Shadow walked through a forest as sunlight peaked out of the skyline. He didn't know how much time passed since his little space adventure with those six weirdos but with Emerl escaping, Stone disappearing with Omega, and Rouge was… doing whatever she does he's been on his own. But his thoughts wandered back to that alien.. I think he was called Klink or something said to him. `Royalty of the Black Arms race` honestly what was he speaking about. But something still plagues his mind. His memories just stop coming back leaving him with more questions than answers. As he walked to a hill he stopped and crossed his arms as he looked over a city.
[Knoxville, Tennessee]
Shadow looked it over with a frown not feeling the newspaper hit his leg notifying the return of the Black Comet. He didn't care much about the view or any intention of heading into the city as he stayed in deep thought.
"Shadow… that was my given name. It's one of the few things I can remember. Along with that girl, Maria. But why is she connected to such gruesome images?" Shadow thought as he closed his eyes with gritted teeth as a memory passed his mind. A long hallway, the sound of footsteps and heavy breaths. Maria's face full of confusion and fear, and finally a gunshot and blood on his hands.
Shadow signed as he opened his eyes. "What happened that day? Why does it make my heart clutch with dread and anger?" He thought looking up at the sky only to finally notice the deep red clouds rolling in resembling bloody mist as thunder came out loud and annoying to Shadow's ears. Just then an opening appeared above the city as creatures started to fall from the sky. Ugly and definitely alien as chaos erupted in the city as civilians ran and the aliens started to movei through the city with ease either tearing them apart or firing alien weaponry at them.
But Shadow just didn't care if anything it was annoying to hear the screams that made him shake his head. "Hmph, pathetic humans let them save themselves. I don't have time for this." Shadow said to himself as he turned his back to the city ready to leave to find a quiet place to think, figuring that it could be someone else's problem.
"Shadow…" Shadow stop dead in his tracks at the sound of that voice. His body stiffen reflexively as he turned to the voice only to see… A flying Starfish? It was a black and dark purple starfish-like creature with six black-tipped squamous probes and a brutally large red-orange eye in its center. Emerging from its eye and moving along its limbs, it has six blood-red lines. But Shadow knew better there was something else that was causing his body to stiffen and he got his answer when a hologram of Black Doom appeared in front of him.
"My only heir, as you can see the promise time is among us." Black Doom announced while Shadow just stared in confusion and mild annoyance.
"Promise time? Only Heir? What are you talking about? Wait, who even are you?" Shadow questioned, not understanding what this thing was talking about. But Black Doom stared as his three eyes narrowed onto Shadow. Shadow immediately felt nauseous, everything going black for a few seconds until his mind managed to focus again but he struggled to think properly as Black Doom continued.
"I see… Hahaha oh that old fool. To give you such an emotional attachment to a human. Oh well, all will be explained in due time Shadow. Collect all Seven Chaos Emeralds and in return I will help restore your memories. Hurry, the first is close and I feel humans gathering around it." Black Doom explained as his hologram disappeared and the Starfish flew away.
"Hey wait a second?!" Shadow demanded only for multiple explosives to explode in front of him, blinding his vision for a second until the dust settled leaving him standing there alone. He looked up to notice multiple GUN helicopters already assaulting the city. Now that he thought about it there were less screams coming from the city. He looked at the city again already feeling the emerald Black Doom talked about.
"Just what was all of that about? He seemed to know who I am and if he does know the secrets of my past… Then like it or not I have to believe him for now." Shadow stared out at the city, his eyes narrowing already knowing what Black Doom meant. "The Chaos Emeralds huh. Fine, I'll bite for now."
With that final thought he skated off the hill and entered the city he moved through the streets looking out for any sign of the Chaos Emerald. All around him there was chaos with those black creatures and GUN forces battling out in the streets. He didn't care as he made a turn as he dodged more of the groups fighting until he couldn't as he had to dodge multiple explosives fired at him. Turning he saw GUN soldiers on motorcycles chasing him. He was more surprised at the fact they were keeping up with him only to notice the glow of their armor and motorcycles. It was powered by Chaos Drives.
"Target located! Switch to containment protocol priority order, by command of the G.U.N. Directorate!" one barked into his headset.
Shadow's eyes narrowed, his annoyance mounting. He dodged gun fire as he took a sharp right as they all followed he teleported now running behind the group and launched Chaos Spears into their tires causing them all to crash into a building as he continued to make his way through Knoxville.
Then he saw a museum already mostly destroyed as GUN soldiers drove away with multiple of those flying Black Creatures following. Shadow immediately knew that the emerald was with them and turned to the museum one more time seeing the name. McClung Museum of Natural History & Culture. He turned away and skated forward following them.
"Shadow." Black Doom said through the starfish floated back down to his side keeping up with his speed. "My eye will track your progress while I remain on the Black Comet. Take out anything in your way whether it be the pathetic humans or the Black Arms. Assert yourself as the strongest." He told him while Shadow frowned.
