Shadow's eyes were bloodshot, gazing at him with an empty stare and shaking slightly. He was wearing a strange black mechanical crown, perfectly smooth. The blue hero winced. He also had a brand on his shoulder, that of a diamond.
The controlled friend said, "Rebel acquired. Destruction Initiative Alpha file." He held up his hands and fired blazing Chaos at Sonic. He dodged easily, the stiffness in Shadow's movements making his attacks predictable. When he stopped again, Sonic ran up to him and stared in his eyes for a moment before running away. He saw that the stubborn black hedgehog was down there, still fighting, and he knew if he beat on that physical cage enough, he would be able to break those chains again. Sonic zipped around in a hairpin turn and kicked him straight in the face. The unflinching fighter stood and accepted the blow. Sonic jumped back, and saw his opponent's nose was now bleeding. Shadow held up his arms and cast out twin Chaos Destruction. Sonic smiled. Shadow always had been good with Chaos. He leapt and rolled through the storms, launching at his foe whenever possible. When the power of the ethereal tempests had been exhausted, he stopped and studied Shadow. He had several lacerations and a badly bent nose. Sonic launched into a Spin Dash, slamming the unmoving, bleeding hedgehog back into a building. When the dust cleared, a black arm was slowly pulling the attached broken body back up again. He heard a strange sound, like a vacuum. The wounded hedgehog stood straight for a second, then jumped, threw Chaos Spears, and dashed into a kick. Sonic dodged happily, knowing Shadow was almost free. He ran alongside the now unpredictable enemy and shouted to him that he knew Shadow was still there, still fighting, he was almost free. He yelled out to try and break his bonds. Shadow rammed him in response. Sonic weaved around buildings, letting his dark partner tire himself. He glanced back and smirked toward a fuming figure behind him. But then, the unthinkable happened: he tripped and fell. Only one mistake was needed to end the battle, and that was it. Shadow was on him in an instant, holding a glowing palm out toward him. Sonic looked up calmly into his dead visage.
"I know you're still there. Get your butt in gear and lend me a hand." he said quietly.
A light flashed in the hollow eyes, life growing in the ghost-like form. Shadow jerked, then twitched harder, rocking on his feet. All at once he stopped dead. He began to glow, brighter and brighter, until all went white.
Rouge:
I woke up on Shadow's bed, having fallen asleep while waiting for him to come back. I heard footsteps and, figuring it was him, walked out into his antechamber. It was Shadow, but he seemed… different, kinda spacey and vague. I said hey to him, expecting a sarcastic response, how he usually responded. Something along the lines of, "Good morning!" "Yeah? What's so good about it?". Instead, Shadow turned to me and grinned weirdly.
"Hiya, Rouge, been here long?" His voice was strangely high for his normal deep bass tones. I shrugged. I dunno, maybe he started doing drugs, how should I know? He didn't talk to anyone, how would we ever find out if he was a druggee?
"Not too long, maybe an hour. How was the fight?" I knew that would annoy him. He hated when anyone peeked in something private of his.
"Oh, I won. See? I'm here!" he chuckled oddly.
"Umm... Yeah. I see. I, uh, looked in the envelope, read the letter in it."
"That's okay! I was busy, now I'm not. Tada!"
I started to wonder what was going on, if maybe Sonic had painted himself black and red to make fun of me.
"Hey, wanna join me, take a trip?" He chirped cheerily. Join you on the acid trip, perhaps?
"Eh, okay, where to?" I said slowly, a little apprehensive.
"I'll show you! Let's go!" I couldn't tell what had happened. I seriously considered checking him for coke, but then I thought to myself: What if I asked him about his past? If he was loopy, he'd actually answer. I smiled to myself. That would be underhanded, sneaky, devious... and completely satisfying. I shrugged.
"Why not? But really, where are we goin' anyway?"
"Heehee! You'll see! Follow me!" I really hoped he was on drugs and the battle hadn't knocked his head loose.
Shadow:
I watched myself lead Rouge away, despair in my heart. I couldn't even control my own body, and now Rouge would end up like me, a prisoner in my own mind. I knew of only one way to escape that hadn't been blocked, my natural absorption of Chaos energy. Without that, I would die, so Negatem had left it in place. I could eventually sneak enough Chaos energy to release myself, but it would take quite a bit of time. All my… I finally admitted it to myself. All my friends would be gone. I had to leave it to Sonic for the present. I smiled grimly. But when I got out, there would be hell to pay. A personal, bloody dagger, painful revenge.
