Author's Note:
Please note that there is a section of dialog in this chapter that came straight from the Sonic Adventure 2: Battle game. While I did tediously go and watch the cut scenes over and over on my GC with pencil and paper to get it right, I did not actually write that dialog – You will recognize it when you see it (hopefully).
The lyrics are from the Biolizard's theme, and Final Chase in SA2: The Biolizard & The Supernatural. The other lyrics are from Ave Maria.
Chapter 6
… … … … …
To the pressure…
Everything's just like…
An illusion…
Of loosing you…
… … … … …
As Shadow slipped in and out of consciousness over the next few hours, his memorable life flashed before his eyes – or were they dreams? Shadow couldn't remember exactly at first, but didn't care; they were a welcome break from being conscious, which was exceedingly painful and depressing, even though some of the visions were extremely painful and depressing in their own right. Every time he'd wake up and try to move, one or multiple wounds would send intense shooting pain searing through his body. His brain too wracked and body too battered to cope with the pain, he would simply allow himself slip into comatose again.
… … … … …
"Shadow. Wake up Shadow…" a gentle voice whispered in his ear.
Shadow twitched his ear, winced, and turned over. He had been napping under a very big maple tree in the largest Green Room of ARK.
"C'mon silly, don't you want to play?"
Shadow suddenly realised who was speaking to him, and his heart skipped a beat, but it was a sad throb, "No…" he said lowly as he finally opened his eyes.
"What's wrong?" Maria Robotnik, a young adult, knelt beside Shadow, "I know I've been away for a long time, but it wasn't by my choice, you know that… Daddy wants me to get into a special school, and I need to spend more time at home."
Shadow curled up tighter. He knew the true reasons why she wasn't aloud to come to ARK as much anymore… Yes, her father did want her to go to a good school, but it was more complicated than that… much more…
The first reason was because they had recently been training Shadow heavily in various unarmed fighting styles – they were teaching him how to kill efficiently, quickly, and brutally. The Professor thought it would be distressing and maybe even dangerous for Maria to visit Shadow after he was all wound up, or even beat up after some of the especially graphic battles he endured in the holographic fight simulator.
The second reason was that the Professor had also noted that a slightly agitated but un-distracted Shadow made a better fighter, and so he thought that by seeing less of Maria his skills would improve at a much quicker rate. He was right, but until recently, failed to notice that this technique severely degraded Shadow's morale over time, which in turn degraded his performance greatly. Shadow didn't even bat an eyelid at blood and gore, and he had no qualms about killing, but Maria did, and so it was a starting to become a delicate balance to how much influence Gerald could allow her to have on him.
The third reason was to protect the secrets of ARK's true functions. Shadow and Maria would often play games – such as 'who can crack the password to this restricted area door first' – that would end up with them wandering into restricted areas. This annoyed Gerald to no end, and the last thing he wanted or needed was for Maria to come face to face with the secret projects he had been working on, especially the Eclipse Cannon. …and if they ever met the Biolizard, he could only hope that Shadow would be strong enough let them escape its chamber alive.
The fourth reason was the secrecy over one of Shadow's true functions; a function Shadow himself has always been unsure of. Maria had been told that he was to be a guardian for ARK and its inhabitants, and perhaps even to be the one to bring peace and happiness to the Earth by vanquishing evil. Shadow had been told – and had been warned of severe consequences (such as never having contact with Maria again) if he let it slip – that one of his major purposes was to defend and operate the top-secret weapon on board; the Eclipse Cannon, and to enact brutal vengeance upon the Earth if something should ever happen to the ARK; especially if it involved G.U.N.
So between Maria's whisperings about how much good he was to bring to the world, and Gerald's ramblings about how he could someday help him forcefully mould it into his own image of utopia, Shadow was at a loss of what his true reason for being was. Though Gerald was his creator, he had an inclination to respect and believe Maria more, simply for the fact that she seemed to understand a lot more about life than anyone else did. She seemed to understand the feelings of others, while Gerald was frequently caught up in his own world. All of this, combined with the fact that Shadow couldn't remember much before what he was told was his twentieth year of life, made Shadow's thoughts and memories a jumbled mess. Gerald understood at least this much, and so decided that a friend to talk and play with – Maria – would help keep his mind of those things. He was right again, and his granddaughter ended up playing a key role in Shadow's mental health. She just seemed to have a way to connect with him that no lab tech or Professor Gerald himself could mimic.
…now that Maria was aloud to come only a few times a month, those jumbled thoughts were starting to surface and build up again.
"Grandfather told me you've been upset, so I came right away…" cautiously, as she knew Shadow could be quite flinchy when he was in one of his moods, she reached out with one feminine hand, and touched the spot directly between his ears; the soft red streak of fur that ran down through his top quills. She stroked in the direction of the fur as she spoke, "…he says… you don't even run anymore, or… play silly games when he and the techs need you for an experiment."
Shadow was still silent. Normally a head rub would have perked him right up, and he really, truly wanted to enjoy it, but today he felt numb, devoid of any feeling. He noted her cautious movement; he was used to being treated like a ticking time bomb – not that he liked it. So instead he bristled, making Maria withdraw her hand to avoid a prick from his now upstanding quills.
(At this point in the dream, the unconscious Shadow began to feel a rapidly increasing and overwhelming sadness.)
"Cheer up Shadow. It's almost the summer at my home on Earth and I'll be able to visit you every day. We can play and read and talk and hack into the computer systems and do all the fun things we used to." she said enthusiastically, but gently as always.
Shadow sighed deeply through his nose as he mindlessly broke apart a helicopter seed on the ground. Then it was Maria's turn to sigh as she stood and walked around to his other side so she could see his eyes. As she did, Shadow did what hedgehogs do best: he curled into a ball. Head between his knees, and twisted erratic spines covering every inch of his body, there appeared to be no way for Maria to make contact.
She thought the situation over. Her better judgement told her to leave immediately, as Shadow was being especially touchy and could be quite unpredictable when in that kind of mood. This was not his usual attention-seeking behaviour, either, as he would have normally given in by now. She did not fear him when he was moody – even though there had been a few emotional outbursts where she got hurt trying to calm him (she reasoned that he didn't know his own strength, and truly he didn't) – as she knew that he had had a rough upbringing, and knew in her heart that he meant well and wished that no harm would ever come to her. On better days he could be so protective of her that people in the hallways would have to press themselves against the wall to let her pass, lest Shadow give them a petrifying glare. Maria had worked very hard to help him balance his unstable emotions and thoughts, and so the other part of her mind was urging her to stay and make contact with him – if she couldn't get through to Shadow, who would? It would just erase all the progress they had made…
Maria thought of an idea and left the dome. After a few minutes of silence, Shadow thought she had went away for good, and so uncurled from his ball and sat up straight. It was late in the cycle, and so the dome was empty apart from Shadow. He sighed through his nose again and looked around. In front of him was a long, uninterrupted field of grass. It rippled and swayed in the artificial breezes. He let himself become entranced by its movement, but was quickly interrupted by a sudden drop of water on his head. He looked up and received another in the eye. Confused and rubbing his eye, he stood up to look more carefully at the tree. Why was it doing this? Trees didn't cry…
Suddenly the leaves in the tree and the grass around him began to rustle, softly at first, and then it increased in volume and frequency. Water was now falling from the sky in thin, but drenching sheets.
