"But how could you know Maria? She died 50 years ago." Iris said looking at her.
"Yeah well..." Iris sat down and looked at the sun, "Maria was my sister. After Shadow was created, my grandfather, Prof. Gerald wanted to test his experiments on humans and I volunteered. It worked, but I constantly get terrible headaches, sadly, my grandfather never got a chance to make the experiments better and use them on Maria. Scientists found me knocked out on the ARK that day and they nursed me back to health and lived here ever since, feeling that I would never fit in. I've seen many people live and die, it's terrible, i'm immortal. People think it would be great to never die, but every time I make a new friend, I know that eventually they'll die and i'll never see them again." Iris looked at the ground for a moment then back at Emma. "I didn't hear that Maria was shot till a few weeks later and then I heard that my grandfather was on the verge of dying in jail. Life...didn't seem like living after that. I heard that Shadow made it out alright, but when I heard that GUN had locked him away...I knew I couldn't do anything."
"What about me?"
"Nobody knew about you. After seeing what was happening with Shadow, he didn't want that to happen to someone else. He only told his most trusted scientists, even after my grandfather died they kept quiet, and especially after they heard Shadow died, well...at least they thought."
"Wow. I bet you, Shadow'd like to meet you."
"I'm not sure...after what I've heard about him being dangerous...and with Sonic acting different and stealing things i'm not sure..."
"Who's Sonic? Tell me on the way to the city. Where's the nearest city?"
"Westopolis."
"Ok, show me the way and tell me of this...Sonic."
In Westopolis
A helicopter flies over the city. "Sigma Alpha 2, heading due south over the city. We're in route, everything's a go." The piolet said into the radio.
"This is the control tower, we have you on radar. Report cargo status of capture hedgehog aboard, over." A man said back on the radio.
"That's a ten-four. Cargo secured on board and...what?"
"Didn't copy that, over!"
"He's gone! He's taken out everyone aboard and..."
"Come in, over!" Sonic breaks the door down and jumps outside. A man from inside came in the control room where Sonic was.
"Freeze! What do you think you're doing! Get that hedgehog!" Sonic swings up to the top of the copter and tears off a piece of metal.
"Talk about low-budget flights! No food or movies? I'm outta here. I like running better." Sonic jumps off the copter, he smirks and starts spinning around during his descent. "YEAH!" Sonic landed on his feet and one hand. "This game of tag is boring. I'm outta here!" Sonic looks up. "What!" Shadow is standing on the top of a small building. Shadow is holding a Chaos Emerald. "That's the...Chaos Emerald! Now I know what's going on." Shadow looks at Sonic. "The military has mistaken me for the likes of you! So, where do you think you're going with that Emerald?" Shadow didn't say a word. Shadow tosses the Chaos Emerald into the air and catches it.
"Chaos Control!" Shadow yelled as the Chaos Emerald's light covered Shadow and he disappeared. Several GUN units appear and sirens start to blare.
"Don't move!" Said a man from one of the units. "Keep your hands in the air, and stay where you are!"
"Not again..." Sonic said rolling his eyes. Sonic ran, he ran right past Emma and Iris.
"Sonic?" Emma said as she watched Sonic run away and thousands of GUN units follow him.
"You want me to get rid of them?" Iris said with an angry look on her face. Emma looked at her and then back at Sonic.
"What's going on?" Emma thought.
"Is he always being chased by them?"
"No." Emma had a confused look on her face.
On Angel Island
Knuckles sat next to the Master Emerald playing with a twig. Just then the Master Emerald started to glow. Knuckles turned to look at it. "Something's not right." The X-Tornado flew to the island but stayed in the air above Knuckles.
"Knuckles!" Tails yelled from the X-Tornado, Amy was sitting behind him. Knuckles stood up and looked at him. "We've got a problem! Sonic's in trouble and my Chaos Emerald's going nuts!"
"I can't just leave the Master Emerald!"
"It'll be fine! Come on!" Knuckles looked at the Master Emerald for a minute.
