'With You' chapter 4
By T. 'RockChick' Evans
Original idea by Pyro Angel
A/N –Look, I wrote a new chapter! Whoohoo!
Uh oh… this fic is getting darker. Fans of the Alien films may get a little déjà vu here, as bits of this chapter were inspired by them. Whoops, said too much :)
Thanks for all the reviews, people. I know the last chapter kind of cut off at the end, but I wanted to at least get something up. Hard to write fanfics when I've gotta think up other ideas for my Narrative Structure assessment at university- which is basically story writing- and I don't want my main character to end up being a Shadow clone. Not that there's anything wrong with Shadow, but my tutor would not be impressed if I handed in a piece of fan fiction.
And then there's my animation and creative drawing assignments… god I hate stress.
Hmmm, my eyes just went all swirly. I wonder why… @.@
* * * *
The room was large, but the deep shadows made the once open space seem claustrophobic. The air was heavy with dust and the silence of decades; only a handful of people had been here over the course of almost three quarters of a century. Banks of silent machines were just visible in the corners, and a strange construction, looking metallic but somehow organic, dominated the centre of the room.
"A spot of light floods the floor
and pours over the rusted world of pretend
the eyes ease open and it's dark again…"
The shadows flickered wildly as the green glow receded, leaving three figures blinking in the gloom.
"Whoa," Muttered Shadow, his voice echoing a little. He gazed incredulously at the green Chaos Emerald in his hand- now the only real light source in the room. The black hedgehog glanced at the two figures behind him, but the two cat-shaped silhouettes were too shocked to say anything, and just stared at him with large frightened eyes. Shadow slowly shook his head, and promptly fell over.
"Hey, are you okay?" Sid quickly darted forward, catching the hedgehog before he hit the floor.
"Yeah, I… I'm just tired…" Embarrassed, Shadow regained his balance and pushed the tabby away. "I guess it's because ARK is so far away, and maybe I'm a little out of practice…" he gave an apologetic grin.
"But you've never done that before," a confused Toots frowned.
"Not in this lifetime," the hedgehog replied vaguely. He glanced again at the emerald, feeling his fatigue vanish as he drew power from it.
"Wait a sec- what exactly did you do, anyway? That was too weird." Sid glanced around, trying and failing to make sense of the dark room. "So this is ARK?"
"Probably," Shadow shrugged. "If I got that Chaos Control thing right."
"Maybe we should switch the lights on and find out." Although they were alone in the room, Toots spoke in a whisper- it just felt right to do so. "Well, Shadow- I don't know how you did that, but at least now we know you aren't crazy," she continued, wandering over to the platform in the centre of the room.
"Yeah, weird maybe- but definitely not crazy," Sid joked, promptly receiving a shove from behind.
"I got you here, didn't I?" Shadow grinned in the darkness. He could just see what looked like a door nearby; wandering over to it, he found it tightly locked. The black hedgehog sighed, spotting a little control panel by the door.
"Looks like there's no way out until we get the power back on," he called to his friends.
Toots squinted at the seven-sided control panel in the centre of the room, looking for some way to restore electricity to the deactivated space station.
"Any luck?"
She turned slightly to see a dim form looking over her shoulder, its height identifying it as her brother.
"Hmm." The tortoiseshell cat turned back to the machine, gesturing at the strange slots in each of the seven sides. "Looks like the Chaos Emerald would fit in one of those holes…"
"Hey Shadow!" Sid yelled loudly, making his sister cover her large, tufted ears.
"Yeah?" Shadow looked away from the door. His dark figure was nearly invisible, apart from where the glow from the green emerald reflected on his earring.
"Bring the emerald over here, will you?" asked Toots. It was strange, she thought, how the hedgehog's young but already deep voice didn't sound as out-of-place as hers or Sid's. The dark gave it an almost sinister quality.
The Chaos Emerald was quickly slotted into the control panel, which immediately lit up like a Christmas tree. Toots grinned smugly, but her face fell when the rest of the room remained dark. She brushed a layer of dust off the surface of a computer screen, and groaned as she read the glowing text there.
"Uh, password…?"
"Allow me." Shadow stepped up to the control panel, and paused for a moment, thinking. "Hmmm…"
"Shadow…?" Sid frowned.
"Sssh! I'm trying to think." The hedgehog's eyes fell half-closed. Maybe this was something he knew, like Chaos Control… as he thought about it, he did get the feeling that he had done this before…
~
"I've been waiting for you, doctor." Shadow glanced at Robotnik before slipping the green emerald into its compartment. "Not many people know that ARK was a centre for researching weapons of mass destruction…"
He raised a hand, and typed a sequence of letters into the keyboard…
~
"Password accepted. Welcome, Shadow…" the screen flashed.
