Chapter 1

*This story follows the events of Sonic: The Realm Lord Episode Shadow

Chaos

Professor Gerald Robotnik was shorter than Shadow remembered. He had to prop himself up on his chair with cushions in order to properly look into his microscope. Gerald adjusted the lenses with one hand while scribbling down notes with the other. Watching him work awakened a trove of forgotten memories within Shadow. He had forgotten how the professor used to whisper to himself while he studied. Shadow smiled faintly and took a step toward the desk.

The time stones had obeyed his desires and had brought him to the past, but Shadow had no idea exactly when in the past. Gerald looked to be around the same age he had been when he had created Shadow. However, his face was less lined and the bags beneath his eyes were less pronounced.

Shadow waited for Gerald to notice him, but the professor was too engrossed with his observations. Finally, Shadow cleared his throat and said, "professor?"

Gerald continued to ignore him. Slightly frustrated, Shadow put his hand right in front of his face and waved it. Gerald flinched slightly and scratched his nose but said nothing. He can't see me. Shadow realized. He frowned and folded his arms.

How am I supposed to find my answers if I can't talk? Almost in answer to his question, the time stones suddenly appeared around Shadow. They shimmered expectantly as if waiting for his command. Shadow closed his eyes. Show me.

He vanished and reappeared in a different lab. This one was less shiny than the last and featured more creature comforts. A quick look around told Shadow this one must be located within Gerald's home. The professor sat at a workbench and studied a lizard within a glass case.

Littered all around him were old books and scribbled drawings. Printed photographs of cave inscriptions and ancient murals lay stacked beside Gerald. Shadow walked around them and saw familiar images. The inscriptions and the murals all spoke of Chaos, a primordial being of unfathomable power.

Gerald's eyes were red and he looked extremely ragged. A shadow of a beard cropped his face and his clothes were stained. He focused intently on the lizard and then drew a small tube from a metal case. It was filled with a thick blue liquid which Gerald then connected to a syringe. The professor exhaled softly when he tested the needle and ejected a gelatinous blue drop.

Shadow watched with mounting curiosity as Gerald patted the lizard. It stuck out its tongue but did not appear to realize its danger. Swiftly and with a physician's accuracy, Gerald embedded the needle into the lizard's skin and injected the blue fluid. The lizard opened its mouth but its scream was silent. Gerald stood back and held his breath. Shadow did the same and they both watched. The lizard's eyes slowly turned yellow. Its skin started to lose its color. For half a heartbeat, it seemed as if the scales would turn to shimmering liquid while keeping the lizard's form intact. But the next moment, the form broke and the lizard dissolved.

"Argh!" Gerald screamed and smashed his fist onto the table. He snatched the metal case and hurled it across the lab. His storm of fury was so sudden, Shadow leapt backward in alarm. "I…I can't…" Gerald moaned and collapsed into his chair. He looked quite mad as he pulled at his unwashed hair. "I can't…it doesn't…it doesn't work…why won't it work?" He rocked back and forth. Tears streamed out of the corners of his eyes.

"I did it right. I did it…why…why…" His moans became increasingly garbled. Gerald pulled at his hair so strongly he ripped some out of his skull.

Shadow frowned. What was he seeing? Was this why Gerald had made the changes to the prototype? Is this why he had decided on creating Shadow as a hedgehog? Again, the time stones responded to his question by emerging from within him. They glowed brightly and the scene shifted.

Shadow now stood in a brightly lit office. Gerald sat across from a man in a prestigious military uniform. The professor had shaved and changed his clothes, but his hair was still unwashed and he looked worn down. He bowed his head and pressed his thumbs together meekly. "I…I was so certain. The formula…it was perfect…I…I was so certain."

The military man had a stern, humorless face. "We are running out of patience, Robotnik. We want results now."

"My test subjects, they cannot handle the merger," Gerald pleaded. "Their biologies are too simple. I need something more complex, the serum will mean nothing if it cannot be applied to humans."

The general's face hardened. "I won't give you human subjects. I don't care how they did things before the war, in the U.F we don't experiment on people."

