PROJECT: Nightmare
Chapter One: Discovery
" 'Never Imagining Greater Hurt Than Marring A Realm Eternal'..."
"What are you doing, Amy?"
"Huh? Oh hi, Tails."
It was another warm summer afternoon filled with sunshine, and Amy Rose sat in the library park flipping through some books that caught her interest while eating some lunch. "I'm just looking through some books on ancient prophecies and things like that." She crunched on her apple a bit more and skimmed a few more pages.
"Ancient prophecies?" he asked, sliding on the bench across the table from her. "You believe those things?"
"Hey, some of these are pretty interesting!"
"Yeah, but it's not like they come true..."
"Perfect Chaos was a prophecy, and that came true."
"Well, yeah, but... that was different."
Amy glared at the two-tailed fox. "It was not! You just don't want to admit you're wrong!"
Tails shrugged. "Who ever WANTS to admit being wrong?"
"Ha! You do admit it!"
"What? Did not!"
"You did too!"
"No I... oh, forget it." Tails knew there was no sense in arguing with Amy, mainly because he always lost the argument.
Amy closed her current book and set it with two more that she was going to borrow. "Fine, whatever." She tossed her brown paper bag away and walked inside the library.
Tails shook his head and sighed. "Girls... I wonder what Sonic is up to?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Currently Sonic was lounging around at the local seasonal hot dog stand, poking his chili dog. He knew he was hungry, but he just couldn't eat it. He kept sighing and gazing out over the bay. Sigh, gaze, poke. Sigh, gaze, poke. He kept this up for about fifteen minutes before looking to the heavens and asking in despair "Why?"
Why, he wanted to know. Why did it have to happen? Why did he have to die? Why... "Why Shadow?"
No matter how much Sonic thought about it, it would never make sense. Life was just far too complicated to simply replicate like that, which may have been Gerald's biggest flaw -- as well as Shadow's downfall.
With enough time, Sonic managed to down his lunch and a soda to follow. It didn't really make him feel any better, though. Just less hungry.
Tails sped around the corner and grinned at the sight of Sonic. "Heh. I figured I'd find you here..."
"Uh huh...."
Tails frowned. They usually shared a good laugh at that joke. (What's going on?) "Sonic, are you okay?"
"...Are we ever okay, Tails?"
"Huh?"
"Wha... oh. Sorry."
Tails furrowed his brows in worry. "Sonic, what's going on? You're never that philisophical."
"Yeah, I know. I guess I'm just kinda... confused, or something. Don't worry about it."
"......Whatever you say, Sonic." Tails turned to look out over the sea. "Wow, what a view..."
"...uh huh..." Sonic mumbled, getting lost into thought again. (What if he fell in the ocean?)
"The ocean is so deep, so calm..."
(It would be the perfect final resting spot...)
"That is, when it's not angered by a storm."
(That sounds just like Shadow!) Without thinking, Sonic leapt over the wooden guardrail securing the dock patio from the water and dove in, pushing to the bottom.
Tails just watched with utmost curiosity.
About 30 seconds later, the blue hedgehog resurfaced, looking wet and dissapointed.
"Looking for sunken treasure?" the fox grinned.
"Very funny."
"I'm serious!" He cried to Sonic as he dried himself off... the best he could with napkins, anyway. "You just leapt in there with no warning and swam like there was no tomorrow! What is going on with you?!"
Sonic sighed. He might as well tell him...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Nightmare flipped through another book.
And sighed another sigh.
"Everything is so boring..." He spat. "All things must learn to survive, but I think I've done enough learning. It's time to experience." He stood up and headed towards the door to his room, but stopped suddenly and turned around to examine it.
It was a small room, simple, but certainly cozy, at least Nightmare seemed to think so. Everything was black - the walls, the ceiling, the pillows, the bed, the bedsheets, and the carpet. Yes, it was dark, but it suited him. The Doctor was nice enough to let him choose everything, which surprised Nightmare considerably, especially with the bad rap that Robotnik had.
At least, the biography had said he was really bad. Nightmare didn't know for sure. He had only been alive a short while, and the Doctor was quite patient with him, teaching him "everything a soul should know".
"But is it really everything?" He looked to the ceiling. "Not everything can be taught... I'm sure SOME of life's lessons have to be experienced." He nodded, face set with determination. "There's only one way to find out." He walked down to the main corridor and headed for the exit.
