Bloody Domination 2: Straitjacket

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Bloody Domination 2: Straitjacket

Co-Written by Harley Quinn hyenaholic and Froggy22651

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Harley: Well, the update is on Wednesdays. And you have to log in to review, but you can blame the Trolls for that; this is one of the few things the Admins can do about it.

Froggy: I know we said Sonadow in the summary, but for people who hate slash, they'll be glad to know that there's surprisingly little Sonadow (or indeed any slash) and quite a lot of plot about how they get there. After all, Shadow did go on a murderous rampage in the last story.

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Chapter Two: Voices In My Head

Shadow groaned softly. His head was full of fog, although at least the drugs had worn off enough for him to be able to see the cell around him. He felt as if somebody had poured treacle into his brain, and now it was slowly leaking out. He wasn't sure if he had slept or not; he'd had some pretty crazy dreams if he had. Today it was tomorrow, right? Another day of staring at the wall and mumbling to himself. And being fed a mushy paste mixed with medication at regular intervals.

The door opened, and he looked at the attendant blearily. It was a nice word for ‘guard’. It wasn't meal time yet, right? Two more armed attendants were coming in, "You have a visitor," one of them informed him. He looked at them again as they dressed him in a medical gown, cuffed his hands with reinforced handcuffs, and his ankles too, just in case he tried to run for it. He felt like telling them it wasn't necessary; he couldn't have run if he'd wanted to. Wait... a visitor?

"Visitor?" he asked.

"Yeah, a visitor,” the attendant told him, half-leading, half-dragging him out of the cell, leading him down the corridors of the prison/hospital. There wasn't much of a difference to GUN.

"Must be that human," said his shadow quietly - or maybe it was just harder to hear it, "Get ready to play the victim. Whether we deserve to be here or not, I hate it here..."

"I AM the goddamn victim in here; I don't need to play it!" Shadow snapped.

"Atta boy," said his shadow.

The attendants lead Shadow into the visiting room. He wasn’t surprised to see the two-way mirror, behind which there were doubtless a few interns and his psychologist, but there was one person he definitely didn’t expect, sitting on the other side of a table. The blue hedgehog, the faker, Sonic. He was sitting there, looking somehow more tired than usual, more worn down, but it was unmistakably him. He tried to hide the look of exhaustion behind his usual cheerful confidence, his mask to the world. Looking up to see the dark hedgehog, he smiled slightly and waved to the securely cuffed Shadow, "Hey there, Shades,” he called out.

"S-Sonic?" Shadow managed. He shook his head, "No... It can't be you..." the attendants pushed him into the seat. He too looked very different to how he had looked when Sonic had last seen him. He didn't stand up straight any more, but walked with a slight hunch. And while he was technically clean, his quills were greasy and more tousled than they had been, his cheeks were paler than they should be, and there were dark shadows under his eyes from a lack of sleep.

"Surprised?" Sonic asked with a slight smile, "I thought you'd be lonely in here, so I made an appointment and stopped by. How are you doing?"

Shadow gave this a few seconds thought, "It's horrible in here!" he moaned finally, "I know this is where I belong but that doesn't mean it's where I want to be! They treat me like a freaking animal and the food tastes like somebody already ate it!" he groaned and rested his head on the table between them.

The blue hedgehog looked shocked for a second before hiding his feelings again. Looking down at Shadow, noting how terrible he looked, he spoke sternly, "I'm going to have a talk with them about that."

Shadow stared at his cuffs absently for a little while, before looking up, "It won't make any difference, you know," he said, "Like anything you say will change anything... Anyway, why'd you come?" he asked, "Of all the people I thought might come visit... you're not one of them."

Sonic looked hurt by that, "I said I'd help you, Shadow, and I meant it."

"You want to help me?" Shadow asked him, trying to focus properly on Sonic's face. He sounded somewhat sceptical.

“Of course,” Sonic replied simply, looking back, "I said I wouldn't let you fall, and I meant it. I... I know you've done some terrible things, but it wasn't you. I could tell when I looked at you. You were... something different."

"You really want to help me?" Shadow asked again. Sonic nodded. Shadow lunged forward and grabbed hold of one of Sonic's quills, pulling him close, "Then get me the hell out of here!" he snarled in his ear, just before an attendant slammed his nightstick into the back of Shadow's head. He let go of Sonic instantly and flinched, "Godammit..." he whispered. He could imagine Ferguson and the interns making some notes.

