Sorry I haven't updated on time, my dog recently died and I didn't feel like continuing the chapter, but I still made sure to finish it. But there's no point of moping around, it won't bring him back. Anyways, I'm introducing a new character in the story. You'll eventually meet him in this chapter. Anyways, without further adieu, enjoy the chapter!
2:30 AM
"You're artificially made and you're immortal?! Seriously? And not just that you have super powers too?!" Shads squealed. Shadow instantly covered his ear and placed his finger in front of his face to make him shut up. Shadow told him about his origins, how he sacrificed himself at the ark, but never told him about Maria. It still pained him to even say her name.
"They're not super powers. For someone as smart as you, you sound pretty childish." He groaned. "I can control Chaos energy freely with the help of the chaos emeralds."
"That's so amazing. I can't believe my alternate self would be that cool!" Shads raised his arm, cheering. "But wouldn't you be considered a hero? I mean you did save the earth, right?" Shadow scoffed. The ebony hedgehog? A hero? People fear him, and it's not something he's proud of. Although Shadow saved the earth, all the credit was given to the blue hero, Sonic. He knew people would rather see Sonic as a hero than him.
"A hero? I'm no hero. I do whatever I want, and whatever pleases me. I take things that benefits me" a half-lie he said.
"Uh-huh" Shads could smell his bluff. He was a bad liar. He took a sip on his coffee which had gone cold.
"I told you mine, it's fair if you tell me yours." Shadow crossed his arm.
"Well, what do you want to know? You already know that I'm a genius, but I don't like to brag about that." He placed his mug at the side. There was one thing the ebony hedgehog was curious about. He opened his mouth to say the words.
"Is.. Maria alive?" Shadow had a solemn look on his face.
"Maria? Ah! She's my big sis. Get this, her occupation- a world athlete" He gestured his hands, making an explosion. " She's pretty far away for now. But I can contact her if you like." As Shads was about to contact Maria in his phone, Shadow extended his hand putting a stop to Shads' action
"No need." Shadow was glad that Maria is alive from this world. To think that she would be an athlete which baffled the ebony hedgehog. He expected her to be a florist, if not a caretaker due to her overwhelming kindness.
"You said if she was alive? Did she die from your universe?" Shads realized how inappropriate his question was and can't take back what he just said. Shadow glared at his double, his crimson eyes filled with anger and regret. His eyes slowly softened as he bit his cheek. Silence was enough for Shads to know the answer.
"Well other than that I can tell you about me and Amy. It was something I didn't talk much about, even to Sonic." He scratched his head, embarrassed.
"Why would I be interested in your little affairs with that pink brat?" A smirk came across Shads' face.
"I don't know, you tell me. I thought learning my relationship with Amy would help you with your.. 'current affairs'." Shadow cheeks felt warm, a small tint of red appeared in his muzzle.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He hissed.
"You know what I mean. Jeez, for an Ultimate Lifeform, you are pretty dense." Shads shaked his head. He was happy with the comeback and continued.
"We were childhood friends, together with my brother Sonic. It's funny how I fell in love the moment I saw her. But of course she has eyes for my brother, Sonic. After all, he saved her from getting kidnapped, but brother never really saw her as more than a friend. Eventually she gave up." A nostalgic smile formed on Shads' face and continued.
"Anyways, after she gave up, I saw it as an opportunity to tell her how I feel. At first she wasn't sure, she doesn't want me to be her rebound or something. It took awhile but we started dating at highschool, freshman to be precise."
"Amy came from a very powerful and rich family. Her parents didn't like the idea of her dating a poor orphan boy. The Rose family is very resilient to the point they started to offer me money to stop seeing her. Of course, I decline. But not too long it became too extreme that they nearly, I dare say, nearly killed my brother." A frown etched on his face, it was similar to Shadow.
"And then, I broke up with her. I didn't tell her why, I don't want Amy to antagonize her parents." Shads scoffed.
"Ever since the break up, she started dating that obnoxious Silver and harassed me throughout my highschool years. Just when I thought I could finally escape from their clutches, she forced every university or academy to avoid giving me and my brother a scholarship. It's funny, our grades exceeds from genius level but out of all the schools, only this stupid academy offered a scholarship. Beggars can't be choosers, you know." Shadow listened to his double's frustration. His eyes closed.
