Shadow the Hedgehog of the Colossus
Chapter 13: Celosia
A deep, pain-filled roar echoes throughout the vast open testing facility within the Space Colony ARK. The room itself was wide and rectangular with walls and ceiling covered with thick metal plates. The floors were made with rubber, acting as an insulator for the experiments being carried out.
At the centre of the room was a colossal and grotesque lizard-like beast, easily over two hundred feet long from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail, about one hundred feet wide, and about sixty feet tall at the tallest point on its back. It had orange flame skin with a dark grey underbelly and possessed a long neck, a flat and almost round torso with gill-like flaps on the sides, and a thick tail. It also had two stubby and thick forelegs, each with three thick toes on a foot indistinguishable from the leg, and four short flippers on the rear. Where its rear legs would be, it instead has stub legs with no defined feet. Additionally, it had a large and pale toothless mouth with black lips and four yellow spikes on the lower jaw. On its neck, back, hindquarters and tail, the creature had yellow patches of skin.
The experimental monster had several robotic implants. Its eyes were like gun turrets, and it had a large disk-shaped machinery with a red orb in the middle of its back which was its life support system. It also had several cables on its back and a set of green cables on its jaw joints connecting with the life support system, along with a stump of green cable on its forehead. It also seemed to have vents near the foot of its neck.
The creature was restrained by several large crane arms holding its body, neck, tail, and limbs in place. Four electrical pillars that looked like generators were placed around the beast. Arcs of electricity were shocking it from the round orb ends of the towers, preventing it from attempting to break free.
Only a handful of scientists wearing protective rubber suits were stationed in the testing area with it, documenting its feats and resilience. Gerald and the rest of his team were observing the creature from an observation centre high above them, behind a thick layer of plexiglass.
Shadow was standing beside him looking down at the giant monster, which he recognised as the Ultimate Lifeform prototype he and Sonic battled years ago. The Biolizard. He was brought to the point in time when Gerald had just finished growing it. Though it had grown far larger than the head scientist had anticipated.
Maria was located a few away from them in the room next door. She was being examined by doctors, keeping track of the growth rate of her disease and the decrease in brain activity. She could overhear everything that was being said within the observation room.
Shadow hadn't gotten the chance to see the full process behind the Biolizard's upbringing, but from the files he'd read on the lab's computers, he learned it was a long and difficult road.
At 12:30 on January 27th, the Biolizard was successfully brought to life, using cloned DNA of one of his team's pet lizard, Lucy, with his eternal engine and Chaos Control-inducing organ working normally. However, because the measurements of the experiment were higher than expected, the Biolizard was moved to the central dome for further tests, which is where they are standing right now.
As it grew, the Biolizard showed many of the researchers' desired traits, including self-restoration, regeneration and self-reproduction, However, it required a life support system fuelled by Chaos Drives, which Gerald researched back in his younger years, to sustain itself. Other flaws also became noticeable over time: besides having an unexpected and exponentially fast growth rate, growing to be 2.7m long and weighing 350kg in just a couple of days. That strained its vital organs' control parts.
The Biolizard evolved to become so unruly that the researchers had trouble controlling it. The cranes and electrical discharges may have it paralysed for now, but who knows how long until it breaks free and attacks everyone on the ARK.
Gerald sighs with defeat upon seeing his first attempt at creating the Ultimate Lifeform be reduced to such an ungodly sight. He could tell by the sounds it was making that it was suffering, not just from the electric shocks, but from all the implants they were forced to place on it to prevent its powers from going completely out of control.
"I don't understand it. It should've worked!" He muttered in frustration. "I have studied everything about the Chaos Emeralds and their power, the Chaos Drives I invented should've kept the prototype's mental capacity under control… We've failed once again. This creature is too big and too unstable to harness its healing capabilities to cure Maria. We have no choice but to terminate it."
Gerald pulls out his radio and contacts the scientist in charge of the group containing the Biolizard in the Central Dome. He ordered him to increase the voltage of the generators to maximum and evacuate the area.
The team complies and leaves the chamber. Once they were safe behind the blast doors, the scientist holding the remote turned the dial to max, increasing the generator voltage. The Biolizard's cries of discomfort increase in intensity. Its body violently jitters as electricity passes through its flesh and bionic parts. This torture only lasted seconds as the giant lizard wound up passing out shortly after the increased shock therapy. Its massive body fell to the ground with a loud, deafening thud.
