Bloody Domination 2: Straitjacket

~~~

Bloody Domination 2: Straitjacket

Co-Written by Harley Quinn hyenaholic and Froggy22651

~~~

Harley: Oh, yes! Hardcore Yaoi! For those of you who were missing Shadow’s little head-voice, this is the chapter in which it comes back.

Froggy: Happy ending? Oh, come ON!

~~~

Chapter Sixteen: Refuge Of The Damned

Shadow stirred, and woke. He quickly realised that he, Sonic and Knuckles were all lying in the bed together. Well, he'd never done it that way before. Maybe it made up for... for what he had done. Sonic and Knuckles were together. Which meant he didn't need to be here anymore. After all, three makes a crowd. He rolled out of the bed quietly and walked to the door, then glanced back, "I hope you two are very happy together..." he whispered back to Sonic and Knuckles. He walked out of the log cabin, tossing his Chaos Emerald up and down. Where to go now? He could call in on Amy and tell her that he wanted the baby, because he still did. Or he could call in on Tails. Or he could just go nowhere and be nobody.

Sonic stirred at the lack of Shadow's presence, waking up slowly. Frowning briefly, Sonic kissed Knuckles on the nose before silently and slowly getting out of bed, looking for wherever the dark hedgehog had gone.

Shadow looked around at the heavy snow. They were in the middle of nowhere. He could just walk off and he'd never be seen again. Why was it so hard to leave? Sonic was just a friend.

Sonic searched the cabin for Shadow, curious as to why he had left the bed. It certainly was warmer there, and the company was damn good. But then, Shadow had always been quite the loner. He probably just needed to get away for bit. Shadow had gained friends, and that was a major improvement for the dark hedgehog. Sonic could also fully admit now that he had grown very attached to his darker counterpart, a far cry from his feelings when he first met him.

Shadow fingered the Chaos Emerald. He could always go home, of course. That would definitely determine how sane he was now. Yeah. And nobody would find him. Nobody ever had before.

"Go home. It's where you belong," said his shadow, "Nobody will miss you anyway."

"I guess..." Shadow muttered. He tossed the Chaos Emerald up and down a couple of times.

Sonic's ears perked up when he heard Shadow's voice, speaking to himself. He tended to do that a lot. Softly, Sonic padded his way down the hallway towards the front door, seeing the black and red hedgehog standing just outside.

"Wish you'd shut up..." Shadow muttered, "How am I supposed to decide if I'm sane or not with you rattling on at me like that?" He shrugged and threw the Emerald up one more time, "Chaos..." he caught it, "CONTROL!"

Sonic's eyes widened as Shadow said the first word. Where did he think he was going? Why was he leaving? Sonic had no time to think about it further. On impulse, he leapt towards the other hedgehog as the second word was shouted. As the emerald landed in his hand. Sonic wrapped his arms around Shadow.

"Damn!" Shadow yelled as Sonic suffered Chaos Control as a hanger-on. It was like being put in deep-freeze. They stopped eventually in almost pitch-darkness. Shadow reached up and pulled a light switch. The room was illuminated fully. It was as if Shadow had teleported into a cold, damp Hell. The walls were grey brick, there was a filthy mattress in the corner, and the stains on the floor hadn't quite dried because of the damp atmosphere. Shadow looked around, "It hasn't changed a bit."

Sonic detached from Shadow and looked about the room with a somewhat disgusted look on his face, "Ew..." he uttered, "What is this place, Shadow?"

"This place is where I lived for three months," Shadow replied, "Lived and worked." He looked around, "Just... try not to breathe through your nose."

"You actually lived here?" Sonic asked in disbelief, squeezing his nose to hold back the smell, "I can think of a bunch of other places you could stay..."

"Yeah, but then somebody might have tracked me down," Shadow said sourly, "Or enquired about the screaming. Don't think I enjoyed living here."

"Yeah, I'm sure,” Sonic uttered, looking around the room again. As the blue hedgehog paced around the room, he stopped at the dark coloured stain and poked it with his foot.

"That's where I fucked and stabbed Cream and Rouge," Shadow said, seeing Sonic stop, "And Amy. And Tails."

"And it would be so easy to do it to him. Right here. Right now. He has no idea where he is. And the door is still locked." Shadow's shadow sneered.

Sonic drew a sharp breath, his blood chilling as he stared down at that stain. So many of his friends had suffered here... all at the hands of his lover. How could he reconcile the Shadow that did this with the Shadow that he’d made love to in the jungle? He stayed there still, a slight shiver running down his spine. Finally, he asked softly, "Are you sorry about it?"

Shadow was watching him intently. The voice in his head was no longer just sneering; it was screaming. He dashed forward, grabbing Sonic's wrists and pinning him against the wall, looking straight into his eyes. His expression had changed, and his eyes, like rubies, were cold and unfeeling, "What do you think?" he asked, his voice a whisper, but rasping harshly, their faces just inches apart. Sonic could feel him trembling, but his grip was no less unshakable for all that.

