The Aftereffect
Space Colony Ark
As Devil Doom's body fell into space, Shadow teleported inside Space Colony Ark to watch and rest. The battle had left him physically exhausted, and his golden fur was rapidly turning back to its original charcoal color. The warlord's last words echoed in his head like a bad migraine.
You are mine, Shadow. If I die, you will go down with me....
The dark hybrid brushed the foreboding warning off and continued to watch from within his childhood home. But his peace was suddenly interrupted by heavy footfalls charging in his direction. He turned around to see several Black Oaks running towards him with their weapons and claws raised. He swiftly dodged the first blow and countered with a thin chaos spear, but he only barely missed being sliced in half by a second attacker. They began to corral him towards an abandoned elevator, and with so much energy lost, he couldn't chaos control out. With less room to maneuver, a claw nicked him in the side, and he teetered off balance. Enraged, Shadow extended his own claws and slashed the soldier responsible in the face. His body glowed red before he unleashed a weak chaos blast. It did less than he had hoped, but the band of aliens backed up several feet and hesitated to continue. So for a moment they were at a stand still, with the creatures blocking his exit from the elevator, and Shadow trapped in a corner.
He took this time to briefly check the cut on his side, because it was taking much longer to heal than it should have, and he stumbled against the wall in shock. His blood wasn't the color it was supposed to be. Mobian blood, artificial or not, was crimson red. His, however, was a luminescent green. He looked back up at the Black Arm he had cut and noticed that his gash was sporting the same sickening color. Dreadful realization set in quickly, and Doom's words had a whole new meaning. They shared blood. His blood.
You are mine, Shadow. You are mine....
"No. That's impossible. I can't be...one of them," he muttered to himself.
Black Doom's last heartbeat boomed in his ears before it fell silent, and Shadow doubled over. One glance, told him the Black Arms were already on the floor. Dead. His breaths became ragged, and pain shot through his already beaten body.
If I die, you will go down with me.
Shadow was certain that this had been Black Doom's backup plan. If he died, he would take his creation and executioner with him. He fell to the ground and curled inward instinctively, as another wave of agony slowly came over him. He snarled in defiance and tried to pick himself up, but it was too much. His growls soon diminished into painful whines, and he turned over in a useless attempt to find some relief. His cut should have healed by now, but it had only sealed into a noticeable green scar. He snapped his ruby eyes shut tightly and tried again to at least get into a sitting position, only to fail once more and lay sprawled out on the metallic floor.
This can't be how I go down, he thought, This is not how the Ultimate Lifeform dies.
His breathing and heart rate slowed, and he sank into the painless sanctuary of unconsciousness, fully aware that his body was slowly shutting down completely.
~~~~~
"Has anyone seen Shadow?" Rouge asked as she, along with Sonic and his friends, searched where the Black Comet had landed before he had chaos controlled it back into space, where he destroyed it.
"No sign of him yet," Sonic answered.
"And my handheld hasn't picked up his chaos signature on the planet yet either," Tails chimed as he unceremoniously shook his portable computer.
Amy quickly went to reassure her friend, "Don't worry, Rouge. He is Shadow afterall."
The bat sighed, "I know."
"Maybe he's still in space," Knuckles thought aloud, "He might be on the Ark taking a breather. It took him a while to finish that monster off."
"I wonder how he was immune to that nerve gas," Tails mused, and the others shrugged.
"Maybe it's because he really is a faker," Sonic replied, and he earned a swift elbow to the gut from Amy followed by a glare. He coughed and stuttered, "O-or because of that whole 'I'm the Ultimate Lifeform' gig he does."
"Better," she said, and the blue hedgehog sighed.
"I say we go to the Space Colony and look for him," he suggested, and the band of heroes readily agreed before they ran to Tails' space ship, the Blue Typhoon. They had been planning to use it to get into space and fight the Comet, but the alien nerve gas struck before they could. Only Shadow was able to keep fighting, until it wore off.
Minutes later, the team landed in the Ark's hangar, and they stayed together as they began their search for the planet's dark hero. They scanned each floor and slowly worked their way up to the residential level. The space station had looked the same up to this point, with dust and age well set in, but as they neared the observation deck, it changed. Scorch marks and gashes littered the floor and walls, as if a fight had happened recently. Amy nearly shrieked when they rounded a bend. There lay five hulking bodies of the Black Arms, gratefully deceased. However, there were no physical signs of injury. It was as if they had literally dropped dead. They layed splayed out in a half circle, facing the open space of a long disused elevator. Or so they thought. The two girls thought they were both about to break down into tears at the sight.
