A Shadicks Story (Part 3)
A day earlier
"So to sum it up, Shadow is basically a walking government conspiracy," Sonic said. But in the shade behind the blue blur's humble shack watched T. W. Barker, the villainous ringmaster of Bygone Island who had teamed up with Eggman on a few occasions. He had listened to the whole ordeal of the feared black hybrid's past, and he himself admitted that it was an intriguing tale. He grinned and chuckled to himself as a plan to capture the lone antihero formed in his mind. Shadow didn't like anyone and preferred to be alone, only ever seen when he had to be, and the good doctor's outburst earlier that day had helped spread fearful rumors in general public.
"I think a visit to the good Dr. Eggman is in order," he said to himself and stalked off.
The devious wolf waited impatiently outside the mad scientist's not so secret base and knocked again viciously. The metal door finally swung open to reveal the island's arguably most renown villain in his usual attire.
"What do you want, Barker? A new gadget for your circus?" the human demanded. The wolf only grinned knowingly.
"Actually, after that rather interesting exchange between yourself and Shadow earlier, I followed that crew of meddlesome heroes and heard the full story. It turns out that the black menace isn't as villainous as I thought."
"And why should I care what you know about Shadow's past?"
Barker inspected his claws gingerly as he replied, "I thought he would make a great addition to my show. The Infamous Shadow, Alien Hybrid, Most Deadly Creation in the World! One night only, well, perhaps two," he announced as if he were already on stage. Eggman stroked his mustache as he thought about it.
"And how do you plan on convincing him to join?"
"That, my dear ingenious friend, is where we become partners. I split a portion of the profits, you provide the necessary devices to hold him, and we both witness the fall and public humiliation of a common enemy. And maybe even capture the Sonic Team as an added bonus?"
Eggman smirked and shook hands with the mobian, "It's a deal."
Time skip to after "He's a What?!" brought to you by Silver the Hedgehog! ;)
The Sonic team, plus Shadow, were gathered inside Sonic's house after the unexpected tiff earlier that evening. By now the sun was almost completely set over the horizon, and stars were shining above the island.
Shadow stood a few feet away from the main crowd, his burn almost fully healed, but Sticks had insisted she wrap it. He was a loner by nature, and wasn't used to being around so many people for so long or letting them take care of him.. They were going on about why Eggman had attacked so soon for almost no reason, and the black hedgehog was only vaguely paying attention. That is, until a question caught his ear.
"Why would Eggman go after Sticks? He knows that none of us are separated for very long," Amy stated. It suddenly clicked in the antihero's mind.
"He wasn't after her," he answered, "He didn't even know she was there until she started fighting. He wanted me."
"Why would he be after you? I mean, you totally trashed his robots, not to mention you nearly killed him like, how many times?" Tails asked. The dark hedgehog shrugged, and Sticks wondered just how dangerous he really was if he was able to pass off his attacks as easily as he did.
"Don't forget you almost destroyed the universe a couple of months ago," Knuckles added. Shadow glared at the echidna.
"That was a one time thing."
He wasn't deterred, "Eclipse Cannon, Black Arms, that short bit with the Metarex, just to get started."
Shadow's glare hardened, and he struggled to suppress a feral growl, "Those were all special instances, and that was the planet, not the universe."
"You're still a villain at heart. Just admit it already! You were probably planning something with Eggman, and he turned on you!" Knuckles accused. Sticks and Amy gasped.
"That can't be true...," the badger mumbled, and Amy squeezed her shoulder in reassurance.
"That's a lie!" Shadow denied, "You know I put the past behind me, and that my memories were not always correct, but I always saved the world in the end!"
"In the end!" he countered, "It takes weeks of destruction for you to decide which side you're on!"
"Both of you stop!" Sonic yelled and held his arms between them before a fight could break out, "Fighting between ourselves isn't going to help anybody, so just apologize and shake hands."
Both hot tempered males turned away with their arms crossed. Shadow huffed, "I meant what I said, so I have nothing to apologise for. It's your idiot teammate that should accept that he was wrong."
Knuckles laughed incredulously, "I know I'm right. Once a villain, always a villain."
Shadow decided that this 'band of misfits' wasn't worth his time, "Believe what you want, echidna, but I made a promise that I would protect this world, and intend to keep it," he said and walked out into the night.
"Go ahead! Walk away from a challenge like you always do!" he snapped. The ebony hybrid stopped at the doorway but didn't turn around.
"I never refuse a challenge from an equal. You haven't reached that status yet," he replied darkly and ran out into the jungle in a red streak.
Sticks and Amy both smacked Knuckles on the back of the head with fierce glares that could kill a man. Good thing Knuckles wasn't human.
"How could you say that to Shadow!? He's done so much to help this planet and make up for his mistakes," Amy reprimanded.
"He risked his life for me, and you treat him like he was an evil microwave with hidden satellites trying to kidnap us!" Sticks continued in her own quirky way, "I'm gonna go find him."
In an instant, she was running in the same direction Shadow went, not bothering what her teammates thought.
With Shadow
The dark hedgehog trudged through the jungle undergrowth, his obsidian fur melding into the night background. His ruby eyes glistened in the night, perfectly capable of sight in the darkness.
He couldn't comprehend why he had even stayed as long as he did. Perhaps it was because that meddling badger had insisted that she patch his shoulder up, just to sooth her worry. If she knew who he was now, then shouldn't she know that he didn't need the same kind of medical attention her teammates did? He shook his head. He should have never thought that the click of heroes would accept him and treat him as one of their own.
"I'm not a villain," he growled to himself, as he stalked through the jungle, "Not anymore."
