Previously in the Sonic the Hedgehog Series…

[Prof. Gerald]: (As seen in Sonic Adventure 2) "…the military guards landed on the colony that day…The ARK was shut down under the premise that there had been an 'accident'. …I found Maria's name among those who died when the ARK was shut down…Based on my original projections, I was able to complete my project, Shadow. I designed its mind to be perfect, pure. I will leave everything to him."

—–—

[Black Doom]: (As seen in Shadow the Hedgehog) "We are more alike than you think. The same blood runs through our veins…You are a part of me…"

[Prof. Gerald]: "It's all my fault…making contact with that comet…only you can stop them!"

[Maria]: "Don't worry, grandfather. Shadow and I will protect this planet. Right, Shadow?"

—–—

[Mephiles]: (As seen in Sonic the Hedgehog. He holds out the purple Chaos Emerald to Silver.) "…And you have this person to blame."

[Silver]: (He takes the Emerald, and his mind is assaulted by a vision of a figure standing in flames.) "I see it!"

—–—

[Eggman]: (As seen in Sonic the Hedgehog.) "Now, allow me to introduce you to my latest creation. This is the Solaris prototype. With this machine, I'll be able to control the flow of time itself!"

—–—

[Mephiles]: (As seen in Sonic the Hedgehog. He takes several hits from Omega's weapons.) "This only proves that you were created to stop Shadow…" (He laughs as he disappears.)

[Omega]: "SHADOW…THE ONE THAT DEFEATS AND SEALS YOU IN THE FUTURE…IS ME… EVENTUALLY, WHEN SOMEONE OR SOMETHING BECOMES TOO POWERFUL…IT IS SEEN AS A THREAT. AND THEN THE WORLD BECOMES ITS ENEMY."

—–—

[Tikal]: (As seen in Sonic Adventure. She stands in between the shrine and her tribe.) "I won't obey! Greed is our enemy!"

[Pachacamac]: "I don't listen to the words of a child. Ready, men! Charge!" (They blow past her, only to be blocked by the watery Chaos creature, absorbing the power of the Emeralds.)

—–—

[Sonic]: (As seen in S0 E13.) "Chaos Control...It's about hope…And I think that as long as you keep your promise to Maria in your heart, you'll never lose Chaos Control again."

And now, the continuation…

From the last confessions of Lt. Alfred Robotnik

He's dead. How it all happened…I can hardly comprehend. I'm not proud of what I've done. But I had to do it. I couldn't have lived any other way. I was broken. Destroyed. Everything that I had left was ripped away from me. My wife, whom they must have suspected of involvement based on her single visit to the ARK. My father, Gerald, executed under false pretenses. My sweet daughter, Maria, her only legacy a name on a list of those killed in the "accident" which led to the shutdown of the station. Oh poor, young Maria. If I only hadn't let you go with your grandfather to the ARK, you might have spent your brief life at home, with me, instead of in the endless isolation of space. All–

Shadow suddenly deactivates the tablet-like device on which he reads the unbelievable file, and looks up to the sky, as if ready to burst out with some emotion, perhaps sorrow, or pity, or anger, or something else entirely. But instead, as always, he regains his composure.

He sits beneath a lone, tall, leafy tree, surrounded on all sides by gentle, sloping hills. The hill Shadow sits on is layered with grass, but most of the nearby area is covered by rocks and dirt. Around Shadow's hill runs a thin creek, likely formed by snow melt from the white-capped mountains visible far to the north. But to the south, a thin pillar of smoke still rises from the buildings of Westopolis, destroyed by Eggman's latest rampage. A cool Spring wind blows through the area. The sun shines brightly, but Shadow sits comfortably in the shade of the tree.

He sighs as he thinks back to the few hours ago that had felt like days, as he had run through all of the possibilities in his mind, each more horrendous than the last.

Rouge had started by telling him, "I stumbled across a single file with restricted access…it was something that shouldn't have been kept from you." Slowly, she had placed the device with the file in his hand. The file was already open. The title had read, "Project: Sunlight — The New Ultimate Life Form."

