Constellations
Chapter 3: Identity
Space Colony Ark – August 2016
Droplets of water trickled one by one down a pipe in the ceiling, then fell into a puddle on the cold, cement floor of the confinement cell that held the dark avenger. His hellish, crimson eyes glared through the tiny window present on the wall in front of him, waiting eagerly for any sign of life to set him free. It had been a month now, and keeping track was severely driving him insane. Shadow growled to himself, shutting his eyes to focus on his meditating despite the cuffs around his wrists suppressing his natural Chaos Energy.
Suddenly three knocks echoed throughout his cell, breaking him free of his thoughts and back into the real world. Gazing at him from the outside, Rouge the bat grinned slyly and opened the blast door holding him within.
"Right on time," Shadow remarked quietly, rubbing his wrists after Rouge had taken the cuffs off. "Any news about Shrike?"
"Well...looks like the ARK has been left abandoned again," she commented with a hint of remorse. "Though, Shrike was the reason. He killed all the agents and scientists that were up here when I brought you in. He's trying to pin the blame on you to cover up his tracks...he's creating a super-soldier gene out of your DNA to turn people into super-powered freaks. And, well I guess not everyone is compatible. Every agent onboard were just test subjects to him. He let the ones who's body accepted the new gene free to kill the ones who rejected it..."
Shadow growled at the news he had been given, then walked through into the hallway beside Rouge, looking down towards the exit, noticing it had been destroyed.
"It's one thing after another with that man, isn't it?" Shadow scoffed, walking towards the doorway with Rouge in tow. "Did you get the locations I asked for? I can imagine it won't be long before Shrike decides to come pay me a visit and transfer me back to Earth if he's done with this place."
Handing the dark hedgehog an envelope, Rouge couldn't help but wonder what he was up to. Even though she supported him every step of the way, there was something bugging her about his plan.
"You're gonna have one helluva time getting into those bases, sugar," she noted, eying the bloodshed present in the staircase they had entered. "Besides, what do you need to see criminals for? They were obviously locked away for good reason, Shadow."
Continuing down the stairway, the duo reached the main floor, which presented more of the intense killings to Shadow. Bodies had been left all around the central lobby, either in tact or ripped into separate pieces. The dark hedgehog grimaced at the sight, memories of the massacre GUN led on his home 50 years prior flooding his head; and with the memory came a flash flood of anger. Though, he knew he would get a chance to exact revenge on the man who deserved it, and that time would be soon.
"They're all experiments used by Shrike some years ago," the dark hedgehog responded as they came up to an elevator door drenched in crimson. "They were all locked away due to Shrike's fear of them rebelling. Not to mention all his test subjects sent most of his experiments batshit insane; which would explain what happened up here as well."
"So you're looking to recruit a bunch of psycho's?" Rouge retorted with a less-than-approving frown. "You know, you've had some pretty terrible ideas...but this has got to take the cake."
"No sense in being picky when it comes to manpower," Shadow responded simply, then walked into the elevator car, tapping the only button present. "And luck so has it that one of our friends is onboard the ARK..."
Glancing down at the piece of paper in Shadow's hand, Rouge scanned over the details of the prisoner, recognizing them to be one of the agents she had went through training with.
"Stella Venise...I remember her," Rouge remarked in shock. "She and I were good friends when we went through the GUN initiate training. What is she doing up here...and a prisoner nonetheless!"
"Says here that the reason for her imprisonment was failure to capture Shadow the Hedgehog." He smirked at the statement, a sense of pride overcoming him. "I really did piss Shrike off when I resigned, I suppose. He's certainly desperate to capture me."
South Island – August 2016
A blur of cerulean light exploded across the fields just outside Sonic's hometown, sending the long, wavy stalks of wheat wobbling in the fray. The blur continued through the wheat field, and through a large, hollowed out oak tree into a village. The citizens of the small community yelped in fear at the hurricane-incarnate rushing into their humble abode, when suddenly the blur slid to a stop in front of a large castle sitting at the edge of the town.
Sonic whistled in amusement, gazing up at the walls of the palace. "Wow, they sure did a big renovation to Knothole since I was last here," the blue hero remarked to himself, though unaware of the figure walking up behind him.
"Boy, it's like seein' a ghost!" a lumbering man exclaimed excitedly, patting Sonic on the back roughly.
Sonic spun around in surprise, knowing all too well who had greeted him. Behind him stood an unusually tall and muscular koala wearing a loose fitting red vest with a latin motto inked onto the back. The man's long, white hair was tied into a long braid and ponytail, making it look like he had neglected his hygiene for years; but that was definitely not the case, Sonic knew that for certain.
