Chapter 52
All of Me
Shadow spun round and round as the whirlpool continued to drag him down. He closed his eyes to defend against the rush of nausea and as soon as he did the spinning stopped. Shadow rested his face against a cold stone floor. He rose to his knees and looked around. White light shone brightly in an advanced laboratory. Complicated machines hung over tables and walls of glass separated the lab from a decontaimintet field. Blue tendrils slithered beyond the glass and Shadow caught the glimpse of a piercing green eye.
At once, Shadow knew where he was. Laboratory 117 on level six of the Space Colony Ark. Shadow approached the glass and looked at the experimental specimens called Artificial Chaos. The creatures were half liquid half solid monstrosities. As soon as they saw Shadow, they slashed at him with sharp tendrils that bounced harmlessly off the glass walls. Their vengeful green eyes glared at Shadow with beastial menace.
Those are your cousins. Doctor Nordstrom had once joked. Shadow remembered standing in this exact spot next to Professor Gerald. They had been observing the creatures when the other doctor mused that Shadow and the Artificial Chaos were the best of friends. The remark had been intended as an insult. Nordstrom, along with many other of the scientists, considered Shadow a freak and little more than a lab rat.
Shadow had restrained his anger then, content in the belief that Nordrstrom's anger was rooted in fear. He died like all the rest though. Shadow remembered dryly. He looked around the lab and wondered why he was here. This isn't real. It is just a test. If Yorven thought he was clever for sending Shadow back here, then the joke was on the old panda. Shadow's psyche was not easily distrubed. I'll finish this little trial of his and be done with it.
Just as he was starting to wonder what he had to do, a voice echoed over the P.A system. "Shadow the Hedgehog, please report to the gymnasium." The announcement was like a blast of long forgotten memory. Shadow could recall all the times Gerald had called him to the gymnasium to test his abilities. Those had been his favorite tests, far better than the various blood draws and C.T scans.
Shadow left the lab and found the Ark running at full capacity. Machines were whirring, little robots zoomed in every direction, and various monitors reported about safety instructions. It was exactly as Shadow remembered, the only difference being, he did not see any people. He ignored that oddity and made his way over to the gymnasium. When the blast doors opened he found the room empty. The gymnasium consisted of six interconnected basketball courts with a large half mile track encircling them.
Shadow walked inside, his footsteps echoing eerility in the silence. The lights were not on and when the doors closed behind him he was shut up in darkness. "Guess who!" Hands wrapped over Shadow's face and he reacted instinctively. He drove an elbow into his attackers stomach and heard them topple over with a muffled scream. The lights flashed on and Shadow saw Maria lying curled up on the floor.
"Maria-" He knelt down to help her to her feet. His hand trembled when she touched him. Shadow had forgotten how soft her skin was. Maria let him pull her to her feet and she smiled grimly.
"I suppose I won't try that again." Her eyes were a vivid blue, much more piercing and deep than Shadow remembered.
"I…" Shadow's mouth felt dry. "I'm sorry."
Maria waved him off. "No worries, that was childish of me. You're the ultimate life form or whatever, I suppose I should have known."
Her smile sent a tremor down Shadow's spine. This was cruel, very cruel of the old panda to send Shadow here. Anger and frustration made him curl his hands into fists.
"Is something wrong?" Maria asked.
"I…" Her expression was alive with childlike innocence and curiosity. It burned in stark contrast to the image of her that was so deeply preserved in Shadow's memory. Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog.
"Did you call me here?" Shadow asked, changing the subject.
Maria gave him a roguish grin. "I knew those white coats would have you doing boring stuff all day, so I thought I'd make it seem like my grandfather needed you."
Shadow forced his face into a smile. "But what are we actually going to do?"
"Come on! I'll show you!" Maria held out her hand. Shadow's heart seemed to tighten as he reached for it. She squeezed his hand and pulled him to the far corner of the gym. There she had set up some mounds for a game of indoor baseball. She took up her position at the pitcher's mound and indicated that Shadow should take the bat she had left out for him.
