ARAAT2: Eclipse - Part 2

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A Rose And A Thorn 2: Eclipse

Co-Written by Harley Quinn hyenaholic and Froggy22651

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Froggy: That’s right, TWO new chapters!

Harley: AFF.net is being so cruel. This is all YOUR fault, Harry Potter and Lord of the Ring fans! It would be fixed by now if they hadn't made the section so cluttered.

Froggy: Anyway, enough of Harley’s whining, you get two chapters because really, Chapter 7 wasn’t worth waiting a month for.

Harley: What the hell is a 403 error anyway? I swear they make those numbers up.

Froggy: I told you to stop whining!

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Chapter Eight: Nightmares

Shadow was running... running through the GUN base. Wasn't he strapped to a table, though? No... It couldn't be. That was just a dream. A nightmare. Jumping from one nightmare into another. The reality was that he and Amy were running away from the soldiers down a long hallway. It was seemingly endless.

Amy ran as fast as she could, "We have to get to... the lab!" she gasped.

"Come on! We have to keep going!" he shouted back, pulling her along by the hand. They had to keep moving. If they stopped, the soldiers would catch them.

"Shadow!" Amy panted, "I can't keep up!"

As they reached the lab, Shadow saw the shadowy feline - although 'feline' was pushing it a lot. She was covered in blood, and typing on a control panel, apparently oblivious to him. Suddenly she looked up, "Those military bastards murdered Midnight!" she said, tearfully.

"Why are they doing this?" Amy asked helplessly, voicing the question which Shadow felt.

"Because," Mirage answered, "Now you two have to get into the pod! Right now!"

"Right," Shadow said breathlessly, taking a step forward. But Amy didn't move with him, frozen in place. Turning to see what the matter was, Shadow found his gaze locked on the emotionless gaze of a GUN troop's goggles and the pistol in his hand... which was aimed at the young girl. A shot rang out and Amy stumbled back, clutching her chest and the growing spot of red on her dress. The soldier next aimed at the hedgehog who could only watch in detatched, shocked amazement.

"Shadow... get in the escape pod..." Amy whispered softly.

When Shadow didn't move, the feline leapt at the soldier, who turned and fired at her. The speed of the attack resulted in her lying on top of a corpse, clutching her injured shoulder, "Get... in the fucking pod... asswipe..." she wheezed. Down the corridor, more soldiers were approaching.

When Shadow started to move forward towards them, Maria spoke, her voice a series of gasps, "Shadow... I beg of you... please, do it for me... for a better future..."

When Shadow started to move forward, Maria spoke, her voice a series of gasps, "Shadow... I beg of you... please, do it for me... for a better future..." The pod closed around him as she presed a button

"Amy!" he cried out.

"...for all the people who live on that planet... give them a chance to be happy. Let them live for their dreams. Shadow, I know you can do it. That's the reason that you were brought into this world. Sayonara, Shadow, the Hedgehog..." She pulled the release lever, and Shadow was dropped into space.

"NO!!!" Shadow screamed out as the pod dropped away from the space colony. He shoved Amy against the wall, glaring at her, rage burning in his eyes, "You pushed me away! You abandoned me! You trusted Sonic over me! Bitch! Whore! Liar!"

Amy wailed, frightened, "Shadow, what are you doing?"

"Fulfilling your wish! You wanted me to make people happy, so I will! Starting with me!" He roughly pressed his mouth to hers, pulling her into a greedy kiss.

Amy squealed in terror and writhed in his grip, pulling her lips away from his, trying to push him away, "Stop it, Shadow!" she cried out, "This won't make you happy!"

Two scientists stood behind them both, taking notes, "Subject is showing resistance," one of them said.

Shadow continued his greedy kissing, his hands roaming over Amy’s body, tearing her clothing away, squeezing her flesh hungrily, “Scream for me…” he whispered.

“No! Stop!” Amy cried and begged, beating her fists against Shadow's chest, "STOP! STOP! IF YOU LOVE ME PLEASE STOP!" she screamed.

“Just like that…” Shadow hissed, his eyes shining insanely. He ground his hips against hers, finding himself aroused by her struggles. Once all of her clothing was removed, he dragged her away from the wall and slammed her against a table, bending her forward over it. The scientists kept taking notes. Sonic also stood in the background, watching silently, not making one move to stop him.

