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mobius-prime · 4 years

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269. Sonic Universe #2

The Shadow Saga (Part 2 of 4): Time & Again

Writer: Ian Flynn Pencils: Tracy Yardley! Colors: Jason Jensen

So, do you remember how way back when we got the single-issue incomplete "adaption" of Sonic Adventure 2, I mentioned that the events of the incident would be clarified by Ian Flynn in a later issue? Well, this is the one! Interspersed within the events of the modern story are flashbacks to what happened during Sonic Adventure 2, heavily modified to fit within the comic's world. However, I've elected to tackle the modern half of the story first, and explore Sonic Adventure 2 afterward, mostly because though Ian seems to be trying to draw parallels between the latter story and the former, they don't really… work all that well, nowhere near the level that they did in the first arc of KtE anyway.

The modern story opens with Shadow approaching the Freedom Fighters' camp not far from the Eggdome in the middle of the night, waking Sonic up to invite him along to a little bonus mission.

I mean, while I can understand wanting to invite Sonic on a mission against Eggman, 1. he's already on one, and 2. you'd think Shadow would realize he'd need some sleep before the final battle against his arch-nemesis. What, you can't handle this alone, Shadow? Well, as it turns out he's not actually alone, as Sonic reaches the rendezvous point first (zooming off ahead of Shadow, of course), and finds Rouge waiting for him. Apparently, Eggman's been working on a sneaky plan to turn a telescope in the city into a massive laser capable of wiping the Freedom Fighters' little camp off the map, shield or no… as well as half of the rest of the city. Sonic thinks this is overkill even for someone like Eggman, but as Shadow catches up he explains that GUN doesn't quite think so.

To be fair, Sonic, you haven't been seeing the behind-the-scenes insane ramblings of his that Snively's been subject to recently. They break into the laser control room, and Sonic and Shadow deal with the smaller security lasers while Rouge hacks into the control system, trying to disable the thing. The cannon is already moving into position to fire, and worse still, the console then fries itself, Rouge having accidentally triggered a self-destruct command. Sonic and Shadow try to destroy the cannon directly, but no amount of spindashing or Chaos Spear-ing will pierce its armor, so Rouge suggests going for the bolts holding it in place, hoping it might throw off the shot.

Brilliant job, guys! Shadow, seeing no other choice, removes his inhibitor rings and climbs onto the top of the cannon just as it begins to fire. He uses all of his power to force the shot to misfire outwards instead of straight ahead, wrecking the barrel but saving the Freedom Fighters. This is really the only place where the parallels Ian tries to draw make sense, as then we see a flashback of him using his power a year ago to force the ARK back into orbit, and subsequently falling back into the atmosphere.

Aww, look at 'em! As the sun begins to rise, the three walk back towards the camp, and Sonic asks if they want in on the invasion. Shadow refuses, saying that he believes this is Sonic's fight considering how long he's been fighting against Eggman. As Sonic leaves, Rouge smirks at Shadow, and remarks on how far their relationship has come from before. Shadow, of course, has to defend his ego and insists he merely respects Sonic, to which Rouge teases him even more about how of course he can't admit he's made a friend.

Now, time to take a look at what their relationship used to be like, in the very-condensed Adaption 2.0 of Sonic Adventure 2! Instead of following exactly how it's portrayed in this issue, I'm just going to explain how exactly everything went down starting from the beginning, relying on context clues from this issue and previous ones. In case you've forgotten, during the events of the incident, both Tails and Knuckles were otherwise occupied, Amy was chilling in Mercia with Rob, and basically no one was even aware of where Sonic was at the time, as he was apprehended while sneaking back into Knothole while he was still supposed to be confined there. StH#98 covered what happened leading up to his arrest and subsequent breakout, but naturally, after the GUN truck chase he was rearrested and taken to Prison Island. Meanwhile, of course, Shadow had been released from his pod by Eggman, stolen a Chaos Emerald from Station Square, and presumably explained how the ARK's Eclipse Cannon worked to Eggman. Like in the game, Rouge also showed up at this point to offer her support in procuring more Chaos Emeralds - though as you might remember, at this point in the comic's history the emeralds still hadn't been combined into their distinct seven forms yet, so the Eclipse Cannon only required seven random emeralds to fire. Conspicuously missing is the entire plot point about Rouge stealing the Master Emerald from Knuckles, and the both of them subsequently searching for its shattered remnants all over the world, but if we're being quite honest the entire story still makes perfect sense without Knuckles and the Master Emerald, which I suppose is lucky for Ian trying to make sense out of all of this.

