-Chapter 144-
A Shadow Falls
GUN HQ
On Mobius, Agent Johnson and his men stormed GUN HQ, kicking down the door to Tower's office. He sat there casually, unintimidated by their arrival.
"I was wondering how much longer you'd keep me waiting," he said calmly.
"You have a lot to answer for, Tower," Johnson spat. "Just what were you thinking, spewing government secrets like a teenager with gossip?"
"I've spent my entire career eliminating the kind of corruption that cost Maria Kintobor and my family their lives fifty years ago," Tower shot back. "Did you really think I'd go along with your insane cover-up and let an innocent Mobian fry for crimes he didn't commit?"
"That wasn't your decision to make," Johnson retorted.
"No, but it was clearly the right one," Tower answered. "In any event, it's too late now, Johnson. All of Mobius knows the truth about Project Shadow. And I'm not the one who has a lot to answer for. You are."
At that moment, several GUN soldiers, including Topaz and Madonna, stormed in, all armed and holding Johnson and his men at gunpoint.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Johnson demanded.
Tower rose to his feet. "Agent Johnson, if that really is your real name, you and yours are under arrest for conspiracy, attempted murder, and high treason."
"You…" Johnson growled. "You slimy son of a bitch!"
"Describes you perfectly." Madonna retorted.
The men in black, Johnson included, were all wrestled to the ground and cuffed.
"You did it, sir," Topaz congratulated.
"Maybe…" Tower looked out the window, where the ARK was visibly approaching. "But it might not matter in a few minutes."
"If anyone can stop this, Sonic can," Madonna said confidently.
Space Colony ARK
Back on the ARK, Sonic and the Chaotix were heading for the Cannon's Core as fast as they could, Vector and Mighty lugging the Master Emerald along so Knuckles and Kat could have their hands free.
"How much farther?" Knuckles demanded.
"Just keep going!" Robotnik called out over a loudspeaker. "You're not too far!"
Defense turrets popped up aiming at them. Julie-Su drew her proton gun, Espio sliding a kunai into his hand as she began firing. Within seconds, the two of them had completely decimated the turrets. They headed for the door. Knuckles and Kat wedged their fingers into either side, prying it open. Almost immediately, yellow-colored water began to flood towards them.
"Everyone, grab onto something!" Knuckles ordered. "Vector, keep a tight grip on Sonic!"
"Got it!"
Vector gripped Sonic's arm tight as the water poured on. Ray and Charmy simply flew over the flood, avoiding the worst of it. Eventually, the water settled, allowing them to slip through the door.
"I can't help but question the color of that water," Sonic muttered.
"Not important!" Kat insisted. "Let's keep moving!"
They hurried on, finally making it to the core. Everyone blinked at an exact replica of the Master Emerald Shrine standing before them, an eerie apparatus above it that functioned akin to a beating heart.
"What the…" Charmy began. "What's the Master Emerald altar doing here?"
"Gerald must have modeled the core after it," Knuckles theorized. "As a way of maximizing the Emeralds' power."
"Makes things easier for us," Sonic noted.
"Hurry up!" Mighty insisted. "We're running out of time!"
They hurried for the altar, only for an eerie glow to block their path as Gerald's ending curse began playing again.
"All of you ungrateful humans, who took everything away from me, will feel my loss and despair!"
The glow manifested into the monstrous Biolizard Hope and Rouge saw in Gerald's files, which landed before them with a menacing screech.
"What the hell?!" Ray exclaimed.
"What is that thing?" Knuckles demanded.
"The prototype of Project Shadow."
They turned to see Shadow enter.
"The Biolizard," he concluded.
"Shadow?" Sonic asked. "What are you doing here?"
"Keeping my promise. My real promise," Shadow replied before pointing to the altar. "I'll handle the lizard. You take care of the Emeralds!"
Sonic grinned. "You heard him. Let's do it to it!"
They hurried along as the Biolizard lashed his tail at Shadow. He jumped over it, generating multiple Chaos Spears and firing on the creature.
"It will take more than that if you want to stand up to me," he said. "I'm everything you will never be!"
The Biolizard fired several energy blasts at Shadow, prompting him to dodge around them at rapid speed. It fell, panting and exhausted after the barrage.
"It's a shame Dr. Amino didn't focus on your cardio," Shadow quipped.
He jumped into the air, aiming for its life support system and smashing to pieces. The Biolizard let out a pained roar. As this went on, Sonic and the Chaotix made it to the altar, seeing a hole in the center for the Master Emerald to be inserted. At Knuckles' direction, Vector and Mighty planted the gem there, the echidna resting a hand on it as he began Tikal's Prayer.
"The servers are the seven Chaos. Chaos is power, enriched by the heart. The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos."
The gem began to glow as Knuckles focused.
"Master Emerald, hear my plea! Only you can do this! Stop the Chaos Emeralds!"
