Bloody Domination (Revised)

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Bloody Domination

Co-Written by Harley Quinn hyenaholic, and now Froggy22651

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Harley: Yes, I’m back. I know it’s been a while but Terminus tired of getting raped a lot, so I turned to Froggy as a replacement. Looks like things are going to change tack a little.

Froggy: Jello, work on your MST as much as you like, as long as you show all of us the results! Will Tikal’s influence be making Shadow any nicer? Will he actually apologise? Regain his sanity? Not rape Tails? Well, you’re not going to find out by reading this introduction! Get on with it.

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Chapter Ten: Twisted Up Inside

Slowly, cautiously, the guardian of the Floating Island opened his eyes, returning to consciousness. He instantly regretted the decision. His head throbbed, his body ached, his insides felt like they were on fire, and his ass was sore. To compound matters, there was such an awful taste in his mouth... His violet eyes snapped open as memories flooded back in past the haze of his concussion. He remembered his brutal beating at the hands of Shadow, remembered how the dark hedgehog had entered him... The echidna swiftly rolled onto his belly and was suddenly and violently ill, spilling the contents of his stomach onto the soiled grass. Gasping for breath, his throat burning, Knuckles got to his knees, faced the sky, and let out a long, animal cry of rage and pain and humiliation.

"Knuckles!" a young, female voice cried out. Who could it be? There was never anybody else on the island... Knuckles looked up into Tikal's concerned eyes.

"Tikal? What are you doing here?" asked Knuckles in a raspy, dry voice, but just as the words left his mouth, he knew exactly what happened. His eyes widened, the cold trickle of fear worming its way through his guts. The echidna got to his feet and rushed past the young female, ascending the stairs of the altar. Sure enough, Shadow had done what he suspected, "He broke the Master Emerald!" he snarled, looking down at the shattered green stone. It looked like all the pieces were there, so it would be a simple matter to put the Master Emerald back together, but still... that monster had touched the emerald, broke it to taunt Knuckles... Rage filled him, his pain forgotten as his vision clouded over red.

Tikal swallowed, and took Knuckles' arm, "Don't act rashly, Knuckles," she warned him, "I think that Shadow the Hedgehog may be ready to repent..."

Knuckles flinched at her touch, blinking back the red haze. Turning to face the other echidna, his mouth hung open in shock as he tried to process her words, "Repent? Repent?!" He reached down and grabbed Tikal's shoulders, looking into her eyes, "What did he do to you? Where is Chaos?" he asked in a rush.

"He... he defeated Chaos..." Tikal murmured, "And he wanted to rape me, but I let him take me instead..."

"You... what?!" Knuckles couldn't believe it. He knew that Tikal was pacifistic to the point of letting soldiers trample her to death, but still... "Don't you have any shame? Do you know what that monster has done?!" he growled.

Tikal nodded, "He told me," she said, "He started by gloating about it... but Knuckles, there's great pain in him! Fighting him is not going to help!"

"Fight him? For this? Oh no... I'm going to kill him!" the red echidna snarled, his features contorted in rage. He looked down at his tightly closed fists, covered in his own blood, "I’ll kill him!" he repeated, "No... no! I'll break him!"

"Please, no, I think I persuaded Shadow that violence is not the answer," Tikal pleaded, "I told him to go and apologise to Sonic-"

"Sonic? Now he's in danger too!" Knuckles turned and leapt off of the altar, landing in a crouch, "You didn't convince Shadow of anything! He is evil and insane! He'll change his mind in an instant! I've got to stop him!"

"Knuckles, no!" Tikal begged again, running in front of him and spreading her arms, blocking his way, "Chaos will regenerate soon enough and the Master Emerald can be mended again, but you can't heal your soul with murder! I'm sure Shadow understood that, surely you can too!"

"You really think a little friendly messing around is going to change that lunatic?!" Knuckles snarled, "Didn't you learn your lesson a thousand years ago?! Get out of my way!"

