STH - Voices .:High Rated:.

STH - Voices .:High Rated:.

A snarl rose from his throat as his gloveless clawed fingers tore through the wounded GUN soldier’s arm. He bit his fanged teeth into the arm, feeling the warm rush of the rust flavored blood flood into his mouth. The GUN soldier screamed out in pain, and tried to bash the crazed hedgehog with the butt of his gun. Shadow simply growled, biting down even harder with each blow he took to the head.

Yes… The ominous voice of the star shaped floating eye whispered in his ears. Make the humans suffer…

Shadow obliged by shaking his head animalisticaly, furthering the injury. They weren’t going to take him down without a fight… not now… not ever…

“Shadow! What are you doing!?” the voice of the blue hedgehog reached his ears. He felt his hands wrap around his arms, tugging back forcefully as Sonic tried to pry the demented black and crimson hedgehog from the terrified soldier. Shadow whipped around with a growl, and swung his hand back, claws just inches from his rival’s face. Sonic’s ears flattened against his head as he saw the look that had played in Shadow’s eyes.

Insanity.

It echoed through his crimson eyes, louder than what could have ever been told verbally. Sonic stood shock still as he stared at his long time rival’s face, which now had the GUN soldier’s blood staining his teeth. He looked like a madman. His emerald eyes widened with fear as Shadow uttered a growl that sounded like it belonged to a large animal. Shadow took a dive for him, knocking Sonic to the ground, his head hitting the pavement with a soft thud. Sonic was too scared to react. Shadow growled and raised a clawed hand to Sonic’s face, intending to slash out his throat. Sonic uttered a silent scream, and closed his eyes, waiting for the end to come.

It didn’t.

He felt the weight of Shadow’s body get plowed off of him. He opened his eyes just as Shadow hit the pavement. He looked up and saw an enraged red echidna beating his fists together. Knuckles.

“C’mon, Shadow… you want some?”

Shadow wiped the blood from his mouth with his fist and with a roar of fury, charged at the echidna. Knuckles stood his ground, and jumped back as Shadow came close. He jumped in the air and brought his spiked fist down on the hedgehog’s head, cratering him into the ground. Shadow yelled in pain, curling up his body, holding his head in his hands.

Make them pay…Make them suffer… They attacked you…Attack them…Do it…

“…Stop it!” Shadow hissed to himself, uncurling, but keeping his head low to the ground. “…Get out of my head! SHUT UP!” He beat his fists in to it hard, trying to beat the voice from his head, wanting to rip it out of his mind.

“Shadow?” Sonic asked uncertainly, tilting his head to the right as he tried to grasp what exactly was going on there.

Shadow snapped his head up and stared at him. For a moment, Sonic saw a flicker of the real Shadow return, pleading for help before he grasped his head in sudden pain. A bloodcurdling scream tore from his throat as he fell backwards. He curled on his front and trembled violently, gripping his head in agony.

Kill.

This one thought flashed through his mind repeatedly, echoing in the deep chasms that was his deepest of all subconscious.

Kill them.

His eyes slid out of focus as he was lost again. He brought his fists to his face.

“Chaos… BLAST!”

Red energy waves tore through the city, shattering window, demolishing cars, ripping the pavement and asphalt like it was merely rice paper, causing cave-ins all around. Knuckles’ stance faltered as the ground shook.

“… What is… wrong with me?” Shadow whispered as his body stood up on its own. “… It’s like… I’ve … lost control of my-”

He suddenly broke off in a choked growl. His eyes flashed back to insanity, and he took a sudden charge for Sonic again. He rolled into a ball, and performed a spindash, blasting off towards the sapphire hedgehog. He plowed Knuckles out of the way, but Sonic dodged quickly, leaving Shadow to unfurl, and come to a screeching halt, dust and debris kicking up as he did so. He bared his teeth, snarling as he did a sharp turn around. He lunged at Sonic, slashing his claws into his chest, leaving a deep gouge in it. Sonic yelled in pain as his blood began to ooze from the wound. He clutched his chest, and stumbled backward before tripping over his own feet, and falling heavily to the ground. He rolled onto his back and stared up at murderous hedgehog that knelt over him.

“…Kill…” Shadow said in a deep, raspy voice, not at all like his. He swung his hand and clawed even deeper. Blood stained his fingers, and some spattered on his face; he didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he seemed more like he enjoyed it.

Knuckles tried to pull him off of the blue blur, but Shadow was too strong for him. He backhanded him with enough force to knock him out. Knuckles fell back and passed out on the cold asphalt.

Shadow suddenly snapped out of his homicidal state of mind with a harsh gasp of air flooding into his lungs. His eyes scanned the demolished street slowly. Pavement slabs were overturned, and cars lay in crumpled heaps. There was a faint whisper from bystanders, a horrible sound to his ears. His eyes rested on Knuckles, out cold on the street. The smell of copper reached his nostrils and he fearfully stared downward at his hands. What he saw chilled him to the very core of his being.

Blood.

He began to shake violently, breaking out into a cold sweat as his eyes rested on…

“… S… Sonic?”

Covered in blood. Bleeding out from a chest wound, made by claws.

“…Shadow…” He said weakly as he began to fade away. His breath was coming in shallower with each passing second. His eyes fluttered upward. “…W…Why?”

Shadow just shook his head, trying to rid the image from his mind like it was a bad dream. He clutched at his heart as his breaths suddenly became raspy and jagged, tearing at his throat as he tried to explain that it wasn’t on his own free will. All he could manage was quick but deep wheezes of air; he was beginning to hyperventilate.

Sonic’s body shuddered as he took his last breath, the blue blur falling silent one last time.

Shadow felt sick to his stomach, and his head started to spin, his vision blurring as shadows began to creep around the edges, blinding him slowly. He was terrified at what he had just done. He had just taken a life. He clutched at his heart even tighter as it began to pound painfully in his chest.

“… I… didn’t… it was an acci… I’m… no… no… no!” He stammered in a daze, falling back as the raindrops began fall, splashing on his face as his eyes stared out of focus above him.

Overhead, a white bat was circling the area. She dropped to the ground beside the dark hedgehog, who was now twitching from shock. She surveyed the scene around her, seeing the unconscious echidna, the dead cobalt hedgehog, his chest torn open, bled to death, and Shadow, lying on his back, shaking profusely, with blood on his hands. She gasped.

Shadow began to cry, sobbing uncontrollably, screaming his lungs out as the cold, unpleasant truth began to sink in…

The rain began to pour heavily as a surviving streetlight flickered on, illuminating the sight for all to see. His mind began to fade into the darkness, vison clouding and the sounds becoming just a buzz in his ears. He heard the voice in his head, clear as day, for one last time before he was lost to the world completely.

Well done, Shadow…