Chapter 2
EEEP! EEEP! EEEP! EEEP! An annoying and persistent alarm sounded at the Egg Fleet headquarters.
"What's wrong now?" Metal Sonic slammed his fist down on the control panel of the central computer in frustration.
EEEPEEEPEEEPEEEPEEEP! The control panel sparked as the alarm sounded off even faster and louder.
"Shut up! Shut up!" with lightening speed, his claw-like metal digits flew across the panel's various holographic buttons.
"Press the blue, then hold the green button!" Dr. Eggman's voice came from a holographic screen above and to the right of Metal Sonic's head, "You buckethead! Aren't you listening?!" he shook his fist at the screen, a vein beginning to protrude on his temple.
Metal Sonic found a blue button and pressed it. The emergency fire sprinklers came on in the room from where Dr. Eggman was speaking. Metal Sonic smirked as a soggy Eggman cursed and shouted at him through the screen while stumbling about the room to escape the cold water.
"Not that one, you imbecile! You… you—!"
"You would think that I'd know how to operate this machine, being one myself." sneered Metal Sonic, returning his gaze to the controls, "Now be a good doctor and hold your tongue." Metal Sonic waved his hand over the screen and it muted, cutting off whatever Eggman's comeback was. Eggman flailed around in the sprinklers in front of the camera, trying to get Metal Sonic's attention.
The alarm was still sounding, but Metal Sonic was not trying to turn it off, as irritating as it was. He wanted to know what was wrong first.
"Where is it coming from?" Metal Sonic's claws danced across the holographic key panel once more. A screen popped up to the left of the one showing a furious Eggman, who was now trying to stop the sprinklers by banging it with a pipe wrench. The new screen showed a very large, dark room, with hundreds of broken capsules and mechanical debris everywhere.
"What is this?!" Metal Sonic hissed, as he tapped the panel with one claw, impatient. He could see out of the corner of his L.E.D. lit eyes that Eggman had successfully broken the sprinkler, but had also opened up a water pipe in the process, drenching the room even more, and threatening to drown its prisoner. Metal Sonic had taken over the Egg Fleet and sealed Dr. Eggman in a storage room.
The new screen seemed to show nothing interesting. Metal Sonic tried to think of why the E-Net wanted to show him this. The system was flawless, it couldn't be an error. Metal Sonic grabbed a holographic joystick and pushed it forwards. The camera slowly zoomed in on the debris.
"No…" Metal Sonic's freakish orange eyes widened, "It can't be!"
The camera zoomed in close to a robotic arm. Mecha Sonic's arm. It was hanging by a severed wire on one of the capsules.
"It can't be!" Metal Sonic hovered up to the screen and stared hard at it, "My brother! What has he done to you!"
Metal Sonic had called upon his 'brother', the older model of himself, to disable and capture Shadow. He was trying to collect the life data of each of Earth's most powerful life forms (that would be Sonic, Shadow, Chaos, and the like), so that he could upgrade himself and finally take over the world for his own purposes, without Eggman. Mecha Sonic had failed. This was both good and bad news. Good, because now Metal Sonic had a general idea of just how powerful one of his targets was.
Metal Sonic hovered to the ground and started pressing buttons. He spoke to the computer directly, "Send four utility bots to the Hidden Egg," he punched in the co-ordinates, "…bring back all traces of this robot," he punched in the identification number, "…to this location." he punched in the co-ordinates of the Egg-Fleet HQ.
"Scanning." said the cool voice of the computer, "Location and orders confirmed. Deploying units requested."
Metal Sonic looked out a nearby window. The rest of the Egg Fleet was crowded around, ready for action. Ready for Sonic.
"You insolent fool! Release me from this room at once!" Eggman had finally stopped the flow of water, and had somehow found a way to un-mute the camera from his end, "You'll never be able to stop Sonic alone! Single-handedly, no one can! That's why I created you! I—"
"You created me to help you and your thousands of minions incapacitate Sonic once and for all." Metal Sonic's eyes snapped to the screen, and he spoke in an annoyed tone, "…but you made me too intelligent for that. I CAN defeat Sonic alone, and you know that, liar. I kept you alive… to show you... To show you what I'm made of. It is you who should take orders from me!"
Another vein in Eggman's head twitched. He was lying in desperate hopes that Metal Sonic would release him from his prison, or at least give him some control over the situation. He knew at the moment he was powerless to stop Metal Sonic should he decide to take his life. Powerless. Utterly Powerless. Weak. He had to beat Metal Sonic with his intellect before that time came. If it came.
