Chapter 2:
Maria had taught him that every life was special; that all living things were equal. Whether they were a human, tree or animal. She had also tried to explain that not all people saw it that way. Those in a higher position would abuse their power and treat others badly because they were different or seen as subjects. Back then, he didn't understand. His innocence just couldn't grasp why someone would treat anyone else in that way. To this day, his curiosity burned with the same question, although the answers he could come up with were tainted by Maria and the professor's death, the constant imprisonment, and endless torture under the same organisation.
During his time on Earth, he had learned many things. The main one was that humans were all the same. Greedy, selfish individuals who took what they wanted; controlled what they feared. Their ambitions and fears drove them to commit cruel and selfish acts that endangered other's lives. Sometimes, they would disguise their actions, claiming to be working for the 'greater good'. Trying to right an 'injustice' or to simply get revenge. Some individuals would even go so far as to sacrificing others lives for their goal, either through direct methods or through their actions. It was a matter of numbers or an issue of personal attachment that drove people to these decisions. To drive them over the edge. The perspective was a grim one to have, although Shadow knew that every living thing could succumb to it.
Commander Abraham Towers and his predecessor, Samual Kent, were prime examples of this. Their captors were leaders of a shady government organisation that called themselves GUN. The Guardians Units of Nations; Earth's great defenders. Yeah right. Because forcing someone they have captured and tortured to do their dirty work, while they get all the credit, was so heroic. It happened over and over again, and yet, people were blind to see it. All employees were either scared of them or are thought to be their superiors.
How would the people of Earth react if they knew their saviour was not even of their race? That the same person had murdered their kind because of a choice they had made fifty years ago? Would it end in slanders and pitchforks at GUN's door, or would they accept the grim truth? It was an answer to the rhetorical question he never wanted to find out. From what they have seen, no one within the organisation showed any positive emotions towards them, even going as far as bossing them around and treated them like simpletons. To them, the brothers were resources, simple tools, to be used for the greater good. They had no rights because of their heritage and were seen as experiments, and valued like trophies by the predecessor's legacy.
Upon hearing of the existence of not one, but TWO, ultimate weapons, Samual Kent had ordered soldiers to raid their home, Space Colony Ark. Their orders were to kill all on sight unless they are willing to surrender and agree to hand over all their research. It was a surprise invasion, causing the scientists and their family members to panic, resulting in a massacre. Within the panic, their sister-like figure, Maria, had hurled Shadow out of their bedroom and rushed into the lab. She had managed to safely remove his younger brother from the growth chamber, before leading them to the escape pod. However, the time spent having de-toured to retrieve the infant, the soldiers had caught up.
She had managed to usher Shadow into the room with their only exit and was just about to programme the coordinates to Earth when a bullet had struck her head. Shadow had to dive forward, saving the crying infant from colliding with the metal floor. Before he could do anything, the pair was surrounded and taken into custody. They had used the older brother's depression over losing two-thirds of his family members and had quickly imprisoned him. To keep him there, they had examined on and locked his brother away. Shadow would only gain access to the younger ultimate lifeform as long as he did what the Commander had wanted. Samual had promised that if he did his bidding, the brother would not be physically harmed. Being young and naive, Shadow had reluctantly obeyed, not knowing of the mental abuse and neglect being inflicted upon the child.
This lasted around five years until Shadow had noticed the lack of development from the youngling and became pissed. What had topped it off was the physical scars found all over his body from the examinations and physical abuse. He blasted his way through the facility all the way to the man's office, internally damaging the man's organs from a particularly violent Chaos Blast. It was so bad that the Commander became relieved from his position.
While they searched for a new one, the previous Commander's own son, Rhion Kent, took control. Filled with rage, he had started to beat Shadow daily, pumping drugs through the air vent to make him weak and unable to fight back properly. The vile man's slanders had effected him so badly, making the artificial hedgehog start to believe the lies being fed to him. Along with the beatings, he would force the GUN scientists to perform experiments. From how fast he could heal deliberately broken bones, to using his Chaos Energy to the point of collapsing. Even now, he had flashbacks to those dark times, cursing the human for treating him in such a way.