"No!" Tikal said, "I won't resist with force, but I will not stand aside and let you hurt people, no matter who they are or what they have done!"

"Whatever,” rumbled Knuckles, walking forward. Arms that were capable of smashing boulders into pebbles had no problem pushing a young echidna girl out of his way.

"I don't want to appeal to logic, Knuckles!" Tikal called out, "I don't want to remind you that he defeated you before and he can do it again! Please, fighting is not the answer to stopping those more powerful than you!"

It's the only answer, Knuckles thought, but he didn't speak out loud, no longer acknowledging Tikal. She clearly thought that the world could be a better place just by standing aside and letting the bad people do whatever they want, but Knuckles knew better. He stopped at the edge of the island, looking out at the ocean waves. He'd have to raise the island again if he wanted to glide to the city.

"Knuckles!" Tikal chased after him. While the Master Emerald was broken, she could live, but once it was healed again, she'd have to stay within the Mystic Ruins, "Oh, please, what he's done was terrible but fighting with him isn't going to make it any better!"

Knuckles again walked silently past her and up the steps of the altar to the shards of the emerald. No, killing Shadow wouldn't make things better, but it would prevent them from becoming worse. Closing his eyes and reaching out towards the shards, they started to glow and float into the air, reassembling into one, piece by piece, "I'm sorry, Tikal,” he mumbled.

Now Tikal couldn't leave the Mystic Ruins, but she continued to plead while she still could, "You won't be able to kill him!" she said, "Even now that he's considering repenting, he's terribly unstable! If you attack him it will only make things worse!"

It was too late to turn back, too late to forgive. The only thing left was to stop Shadow once and for all. The final pieces of the Master Emerald came together and fused into one.

Tikal could feel tears trickling down her cheeks. She hadn't meant to cry, but Knuckles' constant insistence that violence was the only solution shocked her. Now he would not even look at her, "Oh, please, Knuckles," she took his hand, "I forgave him. Why can't you?"

"I just can't,” Knuckles said sharply, staring at the complete Master Emerald again. He could feel Tikal's grip fading away as her spirit again entered the green stone. Knuckles reached out and touched the emerald, smearing his blood on its green surface, "He took you..." he growled softly, "I can't forgive him for that. He humiliated me. He's hurt my friends." Shaking his head, the echidna turned and walked away. He sat at the edge of the island as it raised into the sky, leaving the ocean behind and returning to its place in the clouds. After a long moment of just watching, Knuckles pushed off, went into free fall, and caught a rising thermal, gliding away.

