Four months before Eggman's conquest of the world...
In a flash of white light, Shadow appeared in Mystic Jungle. He stowed away the Chaos Emerald he had used and made a brief report to G.U.N. with his wrist communicator.
"I've reached Mystic Jungle, report back when I find Eggman's base and evidence of this so-called new weapon."
"Understood Agent Shadow. Good luck."
The black hedgehog started marching through the jungle. Dense flora pushed against him and hindered Shadow's progress. The insects, on the other hand, stayed away from him, instinctively feeling that his blood would not be healthy for them. It still didn't stop them from buzzing around him annoyingly. The Ultimate Lifeform could easily just storm his way trough the jungle, destroy everything in his path. But without knowing where the base was it would only need to senseless destruction and gaining the attention of whatever forces Eggman may have positioned there. If Shadow wanted to be successful in the upmost way, he needed to be stealthy. Find the base without being seeing and report back to HQ to analyze the situation and come up with the solution to the problem.
Shadow never noticed the golden-yellow eye watching him from the shadows ever since his arrival in Mystic Jungle…
The black hedgehog found a dirt track made by jungle animals and decided it wouldn't hurt to use it to get around easier. After all, the track most likely led to a water source if animals wandered it regularly. Water was a resource and had high chances of making the doctor build a base in close quarters to it. It was only after a few minutes of walking down the path that Shadow realized, apart from the still buzzing insects, it was unusually quiet in the jungle. No animal sounds could be heard. The black hedgehog followed the dirt track and reached a clearing with a pool. But there was nothing to be seen here.
Has Eggman scared all fauna from this place?, Shadow wondered.
The Mobian got his answer from a bunch of non-sentient animals, who broke out of the bushes and ran past him in panic. He looked after the frightened creatures before the cracking of breaking branches made him look ahead again.
Combat robots burst into the clearing. They immediately took aim at Shadow and started firing. He quickly dodged behind a tree, the bullets from the machines tearing chunks out the wood. Using his speed, Shadow quickly got behind the machines. Before they could turn around he destroyed them with several Chaos Spears.
Frowning, the black hedgehog took a closer look at the remains.
"This is a different model from the usual Egg Pawns."
He knelt down to the destroyed machines and examined them more closely. He also pictured their designs before he had reduced them to scraps. They had silvery, round bodies and rotating machine guns for hands.
"Simple construction and low resistance. No match for someone of my power." Shadow stood up. He thought about the jungle animals from earlier. Looking at the tree he had taken cover, Shadow saw how devastated the trunk has become by the barrage of bullets. A little more and the damage could have caused it to topple over. "But for civilians these could be quite the problem. The Doctor seems to make robots that can be mass produced and are ideal for conquering villages and simaller towns. But these are definitely not the reasons for the rumors about a new weapon."
"Indeed they are not. I am."
Shadow looked around at the sound of the unfamiliar voice, but he didn't see anyone.
"Who is there? Show yourself!"
Loud laughter rang out, then Shadow's world turned red and distorted. A loud, vibrating noise filled his ears. As reality returned to normal, Shadow faced the combat robots he had just destroyed, returned to their operative states.
"What?" the Mobian yelled in confusion, hastily running to the side to avoid the shots. He ducked back behind another tree. The Ultimate Lifeform considered what to do. Should he use the same tactic again?
What if the robots are mysteriously repaired again?
Shadow clenched his fists. Then he would just make sure there was next to nothing left to fix. Leaping out of cover, he ran straight at the combat robots, and before they could fire a single shot he roared, "CHAOS BLAST!"
A blast of pure, golden-red, chaotic energy erupted from the ebony hedgehog, destroying everything in sight. The ground was burned a deep black, bushes reduced to ashes and the robots were now just indefinable lumps of molten metal.
"Impressive."
Shadow turned around again at the sound of the voice. And this time he saw its source. A jackal Mobian with dark shoes and gloves, and a white scarf around his neck. A metal mask covered his face, showing only his right eye through a red visor. White dreadlocks fell behind the mask over the jackal's shoulders. What stood out most was a crimson gem, fused into the jackal's chest, pulsing in a malicious light. Like a twisted facsimile of a heart.
Shadow's muscles tensed as he struck a pose ready for battle, letting Chaos energies crackle around him. Even without his years of experience, he could tell this figure was bad news.
"Who are you?"
"Names will mean nothing to you, for your destiny will end here."
Shadow scoffed. "I determine my own destiny."
His eyes fell on the red gem. "Is that... Eggman's new weapon?"
