Chapter 12: Shadow of a Dragon

A groan came from the hedgehog and he opened his eyes. He stood up and looked around, not knowing where he was. Galbatorix looked at him with a curious expression on his face. The hedgehog had red and black fur with white chest fur. His pupils were red, and he wore inhibitor rings on his arms and legs along with gloves and hover shoes.

"Who are you?" Galbatorix asked, waiting for the hedgehog to speak.

When the hedgehog saw Galbatorix, he narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He opened his mouth and spoke in a dark tone. "I am Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Lifeform." He looked around the room and saw that he was no longer on Earth. A crackle of Chaos Energy build up in Shadow's hand and a Chaos Spear appeared. "Where am I?" Shadow asked. "Was it you who brought me here?"

"I did," he told Shadow. "My name is Galbatorix, and you have been summoned to the land of Alagaesia."

"Why?" Shadow asked, still suspicious.

Galbatorix chuckled. Shadow immediately had a feeling that this person was evil and was plotting something. "It's very simple," Galbatorix said. "I wish for you to become my servant. There is a war going on, and a Dragon Rider is trying to overthrow my rule as king. On top of that, another dragon has appeared from your world and is helping the Rider on his quest."

Shadow listened carefully to what Galbatorix said and scoffed. "There aren't any dragons that live on Earth, Galbatorix. That is the planet where I come from."

"What if I told you that the dragon was transformed by magic when he came here, and he was originally a hedgehog named Sonic."

This caught Shadow's attention. "Sonic is here in Alagaesia? If that is true, then how did he get here?"

"A witch named Angela summoned him here and transformed him into a dragon permanently. He is currently helping the Dragon Rider named Eragon, who wishes to defeat me. However, I have summoned you here so that you can do my bidding instead and we will have an advantage over them! I already have two dragons who work for me, and I can see that you would be a good servant. What do you say, Shadow?"

Shadow looked at him and an angry expression appeared on his face. He took out a green Chaos Emerald. Galbatorix's eyes widened when he saw it, and was about to ask what it was when Shadow spoke. "If you think I am going to help you, then you are sadly mistaken. I never help anyone who is evil, Galbatorix. Since you mentioned that Sonic is here in Alagaesia, I think that I will go and help him take you down instead. But before I do...I think I'm going to teach you a lesson to teach you never to cross me again." He lifted the Chaos Emerald in the air and shouted, "CHAOS CONTROL!"

He vanished in a flash of green light a reappeared behind Galbatorix, kicking him hard in the back. The king flew through the air and landed on the ground hard. He sent out a bolt of magic that hit Shadow, shocking him. Shadow sent out a Chaos Spear but Galbatorix just blocked it and sent the attack back at Shadow. The Chaos Spear hit the hedgehog in the chest and he yelled in pain, dropping the emerald. The Chaos Emerald fell to the ground and Galbatorix picked it up. He studied it with interest and grinned.

"What is this?" he asked Shadow. "It is a very interesting emerald, and I can sense that it hold a great amount of power."

Shadow said nothing, and Galbatorix just sighed. "I'll know soon enough. Since you are too stubborn enough to accept my offer I will force you to swear allegiance to me."

He plunged his consciousness into Shadow's mind and felt a great barrier of resistance. Shadow tried to keep Galbatorix out of his head but his efforts were futile. He screamed in pain and clutched his head as Galbatorix read his thoughts and sent the knowledge of the Ancient Language into Shadow's mind, forcing him to recite oaths that would bind him to Galbatorix as long as he lived. The king withdrew from Shadow's mind and smirked.

"Very good, Shadow. But one more thing needs to be done before I can have use of your services."

He sent another bolt of magic towards Shadow, who screamed as pain racked his body. His fur hardened into scales and covered his entire body. Scutes ran down his constantly deepening chest, which enlarged his internal organs and twisted them into new shapes. His breathing grew deeper as his lungs, ribs and heart expanded, growing larger and more massive by the second to support the new muscles. This caused a burning in his stomach, giving him a feeling of nausea. Shadow coughed, trying to rid himself of the feeling but suddenly a jet of flame flew from his mouth and the burning stopped.

He felt his legs and arms grow with muscle. Bones creaked and broke apart as they snapped, rearranged and reversed themselves, forcing him onto all fours. His feet and hands grew as well, becoming paws. Shadow's five fingers and toes started to ache as they thickened and pushed against each other, merging themselves together until he had four fingers and three toes. The fingernails and toenails on his paws lengthened, sharpening themselves into thick black curved claws. Shadow groaned in pain as he felt bones in his body move, ripping themselves apart before reconfiguring into strong thick ones.

Shadow's spine stretched as the vertebral column grew outward, causing his body to lengthen. A tail burst from the base of his spine and lengthened until it was a full meter long. Pain suddenly filled his shoulders as they were wrenched open, broadening and splitting in two as massive bat-like wings unfolded from his back. His neck stretched outward, growing longer and wider while extending as bones snapped, popping themselves into new places. This caused his face to crack and lengthen, jutting forward as his mouth and nose fused together to become a muzzle. Razor sharp fangs replaced his teeth and his tongue split in two at the tip as it grew thinner, becoming forked.

He closed his eyes in pain as he felt them move slightly to the sides of his head. When he opened them, they had turned into cat-like slits. He could see in both ultraviolet and infrared light. Two curved horns grew out of the top of his head, and his ears became three spine fans. His muscles twisted and rippled, strengthening and growing in mass across his body as he continued to grow larger in height, reaching a gargantuan size.

The transformation came to an end and in place of Shadow was a gigantic black and red dragon. He turned his head towards Galbatorix and roared. Galbatorix smirked and looked at the newly transformed dragon with pride.

"This transformation is permanent, by the way. Now...since you are under my command, you will tell me what this emerald is!" Galbatorix yelled.

Shadow growled and tried to disobey but found that he couldn't. He was an unwilling servant to Galbatorix, just as Murtagh and Thorn were. The dragon looked at the emerald and sent his thoughts to Galbatorix.

That is a Chaos Emerald, he said. Where I come from, they hold immense power and can do anything, even transform thoughts into power. There are seven in all. If someone collects all seven and they will be invincible.

Galbatorix looked at the emerald and a evil glint appeared in his eyes. "Are the rest of the emeralds here?"

I do not know. It is possible that since this emerald is here, the rest may be in Alagaesia also. You will have to search for them.

"Excellent," Galbatorix said. "I was right to summon you, Shadow. With another dragon at my side, we will surely win this war!"

At that very moment, a portal opened up in the sky and six Chaos Emeralds appeared. They glowed brightly and shot out in different directions, scattering across the land of Alagaesia waiting to be found.