His ears perked as a familiar voice called his name. "Shadow! Shadow, where are you?! Shadow! Don't let him get to ya; he doesn't know what he's talkin' about!" Sticks shouted as she unknowingly drew closer to his position, and he backed deeper into his namesake for cover. Out of all of them, she was the last one he wanted to talk to. She was too naive to understand.
"Shado--Ah!" she yelled, and his eyes darted to her, as the sounds of a struggle reached his ears, "H-Hey! Let me go! Aaaahh!"
Without a second thought, Shadow charged into the clearing with a chaos spear ready. A wolf he vaguely recognized dressed in a ringmaster costume had a firm grip on Sticks with an extended claw drawn close to her neck. He knew he had to act carefully; this was now a hostage situation.
"Ah, Shadow, how marvelous to see you on this fine night," he declared, as if he had been on a simple stroll. The dark male frowned.
"Let her go, and no one gets hurt," he demanded. The wolf smiled, showing off one of his glistening canines.
"Why? Is she special to you?" he teased. Shadow's eyes narrowed.
"She's currently not one of my enemies," he answered evenly, not allowing whatever he was thinking to be seen. Barker had to admit, his skill at covering emotion was incredibly good.
"If you don't care about her, then maybe I can take care of her right here. Primal instinct and all that, you know. As a predator, it resurfaces every once in a while, and such a fine prey I have found," he said as he tilted her head up with his clawed finger, his eyes never leaving Shadow's.
"Let her go. You can always find a non-mobian to hunt," he tried to compromise. Barker laughed.
"What are you willing to do to ensure her safety?" he asked. Shadow's eyes narrowed as his lips curled upward in a challenging snarl.
"What are you willing to do to ensure yours?"
Sticks watched in horror as the males stared each other down. It reminded her of her days in the wild, when two predators would fight over a recent kill.
"Is that a threat?" the wolf laughed, "From villain to villain, I must say that was pretty good. But my question stands."
"Release her!" Shadow ordered, his quills flaring as a sign of dominance, and he had the inward pleasure of seeing the wolf shrink back a little.
"At what price?" he countered, "You have to do something for me in exchange if you want to see your little pet safe from harm."
The ebony hedgehog crossed his arms, "What did you have in mind?"
"Shadow, don't! He'll trick you!" Sticks pleaded. The claw pressed into her neck, not enough to harm her seriously, but enough to draw blood. Shadow's arms fell to his side as he saw this, his shock evident. Barker grinned maliciously.
"Promise to join my circus, and she goes free. That is my final offer."
The obsidian hedgehog furrowed his brows in deep thought, and Barker wondered if his plan would have all been for nothing.
"You promise no harm will come to her?" Shadow bargained carefully. He wanted all of his facts straight before he made another move.
"Of course, I am a wolf of my word. Now, is it a deal?" he asked with his free hand extended. Sticks fought to free herself, only for the claw to go a little deeper, not enough for serious injury, but enough to hurt. Shadow took the hand.
"I accept."
"Promise me," Barker continued.
Shadow's eyes widened. This wolf knew.
Flashback to when Barker and Eggman are talking
"Now, how can I be sure that when he says he will join me, that he won't slit my throat and leave?" Barker asked, his tail flicking in businesslike apprehension. The human bellowed in laughter.
"It's very easy. Make him promise. Unlike most, Shadow is a hedgehog that never breaks his word. If he makes a promise, he'll either keep it or die trying, trust me. It's almost physically impossible for him to go back on his word. I've gone through the notes on Project Shadow and it seems that his DNA structure prohibits him from breaking even the simplest of deals once he swears he'll do them. I saw a video of him trying once, and it gave him a searing headache and fever for weeks."
Barker sneered, "How perfectly terrific."
Back to the Present
Shadow hesitated, "I...I promise." A faint, barely noticeable red sheen flickered over his eyes. There was no turning back now. Barker laughed and dropped the badger girl.
She slunk to her knees and coughed from the choke hold. Her hand covered the cut to try to put pressure on the bleeding. Shadow knelt beside her and checked the wound, unaware of what the wolf was doing behind him until it was too late.
Suddenly, the black and red hedgehog felt a cold metal collar click around his neck. He spun around with a deadly look in his eyes and drew closer to Barker, ready to fight. However, he simply stood there, looking down at his wrist, where he had a watch-like band with multiple buttons. He pressed one, and Shadow felt a jabbing shock run through his body from the collar so quickly he froze.
"Ah, ah, ah, Shadow. You belong to me now."
"Sticks," he fought to say, "Get out of here."
Barker wagged his finger knowingly, "Nice try, badger."
The next thing Sticks knew was that she felt something hard hit her in the back of the head before she fell into unconsciousness.
Shadow growled at Barker, who was dusting his hands, "You promised not to hurt her!"
"She's not dead, if you're so worried. But that's show-bizz, something you'll have to get used to. Now, use that little teleporting trick you do, and get us to my camp immediately."
"It's called Chaos Control," Shadow corrected darkly, only to be waved off.
"I don't care. I'm your new master now, so therefore, you will obey me. Now get us to my camp!"
"I promised to join your circus, not become one of your pets," he retorted with his arms crossed. Barker smirked devilishly.
"And that makes you my servant," he replied, "Becoming part of my show, means I own you. I can show you the paper contract in my office if you don't believe me."
"You failed to mention that, liar!" Shadow snapped, but he suddenly felt a stronger electric pulse zap him.
"You didn't read the fine print, and that's not my fault."
"You're a lying con."
Another shockwave pulled Shadow to the ground, as he said, "You're my new pet, and it's time someone tamed you."