"This is why I kind of envy you." Shads sheepishly smiled. "You're strong, stern, you fight what you stand for and definitely not a pushover. A complete opposite of myself." Shads rubbed his tired eyes. Tears were forming in his eyes but it never fell. The atmosphere felt awkward for Shadow. He wasn't used to dealing with people 'emotionally', or seeing his other self cry. Shadow cleared his throat.
"You're not weak." He said. Shadow faces him. Crimson eyes meet ruby eyes. "You may not be as physically as strong as me but you are strong in a different way. You just need to see that." Shadow sighed. He could see that his double was tired, even his complexion wasn't looking too good. Shadow placed his hand in Shads' head. Which surprised the ebony hedgehog.
"You did well holding yourself that long." His tears slowly fell. Bottling up his emotion for long wasn't healthy for Shads and Shadow's words took the fall. For a very long time, Shads showed his vulnerability. He was thankful that he could speak of his troubles to his double. He was glad that he could vent his frustrations. Shadow, on his side patted his back gently.
The shine of the morning light awoke the ebony hedgehog. Beside him was Shads, who was still fast asleep. He gently moved him aside, making sure he didn't wake up. He could see Shads' eyes were swollen. Shadow smirked as he stood up and stretched, he wasn't sure what time it was but judging from the brightness outside he woke up at the right time. He checked the time.
6:30 AM
"Good morning." Greeted the lavender hedgehog. She was wearing her uniform. In the eyes of Shadow, she looked beautiful as ever. But he'll never admit it. "I knocked on your door a couple of times." There was a pause, she sheepishly smiled. "I might've.. broken your door..?" Her eyes were on the floor.
Shadow rolled his eyes. "Great" he sarcastically said. He picked up his uniform, buttoning up his shirt. Amy gave him a disgusted look.
"Are you seriously going to wear that?" She said as she pointed at his uniform.
"I don't see the problem." He replied, fixing the folds in his shirt.
"Shadow, that's disgusting. You wore that uniform yesterday." She places her hand on her hip, her eyebrow raised. Shadow grunts, his hands up in the air giving up. The ebony hedgehog didn't care much about his clothes, yet he didn't want to have an argument with someone. Especially this early in the morning. He went back to his room and to his surprise, Amy did break his door. Ignoring what was left of the door, he grabbed a set of fresh clothes and switched. Satisfied with his look, he went back to the dining room with his tie on his hand. His double was still asleep on the couch, while Amy was at the dining table fixing her bag. Shadow tapped her shoulder.
"Do you mind?" He showed the tie.
"Oh not all, let me fix that for you." She kindly replied. Amy placed her bag beside her and leaned close to Shadow as she fixed his tie. Shadow could smell her shampoo. It smelled like berries. He turned his head away, realizing how creepy he was silently sniffing her hair. Shadow could hear her hum as she fixes his tie. Amy turned her head to the ebony hedgehog.
"All done!" She smiled. "Maybe I should teach you how to do it."
"I'd rather not learn such mundane things." He crossed his arm, looking high and mighty. Shadow didn't see the purpose of learning something that doesn't aid him with his battles.
"Whatever you say Mr. Gloom and Doom."
-ORIGINAL UNIVERSE-
3 days earlier before Shadow and Amy transported in the Alternate Universe
6:30 PM
"It seems that project Entropy is almost finished." Said the bearded egg-shaped human as he evilly laughed. It was the super genius and a villain to the blue hero, Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Commonly known as Dr. Eggman. He typed onto his computer, then an image of a red hedgehog was on the screen inside a tube, eyes shut closed. Over the past years, Dr. Eggman has been researching his great grandfather's files on Project Shadow. His goal was to create a biological weapon, similar to Shadow's abilities and Sonic's speed. A weapon that obeys his command. A sentinel devoid of emotions and empathy. It was something that his great grandfather failed to do. He called it, "Project Entropy". It was about time that his experiments came into fruition. He made his way to the room where Project Entropy was placed. He rubs both of his hands as he swiftly types away on his computer.
"It is time, my Entropy" said the Doctor as he stared evilly at the sleeping hedgehog.
A blaring sound echoed in the room.
