Later, when he would recall that day, Shadow would wonder if he would have made it, had Sonic not said those two words.
For, the instant Chaos Reversal had intensified, a horrible, dull pain had come over Shadow's entire body, and he had wondered if his soul itself was not being torn apart.
That feeling reminded Shadow of one other occasion...
... the feeling that he'd had as he was falling from ARK.
As he lay there on the ground, Shadow wondered...
... that maybe, if he waited long enough...
... he'd be able to see Maria...
... once more.
But, just as he knew would happen...
.
.
.
"Shadow..."
'Maria...'
"Go back!"
'Why...? Why should I...?'
"There's a whole world out there... one that we never got to see..."
'I know, I know... I wanted to see it...'
"Shadow... just stop for a moment. Stop and think. Have you had time to do that?"
'I've tried...'
"Think now. What do you think your purpose is?"
'I... I don't know...'
"What do you want your purpose to be?"
'I don't know...!'
"You are the one who must decide, Shadow. You control your life. Not G.U.N., not me, not anyone... only you."
'But I... how can I...?'
"You must discover on your own. Find your own dreams, your own wishes... I'm sorry, Shadow."
'For what?'
"I was selfish... I asked you to fulfill my wish for me..."
'It wasn't selfish... it was... a noble wish...
'I would be happy to fulfill it...'
"You should only do something if you truly believe it is right."
'So... listen to my conscience?'
"That's right. You should listen to Sonic some more."
'What's that faker got to say about any of this?'
"Sonic has a strong sense of justice, but he knows that he has to follow his heart to do what he needs to do. You ought to learn a few lessons from him, Shadow.
"... are you ready to go back?"
'... I think so...'
And suddenly, as if everything that had happened was a dream, Shadow's mind cleared...
... and he heard those two words.
"Hang on..."
.
.
.
I don't care what you're thinking
As you turn to me
'Cause what I have in my two hands
Is enough to set me free (set me free)
.
.
.
At that moment, Shadow felt the hatred inside him subside...
... and felt his strength grow inexplicably.
'This is my battle...'
As Shadow's once limp hands curled into fists, both Dasendo and Sonic were speechless.
"No... that can't be..." Dasendo breathed in horror.
"How can it still be alive?!"
Shadow, although he was still shaking terribly, managed to push himself up until he was on all fours...
"Wahoo!" Sonic grinned, despite his own fatigue. The blue hedgehog turned to Chaos Reversal. "All right, Shadow... do you see a way to stop it?"
"I know, I know..." Shadow whispered. "Just... give me a minute..." he said as he leaned back until he was on his knees. He was tired... dreadfully tired...
... but he couldn't bring himself to give up.
.
.
.
I could fight the feeling
To resist over time
But when it's just too much to take
You sneak up from behind...
.
.
.
Shadow closed his eyes in concentration...
'I have to stand up...!'
For a few seconds, though, he felt like he just couldn't move...
Why? Why move?
Why not just stay here...
Stay here, lie down...
Sleep...
'No...
'If I give up, I'd be letting myself down... I'd have let G.U.N. win!'
Shadow slowly got to his feet...
"No...!" Dasendo gasped in disbelief. "How are you doing this?! At the very least, you should be unconscious! How have you...?!"
Shadow's eyes opened. It felt like he had to lift a ton just to stand...
... but as his confidence and determination built, so did his strength.
And he knew what to do to stop Chaos Reversal.
.
.
.
Is it me, you say, you're looking for
Let me show you who I am and what I'm here for... (here for)
Try to reach inside of me, try to drain my energy
Let me show you just what I'm made of
Simple curiosity tries to take a bite of me
Let me show you just what I'm made of now...
.
.
.
Sonic watched as Shadow's eyes fell on the fake Emerald, still lying on the table. 'Can he make it that far?' Sonic bit his lip. 'If Shadow touches the Emerald... and Tails' theory is right...'
Shadow was thinking the same thing. 'The Emerald will be destroyed... along with Chaos Reversal...
'And they won't be able to hold me back any longer...!'
There was one problem standing in the way, though...
'How am I supposed to get there?'
And again...
... that twinge of doubt...
