Reflection 008: Believe in Yourself
After all this time, Shadow finally felt like doubting himself. He had long since shed the wretched confidence that had plagued him, abandoned the arrogance of his younger years. It had all been worthless, anyway, just a mask hiding the hollow soul beneath. What it came down to now was finding out just how hollow that soul truly was.
The black hedgehog peered over the edge of the cliff. Humans from around the world revered this giant canyon, flocking from all over the world. Above, the sun glared down in a summer huff, and a stiff breeze only occasionally shuffled by. Despite his black fur, Shadow was unaffected by the heat. He was focused on the problem at hand.
Though his soul-searching was a peaceful venture, the men at GUN had something far different in mind. To them, he was still the 'ultimate life', a weapon to be abused. Ever since the hedgehog had resurfaced, they had been tailing him, acting too timid to approach him.
This was no longer the case.
It was likely they were hard pressed to find a sedative strong enough to bring him down, but Shadow had no doubts they had done it. After all, they kept him in suspended animation for over 50 years.
Again, the black hedgehog swept his gaze over the edge of the cliff. His sharp ears picked up the beat of helicopter blades, and somewhere in the distance he could hear the rumble of engines. Dust blew around his feed in the weak wind, and the shadows of leaves fluttered across his fur.
Shadow had given up the title of 'ultimate'. It had not defined him, and he refused to be dragged down by it again. No one else was going to tell the hedgehog who he was—they always lied.
The hedgehog took a step backwards, still gazing out across the canyon. Doubt had returned. If he was not ultimate, could he even make this jump? It was well over a mile across. If he could not even trust himself to save one girl, could he trust himself with his own life? It wasn't like he could be sure of his lower limit at this point. If he threw himself to the wind, just as he had tossed everything else in his life, could he be sure to survive?
It wasn't like he was a seer.
With another step back, Shadow could feel his resolve slipping. One step turned to two, which quickly proliferated as he kept retreating. Never did his eyes leave the gaping maw of earth.
Gunshots sounded, and something grazed the hedgehog's ear. He growled, trying to catch the source of the attack. Crunching footsteps were rapidly approaching, pushing past scrub and hurtling towards him. The steady heartbeat of a chopper was looming overhead. An unwanted fate was rearing its ugly head.
Somewhere in the distance, the lonely cry of a condor echoed across the canyon.
Shadow darted forward, seizing a mostly certain doom over an assured slavery.
AN: Sleep would probably be wisest at this point, if I were actually tired. To be honest, though, I really liked the thought of an unconfident Shadow. You rarely see him as anything of the sort, though I get the impression that he's just very skilled at hiding it. Even Sonic's been brought down a peg every now and again, and I always enjoy seeing people with their armor off.
On that note, there's totally a cover pic for this now! It took me about 30 minutes to an hour to conceptualize and create, and I'm pretty happy with it. Initially, it was going to be Shadow's face or something about him holding a Chaos Emerald, but that's been done a million times and then some. I wanted something that was recognizably Shadow without being his face but was also purely Shadow (so no ARK, Maria, Black Doom insignia, etc). I also wanted something somewhat abstract without being too obscure. I was debating just doing the golden rings around Shadow's wrists when the current design struck me. I hope you enjoy it! (Too bad my siggy doesn't show. Oh well, it'll be up on my deviantart soon enough!)
As I Am,
~Lady Spritzy
Posted 2 August 2012
