AN: Alright, guys. This chapter is where the blood starts coming in. It's still not M-rated gore material yet, so the rating's not getting changed, I just thought I'd give you a fair warning. The main adventure for neither groups has started just yet, but the Sora/Donald/Goofy/Snake group's adventure starts next chapter. So just hang tight guys.
Disclaimer: See first chapter.
Chapter Five
I just came to gawk at the man crazy enough to come here.
Not worth mentioning: I owe him…
Come back anytime. I can be of some help to you.
Shadow sucked in a quick breath and clenched his eyes shut as pain pulsed though his forehead. He quickly brought a hand up to his face and began massaging his temples. He moved towards the door swiftly, desperate to get the aching pain out of his head. He forced the door open and stepped out into the cool night with a light breeze blowing across his face. Shadow stepped off of the wooden porch and the pain dulled before disappearing completely. He let out a sigh of relief.
"Are you going already…?"
Shadow winced as that line reached his ears and he felt his muscles tense slightly. He turned his head to see his white-blond haired companion leaning up against a nearby tree, his silver-blue eyes watching him blankly. Shadow slowly relaxed.
"Yes. I must. Joachim has already left and I cannot waste anymore time here. And…this place…it holds far too many memories…" Shadow muttered as he looked back at the cottage, and no sooner than he had said that line had he regretted it. He quickly turned back to the other man.
"Null, forgive me. I had forgotten about your condition. I did not mean to-" Shadow was cut off as Null held a single gloved hand.
"You don't need to apologize. It isn't your fault. Now go. You yourself said you couldn't stay here any longer." the man, named Null, said. Shadow gave a hesitant nod.
"Right. I trust you will be safe here by yourself?" he asked and Null gave a brief nod.
"Of course. I wish you luck, Shadow." he said, and with no more words shared, Shadow left, disappearing into the darkness. Eternal Night was not unfamiliar territory to him. He had lived in the forest for years, having grown accustomed to the territory and the never-ending darkness, along with the variety of monsters that roamed the area. As he walked past trees and bushes, twigs crunching under his boots, a snarl erupted from behind him. Shadow whipped around, only to see no monsters or threats behind him. His bright eyes slowly glanced around, knowing that a sound like that was not one that you imagined. However, before he could even draw a weapon, he was ambushed from the side.
His attacker was a large wolf, as black as darkness itself. The creature blended in with its surroundings perfectly; in fact the only signs that it was there was the weight that was pushing down of Shadow's chest, the snarling maw with drool coating its teeth, and the golden pupil less eyes that seemed to bore into his very soul. The beast was strong, but Shadow was also no weakling. He grabbed the wolf by its neck, not tight enough to choke it, but just strong enough to keep its jaws away from him. Then he kicked the large canine off with enough force to send it flying back into a tree.
The wolf slammed against the trunk of the oak with its side, causing a sickening crack to ring in Shadow's ears. As he rose from the ground, he drew a dagger from his belt and held his left hand out in front of him. He carefully approached the wolf, which was slumped on the ground. However, it slowly shifted on the ground, trying to bring itself back up onto all fours. It gave a pained whimper as soon as it put weight on the leg that had gotten slammed into the tree. Golden eyes glared up at Shadow before the hound tilted its head back and howled.
Shadow was well aware what that howl signaled and he was quick to silence canine, driving his dagger into its back right between the shoulder blades at the base of its neck. The black wolf's fur stained red around the wound and its head slumped to the ground, rolling to the side with the anger in its eyes now faded, but the deed was already done. Two more snarls erupted from the darkness and Shadow grit his teeth in irritation.
Two more wolves stalked out of the darkness, but they were not Shadow Wolves as the other one had been. The first was a dark gray dog covered in golden tribal markings that glowed in the moonlight. Its eyes were similar to the Shadow Wolf's: the same color and the same rage burning in them. The other wolf's pelt, however, was a more smoky gray color with a crimson underbelly and paws. Unlike the other wolves, its eyes were a deep red. Shadow tightened his grip on his dagger.
A Hellhound and a Fenrir, eh? Hmph, I was expecting more…, the man thought. Noticing its opponent was distracted, the Fenrir lunged at him, jaws parted and claws outstretched, ready to dig into its prey. Shadow side-stepped, and before the Fenrir could hit the ground, he grabbed it by its back paw. The Fenrir yelped in surprise as it was tossed aside. It tumbled on the ground, but slowly pulled itself upright, red eyes flashing dangerously as it bared its teeth. Shadow's grip tightened on his dagger, but soon realized his fatal mistake.
He had forgotten about the Hellhound.
The gray and gold beast parted its jaws and a stream of orange flames erupted from its mouth, aimed directly at Shadow. The man quickly brought up his left hand to his face in an attempt to block the fire with his gauntlet, but the force alone was enough to send him flying back. He felt himself hit the ground hard and his blade fly from his hand, and before he even had a chance to reorient himself, the dogs were on him.
The Fenrir was first to attack. It pounced on him, pinning him down with its weight. It bared its fangs, saliva dribbling down its muzzle and onto Shadow's chest. He tried to move his arm, but the Fenrir's heavy paws on his shoulders prevented him from doing so. Shadow glanced around, trying to find some way out of this situation before the beast ripped his throat out. His eyes settled on the Fenrir's strong red paw that held his right shoulder down and Shadow did the first thing that came to mind.
