-Chapter 140-
The Full Story
Knothole
The Freedom Fighters and Chaotix were discussing things when Sonic came running in, Omochao in his arms. He turned to Knuckles.
"I was starting to wonder whether you'd show up at all," he noted.
"The Master Emerald is smashed again," Knuckles explained. "Rouge nabbed a lot of the shards."
"Damn," Sonic winced. "Tough luck, pal."
"Maybe not," Knuckles admitted. "Because she's apparently spying on Egghead, and I watched her duck into the Death Chamber Pyramid."
"Think that's where he's been hiding out?" Sonic pondered.
"Well, let's find out," Sally decided.
Omochao extended a cord, Sally plugging him into Nicole.
"Transmission origin is low orbit," the holo-lynx said.
"That must be where the ARK is," Tails deduced.
"And if the Death Chamber pyramid is where Eggman's been hiding, then we should be able to find a rocket." Amy added.
"Then let's get to that pyramid, find that rocket, destroy the cannon, and kick their imperial butts!" Sonic exclaimed.
Station Square
Meanwhile, Topaz rode to the Silver Star Retirement Home on her motorcycle. She pulled to a stop, seeing Mr. Stewart and Scarlet stepping out of the former's car.
"Topaz," Stewart greeted.
"Hey, Frank," Topaz replied.
"Tower send you?"
Topaz nodded. "Yep. It's time to end this charade."
The three headed to the front desk of the retirement home.
"Excuse me, I'm Scarlet Garcia from SSTV News," Scarlet greeted. "I'm here to see Harold Schmitz."
"One moment, please," the receptionist replied.
She dialed a number, speaking for a moment.
"I'm sorry, he's not seeing anyone," she said at last.
"Please, this is very important," Scarlet pleaded. "We need to speak to him."
"I'm sorry, but-" the receptionist began.
Both Topaz and Mr. Stewart flashed their GUN badges.
"It's a matter of national security," Stewart said.
The receptionist sighed, giving in. "He's in Room 158."
"Thank you," Topaz said politely.
"Just who are you two?" Scarlet asked.
"I could tell you," Stewart quipped. "But then I'd have to kill you afterwards."
"Franklin!" Topaz said reproachfully.
"It was a joke, Topaz," Stewart defended.
Topaz shook her head, sighing. They reached the door of Room 158, knocking.
"Go away!" a male voice snapped from within.
"Sir, I'm a reporter for SSTV," Scarlet replied. "I just want to talk to you."
"Well, why didn't you say so?"
The door opened, revealing an older man with thinning brown hair streaked with gray. He looked Scarlet right in the eyes.
"Go away," he said rudely.
He began to close the door, but Topaz stuck her foot in the door, preventing him from doing so.
"Please, Mr. Schmitz," she began. "It's a matter of national security."
"I said-!" Schmitz cut off when he saw Topaz, seeing her uniform and badge.
"No…" he backed away in fear. "So, you came to silence me like all the others."
"Wait, what?" Topaz shook her head. "No, no. I'm not with Agent Johnson and the Special Operations, I swear."
To prove it, she drew her handgun, unloading it and popping the bullet in the chamber before setting the gun down.
"Is that supposed to prove anything?" Schmitz asked skeptically.
"Sir, if we wanted to kill you, we wouldn't be having this conversation," Stewart insisted. "We'd most likely just kick the door in and shoot you, wouldn't we?"
"I don't care," Schmitz spat. "You're not getting anything out of me."
"Sir, please," Scarlet begged. "We just want to talk."
"We know about the ARK," Topaz revealed. "Project Shadow, everything."
Schmitz perked at that.
"Sonic the Hedgehog has been forced to take the fall for crimes he didn't commit, and we're being forced to cover it up. And considering half of the moon is just floating chunks in space now, we're done with covering it up. So please... tell us what happened."
Schmitz paled before shaking his head. "Nothing happened."
"I understand your reluctance to talk about it, sir, but you were there when it occurred, and we need to find out all that we can," Scarlet insisted. "Please, sir. I need to know."
