where the heck is shadow?
even better, who the heck is shadow?
Drool lined the lips of the sleeping hedgehog when he began to awaken. Discomfort shook him from the dream world, discomfort and displacement. Groggy emerald eyes slowly opened up, the young mobian's throat groaning in protest. The hedgehog was still ridiculously tired. Unfortunately for Sonic, he did not remain sleepy for long.
When the drowsy eyes came into focus, the hedgehog let out a scream of alarm and fright. Sometime during Sonic's rest, the blue blur had shifted over, arm and face dangling off the catwalk as a result. A few inches further, and the small mobian's weight would have carried him tumbling down the endless shaft. The hedgehog rolled the opposite direction, bringing his head back over the catwalk; emeralds eyes struggling to focus properly from the dizzying heights witnessed. He laid there for a second, recovering from the sudden shock with deep controlled breaths. That could have been really bad.
Sitting upright brought clarity to the exhausted mind of Sonic. His pounding heart calmed and his racing breaths slowed. As the refreshing state of mind washed over him, Sonic realized an important factor was missing. Shadow was nowhere to be seen. Sonic was free to do as he pleased.
A blankness filled the blue blur's thoughts as his mind tried to conceive what to even do with his newfound freedom. Should he take a well deserved run through the colony to see the sights not seen in 50 years? Should he try and break the emeralds out of the Eclipse Cannon? Should he try and contact Tails to come get him out of this weird situation? Or the even clearer option: All of the above.
The last option sounded good. Muscles heaved, and Sonic found himself on his feet again. He peered through the open door, making sure that no one would see him. Coast clear. The hedgehog jogged over to the massive structure in the middle of the core. Gloved hands reached up and began to type at the keys of the central computer.
Password required.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Sonic cursed. The password could be literally anything. The keys had been recently used, so there was no telling what characters could even make up the code. Emerald eyes glanced over the keys. The numbers would be hard to reach due to his size. Better start trying.
1t8ghost
Incorrect password
Chilidog
Incorrect password
Sonic began to think. Random passwords would get him locked out of the computer, not into it. Logic is what was needed in this situation, not blind luck. Small fingers drummed anxiously on the metal rims. What could the password be? Well, it might be something similar to the last one. That seemed reasonable.
Mira
Incorrect password
Or it could be identical to the last one. Sonic stood tip-toe to see the keyboard better, arms straining to reach the proper letters. He could barely reach the numbers with his small hands...
Mariqwazx
Incorrect password.
Oops, his hand slipped. Gosh humans were tall...
Maria
Access granted
"Yes! Now let's see what's going on in this place!" Sonic cheered. He moved his hand to the control panel.
Eclipse cannon status
ARK status
Science projects
Calendar and schedule
External hard drive
Personnel files
The list went on and on. Sonic didn't even know where to start. He could see everything that was inputted into the computer, and there was no telling what was important or not. Well… personnel files were probably low priority at the current time. Sonic moved the cursor over "Science Projects".
Project NIDS
Project HUD
Project SHADOW
Project GIZOID
Project Shadow? What did Shadow have to do with all of this? They called him Project Shadow down on Prison Island, but why was he called that? Was Project Shadow his real name? Did he have a name before that? Was he someone before that? Sonic moved the cursor and clicked.
Sonic was overwhelmed with confusion. A file popped up on the screen, but it was not what the young hedgehog had expected. The file was of Project Shadow, but it did not describe the older hedgehog at all. The picture displayed with the file showed a lizard. A lizard. Who was he traveling with if Project Shadow was a little lizard? Heck, why would the government commission a scientist to roboticize a lizard? Nothing even made sense. Emerald eyes kept reading.
Day 1: Startup was a success, amniotic fluid and other resources have been imported from the planet. We will begin the mitosis stages now.
Boring. Sonic yawned. How could Tails read medical journals for fun? This stuff was mind numbingly bland. Sonic hastily scrolled through the entries.
Day 469: The revival was a success! Project Shadow has shown exceptional adaptation to life outside the amniotic fluid. It has begun to walk around and hiss at researchers. I can't believe I actually created a-
Also boring. Sonic wondered why he continued to scroll through the endless entries. Was there something he needed to know?
