This is a fanfiction, and as such, most of the characters in the story are not mine. Most characters are © Sega, and are not used with permission.
Chapter 1: History
"Welcome home."
Shadow looked out into the darkness, trying to pinpoint the sound, a disembodied voice that was as soothing as ice.
"Who are you? Why have you brought me here?!"
"I've simply brought you home."
Shadow tried to move around, but with no ground at his feet, he was mostly fidgeting with no result. "How about answering my first question?"
"Of course, I have forgotten that you wouldn't know me. I am your master."
"I have no 'master'! Now show yourself."
"Here."
Shadow looked forwards and up to see a strange figure floating above him. Oddly clothed, the stranger wore a nightmarish dark blue suit with large crystals at his wrists and ankles, and a large gem on his chest. His face was blank and expressionless, yet his hair looked like the fury of a flame frozen in time, colored an emerald green. Shadow wanted to look into the stranger's eyes, but he had none, only glassy orbs of absolute black.
"I am Void, and I am the one who created you."
"Created me?! No one created me, I am Shadow!"
"Which is all you are, or should I say, all you were meant to be."
"Silence with all your ludicrous stories. I have a life of my own; I remember my family, my life. No one 'created' me!"
"Those memories that you possess are false, you are my creation, my revenge."
"What?" Shadow was getting confused.
"Your memories; that of your parents, your sister, your life up to this point, are all a falsehood, created by me, just as your body was created by me."
The alien chuckled, but Shadow was only getting angrier.
"Some years ago, I tried to conquer this land. This is Maginaryworld, and it is a beautiful place of happiness and pleasure, things I despise. So one day, I changed all that. I went to the Temple of Light, home of Illumina, and destroyed the Precioustone, the gem that preserved the dream world of Maginaryworld. With the Precioustone destroyed, darkness and despair ruled."
"However, there would be one to ruin my plans. Her name was Lumina Flowlight, and she sought out someone to combat me and my darkness."
Shadow started to get the idea. "Sonic."
"That miserable blue freak came and defeated me. He had collected the pieces of the Precioustone, and restored Illumina and Maginaryworld to their 'former glory'. I was enraged, I must say, it was the first time I ever felt such a thing. But I didn't like being defeated, so my thoughts turned to revenge."
"And that's where you come in my cranky friend. I created a double of that miserable hedgehog, giving you power to defeat him, to beat him at his own game, and crush him. To that end, I gave you an advantage, a gemstone equipped with great power."
"After I sent you to the Great Forest, I was revelling in my invention. I couldn't wait for you to humiliate that blue boy. Your first battle could have gone better, but at least you gave him a run for his money. But something unexpected happened. I couldn't believe it myself, but Robotnik actually got the better of him. Sure it was a lucky shot, but it didn't matter, Sonic was gone."
"And what, did you just forget about me?"
"Actually, yes. With Sonic gone, there really was no point in bothering with you anymore, so I just left you there. In your enraged state, perhaps you would cause some real trouble, maybe taking your fury out on some of Sonic's friends, but it was of no more concern to me."
"Then, one day I happened to look in on you, I had not totally forgotten you. I was shocked at what I saw. You were in Knothole; you had taken that fool's place! I had been debating weither or not to call you back, to teach you a lesson for defying my intent. Instead, I left you alone; to see if anything interesting might happen. Soon the echidnas came, searching for the Chaos Emerald I had given you. Sure enough, they possessed the Master Emerald, a gem whose power rivalled the Precioustone. With that, I could conquer this place once and for all."
"I wondered how I could turn you to get it, but everything simply fell into place; those foolish echidnas simply invited you to them. When Robotnik came to steal the Master Emerald, the perfect opportunity arose. I am the one who commanded you to not destroy the Emerald, and to take its power for yourself. Then I brought you here."
"So you could take the power for yourself."
"Yes."
"But why the bogus memories?!"
"Because I needed you to be normal. If you didn't have a history, a basis of a moral upbringing, then you could never fit in. You'd stick out like a sore thumb wherever you went. You couldn't very well focus on your mission to destroy Sonic if you had to deal with a world that regarded you as a freak. So despite some amount of bad attitude, I made you relatively personable when you wanted to be, except for one deep desire. To destroy Sonic the Hedgehog."
"All my memories… false? My mother, father, Maria? None of them… real?"
