Prolouge

"To weep is to make less the depth of grief."

--William Shakespeare, 1564-1616

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Mobius--Orbit

July 10, 3236

7:33 pm, EMT (Eastern Mobian Time)

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"Shadow, look out!"

A flash of gold, and the barrage of egglike projectiles that had nearly impacted a silver hedgehog instead hit nothing at all. Several meters away, the hedgehog in question watched them continue to sail on endlessly into space as a different hedgehog, one that shone a bright burnished yellow, held him by the shoulders with a worried look on his face. "Shadow! Are you all right?" He asked telepathically, since there was no air around them to carry sound.

The glowing hedgehog called Shadow knocked his friend's hands away and turned around, brushing away both their worries like one might a pesky housefly. "I'm fine, Sonic." His reply came shortly in a smooth, low tenor. "Thanks for helping me out there, though." He turned to face his companion fully as he voiced a question of his own. "Did you get the rings?"

The golden hedgehog, Sonic, held out an arm whose entire length was weighted down with several gold ringlets that encircled it. "Got 'em!" He crowed. "Piece of cake!"

Shadow didn't share his enthusiasm, and merely arched one eyebrow at the outburst. Sonic grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm just a little pumped about being Super again after so long."

The conversation was interrupted as the small headphone radios that Sonic and Shadow wore came crackling to life. "Sonic, we're in danger." Knuckles' distant voice spoke up. "The colony will enter the atmosphere in about four minutes! Hurry!"

The smile faded from Sonic's face quickly as he heard this news. "Crap." He muttered, becoming serious again. "The situation's worse than I thought! Hey Shadow, how did Knux say these radio things work again? I was kinda zoned out when he told us."

A snort. "Typical behavior I'd expect of you. Well, if I remember correctly, the Guardian said they directly stimulate the small bones of your ear, so they can function within the vaccuum of space. To respond to a message, you just think clearly what you want to say."

"Oh, all right. Uh, hey Knux, can ya hear me up there?"

The echidna's voice came back on, sounding less alarmed and more amused than before. "Yeah, and we're picking up the messages that you and Shadow are sending each other, too. Believe me, that's the last time I'm ever gonna try to explain anything to you, buddy."

"Er.....Shadow, can they really hear our telepathy?" The silver hedgehog in question gave a noncommital grunt. Sonic sweat-dropped. "I'll take that as a 'yes', then."

"Sonic," a shrill, high-pitched feminine voice squeaked. "LOOK OUT!"

Sonic blinked. "Eh?"

WHAM. A second hail of eggs collided with the side of his head, spinning him around wildly for a couple seconds before Shadow caught his arm and brought him to a halt. "I'm okay," Sonic replied weakly while trying to banish the multiple images he was seeing. "Really, I am....."

Shadow shook his head. "Have you forgotten why we're out here? Pay attention to what's going on, for chaos' sake!" He glanced at several rings of his own that were placed along his arms. "Hmm, it would appear that I'm due for a refill."

"Well, then you'd better get some rest." Sonic agreed, shaking his head free of any mental cobwebs and whirling around to face the source of the egg barrages. "Lemme give it a try, 'kay?"

Shadow nodded. "Very well. It's up to you now, Sonic." For a moment the barest hint of a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Don't kill yourself, now; I still want to win a race against you before that happens."

"Ha! You wish!" Sonic started to retort, but the other hedgehog was already gone, dashing off to find more of the golden rings Sonic had obtained. He shook his head and grinned, then took off.

His body shot forward like a blazing comet, a bright blue aura surrounding it as his speed increased. Ahead of him lay the FinalHazard; a merged form of the Eclipse Cannon and the Biolizard. Its mouth opened in a silent howl, blind eyes sensing the approaching opponent as its head swerved to look in Sonic's direction, tiny limbs flailing wildly. A whitish beam of dense energy stabbed out, but Sonic dodged around it lightning-fast and resumed his course. The beam stopped a few moments later, then fired continuously, swerving up towards him. He shifted a few feet to the right, and it missed again.

"Sonic?" A sultry, almost haughty female voice spoke in his ear. "Can you hear me?"

"Um, I'm kinda busy right now, Rouge." Sonic replied, swerving sharply to dodge the beam again as it circled around, tracking him.

"Yes, I know, I can see you from where we are.....but I just wanted to say that everyone up here is rooting for you."

Sonic blinked and grinned, taking a quick glance over at the windows of the Main Control Deck where he knew the others had gone. "Even Eggman?"

"Like Hell!" A faint voice yelled in the background, causing Sonic's grin to widen.

"Uh, well....okay, ALMOST everybody." Rouge finally answered. "Good luck, though--and give that thing trouble for us!"

"Thanks, and I'll try."

Fifty meters away. His goal was the large, red swelling area on the Biolizard's neck, near the jawline; it was just one of many blisters that had begun to form on the creature without it's life-support system present to suppress them. The Biolizard spasmed--whether from pain, discomfort, or sheer effort, Sonic did not know--then belched out several hard, compact eggs in his direction. These he also dodged, with the same amount of efficiency as before.

Another of the lasers shot out to join the first, both searching for the tiny golden hedgehog hurtling towards them. Thirty meters away.

The rings on Sonic's arm were starting to disappear, one by one, fueling the glowing essence around him that somehow kept him alive without oxygen at absolute-zero temperatures. He glanced down to briefly gauge how many he still had. About twenty-five now remained, although the number was decreasing every second. Twenty meters away. His head snapped back up in time to spot another change come over the FinalHazard. With another silent scream, multiple pores in its grotesque brown body opened to reveal more eggs, which began firing at Sonic from all over. Fifteen meters away.