It was artificial rain created by the ARK's environmental simulators. It normally rained in the domes when they were closed for maintenance – when no one was around. Shadow seen 3D animations of rain in some of Maria's holo-books, but had never experienced it for himself – even artificial rain.
Shadow sat motionless, completely mesmerised by the wonderful noise the rain made. He became so absorbed by it, that he didn't even notice how uncomfortably wet he had become, and Maria approaching with a large aqua blue umbrella opened over her head. She came over to him and knelt on one knee beside him, allowing him some cover from the rain with the umbrella. Shadow's quills were slightly drooped now, and Maria thought it looked cute.
"I knew you'd like it." she smiled, glad to see him curious instead of depressed.
"It makes elegant sound… but actually… I think it wrecks the view…" he still sported a neutral, but curious expression. He suddenly felt how wet he had become, "…and I don't especially like water."
Maria giggled softly as she changed the subject, "I was going to wait until later this month to tell you, but I guess now is as good as any time..."
Shadow looked at her directly for the first time in a long time. He met her deep, ocean-like eyes and decided that from now on, he would associate those eyes with the sound of rain. At that moment he forgot his worry and relaxed, and had his quills not been so wet, one would have seen them slowly fall from their defensive, raised positions.
Maria looked back into Shadow's eyes. Many people, especially her Grandfather, were astounded that she could do it. His eyes, though shockingly captivating, were very sharp and piercing. A mere glance from Shadow would either make the average person look away or shudder, usually both. If looks could kill, Shadow would be the last being alive on Earth. …and since he's immortal, he often wondered if that would eventually be his fate. That wasn't too bad a scenario; Shadow being quite the antisocial, especially towards humans, but without Maria…
"I begged and pleaded and bribed my parents and my grandfather, and they finally gave in. I'm taking you home with me for a while."
"To… Earth?" Shadow had always wanted to see all the sights she spoke of… to see real nature instead of the habitats simulated on the ARK.
Without warning, Shadow reached out and hugged Maria tight. Maria hugged him back with one arm (she was holding an umbrella with the other), being extra careful not to touch his spines.
… … … … …
Shadow woke up for a moment. He opened his good eye a crack, but everything was dark, blurry, and had a crimson tint. His hearing was way off, the sound of the electronic equipment echoing and resounding painfully around in his ears. His head felt like a bomb had gone off inside of it. He could feel his open wounds searing with pain and cold against the air. He could just barely hear… voices… in the same room with him.
"… … can't … give … pain killer …?" a female voice that must have been either Kommissar's or Julie-Su's.
"No … … … to be immune to them." Dr. Eggman's voice came closer, "… also immune to most medications, tranquillisers, and poisons."
Shadow felt a surge of mind numbing pain stab its way through his eye, and just as his face twisted in pain, he fell unconscious again.
… … … … …
A few months later, when summer at Maria's home had finally arrived, Shadow waited anxiously for her to arrive at ARK so that they could travel down to the Earth together. …but there was a problem.
"Shadow, get down here this instant, or you won't be going anywhere!" demanded Professor Gerald as he raised an angry fist into the air.
Shadow was sitting, indignantly, high up in the branches of the tall maple tree. Below were several lab assistants and techs holding what looked like a sparkling blue, pure energy rope. It had the shine and looked like it had the consistency of toothpaste, but was actually very strong.
Shadow snubbed them.
"You ungrateful little—oh hello Maria!" Gerald suddenly realised that his granddaughter was standing beside him, and changed his tone immediately.
"What are you doing, grandfather?" she asked, eyes fixated on Shadow, who was looking down at her as if to say: 'Make them go away… now.'
"Err… well there's been a slight change of plan." he pushed his glasses up on his nose. Gerald was allowing Shadow to experience Earth, simply for the convenience that he too would be traveling down there. His reason for going was not a vacation, however; it was for a press conference about his work on Project Shadow. He thought this would be a perfect opportunity to further persuade G.U.N. that he was not up to no good, and to win the general public over to his side. However, they had all just been told last minute of a change in plan, "…you see, they want Shadow to attend now, too, and whether we all…" he made a hand gesture that included Shadow and himself, "…like it or not, and they want Shadow to be… restrained. …for safety reasons."
"What?!" Maria was shocked and appalled, "Shadow was created to protect people! He isn't dangerous!"
The techs fidgeted uncomfortably at the very last comment, as if to say, 'Yeah… right.'
Shadow shifted his position at this too, crossing his arms and legs, and then leaning back against the trunk of the tree. He stared down at the techs below, scowling.
Gerald put a hand on Maria's shoulder and turned her slightly away from the situation, "Maria, Shadow may be your friend, but he's also a very unpredictable experiment. He tends to get… violent…" he said violent very carefully, "…at the most unpredictable times. You know that. I don't like it anymore than you do, but it's out of my hands. If he injures someone even by accident, again, he will… we all will, be in grave danger. Just be thankful that they don't want him in a cage.
"No, it's not right. I can't let you do that... He doesn't like it! He'll be miserable—"
"Be reasonable Maria…" he faltered, upset that Maria was so opposed and distraught, "Look, I'll let you be the one to handle him, but it's simply out of the question to have him walking around free. Remember that he's the ARK's defences, a weapon—"
"I know! I know…" Maria interrupted, wiping a single frustrated tear from her eye. She hated the fact that Shadow was trained to be violent, though as explained, the training was much more extensive and lethal than she was ever told about, "Alright, I'll do it, but he stays with me the whole time. Okay?"
"I promise. Just please understand that this is not just a vacation for you two. The whole world will be watching him." he sighed, adding, "…and you. We want them, especially G.U.N, to put aside their fears about Shadow. This is very important."
Maria nodded. Gerald motioned to the tech to give him the energy rope. He then gave it to Maria who took the glittering, gel-like rope in her hands carefully.
"I'm… sorry." he said sincerely.
"You'll all have to move away, or else he won't come down." she said simply, a little unnerved, but quickly composing herself.
Gerald nodded to the techs and they all left her and Shadow alone. Maria thought they had all left the room, but they were actually watching from behind some tall shrubs in the distance, eager to see for themselves how she was going to convince the Ultimate Life Form to accept something he loathed so much. Maria walked over to the tree and looked up. Shadow was looking down at her with his usual neutral expression.
"I despise that inane, undignified device." He said strongly, as if he had been waiting to say that for a long time. There was a pause, he blinked, and said more simply, "I don't like it."
"I don't either, but it's the only way… at least, until they trust you down there."
Sneering, Shadow eyed the rope very suspiciously, and then leaned back against the tree and sighed through gritted teeth. He valued his free run of the ARK, and abhorred any kind of restraint – one of the things that made him so hard to work with, as he was built to be resistant to drugs plus some other things, and did not usually want to cooperate with the Professor.