That's why, when Commander Abraham Towers had filled the position six months later, he was more accepting of the change. Rhion was fired for legitimate theft of thousands of dollars from the company's bank account just after Towers' promotion, meaning the beatings had decreased. The new Commander was different.
At first, he acted as though he cared about them. He stopped the production of the drug strong enough to make him weak and drew up a system where he was able to see his brother. He had used physical comfort and praise to earn their trust. Providing Shadow with simple assignments and a training room suited for his needs had given Shadow some type of freedom within the base. The creature felt at peace with the arrangement, even though he had wished for freedom.
Three years later, Shadow was deemed worthy for missions under the full supervision of The Commander. By then, the act of showing fake concern for the two hedgehogs had dug deeper than any chemical or scalpel. The method was effective as Shadow had never received training or experience to deal with such things, leaving him open to mental and emotional attacks. It was easier, now that he had tested the boundaries of the older weapon of mass destruction, drawing out his strengths, weaknesses, and limits.
Ten years into their imprisonment, his brother was moved to a lower level of the base.
Through careful examination, they had found the true potential of his little brother. The youngling was born with the ability to absorb, regulate and disperse Chaos Energy from life forces, such as wildlife and humans. The amount of Energy he could soak up was enormous, allowing Shadow to top up his energy before he could experience Chaos Drain. A living, portable energy sponge, Maria had jokingly stated one night while they stargazed upon the observation deck. The memory, once filled with the innocence and mirth of a child, now stained by the reality of the situation.
Using his ability, they had built him an underground sanctuary, filled with wildlife, such as trees, small animals and streams. The sight was beautiful, the forest-like place filling the most entire floor of one of the underground levels. The large habitat more than enough for the blue hedgehog to run around in. However, just like himself, his younger brother was stuck, confined within a glass cage, strapped to a bed as he struggled to breathe. His limp form was strapped to a machine, greedily sucking the natural Chaos out of him as soon as it was collected.
Because of this, the youngster never had the energy to move. To talk. To walk. All he could do was stare at his surroundings, watching as the animals scurried about, listening to the rush of the river nearby, the sound of leaves rustling in the distance. It must be agonizing, to be confined to one spot, surrounded by the best of nature, but never being able to interact with it. The thought made his stomach twist and his heart to ache. But, he could do nothing about it without making a scene. The Commander had the youngest brother's life in his hands and would harm him when Shadow would go against his wishes.
Due to the poor kid only being an infant when they were taken, he still had not been given a name yet. Their jailers had never bothered with such formalities, and Shadow hadn't managed to come up with something to fit his personality. Instead, the employees and Towers had thrown words around until one nickname finally stuck.
The Power Source.
Looking back on it, Shadow wasn't surprised. That was how everyone had started to see him as. Their generator. The artificial being that powered their computers, the lights above their heads. The air conditioning on hot days. It made Shadow angry. He wanted to lash out. To scream about how unfair it was to use them as objects. Mindless machines. Just because the humans did not perceive them to have a will of their own, did that mean they had to live out their existence as lab rats? They had thoughts, feelings, emotions. They felt pain, regret, envy. Even if one didn't understand what they were experiencing, it was their bodies, their minds going through it.
Shadow just wished for one person- anyone- who would overlook the expectations and see them for who they truly are. To lift them out of the clutches of GUN and show them there is more to life than death, pain, and destruction. To allow them to walk upon the surface, free from their chains to explore the world as Maria had intended. The constant itch for freedom was always there, niggling at the back of his head, waiting to spring free.
For forty more years, things had stayed like that, getting worse as time grew on. His hope had dwindled into dust, his prayers being unanswered. He became cold, consulting killer the organisation had wanted him to be. The ultimate weapon. And yet, there was hope in the form of a now-teenaged hedgehog, trapped in the volts below the base. The one thing that held him back from mindless destruction. The only one who could get through Shadow's defences to the broken life form within.
