Shadow and the Dark Secret

Live and Learn

Gameplay level: Dark Story: Stage 3: Morning Run (Ava/Shadow)

"Why are we here again?"

"Eggman has robots in this city. If we follow them around for a bit, we might be able to find out where he's currently hiding."

Ava doesn't say anything in return, too focused on the high-rise metallic buildings around them. Shadow notices the sense of wonder in her eyes and can feel her curiosity. It hasn't even been a day since they began their quest, but Shadow has noticed whatever bond he has with Ava has grown stronger. He can now sense shifts in her emotions almost consistently. He wonders if she has noticed the change too, but she's given no indication.

As they begin to search Metal City for Eggman's robots, Shadow realizes this might be harder than he originally thought. All the metal seems to meld together into one giant mass, making it hard to distinguish where one building ends and another begins. Sleek cars run up and down the streets, but there's hardly anyone outside.

After a half hour of strolling around, Shadow finally spots a robot. He grabs Ava's arm and gives her a look to be quiet and follow him. She nods in compliance. The pair proceeds to follow the egg-bot at a safe distance, but it doesn't do anything besides stop every so often to check electrical meters.

"This is ridiculous," Ava grumbles. "There's gotta be a better way to do this."

"Not if you want to resort to violence."

"I'd rather do that than all this sneaking around."

Shadow senses her agitation and tries to not become irritated as well.

"Honestly, I thought you would be more willing to take risks."

Shadow turns around and glares at Ava. "I agreed to help you, but as long as you're with me, you'll do as I say."

"Why should I listen to you? I hardly even know you."

"What is your deal? You keep going back and forth in your decisions, and it's really starting to irritate me."

Ava rolls her eyes. "Tell me something I don't know."

Shadow throws a punch at her, but she avoids it in time.

"Oh, so we're doing this again?" Ava adjusts her stance and holds up her fists. "C'mon, I'm not afraid of you."

Gameplay level: Dark Story: BOSS: Ava (Shadow)

The taunt fills Shadow with rage, and he attacks her, forgetting about the egg-bots. Ava stays on the defensive, somehow managing to keep him at bay, which only frustrates him even more. He finally manages to knock her down, but she bumps into an egg-bot in the process. The robot turns around, scans her, and sounds an alarm before Ava can recover.

Shadow swears under his breath as the sound of more egg-bots comes closer. Ava stands up, still dazed, and punches the robot that she bumped into, breaking its alarm.

"It's too late. They're already coming," Shadow tells her. "If you run now, I won't bother going after you once I'm done here. This will be your only chance."

Ava doesn't say anything, but Shadow can see the conflict in her eyes. She clearly doesn't want to back down from the coming fight, despite knowing it means she will be forced to stay with him. She starts walking towards Shadow, making him think that she's decided to leave, but then surprises him by standing back to back with him.

"I'll watch your back," Ava says.

Almost immediately, the egg-bots are upon them. Shadow wrecks bot after bot, glancing at Ava every so often to see how she's holding up. Unlike the battle against him, she isn't keeping up with the robots well. It's not long before she becomes fatigued. The number of robots continues to decrease but not fast enough.

As Shadow punches down yet another egg-bot, he throws a glance at Ava. Through her weariness, she locks onto his gaze for a split second.

"Shadow, behind you!"

He's so startled by her speaking his name that his concentration falters for a moment. Shadow suddenly feels a searing pain in his left arm. He groans and spins back around to dispose of his assaulter, but somehow Ava gets to the robot before him. He then notices something odd: Ava's eyes are glowing red. Before he can say anything, the badger rushes at the remaining egg-bots at blinding speed, destroying all of them in her wake.

Shadow's arm is still throbbing by the time all the egg-bots are destroyed. Ava walks over to him, the glow in her eyes gone, as if nothing happened.

"We better get outta here," she says.

Hearing police sirens in the distance, Shadow nods in agreement.

As the pair make their escape from the city, Shadow wonders what triggered Ava. He doesn't know if it has anything to do with his injury, but if it does, then that just adds more questions to his growing list.

——

Gameplay level: Dark Story: Stage 4: Night Jungle (Ava)

About an hour later, Shadow and Ava are safely away from Metal City, taking shelter in a place known as White Cave. The sun has already set, waking up the jungle's nightlife.

Slowing down to a stop, Shadow leans against a tree to catch his breath. Nearby, Ava does the same, her gaze fixed on him.

"What?"

"Your arm..."

Shadow looks over at his arm and wishes he hadn't. The searing pain he initially felt was a first-degree burn, which took away some of the fur and blistered the skin underneath. It's not as painful as it was before, but it certainly doesn't look good.

Ava approaches him, grabbing a couple large leaves from the ground. Shadow almost wants to deny her assistance but knows it's better if he doesn't.

She grabs a couple short vines hanging from a tree. "Here, sit down."

Shadow does as she says, sitting with his back to the tree trunk. He rests his injured arm on his knee. "That thing you did back there with the robots... How did you do it?"

"I...I don't know exactly. All I know is that one second I felt like I was going to pass out, and the next..."

She gently takes his arm and starts wrapping it, but the leaves only flare up the pain. Shadow grunts from the pain and clenches his teeth.

"I'm sorry. It's my fault you got injured."

Shadow blinks in surprise. No one has ever apologized to him before, much less take the blame for it. "You broke my concentration."

"Yeah...yeah, I know. I just..." Ava sighs and turns away, trying to hold back tears. "Can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Have you ever heard voices in your head?"

"There was a time when I did. Why?"

"Sometimes...I think I hear a voice that's not my own, telling me to just run, as if...I was captured."

Shadow isn't sure how to respond to that, but he figures it somewhat explains Ava's volatile behavior. "Is that why you keep trying to get away from me?"

"I...I think so." Ava shakes her head. "I honestly don't know. There's times when I do things that I don't remember doing, or I remember something that I've never done before." She looks into his eyes, trying to maintain her composure. "Sometimes...I'm not even sure who I am."

Shadow holds himself back from confessing his past. He doesn't need her pity, nor does he want it. But she's clearly struggling with something that is out of her hands, something she can't control.

"I knew someone who once was like you. Lost memory, uncontrollable powers, heard voices in his head. He was the result of lab experiments, and it screwed him up really bad. Eventually, he found out the truth about his past and defeated the person controlling him."

"Do you think this person can help me?"

"Yes, I think he can."