Sonic glared at the attendant who had struck Shadow, "I can take care of myself, dude!" he snapped at him. He was, after all, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Shadow was in no position to fight him, "Are you alright?" he asked the slumped dark hedgehog.

"I know you like to run, Sonic," Shadow said quietly, "But the shit they've got me on, it's hard enough to walk. I don't want to be here!" his hands tightened into fists, "But I am... and I don't... I don't want to be in here..." He took several deep breaths, before looking up again. There was sweat trickling down his face, "What's Amy doing with my baby?" he asked.

Sonic swallowed, hesitant to discuss that subject. It had been hard enough for him to forgive Shadow without thinking of that part too, "She's... she's decided to have it,” he said carefully.

Shadow nodded, "That's one thing I don't have to worry about, then," he said, "Unless you're lying..." he added, softly.

"I wouldn't lie about that,” Sonic assured Shadow. In fact, there was very little he would lie about, "You don't look so good,” he added softly, "Is there anything I can do to just... make you feel more comfortable here?"

"Not really," Shadow replied. He rubbed his face, "I don't think they'd let me out even if I was sane. All the same..." he hesitated, and mumbled something too quiet to be heard.

Sonic strained to hear, tilting his ear towards him.

"It's good to see you..." Shadow whispered a little louder, and covered his face, as if ashamed of his words, of admitting weakness, and the desire for companionship.

Sonic smiled, "Hey, thanks,” he said, keeping his voice low so the attendants and doctors wouldn't hear, "Looks like you needed the company. Tell you what; I'll drop by more often, ok?"

Shadow nodded, though not looking up, "It's horrible in here," he said again, "It's GUN, dammit! They practically own me again!"

"They're just doing what they think they should,” the blue hedgehog told him calmly, "They can't hold you forever, though. Not if you prove yourself well again."

"You really are stupid, aren't you, Sonic?" Shadow growled, "These people are professional psychiatrists. They'll see right through any act... and that's if they plan to let me go at all!" he shook his head, "I don't want to be crazy... what I did... was so wrong..."

"I didn't say anything about acting,” Sonic said, remaining calm in the face of Shadow's anger, "I mean if you really get better, they will have to let you go. I mean, they are helping here, right?"

Shadow shrugged, "They feed me with a goddamn tube," he muttered, "So that they don't have to untie my straitjacket. Apparently that's for my own good," he sneered.

"They keep you in a cell, and... that's it?" Sonic asked, finding it hard to believe, "What kind of hospital is this place? Don't they talk to you, treat you, try to work anything out at all?"

"Ferguson says I’ve got a review every six months," Shadow replied, "I don't remember a whole lot of what he said after that because I was trying to stab him with his pen."

“Ferguson?”

“The criminal psychologist,” Shadow nodded at the two-way mirror.

Sonic shook his head, trying to reason why the staff would be as cruel as it was to Shadow. "Maybe it's because you do stuff like that. They're probably afraid you'd hurt them if they don't keep you restrained and drugged."

"I probably would," Shadow admitted, "I'm dangerous, Sonic. I hate it in here, but it's safer for everybody this way. But this is GUN. I don't know what they want with me and I feel even worse for not knowing. Why didn't they just kill me?!" He slammed the cuffs against the table, leaving a dent.

"Don't say that!" Sonic spoke to Shadow, "You should be glad that you're alive! You can get better; you just have to be given a chance! Look, I'm going to talk to the guys in charge here, and you're going to get better, you hear me?"

Shadow groaned softly and rested his head in his hands, slightly awkwardly, "Sure I am…" he muttered, "And then I'll get out of here, ha, and everybody – Tikal, Tails, Amy, Knuckles - is going to forgive me. And then Maria's going to come back to life and tell me she loves me and everybody flies over the rainbow..."

"Do you want my help or not?" Sonic asked sternly, not appreciating the black and red hedgehog's bitter sarcasm.

"Yeah, sure, why not?" Shadow said finally, "Though I don't see what you can do..."