The generators produce a whirling sound as the hazmat-suited scientists shut down the power. Once they were certain it was safe to reenter the chamber, the other scientists scanned the Biolizard's vitals, checking if they were successful in terminating what they'd deemed another failure.
"This- This can't be!" Instead of the results they were expecting, the scanners told them that the Biolizard was still alive and was now in a comatose state.
They quickly picked up their communicator and reported this development to Gerald, who was just as surprised as they were. Shadow knew this wouldn't be the end of it considering Gerald uses it to ensure the ARK destroys the planet below them fifty years later.
The only silver lining to this outcome is they were successful in creating an immortal lifeform, or at least immortal to all threats outside of the Chaos Emeralds. But the obvious problem was that it was still too unstable to control and harvest for Maria's cure. They've created a monster that cannot be killed through conventional means.
"What do we do with it, Professor?" One of the scientists next to him speaks up slowly. "We can't kill the prototype, but we can't control it either. If G.U.N finds out about this, they'll have our heads."
"I know… that is why we won't tell them," Gerald responded calmly. "The Biolizard will be put into suspended animation and sealed away within this room. No one is to come into contact with the beast or tamper with its genetic structure in any way. We will declare it a failure, learn from our mistakes, and try again. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes- Yes sir." The scientist replied nervously. He gazes out the viewing window one last time down at the Biolizard. He began to question if Gerald made the right decision going through with his colleague's suggestion of tackling Project Shadow.
Shadow observed the scientists struggling with trying to contain the Biolizard. He almost felt sorry for them. Once again, their attempts to defy nature have been denied. If it hadn't been for the actions of Black Doom, the idea would've been impossible to accomplish.
Talking of which, Shadow wonders if he'll get to see the moment in the past when Gerald contacts the Black Comet and witnesses his creation with Black Doom's aid. Maybe it will occur after he's defeated the next Colossus.
Later on, Shadow and Gerald walked over to the room next door to check on Maria. While they were observing the Biolizard, Maria was going through her daily checkups. She was lying down on an operation table looking away from the surgeon that was taking a sample of blood from her right arm. She gave her a little something to dull the pain of the needle, though she could still feel a numbness in her arm after the injection was done.
She was exhausted, which Shadow couldn't blame her for. He once laid down on that very table and had to endure the scientists' taking samples of his blood to work into a cure for Maria's illness. Back then he didn't mind it because he knew his blood was used for a good cause.
Gerald approaches his granddaughter and places his left hand under the back of her head, gently lifting her into a sitting position.
"How are you feeling?"
Maria yawned and stretched her arms out before she could give a response. But Gerald got the gist of how she was currently feeling.
"How many more tests do I have to do today?" She almost hesitantly asks.
"This was the last one, my dear," Gerald reassured her, noticing the look of worry on her face. She was sick of being cooped up in this room and sitting still for injections in awkward silence. She'd rather be out there playing with the other kids, particularly her new friend, Abraham.
Thankfully for her, Gerald had permitted her to leave and go have some fun while he and his team examined her blood. But before she could, she stopped halfway out the door and turned back to face him.
"Grandfather, is everything alright with you?"
"Of course, they are. Why do you ask?"
"I overheard you talking in the other room. You sounded like you were upset about your Ultimate Lifeform not living up to your expectations… Is Lucy 2 okay?" She uttered that last question.
Lucy 2? Was that what she'd named the Biolizard?, Shadow thought. He never would've imagined Maria had grown attached to the beast to the point she'd name it. He's pretty sure it didn't have a gender since it could reproduce asexually, or it used to.
Shadow began to wonder if she'd attempted to befriend the Biolizard the same way she did him after his creation. Unlike him, the prototype has no personality. Its intelligence is only equal to that of a wild animal. It couldn't show emotion like he could. Even though he hardly shows it, Shadow could express his feelings if the situation required him to do so. The only time he'd ever shed tears was when he remembered the promise he made to Maria before her death. Even when Sonic was killed by Mephiles the Dark he mourned him. Sonic may be annoying at times, but he wasn't a bad guy.