Looking Sonic up and down with ecstatic, ocean blue eyes, the man grinned wide. "You grew up, kid!" he bellowed happily. "What brings you all the way back to South Island? And Knothole of all places!"
The blue hero bit his lip, then glanced at the ground with a pained look. "Well, truth is, Xanthos, I came out here to visit Uncle Chuck, but he wasn't in his cottage. It didn't look like anyone had been in there for a couple years, to be honest. Have you heard from him lately?"
Watching the hedgehog curiously, Xanthos' brow furrowed in thought. "Strange. Serves me right for not keeping in touch with the old man...You sure he wasn't just out for a walk? You know how much of a nature nut he is, despite his obsession with machines."
"His place didn't look like he went for a walk, and if he did, he's been gone a long time," Sonic replied with a heavy sigh. "Somethin' tells me he's dead. I mean...he was pretty secluded all the way out in the forest."
"What could have been so important that you came all the way out here to talk to the old fart?" Xanthos questioned with a smirk, somewhat joyous of the fact he was older than Sonic's uncle and still healthy. "I mean, you couldn't have just wrote a letter? Or what are the kids using nowadays...Twitterbook?"
"Eh...well, you know I would've tried to contact you, too," Sonic admitted with a frown, remembering his childhood. "But, honestly after I went to live with Uncle Chuck I had no idea what happened to you. Where did you go, anyways?"
"Why don't we head over to my place, it's just on the edge of town." Xanthos offered, gesturing towards the pathway leading into the now large town square. "We'll catch up. Don't think I haven't been keeping tabs on you either, Kid. You've certainly been making your mark on the world since you left to the United Federations, eh?"
"Heh, you don't even know..." Sonic replied with a guilty smirk.
Space Colony Ark
"Aaaahhhhhh!"
Suddenly a metal cup flew against the bars holding the terrified prisoner back, only to bounce back and fall on the floor, much to her displeasure. Watching the horrified expression on the young woman's face, Shadow simply frowned with annoyance, while Rouge watched in shock at the unexpected reaction they earned from the ex-GUN scientist. The woman cowering on the floor continued to scream profanities of all sorts towards Shadow, vowing she'd do anything if she just spare her life. Doing her best to stifle a giggle, Rouge covered her mouth to muffle a gentle snicker, watching the pathetic display from her old time friend. Slowly, Rouge approached the jail cell, doing her best to ease the mind of the young dove within.
Her inmate attire had been dreadfully ripped apart in the time she had spent locked up, making Rouge sigh in pain at the treatment inmates received while under watch of GUN. What was once an orange, long sleeve shirt had now been ripped to become a tank-top, and the khaki-cargo pants given to all prisoners were torn away to form more comfortable shorts, while some of the left over fabric had been turned into a headband to hold her dreadlock like head feathers back from her face.
"Pl-please don't kill me," Stella whimpered, holding her head under her arms. "I swear, I won't make anymore noise. I saw what happened to the other guards, and after hearing what Shrike said about you, Shadow, I promise I'll do anything!"
"Stella...Stella," Rouge whispered, trying to calm her down. "We're not here to hurt you, y'know. Shrike...he's an evil man. Whatever he told you, doesn't have a lick of truth to it."
"But I saw that monster kill a bunch of my subordinates back when Shadow invaded Central Command...such malice. I've never seen a person kill so easily." Stella shivered, looking up to show her moist, topaz eyes.
"Calm down," Shadow grumbled angrily, using a blade of energy to slice open the bars to her cell with utmost ease. "I'm not here to kill you, Stella. In fact, if I had wanted you dead I would have done it back when I first saw you. Rather...I'm here to make a proposal...help me destroy Shrike and whatever he's plotting, and I'll let you free of this place."
"You must be crazy!" she shouted frantically. "There's no possible way to stop him now...you'd lose hope, too if you saw what he has planned to do with your DNA, Shadow. The blood flowing through your veins is like...it's like gold. You're a biologically engineered masterpiece."
"I know exactly what he's planning," Shadow replied quietly, kneeling down in front of the dove. "But, I will not let that man tarnish the name of justice any longer. He's a cancer that needs to be extinguished from this world, and Professor Gerald created me to do just that. He created me to save and give hope to the world, and while Shrike is alive, no hope can exist."
"What do you say, hun?" Rouge commented, freeing the young woman's hands of her cuffs. "If you come back with us, I'm sure I can find a better outfit for you to wear, too."
