Shadow the Hedgehog: The Just and the Fallen
Segment Ten — The Coalition
Shadow… Oh, please, let him be safe.
"This is it?"
"Yes, sir."
"The Ultimate Life Form…? Are you sure?"
"Yes, sir. According to our access into the GUN Federal Forces' Intelligence Archives we'd managed to hack, he is, sir."
Second Lieutenant General Number Ninety-Seven looked away from Agent Number Eighty-Nine to eye the dormant being inside a spherical container suspiciously.
"So, this is the result of Project: Shadow's hard-won success, Number Ninety-Two?" he asked as the said agent walked in.
Blond Eighty-Nine, brunet Ninety, and the Second Lieutenant General all turned to see two slender figures walking into the chamber: Number Ninety-Two had a gauze wrap around his arm, while Ninety-Three received bandages around his shoulders and bare waist. Both of them were recovering after having experienced the stimuli of Shadow's painful attacks. They were both still sore.
Number Ninety-Two grunted. "Yes, sir."
Ninety-Seven blinked. "What happened to you?" He grimaced. "And where is Ninety-One?"
Ninety-Three glared down at the floor. After a pause, he began to explain. "Well, sir, at some point in the midst of the Ultimate Life Form's capture, she tried to protect him from us. As one to have memorized all regulations of our government, I saw that as a term of endearment—disobedience, in my eyes. She was quite resistant during the capture. She was even threatening to throw away her position in the government for him…but at the very last moment of the mission, after a tussle we had with him, I found her lying unconscious and decided to get her out of there, so she wouldn't get even more caught up in the two-way crossfire with both sides of the GUN, with Central City police."
Ninety-Two frowned.
Ninety-Three saluted. "Sir."
Ninety-Seven frowned as well, thoughtfully. "Hmm, I see."
"Sir, permission to add," Eighty-Nine stated, saluting.
Ninety-Seven nodded him the go-ahead.
"Well, to start off, sir, this being…" They turned to face the capsule's occupant. "He is an extremely powerful and dangerous opponent. He was able to overthrow an entire barricade of the Federal Forces' soldiers within seconds. He also managed to destroy three of our Assault Mecha, killing Numbers Eighty-Six, Eighty-Seven, and Eighty-Eight, and somewhat protecting Rouge all the same. He and Rouge managed to escape momentarily, but we caught up with them." He stood aside for Ninety-Seven to see better. "And he is now here, sir."
The Second Lieutenant General eyed Shadow resting within the containment unit, recuperating from the fight he had served: he slept there, curled up on a contoured pillow that synthesized comfort to promote pleasant dreaming, even though his body had gone through so much duress. Air Seal Gauze wraps covered his scars, an antiseptic speed-healer applied to them to promote faster healing. His eyes remained closed throughout the while; Ninety-Seven stared meaningfully into Shadow's dormant face.
Eighty-Nine glowered sternly. "Obviously, now that he's been exposed to the civilian public, this will mean trouble—serious trouble, sir—enough to put the entire nation in danger. I believe he should be exterminated as soon as possible." Ninety-Seven gave him a peculiar look; Eighty-Nine blinked a little. "But, um, what do you suppose we do, sir?"
Ninety-Seven thought for a moment. "There are other plans we have in store for him. I believe we should keep him dormant for the time being, until the second phase of her plan commences." He threw another concerned glance at the comatose hedgehog, his breathing steady and his face calm. The Lieutenant General felt the bitter aftertaste of guilt hang over him: his soldiers had taken him by such force—with such brutality, he imagined—and abandoned Rouge.
He pressed in on the hinge of his shaded glasses, which brought up the entire records base of every active GUN Rebellion operative wirelessly. He scanned through until he found Rouge's record file.
"So, Lieutenant General sir, what about that 'Traitor', Rouge?" Ninety brought up, stuffing his hands in his pockets, as Ninety-Seven glanced through her file.
