Chapter 28: This World's Guardian
~The Faint Light of Tomorrow~
Out in the deserted streets of late night Westopolis, the newspaper that had hit my leg yesterday afternoon was drifting in the air, a subtle reminder to those who still lingered that the best time to view the Black Comet would be tonight, and yes, the Comet in the Sky was still coming…
And it was going to come with a fiery vengeance.
It was already hanging high in the sky, looking like an orange sun headed straight for the planet…
Black Comet-
I hadn't moved from our spot in the Black Comet, although now I had every single emerald, and they were revolving around me.
"Finally…I have all the Chaos Emeralds…now, I can uncover the truth about my past! All of it…"
Having all seven emeralds at once gave me a rush of power…but I didn't know what I was supposed to do with it. After all, I had just wanted them to get my memories back. Sonic and company were looking to use their power to rid the world of the Black Arms…and Black Doom wanted to put them in the Eclipse Cannon to destroy the world, or so I thought...
But now that I finally had them all…what was I going to do next?
It was then that Black Doom rose from the floor where Sonic and I had defeated him, acknowledging me in his deep and raspy voice.
"Well done, Shadow…" he trailed, sounding completely fine even after the thrashing Sonic and I gave him. I looked into his eyes, and right before mine, they had started to repair themselves, which really freaked me out. I cringed and back away, fearing what he had up his sleeve next. I turned to ask Sonic was he thought about all this, but he had vanished sometime during my monologue.
For the time being, I was on my own.
"Our ritual can commence just as planned…give me the Chaos Emeralds, and all shall begin anew," Black Doom continued, sounding deliriously pleased. I stepped back again, glaring at him questioningly.
"What are you talking about? I defeated you- I got the Chaos Emeralds, and I won!" I exclaimed, the emeralds circling protectively around me. "Now, take your comet and your filthy aliens and get lost!"
"SHADOW!"
I whirled around, with Black Doom growling in annoyance. Sonic came running in from the entrance to the area, winking at me as he was followed by everyone from the Sea Fox.
"Sorry I left ya- Tails called me and said they got lost, so I helped them get back on the right track," he explained. Sonic then saw Black Doom and winced. "Aw man…he's still alive?"
"Shadow!" Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Rouge, and Eggman cried again, sounding absolutely panicked.
"Did you all have to come…?" I asked, to which Amy nodded.
"Of course!" she exclaimed. "All of existence on the planet is at stake, and it's imperative that Black Doom does not get away with this!"
"Shadow, give me the Chaos Emeralds!" Sonic explained, gravely serious. "I'll use them to turn super and end all of this!"
"Do not give the emeralds to Black Doom, Shadow." That warning came from Eggman of all people, and I sent a glare in his direction.
"Why should I listen to you, Doctor? I've already gotten everything I wanted from you…"
"Eggman is on our side for the time being," Rouge explained. "I know it's not ideal, but since the aliens plan on destroying the planet, we need all the help we can get…"
"And you think I don't know that?!" I asked harshly, backing away from everyone. Where were all these demands coming from….I sacrificed so much trying to get these emeralds, and now everyone was trying to take them away again…were we all back at square one? Was everything I'd done all for naught at this point?
Did I really have to pick a side…?
Black Doom just laughed at us all- he was all on his lonesome, but he acted as though he was the advantageous one.
"Hahaha…ignorant fools…" he taunted in his condescending way, and I was really ticked that I wasted all that ammo on him and it barely even left a scratch in the end. "We're here to save the humans from their own demise. We offer…salvation."
Which is why he spent so much time trying to get me to hate the humans…?
"Their greed, thirst for power, and affinity for betrayal has them on a path of self-destruction. Their actions will lead to the extinction of their species…"
"I take offense to that!" yelled Eggman, shaking a fist at Doom. Doom simply held up his hand to signify peace.
"We're only here to save them from themselves…with our perfect order…allowing them to live through their desperate lives in peace…"
The seven of us just stood in front of him and watched him worriedly. We knew this was all just a front…but what was it a front for?
"After all…" Black Doom spoke again, voice devoid of humor. "The humans are a great energy source for us…they will be well kept."
Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Rouge, Amy and myself instantly stepped back, screaming out, "WHAT?!"
"I'm out!" Eggman raised his hands, went about face, and started walking back the way he came. Knuckles was the one to grab him and make sure he didn't just walk out after insisting he come this far.
