I'm overthinking again so now y'all have to hear about it.
So it's been pointed out to me that not only do the Black Arms creatures kinda look like Chaos Zero, but also the Black Arms incubator sacks, the creatures look VERY Chaos-like
Vs when they're big
But also, Chao can become Chaos Chao with enough care and attention.
And I'm, like, 90% certain SEGA canonized that Chaos is just an older Chao.
And now there's the Ancients from Sonic Frontiers, and I KNOW I'm not the only one who noticed the resemblance.
Chao also don't die in the traditional sense. Their life cycle includes multiple levels of reincarnation. They feed on Chaos energy and adapt to the critters around them. They evolve into different shapes based on their skills and specializations, often copying their handler's appearance. Black Doom probably had a system that allowed him to guarantee certain specializations and temperaments with minimal effort, which would be able to contribute to Gerald Robotnik's research by WAY more than material components - probably was able to jumpstart his work by decades, or even centuries!
It's also obvious Gerald had a fascination with Chaos and the ancient Echidnas, hence the mechanical Chaos enemies and the replica of the Master Emerald shrine in Sonic Adventure 2.
So if Shadow is made with Black Doom's DNA, that means he's made with Chao DNA, and with Black Doom's Chaos specific bioengineering, he could shape Shadow into whatever he desired. Which explains how Shadow can tap into the Chaos Force so easily, why he seems immortal - honestly, he probably HAS died multiple times already (thinking about the number of times he fell to Earth/Mobius), he's just a specially manufactured Chao, so he's reborn.
Which also means if Shadow is a Chao, then he can shape change, which I think is why they're releasing his creepy Black Arms wings now.
Which means, if he can force a shape change, he might be able to adapt the skills and physical features of the people he spends the most time with. Like maybe he can grow a pair of bat wings like Rouge has.
And if he can shape change, why would he be male? He could probably make himself female or even sexless if he wanted. He'll probably need a lot of time testing out his newfound talents before trying that out, but he's not really bound by normal biology.
Which also leaves me the wild ass questions: If he had kids, would they be Chao? Can he have kids with non-Chao? Or maybe he can, and if so, would they look like hybrid kids?
Obviously I'm going to have to figure out how to incorporate this into my fanfiction, since kinda the point is to explore an Echidnaopolis if things made sense. Or had continuity. Or something. I already had ideas for a super secret Chao Garden, and a special sect for Chao raising (which might not come up in fiction), might as well come up with fun ways to incorporate mature Chaos.
