Love and Sacrifice(v3): What's in a name?

-----
That same night
-----

Shadow looked around, checking to make sure he was still alone. He stood up and stretched, then decided to scan the area he was in, see what it was like. But first, there was something he wanted to do... Un-sheathing his claws, he climbed up the nearest tree, going to the very top, then looking up.

The sky... To someone who had spent their whole life underground, the sky was a wonderful, yet scary thing. When you're used to having something over your head all the time, the idea of there being so much space above you is hard to comprehend. So vast, so unending... It was too much for him, so he finally climbed down the tree, returning to his motorcycle.

The little computer screen attached to his motorcycle was flashing. He tapped the screen gently with one finger and a coded message appeared. He typed in a series of passwords in the little keyboard that was attached to the screen by a small chain, and then the message cleared.

Mission 082- Search for the others and find out whether they are on our side or not. In total, there are sixteen others. If they prove to be un-trustworthy, kill them immediately. Do not let anyone see you. If someone sees you, you must eliminate them. If it is impossible for you to kill them, self destruct.

We have moved into the next country. This one is too dangerous. We will reveal our location to you as soon as you are out of Havail. Right now, it is too dangerous to send you anything important, our messages may be intercepted.

So he was to stay hidden till he got out of the country, and try and find the others too? From what he knew, the others were all in different countries. Different continents.

But not the steel type... That boy, why had he not been afraid? So bold, or rather, so trusting? And those eyes... They reminded him of Donari's eyes. Different color maybe, but both had that innocent, trust every one look to them, but with that slight, wary look. As if even though they trusted you, they knew that they really shouldn't.

He shook his head, clearing those thoughts from his mind. He had work to do... He had to leave this country, and find the others. Right now, that steel one was his best bet. However, Shadow did not like the idea of travelling in the day time. He would be seen to easily. A figure clad in black is hard to see at night, but in the day? On would stick out like an persian with a group of umbreons. It would be best for him to do his travelling now. For one, the dead body of Lt. Jakata had probably been found by now, and they would most likely send out their growlithe squads to track him and the other down. But he'd have to risk going back to pick up the trail of the other hybrid.

He re-loaded his gun, then got back on his motorcycle. This time, he was not leaving it behind, for he would need speed if they tried to chase him. He revved up the engine [that's how it's said, right?] and rode silently up to the base. Going around it in a wide circle, trying to find the boy's trail.

It did not take him long however, and he found that the trail lead to a road. /Damnit, now how can I follow his trail if he got in a car?/ He frowned, then returned to his motorcycle, bringing up a map of the area. /I am here...And the to the east, the road leads to a heavily populated area, yet to the west, there is a large stretch of empty land... That is the way he went./ He got back on the bike and followed the road, hiding in the trees that lined it's sides. He guessed he was not too far behind them for the metallic smell of a car was still very fresh. He rode on for several miles, when something about the area he was in bothered him. He looked around, concentrated on what he could hear. No pokemon... He should be able to hear rattatas and other nocturnal pokemon, especially some dark types. But he couldn't hear any.

Shadow dismounted cautiously, looking around. No signs of any wild pokemon nearby... This had to be the place where they had their underground base. He took out his gun. There was no telling whether they would attack him, or not, but he the former option was the more likely.

He heard a small sound behind him and turned. There was definitely someone there; he could smell the person, a pure human. Before he could do anything, he was shot, but he managed to dodge it. Whoever had shot at him had a bad aim. Shadow unclicked the safety lock and looked directly at where the shot had come from. He picked up the camouflaged form of a human and fired. It wasn't a fatal shot, but if the person was right handed, they wouldn't be able to fire any more. Another shot whizzed by his head, tearing through his hood but not touching any actual part of his body. There was no doubt that the one shooting him were humans... He whizzed around, found the other, and shot him too. However, right after shooting the other, someone shot him in his right arm, and another leapt from behind. He struggled, but after being shot in the he arm, and jumping from a window several stories up, he was not able to break free.

----------
The next morning, Blade's underground base infirmary
----------

Blade looked at the slightly older boy lying in the bed. How had he gotten all the way to where their base was in the condition he was in? He had badly fractured his left leg, and there was a crack in the bone of his right leg. He had many bruises all over, and the soles of his feet were in bad condition. He shouldn't have been able to even walk!

The other boy's eyes started to open, and he looked around, slightly disorientated. Sitting up immediately, he looked around at his surroundings. Then he spotted Blade and he frowned, looking suspiciously at him. "Where am I?" He asked.