The point at which this issue actually starts recapping prior events begins on Prison Island after Sonic had broken out of prison once again - without the help of Amy or anyone else, mind you, since once again, they were all elsewhere at time. Really, this version of events is so stripped-down precisely because half of the game cast is missing, which is why the events of the game were able to fit into a single day despite several days passing in the game itself. Sonic and Shadow had their famous "faker" exchange in the forest and began fighting each other, with Rouge's voice coming over Shadow's communicator and informing them she'd found the remaining six Chaos Emeralds they'd need. At that point, Eggman reminded Shadow the whole island was about to blow, and at the same time Rouge called for help as she'd found herself stuck inside the vault. When Sonic heard Eggman tell Shadow to leave her and that they'd come back later to "dig the emeralds out of the ashes," he was outraged and offered Shadow a truce so they could rescue Rouge together. Shadow accepted, and they raced back to the facility as the timer counted down, with Shadow Chaos Control-ing them off the island and into the desert just before the place exploded.

See, while I understand where Ian is going with this, I really don't like his rewrite of Shadow's motivations here. For those not familiar, in the game, Shadow makes the decision to go back for Rouge entirely on his own, because the thought of her dying alone in the facility made him flash back to Maria's death. Later on, when she tries to talk to him about how he saved her, he avoids her questions, giving a similar excuse to this one, but with it being pretty obvious that that's not the case, as he hasn't stopped thinking about Maria since the mission. Here, Ian makes it seem like Shadow actually didn't care and indeed was only after the Chaos Emeralds, and he only went to the trouble of rescuing her thanks to Sonic's suggestion. However, I understand why this was kind of necessary - with his main allies elsewhere, Sonic needed someone to ally with for the next part of the plot. He ended up teaming up with Rouge, who was quite offended at Shadow's attitude, to break into the pyramid containing Eggman's base, and she piloted the space shuttle within up to the ARK. As I've pointed out before, at no point in the comic is it even slightly hinted that Eggman broke the moon in half as he does in the game - the only indication we have of such an event would be in StH#197, when Sonic recognizes Mobius from orbit by its half-destroyed moon, but in all fairness, the issue doesn't actually state the reason why the moon is broken. Remember, it's canon that Mobius has one hundred moons - that wasn't even retconned! Ian just made up a story behind it and put it in the Complete Sonic Comic Encyclopedia afterwards, but with one hundred whole-ass moons, it's entirely probable that at least one got bodied at some point in the planet's history, and Sonic just happened to recognize that particular one as he was reentering the planet's atmosphere. But anyway, once Sonic and Rouge made it up to the ARK, Sonic and Shadow quickly got into a fight on the catwalks outside the station, presumably while Eggman slotted the emeralds into their positions in the cannon.

