Ok yeah I'm still alive and I wanna apologise for not updating this fic sooner. I wanna make a special shout out to shadrougeblaze for recommending this story on his/her DeviantART account. Thanks. Ok I won't bore you any longer because I know you've been waiting for this for a long while. Enjoy
Chapter 10: Past Betrayal
The ebony warrior, Shadow, stirred only for a brief moment before once again becoming motionless upon the cold, hard metal floor. Ever since the battle against his dark opponent Shadow had remained unconscious, the only sign of his existence that remained was the slow rhythmic raising and lowering of his muscular chest as oxygen flowed into his lungs. He had been carried safely to within the circle of heroes who now stood with their backs to him in order to protect him, since he was obviously in no fit state to do so himself, however the mind is a complicated phenomenon and still remains completely active regardless of what occurs to the body… especially Shadow's. Even though many believed he was well and truly 'out of it', the dark warrior was still able to hear all that went on around him. He had heard the battle between sonic and his evil brother, as well as Amy's annoying but yet somewhat brave attempts to help him, and he had surmised that both fighters had just fallen short of gaining the upper hand against the other. Sensing his weakness, Shadow's mind began to reply images of the past in front of his very eyes. It was deeply unfortunate for the black hedgehog, however, that these visions only replayed images of pain and suffering and nothing more… for what else had he known his entire existence.
(Flashback)
What is it that you ask of me, my master? Remarked the ebony fighter with a hint of anticipation and undeniable loyalty.
The master's voice boomed out from its elevated position within the laboratory but yet it gave no hint of treachery, only compassion and respect... so it seemed at least. "My friend, you have served me well these many years and I wish to reward that loyalty, I know you have made mistakes in the past but I assure you that all is forgiven. I mean, how could I remain angry for long and someone as unique as you. You, who are my ultimate symbol of perfection, the ultimate form of life made manifest".
Shadow slowly lowered himself to one knee and closed his eyes as if in silent prayer to his master and creator. The light within the lab was dim at best but this is just how the mad scientist wished it to be, he stood atop a metal balcony and looked over his life's work before his eyes came to rest upon his most prized creation. Like a god surveying all that he had created by the whim of his genius, the old scientist stretched out his naked hand from the gloom and bade his subject rise.
"Shadow, you have proven yourself in the many trials I have set you since your birth, in fact you have outdone my expectations of you. And such success should not go unrewarded as you are well aware, here is my gift that I hereby present to you". And with those last words, two strange circular shaped objects were hurled forth from the darkness and landed in Shadow's strong grip.
Shadow stood glued to the spot as his gazed upon his new gifts, they were indeed strange to behold. They were gold in colour but yet they were not made from that earthborn substance, gold is a very heavy metal but these golden objects felt incredibly light in his hands. Lifting them up into the dim light, Shadow stared in awe at his reward so justly deserved, he had never seen such beautiful work of craftsmanship before in his young life but yet he did not comprehend just how unique these golden objects were. Lifting his head up to face his creator, Shadow's crimson eyes filled with tears of joy and gratefulness as he enquired about the objects.
"They are known as the 'Chaos Bracelets' my dear Shadow, the will grant you the ability to maintain your unique powers for an extended length of time but be warned, they are not expected to allow your powers to last indefinitely. But that is only the tip of a huge ice burg with regards to the powers that these bracelets will grant you, in time your powers and those of the bracelets will grow to become a force of spectacular proportions.
Shadow cast his eyes over the bracelets once again before delicately placing them on his wrists, "Can they be damaged in any way, or even destroyed?" he asked inquisitively.
"No", came the blunt reply to his question, "They can resist the highest concentration of energy used against them and survive without even so much as a scratch upon them, they are the results of many long days and nights of study and experimentation. And now I gladly place them in your care". As Shadow admired his master's gifts, a malicious smirk crossed the human's face and a silent comment was uttered from his lips although Shadow was unable to hear him. "Enjoy your reward whilst you can hedgehog, you will soon be parting company with them lest your power becomes too great for me to control".
Speaking to his creation once again, the human's next comment took the ebony warrior by complete surprise, "There is one other request I have for you this day, Shadow. I know that you are young but I'm sure that what I have in store for you shall not cause you too much distress" he said smirking, although Shadow was unable to see it himself.