"As a matter of fact. Haven't you listened beforehand? Oh well, I don't need you to listen… I just need you to fight. I will pave the way for the Eggman Empire. And you're going to help me test my abilities."
Cubes of red energy formed around the masked entity and flew at Shadow in high speeds. He dodged them, but they took his notice away from the glitching ground. It softened up and swallowed his airshoes. This caused Shadow to tripple up enough that one of the cubes managed to graze him with it´s corner...
All and everything was filled with a biting, scratching and stabbing red mass of monstrous insects. They crawled all over Shadow´s body. Their bites burned like the fire. He screamed in pain. They crawled through his open mouth into his gullet, choking him...
… the world went back to normal. No red veil to distort everything, no insects and above all no pain. Shadow was completely taken aback by this experience. Breathing heavily he looked around.
"Was that an..."
"Illusion? You´re right. While they don't leave physical damage or impact like true reality alterations, the mental scars don't fade easily. And they use less energy too." The entity chuckled. "Thank you Shadow. We've only known each other for a few minutes and you've already shown me so much."
The masked one's visible eye looked mockingly at the black hedgehog while he held the Chaos Emerald in one hand. Wait a moment…
"My Chaos Emerald! But... I just had it-"
"With you? When you had your little episode, you dropped it. Which is something you shouldn't do with something so powerful, don't you think? So it´s better that I hold onto it from now on."
Shadow gritted his teeth and was about to retrieve the powerful gem back, when something strange happened. Purple mist formed in the masked entity's hand and enveloped the Chaos Emerald, absorbing it. With a wave the stranger dissipated the mist, making the Chaos Emerald disappear.
"What did you do with the Chaos Emerald?" Shadow tried to maintain a calm tone and appearance, but found it difficult. With every second he became less and less comfortable with this mysterious being and its powers.
"The seven Chaos Emeralds will only get in the way of the Doctor's plans. You can also teleport your way out of any danger with one of them. And I don't want you cheating on my little game."
"A game? Is this all just a game to you? To torment me, to help Eggman?"
"Naturally. Where's the point in an empty existence if you can't have fun?"
Again reality was distorted by a red haze. Trees bent away from each other, bushes and mushrooms grew sideways, creating a clear path. The masked one waved towards it.
"Come Shadow. Entertain me. You want to go to the doctor's base, don't you? Guess what you'll find at the end of this path."
With a glitching flicker of red, the stranger disappeared. Shadow didn't like this one bit. He wanted to call headquarters but couldn't get in touch. All the hedgehog heard was garbage noise. The energies of his adversary seemed to disturb the frequency. Shadow sighed before he steeled his expression. His red eyes filled with a grim determination.
"Fine, I'll join your 'game'. But you'll regret messing with the Ultimate Lifeform."
Shadow ran down the path. Robots emerged from the thickets on the sides, but the Mobian didn't stop, destroying them with Chaos Spears and Spindashes. After jumping over a hole with spikes on its bottom, he reached a wide river. Pillars of stone inlaid with glowing runes rose from the surface of the water.
Shadow jumped on a pillar, testing its sturdiness. It held. The ebony hedgehog started hopping from one pillar to the next when the vibrating noise sounded again. It glowed red beneath the surface of the river. Black tentacles rose from the waters and slashed at the pillars. The stone structures fell aside. Shadow jumped from a tilting pillar onto one of the tentacles. The damp, rubbery mass gave slightly under his shoes. But it didn't stop him from jumping onto the next tentacle, then onto an intact pillar. A tentacle tried to smash them, but Shadow destroyed it with a Chaos Lance.
After this, Shadow reached the other side of the river. As soon as the Mobian had solid ground under his feet, the tentacles dissolved into red glitches. Shadow didn't pay any attention to this spectacle, he was already running further through the jungle. Again, reality was distorted.
"What now?", he groaned.
Spiked vines whipped and grabbed at the Ultimate Lifeform. Trees moved their branches and fired sharp-edged leaves. Shadow vaulted over vines, destroyed them with Chaos Energy and ducked under the leaves. A tree uprooted itself and tried to bury him under its trunk, but the black hedgehog increased his speed and ran under the falling tree trunk. Behind him, the ancient jungle giant slammed to the ground, while sending a few leaves after Shadow. He jumped, turned midair and fired Chaos Spears at the sharp projectiles, blasting them all away. Then, turning back towards the direction he was running towards, Shadow landed on his feet and continued on.
