A/N: I've made a few minor changes to chapters 3 & 4, mainly because I got to the last chapter (yeah, the story itself is finished, I just have to post it) and realized that I'd left the rings out completely...and I suddenly needed them. One of those things where I knew they were there but I hadn't actually said so, so they seemed to pop out of nowhere.
5. Reflection and Plans
The air was stale and cold, and so dry that the back of his throat burned. Shadow dragged himself out of a heavy sleep, reaching automatically for the light switch as he had nearly every day of his life. As the lights came up, the room revealed was in many ways familiar, but buried under an unfamiliar layer of dust.
Shadow sat up and reached for his hover shoes where he'd kicked them off next to the bed. "Computer," he called, "increase heat and ventilation."
Nothing happened. Frowning, he pulled on his shoes and then pulled the dusty blanket up over the pillow. "Probably no point in trying the Professor's console," he said to himself. "Everything's probably shut down at the main unit." He left the wing and made his way to the Eclipse Cannon's central core, which was linked to the main ARK computers. A few moments' work activated the minibots that had dealt with dust and trash, as well as restoring the ventilation and heating systems. It also activated a certain number of guard robots, but he ignored those. If they bothered him he could handle them, and they would keep stray intruders out. As for the man who'd awakened him - if a few guard robots were too much for him to handle, it was unlikely he'd be able to obtain the Chaos Emeralds. The dark hedgehog set up a quiet alarm to let him know if anyone landed on the ARK and began trying to find information on his 'benefactor'. It was far easier than he'd expected - and scarcely believable. The Prison Island security, which the Cannon's computer was still silently linked to, had already identified the intruder as a 'Dr. Eggman', née... "Ivo Robotnik. Gerald's grandson," Shadow read aloud, his voice echoing in the lightless vastness around him. "I don't believe it." He scanned what was known about the man: he was acknowledged as a scientific genius, but possibly a 'mad' scientist, with a doctorate in robotics; although it was generally believed that the current head of Robotnik Enterprises was also this 'Dr. Eggman' who had caused (literal!) chaos in Station Square - and now broken into Prison Island - , there was no legal proof. Dr. Eggman had tried several times to take over portions of the dokan lands, and then the entire planet. A giant monster made of water? And now apparently he's trying again with me and the Eclipse Cannon. Shadow sent the computer to standby and sat down on the edge of the walkway.
Gerald's grandson. Fifty years. He stared down into the blackness below. The Biolizard was somewhere down there; still locked in her stasis. The copy of the Echidnan temple was there as well, concentric rings of stone. Here, except for the dust (he raised a hand to let one of the minibots pass by, sucking up said dust as it went), there was nothing to show that time had passed, but out there...
He couldn't help himself. Like someone poking a sore spot to see if it still hurt, he shifted the alarm location to the Loop and made his way back out to the main colony. Passing his own footprints in the dust in several areas, he walked to the Loop. He shivered slightly as he looked up and down the silent corridor, kicking on his hover shoes and gliding to the top of the slope. "Come on, Shadow," teased Maria, "surely you can handle a course as easy as this one!" Shadow looked down the slope, noting where the target bags and jumps had been placed. With a slight smirk he raised his ruby eyes to meet the girl's dancing blue ones. "Well, I suppose I might be able to do it...in about 23 seconds!" And he was off - darting down the slope, leaping the first jump and homing on the nearest target. Twenty-two and a quarter seconds later he was skidding to a stop beside her. A host of similar memories crowded his mind as he pushed away and glided down the slope in the here-and-now, two weeks or fifty years away from that day. There was no beloved sister to cheer him on anymore, no targets to aim at, only the frantically cleaning minibots to occasionally hop over. But the repetitive strides, taking him down one slope, across, up the other slope and back to his starting point, sent him as they often did into a near-trance. Usually he used the time to meditate, but this time he tried to blank his mind, to not recognize that the halls and apartments he passed were abandoned and empty of all but dust.
