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Black Horizon

Summary:

Eggman had almost taken over the world, Shadow by his side. The conquest had gone smoothly and Shadow found himself feeling like something wasn’t right. Surly the dark hedgehog was meant for something more, right? He felt the need to find a place he could belong, his place in the empire not feeling quite right. The sudden the appearance of aliens could be just what he had been wishing for.

Notes:

I am procrastinating my other work…sorry if this is a mess let me know if it doesn’t make sense!
Can be read as a stand alone! (For my AU purposes: Reality 96)

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

-Reality 96-

Shadow checked the computer monitor in front of him with disinterest. The read outs were for the latest reports of all the captured mobians that were being received into the city to be roboticized.

Once everything was confirmed Shadow turned off the monitor ready to move onto the next set of his tasks. However, he was halted in his movements for a moment as he looked at the powered down screen.

What he saw there caused a level of pain and confusion to cross his mind. What he saw was a simple hedgehog. There did not appear to be anything special about him in particular from his appearance. And yet….

And yet the doctor for some reason decided to spare him from being turned into a robot unlike all of the mobians currently occupying all the cells below him in the prison facility.

He didn’t belong with the human. Not really. Eggman used him and claimed as the grandson of his creator that he had a right to use him as a tool in any way he seemed fit, and Shadow little reason for it to be any other way.

Shadow moved away from the monitor going to instead up a few levels to check all the security report of the city. Maybe there were some stragglers still in the city he could go and hunt down. He didn’t find anything. The city appeared to be fine and Shadow had to wondered what he was doing here.

He was created to fulfill a prophecy of an ancient chaos coming to destroy the world that could only be stopped by a hedgehog using chaos energy. He was built to channel chaos energy like it was breathing and created to withstand anything a world ending deity could dish out. he was only made to be a tool.

He could not remember much from before the doctor had woken him from cryosleep but the doctor said that it was expected since he had been sleeping for 50 years. There had to have bee some sort effect from leaving something organic inactive for so long after all.

The doctor had woken him up to fight this great threat several years ago. He had complained that he had gotten rid of some “blue gumball bitch” too early and was luck that his predecessor had left behind a back up plan. He was given these gems that allowed him to channel and control more chaos energy that a physical body could ever manage to do on it’s own and had battled the entity.

Sadly he was not the hero of legend and even though he was finally able to kill the horrid creature, about a third of the land of the planet had been swallowed in the battle.

With his purpose fulfilled he looked to the scientist to give him a new direction. Dr. Robotnik wasted no time in setting him up as one of the many sub-bosses his used to complete his tasks.

For the most part he was stationed in a city that had used to be called Westopolis. He was told that he had free range to change it’s name but there was little point in doing so when there really wasn’t anything living there. the doctor seemed to enjoy naming things anyways so he would just leave it up to him if he ever asked to what it had been changed to.

The hybrid decided to just go down and patrol the streets himself, a run would surly be good for his thoughts and he could even go beyond the city a bit to see if anything threatened his post. He needed make sure he didn’t fail in any aspects. He had been accepted into the Empire despite being 100% organic and always felt the need to keep proving he worth it.

Shadow also had the added bonus of proving himself an excellent weapon who did not need much sleep or nutrition and was built with great constitution and could not get sick. He was often compared to the Doctor’s own greatest creation. A robotic blue hedgehog called Metal. The hybrid could only assume that it was meant to be his own attempt to create the hero from the ruins.

The two of them often competed in the mission giving to them, which were often just leveling cities and putting down rebellions in already established cities. They had had some trouble with a particularly feisty squirrel that claimed to be a princess of land that were now under the doctor’s control. However, there was no way that she could have survived the chaos spear thrown through her chest and he and Metal had competed on who could hunt her down faster when she made her dangerous intent know. She had blown up a generator in the main city of the Eggman Empire and that’s all it took for her to forfeit her life.

The generator was rebuilt and her life was wasted for no real change.

Shadow had shut down every single threat that had come his way, the planet was almost fully conquered at this point, with only pockets of hidden rebel bases that would surly fall soon enough. Then it would just be the same every day until the doctor finally saw it fit for him to be a robot too surly.

Shadow might consider the robot his rival but he often outshine the other so quickly that it no longer sparked any excitement in him. Now a days the only thing that really got him to feel anything was the rush at going full speed as he ran around the city. Dr. Robotnik had taken the emeralds away from Shadow after Chaos so he couldn’t experience the absolute joy of going super anymore, but these runs through such a cramp city still provided enough obstacles to prove a challenge.

At least it used the first fifty times or so he had run through these streets. Shadow sighed moving though a tight corner with practiced ease.