"...Alright," Stella muttered. "I'll come with you two. But I don't see how I can be of any help? I'm not all that special, and what I do possess for power is merely the result of Shrike's experimentation...I don't even know how to control it."
"Don't worry, we can help with that," Shadow responded, helping the young dove up to her feet. "I need everything that Shrike locked away out of fear to come face to face with him. You could say you're apart of an army of sorts."
South Island
Quietly sitting across from one another, Sonic and Xanthos looked into each others eyes. The air had grown unusually tense despite their relationship, but the elder of the two knew that no matter what had been buried in the shadows of the past was bound to resurface. Though he never expected an apprentice of his to find their way down such a treacherous path that the world itself would be threatened with extinction. It had been two hours since they had reunited, and in that time Sonic had taken the opportunity to fill Xanthos in on every detail haunting his head. Though, one of the major questions circling Sonic's mind had yet to come out. He was fighting with himself on how to go about it, or if it was even remotely important for that matter.
"Listen, kid," Xanthos said sternly before taking a sip of his coffee. "Killing someone isn't ever an easy task. I worked for GUN a very long time, and I've done and seen things most shouldn't have. My actions have torn families apart...and created chaos. In fact, it was because of me that Galaxy ended up the way he did. His brother was going to compromise the safety of the entire organization, so I was ordered to kill him. Though...the Seiryu family were told otherwise."
Listening quietly, Sonic absorbed the information, though it made it no less easier to cope with the idea of having someone else's blood on his hands. "I'm...coming to terms with the fact that being a hero means I'm going to have to do things I don't like. But...I need to know a few things. And you can't lie to me, you did enough of that when Havoc and I were being trained by you."
"I'm a changed man, Blue," the koala stated simply, shrugging his shoulders. "Ask what you will, I'll answer everything."
Pausing for a moment, Sonic pondered what to ask first, deciding what he felt was most important. "I have a lot to ask..." he muttered, his green eyes softening for a moment. "I guess...well after finding no one at the cottage, realizing that Uncle Chuck is most likely dead...I think the first thing I'd like to know is...what happened to my parents? I know damn well I didn't just come from thin air, as much as people may think to be true. Who were they?"
"You sure you wanna know that one, kid?" Xanthos responded almost gravely, staring deeply at the blue hedgehog. "Coz' I'm going to be honest, what I'm about to tell you...was supposed to be kept secret. I promised your uncle that one, but I also can't deny you the answers."
"I'm positive," Sonic said flatly, preparing himself for the worst.
"You're father...Typhoon, he worked for GUN as well, we were close friends in the military. In fact, it's funny to say, but he had met Doctor Robotnik long before you were born. Your mother, Aleena, was a hostage of Robotnik's while he was experimenting with Chaos Energy, just like his grand father. Typhoon was sent to retrieve the Chaos Emeralds, and ultimately became the first modern mobian to learn of their existence after Ivo stole them from Angel Island," Xanthos explained in a grim voice, unsure of how to proceed.
"So...Doctor Robotnik killed them?" Sonic assumed, anger boiling up inside him, beginning to rationalize himself murdering the scientist.
"Far from it," Xanthos replied calmly and shifted in his seat. "After your father destroyed Ivo's base, he triggered Chaos Control with the emeralds and was sent to South Island; your mothers home. Naturally as these stories go, they fell in love...married and had a child – you. Though, somewhere down the road, I'm not sure what happened to your father, but one night something clicked. Now...Charles and I both theorized that he became obsessed with the knowledge of the Emeralds, and it drove him insane...and well..."
Sonic's thoughts had seemed to speed up into an uncontrollable madness while at the same slow down into a numbing stillness. The information being given to him was beginning to get harder and harder to digest, as if he were being told of an ancient folktale used to scare kids away from touching the Echidnian artifacts. Yet...he continued to listen, growing all the more desperate for the answer coming next. He had wondered why he had no parents all his life, why his family had been limited to Uncle Chuck and a select few others. He lead a life of solitude for the most part, and from what he was putting together, the cause of all his suffering was Doctor Robotnik. In a way, it was sort of ironic how they had such a fierce rivalry for so long, and how he had died by Sonic's hands and not by old age or any other natural cause.
"On the morning of your first birthday, Charles had arrived to visit you three, to give your first pair of running shoes to you," Xanthos explained, stuttering a moment as he bit his lip. "When he walked through the door, your father had killed Charles' sister and most importantly... your mother, Aleena."
To Be Continued