Shadow had nearly dropped the device at that moment. It felt as if he had been struck in the stomach, as if he couldn't breathe. He absolutely had to see what that file said, but he couldn't will his body to look at it, no matter how hard he tried.

"I can go now, if you'd rather be alone," Rouge had said.

"No," Shadow had answered almost immediately. "I'll go." He looked up to the Westopolis skyscrapers above him. "I need to get out of this city."

"Alright. But remember what I said. If you ever need me, you know where to find me."

Shadow had only nodded in response. Then he turned to leave the city for the last time. Almost immediately, he stopped and started to glance at the device. But he still couldn't. The time wasn't right yet. He needed to get farther. Farther away from the newest place to haunt his fragile memories.

Back in reality, Shadow takes a heavy breath, before looking to the unbelievable file once more.

Sonic the Hedgehog: The Chaos Project

Season 0, Episode 14

Birth of Blacklight, Part 1: Project: Sunlight

Written by ChaosProject

Concept by ChaosProject

If I only hadn't let you go with your grandfather to the ARK, you might have spent your brief life at home, with me, instead of in the endless isolation of space. All I had left was my young nephew Ivo, whom I was in no condition to take care of. I have no idea what's become of him since that day. I suppose I should begin there—the day the ARK shut down.

—–—

Ground Research Facility EDEN

52 Years Ago

A tall, moderately well-built man with a short-cropped mustache and large round glasses works at a computer console in a whitewashed room.

It had not been long since I discovered the corruption that ran through the entire military. In order to keep me quiet, they agreed to anonymously fund my own research facility. The alternative was to lose my commission as a military doctor, and be put on trial for treason. Naturally, I accepted the former option. Unsure of where else to begin, I started researching Neuro Immunodeficiency Syndrome—Maria's Disease.

My father and I hadn't spoken in many years. But he was pleased to learn that I would be assisting in the research he had been working on since Maria was born. He sent me all of the information he had on the subject, including his personal diary. He also said something that I didn't understand at the time. He said that his research was near to a breakthrough that would do far more than cure this single disease. I had only just begun to look through the information, when everything changed.

A massive crash shakes the earth and interrupts the man's studying. After another moment, everything becomes calm again. Wordlessly, the man stands and cautiously begins to move outside. As the door opens, a massive crater can be seen in the otherwise flat earth. More curious than ever, the man moves closer. At the center of the crater lies a heap of metal and glass. But a few patches of black fur can be seen underneath. The man seems to realize this, and runs down to the center, then begins digging through the rubble.

Just outside of the facility, I discovered the wreckage of an escape pod. It must have suffered some sort of catastrophic malfunction, as it detonated soon after entering the atmosphere. It took only a few quick mental calculations to determine that the ARK would have been overhead at the time the pod would have been launched. As if the pod could have come from anywhere else. What amazed me was how intact the deceased remains of whomever was in the pod were. At least, that is what I thought at first.

The man clears away the last of the rubble, revealing the unconscious form of Shadow the Hedgehog.

What I found weren't remains, but a complete, living organism. He was heavily damaged, but otherwise alive and well. I couldn't see how it was possible. But I took the strange life form to a stasis pod, where he could regenerate. None of it made any sense. My only thought was to look further into my father's research. I found only a few references to a top-secret project researched under the orders of the President, nothing conclusive about this strange being in my facility. Until I looked to his diary. I finally found the answer. Project: Shadow. The Ultimate Life Form, artificially created for research into the indefinite extension of biological life. Immortality. Though he had rejected the project at first, he changed his mind all because of Maria. If there is any cure to an incurable disease, it may lie in a life form that cannot die.

But the project was flawed. The prototype, in the form of a lizard, was deemed impersonable and violent, and the project was nearly shut down there. But it was continued in secret. My father created a new life form, in the form of a hedgehog. And somehow, he ended up in my front yard. Could it have been intentional? Even now I can't say for certain. At the time he sent me the copy of his diary, he surely must have known that something was wrong. I can only assume that he wanted me to have what was written there. But the final entry of the diary was incomplete. The final words: "I don't quite know what happened, or what went wrong. Was it a mistake to create the Ultimate Life Form?"

