Chapter Four: Lost the Fight
Get ready for the day,
when I'm going to through it all back at you!
Persistance is the key...
If you want the truth,
don't forget what you already know...
Rise above the storm,
and you'll find what you're looking for!
I've paid my dues and I earned my keep,
Now it's my turn to play...
You better start believing in nightmares,
because you're in one!
And it's going to be a long night...
'Dis is getting me nowhere way too fast!' Duke thought angrily to himself as he rubbed his eyes tiredly and looked back up at Drake-1. 'Dare's gotta be somethin' I'm not getting!'
Duke had perched himself at the large super-computer before him. He had been looking at Shadow's file over and over again for the past few hours now. Everyone else had been too tired from tonight's game and all but Duke retired for the night. Or so he thought.
Nosedive came into Duke's sight as he entered the Ready Room with a tired yawn. He looked at Duke for a moment. "Yo, Duke!" He said, as he walked over to the oldest duck. "What are ya still doin' up at this hour, man? I thought you'd be- ya know- sawin' logs by now."
Duke shifted his gaze from the computer to acknowledge Nosedive's presence before he returned to looking through the police records.
"I'm lookin' for anythin' on Shadow, but so far, all I'm getting is a bunch of nuttin' outta da ordinary!" Duke complained in a frusterated tone as he placed his head in his hands.
"Why man?" Nosedive cried in disbelief. "She's a super-cool spitfire! Just like us!" He said in a hyped up tone as he tried his best to copy what he remembers from Shadow's earlier preformance, only succeeding in falling flat on his rear end.
Duke sighed and turned away from the extra large computer and turned to Nosedive. "I just dink she's hidin' somethin' big. Her personality was a dead give away." He told Nosedive in a tired tone as he rubbed his eyes.
"You're still up?" Wildwing asked in a surprised tone as he walked into the room, rubbing his eyes sleepily before he placed his mask back on his face.
Duke nodded his head and turned back to the computer. "Her record's clean but dat don' explain her personality." He said in a displeased tone.
"Well, you found her file, but maybe that's not where you're supposed to look." Wildwing said in a logical tone; coming up behind Duke and looking up at Shadow's file. "Have you tried her parents' records?"
Duke growled in frusteration as he typed a few keys and pulled up her father's file. "It looks like her fatha died before she was born. But it looks like he has some military trainin'." He answered in confirming tone as he looked over the deceased man's file.
"What about her mom, yo?" Nosedive suggested in a curious tone as he joined his brother's side behind Duke, "I mean didn't Shadow say somethin' about her mother being locked up in like, "the looney bin" or somethin'?" He asked: using air quotes to prove his point.
The file was nothing to sneeze at. It had nearly everything from parking tickets to abstuction of justice. It wasn't anything worth looking into. The biological background revealed a startling surprise about their little fighter.
"She seems clean- wait a minute, I never knew Shadow had a twin!" Nosedive said in shock as he blinked up at the screen in bewilderment. "She must be as good as Shadow. How come we never saw her?"
"Yeah, but it looks like her brother died when they were in middle school. Something about a school shooting!" Wildwing said in surprise as he looked over the file again to make sure he was seeing things.
Duke nodded in reply and something interesting caught his eye. "It looks like we struck gold 'ere! Afta da death of her brotha, her mom was really locked up in Broken Hills Mental Institution for the criminally insane!" He said in a shocked tone as he stared up at the file in disblief.
"That would explain why Shadow acts the way she does sometimes." Wildwing said in a realizing tone as he looked to his brother with a blank stare. "I wonder how Mr. Kemo fits into all of this though." He added as an after-thought.
"But why wouldn't she talk to us about it, ya know?" Nosedive asked in a confused tone, "I thought she was starting to ya'know- warm up to us or somethin'."
Duke shook his head at the youngest duck of the trio. "Would ya really wanna go talkin' to a bunch of complete strangas?" He asked in a logical tone, looking over at Nosedive in a teaching manner.
"I'm surprised Shadow can even lift her head up at all with everything that she probably went through." Wildwing said in a doubtful tone as he folded his arms angrily over his chest as he looked up at the ceiling; imagining how the girl must be feeling.
