Approximately 52 years before the kishin's reawakening.
"I wonder why there's a human here. You must be important," Zero assessed.
"Who are you?" Maria asked with worry.
Zero appeared mildly amused. "You're not going to introduce yourself first? That would be the polite thing to do,"
"You shouldn't be here,"
Her astute accusation was ignored.
"A black arm series weapon," Zero's voice was pointed. "There's one on this island. Where is it?"
Maria took one step back. "I don't know what you're talking about,"
Zero pointed. "We might need a hostage. You two, take her and let's move on. I'm sure Robotnik has plenty hidden here,"
Before any of the jackals could make a move at Maria, the sound of someone leaping from a boulder came. Shadow landed in the middle of Zero's group with his right arm as a curved blade. It was coated in blood. The head of one of the jackals landed beside the hedgehog immediately after.
"Maria, run!"
Shadow jumped into Zero, stabbing his torso then ripping away just as fast. One of the other squadmates tried throwing a punch. Shadow responded by shifting part of his arm back to normal while keeping his forearm and hand as a blade. The punch was easily dodged. The jackal who had attempted the strike soon found their arm had been removed. Shadow swept their leg and punched his opponent's throat with his pointed metal hand.
The remaining meister swung a curved red sword to catch Shadow from behind. Blades collided. The jackal swordsman gasped when he saw another curved scythe blade protruding from the back of his opponent's head. Shadow had turned back just enough to judge the swordsman's angle of attack, then generated another blade to block.
The jackal swung again, so the black hedgehog rolled by them. The meister fell on the ground. They'd lost balance from having both legs cut off at the shins. Shadow, with his arm back to being a full blade, stabbed the sword before they could fully transform out of weapon form. The last squadmate fell.
Zero got up, much to Shadow's alarm. His wound was healed.
"Oh god that's nasty," Zero shuddered. "You really are a Black Arm weapon, but I've never encountered one with such a disgusting wavelength,"
He held out his arms and summoned more distorted copies of himself. Their limbs were jagged and stretched; they soon swiped at Shadow. He hit back at them with his blade. Just as quickly as the first round had been dispersed, more were forming, so Shadow jumped back. Being outnumbered again didn't give him much to work with. Also, fighting an unknown opponent with magical abilities was risky. After seeing additional duplicates appear, then run off in the same direction Maria had gone, he left as well.
Zero's continuously spawning illusions gave chase. He began following until a hand grabbed his leg.
"Zero…"
Zero glared down at the jackal who just had their legs segmented.
"He created new blades…" The meister whimpered. Delirium from the blood loss weakened his speech. "I'm hurt,"
Zero kicked the swordsman off. "I warned you that it would be powerful. Meisters are so useless,"
Zero let his squadmate bleed out while he tapped into more of the phantom ruby's power.
Shadow quickly extinguished every illusion he met on his way back to the ARK facility. He found the door Maria had used. It was sealed tight, but the attached keypad would allow him inside if he typed the appropriate password. Problem was, there were magical doppelgangers clawing at the door, and another group that would catch up once he tried typing in the code.
A new blade manifested from Shadow's left arm. It was a curved blade that protruded out of his forearm instead of replacing it. His right gained a sharpened edge, leaving this hand intact as well. The distracted illusions at the door were easily vanquished. The ones coming up behind needed more attention.
Shadow ducked immediately after hitting the first key. A jagged claw passed overhead. He flicked his left arm's blade to decapitate two illusions. Another key press, then more copies. Shadow's leg sharpened, letting him kick cleanly through them. He hit another key. A broad blade stroke removed another three. A crowd was forming; he had little time left.
Shadow brought out a full blade on his right that matched his left. He tripped up one doppelganger, then used it as a jumping point. An acrobatic vault let him corkscrew through the air. His blades swung wildly; the surrounding figures were minced. By the time he'd landed, his blades were gone. He ripped off one glove. One last key press would scan his thumb simultaneously. The panel beeped, and the door opened. He dove through.
When Shadow pressed the red button on the inside of the door, it closed quickly. Several of Zero's copies were crushed between the mechanisms. He caught a glimpse of the incoming horde before the entrance was sealed. There had been a concerningly high number of them, and those were only the ones nearby. Many more were likely off in the distance, exploring other parts of the island. The noise of their assault still made it through ARK's reinforced plating. Shadow took off in a sprint.
"Maria!"
Flashing emergency lights were spread out amongst the halls that Shadow ran through. He couldn't see much of note, but he did hear a distant reply.
"Shadow,"
He followed the direction of her voice. She was sat on the floor when he found her.
"I don't feel well,"
Standing still made Shadow smell the blood on his clothes. He threw off his jacket first, then the remaining glove. He held his hand out.
"Here,"
When Maria touched his hand, the effects subsided. She stood up, wearing a look of surprise.
"Better?" He asked.
"Yes, but how?"
"That man out there is a witch. The energy he controls is a more concentrated version of the wavelength that exists everywhere in the outside world. I can neutralize those wavelengths,"
"The outside world really is dangerous," She mused. "Sorry for locking you out. Those monsters would have caught up with me if I didn't,"
"Don't apologize. You made the right call,"
"I just don't like feeling useless while you're in danger,"
"It's my job to protect you. Not the other way around," Shadow chided.
She crossed her arms. "I can protect you if I want. You matter too,"
Back in the direction Shadow had come from, was the sound of an explosion.
"That couldn't have been…" Maria stammered.
