I Am...All of Me

Black Shadow (Part 6)

Hours had passed since Shadow had left, and Sonic was still searching for his missing comrade. Night had fallen some time ago, forcing the blue blur to slow down so he wouldn't accidently speed by his missing rival. The overcast sky and thick forest canopy blotting out any light from the stars or moon definetly wasn't helping matters.

"Come on, man. Where are ya?"

Rapid footsteps suddenly caused his ear to twitch, and Sonic instinctively fell into a fighting position. His ears swiveled in all directions, trying to make up for his lack of sight as the steady rhythm of footfalls drew closer. Without warning, a solid form collided with his, and the two tumbled over the ground before Sonic kicked his attacker off. Unfortunately, he couldn't make out who or what his new opponent was in the darkness.

"Who are you?! Show yourself!" he demanded.

"Sonic?" Shadow's baritone voice questioned, "What are you doing out here? Why aren't you with Tails?"

The blue hero couldn't miss the urgency in the other's tone, "Why? What's going on?"

"I..I'm not sure, but I have a feeling that there will be some sort of attack on your house soon. You need to get back."

"What about you?"

"I will continue hunting Black Doom and hopefully find whatever hole he's managed to squirm into."

Shadow's quills bristled as his 'sixth sense' alerted him to a familiar presence. The signal was faint though, meaning that the Black Arm was a fair distance away. He knew he wouldn't have time to focus on his search at this point. Black Doom would have to wait. It was his fault that they were in danger.

Sonic noticed how his rival seemed to freeze on the spot and furrowed his eyebrows in concern, "Shadow?"

"No time. Hang on!" he ordered and grabbed the blue blur's arm, "Chaos Control!"

The two hedgehog's reappeared in the workshop/house living room. Shadow released Sonic from his grip without looking at him. He knelt into a crouching position, golden sparks of a forming chaos spear crackling between his fingers. His senses were buzzing, preparing for the attack he knew was coming. He stalked about edges of the room, keeping himself low to the ground, and he felt the strong presence nearing the workshop half of the building. The intruder knew where he was going.

A giant shadow loomed outside of the nearest window, soulless putrid yellow eyes staring in, and Shadow lowered himself further into an attack position. Sonic had already zipped into the shop to grab Tails and hopefully stay out of trouble. The black warrior silently lifted the window open and stuck its head in. Shadow became faintly aware of the sound of sniffing. As soon as its head was fully inside, he pounced.

Shrieks of pain and surprise echoed around him as he tackled the Black Arm, diving straight through the window and into the yard. Thunder crashed above them, and rain from the impending storm began to fall in steady sheets. Shadow charged a chaos spear and attempted to stab its head, but the creature slipped, sending them both tumbling on to the muddy ground and forcing him to miss. Thick ebony claws grabbed him and threw him, slicing his arms and shoulders at the same time. Ruby eyes gleamed dangerously in a flash of lightning.

A throaty growl rumbled in the hedgehog's mouth as something within him snapped. No harm would come to Sonic and Tails this night. He swore it. Both he and his opponent climbed to their feet and stared each other down. In a flicker of reddish gold, Shadow attacked with hands alight with chaos energy. He slashed furiously at the black warrior, dealing heavy damage, however, the larger beast kicked him off and roared.

It's carmine eyes glanced back at the house, angry that its mission was being delayed. It looked at Shadow, who was panting slightly, and focused on the slick green blood sliding down his arms. This creature was one of them, yet he fought against them. Why? Was he sick? The black warrior meerly watched in confusion as the ebony hedge-arm glared and took a battle stance. What was he fighting for? They were on the same side.

"Leave," Shadow commanded, "and tell Doom I'm coming to finish the job."

The alien clicked and chirped at him, asking why he wouldn't let him finish his task, but Shadow only tilted his head in confusion. It was becoming clear to both of them that they had no idea what the other was saying.

"Whatever, I'll just deal with you for now," Shadow stated, and his hands glowed with golden chaos energy, contrasting brightly with the darkness, "Chaos Spear!"

The blades of lightning energy hit their mark, and the black warrior fell flat on its back, gurgling alien curses at his pain and the constant downpour.

Shadow marched towards his foe, prepared to deal the final strike, and he planted a dirtied skate on its chest. The black warrior struggled but couldn't find the strength.

"Listen here, scum," Shadow snarled, certain that his words would be projected to Black Doom, "This world is not yours or your master's as long as I am here to defend it."

The alien chittered and shook its head, and for the briefest of moments, Shadow thought he could vaguely understand what it was trying to say. The notion didn't linger long, however, as the hybrid plunged a chaos spear directly into its skull. The impaled body shook violently for a few seconds before it stilled, and Shadow knew its life had passed.

Deciding to leave the corpse where it was, he turned to walk back to the house when an unnatural quake shook his chest. He paused mid-step, confused about what was happening, but the feeling only intensified and slowly traveled throughout his whole body. He was vaguely aware of Sonic and Tails running out to meet him, and he held up a hand to stop them. Without warning, he doubled over, feeling beyond nauseous. He gripped the ground, eyes widening in surprise when sharp, ebony claws extended from his fingertips, piercing the earth. The temperature seemed to drop dramatically, causing him to shiver.

"The serum must be wearing off!" Tails exclaimed, "Shadow! The serum! You need another dose!"

The obsidian hedgehog nodded and fumbled clumsily with his quills until he managed to pull out the small case holding the injections. With no small amount of difficulty, he grabbed one and popped off the safety cap before thrusting it into his upper thigh. A flash of pain caused him to hiss before it melted into the same euphoric warmth he experienced with the first dosage. He closed his eyes, allowing the heat to encase him, and didn't open them until the sensation ended. When he finally did so, he noticed that he looked and felt like his normal self once again.

"Hey, man, you good?" Sonic asked and offered a hand. Shadow waved it away and picked himself up.

"I'm fine. It was a poorly devised attack on Doom's part," he began, realizing how unusual the whole ordeal was. The alien warlord was admittedly smart and cunning. The poor excuse of an ambush didn't make any sense, unless....

"Fox, check your lab,"he ordered. The two brothers gave him odd looks, but Taild agreed and ran back to check on his beloved workshop.

A distressed cry was all it took to confirm his suspicions, "I should have known."

Tails ran to Sonic and glimpsed him in a hug, a soaking wet mess of tears and hiccups, "My shop, i-it's all destroyed. M-My life's work!"

"Why would Black Doom do this!" Sonic growled as he returned the hug. Shadow looked down at his feet for a moment before lifting his head to meet his blue counterpart's gaze.

"Because you helped me and slowed down his plans," he replied, "This is my fault. I'm sorry fox; I will try to make this right," he added and turned his attention back to Sonic, "I will continue my search for Doom and end this havoc."

The blue blur nodded sadly, "Good luck, Shads. If you need any of us, don't hesitate to call. And don't worry about Tails. It's not the first time his 'life's work' has been destroyed."

His playful comment was retorted by a not-so-playful punch to the shoulder from the distraught kit. Shadow sighed and nodded his farewell, resuming his hunt once again.