"Please Shadow… I really would like you to come. It will only be for a little while, and I'll let you do whatever you like after the press conference. It only needs to look like this leash restrains you, and I'll be holding it the whole time; no one else will touch it. You won't even feel it on you, I promise."
Shadow tilted his head slightly away and raised an eyebrow, but kept eye contact with her.
"Please? Do it for me? Shadow?"
There was a long pause as they stared at each other. Both knew he couldn't resist that phrase. The spying techs and Gerald held their breath. Then Shadow abruptly jumped off his branch, flipped in the air, and landed on two legs and an arm on the ground in front of Maria. Standing up straight, he slowly approached her, and then bent his head slightly as he smoothed his irregular quills back with his hands.
"See?! See?! How does she do it?!" Gerald said in a harsh but hushed tone as he bent a soft twig in his hands, "He listens to her but not me; his creator! That insolent—" he went on as the techs around him struggled to stifle grins and laughter.
Hesitating for a moment, Maria slipped the collar end of the rope over his head; it quickly conformed to the shape of his neck. She spoke the truth when she said he wouldn't feel it – it was weightless and very smooth, being made of pure energy, but he could also feel that it was very strong. Oddly, it had a cool, almost minty aura.
After a quick assessment, Shadow decided he could easily escape this contraption if he wanted to, either by removing it from his head himself (opposable digits were useful for this kind of thing), or taking the leash end from Maria's hands. It was silly, really, as Maria was quite weak due to her illness and wouldn't be able to hold back Shadow with her strength even if she wanted to. …but he couldn't think of a reason why he'd want to escape with Maria so close by, and neither could she.
Shadow looked down at the thin grass beneath his feet. Very soon he would be seeing what grass on Earth looked like, what a sky looked like, and what human cities looked like.
"Let's go then…" he smirked and started to lead the way out of the dome.
… … … … …
Shadow came around again. This time there seemed to be no presence in the room, but he couldn't be sure. All he could smell was the disgusting odour of chemicals and blood. His hearing was a little better, but his sight was still dark and blurry with a reddish tint. He felt exhausted and his pounding headache persisted. His arms and legs felt like dead weight, which frightened him with the thought that they may actually be dead. A ripple of pain arched up from his side and he decided it would be a good idea to black out again before it reached his eye.
… … … … …
Shadow fidgeted with his collar as he stood slightly behind Maria. Camera shutters snapped rapidly, and flashes illuminated the room. It was a press conference. Shadow had only once seen a real camera once before this, and thought they were fascinating (as they can permanently capture a moment in time forever), but couldn't understand why they were aloud to mess around with them while he had to stand solemnly up on the podium with Maria, the Professor, the President, and some security guards. Most of the photos taken were of Shadow and Maria standing together – and they were all turning out terrible because of Shadow's disgruntled face as he fidgeted and surveyed the room.
The President and the Professor both took turns answering questions, and Maria simply stood smiling sweetly, clutching the leash with both hands, and trying to show that Shadow was not something to be feared by stroking his head every once an a while (though she also did this to keep him from getting too wound up).
"Maria, can we get out of here now?" Shadow asked quietly in impatience, as he turned his attention from the leash, "This is really trying me…"
The President noticed that the media's attention had shifted to the speaking Shadow, and so wisely changed the subject.
"…we're running out of time, so why don't we take a closer look at the U.L.F."
Maria bent slightly to whisper to Shadow, "Don't worry, we're almost done."
Shadow stepped further behind Maria and turned his head away from the flashing cameras, looking down at the floor with a scowl. This trip had been nothing like he imagined, though Maria kept telling him that they would have some free time later.
'It's an oxymoron,' he sulked, 'Free time that I have to spend in bondage…'
The President interrupted his bitter thoughts, "Professor? Would you care to give us a demonstration of your creation's abilities?"
"Er… well…" Gerald leaned over and said quietly with grated teeth, so that only the President could make out what he was about to reason, "What do you want him to do?! Jump through a hoop?! There's nothing that can be done here that would be safe." he sincerely hoped the President wouldn't take him up on the sarcastic suggestion, mostly to spare Shadow some dignity.
The President whispered back, "Well, I thought you'd say that, so I had G.U.N. bring one of the Chaos Emeralds. You've been saying how this creature would be able to do amazing things with them; create miracles."
"What?! Are you mad?!" Gerald began to sweat, "He's not ready for that yet; we haven't done the proper research! We don't know how he'll interact with it or exactly what he'll do."
"Well, any miracle is better than no miracle. I promised these people a show and I'm going to deliver." the President smiled a forced smile, ignoring Gerald's pleas. Not wanting to make a scene arguing, he broke off and spoke into the microphone once more, "Folks, in just a moment you'll be seeing scientific progress in the making. –" he continued…
Gerald took Maria aside and told her what they were going to do, "—please give me the leash. I don't know how he will react, and you won't be able to control him if he goes wild."
"I promised Shadow I wouldn't do that." she said calmly, and looked to Shadow, who turned to the professor and nodded resolutely.
Gerald was at a loss, so he tried a different approach, "Shadow, when they bring that Chaos Emerald through those doors you could go out of your mind. You might not even realise that you're hurting someone to get at it. Please let me take control for a moment—"
"Control, control, control…" Shadow muttered, "What's so great about this 'Chaos Emerald'?" he waved it off, smirking.
(The president said something that made the crowd laugh.) Shadow looked suspiciously at the crowd, though couldn't see anything because of all the flashing and stage lights. He blinked rapidly a few times and looked back at the professor when he spoke.
"Shadow, it's a long story, just please listen to me for once—"
"I'm the Ultimate Life Form." Shadow cut in, "I can handle—"
Maria now cut in, "Shadow, I know this is really, really hard for you… but please…" she hesitated as she resented what she was about to say.
Shadow looked at her, and for a moment his hard expression wavered, revealing… what almost looked like worry.
Before the words were out of her mouth, the doors at the end of the room burst open. Everyone turned to look. Shadow took a defensive stance, and Maria gripped the rope tighter.
"…ah here they are…" the President raised a hand in greeting.
'Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! I should have never agreed to bring him here!' Gerald tugged on his moustache in self-punishment.
Heavily armed GUN soldiers poured into the back of the room and lined up against the back wall, laser rifles out but held passively. Professor Gerald stiffened nervously – he despised GUN, for they alone had figured him out for what he really was, though never seemed to have enough evidence to prove it. They had always tried to shut down or destroy his experiments – especially Project Shadow – and deemed them unethical and dangerous. He had a feeling they were planning to try him again, tonight, in front of millions of people watching the live news broadcast of this event. One slip up from Shadow could cost him his life, and Gerald did not want Maria to have to see Shadow gunned down because he hurt someone, again. They would try to destroy the image that Gerald was trying to place on Shadow – the heroic guardian of ARK, to be feared only by evildoers. GUN thought Shadow was to be used as a weapon of mass destruction, and sought to reveal Project Shadow as an attempt at the domination of Earth. ARK was built with incredible firepower in its own right, and from the bits and pieces of info on the Eclipse Cannon that had leaked to GUN, they had every reason to be suspicious.