"I can see your fear… you want to be the one to deliver the final blow to your greatest enemy before your own time is up." Metal Sonic relished the moment of having so much power over the being that created him, "Too bad. I don't need you anymore, creator."
"What you're made of… You're made of steel, titanium, and silicon, Metal Sonic. You may be strong, you may be fast, you may be super-intelligent, but you will never defeat Sonic alone. For one thing, you've become too stubborn, too arrogant to see your mistakes." Dr. Eggman stared hard at Metal Sonic through his dark glasses, "Sonic… He has something that I cannot create." Eggman raised his own hands and looked at them, "…not even you, my greatest of robots, have it." then lowered them and muttered under his breath, "Only my grandfather was capable of it."
"…and?" Metal Sonic's interest was peaked, "What is this that Sonic—?"
Static. The screen went snowy and then blanked out. It seemed that water had seeped into the camera and shorted it out.
"Huh! Never mind… I have better things to do than listen to a rambling human." Metal Sonic put extra disgust on the word 'human'. Thinking about what Eggman could be holding back, he then changed his mind, went back on his words, and scrambled to get the camera back on-line. After a few seconds, the screen flickered back on, but the picture was choppy. Dr. Eggman was now sitting on a crate, wringing out a sleeve as he waited.
"Speak." Metal Sonic said coldly.
"Sonic has the ability to make instant and spontaneous decisions. It's like an instinct… no matter how random or instant an action may seem, you robots are always calculating before every move; trying to find an exact answer. When there is no exact answer to your calculations, even robots with sophisticated artificial intelligence, such as yourslef, will simply freeze up, stop working, choke. Even if just for a moment, it is enough to get you killed. Older robots get so worked up, that they sometimes overheat and explode. We Robotniks wanted our machines to counter these illogical and unforeseen situations. To compensate without having to calculate. To make them less… linear… and predictable."
"You wanted to make us more… alive?"
"Yes… we wanted to give you true intelligence. Intuition. Minds real and quick enough to counter Sonic's every move without having to think about it." Eggman wrung out the left side of his moustache, then continued, "You may think you are fast enough to counter Sonic's every move, but think back to all of your predecessors."
There was a silence as Metal Sonic went back through the data all the previous Mecha Sonic models, which had been given to him by Eggman in hopes that he would not make the same mistakes as the others.
"They've all failed – they were slow in responding as you've always said."
"…but there must be one that stands out." Eggman suggested.
Metal Sonic thought in silence again.
"Metalla…." he said finally.
"Yes… you remember him now? Hold that thought. I have… well, my father and I, have tried to overcome this 'artificiality' in robots by entrapping life forms inside. Having the creatures lend you robots the 'natural instincts' and unlimited free thought that you do not have. …but it never worked. We found that the desirable instincts and thoughts were interconnected with the ones we did not want our robots to have, such as," Eggman glared at Metal Sonic, "…blatant disobedience… self-preservation, honor, mutiny, and love for a fellow creature." Dr. Eggman looked over his round, dark glasses, directly at Metal Sonic, "Metalla had free thought. Real intelligence. He was the first of you I made that way. Oh yes, he beat Sonic within an inch of his life… but he still failed, because I could not remove those undesirable inclinations."
"Sonic… tried to save Metalla… but Metalla destroyed himself. You showed me the video. I never did, and still don't understand either of their actions."
"Exactly. In your mind, Metalla should have grabbed Sonic's arm and thrust him into the lava below, correct? …but he didn't. …and you don't understand why, because you are incapable of feeling the way they did at that moment."
Dr. Eggman let that sink in, and then went back to talking about the purpose of animal enslavement.
"So instead we decided to erase the free willpower and thought of the creatures and go for quantity instead of quality. Having the life forms supply energy for the artificial intelligence of the machines instead of taking the risk of letting them have their 'instinct'. It saved us a heck of a lot of supplies."
"So… how does all this apply to me? How can I acquire this… intuition…"
"You cannot. You have the most sophisticated artificial intelligence available in this time, and upgrading you would destroy what you have become. You would be a completely different robot." Dr. Eggman shook his head, "However, there is a machine like Metalla, only better. One with real intelligence. …and you can use it to your advantage. With the right moves it could be under your command."
"Tell me!"
"Let me out of this room and I will tell you." Dr. Eggman was pleased; he now had leverage.
"How do I know you are not lying again? How about you tell me, and once I have gained control over this robot, I will set you free."