"Uh oh..." The hedgehog's eyes widened as he suddenly entered an obstacle course of ducking, flipping, turning, banking, and swerving in an effort to avoid the projectiles. But he couldn't dodge them all; one managed to hit him squarely on his leg, spinning him around out of control before he righted himself with a grunt and resumed his forward dive, only slightly knocked off-kilter. Ten meters away.

Sonic gritted his teeth and braced himself as he aimed for the red blister. Five meters away. Three meters. Two. ONE--!

There was a single, eternal moment during which nothing happened, and all those watching waited breathlessly in anticipation. Sonic closed his eyes.

Then--

Impact. He ploughed into the blister but didn't stop; the skin below buckled under the force of an unstoppable object, revealing the insides of the monster. He kept going, punching a clean path through metal, blood, bone, muscle.....if Sonic hadn't been invincible, he would have been smashed to pieces by the pressures that were abruptly exerted on his body.

"Oh, that's SO gross!" Amy squealed over the radio. And although he didn't verbally announce it, Sonic had to agree. Slimy things he preferred to not think about swept past him, along with hard, compact structures that he easily burst through. He knew he was almost out, the Biolizard wasn't THAT thick.....ugh, but he wasn't sure if his lunch would stay down that long....

Finally, he erupted out of FinalHazard's opposite side, leaving a neat, circular hole behind him to accompany the three others that he and Shadow had made in its hide earlier. Opening his eyes again when he could no longer feel anything around him, he glanced again at his ring supply and saw only nine of them left. Without pausing he soared past Shadow, who'd gone the long route around the ARK's opposite side to gather more of the precious golden fuel supply. Shadow didn't bother with greetings, knowing that time was of the essence; but he did nod in approval when he saw the new hole in FinalHazard's body, leaking bodily fluids out into space.

"Hey Shadow," Sonic's voice spoke within his head, faint-sounding due to its source being miles away by that point. "Where do you think he gets all that power from?"

"It's the chaos emeralds." He sent back. "They're probably the only reason that monster is still alive after all this. It's trying to drain them."

"Just like Chaos drained them when he became Perfect!" The vermillion hedgehog exclaimed, horrified. Shadow didn't bother to ask who the heck Chaos was; he simply dove forward while remaining silent, a small pile of rings cradled in his arms.

Shadow locked glares with the FinalHazard's nonexistent eyes. He knew that it recognized him, remembered him from its first awakening thirty years ago. It probably hated him more than any other being on the station, since he'd been the one who'd helped seal it up in the Cannon's Core back then, after it had begun to go out of control.

This was it, Shadow decided. This would be the killing blow. He sped up until there was nothing left to see of him but a vauge grayish blur careening towards the head of the FinalHazard's reptilian half.

The Biolizard's senses again detected an incoming object. Despite the many wounds in its side, it still stubbornly hung on to life, mustering up the energy for a few more laser beams and egg attacks, all of which were easily dodged.

Watch me, Maria. Shadow thought silently. I will fulfill your wish!

All of his dormant rage, rage at the humans, rage at losing his friends and home, rage at being locked up and frozen against his will, rage that had lain quiet for thirty long years finally burst free in a scream that was loud enough to send Sonic crashing into an asteroid when he telepathically heard it. In the ARK's Main Bridge, everyone jumped in surprise and clamped their hands down on their ears to shut out the painfully loud sound. Outside, Shadow no longer saw what he was dodging around as he got closer and closer to his target. All that was left was him, and the FinalHazard's head, and the loathing and malice it bore towards him, and he towards it.....

FinalHazard made one last, desperate attempt to fight back; The head swung around towards Shadow as its jaws opened wide to devour him. He didn't bother to move out of the way, but gladly zoomed into the mouth, slamming diagonally up through it and puncturing something sticky and wet before emerging out the back of its skull in an explosion of broken bone, cartilage, and greenish liquids.

Sonic flew up towards him with a new armload of rings as the FinalHazard twitched wildly in its death throes. "Shadow, you did it!" He cheered. "You killed it! You--uh, hey, are you okay?"

For the first time since Sonic had met the solemn hedgehog, Shadow looked extremely close to losing his nerve and becoming sick to his stomach. "I…..I think I got some of it on me," He choked, looking at the slimy green fluid covering his body with a nauseated expression.

Sonic looked at the slime and wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Oh, man.....Biolizard brains. Yuck." He began to move over to help Shadow wipe it off, but the silver hedgehog waved him aside. "It's okay." He replied in a strained voice before spinning in place quickly, throwing the fluid off himself in all directions. Sonic yelped and dove out of range, glaring at Shadow angrily when he finished. "Warn me before you do that next time!"

Shadow's expression was just short of open amusement as he floated out of Sonic's reach, idly tossing a golden object up and down in his right hand like one would with a ball. "Sorry."

"HEY! Shadow!" A young male voice spoke up angrily in their radios. "That had better not be what I think it is!"

Sonic blinked as he saw the object being tossed. "What the--! Shadow, how'd you get a Chaos Emerald?? They're supposed to disappear while someone's using them to go Super!"

"WHAT?!" Knuckles bellowed, loudly enough to make both hedgehogs wince. "Why you sneaky, theiving, conniving little jerk, you're worse than the bat girl--OOF!" There was a muted thump, and the faint sounds of a scuffle in the background.

