With the help of the Commander, we obtained new lodging in downtown Central City, where the reconstruction efforts were prioritized due it being, you know, the Capital of the United Federation. Not to mention that Westopolis had seen the worst of the destruction.
There was still a lot that I didn't have answers to, and it weighed heavily on my mind. Who was I? How did Shadow know me? And why the heck was I part Black Arms?! Just what in the world was I?!
For some reason, I'm nostalgic
Perhaps such feelings had also been weighing on Shadow's mind, because traces of his thoughts began spilling into my mind through our telepathic link. Something… began probing at him, and probing at me by extension.
"There it is again… I feel it… Someone's talking to me…" Shadow's voice rang in my mind one night. He wasn't the only one.
"…A strong power…" Murmured a voice.
"Who… who is it?" Shadow asked.
"…This power… …must not exist… …cannot allow it to happen again… …the tragedy must not…"
"Tragedy?" Shadow's voice echoed in confusion.
"…Yes…"
"What tragedy?" Shadow asked, but the voice didn't answer.
I awoke with a start, unable to make sense of the dream that had been playing on repeat in my head for the past several nights.
Am I quivering?
"The same illusion…" Shadow's voice rang in my mind as I threw back the covers and headed to the closet to grab my clothes. He was actually talking aloud to himself, but I could nonetheless hear him as I got dressed and hurried out to track him down. I was suppressing my own brainwaves to prevent him from sensing me as I located him in the northwestern district known as Night Babylon. He was standing outside of a suspicious building as I concealed myself in the shadows of the area. "This is it. I feel the emanations over here." Shadow said. He was actually too far away for me to hear him in such a noisy area, so I was still using our connection to listen to what he was saying. "Well, then… Let's see what we've got here!" He remarked before pulling out a Chaos Emerald. "Chaos Control!"
I frowned to myself. The place he'd teleported into was clearly an Eggman base. No way was I going in there. The fact it was dangerous aside, I wouldn't be able to hide the fact that I was tailing Shadow if I did. If I wanted to find out what was going on, I would need to further synchronize my mind with his. The problem was that if I did that, I would lose awareness of my own surroundings. Not a particularly safe thing to do when I was hiding out in a dark alley in a seedy part of town. I looked around and settled for heading to the rooftop of a nearby building, settling myself behind the backside of the neon sign to avoid being seen as I closed my eyes and probed into Shadow's mind. I didn't particularly like doing this without his permission, but I needed answers just as much as he did.
It's mysterious, but
With my eyes closed and my mind focused, Shadow's vision filled my own. He was looking at some sort of robot. "This… this is what called me…" He said to himself.
"It's the Gizoid… A legendary weapon." Said a voice I recognized.
Shadow turned with a start to find a familiar white bat standing there. "You… Rouge. What are you doing here?"
"Hey, I've got information sources everywhere." Rouge told him. "There's nothing I can't find out about if…"
"You said it was a weapon?" Shadow interrupted.
Rouge huffed. "You'll never change, will you? That robot… Gizoid is known as the 'Ultimate life form.' Just like you, except he's 4,000 years older." She explained. "I heard the Doctor was hiding something really big, and I guess this is it…"
"Intruder alert! Intruder alert!" A robotic voice rang out as a pair of gray robots approached them.
"Dang!" Shadow said. To his confusion, Rouge chuckled. "What's so funny?" He asked.
"It's been a while since we fought together like this!" She explained.
"Just don't get in my way!" Shadow told her.
"You too!" Rouge replied. What kind of dynamic was that?
I sighed and ended the synchronization. I was still keeping tabs on Shadow enough to know that he was fighting, but I had nothing to gain while his thoughts were largely inactive. It was better to use this time to sort through my own.
I mulled over what Route had said. The "ultimate life form"? That didn't make any sense. To begin with, a robot wasn't really a life form to start with. It was completely inorganic. A mere imitation of life. Sure, there were some robots with advanced enough AIs to be considered people, but that didn't change the fact that—from a scientific standpoint at least—they were machines.
Getting into the philosophical matter of whether or not their souls were "real" didn't suit me. I was speaking purely in the terms that organic matter… "life"… consisted of living cells that contained DNA and was infinitely complex. Robots, on the other hand… you could theoretically transfer a robot's mind… its "soul"… from one body to another. They were far more simplistic, yet lacked many of the limitations that living organisms faced. Of course, they had their own limitations regardless. They could not, by any stretch of the imagination, reproduce, for example. It just wasn't possible. No matter how you spun it, calling a robot a "life form" made no sense in my mind.
I was snapped out of my musings by the dim realization that something had happened. I couldn't tell what though. The only thing I was certain of was that Shadow's consciousness had grown weak. He wasn't dead—I could sense that much—but he wasn't exactly alert either. I peered out of my hiding spot and saw Rouge helping an injured Shadow out of the base and towards an establishment called "Club Rouge". It must've been her business. I hadn't pegged her as an entrepreneur, but whatever. There was no use in my following for now. I decided to head back home for the time being
光る紗花
"I was… created…" Shadow's voice was echoing in my mind again as I slept.
'…Awaken! The ultimate life form, "Shadow the Hedgehog"!' I recognized this voice as that of Professor Gerald Robotnik.
'…Please, Shadow…' A sweet, frail bell-like voice that I didn't know.
"Maria… I can move… I'm still alive…" Came Shadow's voice.
"Yeah… no kidding. I can't get you out of my mind…" I retorted crankily. He didn't seem to hear me, perhaps because he was still rather out of it.
"I need to go… to it…"
"You need to go to it…? …Why?" I asked.
It's as if I have come here in a dream
As if to answer my thoughts, Eggman's voice rang from within Shadow's memories. '…Are you really "Shadow"!? You can't be the military's top-secret weapon!'
"Doctor… "
I can sense you here
"Must not repeat… "
In my heart, I've always known
"The tragedy…!"
"Wait! What does Eggman have to do with—"
My thoughts were cut off as Shadow's field of vision abruptly filled mine as well. He was standing outside of a house shaped like a certain young fox's head, looking at the robot from before, which was standing next to Sonic the Hedgehog. "Hey! Can you hear me? Respond! No! You must have already established a Link!"
"A Link? What is that? I feel like I'm missing some information here. What are you talking about?"
When I'm with you
"Shadow!" No good. Shadow still wasn't quite with it. He didn't seem to have heard Sonic, who was right there with him, let alone me.