"Warning, warning, releasing Project Entropy"
The liquid from the tube slowly decreases, the wires that connected the sleeping hedgehog were slowly removed. After a few minutes, the red hedgehog's eyes widened. It was a clear blue crystal like eyes, similar to Tails' eye color. He gasped for air as he coughed. He removed the oxygen mask that was attached to his face and curled down on the floor, legs were weak. His vision was blurry as he tried to focus his attention on the person in front of him.
"Welcome Entropy. I am Dr. Ivo Robotnik, commonly known as Dr. Eggman. I am your creator and your Master, you will obey every of my command." Said the doctor. The red hedgehog wobbly got up and scanned the area. He turned his head to his so-called Master.
"M-mas.. Master?" His voice was raspy and deep but filled with confusion.
"Yes, I'm your Master. Now wear these." The doctor held a pair of air shoes similar to Shadow's shoes. "These will enhance your speed a bit more, you'll reach the peak where you'll be far superior than that blue rodent."
Entropy took the shoes and wore them. Although he's been in the tube for years, the doctor made sure to give him the basic understanding of the world, embedding him in a program to learn, and think fast. To the doctor, Entropy was his ultimate weapon against the blue hedgehog, Sonic.
"Now to test you out, try to control the Chaos Energy that surrounds you" ordered the doctor.
Entropy held his hand on the side and a dark aura was wrapped around his hand. He then mouthed the words.
"Chaos sword!" A dark flash of energy was on the palm of the red hedgehog. It was a form of a sword, embedded with red aura. Eggman laughed, happy at his creation.
"Good, good, why don't we put you to a real test. I want you to locate Shadow the Hedgehog." He flashed Entropy an image of the ebony hedgehog. "Find his weakness and destroy him. He's been a menace compared to the blue rat . I'm sure you're smart enough to find a way. Don't come back till you finish your task."
"Yes Master." Entropy replied.
After two days of searching for the whereabouts of the ebony hedgehog, Entropy has caught up with the so-called Ultimate Lifeform. In the distance, about 50 meters far, he observed Shadow who was relaxing at the top of the tree, his guard down. Thanks to the Doctor, the red hedgehog's senses were far more sensitive than the Ultimate Lifeform. He could see, hear, or even sense any danger far out the area. Entropy saw this as an opportunity to strike the ebony hedgehog down. He lowered his hand and whispered out his words.
"Chaos sword" a sword like energy was on his palm. As he was positioning himself to strike, a female voice called out the ebony hedgehog, which put Entropy's movement into stop. It was a pink hedgehog on a red dress. Curious, he retracted his energy sword back and paid attention to their conversation.
"This better be important, Rose."
"Of course it's important! I need your help." Replied the pink hedgehog.
"That would depend on your request. If it's within my power"
"Oh! Then that's good! You see I wanted you to pretend to be my boyfriend so that Sonic would realize that all this time he was in love with me!" Entropy could see a vein popped out of the Ultimate Lifeform. He was confused at the emotion that the ebony hedgehog portrayed; it was something that Entropy heard but never seen, it was anger. But what confuses him more is the words that the pink hedgehog said. Love? Boyfriend? This was not in his vocabulary; it made the red hedgehog tilt his head. Shaking his thoughts he continued to observe the two, his mission comes first. They continued to argue about the issue until the Ultimate Lifeform told the rosy hedgehog to shut up. His ears perked up, as he turned his head to the direction where the red hedgehog was hiding.
Entropy positioned himself, ready to summon his swords in case the ebony hedgehog noticed his presence. Shadow frantically searched the area, turning from left and right. He then turned his head on the ground.
"Below!" Shadow screamed as he grabbed the pink hedgehog on his arms. Both of the hedgehogs suddenly vanished. Entropy immediately sprung into action, he cannot allow to lose sight of Ultimate Lifeform. He will not fail his mission. With his super speed and the air shoes which boosted his speed even more, he instantly sped through his way to their location. Within a second, he instantly dives into the dark portal before it closes. Darkness welcomed the red hedgehog, as he slowly passed out.
….
…
…
Entropy's nose starts to twitch. A smell of tobacco lingered on the red hedgehog's nose. Every part of his body felt sore and his head felt like it was about to split open. He opened his eyes and groaned. He placed his palm on his head, trying to remember what had happened. 'My mission!' He internally screamed. He jolted out of his position; now standing. Entropy scanned the area. To his right were a bunch of nude magazines which he didn't care much about and an ashtray beside it. Then he turned his head to the left. A stack of empty cup noodles and soda drinks were scattered around the area. The red hedgehog wasn't sure where he was but that didn't bother him.
