Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ Lost Memories, Reborn Evil ❯ What Once Was and What Now Is ( Chapter 10 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Lost Memories, Reborn Evil

Sholay

OK! Wow, never thought I'd be updating this story here again (laughs). But you have EVAboxerdog to thanks for this. Honestly, it just goes to show that reviews really will influence my decisions concerning my stories. For everyone who's wondering what I'm talking about: this story was previously discontinued on this site. Obviously it no longer is, but I don't know for sure what'll happen in the future. Frustration with this site comes only too easily and I haven't yet figured a way around it; but for now, EVAboxerdog, these two chapters are for you!

Summary of story thus far: Sonic is traveling with his brother and sister: Manic and Sonia, when he suddenly as a dream about an alternate past. This past includes all his adventures with the freedom fighters up until the incident on the ARK when they were swept into a black hole. Last chapter, Sonic was knocked unconscious and his brother and sister were taken away by the robots of Robotropolis. Tails and Knuckles are speeding to the rescue and Shadow is hot on the trail of Metal Sonic and the chaos emeralds.

Enjoy!

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Chapter 10: “What Once Was and What Now Is”

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Shadow stared out through the clear walls of his glass containment centre with insipid eyes. All around he could see scientists in white coats pouring over various machines or organic samples which they poked and prodded with sterile metal rods. All this was beyond the wall of his containment centre though and Shadow was not allowed to pass the wall. Letting out a slow breath through his nose, Shadow's eyes swept the air as he turned with a listless movement.

Inside of his containment centre there was an empty food tray that could be folded through the wall, allowing Shadow to be fed regularly without the need of someone having to enter his sterile environment. There was also a simple army cot in the corner and a wall of shelves filled with books that were restocked whenever Shadow left the containment centre for training or testing. A small sequestered area in the corner held a lavatory for his basic needs.

Everything was white: the walls, the ceiling, the floor, even the bed. Everything was clean and white and sterilized and Shadow felt that his very presence was a pox on the room. His ebony spikes defiled the perfect white of the room and his mere touch would befoul its sterile cleanliness. So when Shadow slept, he slept on his side at the edge of the bed, touching at little of the mattress as he could. And when Shadow walked, he paced, circling the least amount of ground over and over in his attempt to shake the lethargy from his limbs. And when he read, he stood not against the wall, taking support from nothing but the inevitable ground.

It was one of the reasons why—when the Doctor once asked if he requested any luxuries—Shadow mentioned white gloves and socks before his cherished books.

Shadow turned with a swift, efficient movement as he came to the end of his pacing route. His arms were folded behind his back as he watched the scientists outside his wall with a vague disinterest that contrasted sharply with his acute, severe eyes.

He had been in this facility since he had been created by the Doctor: exactly twenty days, five hours, thirty seven minutes and thirty six seconds. These white walls, the training centre and the experimentation room were all Shadow had ever seen. But it was not in Shadow's nature to be curious, so every day he went through the same motions and procedures with the rapture of an uninspired robot.

So today—while all the scientists scurried hither and yon with unnatural fervour in preparation for the arrivalof the Doctor's granddaughter—Shadow merely paced, and watched, eyes tracking their movements like a noble hawk eyeing blandly the movements of ants below itself.

And when the Doctor entered the room, tugging a small waif of a girl behind him and looking the most exultant Shadow had ever seen him, Shadow's own expression didn't change—though,when he turned in his pacing,he moved his body in a slow pivotand kept his eyes trained on the tiny girl with golden hair as she hid her head in the Doctor's coat.

When the Doctor drew away from the girl to talk with a scientistshe stood awkward and insecure in the centre of the room, fidgeting with the cloth of her blue dress, her eyes permanently affixedto the ground. Shadow completed another pace and swung around. She was new:a foreign alien in his world of consistency;and the attention Shadow paid her was purely perfunctory.

But when she looked up shyly, golden curls bobbing, as though sensing his attention, her eyes—so blue they made her dress look grey—caught his gaze in an intense look that halted his feet mid-step and his breath half drawn.

In a moment, that one glance between them spanned more than the clear wall and half a dozen feet separating them. It spanned the very laws and fundamentals that separated their two very different lives.

The life of the innocent and the life of the damned.

The girl smiled.

And Shadow stared.

…

When Shadow was exactly a year oldthe Doctor asked him—in a manner that was more joking than serious—if there was something he wanted for his Birthday.

Shadow had answered—with the toneless, bland voice in which he answered all questions—that he wished to meet again the Doctor's Granddaughter.