Everything began to glow brightly. Then one by one, the seven Emeralds lost their luster. They turned grey, then dropped to the ground, lifeless.
"Yay!" Charmy cheered. "We won!"
The Biolizard let out a screech before suddenly vanishing in a flash.
"What the-?!" Vector managed.
"It can use Chaos Control!" Shadow realized.
At that moment, the vibrations suddenly intensified.
"What's going on?!" Julie-Su shrieked. "We stopped the Chaos Emeralds! That should've stopped the colony drop, right?!"
"Sonic?! Can you hear me?!" came Robotnik's voice. "The Biolizard is still alive! It attached itself to the outside of the space colony, and is pulling us toward the planet! My grandfather must have programmed it to ensure the collision!"
"Now what?!" Knuckles demanded.
Sonic looked at the Chaos Emeralds, then at Shadow.
"Tell me something, Shadow," he began. "Ever hear of a Super form?"
Shadow shook his head.
"Knux, we need to repower the Emeralds," Kat insisted.
"Right!"
The two of them quickly got to work, gathering the dead emeralds and lining them up along the Master Emerald. As they began the prayer, the Emeralds began to glow. Sonic stepped forward, turning to Shadow.
"Ready to be a hero?" he asked.
Shadow smirked, nodding in response.
"Then follow my lead!"
Sonic and Shadow raised their hands in the air and the seven Chaos Emeralds encircled them. They closed their eyes and focused, making the Emeralds spin rapidly around them. Opening their eyes, they absorbed the powers of the Emeralds, powering up. Sonic became Super Sonic, while Shadow's Super form had reversed colors compared to his, his fur becoming a cream-white color as his clothes turned golden.
"So this is going Super," Shadow looked down at himself before clenching his fists. "Time to unleash the ultimate power!"
"Let's do this!" Sonic declared.
"First, there's something I must do."
Shadow vanished into a wink of light.
He reappeared in Maria's room, where Hope had fallen asleep. He reached over, gently brushing some hair from her eyes.
"Thank you for helping me see the light again," he said gently. "Now, I will be the hero that you, and Maria, always knew I could be."
With that, he departed. Hope smiled unconsciously.
Shadow joined Sonic outside the ARK. The Biolizard had plugged itself into the barrel of the Eclipse Cannon. With its life support system fired, it was drawing power from the ARK itself, bizarre red swellings on different parts of its skin.
"Jeez, puberty hit that thing like a ton of bricks," Sonic joked. "Should've invested in some acne pads."
At Shadow's look, he shrugged. "Quips and puns are how I deal with stress."
"Just follow my lead," Shadow replied.
He charged in, hitting one of the swellings. The Biolizard shrieked in agony as he did.
"I got it!" Sonic realized. "Let's get him!"
Sonic charged in as well, dodging the Biolizard's attacks as he did.
"Keep it up!" Shadow ordered. "No matter what, we cannot fail!"
"I don't plan to!"
They dodged around energy balls and laser beams, battering the Biolizard back and forth. Eventually, the creature let out a pained roar before slumping, dislodging from the ARK and falling toward Mobius, catching on fire as it went. Despite this, the ARK continued its descent, beginning to catch fire from reentry as it entered the atmosphere. Sonic and Shadow rushed forward, Shadow removing the gold bracelets on his wrists as he did, his aura turning from gold to flaming red.
"C'mon!" he yelled. "Just one shot!"
"No way we're letting it through!"
They flew at the ARK at full speed, raising their hands as they reached it.
"CHAOS CONTROL!"
White and gold light began surrounding the entire ARK. Then, in a blinding flash, it disappeared.
"Maria…" Shadow managed. "I did it… for you…"
He fell back, out of power and heading for Mobius.
"This is what you wanted, right? This is my promise I made to you…"
He closed his eyes, a smile on his face as he was engulfed in reentry flames. The ARK reappeared further away, motionless.
Within the observation deck, the Freedom Fighters, Chaotix, Robotnik, and Amino were in wait as Sonic rejoined them. Hope ran over, having awoken and ran to check on what had happened. When she saw only Sonic enter, her heart sank.
"Sonic… where's Shadow?" she asked.
Sonic looked down.
I searched for him as long as I could. All I could find of him was this."
He held up one of Shadow's bracelets. "I'm sorry."
Hope took the ring, fighting back tears as Sonic looked out the window. Sally walked up next to him, taking his hand.
"Do you really think... that Professor Gerald made Shadow to carry out revenge on everyone on Mobius?"
"I don't judge Shadow for what he was meant to be," Sonic told her. "I judge him by what he was. A brave hero who gave his life to save us all. That's the Shadow I choose to remember."
Robotnik looked out the window himself.
"I grew up on stories of my grandfather. As a child, I looked up to him because of all the great things he accomplished in his life. He was my hero, and I wanted to be a great scientist like him. But... did he really mean to destroy us?"
"He was mad with grief," Tails told him. "And grief... it can make anyone do things they never thought possible."
