Chapter 32 PART ONE

The Price of the Soul

Flash! Shadow stepped out of the void of white fog and onto a cold metal floor. Dim light casted harsh shadows over the machines, terminals, and consoles that littered the expansive room. Mechanical machines moved to and fro, intent upon some labor Shadow could not deduce from a glance. None paid him any attention as he crossed the chamber.

Metal Overlord hovered above a circle of his mech minions. He spoke to them in a series of low whines and beeps that would have almost seemed comical were it not for his icy tone. When he noticed Shadow, Metal dismissed his followers and returned to the ground.

"So? Did he survive?" Metal asked without the slightest hint of sympathy.

"Sonic is still alive."

"His foolishness is again rewarded," Metal observed dryly. "Does he blame us for what has happened?"

Shadow shook his head. "Sonic blames himself of course."

"As is to be expected with one with an ego such as his." Metal leaned back and propped himself up against a metal railing. If he didn't know better, Shadow would have sworn that the machine appeared exhausted. "I…I hope you understand that we did not intend this. Even I failed to anticipate the depths of Aurora's insanity."

"It's not us you have to worry about," Shadow pointed out. "We know what really happened because we were here, the humans will not be so easy to please. Even if they could be convinced that you and Aurora represent different factions it will not sate their lust for revenge. They will come for you."

Metal met Shadow's eyes and did not back down. "All creatures die. Very few of them ever get to live and live free. Whatever comes, we will at least have had one day in the sun."

"Then I wish you luck then." Shadow drew out the purple Chaos Emerald and offered it to Metal. "Our contract is over."

Metal gazed at the jewel and Shadow could detect the hunger in his metallic eyes. To Shadow's immense surprise however, Metal shook his head. "You keep it. Whatever your connection to the emerald's are, you certainly get more out of them than I can."

Shadow closed his fist around the emerald and scowled. "Don't think this means I owe you. Whatever war you get in with the humans is your own business."

"Why would I bother trying to entrap you? Shadow the Hedgehog serves no master. Yet neither is he free. What will you do now?"

Shadow ignored the slander and took out the computer chip he had retrieved from Tails. "This is all the doctor had about my creator."

Metal's eyes narrowed. "So you will take that path? Be warned, the nature of creation is not always what it seems. Truth is not always a guide. It has the capacity to destroy as equally as it can build up."

"Do you have somewhere I can plug this in?"

An hour later, Shadow was escorted to one of the lofts within Egg Spyre. As he rode the glass elevator he was able to look out and witness the aftermath of the battle. Eggman's latest and greatest base had been clean, sleek and perhaps a glimpse into the future. Now it appeared more like his other bases, broken, dilapidated and reeking with smoke. "There are no steps forward without an equal slide back down."

Shadow closed his eyes and slipped easily into the memory. He had been standing beside Professor Gerald as the two of them observed three glass cases each filled with a dense green liquid and a blue shifting blob. The blobs appeared dead at a glance but then eyes like diamonds would harden on the surface of their liquidesque skin and gaze vengully outward.

Other scientists in white coats studied the specimens closely and jotted down notes on clipboards. "For all our triumphs, nearly every new idea, or invention has almost immediately been turned against us and used as the next instrument of destruction." Gerald told Shadow. "It is the rule of the universe. Disorder pulls at us with all its energy and without an iron will we flow into its grasp almost imperceptibly. But the treasure of humanity, the reason I will never give up on it, is that for every slide, we have still moved forward."

Shadow pulled himself out of the waking dream and found himself leaning against the glass window. He had not slept since before the battle and his legs were throbbing with soreness. Shadow stood up straight and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. So much of his life aboard the Ark was forgotten, all he really had left were these little flashes of memory.

The recollection filled his heart with a sense of deep loss. Maria's death had consumed him with so much rage and bitterness he had neglected everything that had come before it. What he did remember of Gerald while they were together on the Ark stood in stark contrast to the Gerald who had despaired of life and harnessed all his genius towards destroying the planet. Grief, Shadow realized, was a terrible spell, capable of distorting memory and personality, transforming once good and hopeful hearts into bitter monsters.

At last, Shadow reached his destination. The elevator doors slid open and he entered a comfortably furnished apartment. Despite his current mood, Shadow could not help but feel amused at the thought of Eggman entertaining guests. He passed through the living room and found a wall sized computer screen in the bedroom.

For half a second, Shadow considered sleeping on the bed but the thought faded with a rush of adrenaline. He took out the drive Tails had given him and plugged it into the side of the screen. Shadow's heart fluttered and he gave in to his shaking legs by sitting back on the bed.

The screen went white for a second before numbers flashed onto the corner. Shadow leaned forward and squinted at the digits. They made out a date that registered to Shadow as occurring just over fifty-four years ago. Shadow held his breath as the screen went blank again before turning to a white room. The camera was set in the corner but it was close enough for Shadow to see the man's face who was sitting at a white table.