Blade had to admit that the other boy's voice was 'creepy' to say the last. It was like a whisper, a dead, emotionless whisper... What could have happened to someone to make them like that? In the short time he had known the furred hybrid, he hadn't seen him display any real emotions. Even when they met at the Kaitan base, the only hit of surprise CXIII had shown was blinking once. That was it. Not even a flicker of surprise flashed across his green eyes. Those eyes... They were another thing. Like he had thought before, their cold glare seemed to burn right through your skull, as if he could see everything about you, as if there was no use hiding anything from him. "You're at our base." He replied, his mercury eyes wide and curious.

"You're too trusting." The other boy simply relplied, about to step out of bed when Blade gently placed a hand on his uninjured arm to stop him.

"You shouldn't be walking around." Blade said, his concern showing plainly on his face.

The other hybrid didn't reply, but simply looked at Blade's arm and tensed up. "Don't touch me." He hissed, jerking his arm out of Blade's grip. "And I'm fine." He got out of bed, looking down at the cast on his left leg. He snorted softly, and then noticed the various bandages and such all over him. And his right arm... He wouldn't be able to do much with it for a few days. But he wanted the cast off, and he wanted it off *now*. It interfered with his movements.

"You're not going to take the cast off, are you?"

No answer.

"What's your name?"

He turned to look at the boy, locking eyes for a moment. "I have no name." He replied, which to him, was true. He had no name... Names meant nothing. Project C/H, Type #15: CXIII - Shadow Seikou. That meant nothing to him, merely something people referred to him by for their own convenience. "But if you must call me something, it's Shadow.[2]" And he left the room, going in search of something to cut the cast off with. It was new, and shouldn't be too hard to get rid of.

"Shadow..." Blade repeated to himself. "Perfect name for one like him, so quiet, and so graceful, even more so than a persian."

"Talking to yourself again, Keisuke?" One of the rebels that Shadow had happened to shoot asked.

"There's nothing wrong with that." He retorted, blushing slightly at having forgotten that there were others in the infirmary.

"Yeah, well, that kid's got a good aim. Hit me in the wrist... Couldn't have been luck, George got shot in his wrist too."

"I told you not to shoot at him." The boy replied, smiling slightly at the older man. "I'm going to sharpen my blades, the edges are dull."

"Dull? I've never seen a blade cut a man's throat so cleanly and you say they're dull?" The man sighed, and lay back in his bed for Keisuke had gone.

--------

His eyes wandered down to Blade's sixth 'digits'. If they had slit those throats so cleanly[3] then they could easily cut his cast off. Shadow simply nodded.

"I'll need you to lie though, let's go back into the infirmary." He lead Blade back in and instructed him to lie down still on the bed. Carefully, he slit the cast on one side, then went over to the other and slit that side. The blades went cleanly through the plaster as easily as a hot knife through butter.

Shadow looked around. The base was quite similar to his, yet very different at the same time. The layout seemed very similar, but the atmosphere in this base seemed more... friendly. The lights were brighter, the whole hideout was roomier... Something he was very unused to.

However, he still got the sideways glances from people, as if any moment now they expected him to pull a gun on them or something equally sinister. But Shadow wasn't going to kill them, unless they turned out to be his enemies, or would get in his way...

He couldn't find anything sharp enough to cut the damn cast off though. He wandered back through the hall way where the infirmary was.

"Hey!"

That boy again... Shadow turned around, his eyes seeming to ask 'What?'

"I can cut the cast off for you."

"Thank you." The other boy replied, examining his leg.

"What are you going to do with it?"

Shadow just looked at him with what Blade interpreted as a 'Don't bother me and go away' look.

The steel hybrid sighed and got up. "I know you're going to be leaving soon, and I won't try to stop you. You probably have a mission somewhere else." He reached into his pocket and withdrew a small device. "Here, if for some reason you ever need to get in contact with me, you can use this." He put it down on the small table that was provided by Shadow's bed, and started to walk off. He needed to eat breakfast.

"I'm staying." Shadow said, glancing at the device briefly, then looking back at his leg. "But I'll leave tomorrow night."

"That's good. I'd prefer you to rest that leg for at least two weeks though, but I guess duty calls. If you're hungry, I can always get someone to bring someth-"

The dark hybrid cut him off. "I'll come myself."

"Oh... Ok." And Blade left, casting one last glance back at Shadow when he reached the door.

As soon as the other boy was gone, Shadow started to examine his leg. The broken bone had gone out of place so he'd have to re-set that. He limped around the infirmary and found a splint and some cloth bandages. Grasping his leg firmly in his hands, he pushed the bone hard till it popped back into place with a loud crack. Then he put the split against the leg and tied the bandage around it. Getting up, he tested his left leg, smiling ever so slightly, then walking off in the direction the other boy had gone.

-----------------------