Hello. Sorry for the delay, but this was a really hard chapter to write. Dedicated to Linky, so that she may (hopefully) be encouraged to stay around for longer in the SD fanfiction category. We missed you Linky, don't leave us! LOL, enjoy it guys.

DISCLAIMER: If I had owned it, no SASDGAC would've ever existed. Period.

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Chapter Five:

Remembering

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Ombra could only stare at what he was seeing before him.

When the boy had turned out to be alive, he'd been more then shocked; especially since that the shadows, who obeyed the Master's commands implicitly, seemed to have been the ones who'd saved him in the first place. And since the Master had wanted him dead, well... that could only mean one thing. The boy had more power over the darkness then the Master himself. And that alone terrified the poor old man.

But there was more to this scene, oh yes, of course there was more. For the young man was staring straight into the eyes of the Master's Bloodbeast... and he was still alive and well. The stranger thing was that the creature herself was making no move whatsoever to try to attack him. Rather, she was just standing there, seemingly mesmerized by the young human who dared to defy her in such a way. She slowly circled him, all the while keeping contact with the young man, and he spun around as well, never losing eye contact. He seemed to have a soothing effect on the 'dog' though, for her eyes seemed to soften the longer she looked upon him. It was so strange... it was almost as if she recognized him-- No. It was as if...

She remembered him...

The old man watched from the walls as the child was brought in the house again, dripping wet onto the vast and ornate carpets, clutching a small furry bundle within his tiny little arms. He watched as his mother fretted over him, scolding him lightly for going outside in such awful weather, while his father, a new Master in Lucifer's control, followed her, trying to get a hold of his son and the baby Hellhound that rested contentedly in his arms, soon giving up and heading up the stairs towards his 'office'. Ombra stood, patiently waiting, and, sliding away from the walls like oil off of metal, greeted his Master as he strode towards him.

"So," he said, as he caught his first glimpse of the pup. "The Fallen One has bestowed one of his beloved pets upon you for you to use in the hunts. He must see great potential in you then."

"When the Fallen Master told me he was giving me a minion, I pictured something a little more... intimidating then a puppy, Scoretto. It's no good to me like-- well, like it is now. Are you sure that He sent it for me? Or is it just a stray that my son found outside in the rain?" Even as he spoke these words, Ombra was shaking his head.

"No," he said. "That is one of the Fallen One's personal breeds, I'd recognize it anywhere. It's a Bloodbeast, one of the most vicious varieties of the HellHounds and if you treat it right, it will be loyal to you forever, and do all that you ask of it. Treat it badly, well... let's just say that they're known as BloodBeasts for a reason."

"Hm, I see." The young Master was silent for a while. "So it will be mine to control."

"Not exactly, sir." The man spun around, eyes flashing angrily, while the shadows slowly began to pool at his feet. Ombra hurriedly backtracked. "Please sir, let me explain. A BloodBeast will forever be loyal and forever remember that creature, whether man or monster, beaten or blueblood, with whom they first make eye contact with. It gives them a sort of... deep connection, if you will. It will mirror the soul and personality of the one who is its master, always affecting it no matter what happens to the physical and spiritual forms of the person. And it runs even deeper if it is treated kindly on first approach, which it rarely is, because of its appearance of a stray."

"So my son, Shadow..."

"...will always be seen in her eyes as her true Lord and Leader." Addriatticai was still as he stood in silent thought, watching his son cuddle what he now knew was one of the most dangerous beasts in the history of the world. He had the tiny little puppy smooshed tightly within his arms, as he nuzzled the wet and dripping dog's neck, giggling as the little one squirmed in his tight grasp.

The dog in question however, didn't seem to mind much the tiny little human's tight hold on her own little body. In fact, it was quite the opposite; she basked in it. She twisted around and let her tiny pink tongue sweep his face clean, soon making him giggle even harder. She was rather surprised by how kindly he treated her, for in the hellish pits where she'd been spawned, they'd only been taught to know of pain and suffering, and how to inflict it upon others. She knew instinctively that her real, or rather intended, master was a much older man, but this young boy was sweet and adoring, and he'd been the one to bring her to her new, and permanent, home. So for now, she would enjoy this precious time that she had with him, this child who would bother to love the runt of the litter that she was.

"Well, well, well," a dark voice came from behind them, and the two turned to see the Master towering over them, his icy eyes watching their every move. "What have we here, Shadow? And who is your sweet little friend with the tiny little teeth?" The little boy, who stared up in adoration at his father, answered him in a way that made the puppy's heart just melt with love.

"This is my new puppy, Papa." He shook out his long, tangled black hair, sending water droplets flying everywhere, laughing as the small dog in his arms squirmed to move away from the tiny wet missiles. "Her name is Sasha." Sasha? Sasha, Sasha... she rather liked that name. Sasha. She hoped that she would be allowed to keep it. The Master smiled down at them, an edge of cold amusement now lacing its way through his deep, imposing voice.

