Chapter Three: The Redclaw Tribe

A dense fog shrouded the area, black was all that could be seen for miles even with the golden hound's keen eyesight. His sense of smell was knocked out due to the fog but he still needed to know where he was. Damien awoke, alone and somewhat scared of where he was, why he was here and who may have been here with him.

For some reason, it was so hot but with fog, shouldn't it have been humid? Damien couldn't tell truthfully, he wasn't the brightest kid in the class...probably the whole school. But he could make up for it with his fists. Arising from his previous state, Damien began to walk through the fog gazing around for any sign of life at all but his efforts were coming out slim after all.

He tipped his sunglasses up and squinted, hopefully having the chance at finding someone but nothing. The golden dog banged his fists against the cold and barren floor, screaming angrily, his echoes filling the area with his pain and frustration.

"WHERE AM I?!!" Damien bellowed, his question obviously not receiving any sort of answer. Grabbing his sunglasses, he threw them on the floor harshly before stepping on them. Once he did that, a new pair just reappeared on his face, Damien growling of confusion.

All of a sudden, a shadowy figure began to walk through the fog coming towards Damien. The dog raised his fists up, being ready to fight any body that was in his way to getting out of here. The figure's identity finally revealed as the fog evaporated, the Angel in shock for at least the fourth time in the past few days. It was him, a mirror image or copy of himself, this had to be some sort of trick or magic.

"Hey buddy, how are you doing?" the copy asked.

"Okay, do you know how many things are being asked in my head right now?" the copy shook his head.

"Of course you don't. Who are you? Why do you look like me? Where am I? Why am I here?!!" Damien asked, his questions irritating his visitor.

"Do you know that you can be really annoying at times? Anyway, I'm you as it can be seen from the way I look. I look like you because I am you. You're in your conscious or you can call it a dream. As for why you're here, you should know that of all people. Let's get you better acquainted with your other side...meet Nightshade!" the Damien look alike began to change in form. His fur changed color along with his eyes and his claws. Damien backed away from the transformed being, Nightshade now standing before him.

"Now do you see what you truly are?!" Nightshade asked, his tone more like a scream.

"NO!!! There's no way in Hell that you're me, I know I've been hearing the Nightshade a bit lately but there's no way I'm Nightshade. I don't what kind of lies you're trying to feed me but it won't work. I hope you can see that." Damien explained but the black and purple wolf wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily.

"Not going to happen. I will show you who you are whether you choose to believe me or not...you are Nightshade!!!" The black beast grabbed Damien, the weaker dog trying to escape the hold but it was useless.

The Angel looked into Nightshade's eyes and all of a sudden, glimpses of recent events began to flood his mind. There was the fight with Darius and the rampage of Central City, the final one securing the truth. It showed Damien actually transforming into the being he didn't think he would ever believe was true...he was Nightshade.

"This is who you are...and what you shall become...doesn't it feel great to have all this power and no one to command you on how to use it?" Nightshade asked, Damien's growl becoming more fierce than expected.

"NO!!! I will not become you...ever!! You are a piece of trash to me and I'll kill you. That'll probably get rid of this curse that you've put upon me. I hope that you have a nice time in hell you monster." Damien exclaimed, trying to kick at the wolf but Nightshade laughed at his feeble attempts.

He dropped the real one and began to walk away much to Damien's dismay.

"Where are you going?! You come back here you little punk! Fight me like a real...monster...um man would!!! I'm going to kill you for this and make you pay dearly!!!"

"HA! Like I haven't heard that one before little one but you're not ready yet. If we were to fight here and now...I would squash you like the annoying bug you truly are. In time, you'll become stronger and we shall have our true battle but until then...you shall wait but don't worry, I'm going to become stronger as well." Nightshade said, his finger slowly tapping against his chin as if he were in thought, "Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't you tell your brother Darius that you HAD turned into a monster?"

"Uh, I was confused at the time. I didn't know what to believe honestly but now I see the truth and I won't let it affect my future." Damien proclaimed but Nightshade just chuckled.

"Such bravado...for one of the most biggest idiots I've ever seen. Well I must be off. Goodbye Damien." Nightshade walked off into the dense fog, a bright light overtaking Damien's vision.


The hound woke up, still in the wasteland of Dusty Desert, sweat running down his forehead like a waterfall. He swiped the back of his hand along his face to wipe some of the perspiration off but almost screamed at the sight. His hand was still black and purple meaning he was still in his Nightshade form. Quickly getting up from the ground, the hound began to scan his whole body and unfortunately, he was still the monster that was in his dream but how?

The fight against Darius shouldn't have kept me in this form. Holy crap, I need to get out of this and do something about that gray thorn in my side. I'm going to find that creep and make him pay...once I get myself out of this little costume...God, wonder how Sonic felt in his were-hedgehog form thing.

Nightshade picked up his sunglasses which were slightly broken but he could easily fix them once he reached a town of some sort. Then there was the fact that he was a wanted criminal for bringing about a fourth of Central City, resisting arrest and many other felonies.