"You still haven't given me your name." Shadow said as he took a left turn still following the very fast truck.
"Ah, well since we have time why not. I'm Black Doom, leader of the Black Arms race." Black Doom stated and Shadow starred at the Starfish.
"Such an original name." Shadow said.
"Watch your tone Shadow." Black Doom told his finest creation with annoyance clear in his tone as he continued to follow Shadow through the streets
Ahead, the G.U.N. convoy swerved around an intersection littered with alien wreckage. Shadow accelerated making just behind. Then suddenly the truck's back doors burst open making him jump back then begin to skate again; two armored soldiers fired sustained plasma rounds, their suits gleaming with Chaos Drive energy. Shadow spun midair, Chaos Spears bursting from his hands hitting the gun causing them to shut down.
He then moved forward and jumped above the convoy and slammed a kick into the asphalt in front of the convoy. GUN's lead vehicle screeched to a halt. The soldiers froze. Then the asphalt shook again, not from Shadow.
Shadow turned his head as the pavement split open. A massive bipedal mech rose from an underground carrier easily two stories tall, its hull gleaming metallic silver with the G.U.N. insignia plastered across its torso. Its visor glowed blue as heavy thrusters activated, kicking up a storm of dust.
"Designation: Omega-Class Combat Mech," a mechanical voice boomed. "Target: Shadow. Capture at all costs."
"He somewhat resembles Omega." Shadow thought as he watched the robot turn its full attention to him
The mech lunged, punching down hard enough to send a shockwave rippling through the street. Shadow dodged, skating up a shattered wall and launching off when he flipped to gather more momentum and slammed a kick straight into its shoulder joint. Sparks exploded as its arm jerked. But the mech rotated faster than he expected and slammed him into a building.
Shadow groaned, rising from the debris. "Not bad… for a tin can."
Shadow landed on his knees, the pavement cracking beneath him as smoke rose from his form. The mech's heavy steps shook the ground again as its arm reconfigured, metal grinding loudly.
"I grow tired of these worthless distractions," Shadow muttered, his voice low and sharp. Energy flickered across his gloves, the faint orange of Chaos energy ready to burst.
The Omega-class mech unleashed another blast from its shoulder cannons, scattering debris in all directions. Shadow darted forward, weaving between incoming rounds, his body bending and twisting in razor precision. He formed a Chaos Spear mid-run and hurled it straight at the mech's chest. It hit, flaring light like a miniature sun, but the machine emerged through the explosion with armor still intact.
"Adapting to Chaos-based weaponry," the mechanical voice announced. "Increasing power output by seventy percent."
Shadow clicked his tongue, glaring at the sparking metal giant. "So that's how it's going to be."
He sprinted toward the mech again, this time vanishing in a flicker of orange light as he warped above it.
"Chaos Control." Midair, time seemed to stop, the world slowed into muted silence. Shadow immediately started slamming punches and kicks into the robots. As he shut off Chaos Control the robot was sent back as circuits burst in brilliant showers, and the machine stumbled backward a few more times, gouging the street with its weight. The impact sent waves of wind spiraling outward, rattling windows across ruined storefronts.
Shadow landed, skidding several feet. "That's for the noise," he said flatly.
The mech's systems sparked and rebooted. From within its shattered chest compartment, a glow emerged from a fragment of multiple Chaos Drive, fed into its core. At once, it became clear why the machine fought so fiercely.
"That explains it, but how come they have so many drives?" Shadow said quietly. He clenched his fists and launched forward, a streak of orange light tracing behind him. The mech countered with pulse weaponry, but each strike bent around his silhouette, distorted by the chaotic energy tearing reality itself. When he reached its chest, he thrust both palms into the core as his body began to glow as the drives started to become black.
"Chaos... Blast!"
A surge of light consumed the street. Energy warped, windows shattered, and the mech disintegrated into molten fragments. When the light faded, silence returned aside from the faint hum of the truck holding the Chaos Emerald.
"You're one step closer," came Black Doom's voice through the hovering starfish.
Shadow didn't look up. "Is that supposed to mean anything to me? All I see are more ghosts."
The red clouds above churned darker, the air thick with heat and alien screeches. Distant explosions ripped through the skyline while the alien army advanced. Shadow ripped open the cargo and dodged a bullet throwing Chaos Spears into the soldiers, all of them falling to the ground as he progressed to a small case. He tossed it outside and walked over slamming a kick into the case causing it to dent. He then managed to rip it open as he saw a red Chaos Emerald. He grasped it and just like the other emerald it dissolved and entered his body.
"Excllent two of the seven emeralds have been collected. As a reward I believe you deserve a… Reward." Black Doom said through the starfish while Shadow scowled.
