Not something he's proud to admit to, but he couldn't feel compelled to lie to this child. Shadow's eyes squeezed shut and he bit down on his lip, his nails clawing into his gloves, fabric into the layer of dirt over concrete.
"I will tell you this tale, and you will likely not be pleased with it. I'm not the type to sugarcoat, so... I'll warn you."
He finally stood, body wracked with tension as he took two steps forward, idly kicking at a nearby hunk of rock, making it roll just a small ways. He began with his story, the words coming as if he spoke them many times before, despite that not being true.
"Fifty years ago, the military of Earth wished to create the Ultimate Lifeform. Their head scientist, Gerald Robotnik, aimed to shape a creature with unlimited power of sound, mind, and body, able to overpower any being and destroy all diseases. His main motivation..."
He sucked in a quivering breath. "His main motivation was a little girl named Maria, his granddaughter. She was born with the disease called Neuro-immunodeficiency Disorder, one that would wrack her brain, her nerves, and her immunity for the rest of her life. She lived on the ARK, sterilized to protect her body, as her grandfather worked on the Ultimate Life. Finally, he created the first prototype, codenamed the Biolizard, but it was deemed a hazard for lacking control over its violent tendencies. The military became wary of any further attempts at the perfect, immortal being, and so they intervened... by aiming to kill everyone on that space colony, imprisoning Robotnik, and wiping the existence of any and all prototypes. I was the only prototype succeeding the Biolizard, and I was likely to be the final one. I simply had to undergo more testing, but they reached us before it could happen. Maria..."
Shadow felt his lower lip quiver. No, no, none of that. He wasn't about to just start wibbling and wailing in front of a young boy. That would be foolish.
"They killed her in cold blood. She sent me to this planet, to Earth, in a capsule, but I was imprisoned for a total of fifty years since. The humans reached me just as I'd made my landing. Before she-... Before she died, she asked something of me. I'd failed to remember her wish correctly, and I'd aimed to destroy Earth utilizing the technology of the ARK. I very nearly had, but then... It was then that I remembered her. Her wish. She wished for me to protect the same species who turned against her. I fought to end the apocalypse I'd created, and I succeeded, but not without falling towards Earth to what I thought would be my death. Instead, I found myself awakening here, and..."
He trailed off, feeling his shoulders tremble, the rest of his body as limp as plastic.
"I'd... nearly killed an entire race of humans, the very opposite of what she wanted me to do. In hindsight, after those events occurred, I feel that I've- I've failed her."
He stopped, head hanging low. It was his fault. Because of him, the humans Maria wanted him to protect were in danger. He nearly killed them all when his duty was to protect them.
no subject
Not something he's proud to admit to, but he couldn't feel compelled to lie to this child. Shadow's eyes squeezed shut and he bit down on his lip, his nails clawing into his gloves, fabric into the layer of dirt over concrete.
"I will tell you this tale, and you will likely not be pleased with it. I'm not the type to sugarcoat, so... I'll warn you."
He finally stood, body wracked with tension as he took two steps forward, idly kicking at a nearby hunk of rock, making it roll just a small ways. He began with his story, the words coming as if he spoke them many times before, despite that not being true.
"Fifty years ago, the military of Earth wished to create the Ultimate Lifeform. Their head scientist, Gerald Robotnik, aimed to shape a creature with unlimited power of sound, mind, and body, able to overpower any being and destroy all diseases. His main motivation..."
He sucked in a quivering breath. "His main motivation was a little girl named Maria, his granddaughter. She was born with the disease called Neuro-immunodeficiency Disorder, one that would wrack her brain, her nerves, and her immunity for the rest of her life. She lived on the ARK, sterilized to protect her body, as her grandfather worked on the Ultimate Life. Finally, he created the first prototype, codenamed the Biolizard, but it was deemed a hazard for lacking control over its violent tendencies. The military became wary of any further attempts at the perfect, immortal being, and so they intervened... by aiming to kill everyone on that space colony, imprisoning Robotnik, and wiping the existence of any and all prototypes. I was the only prototype succeeding the Biolizard, and I was likely to be the final one. I simply had to undergo more testing, but they reached us before it could happen. Maria..."
Shadow felt his lower lip quiver. No, no, none of that. He wasn't about to just start wibbling and wailing in front of a young boy. That would be foolish.
"They killed her in cold blood. She sent me to this planet, to Earth, in a capsule, but I was imprisoned for a total of fifty years since. The humans reached me just as I'd made my landing. Before she-... Before she died, she asked something of me. I'd failed to remember her wish correctly, and I'd aimed to destroy Earth utilizing the technology of the ARK. I very nearly had, but then... It was then that I remembered her. Her wish. She wished for me to protect the same species who turned against her. I fought to end the apocalypse I'd created, and I succeeded, but not without falling towards Earth to what I thought would be my death. Instead, I found myself awakening here, and..."
He trailed off, feeling his shoulders tremble, the rest of his body as limp as plastic.
"I'd... nearly killed an entire race of humans, the very opposite of what she wanted me to do. In hindsight, after those events occurred, I feel that I've- I've failed her."
He stopped, head hanging low. It was his fault. Because of him, the humans Maria wanted him to protect were in danger. He nearly killed them all when his duty was to protect them.
Needless to say, he was just a little bit guilty.