"Let the humans await their final judgment day…as we begin our ritual for prosperity…for the Black Arms!" Doom cried, raising his arms and letting out a mad bellow of a laugh. Before I could figure out what was going on, I was frozen in place, due to Doom's hold on me, and the next thing I knew, all seven Chaos Emeralds drifted away from me…and it was in that moment that I knew why Black Doom had me come to the Black Comet.
…To take my hard earned emeralds from me, whether I had the intention of giving them to him of my own free will or not!
As I was feeling utterly crushed on the inside, Black Doom had the Chaos Emeralds rotate around him, and the seven beginning to glow in a dangerously bright light. He threw his head back and yelled to the sky.
"Chaos…CONTROL!"
"WAAAAAAH!"
The entire comet began to shake, with everyone shielding their eyes from the bright green light the Chaos Ability had generated. I was at a complete loss of something to say, but one thing certainly stuck out in my mind…
"This can't be happening…!"
The comet started rapidly quaking, knocking Amy into Tails, Rouge into Knuckles, Eggman to the ground, and Sonic and I to our knees. We all had to keep shielding our eyes, because the blinding light of Chaos Control covered the entirety of the comet, and within the next second, it had been warped to the world's surface, landing right on top of the ruined Central City.
Large tendrils lashed out of the comet, crashing through any remaining buildings and anchoring the comet to the ground. They tore through everything and burrowed into the ground, taking that extra precaution to make sure that nothing would remove the comet from the world…
"…what was that?" Amy asked, as everyone was finally able to uncover their eyes. "What just happened?!"
"Those black creatures just warped the comet down to the surface using Chaos Control!" Sonic realized. Rouge, Eggman, and Tails appeared to be the most shocked.
"N-No…" Rouge stammered, refusing to believe it. "That's impossible!"
"…no, it's very possible," I spoke up, looking up at Black Doom with a depressed tone in my voice. "That's the real reason why he needed the Chaos Emeralds…"
"Heh heh heh…precisely," Black Doom responded, his final hand in the grand scheme of things revealed. "The comet's velocity isn't strong enough to pass through another planet's atmosphere…the Emeralds amplify the space-time abilities of Chaos Control…We needed them to charge to full power; it's the perfect plan!"
His gaze narrowed scornfully in my direction.
"That's why I needed the professor to help me…"
"Argh…WHAT!?" I hissed, spreading out my arms. "Are you referring to what Tower had witnessed?"
"That's insane!" Eggman suddenly howled, stepping to the front. "My grandfather…consorting with an evil alien kind!?"
"In actuality, the professor had contacted me, not the other way around," Doom explained, and just by the way he spoke that I knew his tale contained no lies. "You see, the professor was in development of the ultimate life force as a last resort attempt to cure his granddaughter…but he needed my help."
He inched closer to me, and I instinctively stepped away.
"So, we made a deal…I helped him, and he promised to deliver to me the seven Chaos Emeralds…a promise that then fell onto you, Shadow!"
"No…NO!" I cried, grabbing my head.
"Yes, Shadow! And you thought I was making this up!" roared Doom, who was enjoying this way too much. "THAT'S how you came to be, Shadow…you would help us accomplish both of our goals, ahahahaha!"
"Me?!" I asked wearily, feeling my legs began to quiver. "I can't believe it!"
I was utterly floored at this point, collapsing to the ground and quietly despairing to myself. Was I destined to be nothing but a tool…!?
"Maybe I really should've never been created," I whispered to myself, my hands balling into fists on the ground.
Eggman, meanwhile, just shook his head disappointedly at the turn of events.
"Unacceptable!" he bellowed, suddenly becoming very animated with his arms. "He betrayed his own people for RESEARCH?! For Black Doom?! That goes against everything I knew him for…"
Everyone was feeling a bit melancholic at this point in time, but naturally it was Sonic that provided the small light of hope with a snicker.
"Big deal…it's not like we're just going to stand around here and do nothing!"
"Yeah!" Knuckles actually agreed with Sonic for once, punching the air above him. "Let's do this! I'll crush that cosmic rock ball!"
But as soon as he went to run off, he found that he couldn't move. Everyone caught onto the fact that something was wrong immediately, with Amy covering up her gasp and Rouge and Sonic immediately panicking.
"Knuckles! What's wrong?!" Sonic asked, reaching for his friend. However, he, too, found himself unable to move. Soon enough, everyone else succumbed to the same fate, including myself.
However, I did manage to sneak a glance at Black Doom, who was releasing some sort of gas from his sleeve and into the air. He chuckled apathetically, preparing to take his exit.
