Shadow the Hedgehog ran through the East River Forest, a place he'd never hoped to visit again. The bright sunshine accenting the green grass and the clear, blue waters contrasted greatly with the dark, gloomy night he'd had here *recently. On that night, he, Rouge, Omega, and a team of 3 other oddballs had stumbled upon an old Egg Base containing a rogue unit of Shadow Androids.
Shadow had managed to defeat their leader with the help of some Wisps, and the androids in that base seemed to have been wiped out with the flood that followed, but reports had come in recently of a Shadow Android being sighted in a nearby lumber town.
Shadow took a moment to stop and catch his breath. He'd run here all the way from Central City once he'd received the news. He couldn't...No, WOULDN'T let a single Shadow Android escape him. No matter what, they needed to be destroyed by any means necessary.
Shadow sighed as he closed his eyes. Rouge had always asked him the same question when it came to the Shadow Androids: "Why does it matter so much to you? You KNOW you're the real Shadow! These guys can't even hold a candle to you!" Shadow would never answer her, preferring to deflect and focus on the problem at hand. And she always let him.
But the truth was, the Shadow Androids themselves weren't the problem. It was what they represented. Long ago, Shadow had fallen in defense of Earth, and Eggman had taken advantage of the situation, rescuing him from his fate. He had kept the hedgehog in stasis and gathered his Ultimate Lifeform DNA to use for robotic doppelgangers. Like all of his other robots, these androids served a single purpose, were created with a simple goal: Destruction. They were mindless drones, not unlike the Black Arms Eggman's grandfather had used in the creation of Shadow.
Shadow's hand balled into a fist as he thought of it. He had long been free from Black Doom and his influence. The entire universe was, he'd made sure of it! And he would tolerate no reminders of that past. Not here, **nor in the Doctor's Eggperial City. It was far behind him now, time for the rest of the world to catch up.
He resumed his stride with renewed vigor, reaching the small lumber village in no time flat. Upon arriving, however, he gazed upon a unique sight. Hundreds of the villagers gathered around a single building, torches and pitchforks raised, and an angry murmur rang throughout the crowd. Intrigued, he walked over to investigate, tapping a man on the shoulder. "Ah, Sonic! You're just in time!"
"I'm Shadow." Shadow sternly corrected the man, a fat beagle with orange sandals and a straw hat. "And just in time for what?"
The beagle pointed a chubby finger towards the roof of the building. "Well, ya see, we've got a goshdurn Metal Sonic fiddling around up there! We done did chased it down, yessir, and now it's probably calling its master to send down a hail of missiles upon our fine town!" Shadow furrowed his brow. So, the android had struck...But something was off. "I see...Then why haven't any of your men pursued this machine?" The beagle took his hat off of his head in a mournful manner. "Ah well, ya see, that's the thing. Before he went up, he grabbed one of the local kids, a scrawny little whippersnapper named Justin. He gets a bit handsy with those darn computers, and probably didn't think of the danger he was getting himself into. We just don't want him to get hurt, see?"
Shadow nodded in understanding. "I'll ensure that he remains unharmed." He said, quickly leaping onto the rooftop...Only to be greeted by yet another unusual sight: A Shadow Android with pink stripes, curled up in the fetal position, shaking like a scared dog. A young bird, presumably the aforementioned Justin, seemed to be comforting it to the best of his ability, until he noticed Shadow. "Move away from the android, kid!"
"But...He's my friend!" Justin responded. Shadow just shook his head. "Kid, you REALLY don't know what you're messing with here!"
"Come on, he wouldn't even hurt a fly! I mean, I think he wouldn't...He cried when he accidentally stepped on a cockroach that one time." Justin said, taking a firm stance by the android. Shadow cocked his eyebrow, then tilted his head to look at the android more closely. The thing couldn't even bear to make eye contact with Shadow, seeming more scared and confused than anything. Quiet sobs could be heard coming out of its voice box. Shadow took another glance at the angry mob below, and then back at the android. He didn't entirely trust it, or Justin's perspective yet...But his gut was continually telling him that something here wasn't right here. And sometimes, you really need to trust those instincts.
He turned again to address Justin. "You got a safe place we can go to talk?"
*This is in reference to my story, Reflections
**IDW Sonic's Urban Warfare Arc
