Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues

"Shadow!" Petro ran forward and scooped the hedgehog into his arms. "You're here! You're here!"

"I thought I'd come back, make sure things were still in order." Shadow was hugging Petro back, which Petro thought was odd, but he was too happy about seeing Shadow again to worry about it.

"Um… what's going on?" Ezra asked.

"Oh right! Shadow, I'd like you to meet my Padawan, Ezra Bridger. Ezra, this is Shadow the hedgehog. The one who made the galaxy what it is today."

Ezra held up his hands. "Wait. That's the Shadow the hedgehog from the legends?"

There were many tales about Shadow the mysterious hedgehog. Hero, villain, savior, destroyer, it depended who you asked, but everyone agreed that there had never been anyone like him before.

"How have you been?" Petro asked.

Shadow nodded amiably. "Been good. Eggman's no longer a problem so things have been quiet. What have you been up to?"

Petro went into various stories about the adventures he'd had over the last two decades. From exploring ancient, forgotten temples, to recovering lost artifacts, to preventing the Intergalactic Banking Clan from completely collapsing.

"Sounds like you've been busy. But what about everyone else?" Shadow questioned gently.

"Well we've actually had Zatt take over the Banking Clan because we're not sure who else can be trusted. Katooni's keeping the Trade Federation in check. They a history of doing questionable things. Gungi joined the Bounty Hunters Guild. A lot of innocent people end up with bounties on their head just because some rich jerk doesn't like them. He accepts that kind of job and then helps those people survive. Of course, when a person does deserve it, then he gets them. Genodi has been exploring and making new discoveries, traveling to each and every corner of the galaxy. Byph really surprised us with how powerful he ended up being. Back in the day, he was always kind of a wuss. But man, when he started studying the Dark Side and converted that fear into power, he almost collapsed the entire temple!"

Shadow blinked in astonishment. "Sounds impressive. What's he doing now?"

"Well, due to his immense power, we gave him the most dangerous job we had. He spies on all the various crime syndicates in the galaxy."

Shadow's ears pricked forward. "Really? All of them?"

"Yeah. It was pretty difficult back in the beginning, but since then all lot of the smaller groups have absorbed or destroyed. Now it's just the Hutts and the Black Sun."

"Even so, Byph is only one person. How is he spying on two groups at once?"

Petro grinned. "He hacked into Jabba's personal protocol droid and is able to listen in on important meetings."

"And what has he learned?"

"Well, according to the latest report he sent back, Jabba's been meeting with an advisor. Don't really know who he is yet, but he's been feeding Jabba information on the best way to concur the Black Sun. It seems like he's trying to create some kind of army."

"Hmm… interesting. Anyone else?"

"I'm afraid not. It's incredibly difficult to find new students these days, especially with everyone being so busy. The only reason we were able to find Ezra here was because this was his home planet. But we did find someone else. Come on, I'll introduce you."

Petro led the small group back towards the temple. Ezra couldn't seem to stop staring at Shadow. How many of the stories were true? Shadow for his part, ignored Ezra. He seemed to be asking a few too many questions, more than an old friend should ask.

They reached the entrance to the temple, where a man was sitting cross-legged by the door.

"This is Chirrut Imwe, our Temple Guardian."

Chirrut regarded the group with blind eyes. "Hello, nice to meet you."

"Hello." Shadow replied.

Petro had been expecting some sort of sarcastic remark about how their Temple Guardian was a blind man with a stick, but it didn't come. Well, it has been a long time. Maybe Shadow's mellowed out a bit?

Shadow, however seemed disinterested in him. "What about Master Yoda, is he still around?"

Petro smiled. "Yeah, come on!"

He took them inside the temple. They went to his chambers, where Yoda had resumed hovering above the floor.

"Master, you'll never believe who's here!" Petro shouted excitedly.

Yoda opened his eyes and looked at them. His gaze narrowed and he frowned.

"Master Yoda, it's been a while." Shadow greeted, and that set off an alarm in Petro's head because Shadow never called him master…

Yoda descended back to the floor. "Yes, a long time it has been… Lord Sidious."

"What? No, it couldn't be! That's impossible!" Petro sputtered.

Shadidious also had a surprised look on his face. How could he have been discovered so quickly?

A hint of a smirk played at Yoda's lips. "Not too old to learn new tricks, I am. Blinded, I am no longer. See you clearly, I do."

Ezra pulled out his lightsaber and pointed it at the hedgehog. "I knew you were asking too many questions!" The various legends he had heard about Shadow were very mixed and polarizing, but the legends he had heard about Sidious were very clear about what kind of person he was.

Petro could only stare in frozen horror.

Shadidious scowled. "It doesn't matter. I've already obtained the information I needed from you. Your destruction is inevitable." He then pulled out the red Chaos Emerald and disappeared in a flash.

"Sidious is- Shadow is-" Petro broke off with a sob.

Ezra was shocked by Petro's tears. "What's going on?"

Yoda stepped forward and gently patted Petro's knee. "Mourning, he is. Gone, his friend is."

"What do you mean, gone?"

"Taken Shadow's body, Sidious has. Killed Shadow, he did."


Shadidious appeared in the ship he had waiting in orbit. He immediately activated the long-range transmitter and a hologram of Jabba appeared. He gave a hand signal that translated to 'Destroy the droid.'

Jabba swung his tail and a loud crash could be heard.

"The Jedi have been spying on you. We're going to need to accelerate the plan. I'll transmit the locations where the Jedi can be found. There aren't many."

As he cut the transmission, Sidious felt Shadow struggling. He sighed.

"You'd think after five years, you would have learned that struggling is futile by now."

"I won't let you do this!"

"Really, and how's that? What are you going to do? You have been reduced to an insignificant speck in the back of your own mind. And as brave as you act, I know exactly how much you're hurting, how I terrify you. I've made progress these past five years, even if there is still some way to go. As far as you're concerned, I have all the time in the world. Now if you don't mind, I need to get back to eliminating your friends."

Sidious pushed him back down again and jumped into hyperspace.

Shadow was furious. He clung tightly to the anger. It was a life preserver in a sea of fear and pain and trauma. He had gathered many mental scars over his life, and Sidious had delighted in ripping them open all over again. Sidious had also dreamed up nightmare sequences to create new ones. By feeding sensory information to Shadow's consciousness, he could make it seem like Shadow was actually living through whatever horrific experiences Sidious could imagine.

Shadow had to remind himself again that the visions weren't real, no matter what it felt like at the time. Sidious was truly a master of torture.

Except for today. Today, Sidious had made a critical mistake. He allowed Shadow to see Petro that day. Let him see how he had grown. Let him see how much the Jedi Order had changed for the better. How much stronger and wiser they had become. That moment where Yoda had called Sidious out had filled Shadow with vindictive satisfaction. And the fact that Sidious had chosen to retreat instead of killing them meant that Sidious was afraid.

Yes, Sidious had made the biggest mistake a torturer could make.

He gave his victim hope.