Shadow: The Origin Of A Legend

Chapter 14

"Well, at least some good news has come out of this," the metallic, icy voice booms from the monitor. "Your portable device seems to work perfectly fine, though it leaves a few marks." The hooded figure moves the camera to reveal Shadow, held gently but firmly by one of the robots. He is unconscious, but three ragged holes in his forehead were rather visible, and oozing blood.

Robotnik stares in horror. "Y-you weren't supposed to stab him with it!"

"You said to touch it to his forehead," the voice snickers. "You should know by now, Robotnik, I never do anything gently." It chastises, running its fingers along Shadow's wounds for a moment.

Nervously, Robotnik looks around. "Uh, so, you are going to bring him back here, right?"

"No," the voice replies, seeming distracted. "I figure I'll enact our Sleep Protocol, the plan we decided to ditch."

"Wh-What?" He stammers. "W-We ditched that plan for a reason!"

The figure smirks. "Yes, and I'm re-enacting it for a different reason." It jabs its claws into Shadow's wounds; the hedgehog is too unconscious to react, but Robotnik has to stifle a cry of sympathy. Disappointed, the figure withdraws, shifting the camera back so that the figure was the only thing seen.

"Y-You can't-I mean, this was supposed to be our project!" Robotnik hesitates, suddenly uncertain. "Wasn't it?"

The figure laughs. "No, it never was." It grins cruelly at him, speaking in a voice like razorblades. "You were a pawn, and now that you've successfully botched this several times, I'm taking it away from you. Honestly," it moves closer to the screen, pink eyes glinting, "did you really think we were in this together? I am your master, your keeper; you yourself acknowledged that until I gave you permission to refer to me as an equal! And now, I retract that privilege. You are no longer one of my pawns, but I will gladly take your army." It reaches up to shut off the video, saying, "So long, and thanks for your pitiful attempts at helping me."

The video cuts off with a click, and a stunned Robotnik sits staring at the screen for a few moments. "N-No...He really...he really did it..."

The robot standing to his right turned to face him. "Sir?" It queried, "Are you alright, sir?"

Robotnik hung his head in his hands. "I've made a terrible, terrible mistake." He rubs his eyes. "A terrible mistake."

The figure gestures in a sweeping manner towards the door. "Go," it growls to the robots, "take him to the Green Room." The two robots wordlessly obey, hefting the hedgehog between them. They trot out of the room, making a left, and walk past 12 more doors, finally stopping at a very large and very rusty red door. One pauses to swipe a card in a slot while the other enters a PIN on the opposite side, and the door slides open soundlessly. The two enter the room, which is kept rather dark. In a corner of the room, leaning against one of the metal-clad support columns that protrudes slightly from the wall, is the bulk of a familiar robot bearing a Greek letter on one shoulder, but the two robots pay it no mind, for it lies dormant, powerless. They pause in front of a large desktop laden with assorted buttons, levers, switches and such, as well as a single large keyboard. They press a few keys, pull a lever each and simultaneously press one button, and a peculiar machine rises from the ground. It is ovular in nature, made of metal panels hewn together, and painted a dark greyish black color. Part of its surface is a clear, glass-like material, also shaped like an oval, with a thick ring of red metal around its perimeter, serving to make it air-tight. With the press of another few buttons, it opens, a subtle kssh sound indicating that the vacuum-sealed air within it has departed, and part of the surface moves upwards, folding back slightly, like the top of a convertible car. The robots step up, lifting the hedgehog, and place him in the module. His chin is touching his chest, and blood still oozes weakly out of the wounds in his forehead. His ears slope forward, and his limbs hang limp. Out of nowhere, brackets appear and seal around the hedgehog's wrists and ankles with an ominous CLANK. One of the two robots slips a new pair of gloves and shoes onto his hands and feet, and then the two step back, press a few more buttons, turning away as the capsule re-seals itself.

A bubbling noise ensues from the craft, and a sticky, gel-like lime green substance begins to fill the capsule, oozing its way up the nonresponsive black and red hedgehog's body. It fills the entire container, its buoyant force lifting his chin slightly and causing his spines to float. The blood from his forehead mixes with the slime, creating small tendrils of red drifting upward. They dissipate soon as the gel clots his wounds. His white chest-fluff sways slightly in the gel's current, but they soon cease as the currents stabilize.

The robots exit the room, standing in front of the hooded figure in the hallway. "Seal it up," the figure growls, "and then we'll get out of here." The duo nods, turning around and entering a different PIN, sliding a different card. The door closes, slamming with a finite sense against the wall. The figure grins. "Brilliant," it growls, "Sonic will never think to look in an abandoned base. No one will disturb Shadow until we are ready to use him." The three begin to walk down the hallway, the hooded figure walking ahead of the two robots. It reaches into its pocket and pulls out an unusually shaped hunk of gem, then holds it up to the sky. It glows with a bright purple soft light, revealing the figure's hand. It's pitch-black, but yet there are small, glowing veins of purple within it. Its hand ends in sharp claws, and a faint dark aura exudes from its skin. In front of it, a bright purple flash appears, like a lightning bolt, that rips open into a large black hole with a neon violet edge, sparking and buzzing like an electrical current. Unfazed, the robots and the figure walk into the black hole, and it closes behind them with a profound ripping noise.

After they leave, all is silent.