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 4: The End of the Beginning
Shadow entered the room and looked around, amazed by its size and the lack of any defences present there. It was a giant laboratory, probably filled with sensitive equipment that Robotnik didn't want any of his robots near, for fear of them damaging something.
Shadow walked around the huge space, but his eye was caught by something at the center of the room, something very large. He didn't have to get close to know what it was, he instinctively knew. Standing at the center of the lab was a large glass tube, a phone booth sized chamber that resembled the one he saw in Knothole.
"So, this is the roboticizer, looks like you haven't been used in a while."
Shadow looked at the aging console that had been inactive for years. It was only the first roboticizer that Robotnik had developed, others followed, smaller, more efficient, now they were portable.
As the hedgehog examined the machine, another machine was moving into position overhead, but its motions were not unnoticed. Shadow heard the motors and looked up to see a large steel tube pointing straight at him. Sparks danced around the cylinder, and Shadow leapt away as a bright blue beam fired at him.
"Chaos Spear!"
Shadow responded with his own attack, but the force was absorbed by a shield around the laser turret.
"O.K. This is annoying."
The gun fired again at Shadow's new position; again the speedy one sped out of the way. Shadow ran for one of the doors on the outside, hoping to open it to get away, but each door he tried was locked.
"Just great. Well, I can't stay here with that eye in the sky taking pot shots at me."
Shadow ran around the room, occasionally stopping to fire his Chaos Spear at the laser, which still had no effect on the shielding around the turret. Shadow ducked behind a piece of lab equipment, hoping to get a bit of cover. The turret followed his movements and fired at the large block.
The barrier held for a moment, but it was starting to emit a light blue glow from the attack. Sparks danced around the object, and Shadow realized that his cover was not holding up as well as he had hoped. The machine exploded as Shadow made a break for it, getting a few metres before being knocked to the ground by the explosion.
The hedgehog rolled behind a cabinet for a bit of cover, hoping that the turret didn't track his movement. Feeling safe for the moment, Shadow brushed himself off and checked for any damage. All seemed well, but his left arm was feeling a bit numb. He looked down towards his arm, but where his elbow should have been, was a mechanical joint. He was mesmerized by the amputation, by this violation of his form.
{That maniac, he's built a laser cannon out of a roboticizer.}
Several dark images ran through his head. All it would take was a direct hit from that thing to turn Shadow into a steel slave. He would exist for nothing more than to serve Robotnik's every whim, and there would be no doubt that he would be sent to destroy Knothole. Or worse, with the power of the Master Emerald, Robotnik could easily power a larger version of that blasted weapon, and roboticize the whole forest in one go.
The laser had given up searching for the hedgehog and simply started firing randomly at anything in the room, starting from where Shadow was last seen. The pale light was striking objects and seemed to ooze around them, looking for their organic prey.
Shadow could see it coming closer, he wasn't safe there, he wasn't safe anywhere. Shadow needed to stop that thing, he needed to break down that shield; he needed to get the Hell out of here.
Shadow ran from his hiding spot and started to fire around the room, hoping to find a hole or weakness in the shield or the walls.
The roboticizer followed his movements, but was always a little shy of the mark with its shots.
"It's just a matter of time now. Keep up the pressure, and wait for him to slip."
Shadow continued to dodge the beam, but he was finding it tiring to be constantly shooting it at and getting no results. He lost it again as he ducked behind another piece of equipment. The beam focused on it, planning to destroy it like the first; though this obstacle was a bit sturdier and held up a lot better to the punishment.
He couldn't stay there for long, and decided to try an old trick. Picking up a toolbox a few feet away from him, he started throwing some of the tools around the room; first a hammer, then a screwdriver, then a box of screws. The first two seemed to do nothing, but the huge clatter from the screws spilling on the floor was enough to get the attention of the gun.
With the heat off for a few seconds, Shadow moved from his position to an alternate hiding spot, carrying a few of the tools with him; carrying the whole box would've been too noisy. The turret had lost its lock and was parsing the room, looking for Shadow. The hedgehog had found a new hiding spot and retrieved the hammer that he threw there earlier.
