Chapter 26: Shadic's Insanity

Shadic sat there, looking down at his father, for a few minutes. When he looked up, tears were building in his eyes. He felt rage build up inside him. The immortal hedgehog stood and glared at the robot, even though it wasn't entirely its fault.

"You...you killed my father!"

"We had to," the robot said. "You know there was nothing else we could do."

Shadic shook his head. "He was powerless! You could have sent him back to the asylum!"

"Either way, he would have died. The asylum wouldn't have been able to do anything to help him."

The immortal hedgehog growled. He noticed a centipede crawl out of Sonic's nose and caught it in a jar. "I'll keep this in here."

The robot nodded and walked away. Shadic grinned and chuckled. He could hear the voices in his head telling him what to do.

"I'll finish what father started..." he said.

An insane laugh ripped from his throat and he ran off to Blaze's house carrying the centipede with him. When he arrived, he ran right to Blaze's room. She wasn't anywhere to be seen. Shadic frowned. Leaving the room, he checked the rest of the house. Shadow was in hers, still in a wheelchair and hooked up to life support. Shadic looked at his mother, feeling sympathy well up inside him. He couldn't kill her but he could kill Blaze. However, he had a feeling that she was the robot. Shadic looked at the centipede.

"What should I do with it?" He asked the voices. "It killed father."

You could kill it. Insects die easily.

Shadic hesitated. This thing used to be Silver, Blaze's wife. Blaze had never mentioned that she was gay. Shadic looked at the centipede again. Maybe he could use it, instead. He chuckled and picked it up, wondering if it was in that form forever or could change back.

"Can you change back to yourself?" Shadic asked. "Or have you been a centipede too long?" The centipede scuttled out of the jar and looked at Shadic. "Well?" Shadic crossed his arms, looking down at it. It tried to change back. A few minutes passed and nothing happened. Shadic sighed and picked up the centipede. "Guess you can't. Oh well. You're all mine now."

The centipede wriggled in his hand. It tried to escape and bit him. Shadic yelled and dropped it as it crawled away. He looked at where it had bit him. A swollen wound had appeared and he ran after the centipede. It had crawled under something, and Shadic growled. Finding it was going to be a pain in the ass.

"Come back here!" He yelled, following it.

Shadic soon found it difficult to keep track of. He growled and saw it, then put the jar over the insect. The centipede ran into the curve of the jar, unable to go anywhere else. Shadic chuckled and put in in his pocket. He heard a noise and looked around to see Blaze. She had just walked in, and was startled to see him.

"Shadic? What are you doing here?"

The immortal hedgehog grinned. "I was looking for you," he said. "Also..."

He held up the jar that had the centipede.

Blaze's eyes widened. "You still have Silver?"

"I do," Shadic told her. "What should we do with it?"

"Do you know if she can return to normal?"

"It cannot," Shadic said. "The centipede already tried."

"I see." Blaze looked down for a brief moment. "I should see how Shadow's doing."

She left and went into Shadow's room. Shadic followed her. "When you were the robot, I told you not to kill Sonic," he said angrily. "Why did you? Even though he was insane, I still loved him!"

"I did it because he was insane. I'm sorry Shadic, but sometimes you have to give up someone or something you love in order to do what's best for everyone. I didn't want to kill him either, but if we had left him alone, he would have only gotten worse. Who knows what he could have done to the planet?"

"But we took all of his powers away!"

"He was going to die regardless. Nothing would have stopped that."

The immortal hedgehog frowned. He watched Blaze retreat as the voices were heard in his head. She killed your father and the centipede was also doing its work...kill her.

Shadic chuckled and nodded. He watched Blaze. It would be foolish to simply attack her. Surprise was the best course of action. He chuckled and left, then saw a knife in the kitchen and grabbed it, sneaking up behind her quietly. Raising the knife, he plunged it into her back. Blaze cried out, falling forward.

She fell to the ground and looked at Shadic. "Why?"

"Because you killed my father. You and Silver were working together."

"But..."

Shadic stabbed her again. Blaze screamed again. Shadic continued to do so until she died. When he was done, he turned to the centipede. It was what had truly killed his father. He advanced on the centipede. Scared, it stung him multiple times and did what it did to Sonic.

Shadic growled in anger. "You're going to kill me the same way you killed him?"

The centipede burrowed into his body. Shadic screamed as he tried to pull it out. The centipede wriggled from his fingers, getting into his body before he could get it out.

"Fuck!" Shadic said. "I cannot die the same way my father did! Tell me what to do!" He asked the voices.

Sonic couldn't get it out, but maybe you can. It can't have traveled too far into your body.

Shadic nodded and closed his eyes, using his powers to try and get the centipede out. He felt something moving inside his abdomen. Sucking in a breath, he focused on the movement he felt. He concentrated and tried to get the centipede out. Gasping in pain, Shadic squeezed his eyes shut. Even using his telekinesis, the motion filled him with intense pain. He felt something counter his telekinesis and knew it was the centipede. Shadic released his powers, moving to sit on the floor. He sighed and shook his head, wondering what would happen now.

Looking around the house, he decided to stay there, at least for a while. Shadic sighed and walked into the bedroom, looking at his mother. He felt sorry for her.

Going over, he placed a hand over hers. "I'm sorry, mother."

She looked at him with soulless eyes. Shadic looked at her as well and began to cry. Placing his head in her lap, Shadic held her as best as he could. Soon, he felt a hand lay on top of his head. It did nothing else, but the simple gesture was enough to make him feel a little better.

"Mother...what should I do?" He asked, still sobbing.

Shadow pet through his quills without saying anything. Shadic looked up at Shadow, looking at her through his tear-stained face. Shadow looked down at him and gave him a small smile.

"I wish you could speak," Shadic told her. Then he stood up and sighed, walked out of the room, and looked at Blaze's dead body. The voices in his head began again.

Are you going to stay with your mother until you die?

"I can't die," Shadic said. "I'm immortal."

What about the centipede? Are you sure it won't be able to succeed?

"Even if it does, it won't kill me."

You should probably do something about the cat, the voices said.

Shadic nodded. He dragged the body out of the house and buried it in the backyard. Once he was done, he covered it up and went back inside. He was slowly becoming insane, just like his father.