"And where are you off to?"
Nightmare turned around. "I'm tired of reading! For the past month, all I've seen was book after book after book after book after book!! I'm tired of seeing my life in black and white! I want to get out and experience my life! Only then can I truly learn something..."
"Hmm..." Eggman nodded. The hedgehog certainly had a point. "Very well. But I want you back here by 8."
"8?! That's hardly 3 hou---"
"Now now, you mustn't be hasty. Just get a feel for things, and tomorrow I'll let you go out a little longer."
"Alright! Thanks, Doctor." Nightmare nodded in a respectful bow and dashed out the door.
Ivo watched his "son" curiously. He began to ponder whether or not Gerald felt this way after the creation of Shadow. In spite of his true intentions with Nightmare, he couldn't help thinking how good a feeling it was to rear a child, to bring up a life, to protect a soul. Finally, he had a person to follow in his footsteps. It may have been the only way to keep the Robotnik legend alive, and if this was his legacy, then so be it. He had to make sure...
"The world must never forget Dr. Eggman... and with Nightmare's help, I can be sure of it!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"*sigh* Another day, another dollar."
Rouge the Bat walked out of the consignment shop with the earrings she had just bought. Pure Austrian crystal, priced at 5 dollars. Second-hand or not, it was something to add to her collection. Her collection. Nothing more. Just a display of something nice to look at. Nothing more. It had no purpose; it was just there. Nothing more. Much like herself... she was just there.
And God, was it ever BORING. She may have not gotten as much pay as she would've liked when she was a treasure hunting spy, but it did give her something to keep her mind occupied. Especially since the death of Shadow. While her heart was truly set on Knuckles, she felt a small piece of friendship for the self-proclaimed Ultimate LifeForm.
So of course, one one of her dull, ordinary shopping trips to the city, when she saw a black hedgehod with red stripes, she couldn't help but to gawk and stare in disbelief.
The black fur... the messy spikes... the white tuft on the chest... she drank in his presence. Could it be? Was it him? She took a breath to call out his name.
He looked at her.
She gasped in alarm. Right down to the blood red eyes... It was Shadow. It had to be. Slowly she approached him.
He gave her a funny look and started walking away.
She walked faster.
He sped up.
She sped up.
He broke into a full run.
Rouge frowned. Why was he running away? (Maybe taunting him on the ARK wasn't a smart move after all...) She scaled up a wall and hopped from roof to roof until she saw him take shelter in an alley. Swiftly she climbed down until she hung about five feet above him.
She went in for the kill.
"I've got you now, Shadow!" She latched onto him from behind.
Shadow yelped in shock, then turned his head to see his captor. He screamed and flipped her over his head, making Rouge land on her back. She jumped up, causing him to take a defensive pose. "What do you want with me?!" He cried, eyes wide with fear.
Rouge was taken aback. "What the... don't you recognize me?"
"RECOGNIZE you? This is the first time I've ever been outside! Why the hell would I recognize you?!"
(He doesn't.... know me...) "Oh!" (He must've lost his memory! That's it...) "Look Shadow, I think something happened to you on the fall to earth. I might be able to help."
He stared at her in disbelief. "....What?"
Rouge glared. Patience was not one of her better attributes. She grabbed Shadow by his white tuft and held his face close to hers. "Shadow, listen to me, you little freak of nature. We're going to find a way to jog you memory so you remember who you are."
"Shadow? Wha... what are you talking about?"
"Oh God, you're even worse then I thought."
"You crazy bat woman!" The hedgehog broke free of her grasp and delivered a hard kick to her stomach. "I am NOT Shadow. Get it through your head!!"
Rouge stood up, holding a hand to her stomach, trying not to show any pain. "Then... who are you?"
The hedgehog's light-skates flared wildly, lifting him up into the air. He glared hard, and his voice seemed to deepen. "I... am Nightmare... and I'm about to become your worst!"
Rouge gaped in fear as Nightmare began to glow green. He sped towards her at lightning fast speed, connecting his head into her stomach, sending her flying through the alley and slamming into a wall. She fell unconcious instantly.
Breathing a bit heavier then before, Nightmare walked down the alley and gripped Rouge's wrist. "Hm, she's still alive... That's unusual. I guess I should start training." He stood up and gave one last good glare at the bat before walking out of the alley. He headed towards the train station. "I'm going home... before someone else 'recognizes' me."