"I hope you are,” Sonic replied, looking back in surprise, but not fear. Even now, the blue hedgehog trusted him, believed in him, had faith that he could change.

"Hope..." Shadow chuckled, but it didn't sound quite like Shadow, "Hope is the most futile thing in the world. The most wretched and miserable thing. You only hope because you have nothing else..." He swung Sonic around and pushed him to the floor - although his body was not actually touching Sonic's. Sonic was now lying in the same dark, slightly damp spot where the others had been hurt. Shadow held himself a few inches over the blue hedgehog, his hands pinning down Sonic's wrists, "The others all hoped I'd stop around here," Shadow whispered.

"Will you?" Sonic asked, still not afraid as if he already knew for certain what the answer was. He was always so certain, so sure. It was the one thing that seemed constant to Shadow. "Or are you going to hurt me?" the blue hedgehog asked, searching Shadow's cold eyes.

"Hope is the refuge of the damned," Shadow whispered, trailing his fingers down Sonic’s cheek, "Is hope all you have left, Sonic? Or will you try to stop me?"

"This isn't you, Shadow,” Sonic whispered back strongly, "Don't let him win. I believe in you." He still did nothing, held down by Shadow's trembling arms even though he had the strength and skill to fight back.

"You're wrong, Sonic. This is very me," Shadow replied. With that, he decked Sonic hard across the jaw, a harsh, and yet sadistically joyful expression on his face, "This place... brings back so many memories. You should never have followed me here." The dark hedgehog stood up again in a single smooth movement.

Sonic rubbed his aching cheek in annoyance, standing up soon after Shadow did. "You think hurting people makes you strong?" he snapped.

Shadow shrugged, "Doesn't it?" he asked, sounding almost normal again.

"No,” Sonic answered immediately, letting his hand drop, emerald eyes glaring into ruby, "Actually, it means you're weak. It means you can't control yourself. You think I've never wanted to hurt anyone? You think I've never been tempted by my powers?"

"Who're you calling weak?" Shadow growled, "I survived a fall through the atmosphere and I beat your friends and I beat you!" His hands clenched into fists.

"Been there, done that,” Sonic spoke, slowly starting to pace around the dark hedgehog, "You're not Shadow. You're that voice in his head. Well let me tell you, your days are numbered, 'cause the real Ultimate Lifeform is going to beat you!"

"He can fight all he wants, but I'm a part of him now! And I'm here to stay!" Shadow shouted in rage and swung his fist at Sonic's head at high speed.

Sonic leaned back, the punch flying just over his head. He leapt backward towards the far wall, holding up his fists. "Yeah, like I haven't heard that before! Don't you know who I am?" he taunted Shadow's shadow.

"You're a fat-headed asshole who thinks more of himself than the entire world does!" Shadow screamed at him, "He nearly had me, but I came back!" the wildness in his eyes was increasing, "And I'll keep coming back!"

"Then I'll just have to keep knocking you back down! Both of us will! You can't beat this hedgie team!" Sonic shouted back defiantly.

Shadow screamed again and threw himself at Sonic. In the small room it wasn't easy to dodge, and the dark hedgehog barrelled him to the floor, trying to get a good grip on his neck, "You don't love me!" he screamed at the blue hedgehog, "You only love yourself! I'm just a good fuck to you!"

Left with nowhere to go, Sonic gave into his instincts, curling up into a spiky ball to defend himself. "That's not true!" he shouted back, his voice muffled by his fur.

"LIAR!" Shadow screamed down at him, "You walked in on me fucking with Knuckles and you didn't give a damn! You joined in!"

"So?!" Sonic shouted, trying to roll out of the way, "We all enjoyed it, and I care about both of you!"

"He loves you! That's the fucking problem!" Shadow screamed at him, "He told me so himself!"

"What the hell is your point?" Sonic asked, leaping to his feet, "He loves me! So what?"

"So it meant something to him! It meant something to me! It meant damn all to you!" Shadow shouted, fighting to get a hold.

Sonic fought and grappled with Shadow, struggling for control even as they argued. "How do you know what I felt?" Sonic snapped, "It meant everything to me!"

"Why should I believe you?!" Shadow screamed, "You never take anything seriously! Why should you take this seriously?!"

Sonic managed to wedge a foot between them and kick, pushing Shadow away from him, "I sure am serious about this!" Sonic cried out, staring Shadow down, "Listen to me!"

"Why should I?" Shadow sneered, "Because you love me?"

"Yes!" Sonic shouted, the fear beginning to churn in his guts that his words were having no effect.

A growl rose up in Shadow's throat, and his body shuddered, "Then talk..." he whispered, catching control of his emotions briefly.

"Shadow,” Sonic pleaded, "Don't give into that thing inside you! You're just going to hurt more people, and you'll never be happy! You're happy with me, right?"

