IMPORTANT AUTHOR NOTE: If you haven't read my other story Shadow And Sarah (it's not a romance story), then you would be pretty confused during this one. I highly recommend you read Shadow and Sarah before reading this one. This is part three of my Sonic Heroes short story series. It will all build up to an awesome climax! Also, the (*) symbol means the start of a new scene and the (*) symbol used TWICE means the END of a scene.
Shadow: Domination Of Quell
*I am Shadow. I believe that I was made to save people. I know that I was made to save people. At least, that's what she told me. I always believed that she told me the truth. But now, I question this…**
*Shadow felt as though he was going to vomit as he ran in between two robots. The robots simultaneously exploded without Shadow touching them. With Quell, a computer program that Shadow had found within him which was also the source to dispose of NIDS, he was able to experiment new powers that he had never found within himself until now. He could blow up robots with just a thought in his mind, and he can crush them with just a simple wave of his hand.
And it felt so good. No longer did he feel vulnerable or outnumbered. He was power with feet and a mind. A mind that constantly hungered for more. But today, a raging ache in his throat consistently pestered him. This slowed him down just a little bit. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get it out.
The robots were built by Overlanders, four-fingered human enemies of the Mobians that had warred against them long ago in an attempt to seize control over the planet. They had passed by and attempted to scavenge the ruins of a ship that Shadow used as his shelter. Shadow lifted both hands in the air, and four robots surrounding him exploded. Metal shards sprayed and harmlessly bounced off Shadow's body. The robots, having been programmed to not give up, were not intimidated. One fired a flamethrower at Shadow.
Shadow leaped over the path of fire, and used the motion of his hand to direct the flames back to the robot, burning it into a pile of ashes. Shadow then used his telekinesis to direct a mass of broken robots shards and metal into the other robots, stabbing them and shorting them out. Once all the robots had been destroyed, for the first time since Shadow had gotten these insane abilities, he fell to his knees in pain, clutching his head in agony.
"What—what is wrong with me?" He asked to himself. His hands trembled as he felt his head.
"What do you mean? There is nothing wrong with you. It's perfectly normal," Quell replied.
"How is it perfectly normal? I'm in pain inside," Shadow said.
"Of course, Shadow. It will pass. In time."
"Exactly how soon?"
"Quite soon. Now don't worry about it," Quell assured him. Shadow decided to believe him. After all, Quell had done much for him. He gave him these mind powers that were destructive to his enemies, and he had healed Sarah. Sarah was a female version of Shadow. She was created by Shadow's creator's granddaughter Maria who was long gone. Sarah, like Maria, had NIDS, and Shadow was able to use Quell to heal her from it. Shortly afterwards, Sarah had left so that Shadow wasn't constantly reminded of Maria. Shadow wondered where Sarah was now. Hopefully someplace safe.
Shadow woke up screaming. The pain felt like a blade was being driven into his head. His eyes burned and his shoulders throbbed. The early morning sun peaked from behind the landscape, and the birds chirped. Signs of a cheerful, uplifting morning for nature. Shadow, on the other hand, felt the opposite. The pain was so bad now, he couldn't even get onto his feet. He stumbled outside towards a small pond that he used to drink from and looked at his reflection. He gasped, for at first, he thought he saw Sarah staring back at him, but he realized that it was himself. He remembered the dark, deep shades around Sarah's eyes, and the fact that the corner of her mouth would constantly twitch. That's what he had now. Something was terribly wrong.
"Quell," Shadow spoke.
"Yes, Shadow," Quell replied in a business tone, no emotion in his voice whatsoever.
"You know what's going on, don't you?" Shadow demanded.
"I only know what I'm programmed to know, Shadow," Quell said with a sigh.
"Do you know what's happened to me?" Shadow asked through gritted teeth.
"Yes. You have NIDS," Quell answered. Shadow gasped. His eyes widened, which hurt to do so, and he stumbled backwards in a shock.
"What? How did this happen?" He asked, fighting back desperate tears.
"When you healed Sarah, you absorbed the NIDS yourself and contained it within your body. It will continue to spread until you die," Quell explained in an unemotional voice. Shadow's jaw dropped, and a single tear slithered down his cheek.
"How could this be? How could this be?" Shadow shouted.