"Oh, Shadow!" Rouge cried, as the boys hurried in. Sonic frowned. His rival was lying in the same position as the aliens almost, his eyes closed, and gripping his core. Green blood associated with that despised race of invaders pooled around him, and he could see some of it stained on his gloves. He and Knuckles rolled him on to his back, and the ebony hedgehog's hand fell to his side, revealing a deep, long wound with a green scab. All three of them stood and backed away fearfully.
"Impossible!" Tails exclaimed, calling the attention of the two girls outside the elevator. Rouge stepped in to see what the commotion was about, and her turquoise eyes landed on the guilty mark. At that moment, she broke and lifted her hands to her mouth in order to suppress the sobs threatening to escape. Amy came in as well and fell into her own state of shock before she did her best to push past it and gave her friend a comforting hug.
"He can't be one of them," Rouge choked, "They-they were so...and he wasn't like...," but she wasn't able to voice her thoughts.
Sonic knelt slowly and checked for a pulse, "He's still alive! We have to do something."
"But he's one of them. How can we be sure that we can trust him when he wakes up?" Knuckles argued. The others glared fiercely at their distrustful friend.
"He's one of us too," Sonic replied, "and right now, he needs us. So we're gonna take that chance."
Tails scanned Shadow's body with his handheld and wasn't happy with the results. "He's alive right now, but he won't be for much longer. An hour at most, if we're being optimistic."
"What do we need to do?"
"If we can get him to one of the labs here, I'm sure there's something I can use."
Sonic and Knuckles worked together to lift him, and both of them grunted under his weight.
"How can somebody who is so fast weigh this much?" the azure blur complained as they treked down the hall. Prof. Gerald's personal lab was on the same floor, thankfully, and they didn't have to walk as far as they thought before they found it. Rouge shoved everything that littered the operating table on to the floor in one massive sweep, and the boys carefully laid their fallen comrad on it.
"You all should wait outside," Tails suggested, "It's not gonna be pretty."
They silently agreed and filed out into the empty hallway, as the two-tailed fox began his operation. With no chairs, they decided to sit on the floor with their backs against the walls. None of them said a word, as they were all lost in their own thoughts. Sonic pulled Amy close to him as he saw her crying silently, and Knuckles did the same for Rouge.
After about ten minutes of pure silence, a crash echoed inside the lab, and Tails yelled. Sonic immediately stood to his feet and ran inside of the room with the others close behind. Tails was standing on the opposite end of the work table with tools and instruments scattered across the floor. Shadow had seemingly rolled off the table and twisting almost unnaturally on the floor.
"What happened?!" Rouge demanded, thinking that the fox had done something wrong. Tails looked at them, equally confused.
"I don't know! I was just about to start operating when he jerked and fell!"
The ebony hedgehog finally stilled and breathed heavily, as the others crowded around him slightly, worry and fear painted clearly on their faces.
~~~~~
A lab, that's where he was. At least, that's what the people called it. He was floating in a capsule of some kind, with dozens of tubes and wires attached to him. The professor walked in, but something was different. He seemed so nervous and scared, as if he was in trouble. A green flash flooded to room, and a second figure appearered. It wasn't human. It was large and black, and it floated in the air. This was what the professor was scared of. This thing was so large and felt so dominant and frightening.
"I've come to check on his progress," he stated. Why was the human stuttering in front of this creature?
"He is doing remarkably well since the transfusion. He truly is the Ultimate Lifeform," he explained proudly. The professor only used that term to describe him, so he must have done something good. The black being wasn't so sure, he could feel it.
"I will be the judge of that."
The thing floated closer to him, and he pressed his hands on the glass in an effort to get closer. The creature had three red eyes. What did it need the extra eye for? Two worked just fine. He also only had three fingers and two long horns on either side of his head. What did he do with those? And where were his legs? It wasn't a human, not one he had ever seen, so what was that creature staring at him through the glass?
I am the leader of the Black Arms, it answered in his mind, and his eyes widened. He can read thoughts? The dark being chuckled audibly. Yes, and much more. I am Black Doom, the one that brought you into this pathetic existence.
Would that make you my father? he thought before he could stop himself. He suddenly got the feeling he had asked something very wrong, but he didn't know how to make up for it. Black Doom turned away from him and continued talking to the professor.