Amy started screaming louder than ever, fear without words as she twisted frantically in Shadow’s grip, beating her hands against the metal table. She hadn't a chance of escape.

Shadow snarled and shoved himself into her warm depths from behind like some animal gone mad. He didn't seem like himself, didn't seem to even recognize her. As he forced his way in and out of her, he listened with glee as her screaming rose to fever pitch and her struggles increased.

“Subject is still showing resistance, despite obvious pain,” commented a scientist.

Sonic was smirking as he watched Shadow viciously rape Amy Rose, "Not bad, faker," he said, complimenting Shadow, "You catch on quickly." Something about that didn't seem right to the black hedgehog, but he continued what he was doing, the scientists observing his every action.

Amy sobbed in pain, tears rolling down her cheeks, "Oh stop, please stop this Shadow!" she begged, "I love you! Please stop!"

Shadow just grunted in pleasure, wrapping his arms around Amy’s slender waist and pulling her back against him, forcing his way deeper into her as she wept. He was taking his pleasure from her, so why wasn’t that making him happy? He watched as hot blood and cum trickled between them. He moved his hand over the mess and tasted it. He didn’t know why; it was just something he felt like doing.

He turned her onto her back and looked into her face as he raped her mercilessly,” You… love me?” he panted, “Then… take it… bitch!”

A voice rasped again into his ear, “Take what you want and throw her away.”

Amy screamed and screamed, over and over again. He slapped her sharply, “Shut up!” he bellowed, gripping her shoulders and forcing his way into her ass as deep as he could go.

“You don't need her,” the voice rasped again.

Shadow suddenly pulled out of Amy, stepping backwards, clutching at his head. The scientists stopped taking notes and began to laugh at him, "Get out of my HEAD!!!" he shouted. The floor turned to glass shards, stabbing through his shoes and puncturing his feet. Gasping in pain, he fell to his knees, his legs impaled by the glass spikes. He screamed again in misery and pain.

"You cannot escape Ashura," the softer feminine voice said quietly, "You think you are mean? You think you are nasty? He will twist off your head and spit down the hole."

"Who are you?!" Shadow demanded, his voice filled with a mixture of anger and pain.

"We are family," said the other, rasping voice, the one that had told him to continue raping Amy. The green hedgehog with the black face and glowing blue eyes stood in front of him. The shadowy creature with Shadow’s colours stood just behind him.

"Family?" Shadow asked quietly, "Where was my family when I needed you the most?"

"I cleared away the soldiers in front of you, to help you escape," said the hedgecat.

"I was in stasis," said the green hedgehog.

Shadow was feeling weak from blood loss. He looked up at the two other experiments. He couldn’t tell if they were lying, "Why me? Why am I so important? Why not Maria? Why couldn't you save her too?"

"I am sorry about Maria," said the hedgecat, her speech as clipped and artificial as his had been when he’d first woken, "It is not as if I did not try... But perhaps her sacrifice was worth it."

Shadow was growing dizzier by the second. Delirious, he reached out towards the two, trying to touch them, "I'll free you both. I'll save you from GUN, bring you to Earth... I promise..." But both of the other experiments seemed to be growing more distant.

"There was only one pod, and you won it," the feline creature said, "You got to go, and we had to stay. It is the luck of the draw."

"I can come back! I can use Chaos Control! I will! You can go too! No... no wait... don't go! Not yet!" Her image started to blur and shimmer as if in a desert mirage as she drew farther away from him still. The room became darker and darker.

"Don't worry about us," Ashura rasped, "Fear for your own sanity." The two images faded completely.

Shadow cried out in frustration and... fear. He was afraid and completely alone in the dark. He didn't want to be alone. The floor dropped out beneath him, and he fell through the infinite darkness, nothing and no one to cling to, his only companions his own screams...

~~~

His eyes snapped open and then closed again, hurt by the bright white of the room. The cold air chilled his sweat-covered body. Trying to move was futile; he was still strapped down to the table. He was back in the GUN lab. He had always been in the GUN lab.

Even as he lay on the metal table, the electric shocks continued to ravage his body, set on automatic while the scientists were out. The pain from them was as viscous and agonising as it had ever been. Even if he didn't cry out it was still there, for ten seconds at twenty second intervals.

He remembered his nightmare, and bile rose up in his throat. He hadn’t been fed in days, but he wanted to be sick. Just thinking about what he had done in that most terrible of nightmares… he had become a monster… he had raped Amy…

He started to scream again, not out of pain, even though it certainly was there. All his frustration and anger and fear and guilt... he let it all out in a crazed scream at the top of his lungs, tears flowing down his face…

And he kept screaming until his throat was raw.