"Hey! You, over here!" Shadow yelled at the robot, but it ignored him. Or perhaps more accurately, it made no acknowledgement that it was even aware of his existence. "Won't listen to me, eh? In that case, I'll destroy you with my bare hands!"
"Hey, stop that!" Sonic exclaimed. What the heck? Why was Sonic defending a random robot? I understood he was compassionate, but did he even know anything about this thing? He destroyed robots all the time! Why defend one he knew nothing about?
"Get out of the way, and give me that robot!" Shadow told the blue hedgehog.
"And if I say no?" I had a feeling that Sonic was being obstinate just for kicks now.
"Then… I will destroy you too…"
Whoa! That was a little extreme! I awoke with a start once again, falling off the couch in the process. I groaned, sitting up and placing a hand to my head as I shook it to clear the remaining fog of sleep. Once I'd come to my senses, I rushed out of the apartment and made my way to the suburb known as Emerald Town.
"Gah… I still haven't regained my full power yet." Shadow said just as I (covertly) arrived on the scene. "Listen to me! Whatever you do, don't let Dr. Eggman get ahold of the Gizoid. I'll be back… Until then, take care of it… Sonic the Hedgehog!" And with that, he was gone. Judging by the direction I could sense him in, it seemed he'd gone back to Night Babylon.
I sighed in annoyance and returned home. Upon arriving, I plodded back over to the couch and face-planted on the throw pillow I'd been sleeping on earlier. I could feel Miranda and Heather staring at me from where they were.
"What's up?" Miranda asked, obviously confused as to why I had left so suddenly, only to return in such a manner.
"I have a thousand questions and zero answers…" I muttered around the pillow. I could guess by the silence that followed that they were looking at each other in confusion.
"…We'll just… leave you to yourself…" Heather stated after a moment.
光る紗花
'Looks like you both have one thing in common… Persistence.' Came Sonic's voice.
"Sonic the Hedgehog…" Shadow murmured in my mind.
'…Awakening as a weapon of war… Chaos Emerald…' It was that mysterious voice again.
Suddenly Shadow's field of vision filled my own again.
It just feels like I am home
"Shadow! What are you doing here?" The young fox called Tails exclaimed in surprise. Judging by the scenery, they were on Central Highway.
"Looks like you've discovered what Emerl really is…" Shadow said. Tails' ears and tails drooped in response.
"Y-Yeah…" He said sadly.
"Then why don't you destroy it now?" Shadow asked, "You must destroy it before it collects all the Chaos Emeralds and uses its true power!"
"Shadow?" Tails asked in confusion.
"There's no need to repeat past tragedies!" Shadow exclaimed, "Nobody else ever needs to go through the things that I have!" Those words struck a coord within me, as if I had gained a sudden sense of clarity as to who Shadow the Hedgehog was deep inside.
You and I both hide in our hearts
"Out of the way! I'll finish it now!" Shadow exclaimed
"Shadow! I respect you, but…" Tails began before straightening up with resolve, "Emerl's our friend! If you attack one of us, then I'll do whatever it takes to protect him!"
"Hmph. Looks like you'll never understand." Shadow said. "The builders will never know how their creations truly feel."
Secrets of tragedy
I opened my eyes and sat up on my bed, stifling my sobs as I wiped at the tears that were flowing from my eyes. Perhaps because I was already something a natural empath, Shadow's feelings were flooding my heart, making me feel overwhelmed. They were feelings that he himself was possibly unaware of. I felt as if my heart was breaking.
Sniffling, I made my way over to my computer, pulling out my music player and plugging it in after turning off my computer's internet connection. I looked through the files for a few minutes, clicking away at the keyboard every so often before shutting the lid of my laptop with a sigh and leaning back in my chair.
"Dame da…" I muttered as I threw an arm over my eyes, "The only information in here is about the Black Arms invasion and the data for the video. There's nothing at all about…" I trailed off, my thoughts shifting to what Shadow had said.
'The builders will never know how their creations truly feel.'
Dark truths of the past
I frowned, my gaze drifting to the side as I mulled over that statement.
Shadow's feelings… the robot's feelings…
I closed my eyes. Yes, somewhere within his core data, the robot was plagued by the guilt of a tragedy that he had been at the center of… he feared that if he was allowed to exist, history would repeat itself.
I opened my eyes as I understood what Shadow had meant. His feelings and the robot's feelings were one and the same. The feeling that they should not be allowed to exist.
Still, don't hide yours from me
I frowned and lowered my gaze sadly. "Demo… chigau yo, Shadow…" I murmured sadly, "Sore wa chigau yo." This world would not have survived the invasion without him. That much I knew for certain. "Datte… anata no sonzai wa minna wo mamoru osonzai…"
I turned my chair and gazed out the window. His thoughts and feelings could reach me. If only mine could reach him.
光るの紗花
"Ally…" Shadow's voice once again echoed in my mind. This time at least I was already awake. I set down my drafting pencil and closed my eyes, focusing in order to synchronize my mind with his.
Tell me, please
'Looks like we've formed a new team!' Said the Rouge from within Shadow's memories. I couldn't help wondering when this had occurred.
"Rouge…" I could feel Shadow's mind clearing as he finally came to his senses—for real this time.
"Yees!" Rouge cheered as Shadow's vision poured into my mind. "Good morning, Shadow! Has the prince finally awakened?"
"I must go." Shadow said abruptly as he got up. "I must go to the Gizoid. To the Emerald." Man, talk about a one-track mind…
"Hey!" Rouge exclaimed in annoyance, "You can leave as you please, but don't you dare pass out on me again! Who do you think dragged you here in the first place??"
"You…?" Shadow seemed to be at a loss for words as he just stared at Rouge, who suddenly became flustered.
"Th-that's right…!" She told him. "You aren't even going to thank me?! It figures! You men are all alike, you know that?!"
"Thanks Rouge… Thanks for saving me." He told her sincerely. "I cannot allow myself to die just yet." Okay, I don't think that last part was necessary, Shadow.
"…Emerald Beach." Rouge said after a moment. She must've been startled by his sudden expression of gratitude.
"Huh?" Shadow asked in confusion.
"You're looking for Emerl, right?" Rouge clarified, "He's always there. I went ahead and told them about you, anyway."
Shadow stared at her for a moment, and then chuckled softly. "…Heh… 'Ally.'" He must've been recalling his recent flashback.
Each one of your secrets
Rouge became flustered again, "Wh-what? You got a problem with it?"
"No… I don't."