"Lucy 2? Oh, you mean the prototype for the Ultimate Lifeform." Maria lightly nods in confirmation. "Yes, I was upset. Because the Biolizard has failed to provide your cure. It has grown too large and powerful to contain."
"Are you… going to kill him?" She hesitated, afraid of what the answer would be.
"That was our intention. But, unfortunately, we can't. Though the creature itself is a failure, we have succeeded in making it immortal as far as we know."
"What are you gonna do with him?"
"Put it in suspended animation, shrink it down, and place it in a capsule. That's all we can do."
Maria was a little saddened by his answer. Shadow and Gerald didn't think much of it, but they could understand why she would. Maria had a heart of gold and showed kindness to everyone, even those others didn't think were deserving of it. It's just how she is. It was a quality she inherited from both her parents, doubling her compassion.
Gerald decided to cheer her up by asking her to take a walk around the halls with him, hoping it would help take her mind off of the Biolizard.
As they were leaving, another member of Gerald's team came in to inform him that the ARK had been contacted by someone, or something, a few miles away in deep space. Shadow's curiosity piqued. He estimated this "something" that had contacted them was the Black Arms.
But Gerald didn't care as of this moment. He'd spent way too much time cooped up in his lab elbow-deep in his research that he hardly spent any time with his granddaughter since they'd arrived. If he fails to cure her sickness he will look back on this day and regret not being a grandfather for the rest of his life.
Gerald gently grasps Maria's hand and leads her out into the hallways where there are large windows strewn about, giving them a fantastic view of space and the Earth below.
No matter how many times she's seen it, the sight of it all never gets old. Space has a mystic wonder to it. you can focus your sights on one particular star, and it will never appear the same. Everything in space changes. But perhaps the biggest, unmissable change this time around was the bright yellowy-red hue emanating from a comet flying past their view screens.
"The Black Comet." Shadow voiced his thoughts out loud. His suspicions about seeing it again in this segment were right. It won't be long until he sees his own creation from Maria's perspective.
"Wow. A shooting star!" Maria exclaimed excitedly. She closes her eyes, crosses her fingers on both hands and scrunches up her nose. She was making a wish on the comet, just like how it went in the children's stories she'd been told when she was small.
"What are you wishing for, my dear?" Gerald asked curiously.
"That you will succeed in your mission of creating the Ultimate Lifeform and making me better… And that one day we will return to Earth, find Julian, and make our family whole again."
Geralds kneels and places his hands on her shoulders. "That's a good wish. I hope it comes true too."
Shadow fractionally smiles. The fact that he's still standing here – at least for the time being – is proof that Maria's wish has come true to some extent. The first half of Gerald succeeding came true. But the second half did not for reasons he will relive sooner or later.
If only the young Robotnik realised that the "star" she was wishing on was an organic alien flying fortress teaming with Black Arms.
"You know, Maria, this comet is very special," Gerald spoke up after a few minutes of grieving over leaving Ivo behind. "That comet flies past the Earth every fifty years. Every time it does, the scientists aboard examine it. For they believe there may be signs of life inside it. Intelligent life. If the rumours are true, humanity might make its first contact with alien life beyond our planet." He explained almost excitedly.
Maria gazes up at the Black Comet as she listens to her grandfather's explanation. She began to wonder if the rumours were true too. The possibility of that comet sustaining intelligent life is equivalent to a double-edged sword. There's a chance they may be friendly and share their secrets with humanity if they feel they deserve it. Or they could be war-mongering conquers that wish to destroy them. Shadow knows all too well that they were the latter.
"Do not trust them, Maria. Black Doom and his creatures' only desire is to use the Chaos Emeralds to destroy the world and all of its inhabitants." Shadow looks down at his own hands and clenches them tightly. "He even manipulated me into almost carrying it out on his behalf. Those black creatures cannot be trusted, and they cannot be reasoned with. That's why I had to destroy them."
Maria's eyes shot wide open as if she'd felt a strange presence hovering over her. A presence that opted her to turn away from the passing comet and look behind her.
"Maria?"
"There it was again… I thought I-
"Thought what?" Gerald asked, confused by what she was on about.
