't have enough time to attack either he or Rouge. To which the bat quickly took advantage of.
She hovered near the Egg Mobile-M, flapping her wings to keep her at a safe distance. Hand sliding to her chest, she clenched it while her eyes closed.
"Hah..." she mumbled, as if breathing hard, "Hah... haaaaaaaah. Haaaaaaah! Errrrr... Errrrrr!" Rouge's eyes suddenly grew wide, while her pupils became small, "EERRRRAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHH!"
Her mouth gave way to a mighty shout, one strong enough to send an eerie rumbling through those who heard it. Shadow, upon hearing the scream, quickly stopped his blast as he instead covered his ears. He fell to his knees whilst shouting as well, as if his roar could help force out the roar that hurt him.
On the other end, the Egg Mobile-M found its circuitry to be – shockingly – broken and shattered. The roar did mighty damage to the machine's insides, mainly destroying the circuit board capable of projecting its shield. Because of this, the force-field it projected began to fizzle, before it eventually faded away.
"Error! Error!" the Egg Mobile-M claimed as it failed to keep a continuous hover, "Egg Mobile Series 1 is incapable of withstanding sound strikes! Major damage done to internal systems! Shield down, thrusters failing, converting remaining power to the auto recovery systems."
"Hah... hah... hah... Rouge..." Shadow grunted as he breathed heavily, "Next time you're about to do that... thing... warn me... please?"
"yeah... say that to the girl who just hurt her voice trying to save you..." she said lowly, like a squeaking mouse, "now... puhweeazze... end this..."
"With gusto..."
He walked over to the Egg Mobile-M, watching as it struggled to make an escape with failing engines. The Black Wind opened his palm as he began charging yet another powerful blast.
"Chaos... SPEAR!"
His yellow blast tore straight through the Egg Mobile-M, severing it in half. The sudden detonation caused the entire machine to be engulfed and disintegrated by his powerful attack.
…
"AAARARRRAAAAAGGGGHHH!?"
She felt everything. Every burning feeling that Egg Mobile felt, she felt tenfold. It surged through her head in and out, over and over again. She was forced to feel everything until that machine couldn't process one single thought.
"Get out! Get out!" the woman screamed, before finally tearing her arms out of the machine's control panel.
She glared around into the digital streams of cyberspace, chest raising and lowering at great speeds. It hurt her so much to do such a thing, and was enough to make her wonder why she did such a thing in the first place. Staring down, she gazed at her hands. Well, tried to; half of her arm was made of nothing but zeros and ones.
"Ow!" she grunted, "Ow! Ah!" her head constantly clicked to one side, while her eyes closed, "Ah! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!" the world around became pitch-black, "It hurts! It hurts... it hurt... it hurts... it hurts..."
"Maria..."
Her eyes opened, and she turned around. Directly behind her lay a pair of red eyes. It stared at her, and she stared back.
"I-I-Ivo?" she answered.
"You've been a bad girl, Maria," Dr. Robotnik's voice rang, "You glitched yet again."
"I... I didn't mean to!" she claimed, before her head clicked rapidly, "I thought – I thought – I thought – I thought-" she ended up repeating endlessly, making the doctor grunt.
"You hear yourself, Maria?" Robotnik inquired, "You are not well. You feel bad..."
"I feel bad..." Maria claimed, clenching her arms as she did so, "I do feel bad – CLICK! - feel bad – CLICK! - feel bad..."
"You need rest, Maria..."
"I need..." her eye suddenly faded, as she too turned to nothing, "Rest..."
…
Robotnik's Log – Maria.
Maria glitched again. This time, however, it appeared to come from nowhere. She didn't show signs of a glitch until today, however this one was sever. She attacked Shadow and Rouge directly, despite my orders not too. I think her connection with the Egg Mobile-SB may have infected her with Badnik, but I'm not entirely sure...
But it's better than the last time. She didn't recognize Shadow upon facing him, and it doesn't appear like he recognized her as well. I plan on updating her AI software to 4.2.2 tonight. Good think I already had it prepared.
End Log.
Robotnik closed his computer screen, shutting it down briefly. Walking over to another machine, he began humming some endless tune, as he started clicking on another keyboard. After finishing whatever it was he was doing, a bar showing an upload process appeared.
"Have a good rest, Maria dear," the dictator said as he walked over to his main chair, sitting upon it, "See you in the morning..."
Pressing a button on his left armrest, the chair ascended into a hole in the ceiling. The hole closed up shortly after.
When 'put to rest' like this, Maria dreams. She see's a sea of stars, stretching on endlessly. And she see's a hedgehog, one with a smile.
Wood Zone completed.
Next stop, Mystic Cave Zone.
