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Rouge failed.
Typical.
It was his own fault for trusting someone else. Why did he do it? Why did he choose to work with them? He didn’t need them. He shouldn’t need them.
Still, her words rolled through his head, pounding into his skull.
Shadow don’t make me upset.
I don’t wanna hear you.
He shook his head, his vision becoming a mess of green and blue. He preempted his own thoughts.
I’m not scared at all.
The clock was ticking. Soon it would all be destroyed. The Emeralds would be destroyed or lost to the bottom of the ocean, and his plan would be ruined. Yet still he stood in the middle of this jungle. Still he stood, wondering over his weakness.
Shadow don’t make me upset.
His head was pounding. His legs burned, demanding he moved. Every fiber of his body ordered him to move, but it wasn’t right. It was alien and strange.
I don’t wanna hear you.
Anything else. Anything else. Anything else.
“I found you,” a voice called out behind, angry. How had he let someone sneak up on him? How could he be so careless? “You’re the fake hedgehog.”
Shadow turned slowly, his vision still a blur, the clock ticking in the recess of his mind. He pushed it away. It was that blue hedgehog from before. The one that looked like him. A smile creeped on his face. The thoughts were gone. He focused everything on this. Who was he?
“I’m the fake?” Shadow hissed, reveling in his presence. His own words felt strange and unreal. It was a question he hadn’t meant to pose to himself right now. The world meshed again into a dream, and he heard those words from that voice. But it wasn’t hers. It wasn’t hers. It couldn’t be.
I don’t wanna hear you.
He shook it off. His enemy stared daggers, unsure of what to make of Shadow. “Pah,” Shadow groaned, waving it off. He wasn’t one for talking, but it quieted the voice, quieted that ticking. Maybe if he kept going with this he could forget. “You’re not even good enough to be my fake.”
The blue one was offended. Shadow could tell not many gave him the cold shoulder. He was probably used to more dramatic speeches, words like ‘fearless hero, you can’t stop me!’ In truth, this hero was nothing more than a distraction to Shadow. A distraction he needed. Shadow had no Chaos Emerald with him this time, but he was glad. Without its power, maybe this could last longer. Just long enough.
“I’ll make you eat those words!” The enemy charged forward like a bull seeing red.
Hurry. The island’s calling.
It was a simple attack made by a simple individual. Shadow dodged to the side, delivering a swift kick to his attacker’s side, knocking him down. This one was fast, certainly, but still, he didn’t keep his full attention.
The attacker was already back up, however, quicker than Shadow had expected. Pain washed over his face as he fell back from the punch, finding himself on the defensive. The pain of his attacks lessoned his mind, brought him to a different reality, or at least one he could understand. He felt blood trickle down his face.
I don’t mind these walls or any obstacles.
Shadow fought back with an increased intensity now, surprised to find his enemy able to keep up. This blue one was angry. He fought for something more than himself, clearly, but it didn’t matter. The only thing that interested him was the fight, the distraction, and the easier questions to ask. Why did his attacker look like him? Strange, but nothing more than that.
I’m not scared at all.
Another blow to the back of his head, harder than he had realized, harder than he wanted. Shadow’s attacker was proving to be a bit stronger than he had hoped. His attacks flew faster and harder now, with an intensity to simply survive the encounter. But this wasn’t right. This wasn’t what he wanted. His body began to work for him, his mind was coming back.
Are you scared of something?
The ticking was back. Each bruise on his body a tick. Each attack landed an image of that bat in his mind, waiting for death. Something stirred deeper in that darkness, someone else. It was her. But it wasn’t.
Shadow don’t make me upset.
No, he wouldn’t lose to this nobody! He couldn’t lose! Shadow fought back, narrowly avoiding a kick and delivering a punch of his own. His attacker took it without even so much as a flinch, using this time to counter attack with another kick to the back of Shadow’s skull.
Shadow muttered something incomprehensible, completely at a loss.
No one should be able to hurt him! Not this much. He was the ultimate life, the perfect being, was he not? Wasn’t he?
Shadow don’t make me upset.
Shadow don’t make me upset.
It was louder now.
Hurry. The island’s calling.
It wouldn’t stop. Shadow couldn’t even return any blows anymore. His attacker had gained the upper hand. His mind was in pieces, just as his body would be. Her voice was ordering him to move, forcing his body to keep going. He wanted to simply fall, but she kept him going, she invaded him, she controlled him.
I don’t wanna hear you.
But still he stood, still he attempted to fight back, all the while the clock ticked away. He only hoped he would fall unconscious soon.
Shadow don’t make me upset.
He couldn’t stop. She forced him to move on, force him to stay awake, forced him to receive each attack, feel the pain of it all. But it didn’t make sense. She wouldn’t do this, but why?
You are hiding something.
Her hand crept into him, it touched and felt every delicate part of his being, his very essence, demanding to know why he hesitated, why he wasted time. He had a mission, he had a promise to keep, and he would see it through. He would hide nothing from her, he would surrender himself to her, that is what he promised. Her will must become a reality, he had no choice in the matter.
Still, even under her control, his attacker didn’t let up. It was too late to leave now. This one would follow him, this one could stop him now. Maybe he could have escaped before, but it was too late. The island continued to call. It no longer frightened him.
Yet, another voice scraped into his reality. A voice he would rather not hear. “Shadow, what are you doing!?” It screeched into his ear, just loud enough that even his attacker could hear. “Hurry before the island blows up with you on it!”
That stupid doctor.
Shadow could feel his consciousness fading, but the attacker stopped. “Blows up?!”
Shadow’s chest heaved. He wanted to say something, goad his attacker to stay and fight. But nothing came out. She wouldn’t let him.
In a flash, he was gone.
Again, he was left with his thoughts. His vision vibrated, his every moment caused pain to explode through his spine.
Shadow don’t make me upset.
And he left as well. His body moved towards Rouge, towards the Chaos Emeralds.
Shadow don’t make me upset.