Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ Deliverance ❯ Endgame Begins ( Chapter 8 )

Deliverance Part 8

 

 

Almost falling asleep in his seat, the President sat immediately upright when a gust of turbulence traveled under the plane.

"Who-who is there?!" he drowsily demanded and looked around but found no one. Grumbling to himself, he shifted his position in his seat and sat up properly. Straightening out his gray suit, he glanced up as one of the plane lights flickered on and off and a message relayed over the speaker. "Mr. President, we are within the desired location parameters. Permission to land?"

Pressing a small button on the arm of his chair, the President grinned. "Absolutely!"

At his command, the hovercraft began its decent into the brightly lit city of Night Babylon.

The chopper circled hesitantly above the festive city as the pilot looked for a secure place to land. Not finding a decent spot on the ground, the pilot steered the vehicle towards the roof of the bar next to Club Rouge.

Down below, puzzled and startled residents alike beheld the chopper in awe. Some didn't make a move and stared at the hovercraft, while others, who were smart, shielded their faces from the wind the blades produced and swiftly moved out of the helicopter's way.

After it landed, the door to the chopper were kicked open and two GUN soldiers jumped out, followed by the President.

Straightening out his tie, he took in his surroundings and squinted. "So this is where my agent lived, eh? A little too bright for my tastes…"

"What will you do, sir?" one of the soldiers asked.

"Hmmm…" the President deliberated, rubbing his chin. Scanning over the area, once his eyes met with the bright flashing sign to Club Rouge, he smiled. "I believe I'll buy it. That agent belongs to me anyway…"

He confirmed with a thin smile and motioned for the soldiers to follow him down the roof stairs.

Straightening out his suit when he reached the interior of the bar, he casually strolled over to the bar-tender and flashed his id. "Take me to your supervisor. I'm buying this place and the casino next to it."

 

--

 

"Ugh easy, Rouge…" Shadow grumbled, making a face while Rouge treated his wounds.

"I am!" she retaliated, lightly patting his raw skin where a patch of his fur had been torn from. "This isn't exactly an easy task, Shadow!"

With a heavy sigh, Shadow gave up on trying to reason with her. They had been going back and forth like this for hours now, and frankly Shadow was tired of it. They weren't having an argument, but rather, just an extended disagreement. Rouge wanted to treat him as best as she could with the limited resources they had available, while he wanted her to just rest. Naturally, she refused and began caring for his wounds.

Feeling her rub a tender spot on his chest a bit too heavily again, Shadow grimaced and his body reacted to the discomfort with a jerk. "Gghh…"

Realizing she hurt him again, Rouge bit her lip and quickly softened her advances. "Sorry Shadow… I just…"

"Don't worry about it, honey…" Shadow spoke quietly, trying his best to smile at her reassuringly. Lightly, he placed a hand on her arm and gently tugged on it twice. "…Come here…"

"What?"

"Please…?"

Never hearing Shadow ask her so nicely, Rouge placed aside the torn piece of her shirt that she had been using as a rag for his wounds and slipped into his arms.

Laying gingerly against his chest, Rouge closed her eyes and sighed. "I was overdoing it again, wasn't I?"

Shadow thought for a moment, choosing his words, then rested his chin on her head. "…Maybe."

"Maybe?!" she shot back, lifting her head abruptly to look at him.

"Rouge…" he began in a stern tone as a parent would to their child. "…I said don't worry about it. Just try to rest, allright?"

With a `hmph' she crossed her arms and snuggled against his chest. "Fine. But I'm only doing this for you, because I'm feeling rather restless right now."

"And why is that?"

"…. …"

"…Rouge…?"

She couldn't really find a way to tell him. Aside from the fight he had with his darker persona and the damage they both had been dealt, something else happened.

She did her best to hide it from Shadow and focused on treating him---but the problem was clear to see in her assertive actions.

She was suffering and beginning to lose control of her movements.

She didn't know if it was an after-effect of the type of pregnancy she had undergone or if something else was entwined with that.

She knew if she told him, the pain in her own heart would increase as she beheld the defeated expression on his face---showing the very deterioration of hope his heart.

Slightly adverting her gaze, she took a moment to gather her thoughts and returned her glossed eyes upto his.