Chapter One: Discovery
" 'Never Imagining Greater Hurt Than Marring A Realm Eternal'..."
"What are you doing, Amy?"
"Huh? Oh hi, Tails."
It was another warm summer afternoon filled with sunshine, and Amy Rose sat in the library park flipping through some books that caught her interest while eating some lunch. "I'm just looking through some books on ancient prophecies and things like that." She crunched on her apple a bit more and skimmed a few more pages.
"Ancient prophecies?" he asked, sliding on the bench across the table from her. "You believe those things?"
"Hey, some of these are pretty interesting!"
"Yeah, but it's not like they come true..."
"Perfect Chaos was a prophecy, and that came true."
"Well, yeah, but... that was different."
Amy glared at the two-tailed fox. "It was not! You just don't want to admit you're wrong!"
Tails shrugged. "Who ever WANTS to admit being wrong?"
"Ha! You do admit it!"
"What? Did not!"
"You did too!"
"No I... oh, forget it." Tails knew there was no sense in arguing with Amy, mainly because he always lost the argument.
Amy closed her current book and set it with two more that she was going to borrow. "Fine, whatever." She tossed her brown paper bag away and walked inside the library.
Tails shook his head and sighed. "Girls... I wonder what Sonic is up to?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Currently Sonic was lounging around at the local seasonal hot dog stand, poking his chili dog. He knew he was hungry, but he just couldn't eat it. He kept sighing and gazing out over the bay. Sigh, gaze, poke. Sigh, gaze, poke. He kept this up for about fifteen minutes before looking to the heavens and asking in despair "Why?"
Why, he wanted to know. Why did it have to happen? Why did he have to die? Why... "Why Shadow?"
No matter how much Sonic thought about it, it would never make sense. Life was just far too complicated to simply replicate like that, which may have been Gerald's biggest flaw -- as well as Shadow's downfall.
With enough time, Sonic managed to down his lunch and a soda to follow. It didn't really make him feel any better, though. Just less hungry.
Tails sped around the corner and grinned at the sight of Sonic. "Heh. I figured I'd find you here..."
"Uh huh...."
Tails frowned. They usually shared a good laugh at that joke. (What's going on?) "Sonic, are you okay?"
"...Are we ever okay, Tails?"
"Huh?"
"Wha... oh. Sorry."
Tails furrowed his brows in worry. "Sonic, what's going on? You're never that philisophical."
"Yeah, I know. I guess I'm just kinda... confused, or something. Don't worry about it."
"......Whatever you say, Sonic." Tails turned to look out over the sea. "Wow, what a view..."
"...uh huh..." Sonic mumbled, getting lost into thought again. (What if he fell in the ocean?)
"The ocean is so deep, so calm..."
(It would be the perfect final resting spot...)
"That is, when it's not angered by a storm."
(That sounds just like Shadow!) Without thinking, Sonic leapt over the wooden guardrail securing the dock patio from the water and dove in, pushing to the bottom.
Tails just watched with utmost curiosity.
About 30 seconds later, the blue hedgehog resurfaced, looking wet and dissapointed.
"Looking for sunken treasure?" the fox grinned.
"Very funny."
"I'm serious!" He cried to Sonic as he dried himself off... the best he could with napkins, anyway. "You just leapt in there with no warning and swam like there was no tomorrow! What is going on with you?!"
Sonic sighed. He might as well tell him...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Nightmare flipped through another book.
And sighed another sigh.
"Everything is so boring..." He spat. "All things must learn to survive, but I think I've done enough learning. It's time to experience." He stood up and headed towards the door to his room, but stopped suddenly and turned around to examine it.
It was a small room, simple, but certainly cozy, at least Nightmare seemed to think so. Everything was black - the walls, the ceiling, the pillows, the bed, the bedsheets, and the carpet. Yes, it was dark, but it suited him. The Doctor was nice enough to let him choose everything, which surprised Nightmare considerably, especially with the bad rap that Robotnik had.
At least, the biography had said he was really bad. Nightmare didn't know for sure. He had only been alive a short while, and the Doctor was quite patient with him, teaching him "everything a soul should know".
"But is it really everything?" He looked to the ceiling. "Not everything can be taught... I'm sure SOME of life's lessons have to be experienced." He nodded, face set with determination. "There's only one way to find out." He walked down to the main corridor and headed for the exit.