"Wow." Shadow shook his head, returning to reality. "I have been here before… I remembered the password, and..." he trailed off, re-reading his name on the screen.
Had he been working with Robotnik…?!
Sid and Toots stared at the screen, then at the hedgehog. They wondered if their friend was who they thought he was.
"Hey, the screen just changed," Sid exclaimed after a few moments. It now read:
"Rebooting. System has determined that Stages 1-2 have failed due to outside interference. Would you like to retry Stages 1-2 manually? Y/N"
"Now what, Shad?" Sid asked expectantly..
"I don't know… what's Stage 1?" Shadow shrugged.
"I thought you knew all this stuff."
"No," the hedgehog corrected, "I know bits of this 'stuff'. As for that-" he pointed towards the screen, "I don't have a clue."
"Maybe it'll get the power back on," Toots offered hopefully, typing 'Y'.
The screen went blank for a few moments, and a mechanical coughing sound rumbled up from beneath the floor. It faded to an unhealthy whine and died, a new message popping up on the screen.
"Error: Cannot initiate stage 1- insufficient power. All seven Chaos Emeralds are required.
Error: Cannot initiate stage 2- release mechanism already deployed. Prototype {PS 1.42} missing."
"So much for that idea," Sid muttered.
"What does all that stuff mean?" Toots wondered.
"Means it's not gonna work."
"I know that, genius…"
Shadow shushed them both and pointed at the screen, which had changed again.
"Would you like to initiate stage 3? Y/N"
His gloved hand hovered over the keyboard again. He wasn't too sure about all this, and didn't like the sinking feeling those messages on the screen had given him. However, the ebony hedgehog's curiosity got the better of him, and after a moment's thought he hit the 'Y' key.
A shaft of light suddenly shot upwards from the centre of the control panel. Spreading outwards from the middle of the room, lights in the ceiling began to turn on. The machines around the walls clicked and whrirred into life, some of them shorting out with tiny puffs of smoke after being dormant for so long.
Shadow narrowed his eyes at the sudden increase in light levels, then smirked at the computer screen. It now read "Stage 3 initialisation complete."
The hedgehog stared around the room, and shivered. The dias in the centre with its oddly organic-looking machinery and flickering holograms… yes, he had been here before. He couldn't picture when or why, he just knew.
"Welcome to ARK, guys…" he murmured quietly.
The door opened easily now that the electricity was working. The three animals walked out into the dusty corridors, not noticing the Chaos Emerald disappear into the slot in the control panel, on its way to who-knows where. As the door slid shut, the computer screen changed again.
Years before, the computer had been programmed to use the Chaos Emeralds to crash ARK into the planet. This had failed, and the computer had executed its next program- releasing the Biolizard, which also failed. Now the computer had been manually overridden by someone with the correct password, and instructed to carry out Dr. Gerald's third and final plan.
A timer appeared and began to count down.
"Beginning stage 3: self destruct mode."
* * * *
"I still don't get it," Sid frowned as he walked along, scratching his head. He gave Shadow a puzzled stare. "That Chaos-thing you did was pretty impressive, and I've read that article about you and Sonic saving the world. So when you say you've been here before, I believe you…" he paused. "But how could you have, when it was before you were born?"
"That's what I was wondering, too," Toots added.
Shadow, who was walking slightly in front of the two cats, looked back apologetically.
"I don't know… I just don't know." He sighed, ruby eyes going back to their examination of the dusty walls, floor and ceiling.
"There's got to be some rational explanation," the tortoiseshell cat reasoned. "I mean… cloning, reincarnation…"
"Rational, huh." Sid raised an eyebrow and smirked.
There was another long silence as they passed more rooms, each one empty and with its door blasted down.
"Whoa, G.U.N really cleaned out this place," Sid observed as he peered around another doorway. "There's nothing left. It's like one of those robbed tombs you see on the Discovery channel."
Shadow gave him a withering look, wishing he wouldn't talk about tombs, but knowing he was right. This was a tomb, at least it felt like one. He managed to suppress a shudder, and sighed again.
"I know… but if we don't find anything, maybe I'll never know who I really am. This whole place is familiar, but… I …I need something to help me remember." The hedgehog paused, then added quietly; "Then again, maybe I don't want to." He stopped walking and took a deep breath, a little surprised that he had managed to admit it.
"Why not? I thought…" Toots frowned.
"You haven't seen what I've seen," he interrupted. Shadow had never been one to wear his heart on his sleeve, but if his feelings were going to come out, it might as well be now. "The things I remember, they… aren't pleasant." He started to stride down the corridor again.
The cats followed, keeping pace this time, and waited for Shadow to continue. Eventually it became clear that he wasn't going to.