~~~

It was some hours of lying alone before the scientists, the Professor and the Colonel entered the lab.

"Good morning, Project Shadow," the Colonel looked as smug as ever.

Shadow didn't respond. He just continued to stare blankly at the ceiling, his body quivering slightly.

"The memory scanning is now complete, Colonel," said the Professor.

Shadow whimpered slightly as the electrodes were ripped out. He didn't protest. They had won. They had his memories. They had his life on a disk for them to play with as they pleased. Was there less pain now than before? Shadow honestly couldn't tell any more. His muscles were so cramped up that he couldn't even try to move without severe discomfort, and there was blood and sweat all over his body.

"Are you... satisfied now?" he asked quietly, because speaking above a whisper was agony to his throat.

"Not in the least, Project Shadow," the Colonel answered, "There were some delays yesterday, but this morning I sent out some Guard Robos to acquire Miss Blossom. Oh, and the doctors have many interesting tests yet to perform on you."

"Leave her out of this... please..." he gasped, his voice hoarse from screaming, "Maybe you do own me, but you don't own her. She has nothing that you want."

"She is Project Eclipse’s mother, isn't she?" the Colonel chucked and held up the ring, "And after all our analysis, this turned out to be a perfectly normal power ring." He placed it on a desk, next to Shadow's shoes and gloves.

Shadow looked at the ring, the one thing in the room that reminded him of happier times, of a reason to keep resisting. If only he could use his powers...

"You'll be glad to know we gave Project Eclipse all his inoculations today," said the Colonel, "Except for one."

"He is not a project," the dark hedgehog tried to growl.

"Not to you, maybe," the Colonel replied, "And now... gentlemen?"

"This is the vaccine for the Common Cold," said a scientist, "We know it works. It's just the side effects that we're ironing out."

He pushed the hypodermic needle into Shadow's arm, and injected the contents. There was a hushed silence.

Shadow blinked. He didn't feel any different... But slowly, he felt his vision cloud over. When it cleared again, the room was exactly the same. Except that he could hear something scuttling around on the floor.

He unsuccessfully tried to turn his head and look at whatever was making that sound. "What is that?" he asked the scientists, "What are you doing now?" There were suddenly a lot more of the scuttling noises. And they were getting closer. Shadow didn't like the sound of that one bit. He started struggling with his restraints again, willing them to release him. "Come on... come on..."

"Damn!" said a scientist, "Mild hallucinations..."

Shadow felt something - no, lots of little things crawling up his body, "Ah... AH!" he shouted as he felt a million tiny feet crawl up his legs, his torso, and then his face. They were all over him! "Get them off me!" he shouted. One of the Things looked down at him. It looked like a cross between an insect, a crocodile and a bat, it was black and red, and had yellow eyes. Shadow's eyes widened as he looked at the most bizarre and creepy bug to ever curse the Earth. The Things crawling over him were driving him mad, a million tiny itches he could not scratch, "What the hell is wrong with you?! Get them off me!"

"Blast it all!" shouted a scientist. He had to shout to be heard above Shadow's rapid screams, "The hallucinations haven't been ironed out yet!"

Hallucinations? He was just imagining this? Shadow closed his eyes tightly and kept telling himself that. It wasn't real... it wasn't real... it wasn't real... but it sure felt real enough to drive him crazy!

"Do whatever is necessary to get that vaccine perfected, " the Colonel said calmly, "The solution to the common cold is worth billions."

"Why... are you testing it... on ME?!" Shadow screamed.

"Why Project Shadow, that's a stupid question," the Colonel replied, watching in mild amusement as Shadow tried to throw off something that wasn't there, "So that it's safe for humans of course." The door opened and closed as he left, laughing.

"I HATE YOU!!!" Shadow screamed at the closed door with all the strength he could muster from his lungs.

"How long will the subject's hallucinations last for?" a scientist asked the Professor.

Hatred was consuming Shadow’s mind, he could feel the chaos energies again, just for one sweet moment. That was all he could ask for. Noting another syringe of the crap they pumped into him, he grasped it with his mind and hurled it at the scientist who had asked with all the strength he had left. The needle plunged into the human neck, "Let's find out!" he shouted.