From inside the Master Emerald, Tikal watched, and wept.

~~~

Shadow the Hedgehog paced back and forth across the road from Sonic's house in Emerald Town, his mind in turmoil. After everything that he had done... was there any point in apologising? Why not just go through with his plan and kill the bastard? But... he'd practically promised Tikal... but what did she matter? Sonic was never going to forgive him after everything that he'd done - why should he? Shadow had done it all so that Sonic wouldn't forgive, wouldn't forget. Confessing was one thing, but not forcing him to watch as he raped the freak brat up the ass was another. He groaned, and rubbed his face hard.

It started to rain. Perfect. Well, he wasn't standing here and getting wet. If he was going to rip the blue fake's head off and push it up his ass, he'd be doing it in the dry. The dark hedgehog walked up to the door, his quills hanging matted and lank around him, weighted by the rain. He pushed the doorbell. A few bars from 'Live and Learn' sprung out, and he tried to quash the urge to break something.

The sound of rushing wind came from behind the door, and it swung open, revealing the face of the hedgehog he had so long to take revenge on. Green eyes looked out curiously, not instantly recognizing the visitor, "Hey there,” Sonic said with his usual cheeriness.

"Hello, faker," Shadow said flatly, looking straight into the blue hedgehog's emerald green eyes.

Sonic stared in surprise, hardly believing his ears. It was dark out and the rain was coming down hard, soaking the visitor's quills, but Sonic could just make out the distinctive red markings of his old rival-turned-ally. It couldn't be; Shadow died, falling all the way to Earth. But then again... Sonic had survived that before. Joy hit him first, relieved to know that the Shadow had survived, but then a wave of caution hit as he remembered Amy's words. What feeling should he trust? "Is it really you?" he asked, "How... how..."

"You don't wanna know," Shadow said, sounding for the first time since Sonic had met him, excessively tired, "Can I come in? I... I need to talk to you."

Sonic quickly stood aside, allowing the dark hedgehog entry to his home. He didn't even think about it, or the words that tumbled out, "Yeah, sure, you looked soaked."

Shadow walked in slowly, "So," he said, standing listlessly in the hallway, "What's been going on since I died?"

"Hang on..." Sonic zipped away for a split second and reappeared again, tossing a few towels at Shadow, "Eggman hasn't made a move since... you know. Things have been alright... until recently," Sonic looked into Shadow's crimson eyes, "Someone has been... attacking my friends."

Shadow looked at the towels, "I... I've got something to confess, Sonic," he said slowly, "I... I... already know..."

"You know?" Sonic asked sharply, looking accusingly into Shadow's eyes. The blue hedgehog stepped closer, "What do you know? Who did this to Amy and Cream and Rouge?"

"They... they..." Shadow felt his courage falter. He couldn't admit it - not without snapping Sonic's neck, anyway, "They... they... did it to me, too," he said finally. Coward, whispered a little voice in his head. Why was he so afraid of telling Sonic the truth - that he was a vengeful, cold-blooded psycho?

Sonic's expression softened, and the hedgehog reached out to rest a hand on Shadow's shoulder, "I'm sorry, I didn't..." He frowned, adding, "We'll get this guy, Shadow, I promise. He won't get away with what he's done!"

"I... I should be sorry, Sonic," Shadow said, and the lies twisted into the truth, "The monster got me first... if I'd stopped it... or warned somebody... but I couldn't..." he gritted his teeth, "I'm the Ultimate Lifeform! If I can't stop it..." he sunk to his knees. It took him a few seconds to realise that he was crying.

Sonic stared down in shock at the other hedgehog, also realising that he was crying. It was hard for him to imagine the tough, confident, aggressive Shadow to fall apart like this. Who could possibly inflict that much pain on old, hard-as-nails Shadow? Sonic was always confident in his ability to stop anyone, but the thought of that scared him, although he wouldn't admit it. The blue hedgehog got down on his knees, lowering himself to Shadow's level. He wasn't experienced in comforting others, but he was willing to try. Awkward and unsure, Sonic slowly wrapped his arms around the dark hedgehog, drawing him into a hug, "It's ok..." he spoke softly.

Shadow squirmed away from Sonic, "Don't touch me," he whispered, barely able to suppress the snarl, "It makes me want to kill you..."