Certainly, the look the Doctor bestowed on him was one of shock and surprise; Shadow was not inthe habit of requesting things—definitely not things as illogically unproductive as the chance to see someone. The Doctor didn't even know that the two even knew each other.

Nonetheless, the Doctor acquiesced;because once asked, the Doctor never denied Shadow anything. And within a day the girl with curl golden hair was once again standing before him. Only this time she was slightly taller and her hair was slightly less curly.

“So,” The girl put her palms flat on the clear wall standing between them. “Grandfather said you wanted to see me.” She gave a tiny smile.

“Indeed.” Shadow was standing away from the glass, arms folded behind his back. He faced her, and watched her intensely, but she seemed unaffected by his close stare.

“Why?” She cocked her head to the side.

Shadow's eyebrows creased in the slightest frown. He didn't know why he had requested to see her; it was just the first thing he'd thought of. “I do not know.” He answered truthfully.

She giggled. “You're silly! You can't just want to see someone without a reason!”

Shadow felt a stir of—something—within him. This little human was confusing, and illogical. Never before had he been called silly. In fact, the scientists concluded him to be quite above the average intellectual level. Now this girl was proclaiming it aloud, without the slightest concern? How odd. And to insinuate that hewas not telling the truth—it made no sense.

“Well… anyway.” The girl leaned forward and pressed her nose onto the clear wall. “My name is Maria, what's yours?”

“Shadow.” He said.

“Hello Shadow!” She said brightly. “Well, my Granddad also told me it's your Birthday today, so I brought you something!”

“Why?” Shadow asked plainly.

Maria looked at him like he had four heads. “Because! It's your Birthday and everyone gets presents on their Birthday! Haven't you ever had a Birthday before?”

“No.” He said.

Maria suddenly grinned happily. “Oh! So it's your first Birthday! Then I'm so happy to be giving you your first present. Here!” She pulled out something round and flat from her pocket. “It's one of my Aunt's cookies; she makes them taste really good!”

“No, thank you.” Shadow shook his head.

Maria's eyes widened and she looked hurt. “But… but, I brought it for you and I thought…” For an unknown reasonher crushed expression caused a heavy, uncomfortable feeling in Shadow's chest and he relented.

“Very, well. I will accept your gift.”

Maria beamed, immediately happy, and made to call one of the scientists, but stopped when Shadow raised a white-gloved hand.

“No.” He said. “Do not call them.” He walked to the food tray and told Maria how to open it just enough to let the cookie slid through. Shadow did not know what possessed him to do this, but he knew that if Maria called the scientists, they would not have allowed him to have the food. And he knew this would make the little girl unhappy.

Shadow's daily meal consisted of basic nutrients and pills, so this odd, round object was completely foreign to him. He held it up to his eyes.

“Try it!” Maria urged excitedly.

He did.

“So? So? How is it?”

Shadow thought for a moment about what his impression was of the crumbling, textured thing in his mouth. “It is different.” He said at length.

“But is it good or bad?” Maria said impatiently.

“I do not know.” He answered.

Maria was once again looking at him like he was crazy. “Of course it's good! It's really, really good! I mean, now broccoli, ew!” She scrunched up her nose in an amusing way. “Now that tastes bad.”

“Then you will have to bring me one.” Shadow said.

“Why?” Maria asked, bewildered.

“So I will know what is good and bad.” He said logically.

Mariah laughed, Shadow just watched her, wondering at how she could be so happy all the time. “You're so funny!” She said. “I like you! Do you want to be friends?”

“Friends?” Shadow repeated slowly.

“Yes! That means that I'll come and see you every now and again and we can talk and stuff… I'll even bring you some broccoli if you want!” She laughed again.

“Very well.” Shadow conceded., though not reluctantly. “Friends.”

…

When Shadow was three, Maria stayed at the centre over night and snuck in to see him after everyone had retired for the night.

“Psst! Psst! Shadow! Shadow, wake up!”

“Maria?” Shadow asked, instantly awake. He stood, but not before putting on his white socks. “Is something wrong?”

“No, no, don't worry,Shadow. You already worry enough;you'll be old and wrinkly before you're twenty at this rate.” Maria said with a short laugh. Shadow did not answer, but his lips quirked at the end as they had begun to do whenever Maria said one of her amusing comments. “Now come on, I'm getting you out of here!”

“Excuse me?” Shadow questioned, not thinking her heard her right.

“It's just for the night, Granddad says you've only been to three rooms in this entire place, and that's just awful! I wonder how you don't get bored out of your mind!”

