In all the years, there'd never been anything like this...no chaos power that could bring this ruin...but here, Shadow stood...a loss of control...he'd always stood over the rest of the world….but now, he stood over corpses...he walked over them, shoes squishing blood underfoot.
Knuckles.
Tails.
Silver.
Sonic.
Rouge.
All of this, and for what? All of them, dead, and laying in blood and shattered glass….the one true friend he'd had since...since the ARK.
Dead.
Shadow tried to wipe it from his mind...tried to focus what energy he had left into his own brain to erase it...but there was no power that could make him forget what he had done.
A hovering sound did distract from the anger and hate...but when he saw the source it refocused…
Dr. Eggman….
"Well, well...not bad, Shadow...I can see why grandfather thought you the ultimate…" Eggman muttered, studying the carnage.
"Ah...here's the one I came to see!" He knelt down, and turned over the body of Sonic. A scorch mark on his chest...eyes still wide open…
"Sonic, Sonic, Sonic...so fast...so brave...but you know what they say...slow and steady wins the race…" Eggman forced Sonic's eyes closed.
Shadow could acknowledge Eggman's patience. His skill for knowing the game...He played Sonic and friends for years...upping the threat levels until Shadow would be forced from neutrality, with no choice but to step in for the survival of the Earth…
It was then that Shadow finally knew, though hardly understood, that Sonic had quit being Eggman's target years ago. Shadow was always endgame.
Shadow was always top prize.
Shadow was always Eggman's secret WMD.
It had taken several battles. None of which saw Shadow emerge unscathed, though now Shadow knew that it was all by design.
Cuts, scratches, bruises, the occasional head trauma...Shadow always figured it was what Sonic would call an occupational hazard...but every cut and scratch and bruise was meticulous...each one cutting deeper into Shadow's body, and into his blood...until eventually, Shadow's blood was overtaken by Eggman's nanites.
They built themselves up over years, slowly taking control, until now, Eggman had Shadow on his leash, and knew just how to properly walk him.
This walk through the city was a damn bloodbath...innocent people, turned to ash…
That was all on Shadow, for not seeing it before now...and thanks to that blindness...all he loved was dead…
But that didn't mean that all he hated had to live.
"Shadow…" Eggman growled. "Search the rubble of this city...execute the survivors...Finish it…"
Shadow gritted his teeth as Eggman turned his back to him. "As you command, Doctor…"
With a haunting silence, Shadow reared his hand back and a sharp light flew from his palm.
And with that...Eggman dropped dead.