Shadow the Hedgehog 2: Part 2 - Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The Egg-pire Strikes Back

The moon was full and almost all the stores were closed. The streets of Knothole surrounded them with silence as they walked down the empty path. Neither one of them spoke, but that didn't matter, as long they were together.

Maria had never been so happy before. It was by far the best night of her life. Dinner and a dance were very fun. But for Shadow to sing just for her… was the most special thing he had ever done for her.

The rest of the world journey almost didn't matter to her. She even almost forgot about Christmas coming in less than a month. All she could think of was how much she loved him. She really wanted to be more than friends with him more than anything, and after tonight she might have a shot.

"Nothing starts until you take action..."

"You're his best friend, and you're super cute. Shadow's the lucky one."

"Unless your willing to take a chance, you'll risk losing him to another... or worse."

"There's nothing to be ashamed of, Maria. Love is a natural thing."

"Besides, if you and Shadow didn't reunite after all this time, it wasn't meant to be."

"If you spend too much time worrying about it, you'll never get it done."

The words of many kept ringing in her mind. So she decided to take a small step forward in their relationship. Carefully, she wrinkled her hand into her friend's, their fingers intertwining. The sudden contact comes as a surprise to the dark hedgehog, but he smiled a little and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

After a short walk through the woods, they both stopped as they reached the beach. At first, they just stared at the sky and the sea, and then… at each other.

"Maria... you know you're my best friend, right?" asked Shadow.

The girl nodded, a visible hint of pink on her cheeks. "And you're my best friend."

"I would never want anything to get in the way of that."

"Nothing ever could," Maria whispered and leaned a little closer to him.

It was difficult to hold back, and he too leaned closer. "I know…"

"Then... we have nothing to fear..." Instinctively, she started to close her eyes, and she tilted her head a little when she could feel his warm breath on her lips.

"Shadow and Maria..." growled a dark voice. They pulled away and looked toward the source. Beside them, a large humanoid being stood on the waters. "At long last, we face one another..."

The male hedgehog stood between Maria and the unknown figure. "Who are you? And how do you know our names?"

"I am surprised," he replied, "you could have forgotten me so easily, after I slaughtered your people and left you for dead on the ARK."

"You…" Maria gasped with her hands over her mouth.

"Makuta..." Shadow clenched his fists.

"You may have forgotten me, but I will never forget you," Makuta sneered. "You cannot imagine what I have endured to stay alive, fueled by my singular hatred for you both."

"No. We can't. But you shouldn't have come back. We're ready for you this time." Shadow stood, ready to fight.

The being chuckled. "You're either selflessly courageous or laughably foolish… perhaps both. But... I didn't come back alone." Makuta then turned around, his arms thrown up. "Bo amativ, dii yen-zeymah!"

It was as though a curtain had been pulled away when it happened. some form of camoflaging barrier was dispelled, and behind it was a large army of Dark Hunters of many forms and more. Among them, a large number of either Shadow's enemies, Maria's, or both of theirs. Each of them had weapons pointed at the two and other tools.

Makuta then called out the order. Multiple bombs and weapons flew toward them. The G.U.N. agent grabbed his friend and quickly jumped out of the way, but that didn't stop them from their continuous attack. "Strike, brothers! Make the fools pay for our abuse and confinement!"

Once they were a safe distance away, Shadow put Maria down. He could still hear them coming, so he made a decision. "Maria, go to Knothole and get any survivors to safety! I'll hold them back as long as I can!"

Maria hesitated, but she did as instructed. Before she disappeared into the forest, the blonde hedgehog looked back at him. "Shadow! Take this!" She threw her Chaos Emerald at him and then flew as fast as she could.

Shadow stood his ground. While dodging multiple bullets and missiles, he wasn't able to dodge the shockwaves they produced. So even with two Chaos Emeralds, he was knocked down multiple times.

Soon, he was surrounded. They were about to attack when Makuta ordered the cease-fire. He approached Shadow slowly. "And where is Maria?"

Shadow glared at his enemy. "Probably halfway to New Knothole by now. She'll warn the-!"

"The land you speak of is already no more," the robot commander cut in. "My brother-in-arms, the one they call Eggman, has already decimated the area while we distracted you two."

Shadow was shocked. It was all just a diversion. He would have started for Knothole to save Maria, but with one quick throw of the wrist, Makuta punched Shadow in the forehead with all his might. The Ultimate Lifeform fell to the ground, unconscious. With this done, the Dark Kendov removed the ring on Shadow's finger and placed it on his own. 'At last… now only one remains.'