Robotnik nodded. "I suppose you're right."
"C'mon, guys," Sonic piped up. "We're done here. Let's go home."
Rouge approached Hope, pulling out the flash drive.
"I found a little something on the archives while I was looking through it," she said. " Something tells me you'll need it more than I do."
"Thanks, Rouge," Hope took the device, sliding it into her pocket.
"What're we gonna do about him?" Amy pointed at Amino.
"You leave that to me," Robotnik replied.
Sonic nodded as they all headed out. He held back for a moment, looking out the window of the ARK and its view of Mobius before giving a two-fingered salute.
"Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog."
With that, they headed for the shuttles, leaving the ARK and its story behind.
Station Square
Sometime later, after many hugs and happy returns, Hope settled down in her room in the Thorndyke Mansion. She pulled out her laptop, then took the flash drive. Inserting it, she accessed the files and took a look at what it contained. It had all of the files they'd pulled, as well as a single video that was highlighted. She clicked on it, and it began playing. The video depicted Shadow in a culture tank, Professor Gerald and Maria standing before it and looking him over.
"Here he is, Maria," Gerald said, patting the tank. "The Ultimate Life Form. He'll need a lot of help once he comes out, and I hope you'll be there for him."
Maria smiled. "Of course, Grandfather."
Hope perked, blinking as a hand went to her voice box.
"She even sounds like me…" she whispered.
"What will you call him?" Maria questioned.
"Hmm…" Gerald scratched the back of his head. "I will admit, I didn't think that far ahead."
Maria thought for a minute. "How about Shadow?"
"Because of his fur?"
"Uh-uh," Maria shook her head. "Darkness can be anywhere you go, but a shadow represents the direction in which the light is shining."
Gerald smiled, then wrapped an arm around Maria.
"Well then… welcome to the world, Shadow the Hedgehog."
Hope silently wiped a tear from her eyes, replaying the video as a hand went to her right wrist, where she wore Shadow's bracelet.
Angel Island
Meanwhile, Knuckles and the Chaotix had returned to Angel Island, hauling the Master Emerald along. When they reached the altar, they stopped short at the sight of numerous Chao crowding around Chaos, Drake riding on his shoulders.
"Didn't see that coming," Espio remarked.
"Well, he needed something to do while his home was being repaired," Kat said.
The group got the gem back to place. Chaos got up, pulling his son off his head. They shared a small head bump, then Chaos melted, rejoining the Master Emerald. As the island rose, Locke approached them.
"He wasn't out of the Master Emerald just for fun, you know," he informed them. "Chaos only intervenes in times of great disaster. He was on standby in the event you needed help stopping that colony from falling."
"Glad to know there was a plan B," Vector remarked.
"Well, another crisis averted," Charmy stretched his arms, yawning. "I don't know about you guys, but I need a nap."
"For once, I agree with you," Espio said.
With that, they all headed off for a well-deserved relaxation.
Seaside Hill Zone
Near the eastern seaboard of Soumerca sat the Seaside City, part of the Seaside Hill Zone. An impact crater rested just outside of the city, where Shadow lay motionless, battered, burned, and bruised.. A ship bearing Robotnik's insignia came flying in. It landed, Robotnik and Eggatha disembarking and approaching the crater.
"Uncle, I see him!" Eggatha exclaimed.
Once they got close enough, they saw he was breathing.
"He's still alive…" Robotnik turned to Eggatha. "Get the Medi-Bots and a stretcher immediately."
"I can't believe he's still alive," Eggatha let out. "Hope is gonna be so happy to-"
"No!" Robotnik cut her off. "She doesn't hear a word about this."
"Wait, what? Uncle, we can't keep this from her. She deserves to know."
"Nobody in the Freedom Fighters can know Shadow survived the fall. Not until he's properly... conditioned and we have what we need from him."
"Uncle!"
"That's an order, Agatha!"
Eggatha slumped in resignation. "So... is that the only reason we came for him? So we could make more Metal Series (1) knock-offs and potentially brainwash him?"
"That's a reason, but not the only one. He's all that remains of our grandfather's legacy." Robotnik bent down, gently picking up Shadow's prone form. "And I intend to make full use of him."
Several Swatbots bearing Red Cross markings appeared, carting a gurney along. Robotnik laid Shadow down on it gently, following them as they wheeled him onto the ship.
"I still think this is wrong," Eggatha insisted.
"Your concerns and complaints are noted. We're nursing him back to health, at least."
Eggatha crossed her arms in a huff, visibly conflicted as Robotnik took the wheel and they made their way back to Robotropolis.
Author's Note:
(1): Robot copies like Metal Sonic, as in Archie. The Shadow Androids from Heroes and Shadow's game are included.
Thus concludes the Shadow arc. But as you can see, we have not seen or heard the last of Shadow.
Same as before. The next few chapters will be breathers and episodic stuff as the gang relaxes after the big battle.
Please R&R. Until next time!