It wasn't until the next day that I received word, along with the rest of the public, of an unspecified biohazard accident that forced the evacuation of the ARK. It's ironic, I suppose, that the ARK, a place of salvation from disaster, is the place where disaster struck. Maria was among the list of those killed, along with my father's entire research team. And suddenly, everything made sense to me. It was all because of Shadow. He was the one who killed Maria.

—–—

Present Day—March 20th, 0 B.E.

Eggmanland

A blinding light illuminates the face of Doctor Eggman as a high-pitched whine drowns out all other sound in the room. He looks into a glass chamber, where a hunk of metal is assaulted by a highly-focused beam of blinding red light from above. After a moment, the metal begins to glow red-hot. Eggman nods in approval. Then sparks even brighter than the light begin to fly from the metal, forcing Eggman to shield his eyes. After another moment, the entire hunk of metal seems to explode, ending the light and the sound. When the light from the explosion clears, all that remains is a chamber full of metal shrapnel.

Orbot speaks from a computer console across the room, "I'm sorry, sir. Chaosium synthesis has failed."

Eggman growls in disappointment. "It seems that wolf was right after all. The Chaos-proof metal really is impossible to manufacture. Put the project on hold, there's no reason to pursue it any farther for now."

"Yes, sir."

Eggman turns to the other side of the room. "Cubot, how is our other experiment progressing?"

"All simulations have been a complete success, sir. Gee, you'd think making metal would be easier than sending messages through time."

Orbot chimes in, "If you don't mind my asking sir, what do you intend to use this new experiment for? Used correctly, you could change the entire course of history!"

Cubot continues, "Yeah, like maybe you could tell your younger self not to grow that hideous mustache!"

Eggman growls again, and Cubot takes the hint. He clears his throat and resumes, "You see Orbot, I must be cautious with such a radical technology. If I'm not careful, I could erase myself from existence. But I believe that I've found the right place to start, by taking a little inspiration from my dear old Uncle Alfred. But first, I must be certain of exactly what I need to say. Reopen King file number 19910623 for me. I have a confession to finish reading."

Within moments, the same file which Shadow was reading comes up on the large screen in the center of the room. Eggman begins reading.

It was all because of Shadow. He was the one who killed Maria. It all made sense. Father couldn't control the violent tendencies of his own creation. It struck out against him, tried to escape. The military tried to get it under control, but of course they couldn't let the public know that they were secretly researching something so dangerous and uncontrollable. So they lied about it, as they always do, called it an accident. And after all of the damage that Shadow did to the ARK, he escaped. Or perhaps was set free by some act of sympathy, and left in my care.

I was lost. There was so much death all around me, while I had the key to immortality sitting in my basement. I knew I couldn't wake him, or he would kill me as well. But if I could tap into his secrets, I could at least cure the disease that ruined my daughter's life…that ruined my life. And all of the information used to create him was in my computer banks. Slowly, I realized. If I could figure out what went wrong with the original Ultimate Life Form, I could create a new one, one that could truly save humanity.

I got to work immediately. I went through his brain first. I analyzed every nerve, every synapse, hoping to find a clear indicator of what could have led to his violence. Not only did I find no such indicator, but I found evidence of tampering, primarily in the amygdala, which would dull the experience of negative emotion. I came to the conclusion that father made these changes himself, in some sort of attempt to purify the creature's mind after the failure of the prototype. Clearly, his attempts were unsuccessful. Studies of the brain were inconclusive. So I moved on to his DNA structure. And I found something that I couldn't believe. For the most part, his DNA matched up with that of a normal hedgehog, with many modifications of course. But there were several extra chromosomes which I couldn't account for, which I would've expected to wreak havoc on any normal organism. The structure of those chromosomes…it was like nothing I've ever seen before. It didn't make any sense by conventional standards. It was…alien.

—–—

The man, Lt. Alfred Robotnik, is again at work at the computer console in his research facility. But this time, next to the console sits some sort of large pod, filled with a green fluid.