He spotted something that made him scowl. "No wonder you keep calling her a traitor…" Her record was highlighted. "Her allegiance with the GUN Rebellion and her mission authorization have been compromised. It says here that her activity has been recorded by the Federal Forces ever since she joined us a few weeks back. Heh…!" Her file was deleted from the database. "She can stay on the enemy side for all I care. She's deliberately disobeyed orders from us and the Federal Forces. No one as rebellious as her needs to be in anyone's military, let alone ours."
"Nothing but a traitorous wench, I swear…" Ninety whispered to himself, shrugging his shoulders. "If she's such a traitor, you should just kill her, I tell you."
"That's too drastic, even for us, Ninety." Ninety-Seven logged out the database. "If she was still one of our own, it would be. But now, it's a whole new story."
"Yeah, I think you got a little too happy about that one." Ninety-Two threw in right into his ear, a smug grin on his face. He flicked his eyebrows; Ninety furrowed his brows, growling under his breath.
"You must really like her…!" His superior snickered.
"Shut up!" Ninety barked.
The Lieutenant General drowned out the boisterous nonsense behind him, staring carefully into Shadow's face, examining it. He crossed his arms.
'She is of no use to us, now. She's lived up to her usefulness, and now, she's nothing but another enemy.' He smirked a bit. 'And he will be the perfect weapon of choice to use against her.'
CENTRAL CITY PARK—2:43
The downpour had not yet paused from its drizzling. The thunder still clashed above in the sky as lightning struck down from the heavens. The early morning was still gloom-and-doom.
Rouge had returned from being unconsciousness after the GUN Rebellion agents left, taking Shadow with them. She sat up, rubbing her head, moaning quietly.
"Ugh…! What the…? What happened?" She looked up and saw a dark shape above her: only for it to be a tree, and the dreadfully dark-gray sky above it. She felt rainwater splashing on her, and she flinched. "Huh? Where am I?" She braced herself against the tree and pulled herself up. Her blurred vision cleared up as she peered through it. Then, she gasped, "Shadow!" Her head swapped directions.
She stumbled from under the tree, searching desperately in all possible directions several times more.
But still no Shadow.
"No…"
Rouge was perched on the guardrail, looking somberly down into the river's dull depths, rippling from disturbance by the rainfall. Tear streaks formed damp lines down her cheeks, with her tears still skipping down her face. She sat all alone, cold and depressed as the rain fell, deeply ashamed for what she'd done and that she couldn't prevent it.
"Shadow," she rasped under her tears. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen." Her tear-welled eyes glazed, sadly looming over to the ruined Radical Highway.
There were flashing sirens blaring their clarion calls, and police helicopters hovering around to brighten the site in the distance. Obviously, investigators pulled in to record their sightings and have them developed into newsprint. And speaking of investigators…!
"Hey, hey, hey!" Vector stated to the flock of reporters, trying to get some breathing room. The Chaotix trio appeared at the scene, with news reporters at their heels with questions and interrogations. "No worries, you guys, we got this! You've got the Chaotix on the case. We'll find out who did this 'dastardly' deed…" He glanced back at the gaping aperture in the bridge. A sweat drop slid down the side of his head, grinning crookedly. 'Sooner or later,' he thought hopelessly.
Espio and Charmy stood back and watched Vector deal with the reporters.
"Mr. Vector sir!"
Vector looked behind him to see a short, scrawny-framed man running toward him. Vector blinked.
"What's the news?" Vector asked, his fists akimbo.
"The bridge… Twenty-five meters of it is missing! Only this huge gap remains!"
"Twenty-five meters, you say?" Vector commented. "Well, then…"
'That's a pretty damn huge gap… Is this bridge replaceable?' Another crooked smile stretched across his face.
"First, robot attacks, then a new secret weapon, and now this! What's going on? I'm going crazy over this!" Vector growled. "What could've possibly caused this?"
"Maybe it's not a question of what, Vector," Espio corrected him. He crossed his arms. "But whom?"