"You don't have any idea what you're getting involved in, young lady," Schmitz warned. "Just leave it alone before you stir up trouble."
With that, he slammed the door shut. Scarlet began pounding on the door in desperation.
"Leave me alone!" Schmitz shouted. "What you're investigating is much more dangerous than you know! I won't answer any of your questions and that's that!"
"Please sir, you've just got to tell us what happened!" Scarlet begged. "You're the only survivor. Everyone else was... lost. Including my father! I'm begging you, please tell us! You owe it to the memory of all those innocent people!"
After a moment, Mr. Stewart gently took hold of her shoulder.
"Scarlet… enough," he said.
Scarlet pulled away, clearing her throat. With that, the three walked out of the building.
"I'm sorry," Scarlet sighed. "That wasn't very professional of me."
"It's alright," Stewart assured. "I know how much this story means to you."
"Come on, he's not gonna talk to us," Topaz remarked. "Let's move on."
At that moment, a black car pulled up. Four men in black exited, Topaz and Stewart recognizing one of them.
"Shit…" Topaz cursed. "It's Johnson."
"Scarlet, listen to me very carefully," Stewart told her. "Don't panic. Just get to the car as fast as you can."
Scarlet nodded, heading for the car as Johnson and his men confronted Topaz and Stewart. Topaz already had her gun clear of its holster as Johnson smirked, unintimidated.
"Oh come now, Agent Topaz," he asked. "How can you threaten someone who never existed?"
He sighed. "Commander Tower needs to keep his soldiers on a tighter leash."
"Nothing but panic and chaos has ensued since Dr. Robotnik freed Shadow, Johnson," Topaz spat. "So your reasons for covering up his existence are null and void."
"That is not your choice to make, Agent Topaz," Johnson spat. "You and Agent Stewart will be remanded into Special Operations custody, along with Miss Garcia."
"I don't think so," Stewart replied.
"Or I could do this," Topaz suggested.
She fired mere inches from Johnson's feet, and the situation detonated as Stewart tackled one of Johnson's men. A fight broke out at that, the agents grappling with Johnson and his men. Topaz downed one with a kick in the groin, while Stewart grabbed Johnson and a third man, bashing their heads together and knocking them out. That was when they heard Scarlet cry out, and turned to see a fourth agent dragging her forward, her arms pinned behind her back.
"Hey!" Topaz aimed her gun. "Don't you know how to treat a lady?!"
The agent drew a syringe from his pocket, preparing to inject Scarlet. However, someone plucked it from his grip. That someone was Mr. Schmitz, who jabbed it into his neck and injected the contents. He fell, Scarlet collapsing to the ground as well. Stewart ran over, gently helping her up.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"I am now…" Scarlet replied. "Thank you, Mr. Schmitz."
"Don't thank me just yet," Schmitz replied. "More will be coming. Unless you wanna end up like him, come with me."
"Why the change of heart?" Topaz questioned.
"Her words," Schmitz said, pointing at Scarlet. "I turned away once, and it still haunts me. I won't turn away again."
With that, he led them through a back alley.
-X-
Eventually, they came to an old house, Schmitz opened it up to reveal it was a makeshift bunker before ushering it in.
"You just happened to have a safe house for an occasion like this?" Scarlet questioned.
"I've always been paranoid," Schmitz admitted. "How else do you think I've lasted this long?"
Scarlet just nodded in affirmation. Topaz turned to Schmitz.
"Sir, our commander was a survivor of the ARK shutdown," she explained. "One of the soldiers there sent him away on an escape pod during the attack."
Schmitz perked at that. "Your commander... would he have heterochromia? One brown eye, one blue?"
"He does, yes."
"Thank Aurora…" Schmitz sighed. "That boy survived. I actually did something of worth that day."
"What?" Scarlet questioned.
"You were the soldier that spared him, weren't you?" Topaz realized.
"Yes…" Schmitz nodded, "though I always feared I had failed… that I'd been too late. But it was the least I could do, after I…"
He covered his mouth as he choked back emotion.
