Shadow's POV-unknown location-60 years ago:
Slowly, the darkness fades away, and as I look around, it appears that this is some kind of laboratory. Everything is tinted green, and there is a barrier, meaning that inside some kind of container with green glass. There are machines and scientific equipment everywhere outside the container, as well as a man hunched over a computer. He turns. He is an old man with a bald head and a massive, bushy moustache. He wears a white lab coat with a name tag on the chest.
Oh, no... No, not here...
"Vitals are stable..." the man mutters, studying the computer. A few minutes pass, during which he taps keys on the computer and says things about 'Black Doom', 'DNA', and 'Ultimate Lifeform.' He straightens and walks over to the container, pressing a button on the side. The green glass retracts, giving me access to the laboratory. "Hello, Shadow. Can you hear me? Can you see me? Are your senses operational?" The man asks.
"It would appear so." I say, against my will.
"That's good. Very good. I am Profe-" the man starts to say.
"Professor Gerald Robotnik, a scientist." I say, despite my efforts to keep silent. The professor looks remarkably surprised.
"How did you know that?" He questions.
"It's on your name tag." The voice forces its way out of me, giving me no choice in the matter. Robotnik looks down at his chest.
"Oh, of course. Forgive me, I must have been too distracted..." Robotnik says. "Are you aware of who you are? Where we are? Your purpose? Anything?"
"Not at the current moment in time." I say, sounding mildly curious.
"This is the Space Colony ARK. A space station, orbiting the planet Earth. You are the Ultimate Lifeform. I have created you to save my granddaughter, who suffers from a disease that, until now, was incurable. But I have discovered the secret to immortality! You are immortal, you are the cure!" Robotnik is getting visibly excited at the thought of finally being able to save his dying granddaughter.
No... Please... Not this... Anything but this...
"You called me 'Shadow'. Is that my name, then?" I ask. Inside, I am screaming silently, unable to do anything.
"Yes, it is." He confirms. I know what I'm about to say, and I try to fight it, but still, the words pass my lips.
"And what of your granddaughter? Who, and where, is she?" I ask. Robotnik looks at me for a moment.
"Follow me." He says at last, before striding out of the lab. I follow him, my legs moving of their own accord.
The professor leads me down the grey hallways of the space station, until we reach a door, which he then knocks.
"Come in." A young girl's voice says from inside. The professor pushes a button on the wall, and the door slides open. He walks into the room, and I hover outside.
It is a bedroom, and it clearly belongs to a young girl. However, something that sets it apart from a typical girl's bedroom is all of the globes, photos, maps, and atlases all over the room. In the corner there is a bed, and I start to cry internally when I see the person who is sitting up in it.
"Hello, Grandfather. What is it?" Maria is a beautiful girl with long blonde hair that hangs down past her shoulders. Her eyes are filled with kindness and innocence, and this hurts me worse than anything.
"Hello, Maria. I would like you to meet someone." The professor motions with his head, and I step past him, into the room. When she sees me, her expression takes on a look of curiosity and fascination. I walk closer to the bed where she is.
"Hello, Maria. My name is Shadow. It is a pleasure to meet you." I say, extending a hand towards her.
"Hello, Shadow. It's good to meet you too." Maria smiles with happiness as she shakes my hand. She is clearly excited about getting the chance to finally have a friend.
"I will just leave you to get acquainted." The professor says, before stepping out of the room. The door closes behind him. Maria looks at me, a curious twinkle in her eyes.
"Do you think we will be friends, Shadow?" She asks hopefully.
"I expect so, Maria. I know that I would certainly like that." As I say this, her face lights up, and my heart breaks all over again.
YOU ARE READING
Tears of the past (A Shadamy story)
RomanceThis story takes place 10 years after the events we all know from the Sonic series. All of Sonic's friends, including Sonic himself, know pain. Sonic knows the pain of failing to save someone. Tails knows what it is like to not meet his own expectat...
