I Am...All of Me

Black Shadow (Part 5)

I will find you, Black Doom, Shadow thought as he skated in a black and crimson blur through the forest, and I will finish what I started.

I'm counting on it. You have much of my determination. I'm proud.

Shadow skidded to a sudden halt. His hands balled into fists as his quills shot up, "I have nothing of yours! Do not compare me to you!"

Is that not what a father does? Look at his child and see what he has passed on?

"I AM NOT YOURS!" Shadow yelled, disrupting the once quiet afternoon, "I will never be yours, and you are not my father."

Delusions placed in your mind by the human I left you with. I can't believe such spirit has been wasted on such a weak race. No matter. You will return to me..in time.

"What makes you so sure?" the black hedgehog whispered, his thoughts confused by the wave of unwavering confidence being emanated from the other, "You've tried once and failed. What makes this time any different from before?"

Come now, Shadow. I thought you were smarter than that, his deep voice echoed tauntingly in the hybrid's mind, You know the truth. You know that you are mine and that you belong with me. Your true self has been awakened, and it is only a matter of time before you kneel.

"Never," Shadow spat and punched the nearest tree, splintering it, "I. Will. Never. Kneel."

Do not be so sure of the future, Shadow. But now that we are alone, I think it's time to continue where we left off...

Shadow braced himself for the immense pain he knew was coming. Seconds ticked by, but nothing happened. Confusion and anger that was not his own peaked his interest, and he checked his body for any signs of a physical change, only to find none. Nothing had happened.

What have they done to you!? Doom's voice echoed and sounded genuinely distraught, What has stunted you?

The hybrid immediately began to repel against the mental conversation. If Black Doom didn't know about the serum, then he was going to make sure it stayed that way. A familiar pressure began to build up in the back of his head. He knew this was Black Doom's way of "asking nicely" before resulting to more painful measures.

Shadow, he began slowly, resembling the voice of an irritated parent trying to show no small amount of patience with a two year old, What did those mobian rats do to you to change you back to your cloak form?

"Cloak form? What are you talking about?" the ebony hedgehog asked slowly and leaned against a tree that hadn't been shattered by a well-aimed punch a few seconds ago.

For one who claims to be so powerful, you truly are a naive little hedgeling. Do you really think that the pathetic races of this planet would have allowed you to so much as breathe their air if you looked like me? Of course not! Even before I returned, you felt the hatred in their gazes. They fear us, Shadow. And fear drives them to attack a power they deem too dangerous. They lock it away because they can't control it, but you already know that, don't you?

"Stop playing around, Black Doom," Shadow snapped, "Your mind games won't sway me. What did you mean about a cloak form? This is who I've always been."

No...That is what you have always been told.

Back with Sonic and Tails

"Bye, Rouge!" the blue hedgehog waved as his friend flew out his guest bedroom window. The blue hedgehog gingerly trodded back downstairs and entered his little brother's workshop. Tails was back at his favorite work desk, apparently mixing some new concoction together while humming a tune. The fact that he was able to act so normal after everything that had gone down in the living room definitely peaked the hero's interest.

"Hey, Tails," he greeted, waiting for a reaction.

"Hiya, Sonic," was the standard reply, "What's up?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he answered, "You seem to taking this whole situation with Shadow pretty well. How are you holding up?"

The kitsune finally looked up from his expirement with a small closed-lip smile before saying, "I'm good. I mean, I'm pretty uneasy about Shadow leaving the way he did, but I know he'll be back soon."

"What makes you say that?"

"The serum," he stated matter-of-factly, "Each needle only lasts eight hours, and he has eleven left. So, if he wants more, then he'll come back in about three or four days at the latest for it. That's why I'm making more. But we should still try to find him. I don't know if it could have any side effects. I'm worried that if it wears off without him being able to inject another, that the results could be a lot worse than what we saw."

"Yikes," Sonic shivered, "I don't think I ever wanna see that again. Do you think you can figure out a way to make sure it doesn't come back?"

Tails scratched the base of his bandaged ear with the pencil he had been using to jot down notes, "I don't know. It's a part of him, so it's his choice."

"Yeah, you're right," he sighed dejectedly before walking out, "I'm gonna go look for him. See what his game plan is!"

"Okay, tell him I said hey," the fox waved dismissively as he turned back to his work, missing the two finger salute given by his older brother.

With Shadow

"What lies are you going to tell me this time? That I was never a hedgehog? That I'm some lost pawn of yours you've only now come to retrieve? I wasn't born yesterday, Black Doom," Shadow stated in a bored tone, wondering just how many lies the voice in his head would say before shutting up for the day.

That is a story for when we are alone. Right now, you must answer my question, the pressure began to build steadily, What have they done to you?

"Nothing," Shadow spat, pressing the back of his head against the tree trunk. The pressure doubled, and he bared his fangs.

Do not lie to me, Shadow. What did they do?

"Nothing! No one did anything!" he yelled and rammed the back of his skull against the tree in an effort to distract himself from the overwhelming force crushing his mind. He felt something fall out of his quills, and he looked down at his feet to find the case of injections Tails had left with him. He knelt to pick it back up, but ended up resting over it on his hands and knees. It felt like someone was squeezing his brain.

What are those? Is that was has delayed your growth? he asked. The sudden amount of pressure made the hybrid hedgehog to let the answer finally slip.

"Yes," he panted, and the force lessened slowly, "Don't...don't hurt them," he wasn't sure why he was asking, but he could feel that Doom was going to do something that he couldn't let happen.

They cannot go unpunished. You are allowing them to prevent you from becoming who you truly are. The sooner you are back with me, the better. You will see.

"No. I will not fight for you, and you won't hurt my friends. This conversation is over."

Black Doom resigned at last, Very well. You show great loyalty to these creatures. Perhaps one day soon you will learn to show me the same.

"Never gonna happen."

Silence was all that met his reply, and Shadow sighed deeply before taking off in a streak of crimson.