"I did it. I had you absorb the NIDS. I was programmed to heal Maria, not Sarah. My programming is corrupted now, and it is my job to fix it."
"But if I die, you go with me," Shadow pointed out.
"No, Shadow. I won't. I will eventually seize full control of you. Your body, your mind, everything, and become the new Shadow," Quell declared. Then, Shadow heard a loud ringing in his ears, and he saw black smoke in front of his eyes. The smoke took a hedgehog form. It looked like a dark gray hedgehog with black eyes, and the edges of his body constantly shifted because of the smoke.
"It was always the point. You were to live long enough to gain power, then you would pass away and I will become the next Shadow. Thank you for the hunger, thank you for the power, thank you for that lust for control, to be higher than everybody else and rule. Thank you," the smoke, which was Quell, said, and Shadow realized with a sick feeling that Quell was being sincere. His dark feelings of revenge, power, and control had fueled Quell to the point where he was powerful enough to split away from him and become his own entity. The smoke form vanished, and Shadow could hear Quell's laughter echo through the wind.**
*Shadow at first refused to do it, but he knew that if he was to succeed, he needed to go through with it.
"Well, well, well. Look who it is, coming to me for help," Rouge the Bat said when she opened her door. She wore her usual outfit: purple outfit with tight, black pants. Her face was as seductive and stupid as ever. Rouge had discovered Shadow and researched his origin, knowing where he came from and what he was about.
"I need your help," Shadow admitted. Rouge frowned when she got a good look at Shadow's face.
"What happened to you?" She asked.
"It's hard to explain. I'm sick, and I'd like to get rid of the sickness as soon as possible."
"So why are you coming to me?" She asked.
"You are one of the only people that understands me more than anyone else. I can trust you."
"That's sweet for you to say, even for you. Alright, I'll help…for a price," she said. Shadow sighed.
"I don't have the Chaos Emeralds."
"Then what do you have?"
"Nothing," Shadow confessed. He turned around so that he was facing the morning sky. It was true. He didn't have anything. He was alone. A shadow in the night. He had nothing of value anymore. When Quell had split away from him, he had lost all that power. His stomach cried out for it like a stomach screaming for food.
"I don't have anything. I just need your help. Can you at least be assured that someone came to you for help and appreciates it?" Shadow asked. Rouge sighed. This was why he came to her. Because she understood him this way.
"I promise that if we succeed, I'll find something. I'll make it up to you somehow," Shadow convinced her. Rouge sighed again, then nodded.
"Alright. What could I do?"**
*Fifty Years Ago…
"What is it, doctor?" Jonas, one of Doctor Gerald's lab students, asked. Gerald, a professor aboard the space colony ARK, turned to him with a grim look on his face.
"The hedgehog's healing abilities have a…slight problem," he said. Jonas looked past the doctor so that he could get a good look at the black and red hedgehog, which hadn't yet awakened.
"What's wrong?" Jonas asked.
"The hedgehog will be able heal Maria when he is ready, but when he does, the NIDS will be passed onto him."
"How?"
"The program inside him, Quell, cannot completely dispel an illness. As the hedgehog heals somebody, he will absorb the illness himself and contain it within his own body. The illness will eventually kill him," Gerald explained. Jonas looked downcast.
"That's disappointing. Are you sure you want to proceed?" Jonas asked.
"We have to."
"But sir…"
"It's the only way to save Maria. I cannot let her die if there are options such as this."
"Surely there's another way?"
"If there is, it will take too long, and by then it'll be too late."
"This hedgehog will be nothing more than a shadow then," Jonas pointed out, his eyes remained depressed on the floor.
"Unfortunately, that's the way it has to be," Gerald said with a deep, shaky sigh. He turned around and pressed the button, which would awaken the hedgehog.**
*Present Day…
Shadow wanted to punch himself for being so stupid. The truth was, he had no idea where Quell actually was. He couldn't feel him in his mind, and he didn't even know where to look. Why did Quell just leave him in the first place? Why didn't he stay and just invade his body until there was nothing left?
Maybe Quell was going to wait until Shadow died from his sickness, then take over his body then. Maybe. But there had to be something else. Something more. Then, it hit him.
Sarah.
Of course. Quell would use her as bait, and she was partially the reason why his programming was corrupted. Even though he suspected this, he still didn't know where he would be able to find her.