"I… Never mind. It's nothing." She reassured him. Though she couldn't help but glance over her shoulder once again, expecting to see something or someone there. But the hallway behind her was empty. No one was there.
"This is the second time I thought I felt someone's presence. Am I being haunted by ghosts?!" Her whole body trembled with fear over the thought of her being watched by forces she couldn't see.
Unfortunately for her, Maria wasn't able to sense Shadow again anyway even if she focused hard enough. For he was once again coming around within the centre of the Shrine of Worship. Once again, he wasn't fast enough to catch the now ten Shades standing around him, watching him sleep like a bunch of creeps.
The statue of Dirge on the left side of the corridor had collapsed. Agro was nowhere to be seen. Shadow didn't seem too worried about her absence. She's probably out in the fields eating grass or down by the river to drink. He never suspected her of leaving his side because that horse had made it clear to him on several occasions that he was stuck with her until their journey was over.
Shadow slowly picks himself up again using his discarded sword as a crutch until the strength in his legs returns. But something was off. Until now he still possessed inhuman super strength. It was what allowed him to maintain his grip on some of the Colossi when they tried to shake him off. But now he can feel his strength weakening. Super strength was the next power to be crossed off his list of lost abilities. Sooner or later, he won't have any powers left.
The sun's rays shine through the open skylight in the ceiling and focus on the statue of the next Colossus for him to defeat. Beneath it was a plaque that designated it "Celosia". Dormin's voice begins its explanation on the next target.
"Thy next foe is… An alter overlooks the lake… A guardian set loose… It keeps the flames alive."
Despite Shadow's body feeling weak, he continued to press on with his mission. He sheathes the sacred sword, picks up his discarded bow and arrows, and shifts down the steps to the outside world. There he spotted Agro having a lie down in the field. Instead of whistling to get her attention, Shadow walked up to her.
Didn't take long for her to notice his approach and get back up on her feet. She lightly trots on over to him and nuzzles her head against him. But at this point, Shadow had given up on making her stop as she'll always display how much she adores the black hedgehog. He still didn't like it though. He's not the sentimental type.
Shadow gently pats the side of her neck. "That was the first time you've had to help me defeat one of them. With the turtle, I only needed you to get me there. But now I've grown weak to the point I can't outrun them… This is as new for me as it is for you. I've rarely needed anyone's help when fighting my enemies. The only times I did was when I was up against the bigger threats like the Biolizard and Solaris. But these Colossi are far weaker than them. But now so am I… So, I expect you to get used to me depending on you when the moment calls for it from here on out." He explained thoroughly.
Agro responded with a single nod in understanding. Though she was scared of the big lumbering giants of fur and stone, she would not let her new friend/partner down.
"You better be, because in my weakened state I won't survive a lethal blow from any of the last remaining Colossi. With my super strength gone, fighting them will be even more difficult."
Agro kneels, making it easier for the Ultimate Lifeform to climb aboard. Once he maintains a firm grip on her mane, she gallops across the vast fields of greenery, following the direction the sword's light was leading them.
The light was pointing south of their current location towards the front entrance to the shrine. It led them to the swirly stone bridge across a gorge and over the slopes to the right of the bridge that leads in and out of the Forbidden Lands.
She carried on trekking until the ground beneath her hooves had been switched from grass to soft sand. The sword was guiding them towards the vast wall that cut off the Forbidden Lands from the rest of the outside world. Shadow was taking in his surroundings until he was jolted forward by Agro who'd just come to a screeching halt.
He was very close to giving her a hard time for it and almost sending him flying forward, only to notice the reason why she stopped. She was inches away from a sheer drop straight down. Right in front of them was an almost completely dried-up lakebed at the bottom of a pit.
Shadow holds the sword up once more to double-check and see if they are heading in the right direction. The blue beams converged as he aimed the blade down into the pit. Shadow inches himself closer to the edge to get a better look at where the light is shining. He discovers another old temple hidden down there. It was built into the sides of the rock, unlike the other more architectural temples and shrines he'd seen on his journey.
"Hmm. The next Colossus must be hidden underground like the bearded one I fought before. That shrine down there appears to be my only entrance." He then directly looks down at the dried-up lake. There was still some water at its centre, but it was too shallow for him to jump. Fortunately for him, he spotted a pathway leading down to his right.