"I wouldn't wager that Rouge took that comment too well." Shadow remarked drily.

"Damn straight!" The fruit bat's voice came on, angry and slightly out of breath. "How the heck did you steal an emerald? Huh??"

Shadow held up the gem in question so that both Sonic and those at the Control Deck could see it. "Oh, this? It's the fake emerald."

Tails let out a guttural growl, furious beyond words.

"I found it after you guys left for the Core," The silver hedgehog continued as if he hadn't heard anything, "and I've been hanging on to it this whole time."

Sonic gave him a perplexed look. "Why?"

Shadow didn't reply, but looked at the planet below them. Its surface was rapidly drawing closer, details slowly becoming more visible upon the land masses. He switched his gaze back up to the ARK, which was pulling them along in its mini-gravitational field as it continued its dive. Finally, Shadow glanced back at Sonic.

The yellow, supercharged hedgehog's eyes widened as he understood the silent message. "Oh crap, we're still falling!"

"Brilliant grasp of the obvious, rodent." Robotnik's gravelly voice chimed in, followed by a snort. "What, you thought destroying the Prototype would stop the station? Don't you know ANYTHING about physics?" Shadow couldn't help but find this question amusing, for some reason. His eyes twinked with mirth as he turned away, covering his mouth.

Sonic smirked. "Actually, yeah. Gravity's gonna be the death of us all, and the ironic thing is that it's the weakest force of nature in existance." Shadow's slightly-amused expression was wiped clear off his face at this comment. He stilled for a couple moments, then began to chuckle, strangely enough.

Now it was Sonic's turn to stop smiling, as he and those on the station gave the other hedgehog a wide-eyed stare. Shadow was laughing? That settled it--Hell had frozen over. Pigs could fly. Black was white.

"You know, I think I've finally figured out who the Ultimate Lifeform really is." The ebony hedgehog spoke up as he began to fly back up towards the ARK.

Curious, Sonic looked at his partner as he followed. "But I thought YOU were the Ultimate Lifeform."

Shadow almost smiled. Almost. "Not quite. I think.....it could be you."

It took a couple moments for the implications of this message to sink in; but when it did, Sonic's expression became deeply touched. "Wha--? Shadow.....that's the nicest thing anyone's ever--"

"Forget it." Shadow waved the thanks aside. "Do you want to do something about that painfully ugly meteor above us?"

Sonic blinked, looking up and remembering the ARK. His expression became determined. "Oh yeah, definitely." He growled. "There's no way THAT'S getting through!" He increased his speed, jetting up towards it. Shadow gave his shoes an extra burst of power and followed.

Both of them raced up towards the space station, back to back, shoulder to shoulder. "We gotta do this just right for it to work." Sonic explained. "When I give the word, aim the biggest teleport Skill you can manage up at the ARK, okay? I'm gonna try to synchronize my Chaos Relocate with yours and combine them into a teleport big enough to transfer this whole place back to orbit."

As would be expected, Shadow's mind was a bit skeptical at the idea. "Are you sure that'll work? You're pretty new to Chaos Skills, after all....."

"It's okay, just trust me. I'm more experienced than you think."

Shadow decided it wasn't worth arguing over. "Fine." His thoughts sighed. "It's your funeral." He closed his eyes briefly as a distant memory, nearly forgotten, resurfaced. It was a faint, gentle voice, like the ringing of bells, echoing through his mind. Heavily-labored breathing impeded it, causing huge gaps to form between groups of words.

(Please.....Shadow.....give all of them.....a chance.....to be.....happy.....)

Her last words. The words she'd spoken just before he'd been jettisoned from the station by an automated escape pod, unable to help or do anything. He could feel liquid forming in front of his eyes, and rapidly blinked to clear them. I will, Maria, he thought, hoping she could hear him from wherever she'd gone. I won't let you down--

"Now, Shadow!" Sonic's voice screamed in his head. He clenched his eyes shut and summoned up as much power as he could while both of them raised their hands toward the station. Simultaneously, they yelled out the same magical words, even as the sound was torn away from them the moment it left their lips:

"CHAOS…..CONTROL!!"

The ARK, an elliptical half-sphere several miles wide in diameter, was enveloped within a massive wave of energy exploding from their hands. It wasn't enough, Shadow thought frantically. It wasn't enough energy to teleport the whole station, it was too small, it wouldn't work--

KRZAP.

Shadow stopped his forward momentum, almost gasping when he looked around himself and found the ARK gone. Hundreds of miles away, a bright explosion of light receded to reveal the station once again placed in a stable orbit over Mobius.

His thoughts were suddenly scattered by the happiest cheer he'd ever heard Sonic emit. "Yah-HOOOO!" The gold hedgehog whooped, flying in loops and laughing his head off. "Shadow, we did it! We saved them all! WE'RE BONAFIDE FRICKIN' HEROES, MAN!!"

Shadow tried to give Sonic a thumbs-up, but found he didn't have the strength to lift his arm. Oh no, He thought with sudden dread. That Chaos Control.....it used up too much of my energy..... His eyes strayed downward to the rings in his arms. There were none left.

Shadow could feel the power draining from him, making him feel heavy and slow, like how someone feels after exiting a swimming pool. His Super form was fading without the rings to fuel it. The faint grip of the planet's gravity began to pull on him, and he discovered with increasing dismay that he could no longer resist it.