Though I had already read through it all, I combed through my father's diary once more. There was no direct reference to any kind of extraterrestrial encounter. But I did find something. A vague reference to a means to a breakthrough that my father had found…at a price. A price that would have catastrophic results if paid. But he said that he had a plan, and that was the last that was mentioned of it. That journal entry was made on the final day that the Black Comet would have been visible in the sky. I'd heard the conspiracy theories before, claiming that the Black Comet was inhabited by extraterrestrials of malicious intent, but I never would have believed it. But the proof was right in front of me. Shadow was some sort of alien hybrid, I had no doubt. And if that much was true, I could only assume that it was this alien DNA that had made him evil.

Alfred suddenly gets up and walks over to the pod. He tugs at his mustache in deep contemplation. Then he turns around and sits back down, not to work, but to think.

My work could all begin from there. If I could create a new hedgehog without the infusion of alien DNA, then the true Ultimate Life Form could finally exist.

And I did.

It took 10 long years. There were many failures, many times I was prepared to give up. Most often I found that the subject's neural pathways were unable to remain cohesive, resulting in complete brain-death. I can only assume that this was the same problem that father faced. But I found my own solution. The Chaos Emeralds.

Alfred gets up again, but passes the pod entirely this time. He continues into another, more darkly-lit room. He looks around him, as if to make sure no one is watching. Then he quickly enters a code into a pad on the wall, causing the entire wall panel to slide to the side, and revealing the seven Chaos Emeralds inside. Their rainbow of color illuminates his face.

They weren't easy to gather. But once I did, I was able to harness their energy to keep the subject's brain together. And he survived. He was complete. All that was left was wake him up.

I was so uncertain. If my theories were wrong, I would unleash something on to the world with the power to conquer it. Or destroy it. I could have stopped everything there, satisfied with the fact that I had succeeded where my father had failed. He didn't need to be awake to learn from him. But…in the time I spent creating him…I grew attached to him. He began to feel like a son to me. A son who could destroy the world. I didn't know what to do. But I looked to the Chaos Emeralds, the source of his life, and I saw…

Alfred closes the wall panel and returns to the pod. He stares into the glass case, the green fluid beneath, and the life form he knows lies inside.

…I saw no evil, no destruction. Only peace, and Balance. So I did it.

Suddenly, he slams down on a button on the front of the pod, and the fluid inside begins to drain.

I awakened the New Ultimate Life Form.

The lid of the pod pops open, releasing a torrent of steam. But slowly, the steam begins to clear, revealing the form of a hedgehog, one which might be mistaken for Shadow. But as the light that shines upon him clears, it becomes clear that he is definitely not Shadow. His fur is primarily a silvery white, with streaks of green in his spikes. His gloves are turquoise-blue, and his socks and the cuffs of his gloves are red. His shoes, appearing similar to Shadow's, are purple on the top, with a dark blue trim. One who has seen into the future might know him as Blacklight.

Slowly, he opens his yellow eyes. He begins to look back and forth, a curious look on his face. Alfred looks on with excitement.

Finally, the hedgehog begins to speak. "… … …This feels weird."

Alfred lets out with a smile, "Hello, Sunlight. I'm so glad to finally meet you."

"Sunlight…that is me?" Alfred nods. The hedgehog begins to pat around on his chest and arms. When he finishes with that, he starts rubbing his hand all over his own face. He looks back to Alfred, more curious than ever. "Sunlight is made of photons. But I am solid. I don't understand."

Alfred begins to laugh, all the while keeping a bright smile on his face. "No, you see, Sunlight is your name, not what you are made of."

"My name? So…it's meaningless, then?"

"Meaningless? Not at all. Your name is how people identify who you are. It's how people understand you."

"Understand…I want to understand more. Tell me more." Without waiting for an answer, the hedgehog now called Sunlight steps out of the pod and begins to look around more.

"Then let's start with me. My name is Alfred. I am your f–…your creator."

"Creator…so you made me exist. Why?"

"Well, that's…quite a long story, perhaps another–"

"Alfred. I don't know what Alfred is. That does not help me understand you at all. You should have a different name. I like your mustache. Your name should be Mustache."

Alfred clears his throat. "I'm afraid it doesn't quite work that way. Perhaps you–"

"What's in this room?" Sunlight begins to walk towards the room that Alfred had just come out of, the one that contains the Chaos Emeralds. "It feels nice."