Sonic:
Staring death in the face can change your world. I had seen a vision of myself dying without Amy, having never admitted love for her. I knew then and knew now I that I couldn't let that happen. So, I had kissed her, knowing that any show of affection would set her on fire. She knew as much as I, now, how I felt for her.
We had walked into Tails' lab and grabbed the spare set of Run Shoes for Amy to keep up with me, and as many rings as we could obtain on short notice. After dashing around for anything that could help us, we decided to take the Chaos Emerald we had hidden in the Tornado. Amy met up with Tails and Cosmo, and explained what had happened. Tails nodded seriously and replied that he would make sure Cosmo was safe. She blushed and said they'd be fine. We bid them a final farewell and dashed off to see if we could get Shadow or Knuckles to give us a hand.
Rouge:
Shadow dashed across plains, I flying overhead. He seemed to be going in the direction of Sonic's fancy new house. I was curious, but I was willing to let it go if the apparently stoned hedgehog could shed some light on his past.
After about ten minutes, we were coming up to the castle. I snorted. I had always known 'faker', as Shadow called him, had an ego problem, but I hadn't thought it was that bad!
The gate loomed in front of us, but Shadow seemed to have no intention of stopping.
SLAM! He didn't. I landed and gaped at the very large hole my tipsy-looking buddy had bored through the navy narcissist's gate. Whoo boy, Sonic wouldn't be happy about that! I ducked through and found Shadow still walking forward. I had this odd feeling that I should leave, but I shrugged it off and followed my guide.
I caught up to my focused friend as we entered a devastated courtyard. I knew instinctively Shadow had fought here. For some reason, though, it didn't have his characteristic circular crater that was the result of Chaos Blast. My large bat's ear flicked. I heard something around the yard. I used our silent hand code to warn Shadow. For some reason, he looked at me, bewildered. I slapped my head.
"How do I get involved with these things? Now he's gone daft on me!" I muttered to myself as I carefully listened for anything that might give our enemy away. My eyes widened as I processed the slightest sound around me. Whoever was out there… was using Chaos Control. I could feel that subtle pulse of power through my outstretched ears. I started to warn Shadow when something slammed into my back. I went hurtling into a pile of rubble. Spitting fury, I climbed to my feet, only to have them swept out form under me. Laughter echoed throughout the broken walls. I landed hard and rolled, knowing that the person above me would likely continue their attack. To my surprise, nothing happened behind me. I was starting to get nervous."What am I worried about?" I told myself. "Shadow and I can…" I looked around. Shadow was gone! "Godda-"
A fist met my face at warp speed, sending me dazed into a wall. I wobbled to my feet and shook the stars out of my eyes. When I looked up again, I saw a pitch black hedgehog staring me in the face. He was hanging upside-down from nothing. He was looking at me, through me, with eyes, so dark, so deep, bottomless…
I started to lose myself in that gaze, spinning around and around. I tried to shake myself and release myself, but all I could do was cringe a little. I felt myself losing control.
Then, something tackled me and the spell was broken. I looked up and saw Shadow. He had saved me.
"R-r-rouge, *gasp* r-run, w-while you c-can…" he wheezed out, clutching his head convulsively. I backed away, and he shook violently. He stiffened, and his eyes went unfocused. He began to laugh crazily, head jerking upwards every few seconds. I knew I had to get out of there. I started to run out of the castle, remembering in my panic where I had come from. I reached the front yard, and began to take off when suddenly that black figure reappeared in front of me and slammed me down, holding my neck. He looked in my eyes again, and I knew I was lost. I saw Shadow trapped in himself, the reason he had acted so strangely. I saw an evil so pure, it froze my heart. The world began to spin again, my will retreating involuntarily. I could feel my mind breaking. I decided with a bitter heart that it would be better to live with a mind in slavery than without one at all, and I was lost in any case. I sank into my subconscious, fleeing the destruction that he was creating. I hid in a tiny corner of my mind, and felt my body moving against my will. It stood mechanically and lined up next to Shadow behind the malevolent figure. Our bodies spoke in unison.
"What do you require, Master?"
He stepped out, further into the light, and I saw his fangs glisten. He said, "Follow, and learn how my domination continues." He laughed evilly and swaggered into the castle. He beckoned to us without looking back, and we followed like broken puppets.
///