NOTE: This story takes place after Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) for 360 & PS3
If I have to tell you that the three paragraphs in italic are Shadow's POV, then you shouldn't be reading this...
Escape
Prologue
I...am Shadow the Hedgehog. Ultimate Life Form and GUN Agent – a deadly combination. My life use to be a living hell, but I had a revelation and turned it around. I made amends and began working for the very people I once believed were my enemy; the Guardians of the United Nations, also known as GUN. Everything seemed to be in the right place for me, I finally had a normal life. It's unfortunate how quickly things can fall apart...
It started off as a normal day; I was assigned a mission to infiltrate a research facility on suspicions of WMDs being designed there and built and stored off site. My own suspicions should have risen when it was a fellow GUN agent whom gave me the mission details instead of my normal assignment officer. But I believed I could take on anything, so I accepted. Shortly after breaking in the facility, I was ambushed. They were just simple humans in lab coats, I thought I could get away without breaking a sweat. But I was wrong. They began babbling crazy talk and acting insane. While I stood there confused, someone jumped me from behind and jammed a needle into my neck. Before I knew it, I couldn't move. The men returned to their normal dispositions and by the way they were talking...I knew then that it was a setup. My fellow agent had been paid to get me into that facility specifically for my capture. I couldn't believe he would turn on me, then again, I did; even now, I was considered an object of destruction rather than a person. That and he was a shady person to begin with...
They dragged me off and stuffed me into a small cell. I was constantly injected with something that rendered my body motionless. I had tests and experiments run on me all throughout the hours, everyday. Sometimes, they did things to me just for their amusement. Senseless, inhumane things. I've been here so long...I've lost count at four years because I've grown so tired of counting the days, but I know it's been double by now. All I can do is lay here waiting for them to come get me for more experiments...I don't know how much more I can take...
...
Two men threw the black hedgehog onto a metal bed attached to the wall of a cell. The barred door was slammed shut and locked. Shadow was relieved to hear their foot steps become more and more distant as they left. The day was done and experimentations were over for now...until the dawn of tomorrow. He laid there, numb and wore down from the pain. He remained motionless for several hours. It was a God's send to get some peace every now & then. But his gut twisted as he realized that the paralysis was due to begin wearing off. Someone usually came by every five hours to give him another injection to make sure he remained under their control.
Footsteps echoed through the hall as someone approached the cell block. His heart stopped as the screech of the cell door opening reached his ears. He clamped his teeth, unable to move anything else aside from his eyes. Surprise took over as a female figure in a lab coat came into view. His entire time in captivity he'd only seen males working in the facility. A change is nice, but not in this situation. He winced as he prepared for the sting of the needle, as he had felt it everyday, all throughout the day. But this time, he felt nothing. He opened his eyes as the woman began stroking his head. She calmly whispered to him in a soft, soothing tone.
"Don't worry...we're getting out of here..." She lifted him from the cell bed and laid him onto a hospital style stretcher. She casually strolled into the hall, pushing the wheeled bed. Shadow couldn't believe it; was he finally receiving deliverance from this hell? It was only a matter of time until he knew for sure. He strained to look up at the woman's face. He was stiff, but miraculously he was able to move his head and neck. The paralysis was wearing off, despite being forced upon him for so many years. He gazed at her features as she continued past her unsuspecting coworkers. Her eyes were a jade blue, her hair was a strawberry blonde – long in length, reaching well below her ribs; her physical features were petite. His glance shot forward as he heard metal doors close behind them, and for the first time in a long time, he saw the sky. Something he long ago took as something just being there, now a blessing. He was immediately brought out of his moment by a sting; an all too familiar sting. He looked over to see the woman pulling a needle from his arm. Anger boiled in him. How dare she betray him like that!
She noticed his glare and laid her hand over the injection site "This will rapidly deplete the paralysis formula from your system and restore your muscle control." She smiled warmly as Shadow relaxed. Her words were true; within a minute he was able to move. He felt weak at first, but once he pushed himself up and off the stretcher, his strength returned. The woman was taken aback.