His life felt empty. Like there was something more. There must have been something in his missing memories, he wasn’t quite where he needed to be yet. He was created to take order he knew that, but what he was doing now did not feel quite right.

Eventually the hybrid just decided to go out of the city and check the surrounding landscape. It was completely devoid of any natural structures besides trash from broken projects, but watching them slowly waste away was one of the few things that showed the robotic city had any age to it.

As he was running he found a hill top with a large metallic tree sprouting out of the ground. One of the early spy devices from Empires first step of world domination left to rust, no longer needed to keep a constant eye out in the waste land that stretched out as far as the eye could see.

He stopped underneath it falling branch, looking towards the city. The sun was starting to set and the neon lights began to turn on. When the sun finally full set it would be just as bright in the city as it was during the day, seeming like time never shifted. Robots would come out to gamble or go the city amusement park as some sort of sick programming imitating life before going to charge for the next day of the same old same old.

Shadow let out a sigh not really wanting to back to his post but having little reason to do anything else.

The suddenly the sky started to darken. Winds began to pick up there a large black storm descended on the city. It cumulated into a large black hole twisting the clouds around it as Shadow just stood staring at it in shock.

He could already see the creatures pouring into the streets from the portal in the sky.

“Shadow I just got several robot distress signals from within the city. Patching through live video now. What’s going on over there.” His communicator build into his enhanced inhibitors buzzed with a robotic voice of the city security monitor before a small holographic screen flickered in front of him.

What he saw on the screen were strange black creatures that immediately started engaging in combat with the robots unfortunate enough to be nearby. Smoke starting to billow out of buildings. The streets looked like a war zone of their early conquests in just a matter of minutes.

Shadow should be horrified at such sudden enemies, but instead he found himself excited. Finally what could prove to be a real challenge, something to really test his skills against.

He was about to turn around and head back to the city when a swirling black smoke appeared in front of him. It called out to him and he stopped in his tracks. Suddenly a figure appeared before him. It started with a one large eye then twisted into a large black creature with massive horns. It resembled the beasts currently attacking his city but it seemed to float and was clothed unlike the rest. Decorated it seemed.

Hmm, perhaps this was the leader. It was a little to end things before they even began but still maybe he would prove to fun distraction to his thoughts, maybe he would finally feel like he’s doing something important.

“Shadow, my offspring.” It called out to him. Shadow just froze completely. What had it called him?

“Bring me the seven chaos emeralds.” What was he talking about? Why in the world would he do that? And yet that command felt right in some way. There was an itch in the back of his mind that was begging him to comply with what the strange alien asked of him.

“Wait, how do you know who I am?” He called out but the figure started to fade away.

No, there was no way he was letting the other get away that quickly. He needed to know what was going on. This felt like something big. Something important. He was projectile coming towards coving the retreating figure, but Shadow has been through too many battles at this point to even been distracted by the easy to dodge explosions.

Before the smoke could fully dissipate, Shadow pushed all the chaos energy he could manage into his air shoes and launched himself into the air. He then rolled into a spin dash to improve his aerodynamics and then he uncurled just in time to grab just a tip of the smoke billowing out behind the retreating creature and he was dragged along with it.

The thing seemed surprised that Shadow had actually been able to catch him but had not seemed angered. Perhaps even intrigued.

It pulled Shadow through the portal. He found himself looking onto a large comet not far from him. Were they in space? Shadow looked around confused before making eye contact with the creature that he was clinging to. it seemed to be looking at him with a calculating gaze.

Once they reached the rock Shadow grip faltered and he let go landing on the comet.

“Who are you? What do you know about me?” He demanded immediately before it even had a change to say anything. It seemed amused.

“You are not aware of me? Of your purpose?” It replied with questions instead.

Shadow blinked. What had it meant by that? His purpose, he thought he was made to destroy Chaos, which he had done. Was there something more? He looked at the other with a look of awe that a child would give an adult for revealing a magic trick. Was there really something he was unaware of? He knew it!

That itching in the back of his mind told him that he could trust this alien. He did not trust that itch. It was new and had only appeared when the aliens had, but it wouldn’t hurt to trust it a little right?

“I am afraid my memories suffered in my time being stored away until I was needed.”

There was no mouth but he could practically hear a scoffing noise.

“Your half Black Arms, you are immortal until you die of unnatural causes. Why would anyone need to store you away.”

That was…a good point. His head started to hurt a little as quick flashes of something moved across his mind. A girl, running, a long metallic hallways and…

He lost it, but where he looked back up that thing was staring at him intently.

“I see. It seems as though someone thought they could hide from you your true self.”

“My true self? What are you talking about, I don’t even know what you are!”

“Child, I am Black Doom. You share half of your DNA with me. One of my children you could say. I fathered all of the Black Arms, your brother’s in the city.”