"You don't know where this Quell is, do you?" Rouge asked from behind him. Shadow stopped and shut his eyes in anger.
"Leave me be. I'm trying to think," he demanded through gritted teeth.
"You came to me for help, so I'm trying to help," Rouge replied. Shadow and Rouge were walking through the village Apatos, in the hopes of searching for clues. It was a large village with white buildings, all variety of tall and short. But with the exception of its size, all of the buildings looked the same. The ones unmarked were homes and the ones with signs on them were businesses. Shadow spotted one that appeared to be a cantina, called "The Red Stone". Deciding to give it a try, he motioned Rouge to follow him, and they walked in.
Upon stepping in, they were immediately met by the wild noises and loud chatter of the cantina. A variety of different species, including humans, crowded almost all of the tables.
"Have a look around, report to me if you find anything out of the ordinary," Shadow said to Rouge. Rouge nodded and walked away and blended into the crowd. Shadow walked over to the counter at the center of the cantina and sat on one of the stools. He waved the chipmunk bartender away before it could say a word and looked around, scanning the crowd for anything.
"You could end the pain right now, you know," a familiar voice spoke. Shadow jumped and looked next to him. Quell, in his smoke-hedgehog form, sat on a stool looking down at the counter. His black eyes shined with delight.
"How could no one see you?" Shadow asked.
"Only you can see me. When I become you, the whole world will finally see my face. Then they'll have no choice, but to fall to their knees," Quell replied.
"I'll destroy you before that happens," Shadow whispered, his voice thick with hate. Quell smirked.
"Your threats mean nothing. Your power means nothing. Your existence means nothing. Don't you understand? You were always a tool, both of us were. Don't you wish to just let your life go? I deserve to find a better life, a life of meaning. A life of purpose."
"Gerald didn't use me as a tool. He wanted to save Maria through me."
"And what do you think would've happened after you fulfilled your purpose. When it's all said and done, what did you think Gerald would do to you then?" Quell challenged. Shadow admitted that he didn't know, but he did wonder about it. What was supposed to be his purpose afterwards?
"Do you know?" Shadow asked. He kept his face down and his voice lowered to a whisper so that no one would think he was talking to himself.
"Before you even woke for the first time, Gerald knew that my programming cannot completely destroy NIDS, but simply transfer it from one person and contain it within you. Within us," Quell explained. Shadow's eyes widened as he realized what Quell meant. He was made to heal Maria, then die from the same thing that he healed her from.
"It's a hard truth to accept, Shadow. Your own creator using you, using us, as nothing but a tool, and then to be wasted once we serve our purposes. It really is a shame," Quell pondered, but Shadow could hear the mischief in his voice. It was like Quell was laughing and speaking at the same time, but the laughter came from somewhere else. He could hear it in his mind.
Quell was trying to break him.
"Enough!" Shadow shouted. He lunged at Quell, surprised that he was able to grab the creature and tackle him off the stool and onto the filthy ground. All around him, everybody looked on in shock, confused and bewildered by this. Before Shadow could do anything however, he felt someone take him by the shoulders and wrench him off Quell. Shadow craned his neck to see who had grabbed him. It was Rouge, but there was something different about her eyes. Like Quell, her eyes were a solid black. And even more horrifying, was that she had dark, deep shades around her eyes, and the corner of her mouth violently twitched. She looked dazed, like she was under a spell.
"No. No. No!" Shadow screamed, trying to fight his way out of Rouge's grip. It was remarkably hard on him even for her. Quell got back onto his feet and he looked at Shadow with unemotional eyes.
"Dear Shadow, there is nothing to be worried about. Your destiny is almost here," Quell declared. He waved his hand at Rouge. Rouge immediately responded to it.
"There's nothing to worry about. My friend here is drunk is all," she assured the onlookers in a hoarse, cracked voice.
"Get him out of here. We don't like him scaring my customers," the bartender demanded.
"With pleasure," Rouge said. Shadow couldn't get out of Rouge's grip as she led him out of The Red Stone.**
*For once, Shadow actually wanted Sonic's help. He preferred to do things on his own, but several events in the past had proved that he and Sonic didn't make a bad team at all. They got the job done, and most importantly, they saved people. That was why he was created. To save the only one that he truly cared about, but then die from the same causes he would've saved Maria from. What a thought.**
*Fifty Years Ago…
"Sir, your granddaughter is getting worse. Why are you stalling the experiment?" Jonas asked Doctor Gerald. Gerald watched Maria and Shadow laughing together out in the hallway right outside his office through a window.