"Sir, I know this is difficult for you, but we need to know," Mr. Stewart gently urged, "What happened on the ARK fifty years ago?"
Schmitz took a deep breath, composing himself.
"It's... not for the faint of heart."
"We didn't think it would be," Topaz said simply.
Sand Ocean
Meanwhile, the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix were assembled before the Death Chamber pyramid.
"I'll find the entrance," Tails decided. "It's a perfect opportunity for me to test out my latest addition to the X-Tornado."
"Which is?" Sonic asked.
Tails smirked before calling it in on the Miles Electric and boarding it. He threw a few switches.
"X-Tornado transform! X-Cyclone engage!"
The X-Tornado transformed, sprouting a pair of legs.
"Huh," Knuckles mused. "Guess you took our request for landing gear seriously."
"That, and a little inspiration from the Battle Birds' mechs on Cocoa Island," Tails added. "Keep your coms on. You'll know the second I find the entrance."
The X-Cyclone stomped off.
"Be careful, Tails!" Sonic called.
"Always am," Tails called back.
He headed closer to the pyramid, and soon found himself surrounded by Swatbots and Troopers, Commander Brutus in the lead.
"Brutus!" Tails greeted casually. "I see you got promoted back from mascot duty."
"Oh yes, because guarding this dustbowl of a base is such a step up," Brutus deadpanned. "But perhaps I'll get the doctor's approval back by bringing him a nice fox skin coat!"
"Good luck with that," Tails shot back. "How about just making this easy on yourself? Tell me where Eggman stores his shuttles. Preferably a big one. I have a lot of cargo."
"Let me respond to that in the following way."
Brutus popped out his arm cannon, firing on Tails, who darted out of the way.
"I tried to give you a chance, Brutus," he sighed. "What happens next, you brought on yourself."
"Don't think I'll run and cower like those pathetic 6-S goons!" Brutus declared. "I'll stand and fight you like a true Badnik Horde Commander!"
"I hear a lot of talking and not a lot of fighting," Tails retorted.
He fired on him with the X-Cyclone's Volkan Cannon, only for Brutus to levitate and shoot the bullets out of the air.
"You'll have to do better than that, fox boy!" he taunted.
"How about this?"
Tails lashed out with one of the mech's legs, landing a solid kick. Brutus went flying, embedding himself hard in the wall.
"Ouch…" He pulled himself from the wall, rotating his limbs. "Cheap shot. And the only one you'll get!"
"Wanna bet?"
The fight wore on for a while, Tails and Brutus exchanging physical blows and volleys of gunfire.
"Give up yet, little cub?" Brutus asked.
"Please!" Tails retorted. "I'm just getting started!"
"Then stop holding back!" Brutus charged at Tails.
"If you insist."
As Brutus charged, Tails pivoted on one leg, spinning around and landing a solid roundhouse kick. Brutus went flying through multiple walls, knocked senseless.
"Remember, you asked for it. Now then…"
Tails headed past the pile of rubble where Brutus was buried, searching around until he found a door that, of course, bore Robotnik's insignia.
"Guys!" he declared. "I found the door."
"Great work!" Sonic's voice came. "We're on our way."
Space Colony ARK
Back in the databanks, Hope was typing away. The door opened, and she turned in shock, relaxing when she saw Rouge.
"Relax, hon. It's just me," Rouge assured. "Fair warning, Shadow's on the prowl looking for you."
"Don't care," Hope replied. "I need to figure out what all of this is. Why did Great Grandpa Gerald build a doomsday weapon? And why is Shadow, someone meant to heal and protect, just going along with this? It makes no sense, Rouge."
She turned back to the computer, finding a password request.
"This is where I got stuck on," Rouge admitted. "Don't suppose you have any idea what the password is?"
"I just might. M-A-R-I-A."
Hope typed it in and hit enter. An "access granted" message popped up.
"It worked!" she exclaimed. "Now, let's see what we can dig up on Project Shadow and the cannon."
