Sweat pours down his face, soaking his undershirt. Still, he increases the speed of his dash, exceeding speeds unheard of save for the legendary "Guardians of Mobius." Attuning his senses and maintaining his focus, he avoids the pitfalls and traps presenting themselves at every turn within the confines of the training module. Despite the pain slowly creeping into his pleading lungs, he surges forward, leaping, bounding, and sidestepping the myriad of obstructions before him.
Samus, devoid of clothing of any sort, stares at her face upon the reflective surface of her bath water. Her mind wanders, as it does anytime she is not clad in her armor hunting down the most elusive and most profitable bounties that as of late were growing scarce. Stepping into the steaming water, she lowers herself slowly, allowing the soothing steam to permeate her pores and relax the tightness within her muscles. Dark hair, courtesy of an exceptional dye job by one of her assistants, drapes her shoulders lifelessly as she recalls her vision.
Never caring much for the Sega System, as she rarely found bounties worth her talent or time, her vision of an ailing Sonic had disturbed her. She had met the young hero some time ago during one of those rare calls to the Sega System. Being as that she lived by the code of a Galactic Bounty Hunter, she remained neutral to the affairs of the hiring body or the target. Far from lacking an innate sense of justice, she nonetheless pursued him mercilessly across the planet. His speed was something of legend. Blurring by with such speed that even her scanners were fooled when he seemingly split into six, she finally relented, deeming him the one bounty she would not catch unless she rededicated herself to training.
The fact that Sonic was in great pain was not what had disturbed her. The fact that she felt herself hurt by this truly unnerved her. She barely knew him outside of the intel she had gathered on him. To her knowledge, only one other evoked any emotion other than passive indifference. That of her secret love, Ness.
Visualizing her thoughts as steam, she allows them to mingle with the steam of her bath water and dissipate along with them. Sighing, she attempts to relax and reconciles to find what elicited those feeling at a later time.
"Come now my child, are you not hungry?" inquires the low rumbling bass of James Lyions.
Looking up from his training, as he was in mid sit up, the one simply known as Shadow acknowledges the query with a curious look, as if he misunderstood what the elder man had said.
"Time for a short respite. All training and no rest is just as destructive to our cause as not training at all."
Releasing the contraction of what is his last repetition, he lies back and effortlessly flips back to his feet. Twisting his trunk twice to each side, he follows behind his tutor and mentor.
Samus leans against the wall in her bedroom. Draped in a knee length red robe, bound to her tightly with a crimson silk sash, she exudes the feminism that few have or ever would be privileged to see. Meticulously laid out on her bed is her armor, the various attachments for her blaster, and finally the helmet she concealed her face behind. Far from being a cover girl, her facial features were nothing to scoff at. Normalcy dominated her face. A slightly crooked nose, an almost undetectable over bite and a scar on her right cheek could easily be repaired surgically. Her assets, although not as large as they had been in her heyday, still were sufficient to hire the top surgeon on any number of planets. And even if monetary problems arise, who in their right mind - meaning they enjoyed and desired to continue breathing - would deny her. But as she rarely shared her face with the public and the man she loved saw past these small blemishes on an otherwise picture perfect face, never gave that option a second thought.
Well, she comments to herself, Time to uncover some details. Grabbing the helmet, she slides it over her face. The Hunter was returning to the hunting grounds.
The mysterious, anonymous cobalt figure reviews his data files. Currently, several renowned personalities are under his employ. Resting comfortably atop the list are Robotnik, Lady M (a reincarnation of Mother Brain), Bowser, Gannon, and Dark Falcon. These agents seem to fit his desires perfectly for the time being. Looking over the expansive holographic image detailing every nuance of his current target, he laughs, something that he does rarely.
Shadow, having consumed enough food to sustain him for the next few hours, meditates beneath the ancient tree several feet from the house's main entrance. Twisted by savage gales, immolated by lightning, the tree still stood, its very existence attesting to nature's ability to survive. His breathing and pulse have slowed to such a degree, an untrained passer by would believe he was near death. And that person would not be too far from the truth. Part of learning the "Black Inferno" energy manipulation style and not the toned down version known as "Dark Flame," forced the pupil to near death in order to obtain the purest of fighting instincts - the battle to survive overwhelming odds. Tendrils of energy begin to emanate from his body, snaking out in six or seven directions in wavy, worm like strands, visible to anyone around, but felt only by those attuned to such phenomenon. In his master's words, "Having no allegiance to Three Powers does not permit us to stand by and do nothing for their plight." And thus, the lone warrior continues, despite the protests of his mind and body, both near the breaking point.
The ten or so story high light fixture blinks from red to green, signaling to the pilot of the small craft that it has clearance. Easing into the jump to sub light speed in order to escape the severe gravity, Samus calculates her course and initiates the routine. Gaining speed once she has escaped the launch site, she eases into a cruise speed of a few parsecs an hour, she folds her arms over her chest and readies for this, her most important hunt.
Residing in his war room, requiring no sleep, no sustenance, the malevolent newcomer continues to assess the current situations befalling his targets within the three expansive solar systems. Sonic, crippled and helpless. Link, apparently turned coward after his run in with the shadowy fighters under his employ. Captain Falcon, clinging to the fragile hope that the people of his world will rally behind him. So many others who fates, though intertwined with these, are still to be determined at the whim of their unknown puppeteer. Like the marionettes he sees them as, they are unaware of the strings being pulled to dictate their actions.
"Only fitting that the next to fall be those miserable plumbers." The holographic map of the Mushroom Kingdom outlines the Mario Brothers location in red. "Go, and do your worse."
Upon the directive laid down to them from their lord, the shadow lords, as they had become to be known as melt away and disappear from his sight.
"Everything is proceeding as planned." Had he lips, the dark figure would smile as his plans for galactic domination were unrolling smoothly.
End of Episode Two
Preview of the Next Episode: Knuckles and Tails head towards the Nintendo System in hope of finding the cure for Sonic's ailment. Once there, they, Mario,and Ness encounter a new enemy and someone linked to their past. Meanwhile, Luigi battles an unknown foe that cripples him and let's him in on a little secret.