'Why am I doing this?
'It would be so much easier to...'
Shadow stiffened.
'No...
'I can't give up.
'This is it...
'This is my chance!'
.
.
.
Like a million faces
I've recognized them all
And one by one they've all become
A number as they fall (as they fall)
In the face of reason
I can't take no more
One by one they've all become
A black mark on the floor
.
.
.
Sonic saw the strength come back to Shadow... and knew what he had to do.
"You had this coming to you, old man!" Sonic yelled as he ran, not nearly as fast as he would have liked, but ran towards Dasendo. Still trembling, but now with adrenaline, he curled into a ball and leaped at the old man, knocking him against the wall. Dasendo slumped to the ground, unconscious.
Then Sonic shouted two very familiar words...
"Now, Shadow!"
The black hedgehog needed no second bidding. From where he stood, he suddenly dashed to the fake Emerald.
Knowing that, although the strength to move had returned, the power needed to unleash a Chaos Spear had not.
He had one choice.
He grabbed the Emerald.
.
.
.
Is it me, you say, you're looking for
Let me show you who I am and what I have in store... (in store)
.
.
.
For a few seconds, it was as if nothing had happened.
But as Sonic watched, he suddenly saw two auras appear. One was the fake Emerald's...
... the other was Shadow's.
The two energy fields, as Sonic later described it, seemed to be battling, each one trying to defeat the other.
"Holy..." Sonic murmured. He suddenly stood up and moved toward Shadow...
... and was met by an angry pair of red eyes.
"Stop!"
"Huh? What?" Sonic stepped back.
"Don't come any closer!" Shadow yelled.
"Shadow!"
Shadow looked away. It was taking all of his concentration just to hold off the Emerald.
'I need more strength...!
'Why am I doing this?!'
With that, a sudden realization came to Shadow's mind...
'I'm not really doing this just for me...
'It's for my friends...
'It's for everybody...!'
"It's up to me...
"... to destroy G.U.N....
"To make the world a better place!"
"It's my fight...
"... but it's everyone else's, too..."
"Everyone who's brought me this far...
"Knuckles... Tails... Amy... Rouge...
"Sonic... Maria..."
Shadow recalled that smiling face, once more...
"Maria...!!"
The last traces of doubt washed away...
... and Shadow's eyes opened.
"This is my fight!" he whispered.
"But I'm fighting for everyone...
"It was her wish...
"... but it's mine, now, too."
Shadow's eyes softened.
"I wish that I could make the world a better place...
"Where people are happy, for good things...
"... and there's no greed or selfishness, or even fighting...
"I know it probably won't ever happen...
"... but I can try.
"And I'll begin with this...!"
.
.
.
Try to reach inside of me, try to drain my energy
Let me show you just what I'm made of
Simple curiosity tries to take a bite of me
Let me show you just what I'm made of now...
.
.
.
As Sonic watched, Shadow's aura, his energy field, slowly but surely began to overtake the energy field of the fake Emerald, soon completely enveloping it. The Emerald began to let off sparks of energy. It began to crack...
Right before Sonic's eyes, the fake Emerald shattered in an explosion of power.
Instantly, Sonic felt his strength fully return as Chaos Reversal died down. Indeed, he felt even stronger than before...
"Shadow, you did it!" Sonic grinned, looking up at the black hedgehog.
But an odd phenomenon was happening...
When Chaos Reversal had shut down, Shadow felt his power increase dramatically. All of his energy returned, in addition to what he'd been able to summon. Plus, the fake Emerald's power had added itself to his.
Shadow knew this feeling, even though it had happened only once before.
To Sonic's amazement, Shadow's fur began to flash from black to silver...
... and suddenly before him, now hovering a few inches off the ground, was none other
than
Super Shadow.
.
.
.
You can take another lifelong try
You can take another try...
.
.
.
"Whoa..." Sonic whispered.
Shadow turned in midair and faced Chaos Reversal. He glared, and raised a hand toward it...
"Chaos Spear!"
Chaos Reversal sizzled in the bolt of lightning, then exploded.
The noise was enough to wake Dasendo. The old man sat up in confusion. Then his eyes fell on Super Shadow.