"I don't care if I have to destroy the whole room, I'm going to make that Hedgehog my slave even if it kills him."
With nothing to lock on to, the laser once again fired at random objects, holding its beam on them until the energy overload eventually destroyed the target. Shadow would occasionally poke his head out to see what the turret had locked onto at a given time, hoping that it wouldn't get his hiding spot.
Knowing it would only be a matter of time, Shadow started to look around the room. Robotnik's roboticizer gun was slowly destroying everything, but there remained a few useful things still lying around. On the far side of the lab, Shadow could make out a large tank.
{A propane tank, perhaps acetylene? If there's a torch on it, I could try cutting through the floor. Or perhaps I could get a lucky shot from that blasted gun and simply blow one of the doors down.}
One of his tools was a crowbar, which Shadow tossed towards his last hiding spot. This time, it was enough to draw the gun away from him for a second. Shadow ran under a nearby table about halfway to the tank. The large machine that Shadow tossed the crowbar at exploded, and the turret moved again.
Shadow looked for another place to attack, and the most obvious stood right in front of him. He had two tools left, a wrench and the hammer from earlier. Taking the hammer, he threw it to the center of the room, smashing the large glass tube of the old roboticizer. The new roboticizer aimed straight down, looking at the damage of its ancient predecessor, but found no trace of Shadow. By now, the hedgehog had reached the tank.
There were actually several tanks, a mix of acetylene and oxygen; though they would have been useful for cutting, no torch was to be found near them. It didn't really matter; it would take too long and make too much noise to cut through the floor, so the only real option was to detonate one of the tanks near a door.
Feeling the tanks, Shadow grabbed one that seemed close to full, namely the heaviest with the label "acetylene" on it. It was almost too heavy for the small creature, but he found that his left arm was much stronger than before, thanks to the partial roboticization. Hefting it over his shoulder, Shadow quickly ran for the nearest door while the laser turret was pointed in a different direction.
"Over here!"
The gun quickly rotated and aimed towards Shadow, ignorant of the tank lying on the ground. Shadow dodged as the gun fired, striking the canister, resulting in a huge fiery explosion that rocked the whole room. Shadow was knocked off his feet, while the turret's camera was blinded by the flash.
Shadow looked back, but was displeased that the explosion wasn't enough to destroy the door; although, it did rip up the floor pretty good. Shadow considered trying it again with another tank, but his attention was called to the ceiling as the roboticizer regained its focus and was locking on again.
Shadow leapt to one side to avoid the beam and rolled back to his feet. Realizing that he was still holding the wrench, Shadow threw it at the turret in an act of desperation. Into the air it flew, until it reached the shield, then the turret.
Clank!
{It hit?}
The turret fired again, forcing Shadow to leap for more cover. Once safe, Shadow reconsidered his situation.
{So, the shield only blocks energy attacks. Now I just have to find something to destroy it with.}
The gun started firing on Shadow's current position, forcing him to move; but as he took his first step, he realized something was very wrong. Trying to run out of the way, Shadow tripped. Lying on the floor, he looked down to see that his right leg had joined his left elbow. Instead of his leg and a sneaker, he was walking with a limb of steel.
"Well this is just great."
Shadow used his cybernetic limb as best he could and tried to run, but the difference between his two legs made his run very wobbly. He was unable to get any real distance between himself and his last hiding spot before it blew up.
The explosion knocked Shadow forward, landing flat on his face.
"Ow."
Shadow looked up to see that he was now out in the open, and the roboticizer gun was aiming right for him. It fired at him, but Shadow rolled just enough to avoid, and to get back on his feet. Before he could move, the gun had re-aimed and had fired again.
"Chaos Spear!"
Shadow fired his energy beam into the oncoming ray, meeting head-on in a bright flare that lit up the room even more so; everything that seemed dank and grungy shone with a bright silver polish under the white sun.