The scientist collapsed to the floor, gasping, "Subdue it!" shouted the Professor. The restraining drug was pumped into Shadow's blood stream again, a massive dose. The Things that Shadow could feel crawling all over him were still there, and now he couldn't think straight enough to convince himself that they didn’t really exist.

He wanted them off him NOW! But nothing he could do would get rid of the Things. He didn't know how long he could take it until he went insane... if he wasn't already.

Everything else seemed to be happening a long way off. The scientist was shouting something about green Things at the others, and a couple of soldiers hauled him off. Shadow barely noticed; he just wanted to scratch at his skin until it bled, but he was restrained too well.

The black hedgehog was sure that he was already dead and had fallen into Hell. This was his punishment. For trying to find answers through violence. For failing those who had placed their trust in him. Amy and Eclipse and Mirage and Ashura… He moaned their names as he writhed on the table, pleading for someone to help him. Tears started to fall down his face as he begged for release.

Nobody was paying any attention to him. They were mainly taking notes. The Things were still all over him. One of the scientists turned into a green coiled parking meter, before reverting into a rather blurred image of Ashura. The other briefly became a rather handsome black and red carrot, then turned into a flickering image of Mirage.

"Get them off me, please..." he practically begged the two fellow experiments.

"We can’t," said Ashura and Mirage together.

"We all went through this before," said Mirage, "Although they were tests of endurance, not sanity..."

Shadow snarled in frustration. How long was it going to last?! At that point, he would have been happy if someone just shot him in the head. It would be a far easier way of killing him.

"He'll probably snap soon," commented Ashura, his voice still a horrible rasp.

"If he has not already," agreed Mirage, in her low monotone, "We are not even here."

"Of course..." Shadow groaned, "You're just hallucinations... figments of my fucked-up imagination..."

"Damn right!" Mirage looked pleased, "We are just voicing the thoughts in your head... for now at least. So that is one good thing - that you still know it."

Despite the utter madness of the situation, Shadow laughed madly and gave a pained smile, "At least talking to myself is better than with those damned scientists."

Mirage laughed. At least, it was probably a laugh. It sounded like she was hacking up a particularly difficult hairball, "Enjoy us while you can, it is going to get a whole lot worse," she told him.

Shadow tried to nod, his body shaking. The Things were still crawling all over him and it was taking all his willpower to not scream at their touch.

“I think I’m going crazy…” he moaned.