I sighed, pulling out of the link and hopping down from the barstool I'd been sitting on at the kitchen counter, leaving my half-finished design behind as I made my way to my bedroom. I hung a "do not disturb" sign up on my door so that the girls would know not to bother me, then headed over to my bed. If I was going to see this through to the end, it was best I be comfortable… and safe.
Given Shadow's speed and the fact that I hadn't been in a rush, I synched my mind with his just as he approached Sonic the Hedgehog on the beach.
Show me, please
"Shadow?!" Sonic said in surprise, or maybe alarm.
"Sonic the Hedgehog… Where is Emerl?!" Shadow demanded none-too-politely.
"He's at Tails' place…" Sonic said hesitantly. "Tell me something… Why are you after him, anyway?"
"I'm not here to steal him." Shadow replied. "I'm here to welcome him, as a fellow weapon of war."
"Welcome him?" Sonic asked in confusion.
"Haven't you noticed?" Shadow asked. "His awakening as the legendary weapon of war 'Gizoid' is close at hand."
"Awakening?" Sonic echoed. Yeah, somehow I doubt the blue hedgehog had been paying any attention to something like that. He didn't seem to be the most observant person.
"He already has six Chaos Emeralds, right?" Shadow asked. I vaguely wondered how he knew that.
"Yeah…" Sonic confirmed.
"And with my Chaos Emerald, that makes seven." Shadow said, stating the obvious. "The Gizoid will be awakened when it has collected seven Chaos Emeralds. Right now, its true power lies dormant. However, I can feel it. I can feel the power… A power greater than you can imagine." I wondered what he meant by that. Then again, maybe he wasn't familiar with all that Sonic had seen over the years. I'd heard of the blue hedgehog's exploits, but I certainly couldn't claim to know everything.
"I've heard that he who collects the seven Chaos Emeralds will be granted unlimited energy." Wait. "I've heard"? What on earth did Sonic mean by that?! He must've collected the seven Emeralds dozens of times! The golden visage of his "Super Form" was famous by now!
"So, are you trying to tell me that awakening Emerl is dangerous?" Sonic continued. Obviously he was unaware of my inner ramblings, which weren't even reaching Shadow.
"Dangerous?" Shadow repeated before scoffing in ridicule, "Ha! He's a weapon. One created with enough power to destroy the world. Awakening him is sheer madness!" Wait, then, what exactly were you doing there then?
"I don't think he has it in him." Sonic said with a shrug, "The Emerl I know would never destroy the world." Well, that just proved how naive you were, Sonic. He was a robot. He could be reprogrammed. Whether or not he would desire to destroy the world as he was now didn't change the fact that he possessed the power to do so. "What about you?!" Sonic asked suddenly, snapping me out of my musings. "You say he's the ultimate weapon, but weren't you supposed to be the military's ultimate secret weapon?!" Uh… those were two different things… "Maybe you've forgotten, but I seem to recall you saving humanity at some point."
"…That was for Maria." Shadow replied reluctantly.
"Exactly!" Sonic exclaimed, "If you have a heart, you would never use your power for the forces of evil! There's no way you could!"
If being synced with Shadow didn't require me to essentially be unconscious, I would've face-palmed. What naive nonsense was the blue hedgehog babbling now? What did having a heart have to do with using one's power for evil? If we were just speaking in terms of emotions and free will, Eggman had a heart, and he was a force of evil!
"Weapons aren't supposed to have 'hearts.' But, both you and Emerl do!" Sonic continued, "You guys… you aren't just weapons!" Well, on that point, I agreed.
"Hmph!" Shadow scoffed. "No, you are wrong. We were created as weapons. If the people of this world ever want peace, they must destroy us."
Who you are
I frowned and could feel my heart stirring with sadness again. Even if I was more or less unaware of my own surroundings, I was still aware of my own body, and I could feel a tear slipping down my cheek. How long would he continue to think this way?! And why… why did it pain me so?
I've been dreaming of the day I can
"Shadow?!" Sonic looked alarmed and concerned for the black hedgehog before suddenly adding, "And one more thing! Rouge said that there's a keyword that can free Emerl! If we find out what it is, Emerl could become just a normal robot!" What exactly was this guy's definition of a "normal robot"?
"Haa… Such hopeless dreams…"Shadow muttered, "Weapons have no need for a conscience. Freedom? What use is a weapon that does not follow orders?!" I couldn't deny his logic, but that only made my heart break even more. "I have a different kind of 'Link' with the Gizoid. Like me, he's a weapon! There's no doubt about it! He's a weapon to be used by his 'Master'!" My tears continued to flow.
Meet the real you
"Shadow…" Sonic said with concern before throwing his hands up in exasperation, "All right, all right! Just take Emerl, already! If you're not going to listen to me, then do whatever you want!" So you say, but… didn't you have to give Emerl orders to even listen to Shadow in the first place? I distinctly recalled that the robot had utterly ignored Shadow's existence the first time they crossed paths.
"…Yeah." Shadow said after a moment, "Then you don't care if I exterminate Emerl?"
"I'd like to see you try!"
"You don't think I could?"
"You have a heart. Emerl has a heart. I don't think either of you has it in you to kill! Maybe you guys should just play games together or something?"
Shadow made no response to that, probably because it was so idiotic that it didn't merit an answer. For starters, Shadow most certainly had it in him to kill if it was for the greater good. He had done it before. Even if the Black Arms were a largely mindless race, Black Doom, at the very least, had a heart. One that was steeped in darkness to the point of being black. And frankly, the term "black-hearted" existed for a reason. I also valued life and I couldn't deny that I was probably too softhearted to kill, but… I also recognized that sometimes, there was no other option. Valuing life was good, but idealism had to have its limits.
Oh, tell me, please!
"There is a Chaos Emerald here…"
If I had actually been there, I would've jumped out of my skin at how suddenly that robot called Emerl had appeared.
Sonic was surprised as well. "Emerl! What are you doing here?!"
"He probably felt my Chaos Emerald's power." Shadow said calmly. "I can feel it resonating with him." I guess Shadow must've sensed his approach. Funny how I hadn't it felt it while linked with him like this.
The robot looked at Shadow. "You. You have a Chaos Emerald." He said bluntly. "Give me… the Emerald. Power… give me power!!" What the?! That sounded awfully aggressive from the supposedly kind robot Sonic had been talking about!
It must've been unusual, because Sonic suddenly looked alarmed. "Emerl!" He exclaimed in a slight panic.
