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.

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.

No longer is he surrounded by wide, grassy hills, but dull, infertile dirt, riddled with countless craters. The sky has been completely covered by ominous, smoky red clouds.

"What!?" Shadow steps back with a start, and bumps into the dead, rotting tree behind him. He turns to look at it with even greater shock. He looks all the way around, hoping for some indication of what's happened. He finds nothing.

Still looking shocked and stressed, he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He clutches his head and thinks. "There are…two possibilities. Either…I've somehow lost consciousness or memory for…" He looks back to the dead tree. "…years, at least, and somehow ended up at the same place, standing in the same position as I started. Or…somehow…the entire world has been destroyed in the blink of an eye."

Slowly, Shadow realizes what he's standing on. He bends down to pick it up. It isn't the device that he had put down, but a long piece of paper covered in handwriting. He begins to look over it. "It's…it's the same story…" He keeps looking, until he reaches the end, suddenly realizing that it isn't the same.

Somehow…he got ahold of one of the Chaos Emeralds, I still can't explain how it was possible. He went right into the city, and began wreaking havoc. The people didn't understand how dangerous he was, how could they? He didn't have control over his powers yet! Someone called the police. And they fled from his power, how could they have done anything else!? The military was called in. And he tore them apart. They never stood a chance. His wake of destruction spread, and now he's declared himself the conqueror of the world. And it's all my fault.

Sonic the Hedgehog: The Chaos Project

Season 0, Episode 15

Birth of Blacklight, Part 2: Project: Needlemouse

Written by ChaosProject

Concept by ChaosProject

"Well…I guess that answers the first question." Shadow shakes his head. "Somehow…time has been altered. But then…why do I know about it? Why wasn't I changed with the rest of the world?"

Struck by a sudden idea, he pulls out the yellow Chaos Emerald. It glows intensely bright. "Its energy is…draining. As if it's…keeping me here somehow."

Sonic's words echo in his mind, "Guess it thinks you're gonna need it."

Shadow continues to stare at the Emerald. Its very outside corners seem to be dulling in color, despite the bright light that the gem emits. "It doesn't have enough energy to keep this up forever. I have to do something." He growls in frustration, unsure of exactly what it is he has to do.

Then he calms down, and takes a deep breath. "If Sonic were here, and he had his own Emerald, we could use Chaos Control to make a space-time rift, and try to fix whatever's going on here. But he isn't. So there must be another way. Someone, somewhere, altered the course of time…for the worse. Even if Sonic could mess up so terribly, he wouldn't have enough energy to make a space-time rift without me. Which means it had to be done…with a machine. There are only two people in the world smart enough to make a machine like that." He looks around one last time. "And only one of them would do this with it. The Doctor." He looks back at the Emerald. "I can't risk doing this more that once, there isn't enough energy. I have to hope I'm right."

He closes his eyes, and an image of Maria appears in his head. "Please do it for me…"

Shadow nods. "Always for you…for a better future." He lifts the Emerald into the air. "Chaos Control!" He warps away in a flash of bright blue light.

—–—

Eggmanland…?

Shadow drops down onto the ground, and looks around. This new place seems little different from the last, save that the sky is a darker color. He begins to move forward, eyeing all around as he goes.

Suddenly, a familiar voice says calmly, "I don't know who you are, but you should leave now."

Shadow turns with a start to the source of the voice. "Sonic!?" Standing atop a tall mound of dirt and rock, back turned towards Shadow, is Sonic the Hedgehog.

He still doesn't turn. "Final warning. Get out."

"Sonic, I don't know what's going on here, but I'm here to help."

Suddenly, Sonic turns. A long scar runs down the left side of his face, passing over his dull, grey left eye. "Yeah, like I haven't heard that one before." Shadow gasps, as the half-blind Sonic begins to take a closer look at him. "You…you look like him. He sent you, didn't he!? Well, I'm not letting you go back to him!" Sonic dives down at Shadow with top speed.

Shadow backflips out of the way. "Sonic, you have to listen to me, I'm the only one who can fix this!"

"I won't take any of your lies!" He charges a spindash, and launches at Shadow with full force.

Much as he has before, Shadow catches the spinning ball in his hands, and throws it off to the side. "I don't want to fight you, I need to see the Doctor, I need to see Eggman!"

Sonic is ready to throw another attack, but he freezes in place. "Did you say…Eggman?"

Shadow nods. "Unless you happen to have a Chaos Emerald?"

Sonic seems to take that as a joke, and ignores it. "I don't know how you know the name Eggman…but it's enough. I'll believe you. For now."

"Then you can take me to him?"

Sonic sighs. "Follow me." He begins to walk off, and Shadow obediently follows.