The corners of his mouth twitched faintly as she looked at him.

Was that a smile? Or something else?

Suppose Shadow did know something was seriously wrong with her. But if he did know, he didn't dare say a word about it.

Trying to appear reassuring towards him, Rouge smiled lightly up at him, then led her eyes elsewhere in their surroundings.

"…Sorry Shadow…I don't know what I'm feeling right now…"

Slightly concerned, Shadow trailed his eyes away from the horizon before them and peered down at her through half lidded eyes. "… Do you feel like talking about it?” he spoke softly. “Obviously, I won't be going anyplace for a while." he jokingly added with a faint smirk. Glancing to her wings, his brow furrowed. He knew that Rouge felt that it was her fault that he was injured. And ironically enough, he felt as if it was his fault that he couldn't protect her.

If only he had kept his eyes on her when she needed him to, this never would have happened…

"It is my fault, Shadow…" Rouge murmured into the folds of his fur.

"What?" Shadow asked, almost a full second later as he tumbled out of his thoughts.

"You were thinking out loud, I heard everything you said."

"You…you did?"

"Yes." She confirmed, looking up at him.

Finding himself lost within those deep eyes of hers, Shadow lost the will to argue against her and sighed. "Sorry…"

"…Yeah… Me too…"

The thought crossed his mind if she really meant that or not, but he quickly disposed of it.

"...So…Are you ready to sleep yet?"

“Sleep!?” she voiced loudly in disbelief. "Who said anything about sleep? You were the tired one, not me!"

Chuckling softly, Shadow let his eye lids crumble to a close and he hugged her close. "Yeah... Well, goodnight, love."

Wondering why Shadow was fitting different pet names on her so much, Rouge figured she'd worry about it later, and cuddled next to him, keeping watch.

 

--

 

In the depths of the forest where he was left to wither away, Shadow's other half still remained slouched against the bark of an old tree.

His head was turned to the side and his mouth was hung in a gape. His eyes were tautly shut -the expression of pain still clearly visible across his features.

His `body' was torn and beaten in multiple locations and his wounds were engraved so deeply, great amounts of his icy entrails had seeped out into the misty night air.

He was fading—disappearing. Shadow had bested him well. But one thing was for certain in his mind, he wasn't going to allow Shadow to remain triumphant for long.

His body gave a sudden jerk and painfully his eyes shot open. Taking in his surroundings with highly dilated pupils, the dark mirror groaned as he tried to move his arms.

He could move his left arm but just barely. The right was still broken from his and Shadow's little battle earlier.

His body gave a slight twitch, then another and another; a raspy and broken sound came from within his battered being as his body shook and increased until it reached an audible level.

He was laughing. In all his pain and torment, he still managed to find his previous fight amusing.

Shadow would have done anything to protect that woman…Anything…

Chuckling louder now, he gave his pain no mind as his laughter grew louder.

"It's too easy!" he roared maniacally, then reduced his amusement to a chuckle. It wasn't long before he started coughing roughly and as he began to, the shocks his body received from such thoughtless actions resulted in him collapsing into the grass.

Shaking with laughter and coughs alike, the dark mirror gazed upto the sky above—a thick glaze over his eyes.

And as if a switch had been flipped, his composure suddenly became a serious one.

He knew what was beginning to happen to him—his body. If he didn't find a new host, he would dissolve and ultimately be split into different parts. With his essence becoming so separated, he would no longer be able to take a different shape and would be nothing more than a fleeting spirit.

…Back to what he once was…

He was the one that had risen above most of the other spirits and became what he was. He was formed from a small collaboration of different spirits within Shadow's subconscious who all wanted the same thing—for Shadow to die and become like them.

So, `he' was formed to get the job done.

Because of his past and constant mental torment, Shadow had unconsciously allowed those spirits into him, so they then became a part of him. From them being in his body for so long, they acquired the main language that he spoke and used it towards him.

Shadow was created as a tragedy and they believed he should remain one and wanted him to be removed from his world.

Once that were to happen, Shadow's essence would be up for the taking and be devoured so those "lesser" spirits that were in him could grow and become like his other self.

Free.