All of a sudden, there were multiple gasps of shock and horror on the radio. "Shadow!" Rouge cried out.

"Shadow?" Sonic blinked. "What's wrong with him?" He turned about when he didn't get an answer after a few moments, and was just in time to see his former rival fall towards Mobius, unable to fight gravity's pull any more. Sonic's eyes went huge. "Holy--! SHADOW!" He yelled, diving after his friend.

The black hedgehog somehow mustered the strength to open one eye a bit. Everyone up at the station was shouting over his radio link right now, trying to tell him something. What was it? Their yells were drowning each other out, turning into a dull roar.....he listened closely, trying to pick out individual voices. They seemed to be saying that Sonic was coming after him.

Well, it didn't matter. A calm peace had fallen over him; an odd sort of contentment now that he was certain these would be his final moments. He knew Sonic would never reach him in time. He'd gotten too much of a head start, and was now rapidly picking up speed. He closed his eyes halfway, the glow on his body fading and flickering. "It's too late for me," He said over his telepathic link with Sonic. "I'm out of rings, I'll return to normal any second now. But you've still got a chance to save yourself. Get back to the colony!"

"No way!" Was the immediate, defiant reply. "I'm not gonna abandon you!"

Sonic tried to summon up a Chaos Relocate teleport and direct it at Shadow like he'd just done with the ARK, but he was unable to concentrate long enough to form one. Amy was pleading with him to stop it and save himself before he died too, Tails and Knuckles were firing random suggestions left and right, Rouge was shrieking demands that Shadow stay alive, and Robotnik was cheering them on like an audience member at a baseball game, hoping both of them would get themselves killed. All in all, it wasn't exactly helping him focus.

Finally, the gold hedgehog couldn't stand the noise any longer. "SHUT UP!!" Sonic yelled loudly, glad that thinking didn't require too much energy. Most of those watching immediately obeyed, except for Robotnik, who didn't care either way.

Their bodies were only feet apart, but those few feet might as well have been miles. Sonic knew that Shadow was speaking the truth. He simply couldn't muster enough energy to catch up or teleport them both after spending so much of it on that Chaos Control; his ring supply was already at less than a quarter of what it had been!

His hand stretched out, desperately struggling to reach Shadow's. Just a little farther.....a little farther.....!

There! Sonic felt his fingers close around a bracelet on the other hedgehog's wrist. He immediately put on the brakes, struggling to slow them both down. And for a few moments, it seemed like he'd succeed.

But the bracelet had seen too much wear and tear over the past few days. With a faint creaking sound, it snapped open and slipped clean off Shadow's arm. Sonic's reverse momentum backfired, and he was tossed wildly out into space as Shadow resumed his fall.

The gold hedgehog panicked. "NO!" He screamed in his mind, trying and failing to right himself so he could resume his chase. "SHADOW! DON'T DIE! PLEASE!!"

As Sonic wildly tumbled head-over-heels, he managed to lock gazes with Shadow for a couple moments. The black hedgehog gave him a single look, filled with more emotion than Sonic had thought possible for him.

And in those few seconds of time, Shadow smiled. A true, honest-to-God smile, heartfelt and grateful. It said everything he had wanted to tell the blue hedgehog, but no longer had the time to. It was the first smile he'd made since Maria had died; and now, it would be the last.

Resigning himself to his fate, he closed his eyes with that peaceful smile still on his face, and sent one final message to his enemy-turned-friend.

"See you around, Faker."

The glow vanished from his body, and the forcefield protecting him went with it. He fell faster and faster, until he was nothing more than a fireball shrinking admist the blanket of blue-white below.

Sonic couldn't bear to watch his newfound friend burn to ashes; he turned his head away, finally slowing to a hover. His fists and eyes were clenched tight, trying to hold his emotions in check. "No..." His mind choked. "Shadow...!"

His shoulders shook with supressed sobs, sobs he refused to release. He wouldn't cry. Not here, not now. Shadow wouldn't want it. Slowly, Sonic opened one hand and gazed at the blackened, sooty bracelet nestled in its palm. Despite everything he was doing to restrain it, a tear made its way past his blockades and slid down one cheek. He bowed his head.

Although he didn't really know whether Shadow could still hear him or not, he sent out one last mental message for his departed friend's benefit before disappearing in the light of a teleport.

".....Sayonara.....Shadow the Hedgehog....."

If Sonic had stayed but a moment longer, he would have witnessed a colored flash envelop the rapidly shrinking red dot below, leaving nothing behind.

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What If.....Shadow Survived?
(Verily, 'tis a Fanfiction by Stoney, it is!)

SARCASTIC LEGAL JUNK: Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog, and all related places and characters are all copyright to some guys you probably haven't heard of. I think they call themselves SEGA and DiC Productions. But do you really care?

Foreword

Written by Shadow T. Hedgehog

(Edited by Stonewall Z. T. Cat)

"To give a reason for anything is to breed a doubt of it."

--William Hazlitt, 1778-1830

It has been so long since then.

Remarkable, how time seems to shift and fluctuate within the mind. Minutes can seem like hours, and days can fly by in hundredths of a second. That specific day is still so vivid within my memory, it seems like it took place last night.....

Allow me to introduce myself. You probably know me as 'The Ultimate Lifeform'. Once, long ago, I thought that title meant something. Something important, like an army rank. But now I realize it's nothing more than a name; a few random letters placed side-by-side on a printed page. A few syllables. A few lip movements and twists of the tongue.

