Chapter 19: SA2 Part 4

When the light cleared, Tangle was suddenly in space.

"What in the world?!" Tangle asked. "Why am I in space?!"

"This is where Shadow's story begins." Tikal explained, now floating beside her.

"Tikal…" Tangle said. "I gotta admit… I wasn't expecting you to actually be able to do this."

"The Chaos Emeralds allow for control over time and space… Since I was sealed inside the Master Emerald for so long, I learned a couple of things." Tikal explained. "But… it is limited."

"Yeah, I can only see what happens, not actually interact with it, right?" Tangle asked.

"That is correct." Tikal said.

"Alright, that's fine." Tangle said. "Let's just find out what the deal with Shadow is."

"Right."

The two of them floated along and went inside…

"This is that place where that giant cannon is, right?" Tangle asked.

"Yes, this appears to be the case." Tikal confirmed.

Tangle then looked over to the moon, and remembered the amount of damage Eggman was able to do.

"We have to stop them… no matter what."

The two then flew into the space station and got a look around.

"Ok, so looks like a bunch of scientists… wait… is that?"

Tangle then got a look at what appeared to be the lead scientist, and she was shocked at what she saw.

"Eggman? Why does he look so old?"

"Professor Gerald!" Another scientist shouted as he approached the Eggman lookalike.

"What is it?" Professor Gerald said.

"There was an explosion in one of the labs! Some of the other scientist got hurt!" The scientist explained.

"What?! Quick, get Shadow, and have him gather them so we can tend to their wounds."

"Of course!"

When the other scientist left, Tangle and Tikal followed.

"So… That Gerald guy… what's his deal?" Tangle asked.

"I'm afraid I don't know… I am learning about all of this along side you after all." Tikal explained.

"Great… let's just keep following this guy and find Shadow."

Eventually, they found the hedgehog in question, who was currently… playing?

"Shadow, you don't have to be so serious all of the time!" The girl he was playing with said.

"… Very well." Shadow said.

Getting a good look at him, Tangle noticed that Shadow looked really… happy.

"This… isn't what he was like when I met him, that's for sure." Tangle pointed out. "What in the world happened to him?"

"Shadow! Come quick! We need your help!" The scientist from before said.

"I'm on my way." Shadow said as he ran off to help.

Tangle and Tikal then watched as Shadow did all he could to save the scientists who were injured.

"Ok… he seems like a really good guy." Tangle said.

The two of them continued to watch, as Shadow continued to play with this girl, who they came to learn was named Maria, as well as helping to calm down a bunch of artificial lifeforms that went out of control at one point.

"Isn't the world beautiful Shadow?" Maria asked as they looked out a window.

"…"

"What I wouldn't give… to just be able to go down there, and experience what the world has to offer… To meet the people of the world…" Maria said. "Do you think it is as beautiful down there as it looks like up here?"

"… Possibly."

"I think so… one day, we'll go down there together… you promise?" Maria asked.

"… I promise."

Tangle watched this and had to wonder… did Shadow ever keep his promise?


"Professor… do you mind if I ask you something?" A scientist asked Professor Gerald.

"Go ahead."

"I was just wondering… what is the purpose of Shadow?" The scientist asked. "I mean, we are calling him the ultimate lifeform… but why did we decide to create him?"

"… You have heard of NIDS, correct?" Professor Gerald asked.

"Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome? Of course I have!" The scientist answered.

"As unfortunate as it is… Maria was diagnosed with this disease." Gerald explained. "My hope is that in the creation of Shadow, we will be a step closer to finding a cure."

"Ah, I see… so that is why he is so attached to her."

"Yes, that would be the case." Gerald said. "She's such a good girl… I can't bear the thought of losing her."

"Yes… I can imagine."

At that moment, the door opened, and a bunch of soldiers flooded into the room.

"W-What's going on here?!" Gerald asked.

"Professor Gerald, we are shutting this place down."


The situation was terrible. All of the scientists were being arrested for who knows what, and Maria and Shadow were currently being chased by a soldier who spotted them.

Then, Shadow was sealed in a glass capsule, from which, he could only watch as…

"NO!" Tangle screamed as she tried to get in the way of the bullet… only for it to pass right through her, and strike Maria.

"MARIA!"

"Shadow… Please… I beg of you… for all of the people on that planet…" Maria said, struggling to keep herself

"Maria!"

"Sayonara… Shadow the Hedgehog…"

And as Maria pulled the lever, Shadow was sent hurdling into space.


"AH!" Tangle shouted as she jolted up from her resting spot.

'I'm… back?'

"I'm afraid that is everything…" Tikal explained.

'Right… ok… that was a lot to take in…'

"Hey Tangle! We're all set and ready to… uh… you alright?" Tails asked as he walked into the room.

"Huh?" Tangle said as she felt around her eyes.

She had been crying.

"Y-yeah… had a rough dream is all." Tangle lied.

"Oh… alright." Tails said. "Anyways, we just finished our work on the X-Tornado, and we're ready to go. You coming?"

"Of course! Let's get going!"

As Tangle left the room, she couldn't help but think.

'Shadow… I am gonna save you from this… no matter what!'

End of Chapter 19


A shorter one, I wanted the Shadow flashbacks to get their own chapter. Seeing as how the next chapter is also kinda short, I will put that up later today or tomorrow to make up for it!

I decided to throw in a bit of plot from Shadow the Hedgehog, mainly the Maria levels from that game. We are never going to get a chance to include those when I get to that game, but they feel like such an important part of Shadow's character, that I wanted to include them in some way. So, putting them here was a good compromise I feel!

Also, a bit of an announcement! Still kinda on and off working on my other stories that I haven't finished, but I wanted to announce that I have started planning out a whole new story for a whole new series! I probably put a bit of a teaser on my profile by now, so take a look! Still no title, and it is in very early planning, but I am excited for this, cause this series is a bit… different compared to the other series I have written for!

… and then I drafted out out the entire story… It is a bit shorter, but dang, I worked fast! Expect that within the coming weeks… still need a name though.

Anyways, see you next time! :)