Meanwhile, farther away, the blonde hedgehog was quickly making her way through the dense forest. She didn't look back in the direction of Shadow and the Legion, else she would've changed her mind and disobeyed. Soon, she saw light coming from the forest. Maria was almost there.

She popped out of the bushes. But what she saw made her spine run cold. The entire city was in shambles. Some parts were still burning from the attack, but no one building was left in one piece. Uncle Chuck's diner, the Ring Grotto, Freedom HQ… they were all gone.

She quickly glided through the ruins. "Sonic! Chris! Sally!" she shouted but no one answered. "Mom! Dad! Amy!" Still no response. "Anybody…?" She was all alone. She tried to hold back, but all she could do was cry. They were all gone, and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Maria!" cried a voice from behind. Jack the robot flew in behind her. He was outside of the city before the attack.

"Jack!" She ran over and embraced her bionic buddy. "What happened? Is anyone else still around?"

"You're the only one I've found so far," he replied. "It's Eggman! He– !" He suddenly saw the old man behind her. He wore a mechanical glove and aimed it at them. "Look out!" He pushed her out of the way, and a beam of energy barely missed them. However, the harsh fall injured her wing.

"It's about time we found you, Maria," the old man said.

His cousin turned around in fear. Her heart pounded, and her stomach ached. Tears came to her eyes. "Ivo, what've you done?" she said. "My family… all my friends… you… they're…!"

"Captured," interrupted Eggman. "What you just witnessed was an enhanced teleportation beam. They've all been sent to the Egg Vineyard, a prison made especially for them. It's all over; I've won."

"B-But why not me?"

"Silly girl. You are far too valuable for the Eggman Empire. I created you! You will do what I say, when I say! Got it?"

Maria was silent. Seeing the damage surrounding them, she was also just as scared. She wasn't sure what to do, so the hedgehog girl took a few steps back.

"You still defy me, do you?" Eggman turned to the robot beside her. "Metal Shadow, seize her."

Jack stared angrily. "You ain't the boss of me, Baldy McNosehair! She's my friend, and I-!" Suddenly, he quickly kicked off.

"Wha...?" Maria grew worried. "Jack? JACK?!"

Eggman grinned. "Ah, yes... my soft-reboot defiance kill-switch... I see you forgot to remove that."

When he turned back on, two red optics showed where his green ones once were. "Priority one: capture hedgehog." Jack, now Metal Shadow once more, turned and walked toward Maria coldly, who stepped back in fear. As he adhered the Doctor's word, his eyes kept shifting colors, as does his personality. Jack was fighting Metal Shadow from the inside. "No... Affirmative. No. Neg-! Affirmative! NO!" But Metal Shadow overcame Jack, and he grabbed her by the non-injured wing.

An evil smile came over the Doctor. "Excellent. Now, let's go home." He then blasted Maria and Metal Shadow with the teleportation beam, and then he shot himself.

When the blinding light settled, Maria looked around. She wasn't in the remains of New Knothole anymore. All around her, Sonic, the Freedom Fighters and everyone else hung over her. They were all restrained within glass orbs and bundled up like clusters of grapes.

She also saw that she wasn't the only one outside of a prison cell. Behind her stood the attackers from back at the beach. Maria reached for her Chaos Emerald, but she had forgotten she gave it to Shadow.

Speaking of which, where was he?

Eggman appeared next to her. He grabbed a microphone, and addressed the crowd above. "Ladies and gentlemen, Mobians of all ages," he began, "I want to thank you all for such an entertaining resistance for so many years. It's made creating my glorious empire far more exciting and enjoyable. But in every game, there are winners, and there are losers. And as you know, in my game, I never lose."

"You might wanna double-check the rule book, Ro-butt-nik!" shouted Sonic.

"Zip it, you dolt! Now, I'm gonna demonstrate just what this prison can do. The process will be accelerated, but not less potent so that you'll all be good and terrified before the end. And just to be safe, I'll use my new prime source of power… aside from the Emeralds, of course." He pulled a lever in front of him.

A giant metal claw reached out from below and plucked a cell. Then it pulled it back to in front of the control panel. The glass orb contained a certain G.U.N. agent, who was just coming to his senses. Maria and the other Mobians gasped.

"Wha… Where am I?" asked Shadow.

The old man turned to his henchmen. "Eclipse, would you care to do the honors?"