The Ultimate Lifeform arrived in a vast, open place. Similar to the river, stone pillars rose from the ground. Mossy blocks of stone covered the earth. Beyond this area rose an ancient temple. The masked entity stood on the steps with crossed arms and eyed Shadow in an impressed matter.
"You did it and you're here even earlier than I expected."
Not really listening nor caring to the praise, Shadow looked at the ruins.
"I presume this is where Eggman´s base is hidden."
"Here is the funny part… there has never been a base here."
Shadow´s eyes narrowed. "Elaborate."
"Let me ask you a question: Don't you think it was rather odd that I was not just ready for your arrival, but laid everything out in a nice little game. No hiccups, no cracks for you to slip trough."
Shadow realized what was going on.
"This is a trap."
"Indeed." The stranger pulled out a red cube and hold it up in front of his face, like a treasure hunter would marvel at a brilliant diamond. "It was so easy feeding local G.U.N. agents false information. The intel your organization received, nothing more than a plot to give me a worthy first opponent. Someone that wouldn't break immediately for my first play round."
"Let me guess: this is the part where we fight each other."
"In another time and place you may have been right. Here and now the answer is no. I'm not going to fight you personally, because I have one certain skill left to test. The summoning of Phantoms."
"Phantoms?"
"Yes. Here, let me demonstrate. Brace yourself for this is going to be the worst family reunion ever."
The red gem started glowing and vibrating. Reality glitched as things shifted and changed.
A round crater opened up in the middle of the stone area. A yellowish liquid filled it, spreading an acrid stench into the air. Acid.
"Have fun with your big brother."
The masked entity disappeared into the temple.
A dark shape erupted from the acid lake. Shadow quickly ducked behind one of the stone pillars to avoid getting caught by the corrosive liquid splashing around. A few drops still managed to hit him and ate through his fur and skin. Shadow gritted his teeth. He peeked out from behind the pillar. The sight that greeted him made the black hedgehog falter.
A huge, reddish-brown lizard rose from the acid lake. Metallic cables and hoses ran through its entire body and a generator was attached to the back.
"The Bioliziard?" Shadow murmured out in confusion. The Prototype of the Ultimate Lifeform turned its head towards the hedgehog and spat out a ball of dark Chaos Energy. Shadow was forced to break cover and run away quickly as the pillar was pulverized behind him. Shadow kept moving to avoid the constant barrage of energies.
How can this be possible? The Biolizard was completely destroyed. How did that entity manage bring it back?, he thought.
One of the dark balls smashed in front of him, and the explosion knocked him down. Shadow came right back up.
"Doesn't matter. I've beaten you before and I'll do it one more time. Since our last meeting I have become much more experienced and stronger, you are and always will remain inferior to me. Chaos Spear!"
Shadow hurled his projectiles at the cyborg monster, but they didn't do much damage. Biolizard thrust his head out, mouth wide. Shadow jumped to the side while his prototype bit the stone. The black hedgehog grinded down a wire that run down the Biolizard's neck, up to his back, and dived into the generator with a Spindash. The Biolizard writhed in pain and spattered acid around while Shadow jumped off it. This time he was able to dodge the splashes of the harmful chemical and throw more Chaos Spears at the giant lizard. It only got angrier. The Biolizard swung its tail at Shadow, but he slid underneath it. The prototype opened its mouth and negative Chaos Energy pooled in the reptile's maw. Before the Biolizard could fire it, Shadow threw a Chaos Spear into the reptiles maw. The energy exploded and the Biolizard went down with a smoking and broken jaw. Shadow ran up the neck again. He fired several Chaos Spears into the generator before spindashing into it. The Biolizard roared in pain. Despite the heavy damage it received, the maw and throat were still functional and showed signs of regeneration.
The giant lizard rampaged wildly in its lake, splashing and spraying acid everywhere. Shadow hid behind a pillar. Unfortunately he had been hit again. Chemical burns covered his spines, back, and arms. But he ignored the pain, he couldn't give up now. Whatever was going on here, Shadow knew it was big. And he had the chance to stomp this spark out, before Dr. Eggman could ignite it into an inferno he would unleash upon the world.