"This is a special bioweapon...this gas, once released, is quickly absorbed into your bloodstream. In a moment, total paralysis will hit your nervous system. The end is near, now…grahahahaha!"
Everyone immediately let out screams of panic, and I admittedly felt my own heart skip a beat.
And yet, things were inclined to get worse.
"Ahhh…my dear offspring," Black Doom crowed, just in time for some Black Larvae to crawl onto the scene. "Eat and devour these savory dishes!"
I was forced to watch as the larvae crawled harmlessly past me, aiming for everyone behind me. Amy was shrieking for help, Knuckles was calling them slime balls, Tails was wailing at the top of his lungs, but all of them were suffering…and I couldn't quite figure out why they hadn't gone for me.
But more importantly, I didn't know what I could do. I lost the Chaos Emeralds, I still had lost memories, and now I was losing my friends (and Eggman) and I was at a loss for what action to take…
And that was when my thoughts started racing, recalling just about everything from the past two days.
"Remember…the humans are your enemy…"
"I will avenge those whose blood has spilled!"
"Did I…die?"
"I gave you life…and this is how you repay me?!"
"That's why you were created…that's why you were created…"
The reason why…the reason why I'm here…that's what I still didn't know for sure…!
"Please help me, Shadow…" Maria's voice beckoned to me in my memories.
Maria…I want to help you; I want to help everyone…but how can I do that when I can't even help myself?
Even at my most heroic moments, Doom always had a hold on me…but the Day of Reckoning was finally here, and in order to keep the promise I made to Maria…I had to break the one Professor Gerald made for me.
Suddenly, I felt relaxed, like the gas wasn't flowing through my veins anymore. I moved my fingers- and I could! I had overcome Black Doom once again…!
To prove it, I abruptly stood back up, looking down at a Black Larvae crawling beside my foot and crushing it beneath my shoe. Black Doom's eyes widened at this change of events, and I could see the rage building up behind his triplet eyes.
"What?!"
I was bit stunned at what I'd just done myself, but I had no time to question my newfound strength- it was far better to roll with it.
"I…am Shadow the Hedgehog," I stated, feeling myself stand a little straighter. "I plan to leave my past behind me, once I find for myself what it is…"
I pointed viciously at Black Doom, newfound confidence rising in my voice.
"And no one can tell me what to do now! Especially…not…YOU!"
I took a step forward, glaring dangerously. Black Doom didn't appear to be appalled in any way, but I knew I was getting under his skin by proving that I was indeed a force to be reckoned with.
"I WILL destroy you, Black Doom!"
"I gave you life... and THIS is how you repay me!"
"No, you gave me my place in existence!" I called voraciously. "But you've taken my life away from me; that's all you've been doing since I met you!"
"Oh ho ho ho…the irony of it all…" Doom hummed, still arrogant even though I'd turned the tables. "I did indeed give you life…and now, I'm going to take it BACK!"
However, Doom just laughed and turned away, floating off to the outer edge of the comet to begin his conquest. I stood stunned for a moment, but I didn't follow Black Doom right away either. I turned to the still paralyzed group and began killing off all the larvae before they had done too much damage.
"Are you guys okay?" I asked, once I'd finished off the larvae horde.
"Eh, a little stiff, but alive!" Sonic chirped.
"For now, at least," grunted Eggman.
"I…I don't know how to help you guys," I explained, sounding guilty. "I'm not even entirely sure how I broke free…"
"You can help by giving Black Doom the beating he deserves!" exclaimed Knuckles. "We'll be here cheering for you!"
"Also, the gas that paralyzed us came from Black Doom," Tails explained. "If you vanquish Black Doom…the gas he poisoned us with just might wear off!"
"Then I won't waste any more time!" I assured, turning around and sprinting after Black Doom. "When this is over, we will meet again…"
Bemused, I turned around for a split second to give them all a thumbs up.
"…I promise."
Everyone gasped as I ran into the darkness, tracking Black Doom as best as I could.
"Shadow!" Rouge called after me, unable to give chase, and I was already too far ahead to come back now.
"…let him be, Rouge," Sonic stated quietly, eyes locked onto where I'd departed. "Just yesterday, he was our number one enemy and now…"
Sonic could only blink, but he did try to manage a smile.
"…now, he's our only hope for tomorrow."
Next time...with his friends held up by the influence of Black Doom, and the Comet warped down to the surface of the planet, Shadow rushes into the Last Way to catch up with Doom once and for all...