He lashed out and sunk his teeth into the wolf's leg.
The Fenrir howled in pain and immediately recoiled. Shadow released it from his mouth's grip and took this opportunity to uppercut the canine in the jaw. As he did, he could feel the Fenrir's jaw break as well as hear the crunch of its bone. The beast managed a slurred whine of pain before Shadow silenced it with a strong roundhouse kick to the temple. The animal said no more as blood gushed from the wound created from the force Shadow's kick. Its skull had cracked, showed by the fact that bits of gray matter, brain tissue, and bone stuck out of the wound.
Without a moment's hesitation, Shadow dove for his dagger. The Hellhound, enraged at the fact that its companion had been taken down, pounced on Shadow's back. The man winced as he felt his blade cut through his own glove and slice his skin. He reached up to his back and grabbed the beast by the scuff of its neck. Quickly he ripped it off top of him and threw it onto the ground. Before the Hellhound could even move, Shadow brought his dagger into the beast's chest, between two of its ribs.
The dog cried out in pain, but Shadow didn't spare it any mercy. He knew that he hadn't struck it in the heart and that if he pulled the blade out now, it would only suffer until its blood drained.
That wouldn't do.
Shadow twisted the dagger it the Hellhound's chest causing it to howl is agony, followed by a series of pathetic whimpers. Shadow knew that it was begging him to stop; to spare it, but he couldn't do that. Instead, he shifted his grip on the blade and drove the blade up under its ribs. The dog was now barking, whimpering, whining, shrieking, crying, and any other noise a dog could possibly make. It was then that Shadow finally decided to put the canine out of its misery by ripping the blade out (none too gently) and slitting its throat.
Blood flowed out of its chest and neck, staining the grass a deep crimson. Slowly, Shadow rose from the dead Hellhound's body and sneered.
"Traitorous bastards." he snarled in distaste, wiping his blade clean on his black cloak. Shadow then heard a scoff behind him.
As if you are one to talk.
Shadow's eyes widened as slowly turned his head to glance over his shoulder. Behind him stood none other than…himself. The only differences were that this Shadow seemed slightly younger and he was completely dark, as if he were a literal shadow.
"What are you talking about?" the real Shadow demanded, golden-red eyes narrowed. His shadow laughed cruelly, a sinister smirk on his face.
You claim that these lesser beings betray their lord, but you have done just the same. You forget where you came from, Shadow-, he started but Shadow cut him off angrily.
"I have forgotten nothing! I know exactly who I've pledged my allegiance to!" the man snarled. The shadow glared at him.
Oh, really? Then why do you fight with the men that defied your lord?, the shadow asked. Shadow seemed slightly taken aback.
"What…what do you mean?" he asked slowly.
Have you forgotten already? Joachim tried to overthrow Lord Bernhard! And yet you side with him as if committed no crime! And the hunter that roams this land is the descendant of the one that struck our lord down! Yet you let him live despite the blood that flows through his veins!, the shadow roared.
"I let them live because we share the same cause! We all want Mathias killed!" Shadow defended. His shadow scoffed.
If you wanted to, you could strike Mathias down by yourself., he said, and Shadow went silent. Seeing that Shadow was not going to respond, he continued.
You and I both know the reason why you let them live. It is not because of Mathias. It is because that is what Leon would have done., the shadow said spitting out the name 'Leon' as if it were a curse. Shadow felt something inside of him spark at the name, but he couldn't place if it was anger or respect. Slowly, he glanced at his blood-stained glove as the red liquid still flowed out of the cut he had received.
You will never become him, so why try? You are not meant to be the holy warrior he was. You were born from darkness and in darkness you will stay. Embrace that fact and will be able to take down Mathias with your own two hands., the shadow continued. Shadow slowly clenched his fist and blood dripped from his hand to the ground.
"Leave. Now." he muttered, closing his eyes.
You cannot escape me so easily, Shadow! We are the same! We are one!, the shadow insisted.
"I said leave! Now go before I must make you!" Shadow snarled, eyes burning with hatred. The shadow smirked.
Very well. But know this: Attempting to become who you are not will not bring Lord Bernhard back.
With those final words, the shadow disappeared, leaving Shadow to himself. He glanced around the battlefield that was stained with dark blood, scanning the corpses of the Fenrir, Hellhound, and Shadow Wolf. Then he looked at his own bloody hand, which was a slightly more human shade of crimson. His shadow's voice echoed in his head:
'You were born from the darkness and in darkness you will stay…'
"Just…who am I fighting for? Myself? My master? Leon?" he asked no one in particular with a defeated sigh. Finally he glared at the sky in determination.
"Well, one thing is for certain. I will never turn back again."
AN: Now, this probably just looks like boring filler, but trust me: it's not. This is important character development/foreshadowing for the Riku/Kairi adventure that will come into the story later. It may not seem like much now, but you'll see later. Also, it gave a little more hint into who Shadow really is, if you haven't figured it out yet. Also, that last line was a bit of an allusion to the "Shadow the Hedgehog" ending theme, Never Turn Back by Crush 40.
R&R!