So much for appreciation. Not that Sonic had really expected any different from him. He got to his feet, rolling his eyes when Shadow wasn't looking, "Right,” he uttered, "Can you tell me what this guy looks like, at least? I just got off the phone with Amy, and...." He closed his eyes and grimaced.

"And what?" Shadow asked him, his voice rasping.

Turning away, Sonic was silent for a long moment. One hand came up and clinched into a fist, "...She's pregnant."

All the colour drained from Shadow's face, "But... she can't be," he managed, "She's only 12 years old!"

"I know,” Sonic said, his voice a restrained growl, far more angry than Shadow had ever heard from him, "That... creep... did this to her."

"But... but..." Can I do that? Was I really made with the ability to reproduce? What the hell was Gerald thinking?! Shadow stood up, "I gotta go."

Sonic turned, watching as Shadow turned, "Wha... where are you going?" he called out, following him.

Shadow didn’t look back at Sonic. His hands were twitching slightly. The demons were screaming to be let loose, and it would be so easy... "Oh, gods..." If I don't get away from him soon I'm going to rape him until he dies... he thought, He killed me! No! It was an accident! "I can't do this..."

Sonic stood in the doorway, not understanding Shadow's ramblings in the least, "What can't you do?" he asked.

"I can't... decide... what the truth is..." Shadow managed. He sunk to his knees again, his body shaking, "Kill me..." he whispered hoarsely.

"What? No! Are you insane?!" Sonic called out, rushing in front of Shadow. Of course, this was Shadow he was asking. It kinda went without saying...

"You don't understand," Shadow moaned and closed his eyes tightly, "I... I..." all the terrible things he'd done, and how wonderful it had felt... he only had to reach out and start all over again... Shadow felt his body give a lurch, and he was violently sick on Sonic's blue carpet.

"Oh, gross!" Sonic explained, backing up and looking away, "Man, what happened to you?" He was sure he didn't really want to know, but it had to be asked.

Shadow looked up, "NONE OF YOUR FUCKING BUSINESS, YOU SPIKY BLUE PIECE OF SHIT!" he roared. Then he slumped forwards and started sobbing. He was right on the edge now; all that needed to happen now was for somebody to raise their voice. Or blink.

For once in his life, Sonic didn't know what to do. If he just let Shadow go on his way, who knows what would happen to him? On the other hand, if Sonic tried to help, Shadow was liable to split him in two. Neither prospect was preferable, but... he froze, the image of Shadow tumbling away towards the blue globe of Earth painfully clear in his mind. Guilt clawed at his insides like it had the day he thought Shadow died. He made up his mind, his expression one of determination, "No,” he spoke, walking over to Shadow's side and reaching under his arms, struggling to get him to his feet, "I won't let you fall this time."

Shadow started to struggle - it was pathetic. Sonic knew that the dark hedgehog was perfectly capable of twisting his head clean off. Right now, it was as if somebody else was controlling him, making him weak and yet desperate, "You didn't let me fall... you DROPPED me!" Shadow wept.

"No,” was Sonic's soft reply as he lifted Shadow to his feet, supporting his weight, "I tried, Shadow. I tried to save you, but... I was out of power. If I stayed any longer, I would have fallen too. I'm sorry. I... I should have done better than that!"

"No!" Shadow wailed, "I don't care! I survived! But I wish I had died! And... and I hate you!"

"I never wanted to be your enemy, Shadow!" Sonic told him, guiding him towards a nearby couch, "And don't wish for death. You've got plenty to live for. Just give it all some time."

"I don't have time," Shadow's fingers were clutching weakly at Sonic, "I... I have no friends... I don't deserve any... no, it's your fault! Your fault..." he clenched his fists.

"You helped me and my friends out when we needed it. That makes you our friend,” the blue hedgehog told him as he laid him down on the couch, prying his fingers off.

Shadow's entire body gave a sudden jolt, and he screamed out loud. There were no words, just a wail of despair. He rolled off the couch, fumbling in his fur, and pulled out a blue Chaos Emerald.

Realising what Shadow was doing, Sonic reacted too late, reaching out to try to snatch the chaos emerald away.

"CHAOS CONTROL!!" Shadow screamed, his face streaked with tears, his body with vomit, and his voice cracking. There was a flare of blue light, and Shadow was gone. He could be anywhere.

"Dang!" Sonic called out, beating his hand once on the spot that Shadow just vacated. There was no way for him to chase after him.