"Well...(to Tails) ok, but only for a minute!" The X-Tornado lowered and Knuckles jumped on the top and it flew away. Someone Knuckles didn't see stood in the forest watching. Rouge walked out with a huge smile on her face.
"You won't win this time, guardian." Rouge said as she walked towards the Master Emerald.
in the field
Iris and Emma stood on a hill top. Iris was sitting down and Emma was pacing back and forth with a worried look on her face. "I take it you know this...Sonic?" Iris asked.
"Yeah...we're pretty good friends. But he's never been in this big of trouble before." Iris looked at the ground. "I heard someone say that he stole a Chaos Emerald from a jewelry store. He doesn't normally steal things. There's no way. I know, I'll call him. Hold on a sec." Emma rolled her sleeve up showing a communicator watch. She pressed a button and Tails came on the other end. "Tails? What's going on?" Emma looked at her watch in confusion.
"Something terrible is going on." Tails said. He was still in the X-Tornado and Knuckles and Amy were sitting in the back. "Sonic's in trouble, he's being chased by the government."
"I know, I saw. What happened?"
"The government thinks they saw Sonic stole a Chaos Emerald from a jewelry store!"
"Well...did he?"
"He says he didn't, and Sonic doesn't usually lie."
"Yeah...but who else could it be?"
"I don't know, but we have to help Sonic!"
"And we need to hurry!" Knuckles started complaining in the back. "The Master Emerald's unguarded and I need to get back to it before Rouge does."
"You left the Master Emerald by itself!" Emma sounded surprised and worried at the same time. "Since when do you leave it alone! Something could happen to it!"
"Yeah I know. That's why we need to hurry!" Knuckles started to shout at Tails and Tails just smiled innocently.
"I can go check on it if you want." Iris said from behind Emma.
"Who's that?"
"A new friend of mine. But she's right, if you want Knuckles, Iris and I can go and watch it for ya. That way you can take all the time you want, no rush at all." Emma said smiling.
"I don't know..." Knuckles thought.
"Come on Knuckles, you can trust me. And if Iris is what she says she is she can knock out an entire army by herself."
"Well...I don't know about that..." Iris said scratching the back of her head.
"Really?" Tails asked.
"Well...I guess it'll be alright...Just don't do anything stupid till I get back!" Knuckles demanded. Emma saluted jokingly. Emma closed her watch and looked at Iris.
"Well...off we go! Angel Island, here we come!" Emma said pointing in the direction Angel Island was.
in another part of the field
Shadow stood on a hilltop facing the sun with a Chaos Emerald in his hand. He looked at the Chaos Emerald for a while and then at the sun. 'What am I doing? I don't know what to think anymore. Why was I woken up? I would've been better off if I was never created. Maria...might have had a better chance to live and live longer if the professor didn't create me. He should've agreed to start the project. Why did GUN want to stop the project anyway? So many questions...and...no answers...' Shadow thought. He closed his eyes and thought of Maria.
Shadow's memory
Prof. Gerald walked out of his lab to get some coffee, leaving his lab unguarded. He left just long enough for Maria to sneak in giggling. Maria had been in her grandfather's lab once before, but it's been a long time. It changed alot. She looked around in amazement. There were about 10 computers all together in one corner of the room. Each one of them had something different on it, either an outline of an animal Maria couldn't make out or tons of information about Project: Shadow and Prof. Gerald's research. She stared in amazement at the large tank, but nothing was in it. She walked up to it and put her hand on it. It was warm. Something must have just come out of it. She looked all around the room, but she looked especially at a picture. It was a picture one of the staff members aboard the ARK had taken a few weeks earlier of Prof. Gerald and Maria. In the picture, Maria was standing behind her grandfather laughing and Prof. Gerald was looking at Maria lovingly. Maria smiled at the picture and picked it up to get a better look at it. "What are you doing in here?" A voice said from behind her. The voice startled Maria almost causing her to drop the picture. She set it back down and turned around. No one was there. She saw a figure in the shadows of the room, but she could'nt make out what it was.
"What are you?" Maria asked. She was trembling as she backed up slowly.