Vector smoothed out his chin. Charmy peeked from behind Vector, seeing him and Espio contemplating. The child tilted his head.
"Point taken there, Espio. Could be a whom… Hmm…"
"What're you two doing?" Charmy asked ever so openly.
A vein throbbed at the buff crocodile's temple. "What's it look like we're doing, Charmy?" he retorted cynically. "No wonder the narrator thinks you're annoying…!"
"Hey!" The poor child grinded his fists. He pouted.
"Any explanation for this, Vector?" Espio then quietly asked.
"I have one," a mysterious voice seemingly answered his question. The voice's owner descended from the shadowy overcast sky and landed a distance away from the Chaotix detectives.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Vector, love-struck. "Hubba-hubba!"
Rouge struck a pose and smirked a little. "And it's a precise explanation, too."
She winked.
The remark had Espio blushing timid rose. He sharply turned around, hiding his face, only for it to flush redder.
"And I'm in need of your help."
Espio looked back to see her shyly approaching. He hardened his expression back into a concerned glare.
"Anything for you, Doll Face," Vector tried to charm her, sparkle-eyed.
Espio smacked his forehead; Charmy shrugged, sighing.
Vector came to a handsome, yet overly dramatic, kneel before her. He politely lifted her hand and kissed it.
"The Chaotix Detective Agency is at your service!" Standing up again, Vector added, "What can we do for you?"
"First, one question," Espio intervened. "Can you tell us what has happened here?"
Rouge hesitated a little. Then, she lowered her head deeply.
"What's wrong? Is something the matter?" Vector wondered. He and his partners blinked. They heard her sigh. She seemed ready to cry again.
CHAOTIX DETECTIVE AGENCY—2:59
"So, you're saying this Shadow person got kidnapped by the rebel government, and you need our help to get him back?" Vector recapped, his arms crossed.
Rouge nodded, "Yes." Looking away, she closed her eyes.
Espio gazed at her intently. 'Hmm…' Espio stated, "You seem to know this person best, more than anyone else."
Rouge opened her eyes and looked at him. Her ears lowered sadly. "I kind of do. It feels like I've known him my whole life, even though it's only been about three days. I have a disc filled with files all about him, if you have doubts." She showed it to them.
"Oh, how can we doubt such a pretty face like yours?" Vector charmed her a handsome voice. The gesture made Rouge giggle.
"Jeez, just leave her alone already, will you?" Charmy boasted.
"Charmy, shut up! What the heck do you think you saying? I'm trying to enchant the lady here!" Vector had slapped a hand over the boy's mouth, but Charmy quickly removed it.
"What're you saying, then? What're you, hitting on her or something?—Gyah!"
"Will you shut up?" Then, he and Charmy began to wrestle.
"May I see the disc?" Espio asked politely, completely ignoring his two coworkers' fighting.
Rouge nodded and handed the disc to him.
While Vector and Charmy continued to tussle, Espio and Rouge were reading through one of the Project: Shadow files.
"So, this is who we're after?" Espio pointed out after viewing a photo of Shadow. "Are there any other specific details of why we need to pursue him?"
Rouge took the cursor and guided it to a logo with a currency symbol on it and clicked on it. From there, she went on.
"Shadow the Hedgehog has been wanted for half a century, and with every year that passed, the reward raised. And now, it's up to fifty billion dollars."
"Fifty billion?" Espio hissed.
Vector and Charmy paused from their quarreling. "Who said something about money?" Vector spat out the question; Charmy blinked.
"What properties give him such worth?" Espio asked with awe in his voice.
Rouge then scrolled down the page as she explained. "The GUN Federal Forces and the GUN Rebellion have been in some kind of race to find him ever since their split over the failure to seize Shadow fifty years prior. Each side holds such a huge grudge against the other, and the GUN Rebellion is willing to overrule the Federal Forces for supremacy over the Nation." There seemed to be a sad disposition in her voice. "And now, they believe that control over Shadow would equal control over the Nation…or maybe even the Earth."
