Shadow: Awakening

Shadow: Inhibiting a Weapon

"I...I live on Chaos?" I say, bewildered. "But...I eat food...and drink water...so how do I 'live' on Chaos? I depend on sustenance as much as you, or Maria."

"Ha!" Gerald laughs. "That you do, Shadow. However, Chaos energy is always flowing through you, even if you are not using your powers. Humans get their life energy from things like food, and don't have the physical ability to process forms of energy outside of normal energy. We remain unaffected by Chaos unless exposed to a high amount, and then we either are injured or die. You, however, can handle enormous amounts of Chaos energy, with only minor ill effects."

"Ill effects?" I ask, warily.

"Yes. An example would be exhaustion, and another would be a small amount of pain."

"Pain?" If the fire didn't hurt, then what could be bad enough to hurt me? Why would my own powers affect me?

"Hahaha!" Gerald chuckles and Maria looks up quizzically. I'm sure that me being in pain is a hilarious topic for people. After all, Gerald is laughing. Why don't we all laugh about pain? It's HUMOROUS. Jerk. "I'm sorry," Gerald says, "but you really don't need to worry about pain at all. When I created you, I went out of my way to ensure that you would be able to control your powers with the ease, regularity, and painlessness with which you control your arms, legs and tail."

"Then why would you mention pain as an 'ill effect?'" I ask, twitching my tail in annoyance.

"Welllllll," Gerald begins, dragging out the word to almost unbearable length, Honestly, come on!, "your rings ensure that your powers are kept at a normal level. A normal level for YOU, that is. You see, because you were created using creatures with different powers, you have so much power inside you it would destroy you if left to its own devices."
"It would WHAT?!" I say, shocked. How can my OWN POWER destroy me?!

"Don't worry," Gerald assures me, "using your powers as they are now will do no harm to you."

"Then what...?" My voice falters.

"Your powers are kept in complete control by your inhibitor rings."

"My...inhibitor rings?"

"Yes. Your ankle and wrist rings. Those are what allow you to function normally, without fainting, losing control, or dying!"

"Your voice sounds far too excited considering you're talking about me DYING." I say, miffed.

"Only because I went to great lengths to avoid such." Gerald comments gleefully. "I will, perhaps too boldly, assume that because I spent over a year ensuring your powers could be contained in a manageable manner, I am entitled to some...how would you say?...bragging rights."

"If you want to brag, then you better tell me what it is you're bragging about!" I growl, angry at being kept in the dark. These things are supposed to keep me from getting killed by my abilities, so I think I have good reason to learn about them! I wonder, though, how Gerald was able to design my rings before I was even alive. How much did he know for sure while creating me? How much does he know that he's not telling me?

"Well, Shadow, to put it bluntly, your ankle rings prevent you from absorbing too much Chaos. Your wrist rings, on the other hand, prevent you from releasing too much Chaos at once. If you were to theoretically take off your ankle and wrist rings, you would become an ultra-powerful version of yourself. You would also be completely out of control and die after a short period because of the strain all of that power would put on you."

"That...sounds really horrible." I say, shuddering. Unerred, Gerald continues his hypothetical speech.

"Without your ankle rings, you would fill up with way too much energy, and since your wrist rings would not let you release it, you would...erm...explode..."

"EXPLODE?!" Maria and I shriek in the unison.

"However..." Gerald continues his explanation, "you do not have to concern yourself about this because I have a lock on your ankle rings which ensures that they cannot be removed. If you removed you wrist rings, then you would release a huge amount of your body's stored energy, which would subsequently exhaust you; your ankle rings would not let you regenerate your energy quickly enough. Although your wrist rings CAN be removed, I warn you, Shadow, never remove them except in the most dire of circumstances, as everyone around you...will die."

"D--die?!" I shiver, my hands automatically drifting to my wrists. Just how powerful am I? Why would Gerald even leave such an option open?

"Yes, Shadow. Everyone except yourself. If you touch them, they will be either killed, or grievously wounded by the slightest brush of you powers. Such is your power: Weapons, no matter how much you sugarcoat them, are made for only one purpose...to kill. Be glad that is not your only purpose."

"I'm...I am a weapon... But I never want to kill anyone... Why would I ever kill someone?" I ask, feeling sick inside. I was right... When I woke up and realized I was a monster... How right I was... I never really comprehended that I was a weapon... But of course Gerald is right. Weapons are only built for destruction... Is it possible to be a weapon that doesn't kill people? Can I be a weapon that doesn't destroy?

"From what I've seen of you, Shadow, I don't think you will be a killer. Just because you were created to fight does not mean you have to... You are conscious, sentient, so you get to choose your life path. I am sure you will pick the right one, whatever you do..." Gerald proclaims, and his voice is strong, but...

I can't shake the feeling that Gerald doesn't really believe that. Is he telling me a lie? Am I a fool for trusting him? I mentally shake myself; after all... Gerald created me. Why would he lie to me? Or Maria, for that matter? I'm sure that he means what he is saying...besides, I trust Gerald to make the right decision in a situation more than I do myself! Whatever he wants me to do is fine with me, as long as I get to keep helping Maria. I'll just make sure I don't become a stereotypical weapon; I won't kill anyone, and I won't destroy things, either. As long as I live here with Maria and Gerald, I'll be happy and never have to fight. I can be a friendly person, and I can be compassionate and caring, too! Whatever happens, I'll just stay nice, and then I won't have to kill anyone! Reassured that I won't have to kill or destroy anything, I smile.

"Then I'll just stay the way I am: Nice; and I won't fight. Then there's nothing to worry about!" I chirp, happy to have settled such a depressing topic.

"Yeah, you can just stay my friend forever!" Maria chimes. "We'll just be nice and friendly, and then you'll never have to fight!"

"Definitely!" I say, grinning. I'll never have to do anything as a weapon. After all, my outlook will never change! I can be happy, and friendly my whole life, and Maria and I can be friends forever!

Okay, I know this chapter is REALLY long, but I have a complicated view on Shadow's rings, and I want to emphasize his "relationship" with Maria (they're friends...don't make it weird). I hope this chapter makes sense, but if it doesn't ask me about it and I will try to explain it. And YES, I know, Shadow is all happy and innocent in this chapter. He's supposed to be. Shadz's weapon status will come into light later, but for the moment, he is a docile, harmless (almost) naive hedgehog just trying to learn a bit about himself. Enjoy!