'Maria... this is what you wanted, right? This is the promise I made to you.'
Shadow the Hedgehog is the guardian and protector of Earth. The ultimate life form is the guardian of a planet ungrateful for his continuing struggle and sacrifice and the protector of a government and people looking to drop him at the first sign of trouble; to use the dark one as a scapegoat to place blame on should the world fall apart.
Why does he even bother?
In another reality, it happened. In another reality, the world was destroyed by the Flames of Disaster, Iblis, and Shadow the Hedgehog was made an object of hatred. Humanity blamed the poor creature for the catastrophe. The surviving population hunted down the hedgehog and once again placed him in cryogenic stasis.
Is it worse than death to remain frozen in place, to float about for all eternity? Perhaps it is, perhaps it is not. To exist but feel nothing, to have a past but never to remember it; never to think or feel again. Those who do not believe in God or an afterlife, atheists, would say it is the same as death. To one who does believe in an afterlife, it may not matter, but to one who may be condemned to hell, it would be a sweet reprieve.
Although, technically, the events never came to pass, he still understands the 'strenuous' relationship he has with G.U.N. Why does he work with them? Why does Shadow the Hedgehog, the ultimate life form created by Professor Gerald Robotnik, bother working with the corrupt human government?
A promise.
"It's only been a couple of months. I thought I could leave my past behind me; to not be tormented by ghosts of my unfortunate past," the ebony hedgehog sighed as he looked through the panorama into the vehement depths of space,"I was wrong."
The ARK is a lonely place. Shadow the Hedgehog was created aboard this accursed place. This place... is death... with walls. Space Colony ARK was the first Bernal, or Bernoulli, space colony. It depends on how you look at it.
John Desmond Bernal first brought the idea of spherical space colonies to the world in 1929, but it was a brilliant engineer named Ignacio Bernoulli who brought a more 'fleshed out' design and implementation of the space colony to the United Federation and G.U.N. World Council some time in late 1947 during World War II. Bernoulli argued that the possibilities of an isolated laboratory inhabited by the brightest minds on the planet were limitless. Nations under G.U.N. were eventually persuaded to see his way of thinking around late 1949 when the Allies, now unified under the United Federation and the Guardian Units of Nations, knew they were going to win the war. They thought that it could usher in a new era of health prosperity for planet Earth and possibly bring the planet towards global unity and peace.
Thus began the story of Space Colony ARK.
The participating nations' intentions for the space station were noble at first, they truly were, but, as history shows us, the worst things imaginable are done with good intentions.
A lot of good came from the space station's research. The science teams discovered cures and treatments for most of the world's diseases, and they were even researching cures for fatal types of cancer and the new disease N.I.D.S. The researchers' medical progression came almost exclusively from the station's quest for eternal life, also known as Project: Shadow.
Eventually, however, G.U.N. wanted to exploit the station's resources and personnel to create new weapons of war; super lasers, genetic monsters, powerful fighting machines, and efficient fuel sources for this technology. These were just a few of the technologies created and expanded upon aboard the ARK due to G.U.N.'s demands. The 'Guardians' argued that it was all in the name of peace; in the name of global security.
The quest for eternal life was a decent cause twisted and corrupted by indecent people who sought to control the world in the name of security. Their agenda and meddling in the affairs of the international station have nearly resulted in the destruction of planet Earth at least twice since its decommission.
Truth be told, even the master engineer, Bernoulli, had his own hidden agenda for the space station.
"Fifty years, Maria, I remember after all this time," said the dejected black hedgehog as he closed his eyes,"I remember how I was raised. I remember you were my only friend. I remember..." his dejection turned to tender acrimony,"I remember what those cruel humans thought of me. They said I was an animal; another experiment just like everything else aboard the ARK. They said that eventually I would either be put down or caged up like all the rest," acrimony changed to empathetic understanding,"They were afraid of me. Now I know why. After only a few days of being reawakened from a stasis tube somewhere in the middle of the ocean, I had almost destroyed the planet you loved so dearly. I almost destroyed Earth by hurling this colony into the planet. I used a super weapon that had no business being aboard the ARK in the first place to entice a true villain to help me claim vengeance," his understanding swerved to blurring confusion as he closed his eyes and continued," Professor Gerald always told us that this place was designed for good deeds. It was designed for the benefit of mankind, not its annihilation," Shadow opened his eyes and once more stared at the stars through the observation room's window,"Then again, he also lost his sanity and brainwashed me to carry out his revenge."