"Amazing! Normally subjects take hours before they regain an ounce of muscle control-"
"I'm no normal subject..." Shadow stated as he moved and flexed his limbs, embracing the feeling of motion.
"...Oh...of course..." She replied as she watched him stretch and bend his joints.
Shadow halted his movement and sighed. "Thank you."
"Huh? Oh! Yes, you're welcome...but we're not in the clear just yet...once they notice you're missing, they'll go through hell and back to recapture you. Either to continue studying you or to keep you quiet."
"And what of you?" Shadow turned to her; his eyes centered on hers.
"I know too much...they'll figure that out soon enough."
Curiosity struck the hedgehog. "What do you know?" He was eager to get an answer as to why he had been through so much hell for so long. There was a reason they experimented on him and regardless of why, it wasn't for the greater good.
"I'll explain later, when we're safe! But right now, you're freedom and my life are at stake! We need to keep moving while the night can act as our shroud." Before either of them could utter another word, a siren wailed from within the building.
"Damn! We have to move quickly!" The woman panicked as she ran over to a street bike parked among many cars stationed outside the facility. Shadow followed, slightly staggering as he made his way across the parking lot to her position. She spliced a few wires and tied them together; the bike's engine buzzed and the body rattled from the internal gears turning and rotating. He was rather amazed she knew how to hot wire a vehicle.
She lifted herself onto the seat. "Get on! We've got to high-tail it!" Shadow pulled himself onto the remaining area of seating behind her and placed his arms around her waist. She leaned forward and twisted the right handle; the bike tore out of the lot and down the street. As they zipped away from the building two men ran outside.
"Son of a-he's gotten away!"
"W-what do we do now?"
"This is bad! This is very bad! We need to contact the boss and get the Zevox Squad on this!"
"Do you think the boss is gonna kill us?"
"Of course he will, you idiot! Now get inside and call him!"
...
The woman halted the bike on a bridge crossing over a river flowing to the ocean. "We've got to ditch the bike!" She grabbed the bottom, struggling to lift it over the bridge wall, to no avail.
"Let me handle this." Shadow picked the bike up with little effort and tossed it over. "Now what?"
"I've arranged to meet with some members of the Underground and-"
Shadow tilted his head to the side. "Underground?"
"Yes. They're retired GUN soldiers who use their homes to protect and hide fellow agents who have gotten in deep situations with missions. And believe me, we are in as deep as we can get..."
"Exactly who are you?"
"I'll tell you everything once we're safe! We need to cut across this field and get back to the city before they find us. The first safe house is in Central."
"Alright, let's get moving!"
...
"You...WHAT?" A man slammed his fist on his desk as he held the phone to his ear.
The man on the other end of the line stuttered "S-sorry boss...we don't know how, but-"
"BULL! SHIT! You find who is responsible for this and annihilate them! Or you will be taking their place!" He slammed the phone down onto it's base and rubbed his eyes with his index finger and thumb. A female voice over the intercom interrupted his attempt at stress relief.
"Mr. Zevox? The team is here to see you..."
"Fine, fine. Send them in!" As soon as he finished his sentence, ten men outfitted in black armor and weapons marched in and stood in a straight line in front of Mr. Zevox's desk. Zevox stood and approached them.
"Alright. It seems our key source for Project Revo has escaped. It also seems he has an accomplice and they're both headed into the city. You are my top Elites of the Zevox Squad. It is your job to recapture the Ultimate Life Form and kill the person with him. I don't care who it is, just do it! And for the love of God, keep the causalities minimal!"
The men held their right hands to their heads and shouted in unison. "Yes Sir!" They turned and marched out of the room. Zevox fell back into his chair, rubbing the temples of his skull.
"This cannot be freaking happening..."
...
Shadow followed the woman down an alley way. They stopped at a door behind an abandoned building. She knocked three times, paused and knocked twice more. A young man opened the door and embraced her in a hug.
"My God! It's good to see you again, Saranity!" After a moment, he let her go and stepped aside, allowing them in.
"It's great to see you too, Jay..." She replied as her and Shadow entered the building. The man led them to a table; he slid it aside and removed a rug & wooden slab stationed underneath it, revealing a tunnel.
