Shadow groaned as he awakened, shaking out the rubble that was his unconscious state. Once he came to, he realized that it was morning. He raised himself to one knee and tried to remember the previous day’s events.
‘Amy!’
He whipped his head around frantically for any sign of her, but all he saw in his immediate surroundings was loose leaf and ruined bark. Shadow began to get concerned as there was no way of knowing how long he had been out. His panic increased as he realized something else: his Chaos Emeralds were gone, along with his weapons. Before he could search for them, a beeping noise was heard to his left. He looked and saw a card with a frustratingly familiar insignia. Shadow picked it up and the chortling hologram of Dr. Robotnik came into view. “Good morning, Shadow! I was wondering when you would awaken. Not a morning person?”
“Don’t waste my time with feigned civility and small talk, Doctor,” Shadow growled, “I know you have my lover, my weapons and my Chaos Emeralds. Return them and I will consider letting you live.” Eggman scoffed and said, “My boy, we both know you are in no position to make any sort of demands. No, here is what’s going to happen. You are going to retrieve the final Emerald from Tails and bring it to my battleship, the Huge Crisis, the coordinates of which you will not receive until you have gem in your possession.” Eggman paused to grin mockingly before adding, “Don’t think I won’t be checking. If you do not follow these instructions, Miss Rose will not be returned to you.”
Shadow glared at the hologram. “You forget who you are speaking to, Doctor. I know better than to trust you to keep your word, just like you know better than to assume that I will naively follow your instructions.” To his surprise, Eggman nodded and said, “Yes, of course. I also know that you’re not going to risk your girlfriend’s safety.”
Shadow opened his mouth to retort, but quickly shut it in spite of himself. He thought about it, and Eggman was right. As much as it enraged him, Shadow still did not know what his endgame was, or what he wanted with Amy and her powers. Dr. Robotnik was always increasingly unpredictable the further along his schemes went, even more so if they were good ones.
So, the hedgehog simply said this in response: “Maria and the Professor would be ashamed of you.” Ivo’s hologram frowned, as if he had been waiting for Shadow to bring them up. “Perhaps, but there is the unfortunate matter of their deaths that halts my guilt.
Let me tell you something right now, Shadow. I am not my grandfather. He was a brilliant, well-intentioned scientist, but died a heartbroken madman. My legacy is going to outstrip that tenfold. When I am done, the world will respect the Robotnik name, one way or another, and no one will stand in my way. Not the military, not Sonic, and not you.”
This time, Shadow had a response, but Eggman quickly cut him off, “You may be Gerald’s greatest creation, Shadow, but that means nothing to me. You are no family of mine, and I am done going easy on you. When next we meet, I will be facing you with everything I have. Do you understand?” With a deadly glare, Shadow nodded. “Likewise. I will not be holding back, either.”
“Frankly, I would be insulted if you did,” said the hologram, “Now then, if you will excuse me, I have a tight schedule to stick to. I suggest you hurry and visit Tails; it seems I missed a Chaos Emerald when I raided his workshop. The sooner you get it, the sooner Amy’s safety can be assured. Oh, and one more thing. If you run into Sonic, tell him that he needn’t search for me or try to stop me. He will get his in time.”
With that, the transmission ended, and Shadow incinerated the card in his grasp. The anger curdled inside him as he contemplated his next move. Of course, he wanted to get Tails’ Chaos Emerald and get this over with, but he also had to think rationally, and took deep breaths as he did so.
It would do Shadow no good to handle this on his own this time. The “good” Doctor was on a roll; he had come up with a plan and contingency for nearly everyone. Trying to use force to settle this wouldn’t work, not yet, anyway. No, Eggman was going to have to be outsmarted first. There had to be some factors he hadn’t considered, something he had overlooked or wasn't expecting.
It was this factor Shadow would have to consider as he headed back to civilization. He turned to leave and search for his motorcycle, and to his surprise, he was met by a G.U.N. soldier, the same one who had overhauled said bike. “Specialist Keaton, where did you come from? And what took you so long?” The soldier gave a relaxed salute and answered, “I was here for a while, Shadow. I wanted to be sure it was okay to approach you.” The red streaked hedgehog rolled his red eyes and said, “What, did you think I was going to jump you like a rabid animal?”
Keaton responded in a deadpan tone, “The last soldier who snuck up on you got a bullet to the shoulder for her trouble.” Shadow frowned to hide his embarrassment, as he remembered that incident and still felt bad about it. It seemed he had a reputation to clean up, as well, on top of everything else he needed to worry about. “…Just take me to my bike, Keaton, please.”