The hedgehog stared into the gloom as an expression of confusion and a hint of fear etched across his face thus indicating that he indeed had no idea of the agony he was about to endure, "Master? I'm afraid that I do not understand what you would have me do". He uttered as if wondering if he had, in some way, offended his creator.
"RESTRAIN HIM!", barked the scientist.
The dark warrior stood motionless and dumbfounded for a few seconds but was instantly set upon by dozens of worker droids who suddenly appeared out of the gloom from all corners of the laboratory. It was at this point that natural instinct took over, the natural urge to survive any threat to life implanted itself within his psyche and he prepared to fight. Without thinking, Shadow lunged at the first robotic monstrosity to come within reach, he grabbed hold of the metal limbs that formed the arms and forced it to the ground. The shrieks and sparks caused by the metal of the machine impacting against the metal surface of the lab floor filled the warrior's heart with the lust to destroy. Charging at full throttle towards the next target, Shadow threw all his strength into an all mighty kick resulting in the mid-section of the machine to become crushed so badly that the inner mechanical working ceased to function. It stood motionless for a few seconds before toppling over onto its back, the lights and sounds of mechanical components whizzed, whirred and flashed for a brief moment before halting altogether.
The battle raged for another ten minutes or so, but in the end it was hopeless. The young shadow the Hedgehog had destroyed countless opponents but in the end he was surrounded and captured by the mindless robotic servants whom he had had nothing but contempt for. No matter how much he struggled to be free of their grip he could not escape, his mind, now burning with hatred and sadness, wanted to fight to the death, but his heart and body had become weary with the newfound discovery that the being he had once called 'Master' had lied to and betrayed him. Metal claws wrapped themselves around the youngster's wrists, ankles and neck and his disastrous attempts to escape only served to have their grip tighten and the pain to increase. Three of the numberless droids held him tightly whilst the remainder stood around the hedgehog and his metallic captors, a silent circle that appeared motionless, but should the target manage to free himself then they would be prepared to go to battle once again. All three captors extended their arms that held the hedgehog up towards their master's postion, the gloom still coated him in darkness but one could tell that a being of human origin was standing there. The dim light reflected off his spectacles and a small section of his pristine white lab coat seemed to protrude from the darkness, the scientist rested his wrinkled hands, which hand now come into view, upon the metal railings of the balcony and, although Shadow couldn't have possible seen it, a vicious smirk crossed his face as the scientist leered at his creation.
"Why master why, what have I done to make you hate me!?" cried shadow. The hedgehog's eyes began to fill with small tears as the feelings of fear and heartbreak coursed through his small body, but when the scientist extended his hand and gently stroked the flesh of Shadow's naked cheek his words filled the ebony warrior's mind more with shock than fear.
"Oh my dear Shadow, you have done nothing that would make me hate you in any way shape or form. I merely wish to reward you for your loyalty to me". The human's words seemed innocent enough at first hand, but shadow would soon become aware of his cruel intentions.
"But why this treatment, Master?" Shadow innocently asked.
The human quickly pulled his hand away from shadow and retreated back into the gloom, "Merely a necessary precaution in order to avoid further problems, you see Shadow you are my greatest work of genius", he then paused in order to gather his thoughts in order for his grand scheme to produce the best results, "But I want to go further, if you are truly the ultimate life form then what can I achieve with a few added adjustments? The possibilities are endless and magnificent".
Shadow was not able to fully comprehend what his creator was planning for him, he just merely assumed that whatever it was, his master would not let him come to harm. He was far too valuable a masterpiece of scientific creation, much too good to waste… or was he?. At that moment a once secluded area of the laboratory erupted with light thus exposing the means for which the scientist was to achieve his newest works of genius. A lone operating table with leather wrist and ankle straps met the hedgehog's gaze, but that was not what truly worried him. Surrounding the metallic table were positioned numerous machines, some were no more than weirdly designed computers but others were more sinister, some of the others held long sharp needles attached to syringes that were being held in place by mechanical arms. But it was the remaining ones that caused Shadow's ruby red eyes to enlarge with fear, electrical devices carrying blades, medical lasers and even saws with jagged teeth were pointed directly at the table. Before Shadow could utter a single syllable of objection, his master's voice rang out across the room.
"TAKE HIM TO THE OPERATING TABLE AT ONCE!" he roared. "I have plans for the subject", he muttered quietly to himself.