Duke chuckled at the Flashblade brothers behind him. "I could tell from the moment I first watched her fight dat it was takin' ev'rythin' she had to get back up once her opponent had her down." He said in a serious tone as he stopped his search and printed off all the files he found on Shadow and her mother before he got up and turned to face the two brothers. "I want ta get to da bottom of dis case so I can finally have some rest and peace of mind." He declared in a angry tone as he turned to walk away, only to be stopped by his leader.
"Nosedive's going over to the boardwalk to meet up with Shadow," Wildwing informed the worried duck, "why don't you go with him and ask her yourself?" He suggested as he let out another yawn. "I'm gonna stay here and run survailance over the city."
Duke nodded to Wildwing before he walked out of the Ready Room, Nosedive running to catch up with him. "You know where we'll be if ya need us." He said in a bored tone as he waved backwardly to the white feathered duck as the two opposite ducks made their way to the exit.
"Tell Mr. Kemo and Shadow we all said "hi" and "good luck" in her Anahiem National Karate Tournament for us!" He directed his request to his younger as Nosedive ran off towards Duke, earning a fain't "Don't worry, bro!" from the hall way.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kemo and Shadow were at the beach; near the shore. The sun was just barely coming up over the horizon when they had arrived. There were no people around at this time and made it much easier for them to train. No distractions to be handled since most of Anahiem were still asleep. (Save for the trio)
The two had stopped to stare at the sun, and doing a few breathing techniques before Mr. Kemo began sparing with the teen; giving Shadow a quick warm-up before they began their routine. Shadow finished her breathing technique and began her other least favorite routine: stretching.
"Okay, Shadow-san," Mr. Kemo announced in a readied tone as he took a pair of poles he brought for today's lesson, "Kemo want Shadow-san to place ropes on wrist and follow Kemo movements. You learn focus today."
Shadow nodded and had done what she was instructed. Once she was ready, she copied her trainer's movements by crouching low to the ground. Mr. Kemo asked if she was ready when he began to move in odd angles and moved very fluently; making Shadow move with him. Needless to say that it was a lot easier said than done.
After a few moments moving around with the poles attached to her wrists, Duke and Nosedive arrived on the boardwalk with their duckcycles. They didn't see Shadow or Mr. Kemo anywhere! It was like some no-show as they looked around.
"Maybe we're early?" Nosedive suggested in a confused tone as he raised his shoulders at Duke.
Duke was about to agree with the teenager when he heard a man calling out to someone from the beach. He walked over to the rail and seen Shadow and Mr. Kemo training. He looked over his shoulder, and saw Nosedive leaning over to rail and saw the two karate fighters training with the poles.
"I think I just found 'em." Duke said in a blunt tone as he looked back at the girl with the poles on her wrists in fascination.
After a moment or two, Shadow looked up and seen the duo watching her, and waved to them with a happy smile. Mr. Kemo slapped her forehead with the pole and told her to take a break. She signaled for the to come over and began to stretch while she waited.
"I thought you were going to train on the boardwalk, sweetheart." Duke said in a confused tone as he took in the scene around him as he and Nosedive made their way down the stairs leading to the beach.
Shadow shrugged to the older duck before she stood to attention once they reached her and Mr. Kemo. "We're planning on training a while and most likely won't stop for some time," she explained in a bored tone as she looked out to the ocean, "There'll be too many people on the boardwalk soon and we'll have so many people watching and distracking us. So, Mr. Kemo thought we'd be better off practicing down here."
"And you won't get hurt as bad if you were on the boardwalk." Nosedive agreed with folded arms over his chest and a simple nod.
"So what were ya doin' just before we came here, sweetheart?" Duke asked in a curious tone as he looked down at the girl in wonder.
Shadow was about to answer when Mr. Kemo came back to the trio with a portable cd player in his hands. "Shadow-san learning focus." He answered as he placed the music player on a small piliar.
Shadow's eyes lit up with childish excitement. "Oh, Mr. Kemo! Can I show Duke and Nosedive what I'm doing for the State championships? Please?"
The old Japanese man looked thoughtful for a moment before he shook his head, "Kemo have better idea." He said as he handed Shadow a few cds for her to look through. "Shadow-san pick song and show friends what you do when not training..."
