Well well well, guess who decided to come back early? That's right: the next part of Shadow's quest for the truth unfolds now!
Chapter 10: Three Targets
Shadow and Sonic stood side-by-side, ready to go on cue. Sonic looked at him and grinned. "Ready?"
Shadow nodded. "Ready."
"All right. 3...2...1…we're off!" With that, they took off, still side-by-side, racing as fast as they could.
"Y'know, Shadow," Sonic smirked as he glanced at his rival, "back when we were on the ARK about a year ago, I was hoping to get another shot at beating you. Looks like we're finally having that little competition I wanted. A race for the emerald!"
"Well don't think I'll take it easy," Shadow chuckled. "I need that emerald for my own purposes, and it is crucial that I get it before those black soldiers do."
"Oh, trust me, I'm going all out here. If you want any chance of beating the fastest thing alive, you'll have to do the same!"
"Then I will!" Shadow declared as they raced forward. Sonic chuckled.
"Whoa! Look out!" Sonic jumped to his left while Shadow jumped to his right as a huge black soldier appeared, angrily attacking anything in sight. As Shadow moved forward, he expected to see Sonic emerge right beside him again. To his disappointment, the blue blur didn't oblige.
"Looks like we're on our own paths, now," he muttered.
"Curses!" Magolon snarled. "Those two pesky hedgehogs got away!"
"Don't bother with them," came a voice in his head.
"What is that supposed to mean, my Master?"
"Shadow is of no concern to me. I was promised his loyalty. He may have his own plans, but he won't dare betray me again after what happened to him last time. No, Magolon, I need you to focus on a new target, one far more dangerous than even two Shadows could be."
Magolon was surprised and confused. "More dangerous than two Shadows?" he repeated. "But who could be a bigger potential threat than the ultimate lifeform?"
The Distortion Master chuckled in his mind. "Shadow is certainly a potential threat, but he has not been confirmed as one, nor will he ever be. Your new target is not only a threat: he has a blazingly threatening reputation! I need to destroy him once and for all if my plans are to come to full fruition."
"Very well, then," Magolon nodded, satisfied. "Who is he, that I may kill him?"
"NO!" the Distortion Master snapped abruptly. "You must not kill him; I'm not sure you can."
"Rubbish," Magolon retorted. "Everyone can be killed."
"And there are some who cheat death," the Distortion Master retorted back. "Our target is one of them, but that is no matter. There is another way to destroy him."
"What is that?"
With that, the Distortion Master began relating his diabolical plan to his top soldier who, though defeated, was now patched up and stronger than ever thanks to a source of unlimited energy.
"Oh no!" Shadow grunted. "I must've made a wrong turn somewhere. Hmph...so much for knowing this place inside and out. Or maybe it's all in my head? Guh! I've got to keep going!" The emerald was still a long ways off.
As he ran, he could sense that Sonic was still a long ways off as well. Though fortunate, something about this puzzled him. Had Sonic tapped into Chaos energy before? He couldn't remember, but that was no surprise. He could see a creature like Sonic tapping into the Chaos aura.
But what about that human? He could sense a Chaos aura emanating from him as well, but how? Intuition told him that no human could tap into the power of the Chaos without some form of external help, like a machine. He vaguely remembered Dr. Eggman using a machine to harness the energy of the emeralds, but no memory, vague or not, spoke of a human using Chaos energy naturally. It was all so confusing.
"I guess I can figure that out once I've found the truth," he shrugged as he ran. Another darker sensation told him of a darker presence not far off. "It's those black soldiers," he muttered. "Here's hoping they won't find the emerald before I do."
A few minutes later, he burst into a small room with a pedestal in the center, on top of which was…
"The Chaos Emerald!" he exclaimed, reaching for it. He grabbed it, felt it in his hands, and let the power flow through him as he softly closed his eyes. When they opened again, he exhaled, content.
"What?!"
He turned on the hearing the voice and snickered slightly. "A little late, are you, Sonic?"
"Well, well, well," his blue counterpart shrugged. "Looks like I lost this round, but don't think you'll get so lucky next time. Now, let's get that back onto our ship before those black creatures catch us."
Shadow nodded, remembering the Distortion Master's grip, and they started out. They'd hardly gone a few meters when they were separated once again by a black soldier's interference.
"Ugh!" he growled, getting his bearings after getting shot. "Once I find the truth, I'll deal with you pests. Now which way to the hangar…?"