Gerald shook his head imploringly. "The risks are minute. Human DNA is not broken down so easily. At worst, it will have no effect-"

"Enough!" The general snapped. "You swore you could make it work with reptiles so make it work."

Defeated, Gerald slumped back in his chair. His chest was heaving with restrained fury and argument. The general watched him with a notable expression of disgust. At last, he rose and pointed down at Gerald. "We don't owe you anything. If you want to keep your freedom, if you want to put what you did during the war behind you, then I suggest you figure it out. The military won't wait forever. Once they pull the plug on your funding we won't have any need for you. The public backlash of protecting a war criminal isn't worth it, if you can't produce results."

Shadow did not even have to think this time. The time stones responded at once and moved him again. Now Shadow was back in Gerald's lab. The professor paced back and forth muttering under his breath. His eyes were bulging and his hair stuck out at odd angles. Shadow could tell that Gerald had just had another outburst. Tables were overthrown, papers were everywhere and there was broken glass on the floor. "I can't…I can't…I can't…"

Like a madman in his cell, Gerald repeated his mantra over and over again. His unhinged behavior disturbed Shadow. He had never seen Gerald act this way before. Shadow wondered painfully if he was witnessing the precursor to the grim, emotionless evil that Gerald would become in time.

"Grandfather?" A voice called from the darkness. Shadow nearly bit his lip. Wheels cracked over the broken glass and Maria came into the light. She lay propped up on a moving bed. She was emaciated nearly to the bone. Her hair was short and white and her skin was nearly translucent. Only her eyes remained colorful and filled with life. "Are you alright?" She asked softly.

Gerald turned to her, and immediately tried to mask his emotions. It was obvious to Shadow that Gerald felt ashamed to be seen acting so childishly. "Maria…I…I'm sorry. Did I frighten you?"

"Just slightly. I heard glass break and I was worried that you had cut yourself." Maria smiled faintly and her grandfather returned the gesture. "Is it…is your project not going well?" Maria risked.

"No," Gerald breathed. "I am afraid I have met my match. Perhaps there are things that not even science can tame."

Maria furrowed her brow. Even while sick, she had resolve of steel. "I don't think you really believe that. You just need a spark of inspiration."

Gerald shook his head. "There is nothing more to be done. Without…I cannot progress any further."

Maria pushed the controller that moved her bed so she got closer to Gerald. She reached out and squeezed his hand. "You're a Robotnik," She reminded him. "You can do anything."

Gerald turned and stared down at their interlocking embrace. "A Robotnik? My child, a day may come when you rue to be associated with that name."

"But not today." Maria's smile was so genuine and pure it made Gerald freeze. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Professor Gerald stuttered. "My child…you…"

"I want to," Maria said eagerly. "I know I can't help with the science but if there is anything I can do, I'd like to help. Even if it's just being down here with you so you don't have to be alone." Her voice faltered and Shadow knew that she really meant so I don't have to be alone.

"You are too kind," Gerald said warmly. "I think I will rest tonight. Tomorrow, if you choose, you can stay down here with me while I work. For now, try and get some sleep."

Maria's expression brightened. She wheeled her bed around and rolled out of the lab. Gerald watched her go and his smile faded. He sat down and folded his hands together. Gerald neither spoke nor stirred for several hours. Darkness gathered in the lab and Shadow leaned against a table feeling bored. What was he witnessing? He never knew that the professor had experienced so many roadblocks.

Gerald stared fixedly at the ground, but Shadow could tell the professor's mind was turning. Was this the moment Gerald decided to change course? Shadow's eyes were growing heavy, but he did not feel tired. Even though nothing was happening, Shadow's anticipation was building. It was close, the moment of truth was coming nearer.

At last, Gerald rose to his feet. He trembled slightly as he made his way over to a desk. Gerald pulled back one of the drawers and took out a photograph. His mouth stretched into a thin line. Shadow walked around so he could see the picture. He saw a young Gerald in a simple black suit arm in arm with a smiling blonde woman. She appeared like an older version of Maria only with slightly smaller eyes and curlier hair. Shadow figured that it must have been Gerald's wife.