And so Shadow ran towards his prototype again. It saw him coming towards it and savagely lashed out at Shadow with its tail. He had trouble dodging the constant blows from the muscular body part, as the ground trembled through each strike and threatened to make him lose his balance. The stone block covering the ground were breaking and shattered apart. The resulting craters and stone fragment further hindering Shadow´s mobility. The Biolizard fired a ball of energy, knocking the ebony hedgehog down. With its mouth wide open, the reptile pounced on the Mobian, but he was able to roll to sideways in time. As the giant lizard's head crashed into the ground next to him, Shadow grabbed one of the wires with his hands. His Prototype jerked its head up and shook it wildly, trying to shake off its opponent. It didn't realize that this is exactly what the Ultimate Lifeform had hoped for. As the cyborg lizard jerked its head upwards, Shadow let go and soared up through the air. As soon as he felt himself falling, the black hedgehog rolled up and hit the generator with great force.
The Biolizard roared, but it sounded much weaker than before. Shadow felt that he was close to finishing the fight. He ran towards his Prototype when it performed its special ability, the dissolution of gravity.
Shadow felt himself losing momentum and footing, before floating through the air. Dark orbs formed around the Biolizard's generator and shot towards the hedgehog Mobian. He dodged the projectiles or destroyed them with his Chaos Spears. He used one orb to jump off it and perform a Spindahs. The generator was badly damaged, but the Biolizard refused to die.
It spat dark Chaos Energy at Shadow and pushed him back. The hedgehog soared trough the air and slammed into something hard. One of the pillars. It started to topple, but Shadow used it as solid ground and jumped from it towards his opponent. While darting through the air, he maneuvered around enemy projectiles. When he finally got close to the generator, he focused his power and unleashed a Chaos Blast.
BOOM!
The generator exploded. The Biolizard threw its head back in pain and opened its mouth. Instead of a roar, only a buzzing noise came out. Reality flickered red. Then everything returned to normal. No Biolizard or acid lake was there. Yet looking at himself, Shadow saw his body covered in the wounds he received from the battle. The damage to the ruins remained as well.
"So this wasn't an illusion or some kind of dream? All of this really happened?"
Clapping sounded. The masked stranger teleported in front of Shadow.
"Well done Shadow. Bravo. You won this fight even though you took a beating."
The ebony hedgehog clenched his fists.
"Shut up! Tell me what's going on here!"
The entity ceased his clapping and shook his head, like a parent whose child didn't understand the lessons they´d tried to teach.
"Don't you get it? Both your perception and reality are under my influence. I can be here."
The entity appeared several yards to Shadow's right.
"Or here."
The masked one disappeared again.
"Or over here", came the voice from behind. Shadow was really fed up with this, he had it with this freakshow. With a Chaos Spear in hand, he turned and thrust. And hit. Never in his life had Shadow wished he had missed. His spear had pierced the body of a twelve year old, human girl. Her dress turned red with blood and her blue eyes stared at the black hedgehog in confusion, fear and broken trust.
"Shadow... why did you do that?" Maria asked.
"No..." Shadow breathed and staggered back, his Chaos Spear disintegrating. But the damage was already done. Maria fell to her knees, clutching her wound in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding. She stared at the hedgehog with tears in her eyes.
"Why did you do that? I thought we were friends?"
Shadow wanted to say something, but his throat was tight. The masked one appeared next to Shadow.
"First you kill your brother without hesitation. And now your sister´s blood is on your hands. What kind of monster are you?"
Shadow looked down with a blank expression. His body was so tense, he looked like he would shatter himself any second.
"Shut up."
"What was that?"
"SHUT UP!"
He turned around and slugged the entity across its mask. It flew trough the air and would have been skewered by a dozen Chaos Spears if it didn't teleport away. He reappeared at the ground and dodged more of Shadow´s attacks.
"HOW DARE YOU TO USE HER FACE FOR YOUR TRICKS!", the Ultimate Lifeform yelled in rage. In comparison, the masked entity remained calm. Yet, when he spoke, his voice was laced with amusement.
"So much for letting go of the past. I thought you left it all behind you?"
"I did! But I wont let you desecrate the memory of her! To let myself be shackled to my past once more! I changed, I've become-"
Shadow wanted to punch his opponent again in the face, shatter his mask and skull to splinters, but the entity managed to catch the Ultimate Lifeform´s fist. And hold it firmly in place, despite all the shaking rage and strength behinds the punch. A single yellow eye drilled into red ones.
"Do you really think you've become a better person? You were supposedly a good person according to Maria. She trusted you."
The masked figure pointed towards the now motionless Maria.
"Look where it got her."
Something… broke in Shadow. Breathing became difficult for him and he closed his eyes, desperate to regain his focus. That one moment, where Shadow let his guard down, was enough for the masked entity. He pulled the ebony hedgehog towards him, while summoning in his free hand a dark red cube. He pressed it into Shadow´s forehead and…
….