"I'm stalling it because I don't know what to do," Gerald said.
"What—what do you mean?"
"Either way, one of them will die. Maria has grown too attached to Shadow. She doesn't know what will happen if Shadow heals her. He will die, and she will grieve for him," Gerald said.
"But isn't it better than your granddaughter dying?" Jonas asked. Gerald was about to say something in response, when a com channel beeped, signaling the arrival of the worst company Gerald ever had. The G.U.N. forces have arrived to shut everything down, just as Gerald feared.**
*Present Day…
Shadow woke up from a cold wind blowing in his face. His eyes opened. It burned to do so. It took him a moment to remember that he was sick. And dying.
"You're awake," Quell's voice whispered through his head. Shadow's eyes shot up all the way open. He saw Quell, still in his smoke-hedgehog form. This time however, he looked a lot less transparent. Shadow realized that he had woken up on his feet, which seemed strange at first, but then he remembered that Quell had the power of telekinesis, which he had taken when he split away from Shadow. The filth was probably holding him up on his feet. Shadow realized this was true when he couldn't move an inch. He was frozen where he was.
"I'm glad you're awake," Quell said. He looked to his left, and Shadow was able to see what Quell was looking at. Dread and horror flooded through him. Rouge, still sick and under Quell's control, was holding the end of a rope. The other end was tied up around Sarah's wrists. And Sarah was on the edge of a cliff.
"No!" Shadow screamed, struggling to move. He couldn't. He was stuck where he was.
"You don't trust me, Shadow? You don't trust that I can be the next Shadow and have revenge on the humans for what they did to Maria?" Quell asked.
"I'm not like that anymore. I saved them," Shadow countered.
"It's a pity. To give up so much power," Quell replied. Shadow dug into his mind. Ever since he had healed Sarah, and consequently transferred the sickness into himself, he had allowed Quell to have so much control over his actions and his decisions. It was time to fight for his right mind back, to show him that he was his own person.
"You can't own me. You're not me," Shadow snarled, and suddenly, his arms dropped and he could move freely again. Quell was startled by this. He whirled to Rouge.
"Drop her," he commanded. There was a moment of hesitation, as if Rouge was reconsidering this. Quell raised his hand at Rouge's eyes.
"I said…drop her!" He screamed. Rouge's fingers uncurled themselves away from the end of the rope, and Sarah fell.
"No!" Shadow screamed again. He thrust himself forward and grabbed the rope. The weight was so great, he was almost pulled down with it. He looked down at Sarah, who was dangling with her wrists over her head. She looked up at him.
"Hi," Shadow shakily said. Sarah smiled back at him.
"Its been a long time," she replied. Shadow nodded. Then, he gasped as he felt someone violently shove him from behind. His hands slipped away from the rope and he fell.**
*As he fell, Shadow realized that they had been on a floating island, like Angel Island. He did the foolish thing and looked down. He could just barely make out the land beneath, rushing up to meet him. He looked up and saw Sarah staring down. Unlike him however, her face was relaxed and she was waiting patiently to meet her fate. If only Shadow was more like her. If only he was more like Maria.
If dying was what would've happened if I was able to cure Maria, I don't care. The point is that I would've saved a life, Shadow thought. He knew that he never got to save Maria, but that didn't mean he couldn't save others. If Sarah died right here, what would've been the point of healing her not too long ago. He didn't heal her just so that she could die right here.
Glaring, he spun himself towards Sarah and grabbed her arm.
"On my mark, we teleport back to the island," Shadow shouted over the wind.
"You want to go back?" Sarah responded with a holler.
"I have to destroy Quell, and save Rouge," Shadow explained. Sarah nodded, though now she looked unsure.
"Okay."
"Okay then. Shut your eyes, think about the island. I'll get us both there this time," Shadow assured her. When Jonas, a former lab student of Doctor Gerald, captured Sarah, he had made the mistake of believing she would know what to do when they needed to teleport away.
