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She was excited! Today was the day her brother would be brought into the world. Grandfather had been working on him for as long as she was alive now, and that was 8 years! An eternity for a child. Maria grew up watching the small bundle of green goo, develop and grow into something that resembled the creatures that she’d seen in Grandfather’s books. The ones that spoke of the history of Earth: The mobians. Therefore, her brother must be a Mobian, a mobian child that was being made to save humans like herself. The humans that were sick and didn’t have the safety of the Ark and all the doctors helping them.
Maria sat across from him, watching him float in the stasis tank, surrounded by transparent green liquid. Only a few more hours now, she’d be here waiting, Maria wanted the first person her baby brother saw to be his big sister! And he’d be lucky enough to see her on one of her good days! Grandfather still watched with a worried eye as she hummed the song her mom used to sing and doodled pictures of her and The Project playing together like children. Something she unfortunately would probably never get to do.
----
Maria had named him, one day as her grandfather was checking his vitals. She was 6 years old, and ambitious. She had claimed The Project as her brother a few days before. Seeing how much more he had formed to a sapient shape in the past week. Unlike the previous one, which was more lizard-like and violent. She smiled at her grandfather, unmoving when he glanced at her to make sure she wasn’t getting in trouble. He would laugh and she would creep up to the tube that held The Project. Gerald whipped his head when he heard a loud, SLAP , turning to see the 6 year old, standing precariously on top of oxygen tanks with her hands pressed up against the curved glass. A sticker pressed under her left hand reading, in bright blue and gold letters, “Shadow”
“Maria, dear, what are you doing?” Gerald, asked, walking over and lifting the child up and off the tanks.
“Naming my baby bwother!” She smiled, pointing at the sticker.
“Shadow?” The child nodded, her smile being interrupted by a violent cough, “It’s a good name, Maria, it fits him. Now run along and get some rest. You can practice reading to him again tomorrow.”
She laughed as she ran back through the space colony to her room, her coughs every now and then, echoing down the halls.
---
While he was a possession of the Military, and Gerald knew that, he still wanted Maria to believe that the Project would get to live and spend time with her as a sibling. He also wanted to believe that… It was the only reason he was doing this project in the first place. To save poor Maria from her hereditary sickness that plagued the child everyday of her life. He wanted to be able to give Maria immortality and someone who could always be by her side. Following the carvings from the ancients that he had found, of an ultimate life-form. A creature that wasn’t quite Mobian but looked enough like them that they could blend in and report back to the humans. Gerald knew how they were going to use Shadow, and he didn’t approve of it.
He’s doing this for Maria, not for the racist Government officials that are going to use him to kill hundreds of innocent Mobians.
“Grandfather he’s moving!” Maria shouted from her chair, looking up from her book. Gerald turned towards her, walking up and lifting the child up on his shoulders, so she was eye level with Shadow. His eyes opened slowly, obscured by the now draining liquid. He blinked until he could see the figure in front of him clearly, bright red eyes met blue and he mimicked the smile he saw her giving him.
It took a while, but Shadow was soon sitting outside the capsule, wrapped in a towel with a warm cup of hot chocolate in his paws, tentatively taking sips from it. The girl, he now knew was named Maria Robotnik, was sitting next to him, explaining things to him. He didn’t even know if she knew that he could understand him. This was his first time seeing more than black. Was this the girl who read to him? Voice distorted by the liquid. The old man, who Maria called grandfather and everyone else called Professor Robotnik, had been fussing over him since his paws touched the ground.
“Shadow, I’m all done with vitals now, why don’t you go with Maria and look around your new home.” The doctor spoke. Putting away his pen and paper.
“YEAH!” The girl shouted, jumping up from her spot, dropping her empty cup, which shattered as it hit.
Shadow’s ears flattened against his head, and his eyes widened in fear. This sound was new to him, EVERYTHING was new to him. And it was a lot, he had just been born and yet he knew so much, he was more than a toddling infant, he could stand and walk, he knew how to think, how to move, how to run, jump, scream. He could do so many things, and yet he was afraid of a loud sound.