“I do not get bored.” Shadow said blandly.

“Right, right, just like you don't get curious, right?” Maria rolled her eyes. “Well, bored or not, tonight you're going to see something you've never seen before. Now just wait.” Maria pulled a card from her pocket then began fiddling with a console on the side. Shadow did not question her, for she was the Doctor's Grandchild, what wrong could she do?

Suddenly, the clear wall parted with a hiss and slid away.

“Come on!” Maria gestured for Shadow to follow her and he did.

The first thing he noticed was that her hair was even more golden without the wall between them. And she had a very distinctive smell around her: sweet, yet not overly so; it tickled his sensitive nose in a way that was not unpleasant.

“Come in here…” Maria ushered Shadow into a different room and as he went in, his could not stop his eyes from widening.

“Isn't it beautiful? These are the windowsto the outside. That is outer space, and those bright shining lights are stars.” Maria gestured as she spoke and walked closer to the window. Shadow found the way the natural light from outside played across her skin just as fascinating as what was through the window itself. “And that,” Maria continued, pointing to something Shadow couldn't see. “Is Earth, where I live.”

Shadow walked slowly, reverently,toward the window and looked down. There, suspended in a void of black, was a spectacular, glowing sphere of blue, green and white.

“Earth.” Shadow said, softly. He had never seen anything like it before.

A few moments passed in silence between the pair, and then Maria looked at Shadow.

“Um… Shadow, I was… wondering something…” She wrung her hands nervously and Shadow felt one of his eyebrows rise: a habit he'd learned from her.

“Yes?” He asked.

“Could I… could I… touch you?” She asked innocently.

Shadow did not know what to say.

“I won't hurt you!” She was quick to add. “I just … want to know what your fur feels like;and if your quills are sharp…” She was turning red.

“…You may…” It was the first time Shadow had been hesitant with his words.

Maria's hand stretched out, trembling at first, then got braver. Her fingertips brushed across the red crest on his head and Shadow gave a tiny jerk. She recoiled a little, but then bravened, and placed her hand fully on his head.

It was the first time someone had touched Shadow. Sure, when he was taken for experiments, the scientists always poked him with various needles and tested the ability of his joints. But whenever they touched him, it was in an informal way, and they always wore gloves.

Maria's hand was warm, and soft.

For the first time, Shadow longed to take off his gloves and touch something, or someone.

Almost as though sensing his thoughts, Maria laughed. “Go ahead.” She said.

Slowly, one finger at a time, Shadow pulled off his gloves. And then he reached up and touched her arm.

A sensation, unlike any he'd ever felt, raced through his arm and down his spine like a bolt of lightning.

“Here.” Maria said gently and she took his hand in hers—he marvelled, silently, at how warm she made him feel—and pressed the tips of his fingers into her wrist. “Can you feel it?”

And Shadow could. He felt the dull, steady throb of her heartbeat as it pulsed into his fingers. He looked up into her eyes—so innocent, and so blue—and when she grinned, he couldn't help but smile as well.

It was then, that Shadow realized that Maria had been the first living creature to ever touch him. And not just in a physical sense; she had touched his heart. A heart he hadn't even realized existed before he met her.

O-o.o.O.o.o.O.o.o.-O

Shadow awoke suddenly.

Blinking in the green sunlight that streamed through the trees, he was instantly awake. He allowed himself the barest of moments to reminisce on the lost memories, before letting the dream fade away into oblivion like the many countless dreams before it.

“Wakey, wakey, Master! Suzu has something very, very important to say to Master! And Suzu must say quickly!” The tiny black bird zipped around Shadow's head in endless circles until Shadow's hand shot out and grabbed the hyper little bird right out of the air. Suzu squeaked as he suddenly found himself clutched tightly in Shadow's gloved hand.

“Speak.” Shadow said.

“Suzu, was just looking for food! See, Suzu doesn't like the wrinkly little seeds that grow near the end of the trees, so Suzu goes really deep to find the perfect seeds! You know, Master, the ones that grow of the tallest trees waaaay up!” Suzu continued to chirp incessantly and Shadow sighed, releasing the bird and rubbing at his temple with one hand. Knowing nothing he would say would make the bird get to the point sooner, Shadow settled for tidying up their temporary campsite. He picked up the white scarf in which he carried Suzu and tied it around his neck.

“But then, just as Suzu was coming down after his nice snack—ZAP!” Suzu, floating in the air, suddenly jerked sharply to the left as though re-enacting the scene. “The evil shiny nearly zapped Suzu's wing off! He did, he did! Suzu is scared just thinking about it, and Suzu's feather's got all messy.” Suzu huffed and puffed out his feather, but if he had been looking for sympathy from Shadow he wasn't going to find it.