Three GUN officers, the one in front carrying a small metal box, entered the room. Shadow's eyes shot to the box immediately, and Maria and the Professor watched him intently. Shadow, shaking slightly, started to experience something not unlike tunnel vision – his peripheral vision narrowed to the point where all he could see was the guard holding the box. Shadow had no idea why he was so focused on the box, because the box didn't matter. He somehow knew he wanted what was in the box… there was something in the box that his body screamed for him to touch…
"…the instinct…" Gerald whispered in awe, "It worked, but we don't need this now!"
Maria said carefully, "Shadow?"
Shadow didn't reply. He didn't hear anything around him, and didn't see anything but his goal – he wanted; no… needed what was in that box.
"What you're about to see folks, is a demonstration of the U.L.F.'s natural magnetism towards Chaos energy. Please note that this is the first time it has ever actually seen a Chaos Emerald. This is history in the maki—"
Gerald, sensing his life's work could be ruined, broke in by forcefully leaning over the podium and speaking into the microphone, "Actually," he forced a feeble smile as the microphone screeched slightly for a moment, "We've decided that Shadow is not ready for this kind of exposure, and we should do a little more research before this kind of event takes place. Thank you all very much."
Gerald started to usher Maria and Shadow away from the podium, but Shadow wouldn't budge, even after a few urgent tugs from Maria. The President regained his spot at the podium, "Uh… well sorry about that, folks, I guess we won't be seeing anything today…" he tried to put on a pleasant air, as he said through grated teeth to the Professor, "This is not what we agreed to!"
"The same to you." muttered Gerald as he took the leash with Maria and both tried to drag Shadow out of the room; but Shadow held fast.
The GUN soldiers came about halfway up the walkway to the podium and stopped. The one in front, holding the box, removed his helmet with one hand and let it drop to the floor. Cameras clicked and flashed; no one was about to leave.
"Shadow please… come on!" both Maria and Gerald were trying to coax Shadow off the stage, but he was now bracing against the rope, yearning to see what was in the box that he wanted so badly. Fortunately for them, everyone else's attention and the cameras had now been diverted to the box as this quiet spectacle took place.
"Come now Gerald. We didn't come all the way here for nothing, did we? Or are you just getting fainthearted in your old age?" he said smoothly (he obviously knew Gerald very well), "After all…your little pet isn't dangerous, now is it? …and look… it's happy to see us as well!" a few people laughed as they noticed Shadow straining on the rope with a manic grin on his face.
Gerald seethed.
Fortunately for all, Shadow was too preoccupied to hear that comment. He would have also seethed and retorted very strongly at being called a mere 'pet'.
Gerald scowled furiously at the soldier, but before he could say anything, the soldier opened the box. Shadow's pupils went from pinpricks to saucers. Camera shutters clicked rapidly at the glowing gem inside the box, and then all suddenly stopped at once.
"Nooo!" Gerald yelled with arms outstretched after the black blur.
"Shadow!" Maria called out after him.
Shadow had slipped free of his restraints, and with velocity too quick for people to see, he was suddenly on the other side of the double doors, clutching the red Chaos Emerald, staring at its glimmering surface intently.
Maria dropped the energy rope, useless now, as she stared in awe – in fact, everyone was staring in awe as he slowly raised the emerald to the air. A camera clicked, and then all the cameras came to life in a fury of clicking and flashing.
"No… no… no… please don't…" Gerald clasped his hands together in worried prayer.
"What is he doing?" Maria asked quietly, concerned.
"One of two things, and I hope it's the latter…" Gerald looked very nervous.
Maria looked at him questioningly.
"He's either going to use it, or just look at it…"
Maria thought he would have a better answer than that, and suddenly realised what a predicament they were in. Then the hall fell silent and still as Shadow spoke… voice darker than ever…
"You thought I wouldn't be able to handle the power of this gem… that I wouldn't be able to… control it… well… I'll show you…" he brought the emerald down to eye level and held it out in front of him, his cold, hard stare fixed firmly on the glowing red jewel. Clicking weapons took over the sound of clicking cameras as people gasped and chattered nervously, none daring to move. The GUN soldiers along the walls positioned themselves in front of the audience, weapons aimed and ready. Security guards had escorted the President away from the scene long ago.
"DON'T SHOOT HIM!" screamed Maria, starting to run toward them, "LEAVE HIM ALONE!"
"Maria don't!" the Professor grabbed her by the shoulders and made her stay put, "He could hurt you." he said in a hushed tone.
"I don't care!" Maria struggled but to no avail, "PLEASE DON'T SHOOT HIM!"
Words formed in Shadow's mind, ones he had never heard before, but somehow knew… "Chaos Control!"
FOOOOM! Suddenly Shadow was gone, with the red emerald.
"SHADOW!" Maria screamed.
… … … … …
Shadow awoke with a start at her screaming voice. No, it wasn't real… he was still in the room, looking up at a dark ceiling. The sudden change was jarring… whatever he had just witnessed seemed so real. He had never before been able to relive that memory so clearly, being pretty much hypnotized by the red Chaos Emerald during that time. Shadow ached all over… he felt himself slipping away again…
… … … … …
Many hours later, Shadow and Maria were back on the ARK, and Professor Gerald was being retained for questioning at a military prison. All hell had broken loose at the conference and GUN had taken that opportunity to arrest Gerald on many accounts; one that was the theft of the emerald, another was plotting treason. It was explained that as Shadow was his creation and, assumed, under his control, he would be charged for his 'crimes'. Maria had been able to escape by the skin of her teeth and transport herself back to the ARK, where she hoped Shadow would be. She may have been prone to dizzy and weak spells, but in spite of her illness she was a determined and formidably capable young woman – something Shadow found very admirable in her.
Maria was right. Shadow had teleported back to the ARK, but he had barely made it. The emerald had teleported, its energy all used up, but it seemed to have drained Shadow of much of his own energy as well. Not only that, but it was his first warp, and it had been over an incredible distance from the Earth's surface, to up into orbit (even the Shadow today would likely feel drained tired after that). By the time Maria arrived, the ARK's inhabitants had heard the news, and Shadow was again on his feet, but confused and bewildered. The lab techs usually responsible for observing Shadow were amazed at his accomplishment, but were busy thinking about how to free the Professor, and didn't really want to approach the irritable Shadow for questioning anyway.
When the shuttle's hatch opened in one of the many docking bays of ARK, Shadow was already standing there, waiting. If it had been a normal day, this would have been a happy familiar scene.
"Is the Professor with you?" Shadow asked neutrally after receiving several relieved hugs from Maria.
"No… he was captured by GUN." she looked away and nervously fidgeted with her hands, for a moment, then said, "I'm so glad to see you're alright."
Shadow nodded at the last comment, but was concerned about the first, "Then we have to go back and get him. Seeing I caused all this…"
"Shadow! No don't think—" Maria started, astonished.
"It's too late." a lab technician, known as Dr. Watterson, interrupted as he entered the docking bay with another, female, tech "GUN is sending armed soldiers up to the ARK to demand its surrender, and complete and utter submission to the government. The Professor can certainly take care of himself, I'm sure he'll be all right." though in reality he wasn't sure, "We should worry about how to keep this place from being shut down. He wouldn't want to see that happen… none of us would."
