Sonic Adventure 2: Iron Gate
A fan fic adaptation of the opening scene of Sonic Adventure 2, Dark Side story.

By The Virus



21:02
Prison Island: Inside the base

Deep within the dingy, claustrophobic tunnels beneath a military compound, all hell was breaking loose. Alarm klaxons echoed through the subterranean complex, and the dull metal walls were bathed in the muddy red light of warning lamps. A recorded message issued over the alarm in a calm female voice: "Intruder alert. Intruder alert. Security breach at Gate 3. Intruder has been located in the north quadrant and is moving in the direction of the underground base."

All through the steel catacombs, heavy emergency shutters were locking down one after another. Passages were systematically closed off to prevent the intruder from moving further into the base. The computer voice continued its casual-sounding instructions. "All units prepare to engage," it droned. "Emergency battle formations. Standard battle procedures initiated. Locate and stop the intruder from entering the security area. This is not a drill. Repeat, this is not a drill."

There was an explosion and the Eggwalker mech stomped into the room, the shutter rattling down behind it. The highly mobile bipedal vehicle was a modification of Dr Robotnik's Egg Pod flying machine, equipped with two enormous feet that enabled it to walk over any kind of terrain. Eggman planted his machine's feet squarely and opened fire into the room with the front-mounted vulcan machine gun and shoulder-mounted laser assault cannon. The small squad of GUN robots were torn apart in a hail of lead and laser energy. Before the flaming wreckage had settled, the Eggwalker lurched forward, its pilot laughing out loud with undisguised glee.

"That was all too easy!" laughed the Doctor scornfully. His machine stalked down the corridor, huge metal feet tramping loudly. "Let's take a look at what my grandfather was working on... a top-secret military weapon."

Eggman had recently discovered the diary of his long-dead grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik. Over fifty years ago Gerald had lived aboard the space colony Ark, and at the time the young Ivo had believed him to be working for the good of mankind. As a boy, Eggman had held his scientist grandfather in great esteem. He had aspired to one day become a scientist just like him. Now it seemed that Gerald had actually been creating weapons of mass destruction... It turns out I've taken after dear old Grandpa after all! he thought, smiling at the irony.

Gerald's diary had spoken of a weapon code-named "Shadow" that was contained in the facility on Prison Island. Eggman had made some checks, and it seemed that Project Shadow was still there, deep inside the compound where it had lain for the past fifty years. It had been Gerald's final and greatest masterpiece, and those ignorant fools had simply locked it away.

"The military shut down the research because they feared it!" snarled Robotnik as the Eggwalker crouched and leapt down a short vertical passage. He landed in another corridor with a heavy thump, and strode confidently forward. A swarm of Mono Beetles - small hovering pod-like robots - rounded the corner and were gunned down by the mech's blaster, the red line of the targeting laser flickering briefly across each one. The shutter at the end of the corridor had already sealed off. Stomping down the corridor, the Eggwalker's laser cannon roared and the heavy door was blown off its hinges. It clattered into the room beyond and the relentless mech pounded over it, unleashing a burst of machine gun fire at three Gun Hunters - large bipedal guard droids - who promptly exploded.

The Doctor marched through the facility, dispatching robots and breaching the heavy doors with ease. A man on foot, lacking the Eggwalker's firepower and armour would have great difficulty storming the complex this way. Contrastingly, a heavy tank might have the firepower, but it would never be able to navigate the cramped tunnels. Eggman's vehicle had the assault capabilities of a tank but was also small and highly mobile. This made it perfect for assailing the high security military installation.

Eggman moved the mech onto a large cargo elevator platform and, reaching out to the control panel, began a slow descent down a steeply angled shaft. Mono Beetles swam out of the darkness and were pounded into scrap by the Eggwalker's guns. The elevator juddered to a halt, and Robotnik demolished another emergency shutter before continuing his rampage through the tunnels.

He managed to slip through a gateway as the shutter crashed down behind him. A long metal walkway quaked beneath his vehicle's heavy footfalls. The Eggwalker put a foot on the thin railing, which buckled under its weight, and leapt off the walkway onto a lower one that crossed underneath it. Splintering a stack of wooden crates with a retort from the vulcan gun, Eggman passed into the next elevator bay.

The next elevator platform had been disabled in an attempt to halt his progress. The Eggwalker simply hopped over the low railing and plunged into the shaft. Jet engines flared on the machine's legs and underside, and Eggman hovered gently downwards. There was nothing to land on, just dark empty shaft, so he flattened the next door while still in the air and then drifted into the passage. Blasting at the last shutter, Eggman raised the mech's oversized foot and kicked the door aside.