*sigh* One of the biggest problems I have with the preboot is its handling of Shadow's entire story. I don't think Shadow ever got an actual chance to shine from his initial appearance until StH#171, when he had his whole "This is who I am" moment after exploring Gerald's digital diary. Everything about him, his entire backstory, was horribly neglected compared to his actually very rich and deep character arc from the games. This, above, is exactly what I'm talking about. In the game, it's implied that Shadow actually wins his final fight against Sonic (though Sonic obviously doesn't die from it), and then once the Eclipse Cannon is up and running, he moves into one of the ARK's observation rooms to quietly reflect on the past and watch the station crash into the planet. He doesn't snap out of it until Amy enters the room and her subsequent words trigger a flashback of Maria's real final wish. Furthermore, he's the only person in the cast who doesn't actually see the video of Gerald's execution or read his final diary entry. In other words, in the game, he comes back to his right mind organically, by remembering what his purpose is, while in the comic he apparently just got to watch a video telling him outright why he's wrong without him actually having to do the thinking that brings him back to reality. Seeing as Shadow is my favorite character in the entire franchise, this brushing-aside of one of the most important moments in his character arc irks me a little. But then again, I will still acknowledge that Ian wasn't really left a lot to work with here, and if anything the fault lies more with Karl Bollers and Kenders carelessly brushing past Sonic Adventure 2 in favor of their ongoing story about Robotropolis getting nuked or whatever.

Anyway, in the end, Shadow and Sonic went to the ARK's internal chamber that housed the Biolizard, and when it fused with the ARK to bring it crashing down to earth anyway, he and Sonic went Super and defeated it out in space, just like in the game. The game actually doesn't give a very clear reason why Shadow fell from orbit while Sonic was fine, but in the comic, it's shown that the act of teleporting the ARK back into orbit exhausted all his energy, resulting in the loss of his Super form early. As one of the above images shows, Sonic actually reached for him but was unable to catch him in time, hence his remark of not wanting to go through that again (even though realistically a fall from a five-story cannon is hardly going to do the same damage to Shadow as a fall from orbit). And that's it! As I said, the comic's adaption is incredibly stripped-down from the events of the game, but with so much of the cast missing, it kind of had to be. While I don't agree with all of Ian's decisions on how to adapt the circumstances while still retaining the basic gist of the story, I understand his ultimate conclusions, and in the end, they do work pretty well given how different the history of the world is in the comics versus the game. And despite Shadow not having a clear history with Rouge in the comics as he does in the games, Ian's finally saw fit to bring them together as a team in this issue, and they remain as such for the rest of the comic, including through the reboot.

But - hey, speaking of which, remember another adaption that was missing a few key plot points? Say… the first Sonic Adventure? Remember how the conclusion of Gamma's entire character arc was totally forgotten about and ignored? That would seem to imply that he's still out there somewhere… I wonder what he's up to nowadays. And for that matter, with the entirety of Sonic Heroes missing from the comics' timeline, where the heck is Omega in all this? Does he even exist? Gee, I wonder if we'll ever get to see these two important robot characters in the comic - like, say, next issue?

#nala reads archie sonic preboot #archie sonic #archie sonic preboot #sonic the hedgehog #su 2 #writer: ian flynn #pencils: tracy yardley #colors: jason jensen

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wordsintimeandspace · 7 years

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Double the Trouble (2/?)

Author: @wordsintimeandspace Pairing: Ten/Rose, Eight/Rose Summary: While they are separated on an alien marketplace, the Doctor promptly gets arrested. Rose goes on a rescue mission - but unknowingly to her, there is a second version of the Doctor around. Rating: Teen Words: ~1700 Notes: Here is my contribution to Eight x Rose August :) Inspired by the prompt “The Doctor or Rose are trapped somewhere and the other needs to rescue them.” by @doctorroseprompts.

Read this on tumblr or AO3.

It took a while until the crowd blocking the road in front of Rose dissolved. As soon as she was able to slip through she pushed forward, and by then both the police and the Doctor were already gone. Rose raked a hand through her hair, looking around for any clue of what was going on. But the people on the market were already back to business as if nothing had happened. There wasn’t a sign in which direction they had vanished.

A bit clueless, Rose approached the nearest stall. Maybe someone else could help. “Excuse me,” she said and the vendor looked up from his newspaper, arching an eyebrow. “Did you see what happened here?”