—–—

Sonic seems to have led Shadow deep underground. Sonic seems to be in the middle of saying, "That paper of yours just about sums it up. Forty years ago, this guy came out of nowhere and started terrorizing the planet."

"But why?"

"All I know is…he's insane. Some people say he does it for fun, some say he was wronged somehow, some say he's just an evil person and that's all there is to it."

"I don't believe that. What if he was…tricked, somehow?"

Sonic looks at him oddly. "Well, that would be one heck of a trick then. Because it started all of this."

"And he really did all of this? Just one hedgehog?"

"Not exactly. For a long time…it was a monarchy ruled by fear. But it was still society. And then…almost two years ago…the Black Comet came back." Shadow takes on a look of grudged understanding. "No one knows exactly what was said, or how it happened, but somehow, he agreed to help the aliens from that comet to destroy the world. The population was decimated within a week. Alien gas destroyed most of the planet's plant life. And just when it seemed like Earth was about to become the new home of the Black Aliens…he turned around and destroyed them instead." Shadow nods, perhaps wondering how close he came to bringing his Earth to the exact same fate. "He's grown even more violent since then. He'll destroy anything and anyone who crosses his path. We're doing all we can to survive down here. But it isn't easy. One wrong move, and we could be obliterated. You really don't know anything about this?"

"I already told you, I'm from another timeline. None of this should be happening."

"And you think you can change it?"

Shadow takes out the Emerald. The entire outside seems to have grown dull and grey, with a yellow light still emitting from the core. "If it were impossible, I don't think I would be here. But I don't have much time."

They remain silent for a while. Then Sonic stops. "We're here." Much louder, he shouts, "Ivo, we have a visitor!"

The voice of Eggman seems to shout from nowhere, "A visitor!? You let an outsider into our base!?"

"He says he can help us, and I believe him! Let us in!"

A moment later, the rock wall beside them seems to slide open, revealing a metallic room inside. Sonic walks in, indicating for Shadow to follow.

Though the room is plated in metal, it seems like it may have been a rushed, patched job. Plates of metal of inconsistent size and color intersect each other with little clear pattern. A few machines which seem to be similarly haphazardly thrown together litter the room.

"So, who is it that you trust so much as to reveal the location of our base?" Dr. Eggman steps forward from the shadows. Though he is still quite heavy set, he seems a little bit thin, making his clothes seem a bit too large on him. One side of his mustache is noticeably larger than the other, and a large crack runs through one side of his glasses.

Sonic continues to walk until he stands between the two. "Ivo, this is Shadow. He says he's from another timeline, one where none of this ever happened." He turns back to Shadow. "Shadow, this is Ivo. Or, as you called him…Eggman."

"He called me what!?"

"Calm down, Ivo. If what he says is true, then he should know any number of things that wouldn't make sense to us. Like that nickname of yours."

"Hmm…another timeline, you say?" He looks Shadow right in the eyes. "And you think that you can do what we've been trying to for all these years?"

"Only with your help. Lucky for you, you seem more willing to cooperate than I was expecting."

Sonic chimes in, "That's the other thing, Ivo. He knows about the Prototype. Or at least, he assumes you have it. Show him."

"Hmm…I'm not sure that I trust him. He seems obnoxious. Like you."

"Yeah, whatever. He's a good fighter, unlike you, and his story holds up. I say we show him."

Eggman, or rather, Ivo, gives a slight smirk. "Very well. Come along." Ivo turns and walks towards another room. Sonic and Shadow follow.

They arrive in a room full of buttons and panels, looking down on a familiar glass chamber. Ivo begins, "Behold, the Chaos Control Prototype! Using the power of just one Chaos Emerald, I can transport it, along with one holder, backwards through time. We can put a stop to him before he ever came to power, all using the very source of his power. It's completely functional…theoretically. Trouble is…we still need a Chaos Emerald to power it with."

Sonic adds, "That's what we were working on before you showed up. A plan to swipe just one Emerald."

Shadow takes out his still-dulling yellow Emerald. "Well, that won't be necessary anymore. We can get started right now."

Ivo looks at the gem curiously. "Is it supposed to look like that?"

"No, which is why we need to hurry. I power your machine, you send me back in time. Do we have a deal?"

Ivo takes a long thought. "Hmm… You've certainly given us no reason to mistrust you. But I'm sure you understand the gravity of your suggestion. You just walk in here and expect us to include you in our most vital operation?"

"You'll be better off with backup, right? I know what needs to be changed, there's no one better to send. What's the harm in letting me?"

"You could sabotage the entire operation, for one thing."

"If that's why I was here, don't you think I would've tried to destroy the machine already? Really, we don't have time for this."

Ivo gives a slow nod. "Very well, Hedgehog. If you are taking a Chaos Emerald back in time, then there is something you should be warned of. A potential catastrophe which could do far worse than ruin the operation."