"You mean that orange lizard you told us about?" Sid prompted.
The hedgehog gulped.
"Yeah. But not just that… there're things I remember about myself, too. Mostly feelings and images. I hate to admit it, but they scare me… " his fists clenched. "And then there's…Maria…" he added in a choked half-whisper.
For a few moments, neither Sid nor Toots could think of anything to say.
"Well, uh… we can always go home?" Sid suggested hesitantly.
"No," Shadow said forcefully. That inner voice was back, telling him to stop being so pathetic.
Toots glanced her friend, startled. She had never heard that tone of voice from him before; it was fierce and determined, yet somehow calm and logical at the same time. It may have been the light, but that frown made him seem older.
"I've come too close to just give up now. I can't run away from this, not even if I am afraid. I have to know who Maria was, and I have to know who I was."
He saw the surprised expressions on the two cats' faces and sighed. This was exactly why he was afraid; Shadow knew it wasn't like him to act like that. Or maybe it was like him, and he just didn't know it yet. But still, lately he'd felt like he was becoming someone else…
"Sorry about that," he apologised, grinning sheepishly in an attempt to reassure the others.
* * * *
"What's this door?"
Sid pointed at the entrance in question, a heavily reinforced slab of metal set flush with the wall. It had been sturdy enough to begin with, but at some point somebody had hastily welded several thick metal bars across it.
"Looks like someone was determined to keep people out."
Shadow examined the door and bars, noting that this door had blast marks like the others. But they were partly covered by the metal bars…
"I think," he said, "There's something in there that G.U.N didn't want us to see."
"And we won't get to see it, either," Toots pointed out. "Not with those things in the way."
The three friends examined the bars.
"Well, they look pretty rusty…" Shadow eventually pronounced. "Hmm…"
Sid tugged at one of the girders, grunting. He let go and shook his head.
"Nope, solid as a rock."
"Hmm," Shadow repeated. He scanned the door again, noting a black, sooty mark and a large dent below the lowest bar. Crouching, he kicked at the weak spot; the door gave way a little, and he smirked. Several powerful kicks later, Shadow had bent the door inwards enough to make a space underneath that was just big enough to crawl though. One tight squeeze and some ripped clothes after that, the hedgehog and two cats got to their feet, brushed the dust off themselves and found themselves in another corridor. The doors here were open too, but the rooms were not empty.
They picked one at random and went inside.
* * * *
Wide eyed, they found themselves in a spacious laboratory- it actually looked more like some kind of museum, what with the glass tubes that dominated the space. They ranged in size from pillars which touched the ceiling to tiny test tubes. There must have been about fifty of them; each contained something, but the coating of dust over everything made it impossible to see what.
Bewildered, Sid stared around the room. Each tube had a number, he noticed; the ones nearest him all bore the label PS 1.-something, and most had a thick folder of notes in a holder attached to the glass.
The tabby cat stopped at a tube labelled {PS 1.13},which was about as tall as he was, and wiped at the glass with a paw. Ignoring the dust marring his gloves, he stared into the container.
Suspended in clear liquid was a strange lumpy form. About half Sid's size, it was a dirty white in colour and curled into a tight ball. The preserved creature sported a thick tail and gills along its neck and sides.
"Yuck, reminds me of biology class."
Making a disgusted face, Sid looked away from the dead thing. Still curious, his hand reached for the folder.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
"What the?!" Sid jerked, searching for the source of the yell. "Shadow?"
The two cats found him nearby, frozen in front of a container much bigger than the others.
"Are you okay?" Toots exclaimed, trying to get the trembling hedgehog's attention. He gave her a brief, haunted stare, then turned back to the glass tube.
"Th…that's…" he pointed to the creature suspended in the liquid, visible where he had wiped away the dust.
"Whoa, no wonder you yelled so loud. That is ugly." Sid stared into the glass. The nightmare thing seemed to stare back, even though it had no eyes. It resembled the smaller creature he had seen, but this one seemed more developed; its powerful arms and stumpy hind legs were clearly visible, as were the crushing jaws and the pattern of scales on its faded orange skin. The tail hung limply in the fluid; the only good thing about it was that it was dead.
"Is that your lizard?" Toots asked softly. Shadow, who seemed to have regained some control over himself, turned away from the reptile and shook his head.
"It… it looks like it, but… the one I remember was bigger, a lot bigger. And it had machines attached to it."
"Listen to this," Sid began, holding up the folder of notes. "Project Shadow, prototype no. 1.41," he read from the cover. The cat quickly flicked to the last page.