Just a name. Nothing more. Pointless, since it doesn't describe me any longer and therefore defies one of the sole reasons that names exist in the first place. But, if I'm not the Ultimate Lifeform.....then what am I?

Who am I?

Why am I here?

Maria once told me that God has a plan, and we are living it every day of our lives. If that's the case, then God ought to get a organizer for his schedule, 'cause it sure seems messed up to me. Everything I've done up until now seemed like it had a reason, a higher purpose behind it. The problem is, I'm not so sure what that reason is--or was. Sure, I THOUGHT I knew.....I thought it was revenge, or the quest for knowledge, or to benefit mankind through the advancement of science.

But as soon as I start to believe in these purposes, I always go and do something that contridicts them. It makes no sense: If any of those reasons were truly good ones, then why on Mobius would I act so counterproductively?

(I usually don't make these kinds of connections until I've already accomplished whatever my mission is and have some time afterwards to sit down and think. I wish I'd make them sooner, though; it would save me a lot of headache.)

Ah, but I ramble. What you are about to read is the story of what I've experienced since that fateful day long ago.....when the most counterproductive of all my actions took place, in what is now known by most as 'The ARK Incident'. It is an interesting story, to say the least. It is the story of how everything that happened since then has, for better or worse, changed me. Now, as I write down these words, I am no longer the being I used to be--which is why my title is so pointless, and why I've begun to understand the meaning behind life's madness.

This is my story.

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Chapter One: An Extra Life

"As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well used brings happy death."

--Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519

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Mobius--Orbit

July 10, 3236

7:33 pm, EMT (Eastern Mobian Time)

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It began with fire.

Blazing, scorching, searing, fire.

It flowed around me, vaporizing my fur and burning my bare skin. My arms were held up over my face in a futile effort to protect myself. It did no good, though-- the fire went around my arms like water and flared angrily into my face. It was all I could do not to scream from the pain.

Yet despite this, I felt nothing but a calming inner peace inside me. For once, I was truly satisfied. I had fulfilled her wish. She had not died in vain.

The fire intensified as the air grew thicker around me. I couldn't hear anything except the roar of the wind rushing past, fanning the fire to greater strength. I didn't dare open my eyes, for fear that the fire might damage them. Nonetheless, I could still see the red glare from its flames through my eyelids.

Below me the planet Mobius was spread out like a map; round, blue, and beautiful. Clouds mixed with the blue from the ocean in ways that were totally chaotic yet delightful to look at. But even if I could have seen it, I would have had no time to enjoy the view. I was just a fiery black speck, careening down toward the vast expansse with a dirty gray trail of smoke in my wake.

I clenched the fake emerald tightly in my left hand. When Sonic had come back inside the ship after our battle, the emerald had still been with him. He'd explained rather bewilderedly that the cannon had stopped working just as he'd reached it. We found out later that it was because Eggman had activated Professor Gerald's program with all seven Chaos Emeralds, but at the time everyone was completely in the dark.

That is, until the video started playing.

When Sonic and the others fled for the Cannon's Core, I was left alone in what had once been Maria's room. The room had changed more than anywhere else on the space station: gone was the large fluffy bed and pink teddy bear that Maria used to cuddle when she slept. Gone were the books and toys, the bright colorful wallpaper and the childlike drawings pinned up on the walls. Nothing was left now, nothing except the bare gray walls, and painful memories.

Amy talked to me. She's a pink hedgehog that Sonic had brought with him to the ARK, only to leave her behind when trouble started to rear its ugly head. She unlocked a memory inside me that had been too painful to remember--the memory of Maria's death.

I remembered that she'd made me promise to help the humans. And at that moment, I realized how what I had been doing was wrong. How foolish I had been, to think she'd wanted me to destroy them! That was not like Maria at all. During her life, she had never wanted anybody or anything to get hurt.

I took the fake emerald from where Sonic had left it in the abandoned lab, and Chaos Controlled to the core. The rest of the events seemed to go by in a blur: Fighting the Biolizard, becoming Super, flying into space to destroy the Prototype's final incarnation. I had held on to the fake emerald the entire time, and now I clenched it tightly with my smoking hands as Hell itself erupted around me.

I began to think about Maria. This IS what she had wanted, wasn't it? My promise had been to save the people on Earth.....and by doing this I had surely done so.

"Shadow....."

I can still hear her voice, so gentle, like the chiming of bells. She had such a beautiful voice.....

"Shadow....."

I have honored your memory, Maria. Now I can rest in peace.

"Shadow....."

A white light appeared from the darkness, and expanded until it filled my vision. A translucent figure appeared in the light, holding out a hand towards me as if beckoning.

"Shadow.....thank you....."

The hand reached out and grasped my own, pulling me towards her. I looked up into her gentle, ocean-blue eyes, and suddenly found the strength to speak.

"Maria.....?"

"I always knew you could save them, Shadow."

"Maria!"

For the third time in my entire life, I felt tears well up in my eyes and threaten to pour out in a rush. I collapsed against her, holding on tight as my entire frame wracked with happy sobs.

"Maria, it's really you!"

She stroked my quills gently as she held me, speaking soothing words in my ear. After an unknown span of time the tears subsided, and I finally released her. She took my hand in hers and held it gently to her stomach as I wiped away tears from my face with the other. "Maria," I sniffed, "I can't believe it's you! I've waited so long to see you....."

She smiled at me, then her expression turned serious. "Shadow.....I've been sent to tell you.....you must survive. It is not your time yet."