Tears began to rise into Rouge's eyes. 'And I'm scared…'
"Why is that?"
"This is why." Just below the reward message was a military footnote. It read:
"RISK RATING: S (Supreme)."
"This ranking is the highest on the criminal grade scale; a ranking so high that it would involve any and every country's armed forces to capture him…and I don't want that. And what's even worse is that the GUN Rebellion has him now." She began to feel herself about to cry. She clenched her fists. "I don't want him with them. I don't want him with anyone! I want to save him, I have to save him before it's too late!"
Espio's bright yellow eyes looked at her, regarding her fear and trembling fists. 'Miss Rouge…'
"Ah, don't worry, Baby Cakes," Vector encouraged her, quite gallantly.
Espio's face deadpanned. He had been snubbed somewhat, and thus tuned out.
"We'll be glad to help you! So, if we find this Shadow person, we'll get paid?" Vector was rubbing his hands greedily.
"Yeah, and I'm going to need all the help I can get," Rouge responded.
Vector pumped his fist. "Hah hah, all right!"
"Yay, another mission!" Charmy praised, buzzing around in the air.
"It's not going to be that easy, you guys," Rouge had to add. "We're talking about an entire military force, here. We're going to need more than just us. We'll need Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, Tails…and maybe the President's help…"
'Even though he's betrayed me,' she thought crucially to herself. She frowned at the thought.
"Well, it's official, Chaotix," Vector announced. "Miss Rouge here needs our help. Well, she's got it!"
"Yeah!" Charmy exclaimed. "Mission time! Let's go!"
Rouge gently approached Espio and said, "Thank you…Detective," with gratitude, winking.
The gesture made the chameleon flush redder than before. He quietly recomposed himself, and kindly quirked a smile.
FINAL FORTRESS—3:08
"Data File: Number 2396a; File Alias: Project: Shadow… Subject: Number 5207; Subject Alias: Shadow the Hedgehog."
Shadow was still being held captive within the spherical capsule, still comatose. His injuries were still healing, while GUNR technicians began fabricating another creation in a different lab. Agents Eighty-Nine, Ninety, Ninety-Two, and Ninety-Three were there in the room with Shadow.
"Opening File Number 2396b," Ninety-Three relayed from the interface screen aside from the stasis bubble. "Description File: Height, 110 cm. Weight, 36.7 kg. Species, genetically modified anthropomorphic hedgehog with black fur, crimson streaks on forearms, calves, and angled quills on cranium, crimson irises, tanned muzzle, white chest fur. Abilities, can perform Chaos Energy-based attacks—as reported: Chaos Spear, Chaos Barrage, Chaos Eruption, Chaos Blast. Weapons, none. Risk Rating, S."
Agent Eighty-Nine stood with his arms crossed over his chest as Ninety-Three read. Ninety blinked; Ninety-Two mimicked Eighty-Nine, with a deep scowl creasing his mahogany visage, green eyes glaring.
"Well, that's his description," finished Ninety-Three. He stood away from the interface console to face the rest of his comrades. "You got all that, professor?" Ninety-Three asked, placing a fist on his hip.
The ivory-toned, dark-haired young man seemed a few inches shorter than Number Ninety-Three. He approached him and presented him with a digital clipboard.
"Sir, all of the information has been recorded and updated," reported the male scientist, saluting.
"Excellent. Report it to the higher-ups. You are dismissed."
The male professor saluted again. "Sir!" He then exited.
Almost at the exact same moment did the Second Lieutenant General enter. He stood slightly taller than his underclass agent, Ninety-Three, with darkest brown, lengthy hair and somber burgundy eyes softly gazing through his gunmetal-tinted glasses. The Second Lieutenant General's attire consisted of a long, dark-crimson, leather jacket with black, woven sleeves. Underneath, he wore a casual uniform, a black shirt and the native burgundy and black pants. Strapped to his hip was a sub-machine gun, along with a semiautomatic pistol hidden within the inside of his jacket.