All it took was one mission to change their lives. The case of Ovi Kintobor.
But at what cost...?
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Crimson eye's snapped open to a high metal ceiling. The creature's breathing quickened, body tense, as he attempted to calm himself from the disturbing memory. It was one of the countless deeds the Commander had forced him to do, and it most certainly won't be the last. His first kill fresh in his mind, how the vial human had used his one weakness against him. He never managed to tell his brother of what occurred, nor the events he was forced to commit afterwards. It left a bitter taste in his mouth and his heart heavy.
It had been fifteen long years since he had been forced to kill. The banker was one of the countless humans the organisation was displeased with. His first of seven kills since his reluctant role of being the Commanders errand boy. And he could do nothing about it. He was on his own against an army of humans that held the only thing he cared about. How was he supposed to go against them without losing his little brother? He couldn't risk it. And they knew it.
Turning, he forced his aching body to move, sitting up to assess his surroundings.
He was back within the large cell, which had steel walls coated by white padding. While the lining was soft, the material underneath was hard and hurt when hit with any force. Neither his Spin-Dash or Chaos Blast would penetrate the steel enough to reach the other side. The walls, ceiling, floor and doors were all decked out with the high-quality material. He had many bruises in the past to back up his claim.
With a growl, he threw himself back, hitting his head against the padding as much as possible. He could barely feel the impact. He sighed. There was only so much one could do in a room with no furniture. Not even a good blow to the head would knock him out enough to escape to the wonderful land of unconsciousness. Instead, he would sit here, listening to the white noise generator installed in the ceiling. Sometimes, he would be in here for days on end, other times, only for five minutes.
The thing was installed as a precaution, just in case he managed to sneak one of the communication devices into his cell. It ensures that he would never have a chance to contact the outside world... not that it would do him much luck, anyway. No one knew of his existence outside of the people he killed or stole from, or for, and was never given a chance to take anything without the Commander's authorisation. Yet, they were paranoid little buggers and inspected his quills, shoes, socks, and gloves, every time they left him alone or with the Commander.
Just then, a side door slid forward and off to the side, revealing four-armed soldiers in black uniforms. Crimson eyes darted over to them, apprehensive, although his face remained blank. The creature didn't move as the guards strode forward, sedative-filled weapons trained on his form.
"The Commander wants to see you," a brave soul spoke up in an emotionless tone. "Get up, slowly. Arms where we can see them."
He grits his teeth. They talked to him as if he was a child, that needed disciplined; throwing short commands in emotionless tones towards him. It made him burn with irritation, knowing that their belittlement of him was on purpose.
With an inward growl, he climbed to his feet, raising his arms with an outward scowl. He didn't want to go. To be forced to do the bastards bidding, once again.
But, the agonising screams of his brother echoed in his ears, reminding him of the consequences should he go against the Commander's wishes. He couldn't put them through that again.
Shaking himself mentally, he straightened up and strode towards the door.
He had made a promise, and he was going to stick with it.
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It was the one reward he could never resist; the opportunity to see his brother. The promise was something they could dangle over his head. A way to shut him up; keep him obedient. But the chance always came at a horrible sacrifice. Most cases, a life. Other times, when his Chaos Energy was low. Both scenarios were painful. This time though, it was for an Emerald. One cyan-coloured, hidden within the fortress of a supposed madman.
His mission was simple. He was to be dropped off a fair distance from the fortress and use the trees as cover. Meanwhile, a squad of GUN members would distract the man's robots, while he would sneak in and steal the emerald, and rescue the estranged agent. He had explicit orders to not engage with the Doctor at any circumstances. The demand made him want to meet the human even more. The leader of GUN had to be hiding something. Something about this mission was different; he could almost taste it.
Regardless, he agreed and kept his real intentions to himself.