I blinked in confusion, and then it dawned on me what was happening. "Am I dead?"

She shook her head, locks of her blonde hair swinging around. "No. But you are dying. You need to stay alive, Shadow. You mustn't die. Not now."

The tears threatened to come again. "But, Maria.....I want to be with you!"

She smiled at me sadly. "I know. Your time will come someday. But now you must go back." She placed a small kiss on my forehead and squeezed my hands softly. "Don't forget, you must stay alive. The world still has need of you before we can be together again."

She released my hands and began to back away, fading into the light as she did. "Please, Shadow.....do it for me....."

"Maria! Wait!" I tried to run forward to go after her, but she disappeared before I even got close. The light faded away, and suddenly I was back in my freefall to Mobius.

I gripped the emerald in determination. One part of me wanted to break down in grief at having lost her again, but the other part wanted me to fullfill her request. I knew what I had to do.

Concentrating on an image of Mobius's surface in my mind, I gripped the emerald harder. It began to glow, it's aura surrounding me as I called upon it's powers. I sure hope this works, I mused quietly. Maria, don't worry. I will survive.....for you.

The glow grew brighter and brighter, blazing like a minature star. My fingers tingled with the emerald's energy as I yelled out two words to the heavens:

"Chaos.....Control!"

A flash of light, and I was no longer falling. The fire around me ceased to exist. Above Mobius that night, a falling star blinked out of existence long before it should have burned to nothing. And on the surface, another being arrived on what would forever be his new home.

* * *

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Never Lake

July 10, 3236

7:35 pm, CMT (Central Mobian Time)

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Clouds rolled overhead, their dark gray underbellies promising rain to come. Far-off thunder bellowed, like a warning call to all those in the storm's path. The sun protested meekly by trying to shine through the interference, but succeeded only minimally as it became covered, blotting out most of the light.

The storm travelled across the sky slowly, taking its time. It was in no hurry. Eventually its load of water particles would become heavy enough to drop towards the ground, and then its task would be finished. The vast shadow of the clouds fell across a large lake, blanketing it with moody semi-darkness. They continued their journey, blissfully ignorant of the lone individual that lay near the Lake's southern shore.....

* * *

Pain.

Pain beyond pain.

How could I hurt this much and still be alive?

The burns--they were everywhere. Even the slightest tiny movement provoked a stab of agony to encompass the area. I was dimly aware that I was lying on the ground, curled up into the fetal position. Anything else my senses told me was ignored, though. My thoughts had grown incoherent due to the amount of stress I'd endured, and my mind wasn't working properly.

At least I was out of the fire, though.

Something cold and wet hit me on the side of my head, and I involuntarily shivered. For some reason I felt really, really cold. Another drop hit, and then another. Suddenly it seemed like a wall of cold wetness hit me all at once.

The shivering became violent as I opened my eyes. My vision was clouded and hazy, but from what I could make out it seemed to be raining. The water felt good on my burns, but it was just a little too cold. My body temperature began to drop rapidly.

Instinct kicked in. My will to survive overcame my discomfort as I sat up and looked around for shelter. On my hands and knees, I crawled underneath a nearby tree and collapsed. From somewhere far away I recalled that it wasn't a good idea to get under a tree during a thunderstorm, but at that point I didn't really care. As long as it helped shield me from the freezing rain, I could deal with it.

I must've fallen asleep there, because the next thing I knew the storm had passed and the sun was setting. I tried to sit up, and found that it didn't hurt as much as I'd expected. Surprised, I looked down at myself.

What in the world.....?

The fake emerald was glowing brightly, just like it had when I used Chaos Control. It's gentle, soothing glow had traveled up my arm to encompass my whole body. As I watched, the last remnants of the burns faded away, leaving nothing to indicate they'd ever been there. When nothing was left of the wounds, the emerald's glow faded out.
A faint memory hit me full force: The Chaos Emeralds had the power to heal.

Amazing.

I gazed at the yellowish emerald with new respect. Sonic's fox friend had made a better replica of a Chaos Emerald than even he had realized.

I shivered again, and wrapped my arms around myself in a futile effort to keep warm. Why was I so cold?

The answer was so obvious that I nearly smacked myself in the head for my ignorance. Looking down at myself again, I noted how all of my fur had been burned away, leaving nothing but bare pinkish skin. Normally my fur kept me warm, but now I was deprived of it. For a brief moment I wondered just how horrible I would look to someone else right now.

I looked around myself, for the first time noticing that I was in a forest bordering a large body of water. As soon as this observation registered, thirst made itself known to me. I felt badly dehydrated after being burned so badly, and decided to head for the water first.

I stood to my feet unsteadily and took two steps before falling over. Grunting in surprise, I looked down at my feet. In the place of my hoverskates were two twisted globs of plastic and metal, melted to uselessness.

I banged one foot against the ground, trying to shake off the wrecked shoe. It held on tight, as if it had been grafted there. (It possibly could have, with what I'd gone through.) I tried to pry it off with one hand, but I couldn't work my fingers inbetween the wreckage and my foot. Frustrated, I whacked the emerald against it, and then got an idea.

I gritted my teeth and concentrated. The emerald began to glow again. This would hurt like heck, but it was the only way I could think of to get my mangled skates off.

"Chaos Spear!"

Razor-sharp bolts of green energy lashed out at the melted globs, slicing them neatly open. Pain even more intense than what I'd experienced in the fire suddenly tore through my feet.