“Shadow! I’m so sorry! I was so excited I didn't think! Your ears must be sensitive right now…. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Maria dropped her voice so quiet, and gently rubbed his head as she hugged him.
“It… It’s okay.” he muttered, mimicking words he had heard her say many times to some unknown source.
Maria didn’t say a word but her face lit up and she grabbed his wrist and started running down the hall pulling Shadow in tow.
She was going to be a great big sister! And not even the guardians could stop her from it. After all she got him to talk.
Shadow stayed quiet for the majority of Maria's tour. He was taking in as much information as he could from it. Awed at all the medical laboratories and research labs, there were so many of them it didn't make sense to the small creature why humans needed more than one of these mechanical rooms. But Maria seemed to know why. And she called each one a different thing. Though in all honesty he wasn't paying attention.
It was only when they reached a practically barren room, aside from a few medical scanners and a cosy looking bed. Decked out with what must have been hundreds of pillows and blankets, That Shadow’s face lit up and Maria opened her arms wide in a gesturing motion.
“And this is my room!” She laughed, running and flopping onto the bed, making pillows fly about, Shadow carefully walked around, his claws clicking against the cold floor.
“Your room?”
“Yeah! It’s where I sleep, read, and draw!” Maria pointed quickly to a wall that was covered in drawings, The hedgehog child following her finger until he found the crayon drawings. Each one was clearly made with so much love, There were a few that were of a blue and green planet, something that made shadow nostalgic even though he’d never seen the shape before.
“Where’s this?”
Maria looked down, “That’s Earth, it’s where I was born…”
“Why aren’t you there now?” He asked pulling one of the pictures down, holding it carefully between sharp claws.
Maria’s smile came back, shaking her head, “It doesn’t matter why! What matters is that I’m here living among the stars, with my two favorite people, Grandfather and you!”
Shadow turned, locking eyes with the girl, “Me?”
“Yeah! You’re my baby brother!”
His head tipped slightly, one ear flattening as he thought through her words. “I’m not a baby!”
“But you are younger than me~”
Shadow’s cheeks flushed a bright neon green, as he looked away with an annoyed huff. The room fell silent as Maria went to drawing, and the hedgehog paced around getting used to his surroundings. “Hey Shadow...?” Maria only waited a second before continuing her sentence. “I know it’s a lot… Being in a new place, that’s all cold and medical. But we’re here together alright. I’ll take care of you, That’s what big sisters do!”
Shadow didn’t respond, but he didn’t need to, Maria knew that he had heard her, and that was enough confirmation for her. After a minute or so, there was a quiet plop of Shadow sitting down next to her, shuffling through the papers to find a blank one and reaching for a crayon. “Sis.” He started, “Could you tell me about Earth?”
--
Maria didn’t know much about Earth, but she’d read stories, and listened to the guardians discuss their families when they didn’t think she was listening. So she had pieced together an idea of what the planet below was like, so she shared with Shadow. Starting with some basic details about the planet, How the Mobians lived on floating islands above the humans. But all were native to the planet, which the humans called Earth, and the Mobians, Mobius. In essence the planet was the same to both species, green hills, vast oceans, and barren deserts. As she explained she drew a city.
“This is where Grandfather is from, It’s called Station Square, and above is the southern Island of Mobius. I’ve never been to either, but Grandfather has visited both! He said he had met the kindest Mobians ever! And he wanted to base you off of them!”
“Is that why I’m a hedgehog?”
A different voice came from the doorway. “You’re not a hedgehog, Shadow.” Gerald Robotnik spoke, leaning against the door frame, “Nor are you Human, or Mobian… You’re something else all together, unique and special, enough so that you’ll be able to protect and heal. Maria chose your name because of that. A shadow hanging above earth, acting as a protector.”
“Grandfather…”
“Maria it’s time for bed, come along Shadow, I’ll show you to your room.”
The hedgehog got up with a smile, not seeing Maria’s eyes darken as he walked towards the professor, taking the old man’s hand. And leaving the room without another word.