She cycled through several files, many of them sepia images of Maria with Shadow.
"Man, those two were really close," Rouge noted.
"They were practically family," Hope said. "Everything he's doing is because he's hurting over her death at GUN's hands. He told me so himself."
"Yeesh…" Rouge winced. "GUN really screwed themselves over when they pissed this guy off. No wonder they tried to forget he existed."
"I've heard stories about how corrupt and brutal GUN used to be before Commander Tower took over," Hope mused. "Seems they were right on the money."
"Maybe so, but it's still not useful," Rouge pointed out.
They kept searching, and eventually came across files on the Eclipse Cannon. Unfortunately when Hope tried to open them, she found they were time locked.
"What the…" Hope blinked. "A time lock?"
"Clarification, sweetie," Rouge requested.
"Basically, these files can only be opened when the timer runs out," Hope explained. "And this timer still has a while to go. At least until this October."
"So they're useless," Rouge sighed. "Great."
She shrugged. "Well, better than nothing."
"Now let's see if there's anything that's actually useful."
She cycled through a few more files, soon coming across one labeled "Prototypes".
"Prototypes?" both let out.
"Makes sense," Hope admitted. "There were probably a few trials before Shadow was created."
She opened it up, seeing one name in particular and a picture of one of the beasts.
"And it seems Dr. Amino led the research on at least one of them."
"Yikes," Rouge let out. "That thing looks like something out of a horror movie."
The photo in question was of a colossal and grotesque lizard-like beast, easily over two hundred feet long from the tip of his nose to end tip of his tail, about one hundred feet wide, and about sixty feet tall at the tallest point on his back. He had orange flame skin with a dark gray underbelly, and possessed a long neck, a flat and almost round torso with gill-like flaps on the sides, and a thick tail. He also had two stubby and thick forelegs, each with three thick toes on a foot inextinguishable from the leg, and four short flippers on the rear. Where his rear legs would be, he instead has stub legs with no defined feet. Additionally, he had a large and pale toothless mouth with black lips and four yellow spikes on the lower jaw. On his neck, back, hind quarters and tail, the creature had yellow patches of skin. It bore several robotic implants. His eyes were like gun-turrets and he had a large disk-shaped machinery with a red orb in the middle on his back which was his life support system. He also had several cables on his back and a set of green cables on his jaw joints connecting with his life support system, along with a stump of green cable on his forehead. He also seemed to have vents near the foot of his neck.
"The Biolizard," Hope read aloud. "First prototype of the Ultimate Life Form, designed and overseen by Nigel Amino. At 12:30 A.M. on the 27th of January, the Biolizard was successfully brought to life, 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. As he grew, the Biolizard showed many of the desired traits, including self-restoration, regeneration and self-reproduction. However he required a life support system fueled by Chaos Drives to sustain himself. Other flaws also became noticeable over time: besides having an unexpected and exponentially fast growth rate that strained his vital organs' control parts, the Biolizard possessed a mind of a primitive animal and was too weak to walk at that time. As such, it was required to keep him under observation. His abilities also exceeded all expectations. Eventually, the Biolizard evolved to become so unruly that the researchers had trouble controlling it, and he was ultimately encapsulated, with Professor Gerald taking over the research from Dr. Amino."
"Well now, isn't that interesting?" Rouge noted. "Seems Amino got booted from the top of the pyramid because of your great grandpa."
"Yeah... so why come to Eggman with the project?" Hope questioned. "There's gotta be something we're missing."
"What about this file here?" Rouge pointed to a second prototype file that was labeled as "unstable."
"I don't think that will help us now, but I'll save it for later," Hope decided.
"Hang on, there it is," Rouge pointed. "Project Shadow: Final Product."
"Bingo," Hope opened the file.
They both read what they found and were stunned.
"What the... is this even possible?" Hope questioned.
"If it is... then just who is Shadow?" Rouge asked.
Station Square
Back on Mobius, Mr. Schmitz had begun his story. Scarlet had a tape recorder in hand, she, Topaz, and Mr. Stewart listening intently.