His understanding turned to nostalgia,"When the colony was on its collision course with Earth, I was standing right here," stated Shadow with only the slightest hint of regret in his voice,"Right here in this room. I was looking through this very window," the dark one recapitulated,"All I could think about was how we used to spend hours gazing at the heavens. Just you and me and our idle conversation," a small tear began to make its way down his cheek.
"What I'd give just to have one more hour with you, Maria," he said to himself in a hushed tone. The dark creature turned around and faced the terminal near the center of the room. The handle appeared so familiar to him. It was the handle that had sent him rocketing to Earth.
'Shadow... I beg of you... give them a chance to be happy...'
'Maria!'
'Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog.'
"Perhaps I should have never been created," Nostalgia twisted into sullen remembrance of the recent past,"If only you knew what my true purpose was. Robotnik was forced to make me for that creature Black Doom. I was supposed to bring him the seven Chaos Emeralds. In return, he promised me vengeance on the human race. Another betrayal of my promise to you, my dear Maria," the hedgehog let out a small chuckle as he continued,"He even went so far as to say he was my father." Ebony eyelids shut as he let out a sigh,"but don't worry. I stopped him," a smile flickered on his face before turning into a frown. His ears folded down.
His remembrance changed to complete confusion,"I don't understand. I mean, I do understand, but I don't," he explained, making a gesture with his right hand moving from his left side back to his right,"Why do good people suffer and die while evil men thrive and prosper? The greedy are in control while the humble, ethical and altruistic suffer under their tyranny. It's not right," he sighed. He began to question what he should do about it.
The confusion dissipated as he began to open his mind.
What could he do?
"What do I do about it?" He turned around again, crossing his arms. The ebony hedgehog wondered,"What if I gave humanity a helping hand? What if I stood against corruption? What if I were the one to cleanse the planet of its scum?" Shadow paused for a brief moment before continuing,"The safety of these people is more important to me than anything, Maria, yes, but perhaps I could do more..."
Shadow's mind wandered into a strange place. The dark one wondered what the world would be like if he were to rid it of its corrupt leaders. He began to dream of a world without pain or suffering. He thought of the paradise that could be should the world be rid of all its crooked officials and double-dealing slime. The crimson striped hedgehog could create a world both prosperous and united; a world without loss, without immorality, and, most importantly, without tragedy.
"Maybe," the dark one paused for a moment,"maybe I could lead them?"
He quickly dismissed the thought after considering the possible outcomes.
"Hmph. That's not what you asked of me, is it? You said to give them a chance, not to lead them. What chance does humanity have to learn and grow if I take away their struggle?" A scowl formed on his face. He decided to put up that trademark callous facade to hide the conflicting emotions boiling inside of him.
"I don't really care what they do with their lives. I'll give them the 'chance' you were never given, Maria. I will protect them from total annihilation because you asked me to."
For the next two hours, Shadow remained silent as he gazed at the stars; his mind lost in deep contemplation.
When he checked the time, it was nearly two forty-five in the morning. He would have to report to G.U.N. in just a little over three hours. Luckily, being the ultimate life form meant one didn't require much sustenance or rest.
On the surface, Shadow kept his emotions well hidden. Most people found him to be a cold individual who cared about nothing. This, of course, is not true, but it has not been easy for him to share his feelings with anyone since the incident. Instead of opening up and connecting with other beings as a normal person may try to do, he hides behind a mask of apathy and indifference. Ultimate life form or not, it is taking its toll on him.
One cannot detach himself from himself forever. It is aboard the ARK where the black champion sheds the mask of impassivity and the cloak of torpor to let his raw emotions stir.
Another tear ran down his cheek as he began,"Why did they cut your life short, Maria? Of all the people who deserved to die, why did they hurt you?"
'It is injustice'
"What gave them the right?" he shouted to himself,"What did I do to deserve this?" complained the enraged hedgehog,"Damn you, Maria! If I could, I would forsake you, I would forget you and leave you here!" Shadow snapped. The ebony hedgehog turned and poured out his anger onto the nearby terminal. He smashed the buttons with his fists and yanked out the lever with his left hand before calming down.
"But I cannot... I can't forget you."
Shadow began to cackle,"Wow, haheheh... I'm damaged goods... Heh," he chuckled,"Now, for all eternity, I have to suffer like this."
The dark one sat with his legs crossed, back against the damaged terminal, still chuckling maniacally,"Thank you, Professor," he said sarcastically as he noticed something shining in the corner of the room. There was a thin, sharp piece of metal on the floor; probably from the fit he threw just a few moments ago. The dark hedgehog picked it up and pondered what to do with it.
He had heard that some emotionally disturbed humans took to cutting various parts of their bodies to relieve stress. They seemed to believe that they were inflatable balloons filled with stress, and if they cut themselves open, the stress would simply flow out of their wounds and go away.
