All Honesty Aside

Third: Confrontation

by Lady Virgo



"I lay my heart

stripped of lies

and honesty

before your eyes"

///

Life had since ceased to be simple when the third generation Robot Masters were awaken. After a while it wasn't so much that they fell into a place, more as they forced their way into niches that were never created before. Most of the halls were alive with talking and laughing of the latest fight between Shadow and Quick. The elder always getting on the other's case about never caring about others, but always pushing them away and the younger would just sneer and ignore him.

However, as the third week trickled into the new month, Quick had something else to worry about.

Ice, the first of soon to be many, was found one morning, beaten and raped. The next day, Cut was found the same way, then Heat. None of the three would talk about it, but then, on the fourth day, Crash was the next victim, reduced from his outgoing self back to his frightened, cowering persona he had struggled to abandon after his activation.

Quick abruptly stopped all attention directed to Shadow in order to get to the bottom of this. Though far from being the oldest, Quick took it upon himself to look out for all the Robot Masters, simply because no one else would. He was defensive about his family, pushing them all to take care of each other and would be the first to step in to break up a fight, even to take a hit himself. Even to him, though, it was a loose family structure, but there were some he considered closer than brothers that he would never, ever want to have hurt and would get very overprotective- even to the point of becoming violent –over them. And one of them was Crash.

It didn't take him very long to squeeze the information out of the drill bomber, and ever since then, an invisible line had been drawn between him and Magnet, the first real instigator of a group of robots that would, after a few years, come to be known as the Enforcers.

Though Quick himself was helpless against the other, physically weaker, he would do all he could to keep Magnet from touching any of the other Robot Masters. Until Wily became tired of some of the more troublesome robots and sanctioned, to a point, Magnet's actions, leaving Quick completely unable to bar him any further. A few of the older Robot Masters joined Magnet's group, Flash being the biggest name to follow him. Though he wasn't the most powerful or intelligent Robot Master, Flash was someone many looked up to in awe of his battle callousness and rather cruel sense of humor. And once he had found someone who could crack Quick's 'buddy-buddy' system, Flash was more than happy to stand against him, smirking in the speedster's defeated face. And with Flash went the support of other strong robots and soon, out of fear of being the next victim, Quick's only backing were the few he openly called his brothers.

Quick's reign as the ever-popular older brother was coming to an end, and Magnet's fear-induced presence was filling in quickly.

But Shadow wasn't bothered by either groups. He didn't care for what happened to others, thus stood at the junction pathways of alliance, standing with no desire to move from that place. He committed his time free from Quick's watchful eye and Magnet's thoughtful smirk prowling the halls of Skull Fortress. He had his own business to worry about and the deadline was beginning to bare down on them.

"He's trying to bypass your neuronet." Shadow said, flipping through Wily's plans in a bland air. "He's created a circuit to put in your brain that will allow you to be controlled."

"I know. Pity he thinks I would go through so many years without doing some sort of updating on myself. But then again, Wily had always been the short-sighted type."

"Why did you let them catch you?"

There came a dry chuckle. "After I found out he stole my plans and was creating you, I figured we needed to talk. After all, it wasn't so much as my calling you as it was your searching for me. You knew I was here because you're based off of me."

He frowned. It was convoluted, but he understood it. Blues was the prototype and he, with his old design and outdated formatting, was an attempted replacement; made to think, act and know the same things the other knew, but made to obey, like Blues wasn't.

Shadow…. The double-edged name. The search for his predecessor tore at his mind and now that he was found, he wasn't sure…. No, that's not right. He /was/ sure. He was certain that he knew why he was constantly empty inside. It was because he was no more an individual than he was his own person. It was a revelation that left him…. A hand curled tightly. That left him feeling no more at this moment than at any other.

"Don't be so uptight about this." Blues said, watching the static ceiling with little interest. "In all due respect, I'm not too happy with the idea of him trying to recreate me in a 'better light' as he might put it."

"I know." Came the reply. He knew why Wily did it. He knew that Blues didn't appreciate it and he knew, that it Blues that was the copy, that he wouldn't like the idea of being a copy. It brought into question if the disdain that Shadow felt was his own feelings, or those of Blues.