Shadow took it and gave it a practice swing. Is this my trial? Was Yorven trying to torture Shadow by forcing him to play innocent games with Maria? He took up position and waved Maria on. She stood tall and slender at the mound and her smile faded. She looked suddenly serious and determined. Shadow noticed how small and thin she was for her age. Though his blood had cured her of her illness, she had still not fully recovered from the years of physical atrophy.
"I'll get a strike this time," She said firmly. "But you'd better not go easy on me."
Shadow nodded and tightened his grip around the bat. Maria had good form but her arms were too weak to throw a fastball. Shadow hit her first pitch with ease and sent it across the gym. Maria frowned and took a second ball out of the bucket by her feet. She scrunched up her face in concentration and Shadow was hit with a wave of pity. He wanted to intentionally miss, but when the time came, he sent the second ball flying as well.
This continued until Maria had nearly emptied the bucket. She had thrown dozens of different pitches but every throw moved in slow motion compared to Shadow's lightning fast reflexes. The game wasn't fair, but Maria didn't seem to mind. The unconquerable challenge seemed to enflame her passion instead of defeat her.
Her arm had tired so she tried switching up her last few pitches. Even with a good curve, Shadow hit them with ease. At last, Maria was down to her last ball. She tossed it up and down and studied Shadow intently. Her eyes were narrowed with focus. Shadow wasn't thinking about the game. His heart was heavy with grief. He had never met someone who so thoroughly enjoyed life.
The cruelty of her death paralyzed Shadow and made his limbs feel weak. So many useless souls drifted through life in an endless slog of mundanity. Yet they were spared and free to animate their living corpses for years on end. Evil people like Commander Smith and Doctor Robotnik were blessed with age while Maria had been cut down in the flowering of her childhood. The sensleness of her death was matched only by its injustice.
Maria finally settled on a pitch and readied to throw. It came screeching towards his left. Shadow could have hit it with ease, but the strength to move eluded him.
Crack! The ball hit the wall behind him and Shadow lowered his bat. Maria's eyes went wide with triumph before, just as quickly, darkening with disappointment. "Why didn't you swing?" She asked meekly.
Shadow turned to see the dent the baseball had left in the wall. "I thought it was a foul," Shadow said simply. He checked the batter's box and then shrugged. "But it was a strike, I must have read it wrong. You got me."
Maria did not look convinced. She bit her lip and gave him a sidelong look. "Do you promise?" "Shadow, I beg of you…please do it for me…for a better future." Shadow cringed as Maria's voice echoed inside his head. He dropped the bat and it rattled across the floor. Maria rushed over to him. "Shadow, are you okay?"
He nodded, but could not bear to look her in the face. "That was a good pitch. You've gotten a lot better."
"I can't wait till we get back to earth. We can play at my old house. There were fields twenty times the size of this. I used to see them from my window. I never got to explore them, but we can together. Would…would you like to do that?" Maria's voice broke and Shadow turned to see that she was crying.
"Of course I would," Shadow said, coming over to her.
"But we won't get to," Maria sobbed. "I'll never go back to earth. I die here…all alone, just like I always feared that I would." Maria fell to her knees and clutched at Shadow for support. "I told you…I told you that I feared that I would die while my father was away, but still, you left me."
"Maria I…you made me…I didn't want to-"
Maria pulled away from him. Her face was glistening with tears. "I know…I know and that was stupid. I was trying to be noble but it wasn't worth it. I only got one life and mine was such a waste. Save me Shadow, please save me so that I can live." Maria had locked her fingers around Shadow's wrists. He tried to pull away but she held him firm. "You have that power now. Take the stones, come back for me. Please, Shadow save me and take me to earth. You promised you would."
"Maria, I can't." Shadow redoubled his efforts to pull himself free but Maria had suddenly become inhumanly strong.
"Liar!" Her voice changed and her eyes glowed red with malice. "You wanted to leave me behind. You got sick of me and threw me away. What was I, a sickly girl, compared to Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Life Form?"