Dr. Eggman knew that Metal Sonic would not lie; it was literally impossible for any of his robots to lie outright. Deception, however, was part of his artificial intelligence and could be possible, but he wasn't sure. If he could only get to an open communications device of some sort, he could possibly stop Metal Sonic with an outside source, and take control of the Egg Fleet before Sonic arrived.
After a great deal of staring, silence, and thinking about what he should lie about and what he wouldn't Eggman spoke:
"Shadow."
"Shadow? The Ultimate Life form?" Metal Sonic was riveted to the screen.
"My grandfather created a normal, organic, living, breathing hedgehog in a test tube. He made certain that every gene was perfect, not a single weakness or flaw." Eggman thought darkly, 'No flaws apart from his personality…' then he continued, "When Shadow grew to be in his prime, around nineteen years old, my grandfather 'modified' him, against his will apparently…" Eggman shuddered involuntarily.
"Continue." Metal Sonic pushed his face closer to the screen, extremely curious to know more about the insulting creature he had briefly spoken to… and who had destroyed one of his last functioning 'brothers'.
"Every fiber of his being was strengthened by mechanical means… every organ and tissue was laced with tiny diamond fibers, every bone strengthened with titanium, every joint coated and valve laced with diamond. …and his blood… I was never told – no one was – what he did to his blood, but it made him ageless and incredibly strong." Dr. Eggman took a deep breath, "If I knew what he did, I could probably have made my own version of Shadow using the data my grandfather left behind. One that would listen to me." he stood up, "Shadow's true memories of the past were replaced with artificial ones… his creation, time spent on ARK, and with Maria… all lies. …he knows that he has missing memories, and so refuses to let go of the only ones he has. The only thing Shadow knows of himself, is that he is the Ultimate Life."
Metal Sonic tilted his head, and waited for Eggman to continue.
"Shadow is organic – he has a brain, a heart, intuition… but he is also a machine. He is immortal. My grandfather did the impossible; he figured out how to create a machine with free thought and emotion and yet have it refrain from undesirable behavior. Shadow knows self-control. How to keep focused on the mission, and to be brutal no matter what the cost."
"This is all incredibly valuable information, but how do you expect me to gain Shadow's alliance? This lethal creature doesn't seem too interested in speaking with me… only you."
"WHAT!?" Eggman was shaken out of his calmer, analytical mood, "When did you speak to him?!"
"An hour or so ago. He destroyed my brother…" Metal Sonic clenched a clawed fist.
"Your… brother?!"
"Mecha Sonic number twenty five. Your father's creation?"
"Oh yes… that rusty old thing…" he rolled his eyes, but fortunately Metal Sonic couldn't see, as Eggman's eyes were hidden behind his dark glasses once more.
Metal Sonic tensed at that comment, slightly insulted, as he shifted his weight, but said nothing. He wondered when the clean up bots would return with his brother's pieces. The robot, though outdated, had proven in the past to be a valuable minion. Perhaps he could be repaired again…
"This is interesting. Where did you last see him?"
"Who, Shadow? It doesn't matter; he's long gone, just tell me how to control him."
Another long pause as Eggman considered the knowledge he was about give this untrustworthy robot and what he could get away with lying about to protect it. He decided to take the chance and tell the full truth, as Metal Sonic would probably find out soon anyway, and it was the only way to keep Metal Sonic thoroughly occupied while he made his escape.
"Alright… but it's not that simple, so listen carefully…"
Metal Sonic was all ears.
"You have the ability to copy life form and robot data. You know that."
"Yes."
"Find the backup copy of Shadow."
"Back… up?"
"Rouge the bat infiltrated one of my bases and released it some time ago, thinking it was the real Shadow, and they have been trying to locate me since. The backup has most of the same qualities of the real Shadow, and thinks it is the real Shadow, but is strictly mechanical. I was lucky to find a hidden chamber in the ARK containing it before it was found and destroyed… or released. Even though slightly weaker than the original," he lied about the 'slight' weakness, "…a robotic Shadow can be just as dangerous as the real thing because of its mind; never underestimate it. It could easily destroy even you."
'I'd like to see it try.' thought Metal Sonic.
"If you can copy its data, not only will it make you powerful enough to stand a chance against the real Shadow, but we can create another backup, and another, and another, until we have an entire army of… 'Metal Shadows'."
"We, huh? I would be in control of this… army?"
Eggman resumed lying, "Yes. As long as you promise to follow my lead, I will let you command the army. In fact, I will tell you how to imprint in their minds that you are their master. …as a symbol of my trust."
"Most excellent. I like this plan." Metal Sonic smirked, "You will be released, unharmed, as a symbol of your worth, when I succeed."