"This will lead you to Commander Tucker's place. He's awaiting your arrival..." Jay stated as he motioned for them to jump in.
"Tucker?" Shadow thought to himself. "The previous GUN Commander? The one who was in charge of the ARK raid?" He was stunned that he was going to come face to face with the man responsible for the death of everyone he cared about all those years ago, but he shook it off as Saranity grabbed onto a ladder leading down the tunnel and began her descent. He followed after she had gone down a ways.
It was a good thirty feet before they reached the bottom. They let go of the ladder and continued on. The passage resembled an old war tunnel and was lighted by what seemed to be white Christmas lights.
"So your name's Saranity?" Shadow randomly inquired as they made their way down the path.
"Yes, but I prefer to be called Sara."
"I take it you're a GUN agent?" She was taken aback by his words and halted.
"You came to that conclusion quickly..." She stated as she continued walking alongside Shadow. "How did you figure it out?"
"I'm no fool. I myself am..." He paused. "...was an agent."
"Y-you're...you're Shadow? Agent Shadow the Hedgehog?" He nodded. "Oh my God! You're a legend! But...how did you know I was-"
"An agent? I recall a fellow GUN member by the name of Hal Hodgeson. He always talked about his bright and talented daughter...Saranity Hodgeson and how she'd one day join GUN."
"That's right...my name is Sara Hodgeson and I am an agent of GUN. Impressive that you put that together-" She stopped as she realized they had reached another ladder. "We're here. We'll talk more once inside." Shadow nodded as she began climbing up. He stood still for a moment, unsure if he wanted to follow. He wasn't really prepared to meet the person partially responsible for Maria's death.
"Come on!" The sound of Sara's voice brought him to. He had to buck up and hold his emotion back the best he could. After all, he had set the past behind him. He began climbing the ladder just as Sara had opened the wooden door overhead and made her way inside; Shadow came in shortly after. He met eyes with an old man & woman. The man had wide eyes as he gazed at the hedgehog.
Shadow sighed in annoyance. "I suppose you already know who...or what I am..." His eyes narrowed on the old man "...Commander Tucker..."
The man rubbed the back of his head. "Well this...is awkward. Never thought I'd be helping the Ultimate Life Form out..." Shadow just glared at him.
"You two know each other?" Sara questioned.
"Not personally. But back when I was GUN's Commander, I sent a team to raid the ARK and shut down the research of the Ultimate Life Form, Project Shadow-"
"And one of your soldiers shot an innocent girl..." Shadow interrupted. He sighed, attempting to shake off his frustration. "But never mind any of it...the past is the past..."
Tucker was stunned. "And you're so willing to be civil about it?"
"For the longest part of my life I hated GUN for what that soldier did. I was...rather violent towards any agent or soldier that crossed my path. But I've let it all go...made amends and gave my life a new purpose."
"I see...well...in any case, it is my duty to protect Sara and you better not-"
"What about Shadow?" Sara aggressively exclaimed.
"He's a powerful creature, he can handle himself...but enough of this. You need to get some rest! It will be dawn in a couple of hours. You've got a long day ahead of you tomorrow...you need your energy." He pointed to another room with some mattresses laying on the floor. Sara mumbled as her and Shadow made their way over to the door. Tucker glared at the hedgehog.
"I'm watching you..." He whispered under his breath.
"And I you." Shadow casually replied as he entered the designated room.
He sat on the edge of one mattress as he watched the couple leave from his view. Sara had already laid down and relaxed on the other makeshift bed. Shadow inhaled and broke the silence.
"Now that we're here, I'd like some answers..."
"Same for me." She stated as she sat herself up on the mattress.
"I'll go first; why were you there at the lab? Second; what do you know about my reasons for being there?"