Another explosion came, but it was much closer. When Shadow realized they were near another door leading to the surface, he felt a chilling fear. Then, the doppelgangers did appear. They poured in relentlessly, and there were many. The halls were filled to the brim, and there was just enough order amidst their movements so they could move without trampling over each other. Otherwise, they were sprinting ahead with killing intent. Shadow knew he and Maria could only move deeper into ARK.
"Safe room. Now!" He yelled.
They retreated, but Maria wasn't running particularly fast. Shadow took the lead, grabbing her hand on the way. His physical strength immediately decreased the burden of running, then resonating made it even easier for Maria to move. Down the hall they went; without stopping or looking back.
They reached the safe room before any of the magical clones could catch up. Shadow pulled a lever. Multiple layers of reinforced plating closed around the entryway. Despite being effectively muffled by the armor, the viciousness of the horde's assault was obvious.
"That man was asking about you, Shadow," Maria recalled soon after they caught their breath.
"He's after you too. We need to think of a plan,"
Shadow approached the installed computer terminal that spanned most of one wall. The keyboard panel was ingrained into a large surface protruding at waist height with a wide variety of controls. The screen's image changed in response to the typing of commands.
"Gerald must have been alerted by the facility going into lockdown. The defense systems will buy time for backup to arrive,"
His eyes scanned through all the information listed on the monitor. Interference hit the computer, making the screen flicker.
"What?"
Shadow angrily pounded at the keys, but the computer wouldn't respond. It shut off completely. Shadow's ensuing fury was halted by Maria falling to the floor.
"Maria!"
"That energy is back," She whimpered.
Shadow could sense it too. "It shouldn't be possible, but that witch is getting his wavelength through the armor. ARK's systems are failing, and we're cut off from the outside,"
He helped Maria up. Their wavelength exchange eased the effects immediately, and kept her from further harm.
"Thanks," She said.
The room went dark when the safe room lost power. Only one bulb installed as a backup remained. Dim, rose-colored light was the only thing allowing them to see.
Shadow was terrified. More terrified than he'd been in his entire life. Fear hadn't come to him while he was fighting, so he knew it was only because Maria was around. Because he desperately wanted to save her.
"Stand at the other side of the room. I'll fight when they come in,"
"Shadow…"
"Go. Now," He urged.
But Maria didn't move. She stood still, watching her brother with a sad smile.
"I got you a record player for your birthday,"
Shadow's attention was coaxed off of the door. Dread hung over him. "Don't do this. Don't give up,"
Maria stopped herself from crying a bit longer. "I kept saying you were really good but you never believed me. So I recorded you playing the piano. Then I asked Grandpa for help and…" She sobbed once. "I really wanted you to hear how good you sounded. It was a stupid gift. I'm sorry,"
By the time Shadow hugged Maria, he'd been crying too. They stayed that way for a short while and everything was alright. The monsters outside might as well have been on the other side of the world.
Shadow pulled back, brushing his eyes. "It's not stupid. It was a good idea," Recalling made him smile. "I believed you when you complimented me the first time. I just didn't want to say so,"
She laughed. "I know,"
He turned back at the door and waved a hand at the wall. "Will you stand over there?"
"No. I have a plan,"
"You're thinking about chaos control?" Shadow predicted.
"I might as well try putting all that theory into practice. All you have to do is resonate and visualize where you want to go. It works better if you've visited the place in person, but…." She laughed weakly. "All I do is imagine the places I want to go. Maybe someone like me can still make it work?"
Shadow wanted to protest. One of the plates of armor gave way, increasing the volume of the rampage outside. Only one metal shield was left between them and the army of doppelgangers. He changed his mind.
"Fine,"
The air between them shimmered. Energy moved back and forth between their souls at their usual level from the lab tests.
"It's not enough," Shadow said.
"Then we'll go further,"
They pushed their resonance higher. Their souls made the air start glowing. Some of the color returned to the room around them. Shadow could feel his limit expanding thanks to Maria's help. It was jarring at first, but he was now bearing much more power. He could sense a strange connection that was like linking with the rest of the world.
"I think it's working. But how?"
"Shadow, grandpa didn't tell you everything about chaos control. You already have the ability to do it,"
"What? I've never been able to make it work on my own and I'm not a death scythe,"
"You have enough power if you're resonating with someone. You just can't bring anyone else with you until you become a death scythe,"
He realized her intentions, but it was too late.
"Maria-!"
Shadow stepped forward in protest when Maria's hands slammed into his chest. The world around him stretched out endlessly. The floor vanished, and he fell. The door to the safe room finally burst. Monsters poured in.
"Adiós,"
His surroundings snapped back in place instantaneously. The new ground that rose to take the former's place wasn't made of cold metal; it was warm grass. All of the noise from the ongoing destruction of the ARK facility vanished. The newfound quietness felt unnerving as a result.
Shadow tried moving, but his body felt impossibly heavy. Whatever energy he had was used up getting here. Turning his head took a sizable effort. He saw a city off in the distance, one with a large building composed of many spires that stood high above the rest of the town. He only recognized Death City thanks to one person's hopes of visiting it one day.
"Maria…"
Warm tears fell on the grass. Sorrow carried Shadow's mind off into a dark, empty dream that would persist for quite a long time.
I would like to apologize to the elite few who read the story on update days. Although it's still about 45 minutes from midnight as I type this, I still want to avoid making a habit of uploading this late. This chapter was especially difficult for me to write; I ended up crying a lot. At least we can say Shadow found the computer room in this story. Friday's update should be earlier in the day. Thanks for reading!