The alien cackled. "Gladly." He approached the control panel and pulled a switch.

A surge of electricity coursed through his body. The Ultimate Lifeform grunted in pain all the while. Everyone watched, and some looked away in horror. Even Sonic was frightened now.

"Using the finest technology to date," explained he evil genius, "this prison can extract Chaos energy from anything, or anyone, and convert it to power for our battle station, the Dark Egg. Granted many of you have little energy if any at all. But Shadow here accumulates Chaos energy gradually, which in turn fuels his strength and speed. But if too much is extracted from him at once…" Eggman put a finger under his chin and slid it across his neck.

Maria the hedgehog cried as she watched everything, shouting, "Ivo, no! STOP! PLEASE!"

Eggman looked at her with a smirk. "Accept my offer, and I'll give the orders." He turned back toward the black alien. "More power, Eclipse."

Tears of pain formed in the Ultimate Lifeform's eyes. He couldn't break free.

Eclipse, it seemed, enjoyed the most of every second. "Nice try, brother!" he stated. "But Robotnik made this cell just for you. You'll keep enough energy to live, but not enough to escape."

Maria went to jump at the imprisoned Shadow, but as soon as she took a step, something seized her arm. She turned to see a mutant reptilian creature holding her back. Even more frightening: she knew it was... "Espio?!"

"It's your decision:" Eggman reiterated. "Do as I say; Shadow lives, or Shadow dies; you become prisoner!"

"Maria…." choked Shadow through the torture. "Don't listen…"

"Silence!" Eclipse pulled the switch even further.

A hoarse scream arose from Shadow's throat as electricity surged through his body.

The blonde hedgehog couldn't take another second. She fell to Eggman's knees with tears running down her cheeks. "Okay! Okay! I'll do it! I'll do whatever you want!" wept Maria. "Just stop torturing Shadow! Please!"

"That's better… shut it down," Eggman ordered.

"In a second. This is the best part."

"NOW, ECLIPSE!" After that loud shout, the alien angrily shut down the machine. Shadow was silenced and relieved. Eggman smirked as he pulled Maria up to her feet. "Put him back in place… we'll finish him off later."

"What?!" Maria's eyes shot open. "B-But you said…"

"Rule number one: Never trust anyone," the old man said with a grin. "Besides, I'm going to need some means of keeping you in check. Welcome to the Dark Egg Legion!"

As the legion left and dragged a heartbroken Maria along, Rouge watched the whole scenario from above. Tears came to her eyes, because she thought the world was now unprotected because of her.

Later that same night, Maria and Eggman were left alone in her new room. She sat in a chair, her head down. He paced the floor, constantly looking at her.

Simultaneously, he was turning his attention to the monitors of his computer. There was a news broadcast of an attack Eggman ordered. Many Dark Hunters and other members of the Legion were decimating Station Square. The Doctor flipped the channel several times revealing other cities under attack. London, Beiging, Tokyo, Rio de Jinaro, Paris... "You know, I should probably thank you," he said. "What with you distracting that blue loser and the rest of his friends, I've conquered more of the Earth in a few short months than I have in over two decades."

"Why are you doing this, Ivo?" the former human asked. "What do you want from me?"

"Have you ever wondered why I re-created you?" he asked back. "As you can see, I am elderly and past my prime. The more so I become, the more I think about my life's work. I feared that it would eventually fade away with me. The only solution… is an heir. An apprentice." He looked at her. "That's where you fit in. Being a descendant of my grandfather, you are my last living relative. Young, agile, and in your prime, you are the heir of all this. The Princess of the Eggman Empire!"

Maria was surprised at what she had just heard. "You… made me to be a… princess?"

"Yes… yes, I did," Eggman laughed. "And with your help, and with those meddling Freedom Fighters finally out of the picture, I'll not only take over the world… It'll live on after I die!" He then escorted her to her new room so that Maria could get some sleep. "Now, rest up, cousin. You've got much to learn for global domination."

Maria collapsed on the floor, and tears flooded her eyes. The odds were stacked against her and the others. There seemed to be no options. "No," she told herself, "don't break down. I have to stay strong. Shadow will find a way. He will rescue me!"

Suddenly, the hedgehog girl heard a knock on the door. Thinking it was the Doctor, she quickly opened it, but she was wrong... It was Orbot. "Hello. Odd request..." he gestured to a pile of broken parts. "Could I trouble you to reassemble my dismantled cohort?"