Violet eyes slid across the table to where Blues lay, uncovered red eyes staring back at him with that same all-knowing look. He then looked to where his equipment lay in the dark corner of the lab.

"Go to my shield."

His gaze flickered to the tarnished white shield, laying atop the rest of the burgundy armor. He knew what was there, he knew what he was to take. "Why?" He asked.

"Take it."

It wasn't much of an encouragement, but he did as he was told, the perfect puppet waiting for the one master to control, weaving beyond the security camera's sight.

Inside the curve of the shield, hidden within the deepest corner, was a thin, long rise. Shadow unhooked it from its clasp, drawing the sword out part way to inspect the unblemished edge of the blade.

"Why are you giving this to me?" He said aloud.

"Long ago," Blues laid his head back, his gaze faraway in memory, "I stood at a crossroad. Do I stay and become the mindless, will-less creature I was told to be, or would I fulfill my duty and become individual? I know my fate, I know what will become of me. Because I choose my future." He looked at Shadow, the parable ringing in hollow ears. "That sword will decide your future, but you decide which future is yours to take." He stared back at the ceiling. "You should go. Wily will be back down soon to finish his project." Before his words had finished, Shadow and the sword had already left.

Blues smiled to himself. "The poor boy. You have all the expectations Wily couldn't succeed with from me resting on you, and you'll fail miserably." He would have laughed if the silent chuckles deep in his chest expanded. "Wily's a fool if he thinks he can pick me apart and keep only what he wants." He sighed, whistling that same infuriating song as the doctor's steps echoed down the corridor.

///

"What's the status so far?"

"He's gotten through three of the third army so far."

"That fast?"

"Considering the layout and who at least /one/ of them were.…"

"But still, he made such quick work of Magnet and Hard! I'm mean, MAGNET!"

"And Blues.… he barely even puts up a fight!"

"You know better than to depend on Blues to be on our side. Even with Wily-sama's controlling him…."

"Yeah, but.…"

"He's heading towards Shadow. He'll take care of him."

"Sure! He's the best of them all!"

The surveillance room chattered endlessly, watching the camera as if followed Rock, as if it were all a game. A few of the older robots began placing bets. Shadow would be the sure winner here, that much was certain.

Quietly, Quick left his post along the wall, leaving the room nearly unnoticed.

"Quick?" He stopped at the sound of his name. "Quick, where are you going?"

"I'm not going to watch this Metal. I'm surprised that you are."

The blade wielder crossed his arms over his armored chest. "Don't you want to see what happens?"

"I don't want anyone to get hurt. I've seen enough."

"It's our job to monitor-"

"It's not my job," Quick snapped, "to see needless destruction! If you of all people can't understand that, then leave me alone!"

There was a long pause as the speedster turned his back to his brother and it seemed that Metal had left him alone. Until a hand tugged lightly on his shoulder.

"Quick.… this isn't like you. You've been acting oddly since.… since the third generation was activated." He turned the other around to look him in the eyes. "Tell me what's wrong."

"I don't.…" he leaned forward, almost as if he deflated, resting his chin on the small Robot Master's shoulder. "I don't want to do this anymore. I can't take it.… everyone's falling so far away from me, I can't catch them all anymore."

"Quick.…" he soothed, rubbing the crest of the other's red helmet. "You don't have to be there for all of us. You can't protect us all, and really.… we need to grow up sometime, we need to learn to take care of ourselves." Metal pulled back, hands supporting the other's shoulders. "And don't worry. I'm sure his defeat will humble Magnet a bit."

There was a snort. "You really think that?" He pulled back, eyes flashing with a golden hue. "No, if anything, being defeated will only make Magnet worse. He'll just be harder on all of us just prove that he's still in control, to show that nothing's changed."

Metal looked down, not knowing what to say. When it came to character judgment, Quick was one of the best, his analysis was one that couldn't be disputed. But Metal knew Quick, nearly to the point where he could name where the other would be at any given time.

"That's the not the only thing bothering you, is it?"

".…no."

"What is it?"

There was a heavy sigh. "I've been doing that introspective shit again."