Maria nodded sadly as Shadow looked back and forth between the three.
"Shadow." the female tech, also Dr. Watterson's wife, said cautiously while smiling, "It looks like your purpose will finally be put to the test."
Maria heard the words, but they didn't register; she was thinking of her grandfather. Shadow stared at the tech, knowing this was true, but said nothing as she averted her gaze. It was hard to talk to someone who had put several needles in his backside (a truly frightening task), yet could not look him in the eye.
Dr. Watterson spoke again, "On the news, GUN's exact words were: 'Resistance to surrender will result in death for those dangerous traitors, and the Ultimate Life Form will be subdued immediately.'"
"In other words, they're going to try and find any excuse to kill us all and especially you, Shadow." the female tech said quietly, "They've been after us for years… and now they think they've won."
"Well they have another thing coming…" Shadow smirked for a moment as he though of what he might do to GUN, "Maria…" he softened his gaze and turned to her, unsure of how to word his next phrase, "…do I have your permission?"
Maria tilted her head, a little taken aback and confused by the request.
"To do… one of the things I was created for… to kill all those who threaten the safety of this colony?"
Maria was a little flattered that such a powerful being needed her word to carry out his duty, but she was pained that it would mean people would die, "Shadow… To protect the innocent on board the ARK, I give you full permission to… k-kill any GUN soldiers who try and harm us."
… … … … …
Shadow woke up again. It was happening more frequently now, and he could only guess it was because his body was repairing itself. He had lost a lot of blood, a lot more than he thought. Dr. Eggman had been quite shaken, as no transfusion was possible if it came to that; Shadow had a blood type all to his own. Shadow did not yet know it, but Eggman himself had taken the care to bandage all of his wounds tightly, fearing that the Medi-Bots would do an inferior job, and not wanting anymore of the precious blood to leak out. Fortunately Shadow's heart kept on beating, and he kept breathing, and so lived to fight another day.
"ARRRGH!" for the first time, Shadow had enough energy to move his arms – and to yelp aloud. In intense pain, he wreathed up and clutched the area where his eye was bandaged – it felt like someone was ripping at the tissues in the back of his eye with a fork. His good eye tearing, he fell back on the cold hard table and into another what he guessed would be another uncertain memory… except… this one was actually the clearest of all, one he thought about and replayed all the time… one he could never forget…
… … … … …
To the pressure…
Everything's just like…
An illusion…
I'll be loosing you…
Before long…
… … … … …
Shadow and Maria lay side by side on their backs in the wildflower field of Maria's private Green Room. They knew GUN was coming, but the ARK would not be able to detect them until they were a few minutes away. Maria wanted Shadow to rest anyway, seeing that he would probably be fighting for all their lives within the next half hour. Shadow was excited, but also disturbed at the same time, and so kept a neutral expression glued to his face, not knowing which feeling would be appropriate to express over the other.
Why did GUN want to take down Gerald and the ARK so badly? Shadow had never thought the Professor inherently evil, other than when he ordered technicians to stick him with needles or restrain him for tests. The Professor had worked all his life to create his own utopia in space, and wanted to bring the scientific and mechanical gifts to Earth. Was it so bad? Shadow enjoyed the sanctuary of the domes and the calm, dark, sterile hallways lined with beautiful starry windows. Besides, Maria trusted him, and so did the thousands of people on board, so he couldn't be that evil… could he? So many people poured their lives into the ARK, working passionately and tirelessly – it could only mean it was for something they loved. Shadow considered this in regards to himself.
Maria turned on her side, reached over, and rubbed his soft ear, "…" she almost said something, but stopped herself. He had probably already thought of it, and so didn't want to bother him with pointless conversation. She pulled her hand away from his head. Then a small gasp escaped her lips as she suddenly found Shadow holding her hand – in one swift movement he had turned on his side and grasped her hand, gold band shining in the artificial sunlight. He stared deep into her eyes, deep into her soul.
"I will not allow them to take the ARK." he said strongly, voice very serious and deadly cold. His eyes and quills quivered slightly as he held his position, then he sat up and took her small hand in both of his. She was surprised, Shadow rarely reached out like this. Maria sat up and clasped her other hand on one of his smooth, white gloved ones. She could feel his strength in this simple gesture, and at once felt safe.
"…the ARK is my family, the only one I have. …and I will not allow them to take that away from you or me or anyone else. Ever."
"Oh Shadow…" Maria nodded slightly.
"…when they come… I want you and the rest of the ship to lock yourselves in whatever room you happen to be in. If I… if I…" he looked down, almost ashamed, "…loose it again… I want GUN to meet my dark side, not you. Any of you." he looked back up to meet her gaze so rapidly that his quills bounced slightly. His voice quivered now, and his grip tightened around her hand, "I-I-I… I… I love you Maria… you're like the mother or sister I never had…"
Without a word, Maria reached foreword and gave him a hug. Pressing her head against his white crest, she said softly, "I love you too Shadow…" a single tear rolled down her cheek.
(The unconscious Shadow at this point felt a searing pain in his chest, and it wasn't from his battle injuries.)
Shadow hugged her back, looking down at her long golden hair, "…if something happened to you, I don't know what I'd do… I don't know if I could go on…"
Maria tilted her head up to look him in the eye, "Shadow, whatever happens to me, I want you to promise me this…"
"Whatever you wish…"
"Never under any circumstances take your own life. Even if I die before you… don't do it. I can wait for you… in the afterlife…"
"I promise…" and he held her tighter. It was a hard promise, as he knew he was immortal in the sense that he would not die of natural causes such as old age or disease. The mere thought of being separated from her was stressful enough, and he knew it would happen one day, but the fact that it could very well happen today made him anxious to no end. He was not ready for this… she was still so young…
A harsh, ear-splitting alarm sounded throughout ARK… BRRREEEP! BRRREEEP! BRRREEEP!
Both Shadow and Maria leapt to their feet. Maria wiped her eye dry, then ran over to a computer in the wall and started typing.
"Intruder alert! Unidentified shuttle docking in bay L-26y." the ARK's male voiced computer said, "Shuttle docking bay has been breached! Emergency expulsion in five… four… three… two… one…" the alarm stopped as the ground trembled and a gut twisting noise of screeching metal reverberated through the ARK. As the noise passed through the hallway of Maria's dome, its pitched lowered, almost like a whale calling out through the ocean. Shadow and Maria both held their ears until it ceased.
"How did they get in?!" cried Maria urgently, "We should have seen them ahead of time!"
Shadow wondered the same, but was silent. The ARK had an emergency expulsion system scattered randomly amongst their docking bays that would detach and pop out a section of the ship in sacrifice – that way intruders, even if they have boarded the ship, could still be repelled. You loose a section of your craft, but it's ultimately worth it when you're a generally peaceful ship without many practical weapons; little to none in ARK's case, as they were more of a research craft than anything. From that noise, Shadow guessed he had a few more minutes before GUN tried to board again – learning not to dock in the Y series this time. Maria then spoke into the computer, but from the echo, Shadow could hear that she was actually addressing the entire colony.