The robot looked at Sonic in a way that somehow conveyed confusion. "What's wrong, Sonic? Why are you looking at me like that?" It was as if a switch had been flipped in his personality.
"Heh… Perhaps now you believe me. He was created as a weapon." Shadow said plainly, "You were lucky in that you met him before he awakened. But, you cannot deny the Gizoid's true identity!"
The robot looked between Sonic and Shadow in confusion. "Sonic?"
Sonic must've realized that there were still limitations in the robot's AI, because he said, "Go with Shadow, Emerl! I want you to find out who you truly are!"
"How?" Emerl asked plainly.
"How else? Get Eggman to tell you!" Sonic said with a smirk.
"That chubby old guy?" Emerl asked, "That sounds like fun! I'll be right back then!" What the… what was with this robot's speech patterns??
"Okay!" Sonic agreed, "And try to find out what that guy is up to! See if you can find out more about that 'Final-Something-or-Other' that Knuckles was talking about! You never can tell what that old man is planning!" Perhaps it was because he was so used to filling the role of a leader, but Sonic didn't seem to realize that he was essentially giving Emerl orders.
"Hmm. I, too, have things that I wish to speak to Dr. Eggman about." Shadow remarked. "Let's go, Emerl. So begins our path to ruin." Geez, what was it with him and the self-loathing?!
Are you near or far?
Shortly thereafter, Shadow and Emerl arrived at the Central Crossing in downtown Central City, where they were approached by an Eggman robot. Other than its red paint job, it looked exactly like the Guard Robos that Shadow and Rouge had fought when this whole mess started.
"Chaos Gamma?!" Emerl exclaimed in surprise.
"Target… Codename: 'Shadow'…"The other robot began, "Objective… Destroy…"
"It appears that the good doctor thinks I'm his enemy…" Shadow remarked. Though such a statement left me a bit confused. I mean, he was Eggman's enemy, wasn't he?
"Target… Codename: 'Gizoid'…" Chaos Gamma continued, "Objective… Destroy…"
Well, I guess the doctor was done playing "nice" now. I'd been hearing through my own sources recently about a sort of tug-of-war between Team Sonic and Dr. Eggman regarding Emerl, but it seemed that Eggman had decided that if he couldn't have Emerl, then nobody could.
I'm sure inside of this space
It didn't take long for Shadow and Emerl to deal with Chaos Gamma. It was soon crumpled on the ground like a collapsed tripod, crackling with electricity as it struggled to recover.
"How… Did I lose…?" It asked, "I even acquired an Emerald Shard…"
"Hmph. The only one who can use the true power of the Chaos Emeralds is me." Shadow said, and truth be told, he wasn't just saying that. I knew through our link that Shadow was capable of manipulating Chaos Energy in countless ways, and from what I knew, Sonic, at the very least, lacked the knowledge to match him in that regard.
"Destroy… destroy…" Somehow, Chaos Gamma managed to find its second wind and attacked again. It didn't last long though.
I will learn my story
"Destroy… destroy…" Chaos Gamma continued like a broken record. "Destroy… destroy…"
"Fool…" Shadow muttered, Emerl, do you see? This is the fate for weapons of war." Despite the harshness of his words, his voice was tinged with sorrow.
Emerl was quiet for a moment before finally saying, "…I don't understand. I'm sad, Shadow…"
"I know…" Shadow replied quietly.
The reason I know your face
"Destroy… destroy… destroy… destroy…" Chaos Gamma continued, but it didn't get up.
"Can't move anymore…" Shadow said before turning away, "Let's go… Night Babylon is just ahead of the doctor's lab, Gimme Shelter…"
"Gamma…" Emerl lamented.
Who it is that we were born to be
When they reached Gimme Shelter, they went right back to where this whole thing had started… from Shadow's point-of-view, anyway.
"The doctor's mother computer… I never imagined that I'd be here again…" The black hedgehog murmured before beginning to access the mainframe, "Tell me… what am I? What is the Gizoid? We were created as weapons, so why is it that we have hearts? Why do we have souls?! What the heck are we?!"
We're different from everyone else
Shadow's anguish overlapped with my own and I felt a sob escape me. That was also what I wanted to know… the whole reason that I was in his head to begin with. Just who and what was I?! Why was I different from my parents? Why was I part Black Arms?! How did Shadow know me in the past?!
'Please… tell me… who am I? Why do I exist…?'
I could feel it more each day
"Professor Gerald…" Rouge's voice suddenly broke through my thoughts.
Shadow was vaguely startled by her sudden appearance. "Rouge?!"
"You are his ultimate creation. The ultimate life form." Rouge explained, "And during the output experiment of a Chaos Emerald, he discovered it, and reactivated the ancient battle weapon, 'Gizoid.' Yes, Emerl."
"Where did you learn that?!" Shadow asked.
Oh, please tell me
"I looked it up on the doctor's computer." Rouge explained, "I found one of Professor Gerald's old research files."
"Why did Gerald give me a soul?!" Shadow asked desperately.
Just what is the...
"He was not interested in researching weapons." Rouge explained with unusual gentleness. "He was researching a way to bring happiness and hope to all people. But, he was forced by the government and by the military to use his research for war. That's why he gave you and Gizoid a 'soul.' A soul identical to his beloved granddaughter, Maria."
"Maria…" Shadow said wistfully. I could feel that the name alone made him feel extremely sentimental.
...Reason I am this way?
"His hope was that no matter how crazed and obsessed with destruction mankind might become, the weapons themselves would never fight." Rouge continued. Her respect for the Professor was clear, as was her concern regarding the anguish of a certain black hedgehog. "Shadow, you are afraid of your own power. It troubles you." She said sadly, "But, you've never used your power recklessly. You've never used it selfishly. Gerald's wishes have come true."
Shadow was quiet as he contemplated this.
Show me, please!
"You, too, Emerl." Rouge added.
"Me, too?" Emerl asked in confusion.
"You were created as a weapon, yet you feel sympathy for living beings." Rouge explained, "However, Gerald did not create you and he was unable to completely erase the destructive powers within you. That part of you still exists. So, he programmed you with a special code. And if the keywords of that code were to be activated, Gerald's program would be complete. You'd become just like Shadow…"
"…What're the keywords?" Shadow asked after a moment.
"Bring hope to humanity." She replied.
"'Bring hope to humanity', huh? Kinda touching…" Shadow remarked quietly.
"How do we input the code?"