"No!" Shadow pulled with all his might but Maria was stronger. Suddenly, she wasn't a little girl anymore. She was aging rapidly and, a moment later, a fully grown Maria towered over Shadow.
"Why should my life pay for yours? What makes you worth more than me?" Maria tugged his arms apart as if she was going to tear him in half. Shadow recoiled and kicked. His foot struck Maria in the chin and her head snapped backward with a terrible crack! Her grip slackened and Shadow fell to the floor.
Shadow's heart thundered in his chest and he held his eyes shut. No…no… He dreaded the moment when he would have to look, but knew he could not put it off forever. Slowly, he blinked and what he saw made his insides freeze. Maria was a child again. She lay with her neck twisted at an odd angle. Her skin had turned gray and her eyes were sunken.
Shadow felt dazed and dizzy. The ground spun beneath him and everything started to turn. He fell and when he landed he was no longer in the gymnasium. Shadow jumped up and saw a familiar narrow road hovering eerily in empty space.
"Hey Shadow, long time no see!" Sonic came strutting up beside him. He held the fake Chaos Emerald in his hand.
"You? What are you doing here?"
Sonic smiled and pointed straight ahead. "The canon's core is that way. I'm going to slam dunk this in there and blow up the Professor's whole operation!"
Shadow shook his head and rubbed his face. "The Professor's? What are you talking about? It was Eggman who tried to fire the canon."
At that moment, Professor Gerald's voice shouted overhead. "Shadow! The vermin are trying to stop the canon from firing! You must stop him! We cannot save Maria unless you stop him!"
Sonic smirked and beckoned at Shadow. "Come on then, one last race to the finish, whaddya say?"
"Maria? What is he talking about? What-"
"I know your heart's in the right place Shadow, but Maria has to be taken down. G.U.N is right about this one. You can try and stop me, but we both know you can't keep up." Sonic bent down into a sprinter's stance. "All the same, I know you have to try."
Shadow felt a rush of hatred rush through him. "You…what are you going to do to Maria?"
"We all have to make choices, Shadow. I'm sorry."
Shadow came up beside Sonic and readied to run. "I won't underestimate you again, and I won't lose." He bent over, his heart steadying for the plunge. A heartbeat later, it had started. Sonic shot forward like a canon and the sound barrier broke behind him. Shadow followed a few steps behind, unable to match Sonic's top speed.
Come on! Come on! You trained for this! Shadow reached inside himself and tried to push all his available strength to the surface. Slowly, he stopped losing ground, but he needed to go faster if he was going to catch back up. Maria…I…I can save Maria…I just have to go faster. Shadow kept digging and he at last unearthed a trove of reserve power. He tapped into it and felt his skin burn white hot. Pop. Pop. He broke through the sound barrier and suddenly he was going just as fast as Sonic.
They were only a few hundred feet from the cannon's core. Sonic would reach it in the next second, if Shadow did not stop him. He was close enough to see the emerald in Sonic's hand. Could it work? Without any other options Shadow unleashed all the power he had inside himself. "CHAOS CONTROL!" BANG!
The emerald in Sonic's hand exploded. He was thrown backward and landed hard on his back. Shadow reached him a second later and planted his foot on Sonic's throat. "I win.." He said breathlessly.
Sonic struggled beneath Shadow's boot. "But we all lose," He gasped.
Whoosh! A blinding light flashed from behind Shadow. He whipped around and saw a green pulse of energy streak towards the planet. Shadow could not even yell in protest before it hit the earth. A black hole ripped straight through the core and the planet split in two. Swirling clouds of debris and asteroids encompassed the pieces and Shadow saw them; two massive hands made out of cosmos seized the earth. From within the darkness, Shadow saw glinting eyes and the silhouette of a head.
Shadow felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. He staggered and then fell sideways off the platform. His scream never left his lungs as he fell through space. Everything turned upside down and Shadow felt his stomach jump into his throat before suddenly he was standing upright.