"Oh, yeah! That'll totally blow you guys away!" Shadow agreed excitedly as she began looking through her cds. She looked up at the two and smiled brightly at them. "If you thought I was pretty good back at the pond, wait till you see what I can do when I have music!"
"Coolella! Let's see what you got, girlie-girl!" Nosedive said happily as he pumped a fist in the air.
Shadow handed a cd to her trainer and told him to program the cd player which song she was going to play and got into a fighting position. She bowed to the man once he did was he was told and told her to began.
The song was by some boy band that had a real upbeat to it. Nosedive recognized it as one of his favorite bands. It was, 'Just Like You' by Three Days Grace. Duke could tell by the smile on Shadow's face and how she moved to the beat that it was her favorite song as the lyrics began to play. Nosedive sat down on the sand and listened to the song and watched Shadow begin to train.
'I could be mean!
I could be angry!
You know I could be just like you!
I could be fake!
I could be stupid!
You know I could be just like you!'
Shadow began to do a few no handed cartwheels and executed a few kicks and punches into the air. Her audience could tell by the way she moved that she was lost in her own world as she listened to the song. She was no longer moving to the music of the song, she was moving to the lyrics. Everyone was impressed by her preformance that they didn't speak to one another for fear of breaking her concentration.
'You thought you'd sit inside me.
You were only in my way!
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you!
You thought you were there to guide me,
You were only in my way!
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you!
You thought you were there to guide me!
You were only in my way!
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you!'
Shadow looked like she was dancing with the song instead of actually training. After executing a few more cartwheels, a small group of people started gathering around her original audience. They all clapped and cheered for her to keep going. A few people standing around Duke began gossiping about the young fighter as they watched the show.
"She's such a talented fighter. I've seen her in the All-Valley under 18 championships." One of the spectators said in an observing tone.
"Yeah, she fought against her brother in the semi-final, didn't she? I heard it was a tie if her brother hadn't knocked her out of the circle." The other viewer said as she watched the little girl preform a roundhouse kick into the air.
"It's a shame her brother was hurt in the second round though. I thought he had a pretty good chance of winning, but with a tyrant like Rocky. There was no chance of a clean fight." The first watcher said in a displeased tone. "I hope Shadow enters the All-Valley Tournament in a few weeks and puts and end to his ways."
Duke couldn't help but listen to the spectators' conversation, and get even more curious about the girl's life, as he kept his eyes trained on her.
'I could be cold!
I could be ruthless!
You know I couldn't be just like you!
I could be weak!
I could be senseless!
You know I couldn't be just like you!'
Shadow sighed and got into a praying mantis position as she faked a left kick and rotated her hip to strike nothing with the right leg. Once she landed, she pulled a perfect left sword-hand block to an invisible opponent, before she did a back flip and jumped into a perfect crane position. Her preformance really attrached more people to the crowd. Getting more and more into the song as she kept fighting.
'You thought you'd sit inside me.
You were only in my way!
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you!
You thought you were there to guide me,
you were only in my way!
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you!
You thought you were there to guide me.
You were only in my way!
You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you!'
Mr. Kemo stood silently beside Duke and Nosdive and noticed Shadow was trying her hardest not to let the growing crowd stares as she continued to fight with her invisible opponent. He took note in how angry and harsh her movements were becoming and sighed in defeat.
"Shadow's totally into this training thing!" Nosedive said in wonder as he placed his elbows on his legs and watched Shadow move furiously around in the sand, kicking some up with a few kicks and cartwheels.
"Yeah, but it's like she's mad about something." Duke agreed as he watched Shadow execute a harsh spinning kick, kicking up sand as she stared past the crowd before her.
"That because Shadow-san venting anger." Mr. Kemo said in an all-knowing tone as he kept watching her move around in the sand.
"Huh?" Nosedive said, tearing his gaze from the girl to look up at the old man standing beside him.
"Shadow-san get angry and trains to release anger. She becoming very calm person." Mr. Kemo explained, not taking his eyes off the girl fighting in the sand. "When Shadow-san brother died, she do only thing she know best."
"And what's that?" Nosedive asked as he looked back at Shadow, whom was now in a crane stance for a brief moment before she jumped into the air and landed a fiery five swords technique; focusing on her training and trying to block out the large crowd before her.
