Her Darkest Shadow

Chapter 3 The Tests

The table I was lying on was cold, and it chilled me to the bones. I couldn't see anything due to the x-ray machine over me, preparing to scan. Everything was black except for the dim light coming off of my Inhibitor Rings, and that unnerved me. Professor Gerald's voice came from the other side of the darkness.

"Alright, Shadow, I'm going to start the machine now. Please remain perfectly still." He instructed. I was about to make a comment about being still for fifty years in stasis when I remembered that, according to them, that was all a dream. The machine started moving, a green light scanning over me, making me want to close my eyes, but the professor had told me not to. I didn't even twitch as I was scanned. This lasted for what felt like ten minutes, and I thought my eyes were going to dry out from not blinking. There was a terrible itch on my arm, and one of my quills was stabbing me in the shoulder. Just before I was about to break, the machine stopped and the professor pulled it away from me.

"You can move now." He told me. I immediately scratched my arm and fixed my quills, closing my eyes to make up for all the times I didn't blink. Professor Gerald laughed. "And that was the shortest one! It was only a couple of minutes long! We might have to put you in stasis if we want to scan any longer!" He joked. I tensed, my eyes locked on him in case he made any sudden movements. He shook his head. "It was a joke, Shadow. Surely I gave you a sense of humor?" He questioned. I smirked.

"I've heard that one before." I replied. The professor frowned and I looked at my feet, aware that I had told myself I wasn't going to reference the past. Or, what they thought was a dream. "In my dream, I mean." I said hurriedly. I didn't want everyone to think that I was going insane and believing in dreams, even though I knew they weren't dreams. Not to mention that, if the scientists on the ARK did think the dreams were an issue, then they might try to wipe my memories, something I was all too familiar with. The professor sighed and put a hand on my shoulder.

"I understand that this might be hard for you, but...everything that you think happened was a dream." He insisted. I hesitated before replying. Was it a dream? It would explain why my memories were all messed up, but... Surely I couldn't have dreamt up all that pain? All the hate? How could I have dreamt up Sonic? Tails? Silver? Blaze? Carly? Silhouette? Knuckles? Cream? Cheese? Virus? The stasis capsule? Everything?! Nonetheless, I nodded solemnly in response to what Professor Gerald had said. Seemingly satisfied, Gerald smiled kindly.

"Great. Now, I'm afraid that we have a few more tests to run." He informed me apologetically. I just nodded again, my mind whirling. How could I prove which one was the dream? Then I remembered something...Virus had fused me with liquid Chaos Energy. It was running through my bloodstream, and it meant that I didn't need a Chaos Emerald to access the Chaos Force. I looked down at my hands.

"Professor," I began cautiously, "are we going to test my Chaos Abilities?"

"Your...what?" I winced slightly, aware that I had done it again. There would be no way to explain myself without one of the Chaos Emeralds, and I could tell that there were none here. Then again...I also felt the energy in my veins. I closed my eyes and let my Chaos Levels surge. I didn't care that I might loose control, because this meant that what had happened wasn't a dream. Unless, of course, this power came with being created from Black Doom's blood. I wondered how much of what I learned about my creation was true to what was going on right now? When I opened my eyes again, the professor looked shocked. "All the tests said that the Chaos Energy didn't transfuse! The results said that you didn't have that power without an emerald!" He gasped, almost whispering. I didn't know whether to be elated or depressed by this news. Gerald grabbed my shoulders, shaking me slightly, with a cry of joy.

"Oh, Shadow, you're perfect! The Ultimate Life Form!" He exclaimed. I smirked slightly. "Sadly, we still have to run tests." He added. Then he turned away to start on the next test.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I was tested on for eight hours straight. My head hurt, and my body was sore. Parts of me didn't hurt in any particular way, they were just in pain. It was nothing compared to the pain I had been through before, so I was able to brush it aside. I wanted to do a bit of investigating around the ARK, to try and figure out what was going on. I didn't exactly want to leave the ARK, but if this was a trap, I needed to know. It felt good to be back home, to be with the professor and Maria, and the other scientists on board. Even the soldiers were tolerable. I wanted to find Crimson. She would know what was going on. She always did. I headed for the section containing the newly activated experiments. I tried to sense her by tapping in to my Chaos Form. I was about to give up when I felt a spark of something. Crimson... I set off at a sprint down the halls, racing to try and find her. I rounded a corner and slammed right into someone. We went sprawling and my head hit the floor hard. I sat up, rubbing my already aching head.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying..." I was cut off. The person I ran in to grabbed me with frantic hands, her eyes filled with disoriented panic.

"The darkness! The darkness is going to get me! It's going to kill me! It's going to kill us all!"