“Bullshit.”

“You know it to be true, surly you can feel that inside of you.” The itch was back and only agreeing with what Black Doom was saying. He could feel his memories trying to surface. He knew he was a hybrid it was the only way to create something as powerful as himself, was it really possible that this alien was indeed related to him?

“Me and your creator Gerald made a deal. You would be created to save your planet from the destructive deity, and then you would help me get the chaos emeralds and finally join your people.”

“You seem lost. Have the people of this planet been lying and using you? Here let me clear things up for you.” The alien leader brought his hand forward placing on his head. His consciousness seemed to fold into his mind and he found himself floating looking at some sort of space station.

“This is…the Ark?” He was not sure how he knew that but it felt right. He watched a version of himself running with a girl. A blond girl. Shadow’s heart seemed to clench at the sight. It was the same girl from his vision earlier. Maria.

He followed their moments as they moved down a large corridor being chased by humans with weapons. He felt a level of fear enter him.

“This is what the people of this world have done to you, look at what they have taken from you.”

He watched as they tried to make it to the escape pods, how the girl, someone who was clearly important to him pushed him into the small pod. She seemed to say something before a solider came into the room. And within what was a blink of an eye but felt eternity at the same time it was all over. Shadow had been launched. Maria’s dying hand pulling down the lever as her body fell towards the ground. Blood spilling out a gun wound to her heart as Shadow found himself screaming both in the memory and as his current self.

They were brought out of the memory, and as he was pulled out he found himself remembering snip-bits. He could feel the pain he felt, his body seemingly ripped apart to be just put back together. Bright lights piercing his eyes as he saw blood flow in tubes from his body.

Needles, scaples, other strange objects all flashed across his vision. An image of his staring at his own heart beating inside of him and finally his body being filled with poison that burned through his system. It would be purged by his body but he would be completely incapacitated long enough for them to throw him into the depths of a forgotten facility. He was placed in cold storage to preserve him for deal with future calamity. He was deemed to be a calamity himself but they could not destroy him so they just locked him away in an icy prison.

He came back to reality panting. He found that he had been brought to his hands and knees his body shivering with the effort of processing the memories.The doctor had lied to him. He had kept his purpose away from him. What else was that bastard hiding as he used him for his plans of destroying everything that was on the wretched planet below.

“Ah my poor son, you have suffered so much from the hands of the people of earth. It sorrows me to see one of my own treated so horribly. They must pay.”

Shadow found himself agreeing. It seemed as though the people of that planet only knew how to spread suffering. They had all just used him. None of them cared about him. Not anymore at least.

“You should embrace your true family. Fulfill your purpose and come to me.”

Rage burned inside of him. Yes, he wanted to hurt Eggman for hiding information of his past form him, and he wanted to burn the whole planet, that’s watch the itch in his head wanted. Did he truly belong to that planet? Humans had seemed to just hurt him or use him. It was obvious to everyone that he was ordinary mobian either. He was spared their fate because of it and he easily conquered them, surly there was more, he had the power to do so much more. He had only been around the aliens for possible a few hours, but already he could feel it in his bones.

These were his people. He could feel it in his blood calling out to join them.

“But I am truly your family either? I am still this..hybrid. Do I really belong anywhere?” Shadow spat out clenching his fists. Despite how part of him found himself wanting to join the aliens, a whispered called out in his mind that he didn’t belong their either.

“Is that all you worry about, little one? That is no problem. Within you, you are the same as the rest of the Black Arms. If it would put your mind at rest, you may join your brothers into our hive.”

“Hive?”

“Yes, your brothers eagerly await you to join us in the hive mind. You will not have to doubt yourself anymore. You will be one with your family.”

“Family.” That word rung out and he felt such longing towards it. It felt like he might cry. Could he really still have a family?

He had found his long lost birthright. He had lived his days in awful mundane drone, knowing there was something more important for him to do. He had just been searching for some connection to his past to some sort of family that had left him behind. Was it possible that this was it?

Shadow found his resolve and nodded to the other.

“Please, Father.” He found himself saying almost begging to find a place to belong.

Black Doom’s eye looked pleased dow at the hedgehog. He put his hand out, and this dark substance started coming out of his palm.

“This is the chaos energy that is inside all the Black Arms connected to the hive. Embrace it and it will allow you to return to your roots, to where you belong.

Shadow stood up, nodding to the other, prepared for the transformation. He wanted revenge for all the liars and secrets the people of this planet had, he just wanted a home.

The chaos energy released from the alien crawled around him as if it was thick as syrup. It was like it had been corrupted in some manner. Rather than flowing freely through the air like the energy of this world it seemed more like zombie version of it crawling its way forward attempting to join to any living thing that it could find.