"Training. Ray-san used to practice with Shadow-san every day. When boy die, girl didn't know what to do. Kemo told Shadow-san to train and keep going. Shadow-san no fight back, Shadow-san did as Kemo told." Mr. Kemo said in a saddened tone as he watched Shadow train. "Just one problem though..."
"Oh, yeah," Duke said in a curious tone as he took his turn to take his eyes off the girl to look at her guardian for an explaination.
'On my own.
'cause I can't take living with you!
I'm alone!
So I don't turn out like you want me to!'
Just as the song was finishing up, Siege and Wrieth appeared in front of the girl with a few fighter drones; scaring everyone on the beach. The old-looking saurian fired a fire ball at the rails to knock some disbris down to scare the crowd off.
"Come 'ere, you little brat!" Siege demanded as he began watching the girl slowly back away in fear. "We ain't gonna hurt ya... much."
The girl snapped out of her fear and got into her previous crane position. "If you want me; then come get me, but I warn you," she warned in a deadly tone as she glared angrily at her opponents, "I'll take you out if you ever step to me!" She screamed as she stared coldly at the large lizard before her.
The tall skinny one clutched his staff and turned to Siege with warning. "Tread causiously, Siege. This one is nothing to sneeze at." He warned in a grim tone as he watched Shadow stare them down with a dangerous look in her eyes.
Siege looked over at Wrieth for a moment and back at Shadow with disbelief as he charged for the girl. "How tough can a little girl be?" He asked a taboo question.
Shadow's eyes darted towards the ducks, and noticed that they were busy fighting the drones to help her, and Mr. Kemo was helping the ducks. She looked back at her enemy and flipped backwards; just out of his reach. She bent her knees slightly and jumped when Siege got into arms' reach and landed on his shoulders; thrusting her legs behind her back, and sending them both to the ground.
Siege pushed himself up on his hands and shook his head repeatedly before he slowly gained his feet and growled angrily at the girl before him; his tail swinging around madly behind him in anger.
Shadow got into another position and smirked wickedly at her enemy; almost daring him to make another move against her. "You're out of your mind if you think you can beat me with just brute force, monami!"
Wrieth took his place beside the shorter saurian and prepared a fireball in his boney hand. "Then let's see how you fair against me, young one." He said in a confident tone as he threw the ball, aiming at her chest.
Shadow relaxed her posture, and formed an 'x' with her arms as she prepared for the oncoming attack. The fire blast knocked her right into the ocean, completely soaking her with the salty water. She jumped back onto the land with a look of pure rage in her eyes as she stared at her opponents; panting and dripping wet from the crashing waves.
"Shadow!" Duke roared angrily as he made quick work of his two opponents, and rushing towards the saurians next to the ocean.
"Oh man! This blows!" Nosedive shouted in protest as the drones he was fighting forced him back against the concrete wall. "Where's the guys when ya need 'em?"
Mr. Kemo finished his problem and rushed over to help the left wing, making it eaiser for Nosedive to dominate the robots with his puck blasters. Once they finished demolishing their foes, the duck and human went over towards Duke whom was having trouble fending against the two saurians.
Nosedive fired a few shots at the saurians. "What do these creep-a-sore-eyes want with Shadow?" He asked in a frusterated tone as he glared angrily at them.
"Beats me, unless they wanna pull a Stanely on her." Duke suggested with his sword blocking and defending against Wrieth's firey sword.
A few more drones teleported in and began going after the trio with full force. Things were not looking good for them as they began backing away.
"We need help!" Mr. Kemo shouted in a paniced tone as he panted with near- exhaustion. "Must not let them get Shadow-san!"
"But what do they want wit her? I mean, what good would it do them?" Duke asked in an equally paniced tone as he took a step sideways towards Shadow; ready to charge Siege if he got too close.
Siege returned a few shots and made his way towards the girl whom was standing still with her head humg low. She looked like a lifeless doll by standing there. Then, with one quick movement, she lifted her head up to reveal glowing red eyes.
"You've come before me like countless others," She said in a now demonic tone as she glared hatefully at the saurians, "and like others, I will still dance upon your graves..." And with a bright, white flash, Shadow's body turned itself in a large wolf...