"Master please don't do this, PLEASE!", but his calls went unanswered. The scientist merely stood motionless atop the balcony and even though Shadow could see it, there was not expression of sympathy or remorse upon the human's face.
Despite the tears, the cries for mercy and the numerous struggles for freedom, Shadow the hedgehog quickly found himself placed on the shiny metal table and his arms and ankles strapped into place. At first he tried to pulls his hands free by sheer brute force… but that plan quickly failed. After a few moments of struggling Shadow new that such efforts were in vain, but he assured himself that all was not lost, closing his eyelids, Shadow felt the chaos energies he had been born with flow through his entire body. They had successfully gotten him out of many scrapes in the past and he felt confident that they would not fail him now; clenching his gloved fists as tight as possible Shadow could feel the chaos energy burning like a raging inferno within him. His hands began to glow and crackle as sparks of yellow light burst forth from his hands, he had not yet learned to master his powers and his true power that was hidden deep within his had yet to be touched but Shadow felt confident in his abilities.
His gloved hands grew brighter and brighter until they flooded the entire room with light, "CHOAS SPE… ARRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed shadow. Before he could finish the table upon which he lay suddenly came alive with surges of electricity flowing through it, try as he might Shadow's entire body became wracked with unimaginable pain as the electricity penetrated his very flesh. His naked cheeks burned with an intense heat causing them to turn bright red, the heat from the electricity was so intense that his skin underneath his fur began to blister and peel away from his body. Small trickles of blood seeped out from small wounds across his torso and flowed across the smooth steel table. Shadow roared to the heavens in agony, but his so-called master remained unmoved by his plight, instead he just stood alone and smirking in glee in the gloom.
Shadow could feel his very eyes become infected with pain and thus flow with tears, he had always hated crying, he viewed it as an emotion only designed for those who were too weak or pathetic to fight for themselves. But most of all, he hated to shed tears in front of his creator whom he felt would believe that it would be a great dishonour to him if his so-called 'Ultimate Life Form' was to show any weakness… especially the shedding of tears. Such achievements that the ebony warrior had made in the past to please the human, now seemed very hollow indeed.
"MASTER, WHY!?" screamed shadow as more electricity was passed through his body, which was now rapidly becoming frail.
"It is nothing personal my dear Shadow", the doctor uttered in a cruel and insensitive way, "You have fulfilled your purpose to me, indeed you have surpassed my expectations of you. But all experiments I'm afraid have their little… faults hahahaha."
Shadow could do nothing except lie there and ponder to himself what he could have possibly done, what 'faults' did he have within him that the human had taken a great displeasure to?. "What… faults arh… do you… mean… master arh?" muttered Shadow as unimaginable pain wracked his body.
"EMOTION!", roared the human, "Emotion is a disease which you have become infected with. I did not design you to display such nauseating feelings towards others, you were merely meant to be a creation no different to the droids that you see here. The only difference between them and you is that you are made of flesh, FLESH THAT I THOUGHT WAS STRONG!, BUT YOU ARE WEAK!. I thought that the powers of the seven chaos emeralds, which I imbued you with, would serve me through you. But it seems that I was wrong, the powers of the emeralds come from the heart and soul of there person or creature that wields them. I had hoped that your heart was dark enough to turn the powers of the emeralds to my advantage, FOR MY USE AND MY USE ALONE!", The mad scientist then paused to catch his breath as the recent outburst had drained him of his energy.
Shadow could only wonder in amazement, and fear to some degree, at what the human was revealing to him. He knew that he had been created to become the ultimate warrior and that the jewels of chaos had given him power and life, but that he had been bred for evil made his stomach twist and turn in disgust. But somehow deep down at the back of his mind, although he had forced himself to believe that it was all a lie or a mistake, he knew that it was true… his only reason for existence was to be a slave and a biological energy conductor. Now the doctor's recent betrayal seemed to not matter to him any more… he cared for nothing now.
"But it seems that the emeralds had other plans, unlike a machine you were not implanted with a micro computer chip that would allow you to process all data given to you and allow you to carry out my orders. But it seems that the emerald have a way of seeking out and finding the hidden force of…", the doctor once again paused for a moment as the word that he was about to utter really disgusted him, " Good, in all manner of life's creations. It appears that you are no different AND THAT IS WHAT MAKES YOU WEAK! I have plotted and schemed to achieve this moment for some time now, of course you were none the wiser and I played it that way. It seems that that is another of the diseases that the emeralds have infected you with… you are too trusting of others hahaha".