"Our mission seemed pretty straightforward at the time. We were ordered to close the facility because of some sort of accident."
"But it was no accident, was there?" Topaz guessed.
"No... An anonymous tip from the ARK had reached the higher-ups. Project Shadow was apparently becoming unruly; Professor Gerald's creations had become unstable and violent, causing so many troubles that the researchers aboard were in fear for their lives. They also mentioned rumors that Gerald had supposedly contacted aid from space aliens to finish his work. The government themselves were the ones who commissioned Project Shadow, and if word got out that they allowed this to happen…" He gritted his teeth, clenching his fists. "I only found this out after the fact. A couple of us knew they weren't telling the whole story, but none of us had the guts to speak up. We just did our jobs and went up to space like we were told."
Flashback
Soldiers were flooding into the ARK, rounding up everyone onboard. Civilians and doctors alike were lined up along the walls before the soldiers opened fire. After one of these rounds of mass killings, Schmitz heard the sound of a muffled cry. He turned to see Maria hiding behind a machine, holding Shadow close to her.
"I found it!" he called. "I found the creature!"
Shadow immediately took off running, holding Maria's hand as he went.
"After them!"
The two were running down the hall, entire platoons of soldiers chasing them. Gerald, who was being wrestled to the ground by several men, saw his granddaughter running and went pale.
"Maria!" he screamed. "Leave her alone!"
All he got was a pistol whip to the head. Schmitz managed to catch up to Maria and Shadow in a room a few doors down, reluctantly training his gun on them as Maria stood before Shadow, arms outstretched in an attempt to protect him.
"Kid, please," he begged. "Just stand down and move aside."
"No!" Maria insisted. "I won't let you hurt Shadow! Why are you doing this?!"
"We're just following orders. Now please, get out of the way."
"I won't! This is wrong and you know it! We haven't done anything wrong!"
"Maria…" Shadow let out softly.
Schmitz's hands began to shake.
"This is your last chance!" he cried. "I'm not fooling around here! Please… don't make me do this!"
Maria met his gaze. "No. If you want to hurt Shadow, you'll have to go through me!"
Schmitz averted his gaze, a tear escaping his eye as the gun went off…
Flashback Over
Schmitz had his head in his hands, on the verge of tears.
"I shot a kid... an innocent kid. Fifty years, and I haven't forgotten her face."
Scarlet lowered her recorder, shock written on her face. The two GUN Agents both looked sick.
"Shadow… he wanted to kill me," Schmitz went on. "He almost did, but she talked him down. They sped off, and I went to catch them. When I caught up, Shadow was gone, and she was just... laying there. All I could do for her was make sure she wouldn't die alone…"
Flashback
Schmitz saw Maria laying on the ground, fading away from the gunshot in her belly. The gun dropped from his hands, and he knelt beside her, gathering her up in his arms and holding her hand as he broke down.
"I'm sorry…" he sobbed, looking down at her. "I'm sorry…"
She looked at him, wincing in pain.
"He's safe…" she managed. "Shadow… is safe. Why… Why did you do this…?"
"We had our orders... but that's no excuse. I see that now." Schmitz wiped his eyes. "Please... I have no right to ask, but... forgive me."
Maria didn't answer, the light fading from her eyes as she went limp in his grip. Schmitz gently laid her down, closing her eyes. He heard a gasp before looking up to see a little boy with one brown eye and one blue looking at him, tears in his eyes as he saw Maria's body.
"Maria…" he managed. "No… not you too…"
Schmitz stood up as the boy ran up to him, pounding on his chest ineffectually in anger before breaking down in tears. He looked up at the soldier, sniffling.
"Are… are you gonna kill me too?" he asked.
Schmitz heard footsteps, clenching his fists.
"No…" he said. "I have enough blood on my hands."
He picked up the boy, placing him on a circular area before shutting him in an escape pod.
