Note: You may NOT understand at first what Shadow's vision is because I have a bit of trouble uploading the prolouge, it may take a while in order for me to put it in here, ok? I DON'T own Shadow, Sonic and co. SEGA does. (Although I wish I could :) )
Chapter 1 – This is just the beginning
Shadow jolted upright in bed, astounded and terrified. Sweating and breathing hard, he got out of bed, grabbed both his skates and gloves and headed towards the bathroom.
"Whoa. This is the first time I dream a vision about myself! What the heck is happening to me? Wait a sec… No. I am NOT going to get involved even more in the secrets of my mysterious past. I said I was going to give it up, but maybe someone or something wants to know about it…" thought Shadow, as he sat on the toilet (with the lid closed) and proceeded to put on his skates and gloves. Once done, he made his way into the kitchen exiting his room, turning right and then left. It was kinda early in the morning, near 9:30am. Ever since Shadow had destroyed the Black Arms, nothing else had happened until this day. This day was the start of something new.
Yawning, the hedgehog grabbed a box of Cheerios out of the cupboard and some milk from the fridge. He also took out a spoon from the sink's drawer and a bowl from below. He placed them on the table, sat down on a chair and pulled himself close to the table and finally began to eat.
"Where was I? Oh yeah. My stupid, horrible past. I'm only going to find out the last secret of this once and for all. And then I'm gonna let go. Let go forever from my past." Once finished, he put the bowl and the spoon in the sink. Then he got out of the department.
Shadow, as always, went to a tree nearby the city. There was his "thinking place." And it was also there where he met for the first time the leader of the Black Arms, Black Doom. The place where he was standing in was a bit chilly, but at the same time relaxing and inviting. Shadow sat down, and hugged his legs, staring at the colossal city in front of him, called Station Square. He then closed his eyes and started to remember his recent vision, to see if maybe there was something he missed on. That reminded him of a song (hoobastank's crawling in the dark), and so he started to sing it. "I will dedicate, and sacrifice my everything for just a second´s worth, of how my story's ending. And I wish I could know if the directions that I take, and all the choices that I make won't end up for nothing! Show me what it's for, make me understand it! I've been crawling in the dark looking for the answer. Is there something more than what I've been handed? I've been crawling in the dark looking for the answer-"
A giant explosion startled Shadow, and it seemed to come from within the valley. "Stupid Tails," said Shadow, shaking his head disappointingly. "His "inventions" always explode. To tell the truth, I don't think they're THAT good…" A smirk plastered his face. "Since I don't have anything better to do, I might as well go check on what that blue hedgehog and his friends are hatching. Something MAY come of use to me." He stood up and started heading towards the city. The wind hit his cheeks lightly, and it also tried to challenge Shadow by pushing him back the way he went. Since nobody noticed him, and people only saw him as a black light, Shadow quickly hopped on the train right before departing, not even buying a ticket. Ten minutes later, the train came to a stop. It had stopped in the Mystic Ruins' train station. Shadow got off the train and headed directly to Tails' lab.
"Hey," said Tails – a yellow colored fox with two tails – as he lifted up his working mask. "I know why it isn't working now. It needs massive power. I'm afraid we need the chaos emeralds again." Tails was working on a time machine. He wanted to go back in time in order to explore the medieval times, examine dinosaurs, people in the absolutist times, see Henry VIII in person and other historical stuff. Tails was a history maniac! "But Tails," said a blue colored hedgehog, famous for his supersonic speed, named Sonic, "Do we HAVE to chase 'em around again? I mean, Eggman doesn't want them right now, so they're perfectly fine where they are. You don't need 'em for your time machine." Obviously, Sonic was tired of looking out for the darn things and he just wanted a rest. Before Tails could answer, Shadow chimed in, "I need them. Thanks for asking, faker." Sonic and Tails stared at the black hedgehog. "I wasn't talking to YOU. By the way, why do you need them, Shadster?" asked Sonic. "I already told you NOT to call me that." said Shadow in a cross tone. "Does Shads fit you well?" "Halfway there. But I still hate nicknames. And about the chaos emeralds, I have the right not to tell you why I need them so much." "Oh yeah? What if I make you…" Sonic bustled to Tails' room, grabbed a soda can and came back in an instant. "TELL."
Tails paused his work; then turned to look at Sonic. "Sonic, don't use that. It's a prototype; I haven't even tested it yet." The fox resumed his work. Sonic then pulled down his right inferior eyelid and stuck his tongue out at Tails. "Don't pay attention to him," whispered Sonic, "He's crazy." "But what the HECK is that?" asked Shadow. "This is truth beverage. It makes you tell every single secret of yours. Even you deepest darkest ones." said Sonic, looking maliciously at Shadow. Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Does it really work?" "Of course it does. Let's try with you." "No, please, n…!" It was too late. Sonic made him drink some. Shadow's pupils suddenly expanded a lot and like if he was hypnotized said, "I need those things in order to activate the fox's machine. That way I can go back 50 years in time, that way I can save Maria from those stupid humans. I also love warm milk. It makes me dr…" Sonic quickly covered Shadow's mouth. He snapped his fingers. Shadow's pupils returned to normal. He shook his head violently. "Wha…? What just happened?" said the dumbfounded hedgehog. "Uh…" said Sonic with the can still in hand, "Nothing!" He quickly hid it behind his back. "You…" Shadow said furiously. "You little…" He started walking towards Sonic. "I swear I'm gonna…!"