"No..." he whispered, petrified. "What... how...?!"
Shadow smirked. "When Chaos Reversal was destroyed, I had enough energy to enter Super form." The silver hedgehog's eyes hardened. "It's your turn to pay."
Suddenly, the ground began to shake and the walls started to crumble. "Shadow!" Sonic yelled. "You're not trying to collapse the place with everyone in it, are you?!"
The door to the room slammed open, and a young G.U.N. soldier burst in. "Sir!" he shouted. "What's going on?!" Then he caught sight of Shadow. He stumbled backward uncertainly. "P-Project: Shadow?!"
Dasendo stood up. No matter what happened, he was still the leader of G.U.N. "Are all the others out there?"
The soldier swallowed. "No, sir."
"Get out there and spread the word to evacuate! Go one, hurry! Get everyone out!" Dasendo snapped. The soldier nodded and ran off.
Sonic was surprised. Turning to Shadow, he asked, "You're letting him get away? You're letting them all get away?"
Shadow looked down. "They haven't done any harm to us of their own accord... Besides, they weren't around fifty years ago. All they know is what they've been told. And..." Shadow's eyes softened, "... I'm not going to take any innocent lives today."
Sonic looked over at Dasendo. "Well... what about him?" Despite Sonic's apparent calmness, he was worried. 'What's Shadow got in mind for punishment?'
Shadow, his eyes cold once more, turned to Dasendo. "Yes... what should I do to you?" Sparks of Chaos Energy flickered around Shadow's hands. Dasendo paled.
"Shadow, wait," Sonic burst out. The blue hedgehog walked closer to the silver one. "Shadow... you said you didn't want to take any innocent lives today," Sonic said, quietly enough that Dasendo couldn't hear.
"Innocent?" Shadow spat. "You heard how he speaks about me... and even you," he added. "He talks about us as if we're nothing more than... than machines, just objects to order about!"
"Shadow... listen. I think, somewhere deep down... he's not all that bad. You know... sometimes, people can be selfish, but they're usually good deep down. Well, maybe not Eggman," Sonic added after a bit of thought. "But somewhere, I think Dasendo's a decent guy. You saw how he wanted his followers to escape. Maybe he just doesn't understand that you're alive, too."
Shadow looked at the old man. "Isn't that just like you," he said to Sonic. "The hero who gives everyone a second chance." Shadow sighed in exasperation. "But..." To Sonic's shock, some sort of dark energy began to gather in Shadow's hands, and the silver hedgehog's eyes narrowed.
"... he still deserves punishment."
.
.
.
Try to reach inside of me, try to drain my energy
Let me show you just what I'm made of
Simple curiosity tries to take a bite of me
Let me show you just what I'm made of now...
.
.
.
Shadow placed his hands in front of him, the palms toward Dasendo, and the dark energy flew in a beam toward him, completely enfolding the old man. Sonic's eyes widened.
"What are you doing?!"
But Dasendo wasn't being hurt... not physically. However, what he was experiencing was almost beyond physical pain...
The "dark energy" in Shadow's hands was not Chaos Energy at all. Instead, it was pure emotion...
All of the bottled-up pain, anger, and sorrow, all focused into one place...
And, as Dasendo was suddenly hit by this strange wave, he felt worse than he had ever felt before in his life.
As he felt the pain of the hedgehog before him, Dasendo's hardened heart began to soften, slowly...
... but still, it was opening up.
Thought he would never know the memories that the hedgehog harbored, Dasendo began to realize...
... that although Project: Shadow was created, or even just thought to be a weapon...
... it...
... no, not "it"...
He had a soul.
Project: Shadow was a living thing, who felt emotions like any other living thing.
As Dasendo looked up at the silver hedgehog, he was suddenly aware.
Aware that, even though Project: Shadow had been created by humans, he still breathed, thought, lived like any other living creature.
Dasendo knew.
All of his ideas for Project: Shadow melted away...
... and he bowed his head in shame.
.
.
.
Shadow watched the old man in front of him, and also felt his heart soften.
The nameless wave of darkness ceased...
"Sonic," Shadow said.
