Chapter Text
Chapter 1
When they put him in charge of GUN, Tower thought he could relax. On paper they were meant to monitor and contain any alien threats, but in practice, it was an organization set up to keep an eye on two individuals. One was Robotnik, the other Sonic, the alien hedgehog. And one of the two was lost in who knows what universe, probably dead.
Sonic was starting to mess, but nothing to worry about. Unlike Robotnik, he did not aim for conquest or power. He was just a kid who played.
Then the situation precipitated: Robotnik's return, the arrival of two other aliens, the Wachowskis who get in the way and the plan to get close to Sonic who goes awry. One mess after another, half destroyed Green Hill.
Sonic had saved the day by harnessing a power they had not yet identified.
Eventually, Tower had decided to let the Wachowskis keep the aliens, and to monitor them from afar. Sonic was on the side of humans, as he had amply demonstrated. The other two didn't seem like a threat either. According to the data collected, the Wachowskis and the three aliens lived together as a family.
It was fine, as long as they didn't cause problems.
He really thought he could relax then, but a huge problem had suddenly surfaced, just as they were looking for Robotnik's body.
Project Shadow.
Apparently, the Robotniks had a role in the government since the time of Yvo's grandfather Gerald.
He had secretly entered into contact with alien life forms, and extraterrestrial sources of power. With them he had started the project of creating the ultimate life form.
As soon as the government realized that Gerald was indeed going somewhere, they arrested him, shut down the project and locked up the ultimate life form in a secret place.
They had tried to use his power but something had gone wrong. He didn't know what. Reports told only that Project Shadow was unstable, dangerous and if wakes up, needed to get back to sleep as soon as possible.
But Tower wondered if he should try again. With Robotnik missing, GUN needed an ultimate weapon to counter him without having to depend on the whims of three kids.
That's why he was there, in the place of the coordinates, inside the secret bunker hidden in the jungle, trying to make 50-year-old computers work.
- Upload is complete, sir. - Said a recruit sitting in front of the monitor - We just have to enter the password and pray that it does not block.
Tower knew the password after reading and rereading the project reports.
- The password is Maria.
The recruit inserted it.
- Please don't crash ..
The monitor gave no sign.
- Why it don't say if it's wrong or not? - yelled the commander.
- Maybe it froze. Should I restart it?
- No! Not another five hours to load!
Just then a green writing appeared.
The recruit slumped in the chair. - Oh thank God ..
The two saw a large cylindrical capsule emerge from the floor, inside, held by steel rings, there was a small hedgehog with half-closed eyes.
He turned to Tower, watching him.
Tower swallow - Get him out. - he ordered the rookie.
***
Floating into nothingness, he sometimes dreamed.
He dreamed of the girl with blond hair.
The vision in his dreams was always the same: he looked at her from above, through the glass of the tub, the vision of her a little blurred by the liquid in which he was immersed.
- Look grandpa! He woke up!
- What? Is he alive? - said a lower, deeper voice from a place he couldn't see.
A figure dressed in white pushed the girl away - Maria darling, you have to get out. We need to monitor him now.
She again, in front of the tub.
- Hello! You're awake? I found the perfect name for you. It's Shadow! Do you like it?
- Maria don't confuse him. That's not his name.
- But that other is ugly! Shadow is more beautiful. Hear how good it sounds. Come on grandpa!
- Oh, fine.. If you like it so much, we'll call it Shadow.
- Hurray! - the little girl looked at him again. - You are Shadow. And your purpose is to protect the Earth and all people. - she put her little hand on the glass. - I am Maria. I will always be your friend and I will always love you very much. And when you come out we will play, and we will eat lots of chocolate!
The lower voice laughed somewhere.
- Maria, honey, it will take a long time.
- It does not matter. - she went back to look at him - Don't forget these things ok? They're important. Always remember them.
He had no way of answering because of the oxygen mask on his face, so he put his hand on the glass where hers was.
Little Maria smiled, opening her eyes wide - Grandpa look! He understood! He understood everything!
She was older.
She was sitting at the foot of the tub and talking looking at a sheet full of words.
It was a book. Books told stories.
He liked stories.
- And then, Little Red Riding Hood said ..
The man with the white mustache ran into the room.
- Maria, you have to go now!
- Why? What happens?
- Government agents are here. They want Shadow.
- We can't leave him here!
- It's too early to get him out of the tub. The only chance we have is that they think he's dead. - the man moved to the monitors and began typing on the keys.
A greenish liquid began to flow into the tubes attached to the hedgehog, pouring into his body.
It was painful but the mask kept him from screaming.
He looked at Maria and placed his hand on the glass, fear in his eyes and large bubbles of oxygen coming out of the mask.
- Don't be afraid Shadow. It will all go
well.
Vision slowly blurred.
His smile was the last thing he saw, and a sudden sharp, deafening noise, the last thing he heard.
***
The man stood in front of the capsule.
He didn't look like a scientist: he didn't wear the sort of white coat that everyone had.
This one wore black, and had white hair. And on his chest hung colorful, glittering decorations.
Suddenly the rings that held him opened and withdrew, causing him to fall with a dull thud to the bottom of the capsule.
His limbs trembled as they cushioned the fall, not being used to the effort or movement. His body felt heavy and unstable without the rings that had always supported him.
The glass lowered until it disappeared into the floor and the man in military gear approached.
- Project Shadow.