"Whatever reward you speak of I don't need it." Shadow said, turning his back to the starfish. "Now where's the next emerald?" He questioned as Black Doom chuckled.
"And what made you think you had a choice to not accept your reward." Black Doom said and Shadow turned only for a black mist to explode out of Doom's eye making Shadow's eyes widen as it entered his body. Shadow's breath hitched as the black mist burned through his veins like acid. Static surged behind his eyes, voices overlapping, metal screams, and a heartbeat he didn't recognize as his own. His form convulsed violently as his own shadow warped beneath him, twisting into shapes that clawed at the ground.
Images burst through his mind, uncontrolled.
The first thing he felt were chains and a muzzle on his mouth.
Cold steel bit into his wrists and ankles, cutting against skin already raw from struggle. His breaths came shallow and sharp, fogging the inside of the muzzle with every panicked exhale. Harsh fluorescent lights burned through the darkness, stabbing into his eyes. The air was thick with antiseptic, metal, and something else — blood, faint but fresh.
Figures in white coats circled him, their faces ghostly behind glass visors. Clipboards clicked. Machines whirred. His heartbeat pounded louder than all of it.
"Subject is conscious," one voice said flatly.
"Good. Let's begin."
The hum of the generator deepened and then came the shock.
Lightning crawled through his veins, setting every nerve on fire. He jerked violently, the chains rattling like laughter against the steel table. The muffled scream that tore from his throat was swallowed by the muzzle, reduced to an animal's cry.
"Increase voltage," another voice commanded.
The second wave hit harder. His vision split into streaks of red and white. His muscles locked, every cell screaming as the current arced across his body. He could smell his own flesh burning beneath the restraints. The scientists watched, taking notes, detached.
"Response pattern consistent. Regeneration attempting to compensate," someone observed.
"Push it further," came the reply.
The electricity surged again. His back arched, chains creaking under the strain. His eyes flared, crimson energy leaking from the corners. For a split second, the muzzle cracked with the force of his breath, a growl that wasn't human.
"Stop!" an old voice shouted from somewhere behind the observation glass… was that Gerald? Wait, who was Gerald? Was this a memory? "You'll kill him!" Gerald shouted.
The room froze. The lead scientist didn't look up. "He can't die," they said coldly. "That's the point, right. After all, you were the one to create him."
The current hit him one final time and everything went white.
Shadow slowly came back to consciousness; he smelled the familiar smell of a hospital room.
"Shadow!" Shadow felt arms wrap around him in a crushing hug.
"Ma…ria?" Shadow questioned even if he wasn't the one to say it. This was definitely a memory. As he sat up and saw Gerald looking down with clenched fist.
"I apologize for what my associates did if I knew I would have stopped them." Gerald apologized. Gerald's voice trembled as he rested a hand on Shadow's shoulder, his eyes sunken from sleepless nights.
"You must understand, my boy… I wish that I could have taken care of your test but it seemed the people who hired me and fund the ARK have different plans."
Shadow blinked slowly, the room flickering between light and darkness. "Test…?" he murmured, trying to focus on Gerald's face. His memories felt fragmented, slipping through his mind like shards of glass.
Maria smiled weakly from the bedside, still holding him tightly. "You're alive. That's all that matters right now."
But her warmth didn't last. The walls began to ripple, distorting into metal and static. Maria's image flickered her face, once soft and kind, now streaked with tears and crimson.
The echo of a gunshot rang again.
Shadow snapped back to the present with a violent gasp, his eyes flaring red. The air crackled with residual Chaos Energy, warping the space around him. The starfish floated nearby, its eerie eye fixed on him as Black Doom's silhouette appeared.
"Such pain," Black Doom's voice coiled through his mind, oily and amused. "And yet… It fuels you, doesn't it? The rage. The grief."
Shadow staggered forward, a hand gripping his head as another pulse with Chaos energy. "Stay… out of my head."
"But it is our mind, my boy," Doom replied. "Your blood, your strength, your heritage all flow from the Black Arms. The humans only stole what was never theirs to control."
"Enough!" Shadow roared, throwing a Chaos Spear into the Doom's Eye, sending it flying into a building as it turned into a green mist like the rest. He huffed as he turned away only for a second eye to appear and Doom's silhouette appeared.
"Temper, temper," Doom said with a low chuckle as it shook its head while Shadow snarled, never realizing his fangs had slightly elongated. The sky above flashed with lightning, red streaks tearing through the clouds as another wave of aliens descended in the distance. Shadow clenched his fists, chaos flaring around his form.
"Now then if you want more of your memories you will listen. The next emerald is in that place the humans called The Baxter Building. I will see you there… Shadow." Doom's hologram disappeared and Doom's eye floated away while Shadow watched with a frown.
"Shadow… I'm sorry my Boy."
"Professor." Shadow thought, clenching his fist. Then he was gone heading back to New York. He was not looking forward to whatever that mist did to him.