"There's a path down over there, but it's too narrow for you. I'll go alone from here. You go back to the shrine and watch over Maria." He instructed Agro as he dismounted her back.
But before he could head on over to the descending pathway, Agro gently bites his left arm, stopping him from leaving.
"What do you want now?!" He asked in a slightly rude and annoyed manner. Of course, Agro couldn't voice her concerns so he had to try and guess what she was thinking, which didn't seem too hard in this context. "You're worried about me after seeing firsthand what some of these Colossai can do, aren't you? You think because I've been growing weaker, I'm no match for them?"
Agro nodded. Shadow grunts with annoyance as he yanks his arm free from her grip. He has told her countless times that he can handle anything these lands throw at him. He won't let his weakened state stop him from completing the ritual. He will either die bringing Maria back or die trying.
"Don't forget that I am the Ultimate Lifeform. It's not just a title I wear with pride. It's a reminder of who I am and what I was created for. Maria helped remind me that I was created to protect those who cannot protect themselves. And I will keep on fighting no matter how much weaker I get. The only way someone can stop me from fighting is to stop me from breathing… Now, I won't ask you again. Go back to the shrine and wait for me. I'll need you later for the next Colossus."
With that said and done, Shadow runs at an average runner's pace towards the path and follows it down to the bottom of the lake. Agro only watches for a moment before turning around and heading back to the shrine. Despite her worries, she tries to have more faith in the black hedgehog's abilities, no matter how reduced they've become.
Once he reaches the bottom, Shadow follows a naturally formed slop upwards until he finds a backway into the built-in temple. The inside wasn't as big as how he assumed it would be from the outside. The room was dimly lit with a few torches on the wall to his right. All along the right wall were old jail cells with the torches keeping them lit. There weren't that many of them, only three cells. At first, he assumed it was some kind of prison the Colossus Clan used to punish any criminals amongst their own or any potential intruders that wandered into their lands. But this place was too small for a purpose that big.
To his left, he could see an open area where the front entrance he saw earlier was. There were four large lit torches perched atop four stone altars. As he attempted to get closer, his left foot grazed the edge of the floor he was on, letting loose some of the edge stones and allowing them to fall into a crevasse.
Thankfully it wasn't too large a gap. He can easily jump over that even with his limited strength, which he wasted no time doing.
But upon landing on the other side, the sound of an agitated growling echoed throughout the chamber. The next Colossus was nearby. But Shadow wondered where it could be. And more notably how it will attempt to fight him in such a small, cramped space.
Another growl sounded off within the temple, causing Shadow to quickly scan the area for it. Dust particles started falling from the ceiling, causing the black hedgehog to look up and behind him. There he finally caught a glimpse of his next target, Celosia.
A lot of the Colossi were different from the last and had their own unique features, but the one thing they all had in common was their ginormous size. But Celosia was perhaps the most surprising Colossus of them all so far. He wasn't a giant at all. He was actually very small for a Colossus.
Once awaked from its centuries of slumber, Celosia left its little hideyhole in the archway above and leapt down to the platform Shadow was on. Another unique feature this Colossus had was that it was much faster and more agile compared to its large, lumbering cousins.
On closer inspection, Celosia appeared to be 12 feet tall and 18 feet long, roughly around the same size as an African elephant. Though he wasn't slow like one. His whole body was covered in stone armour, and he appeared to have lion-like claws on all four legs. He had a stone tail and two long curved tusks on the sides of his head, making it more elephant-like. Its current blue eyes were also way smaller than the average Colossi, though they may be normal-sized for someone like him.
The small but spry Colossus hops around the front entrance and blocks it, preventing Shadow from escaping. Its blue eyes change to orange as it gazes at him. Its body shakes as a show of dominance, threatening to charge him down and crush him to death the moment he makes a run for it. But running away wasn't on his mind. Instead, Shadow drew the sacred sword and pointed it at him, accepting his challenge.
"This is new. I assumed because they were known as the Colossi that they were all big. But this one is small. However, its speed, agility, and aggressive animalistic instincts more than make up for it. I can't find the symbol on its body. It must be hidden under all that armour. I'll have to break through that first. But without my super strength, I can't use force."