The little hedgehog looked at him with distrust - Who are you? - he asked - W-where is Maria?
Tower had read the reports right, so he acted as indicated. - Maria is not here now. But if you're good and come with us, then you can see her.
He saw hope light up in those red eyes full of fear, but it lasted a few moments.
Then the hedgehog's gaze changed, becoming angry and evil.
***
He had awakened in the capsule, held by those rings.
The capsule had glove-like indentations so that scientists around it could carry out their own tests and take samples, without direct contact.
- Stop! It hurts! - protested trying to move and turn to the woman sitting in front of the monitors.
The woman ignored him, and the little hedgehog started crying.
- Maria!
He wanted his friend, he wanted her so desperately. She would stop those evil humans, and comfort him.
A man stood next to the woman from the monitors. He wore a military outfit.
- So, how's it going?
- Gerald tried to deceive us by inducing coma in the subject. He is awake, but the capsule seems to be unable to contain the energy. He has already blown three generators and burned two rows of monitors.
- What are his conditions?
-Tests show that he is fine, but he keeps asking about the girl.
The man saw the hedgehog's eyes glint with a reddish glow.
- Stop hurting me! Stop! - shouted the hedgehog - I want Maria!
- Damn, the energy is rising again. - said the woman.
The man walked over to the capsule. - Stop for a moment. - he said, and then turned to the hedgehog in tears. - Maria is not here. But she is coming. You will be able to see her after the tests.
Shadow looked at him, desperate. - But they hurt ..
- They won't last long. If you are brave a little longer, then we will let you out and Maria will come and play with you.
The red glow in the hedgehog's eyes faded.
- Really? Do you promise?
- Sure. Now calm down. You will be able to see her very soon.
So Shadow closed his eyes, gritting his teeth and enduring the pain as his energy values returned to normal.
He would see Maria again. They would play together and eat chocolate as she promised.
He just had to hold out a little longer.
***
He had resisted. For days, months, years, even if he had no idea. Time in the laboratory seemed not to pass.
Every time after the tests he would fall asleep no matter how hard he tried to stay awake.
When he woke up they told him that Maria had come to see him, but he was sleeping and she had preferred not to disturb him.
Then they started again with the tests.
He had continued to trust despite everything, until one day he saw the writing on the tank that they connected to the capsule after the tests. According to them, it was oxygen and it would help him breathe better. But Shadow had lived all his life in a laboratory and when he saw the chemical formula, he knew it was not the oxygen cylinder but the gas that made him sleep.
Then all his anger had exploded in the form of a blood-red destructive energy.
- It's not true.
- What?
- She won't come. It's a lie.
Tower gasped. - No it's not true. I'll take you to her. You will see her soon.
- Liar. - the hedgehog's eyes shone again. - LIAR!
A blast of energy shot off the Commander and all the men inside the bunker, crimson red blasts of electricity stretched from the hedgehog to the whole bunker, causing any electrical appliance to explode in a cloud of sparks.
There wasn't that part in the files on the project. No one had written it, and now Tower understood why.
They were all dead that day, killed by Project Shadow.
- Sedate him! Now! - Tower yelled but Shadow was just too fast for them. He dodged the bullets and hit hard, injuring anyone who tried to shoot him, eventually finding himself in front of the stairs leading to the outside of the bunker.
Tower drew his gun. Shadow turned to him and disappeared in a glittering flash.
The bitter cold hit him, the snow came at him in white gusts and clung to his fur.
He fell to his knees in the cold snow and shivered.
The space around him was insanely large, stretching in every direction and seemed to have no end. There were no walls to delimit a space, to mark a boundary.
He was alone, at night, on the top of a mountain.
How did he get there?
He struggled to his feet. He felt tired, he was so cold and he wanted Maria.
Maria where are you? Where am I?
With snow on his knees, he began to walk. Perhaps the humans had followed him. He had to hide.
Something protruded from the white blanket: a pole with a horizontal black plate, with the outline of a tree and a human dressed in a strange way, with two sticks and two long things at the feet.
He didn't understand what it wanted to tell him.
He passed it and reached a grove of those same trees. One of them had a hollow in the trunk.
Finally a place with borders.
He holed up in it and curled up tightly, trembling.
The cramped space made him feel safer, but the snow and wind still came in.
He tried to take his mind off that nightmare, digging into his memories.
***
In the laboratory people were running in every direction and he was afraid.
He had seen a tall, menacing and grotesque figure in front of his tank, and now red lightning flashed across the lab.
- We can't stop him! He will destroy everything!
- Shadow!
He looked down and saw Maria, both hands on the glass. He searched convulsively with his, leaning it against the glass.
- Shadow, calm down. It was just a bad dream. Everything is alright.
He wished she were there, he wished he could hug her and feel safe in her arms.
He pressed himself against the glass and Maria did the same.
After a moment, he heard her voice again.
- Twinkle twinkle little star .. now I wonder where you are ..
He didn't understand why she was talking about looking for something right now. But he soon realized that the rhythm of those words was calming him. Relaxing and focusing on those words kept him from thinking about the scary figure of his dream.
He closed his eyes as the lightning ceased and the laboratory became silent again.
***
Shadow didn't dare open his eyes, he didn't dare hear the sound of the wind. His whole mind was focused on that memory and the song he kept repeating like a mantra in his head, as if by itself could drive away the cold and darkness.