Shadow lifted a fist. He started to remember that positivism was the key to happiness, and that being happy with life was the best way to live it. Sonic was already in a defense pose. Shadow lowered the fist. "It's okay. Anyways, I know that deep down, you just wanna help me." said Shadow, with a lot of difficulty. "Whoa. You sure have changed ever since you left your past behind. I kinda miss the bad Shadow. Nah, it's just a joke. Keep up the good work." "Thanks faker. But I'm still calling you faker." "Fine by me." said Sonic, giving him a thumbs up and a wink. Meanwhile, Tails was on his chaos emerald tracker, trying to find the nearest one. "Hey Shadow!" shouted Tails. "Yeah, what's up?" answered Shadow. "The last time you used the chaos emeralds; do you by any chance know where they fell?" "I don't really know. Some were dropped near Europe and others near America, I think." "Ok." Tails typed in America and Europe. Locations indicated were: Pisa, London, Paris, Rome, Mexico City, Venice and home. "This is really weird. How come none of them except one are found in different places? Knuckles!"
Suddenly, a red echidna with stylish dreadlocks appeared. "Yeah?" "Do you know if the Master emerald is malfunctioning?" " I don't think so." "Could you please go and check?" "Okay." Knuckles left Tails house. After a while, Tails ordered pizza. Sonic was fascinated with it. Shadow ate it with delight. Tails enjoyed it. Silence reigned the room. "So… Why do you need the chaos emeralds?" asked Tails, turning to Shadow. "What? Didn't you just hear me already?" "This'll work." interrupted Sonic. He punched Shadow's mouth wide open and poured the rest of the revealer. Shadow explained with detail why he needed the jewels; other than that, he kept on revealing unbelievable stupid secrets; nobody would've thought they came from Shadow! Sonic and Tails laughed to death. They just couldn't stop laughing. Once the soda effect wore off, Shadow recovered his normal state. "Huh???" Shadow had once again been utterly fooled. "You know, Knuckles hasn't come back, has he?" said Sonic nervously. "Why you puny little hedgehog…" said Shadow, knowing what had happened. "Hey Shadow, what's with the milk?" asked Tails. "MILK!? Wha… What milk are you talking about…?""Come on Shadow, don't be shy." said Sonic. Shadow began to get really nervous. His heart was beating fast and he was as red as a tomato. In that precise moment, Knuckles came in the lab, slamming the door behind him. "Thank god!" thought Shadow, keeping his intimate secret safe and sound.
"Guys, pieces of the Master emerald are gone! Angel Island fell again!" shouted out Knuckles; really worried. "AGAIN?!" exclaimed both Sonic and Tails. "Yes, and not only that, I don't even know where they are! They could be anywhere!" Tails got an idea. "I know!" He quickly went for his fake chaos emerald. "This'll help us find the pieces. It'll take us to them." He put it in a special satellite and it immediately transported into space. The chaos emerald seemed to go towards Italy. "Okay, looks like we're going to Italy! Hey Knuckles, I don't know if it's a chaos emerald or one of your pieces, okay?" said Tails. "Okay." "But Tails, I mean, even though Shadow and me can run at super high speeds across water, how is everybody going to get there?" asked Sonic. "No problem. Already solved. I've got a travel machine. You just choose your destination, press the button and you're done!" said Tails, proud of himself. "Wow." said an astounded Sonic. "Hey, just because I need those chaos emeralds doesn't mean that I'm really gonna help you guys out. I'm in it for Maria. Nobody else." said Shadow, warning the others.
Sonic leaned against Tails and whispered him in the ear, "I take it back. He hasn't changed THAT much." Both animals snickered. After making fun of Shadow, Tails went to his World Traveler and turned it on. "Please choose your destination." said the machine's computer. "Hey Sonic! We'll need much more help than this. Call everybody and tell them to come here!" shouted Tails. Sonic quickly dialed some of his friends and came after a while. Amy, a pink colored hedgehog and Sonic's girlfriend; was the first one to come. Then came Rouge, a bat who was obsessed over jewels. After that came Vector, a green crocodile and boss of the Chaotix Detective Agency. The other integrants of the CDA couldn't come because they were sick. "Ok everybody! Let's go to Italy!" announced Tails, getting in the World Traveler. He typed in the word " Italy, Pisa". He was anxious to see the famous leaning tower. "Destination confirmed. Please press the red button to initiate countdown." As everybody headed straight into the machine, Sonic stopped in his tracks for a moment and followed Shadow. He started to sing. (Hoobastank's "If I were you") "You seem to find the dark, when everything is bright," sung the blue hedgehog. To tell the truth, Sonic sung horribly, so bad, that he could break glass with his sound waves. "Not true." Said Shadow, as he walked to the machine. "You look for all that's wrong instead of all that's right!" "Stop it." "Does it feel good to you, to rain on my parade?" "Oh, come ON! I never make you feel bad!" "You never say a word, unless it's to complain, it's driving me INSANE!" "Can it, hedgehog!" "If I were you, holding the world right in my hands," "What would you do faker? You'd mess it all up." "The first thing I'd do, is thank the stars for all that I have, if I were you." "That's it. I'm up to here"-said Shadow, pointing up- "with your cruel jokes!!!" said Shadow, fumed. Both hedgehogs along with everyone else finally entered the World Traveler. Sonic kept on singing all the way to Italy; everybody covered their ears. And guess what got poor Sonic? A good old punch in the face. He deserved it.