He let out an annoyed sigh. “Always these off-worlders,” he complained, letting his gaze wander over her with a disapproving look. “Causing trouble until the police has to step in. Do you have any idea how bad it is for business if someone gets arrested right in front of your stall?”

“I’m sorry,” Rose said, cringing. “Can you tell me what they’re doing with prisoners here?”

“What do you care?”

“Oh, you know…” Rose shuffled her feet. “He seemed a bit dangerous, this Doctor. Just want to know if it’s safe here, now that they arrested him.”

“Arranging a prisoner transport to the capital usually takes a while, but no need to worry. They’re locking him up at the station until they can send someone for interrogation. Look, are you actually buying something or do you just want to waste my time?” The vendor’s gaze darkened and Rose took a step back. She gave him an apologizing smile.

“Sorry, gotta run,” she said and whirled around.

Finding the police station turned out to be relatively easy. It was a large building just a few streets away from the marketplace. Rose sat down on a bench on the other side of the street, watching people arrive and depart as she tried to think of a plan. Breaking into prison - it was nothing she hadn’t done before. Last time, she hadn’t dared to try it in broad daylight, but this time she had the psychic paper to help. Rose fumbled for the paper in her pocket and smiled when her fingers brushed over the rough leather.

Gathering the courage she needed, Rose finally got up and walked into the station. The door slid open as she approached, revealing a large, bright entrance hall and a reception desk at the end of the room. Trying to look as if she was exactly where she was supposed to be, Rose walked past the few people in the hall and approached the girl sitting behind the desk. She was an off-worlder as well - even her curly brown hair couldn’t hide the horns at the top of her head. Rose smiled brightly, flashing the psychic paper at her.

“Hi, I’m Officer Tyler. I was sent from the capital to interrogate one of your prisoners. The Doctor?”

The girl frowned at the psychic paper and Rose’s heart thumped hard against her ribcage. “How did you get here so fast?” the girl asked, suspicion in her voice.

“Uh, I was in the area,” Rose said, resting an elbow on the desk. “My boss is still on the way, but I could be here sooner, so he sent me ahead. Is that all right?”

“Oh, sure,” the girl said, her face brightening. Rose let out the breath she was holding. The girl finally smiled back and revealed a row of sharp teeth. “We weren’t expecting anyone this soon. I’ll call Captain Richmond to escort you to the cells.”

“That’s not necessary!” Rose blurted out, a little too fast. She cringed. “Sorry. I mean, no need to bother him, right? If he’s anything like my boss, it’s better to leave him alone.”

The girl chuckled. “Yes, that’s usually the best way to handle him. But-”

“Look,” Rose interrupted. “Can’t you just tell me where you keep the prisoner and I’ll find the way there on my own? It’s not a problem, promised.”

For a second the girl looked unsure, but then she nodded. “Okay,” she said, reaching for a piece of paper and scribbling something down. Rose smiled brightly as she passed her the note with the directions.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. Just go that way, turn right in the second hallway, go down the stairs and then you’ll find the high-security area at the end of the corridor. My colleagues will take over from there.”

Rose thanked her and walked down the corridor the girl had described. As soon as the entrance hall was out of sight, she let out a breath and stopped for a second, leaning her back against the wall to support her shaking legs. She took a moment until her pulse returned to normal and continued down the hallway.

The first part was easy: she passed a range of offices and smiled politely at whoever crossed her path. No one questioned what she was doing there, although she felt completely out of place. Then she reached the stairs and gulped. While the ground floor was illuminated by daylight shining through large windows, the basement was dark and only lit by harsh neon lights. Gripping the handrail as tight as she could, Rose descended down the stairs. Her footsteps echoed through the corridor.

Downstairs, Rose followed the hallway until suddenly two guards appeared, clad in the same blue uniforms she had seen before. They came out of a door and turned right, while Rose was coming from the left. Rose stopped dead in her tracks. She held her breath, afraid to make any noise at all. The guards didn’t turn around, but Rose didn’t want to push her luck.