"To you, they were as real as needed, but they are just that, nothing but a dream. I crafted the perfect little family for you from the happy memories of people all over the world, and from worlds you couldn't even fathom. Sickening really, I suppose in a way being from such a happy family spoiled you a bit, perhaps you found it too sweet and you rejected it; certainly your dark side must have created the illusion of discomfort. A 'black sheep' if you will."
"It was so real… it couldn't have been fake."
"Mommy dearest, who would tuck you into bed and read you bed time stories. Dear old dad, he'd be gone for most of the day to work, but would always spend time with you afterwards, tossing the old pigskin around. And little Maria, playing with her dolls, getting on your nerves trying to invite you to one of her little tea parties. How old was she when you remember leaving? Seven, eight?"
"Shut up!"
"None of it was real, you have no home to go back to, just here with me. I'm the only family you ever had."
"No, it can't be."
Shadow was falling into a state of total confusion, his whole world had been one lie, all the memories of his family were naught.
"There, there. You have me."
"You! How could you do this to me?!"
"You should be grateful that I would even wish you back. You can put all those foolish thoughts behind you and join me in darkness where you belong."
Shadow's head was spinning, if his old memories were fake, what about the new ones? Did he really come to the Great Forest? Was there really a Sonic the Hedgehog? Did he ever actually meet Bunnie, Rouge, Sally, Geoffrey, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Tikal? Was he really fighting against a Dr. Robotnik?
"Come Shadow, join me. With the power of the Master Emerald, we can create whatever world we want."
Shadow tilted his head up slowly, just enough to see the alien creature hovering overhead. His eyes focused intently on the strange being with a razor like stare that bore all the hatred that Void had given him, magnified a hundred fold.
"And what makes you think I'd just hand it over?"
"You have no choice in the matter, you are my slave, and you will give me that power by my command, just as I ordered you to take it."
"Bite me."
"I will not tolerate your rudeness, now, give me that power."
Shadow could feel it, a tug on his soul as Void's words echoed through his head; but he was not to let this creature take that power, he had to fight.
"No."
"Give it to me!"
"No!"
"Shadow?"
All was white, there was nothing but white, all that could be seen was white.
"Shadow? Can you hear me? Shadow?"
"Who is that?"
"I speak to you through the Master Emerald."
"Tikal?"
"I have sought you out, your friends want you back."
"But, where am I, not here, but where did that thing…"
"You are beyond our reach, but you have power. I know what the Void wishes of you, but you have the power to fight him. Although he has spoken the truth about your existence, you do not have to accept what he says. You have friends that do care about you, and they are very real, with feelings that are real, and a home that is real. You are no slave to anyone. Take the Master Emerald's power for your own bidding, and may it grant you freedom from your oppression."
"I can still feel that power, looming over me, it is truly great. With it, I can defeat him."
"Shadow, you possess power, but all power comes with responsibility, and a warning. The Master Emerald is the physical manifestation of the entropy of the universe; the chaos in the world, made real. As such, it has infinite potential, but with limited use. Its power can enhance your abilities, but if you use its energy, then there is no force in this world or any other that can recharge it. Its power is always eternal, but its energy will be gone."
"The greatest power, with only one chance to use it?"
"Use it wisely. And remember this, no matter who you are, no matter your past, be it false or true, your life is what you make it, and what you make of it. Go forth, as you see fit."
The white faded, Shadow was left in darkness.
His eyes opened, his mind was washing away the binds that Void held over him.
"No. No! I will not let you have this power!"
"You dare to defy me, slave?"
"Silence! I am no slave, to anyone, least of all you!"
"The Master Emerald must truly be great if it can give will to that which has none."
"You are wrong, no rock has given me strength to fight you; I am fighting you from my own soul. For I now declare that I am 'Shadow' by name only! I am not a shadow of anyone, not that hedgehog, not you, not your twisted dreams, nor your revenge."
"I care not that you created me, that all that I have known is a lie, I am still what I am, and I will seek my own truths. I will live on as if I had never known what you have done to me. You gave me those memories to shape my life, so as to fit in; well, that is all of you I will accept. I now act on my own, on those falsehoods you have given me, for to me, that is my truth, that which is uniquely my own. I will never forget them, even if the world never knew them. And to their memory, I will smite you!"
"You would accept these lies over the truth that I created you?"
Shadow was seething at the teeth. "You created me, but you do not own me!"
"Then I shall destroy your memories, for when you die, so do they."