The sheer force of the blast knocked me back a couple feet, where I writhed on the ground in agony. I'd never had the Chaos Spear used on me before, and now I suddenly understood why it disabled most of my opponents so quickly.

It seemed like years later that the pain finally faded to nothing. I lay on my back, staring blankly up at the sky and gasping for breath. I sat up and saw a small crater in the ground a couple feet away, marking the spot where I'd used the Chaos Spear. On either side of the crater were what had once been my hoverskates.

I slowly got to my feet, wincing as I stood on their sore soles. I resumed walking toward the water, but not without stumbling several times from the pain in my feet.

I started to think as I walked (and stumbled). Why had Maria wanted me to survive? She had mentioned something about the world needing me.....but what did it need me for? What use was I to anyone while I was in this condition?

"Maria," I muttered, "help me. Show me what I need to do."

I walked off toward the water, vanishing between the trees. What life had yet in store for me, I did not know. But I had survived like Maria wanted.

And right now, that was all that mattered.

A queer rumbling interrupted my thoughts, and I blinked. Looking around in confusion, I couldn't see what could possibly have made the noise. Shrugging, I continued to walk. The rumbling repeated itself, but this time I identified the source. I looked down at my stomach and sighed.

Correction: it was ONE of the things that mattered.

I looked around helplessly. Great. Where was I gonna get some food? I had no idea where I was, or even if anything here was edible. With my luck, the first thing I tried to eat would be poisonous.

Gee, what a lovely thought.

I looked at the emerald again. Maybe I should just teleport around at random until I found a city or something. No, wait, bad idea. I forgot this planet was 70% ocean. The odds were likely that I'd teleport myself into a salty grave. Well, maybe I should use a different Chaos Skill, then. Let's see, what Skills did I know with the yellow emerald? Uh, Relocate, Quick, Boost, See, um.....dang, I wish Sonic's friend had made a replica of the Gray Emerald. I was a lot more familiar with that color. Oh well, work with what ya got.

I raised the emerald above my head, closed my eyes, and concentrated. Hard. "Chaos Control!" I shouted suddenly, my eyes snapping open. Yellowish energy surrounded my feet, which instantly felt a lot lighter and less clumsy than before. I took one step forward, and then I was running. Ah yes, Chaos Quick--the speed booster. Gotta love it.

I was cruising at speeds that even Sonic would consider fast, and I wasn't even using my skates now. I'd never tried this Skill without them, but now that I was I noticed things about this Skill's effects that I didn't before. Namely, the fact that it lifts the user off the ground on a cushion of air, thereby reducing friction. The upside of this is that I could run without stumbling, because my feet were hardly touching the ground anyway. There was a downside, too, but I couldn't think of it at that moment.....

I noticed a large rock ahead. Yikes, time to slow down. Um, how do you slow down? Oh, wait, I thought I remembered what Sonic always did to brake.....I attempted to imitate his style by leaning backwards on my heels and digging two ruts in the dirt.

Believe me, that's the last time I'll ever try to do anything like Sonic does. My attempt didn't have any effect, and I continued to fly forward. My eyes widened. Damn, now I remember what the downside to Quick is! No brakes!!

So, I chose the only action left to me: I jumped.

This will not end well, I thought as I tumbled out-of-control through the air, arms and legs waving wildly like an unrestrained pinwheel. This will not end well at all.....

The top of the boulder soared underneath me.....along with the edge of a cliff.

.....I hate it when I'm right! My thoughts screamed.

I look down at the panoramic view of a wide valley bottom, with a dried-up riverbed at its center. My mind started up a triple-C (Chorus of Colorful Curses) when I saw how big the drop was.

No choice left now; I had to use a random teleport. I concentrated, trying to focus enough to mentally activate the Chaos Relocate Skill while I'm falling. Kinda difficult to do when my heart's going fast enough to break the sound barrier, though.

Come on, come on, come on.....

"Chaos Control!"

Nothing happened, and I continued to fall. Darn. Okay, just ignore the vertical rock face flying by you on one side, and concentrate. Try again.

"Chaos Control!"

Still nothing, although I thought I heard a small crackle of energy. Out of sheer frustration, I hit the emerald with my free hand a couple times. Dammit, work you lousy synthetic piece of--

KRZAP.

* * *

--------------------

?????

July 10, 3236

8:29 p.m. CMT (Central Mobian Time)

--------------------

Well, this was just typical.

After getting the hell scared out of me by taking a head-first dive over a cliff, I finally managed to get the Fake Emerald to teleport me. And, of course, it deposited me fifteen feet in the air.

Upside-down.

Above a concrete road.

Which is how I woke up hours later with the grandmother of all headaches, several bruises, a shallow gash above my left eye, and a very irritated attitude. Don't ever believe what you see in the books and movies, were people frequently get KO'd and wake back up with nothing more than blurred vision and some swimmy atmospheric special effects. Trust me, when you get knocked out, it HURTS to wake up. It hurts a LOT.

Needless to say, I wasn't exactly thrilled when the first sentient being I saw was (you guessed it) a human. And not even a fully-grown human either, but a little male pup probably no older than twelve. My first impulse was to Chaos Spear the little jerk to ashes. My second impulse was to Chaos Spear the little jerk to ashes, resurrect him as an undead zombie slave, strangle him, and have him toss himself of the cliff where I'd nearly died.

But then I reminded myself that I didn't know the Chaos Skills I needed in order to do that. At least, not with this color Emerald.

This revelation didn't improve my mood any.