"The subject proved unable to survive without assistance. Next attempt may require a life support system. Perhaps it is time to alter my designs…"
After reading the last paragraph, Sid put the folder down. There was a shocked silence which lasted until a quiet murmur escaped the dark hedgehog.
"Project Shadow…?"
He moved further into the lab, as if in a daze. Exchanging worried glances, the feline siblings followed, watching as Shadow wiped clean a couple of smaller containers. These were in a separate area of their own, and were labelled {C1} and {C2}.
"Chao? He was doing experiments on Chao?"
"Who's 'he', Shadow?"
Confused and finding no immediate answer to Toots' question, Shadow simply said he didn't know. He glanced again at the preserved Chao. One of them was a Dark type, black with red stripes and a white crescent on its chest. Incredulously, the hedgehog examined the attached folder…
"…Although I succeeded in halting the ageing process with my previous prototypes, true immortality was still beyond my reach. But an unexpected discovery has led me to believe that these creatures hold the answer…" the hedgehog read aloud. He looked up, allowing the folder to slip out of his hands.
"Of course. Chao… I still can't remember, but I… I understand now…"
"Understand what?" Sid frowned. Shadow waved a hand at the two small containers, his expression wild-eyed.
"Don't you get it? It makes perfect sense. Chao… sometimes they don't die. They just keep coming back, like they resurrect themselves or something…"
"What has that got to do with--" Sid began. Then he stopped, eyes going wide. "--Oh. You can't be serious."
"Yes…" Shadow nodded. "And if that happened to me, then I… I must be…what am I?!"
"My name is Shadow. I'm the world's Ultimate Life Form…" he thought dazedly. He noticed detachedly that the few tubes that came after the Chao were labelled {PS 2-something.} Several of them were about his size. Shadow didn't want to look into them, because he knew that he might come face to face with himself.
"Against my will I stand beside my own reflection
it's haunting how I can't seem
to find myself again
my walls are closing in…"
The hedgehog stared wildly around the room, shaking. Then he was gone at supersonic speed, the glass tubes rocking in his wake; one of them, more of a pod than a tube, fell over and smashed on the floor.
Sid and Toots looked at each other, hearing a loud clang moments later. They ran out of the room to find the barred door bashed down, and no sign of Shadow anywhere.
The cats set off in pursuit, and yet again they didn't bother to check what was happening behind them.
* * * *
The smashed pod had been both more complicated, and more reinforced than the others in the room. Its label read {PS 2.0}. The folder documenting the progress of the experiment had fallen open; if anyone had bothered to read the page, they would not have ignored it so completely.
"This first fusing of hedgehog, Biolizard and Chao genetic material proved successful, however the subject seems to have retained the mental instability of the original Biolizard (Project Shadow ver. 1.42). The subject has proved exceptionally aggressive and difficult to control. It has been put into stasis for further study..."
Coiled in a growing pool of liquid, the creature slowly stirred. Raising its head, it tasted the air with a forked tongue before opening its pupil-less, slitted red eyes. In one quick, serpentine movement it had raised itself to its full height of about eight feet, balancing itself on a slender three-pronged tail.
The last of the fluid dripped from the black scales and the patch of white hair on its' chest. The creature flexed a pair of dangerously clawed hands, unfurled its oversized Dark-Chao-like batwings and went in search of something to kill.
To be continued…
* * * *
RockChick: I'm quite proud of myself, I did this all in one go!
Shadow: What the HECK was that all about?! I'M A CHAO????????????????!!!!!!!!!
RockChick: …er…no…
Shadow: But you said I was- jeez, your writing sucks.
RC: *sigh* I didn't say you were. You're a hedgehog with some Chao DNA. I just thought it was a nice, neat little explanation…
Shadow: Yeah, but… Chao? It's so degrading, they're all cute and, and…
RC: Shadow, you're cute anyway. *grumble*
Shadow: And Chao don't always get reborn, you know--
RC: And you'd know, considering how you always kick 'em all over the garden.
Shadow: Shut. Up.
RC: Besides, I have a perfectly rational explanation for that-
Shadow: Which you haven't thought of yet…
RC: *Growl* Yes I have.
Shadow: Oh yeah, not that I care, but… why's this fic so dark all of a sudden? What happened to the comedy, huh? You're gonna lose all your readers.
RC: I happen to like 'dark' and so do you, so quit complaining.
Shadow: *grumblegrumble*
RC: …What readers, anyway?
Shadow: So I'm part Chao now.
RC: Yup.
Shadow: OK, fine then. I'll give you Chao… *grumble*( he sits down and does that cocoon thing.)
RC: Huh…?
(Shadow evolves into that lizard thing from the end of the fic)
Lizard thing: Raaaaaaaaaaargh.
RC: …Uh oh…
Lizard thing: Munch. (eats RockChick)