"This can't be good. Still about Shadow, apparently."

"Metal.… I think.… I like him."

A brief pause. "Like him? As in how?"

"As in.…" he tried to pick his words carefully, wanting to get the point across, but not wanting to over-exaggerate the emotion, "as in what I feel for you guys, except more personal, intimate."

"Mmm." Came the reply.

"….is that all?"

"Is there something else you want me to say?"

Quick stood to his full height, giving Metal an incredulous look. "Well, maybe that I'm an idiot? That I shouldn't be feeling this way about a stubborn asshole who won't even speak more than two words to me a day? That it's stupid when you don't even know what's so great about him?"

"Well, why /do/ you like him?"

He stuttered off his rant. "Um.…"

"I'm sure there's a good reason," Metal continued, leaning against the hallway, watching his younger brother struggle with words, "if you want me to try to dissuade you from liking him."

Another pause lengthened the hall, slightly guilty on Quick's part. "I.… I don't know.… why I like him." He managed to get out, curling on floor of the hall like a vaguely innocent kid being called to the principal's office and not knowing why. That air passed quickly as he stretched out his legs, leaning against the wall. "It's just that, it really sucks not knowing what he thinks about things. I mean.… I don't know if it's just because of how /I/ am, but I just feel like… I don't know, protecting him or something." He tilted his head to look at Metal. "And not 'protect' like I do with you guys. I mean sheltering him from the world, telling him that everything's going to be okay. Just /once/ I want to get through to him! I want to see him smile so badly, I want to hold him, let him know that I'm there for him. But he won't fucking /let me/!" He railed, clenching his fingers against his helmet. "Do you know how much it /aggravates/ me? Jeez, it gets me so mad sometimes I just want to hit him!"

"I see your dilemma."

"Yeah, I'll bet you do. Besides," he kicked out at a dust bunny that littered the otherwise scuffled floor, "why would he care about me? All he does is just snarl and ignore me. Not really encouraging."

"But then again," Metal said, sliding next to the other, "you /are/ the only one that's shown any sort of concern towards him."

"So?"

"So, you know as well as I do." He patted Quick's knee. "So he's an ice statue. So he doesn't seem to care about anyone but himself. So he singles you out and blatantly ignores you. Maybe the reason he seems to hate you so much is because you're getting through to him. Somewhere no one else has ever gotten because they've never tried, somewhere he's too afraid to let people in."

Quick snorted. "Now you're just being sappy. Like /that/ would ever happen."

"It could."

"Yeah right. Ow, ow, hey, stop that!" He jumped slightly, slapping at the hand that was twisting-pinching his leg.

Metal frowned behind his face guard. "That's definitely not like you. Whatever happened to your being so optimistic and outgoing? What suddenly changed that?"

"Reality hit, that's what." He grumbled, rubbing his thigh.

"Quick.…"

"What?" He protested. "So I've finally seen the light. I've finally realized I've been blind. I'm taking things seriously now, I'm not trying to hope for something that would never happen. You think you guys would be happy that I've changed."

Metal rubbed his face warily. "But it isn't /you/! Look, we like how you are. It's really comforting to know that there's someone who'll look out for you when you're too tired to look out for yourself. If you're just going to give up on this family, what do any of us have left?"

"I've got news for you. This family is over. It never was much of one anyway and any ties of loyalty we have will just be passed on to when the next strongest comes around."

"Quick, do you remember one of the first arguments you got in with Shadow? When he called you a spoiled brat in front of everyone in the mess hall?"

"What about it?"

"You're really starting to act like one." As Quick tried to argue, Metal shut him up with narrowed eyes. "Don't try to deny it. Just because no one comes around to joke with us, just because they're all afraid of Magnet to back you up, you have to start sulking. That isn't /like/ you. You don't sit around and wait for things to change, for better or worse. And you certainly don't mope about things only /getting/ worse! You're the one that keeps looking for the best of everything! You're the one that goes and makes things change and help others to relax! /That's/ who you are! Someone that doesn't sit and wait for things to happen, but /make/ them happen. Why're you just sitting around, wallowing in your fears and guilt when you have options waiting for you to take them?"

During the speech, Quick curled his long legs up arms crossed, resting tightly on his knees as he leaned into them, trying to get away by pressing into the cracks of his gauntlet. "Because.…" he whispered, wanting desperately to make Metal understand, "because I can't be like that anymore. I was strong for everyone because they were strong for me. I can't keep going when no one wants me anymore. I can't help people that don't want to be helped. I'm not strong enough to push, I'm too afraid to do /anything/ on my own."

With a part exasperated, part disgusted noise, Metal stood up. "Now you're just lying to me. /Me/! Your own brother!" He sighed heavily, watching the pitiful wreck that was once someone of carefree reputation. He rubbed the bowed head with tired affection. "Stop doing this to yourself, Quick. You have us, whenever you actually open your eyes to seek help, we'll be here for you."

The door the surveillance room opened and Fire's long, thin frame stood in the portal. "Guys, Shadow's squaring off with Rock."

///

'You're thinking about something else,' he had said.

Oh?

'You're somewhere else, but you're still responding to everything I say as if you were all here.'

So I am.

'Why do you come here when you always think about someone else?'

Who else would I think about? Where else would I go?

'If he bothers you so much, maybe you should wonder why.'

He's annoying. He's bothersome. He won't leave me alone. What's to wonder?

'You're not making it any easier on either of you.'

Have you ever felt this way?

'No, can't say that I have.'

Then what would you know?

'I know what you feel,' he had replied with that mysterious smirk that never seemed to find its way on his own lips. 'I know who you think about and I know why.'

Then tell me why.

'Oh? Do you not know?'

Humor me, oh omniscient one.

'Because he brings out emotion in you. I was once like that. You know how easy it is to be hurt and you don't want to take the chance. Being hurt means you have to carry on with the pain and the wound and the memory. Having to bear with that in mind would hinder your performance, you think. Make you something less than perfection, make you no longer useful, make you a broken puppet that can't be fixed. You have to be used because that's your purpose, so you shun anything that makes you imperfect, that means you have to focus on that wasn't a given mission. So you lost your emotions and now you're just an empty shell, waiting to be filled with purpose from someone else. No ideas of your own, no thoughts of your own. Am I close?'

It was something that he could feel thrumming true throughout his body. It was so true that it hurt.

.…No.

He grinned. 'I see that I am. He knows that's what you're trying to do. He doesn't want that, he wants you to be as much of an individual as the rest of them. He doesn't want you to be someone to be merely used and discarded. He wants to view you as a thing capable of living thought and he wants you to act like it.' He remembered the chuckle, surprising him for it was the first time he heard such a sound come out of him. 'If I knew him better, I probably would feel the same way. It might be me that he'd want to annoy instead of you.'

He remembered feeling angry at that point. He wasn't sure why, just that he didn't want the two to get near each other, he didn't want to have him taken away.

'Who do you not want taken away?'

I.… don't know.

All he knew was how he felt, and even then, he still wasn't certain.

'My dear copy.… you have such a long road ahead of you.'

Don't call me that.

'Why not? Is it not the truth?'

I don't want to be reminded. You don't either. So stop annoying both of us.

'As you wish. But, let me say this before you.' He signaled for him to lean close to him, ignore the cameras just this once. 'Running away isn't going to help anything. Pushing away those that know you will ultimately hurt everyone. Keep that in mind.'

He had pulled back into the shadows, snarling as he left.

Keep your own advice to yourself. I don't need it.

'Of course you don't. Just a friendly try, is all. But he'll be a lot of help when you fail.'

I won't fail.

'You will, either way.'

I won't fail.

The sentence became etched in his mind like an epitaph, something that he couldn't pull away from as he watched the small figure tense before him.

The design, the stress already endured by such a fragile seeming bioroid.… it was an easy fight. It should've been an easy fight. But.… as they fought, Shadow realized that he wasn't hurting Rock much… it wasn't because he was toying with him.… it was because something within the furthest confines of his mind kept purposefully missing, kept letting him get away with close calls.

Shadow snarled, locking down that portion of his mind. He had a job to do and he would complete it.

I won't fail.

He slid across the battlefield, watching as Rock leapt above him. He was fast, he had to give him that, but not fast enough to catch Shadow off the beat. Immediately he turned, throwing two stars, watching one strike him soundly in the leg, the other clanking harmlessly against his hip guard. Oh well, they were more for distraction than anything else.

Now was his chance. The stars weren't good for an all-out attack, wrong throwing weapon. But, he still had his speed, his hands, the sword….

He leapt into the air, hand reaching back to clasp the hilt resting on his shoulder. It would be over, he would be victorious. He wouldn't fail, not this. Not when he could pull away from Blues' shadow, not when he could decide his own path, not when he held the future in his hands.…

He would win.…

And he would become the mindless puppet that Wily so desperately wanted.

And he would be forsaken by that one person he didn't want taken away.…

It was a moment in time, stilled as he quivered, trying to make sense of which path he truly wanted to take.

Rock looked up at him and the path had been decided.

His fingers slipped griplessly against the hilt as Rock leapt at him, powering up, sending both crashing into the ground.

///

The Robot Masters stared at the screen in silent shock. It couldn't be right. The one to stand up from that would be the victor. The one to stand up from that was.… was.…

Not Shadow.

As one, they all looked towards Wily from where he stood with Blues quietly beside him. The doctor turned a vivid red before whirled around stalked off in billowing lab coats. Before he left, he growled out to them: "No one go back for him. If he has the balls to show his face back here after that pitiful performance, let him /drag/ himself back!"

The room remained silent and Quick couldn't help but to shoot a glance at Metal. He merely looked at him and nodded. It was understood. Quick smiled, slipping silently out the room.

Blues himself remained where he stood, a smirk peering out from deep within.

So you have passed the test. He thought to himself, watching as his brother staggered out of Shadow's field. You've proved yourself to be my copy, you've proved yourself to have your own mind. However.… he darkly chuckled in his thoughts, you've failed your father. You'll be lucky not to receive a painful retribution.

///

He groaned against the light that seeped through his cracked lids. It.… hurt.…

Think through it.… he told himself. Ignore the pain, think, know where he is.…

No.… no, that's not right.… He wasn't in the field, he was.… His eyes snapped open as someone, too large to be Rock, shifted next to him.

Quick jerked back in surprise, almost giving off a startled yelp. "Shadow!" He gasped. "Y-You okay?"

Shadow peered at him, his relieved face, flushed for some reason bending over him.

"Where.… am I?" He asked, looking around. Large room, supplies along the wall, smooth, expansive floors.… it was the lab. "How did I get here?"

"I.… brought you here." Quick said, helping Shadow to sit up as he struggled on his own. Across from the table sat their helmets, red and gold and deep purple, gleaming in the dim light. "Wily-sama doesn't know that you're here. He was so mad that you were beaten he told us not to get you."

"Then.… why did you?"

"What do you mean 'why'?"

"Why risk getting yourself into trouble, just for me?"

At first, Quick frowned, then his lips twisted into a mock snarl. "Hey. I told you before that being in a family isn't just about making sure you're not bothering anyone else. It's about looking out for your own, and you're a part of this family, no matter what you say."

"I don't.… want to be in this family." He protested, body aching, throat raspy from lack of fluids. "I don't want to be taken care of."

"Yeah, we'll you are, so get used to it." Quick ran a hand through Shadow's midnight black hair. "Why did you fall like that? I know you're tougher than that."

"Because.…" something compelled him to say it, "I don't want to be a puppet anymore."

"You were never a puppet, Shadow. You've always been able to think and do on your own."

But it didn't feel like it. And even now it didn't seem that this decision was the best course of action.

"C'mon," Quick said, giving Shadow's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Let's fix you up a bit and then talk with Wily-sama."

He laid the young robot back on the table, shutting off the pain receptors as he went about, doing rudimentary repairs on the more serious damages. All in all it wasn't much, nor did it take long, but with Quick's presence, no speaking, just being there, made Shadow relax. It was.… nice.… being with him and not having to say anything. If one of them spoke, it would most likely lead to an argument and right now, he was too tired for another fight.

But that moment of peace was broken as Quick finished up the repairs. And spoke.

"Shadow."

"Yes?"

"Could I ask you a serious question? One that you'd answer, truthfully?"

No. He wanted to say. But the elder was kind enough to help him, to fix him up. He supposed it would only be right to return the favor.

Depending on the question.

"What is it?"

"Do you hate me?"

Yes. He wanted to say. But something kept him back, something that whispered in his mind 'no'. He didn't know what to say, he didn't know what to do. So he did as was his habit.

He slid off the table and tested his limbs. And ignored the question.

"Shadow.…" Came the warning growl, but he didn't listen. "Shadow, answer me. You said that you would.

But the reply wouldn't come out, none would come to mind. So instead, he just moved towards the door, scooping up his starred helmet as he walked off.

The sound of metal alloy upon metal alloy, frustrated hands against the smooth, impartial laboratory table, snapped painfully in the crisp silence, threatening to break the room in two.

"Will you just /tell me/!" He shouted, rage and frustration beginning to weld his palms on to the table. "For once, will ya just give me a straight answer??"

Shadow made no sign of hearing, of realizing the dangers of the boiling tides threatening to spill from the elder. He just began turning with precision, in preparedness to leave the lab. Another sharp cry reverberated in the room as the disgruntled table protested under the barrage that was Quick's palms.

"I'm tired of your fancy non-answers, of you dancing around the subject or just ignoring me out right! Stop being such a coward and just give me a god damn /straight answer/!"

Shadow halted just as his weight shifted to once side, giving the other the line of his slim shoulders. He just stopped and waited. Waited for some sort of apology, a hasty add-on to dull the blade of the insult, to staunch the emotions that bled from the wound it inflicted.

But none came.

And he would not be caught weaponless.

"What do you want to hear from me?"

"An answer! A /straight/ answer!"

He turned again, watching Quick's hunched form from over the long, flat expanse of metal that separated them.

"You want me to say what you want to hear."

"No. I want you to say what you want to say. Tell me everything that comes to mind on how you-"

"How I feel about you," Shadow interjected as if he were talking to silence, "in all due honesty, I hate you." His soft tenor rolled across the room, words crashing into each other in waves of thunder, beginning to build its self into a climatic cacophony. "I hate you more than anything. I hate how you always look down on me. How you always insult me. I hate how fake you are when you try to be nice to me but always trash me when I'm not around. I hate how you think I need to be saved whenever someone else has something bad to say about me. I hate how you always follow me around, trying to talk to me." No good, he couldn't stop even if the inclination had formed the basis of an electron within his positronic mind. The moon was too close, too manipulative, even when the ocean refused to believe it was being herded, insisted on believing it let its self out of the dam. Just as he tried to convince himself that he hated as purely, as passionately as he said. "I hate how you're so persistent in trying to be my friend and every time I don't respond, I hate how you automatically turn against me and insult me so freely. I hate how presumptuous you are about knowing my feelings when you've never made the true effort to even know who I am. I hate you, I despise you! You're the one I can't stand the most, you're the last person I could ever care for!" He snarled, dipping against the gleaming metal of his armor, pale violet eyes smoldering with a fire never seen in them before, breath coming out in an audible huff. "There's your answer. Now leave me alone."

He turned his back once more, fully intent on leaving the room and the elder bot.

"And what," Quick's voice demanded control of his body, "do you feel," an irate shiver passed over his spine, ".…all honesty aside."

All the ire had filtered out of Quick, leaving him to stand alone with his lanky frame, arms appearing to support his body in nonchalance, but in reality, the table being the only thing to keep his feet as his strength- emotion –left him.

The silence stretched on the horizon between them.

"What?" Shadow asked carefully.