But that insolence, Maria always interfered once their plans almost came to fruition! She always made sure she knew where Shadow was when his essence separated from his body and because of that, she indirectly led him to where she was. To a place in-between worlds. So his soul was kept safe from the spirits' devouring motives. They were powerless around Maria.

Why?

If Maria's death never traumatized Shadow as much as it did, those spirits of guilt, trepidation and dejection would have never been born or inflicted within him.

In a way, she was the mother of those voices and they respected her for giving them "life", but they also despised her for siding against them. She stood for Shadow to live while they wanted him to die to claim his surrendered soul.

And that bat woman…she also caused many problems with keeping Shadow in his world. They had already attempted to get her out of the picture and his other half was assigned to that, but she just wouldn't die!

And once Shadow shared his essence with her, her body also became a nesting ground for some of the spirits—for those that could tolerate being inside her, that is.

They hated Rouge for keeping Shadow `safe'.

Shadow couldn't live a normal life. Shadow wasn't meant to live a normal life--it was forbidden and impossible.

Yet, the `forbidden' had happened and was still continuing to be as if it were the norm.

Because of this, Shadow was actually breaking the laws of his own creation. His role was over, but he still continued to remain in the world.

And it was being made so as if it was originally meant to be that way.

Shadow's other half snorted at the thought and tried to force himself upto his feet.

Just thinking about actually being a part of that abomination was more than he desired to take. Disgusted, he searched inside himself for a name…

A name that would describe what he was made to do…

Multiple titles swirled within his mind from suggestions by his spirit brethren but none of them stood out. Most of them were synonyms for a shadow or hatred, but only one named perked his attention.

Apallagi

Apallagi? What did that mean? And moreso, whose voice was that? Was that Maria's?

As if she could hear his thoughts, a response was given to him.

It suits you.

Not wanting to argue with a spirit such as her, Apallagi accepted his new name. Exhausted and determined to find a new body to dwell in, he closed his eyes and concentrated.

Doing such would allow him to pick up the vital signs of the closest living being near him.

During his scan, many of the forest's trees were highlighted, as well as the small animals that bounded about.

Concentrating further, and nearly channeling all of his being into the passing breeze to do so, Apallagi soon picked up the faint life signs of a nearby human.

Ecstatic, but hiding it well to be able to concentrate, he allowed himself to be assimilated into the body---a left behind GUN soldier that was left for dead.

What was he doing there to be separated from his teammates that he would be left out in the middle of nowhere? Why did this even occur?

Needless to say, Apallagi could care less and settled within the near dead body.

 

--

 

"Where is it!" the President vociferated, literally tearing through Rouge's drawers. "I know it's in here! That agent wouldn't have left without it!

Standing outside her bedroom door, the soldiers that traveled with their authority hesitantly stood watch.

Most of them were uneasy. The very thought of being in the same place the other soldiers had been and were killed after leaving it shortly after made them quite unsettled.

Quietly, they exchanged concerned whispers as some made quick glances towards the President.

After going through one drawer and not finding what he was looking for, the President paused and visually searched the room fiercely.

He rarely became this driven, especially when it came to matter of those below him and his authorities, but this time was different.

He knew Rouge had some emeralds with her when she left. He had no idea where they were as of late, nor did he know if she forgot to bring them with her on purpose or otherwise.

He strongly doubted she would have left them behind, but between the incidents at the lab with the death of a soldier and the message of the operation, he had no idea what took place.

"Where is it?! Come on! Something of value must be here that can be used!!"

Soon tiring of one dresser, he dashed to her closet and began to raid that.

Numerous expensive designer bags and exquisite boxes tumbled down instantly by his rampage and some were even decimated to pieces.

The President had no care of what he destroyed in his former agent's dwelling.

It all belonged to him now. He could order the place destroyed if he willed it.

Actually, perhaps that wasn't such a bad idea.

Retreating from the closet, he clumsily dashed over to the door, tripping over a few of Rouge's items in the process.

Grabbing the doorframe tautly, he caught his breath momentarily as he gave his soldiers their next order.

"I want you to call the construction network and have them down here no later than 3 pm tomorrow."

"Sir!" they announced in unison. Then one boldly spoke up. "Why 3 pm sir? Why not now?"

"Hmmm" The President had to think about this one.