Eighty-Nine, Ninety, Ninety-Two, and Ninety-Three raced into a single-file line and saluted. "Sir!" they addressed in unison.
The Lieutenant General seemed to be smirking at Ninety-Three. "Glad to see you so focused," he spoke. He tilted his glasses onto his nose. "Little Brother."
"Nice to see you, too, sir," Ninety-Three greeted shyly.
"Such respect. I see you've grown a little, Rowan."
Ninety-Three blinked rapidly, his mouth awry. "Caiden, not here…and we're only half brothers."
"Aha, your name is Rowan?" Ninety blurted hilariously and broke out laughing. Eighty-Nine and Ninety-Two also stifled a snicker.
A pulse point at Ninety-Three's temple throbbed. "Why don't you shut up, Robert?"
Ninety instantly stopped laughing. "Ah! Hey!"
His crooked smile twitching, Ninety-Three felt a silent hand press onto his shoulder. He looked back to see his half brother staring down at Shadow.
"We meet again," Ninety-Seven whispered. "Ultimate Life."
Shadow rested there, still curled up, in the stasis bubble, not yet aware of his surroundings. His countenance was innocent, and he looked harmless.
And that made Ninety-Seven frown unsurely.
"Rowan, are you absolutely sure this is the S-ranked danger that has threatened the very survival of the human race?" the Lieutenant General asked.
"Do you see any other genetically-enhanced anthropomorphic creatures racing around, destroying whatever's in their path?"
"No, but it's just that…he…?"
"Trust me, Caiden. He is not harmless. He killed Eighty-Six, Eighty-Seven, and Eighty-Eight without even trying. He's a force to reckon with. Trust me on this one, Caiden."
They both gazed down at Shadow once more, observing a certain ethereal sense about him. They both grimaced.
"Just trust me."
Number Ninety-Seven was still unsure.
"Lieutenant General Ninety-Seven sir," a technician called, approaching him. He removed his protective goggles from his eyes and cleared his throat. "The nanocrystalline serum has been withdrawn by syringe and the neural-kinetic nodes have been created. May we commence the procedure?"
Agent Ninety-Three looked up at his older half brother.
Ninety-Seven sighed. "Yes, you may," he replied.
The technician then saluted and ran over to the console to open Shadow's containment bubble. Slowly did the dome recede, like water, but Shadow did not wake up from the noise around him. Once the dome was completely open, Agents Eighty-Nine and Ninety stepped over to retrieve him. The two went in and disconnected everything from him.
A couple more technicians, one male and the other female, raced in with a gurney. Gently, the two agents placed Shadow on top of the gurney. They both gazed as the two techs blanketed the comatose hedgehog and led him to the Operating Room.
Number Ninety-Seven sternly frowned.
FINAL FORTRESS—45 MINUTES LATER…
"The procedure is complete."
The surgery took away most of the hour to complete. The main focus of it all was to successful implant the nodes, by injecting the nanocrystalline serum into Shadow's bloodstream and surgically connecting the corresponding apparatus into Shadow's spinal cord at the back of his neck. The plan was plotted out carefully: If the surgery had gone before the vaccination, the nanocrystals would glitch and short-circuit, and have a sort of "Taser Shock" reaction in Shadow's body.
Meanwhile, no sedatives were needed. Shadow had been asleep the entire time.
"It was a complete success, Madam General," The head technician, Number Eighty-Five, saluted, smiling.
The Madam General, Number Ninety-Nine, returned his smile with a half-hearted smirk. Her cerulean eyes sparkled mischievously. "Good," she purred. "May we see him?"
Eighty-Five nodded. "Yes, you may, Madam." He signaled her and the other two Lieutenant Generals to accompany him. He led them down the corridor into another sector in the Final Fortress.