"What are you doing in here?" The voice asked again ignoring the question she asked. The voice was deep and it was a voice that certainly would make you scared.
"I...I...was in here to see...my grandfather..."
"You're not supposed to be in here."
"Who are you?"
"I'm the Ultimate Lifeform, Shadow the Hedgehog."
"My name is Maria. I'd like to see you, but...you'll have to come out. You don't have to be afraid."
"I don't get scared. It's you who should be afraid of me."
"Oh Shadow be nice." Prof. Gerald said walking into the room with a cup of coffee. "I see you two have met. That's good, but Shadow's right Maria, you shouldn't be in here. It's dangerous in here and you know that."
"Yes grandpa. I wanted to come in here to surprise you."
"Well, you surprised me, now it's dangerous in here for such a small girl, you better go play."
"Grandpa, can I stay? Please, I'll be really good! I want to see Shadow when he comes out."
"Well, I'm about to do a test on him and I don't know if..."
"Please, grandpa!"
"Well..." Maria smiled at him. It was a face Prof. Gerald couldn't resist and she knew that. "Well...alright, you can stay. But as soon as the test is over, you need to get out. I don't know what Shadow's reaction will be to the energy he'll be exposed to." Prof. Gerald walked over to a specialized drawer and opened it. Inside was a red Chaos Emerald. Maria had never seen a Chaos Emerald before and she gasped in amazement at the glow. Prof. Gerald placed the Chaos Emerald in a small glass box near where the voice had come from. Prof. Gerald placed some wires on the Chaos Emerald that led to the corner where Shadow was. "Alright..." Prof. Gerald grabbed a small controller with a single red button on it. Prof. Gerald put some goggles on and handed Maria a pair. "Maria, put these on, it will sheild your eyes from the power of the Chaos Emerald."
"Chaos Emerald..." Maria said as she put the goggles on.
"Ready Shadow?" The professor asked him.
"Ready professor..." Shadow said closing his big eyes.
"Alright...here goes nothing..." Prof. Gerald pressed the big red button and the container glowed that held the Chaos Emerald. When the Chaos Emerald glowed the wires connected to it started to glow and it led to Shadow. Shadow was inside a containment unit, that Maria didn't see. The liquid surrounding Shadow turned from green to red. For the first time, Maria saw Shadow. He was a hedgehog, just as he said. He was black with a single red stripe running down his quills, arms and legs. He had 2 rings around his wrists and ankles and they glowed first. On his feet were hover shoes, created by the professor himself to make Shadow fast. Shadow began to glow yellow. His dark black fur slowly turned golden. Shadow barely flinched as if he were asleep, but soon he started to like the energy being sent to him. He clinched his fist tightly. He started laughing and he cried out in content. Shadow seemed to like having all that power.
(Crazy'n'love: Just to add, he turned into Super Shadow in the container)
Prof. Gerald seemed impressed at the energy levels showing exactly how much power was being transmitted to Shadow. Maria looked at him in amazement, she'd never seen anything like it in her life and never would again. Slowly everything stopped glowing when Prof. Gerald pressed the button again. Starting with Shadow's fur, it turned black again, then his rings turned back to normal, the liquid surrownding Shadow turned back to green and then the wires turned back and the Chaos Emerald stopped glowing and went back to its normal state. Prof. Gerald took off his goggles and so did Maria. Shadow slumped against the glass, breathing heaviily. "How are ya, Shadow? Dizzyness? Loss of control? Anything?" Prof. Gerald asked thinking that something would be wrong. Shadow looked up with a evil look on his face and he started laughing.
"No...nothing at all..." Shadow said laughing under his breath.
"That was amazing grandpa!" Maria said jumping up from where she was sitting.
"Ok Maria, you know the deal. I let you stay for the test, and then you leave. Go on."
"Ahhh..." Maria looked at the ground. "..Bye Shadow! You did great!" Maria skipped out of the room and Shadow watched her leave with confusion all over his face.
end flashback
Shadow slowly opened his eyes and a small tear rolled down his face. "Maria..." Shadow said softly and he tightened his eyes closed.