‘Amy!’
He whipped his head around frantically for any sign of her, but all he saw in his immediate surroundings was loose leaf and ruined bark. Shadow began to get concerned as there was no way of knowing how long he had been out. His panic increased as he realized something else: his Chaos Emeralds were gone, along with his weapons. Before he could search for them, a beeping noise was heard to his left. He looked and saw a card with a frustratingly familiar insignia. Shadow picked it up and the chortling hologram of Dr. Robotnik came into view. “Good morning, Shadow! I was wondering when you would awaken. Not a morning person?”
“Don’t waste my time with feigned civility and small talk, Doctor,” Shadow growled, “I know you have my lover, my weapons and my Chaos Emeralds. Return them and I will consider letting you live.” Eggman scoffed and said, “My boy, we both know you are in no position to make any sort of demands. No, here is what’s going to happen. You are going to retrieve the final Emerald from Tails and bring it to my battleship, the Huge Crisis, the coordinates of which you will not receive until you have gem in your possession.” Eggman paused to grin mockingly before adding, “Don’t think I won’t be checking. If you do not follow these instructions, Miss Rose will not be returned to you.”
Shadow glared at the hologram. “You forget who you are speaking to, Doctor. I know better than to trust you to keep your word, just like you know better than to assume that I will naively follow your instructions.” To his surprise, Eggman nodded and said, “Yes, of course. I also know that you’re not going to risk your girlfriend’s safety.”
Shadow opened his mouth to retort, but quickly shut it in spite of himself. He thought about it, and Eggman was right. As much as it enraged him, Shadow still did not know what his endgame was, or what he wanted with Amy and her powers. Dr. Robotnik was always increasingly unpredictable the further along his schemes went, even more so if they were good ones.
So, the hedgehog simply said this in response: “Maria and the Professor would be ashamed of you.” Ivo’s hologram frowned, as if he had been waiting for Shadow to bring them up. “Perhaps, but there is the unfortunate matter of their deaths that halts my guilt.
Let me tell you something right now, Shadow. I am not my grandfather. He was a brilliant, well-intentioned scientist, but died a heartbroken madman. My legacy is going to outstrip that tenfold. When I am done, the world will respect the Robotnik name, one way or another, and no one will stand in my way. Not the military, not Sonic, and not you.”
This time, Shadow had a response, but Eggman quickly cut him off, “You may be Gerald’s greatest creation, Shadow, but that means nothing to me. You are no family of mine, and I am done going easy on you. When next we meet, I will be facing you with everything I have. Do you understand?” With a deadly glare, Shadow nodded. “Likewise. I will not be holding back, either.”
“Frankly, I would be insulted if you did,” said the hologram, “Now then, if you will excuse me, I have a tight schedule to stick to. I suggest you hurry and visit Tails; it seems I missed a Chaos Emerald when I raided his workshop. The sooner you get it, the sooner Amy’s safety can be assured. Oh, and one more thing. If you run into Sonic, tell him that he needn’t search for me or try to stop me. He will get his in time.”
With that, the transmission ended, and Shadow incinerated the card in his grasp. The anger curdled inside him as he contemplated his next move. Of course, he wanted to get Tails’ Chaos Emerald and get this over with, but he also had to think rationally, and took deep breaths as he did so.
It would do Shadow no good to handle this on his own this time. The “good” Doctor was on a roll; he had come up with a plan and contingency for nearly everyone. Trying to use force to settle this wouldn’t work, not yet, anyway. No, Eggman was going to have to be outsmarted first. There had to be some factors he hadn’t considered, something he had overlooked or wasn't expecting.
It was this factor Shadow would have to consider as he headed back to civilization. He turned to leave and search for his motorcycle, and to his surprise, he was met by a G.U.N. soldier, the same one who had overhauled said bike. “Specialist Keaton, where did you come from? And what took you so long?” The soldier gave a relaxed salute and answered, “I was here for a while, Shadow. I wanted to be sure it was okay to approach you.” The red streaked hedgehog rolled his red eyes and said, “What, did you think I was going to jump you like a rabid animal?”
Keaton responded in a deadpan tone, “The last soldier who snuck up on you got a bullet to the shoulder for her trouble.” Shadow frowned to hide his embarrassment, as he remembered that incident and still felt bad about it. It seemed he had a reputation to clean up, as well, on top of everything else he needed to worry about. “…Just take me to my bike, Keaton, please.”
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