Mirage and Ashura laughed together.

~~~

Amy paced in her living room impatiently, a frantic expression of worry on her face, "It's been three days now," she told Tails, "WHERE IS SHADOW?!"

Tails cringed. Amy was distressed, and rightfully so. When Amy was distressed, things got hammered. Tails didn't want to be hammered, "I don't know," the kit admitted, "But I'm sure he is ok. Shadow always gets out of trouble fine..."

"He's taking too long!" Amy continued to pace. She hadn't slept properly since she'd gotten out of hospital, "I'm his... his..." she paused. ‘Girlfriend’ didn't sound right, and ‘lover’ sounded too fleeting, "I'm his. I should be DOING something about this! Eclipse is still out there as well!"

The young fox could understand Amy's feelings. He was worried about Eclipse and Shadow, too. Shadow was very powerful, but not even he was infallible. Eggman was dangerous, a fact that was sometimes rather hard to believe, but still true, "But... what can we do?"

"I'll tell you what we can do!" Amy snapped, "And it’s the same as what we should have done as soon as they released me from hospital!" she produced her Piko Piko Hammer, "We're going after him! You're going to drive me to Eggman's current base, and then I'm gonna beat his head in until he tells me what he's done with my family!"

Tails realized that his namesake twin appendages had curled up between his legs. He forced them to stretch out behind him normally before nodding. He certainly wasn't going to argue with Amy about this, "Um... sounds like a plan. But I think we should tell someone before we go."

"Who?" Amy asked.

He had a feeling she wouldn't like the answer, but he said it anyway, "Sonic..."

"Sonic? Why Sonic?" Amy scowled, "Oh, the hell with it, I haven't the time to argue over this. Okay. Sonic. Now let's go." It was then that somebody pounded on the newly fixed door. Amy recognised that knock, and shuddered, "Let's go that way," she pointed to the bedroom, which had a large window in the wall.

Tails also recognized the sound. He could tell the exact make and model of the Guard Robo from the sound as well and knew that sticking around would mean trouble. Thankfully, Amy was no slouch with her Piko Piko Hammer. He followed the pink hedgehog into her bedroom and looked over to the large window. He quickly opened it up and jumped out, spinning his tails behind him to hover, "Come on, Amy!"

Amy leapt out after him, and he grabbed her hand, lowering her to the ground slowly. They ran. Amy cringed as she heard the shattering of glass, and a tranquillizer dart whizzed past her ear, "They want to capture... ME!" she shouted as she ran.

Tails grabbed Amy's hand and took off, propelling them both forward by spinning his twin tails. The robots were not fast enough to catch them. Soon enough, Tails led them into an alleyway where he leaned against the wall, taking a moment to catch his breath. "Why... were they after you?" he asked between breaths.

"Those are the style of robots that kidnapped Eclipse!" Amy said, "And now they want me! They either have Shadow - or they want to use me as bait!"

Tails shook his head. They couldn't just wait around any longer, "We have to find Shadow and Eclipse. Let's go to my workshop; we'll be safe there. I'll call Sonic and we can go after Eggman together."

"Wait... You want Sonic to come?" Amy asked as he dragged her behind him.

"Of course," he said, like it would be ridiculous to assume otherwise. But then he remembered what happened between Sonic and Amy, "...Is that alright?"

"Of course it's not!" Amy shouted, "I don't need him!"

"If this was too much for Shadow to handle alone, we're going to need his help!" Tails explained. Looking down at his feet, he quietly added, "I... I won't let him do anything to you..." The possibility of him needing to say that tore the kit up inside, and it was obvious to the pink hedgehog how torn the young fox was by it.

"Okay..." Amy relented. They were leaving Central City behind now. She still didn't like having Sonic around... but Tails had faith in him, it seemed, and for the moment, that was enough.

The two of them took the train to the edge of the Mystic Ruins, where Tails had his workshop and landing strip. Once there, Tails quickly called and informed Sonic of the situation. After an uncomfortably long amount of time, Sonic said he would be there soon, "Sonic's coming," the fox informed Amy.

Amy rubbed her forehead in agitation, "I don't like this," she said. She saw Tails' expression, "No, it's not Sonic... I've just got this bad feeling that something bad is going down."

"I'm sure they are fine..." he said quietly. It was a weak attempt of reassuring her, his usual cheer missing. He just didn't have the heart in it, "...What is he like?" he asked.

"Who?" asked Amy, "What is who like?"

"Shadow..." Tails asked hesitantly, "I've seen him and talked with him, but I don’t really know him. You know more about him than anyone."

Amy smiled, "He... he's really protective of me... I know he's got problems, but he can talk about them with me, rather than bottling them up... when I feel unhappy, he comforts me too... he loves me. And Eclipse too. I know it. I can't lose them."

"Oh..." the kit said quietly, thinking hard about what she said. Something was obviously troubling him. "They'll be alright. You'll see," he said, forcing a small smile.

Tails was relieved when he saw Sonic approaching, wearing his black leather jacket; the silence had been getting uncomfortable, and his older friend would keep him focused off his more troubling thoughts, "Hey Sonic!" he cried out in greeting.

Sonic smirked and waved at the younger fox. His smirk faltered when he saw Amy, but he forced it to stay on his face, "Are you two ok?"

"We're just fine," Amy said. She wanted to say a snide comment, but she bit back on it. Sonic was only trying to help. She looked at Sonic. He looked pale and out of breath. That couldn't be, surely...

"We're ready to go when you are!" Tails said. Then, also noticing how sickly his friend looked, asked, "Are you ok, Soni-"

"I'm fine," Sonic snapped, "And I'm ready to crack that Eggman! Let's find Shadow and Eclipse!"

~~~

Harley: End of Chapter Eight! Read and Review!

Froggy: I got an idea – let’s show them the difference between a fanfic before you spend six hours converting it, and a fanfic after you spend six hours converting it.

Harley: Yeah, maybe then they’ll appreciate how much damn work it is to write an IM fanfic. Except…

Froggy: What?

Harley: Well, we are about twenty chapters ahead of schedule… and I already converted those ones.