As he was strategising his first move, Celosia decided to attack first and charged towards him at full speed. Shadow barely manages to jump out of the way using his homing attack, thankful he still had it for the time being.
Celosia came to a halt as it was inches away from falling through the crevasse and turned itself around. Shadow gets back up only to be swatted into the wall by the cat/bull-like Colossus's claw. His sword flew right out of his hand and landed a few feet away from the front entrance and well out of his reach.
With his strength and endurance reduced, he was able to feel the full force of that swipe. It hurt like hell. His whole body was aching with pain. He was fortunate none of his bones had been broken, but he was so battered and bruised that it looked like he'd just gotten out of a gang fight.
But he toughened up and fought through it as he forced himself back up again. He needed to get his sword back to kill the beast, but getting to it was gonna be a challenge now that Celosia was standing between him and it.
The tiny Colossus roars as it leaps towards him with both its front claws stretched out, ready to tackle him. Shadow leaps backwards and accidentally finds himself in a tight squeeze between one of the flame altars and the wall. It wasn't his intention to get stuck, but at least he was now out of Celosia's reach.
The enraged Colossus tries to reach for him through the gap, but its front legs aren't long enough. Shadow takes this chance to climb up to the top of the altar. He planned to stay out of striking range, try and leap over him, and retrieve the sword. Though he was making this plan up as he went along. He has no idea how he'll be able to break through Celosia's armour.
Celosia attempts to knock him down by charging into the altar. But the Ultimate Lifeform held himself steady. All this attack accomplished was knocking one of the large burning sticks out of the flame bowl and down to the ground. The little Colossus trembles with fear and scrambles backwards to avoid the fire.
Just like that, an opportunity presented itself for the Ultimate Lifeform. Fire seems to be the only thing Celosia is afraid of. He now has a plan for getting the sword back and getting rid of its armour.
He leaps downwards off of the altar, performing a tuck and roll to reach the flame before Celosia can charge him again. He grabs the stick and holds it up to the Colossus, forcing him to back up and cower in fear of the orange flame.
Shadow slowly approaches the beast, waving the flaming at him. Now it was his turn to assert his dominance and show him who was the top predator. Celosia groaned with fear as he kept on backing himself away from his intimidating opponent.
He inevitably ran out of floor to walk backwards on and ended up falling out of the temple, hitting a ledge on the way down on his back. The impact was strong enough to shatter the armour on its back, exposing the symbol.
While he was stunned, Shadow picked up the sword and jumped down to the ledge Celosia's armour had shattered. It wasn't too big of a jump, though it wasn't a soft landing. The hardest part was jumping atop the Colossus's back and stabbing it in the back. But unlike the other Colossai, it will be shaking more aggressively.
Celosia slowly gets back up again still dazed from the fall, completely unaware of the approaching Shadow the Hedgehog until moments after latching onto his back.
The terrified and agitated Colossus tried everything it could to shake him off. He shook his body side to side like a dog would shake itself dry after getting out of a bath full of water. When that didn't work, he started running around the place, charging into walls. But the tiny, black and red anthropomorphic hedgehog wouldn't let go.
Shadow held on as tightly as he could. His super strength made holding onto the Colossi much easier, but now it has become a chore. It felt like he was riding one of those mechanical bulls humans had at carnivals of Western bars. It was a good thing he had plenty of experience riding a speedy horse over bumpy terrain.
He held his nerve and swayed with the bull-like Colossus as he used his right hand to hover the sword over the symbol over his back. Then in one fell swoop, brings it down hard on Celosia, stabbing it right in the centre.
Celosia growled as it felt almost the entirety of the blade pierce its exposed backside. He started losing the feeling in his legs as its body was growing as weak as Shadow's. It only managed to limp a few meters back inside the back entrance of the temple where Shadow came in until it finally gave in and collapsed on its left side, finally knocking him off. Its glowing eyes fade away as its grip on life disperses.
Shadow grasps the sword's hilt and uses it to help position himself back up on his feet before pulling it free from the corpse as it begins the blackening process. Dozens of black tendrils erupt out of the stab wound the moment the sword was removed. Immediately they entered Shadow's body through his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. Instead of falling forwards like he usually does, Shadow ends up falling backwards and lays up against Celosia's body. He soon passes out and rests his head against him.
To Be Continued