Shadow closed his eyes and kept them that way for a good long while the human continued speaking. Throughout that time, Shadow's mind was a buzz with activity, questions entered his chain of thought before quickly disappearing and being replaced by another then another. But all this time the answers continually eluded him. Could this mean that he was meant to have been a force for good since he entered into this shitty world? Why had the answers not come to him sooner? Why had he taken the lives of others instead of defending them?. When he seemed to have found the answer to one, it instantly conflicted with another thus causing him to go back to square one again. And so it remained for what seemed like hours, even though only a few minutes had passed.
However, Shadow's chain of conflicting thoughts was rudely interrupted when the machines that surrounded him bleeped and whirred into action.
"It became clear to me many months ago Shadow, that you are too great a threat for me to allow you to exist for any longer than I deem necessary. In some pathetic part of my mentality I somewhat believed that you would ignore or indeed fight back against the emeralds power over you, BUT YOU FAILED ME, YOU DID NOT FIGHT BACK, YOU DIDN'T SEE THE WORLD AND THOSE WHO RESIDE IN IT IN THE WAY I DEMANDED OF YOU! And that my friend is truly despicable betrayal. But all is not lost, oh no, you shall yet serve one last purpose. When I have examined your inner working and discovered just how the chaos emeralds corrupted you, then my newest creations shall benefit greatly and shall serve me without even a single thought of emotion crossing their mind for ever more". The scientist had longed for this day to come, now he could finally put his mind at ease that all threats to him would soon be expunged… or would they.
"I Doctor Gerald Robotnik, this measly planet's greatest genius of the scientific arts will soon cast down those who would seek to betray and destroy my life's work, and I will raise up a new being of perfection who will remain my most loyal and obedient experiment. That will be truly a magnificent sight to behold, shame you will not live to see it, oh well. COMMNSE THE SURGICAL PROCEDURE AT ONCE!
Shadow's eyes flared open with rage, he had never felt this much anger before in his life but he remained unafraid. He had silently vowed to free himself from his life of bondage and be free, he had vowed to become more powerful than he was currently capable of being, he vowed to care for nothing and no-one except himself… for all manner of life form kill, betray and feed upon other just to survive. He would not be a victim any more, he would take control of his own destiny. The chaos emeralds had shown him the path and now he would skate across it and never look back, the life of the lone wolf, the survivor, and the title of the ultimate symbol of power and life beckoned him… and he would heed its call.
The black hedgehog once again began to tug at his restraints but now with a newfound fervour and lust for freedom. His muscles bulged and crackles with untamed chaos energy, electricity poured into his body but this time he didn't care about the pain he felt. His desire to live a life of his own making was stronger than any pain that that traitorous dog of a human could deal to him. Shadow could feel the restraints buckle under the pressure but it was not enough, he screamed in agony as the pain became ever more unbearable but he remained resolute. At that moment, just as he could almost feel the restraints giving way, the surgical blades were upon him. The knives and saws cut through his fur and flesh like a knife through melted butter thus causing the blood to flow endlessly, muscle tissue was extracted from all manner of areas of his body…
(End of flashback)
At that moment Shadow the hedgehog instantly sat upright and screamed at the ceiling, small tears protruded from his eyes as he felt, only for a slight moment, that he could feel the surgical instruments from many years ago cleave through his flesh like paper as if it had only happened just moments ago. Everyone around him just stood silently for a few moments as they registered Shadow's sudden outburst in their psyche. Sonic and Knuckles were shocked to say the least, as the stood there looking at their black and red comrade with raised eyebrows , Rouge rushed to his side. Kneeling next to him she cupped his face within her delicate gloved hands and looked into his crimson orbs. The batgirl was worried for him, she had always held deep respect for the hedgehog and he too had respect for her… although the way he often acted around her would indicate otherwise.
For what seemed like hours the pair sat next to each other staring into each others eyes, but unbeknownst to Rouge, Shadow could not see her. He could only see the images of pain and cruelty from years past being meted out to him again, the past it seems, refuses to die quietly.
………………………………………………………….
There you go my friends, sorry once again it took so long but I have another treat for you all. DOUBLE CHAPPIE MADNESS COMING UP LATER. CHOW