"Now, about that…" Rouge began, but then she hesitated.
"Well?" Shadow asked.
"You have to do it when he awakens."
"So, basically when he absorbs this Chaos Emerald…"
"It would appear so."
"Heh… Looks like I've got no other choice." Shadow pulled out the Emerald from… wherever he'd been hiding it.
"Shadow!" Rouge exclaimed in alarm, "That's your…!"
"It's all right." Shadow told her, "I… I will always be with Maria."
"Shadow…" Rouge was taken aback, but I was just confused. What exactly did that Emerald have to do with Maria Robotnik?
"Emerl! Take this!" Shadow said, "This is the last Chaos Emerald!"
What you really are like
Emerl absorbed the Emerald to wherever his body stored them and was silent for a moment. Then suddenly: "'Show me your power. Or I shall not obey. I represent all things, and shall become Gizoid, the conqueror of all.'"
"Well! Now that's a big difference!" Rouge remarked. It was an understatement to say the least.
Shadow didn't hesitate to react, "Gizoid, ancient weapon of legend, I, as your new master, command you: 'Bring hope to humanity'!"
Emerl was silent as the code activated, and then, "Hey, now! Don't go and get all serious on me like that, Shadow!" He didn't seem to be at all aware of how he'd been acting just moments before.
"Hmph. Look who's talking." Shadow replied, "You remind me a little too much of a certain spiky, smug, little…"
"Watch your mouth!" Emerl retorted, though what exactly he thought Shadow was about to say, I'll never know.
We've come far
"You're free now." Shadow said plainly. "Eggman no longer will have any control over you."
To climb this wall!
"Thanks, Shadow!" Emerl chirped, "And you too, Rouge!"
"Oh…" Rouge replied with interest, "I appreciate that, but if you really want to thank me, give me some jewelry!"
"There's one last thing I'd like to ask of you…" Shadow began.
"What is it this time?" Emerl asked impatiently.
"Let us battle, one last time, to see who truly is the strongest!" Shadow replied. He paused for a minute before adding, "My body wasn't healed completely before, but now I'm ready! I am the ultimate life form, Shadow the Hedgehog. I will crush anyone who stands in my way!"
"You sure about that?" Emerl asked, "I don't want you whining about how you didn't have your Chaos Emerald and stuff!"
"I no longer need it. I have Maria in my heart." Shadow replied.
The fight lasted for a few minutes. Shadow won, but he was out of breath. I guess not having that Chaos Emerald to draw power from was taking its toll.
Rouge sighed with boredom, "You boys have fun. I'm going home. I swear, why do men like to fight so much? I can't take much more of this…" Said the person who owned a literal fight club.
"See you later, Rouge!" Emerl replied, "Can I… visit your room, sometime?"
If he weren't a robot, that would've given the complete wrong impression. Perhaps that was why Rouge replied "Idiot!" And then left.
"Emerl! One more time!" Shadow said, despite the fact that he was still struggling to catch his breath.
"Wait a second, Shadow."
"What? Are you backing down?"
"Would it be okay if I went to see Sonic, Tails, and everyone again?" Oi. Even after all of that, he still had to ask permission before doing anything? Well, I guess even the most advanced AI still has its limitations.
Shadow regained his composure, "Yeah. Tell them you're not a kid anymore. Once you've fought them all, come back and see me. We'll finish our fight then. I'll be at Central Highway. I'll be waiting!"
"Okay! You'd better be warmed up when I get back!" Emerl replied before taking off.
That was where I ended the link. After all of that, I still didn't have the answers I was looking for. I was done with roundabout methods that I honestly felt a bit guilty for using. It was time I confronted Shadow directly.
This strange power that connects us both
"I'm going out." I told the girls as I slipped on my favorite shoes.
"Uh… okay…" Miranda said.
"Have fun?" Heather added uncertainly.
"If all goes well, I'll explain everything when I get back." I told them before walking out the door.
Why is it here?
By the time Shadow arrived at Central Highway, I was already waiting for him. He blinked in surprise, but his face immediately conveyed recognition. "Sabana…"
"I've been waiting for you…" I told him before gazing at my feet, "First, I want to apologize…"
"Apologize?"
"You probably already know this, but I'm part Black Arms like you. Because of that, our minds are linked, so when that robot started to call out to you, I also felt it. At first, I just tried to follow you, but… when you went into Eggman's base, I felt like that was probably too much for me, so instead, I…" I fiddled nervously, "I used our connection to synchronize my mind with yours and observe everything you saw and heard, in order to try and understand the situation. …I'm sorry. I feel bad for spying on you like that."
"No… It's okay." He told me, "I'd much prefer you doing that than putting yourself in danger." He paused and looked away, seeming slightly embarrassed, "…I suppose you know that I got hurt, then."
"Yes, I do. I also know that you've been drifting in and out of consciousness the past week."
"Then it's all the better that you didn't follow me. I don't even want to think about it being you instead of me."
I smiled softly and tilted my head, "I have a lot of questions that I don't know if you still remember the answers to."
"No… I remember." Shadow told me.
I looked at him seriously, "Then please, tell me: Who am I? How… are you and I related to each other? Why am I part Black Arms?"
Why was I born at all?
Shadow's gaze darted around as he searched for the right words. He sat down on a guardrail and I followed suit, sitting beside him.
"There was a lot… that I didn't understand back then about my own creation, but…" He hesitated and looked at me. "Before that… how much do you know? About the ARK and… the Professor?"
I looked up at the sky as I recounted the things I knew, "I know that the ARK was a research center built by Professor Gerald and that… the government used it for weapons research. I've also heard that it was shut down because of an accident…" I lowered my eyes, "I also know that that was a lie. The Professor created you aboard the ARK, but for some reason, the government made plans to shut down the ARK and imprison everyone who knew about you. From everything that's happened… I'm guessing that… since they couldn't very well imprison a child, that conspiracy also led to death of his granddaughter, Maria, whom you both treasured."
"That's right." Shadow nodded before looking down, "Although it wasn't a complete lie. There was indeed an accident—two actually. The first involved the experiments known as the Artificial Chaos. Something went wrong with them and they went berserk, threatening the Colony. Thankfully, I managed to subdue them. The second…"
"Involved the robot now known as Emerl?" I guessed.