The Professor and Shadow walked in relative silence, The small hedgehog humming a tune he’d heard Maria hum as they walked. The music stopped abruptly when he noticed where they’d gone. Back to the side of the Ark he was this morning. The side he’d remember Maria saying she wasn’t allowed. “Grandfather-” Shadow started before his wrist was squeezed gently.
“Please don’t call me that… Maria is my only grandchild.” Shadow was confused but didn’t question.
“-Professor... Where are we going?”
“To your room, like I said.” They came upon a door that the professor had to scan some sort of card to get in to. The door opened quickly and behind them just as fast with a bang. Shadow’s breath hitched, but continued on, he was more being dragged at this point.
They came to a room that was filled with terrifying metal equipment, turning and entering, another key card scan. Inside were two men dressed in all white, medical masks obscuring their faces, only their eyes visible to the two of them. Shadow could already tell, this was bad. “I’m sorry Shadow, but you have to go with them for a while.” The professor spoke, holding out his arm that held Shadow’s wrist to one of the men.
The hedgehog didn’t know what to do, he froze as the other mysterious man grabbed onto his upper arm, and yanked him away from the professor.
“Nice work Professor, You’re lucky this one woke up. We’ve still got some tests to run before we can be sure that it’s not going to die on us.”
The professor clenched his teeth. “ He won’t die on you. Shadow is the ultimate life-form. If anything you’ll die by him.”
“Is that a threat professor?”
“Not at all.”
Shadow’s heart started beating faster. This wasn’t what he thought was going to happen.. He wanted a room like his sisters, like Maria’s. Not one with two men whose grip kept getting tighter against his fur. This isn’t what Maria promised?! Before he knew it red filled his vision as his fear became stronger and shifted into anger. He heard an explosion and shouts. There was a sharp prick in his side before he collapsed, everything turning black.
“How are it’s vitals?”
“Weak but steady.”
“Thank God, we don’t have to start from scratch again.”
Shadow woke restrained, His vision was cloudy, and limbs heavy as he tried to sit up, only pulling on the leather straps, making them dig into his flesh. “Wh-”
“Quick it woke up!”
“W-where’s Maria?”
The figure that hung above him rolled his blurry eyes, and turned around to address his superiors. “It’s asking for the girl.”
“Of course it is! That’s what we get for letting her anywhere near it, let it up.”
The figure opened something at Shadow’s side, and began to undo the straps, backing up when he was free. He was afraid of Shadow, but why? What could he possibly have done to make this stranger afraid of him?
“Project Shadow.” Shadow’s ears perked up at his name, the ‘project’ part was confusing, maybe it was some form of greeting? “Good, you know your name.” A voice boomed from seemingly nowhere.
Shadow’s vision was just beginning to clear up, the figure was nowhere to be seen but what he could see was unpleasant to say the least. Strange machinery that he had no clue what it did, It looked like some sort of drill. A large led box, various tools and then a glass window that he couldn’t see through. He looked straight at it, anger in his eyes as he knew he made eye contact with the owner of the voice.
“Professor, would you start the first test?” A little more mumbled this time, but Shadow could still hear it.
After a large screeching noise the led box opened, revealing a shining blue crystal.
“Shadow-” This time it was the professor's voice. “- In front of you is what the Mobians call a chaos emerald. You should have the ability to harness the power of this gemstone and use it for yourself. Behind you is a few practice dummies. “ Well enough, shadow turned and saw figures that resembled himself. Well, size wise. They didn’t look like him in the least. Maybe this was what Mobians looked like? “If you could, please destroy them.”
Shadow didn’t say a word, walking up to the blue chaos emerald, reaching up and grabbing the magical gemstone, as soon as he touched it, he was overwhelmed with foreign energy. It hurt and yet he felt so powerful. Not even a second later the pain was too much and he threw the crystal across the room, falling to his knees panting, and clutching his stomach.
“Try again!” That was the voice, the mean one who called him an ‘it’.
“Can’t you see he’s in pain?”
“Professor, you made that creature. If it can’t handle the power of a chaos emerald how will it be able to be a weapon for the G.U.N? If it dies we start from scratch. Now. Project Shadow. TRY AGAIN!”