Shadow watched as the ground below was coming in closer and closer. Three, two, one. Now.
"Now!" Shadow screamed. There was a flash of light, and Shadow found himself on ground. He saw Quell and Rouge in front of him. He was still holding Sarah's arm. It worked. Satisfaction turned to horror when he saw Rouge on her knees coughing up a storm. Her black eyes were watery, and her face was pale. It had turned almost as white as her fur.
"You may be too late, Shadow. She's weakening," Quell said in a mock-gentle voice. Furious, Shadow lashed out at Quell and struck him so hard he went flying against a tree. Pairs of code flashed across Quell's head, then vanished.
The sudden movement Shadow made caused him to double over in pain. He violently coughed into the grass, shuddering as sharp chills shot up his spine. Without Quell, he couldn't heal anyone. So now what? How was he going to do this?
Suddenly, he felt a hand grab the top of his head and lift him off his feet.
"Naïve of you Shadow," Quell taunted, and he felt himself get tossed like a rag doll across the air, landing just inches away from Rouge. He watched Quell run after him, then he looked at Rouge, and had an idea. He inched his way so that he was directly in front of Rouge, then when Quell lashed out, Shadow leaped aside. Quell stumbled forward and tripped over Rouge's body.
"Healing transfer, initiate," Shadow screamed inside his mind.
"Noooo!" Quell screamed. Bolts of energy exploded around him and engulfed Rouge. Rouge screamed in agony and the energy was so great it rocketed Quell into the air. Shadow looked at Rouge, whose eyes were normal now, and any signs of sickness was fading away.
Quell fell back to the ground, codes again flashed across his body, and then vanished just as quickly. He slowly rose back to his feet and fixed his black, furious eyes on Shadow.
"This fight is mine," Shadow said to Sarah and Rouge. Quell grinned, and the trees behind him burst into flames. The ground around Shadow began to grow red, and then small fires exploded out of the grass and danced around the two.
"Run!" Shadow yelled to Sarah and Rouge. Sarah grabbed Rouge, and both of them vanished in a small flash of light. Shadow grinned. Good girl.
"For fifty years, I had waited to break out! Now it has come to this. You are holding me back from achieving my destiny," Quell declared.
"Sorry to crash your party," Shadow taunted. Quell grinned, and his form changed, until he looked like Maria herself.
"You should've avenged her when you had the chance, Shadow. Doctor Gerald had more sense then you do now," Quell said. Shadow wasn't the least bit phased by Quell's appearance. He had seen enough of Maria inside his head to be taken aback. Quell was only trying to catch him off-guard. It wasn't going to work now.
"I'm not that way anymore. Doctor Gerald was a fool," Shadow said. The two of them cried out, then charged at each other. Shadow felt a strike to the cheek, then a knee to the stomach. Shadow spat bile from the impact, but he fought on, kicking Quell in the leg, then leaping and spinning a kick to the head. Quell spun and fell. Shadow stopped and groaned in pain, cursing himself for fighting too hard. If he tried too hard, he would wear himself down and then die, whether it was at Quell's hands, or the NIDS. Either way, dying did not sound pleasant right now.
Shadow's thoughts were violently interrupted when Quell swung a blow to Shadow's nose, then raised him off his feet telekinetically. Shadow helplessly felt himself get flung backwards over a group of fire then hit his side against a tree. His breath exploded out of him, and he lay there, struggling to breath. He watched Quell run towards him, running unaffected through the fires, then kicking him in the side. Shadow yelped in pain. His vision darkened, and for a moment he thought it was over. He then reached out and grabbed Quell's leg.
"Healing transfer, initiate," he ordered through gritted teeth. Quell's eyes widened when he realized what he was doing, and he screamed as power coursed out of him and through Shadow's body. Shadow let out a long, painless sigh of relief as he felt his body dispel the sickness inside him. So this is what Sarah felt when he healed her. This is how Maria would've felt had he been able to.
