I Am...All of Me

Greater Danger (Sequel to Weakness)

For the entire day, Shadow had been trapped inside of the capsule, and his nerves were slowly beginning to grate on him because of the lack of flying room. He had never struggled with small spaces before, and he found it especially annoying now. His new senses were telling him it was getting closer to sunset, and soon his second day of being cursed would be over. It was hard to believe that only yesterday he had transformed. It had felt like he had been stuck like this for a lifetime. He had grown tired and sore from bashing himself against the glass countless times, and he had the bruises to prove it.

"Well this should be interesting," Eggman announced to himself. Shadow raised an eyebrow.

"What should be?" he demanded. The human chuckled, while the ebony hedgefae crossed his arms, clearly not amused.

"I happen to know a thing or two about mythical creatures, and after finding you, I did a little research on pixie behavior," he replied with a sinister grin.

"I'm not sure what you're.....getting...at," Shadow replied slowly as his attention was turned to the open window he hadn't noticed before that was pointing westward, giving the unsuspecting dark pixiehog a clear view of the sunset. He was completely mesmerized by the swirling display of colors, and he unintentionally began to hover. He wanted to be outside and fully enjoy the intoxicating feeling. He flew closer to the glass and pressed his hands against it, wishing he could get out. Dr. Eggman watched curiously, as his shrunken nemesis stared longingly towards the window.

"How very intriguing," he muttered to himself, but Shadow didn't say anything in response. A stray beam of the setting sunlight filtered inside and focused directly on Shadow's wings. He looked over his shoulder reflexively, as his new limbs began to absorb the light.

"Interesting..." Dr. Eggman muttered to himself as he took notes on what was happening. Shadow closed his eyes and turned back to face the setting sun, his wing beats becoming more and more erratic. He snapped his eyes shut tighter and curled into himself before a ball of golden light erupted from him and shone outside of the glass, temporarily blinding Eggman.

When the human looked back inside the tube, he gasped. Shadow remained hovering, but a thin vine with a single leaf had sprouted from the vein in his wrist and wrapped around his forearm as if it were a branch. The dark pixie looked down at the plant with wonder, dread, and fear, something the doctor had never witnessed before.

"What...just...happened to me?" he asked himself, and for the first time, he actually heard the little chime in his voice. He gripped his throat in surprise, "Is that what I really sound like?!" he exclaimed in a voice just slightly an octave higher, and the bell rang frantically from within him. He waved his arm with the offending vine attached to it rapidly, as if it would shake off, but to no avail.

Eggman watched curiously and took notes, as Shadow panicked over the sudden evolution in his form, and he would have laughed if he didn't find it slightly worrisome. Shadow never panicked over anything; he was almost always in control of his emotions and should have handled the sunset with ease. Such instability would never work as a reliable generator for his latest mech.

"Doctor, please let me out. I'll go crazy if I'm stuck in here a minute longer," the hedgehog pleaded sincerely as he stood on the floor of the capsule with his hands pressed against the glass and his wings folded behind him. Eggman rubbed his mustache as he thought before sneering maliciously.

"Of course, Shadow! I have enough data now. You are no longer needed here," he said as he typed something into his computer. The lid of the prison opened, and Shadow immediately flew out.

"Thank you, doctor, honestly," he replied before zooming out of the room, passing Orbot and Cubot as he went.

"Sir, why did you let Shadow go? I thought you needed him for your newest plan," Orbot queried. The mad scientist laughed heartily.

"Don't worry, he's not going anywhere. But I can't use him anymore."

"Why's that, boss?" Cubot asked, earning a thoughtful and troubled look from his master.

"Shadow's entire being has been altered, making him incredibly unstable. He must remain contained and possibly exterminated before he does something more dangerous than me. And I know just how to do it," he concluded with an evil grin.

Shadow smirked as he listened from just outside of the door, his hearing not diminished in the slightest. As if you could hold me, he thought dangerously, sounding more villainous than heroic, I think it's time I had a little fun.

The next thing Eggman heard was a large explosion from somewhere within his base, and he rapidly checked the security cameras. His hangar was up in flames, robots quickly trying to douse them, and his mechanical lab was in ruins. It would take months to repair that kind of damage! Eggman pounded his fist on the keypad.

"SHADOW!!!"

Shadow's POV

I grinned almost malevolently as I dusted my hands off. The doctor's little repair shop was a lot easier to sabotage than I thought. I looked down at the little green leaf and vine that I can only assume grew out of me, and I glared at it. If this is what happens after only the second sunset, I don't want to know what will happen in the dusks to come. I need to get out here before the doctor catches up with me in this pathetically tiny body.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, as I suddenly realized and facepalmed. I can teleport with or without an emerald. I closed my eyes and focused on where I wanted to be.

"Chaos control!"

Only to open eyes and see that nothing's changed, "What!?" My chaos powers...they're...gone? I couldn't believe it. I was losing myself to this spell in more ways than I dared to think about. For once, I had never felt so small and weak.

But before I could move an inch, a glass bowl fell over me and grounded me. I growled and immediately tried to fly out, only to smash myself against the roof over me. I looked up to see the doctor grinning down at me, as he slid a piece of metal under my feet and lift me up.

"Did you really think I would let you go just like that?" he asked, which I thought was a pointless question. How stupid was I?! I crossed my arms and smirked, my most familiar mask. I had to at least look like I knew what I was doing.

"No, but then again, you always had a habit for not doing the smart thing," I retorted calmly. He looked taken aback for a moment and then grew furious.

"We'll see about doing the smart thing," he grumbled and reached his hand under the bowl. I flew as far away from him as possible, dodging his hand as fast as I could. However, there's only so much space in a glass bowl. I suddenly felt his massive hand gripped my middle fiercely, and I held back a gasp of pain as he squeezed tightly before pulling me out.

Eggman's POV

I watched as Shadow stubbornly tried to wriggle out of my grip, a futile attempt to be sure. He was so tiny and pathetic in his new form it was almost laughable, but the damage he did to my base was not. His little wings flapped in a useless effort to fly away, and I wondered why he even bothered to struggle. I squeezed him a little tighter and smirked with satisfaction as I heard a small grunt of pain come from him. His wings hung limply against the back of my fingers, and I could feel him fighting for air in my palm. As firmly and carefully as I could, I walked down the metal hallway to a door that I don't open very often myself, but I figured it would be the best punishment for Shadow. My cold storage room.

Things are certainly looking grim for Shadow. How will he escape?