"Well...to answer both of your questions, I was assigned to investigate the research going on in the facility. They say they just use their research for medical advances...but we knew otherwise. So I signed myself up as an intern a few years ago and recently got hired as a lab assistant several months back. I soon discovered that the research was for biological weapons being designed there. They're being built elsewhere and sold to other countries. As for you...you were they're most dangerous research...the tests ran on you were being used to understand your abilities and control of chaos energy. They're using those findings to build some sort of super weapon, but I'm unsure of what. But we're heading to the weapons facility tomorrow. The Underground isn't hiding us...they're smuggling us into that facility. The current Commander decided the mission was too risky and terminated the investigation. But the Underground knows what's at stake if nothing is done, so they've agreed to help me out. It's going to be incredibly dangerous...if you want, you can stay behind and lay low until all this is over with."
"If they used me to create something that jeopardizes the safety of mankind , then I have to set it right! No matter what happens! I'm in this until the end...and besides, I never back down from anythi-" He paused. "Wait. If you knew I was the Ultimate Life Form back at the facility, why did you rescue me? And how could you not know I was a GUN agent? I too was sent on a mission to investigate the lab's research."
Sara smiled warmly "I never knew that Agent Shadow and the Ultimate Life Form were one in the same. But even though I knew you were the Ultimate Life Form, once I saw the look in your eyes, I knew you weren't a dangerous creature..." Her smile faded. "...but a person being tortured inhumanely..." She sighed. "Now for my question. How did you get captured in the first place? I thought your powers were unmatched?"
"Trust."
"Huh?"
"I trusted a fellow agent when he gave me the details for the mission. I blindly accepted. Once I arrived some of the lab workers distracted me by acting abnormally while another struck me from behind. What ever I was injected with paralyzed me." He scoffed. "Even if I am the Ultimate Life Form...I'm still flawed..."
"Do you know which agent sold you to them?"
"Rodney Willia-wait! I never mentioned that I was betrayed for monetary gain...what else do you know that you're not telling me?"
"I-I had found documents during my investigation there stating that the Ultimate Life Form was sold to the facility; a deal was made with the owner, Clyde Zevox. His company, the Zevox Medical Research Corporation, also known as ZMR, made a contract with North Korea to produce the deadliest weapons available to man. A large sum of cash was paid by ZMR to have you captured because North Korea was going to pay billions for the weapon's development. What better source of destruction than you, right? However once the project was initiated after your capture and the payment was received, ZMR backed out of the deal with North Korea but kept the money. They also continued the weapon's development. I don't know what's going on or why Zevox is still making this weapon, but I need to find out the truth."
"I agree. This is a serious situation..." He gazed down and thought for a moment. "Did GUN know what happened to me?"
"No...they never even knew that ZMR had the Ultimate Life Form in their possession. I was told that you just disappeared one day. No one knew why..."
He gave a short exhale. "How's Rouge doing?"
"She quit long before I joined. I think. I heard you two were a great team..." He gave no reply. The two sat quietly for several minutes. Shadow eventually broke the silence.
"I...suppose you need to get some rest..."
"...yeah..." Sara sighed as she laid back on her bed. "Good night..." Shadow didn't say a word. He just sat there as his companion fell into a restless sleep. His mind raced between the past several years and today, but also the future; tomorrow was going to be an eventful and dangerous day.
Alright, this little plot popped into my subconscious one night. Yes, it came to me in a dream. I'll be honest, I changed it a bit to make sense, because the dream was...a little crazy. But meh.
I also just made up the names as I went along (aside for Clyde & Sara). I have no idea what the previous GUN commander was named, so i just made one up on the fly.
I also haven't decided what Clyde Zevox looks like exactly. I may leave it to the readers to invision him; He can be bald, he can have a faux hawk. He can have a scar over his eye, he can have tattoos. He can be big, he can be scrawny, I don't care. Let your imagination run wild! However, I may mention his features in the next chapter, IDK...
I also feel the meeting between Shadow and the GUN commander was kind of...or incredibly awkward. But my beta reader says its fine. But I want to hear your thoughts as well. Should I change it?
One more thing - I want honest opinions; Should I continue posting this? or am I going to be wasting my time?
There will be no more than 7 chapters, most likely less. But each chapter will be longer than this prologue where as they cover an entire day of events.
I'm going to write it to the end regardless to better my writing[typing] skills. But if no one cares about it or doesn't like it, I'm not going to post anymore of it.
Also, constructive criticism please! I'm always up for hearing ways to better my typing skills!