This went on for weeks. Shadow only got praised when he was able to hold the gemstone for more than a minute before chucking it away. He couldn’t stand all the power that surged inside him when he held it. But the pain got easier with practice. A week in, the professor brought him food that wasn’t the pellets that the guardian’s called food, a real meal and a letter from Maria:
Shadow,
I hope you feel better soon! Grandfather said that you’re having troubles adjusting to life here on the Arc, and that I can’t come visit you until you don’t feel sick anymore.
So I hope you get better soon so we can play together!
-Love, your big sister Maria.
The professor had to read it for him, but that was alright. He’d learn to read soon enough. Apparently the Guardians didn’t want Maria knowing what Shadow was doing, at least that’s what the Professor kept saying. They got to talk for a little while before Shadow had to go back to his ‘training’. When Gerald got up to leave, he spoke under his breath so only shadow could hear, and not the Guardian’s on the other side of the glass. “Finish this one thing and I’ll try to pull some strings for you to visit Maria.” Shadow’s eyes lit up, the first time they had been anything but dull and lifeless since the first day he was alive.
The next day Shadow grabbed onto the crystal and directed all the power that felt like too much out his opposite arm and threw not the gem but the energy, out his palm. A large spear-like object, twice the size of himself, flew from his paw and tore through at least 4 walls. He heard muffled cheers from behind the glass. A smile grew upon his face, as he turned walking up to the glass, staring straight ahead. “If you want me to do that again, you’ll let me stay with Maria!”
There were a few more mutters, before the intercom buzzed to life. “Alright, but you must come for training twice a week!”
Shadow nodded, “That I can do.” He dropped the crystal on the ground and began to head towards the holes he made to start trying to find Maria. Only a few steps past the threshold and he topped over, coughing out dark green blood.
“Shadow!” The professor ran to him as fast as he could, lifting him up and rushing the hedgehog to an infirmary. All Shadow saw before losing consciousness was how worried the professor looked.
“Will he be okay Grandfather?” Maria’s voice broke through the silence, Shadow could feel her hand next to his on the infirmary cot.
“He’s stable, Maria, we just have to wait for him to wake.”
“We’ve been waiting a whole week! I don’t want to wait any longer!”
Shadow’s mouth turned upward to a slight smile, before he slipped off back into sleep.
He woke up completely the next day, his eyes first falling upon the mop of blonde hair laid across the bed, “Maria.” It hurt to speak, his throat dry and caked with dried blood. He reached his paw to her shoulders and shook them gently until she began to stir.
“I want to stay with him, Grandfather…” She muttered in a dream-state, before jumping upright realizing who woke her. “SHADOW!!” She flung herself over him, hugging onto the small hedgehog as tight as she could given his position.
Shadow laughed weakly, laying his arms over his sister to return her hug. When she moved off him, Maria ran off quickly, coming back a minute later with the Professor and a glass of water. She pulled over a strange table that went over him while sitting and set the cup on it, plopping a straw in and gently pushing it to him.
“Glad you’re awake Shadow! We thought we’d lost you!” The professor spoke, reaching for one of his paws. Shadow obliged letting the professor grab it and slip a golden ring like bracelet over his paw and onto his wrist. The bracelet shimmered and tightened itself to the size of shadow’s wrist. “These are power suppressors. They’ll make it so that the chaos emerald you have doesn’t go out of control again.” The hedgehog looked at it opening and closing his fist as the professor affixed the three others to his other wrist and ankles. “Turns out when your emotions get too strong your body converts all that into chaos energy, which output in a burst when there’s too much, like you did on your first day.”
Shadow nodded in semi understanding. Allowing the professor to continue. “By making you use one of the emeralds, we gave you too much energy while resulting in your body failing to keep up with all the excess energy.”
“So these are supposed to make that not happen?”
“Correct! And to help you learn to control your power, I’ve changed your training regimen, once a week you’ll train with the guardians, and the others you’ll work with Maria on schooling and being able to control your emotions.” The professor smiled. “And I’ve convinced the guardians to let you room with Maria as well, instead of that terrible place they wanted you to stay.”