"Everyone! This is Maria Robotnik. Please remain calm and listen to me for one moment!" she paused, not knowing if anyone had heard or was even listening to her. With the amount people on board the place could be in chaos by now, "Please group together and barricade yourselves in a room somewhere. Then lie low and stay quiet. This is very important if you want to stay safe. Shadow and very shortly GUN soldiers will be roaming the hallways, and you will not want to meet either." she paused again and looked over at Shadow. He was skating laps around the flower field, "I repeat…" she repeated the message, sincerely hoping that everyone had heard as she caught a glimpse of Shadow's livid face.
The alarm sounded off again, BRRREEEP! BRRREEEP! BRRREEEP!
Shadow ran in his circle faster, Air Shoes blasting and singeing the pedals off the flowers in his wake.
"Intruder alert! Unidentified shuttle docking in bay S-32x." the computer said, "Shuttle docking bay has been breached! Expulsion not possible for docking series X."
Shadow, getting really edgy now, ran his loop faster and faster, creating a strong wind that made the grass and flowers sway rhythmically. All he could hear in his mind was a jumble of heated thoughts… thoughts of fear, anger and hatred… thoughts of killing… and what he was…
I am the ultimate life,
a flawless existence…
Nothing is unpredictable to me
nothing can surprise me…
I am the mystery of the world
I can tell it by the cold eyes…
I am the warrior
it's my way to go…
This was not unlike how he acted after a training simulation…
"Shadow stop!" Maria turned from her computer and stood up straight.
Shadow stopped running immediately and faced her from across the field, hover shoes blazing and keeping him suspended in mid-air. They made eye contact for a moment, almost feeling each other's thoughts.
Without breaking eye contact, Maria slapped a large green button on the wall behind her, making the door to the room slide open.
"Go." she said simply.
Shadow went all right. She blinked and he was gone, tearing down the hallways towards docking bay S-32x.
'Good luck, Shadow…' she thought as she closed and locked the door.
Shadow ran full out, not even slowing for the sharpest of corners and instead running straight up the wall, sometimes across the ceiling and pushing off the adjacent wall to make the turn. The ARK's lights had been powered down to Shadow's advantage – it would be harder for enemies to see him and his jet-black fur, and by the time they could see his red highlights, it would be too late. Closer and closer he came to the docking bay… he passed S-01x…S-02x… S-03x… there were a lot of docking bays for the simple reason that ARK was an extremely populated and busy colony that thousands of people lived on. -12x… S-13x… and suddenly stopped at unlucky thirteen. The alarm was still sounding persistently.
"Intruder alert! Unidentified shuttle docking in bay B-01x." there was a short pause, "Shuttle docking bay has been breached! Expulsion not possible for docking series X."
Shadow swore loudly and clenched his fists as he simmered. That was on the other side of the ship; he'd never make it before they had the chance to do some kind of damage.
Suddenly, multiple red dots raced towards him on the floor and walls – laser beams threatening to slice him.
"It's the Ultimate Life! Get it!" shouted a peculiarly tough, female voice.
All hell broke loose at that moment. Shadow spun dashed directly towards the group of soldiers, plowing through them like bowling pins as they tried to get a clean mark on him without hitting each other. He was simply too fast, but he would still have to take them out one by one if he wanted to avoid getting burned himself.
He turned and spun dashed through them again. He hit one in the helmet, but the force was so great, that it broke the soldier's neck; killing him or her instantly (you could only tell if they decided to speak). As Shadow moved away from them, a laser raked across the left side of Shadow's face, burning a thin red streak up to the edge of his eye. Any attack plans quickly forgotten, he turned and in a flash was on the one who had fired. A sharp open-palmed uppercut to the chin a millisecond later made a satisfying CRACK! and the second death was counted before anyone could react. He was moving with so much velocity and precision in the dark, that none of the remaining three guards knew exactly or had time to find out exactly how their teammates had been killed.
As Shadow turned some distance down the hallway and prepared to make a dash at them again, the remaining three opened fire. A laser singed his leg but nothing more as he leapt from wall to wall, evading their dancing red lasers. When he was in range, he did yet another spin dash, this time pulling out just as he passed them, and in the milliseconds he hung in the air with his back to them, thrust his elbow as hard as he could into the backbone of the rear-most soldier. The soldier's legs collapsed under him as he yelped in pain. As he fell, his laser rifle managed to slice a small portion of Shadow's uppermost spine straight off as he spun away, but he only felt the radiant heat, as there were fortunately no nerve endings in his quills. Two left. Shadow rounded on them again. The GUN soldiers flung their lasers around again as he approached, bouncing in a spin off the ceiling, floor, and walls. All in the fraction of an instant Shadow spun to the floor, landed on his feet, and then pushed off to tackle the soldier to the right. He took hold of their rifle and shoved the end against their stomach, making them flinch with the sudden impact. Then he took the rifle, raised it to the other soldier's head and searched frantically for the trigger. The other soldier impulsively took advantage of the few milliseconds of hang time, pushed the rifle away and floored Shadow with a well placed punch. Shadow hit the floor on his side, but quickly flipped to his feet, just as one of the soldiers burned a hole in the floor with a laser, inches from where his head had been.
"Intruder alert! Unidentified shuttle docking in bay K-12x." the computer started up again, "Shuttle docking bay has been breached! Expulsion not possible for docking series X."
Shadow took his frustration out on the last two guards by going into a spin dash and mercilessly beheading one by the sheer force of the hit. The other flailed around for the trigger to their weapon, but Shadow was suddenly on him, choking him to death.
"Stupid, greedy, worthless creatures, you humans…" he said, almost with an insane air as he choked the life from the soldier, who had fallen against the wall and was sinking fast, "Try to take our home from us… try to take our lives from us…" the soldier went limp, but Shadow kept on him, "Now you will see the true power of the Ultimate Life!"
He had taken one group of five out, but there were two more already inside. Not stopping to eye his work, he moved on towards docking bay K-12x, the next closest one, and…
"Maria!" he cried suddenly and doubled his pace, lowering his body to get maximum velocity, a look of determination hardened on his face. Docking bay K-12x was very close to Maria's private Green Room – he knew this colony better than he knew himself. Looking at him head on, one would see a very scary looking hedgehog with twisted spines, surrounded and followed by a fiery reddish-white blaze. His Air Shoes had picked up the panic vibe and used their emergency afterburners. He looked like a miniature jet, blasting down hallway after hallway at incredible speed.
…and there they were. Shadow could hear them shouting. He stopped at a corner right before the hallway where Maria's private dome was. Shadow, back against the wall, peered around the corner with his peripheral vision. He could see and hear them clearly, but they did not notice him lurking in the shadows a little to their right. They were currently trying to cut open Maria's door with a flaming welding tool.
"I'm getting positive traces of life inside this room, sir." a male voice reported, "It could be the Ultimate Life, seeing that it's alone."
"Good job team." coached the apparent leader, giving a thumbs-up, "Now get ready." they all readied their weapons and pointed them at the door.