Alfred quickly runs to cut him off. "Hold on, let's not go in that room just yet."

Sunlight glares at him oddly. Then he shrugs, and walks off in a different direction.

And Sunlight was born.

—–—

Shadow turns off the device again. He sighs and shakes his head, unsure of what to think. The first words of the document ring in his head. "He's dead."

"I…I had…a brother…? And he's…dead?"

Not yet ready to resume reading, he pulls out a sparkling yellow Chaos Emerald instead. He stares deeply into it. "What does it all mean?" He looks up to the sky. The sun has progressed far, as twilight begins to draw near. He holds the Emerald up to the sun, and the bright sunlight refracts through it, and onto his face. "Sunlight…"

He puts down the Emerald, and picks up the device again. With another sigh, he resumes reading.

It wasn't easy at first. He was so naive, and so demanding, so much like a child. But slowly, he learned. And I loved him through every moment of it. I taught him as much about being a person as I did about what I knew of Chaos based on my father's research. I quickly learned that he possessed the ability to sense the Chaos Emeralds, and it became more and more difficult to keep him away from them. He wasn't ready for that kind of power. But I decided that he was ready for something else.

—–—

Alfred leads Sunlight into the dim room where the Chaos Emeralds are held. Immediately, Sunlight looks to the panel that hides them. But rather than open it, Alfred continues to lead him down a flight of stairs, into the basement.

Immediately visible inside is another pod, this one's contents clearly visible. Shadow lays unconscious inside.

Sunlight approaches the pod with caution. "What…what is it?"

Alfred walks to stand behind him. "That…is Shadow."

"Shadow…the place where sunlight does not reach. I understand."

"That's correct."

"Does that mean I should leave?"

"No no, you see, I brought you here to learn…a little more about yourself."

"I already understand myself. I am Sunlight. I was created using the Chaos Emeralds to bring Light to the world. What else is there to learn?"

"You see, Shadow here was a lot like you. He was also an artificial life form, made to bring Light. But something went wrong. He betrayed his creator, and…he killed someone I loved."

"So he was made to do something…and then he did something else? You can do that? But then…could they not guess from his name that he would betray them? After all, a shadow can't bring light. Perhaps names are even more useful than I thought."

Alfred isn't sure how to respond, so he continues with the story instead. "This Shadow…he is a villain. He is evil. He is violent, and his violence destroys. But you…I made you to fix his flaws. Everything that he failed to be, you can be now."

"So does that make me some sort of…copy?"

"A copy? No. You are his better. You are the true Ultimate Life Form."

Sunlight seems to think on this for a long time. Then he looks back up to Alfred, as if preparing to say something profound. "…I'm bored. Let's go somewhere else." Without an answer, he turns to leave. Reluctantly, Alfred follows.

I showed him his predecessor. And he hardly seemed to care. But…I think it affected him more than he was willing to admit. I was finding him…thinking. Independently, something he had never done before. And he began to act strangely. One moment he would be enthralled by a lesson, and the next he would be ready to fall asleep. He would grow angry at the most arbitrary things, and laugh at his own pain. It was as if he was at war with himself. I tried all I could to keep him calm and at peace. But I saw him slipping from my control.

—–—

Eggman appears to be in the middle of a speech. "…And in return, I ask just one small favor of you. I want you…to destroy Shadow the Hedgehog."

After a moment of silence, Orbot's voice speaks, "Message recorded, sir."

"Very good. Is the Emerald ready?"

Orbot pulls a glowing purple Emerald out of a machine. "Yes, sir. But…sir…?"

"What is it?"

"Didn't Shadow save the planet from the alien invasion? Destroying him before he can do that might destroy the entire world."

"Save the planet? Ha! I had an entire fleet, an entire army prepared to fight the Black Aliens with, before Shadow destroyed it all. Without him to get in the way, I would have been able to drive off the aliens myself, and then use the fleet to take over the world! And once Shadow is destroyed, that's exactly what I'll have done. Sonic can come later."

"That's…that's…"

Cubot jumps in. "That's the most brilliant plan you've ever had!"