This section seemed to be deserted; it was obvious no one had been this deep into the bowels of the complex in a long time. It was dark and dusty, and the klaxons were faraway echoes. Straight ahead were two vast iron doors towering into the murky gloom. Not even the Eggwalker could breach those reinforced gates, so Dr Robotnik approached the lock panel and inserted a code breaker device. The gadget bleeped and blinked for a moment and then a number of LED's lit up on the door's panel. There was series of loud clunks as heavy deadbolts were drawn back, and the gates rumbled open, lights flickering on inside automatically.

"Oh ho!" exclaimed the Eggman in triumph and wonder, stomping into the room beyond. Ahead was a large console littered with instruments and panels and behind that was a deep rectangular pit, approximately fifteen by twenty feet. "So this is the military's top-secret weapon?" he mused, pacing around the perimeter. Looking into the pit he could see what appeared to be some kind of cryogenic stasis chamber, not even big enough to house a human sized object. "It's a lot smaller than I expected," he grunted with a hint of disappointment.

Dr Eggman approached the console and hunkered down his machine in front of it, peering at a computer VDU. "Enter user data," he muttered, leaning out of the Eggwalker's cockpit to tap at the keyboard. "Aha... Enter password..." He grinned. "Password is: MA-RI-A" he sounded out the syllables as he typed the name of Professor Gerald's granddaughter. "Maria! Now all I have to do is place the Chaos Emerald into this console..." Eggman reached into his vehicle and withdrew a metal case. Flipping the latches, he opened the box and took out a large multi-faceted grey gemstone from the snugly shaped interior. The doctor carefully set the Chaos Emerald into the appropriate hollow. A confirmation message flashed up on the screen: "Project Shadow activation procedure initiated," and machinery in the pit grumbled into life.

With almost childlike excitement, Robotnik hopped the Eggwalker down into the trench to watch the unveiling of the weapon. A cloud of frosty mist escaped the capsule with a hiss, and the stasis chamber began to rise up out of the pit on a tall pillar strewn with cables and conduits. Eggman gaped at it in wonder. A dark figure rose slowly from the capsule casting a large and ominous shadow on the ceiling. It was perhaps four feet tall and the doctor caught sight of long, silhouetted quills that appeared suspiciously familiar...

"What's that?" barked Robotnik in alarm. "Is that you Sonic?! Are you trying to spoil my plans again?!"

Eggman looked more carefully at the sinister figure. It did look a lot like his old nemesis, but there were differences: it sported a menacing black and red colour scheme instead of the cobalt blue of his archenemy, and the styling of the quills was slightly different. It opened its eyes and glared down with a malevolent red stare. "Wait a minute, you're not Sonic! This is impossible!"

"My name is Shadow," stated the mysterious hedgehog with an icy confidence. "Since you were so kind to release me... my master..." Eggman narrowed his eyes at the obvious contempt with which the word was spoken. The hedgehog gave a faintly amused half-smile before continuing: "I will grant you one wish."

Robotnik regarded the black hedgehog with suspicion. He was unsure as to whether he could trust the creature. It spoke with an arrogant, conceited air that Eggman found unnerving. And its hostile glare seemed to cut right through him. On the other hand, it was the creation of his grandfather, the great Professor Robotnik, so maybe...

His contemplation was cut short as a dull thump rung out across the chamber. It was the sound of something worryingly large landing heavily on the metal floor.

"Now what?" groaned Robotnik glancing around warily.

The black hedgehog stretched its arms wide and leapt into the air. It appeared to have some sort of jet thrusters on the soles of its shoes, and these jets flared as it hovered a little above the stasis pod. "Behold the true power I possess!" it exclaimed and with a flourish and a searing flash of incandescent light, Shadow disappeared.

****

"This is Scorpion Troop Hotshot," the mech pilot calmly reported into his helmet microphone. "Enemy unit has been detected. En route to intercept and destroy." He was confident he could deal with any intruder. And snug in the middle of two tons of the latest state-of-the-art robotic battle-suit technology, who wouldn't be confident?

"Copy that," confirmed a female voice over the radio.

The pilot shifted the Hotshot into flight mode and the two huge legs folded up underneath the mech's body. The powerful thrusters blazed and the Hotshot swooped across the chamber, strafing the target with a burst of high-calibre machinegun fire. He almost felt sorry for the tiny hedgehog, and absently wondered why HQ had sent such heavy firepower in to deal with such a small threat. The creature rolled left and out of the line of fire.

The pilot brought the vehicle around and faced the centre of the room, hovering next to a tall stack of wooden crates. The hedgehog was nowhere to be seen. He barely had time to register surprise when from the corner of his eye he saw movement on top of the pile of crates. A dark shape impacted the windshield of the mech with tremendous speed and ferocity. The pilot recoiled in shock. The reinforced glass held, but a spider web of tiny cracks had appeared in the centre of the windshield. He gaped at the hedgehog in astonishment. Impossible! How can it be so fast?! The hedgehog smirked at him, arms folded across its chest.