She peeked into a room on her left and dashed through the open door when she saw it was empty. Inside, she pressed her back against the wall and counted the seconds until the voices in the hallway finally subsided. Only then she dared to move and have a look around. The room seemed to be an archive, with large racks lining the walls that held boxes in all kind of sizes. Near the entrance was a table, covered with various objects and paperwork. Curious, Rose stepped closer to have a better look.

Rose recognized a few devices that looked like weapons, probably confiscated from criminals, but most of the objects looked alien to her. Until her gaze fell onto something that was strikingly familiar, yet strange at the same time. A tube of metal, long and slim, with a handle on one side and a silver ring with a red orb inside on the other. Could it be…? With trembling fingers Rose reached out, brushed her fingers over the shaft and carefully pressed the button at one end. The familiar whirring of the Doctor’s screwdriver sounded through the room.

Perplexed, Rose stared at the screwdriver in her hand. It had happened once or twice before that the Doctor had destroyed his screwdriver while fighting a particularly malicious alien and needed a new one, but never had he changed its design. Rose frowned. Something was off, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

Sudden footsteps in the corridor outside made her flinch. Rose cursed under her breath, silently waiting for the sounds to retreat. She needed to keep moving, before her cover blew up. As soon as it was quiet outside, she slid the sonic screwdriver into the bigger-on-the-inside pocket of her jeans and peeked out of the door. The corridor was empty. Taking a deep breath, Rose continued her way.

The high-security area at the end of the hallway was impossible to miss. A heavy steel door blocked the path, with a small touchscreen embedded on one side and a camera in one corner. There was no door handle. Chewing on her bottom lip, Rose hesitantly tapped the screen, expecting to be asked for some kind of code to open the door. Instead, a voice sounded over the speakers, making Rose flinch.

“Yes?” the voice said, in a slightly exasperated tone. “This is the maximum security area. Are you lost?”

“Uh, no!” Rose said quickly. She forced a smile onto her lips, trying to hide her nervousness, and turned towards the camera. “Sorry. I’m Officer Tyler. I was sent here from the capital to interrogate the Doctor. This is where you keep him, isn’t it?”

There was no answer. Instead, the door opened with a hiss after a few seconds of tense silence. Two guards in uniform stepped out. Both of them were locals of Prion, towering over Rose as they eyed her suspiciously. Rose tried hard not to be unnerved by the weapons on their belts.

“Identification, please,” said the first guard. It was the voice Rose had heard over the speaker. She smiled politely and pulled the psychic paper out of her pocket.

“Sure, there ya go.”

For a long moment the two guards stared at the paper in her hand. Blood was racing in Rose’s veins, making her fingers tremble. Then, without warning, the first guard surged forward, grabbed Rose’s arm and twisted it onto her back.

Rose yelped in shock and pain, letting go of the psychic paper.

“Let me-” she began, but the cold voice of the guard interrupted her.

“Miss, psychic deception is a serious crime on Prion,” the guard said harshly. “I’m arresting you for violation of our laws.”

“I’ve seen this thing before,” the second guard said. From the corner of her eyes Rose saw that he had picked up the psychic paper. She wriggled in the grip of the other guard, but he only tightened his fingers until tears sprang into Rose’s eyes. “It belongs to the Doctor. He tried to use the same trick before.”

“Really? Have we caught an accomplice?” the guard said, craning his neck to get another glimpse of the psychic paper. For a second he loosened his grip and Rose took the chance. With all her strength, she pulled free as long as the guard was distracted and ran.

She didn’t get far. She heard the clicking of guns only seconds before the impact. A burst of energy hit her right between the shoulder blades. Electricity surged through her body, making her scream. A stun gun, Rose could only think, before the darkness overwhelmed her and she hit the ground.

#ficandchips #eight x rose #eight x rose august #doctorroseprompts #my fic #fic: double the trouble

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