"Kid, I'm sending you back to Mobius," he informed him. "The minute you make it planet-side, run away and hide. Forget what happened here and forge a new life. If not for me, do it for yourself... and your friend."
The boy looked confused, but just nodded, Schmitz launching the pod.
Flashback Over
"I volunteered for that force as a young man because I wanted to give back to the country I loved!" Schmitz declared. "But then... But then they…"
He wiped his eyes, clearing his throat.
"From there, the ARK was shut down, Professor Gerald was imprisoned, and the whole thing was covered up and we were all sworn to secrecy. But the guilt ate me alive; I just couldn't take it. In the end, it was either retirement or suicide."
"They can't get away with this," Scarlet insisted.
"And they won't," Stewart vowed. "It's time the world knew the full story."
"You have another option now, Mr. Schmitz," Topaz said. "It's time to stop this madness. Will you help us?"
"Yes," Schmitz nodded. "I owe it to those whose blood has been spilled, those who dug too deep into the incident and were 'disposed of.'"
He looked at Scarlet. "Including your father."
Scarlet's eyes widened and she choked, tears in her eyes. Mr. Stewart wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into a hug. Topaz looked on sympathetically as Scarlet took a deep breath, composing herself and wiping her eyes.
"Thank you… for telling me this," she said. "It means so much more than you know."
Some time later, a crowd was assembled outside of City Hall. Tower stood at a podium as Scarlet and her camera crew oversaw the event.
"People of Mobius, I come to you with a special report," he began. "As you know, earlier this week, Sonic the Hedgehog was arrested by my forces for robbery and theft of the Station Square Chaos Emerald. I am here to tell you... that those crimes were not perpetrated by Sonic."
A murmur sounded through the crowd.
"He is innocent, and has been all along," Tower went on. "We at GUN were forced to use him as a scapegoat and cover up the existence of the true perpetrator by higher-ups. This culprit is named Shadow the Hedgehog, and he is an artificial Mobian created by GUN scientists nearly fifty years ago. The project that was responsible for his creation came under great scrutiny, and thus GUN elected to have it, and everything and everyone related to it erased. A few days ago, Dr. Robotnik got wind of him and released him from our base. We were forced to maintain the cover-up to allegedly prevent panic and chaos. But my agents and Sonic worked together with Scarlet Garcia for the truth to be revealed, and between the robbery, a fight between Sonic and Shadow that demolished a city block, the Prison Island base being blown to kingdom come, and the destruction of half the moon, their 'reasons' for keeping quiet are null and void, and were always more about saving their own hides. Which is why I'm coming forward with the truth. The GUN Special Operations Division has overstepped their roles, endangering innocent people to save their own skins, but no more. I will not allow GUN to fall back into the decay of corruption from which I pulled it. We are an organization meant to protect Mobius, and that is what we will be again. So, Agent Johnson, this is me calling you out."
He looked directly into Scarlet's camera.
"I will come for you, and I will shut you down. You and all your men will pay for all the lives lost on your watch. You silenced and disposed of so many that tried to expose the truth. Well... I've done just that. All of Mobius knows about Project Shadow now, and I dare you to come make me disappear. There's nothing you can do to me that hasn't been done already."
The entire crowd exploded with questions as Tower gave the camera a challenging stare, as if staring right at Johnson himself. The camera turned to Scarlet, microphone in hand.
"There you have it," she said. "Lingering corruption in GUN has been exposed and will be dealt with in due time. For the time being, all we can do is hope and pray that Sonic and his friends can stop Dr. Robotnik from firing his planet-busting weapon. Stay tuned as the story develops."
Author's Note:
The truth has been revealed! Can Sonic and co. stop the Eclipse Cannon?
Voice cast for this chapter:
* Schmitz - Young: Anthony Bowling (Beets from Dragon Ball Super, Gido from Toriko, Chimp from My Bride is a Mermaid); Old: Bruce Carey (Lemo from Dragon Ball Super, Silvers Rayleigh from One Piece, Kazuma Sakagami from Classroom of the Elite)
Please R&R. Until next time!