Sonic steps in. "We may have a Chaos Emerald, but that same Emerald will exist in the past, too. Whatever you do, you absolutely can not let an Emerald touch a duplicate of itself."

Ivo pushes Sonic aside, muttering through his teeth, "I was supposed to say that." He clears his throat. "If two of the same Emerald come into contact with each other…"

Shadow continues to lose patience. "Then…what?"

"Well…we don't know." Shadow rolls his eyes. "We do know that it could be very, very bad."

Sonic adds, "Like, universe-ending bad. All Ivo's been able to figure out is that the laws of nature as we know them will stop applying at that point, at that moment. We don't know what could happen, but we can't take the risk."

"Is that all?" The hedgehog and the doctor both nod. "Good. We–" The entire room around them begins to rumble. "What was that!?"

Sonic takes on a somber look. "He found us."

Ivo shouts with rage, "He must have followed you here! Traitor!"

"No, Shadow had nothing to do with this! We knew this was coming!"

Ivo sighs as the room begins to rumble once more. "You're right as usual, hedgehog." He walks over to the main console, and presses a button, causing it, and the chamber, to light up. He looks back to Sonic. "You know what to do. Get Shadow back to the past, and save this planet." He turns away and walks into another room.

Sonic shouts after him, "No way! I'm going back with Shadow, and you're sending us there. The plan was to send me!"

The room shakes again. Ivo returns from the room, now wearing a massive suit of mechanical armor, roughly constructed much like all of the machines in the base. The body and head together make up a rough egg shape, with arms and legs protruding. Rather than being controlled from a console as one might expect from an Eggman mech, it seems to respond based entirely on his movements. Inside, Ivo shakes his head. "You know that there's no time for that. I'll hold him off, follow our plan as closely as I can. This Eggmech was designed to steal an Emerald, and that's what it's going to do. You stay here and get things done. Besides, we both know that he was right. He knows better than either of us what needs to be done, he needs to go."

"You can't follow our plan out there! Our plan isn't finished, and neither is the Eggmech! If you go out there now, you won't make it!"

"And if I don't, then none of us will."

Sonic sighs. "Looks like you're right. For once." He sighs again. "Good luck out there…Eggman."

Ivo gives a genuine smile. "Same to you, Needlemouse." With that, he charges out of the room in the Eggmech, as the room's shaking grows ever more violent.

Sonic looks to Shadow. "Let's get this over with."

—–—

Shadow has entered into the chamber of the Prototype, while Sonic works on the main console in the elevated area. The area rumbles again, causing Sonic to tense up, knowing what it likely means about the fight going on above them. But he quickly resumes the work, clearly having difficulty with the more technical aspects of the process. But with one last button press, a pedestal rises in front of Shadow. "Alright, now place the Emerald there." Shadow does so. The Emerald is almost entirely grey, with just pinpoint of light coming from the center. "So if this works, it's going to be a one-way trip. No getting back here, even if you succeed."

"I can find my own way back. And if it doesn't work?"

"Then…you'll be vaporized instantly, and I wouldn't know the difference. So…cross your fingers."

Shadow nods. "Do it."

"Right." Sonic presses another 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, creating a field of sparking energy around Shadow and the Emerald.

The room begins rumble again, more violently than ever. Then the ceiling collapses with a massive crash, shattering the glass separating Sonic's room from Shadow's chamber. Sonic, shielding his face with his arm, is unharmed, although sparks of purple lightning from the field escape from the now-unshielded chamber and strike near him at random. But as the dust clears, the damaged form of the Eggmech is revealed.

"Ivo!" Ignoring Shadow still trapped in the field, Sonic runs to the aid of his real friend.

Ivo looks up to Sonic weakly, gravely injured. "Sonic…you still haven't finished yet? You…never were…quite as fast as you claimed to be…" With much effort, he lifts his arm, and opens his hand, revealing a bright cyan Chaos Emerald inside. "Get this…to Shadow before…it's too late…"

Tears building in his eyes, Sonic reaches for the Emerald. For just a moment, both of them hold the same gem that all of their hopes have rested in for so long. Then Ivo's hand collapses to the floor. "Ivo…" The tears begin to stream. "Ivo! IVO!"

A familiar voice booms from high above them, "So, this is where you've been hiding!"

Despite never having heard it before, Shadow seems to recognize the voice of his copy. "He's here. Sonic, we have to do it now! There's no more time!" Sonic continues to sob over his fallen comrade. "Sonic, don't make his sacrifice for nothing! Do it now!"

