Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ Deliverance ❯ Volition ( Chapter 5 )

A/N: This chapter is not for the faint of heart. It isn't very graphic, but if your imagination runs away with you, you could be seriously get grossed out or offended.

 

Disclaimer: I don't own these chars except for the voices in Shadow's head and their children. O.o If any of these things pop up in a Sonic/Sega game one day, then that's just a coincidence!

 

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Deliverance: Part 5

 

 

 

“Rouge…” Shadow whispered, hugging her tightly. His heart had been wrought with so many emotions he couldn't bear to contain them. His body began to shake as hot tears pierced the backs of his eyes and seeped out down his face.

“Rouge…Rouge…” her name was all he could mutter. He was too traumatized to say anything else, but his mind freely wandered.

Her being at that hospital…being operated on…just like he was…

It was almost too much to bear.

Sobbing, he clung to her in a strong embrace

With the government thinking that he was dead, she was the only remaining target to go for. In addition to injecting her with his genes, who knew what else they could have done to her?

Only mere seconds away from becoming a broken soul, it took everything Shadow had to calm himself down.

 

His breathing…he had to focus on his breathing. If he lost control now, there was no telling what would become of himself or Rouge. But then he wondered, if she lost all sense of sanity, would she be at the risk of---

He couldn't say it.

The thought of the woman he loved also having the ability to self-destruct if need be was too much for him.

Too much.

Sensing on the verge of breaking down, a familiar cackle bubbled from deep within him and soon all the voices that had tortured him before made an abundant return.

Menacingly, they rose from his being and hovered around him in a circle—wailing—laughing and crying out.

 

Traitor!

Disgrace!

Abomination!

 

“No!” Shadow yelled to them, shaking his head roughly. “NO! Shut up!!”

 

Can't save her.

Can't save yourself!

Hahaha

 

Nearly becoming suffocated by their words, Shadow clutched Rouge and held her closely, as if doing so would save him from the entities' mental onslaught.

“How…how can I make them go away? Who's causing all these voices…!” he growled, roughly shutting his eyes.

 

You are

“What…?”

Not letting your past go…

What you are

Not letting it go…

 

Suddenly Shadow's eyes shot open as he tried to focus on the wavering images before him, but couldn't. They had started to become faint and transparent. As some of them began to fade, the warped voices one of them spoke had cut Shadow to the core.

 

You…

You will never…

You will never…let us go…

Will you…

Papa…

 

The spirit grinned before swirling within itself and twistng its lithe form downward. Cold sweat began to form all over Shadow's body as he watched the spirit glide over Rouge's form…and return to her belly.

His eyes went wide and his breath disappeared from his lungs. He remained perfectly still.

 

You can never be rid of us…Papa… the voice wavered until its raspy sound assimilated into the sounds of the nightlife around him.

 

Papa…papa

 

The word echoed over and over in his head, slithering across his ears and eradicating the very slither of stability Shadow had left.

His eyes were racing—racing uncontrollably. Paranoia swept over him as his frantic and fleeting glare met with Rouge's unsuspecting face.

Rouge…she was the source of the voices?

No, it wasn't her, it was… !

Mortified, Shadow's hands began to shake his whole body started to tremble.

He had to get away from here…away from her… If he didn't he'd end up…

Losing control, Shadow sharply turned away, dropping her in the rough grass.

Throwing his head up towards the sky, Shadow cried out and mourned for what he had to do.

But would he do it? Could he do it?

“…'t…do it…!” he slurred, his words becoming muffled and distorted from the empowerment of sadness that overwhelmed him. “…can't…I c…I can't…! AAGGGH!!!!” With the remorseful bellow of that of a possessed beast, Shadow clutched his head and teleported away—leaving Rouge's limp body to shiver without his warmth.

 

“I can't do it!” he cried, tearing through the forest in multiple bursts of speed. “I CAN'T!”

 

Put her out of her misery…

The children…

Let them live…

Let your past…

Control you…

More…

 

“SHUT UP!!” Shadow screamed, igniting a row of trees with a rough wave of his hand.

 

Obey your past

 

“I SAID NO!!” he vociferated, blazing through a mild thicket, setting all of it on fire almost instantaneously.

“No!!!” continued to yell, and before long the entire areas he passed within a 500 ft radius, was engulfed in a roaring inferno of flames.

Becoming weary from the mental onslaught those voices and spirits taunted him with, Shadow's verbal defiance to them slowly began to lessen in intensity as he dropped to his knees and hunched over in a slouch.

His body continued to shake as he fought back the return of fresh warm tears—tears that now felt white-hot began to burn him as the flames did the trees.

Ignoring the thick swirls of smoke around him, Shadow still managed to catch his breath. Calming himself down, but only in the least, Shadow forced himself to mutter a faint song that he had learned from Maria. It didn't have any words, only pitches. But that proved more effective than anything else at the moment to soothe his inner calamity.

Once he was free to hear his own thoughts, Shadow took in a deep breath and re-evaluated what he had learned.

Rouge was pregnant—but not with just any kind of children… They could even be considered as artificial, but he knew that wasn't entirely the case.

He concluded that they were conceived using his sperm, yet they were growing far too quickly than the average embryo...which caused him to be especially concerned.

