Chapter Text
There it was. The exit. A radiant beacon marking the end of a long, perilous journey.
He reached out. The light embraced him.
He had escaped.
—
The light’s hold quickly turned on him, throwing him out at full force; white searing his vision, frequencies assaulting his ears as he was propelled back into the corporeal world.
Rebirth.
Or the closest thing to it, Shadow imagined. For it would be a tall tale for one to be born again and on their feet as he had.
He spared a second for himself, registering the returning concept of mass, suddenly feeling more dense, weighted than he did when he was digital particles zipping about the government’s mainframe.
Hm, that’s right. Destroying the United Federation’s centralised data program imbued Shadow with a sadistic twist on success. Assisting the extra terrestrial leader opened an avenue. Not only to discover who he was in all this, but to properly harness a power embedded deep within him. Access to raw strength on a dime. Roots all connecting to a source he couldn’t quite place. Familiar, yet elusive all the same.
Since reappearing in the material world, the effects of said leader’s guidance and the floating sensation of cyberspace were rapidly fading. It left behind a sense of renewal and neutrality, an encouragement to continue walking down a path that would hopefully lead him to definitive answers.
Now that he was thinking about it…
Where am I? He scanned around what appeared to be some kind of computer room, of which he was standing in the centre of.
Cyberspace had no road signs, he simply took the exit that beckoned him after being inexplicably abandoned by the alien lord he was following. Clues about where he was situated were minimal.
Fortunately, his investigation was short-lived.
His ears twitched in response to a chugging sound emitting from up above. He swivelled around, eyes turning towards the clear sky seen through the barred skylight.
Isn’t that… Dr. Eggman?
Passing by, utterly oblivious to his presence, in a spherical mobile unit, was (unmistakably) the doctor. He was moving west, or what Shadow assumed was west from where he was. Perhaps Eggman was headed back to one of his bases nearby. That was usually the case, given his track record — judging by the small sample size of instances Shadow could recall at will.
Although untrustworthy, given he was an adversary before, Shadow had to admit the doctor was clever. Evasive manoeuvres, battle strategies, fortifications… Needless to say, it was more likely than not he held intelligence about the situation at large.
Truthfully, Shadow didn’t really know who he was siding with in the grand scale of things. Not a name to hold against the commands he was delivered. Just posted as a courier — harbinger in a cause he was unconvinced he wanted to herald. He wanted answers, nothing more. To solve the mystery of his missing memories relied on the Chaos Emeralds. To solve the current mystery of the alien invaders, however, was an independent case best concluded by another source.
What better source than the one he had the most convenient access to?
Maybe he can tell me about those black creatures. Eggman could provide some reliable information… If he could chase the doctor down, perhaps coerce him into threading Shadow in the loop… Maybe, just maybe he could make some sense of it all. Have some kind of leverage, understand the gravity — the magnitude of what he was dealing with.
He nodded, affirming and confirming his new plan. It was reasonable enough. What other leads did he have right now? Even the tiniest shred of hope surpassed sufficiency. Knowledge of any kind would mean a great deal, more than ever to someone so swamped by uncertainty.
Purpose restored, Shadow hastened to the way out.
New mission: Follow Dr. Eggman. Question him about the creatures.
Get answers.