Day 499: Due to the unusual circumstance of Project Shadow, I have found a way to allow it to survive longer. However, extensive mechanical components are required to kee-
Sonic closed the tab. He didn't have time to be reading through random files, there was no knowing when the older hedgehog would come back…
Emerald eyes zipped around towards the door, expecting to find the sharp silhouette of Shadow to be standing ominously at the entrance. Fortunately for Sonic, no one was there. Where was that guy anyway? Who was that guy anyway? Why did he take off now of all times?
A twinge of guilt pounded through Sonic's system. The memory of what happened before he passed out came flooding back. Fur raised on instinct as stress poured into his veins. What was he thinking? His throat throbbed as he remembered what happened. He had yelled at Shadow, prompting a response unlike anything Sonic ever expected. It was unclear whether it was Sonic that made Shadow snap, or the alarms. Perhaps both? Either way, the blue hedgehog started it, and he felt terrible. It was extremely unkind to call someone heartless or uncaring. Sonic's temper had gotten to his head, and it had created problems.
The young hedgehog sunk to the floor, guilt overwhelming his mind. Shadow hadn't really done much to put him on the danger level associated with Eggman. Sure, he was aggressive and clearly powerful, but he hadn't really attacked anyone other than those who attacked him first or stole from him. Perhaps Sonic wasn't understanding something in the elder's psyche. Sonic just assumed from the start that Shadow was imprisoned for a good reason - and maybe he was right. But something was clearly off about Shadow; something in those red eyes was screaming to escape. Why did he assume Shadow was a bad person?
What good has Shadow done during all this time? The dark male hadn't done anything to help him, right? Sonic strained his memory, searching for things to prove to himself that he was mistaken. Sonic hated mislabeling people. It was only after a long time of fighting Eggman and seeing what he was accomplishing that Sonic had decided that the human was bad. He had known Shadow for maybe a day, and he was already screaming insensitive things at him. The blue hedgehog had never called Eggman heartless or emotionless. Ever. Eggman cared about some things, and that was what made him just like everyone else. Why was Shadow any different? Eggman had done worse things than the older hedgehog.
But why did Shadow need the Eclipse Cannon operating? A weapon could do a lot of things, but what did Shadow intend to do with it? Sonic guessed he would have to find out. Shadow was a strange character after all. The guy never smiles, never laughs, and he always carries a melancholic look when not angry or annoyed. Heck, the first time Sonic saw Shadow express anything other than anger or sadness was when he yelled at him. Granted there were a lot of factors, but still. Sonic caused Shadow to express fear.
That was what it was. The look in his eyes that Sonic couldn't identify... was fear. Shadow was afraid. Afraid of what was a mystery, but Shadow was acting out of fear. Fear and Anger. Shadow was in pain, that was why he nearly killed the blue hedgehog last time. Sonic had figuratively poked a cornered, injured animal in the wound with a stick.
The realization of Shadow's emotion hit Sonic like a hurricane. He had completely misinterpreted the elder's actions this whole time. Sonic felt horrible for Shadow, empathy and heartache overwhelming the young mobian. He needed to find a way for Shadow to feel better. Sonic's morals demanded that he helped him. Shadow was in trouble.
This was the kind of trouble Sonic was not used to. Saving someone from themselves was completely different than rescuing a bird from Eggman, or retrieving powerful gemstones. Shadow was not going to like being rescued. In fact, he might even resist the blue hedgehog's efforts. But Sonic needed to try. Seeing someone sad broke his heart, and he could not stand by. Sonic remembered his own scars of abandonment and refused to let anyone else feel the same.
Sonic looked back up at the Eclipse Cannon. His gut told him the cannon was not a good thing. Shadow was probably going to do something terrible with it. If Sonic could change his mind, however, perhaps the Cannon would be deactivated? If he couldn't, Tails was probably on his way and the two of them could figure it out. But was he really prepared to engage Shadow in combat? It couldn't be any harder than Metal Sonic or Knuckles trying to kill him. However, if he was going to try and stop Shadow passively, He would need to find him first.
Sonic could only hope that he was still on the ARK.