It was almost a relief when the alarm chimed, alerting him to an intruder in the main halls. Quickly he dashed back to the core control room and waited. Before long he heard distant crashes and shots as the guarding robots attempted to halt the intruder. Shadow keyed a few optional bits of holographic display to standby mode and settled himself to wait.
He did not have to wait very long, in fact, before the elevator doors opened and the ungainly walking machine clumped in. The rotund human hopped out of the machine but remained cautiously on the far side of the narrow, rail-less bridge. Shadow could sense a Chaos Emerald in the walker, but the man made no move to bring it out. No matter. Shadow only needed his own to lure the man further in. As with the first time he'd met the man, the words rolling off Shadow's tongue didn't quite seem to be his own. "I've been waiting for you, Doctor. Now, I will show the glorious achievement that the world's leading scientist - Professor Gerald - has created." Reaching back he hit a key on the computer, and in addition to the usual array of screens and lights, a swirl of holographic maps and information swirled around the central unit as well.
"The ARK was the first space colony created by mankind. Not many people know that the ARK contained a top-secret research facility, where weapons of mass destruction were being created. This is one of them; a weapon capable of destroying an entire planet. Codenamed: 'The Eclipse Cannon'." No, wait, said a small voice in the back of his brain, the Eclipse cannon was to destroy near-Earth asteroids, not the EARTH. But whatever had taken possession of his tongue ignored it and kept on.
"Destroying an entire planet... Was this my grandfather's legacy?" murmured the entranced scientist.
Ignoring that comment as well, Shadow continued, the cool voice sounding vaguely disappointed, "But, it's been deactivated for some time now..." He tossed his Chaos Emerald into one of the indentations in the appropriate panel, and green gem began to pulse as the machine drew power from it. "To reactivate it...large amounts of energy are necessary."
"Oh, so that's why we needed the Chaos Emerald," said the Doctor as understanding dawned.
"Exactly," Shadow agreed coolly. "To reactivate the machine, we need the seven Chaos Emeralds. Once you have that, then you have the ultimate power of destruction to use as you please. And then...the world could be yours."
The man laughed with sinister delight. "Sounds like a plan!" he enthused. "I like the way you think, Shadow! I will get the Chaos Emeralds, use the machine to dominate the world, and build a legacy of my own!"
"Do you really think it will be that easy?" Both the human and the hedgehog jumped as the strident female voice rang through the cavern. Looking up, Shadow had a brief impression of a white blur with enormous ears before a dokan bat dropped down to the bridge. As the two males gaped at her, she continued, "I've got a great idea! How about making a deal?"
Shadow was speechless, mentally kicking himself for not resetting the alarm after Eggman arrived. The doctor was the one to question the bat, "A...deal?"
"When you grabbed that huge emerald, you said something about a reaction; a reaction it may have with the Master Emerald. Now, if you could just let me borrow that radar, I may be able to help you." She struck a coy pose, completely unfazed by the gaping chasm at her feet. "What do you think?"
Shadow, completely lost at this point, merely glowered at the intruder, but the doctor appeared to understand what she was talking about. "If I do...what's in it for me?" he demanded.
"I have an idea where the other Chaos Emeralds may be," answered the bat, not in the least fazed by the chilly reception. And practically dripping with self-assurance, Shadow noted; this would be a female to keep a close eye on. She back-winged into the air and did a little spin. "I may not look like it, but do you know that I am a treasure hunter who specializes in all kinds of jewels?" Then she dipped her hand into her décolletage and pulled out a glowing blue stone.
Shadow narrowed his eyes. He hadn't been aware that she had an Emerald on her person. It shouldn't have been completely masked by the other two; I must be more careful. He caught the questioning glance Dr. Eggman threw his way and nodded slightly. The only thing that mattered now was collecting all seven Chaos Emeralds. Shadow was willing to team up with anyone who could aid him to that goal.
Eggman turned back to the bat and nodded. "Very well."
The bat smirked. "Okay then, it's a deal." Then she put on a look of mock dismay, "I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Rouge the Bat. But," she may have been talking to both males but her eyes were locked on Shadow, "you can call me Rouge."
Shadow snorted quietly as he turned his back on her.