"Yeah?"
"Get him out of here. Make sure everyone is out of the base."
"What about--"
"Go!" Shadow shouted. Sonic shrugged, then grabbed Dasendo by the arm and ran.
Shadow remained, hovering higher in the air. Closing his eyes, he focused...
To the surface of his spirit rose all of his fury, all of the anger that he had been harboring...
His entire body began to glow, but not with a silver-white light this time. This time, the aura was dark...
Shadow concentrated...
.
.
.
In only a few minutes, Sonic had managed to evacuate the entire base. A few workers had been resistant, wanting to bring their work or files, and a few had simply been in denial about the whole situation, despite the fact that the entire building was shaking. Rolling his eyes, Sonic had dragged them out.
About half a mile away, the blue hedgehog found Tails, Rouge, and Amy, apparently trying to decide where to attack the base. "Hey, guys!" he shouted.
"Sonic?" Amy called, turning to face him. "Oh, Sonic!" she cried, latching her arms around his neck. Sonic's face reddened, and he pushed her away.
"Not now, Amy..."
"Sonic, I was so worried!" Amy whimpered. "I'm so glad you're all right!"
"Where's Shadow?" Rouge asked worriedly. "Is he still back there? Did you run into that machine I told him about?"
"Shadow's fine..." Sonic waved it off. "He's got something up his sleeve back there... but who knows what it is."
Rouge bit her lip. "I'm worried about him..."
Sonic looked back toward the base. "Yeah... who knows what he's doing. Tell you what, let's go help him destroy the place!" Then, without any further words, Sonic took off.
"Wait!" Rouge called as she took to the air.
"Sonic!" Tails looked up.
Rouge looked back. "Tails, you and Amy keep an eye on those soldiers. We'll be back soon."
Tails nodded dutifully, then tried to restore order among the large crowd in front of him.
Amy pouted. "I never get to do anything fun!"
.
.
.
Inside the base, Shadow's dark energy was growing.
Every feeling of hatred, of pain, of sadness, was concentrated together. Shadow, his eyes shut tight, compressed the energy together and moved it to his hands. Soon, both of his hands were enveloped, each surrounded by a sphere of darkness.
'This is it...' Shadow thought.
He released the attack.
As the power rushed out around him, the walls and ceiling cracked and gave in. The dark energy blasted through the building as if the rock and cement were nothing more than tissue paper.
Through it all, Shadow concentrated.
The nameless attack tore through empty hallways, incinerating all evidence that G.U.N. had ever been there.
Shadow saw the building in his mind, and knew exactly where everything was.
He knew better than to let the wave of darkness escape.
In that moment, he knew it was true.
He did have the power to destroy the world.
But he also knew...
... that he would never be able to bring himself to do it.
.
.
.
Try to reach inside of me
(Let me show you what I'm made of...)
Try to drain my energy
(Let me show you what I'm made of...)
Let me show you just
What I'm made of...
.
.
.
When Sonic was within twenty yards of the base, a sudden explosion seemed to rock the earth. To Sonic's shock, the top of G.U.N.'s base blew off, incinerated. The walls were next. The entire base, in only a few seconds, had been annihilated...
... by the same dark energy that Shadow had held in his hands.
"Shadow!" Sonic called as he got back to his feet. As he ran to where the lab used to be, the air seemed to get hotter and hotter...
... until he came across Shadow, still in Super form, but no longer hovering in the air. The silver hedgehog was completely surrounded by a sphere of golden Chaos Energy, at least six feet across, and had his head down, unresponsive.
"Whoa..." Sonic breathed. The entire mountain had been leveled. He continued to walk toward his friend, entering the sphere of Chaos Energy.
Sonic was startled when Shadow suddenly looked up at him. It was as if the silver hedgehog was concentrating on something...
"What are you doing here?!" Shadow yelled.
Sonic felt the Chaos Energy surrounding him begin to shift, and the world outside the sphere began to warp...
... and he knew what was going on.
"Shadow, where are we going?!" Sonic yelled.
There was a bright flash of light...
Rouge saw the light from a distance.
When she arrived at the spot, there was no trace of the two hedgehogs.