Shadow felt his stomach drop as it began to inch towards him. He had to force himself to stay still as it began to pool beneath him before surging up with such force and speed he almost didn't see it cover his whole body.

He could hear the chuckle of Black Doom in the background as it began to stick and seep into his skin. Black Doom had won, he had been successful in retrieving his ultimate weapon to take over this punny planet and take all of it’s power.

As the energy seemed to push it’s way into his pore and through the small crevices where his fur and quills grew from his skin he felt a strong burning sensation. It felt it was searing through his skin disrupting each cell individually as it made it’s way further into his body.

Hot, cold, hot, cold.

He wasn’t quite sure what he was feeling anymore. The dark energy seemed to feel cold as it made his blood feel like ice. Going through his body like it wanted to devour him. At the same time it was a liquid fire forcing it’s way into his very genetic code.

One thing was for certain though, he felt tremendous pain.

He could feel his bones being forced to adjust to new organs being created and old ones being vaporized by the energy within him. It was a whole body experience before it shot into his tail, and it didn’t stop. It just kept going and Shadow found that his tail was extending

He opened his mouth wanting to scream from all of the pain, but he found himself choking on the energy that was still making it’s way through his systems like he was a delicious meal. It crawled through his body making Shadow feel like he was no longer in his own body and his skin itched as the quills in his body shook, some falling out dead, while other seemed to melt under the head of the energy and combined to make smooth horns just like his father’s.

Shadow raised his hands applying pressure to his head. Trying and what felt like failing to keep what felt like his brain from exploding happening. But he quickly found out he was only making things worse as he hand not realized that he already dangerous claws had further extended outwards with long sharp proportions he was not used to and they hand managed to dig into his head.

His very blood was fighting whatever it could, but it was a losing battle, it succumbed to the energy and he found that once his body had finally stopped fighting rather than the raging pain he was faced with a numbness.
This is what he wanted, wasn’t it? To fulfill a purpose in a place he belonged? These were his people more so than the doctor was, this was his blood inheritance.

An uncomfortable feeling finally pushed through the numbness, a feeling on top of his forehead. It itched. There was a pressure right underneath the skin. It was trying to push through. It felt like how the human had described pimples feeling.

He needed it to stop. Whatever it was was connected directly to his brain, it buzzed with power. He could tell it was the last place the energy had touched and where the excess had wanted to escape.

It wanted out, Shadow himself wanted it out too.

The hybrid clumsily brought his claws up to scratch at the feeling, trying to poke it and try to figure out where it was trying to go, how he could help it out.

Eventually the itching feeling reached levels of annoyance he didn’t know how to deal with, and so he found where the pressure was the worst and dug his claws into flesh. Getting as deep as he could he moved the digits through the flesh and down into the muscle, he was almost there, he could almost feel the edge of the deadly spears scrape against his skull. It made his teeth feel itchy as his nails touched the bone.

then he ripped all that he had grabbed apart. Everything between his fingers squelching apart as the holes all joined into one line down his forehead.

Shadow let out a sigh of relief and the energy finally came out his skull along with a copious amount of new generated green blood that lazy dripped down his face. As the last of the energy left the hole it seemed to make one last final addition to his appearance. The bubble was completed and sitting in the hole he had created sat one large deep red eye

Shadow could feel the emotions of satisfaction from the alien leader become louder in his mind as it seemed to have come with a descending fog over all of his thoughts. He suddenly felt a little scared as his mind seemed to be highjacked.

The eye seemed to only look at Black Doom and was almost a physical marker of the psychic connection that had been fully established into his mind.

He could hear them. He could hear the hive, no he was now apart of the hive. All of his brothers were in here, all of their voiced connected and all seeming to revolve around one large voice in the center of it all, Black Doom. Shadow could feel a sense of peace come over him, he was finally in a place he belonged, he finally had a real family again.

This sense of relief was only reflected through the hive at his union with his brothers and father. He was truly wanted here.

“Rise, my son.”

Shadow stood on shaky legs, finally able to get his bearings as the hive mind link calmed down.

“Let’s make sure you are still operational hum. Do you remember what your doing here, what’s your mission my little solider?”

“I am here to fulfill the purpose of my birth to bring the Chaos Emeralds to you, father, Black Doom.”

“Very good, now do you know who you are?”

“I am Shadow. Shadow of the Black Arms.”

“Perfect.” Even without a mouth, Black Doom’s seemed to smile and shine with satisfaction. He could feel that this world was practically already in the palm of his hands.

Notes:

This is an intro to a reality designed for fic I stupidly planned out rather than working on my current works haha. I will be revisiting this reality once the fist 2 of this series finish otherwise it would be 100% spoilers. (Dont worry this fic contains no spoilers for the other realities)

Series this work belongs to: