CHAPTER 45: Pain of Defeat

"Ow, shit," Shadow groaned as he dragged himself through his front door. "I'm probably going to be feeling that for a week." Since he'd left Sonic, he'd been aching all over. The only reason he could think of was the fact that he'd been smashed by a huge robot with more power than a speeding bus. His head hurt in particular. It hurt so badly that he felt as though he were going to throw up. In fact, as few seconds after he lay down on his bed, he jumped back up, ran to the sink, and did just that.

Shit, he thought. That thing really must have fucked me up. I know I was pretty much dead and all, but last time I checked, people who came back from the dead didn't have a tendency to toss, pitch, and throw their cookies. Before he could think anymore, his stomach decided now was an opportune time to finish emptying itself. After he was done making a huge mess in the sink, Shadow turned on the faucet and rinsed the mess down the drain, then he leaned down and sucked in some water from the flow. After swishing it around in his mouth for a few seconds, he spit it out and leaned on the sink for a few seconds.

"I'm going to need to rethink my strategy on this one," he said to himself. He turned around and looked at the floor for a minute, thinking. If the robot was smart enough to rip him off, slam him down, then smash him, he couldn't use himself as bait for the blobs. He'd have to use them another way. But if they wouldn't solidify, then how COULD he use them?

That must be the key, he thought. Those things are polar bodies, meaning they must have some kind of magnetic properties. Perhaps they'll stick to the robot's armor. But I would have to find some way to force them to explode. But that's after I find some way to make them solidify. Before he could do any more thinking, Shadow heard something moving around outside. He walked to the window and looked outside, but he couldn't see anything.

"Wonder what it is," he mumbled under his breath. "Must be a deer or something. There's not many of them around here, but they're out there somewhere." Shaking his head, Shadow turned around and headed to bed. He was alseep almost immediately.

Knock knock knock. Shadow groaned. Knock knock knock. He rolled over. Knock knock knock. He sat up, opening his eyes. Knock knock knock.

"Alright already!" Shadow called. He got out of bed, kicking off his shoes when he was on his feet. He walked barefoot to the door and opened it.

"Finally!" Sonic said, exasperated, as soon as Shadow opened the door.

"What are you doing here?" Shadow asked sleepily.

"I've been wondering if you were alright!" Sonic exclaimed. "I've been trying to get in touch for the last two days!"

"What?" Shadow asked. "I saw you last night, didn't I? Or did I dream that?"

"No, you saw me like two or three nights ago," Sonic said. "Did you hit your head after you left?"

"Not that I know of," Shadow said, blinking. "I just went to bed after I got home, and when I woke up, all I heard was knocking."

"You slept for two days?" Sonic asked, astonished. "Good god! Sounds more like you were in a coma!"

"It does, doesn't it?" Shadow said. "You want to come in and sit down, or are you going somewhere?"

"I'm kind of busy," Sonic said. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't dead or anything. You ARE a little pale, though."

"And you know this how?" Shadow asked.

"The spot around your moth," Sonic said. "How else?"

"Whatever," Shadow said. "Maybe I'll go see a doctor or something. I'm still aching all over. And I need to think about some shit. Like how I got crushed by that thing and I'm still standing."

"Somehow, I get this feeling that we'll find out before everything's over," Sonic said.

"You ever figure out who sent the robot?" Shadow asked.

"No," Sonic said. "Still working on it. Speaking of which, I've got to go. Later."

"See you," Shadow said, yawning. Sonic turned and ran off toward the road, and Shadow closed his door. He walked over and threw himself back on his bed, sighing at length. He said to himself, "I wonder what would have happened if Sonic hadn't come along out there."

Sorry for a few things, everyone. For one, the long-ass wait. I've been preoccupied with other junk. For another, the shortness. This is basically the other half of the last chapter. Lastly, I think the quality of my work may be slipping. I'm beginning to lose my liking for writing or something. Don't worry, though, I'm going to finish this fic, one way or the other. If the quality starts to slip, let me know, please. I want to know that this ended as well as it started.