Shadow got ready. He looked high above at the ceiling… there were three metal pipes running across it. One large one labeled O2 (oxygen), one very large one labeled H (hydrogen), and one labeled, H2O.
"Sir! I'm picking up another life sign! Over to our—"
Not sparing a second, Shadow did a spin dash and ripped right through the 'H' pipe.
"What the fff—" KA-BOOOOM!
The leader had looked up at the sound of the pipe breaking, but he was too late. The highly flammable gas leaked out and was ignited by the welding torch, creating a massive explosion that blew the walls around them apart. Shadow was fortunately far down the hallway by that point and was spared.
"Explosion detected in sector K. Shutting down: Fuel. Oxygen. Water. Pipes for sector K." listed the computer. The ARK, automatically sensing a problem, had shut off the pipelines in that area.
As the smoke cleared, Shadow ran back down through the hallway, over the charred bodies, and through the now blasted open door. Maria was in the far corner behind a large granite rock.
"Shadow!" she called over, smiling, and stood up from her only available hiding spot, "Thank you…"
Shadow looked at her and smirked, relieved that she was okay. He crossed his arms, not hearing a body stir in the hallway.
"Look out!" Maria cried and ducked back behind her rock.
B-R-R-RAM! A dying survivor of the blast had taken his semi-automatic bullet-style pistol and used his last ounce of strength to shoot at Shadow. Shadow was about to dash out of the way, but hesitating upon uncertainty of whether Maria was the one being shot at, he was too slow. Three bullets fanned out towards Shadow. The first missed, the second grazed the fur on his shoulder… and there was a sickening noise as the third bullet shot a hole clear though Shadow's back… straight through the right lung. As the bullet exited Shadow's front, the shooter died a very satisfied man. He had killed the Ultimate Life Form – or so he thought.
"SHADOW!" Maria screamed as Shadow hung in the air for a moment, then fell forwards onto his front amongst the pink and yellow flowers. Maria ran to his side, not caring if there was more danger. The annoying alarm was still sounding as she carefully flipped him over on his back. He was breathing very hard, not being able to use one of his lungs anymore.
"I'll be… alright…" he panted, "It mi…missed… my… heart…"
"Intruder alert! Unidentified shuttle docking in bay J-10x." the computer started up again, "Shuttle docking bay has been breached! Expulsion not possible for docking series X."
"Let's… g…go…" Shadow said urgently as he shakily got to his feet (with a little help from Maria) his hand firm against his bleeding wound, "Tha…t's… near… nearby… we must… go…"
He started to jog, just slowly enough for Maria to keep up and run after him in her dress, and as fast as he could go with the wound. Maria closed her eyes when she passed the charred corpses; the very idea that Shadow had done this made her insides hurt. The alarm was becoming offensive to Shadow's ears, especially now that he had to deal with pain and difficult breathing. Shadow found himself getting tired and weak, his head dropped down involuntarily twice as he jogged, but he managed to keep moving. Maria was keeping a good pace; with her golden hair fanning out behind her as she ran as best she could in her dress. They were both breathing very heavily. Suddenly they could see the door they wanted ahead, an elevator that would take them to a safer level. Unfortunately at that moment, they heard running footsteps behind them, then…
"Find them before they escape!" a male voice called out urgently.
Panicking, they entered the shaft. The door started to slowly close, but before it could, five more GUN soldiers saw them and opened fire with laser rifles and bullet-style pistols. Maria yelped and dove to the side already covered by the slowly closing door.
"What makes you think you can beat the Ultimate Life?!"
"Shadow! No!" Maria called desperately after him.
Shadow dashed from the elevator and spun into the group of five. He hit one in the torso so hard, that their chest simply collapsed, giving them a slow, painful death as they bled internally on the floor. Shadow's spinning was splattering the walls and floor with crimson arcs of blood – his own.
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAM! The soldiers opened fire, but every bullet missed – they seemed to come to Shadow in slow motion as he danced out of each one's way.
Panting desperately as they reloaded, he turned and picked up a sharp piece of scrap metal on the floor that had been blasted off the walls from the explosion, and then rounded on them, wielding the broad piece of metal like a two-handed sword.
"Shadow! Come on!" Maria screamed from behind the wall as the door closed further, "Let them live! We'll run!"
"Let's move! Move! Move! Move!" yelled one of the soldiers to the rest, as they all struggled to reload; fear gripping their minds and making them fumble with the cartridges.
Too late. Shadow leapt into the air, holding the razor sharp shrapnel high above his head, and then brought it down on the one in the middle.
"Ahhh!" he yelled, flinching and dropping his weapon, right before he was sliced from head to midriff.
Shadow noticed that Maria was now staring in horror through the small gap in the closing door.
"Shadow! P-p-please! Leave them!" she cried.
Time suddenly seemed to stop as he considered what he had just done…
'I can't… do this in front of her… even if she gave me permission… I can't kill while she watches…' he hesitated as he heard the last soldiers reload. He wanted to tear them to pieces. …but he just couldn't.
"Please, Shadow!"
Time up anyway, Shadow left the last three and slipped through the elevator door mere seconds before it closed. They fired again, but by the time the bullets reached the lift, the door had closed. The back wall of the elevator was pretty beat up as Shadow slumped against it, coughing and sputtering up blood.
"Level A-2!" Maria yelled, still short of breath.
The lift complied and quickly whisked them up a few levels. They both stood up – Shadow very slowly and painfully – as the door opened and entered the wide, rounded, rectangular hallway. This hallway had many windows to the outside, showing a beautiful scene of stars and a sliver of the Earth.
The two ran down the corridor towards the only place that was familiar to them on this level – the abandoned lab with the glass floor and big panoramic window, the one where the two used to often sit together, watching the stars. Shadow was starting to lag behind, breathing heavier than ever. Maria grabbed his hand and pulled him along as his hover shoes pushed him forwards weakly in an interrupted stride; too fast to be in run mode, too slow to be in skate mode. Maria could feel a dizzy spell coming up, but disregarded the signs and kept going. Soon they reached the lab, with its wide, vertically closing door, and entered it. Maria immediately sealed the door using a computer nearby; she also shut off the alarm. She looked over at Shadow. He was sitting in the middle of the floor, gasping for breath and still holding his bleeding wound. He had his eyes closed now and would shudder with each breath. Maria started to walk over to where he was, but then started to feel dizzy. She fell back against one of the control panels and held herself there, eyes closed and catching her breath like Shadow.
'This is it…' she thought in despair, as she relived the moment where Shadow was shot in her mind, '…this is the end…' she wanted to cry, but stopped herself. She remembered her belief that death, thought she greatly valued life, should be a quiet celebration; a passing on to something greater, '…besides… I don't want my last moments with Shadow to be in sorrow…' she opened one eye and looked at him.
Shadow looked at her and said, weakly between breaths, "I gather… that we're doomed… now that I'm… incapacitated."