"And where are you off to?"
Nightmare turned around. "I'm tired of reading! For the past month, all I've seen was book after book after book after book after book!! I'm tired of seeing my life in black and white! I want to get out and experience my life! Only then can I truly learn something..."
"Hmm..." Eggman nodded. The hedgehog certainly had a point. "Very well. But I want you back here by 8."
"8?! That's hardly 3 hou---"
"Now now, you mustn't be hasty. Just get a feel for things, and tomorrow I'll let you go out a little longer."
"Alright! Thanks, Doctor." Nightmare nodded in a respectful bow and dashed out the door.
Ivo watched his "son" curiously. He began to ponder whether or not Gerald felt this way after the creation of Shadow. In spite of his true intentions with Nightmare, he couldn't help thinking how good a feeling it was to rear a child, to bring up a life, to protect a soul. Finally, he had a person to follow in his footsteps. It may have been the only way to keep the Robotnik legend alive, and if this was his legacy, then so be it. He had to make sure...
"The world must never forget Dr. Eggman... and with Nightmare's help, I can be sure of it!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"*sigh* Another day, another dollar."
Rouge the Bat walked out of the consignment shop with the earrings she had just bought. Pure Austrian crystal, priced at 5 dollars. Second-hand or not, it was something to add to her collection. Her collection. Nothing more. Just a display of something nice to look at. Nothing more. It had no purpose; it was just there. Nothing more. Much like herself... she was just there.
And God, was it ever BORING. She may have not gotten as much pay as she would've liked when she was a treasure hunting spy, but it did give her something to keep her mind occupied. Especially since the death of Shadow. While her heart was truly set on Knuckles, she felt a small piece of friendship for the self-proclaimed Ultimate LifeForm.
So of course, one one of her dull, ordinary shopping trips to the city, when she saw a black hedgehod with red stripes, she couldn't help but to gawk and stare in disbelief.
The black fur... the messy spikes... the white tuft on the chest... she drank in his presence. Could it be? Was it him? She took a breath to call out his name.
He looked at her.
She gasped in alarm. Right down to the blood red eyes... It was Shadow. It had to be. Slowly she approached him.
He gave her a funny look and started walking away.
She walked faster.
He sped up.
She sped up.
He broke into a full run.
Rouge frowned. Why was he running away? (Maybe taunting him on the ARK wasn't a smart move after all...) She scaled up a wall and hopped from roof to roof until she saw him take shelter in an alley. Swiftly she climbed down until she hung about five feet above him.
She went in for the kill.
"I've got you now, Shadow!" She latched onto him from behind.
Shadow yelped in shock, then turned his head to see his captor. He screamed and flipped her over his head, making Rouge land on her back. She jumped up, causing him to take a defensive pose. "What do you want with me?!" He cried, eyes wide with fear.
Rouge was taken aback. "What the... don't you recognize me?"
"RECOGNIZE you? This is the first time I've ever been outside! Why the hell would I recognize you?!"
(He doesn't.... know me...) "Oh!" (He must've lost his memory! That's it...) "Look Shadow, I think something happened to you on the fall to earth. I might be able to help."
He stared at her in disbelief. "....What?"
Rouge glared. Patience was not one of her better attributes. She grabbed Shadow by his white tuft and held his face close to hers. "Shadow, listen to me, you little freak of nature. We're going to find a way to jog you memory so you remember who you are."
"Shadow? Wha... what are you talking about?"
"Oh God, you're even worse then I thought."
"You crazy bat woman!" The hedgehog broke free of her grasp and delivered a hard kick to her stomach. "I am NOT Shadow. Get it through your head!!"
Rouge stood up, holding a hand to her stomach, trying not to show any pain. "Then... who are you?"
The hedgehog's light-skates flared wildly, lifting him up into the air. He glared hard, and his voice seemed to deepen. "I... am Nightmare... and I'm about to become your worst!"
Rouge gaped in fear as Nightmare began to glow green. He sped towards her at lightning fast speed, connecting his head into her stomach, sending her flying through the alley and slamming into a wall. She fell unconcious instantly.
Breathing a bit heavier then before, Nightmare walked down the alley and gripped Rouge's wrist. "Hm, she's still alive... That's unusual. I guess I should start training." He stood up and gave one last good glare at the bat before walking out of the alley. He headed towards the train station. "I'm going home... before someone else 'recognizes' me."