"Woah, am I high right now?" A familiar voice spoke. Entropy turned his head. If he were to have emotions, he would have a surprised look. In front of him was a crimson red hedgehog with crystal blue eyes. He wore a white wife beater with a lollipop print in the middle, and a half worn dark blue jacket showing off his shoulders. His dark brown shorts were on his knee level pairing it with a white and red sneakers. The hedgehog in front of him was an exact copy of Entropy.
Entropy positioned his hand to cast out his chaos swords, wanting to destroy his look alike, but nothing came. "Chaos sword!" He screamed. Still nothing. He dashed close to his copy and picked at his shirt, bringing his face closer.
"What did you do?" Entropy calmly asked. Entropy was a bit taller than his clone and more toned than he was. The red hedgehog wanted to know why he couldn't use any of his Chaos energy.
"Fuck! So you're real? I thought it was just the weed doing." The red hedgehog struggled from his grasp.
"I'm not playing games. What. Did. You. Do?"
"I-I don't know! I was just smoking pot and you suddenly appeared right in front of me!" Entropy squinted his eyes, realizing that his double wasn't lying, he let go of his shirt. More questions flooded his thoughts. He places his hand on his chin as he thinked of possible scenarios of what had happened. There are multiple scenarios that he could think of, but a few that would make sense. To confirm his theory he tried to contact the Doctor but to no avail. In a span of seconds, he now concluded his theory.
"This must be an alternate universe then." He said as he pursed his lips. Entropy was in an unknown world and he needed information. He looked at his double. 'This is my alternate self? So pathetic and weak.' Entropy saw his alternate self as an eyesore. He would not hesitate to end his Alternate self, but the thought of killing him would not benefit him. It would seem futile to the calculated hedgehog. What use can his alternate self be? Then a light bulb sparked in his mind. His eyes darted right at the confused hedgehog. "You. Tell me about this world." Entropy said. He could see his counterpart nervously gulped.
7:15 AM
Rosenberg Academy
"Come on Shadow! We can't be late!" Amy excitedly ran ahead. A bored look was etched on the ebony hedgehog's face. Sometimes he wondered where Amy got all the energy from.
"Be careful! You'll trip!" Said the worried blue blur who was beside Shadow. It was weird for the ebony hedgehog to not feel 'that' annoyed at the blue blur. The moment that Sonic from Shadow's universe would get close to him, he can't help but feel annoyed and peeved at the blue hero. But now? Shadow could even say that Alternate Sonic seems to be more tolerable than his counterpart. A smile was on Sonic's face as he turned to Shadow.
"This is nice." said the blue blur. Shadow raised his eyebrow, unsure on what to reply.
"I just miss all of this and seeing her happy. I've never seen Amy this happy for a very long time. It brings back memories." The ebony hedgehog turned his head to Amy. She was at the distance, waving her hand.
"She isn't your Amy." Shadow coldly replied. Sonic's smile disappeared. A sweat dropped on the ebony hedgehog. He wondered if he took it too far. He felt.. bad? This has never happened before for the Ultimate Lifeform. Feeling bad for the blue hero.
"Of course she isn't." There was a pause. "But it's nice to see this side of her again." Sonic said as he tapped Shadow's shoulders. "You don't have to be harsh all the time you know? No wonder you're still a virgin." He said, leaving the ebony hedgehog alone as the blue blur catched up to Amy.
"What?!" A small frown on his face. He wasn't particularly close to Amy, but he knew when to give up. The Ultimate Lifeform? Giving up? It was unheard for. 'If you love someone and if their happiness means a lot to you then it's better to let go of them.' He thought. 'Even if it means she has to be with someone else.'
He stared at the distance as the two hedgehogs enjoyed whatever they're talking about. 'And I don't want to selfishly take that away'. He looked at the pink hedgehog one more time and sighed.
"That, I could never be part of." Shadow spoke as he caught up to the pink and blue hedgehog.
If you guys are curious what Entropy looks like, I posted a drawing of him on twitter. Still trying to draw Silver's AU design. It's actually hard to draw his quills.
keroflakes. Do check it out :)