"Sasha?" He asked the boy, as he bent down to a crouch, before quickly scooping the dripping pair up from the rich, ornate carpets upon which they'd sat, laughing at the squeal that came from the sopping bundle in his arms. "Sasha? What a peculiar name. For a dog, that is. Are you sure you want to name her that? Don't you want to call her something a little more... appropriate for her breed?"

The boy pouted at these words. "No," he said stubbornly. "I wanna call her Sasha. That's her name, and that's what I want it to be. Sasha." The Master looked down on him, a tinge of anger burning in his eyes momentarily, before it disappeared, replaced with an almost-mockingly good nature. The black puppy felt a vein of ice creep slowly through her blood as she glimpsed the twisted nature of the soul of the man she would serve for eternity, knowing that she would always long for freedom because of him, as well as for the warmth that the child had spread throughout her. It was no question as to whom she would rather have command her, but she had no choice in the matter; of that, she was most certain.

The Master chose this moment to speak again, now that the tendril of anger that had threatened him had been successfully rid of. "Alright then. Sasha it is. Now, why don't you go get cleaned up, and I''ll see if I can't make a collar for her up in my study. Does that sound like a good idea, hm? A hot bath for the both of you, and a new owner for her?" The child nodded eagerly, and let himself slide out of his father's arms, leaving the tiny puppy to the control of a cruel and heartless being, if unknowingly. "Sara?" he called out to his wife, who re-entered the room gracefully at the sound of his voice. "Do you think that a bath could be arranged for our muddy little son here, while I get our new addition cleaned up and collared?" At this new bit of news, she sighed exasperatedly.

"Adrian, we don't need a puppy, not when he's this young. Besides, she looks a bit... rough for him. I don't think that this dog is appropriate for our Shadow." At this, the said puppy growled, and tried to get out of the Master's arms, causing the mother to be a bit taken aback. The child, on the other hand, moved closer to the dog and cuddled her, ceasing her worry of having to leave. At this, the Master looked up triumphantly.

"You see, Sara? She's perfectly fine for our son, he'll be fine. Now, let's get him to stop dripping mud onto the carpet now, shall we darling?" He picked up his son and plopped his squirming little self into his mother's arms, leaving her with an exasperated sigh. "I have to go get this one cleaned up in the meantime. I'll be in my study should you need me." And with that, he spun on his heel and glided up the gilded staircase, the child and his mother disappearing from view as the Master turned the corner at the top. And when he stepped through the rapidly twisting doors, he dropped the dog to the ground, letting her fall roughly onto the bloodstained rug that had appeared at his feet.

As the puppy struggled to rise to her tiny paws, she heard a callous sound echo coldly throughout the room. He was laughing, and the shadows were forming icicles on the black marble floors as he did so. Her large reddish brown eyes widened, and she saw the extent of her master's power for the very first time, as the darkness embraced him, and lifting him higher above her head. It was only then that Sasha noticed that her feet were no longer on the ground. And so the shadows consumed them both.

Later that night, she would mercilessly slaughter her first victim. Later, the Master would beat her for not doing it as he had instructed, the first of many painful and blood-filled nights. Later, He would rename her, the new name, meaningless and yet entirely too fitting for her, an Italian word for 'blood'. And later, much later in life, she would truly learn to appreciate the tiny boy who had rescued her, played with her, and kept her innocent in so many ways; the only one who'd ever truly cared about her, loved her even, enough to risk sickness and punishment in order to take her home as a new friend and playmate. The one with eyes as clear and pure as only an angel's could've ever been, eyes the color of gold and chocolate.

She hadn't seen the one who was her true master in years now. And it wasn't until the night that she had planned to murder her current Master that she would find the one who had ever loved her.

The one with an angel's soul...

And so it was with a stunned silence that the enormous, powerful, and most feared beast in all the world, faced a tall thin young man nose-to-nose, looking him directly in the eyes, an icy blood-red black to a brillant warm gold; and nuzzled his neck, like a puppy would its mother in its sleep, much to the great surprise of everyone around them.

And it was then that Ombra recognized who he really was:

The Master's Son, Heir to the Throne of Darkness and Manipulation, the Last Line of the Maledire Blood.

"Shadow..." The boy looked up from the malicious beast that so serenely sat by his side to the rasping whisper that the wind carried gently to his ears, from the bloody, fading body of the old man who'd saved his life only moments before.

Bright, innocent eyes met the fading, all-too-knowledgeable older ones, golden blue met dying brown.

And he knew.

R&R please. It would be much appreciated. Thanks. Bye now.