"In all due honesty," the other said almost mockingly, the golden shimmer of his eyes hidden by the unmanageable mass of his bangs, "I hate you, too. I hate how you're so haughty, I hate how you think you're always right, that what you see is the only thing that's true. I hate how you look down on the rest of us, I hate how you think you can get by better on your own. I hate how you can't trust us enough to tell us /anything/. I hate how you always act so one dimensional and yet you act as if no one understands you. I hate how much of a hypocrite you are, I hate how you can never let anyone help you, I hate how you can never just say anything out right. I hate how you blow everyone off, how you're always so cruel even when all we want is to make you smile. I despise everything about you because you're the type of person I hate the most." His fingers had finally curled into fists as he finished, shallow grooves permanently embedded into the table. "I can't stand you anymore than you can me. But with all honesty aside, I care about you a lot. I want to understand you because I can't bare the idea of hating you for no reason. I despise you because I don't know you and I'm trying desperately to. I hate how you always push me away, and I hate how I react to it. I want you to trust in me because I don't know how to act around you. I try as hard as I can, but it's always the same. You shut me out and I get angry because I don't know how to handle the feelings of rejection that always come up." Quick's head came up from its intensive study of the metal table and pierced Shadow straight to the core, so hard and sharp his heart forgot to beat. "/That's/ what it means by all honesty aside. It's the feelings and the reasons so deep down in your heart, so close to your true self that you can't acknowledge them. Honesty is the basis for Lying, and Honesty Aside is the foundation for that Honesty. The things you know deep down, the things you dream about, the things your too afraid to speak about, /that's/ what I want to hear. No more running, Shadow. No more hiding from your true self. That's all I want from you. Just this once, and I promise, I swear upon everything I hold dear, I will never look in your direction again. If that is what you want, all honesty aside."

A feeling stirred up in him as Quick spoke. A feeling that had become increasingly familiar and made him increasingly irritable as it progressed in the few weeks prior. Could that be what he was talking about? The feeling that he couldn't name, that he didn't want to dwell on? That made him so afraid to feel it that he shoved it away, trying to drown it in apathy and annoyance as he tried with the source of the sensation? He didn't understand it, any of it, nor did he understand Quick anymore than he had before, but now the feeling wouldn't be pushed out of the forefront. It grew and pounded through his body so harshly that Shadow wanted to curl in on himself, tear through his skin, through his skull and pull out the monstrosity that slowly grew within him, to rip it to shreds and cry and scream all the while.

"Shadow.…" Quick ventured slightly, leaning over the table, a hand stretched slightly to try and coax the younger Robot Master to him. "Shadow."

He jerked a hand back, twitching horribly in its fist as he fought to gain semblance of control over his body. To strike out at the red speedster, to scream at him, to run away, to do /anything/.… but stand there and lose control.

Daringly, Quick slid over the table, landing softly on the echoing floor, hand still outstretched as he clumsily, slowly made his way across the room. "Shadow.…" After a moment of hesitating, of making sure he wouldn't regret his actions, of Shadow unable to tear through his limb in a fit of hysterical terror, he placed that hand upon the shorter bot's shoulder. In a soft caress, he ran a finger across the cold, rounded cheek beneath him and moved it across the trembling lips, trying to see those confused eyes, trying to look through them for some sort of permission. Assessing that there at least wasn't any disgust, any vehement defiance to the next obvious course of action, Quick leaned forward slowly, giving Shadow plenty of opportunity to back away, and whispered his lips across the other's.

Everything snapped back together and the fear that held Shadow in place broke, opening up an alternative to searching for the true meaning of the emotion with another course of action that he greedily took up. He stumbled away and ran. To hide everything he feared most, to keep from forsaking the detached balance that rejected him, he ran.

And Quick no longer had the strength to chase after him.

From above, the PA system crackled and a voice came over the fortress.

"All Robot Masters of the Second Army, report to the Main Lab for upgrading and prepare yourself for battle."

He choked back a sob, a curse, something without name that tried to fall passed his mouth. His fate had been closed from this moment on. He thought about Shadow's defeat, and how easily Wily tossed him aside in his anger.

If he could do what the others couldn't.… if he could stop Rock.…

Quick's jaw clenched. No more Robot Masters would need to be created. Wily wouldn't have to make another with the same cruelty and love of pain as Magnet. Others wouldn't have to go through the pain of defeat.

He snarled. If that's what it would take to make it all stop, then he would do it. Or he would die. But there is no way he'd simply sit by and let it all continue.