"That's a good question, soldier. I think I'll give her a little more time to see if she will return here or not."

He scoffed then chuckled inwardly to himself. "What was that agent thinking---sending the government faulty addresses. Did she think it would hold us off? “ At this he chuckled darkly. “Haha...how cute..."

Not knowing what to say, the trained pawns exchanged confused and pondering glances with the other, then looked back at the President.

Waving the situation away, the President turned on his heels and proceeded to head back into Rouge's room.

"It doesn't matter now anyway. Just be sure to remember to give them a call."

"Yes sir" they answered unevenly and resumed their watch.

Grinning to himself, the President greedily rubbed his hands together. "It won't be long now...!"

Having another round of amusement, the President went back to going through Rouge's belongings when a static-like buzz sounded around the room.

Knowing who it was, the President answered the call eagerly.

"Lavender sheets?"

"Not after Labor Day!" the President enthused, "Just give me a status report!"

Nodding responsively, the scientist pointed to the multiple charts and monitors behind him.

"Mr. President we have urgent news. The female bat's vital signs have been showing absolute resistance in accordance to the Ultimate Life's genes in her body!"

"What?"

"She is rejecting the cells! At this rate, whatever is left of her life will be consumed rapidly!"

The Present's features solidified. "Just how rapidly...?"

"By at least 125% above normal, sir."

"How much longer would you say she has to live?"

There was a pause as the scientist ran into the background to check his statistics. Judging by the long and brooding expression on his face, the President could already tell how grim the answer would be.

Returning to the screen, the scientist sighed and fidgeted uncomfortably. "Less than 28 hours..."

28 hours?! That wasn't long at all!

"And what of the children?" the President dared to ask.

"...That...I cannot say sir..."

"Damn!" the President shouted. Fumbling in his pocket, he searched for another special phone and called his tracking team immediately.

Before the first syllable could be uttered on the other line, the President ruefully gave out his orders.

"Find that bat and bring her to the lab immediately! If she puts up any resistance, do NOT kill her. When she arrives, ready the anesthesia and a c-section. Also ready the bleach injection. That is all."

Ending the call, he returned his frantic attention to the forlorn face of the scientist, who said nothing but bowed his head in grief.

 

--

 

Before long, Rouge had managed to drift off to sleep. But what awaited her within her subconscious was an unspeakable terror she thought she never would see.

Countless images flashed behind her eyes as they darted frantically beneath closed lids.

The spawning images of her children…

Shadow falling to his knees…

Her screaming…screaming for death…

Then…

A blinding flash of white…

A sharp and sudden gasp tore through the air as Rouge's eyes shot open. Warm sweat trickled in sporadic rhythms down her forehead and coiled along the curve of her chin.

She had begun to suddenly feel extremely hot, as if something within her body was burning—melting--demanding to be set free. And whatever it was, it was more than willing to tear through her to claim that freedom.

Shaking uncontrollably, Rouge tautly grabbed her wrists to attempt to keep herself steady, but no avail.

`What's…happening to me…?' she cried aptly in her mind. `What is going on…? Shadow!'

The second she thought his name, her frantic eyes darted straight to him. Struggling to keep her wavering focus on his resting form, Rouge's internal suffering doubled and she cried out in pain, clutching her abdomen.

`What…what is…'

 

Mama…

 

That voice! Those spirits! They were back again!

“Stay away from us!” she wanted to scream at them, but couldn't. The pain was too overbearing.

She just wanted them to go away…to leave her and Shadow alone….

 

Mama…

You nuisance…

Both of you…

Should be removed…

 

`No!! NO!' she vociferated in her mind, clutching her head and falling into the rough grass on her side.

Sporadically, she began to shake uncontrollably. Her trauma became so intense that she didn't feel the searing pain that tore through her from falling on her damaged wing.

She couldn't feel anything, but her body did. The pain had overlapped over itself so many times that she had almost become numb to it.

Her breathing soon became ragged and dry as she tried to cling onto her sanity, but she was failing horribly.

Failing…

Shaking…

Unknowingly, each time her suffering heightened, she would inch closer to Shadow. But each time she did, she felt a strange power enter her body that made her weaker and weaker.

What that power was, was Shadow's own and his abilities to use the Chaos Emeralds to their extent.