"Yes…" Shadow said. "Even though I didn't know why I was created as a weapon, there were other things about my creation that I did know. One of those was that Maria was born with an illness known as Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome… the reduced gravity on the ARK kept her in remission while the Professor searched for a cure. He created me, the Ultimate Life Form, with the hope that my antibodies could somehow be used to cure Maria. However, the military started to get impatient… they wanted him to hand me over to them. The Professor gave them the Gizoid as a bribe to buy himself more time, but… the military researchers weren't careful enough… the Gizoid went out of control and destroyed a section of the Colony. I also put a stop to its rampage, but that… made them weary…"
"'If these experiments went berserk and caused so much damage, what might the experiment that stopped them be able to do'?" I guessed.
"Yeah…" Shadow said, "So after the ARK was shut down and the Professor was captured, the military ordered him to create one more weapon—a weapon that would be able to stop me if the need arose. At that time… the Professor hadn't yet lost his grip on reality, but… he could feel that he eventually would… That was why he created you."
"Pardon?"
"…It would be faster to show you." He said after a moment. "If you can synchronize your mind with mine to see and hear everything I do, then you should be able to view my memories."
"…How? I've gotten good at using my telepathic abilities, but… So far, I haven't even been able to speak to you directly that way."
"If you were trying after I was injured, it was probably just because I wasn't fully conscious." Shadow said while shaking his head slightly, "It should be possible if I focus on the memory I want you to see… …Also, I'll try to guard my thoughts more so that you're not constantly hearing me in your head."
"I think that was just because Emerl's connection to you had opened up a pathway." I replied, "It doesn't normally happen."
Shadow nodded and took my hand, "Close your eyes and focus on my thoughts."
I nodded and did as he said.
It is time I
"Here she is… Shadow. My final creation." The old man from my now distant memories was looking at… well, Shadow, I guess… with a tiny pink hedgehog in his arms.
Opened this door
Shadow stepped forward and took the baby—me—into his arms. In that moment, I could see that some sort of restraint had been fixed upon his arms, probably to suppress his abilities. "...She's so tiny…" Shadow was gazing down at me as I likewise gazed at him, my reddish brown eyes fixated.
I will not wait
"That's because she's an infant. I didn't created her as a fully grown specimen like you." The old man, Professor Gerald explained.
One moment more
"Why not?" Shadow asked.
"Because why would I do what those ungrateful humans want of me after they took Maria away?!" Gerald exclaimed in a crazed frenzy.
Hey, why do you keep
He just as suddenly snapped out of it and sighed as he placed a hand to his forehead while sitting down.
Disappearing?
"…I'm hoping that perhaps growing up among these people in a more normal manner will help her to empathize with them… Not in the wrong way, of course." The Professor knelt in front of us and gently stroked my cheek with a finger, "I created her mind to be perfect and pure, just like yours. I'm sure that… she will guard the people of this world. She won't let anyone hurt them… not even you."
"What do you mean?"
The Professor shook his head, "There's no need for another weapon that could harm humanity. No, this child will be able to protect herself, but her power to harm others will be quite limited. If need be, she could even stop you… without hurting you."
Please come to me
Shadow blinked and then changed the subject. "…why is she pink?"
"I used your unique DNA and the original sample of hedgehog DNA that I used when creating you to create her, but I adjusted the ratio. Just like you, she is immune to illness, and when she reaches full maturity, she will cease aging. However, she does not have the powers of Chaos Control that you have. I suspect her fur color comes from the sample DNA, but those deep pink highlights and the hint of red in her eyes are the sign that you are related."
"So she really is my little sister…" Shadow said as he gazed down at me again. "…What's her name?"
"I don't know…" The Professor sighed, "I haven't chosen one. Unlike with you, the name of the project doesn't really fit her."
I wiggled and squirmed in Shadow's arms, flailing my limbs aimlessly as I cooed. A smile played at Shadow's lips. "She's quite lively."
"…Yes, so it seems…" The Professor agreed wearily.
Shadow's gaze drifted to my quills for a moment. "One of the places that Maria wanted to see were ancient ruins teeming with all kinds of wildlife, called Savannah Citadel."
"Indeed, but what of it?" Gerald asked.
"In kanji, Savannah could be written using the characters for 'silk' and 'flower.'"
"…Indeed. And…?"
"Maria once showed me a picture of a flower that is known as a silk flower. The blossoms are two-toned, containing different combinations of white and different shades of pink… one such combination was light pink accented by a deeper pink. Just like my sister's quills. And one of the meanings of that flower is 'enthusiasm'."
"…Ah." Gerald caught on, "So you're thinking of naming her after that flower and Savannah Citadel?"
"Yes." Shadow said as he held me closer and touched his nose to mine, "Because she is full of life and enthusiasm, and her quills remind me of that flower. Boku no daijina imouto… Savannah the Hedgehog."
It's time that we meet!
I opened my eyes as the memory ended and smiled weakly. "Life is funny…"
"Huh?" My brother tilted his head in confusion.
I leaned back and looked at the sky, "I don't know what happened after we were separated, but… up until recently, I thought that I was just an ordinary hedgehog who happened to have special abilities. Kind of like Sonic, you know?" I shook my head, "Officially, I was born to an ordinary couple, but I realized around the time of the invasion that those records must've been fabricated. I couldn't ask my parents about it because… they died when I was small. But the weird thing is… they gave me the same name that you did."
"…Were they good people?" Shadow asked. I guess he was concerned about my well-being.
"Yes. My parents loved me and I loved them. Even if we weren't really related by blood, that much is still the same." I looked up at the sky, "They lost their lives while trying to help someone in trouble. They were the type of people who were willing to die for someone else. I'm proud that they were my parents."
"…How old are you now?" Shadow asked.
"Seventeen. I reached full maturity a couple of years ago." I smiled and hopped off the guardrail. "I should go for now. The person you're waiting for should be here soon. Don't be a stranger, okay?" I held my hand up and he nodded, bumping his fist to mine.
光るの紗花
I'm not entirely sure how many days later it was that I received word from Shadow that something was wrong. Eggman was apparently planning to fire some kind of planet-destroying laser from his space fortress, the Death Egg.
'You sure?' I asked telepathically as I watered the plants in the garden for our Chao that Miranda, Heather and I had made on the rooftop. 'That sounds a little extreme, even for Eggman… Although I guess he did try it once before.'
'I know. I don't think the Doctor is quite that mad. It seems that Emerl has gone up there to stop it.'
I frowned, 'Emerl did?'
'Yeah. Apparently, the transporter only had enough energy for one person, so they sent Emerl.'