"Hey, these guys owe me big time! Trust me, I can convince them to ease up,” Sonic replied confidently with a wink, the usual smooth attitude back on, as if he had flicked a switch.

Shadow nodded, "When you talk like that, I can almost believe you," he said softly.

"I'm good at that,” the blue hedgehog chuckled. He always did seem so hopeful and positive that the attitude was contagious. It was part of what made him a hero, his ability to inspire others to feel hope.

Shadow rubbed his face, moaning softly. As the treacle-feeling left his brain and his senses slowly became sharper, once again he was all too aware of the presence of his own shadow. It wasn’t saying anything yet, but it was only a matter of time… “Maybe it’s better this way,” he said quietly, his hands absent-mindedly tugging at his quills, “I’m sick.”

"You won't be sick forever,” was Sonic's reply, and he sounded so sure of it, "I know it. You wouldn't have helped me on the ARK if you were totally bad."

"I didn't do it for you!" Shadow snapped, "I did it for Maria!" His grip tightened on his quills, pulling harder, gritting his teeth, "They won't ever let me out, I know it..."

"You're always so negative,” Sonic uttered with a wave of his hand, "Cheer up! You're still alive, aren't you?"

"And you're always so damn cheerful!" Shadow slammed his cuffs against the table, "You don't get it, do you? This is an asylum for the criminally insane! And I'm in it! And GUN runs it! And they consider me their property!"

Sonic's green eyes just stared quizzically into Shadow's crimson eyes, his head tilted to the side. Finally, the blue hedgehog shrugged, "So? Why do you care what anyone thinks of you?"

"Go ahead, break his stinking neck. It's his fault you're in here, after all," pointed out Shadow's shadow.

Shadow growled, "I'm not listening to you!"

Sonic flinched at the sound, "You're happy to see me but you don't want to listen? What's wrong with you?" he said, sitting back.

"No, no, it's not like that-" Shadow started.

"Well, that wiped the stupid smirk off his fat face," said his shadow.

"SHUT THE HELL-" Shadow covered his mouth with his hands and whimpered, "-up..."

Sonic looked even more confused, wondering just what it was that Shadow was reacting to. It was as if he were having insanely fast mood-swings, "I don't think you're ready to leave just yet, Shadow. You'll... you'll be okay though, you hear me? Just hang in there."

Shadow nodded, “Like there’s anything else to do…”

"What the hell does he know about any of this? Go ahead, break his neck, it's not like things will actually get any worse," said his shadow.

The dark hedgehog gave a muffled moan, and managed to speak, "There's a voice in my head... and he wants me to kill you..." he whispered.

Sonic reached over and placed a hand on Shadow's shoulder, "Ignore it,” he said, "You might hear it, but you don't have to obey it. The only voice you need to listen to is your own."

"I know that, dammit!" Shadow flinched away. He was ashamed to realise that he wanted to cry. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly, "I really do deserve to be in here..."

"Deserving has got nothing to do with it..." Sonic began and then stopped, rethinking his statement, "Look... just trust me. You can do that, right?"

"Why should you trust him? We're in here because of him!" said his shadow.

Shadow gritted his teeth, trying not to listen with every fibre of his being, "I... guess so..."

Sonic smiled. "Good!" he said happily, "It's not so bad, really. As long as you're still moving, things can change."

"They're not trying to cure you, they're trying to tame you!" the shadow was louder now, "Well if they want an animal, we'll give them an animal!"

Shadow shuddered, trying to listen to Sonic's sane, hopeful words and not the lunatic ranting of a ruthless killer, "Nothing ever changes," he said, "It just goes round and round in circles..."

"Again with the negative stuff. You need to lighten up, Shadow. Look at the bright side! No wonder you're so messed up; you ignore the good in life and dwell on the bad!" Sonic said, giving the dark hedgehog a quick shake. He shook his head and glanced briefly around the room, "I need to get you out of here, take you somewhere fun, just mess around for a day. Maybe I can convince them that it'll do you some good."

"Would you listen to him? Do you actually think they'd ever let us out of here?"

Shadow's expression changed, and he looked up. He didn't look scared or trapped any more. He looked angry, "YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" He lunged at Sonic across the table, grabbing his neck and trying to throttle him with the handcuffs, knocking him to the floor, "STOP FUCKING TAUNTING ME!" he screamed down at the blue hedgehog.