Also, Rouge shared his genes and DNA, which explained her ability to teleport as he could—but she didn't seem to need the emeralds to do that.

But if she could in fact use Chaos Control, did that have any effect on accelerating their children's birth as well?

“…It's possible…” he whispered

In addition to it being possible, what would explain what the spirit meant that drifted into her? Did it have something to do with her being pregnant?

Considering all possibilities around this, Shadow roughly shook his head. “No, that isn't true…”

But he knew, that one thing the spirit said was true.

And because it was, the only way Shadow would ever rid himself of hearing those voices in his head… would be to take the life from his own unborn children.

It pained him too much to think about it, but he knew it had to be done.

The voices and the torture had to stop.

If they never did, his life with Rouge would be sporadically interrupted and destroyed.

And yet, if he were rid of those voices, at the cost of their children, Rouge would probably never want to be around him ever again.

And the one thing Shadow couldn't bear to lose, next to Rouge was her trust.

He had already fought back those voices and came back to her with his issues unresolved with them once before. So he could do it again right?

“...Just because I can, doesn't mean it's the best or the right thing to do…”

…And that was very true.

All these events caused his mind to reel back to that peculiar dream he had.

The flowers, the blood, and the screams of children…

Sadly, it all made sense to him now.

He had to take their lives in order for his own to be free. And the price for that, was loneliness and being loathed.

Torn and battered from his aching heart, Shadow forcefully pushed his heavy body up from the ground. Facing the flames, a silent and painful chord struck throughout him as he completely put the blame on himself for what he had to do.

 

--

 

Over on the other side of the forest that wasn't consumed by the spreading flames yet, Rouge still laid shivering on the ground. The grass was very rough and irritated her skin as it brushed across it.

Completely unaware that Shadow had left her, Rouge continued to remain in a deep sleep…her mind creating elaborate dreams for her.

 

There she was, standing in a clearing, waiting for Shadow. He had gone off somewhere to clear his thoughts but he would not tell her why. Idly, she waited, while rubbing her belly, which had grown to be twice the size it once was.

She had to admit, before she was against having children, but now that she was actually a mother, it was kind of nice having the hedgehog she loved as a father to her children.

She no longer cared that they were created in a lab and injected to her. They were conceived from the necessities that came from both Shadow and herself.

Smiling, she stroked the outline of her stomach and hummed to herself.

Moments later, Shadow returned. Happily, she spun around to face him and began to run to him until the expression he wore stopped her cold in her tracks.

Instead of sharing her joy, a twisted expression of pain and anger occupied his features.

His hands were balled into fists, but slowly began to unfold as he neared closer to her.

Directly in front of him now, she placed a hand on his shoulder to ask him what was wrong, but before she could open her mouth, a strong hand grabbed her fiercely by the arm. Yelping in pain, she only managed to open one eye at him as she watched his hand resemble the sharpness of a spear and drove into her midsection.

Excruciating pain ripped through her and then all she saw was red.

 

Screaming and kicking her legs, Rouge woke up with a choking start. Gasping for breath, a fit of ragged coughs tore against her dry throat .and caused her to wheeze.

Hyperventilating, Rouge tried to move to sitting on her knees and forced herself to taking long and deep breaths.

Reducing her coughing to only half its onslaught, she fanned herself with her hand. Looking around, she was amazed to see the forest ablaze with bright and threatening flames.

`My God…Wh-what happened?!' she feverishly thought `And where is Shadow!?'

As if to answer her question, the rustling sound of dragging feet could be heard through the grass.

“Shadow…?” she called raspily, between coughs, “Is...is that you?”

No answer.

A cold chill ran through her as something told her that she should get out of there, fast.

Ignoring it, she stood her ground and waited.

“Shadow! If that's you, answer me!”

Silence.

Now terrified, Rouge took a hesitant step back and started to run away, when she ran directly into something firm and furry.

With a light cry, she fell to the ground on her backside and fearfully began to inch away.

“…Shadow…?”

Becoming illuminated from the shadows from the fiery wisps of the flames, Shadow emerged. His fists were taut and a remorseful glare wavered in his eyes.

Feeling the remnants of her dream return to her, a loud voice within her pleaded for her to RUN, but she was too terrified. She didn't want to run out on Shadow. But if he tried anything to harm her…she wouldn't hesitate to knock him out of it!

“..Stay away from me, Shadow…I'm warning you…!”

“…Don't test me, Rouge…” he growled in a low voice unbelieved to be his own. But it was.

Stricken with another layer of fear, Rouge, shivered, but pushed herself to her feet. And the moment she did, she felt a firm hand grasp her shoulder. Paralyzed with trepidation, Rouge gasped as she felt Shadow's lips very close to her neck.

“...Please don't struggle, Rouge.” Shadow begged, with no emotion in his voice at all--his warm breath brushing against her skin. “I can't stand to do this…but it's for the both of us…”

“…Please…please don't make me hurt you, Shadow…”

“…I'm sorry Rouge…” he whispered, raising a claw-shaped hand to her abdomen. “You can even hate me… But I have to remove… all of our threats…”

“

 

--

Can Shadow do it? There are more twists to come.

 

Mel