"It's a deal." Dr. Eggman tried to sound confident.
Metal Sonic nodded and turned off the screen. At the other end, Dr. Eggman went to work immediately. He flipped over the crate in the room, revealing a small toolbox. Using the tools inside, he started disassembling the camera. He was pleased to have been able to manipulate Metal Sonic's greed to the point of distraction. Eggman didn't explain how to control the real Shadow, and it was not something he wanted to share anyway.
'If I can make a communications device before that damned robot realizes what I've done, I can guarantee my escape, take control of the Fleet, and have an army of Metal Shadows… even though much less powerful than the original, hundreds of them are sure to give Sonic and his foolish friends a run for their lives…' Eggman grinned at that last thought as he fiddled with the camera.
Meanwhile, the real Shadow was… stuck. The sight of his healed hand had broken his concentration during his Chaos warp, and he now found himself in a strange place. He felt sluggish and nauseous, as if someone had punched him in the gut after running a marathon, and then spun him around several times. At present he was floating weightless in a very very bright place. It seemed a familiar place, but Shadow was in too much discomfort to care. It was so bright that he could barely open his eyes, and his midnight black fur seemed to be a diluted gray.
Shadow was not amused, but kept quiet. How long had he been floating, hours? Days? Months?! It felt like he had been asleep for an eternity, but yet he was tired. He twisted and flailed in midair to try and stay upright, whatever upright was, but stopped when his head started to spin again.
"Ahh... my head…" Shadow let his head tilt back as he started to rotate in what felt like upside down. He really didn't feel like moving. It was much easier to just drift through this oblivion…
"Shaaaadow…" a female voice called. Anyone other than Shadow would have recognized it as Tikal's, "Shaaaadow…" but to Shadow, it only reminded him of Maria's gentle voice.
"Who's there…" Shadow said limply as he floated along, opening one eye just a crack. He quickly shut it again, as there was nothing to see, "What kind of mind game… is… this…" he struggled to speak now, "Who are you, and what's… happened… to me?"
Shadow felt a hand touch the top of his head and he panicked. …but that feeling was almost instantly replaced by one of relief. The feeling of nausea left him, and he felt a little more energized.
"This is Tikal, Shadow."
"Who?!"
"Open your eyes."
Shadow obeyed, but instantly regretted it. He shut them tight quickly. It was just too bright.
"Are you mad?!"
"You're still not focusing. Open your eyes."
"No. Just tell me what's going on."
The hand left his head and the nausea returned, twice as bad.
"Wait… Come… back…" it was hard to speak again.
The cool, soft hand again touched his head. It was so soothing that Shadow just wanted to fall asleep right there… but there was business to attend to. He was about to ask what the devil was going on, again, when Tikal spoke once more.
"Open your eyes, and focus."
Shadow hesitated.
"Trust me."
'Fine. …but if I go blind it's your fault.' Shadow spat negatively to himself.
Shadow took a deep breath, then another, braced himself, and opened his eyes.
Pain! White light everywhere! Shadow's nerves shouted at him to close his eyes, but using all his remaining strength, he kept them open. It was bright and painful beyond all reason, but Shadow could feel it now… he understood. He had done this before. There was a force, an energy that needed to be channeled… the energy of the white Chaos Emerald. It was right in front of his aching eyes, all around him, around this presence named Tikal. He could see this presence in the corner of his eye, it was a sherbet orange echidna, but dared not look directly lest he loose focus again. He knew what he had to do now… he focused on a thought, a place in the world, any place. Any place but here. He couldn't get a clear thought on Eggman's location, so he instead focused on where he had last seen Sonic; running around in the desert.
Shadow could feel that there was gravity again. He was standing upright, but hovering, concentrating hard on that desert. Suddenly, he felt it. It was just like using Chaos Control. Sand rushed in from every direction, filling up the void below him. Sky, a daybreak orange, oozed in from above and touched the horizon, sealing the landscape.
'Detail… more detail…' Shadow concentrated on what the desert looked like… cloudless sky, the sun, cacti, dirt, hills, the smell, the dry, the…
And he was there. Standing in the desert, fists clenched, hover-shoes blazing and keeping him suspended an inch or two off the ground. There was a few seconds of hang time, then exhausted, Shadow relaxed – his shoes did the same as they slowly powered down – and slunk slowly to the warm ground on his front, face in the dirt and sand, each exhale pushing a tuft of dust away. Yes, this was a nicer spot for a nap.
As Shadow blacked out he heard Tikal's voice once more, "Look for me again when you get stuck…"
Darkness.