Closing his eyes, he leaned back in his seat and mulled over the information that was freely provided. Normally, The Commander would withhold information, stating that a weapon only needed to know who their target was and how to obtain his objective. This time though, there was something else than malice or greed shining in those hydrophobic orbs. Something negative akin to regret or remorse.
The sight was amusing, to say the least. What had happened to make this ruthless man feel such emotions? Shadow would like to shake the hand of the person who caused it. Help the person responsible to replicate the incident, just to spite him.
The person behind it was the owner of the fortress. GUN believed him to be the deceased Ovi Kintobor, a scientist and inventor, who had been listed dead back in 1973. Forty-seven years ago, it was reported that one of his inventions backfired, destroying the dingy underground bunker he had called a lab. One of the cables had severed in two from the explosion and collided with his assistant's lab coat, starting a fire.
When the local authorities arrived, they could only find one body. That of the assistant's. Ovi was believed to have perished in the fire. Others thought he did it to fake his own death so that he could go into hiding, for one reason or another.
None of them was correct.
According to a GUN satellite; three weeks ago, there was a power surge within the outskirts of the city, resulting in a temporary blackout. Upon investigation, they had found a building, that wasn't there before. It was white, large, and had a person's face plastered over the side of it. Outside, a set of robots in the shape of bugs scouted the place, standing guard. When they had sent a secret agent to investigate this mysterious structure, she had reported that she barely managed to crawl through the air vents before tripping the security system. They had never seen the female again, yet she had managed to send back a DNA example from a piece of his moustache, as well as the photo of the Cyan Chaos Emerald.
The two items grabbed GUN's attention immediately. What was further intriguing was that the DNA sample had revealed a ninety-eight per cent match, with the two per cent being an element found within the creations' DNA. Fundamentally, the man hadn't seemed to age at all from his time away. Physically, he had gained an excessive amount of weight. He had also chosen to swap his wardrobe to an outlandish style of redcoats, red boots and tinted goggles from the traditional lab coats, trousers and turtle necks he used to ware.
Due to these facts, The Commander wanted to dig deeper. Anyone who was unable to age was a desired individual. Shadow knew that the man standing in front of him would use Ovi to find the secret of immortality. They were the same species, after all, born from the same place and doomed to wither away in their old age. Yet, this Doctor Kintobor managed to deny the forces of nature. Admitted, Shadow's curiosity was peaked into how the human had stumbled upon it, but knew some things are better left forgotten.
Instead, he nodded to the Commander's briefing, unwilling to show his distaste of the plan. Chaos controlling in and then out of the facility sounded so much easier than the tedious spy method, although The Commander had stated that there was a force field to prevent any unwanted visitors. Whether the man was lying to make this more difficult to him was uncertain, he wasn't going to take the chance. Decapitation was never a fun way to die. Neither was rebounding off of a force field for that matter.
The Commander moved to his desk, swiftly taking a seat before leaning forward to lean his arms upon the desk. Hands clasped together as a smirk played on his face. "So," he began smugly. "Think you can handle the mission, or should I send someone more capable?"
A stab at his pride, something that infuriated Shadow. "You dare underestimate me, human?" He growled out before he could stop himself, crimson eyes glaring at the man.
The grin widened. "Oh, I do. You claim to be above everyone else, but you're nothing more than a freak of nature. An unpredictable enigma that needs to be studied, to be trained for the benefit of the entire world." He stretched his arms out as if he was making a grand gesture.
Shadow thought the urge to groan. Not this speech again. He had heard this speech for what felt like the millionth time, and the Commander never seemed to get tired of putting him in his place. "The world? You mean, the human race," Shadow commented, dryly.
Fake pity shone in the man's eyes as he leaned forward, acting concerned. "We both know that's not true, Project. I have the best interests at heart when making decisions for you and your brother. You just can't see the benefits..." He trailed off as he put his hands on his desk, pushing himself up.
The chair rolled away carelessly. He strolled around the wooden obstacle and kneeled just out of reach of Shadow's claws. "You were created for mass destruction, a weapon against humanity. You're volatile, reckless, and have a disregard for life. We can't let you go until we undo what Gerald has done to you."