He was in the bridge of the Space Colony Ark. Dust covered every square inch of the consoles and the view screen was obscured by frost. Shadow shivered and his breath came out in icy mists. Where was he now? A cursory glance made it appear as if many years had passed since Eggman had used the Ark.
Whoosh. The door behind Shadow opened with an eerie screech. Shadow turned and saw nothing but a hall of darkness. He stared into it and felt a warm blast of air. Then he heard a whisper. "Shadow…." His quills stood on end and Shadow took a step forward. He entered the hall and as soon as he did the door on the far end slid open. Again there was a gust of hot air and a cryptic whisper. "Shadow…"
He followed the voice and it led him deeper and deeper into the Ark. The cold bridge was left far behind, and the further he went, the hotter the air became. At last, Shadow stood before the entrance to the Eclipse Canon. This door did not open right away. It was closed and Shadow could feel an intense heat radiating from it.
He pressed his hand against the console and it read his palm. "Access granted," A robotic voice chimed. The door slid open. Red light illuminated the canon's storehouse. The pedestal with the Chaos Emeralds pulsed with energy. The gems were in place but there was no sign of the Eclipse Canon. Instead, the emeralds were connected to a tall cylindrical tube. The tube was filled with a strange red liquid, and the thing floating inside was Shadow.
As soon as Shadow noticed the figure, its eyes burst open. With a cry of pain its glass case exploded spraying red hot liquid in every direction. The other Shadow landed in front of the Chaos Emeralds and stood upright. He looked exactly like Shadow; only the red streaks in his fur were pulsing with energy. When he spoke, his voice was slightly lower than Shadow's. "So you have come. I was told you would. I did not understand it at first, but I think I do now."
"Understand what?" Shadow asked. "Who are you?"
The clone spread his arms. "I am Shadow the Hedgehog. The same as you."
"What is this place? What's happened to the Eclipse Canon?"
"The canon was never more than a means to an end. Its power is paltry compared to what we are capable of." The clone strode forward and the two Shadow's started to circle one another. His clone was smiling, but Shadow could sense the threat bubbling beneath the surface. "You were always too transfixed on the image. You never truly understood the substance that lay beneath. The Ark, the Eclipse Canon, Project Shadow, they were all just tools."
"Tools for what?"
"Your creation of course. Gerald had his part to play, but he never understood your true nature either. If he did, he never would have mixed your blood with that wretched girl's."
"You mean Maria?" Shadow snapped.
The clone grimaced. "Gerald used you like a petri dish to grow a cure for his beloved granddaughter. He had the key to ultimate power and used it on a pathetic child who would not even outlive him."
"Shut up!" Shadow hissed. "What does Maria have to do with any of this?"
"Nothing," The clone admitted. "Nothing at all. That's the truth you've failed to grasp. In the grand scheme of things she means absolutely nothing."
Shadow restrained his anger and took a deep breath. "This isn't real. You're just a phantom or some demon of my subconscious. Tell me what I have to do to move on, I'm tired of this game."
The clone flashed a twisted smile. "Reality is not so easy to identify. Perhaps I am just part of you, or perhaps I am a thread that joins you to a higher reality. You still have much to learn. Never before has one strayed so far from his destiny as you. You will need to be pulled back, reminded of who you really are."
"Oh yeah? Enlighten me then!"
The clone did not take the bait. He stopped pacing and squared up to Shadow. "I will give you a hint." Without warning, he surged forward. Shadow knocked his first punch aside and countered with a kick. His clone swept beneath his leg and tackled him to the ground. The two Shadow's rolled across the floor until Shadow managed to fling his clone off.
"I'll just kill you then!" Shadow roared. He dashed side to side and spin dashed at the clone's blindside. It flipped around and just managed to put its arms up before Shadow launched into the far wall. It hit its back with a thud and dropped hard to the ground. The clone rose back to his feet and bowed mockingly to Shadow. "You're stronger than I would have expected, but far too weak."