To top it off, somebody was hammering at his door frantically, "SONIC!" Knuckles' unmistakable voice bellowed, "SONIC! Get out here! NOW!" From the sound of it, if he didn't, Knuckles would quite happily come in here.

Shaking his head once, Sonic quickly got to his feet and rushed to the door, pulling it open, seeing yet another shocking sight, that of a thoroughly beaten and bloodied Knuckles, looking mad as hell, "Whoa. What happened to you?" he asked.

"Has Shadow got here yet?" Knuckles asked, "No, you're still alive... we gotta get ready for the bastard, and I'm gonna kill him!"

"Whoa! Hold on!" Sonic cried out, holding up his hands defensively, "Shadow just left. What's going on?"

"What? Shadow just left? Where'd he go?!" Knuckles snarled.

"I don't know! He used Chaos Control,” was Sonic's exasperated reply.

"We gotta track him down!" Knuckles said, "Before he kills somebody else!"

Coldness seeped into Sonic's belly as he heard those words. That couldn't have been what Knuckles said... "What are you talking about?"

"Shadow!" Knuckles snapped. He hesitated, and glanced around, for once in his life actually caring what somebody thought, "We'll take it indoors," he said, pushing his way past Sonic and slamming the door behind him.

Facing the enraged echidna, Sonic knew he wasn't going to like what he'd hear next, "Alright, now tell me what's going on."

Knuckles and Sonic looked down. Knuckles was standing in the patch of vomit Shadow had made. The echidna made a face and stepped out of it, "Shadow's alive," he said, "And he's been killing people. And... and raping them. He's insane! He has to be stopped!"

Sonic's heart stopped, realising the awful truth. "You mean he was here? The guy that's been doing all this stuff... was Shadow?" An uncharacteristic anger rose up inside the blue hedgehog, "He lied to me! That... that..." Closing his eyes, he could see Shadow again, see how hurt and desperate and twisted up inside he had become. There was still a good person in there, somewhere deep down. If he just got help... "You're right,” he said, opening his eyes, "We've got to stop him! But how do we find him?"

"Did he say anything to you?" Knuckles asked him, desperate, "Did you say anything to him? You're the last person he talked to! You MUST know!"

"I don't know! He didn't tell me where he was going!" Sonic replied, just as frustrated as the echidna.

"Of course he didn't!" Knuckles growled, "But he's too crazy to not let something slip! He smashed my Master Emerald! He beat Chaos Zero! He raped Tikal! He... he... he humiliated and degraded ME! On my own island! I won't LET you be stupid about this, Sonic!"

"I don't know!" Sonic shouted back, horrified and frustrated by the whole situation. He felt helpless, and Sonic the Hedgehog NEVER felt helpless.

"What did you tell him?" Knuckles asked, forcing himself to use his brain for once, "What did he do when he was here?"

"...I told him about what happened to Amy, and that's when Shadow started falling apart on me,” Sonic told Knuckles, scraping his memory for anything that could help them.

"He knows what happened to Amy," the echidna growled, "Why would he fall apart about that?"

Sonic sighed, "Because... because Amy is pregnant with Shadow's child." The blue hedgehog looked down at his feet as if the buckles on his shoes were the most fascinating things in the world.

"He... got her... pregnant?" If Sonic had thought Knuckles looked angry before, that was just warming up. The echidna could barely speak, he was filled with such rage, "If I wasn't going to kill him already..."

"Knuckles, wait! Shadow can't help himself; he's sick!" Sonic said, facing the echidna, trying to reason with him, "I know the guy who helped us on ARK is still in there!"

"You mean you think we should actually forgive him?" Knuckles looked shocked AND angry now, "You're as bad as Tikal! No, worse! At least she was forgiving him for what he did to her, you're forgiving him for what he's done to other people?!"

"That wasn't HIM!" Sonic snapped back at the guardian, "That was whatever monster has been made by that fall! I know we can save the real Shadow!"

Knuckles gritted his teeth, "You're way too trusting, Sonic," he said, winning Hypocrite of the Year Award with that single sentence, "You see the good in people. But fine, we'll play it your way. Never mind how he ranted about fucking Tails as he beat me down and fucked me up the ass, or that he's destroyed Amy's life - if she's not dead already! That's where he's going next! To get rid of this baby he made!"

"You're right there!" Sonic shouted, beating one fist into his hand, "We got to get to Amy's right away!"

~~~

Harley: Well, well, well. Going back to Amy again? What’s Shadow going to do? Apologise? Kill her? Or maybe he won’t have gone there and be doing Tails.