There was a growl as he mentioned their creator's name. How dare this man use the professor's name in vain. To say those things about someone who treated his creations as his own sons. Gerald Robotnick was a good man, who had put his life on the line to find a cure for his sickly granddaughter.
Despite this, he stayed quiet. He was not in the mood to spend another day being trained to the point of complete exhaustion. It made him weak and unable to react quickly enough to his surroundings. It was painful and demeaning when he couldn't move on his own.
He remembered several occasions where GUN had left him on a deserted island, drained of his Chaos Energy and without his Emerald, forcing him to live off the wild and entertain himself. Training, they had called it. An opportunity to rely on his instincts instead of his unique abilities. Access his surroundings. Alter his circumstances and adapt his thoughts and behaviour. The place was empty, barren of any life, and surrounded by ocean as far as the eye could see. There was no possibility of getting off it without a boat or drowning. They had traded one prison for another.
"That's rich, coming from you. I'm sure using us for your own selfish desires is also considered quite 'heroic,'" Shadow chuckled bitterly.
The Commander's face turned red before he took a deep breath to compose himself. Their interactions had always ended in arguments. The pent up tension from their current situation being released in each other's company. Although, no matter how much they verbally fought, the smug bastard never took it too seriously. He would hide behind the guards, taking the outburst as nothing more as a childish tantrum.
The man rose from his desk, expression hard, as he stalked over. "You should watch your tongue, Project: Shadow. It's a shame you cling to childish retorts and one-liners. I expected better from the Ultimate Lifeform," he chided, voice condescending. One of his fingers snapped against another, making the guards waiting outside to swarm in. "I will forgive this digression, should you complete the mission. Fail me, and I will revoke your rights to see him for the next month, regardless of what mission you do for me. Do I make myself clear?"
Shadow never answered as the men shackled his arms once again and led him away from the office. He could only glare in the human's direction.
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Shadow took a deep breath as he stood near the exit of the dropship. The cool afternoon air filled his lungs, making him close his eyes.
His right arm was raised as a woman in a black suit fixed a communicator to his wrist. The vice snapped in place, digging into his thin wrist uncomfortably. He suppressed a wince at the unwanted feeling and flexed his hand slightly, although the grip was still tight.
With a quiet huff, he resigned himself to his fate, choosing to glare at the female instead. She shrank under his piercing gaze, hurriedly gathering her equipment and scurrying away in a panic. Shadow resisted the urge to smirk, basketing in his reputation amongst the GUN members. It made him feel the slightest bit of control over their current situation, enjoying the small fear and respect he had managed to gain from dealing with the low-ranking pawns.
In the distance, the canopy started to open up, allowing them to see a large building within the horizon. True to the earlier description, a huge emblem of the man's face was plastered on the side of the tower. To the left, the building protruded into a wide rectangle.
Without warning, the door opened slowly, causing Shadow to smirk. Before anyone could give him a signal, the artificial hedgehog leapt from the plane, arms spread as he freefalls to the ground. The wind rushing against his fur made him smile. Before he could hit the ground, his air-shoes kicked to life, sourcing some stray leaves. His body levelled out and soon he was skating across the land, leaving slightly burned undergrowth within his wake.
TBC
Edge of insanity: by Anomalous123
Chapter end notes:
Author's notes:
Hello, and welcome back to my story. Thank you for the positive feedback from FurorNocturna and darklorelover, who has inspired me to continue. I would also like to thank those who have supported me by following and favouriting this story. So, here's a long chapter for you guys.
This took me a while because it's more of an exposition dump than anything else. I'm sorry about that, but it does set up the story... I think.
Hello, and welcome back to my story. Thank you for the positive feedback from FurorNocturna and darklorelover, who has inspired me to continue. I would also like to thank those who have supported me by following and favouriting this story. So, here's a long chapter for you guys.
This took me a while because it's more of an exposition dump than anything else. I'm sorry about that, but it does set up the story... I think.