Age of Darkness
Chapter VII
The Promise
"What is this?" I heard Rouge ask in the other room. "That is my Grandfather's diary. Let's see if it tells about why he wanted the world to drop dead." Rouge read it aloud.
I do not know where I went wrong. Was this a mistake to create the ultimate life? I have done what my government asked of me, and yet they murdered my son, his wife, and my granddaughter, Maria. They killed another family that helped me in creating Shadow. The government also tortured Shadow, the final result of the project. I went insane. All I could think about was getting back at them through revenge. I returned to ARK and programmed the colony to, when all of the Chaos Crystals were restored, to collide with the planet. Shadow is my hope to cause this. His heart is perfect, pure. He had made a promise and will keep it, come hell or high water. If you wish to cause destruction, release him into the world. I leave everything in his hands. If someone tries to intervene, I have sealed the Prototype, Bio, in the core, so she can crush and destroy all in my way... The day of Armageddon is upon you.
"What will we do now?" Tails asked the others. "Well, the colony is being propelled by the power of the Chaos Crystals." Sonic spoke up then. "So, then we just need to separate them, right?" Knuckles sighed. "No Sonic. Once the Crystals are together even if they are separated that will do not stop their power." "The crystals were sent to the cannon core, anyways. We cannot reach them from here. Finally, even if they are cancelled, we still have gravity to worry about," Eggman added. "Knucklehead! Use your Emerald to cancel out the Chaos!" Rouge suggested. "I could, but we need to get to them first." Knuckles scratched his head. "Everyone! Over here! I have loaded a map of the colony, and I found the core," Doctor Eggman announced. "Wow. There are a lot of locks and hallways to the core." "Rouge, Knuckles, you have a job to do. All of us do. Tails and I will blast our way down the hallways at the entrance so that Rouge and Knuckles can access the core's coolant system. Rouge and Knuckles will deactivate the coolant, and Sonic will get to a lock behind the coolant system and deactivate it. That will release the lock to the core. Get in the core, cancel the Crystals, and use their power to return ARK to orbit," Egghead said thoughtfully. "Let's go!" The group of heroes and mad genius ran off, heading to the center of the ARK. The colony was slowly falling to Earth, and the blue planet seemed to grow larger. I waited. This is the end. I keep my promises, Maria. The Earth is getting closer by the minute...
Ten minutes have passed. There is fifteen minutes until impact. The Earth is fully in view of the colony, a giant orb that is large enough to block out any view of space. I heard footsteps behind me. Amy was pacing back and forth. "Why do they always have to leave me behind!? Argh!" She paused at the door where I stood. "Everyone else is trying their best, and so must I." She walked up to me. I continued to stare at the Earth. "Shadow! Help us please! We need to stop this!" I remained stoic, and just had one thing to say. "Everything is going according to plan. There is no reason to stop it now." "But, Shadow! Look, I know people can be selfish and can fight over the most trivial things, but if everyone tries their best, we can all live in happiness. There are good people down there." Happiness? Her final sentence made something in my mind fall in place. "Shadow! Give them a chance!"
I choked on my breath. "Maria." Maria faced me as she pushed her chest off the floor, looking directly at me as tears left her eyes. "Shadow. I beg of you please, do it for me; for a better future… for all the people who live on that planet. Give them a chance to be happy. Let them live for their dreams, Shadow. I know you can do it. That's the reason that you were brought into this world. Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog."
I was shocked. How could I be so stupid!? My eyes glanced down as a lonely tear fell out of my eye. Very softly, Amy called me. "Shadow?" She must be shocked to see me cry. "Shadow?" Amy was watching me in amazement as she watched my cheek, staring at the trail the tear left under my ruby eyes. I closed my eyes and clenched my fist. "I am sorry. I have a promise to keep." My voice was softer. I faced her shimmering emerald eyes. She has beautiful eyes. "You told me what my promise is. Thank you, Amy," I stopped to embrace her, startling her to no end. She gasped as she was in my arms. I could feel her warmth and soft cheeks. Her cheeks were blushing without mercy, redder than her pink fur. "I must go. I will keep this promise for Maria and you..." I dashed down the hallway, leaving the cute girl behind me. I had a promise to keep...