Infinite Sadness

The Chosen One

In a dream...

Shadow stands in the Ark, staring out a panoramic window at the peaceful view of planet Earth. Expecting to see Maria, he looks to his side and sees Tikal instead.

"I see you've become quite the lucid dreamer," she notices. "Shadow, do you remember who you are?"

"Hello, Tikal. I'm Shadow the Hedgehog. I was born on the Ark. I battled the Biolizard in space to protect planet Earth. While I was burning up in the Earth's atmosphere, you embraced me and brought me to another dimension. Now I'm older, wiser and I live on a beautiful island with a quirky version of Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends. I have a good life."

"Awe Shadow, I'm so glad you haven't forgotten. There are other versions of you. Some of which are nothing like the way you are now. For a while I worried you would become cruel. The way you beat Sonic up a few times in the village, it made me so sad."

"That's all blown over, we're close now, me and Sonic," Shadow assures.

Tikal puts her hand on his shoulder. She summons the Damn Fourth Chaos Emerald to appear in Shadow's hands.

"I need your help, Shadow. This is for you. Not to keep, to give away."

"The Damn Fourth Chaos Emerald?" he asks. "For Sonic? For Silver? What the..."

Tikal fades away. The emerald teleports him into another world. He watches himself, through the eyes of Modern Shadow, witnessing a montage of the mass destruction that Infinite caused in another dimension. Shadow has mixed feelings about what he sees. Something's not right. Everything's being played in reverse, with the final scene showing himself, working for G.U.N. and raiding a jungle base operated by Eggman.

Before he can see the fate of Zero's Jackal Squad, the dream transitions, revealing events in his own world. He sees Eggman riding away in the sky with Zero hanging limply from the Egg Mobile. Shadow's eyes widen.

"Infinite, a super villain, is... here? Arg, how do I wake myself up? Ah, I know..."

He grips the Chaos Emerald.

"Chaos Control!"

Everything pauses. Mephiles stands inches away, glaring.

"I agree with you, Shadow," he says, in spite not having a mouth. "Infinite is a monster. Let me have that Chaos Emerald. For the good of the future."

Shadow grips the emerald, causing it to disappear.

"Mephiles!"

"Mephiles the Dark, yes," Mephiles nods. "Shadow, the emerald is a gift you're meant to pass onto me. Give me the power to get rid of Infinite before he rages war on your world too."

Shadow's dreamt of Mephiles before. He's dreamt of many things, many versions of himself. He knows about his other lives, all 326 of them. He knows Mephiles is evil.

"Trusting me is in your best interest," Mephiles seduces.

"I doubt it," Shadow replies. "Tikal didn't give me this Chaos Emerald so I could pass it onto some demented version of my own shadow."

"How else will you defeat pure darkness?" Mephiles asks, implying that Infinite is still the problem.

"Did you make that jackal your pawn? I'll make him into a soldier and we'll defeat you together."

Mephiles chuckles.

"How idealistic. You remind me of that insufferable, white-furred hedgehog from the future."

"You mean my son, Silver? Don't even think about it. And Rouge would tell you he's diamond-furred, you tasteless hillbilly!"

Shadow Chaos Controls himself awake. He sits up in bed, in his hip, modern treehouse. Out of breath, he looks down at his hands... gripping the Damn Fourth Chaos Emerald.