Shadow growled, his hands shaking, "NO! I don't know why I can't! But I can't! Whenever I'm with you I just want to get away! When you're not with me I wish you were! How can I be happy with you?"

"Shadow..." A hurt look on his face, Sonic tried to walk towards the dark hedgehog, reaching out towards him.

Shadow growled at Sonic again, sounding more like an animal than a real person, "You mess me up inside worse than the voice!" he shouted.

Sonic recoiled as if in pain, hurt eyes fixed on the dark hedgehog. "I just... I just wanted to help!" the blue hedgehog said desperately.

Shadow started tugging on his own quills, sinking to his knees, "I hate you! I hate all of you!" he wailed, "And yet... I love you! I don't want to share you! I want you to be mine!"

Sonic swallowed, shaking as he considered his words, and his feelings, very carefully. Slowly, he walked closer again, and dropped to his own knees, reaching out to touch Shadow's cheek. "Then I'm yours,” he said.

Shadow didn't seem to really be listening. He was just ranting senselessly, "Why'd it all go wrong?! Why'd I start hating you so much?! I don't know! Where did the voice come from?! He's always telling me to hurt you!"

Sonic stayed silent, letting Shadow vent his frustrations and deal with his inner demons. He'd done all he could to help the dark hedgehog, and now it was up to him.

Shadow nuzzled Sonic's hand, "I don't understand, I don't... I don't..." tears were forming, "I don't want to be alone but I have to or I'll hurt people..."

Sonic had no answer for Shadow, nothing beyond what he had already told him, so he just caressed the hedgehog face, drawing him nearer into an embrace.

"I can't own you..." Shadow mumbled, "I can never own you. I don't deserve you... except... except... I'm the Ultimate Lifeform!" his eyes opened wide, "It's you who doesn't - NO! Stay away!"

Sonic only clung tighter to Shadow, defying the order, "Forget it!" Sonic told him, "You're not getting rid of me."

"Not you, YOU!" Shadow shouted, closing his eyes tightly, "I'm not listening! I'm not listening!" he clamped his bands over his ears trying to drown out the voice in his head, "And I'm on my way, on my way, on my way!" he sang loudly.

Sonic smirked as Shadow tried to sing over the voice in his head, "That's the Shadow I know and love!" he said cheerfully, patting him on the back.

"I can't... can't stand it!" Shadow pushed Sonic away. He turned away and started to bang his head against the brick wall, "Gotta forget again... gotta forget everything!"

Shocked and more than a little worried by this, Sonic rushed over to try and keep Shadow from splitting his own head open, "Whoa! Shadow, stop that! You're going to hurt yourself!"

“That’s the idea!” Shadow tried to pull free of Sonic, “Gotta forget... about ARK... and Maria dying... and falling... and being picked up by the doc... and fucking all those stupid friends of yours...”

“What did you say?” Sonic asked suddenly.

“Gotta forget...” Shadow repeated.

“No, after that,” Sonic told him.

“Fucking all those stupid friends of yours...” Shadow muttered obediently.

“Before that,” Sonic prompted him.

“Picked up by the doc...” Shadow grimaced, “Gotta forget...”

Sonic frowned, a bad feeling stirring in his stomach, "What doc?" the blue hedgehog asked suspiciously, believing he already knew the answer. He wondered why he had never guessed before. It made perfect sense; it explained everything.

"Doctor Eggman..." Shadow muttered. He'd never mentioned it before. It didn't seem important before. It still didn't seem important now. Which was strange in a way, because having his life saved by Doctor Eggman should seem important. Even he knew that.

"Eggman... Eggman!" Sonic practically exploded, pulling at his quills in frustration, "I should have known it was him! He did this!"

"Did what?" Shadow asked, a little stupidly, "I just wanna forget..."

Sonic, suddenly angry, most of it directed at his arch-nemesis, grabbed Shadow's shoulders and forced him to look at the blue hedgehog, "He did this to your mind!" he said, "Messed you up inside! Tried to turn you into a weapon!"
"Oh, right," Shadow said. He started to bang his head on the wall again, "Gotta... forget... that way it'll all... be... over!"

Sonic held him again, dragging Shadow away from the wall. "No! We need to find Eggman! He can fix you!" Sonic reasoned with his lover.

"F-fix?" Shadow looked at Sonic, confused, "He can... fix me?"

"He made you like this,” Sonic explained, poking Shadow once on the forehead, "He can turn you back. He’d better."

Shadow stood up shakily, wiping his face, "Gotta go to Eggman..." he muttered, pulling his Chaos Emerald out of his quills.

"You know where he is?" Sonic asked quickly, holding onto Shadow's arm. Something seemed off about the dark hedgehog, even though his rage had gone for the moment.

"I... I think so..." Shadow muttered, "The Egg Fleet... I guess..."

He seemed tired, drugged even, and it was distressing to see. "Maybe we should think this out before we go,” Sonic suggested, "Get the others to help out. I know Knuckles and Tails will help-”

"NO!" Shadow snapped awake again, "We're going NOW!" he grabbed Sonic's wrist, "Chaos... Control!"

~~~

Froggy: Okay, read and review! Next chapter – closure!

Harley: Because everybody loves closure!