He tossed the metal fragment to the other side of the room.
"Yeah, right."
'I wish I could make the pain go away.'
Shadow jumped to his feet, ears darting back and forth.
"Who's there?" he asked into the room as he turned around. Was he hearing things? The thought felt rather alien, as if another voice was inside his head. It must have been inside his head because the door was shut and he was the only one in the room.
"Great. I'm losing my mind!" proclaimed the once calm, now shaken, hedgehog as he tilted his head up and placed his hands over his face.
"My mind is fabricating illusions because I'm so alone; I'm hearing things that aren't there!" he took his hands away from his face and crossed them over his chest; leaving the ivory crest exposed,"I thought talking to a dead girl was bad enough, but... well, Shadow, this is a new low for you."
'You are not alone.'
Shadow jumped again. He wasn't imagining things; he knew that voice wasn't him being a mental case. The dark could hear it, but his sharp ears could not decipher the voice's origin. Shadow scanned the room. After being sure that no one else was inside, he proceeded to the door. The door opened as he approached it. As he walked out of the room, he began to hear notes. Musical notes... guitar notes. They were gentle, almost inaudible, and the notes were of a peculiar, sporadic rhythm.
The notes became louder and more defined as he walked down a long corridor. They had run down this corridor before. They ran to escape from their G.U.N. pursuers. They made it to the room where the hedgehog had just came out of, but only Shadow had managed to escape thanks to Maria's sacrifice.
'What was done with the bodies?'
The ebony creature could not tell whether it was his thought or this mysterious person's magic at work, but, at the moment, he didn't really care. Someone had been spying on him, someone was eavesdropping on his conversation... with a dead girl. Why?
Shadow searched for what seemed like an eternity. The notes' audibility peaked just outside of a small storage closet somewhere in the east section of the colony. The ebony anti-hero stepped into the room aware and alert, ready for an ambush, but was surprised to see that the room was relatively empty; save for three sealed crates.
There was a protruding object from the side of one of the crates to Shadow's left. As he grabbed the slender thing from its hiding place, the music stopped. Shadow stepped out of the closet. It was an acoustic guitar; black with platinum strings and a blood red strap.
"Strange. What is this doing here?" he asked himself as he played a note. It wasn't very old, and it was well tuned.
The crimson on ebony creature made his way back to his alcove. He stood in front of the window once again, guitar in hand. Shadow the Hedgehog never bothered to listen to any sort of music or play an instrument. He never had the time or the opportunity. However, he was a quick study.
The ebony creature began to strum.
Strum, single note, strum, single note, strum, single note...
Strum, strum, strum switch the fingers, strum, switch the fingers, strum strum strum... he found a beat.
"All... we ever wanted... was..." Shadow stopped strumming,"was..."
'Everything'
Shadow continued his strumming,"All... we ever got..."
'Was coal.'
The dark one stopped once more and asked,"Who are you?"
It was a fruitless attempt to ascertain an answer from the ghastly voice seemingly without origin. Maybe he really was crazy. No, if that were true, then how could he explain the strange guitar he found?
The notes from the unseen guitar began again. This time, instead of searching for the instrument, the dark one simply joined in after catching the pattern.
For several minutes the shadowed creature and the unseen figure created a rhythm as eerie as it was gentle. The only sound besides from their unholy instruments was the background noise from the ARK's machinery.
Gradually, as their depraved melody continued into the early night, another sound joined the dark ensemble. It sounded like someone's voice; a low trill flowing along with their musical notes.
Almost as if on queue, the song stopped as eerily as it had begun. Both parties stopped simultaneously. Shadow sank to his knees. He could feel the back of a gloved hand tracing down his tanned cheeks, but could see nothing in front of him.
'I am watching you, Shadow.'
After that last, haunting voice registered in his mind, the temporarily paralyzed hedgehog felt that the strange being had finally left him alone. He didn't know how he knew, he just knew it. His mind remained blank, almost in a meditative state, for nearly ten minutes before the room's terminal came to life.
"Agent Shadow, do you read me?" came a voice from the machine.
The dark one sprang to his feet to answer the 'phone call'. He pressed a button,"Yes, Captain Vega, I'm here."
"I thought I'd find you here. Look, you need to come to HQ right away. There's an assignment waiting for you, and it can't wait."
"I'm not due for arrival for another thirty-three minutes."
"It's directly from 'Commander, so get here immediately!"
Shadow sighed,"Chaos control!"
With that, the hedgehog was gone. Nothing but the machines and rogue experiments inhabited the station now.
(All We Ever Wanted - Bauhaus)