I furrowed my brow as I set down the watering can on the edge of a flower bed. At some point in time, Eggman had acquired his grandfather's work logs, which was how he learned of Emerl in the first place. He knew about what had happened back then and what had triggered it. The passcode had been activated, so in theory, all should be well, but…
I sat down on a patio chair, staring up at where the Death Egg could be seen in the sky for a moment. '…You're there now right? With Sonic and the others? Do you mind if I perform a mind sync?'
My brother's brainwaves indicated momentary confusion, but he quickly replied, 'Go ahead.'
Through my brother's mind, I was able to watch as Emerl battled and seemingly defeated Eggman.
"Please, I-I beg you…!!" Eggman exclaimed over the feed, "Forgive me!! Please have a heart! I swear I will never do this again!"
'Who'd be dumb enough to believe that?' I wondered.
'You'd be amazed.' My brother replied.
"Hmph… you're not very cool, Eggman!" Emerl quipped, "See you later! Try not to do anything bad anymore, okay? If you're smart enough to build a huge battleship like this, I'm sure you can find other things to do!"
I felt my jaw drop. 'That's it?? I mean, he's right, Eggman's really wasting his potential, but… he's just going to let him go??'
'I told you.' Shadow replied.
"…But, I wanted to thank you for waking me up. Thanks to you, I've learned the true meaning of 'friendship.' I'm not just a weapon… I'm a living being with a 'heart' and free will!"
'Gratitude, schmatitude! Don't turn your back on him, you idiot!'
'…These guys are always like this.' Shadow told me.
'…How has the world survived for this long…?'
As I expected, the moment Emerl turned his back, Eggman pulled a fast one.
"Hah!" A button rose up out of the floor of the control room, "NOW!!!" Eggman exclaimed. "Launch 'Final Egg Blaster'!"
It was a little hard to see from the feed what was happening, but it was clear that Emerl was affected. "Urk… Eggman… What are you doing?!"
"Hah, ha, ha! You're so soft!!" Eggman sneered, "That's understandable, of course. You were raised by those little wimps! Their weakness will be the end of you!" He cackled and pointed out the window, "Look! All the stars over there have been destroyed! How do you feel, Gizoid? Are you ready to start capturing energy??"
"W-What?!" Emerl gasped, "…N-Noooo!!!" He realized that his innermost fear had become a reality.
'That idiot!' I exclaimed mentally, referring to Dr. Eggman, 'How could somebody with an IQ of 300 be so stupid?!'
Emerl immediately began to go berserk before finally saying "…Initiating data acquisition…"
Sonic looked alarmed as he watched the screen, "Hey, Emerl…, oh no!!"
"No!" Shadow exclaimed in alarm, "No! Now I understand what's going on. The Doctor planned this all along!!" I refrained from pointing out that I had realized that a long time ago. That wasn't what my brother needed right now.
Emerl started spewing out a seemingly random string of binary code, and Sonic's panic grew. "Emerl? Emerl?! Hey! Emerl!!"
"I shall… all… things..and… conquer… all."
Eggman laughed his signature laugh, "There's still one little 'Link' you guys didn't know about!!!" He boasted, "The Gizoid will create a new 'Link' if it encounters someone with overwhelming power!"
I sweat-dropped. I was suppressing my thoughts for Shadow's sake, but it was clear that Eggman didn't read the warning label in its entirety here.
"Power… Overflowing… Can't hold it in… Can't hold it in…" Emerl managed in his usual voice, "Sonic… Shadow… Help… In such pain… Mom… It hurts… The pain…"
"Emerl! Emerl!" Sonic exclaimed in a panic, "Hang in there!!! Emerl!!! Act tough like you always do! Come on! That's an order!!! Emerl!!!!"
Eggman laughed again, "Now, Gizoid! Establish a link with ME!" However, Emerl didn't acknowledge him. "Huh? Come on, listen to me! What's happening?"
Emerl was silent for a moment, and then, "Launch 'Final Egg Blaster' at Earth."
Eggman immediately panicked, "What?!"
"Emerl! Stop!!" Sonic called.
"…No! He can't hear us!" My brother exclaimed.
"One minute before launch…" Emerl said.
"Knock it off, Gizoid!" Eggman exclaimed, "If the Earth is gone, I won't be able to achieve world domination!"
"Get out of the way…" Emerl said coldly, shoving Eggman aside with immense force.
"Emerl!!" Sonic called yet again, and then a vibrant green light got his attention, "What's that?" He turned and realized that it was the Master Emerald shining more brightly than usual. "The Master Emerald! What is it doing?" Then it dawned on him, "I see! We can use it to stop the Chaos Emeralds from getting out of control." Uh, it seemed to me that they were already out of control. Wouldn't this actually be getting them back under control? "With the legendary power of the Master Emerald, we might be able to snap Emerl out of it!" The blue hedgehog continued, "We've gotta give it a shot!"
"Sonic! The transporter is ready!!" Tails said at that exact moment. Talk about convenient timing!
"I am… no longer… you must go… Sonic…" Shadow said dejectedly. I could feel that my brother no longer had it in him to destroy Emerl if it became necessary.
"Shadow…" Sonic replied. He seemed to sense from his staggered speech just how much Oniisan was struggling with the situation emotionally. I also understood. Oniisan felt connected to Emerl. They bickered a lot, but cared for each other. They were like brothers, in a way. I couldn't say I felt the same connection since Emerl and I had never met, but I understood my brother's feelings and how painful all of this was for him. Perhaps it was because, just as Gerald had hoped, I had a strong ability to empathize with others.
"Sonic… please…" Amy Rose said anxiously.
"Sonic… Emerl… You've got to stop Emerl!" A young rabbit added with tears in her eyes.
"Amy… Cream…" Sonic said sadly.
"Even though he's grown up, he's still pretty high maintenance!" Knuckles remarked. I couldn't tell if he was clueless or just putting on a brave face.
"You better rescue him quickly. I still need to turn him into a master robot thief." Rouge added. I knew she was just acting brave.
"Rouge… Knuckles…" Sonic said before putting on a brave face of his own, "Okay! I'm off to rescue Emerl!"
"Sonic… Emerl's counting on you…" Tails said as Sonic stepped onto the transporter. "Turning on the warp transporter… now!"
"Hey, Emerl! Lookin' pretty good!" Sonic quipped when he arrived on the scene.
"…That light…" Emerl said as he staggered, "Can't see!!!!"
"Ugh!" Sonic exclaimed as Emerl attacked him, "What?! The Master Emerald!!!"