In her bouts of suffering, she was absorbing his Chaos energy from him and her body constantly rejected it.

Such irony of being able to consume such immense power, but to have it also deteriorate the very life that craved it.

`No…!' she cried in her tortured mind. Clutching her head, the voices seemed to increase as the raspy murmurs and sneers of their dark voices circled her head and slithered through her ears.

In a fit in remove their voices, she instinctively began to beat at her ears with her fists and vigorously shook her head to dispose of them.

Her attempts merely heightened their determination to destroy her—inside out.

Her breathing was deep and jagged now. A low growl and yelp rang out through gritted teeth as she continued to wallow in her suffering.

Her body wouldn't be able to take much more of this…

And Shadow…

She had been draining so much energy from him that he had fallen into an even deeper sleep and was completely unaware of her danger.

Their danger.

 

Deserve to die…

Removed…

Liberation…

 

Liberation…

Exemption…

Exemption…

Exemption!

 

“No!! NOOOOOOO!!!!” Rouge screamed in a booming voice not her own. A great burst of light suddenly enveloped her and sent a rippling wave of force through the forest. Any form of life that was not rooted to the ground was shot a good radius away from her—including Shadow.

His body flew at a tremendous speed and was thrust against the ragged bark of an oak tree.

Groggily awakening from the impact, Shadow growled lowly and clutched his back.

He didn't have to look to know of the warm thick substance that oozed beneath his palm. He could feel it. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if his previous wounds had reopened.

But why did he suddenly feel so weak?

Risking a look upwards through one eye, it took his hazy vision a few seconds to calibrate and they second they did, he had to shut them.

Shielding his eyes from the intense light before him, Shadow tried to focus his vision again and lost all breathing at that moment.

Standing directly before him encircled in a ray of light was Rouge.

But her glow was no ordinary luminescent glow…

Her face was taut and her wild eyes were fixed on him.

His eyes etched deeper into hers and almost sympathized with the immense sadness that wavered in them.

Sadness…

Anger…

Revenge….

And…what else?

There was another emotion Shadow thought he saw…

Pleading—but for what?

Daring an inch closer, Shadow lifted a hand to reach out to her—ignoring the abnormal weight it carried from him being weakened.

But the words that escaped from her mouth nearly tore his heart in two.

“Get away from me…” she seethed, her voice sounding like a cross between a deep voiced man and a seductive woman's.

Shadow's eyes went unnaturally wide at her words, but the sound of her voice was what unsettled him more.

Still keeping a firm clutch on his back to cover the moist wound, he struggled to stand to his feet.

“…Rou...what…'s…” His words became minced the second he tried to form them.

What had gotten into her?

Then the answer hit him and for the second time that night, his breathing halted to a stop.

“No…” That one word was all he could mouth, his gaze remaining fixed on Rouge as she began to levitate into the air.

He glanced to her wings. They were still bent and contorted beyond normal shape. She wasn't flying at all.

`What have they done to her!' he shouted in his mind. He couldn't believe what he was witnessing at this moment.

The woman he loved was now glowering at him with a glare so cold and frigid…so unforgiving.

Is this how she truly felt? No! Those spirits were manipulating her! They had to be! Rouge would never look at him this way…Would she?

As if she could delve into his thoughts, and she very well could harnessing the majority of his powers, the expression on Rouge's face malformed from downtrodden to vexatious.

In a low deep tone, three words Shadow never had imagined he'd ever hear flew from her mouth—meaning every word.

“I hate you!”

 

--

 

“Sir, this is Unit GU56 reporting!” A young GUN soldier and pilot declared into his communication device. “We are now within range to capture and collect the rebel agent and secure her for the OR!”

“Excellent! And be quick about it!” The President's urgent voice wavered through the mono speaker. “I'll meet you there once I finish up my engagements here!”

“Yes sir!” the pilot responded and promptly ended the call.

Keeping his keen eyes on the green radar in front of him, he kept a close focus on the continuous blip of Rouge's location.

Although one of the tracking transmitters that had been planted on her was destroyed, the other located beneath her tail had still not been discovered.

This had gotten a few chuckles from the men in the team that have been tracking her, but all of GUN, especially the President, were grateful for that.