He removed his hand from the wound, which had strangely stopped bleeding. It was still quite raw and bloody, but it gushed no longer. He was healing. Maria was startled at this, never having seen him self-heal so rapidly before, but decided that it didn't matter now. She shook her head slowly with a forced smile, "It's not your fault, Shadow…"
Not wanting to argue with that, Shadow collapsed on his back limply, spines spread out on the illuminated floor. Maria felt sad to see such a valiant, handsome creature defeated by a single shot. What a waste…
bang… bang… bang… crash…
Maria could hear a doorway down the hallway being broken open, making only her jump at the sudden crash. When she had jumped, she had accidentally triggered a button on the controls, ironically making some sad orchestral music play throughout the ARK. They were getting closer. It was only a matter of time now as they searched room after room.
Bang… bang… bang… bang… fizzzzzz…
They were cutting a door, but they were still a distance away. She waited, unafraid as she listened to the music… Between the crashing and banging, all she could hear was the calm melody, and Shadow's rough breathing.
BANG! BANG! CRASH!
They were getting closer…
(The unconscious Shadow in the present could feel his heart racing now…)
The music changed, and some now some sad opera music began to play. Maria gazed out at the stars… an infinite black sky littered with thousands of twinkling pinpricks of light reflected off her eyes… it would be the last time she saw them as a living being.
Ave Maria
Gratia plena
Maria, gratia plena
Maria, gratia plena
Ave, ave dominus
Dominus tecum
She suddenly remembered that Shadow didn't like opera music, and was about to turn it off, when…
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! FFIIIZZZZZZ…. The familiar sound of GUN soldiers welding and cutting through the door threatened to drown out the music anyway.
Maria watched as two-and-a-half sides of the door were cut. During this time she listened to the music, trying to keep in a semi-meditate state of mind, but sad thoughts interrupted her, 'This isn't right… He was created for good… to bring happiness to the world… and yet he only had the chance to utilize his secondary function… violence…'
Shadow suddenly sat up, voice somber, "I'm not… going to lay here and get… killed… I'm going… to fight to my last… breath. Not that I have much… of that left anyway…" he stood weakly.
'Violence… all he managed to accomplish for this world was violence.' she thought as she listened to his words.
Suddenly, as the door was flung open, sooner than they had expected, and before anyone could react…
BAM!
The single shot seemed to ring and reverberate forever in Shadow's ears. Time seemed to slow as Shadow watched Maria fall to the ground. The only thing louder than the shot, was the sound of Shadow's scream…
"MAAARIIIAAAA!" anyone who heard would never forget his scream…
SHOOOOMPH!
"What?!" before he could go to her, a thick glass canister fell over him. On her way down, Maria had triggered another switch. Shocked at the suddenness of this, he plastered his hands up against the glass; as if to confirm that it was real. It was real.
BAM! BAM! BAM! More shots, fired at Shadow this time. The bullets simply crumpled and slid off the glass on impact.
"Cease fire! Cease fire!" one soldier ordered, "Don't waste your bullets, we got 'em anyway."
Everyone with a weapon stood back. The obvious leader of this group of four started talking on a radio, "Sir, we've cornered the U.L.F. …and Gerald's granddaughter is here too… there's been a terrible accident—" he continued…
…as Maria gave her final plea…
"Shadow… I beg of you… please… do it for me… for a better future…"
Lying face down on the floor, golden-blonde hair scattered about her, she looked at Shadow, blue eyes shimmering…
"Maria…" Shadow's voice cracked. He was still in disbelief. She had been shot in the chest too, but fatally, and with blood now pooling around her, she would soon die…
"For all the people… who live on that planet… give them a chance to be happy… let them live for their dreams…"
"No…" Shadow whispered to himself. This wasn't right, he was supposed to die, right here and now with the only friend he ever had… his surrogate mother and sister… the only person he truly loved.
"Shadow… I know you can do it… that's the reason you were brought into this world…" she smiled warmly and reached out with one arm, as if she could still reach his hand. She imagined it was so as she felt the touch of his gloved hand in her mind.
"No! No!" Shadow began to bang on the glass frantically; "MARIA!" tears began to rain from his eyes, "MARIA!"
"Sayonara, Shadow the hedgehog…"
With that, her head fell limply to the bloody floor.
…and Shadow's world ended…
He may not have died physically, but the bottom certainly dropped out of it. Kicking and screaming hysterically, he accidentally pressed a button inside the canister, which sent him shooting down to the earth in the capsule. He screamed all the way down… When GUN found him, curled up in a ball and sobbing at the bottom of the capsule, he didn't even bother to resist capture.
… … … … …
Shadow again woke with a start. Face wet with tears, both eyes burning and redder than ever. The pain had lessened quite a bit… physically…
He had just relived the most traumatic and tragic event of his life… he felt as if a two-ton weight was sitting on his chest… he felt as if someone had voided his brain of all happy thoughts… he felt as if… his heart were broken…
Silent tears were still rolling over his cheeks and onto the cold metal table he had been placed on. He had been crying in his sleep. He remembered now why he didn't sleep – it was too painful to relive those memories each time. If he had known he wasn't alone, he may have not cried right then and there. He let the tears flow, and lay, feeling like a puddle for a few minutes.
He stirred a bit, stiff muscles craving more movement. This stirring attracted the attention of a Dark Legionnaire who was apparently keeping watch over him.
"Dr. Eggman!" Shadow couldn't tell which of the two female Legionnaires it was, but he could make out that she was saying into a two-way audio-video monitor, "We have life happening..."
Shadow immediately pushed the majority of his emotion back to where it came – deep down in his soul. He wiped the tears out of his good eye.
"Are you sure this time, Julie-Su?" his voice came back though the screen loud and clear, "I will be very disappointed if I have to come all the way down there again for nothing!"
"One second…"
Shadow could feel her metallic footsteps vibrate up through the table as she walked over to him. He looked at her briefly, uninterested as he could only see a billowing black cloak. There was an uncomfortable silence as she looked him over, and he lay in his puddle of self-pity. Suddenly, fast, but not fast enough to beat Shadow's reaction time had he not been caught off guard, she grabbed the bandage over his eye.
"AHHH—" SCRRIIP! The sound of an adhesive being pulled off skin and fur. Shadow flipped off the table – all the while cursing her to hell and all sorts of other nasty places – and landed on his feet, rubbing his bad eye in pain, trying to make it stop, and still yelling "AHHHRR—huh?" he stopped. He slowly opened his eye. There was no pain! He could see! He looked himself over quickly; his muscles were still a little stiff, but he was all right. He blinked a few times to be sure, and then looked at the Legionnaire, who suddenly hunched her shoulders and rattled the bloody bandage in her hand as if to say 'WELL DUH! You can self heal, moron! What did you expect?!'. In fact that was exactly what she was thinking, but said nothing since she didn't fancy being killed at that moment – she wagered there was a good possibility of that happening judging by the look on his face – so she didn't risk it.
"Yeah… he's up…" she sighed at Eggman, while tossing the bandage in a biohazard bin.
"Yes, I saw that…" he said, referring to Shadow's artistic flip off the table, and interesting language display, "I'll be right down.' then he yelled louder, to be sure Shadow could hear, "Shadow? You stay there."
Shadow felt no need to go anywhere… he just wanted to crawl into the dark corner of the room to brood in private…