Exiting through the gates, under each red fluorescent light, Number Eighty-Five's glasses gleamed as he passed. His fine black hair shined sleekly; his wide eyes of hunter-green shimmered keenly behind his glasses. Madam General Ninety-Nine followed closely after him, arms crossed. The Second Lieutenant General, Number Ninety-Seven, followed closely at his other shoulder, his head down low where shadows could mingle with the reflected light of his glasses. As for the First Lieutenant General, Number Ninety-Eight, he followed them last, hands clasped behind his head. His bright, green eyes daydreamed as his truly orange hair was banded into a short ponytail.
"I honestly don't see why you're all so worked up about this whole 'Ultimate Life Form' thing," he spoke in a nonchalant tone.
Ninety-Nine glanced back at him. "Don't worry, you'll see…"
Right after, they all approached a pair of doors, which slid open automatically. Before them was the still dormant Shadow, wrapped in chains. His wrists were chained heavily to the floor, as well as his legs where he knelt. Another chain was holding up his head by a metal collar.
First Lieutenant General Ninety-Eight blinked curiously. "So, this is it, eh?" he realized. "Are you sure?"
"Positive," General Ninety-Nine reassured him, smirking.
She paced over and lowered herself, kneeling before the dormant hedgehog, and smirked. Her hand slithered under Shadow's chin and lifted it, until his face met hers.
"Now, Shadow," her voice purred, almost like someone else's. Something attached to the top of her breastbone steadily beamed a brilliant yellow. "Awaken."
Shadow gradually drifted into consciousness and came to, only through blurred vision. He looked up at the General and caught a glimpse of familiarity in her face.
"Miss…Laura?" he moaned hesitantly.
"Yes, Shadow. It's me… Mother."
"M-Mother…?" Tears slithered down his face, as the deceptive voice gladdened him. His sight became less fogged, and he was happy about the likeness in the face he saw. "Mother…"
She smiled. 'He's so much like a pathetic child,' she thought nastily. 'He's completely naïve of what's really happening. He really believes I'm that treacherous woman from fifty years ago…! Good.'
"Shadow, I need you to help me."
Shadow blinked, only for his hazed eyesight to not change. "Help?"
"Yes. I need you to wreak vengeance upon the Earth by annihilating every single human life that exists."
Shadow locked into place, paralyzed suddenly.
"All humans have done was bring suffering upon everything and themselves…and you. They are the ones who took everything that mattered to you away, weren't they?"
The nodal device connected to her breastbone flickered before shining a bright orange.
Shadow's eyes widened, his pupils shrinking tighter than before. He felt a spark in his mind beginning to flicker. His memories flashed before his eyes. They were moving so fast, it was as if they were burning.
Ninety-Nine released his jaw and stepped away from him, allowing her manipulation to take over.
Shadow's heart was racing. The nanocrystals in his blood were sending nervous signals to Shadow's brain for his heart to pump faster, making it think that Shadow was in panic mode. He instinctively tried to free himself from the chains that bound him, only for it to be in vain. The collar around his neck nearly choked him, he was tugging so hard. His mind had been thrown into an abysmal nightmare, reliving the memories that he, ever so, wanted to disappear.
Ninety-Nine could see obvious signs of anguish. She smirked.
"You'll always be my little angel, Shadow…!"
Her plan was working, and the node's light flickered once again before flashing a dangerous red.
Shadow screamed, feeling his memories burning away. He didn't want to lose those precious moments of Laura. They were all he had of her, and he could feel them being forcefully stripped away.
Then, his body fell still. His struggle against the heavy chains stopped, as well as the burning visions of his brutal past. His moan was soft and woeful.
"Yes…as my little angel of darkness, death, and destruction." She snickered heavily.
Ninety-Nine slowly turned and clacked her heels against the steel flooring, swaggering haughtily out of the chamber. The other three GUNR officers looked to each other questioningly, before leaving after her. Ninety-Seven gave one last somber look to Shadow before the reinforced doors slid shut.
Ninety-Nine grinned impishly. 'Soon the world will end! I, its destroyer!'
Shadow was left alone, with no sense of awareness, of his environment, or of the memories of his past.
Segment Ten Completed.