All right! Second chapter! I'm not going to take long on this author's note, so let's get started! On with the chapter!

Chapter 2: Dr. Maxwell and Shadow's Suffering

"I'm sorry," said Maxwell, disappointedly shutting his book entitled 'The Big Book of Deadly Diseases.' "But I am sad to say that I think you may have the disease known as Ham-Itis"

"What's that?" asked Shadow, rubbing his head in confusion.

"It's a disease with sudden bursts of pain, like you described." Maxwell explained. "I'm sure the book has a cure for it."

"Are you like, gonna be okay, Shadow?" Sandy asked nervously.

"I'll be fine, Sandy." He told her. "Let's just see what Dr. Maxwell has to say about this."

"I'd advise bed rest and plenty of fluids." Maxwell said.

Shadow went to his room and slept. Sandy wanted to go with him, but Maxwell stopped her.

"It's probably best that he gets some rest." He told her. "But he won't feel any better. After all, there's no cure for a disease that doesn't exist."

"What are you saying Maxwell?" Sandy asked. "You said it was Ham-Itis."

"Bah!" Maxwell exclaimed. "I just made all that up. There is absolutely no disease with the description that Shadow gave."

"I get it!" Sandy said. "You think he's faking, don't you?"

"If you want to put it in those terms, yes." Maxwell agreed, his eyes shut.

"You…you're jealous!" Sandy exclaimed.

"Jealous? Jealous of what?"

"Of Shadow! He gets attention because he's sick, and you're just jealous!" Sandy cried.

"I most certainly am not!" Maxwell argued. "Why would I be jealous of that pompous, abnormal, idiotic-"

"Stop right there!" Sandy yelled. "Never insult Shadow like that! Never!"

Sandy sat down and began to cry.

"S-Sandy?" Maxwell sounded surprised. He sighed and sat down next to her. "Alright," he admitted. "Maybe he's not faking it. Maybe I just missed a page in the disease book. But let him rest for now, Sandy. I'm sure he'll feel better in the morning."

"I hope so." Sandy cried. "Shadow, please be safe."

-

-

Shadow slept well. His long nap woke him up at three in the morning, and he realized he never had supper, so he went to the kitchen.

He was about to grab some seeds, when he felt a familiar prickling on the back of his neck. He knew it was going to happen again. He rushed outside so as to not awaken the ham-hams with his screams.

Then the full burst of the pain hit him. He yelled into the night, but he awoke no one. It hurt him from the inside, and caused him to drop onto the ground. He was writhing in pain on the ground. Then it was over.

He stood up and was about to walk into the clubhouse, when he heard a voice.

"Walk into the clubhouse."

"Who's there?" Shadow called. His yells were only met with more of the voice, speaking in a deadly whisper.

"Walk into the clubhouse now!"

Shadow suddenly felt his legs move, with no memories of telling them to do so. He was being forced into the clubhouse by something he could not see.

"Wha- what's happening to me?" he whispered.

"Destroy! Destroy!" said the voice. Shadow felt his arms turn over the table.

"No!" he screamed. "I won't! I won't do it!"

"Obey…" hissed the voice. He was forced to lunge into a few chairs, knocking them over.

"Stop…controlling…me!" Shadow yelled. He struggled against the feeling of being controlled, and eventually it went away. He collapsed on the floor.

-

-

Shadow awoke with voices around him.

Sandy was the first to notice he was awake and threw her arms around his neck yelling "What happened? I was so scared!"

"Yeah, and more importantly, why is the kitchen a wreck?" asked Howdy.

"I can explain." Said Shadow, and so he did. He told them what happened.

"Well," said Maxwell. "It seems you went through a terrible deal last night. I think you should rest up."

Shadow went into his room.

As soon as he was gone, Maxwell said, "I don't know about you guys, but that story sounded kinda fishy to me."

"Yeah!" piped up Howdy. "First the pain from nowhere, and now he expects us to believe that a voice in his head told him to destroy the kitchen? Well I don't buy it!"

"You both think he's lying?" Sandy brought up.

"Yes!" Maxwell and Howdy said together.

"You're wrong! Shadow would never lie to us!" Sandy cried. "He'll tell you!"

Sandy led the rest of the ham-hams to Shadow's room, only to find Shadow breathing steadily on the floor.

"What happened?" asked Cappy.

"I had a dream." Shadow said, still breathing coarsely. "In my dream, I was in a small, dark corridor, and there was a light at the end. I walked all the way to the end, and I wound up in this place with little blinking lights. Then I saw a hamster in a devil suit stuffing another hamster into a closet. Then I heard the voice again, only this time, it was a different voice. A calmer, nicer voice. I couldn't understand what it was saying, and then I woke up panting on the floor."

"This sounds bad." Said Sandy.

"Well, we'll just have to keep an eye on you now won't we Shadow?" said Maxwell, smiling the fakest of smiles and trotting out of the room.

-

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Okay, that was a suckish chapter but oh well. What's with the two voices, and the blinking lights? Why is all this happening? And what happens when Howdy and Maxwell convince the others that Shadow is nothing but trouble? You'll find out in the next chapter!