Shadow was holding the beam back, but while he stood his ground, he saw that he was starting to lose. His left hand was going numb, and before his eyes, it seemed as if his glove was melting away to reveal a skeleton of steel.
"No, no I can't lose, not now. Not to him!"
Shadow pushed harder, but he could feel his mind starting to slip away. Though the beam couldn't reach him, his Chaos Spear wasn't providing a perfect defence, and slowly his body was failing.
While he held as best he could, contemplating any possible way out of this trap, his thoughts also turned to those he left behind. What would become of his friends in Knothole, would they simply be crushed once he was gone, could they flee, or would Robotnik turn him against them? He was terrified that his own metal hands would destroy them. And what would happen to his family? They only existed in his memories, if he fell, they would be lost. No, he couldn't allow that.
With a renewed vigour, Shadow thrust all he had into the energy beam, and sent it back at the turret. The huge flame crept to the turret, and hit the shield, exploding in a bright flash. Shadow fell back, then ducked for cover again while the laser turret was knocked for a loop; but aside from losing its target, it seemed to have suffered little damage.
Breathing heavily, Shadow tried to regain his composure, but something caught his eye. Off to his right, he saw the strangest sight. Just standing there was a robot, a slender robot with red lights for eyes. Delicately crafted, the steel being stood with a fine posture. He looked in awe at the robot, a ballerina, the same one that Sally had told him about; it was truly beautiful.
The robot looked back, and Shadow saw something in its vacant eyes that he couldn't believe. Though its face was of hard metal, and its eyes where lenses of burning red light, in those emotionless features, there was a hint of awe in them; it was almost as if the robot was impressed, perhaps inspired by the resiliency and fortitude of the black one. He couldn't understand why, but the robot turned away from him and took a few steps. Facing the wall, the robot took a look back, then closed it's eyes.
The ballerina thrust its hands into the wall and grabbed the wires underneath. The massive charge shot through the delicate steel frame, and the entire room flickered as the lights kept coming on and off in violent flashes.
Shadow watched in amazement as the robot held fast to the destructive charge. He turned his attention to the laser turret in the ceiling, the massive discharges were causing interference throughout the whole room, and the turret seemed to shake radically, unable to hold in any one direction for more than a fraction of a second; the beam firing randomly throughout the room. The shield still seemed to be in place, but he knew how to get through it.
Shadow ran for the wall of the round enclosure and spun into a large saw, grinding into the wall and digging almost a foot into the steel. Like a fiery disc, Shadow cut a path up the wall, and through the shield. The camera mounted on the roboticizer just caught a glimpse of the demon at it cut the roboticizer in half.
The decimated machine exploded.
"What has that blasted girl done?! And she's left one of the doors open!"
Robotnik turned to his side, towards the wall where a dark figure stood.
"Don't just stand there, get down there and dispose of him!"
Shadow stumbled through the room, a little too tired to run, or to even care about the half of his body that was now forged in metal. He trodded to the spot where the ballerina had torn into the wall.
Lying on the ground at his feet were the remains of the robot. From his real eye and his red cyborg eye, Shadow examined the damage done. Both arms were frayed off, and her stomach was missing, possibly something inside had overloaded from the charge. She had lost power and was now dead.
Shadow was totally confused by this turn, a creature of steel, something that should have been nothing more than a slave to Robotnik had sacrificed itself for him. Why? Why would it do that? Was she roboticized and trying to break free of him, trying to fight back against his control?
Shadow took the head of the robot, but something felt wrong. He tried to use his power to look into the mind of the ballerina, hoping to see some glimpse of what could have sent her against her master, but he got nothing. Even though it was dead, Shadow felt as if he should have gotten something, but he could find no mind in the metal.
{Can it be, she's a robot?}
Now Shadow was even more lost, why would a machine, built by Robotnik dare to do this?
She looked so sad, the eyes were dark, and it looked like it had died in despair. Shadow had little time, but took the pieces of the robot and laid them out, trying to piece it back together as best he could. For whatever reason it had for saving him, Shadow knew he couldn't fail, there was too much to lose, and so much that had already been lost.
There must be no more.