"Enough talk!" Shadow and his clone both charged at the same time. The clone knocked Shadow's hands aside and seized his throat with an iron grip. Shadow was thrown backwards and slammed head first into the ground. Lights danced in his eyes and he coughed when he tried to breath.
The clone was stronger than Shadow was. His grip was as tight as steel and soon Shadow would lose consciousness. Shadow kicked and struggled but he could not fling his opponent off. The clone leaned over him and whispered in his ear. "She made you weak. Her death was the best thing that ever happened to you. All that is needed now is to purge you of her memory."
"NO!" Blazing hot energy swelled in Shadow's gut and it exploded outward in a red blast. The clone was knocked backward and slammed into the pedestal holding the emeralds. The Chaos Emeralds were dislodged and scattered everywhere. Both Shadow and the clone stared at each other for a second before both of them leapt for a gem.
"CHAOS CONTROL!" They both screamed at once. Time and space were both torn at the same time. The clone had tried to stop time and Shadow had tried to teleport. The resulting mixture cut like a sword straight through reality. A sliver of pulsing black aurora hung in the air between the two Shadow's. Lighting flashed from inside and galaxies swirled in the mixture.
"Do you see?" The clone cried. "Behold the power that is within you. It is a cruel joke for a god like you to give heed to a witless mortal."
Shadow threw the Chaos Emerald he was holding aside. His clone did the same. Rage was burning like a furnace within Shadow, sending power through his every limb. Whatever this thing was, Shadow hated it, and he was going to destroy it once and for all.
They both sprinted forward. Their impact made the entire Ark shake. They locked and tried to push the other back. Shadow was no longer unmatched in strength. He could hold his clone off but he could not gain ground. The clone did not seem disturbed by Shadow's sudden increase in power. In fact, he smiled and started to laugh. "Remember this Shadow, remember how this felt. Now behold, true power!" Red light flashed in Shadow's face. He was thrown back a few feet. The clone was holding something in his hand. It was a sword made of pure red energy. It pulsed dangerously and then the clone slashed. Shadow felt very cold and then instantly very hot. The scene before him slanted and Shadow felt himself being pulled apart. His legs separated as the ground broke in two. His clone flexed his hand and the sword vanished. Everything was dividing, Shadow was starting to fall. He realized that he had been cut in half. Shadow screamed.
He awoke in the pool beneath the Time Stones. Grand Elder Yorven was watching him intently. "You've returned," He said gravely.
Shadow's heart was racing. Adrenaline was coursing through his veins. He felt his face and his body and sighed when he felt certain he was in one piece. "Did I pass?"
"You would not be here if you had failed."
Shadow picked himself up. The trial had drained him both physically and emotionally, but he did not want Yorven to know. However, one glance at the red panda told Shadow that the Grand Elder knew exactly what Shadow was feeling. "Do you still wish to use the stones?" Yorven asked.
Shadow shivered. Seeing Maria again had been a shock. It would not be easy to face her and not make some attempt to reverse the past. Yet Shadow also knew that the Maria who had begged him to save her had not been the real Maria. She had only been a phantom and a memory, one corrupted by Shadow's own fear and selfishness. The true Maria was far better and purer than Shadow.
"Yes," Shadow said at last.
Yorven sighed heavily and then motioned for Shadow to approach the pedestal. "The Time Stones will know where you want to go. You need not order them directly. Simply reach out your hand, take a stone and they will do the rest."
Shadow nodded but paused before taking a stone. "Thank you," He said hesitantly.
Yorven accepted the thanks but the old panda looked immensely sad and worried. "You may come to curse me in time. Perhaps you will wish that I had stopped you by force. Not that I could anyway. You are stronger than you think Shadow the Hedgehog, and not in the way you assume. Power is more than speed and strength, there is power in acceptance, and forbearance, patience and mercy."
Shadow accepted the advice and turned back to the stones. There was no going back, Shadow knew that. He had to know the truth, he had to face it. Resolved and determined, Shadow reached out and took one of the stones. White light enveloped him and Shadow vanished.