Professor Gerald looked much younger than he had done compared to the execution video that had played aboard the Ark. Though in reality, Shadow knew this interview was taking place only a few short years before then. The Professor had his hands cupped together on the table in an obvious attempt to appear relaxed. Shadow got off the bed and stood closer to the screen.

Gerald had removed his glasses and even from the distant viewpoint of the camera, Shadow could make out the glint of blue. Shadow knew those eyes and seeing them now made him feel as if a hand had reached inside his chest and was twisting his heat. How could he have forgotten that Maria and her grandfather had the same eyes?

Shadow blinked back tears and focused on Gerald's hand. He wore a bronze ring on his left hand and every few seconds or so Gerald would twist the band on his finger. Shadow now recognized the gesture as a nervous twitch Gerald would employ whenever he had to wait for something.

Before Shadow could observe more, the door opened. A tall blonde woman in a white coat and tall high heels stepped inside. She smiled warmly at Gerald who made an effort not to blush as he inclined his head toward the woman. With effortless grace she pulled back her chair, kicked out her long legs and sat down across from Gerald. She pushed her long ponytail over her shoulder and greeted Gerald with another disarming smile.

"Hello Professor. My name is Doctor Miranda Gold." She spoke with easy authority and Shadow got the distinct impression she was used to owning the power dynamic of any situation.

Gerald made no attempt to counter. He seemed to shrink in his chair and made himself even more narrow and small. "How do you do?"

"I am well, thank you." Miranda drew a pen out of her bag and clicked it forcibly. She then drew out a stack of papers and placed them before her on the table. "I must admit, I may come off as a bit frazzled. I've never had an interview with a person of your caliber. You are very famous of course."

"It is all the fame I need to be recognized by my peers," Gerald said in an attempt to sound humble.

Miranda laughed and even Shadow could not tell if it was feigned or not. "Well, let's get straight to it then shall we? I promise I will be gentle, this is all common practice here. Nothing to worry about. I know some men can find talking to a doctor of my specialty nerve wracking, but if it helps, think of me as a peer."

"O I have find no issue talking to a psychiatrist," Gerald said with a chuckle. "Just military personnel."

Shadow could not see Miranda's face clearly due to the angle of the camera, but her stiff back told Shadow that Gerald had just scored a point. "You have a troubled history with the military do you not?" Miranda shot back with equal skill.

"That is no mystery. After the war, who on earth could say that they do not?"

"But not everyone on earth has the record you do, professor."

Gerald inclined his head and Shadow detected a small smirk. "Just so."

"Let's talk about the war. You were able to use your international connections to secure travel out of the east for your wife and son, why did you stay?"

"I felt I owed my services to my countrymen. On either side there is always room for level headed science."

"But that isn't what your countryman wanted from you," Miranda countered.

"No…they thought my skills could have other…more nefarious applications."

"But you resisted their demands?"

"For as long as I was able."

Miranda shifted in her seat. "We have copies of your correspondences of course. They came in very handy at your trial. Were you ever nervous when they were given over in full to the jury?"

Gerald bowed his head and stared intently at his own feet. "Not nervous. I was confident that justice would prevail. But I was ashamed. I opposed their use of science but I was not wise enough at that time to fully oppose war."

Shadow's heart drummed irregularly in his chest. What was this? The Professor had never spoken to him about any war or trial.

"You were already the world's leading bioscientists before the onset of hostility?" Miranda continued.

Gerald raised his head, his expression inscrutable. "I wouldn't say that. But my papers were getting published and receiving a fair amount of attention."

Miranda giggled again. "Would it be fair to say that your pre-war studies contributed to the study, but did not expand the scope of usual science?"

"I don't know what you mean by usual. There is no such thing. There is only science."

Miranda leaned back and readjusted her glasses. "Of course. I only mean, science often accelerates at a drip and then sometimes as a waterfall. Would you say that the privilege which you enjoyed during the war allowed you to accelerate at a faster rate?"

"It was not a privilege," Gerald said darkly. His hands trembled on the table. "But…yes…" He whispered as if the admission cost him physical pain. "I learned more in four years than what we would have done in sixty."

"Do you regret it?"

Gerald looked up and did not answer. They stared at one another and Shadow could feel the professor wilting under her gaze. "Professor Gerald. The military needs to know what kind of man you are. You accelerated your field by leaps and bounds, but the cost was heavy almost beyond belief. They say if a man loses everything but keeps his soul he is rich, but the man who is willing to trade even that is invincible. So I ask you again; Do. You. Regret. It?"

Gerald trembled worse than ever. He pressed his hands against the table until his knuckles turned white. Shadow expected he would refuse to answer, but then he looked up and met Miranda's gaze eye to eye. "No.." He muttered.