“Robots?” Shadow's head snapped around and he narrowed his eyes at the bird. “You saw robots?”

“Yes, yes!” Suzu's wings buzzed excitedly, glad to have Shadow's full attention. “Suzu saw many, many evil robot shinies! They were all over, and ugly, and mean, and nasty—”

“Where did you see them?” Shadow kept the bird focussed.

“This way, Master!” And Suzu disappeared into the trees with a small flap and rustle of leaves.

Shadow swift pursuit was soundless.

O-o.o.O.o.o.O.o.o.-O

When Sonic came to his senses, he found he couldn't see.

Groaning and pulling himself into a sitting position, Sonic rubbed at his eyes blearily and blinked many times, hoping the darkness would lift from his eyes. Eventually, it did recede, but not by much. Instead of pitch black darkness, now Sonic could at least make out general shapes and forms.

It seemed as though he was in some sort of stone cell. Rising to his feet, Sonic found a wall and mapped the cell. It was small, about three normal paces in length and width. The place was completely bare: no table, no seats, no bed, not even any loose stones on the dirt floor. There were no windows, but along one wall Sonic found a heavy wooden door with a tiny three-slit grating that provided the flickering, yellow light source in the cell.

“Huh, you jump one teensy-weensy little guard and they stick you in a cell for all eternity, there's Robotnik's infamous `hospitality' for ya.” Sonic said aloud, then shook his head. “Still… it could've been worse, they coulda executed me, or roboticized me on the spot…” This new revelation made Sonic pause.

`Come to think of it… why DIDN'T they kill me? Or at the very least, take me to Egg-man?'

It was at that moment that Sonic realized he was still wearing his cloak and goggles.

`Of course! The Robots have no idea who I am! To them, I'm just another rebellious citizen!' Sonic grinned at this stroke of luck, but the smile dropped when another thought struck him.

`Sonia and Manic are in trouble! I gotta save them!'

Making his way to the wooden door again, Sonic ran his gloved fingers around the edge until he found the metal plate where the key would fit on the opposite side of the door. `Okay…' Hay thought. `So this is a pretty old lock, it'd probably give if I spun at it for a bit…' Sonic paused.

`Oh wait… duh! Hello! Fire wielding powers here! What am I thinking?!' Sonic smacked himself on the head and drew back his glove to expose the fire bracelet around his wrist. It seemed the Robots hadn't seen fit to relieve Sonic of his personal affects, which suited Sonic just fine. He wasn't going to test karma by questioning the robots' stupidity.

`Serves the Egg-man right for trusting his entire kingdom in the hands of robots anyway.' Sonic reasoned.

Holding his arm straight out, Sonic aimed the fire gem directly at the centre of the door before activating the power of the bracelet.

Sonic felt the familiar surge of ambient chaos energy being pulled into the ring, then converted to thermal energy, before being exuded in a stream of flame. The chaos fire ate away at the rotting wood with ease and Sonic didn't have to wait long before he could stop the fire and kick down the remains of the door.

Sonic stepped through his improvised exit, coughing in the shower of dust and ash that rained down on him and tugging his cloak as it dragged and got caught in the wooden splinters.

The glimmer of flickering amber light brightened as Sonic stepped into the next room.

And stopped, gasping aloud.

Up, up, up and up, Sonic could see floor upon floor of doors—cells; prisons. He was on the bottom floor: wide and spacious, the dirt floor stretched until it hit the dirty brown stone of the walls. Walls which reached up into the sky as far as Sonic could see. There were at least six landings above him, and each was made of a slim metal grating which ran along the walls, leaving a gaping square hole through each floor. Through this hole ran long chains and wires and even, Sonic looked far up into the air: a tall, metal ribbed cage. Cells and cells lined every wall of every floor and if Sonic listened, he could just barely hear the despondent moans of the damned, trapped within this endless dungeon.

Sonic's first, very strong, instinct was to run and free every last mobian trapped in these cells. But when the mechanical buzz of a robotic scanner came from above him, Sonic withdrew back into the darkness of his cell and forced himself to think.

Saving the mobians trapped here would make him responsible for getting them all out… and travelling in a large group would decrease their chances of getting out to almost nothing. If they got caught by the guards there would be casualties. And if Sonic got caught, his disguise would definitely be blown…

Sonic grit his teeth. Only a few days ago, before he'd got his memory back, he would have jumped in and tried to save these mobians without a second thought. He would have called the thoughts we was having just now selfish and disregarded them. He would have caused a big commotion, acted recklessly and stupidly and gotten himself captured. Then Sonia and Manic would have to come and rescue him as usual.