"If I was meant to die after healing Maria, then I don't mind," Shadow said aloud. Feeling so much stronger now, he got up onto his feet and looked at Quell's "Maria" face. He knew this wasn't the real Maria, so despite the pitiful expressions Quell tried to give him, Shadow attacked. Quell received blows in the stomach, the leg, the shoulders, and the face. Quell managed to grab a long, fallen branch and swing it hard into Shadow's chest. Shadow was flung away again, but this time he teleported himself back to Quell and rammed his head against him. Quell was surprised and stunned by this sudden attack, but he quickly regained his posture and tried to get at Shadow's neck. His hands wrapped themselves around Shadow's neck and squeezed. Shadow was surprised at Quell's hard grip. He could feel his lungs close up, and his body screamed for oxygen. Shadow grabbed Quell's hands then flipped over backwards, taking Quell with him. Quell released his grip and fell on his back. When Shadow looked at Quell behind him, he could see he had changed into a different form. He now looked like Gerald.
"You disappoint me, Shadow," he muttered. Seeing the face of his creator made him lunge forward in a rage, putting his arms around Quell's waist and shoving him backwards until he hit his back against a tree. Shadow punched Quell's face, shattering the glasses that the form wore. Shadow lifted Quell off his feet and threw him. He hit the ground, rolling over several times. Shadow walked over to him, pulled him to his feet, and then struck him hard enough so that Quell was on his knees. Quell's form changed back to Maria and looked up at him with sad, pitiful eyes, as if trying to impersonate Maria would save his life.
"Don't do this to me, Shadow. I thought we were friends," he said in Maria's voice. The voice made Shadow hesitate for a moment. He remembered that voice. From memories long, long ago. None of that mattered now. Maria was gone, Gerald was gone, and there was nothing he could do to bring them back.
"Sorry, Quell. That no longer works anymore," Shadow said. He reached down and grabbed Quell's arm.
"Program Quell, shut down," Shadow ordered.
"No-!" Quell, in Maria's voice, started to scream. There was a blinding flash of light, and Shadow felt himself fall off his feet and hit his head on the ashen ground. When the light winked out, he looked up. No Quell was to be seen. Around him the fires still blazed. As the smoke grew thicker, he knew he had to get out of there. Just before he teleported away, he spotted something lying on the blackened ground, unharmed by the fire.**
*That was it. No longer did he have Quell, thus no longer did he have the power to heal. But he felt that he healed the right people, and he served his purpose through that power. He knew he was foolish to allow that power to run wild, and because of that, he had to destroy it. That didn't mean he was no longer full of surprises. He was an artificial hedgehog. Surely there was something else. Something else special about him.
Love.
It was love that compelled Shadow to heal Sarah. It was love that compelled Shadow to put the past behind him. It was love that compelled Shadow to let Maria go.
Love was not something that Shadow thought about often.
"Are you sure you'll be safe on your own?" Shadow asked Sarah.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Though I doubt this will be the last time we see each other," Sarah replied, a smile forming on her face. Shadow smiled back.
"It probably isn't. I thought when you left the first time, that was the last time we'd see each other."
"Boy were you wrong."
"I'm happy I was, even if it was under desperate circumstances."
"Goodbye, Shadow."
"Goodbye."**
*Shadow watched Rouge sitting on a bench outside The Red Stone. She looked down at the ground, seeming depressed. That was not a feeling Shadow normally saw Rouge toy with. She looked up at him when he approached her.
"You don't have to give me anything," she said.
"Why not?"
"I failed to help you. The bad guy got me first," Rouge complained. Shadow sat down on the bench next to her.
"It wasn't your fault," he said. Rouge shook her head.
"I'm normally good at these things."
"Yeah, well, I thought I was good too," Shadow said. Then he placed a bright red gem in Rouge's hands. Rouge's eyes widened in shock.
"How-?"
"I found it just before I left the island. It's not a Chaos Emerald, but it's something," Shadow said. Rouge looked at him with thankful eyes.
"Thanks Shadow."
"So what are you going to do now?"
"I'm going to go find Knuckles. I want to see him again."
"Take care," Shadow said. Then, he got up and walked away, his smile growing wider and wider as he walked. After every step, he felt better. Lighter. There was a big difference inside of him without Quell. Without a computer program going rogue, and trying to fulfill its "programming" as well as backlash it.
No Chaos Emeralds. No Quell. No power within him of any kind. Just his physical strength. And love. That love that lay buried somewhere within him, waiting to come out when needed again. He didn't need Emeralds or Quell to be powerful. He was still a powerful, strong hedgehog. He was and always will be Shadow the hedgehog. No one could replace him.**