Sonic stared up in shock at the deranged hedgehog as the attendants moved to pull him off. His mind sharp and fast as always, Sonic's shock didn't last long. Quickly head-butting the dark hedgehog to stun him, Sonic leaned back and kicked an attendant backwards. Using the moment, the blue hedgehog rolled on top, reaching up to grasp Shadow's cuffed hands, wrestling with them for control.

Shadow screamed again in rage as Sonic pushed him down, blood gushing from his nose, "YOU BASTARD YOU'RE DEAD DO YOU HEAR ME YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD!!!" Three attendants grabbed hold of the screaming, struggling Shadow and dragged him away from Sonic. Even with wrists and ankles cuffed, and partially sedated, the dark hedgehog was fighting with every ounce of strength he had. Ferguson hurried up with a needle full of sedatives and the attendants struggled to hold down his arms.

Sonic just slowly got to his feet, glancing over at Shadow with a tired, sad look. He shook his head and turned to leave, hunched over and hurt.

As the needle entered the vein inside Shadow's elbow, his struggles became weaker, and his screams became subdued moans of despair, "Don't leave me here, please don't leave me alone here, Sonic!" he managed to cry out to Sonic. His head fell back against the cold floor, his breathing heavy and laboured.

Sonic stopped and looked back at him. Now he felt even worse as he saw how far Shadow had fallen, "I won't. That's a promise,” he said softly before turning away once more, leaving the drugged hedgehog in the hands of the attendants.

Shadow's head fell back, and the attendants hauled him to his feet. Two lifted him under the arms, and started to pull him out of the visitor's room, back to his cell. Doctor Ferguson patted his forehead with a handkerchief and approached Sonic, "I'm sorry your visit had to end like this," he said, "Project Shadow's mood swings are completely unpredictable."

"Yeah, so I see,” he replied weakly, watching Shadow's limp form being dragged away. Looking up hopefully at the doctor, he asked, "Is he getting any better?"

"Well..." Ferguson hesitated, "We do believe he can be cured. But it's something he has to want as well. The main problem at the moment is that he just doesn't trust us. Delusional paranoia with schizophrenic tendencies. In other words, he believes everybody's out to get him, and he blames that belief on voices in his head."

"I think he trusts me. I'm sure I can help him,” Sonic told Ferguson, standing tall again.

"Mr Hedgehog, Project Shadow just attempted to throttle you," Ferguson replied, "I'm sorry, but perhaps you should leave psychology and psychiatry to the professionals?"

Surprisingly, Sonic chuckled at the suggestion, "No offence, Doc, but if I listened to advice like that, things would be a whole lot worse."

"Nevertheless, this is a mental institution," Ferguson informed him, "And for patients kept in the high security wing, supervised visits are permitted once a week, 11 AM until 3 PM, Monday to Friday."

"Yeah, whatever,” Sonic muttered, not really caring what the rules were. Pointing a finger up at the doctor, he spoke more seriously, "Don't just keep him locked in that cell. He needs to get out a little, see the sun. I don't know about you, but I'd go crazy just being in this place long enough."

"I'm sorry," said Ferguson, "But we've found that if he isn't restrained and sedated, he becomes extremely aggressive towards other patients and attendants. I understand that seeing him like this must be upsetting for you, but Project Shadow has to be monitored constantly. We have rules here."

"Then change them!" Sonic shouted, arms spread wide, finding it hard to believe that an educated man could be so dense, "If you don't let him get some fresh air from time to time, you're just making him worse! To get better, he needs to want to, and for that, he's got to have some hope!"

"We can't help him if he doesn't want us to help him," Ferguson said professionally. Sonic looked at him in realisation. The man didn't care about Shadow. The crazed hedgehog was just another piece of paperwork to him. Sure, he wanted Shadow to regain sanity, but that was his job.

He sighed and shook his head, shuddering in revulsion. How could anyone be so narrow-minded and callous? "If you don't start helping him, I will,” he told the human doctor, walking past him towards the door. He just wanted to get outside. He could only imagine how maddening it must be for Shadow, being kept in that place.

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Harley: Well then, read, log in, and review.

Froggy: The person who review the best gets thrown in the bin last!