A warm smile came to Shadow’s face “Thank you, professor.”
“That’s enough of that. Don’t get all mushy on me Shadow, You’ve still got a couple nights in here until i can be sure you’re not going to almost die on me again.”
The hedgehog laughed, “Alright Professor!.”
After a few more days past, Shadow was able to be up and about again, at night he had to be hooked up to an IV drip with blood that glowed a bright green, and every few weeks he had to go get the inhibitor rings adjusted as he gained more control over his power. The guardians’ as Maria called them, or the G.U.N. scientists let up on their obsessive control of Shadow, most of them starting to call him by his name, instead of Project. He always felt good when they praised his work, whether it be forming a chaos spear and not having it explode on him, or teleporting through a doorway with chaos control.
Professor Robotnik finally explained to Shadow what he was made for on his eighth ‘birthday’. Maria was having one of her bad days, bed ridden and weak. Her immune system too weak to even allow him to be in the room with her. Shadow was reading one of his favorite books while leaning up against the glass door that led to the bedroom. A blanket laid over his shoulders and a mug of untouched tea sitting beside him.
The professor walked up to Shadow, standing there just long enough to get his attention. Waving for him to follow along, Gerald walked to one of the viewing bays. So they could look down upon the earth while they talked. “Shadow. It’s been eight years now since you’ve awoke.”
“Yes it has.” The hedgehog put his paw up against the glass, watching the city lights go out one by one from above.
“It’s time I tell you of your purpose.” Shadow was about to respond when the Professor continued. “I have a daughter down below on that planet. She’s the only one of my children left, Maria’s mother died long ago, leaving Maria to me. My other daughter, she recently had a son. Ivo, his name is…” He trailed off as he looked down to earth. “I was requested by the government to create you. However when I say requested, I mean threatened. They told me I could bring little Maria to a place that won’t be nearly as germ filled as the planet below. In return I’d create them a weapon.”
Shadow curled his paw into a fist. “I had assumed I’d been made to be a weapon. Guessed that on my first day.”
“You weren’t supposed to be their weapon.”
The hedgehog perked up, small chaos particles spiraling off his quills. “What do you mean?”
“The bio-lizard. Your brother, It was their weapon. But then it failed, had to be on life support and couldn’t control itself at all, not the ideal weapon to kill the mobians. But I had you, a secret project, Made to blend in down on Earth, and to be able to let Maria live. You were meant to heal Shadow, never to harm.” He sighed, “But now they want more… They want you to kill. Not only those innocent Mobians, but humans too.”
“I won’t do that, Professor!”
“If you don’t they’ll kill her.”
Shadow’s eyes began to glow and the inhibitor rings upon his wrists shook violently as they struggled to suppress the output of chaos energy. “I won’t let them touch my sister!” He barked, voice echoing down the halls.
“Then go along with what they say for now. Your purpose is to keep Maria alive. I’ll do what I can to stop them. It’s going to get dangerous, Shadow. Are you prepared to die if necessary?”
“I am the ultimate life-form, Professor. I won’t let you down.” Blood dripped from his palm from where his claws dug into flesh.
---
His lessons continued each week. Learn how to use his chaos energy for what the guardians wanted, but also how to use it to heal. Help Maria, who was now almost 12, stay by her side as much as possible. Listen to the Professor on what to do next.
Shadow was 10 when he was forced to kill.
They had brought them into his room, which sat beside the training room and across the Ark from Maria, the guardians were getting smart, placed a gun in his paws and told him to shoot. He couldn’t see the face of his victim, But he could tell they were human. The guardians assured that he was a prisoner, a murderer, on death row. That Shadow was the executioner. The more he tried to refuse, the more the guardians protested, threatening him with promises of hurting his sister. Until finally.
He pulled the trigger.
Red splattered across the walls. Blood dripping down the walls like fresh paint. His legs shook and he collapsed dropping the gun at his side. Praises of good work going in one ear and out the other…
He couldn’t face her.