"Hi Mister!" The little brat waved at me, speaking in a sickeningly-cheerful voice. "Wha'chu doin' out 'ere?"

The look I gave in response from where I sat could've withered the skin off a rhinoceros. The kid wasn't even fazed. "You lost or som'thin'?" He asked, full of naive curiosity.

I rolled my eyes. "None of your buisness." I finally muttered. "Scram."

Apparently this guy was too dense to take this not-so-subtle hint for him to leave. He bent over next to me and studied my injuries carefully. "Gee whiz Mister, what happened to YOU? D'jou get mugged or som'thin'?"

I gave him a sharp look. Of all the rude, tactless--! Heck, he sounded like I did when I was that age! And just so you know, that's not a good thing.

"Shut up." I snarled. "Go away. Just leave me alone."

He pointed at the cut above my eye. "You know, you really oughta get that looked at, mister."

I could see the logic in this statement, but I was in no mood to be agreeing with any human spawn at the moment. I slapped his hand away. "No thanks, not interested."

He continued to hover over me, refusing to give me a moment's peace. Finally I gave him an irritated look. "Don't you have something better to do than bother injured strangers?" I growled.

He grinned. To my infinite disgust, he then sat down beside me and began talking like we were equals. "Well, sure. I could be trying to destroy the world with a big round piece of space junk, like my great-grandpa tried to do. But I'd rather do stuff that's not so homicidal."

I blinked. "Wait.....what did you just say?"

"I'd rather do stuff--"

"No, no, before that. Your great-grandfather tried to destroy the world?"

He nodded slightly, looking down at his feet. "Yeah." He admitted quietly. "Tried to make a big station called ARK hit Mobius. Can you believe that?"

I'm staring openly at him now, a mixed range of emotions ragin within. "What was this great grandfather of yours called?"

"Uh, Gerald, I think." He cocked his head to one side at me. "Why, you heard about him?"

I blink, an odd expression on my face. "I knew him personally."

He arches an eyebrow at me. "Huh? You don't look THAT old."

I cock one corner of my mouth upwards bitterly, looking away and staring at nothing. "Yeah, being frozen for five decades has a way of doing that to you."

His eyes grow wider than dinner plates and he leaps to his feet, face white. "Oh my gosh, I know who you are!" He cries, tugging insistently on my arm. "You're Shadow! Gerald's last creation, the one caught by GUN! Quick, I've gotta show you to Dad, he'll be so happy! He's been wanting to meet you!"

I look up at him. So, this was the latest in the Professor's family line. I've always wondered if he had any other extended family besides Maria and Eggman. I stand up and allow him to lead me down the road, deciding that I might as well relieve my curiosity. "What's your name, kid?"

"Ben! Ben Robotnik!"

I cock that corner of my mouth up again, but this time there is no trace of bitterness in it. "Heh, I always thought that was a weird last name for the Professor to have. Pleased to meet you. Who might this dad of yours be?"

"He's Gerald's grandson, and brother of some mean guy called Ivo who ran away a long time ago and never came back." Ben began to chat amiably with me, walking with me down the road to what looked like a small human settlement in the distance. It turns out that Ben was the son of Maria's parents, who had to stay behind on Mobius when she went up to the ARK. At one point, both his eyebrows shot up in surprise when I continued to ask questions about his family. "What, didn't Auntie Maria tell you all about them?"

I stopped walking, closed my eyes, and bowed my head at the mention of her name.

He kept walking for a few feet before he realized I wasn't following. He turned, and, upon seeing my expression, his eyes widened again. "Oh, sorry." He amended sheepishly. "I shouldn't have brought her up--I forgot for a second about what Dad said happened up there when.....um, you know.....when you got caught."

A few gut-wrenching seconds pass before I can answer. "No, it's okay," I reply without looking up, voice thick with emotion. "You knew Maria?"

"Not really. I've just heard 'bout her from dad, he knew her real well 'cause he was her brother."

I look back up at the distant group of houses and started walking with Ben again, my pace now much more earnest than before. Suddenly, I couldn't wait to meet this man.

* * *

Stoney: Yeah, I know what you're probably thinking: "What's this? Isn't this that Mind Games fic 'For You'?" Well, yes, it WAS.....until I realized exactly how much farther I could take this story. Now it is my second What If fic, coinciding with the events of my first one (What If Sonic and Metal Sonic Switched Places?).

I did this for several reasons.

            1. I was never happy with leaving 'For You' open-ended like it was.

            2. I thought it'd be cool if both What If fics required reading to fully understand their stories, similar to how both the Hero and Dark sides had to be played to          fully understand the events of SA2.

            3. Shadow is such a friggin' fun character to write for. Hey, we all know it's true.

Stoney: Needless to say, this decision will make many hopeless fangirls quite happy, and many readers with short attention spans quite sad. But that's life. And stuff.

Shadow: I seriously dislike the way you portrayed me. I do NOT get that emotional!

Stoney: Where'd you come from?

Shadow: Don't change the subject! Why the HECK did you make me act like that?! I swear, if you don't give me a good reason, I'll do to YOU what I wanted to do to Ben when I first saw him.

Stoney: (sweatdrops) Er.....artistic license?

Shadow: This isn't art.

Stoney: Then.....um.....well, the thing is.....(points over Shadow's shoulder) OH MY GOSH WHAT'S THAT BEHIND YOU?! (flees)

Shadow: HEY! Get back here!! (runs after Stoney)

And so, the chase begins.....