"He has already established a mind link. I'm impressed," he stated before adding, "He also knows who his true father is."
Why does Dr. Gerald seem so worried?
Doom continued, "He's also very curious. You will have your hands full with him."
"I understand..."
Shadow halfway opened his crimson eyes slowly, the pain, numbness, and visions gone for the time being. Every muscle in his body complained strongly as he shifted, and cautiously tried to pick himself up again. Suddenly, he felt two pairs of hands trying to help lift him, and his reflexes automatically kicked in. He felt both bodies fly away from him from impact and heard then hit the walls on either side. He was fully awake now, and he stood regardless of how much his body resisted. Familiar faces filled his vision, and he calmed down once he realized his was looking at allies, not enemies. Sonic and Knuckles were climbing out hedgehog and echidna shaped holes in the wall, Rouge and Amy were standing a good few feet away, and Tails was barely visible in his peripheral vision.
He slowly unclenched his fists and looked down. His eyes landed on the disgusting green scar that was taking forever to heal, and he traced a finger over it, hiding the initial wince to the best of his ability. The shock was still evident in him at the unexpected turn of events. But at the same time, it made sense to him. It explained why he had been so quick to trust Black Doom and why there was a vague sense of familiarity between himself and the other Black Arms, as if he knew something but couldn't lay a finger on it. His mind went back to the dream of his real first meeting with Black Doom, and he dreaded at how easily he could identify with him. He sighed aloud and bowed his head, feeling the shame of knowing what he really was.
"Shadow?" Rouge's smooth voice cut through his thoughts, "Are you okay?"
"I...I'm not sure," he replied, his voice low and slightly uncertain.
~~~~~
It was becoming clear to everyone that he hadn't known about his own heritage until recently, and all of them knew that it was going to be a rough learning curve for him ahead.
"Well," Rouge began and took a step closer, "Let's start with something you do know. How do you feel? Physically, I mean."
"Stiff and sore unlike anything, and I think I've got a major headache coming on," he replied. Despite the situation, everyone laughed, much to his confusion. It did help put him at ease though.
"Well then how about we head back down to earth and see if we can get a long overdue vacation?" Sonic suggested and stretched his arms above his head. Shadow smirked.
"Itching for another race already?"
"Maybe," he grinned, and the others rolled their eyes playfully.
The group walked out of the lab and headed back to the Blue Typhoon. However, on the way there, they had to pass by the fallen bodies of Shadow's previous attackers. He noticed that the scar on its face was still plainly visible, and his stomach twisted into tight knots, as a sickening feeling overwhelmed him. He was supposed to die with them. Why didn't he? He wondered about this as the group traveled further ahead, leaving him behind to examine the bodies. A deep familiar voice penetrated his thoughts in reply, and a shiver ran up his spine.
You are mine, Shadow. You. Are. Mine.
All advanced thought ceased in his brain as the words echoed in his mind. No. Impossible! he thought. An invisible force slammed him against the wall and gripped his neck, choking him and preventing him from calling for help. It was as if he could feel Black Doom's claws tightening around his throat, and his eyes widened in muted panic. The force lifted him against the wall so his feet dangled uselessly above the floor.
You are so naive, hedgehog, to think that I would be defeated forever. You have only postponed the inevitable. The same blood runs through our veins. You are MINE. I OWN YOU, SHADOW. But perhaps your time with this pathetic race has caused you to forget that. No matter. In time you will see, but just to make sure...
The invisible force released him from the chokehold, and he slumped to the floor. But perhaps, in retrospect, he should have tried to catch up with the others. A long, thin, invisible pain stabbed into his upper thigh like a needle, and Shadow fought the urge to cry out. He tried to grab whatever it was in his leg, but his fingers simply passed through it. He could feel something being pumped into his bloodstream, and it terrified him inside. Every move he made at escape was met with unspeakable pain, and he was soon held in one spot by the same unseen force once again. After a few agonizing seconds, the needle and force retracted, leaving the battle-worn hedgehog to pant for air.
"What...was that? What have you...done to me?" he demanded audibly, though weakly. The voice that he was certain would haunt his nightmares chuckled darkly in his mind, making it throb.
You will see. In time.
Once he was certain that Doom's voice was gone, he shaking stood and leaned against the wall for support. His leg throbbed unbearably, but he bit his lip and struggled to find the direction the others had gone in. His vision swam to the point he couldn't see straight, even when he squinted them. He staggered and eventually fell on to his hands and knees. Something felt very very wrong.