Sonic looks over to Shadow, his eyes filled with determination. "Shadow, catch!" Sonic hurls the Emerald through the opening in the chamber. It falters in midair as it impacts the purple energy field. In that moment, Sonic gets up and sprints for the controls. The Emerald passes through the field and continues into the chamber. Just as Shadow snatches the gem from the air, Sonic wraps his hands around the large red lever, and pulls with all of his might.

Shadow and the two Emeralds begin to lift into the air, swirling around faster and faster as they rise. As Shadow continues to rise towards the ceiling, he can see a pair of blue-trimmed hover shoes much like his own descend from the hole leading to the surface, as Sonic looks to them with utter fear. Then Shadow contacts the roof, and a bright flash of blue swallows everything.

—–—

March 20th, 42 B.E.

Ground Research Facility EDEN

The wall of the facility 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. Something on the ground catches his eye. The purple Chaos Emerald.

Not far away, Shadow opens his eyes and rises to his feet, clearly disoriented. But one look at the bending figure of Sunlight reminds him of everything. "Wait, stop!"

Sunlight looks to the source of the voice with a start, just as his fingers contact the gem. An instant later, his facial expression changes as his mind is assaulted by Eggman's message.

Shadow curses himself for being a moment too late, remembering the time-altered document's reference to finding a Chaos Emerald. Still seeing a chance, he approaches the distracted Sunlight.

Sunlight begins to blink rapidly as the vision ends, and Shadow enters his sight. For a long moment, the two stare each other in the eyes, wordlessly. Then Sunlight lets out a quiet "You…"

Shadow clears his throat. "My name is–"

"Shadow the Hedgehog. Shadow…the place where sunlight doesn't reach…" As if in uncertain defiance, he cautiously begins to reach out towards Shadow. But then he changes his mind.

Shadow continues, "Yes, I–"

"No, shh," Sunlight forcefully shushes. "Don't say anything. Just…let me look at you." Sunlight puts a hand on his chin as he investigates Shadow's face carefully. Then he slowly begins to pace in a circle around him, examining him from every angle. Shadow seems quite uncomfortable, but tries to keep the situation friendly. Suddenly, Sunlight moves right up to Shadow's face, putting their eyes just inches apart. After another awkward moment, Sunlight steps back. "You don't look so evil to me. I just have one question." He stops at that.

"And…what's that?"

"Are you real?"

"Umm…what do you mean?"

"What's the confused tone for? It's a valid question, isn't it?"

"Well…no. Not really." Shadow realizes his potential mistake almost immediately after he says it.

But Sunlight doesn't seem offended. "Nonsense. Of course it is. I'm Sunlight. And You're Shadow." Again he seems to find that explanation sufficient. But Shadow's confused look forces him to continue. "You are where I don't reach. Here I am, going where I'm not supposed to, and here you are, standing in my way. That much makes sense, doesn't it? Wait…so, did you see me when you betrayed the inhabitants of the ARK?"

"What!?"

"Wait, that wouldn't make any sense. What doesn't a shadow do? Or…if, being Shadow, you were supposed to bring metaphorical darkness…the question would be what a shadow does do. So did you see yourself, then? Were you real, when you saw yourself?"

"Wha…huh…?"

"My, you aren't very bright, are you?" Suddenly, he bursts out laughing. "Get it? 'Cause you're a shadow? So you aren't bright? Ha ha ha!" He suddenly takes on a very stern, serious look. "You never answered my first question. That wasn't very nice of you. So are you real, or what?"

"I–"

"Wait, don't answer that." Suddenly, Sunlight jabs a finger at Shadow's forehead.

"Ah!" Shadow reels back a step. "What–"

"Welp, that answers that question! You seem real enough to me. So, what is this thing, anyways?" He points at the Emerald he still holds.

Shadow hesitates for a moment. "You don't know what it is?"

"It feels…familiar. I like it. And I think it likes me. But I missed what it was called."

Again Shadow hesitates, unsure of what should be said. "A gem containing immense power. A Chaos Emerald."

Sunlight immediately looks to his gem with renewed interest. "Now that you mention it, I think I've heard of those. This is one of seven, yes? Seven Emeralds…which together can grant near-infinite power. Tell me, do all Chaos Emeralds have little movies inside?"

"Movies?"

"This Eggman fellow, do you know him? Is he, like, the spirit of the Emerald or something?"

"Eggman!?"

"He seemed quite intent on having you dead, I can't imagine why. Unless you deserve it, that is. Would you say that you deserve it? Don't worry, I don't judge."

A voice suddenly calls from inside the facility, "Sunlight? What's going on!?"

Sunlight's face becomes filled with dread. "Uh…oh…" Suddenly he turns, sprinting off in the direction of the city.

Shadow shouts, "Wait, come back!" Grudgingly, he runs after him, following Sunlight to the city where he was destined both to die and to conquer, hoping against all odds to create a new destiny.

To be continued…