"Broken… Into tiny little pieces…" My brother murmured.
"I can't believe this?!" Knuckles exclaimed.
'Emerl must've registered it as a threat…' I thought quietly.
"Thirty seconds before Final Egg Blaster is launched." Emerl stated.
"This is the final voice of the last war machine…" Shadow said, "So begins the destruction of the earth… a natural result of ignorant human desires and greed…"
"Hey, you better deal with this situation in a more positive manner!" Rouge yelled at him, "I don't want to die!!"
'Leaving her own panic aside, Rouge is right!' I scolded him, 'Could you at least cut down on the cynicism?! This world might not be all sunshine and rainbows, but it's not all darkness and despair either!'
'…How can you be so optimistic at a time like this?'
'It's not that I'm denying reality, but I still have hope! Until the moment when we draw our last breaths, it's not over!'
'...Also, you sound way too much like our biological father when you talk like that!' I added.
'…Do you have to call him that?' Oniisan asked me.
'Well, what else am I supposed to call him?! It's not like we know where the rest of our DNA came from!'
"Sonic!! Can you hear me?!" The urgency in Tails' voice was enough to end our telepathic argument. "Emerl has absorbed too much energy and has surpassed his limits! He's highly unstable right now! If you can inflict a great amount of damage on him, you'll put a stop to it! But, Emerl… will probably be destroyed… He won't be able to contain the energy that he's absorbed within his body."
"…Emerl… Always causing trouble… Even in the end…" Sonic said after a moment before getting ready, "…It's time for one final party!!!"
Perhaps because he was unstable to start with, Emerl didn't put up as much of a fight as one would expect. After taking sufficient damage, he collapsed in a heap and Sonic rushed over to him.
"Emerl!! Emerl!!!!" The blue hedgehog called desperately.
"Sonic…" Emerl managed.
"Are you all right?!" Sonic asked, "Come on!" Emerl didn't respond. "Can you walk?! Let's return to earth!"
"It's… been fun… Thank you… Sonic…" Emerl said. "This is… goodbye… I'm glad… I got to everyone one last time… …Has Tails… gotten stronger? I know he tried his hardest… to protect me… Thank him for me… And Knuckles… we had so much fun… Even though he is too… gullible… But he is such… a good guy… So, Sonic… don't tease him too much, okay? And Mom… Cream… Looks like this is goodbye… I don't want to go… I'll miss all of you… …Shadow… Should I be glad that… I was born…?"
"Quit playing around!" Sonic exclaimed, "Don't get all serious on me now, Emerl! You… You think this is goodbye or something?" He was clearly in denial of what was happening, "Hey! Come on, Emerl! Let's go play! Everyone is waiting for us back home! Tails! And even Shadow and Knuckles! Hey, I know! We can trick Knuckles into doing some stupid stuff again! We'll go home and… and… we'll all laugh and have a good time!!!! Right, Emerl…? Emerl!!!!" It seemed he finally accepted what was happening. I felt bad for the poor guy.
Emerl said nothing and only began to beep. The beeping became more rapid, and then, like a heart monitor flat-lining, a single long beep was heard as a blinding light filled the monitor that Oniisan was watching all of this through. When it faded, Emerl was gone.
"Emerl has… disappeared…" Sonic said sadly.
"This was Gerald's final program…" Shadow stated sadly, "Should a weapon go out of control, the weapon will terminate itself…" He was silent for a moment before adding, "It is my desire to bring hope to humanity. I can't stand it…"
I hugged my brother from behind. "Hey… don't talk like that…"
I knew exactly what my brother was feeling, the fear that he felt deep down, which was why I had used a more advanced ability to appear within his mind to comfort him.
"You and I… we're different from Emerl… Even though he had a heart… his AI still had limitations… I don't like saying that, because it sounds cruel, but it's the truth… What happened was a result of Emerl's original programming… a part of his code that couldn't be overwritten. But you and I… we're not like that. We have true intelligence… nobody can just overwrite our brains… not even Black Doom could do that."
"…I know… But still… I fear that one day, I'll…"
"Nee, Shadow… did you know? A 'shadow' is created by light passing around a solid object. It has a path that is determined by the angle at which the light flows. Even when the moon eclipses the sun, it doesn't completely block the light out. The shadow doesn't cover the whole earth. It follows a path. They say that where there's light, there's shadow, but there can never be a shadow without light, because shadows… are a combination of light and darkness. They are the proof existence, because light is essential for life and one has to have a body to have a shadow." I tightened my arms around him, leaning my head on his shoulder. "Dakara, anzenshite. Anata wa hitori janai no. Watashi wa anata no michi wo terasu hikari ni naru. Zutto, zutto… zutto, zutto. Toki no owari made, zutto soba ni iru. Watashi wa Shadow no hikaru Sabana dakara." I closed my eyes and started singing, "A warm breeze is/Now blowing/And I'm right here/Your 'Farewell-to-Spring/Oniisan wo aishiteru/I've found you! Saa, don't fear it/Your enormous power/Because I'm/Always beside you/The one that I've been waiting to meet/Since long ago/Was you..."
Yeah, I kind of realized that it didn't make any sense for Shadow to reunite with Savannah prior to the events of Sonic Battle, but that game is ah, pretty emotional, especially on Shadow's part.
EDIT 03/22/23: It was awkward having two songs in a single chapter, so I used a Japanese translation of Show Yourself (with a few edits as relevant) as a replacement.
Here's the translation notes for this chapter:
Dame da = No good
Demo… chigau yo, Shadow… = But…you're wrong, Shadow…
Sore ga chigau yo = That is incorrect
Datte… anata no sonzai wa minna wo mamoru osonzai… = After all… your existence is an existence that protects everyone…
Boku no daijina imouto = My precious little sister
Nee, Shadow… = Hey, Shadow…
Dakara, anzenshite. Anata wa hitori janai no. Watashi wa anata no michi wo terasu hikari ni naru. Zutto, zutto… zutto, zutto. Toki no owari made, zutto soba ni iru. Watashi wa Shadow no hikaru Sabana dakara. = So rest assured. You are not alone. I'll be the light that illuminates your path. Always, always… forever and ever. Until the end of time, I'll be by your side. Because I am (the) Shadow's shining Silk Flower.
Song Notes: "Farewell-to-Spring' is another common name for the Silk Flower that is Savannah's namesake.
Oniisan wo aishiteru = Older brother, I love you.