Eggman seems satisfied. "Thank you, Cubot. Now, let's get this plan underway!"

Orbot finishes quietly, "That's…not what I was going to say…" Regardless, Orbot takes the Emerald into a wide, circular chamber, and places it on a pedestal inside. Eggman stands in an elevated room, looking down through a window into the chamber. The room is filled with colorful lights and panels.

Eggman begins to rant, "Using all that I've learned about the timespace-manipulating qualities of the Chaos Emeralds, with a little help from King, I've at last been able to complete this Chaos Control Prototype. Using the Chaos Emerald's own power, I can send it back through time, containing the message I just recorded."

"But…wouldn't it have been easier just to go back and deliver the message yourself?"

"Are you crazy? This thing is a one-way trip! I'd send a robot, but tests have already confirmed that technology breaks down in the time-travelling process. A Chaos Emerald is the only way." He stops to think. "Hm. Maybe you two should get in there after all."

Cubot shouts, "Okay!"

Cubot moves into the chamber, but Orbot pulls him back. "Actually, let's not do that. Trust me."

Eggman shouts, "Enough fooling around! It's time to bend space and time to my will! Hmph!" Eggman slams a finger down on a button, and the roof of the chamber begins to glow with an intensely bright purple light. The light quickly spreads like a wave down along the walls of the chamber, as the Emerald inside emits a dismal glow to match. Sparks of purple lightning arc between the Emerald and the field of light around it. Eggman smiles in satisfaction, and walks over to a large red lever. Just as forcefully, he grabs it and pulls. The Emerald begins to lift into the air, swirling around faster and faster as it rises. The moment it contacts the roof, a bright flash of blue swallows it, and the entire field of light collapses in on itself with one final spark of blue lightning. The Emerald is gone.

—–—

The outside wall of EDEN is visible.

It was a day that seemed much like any other. If anything, I thought that Sunlight might finally be recovering, he was far more quiet than usual. I was studying his biology for potential cures to diseases, as I spent so much time doing. I wasn't paying attention to him. And he broke out.

Suddenly, the wall explodes outwards, revealing Sunlight with an outstretched hand on the other side. He looks at his hand, surprised at his own strength, and gives a resounding "Hm!" He steps out of the newly-formed exit, and begins to look around.

He went right into the city, and began causing trouble. The people didn't understand, how could they? He wasn't ready to go out on his own yet! Someone called the police. And he fought back, how could he have done anything else!? The military was called in. And they tore him apart. He never stood a chance. Now he's dead. And it's all my fault.

Contrary to the story of Lt. Alfred, something catches Sunlight's eye on the ground. He walks up for a closer look. It's the purple Chaos Emerald. Slowly, cautiously, he reaches down to pick it up. The moment he comes into contact with it, his mind is assaulted with an image.

Eggman stands in a sea of darkness, and turns to face Sunlight. "Hello, Sunlight. My name is Doctor Eggman. And I am a sort of…fan of yours. I wish for you only success in your pursuit of freedom. That's why I have gifted you with this Chaos Emerald. With it, you can unlock unlimited power! And in return, I ask just one small favor of you. I want you…to destroy Shadow the Hedgehog."

Sunlight opens his eyes, holding the Emerald right up to his face. Its ominous glow reflects in his eyes, and almost seems to fill his entire body. Finally, he begins to lower the gem again. "…Eggman, hm? A perfect name, I must say." He looks back towards the facility, where he knows Shadow lies, asleep and vulnerable. He shrugs. "Eh, maybe later. I don't really feel like it." He looks back to the Emerald. "And you, my little friend, are coming with me." He strokes a hand over it, as one would to a pet. He turns and walks off towards a city that can be seen in the distance.

—–—

Shadow puts down the device for the final time. For a long time, he says and does nothing. The sun on the horizon is just seconds away from reaching perfect twilight. Shadow shakes his head, still unsure of what to think. "Why did he break out? …Was he really just confused? Or…was there something wrong with him?" He closes his eyes, and buries his head in one hand. When he opens his eyes again, the entire world around him has been destroyed.

To be continued…