Only Sonia and Manic weren't coming.

Sonic knew the only way he was getting out of the prison alive was if he did it alone.

He hardened himself. But not before making a resolution, a promise, that he would come back and save everyone trapped in these cells.

No matter how long it took.

With that, Sonic lowered his head and ran from the cover of the shadows.

The room was lit by naked amber light bulbs in cages that were scattered around the walls on each floor. They had the eerie effect of turning the entire room a dark reddish-brown colour, but they also left wide areas of darkness in the nooks and crannies of the room. Sonic used this to his advantage. Like a shadow he passed through the areas of light before collapsing in the dark safety behind a crate or in a corner. Occasionally, a buzzing sensor robot would pass overhead, its red laser scanning the area threateningly. But Sonic, cloaked and hidden, was invisible to them, and it was with relative ease that he managed to cross the room and arrive in the stairwell.

The stairs were metal and creaky, but Sonic moved upward swiftly and with light steps. Silent speed was his specialty.

At the very top of the stairs, Sonic only briefly paused before dashing through the doors. Having encountered no problems thus far, he was growing confident.

He left the large room where he'd been imprisoned and moved into a narrow, dark hall, also lined with prison cells. Running swiftly down the long hall, he was more than halfway through when he heard the telltale Clunk! Clunk! of heavy metal feet marching and heading toward him. Sonic skidded to a halt, a sudden, panicked expression crossing his face. There were robots heading his way, and he had nowhere to run.

Sonic looked around frantically for a place to hide. There were no halls branching off and all the cells were locked. He could run away from the robots, but they might sense his movement. Suddenly, Sonic saw a small crack in the wall and, grinning with relief, crouched down and squirmed into it as far as he could. Pulling his knees up and practically rolling into a ball, Sonic just managed to fit. Unfortunately, as he was scrambling into the hole his spikes knocked loose some pebbles, which fell in a shower around him, and the noise alerted the prisoner in the cell nearest to him.

“Hey! Hey! Is anyone out there? Heelllooooo!” A voice called from within the cell. “C'mon!! Anyone! Help me! I've been in here for days, and it's really rather nasty… If you're a guard out there though, would you mind terribly running a bath in here? I simply must wash my hair!... Oh and could you perhaps serve me some rosebud tea in a china cup, two sugars and no milk, if you please!”

Sonic grimaced and cringed at the loud, obnoxious voice coming from the cell. Whoever it was didn't sound like they were going to be quiet until they brought the entire army of robots down on them, and that would be disastrous for Sonic.

“Hey, Hey! Shh! Be quiet!” Sonic hissed.

“Oh! There is someone out there! Hello! Can you help an old chap out here?” The voice answered jubilantly.

Sonic frowned, remembering the guards rapidly nearing them. “No, not just now.”

“But you have to! I can't stand another moment in this awful, grimy cell! Just get me out already! I'll yell really loud and get you caught if you don't!”

Sonic scowled at the nerve of this mobian “Alright, alright! I'll help, just be quiet!”

“Top hole!”

“Sh!”

Sonic pressed himself further into the darkness as the robots neared. Then, as their clunking metal feet passed mere inches before him, Sonic's breath completely stopped as he waited, endlessly, for the guards to walk by. Finally, when their large, gleaming forms disappeared from the hall, Sonic let out his breath in a relieved puff of air.

“Hey you! They're gone now, right? Then get me out! And hurry!”

Sonic grumbled, but did as the voice asked and burned down the door. Soon, a coughing, soot-covered form appeared.

“My! How horrid! Couldn't you have used a less boorish way to open the door?”

And it was then, as Sonic saw the expensive clothes and that signature swagger, that he finally recognized that disdainful, obnoxious voice.

“Bartleby?!” Sonic cried, and pulled off his hood and goggles. The mink looked equally surprised, raising his eyebrows and lowering his eyes with derision.

“Sonic?!”

O-o.o.O.o.o.O.o.o.-O

End Chapter

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Yay! So that's the chapter, thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed and… review! For anyone who doesn't remember, Bartleby is Sonia's old, rich boyfriend. Needless to say, he doesn't much approve of Sonic and Manic. XD

EVAboxerdog: Wow, really? Banned from fanfictiondotnet? That's awful! Well, I really hope you enjoyed the update!

Adio!