The photograph seemed to clarify something in Gerald's mind. He tore the photo in half and discarded the contents into the trash. The professor then rushed to the other side of the lab and knelt to open a small fridge. He drew out small flasks of the thick blue liquid and inserted one into a syringe. However, Gerald did not grab a lizard to test the serum on. He let out a choked laugh that was almost like a squeal and left the lab.

Shadow's heart started to race as he followed Gerald. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. Without understanding how he knew, Shadow had the feeling that reality had changed. This was not supposed to be happening. Terrified, Shadow followed Gerald out of the lab and into a large empty house. Gerald raced up a flight of stairs and stopped before a wooden door. The professor breathed heavily and his eyes shone brightly in the moonlight streaming through the nearby window.

"Stop," Shadow whispered. He reached out and tried to seize Gerald by the arm, but he passed right through him. Gerald recoiled as if something cold had just brushed up beside him. His hand shook terribly as he reached for the door handle. It turned easily and opened with an ominous creak.

Maria's bed was propped against the far wall. A night light illuminated the corner and flashed images of the solar system onto the ceiling. Shadow's legs felt as if they had been frozen stiff. He trudged into the room after Gerald. Maria's face was pale and sweaty. She turned fitfully in bed as if she were having a nightmare.

Gerald loomed over her. His breathing slowed until he became as silent as a shadow. For several minutes, he didn't move. Leave. Please just leave. Shadow pleaded. This was wrong. What he was seeing could not be true, it was a lie. Leave. Go away. But Gerald did not move. He stood motionless over Maria, seemingly frozen with indecision.

Maria let out a small moan and her eyes fluttered open. She gazed up at the dark silhouette of her grandfather and she let out a small gasp. Gerald struck like a snake. His hand tightened around Maria's wrist and he pulled back the sleeve of her nightgown. "Grandfather! What are you doing?"

"I need your help." He croaked. Gerald's voice had changed. Its warmth was gone, it sounded just as cold and unfeeling as it had when it played on the Space Colony Ark. "Will you help me?"

Maria tried to squirm out of Gerald's grip but she was too weak. "Yes…but…what are you doing?"

Gerald held up the syringe. "I need to test it. I think it will work. So many lives can be saved by sacrifice. They never understood that. They looked up at me with cold, empty eyes and begged me to stop." There was anger in Gerald's voice now. He was staring past Maria, not talking to her, but to someone no one else could see. "Why shouldn't I have done it? Progress is not gained without sacrifice. What would their lives have meant anyway? How many people pass through life without making the slightest dent. They mattered because of me."

"Grandfather!" Maria made a final effort to free herself, but Gerald held her fast.

"Don't be afraid." He jabbed the needle into Maria's arm and injected the serum. Shadow's mouth hung open in horror as Maria let out a terrible scream of pain. She jerked her head backward and her entire body started to convulse. Gerald let her go and Maria fell back and started to twist and turn.

The area where he had struck her turned blue and the veins started to throb out of her skin. Shadow felt nauseous and had to grab onto the wall to stay standing. Maria cried as the pain continued to ravage her body. Gerald slunk back and watched her without expression.

Maria's already pale skin became clearer and clearer. After what had happened to the lizard, Shadow knew what would come next. He turned away, unable to watch Maria die again. But as he did so, Maria's screams softened. Shadow looked back and saw her breathing hard and no longer twisting. Her arm was swollen but her veins were starting to reduce. Right above the injection point a crystal clear tendril of living water sprouted out of her skin. It moved feebly and then started to reach out as if trying to free itself.

"I…I…It's thinking…" Maria whined. "I can hear it." She clapped her hands over her eyes. "I…please…make it stop.."

There was a flash of silver as Gerald drew a knife from his pocket. He knelt down and sliced the tendril off Maria's skin. Gerald deposited it into a clear tube and held it up to his eye. Maria was crying into her hands. "What…what is it?"

"Chaos," Gerald answered, a wide, crazed smile stretching across his face.

Shadow had retreated to the door. His stomach was churning and he felt as sick as he was confused. This was not right. This was not the true past. I need to leave. I have to get out of here. The time stones emerged at his command and started to spin around him. Take me back. Take me back to the present. They glowed brightly and Maria's room vanished in a swirl of light.