He was a murderer, He couldn’t look at himself in the mirror, Shadow spent a week curled up on his bed, tail between his legs, refusing to eat. Just sulking in his pain. He was barely a child, forced to kill just so that the government could have their weapon. He couldn’t tell anyone, he couldn’t tell Maria, or the Professor.
A clatter of chains sounded from the other side of his cell room. Followed by the sound of metal against metal as a gun was slid across the floor towards him. They didn’t even have to say what it was for, he knew. If he didn’t do what they wanted, they’d kill Maria… He was nothing more than their dog, and Maria was nothing more than a chew toy that they would throw away if he didn’t listen.
It was decided. If they wanted a weapon.
He’d give them a weapon.
Shadow stood up, facing the one way glass that he knew they were watching him from. Without turning his head he walked up to the condemned human, wrapping his claws around their neck. “ THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT ISN’T IT?! ” He shouted, forming one of the spears he had perfected years ago in his claws, shoving the soon to be dead down, tearing into their back with his red and black claws. Red eyes full of hatred, but empty all the same. The next moment, the Chaos spear was embedded through the human’s heart. Shadow snarling like a rabid dog as he stood. Forming another in his claws, and throwing it at the glass, shattering it and revealing the scientist that made him do it. “ Don’t you ever threaten Maria again!” In an instant he was holding the man by his throat, claws digging into his chest. Golden rings clanging on the floor.
He reveled in it, watching the life drain from his torturers eyes. Only snapping out of it when he heard the alarms begin to go off. “Project Shadow has gone rouge, I repeat Project Shadow is armed and dangerous, shoot to kill!” He blinked, looking around him, shattered glass and blood everywhere. Shadow caught a glimpse of the inhibitors lying on the ground in a pool of blood. Scowling, he picked them up and returned the devices to their place on his wrists.
He had to find Maria. Before they got to her. He picked up the scientist’s gun, making sure it had ammo, before heading off through the halls. Zipping through them as he skated through with his jet shoes, a gift from the professor, having no mercy to the soldiers who tried to stop him from reaching Maria.
When he found her, she was limping around the halls, leaning most of her weight against the IV hanger that held her medicine. Breathing heavily. “Maria!” Shadow gasped, skidding to a stop and pulling her into a hug.
“Sh-shadow what’s going on? The guardians, they arrested grandfather, and they’re trying to kill you?”
“Don’t worry about it Maria! I’ll explain later, but for now, Let’s go!” His words were rushed as he found a wheelchair and pushed his sister into it, and the two of them running as fast as he could go to the escape pods. They’d survive. They had to! He wasn’t meant to kill, he was meant to heal. Specifically heal Maria.
He heard the gunshot, didn’t want to believe it, They were almost there, he’d use his chaos once they were safe to heal up the wound. “Sha-a-dow” Maria’s voice was weak. He couldn’t think of that right now, Right now they had to get up these stairs, there was no time to look for the ramp, Shadow yanked Maria out of the chair and pulled the IV bag off its chain, thrusting it into her arms, grabbing onto a wrist and running the rest of the way.
They got into the bay easily, Maria was out of breath, but she’d be okay. Right? Shadow was able to close the door with his ID card, and begin programming the pod.
“Okay, it should be ready! Come on Maria, we can still make it!” When he didn’t hear a response he turned, fear in his voice, “Maria?”
There she was, collapsed on the floor, slowly pulling herself up. “I’ll be there, go get in the pod!” she coughed, “I’ll start it! You don’t know the code.”
Shadow looked between Maria, the escape pod and the door where the soldiers were trying to force their way in. Breathing rushed, as he squeezed his eyes, shut, nodding. “Okay. I trust you.” He got in the pod, eyeing the door. He almost missed it, his heartbeats making him almost deaf to everything else.
“I’m sorry Shadow.” Maria slammed her hand down on the eject button, The door sealing Shadow in. A smile grew on her face, a sad smile but a smile all the same. “Live down there for me, Shadow. Be a light to the world, do what I always believed you’d do!”
“Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog!”
Only a gunshot broke the silence that came as the escape pod was slipping away, He watched her fall, dress stained red. And he cried. The World around him turned cold and dark as he slipped off to sleep.