Shadow smiled with genuine amusement at the stunned human inside the machine. It had been a long time since he'd had such a workout, and was enjoying this little brawl immensely. He clenched the muscles in his legs, still slightly stiff from such a long period in suspended animation.

The Hotshot set down heavily and the two large, square missile pods either side of the cockpit flipped open revealing a formidable array of explosive warheads. The pilot was obviously taking no more chances, and launched several of the rockets in Shadow's direction. Arms still folded, Shadow stood his ground until the last second, and then flipped backwards out of the blast radius. The missiles struck the ground harmlessly in front of him. Another salvo was streaking towards his new position so he turned and, with a burst from the jet engines in his soles, shot away around to the machine's right, the hover skates suspending him a few inches above the ground. Pumping his arms for extra momentum, he streaked across the chamber, a chain of missiles thumping into the ground behind him, exploding dully in his wake.

The robot turned to follow the hedgehog's curving path, its mammoth feet tramping loudly. Just as the last rocket hit the floor, Shadow cornered sharply and charged straight towards the vehicle. Through the cracked windshield he saw the pilot's eyes open wide and then he cowered away, hands outstretched as if to shield off the hedgehog's attack should he come crashing through the damaged glass. Shadow launched himself at the cockpit, curling into a tight ball of spinning quills. He smashed viciously into the front of the cockpit hull beneath the window, the force of the blow enough to cause the Hotshot to stagger back a step.

Shadow ricocheted off the mech's armoured hull, spinning high into the air and then dropping lightly to the ground, landing in a crouch. The flustered pilot shook himself and seemed to pull himself together a little. He shifted the machine back into flight mode and took to the air, moving cautiously around the edge of the chamber, being careful not to let the hedgehog out of his sight.

Dr Eggman had clambered out of the trench and now stood at the edge of the chamber watching Shadow battle the lumbering mech. He made careful note of the black hedgehog's impressive speed - perhaps even a match for Eggman's annoying blue adversary. He also noticed the striking similarity of the two hedgehogs' fighting styles, and winced as the all-too familiar spin attack crashed into the GUN machine. A grin slid slowly across his portly face as he envisaged the possibilities that could arise from having an ally with Sonic the Hedgehog's abilities. He could barely keep still with excitement as Shadow connected yet another attack on the dented cockpit.

The pilot held his breath as he charged the Hotshot's plasma cannon. Hovering in the corner he felt horribly vulnerable as the powerful weapon prepared to fire. The hedgehog was watching expectantly as the cannon hummed into life. The pilot exhaled loudly as after what seemed like an eternity, the weapon's operation light blinked on his dashboard. He lined the hedgehog up in his sights and depressed the trigger unleashing a bolt of white-hot plasma towards the creature. The hedgehog dodged the blast so fast that at first the mech pilot thought he had scored a hit. A searing white flash was followed by a shockwave that demolished several wooden crates, but the hedgehog was unscathed. It picked itself up off the floor and glared at him menacingly.

The pilot tried to keep the panic out of his voice as he called for back up. "This is Scorpion Troop Hotshot," he said evenly, coolly. "The enemy is stronger than expected. Requesting additional support."

Shadow strode purposefully towards the robot. That last shot had been too close. He'd tired of this game, and now it was time to end it. He broke into a run as the Hotshot took off and soared around the chamber, rattling off a blast from its vulcan gun. A quick burst of speed and Shadow landed another hefty spin attack that caused the jet engines to sputter, and the vehicle pitched wildly in the air. There was an explosion and it crashed to the ground, skidding across the metal surface and trailing oily smoke. It crashed into a pile of crates and lay still.

"Hah!" snorted Shadow contemptuously. "Pathetic humans!" He turned away from the ruined mech to see Dr Robotnik's own mech stomping across the room.

"Destroying that guard robot was spectacular!" thrilled the fat scientist. "So, Shadow... YOU are the military's top-secret weapon. But what did you mean when you said you will grant me a wish?"

Shadow studied him for a moment. "Bring more Chaos Emeralds," said the hedgehog enigmatically, and he turned and started to walk away.

"Shadow, wait!" Eggman called, rising up in his seat in alarm.

Shadow stopped and looked over his shoulder. "I'll be waiting for you in the central control room on the Space Colony Ark." He smiled a lopsided smirk and then turned and left.

"Ark?" echoed the doctor in confusion, and he watched helplessly as the black hedgehog strode away. Eggman sank slowly back down into his seat and rubbed at his moustache thoughtfully. What pleasant surprises would await him aboard his grandfather's Space Colony? He retrieved the grey Emerald from the console and left the facility.