"You're not going anywhere, you little traitor."
He started on hearing the voice. Whipping around, he saw a tall man in an orange suit walking towards him, an angry expression on his face. His eyes were fixed on Shadow.
"What? Who are you?"
The man snickered. "That's right. We've never met, have we? Oh, but you know a lot about my organization: that heinous criminal organization known as Team Rocket!"
Shadow gasped, taking a step back. "What?! You...you're their leader?"
"That's right, you little devil," Giovanni snarled, "and I'm here to put an end to your traitorous little rampage against this world."
Shadow stood his ground, recovering from shock. "It seems Team Rocket and I share mutual feelings for each other, huh?"
"Oh, Team Rocket never cared for you until this whole incident started. But when I heard you sided with those black soldiers, I wanted to make sure you would pay for your treason to your homeworld...in blood."
"Treason?" Shadow looked up angrily. "Treason?! You lead the world's most prominent criminal enterprise, and you dare to accuse me of treason?!"
"Damn right, I do!" Giovanni roared. "Team Rocket steals Pokemon in order to gain power in the world. We seek to rule it, but YOU! You plan to destroy it! Yes, Shadow: I dare accuse you of treason, because you have betrayed everything the professor created you for!"
Shadow was about to retort, but he stopped when something occurred to him. "T-The professor?"
"That's right," Giovanni growled. "Don't tell me you don't remember: Professor Gerald Robotnik created you as the ultimate lifeform with one purpose in mind: to discover the secret of immortality. Team Rocket intended to obtain this secret for themselves, and that was how you were captured by us and put to sleep for fifty years."
The Chaos Emeralds, invisibly floating around Shadow, pulsed as though approving of this man's story. "Then…" Shadow mused to himself, "the professor was the one who created me...and Team Rocket...is that why I hate them?" The pieces were finally falling into place.
"Don't play that game with me, Shadow!" Giovanni snapped, whipping out a pistol. "You've betrayed us all: hero and criminal alike! Even I, leader of the greatest criminal enterprise in the world, put aside my goals to fight off this threat. But you! You decided to side with our enemy. Why?! Why did you betray us like that?! I'm very interested in knowing, but I have no time to figure it out. You're far to big of a threat to be allowed to live. Goodbye, Shadow the Hedgehog. I'll see you in hell!"
With that, the sound of a gun's bang echoed through the room. Yet even though Giovanni fired his gun, nothing changed. Shadow still stood there, stunned, but not at the bullet in his chest. He looked down at it a moment before pulling it out and tossing it to the side.
"You want to know why I sided with the Master of Distortion?" he whispered.
Giovanni backed away worriedly. "What?" he muttered. "How –?"
"I sided with him because he knew who I was," he explained. "I sided with him because I'd spent months suffering from amnesia, unable to remember anything. I sided with him because I thought he had the answers." He turned away. "But as I find myself coming ever closer to the truth, I find myself all the more conflicted over his identity. I know now that he doesn't have the answers, and I have found a way to get them."
Giovanni slowly put his gun away, amazed. "You mean…" he muttered, "You really...don't remember?"
"No," Shadow replied. "But soon I will. And when I do, you'd better warn Team Rocket, because I might come for them first." With that, he disappeared, leaving Team Rocket's leader standing there in amazement.
Sonic leaned against his ship waiting. "All right, Shadow...where are ya?" As if on cue, a bright light flashed, from which dropped the black hedgehog himself. "Looks like I won that one," Sonic chuckled.
"It wasn't a race," Shadow muttered. "You two go ahead. I'll catch up."
"Whatever you say," Sonic shrugged, heading up the ramp. The ship slowly took off, leaving the black hedgehog alone on the landing dock. Slowly, five Chaos Emeralds came into view, floating around him.
"So," he nodded, "this makes five, does it?" He stared at them for a while as they just floated around him, but then he came to. "Okay. Just two more, and then I'll know the truth."
"Shadow," came a familiar voice. He turned and saw the Distortion Master's floating screen coming towards him. "The day of reckoning is upon us. Come to me as soon as you can."
Shadow was confused. "But –"
"I'll be waiting for you," the sinister voice chuckled as the screen flew away, "on the Millennium Comet."
Shadow turned and followed the screen with his eyesight until it could be seen no more, while a far more beautiful sight graced his eyes:
"Millennium...Comet?"