As he made his way across the desert, the black and purple hound noticed something not too deep in the sand. Using his giant purple claws, he began to dig through the barriers that held his prize. Nightshade found a small pole like object made of steel so he grabbed it.

With all of his might, the dog pulled out the pole and found it to be a sign, one that told how many miles left to arrive at a certain place. It read "Soleanna, 30 Miles Away" much to the dog's dismay. This angered the dog very much as sand began to rotate around his body like a mini sandstorm.

"WHY AM I SO UNLUCKY?!! WHY WAS I THE ONE TO GAIN THIS CURSE?!! IT'S NOT A BLESSING TO HAVE THIS...THIS POWER!!! WHY DID I BECOME NIGHTSHADE??!!!" a faint red aura began to surround the monster's body, the sand around him somehow entranced by the hound's astounding power.

All of a sudden, the sand actually attached the hound's body like it was a sort or armor before Nightshade let out an unnatural roar, the sand rocketing upwards into the form of a giant sand tornado. The sand tornado was visible from miles away, the height of it almost matching the length of the Egg Carrier and the width of it almost the size of a small town. A small group of warriors wearing black cloaks saw the tornado, they were not too far from where it was coming from. The leader who was wearing a different colored cloak, a tan one to be exact, stepped forward and looked closely inside to see a figure inside.

"Men, we're heading over to that tornado. There's someone in there and may need our help." the leader exclaimed, the voice obviously showing it was a female.

The group ran towards the "funnel of sand" in which Nightshade was trapping himself inside but suddenly the tornado dissipated and Nightshade was once again revealed but he looked different from what he previously looked like.

His claws were no longer violet but a stunning red violet and his black hair was replaced with a dark scarlet. Nightshade's cross tattoo changed color once again, this time it was a crimson color. The final touch was the once deep violet eyes Nightshade once has became y pools of red. The leader of the group stepped forward to meet the monster face to face.

"What the hell is that thing?" one of her men cried.

"It's some sort of monster!!" another exclaimed.

"I'm not fighting or touching that thing!!!" many others cried and wailed as their leader became a bit too aggravated at them.

"SHUT UP!!! I'm trying to help the...thing." The leader looked into the crimson eyes of the transformed Nightshade. "Hello um...I don't know your name but I'll call you Dog for now. Look Dog, I'm here to help you and I don't wanna hurt you. Just stay still and I'll calm you down." the leader pressed the palm of her hand against Nightshade's forehead and all of a sudden, the hound began to transform.

His red violet claws becoming black again, his tattoo also black. His eyes were covered with his old black contacts and his fur was golden with specks of dirty . Damien has once again returned as the warriors gasped in shock while the cocky hero rubbed his head.

"Oh my aching head, it feels like I got hit by three trucks and then hit by a G.U.N armored vehicle..." Damien noticed the leader and her group finally, scratching the back of his head, "Um, who are you?"

"We are the Redclaw Tribe, a tribe who lives here in the Dusty Desert and thrives off the thrill of defeating our rival tribe, the Blackheart Tribe. I am their leader, Lia the Jackal." the leader took off her entire cloak to reveal her appearance.

Lia was a black jackal with white stripes running along her back and forearms. The jackal had two red stripes, one above each of her amber eyes. On her forehead was a red diamond, symbolizing some sort of birthmark. As for what she wore, she had a short sleeveless green shirt, a pair of red and gray sneakers, tattered gray pants and a red bandanna wrapped around her left shoulder. Damien smirked a cocky grin at Lia, the hound putting his sunglasses on to protect his eyes from the sand.

"Well Lia, I have to get going now. I have somewhere to...aw damn it!! I'm a wanted criminal. God I should have thought about that...now what?" Damien trailed off as Lia placed a hand on his shoulder.

"So you need a place to stay? You're welcome to stay with us for a while." Lia offered, her tribe mates shocked at her actions. Usually she would snap at strangers but she somehow felt comfortable with a guy who was previously have a little rampage in the middle of the desert.

"Um I guess I'll take you up on your offer Lia. The name's Damien...Damien Angels." Damien replied as he began to walk through the other members of the group. Lia and her Redclaw Tribe began to follow, Lia's mind processing thoughts like a computer.

I don't know why but this Damien character reminds me somewhat of Maki...and he's pretty...oh what am I saying? I'm not going to get attracted to this guy. But...let's just get home and I'll think about this later.

"Damien! Wait up!" Lia cried as her group began to chase after the dog who was far ahead of them. Maybe this wasn't so bad for Damien but yet, he knew the battles ahead were just going to get more challenging.

To be continued...


A/N: Well another chapter in my belt now! Yeah, I'm so happy and I hoped you guys liked this new form of Nightshade. He's going to be even more awesome than you guys had originally thought. I would like to thank Babylon Sky Hawk for giving me this awesome OC, Lia, as a gift for Christmas. You're awesome man! Hopefully, you'll tune in for the next chapter. Please review!! I need feedback guys to make me a better writer. Thanks!