"And my next clear memory is waking up in the pod," Shadow said in the present. He stood away from the group. His posture was tense and his voice betrayed not a single of the emotion boiling inside the hedgehog.
Sonic, Rouge and Omega stared at him in horror. The former raised his hand and wanted to say something, but then let it go. He knew he wasn't the one to say or do anything right know. The blue hedgehog stayed quite and looked at Shadow's team, hoping they could do something for him. After a while, Rouge walked up to her friend and put her arms around him. He stiffened up at first. Then he gave a tired sigh and leaned into her.
"The worst part is that it feels like Infinite is right. That I haven't changed at all," Shadow said.
"No he is wrong", Rouge gently, but firmly, told Shadow. "He looked at your scars and decided to tear them open!"
"Yeah… and how did I act? Full of vengeance just like back then when Eggman freed me from G.U.N.s hold."
"Shadow," Sonic said softly. He had finally found some words he hoped would help his fellow Mobian. "You have your flaws, but nobody is perfect. And I know that behind your hard and often rough skin is a heart of gold. I can't put myself in your shoes what it's like to lose someone important. But I can imagine that such an experience can change you a lot. And it is difficult to recover from such an experience. And that one can have… relapses..."
"..."
Omega silently stepped forwards and laid, gently as possible for him, a metal claw on Shadow´s shoulder.
"… thank you."
Sonic gave Team Dark their moment. Then he stepped to their side.
"Hey, Shadow. Should I take the Chaos Emerald for now and bring us to the Resistance? We can appear directly in Rouge and Omega´s living quarters, where you can collect your thoughts in peace."
Shadow didn't answer, but hold out the red Chaos Emerald. Sonic took it.
"All right then. Chaos Control!"
So this happened. Yeah no screaming weak boi in this version of Episode Shadow. Just emotional damage.
To Guest: Ruby may ask Tails later on if there is a connection between the hedgehogs but that would be about it.
If you describe Cinder and Ruby like that, of course they sound similar. But the coloration of their clothing is still different (red dominating with black and yellow accents for Cinder, black dominating with red accents for Ruby), their abilities (which aren't THAT unique for the Sonic cast) have no similarity at all, and their personalities are polar opposites. Not to mention that Cinder has become a cyborg in this fic as a replacement of her Grimm arm.
You will see soon enough what people will do upon knowing of Shadow´s arrival.
If you were offended by Shadow not roundhouse kicking Cinder in the last chapter, you probably will hate what happened in this one. But Shadow will have time to shine later in this fanfic.
To ArguableReader: I admit that I kinda winged it with the dialogue. I wasn't really sure how to write it and decided to just let it flow, you know? But hey, we got Amy being mature and responsible and Ruby getting a closer bond with Tails, before he cheers her up with his workshop and taking her as an apprentice.
Is it really that surprising that Omega gets bored? He lives for action and violence. So when he gets hold off from doing it, he of course gets frustrated.
I too think it was weird that the Androids where never used in gameplay. One of the reasons I decided to give them a role here.
Little Cindy got the shocking revelation that she isn't as powerful as she thought. From Omega´s point of view he really did just state things in a logical matter, he wasn't really aiming towards making Cinder have a temper tantrum.
What did you think about my interpretation of Episode Shadow?
I have to admit something: I never read the Archie Comics. I´ve became rather recently a Sonic fan and therefore have never gotten familiar with the likes of Sally, Antoine, Rotor and the others. I do know about them, I am just not an enthusiastic fan of them like many others are.
To Legendary Destroyer Ice: Looking at the stuff Eggman did in canon and him basically becoming a tyrant ruler in Forces, he is going to be much as ruthless as Salem and Cinder. But he still does hate the later for her ego and emotional immaturity. And he would despise the immortal witch for destroying all of Remnant to just kill herself. After all: You cant rule something that is gone.
To Guest: It was satisfying writing Cinder get her just desserts. And yeah, I´m hoping on expanding her character a bit. And lucky for her, Ruby will not use the Lighting Wisps. But if Omega is around…
To Sakha: He is around. I wanted to introduce him alongside Cream, when she brought Ruby her clothes, but it felt awkward and a bit to much for Ruby at the time, so he will have to appear later on.
To ranjira1988: Glad I could make your day.
To SuperSaiyanFever: Every single one of them had the potential of stopping Cinder. With all three of them, especially knowing that teamwork makes the dream work, the Fall Maiden was standing with one foot in her grave.
To Monster King: Thank you.