Shadow: Forces (Cringe)

Chapter 8: Arnec's Past

"Everyone has a past..."

Dare woke up after hearing the door shut. She groaned and stood up, her ribs not hurting anymore for some reason. She looked around and saw on the table by the couch, a picture frame. She picked it up and saw Arnec, smiling as he had his arm around a timber wolf's shoulder. She looked down at the bottom of the photo and was saddened as she saw what was written: "Rest in peace, brother..."
She shook her head before setting it down. She walked through his small home, the smells of wood and clean air greeting her. She walked into the kitchen, right by the living room, and opened the fridge. It was decently stocked, with only a shelf empty. There was a LOT of pizza boxes though, and in the freezer was some raw cookie dough ice cream and some chocalte chips. She smirked before shutting the freezer. She looked back down at the fridge and saw a loaf of bread. She grabbed it and opened the cabinet, where a jar of peanut butter was. She grabbed it and sat the two down on the wood kitchen table. She opened a drawer and grabbed a butter knife before making herself a sandwich. She sat down and quietly ate it. As she ate it, her thoughts traced back to what had happened back at HQ. "Idiot." she said quietly to herself. She finished her sandwich and sat there quietly for about 20 minutes before getting up and walking around the house. She walked into a bedroom and saw a journal on a nightstand. She at first didn't want to invade his privacy, but her curiosity got the better of her as she looked around at the room. It was relatively boring and uninteresting, with light blue walls and a normal white ceiling with a fan. The bed was a queen size and had blue striped covers with basic white pillows. She sat down on the bed and noticed a book shelf by the bed, there being some books on it. She looked at the spines of them and noticed that they were mostly just fantasy books. Including one that said something along "Devil's tears" or something like that*. She looked down at the notebook, grabbing it. She opened it and slowly read through it, it mainly just filled with training notes and other uninteresting things. The next page she turned to though was different. It had what looked like dried water droplets on it. When she began reading it, she realized that it wasn't water...
"I can't believe it... Fayn's gone... Eggman attacked the town and I got injured. But that's not the bad part... Fayn... He... He stayed behind to make sure the medics got to me. A building collapsed on top of him... They... Never found his body. I don't know how exactly I'll carry on, Fayn always knew what to do... This war has taken so much, not just from me, but everyone else too. Fayn... I'm sorry. But don't worry, I'll avenge you... Promise..."
She closed her eyes and shook her head. She then heard footsteps and saw Arnec in the doorway, a surprised look on his face. Dare closed the journal and quickly sat it down "I'm S-sorry! I didn't want to-"
"It's okay. So what did you find out about me? You had that look..."
"How you'd lost everything." Dare responded, looking at the journal. Arnec sighed "Fayn... Meant a lot to me. Me and him fought both with and beside one another. It was... Fun. The only good thing that came out of his death was the motivation it gave me to end this war. If he was still here, he would have been leading Bravo during the battle of Park Avenue."
"Seems he was a nice guy."
"He was... I just... I just wish I would've been stronger! Had I not gotten hurt, he'd still be alive! I'm the older one, I should've been the one to sacrifice myself for him, not the other way around!" Arnec said in frustration. Dare's eyes shifted to concern as she was reminded of Shadow. She put her hand on his shoulder, his eyes shifting towards her. "Arnec?"
"Hmm?" He asked, his hair perking up.
"You alright? Is there anything I can do?"
Dare asked, looking at him. He sighed
"No... I just need to get stronger, I need more power!"
"Arnec, power isn't always the answer."
"Power means everything. If you can't protect others, how can you protect yourself!? You can't. Because without power, anyone can just stomp out your embers before the fire starts."
"What about smarts? I mean it matters how big the stick is, but I think it matters a whole heck of a lot more who's swinging it, don't you think!?"
Arnec cracked a smile "My bad, I worded it badly. I don't mean power in physical terms. I need to get better just as a person. This war has been a stalemate for way too long, and I need to help you guys end it."
"Arnec, we will end it, together. You're a part of this too!" Dare told him. Arnec's smile faded "You forget who I am? I'm a half demon who never will be anything but a means to an end. Once the wars over and everyone else is all celebrating, I'll still be fighting, just in another place. That's all my family has been doing for centuries. We finish one fight, get in another." Arnec grumbled. Dare then grabbed his hands, him turning to her
"Then why don't you break that chain?"
"But how?"
"You be yourself!" Dare said with a smile. Arnec shook his head "I can't, I-"
"Arnec. Be yourself. If you want to break the chain that was set before your very birth, you can't act like those who came before! Why do you think I hate being called Maria? I don't want to be her, I want to be myself."
"Dare... I..."
"Stop. Don't give yourself excuses. Actions are what really matters. Anyone can say words, but it takes someone with courage to do the right thing. This may come off as weird, but... Have you ever loved someone?"
"What do you mean?" Arnec asked, confused. Dare stuttered "W-well, you know... When two people like each other..."
"Oh... Nope. Who would want a half demon anyway? All we're know for is for being evil. Well, most of us are..." Arnec said before one of the gauntlets from earlier formed on his hand, him looking at it.
Dare shook her head. "It doesn't matter where you come from... It matter who you are now!"
Arnec sat there blankly as the gauntlets went away, him slowly blinking. "Sorry..."
"For what?"
"Being... Like this."
"Like what!?"
"I'm just... Very conflicted right now. Fayn... He may have been my little brother technically, but I always considered him to be the better one. While I was cracking jokes and being stupid, he was getting stronger and helping people. I was foolish then... That's why I need the power, so I can be the best person I can be... And maybe even break free, like you said!"
"But let me guess, you need someone to help you?"
"I... I won't deny the truth, I do need help. As much as I've done, I still feel like this war is still not even close to over."
"Arnec, we'll end it. But you need to keep focused." Dare said to him. He sighed
"I just feel like I'm not actually helping."
"If you wouldn't have been there for me, I could've died... You saved my life!"
Arnec finally got it through his head and smiled a little "So I did... I... I just don't know what to do, I'm not used to so much stress on me. Fayn usually handled this stuff. After mum and dad passed, sigh... I think I need to get some rest. I've had a very exhausting day!" Arnec said, smirking. Dare smiled before leaning towards him "To answer your question form earlier... I would..." she said before gently kissing his cheek. Arnec blushed as she walked out, closing the door quietly. He laid down and covered up, thinking about all that had just happened. Dare walked through the kitchen where there was another room, a workshop. She went in and saw a workbench. She smiled before pulling his pistols from her back holsters, seemingly coming from nowhere, and placed them on the workbench. She took them apart and worked on them for a bit before smiling as she hit the slide releases on both simultaneously, a synchronized chink echoing before she twirled them into their holster. She took it off and sat her pistols down on the workbench before heading back into the living room. It was quiet as she heard a clock ticking. She looked at it, it being over a fireplace. 8:30 PM... Even though she had slept for a while, she was still drowsy and laid down on the couch, falling asleep...

*I know it's probably annoying to point out every Easter egg I put in, but I wanted to put this reference to one of my favorite video game series in here. It's a reference to Devil May Cry. In fact, Arnec's moveset is heavily inspired by both Dante and Vergil's movesets from DMC. (and his demon form is a direct reference to Devil Trigger.) yes, I have an obsession... And yes, Arnec and Dare will become a thing by the end. Oh and here's a fun little Easter egg i put in earlier. Arnec's radio frequency is actually my birthday, 3.703 = (3/7/03). Next up, Shadow will lead a rescue mission!