In the back of the large GUN tank of an aircraft, three other operatives stood by.

Two of them eyed the windows on either sides of the vehicle while the other stood near the clearing hatch.

Though that was a dangerous thing to do, the two soldiers figured that he would know better, but it was his choice and his consequence whatever happened.

Nearing closer to the part of the clearing where the transmitter's signal was going off, the pilot leaned forward in his seat at an attempt to peer out of the windshield.

The second he did, he nearly jumped back in his seat and lost control of the aircraft.

A bright, piercing and blinding pillar of light shot skywards out of almost nowhere and nearly blinded the soldier.

Regaining control of the ship, he urgently called to his teammates about what he saw and to deplore the hatch and prepare for capture.

 

-

 

Down below, a rather unsettling feat had taken place. In almost the blink of an eye, Rouge had kicked Shadow to the grass and had a sharp heel engraved deep in the back of his left shoulder.

“…This is your fault…Because of you I have to remain like this…” she spat, uncaring of how much she hurt him.

His arm nearly crushed under her weight, Shadow painfully tried to push himself up from the dirty and scratchy flora, but a swift heel to his shoulder cancelled that immediately.

As he lay there, struggling and wallowing in his own thick crimson, hatred of this woman had never crossed his mind.

Instead, flashes of their lives did.

Images of them getting out of that forest…

Giving the President what he deserved…

Rouge having her children…

Them being a family…

Him proposing to her…

Their wedding day…

Every pleasant thought…was it all to be for naught?

By the looks of things now, it certainly seemed that way.

And that was one thing that Shadow would hate to place aside and to bear moving on without her.

A gurgled sound rippled from him, emulating the noise of a growl and the attempt at speech. Arms trembling, he forced himself up from the ground slowly, silently cursing his weakness.

Rouge witnessed this, but did not say a word. Her bodily glow seemed to intensify as her accusing eyes narrowed at him.

`What are you doing!' She heard a voice cry inside her mind. `Stop torturing him! You love him!'

“…No...” Rouge murmured back, her head slowly moving from side to side in disagreement. “This has nothing to do with love…I should have known what I was getting myself into when I carried him home…” she continued, her gaze hardening.

Who was she talking to?

Shuddering from the cool air nuzzling into his open wounds, Shadow risked a daunting look upwards at her. Breathing deeply and lowly, he discreetly searched her luminous form for answers.

But he was too weak to argue with her and was far too weak to yell at her to bring her back to reality.

 

His mind reeled back to the time she used Chaos Control right before his eyes. Since then their suffering had gotten worse.

From the moment she had been injected with his genes, her behavior had begun to change. He could understand her body adapting to his genes, heck, even he had to.

But Rouge was also pregnant and who knew what else was put in her besides his DNA.

But because of the insertion of his DNA, her path to ruin had begun.

Feeling the full brunt of his guilt rise within him like an overflowing body of water, Shadow shut his eyes in remorse.

And he blamed no one but himself.

Not the spirits, not his darker counterpart, but himself.

He knew from the start what dangers he could impose upon Rouge if he decided to stay with her. He knew what would happen, and yet, he found it difficult to resist the pleading of her sweet lips.

That one kiss had led up to the predicament they were in now…

An ordeal of survival and obtaining a firm hold on sanity.

And he was the one to blame.

If Rouge beat him and tortured him, it was what he deserved, wasn't it? He dragged her into all this.

`That's not true!' A soft voice rang out in his mind. Instinctively looking upwards and around for the voice, he knew there was no reason to.

He recognized that voice.

Panting, he brought his troubled eyes back to Rouge who returned his gaze with a remorseful one of her own.

It would seem as if she knew what had been going on in his mind and neared closer to him.

Locked in the other's gaze, neither of them dared to speak. But for a second, only for a second, did Shadow witness Rouge's delirious features soften.

The moment she parted her lips to speak, a strong gust of wind whipped past them and they both looked up.

Both remained in awe at the hovering aircraft above them and recognized them immediately as…

“GUN” Rouge muttered, emotionless.

Knowing they had arrived to collect her, every hint and speck of respect she had for them melted into her burning hatred and disgust for them.

Clenching her fists, the blazing aura around her intensified as she eyed the vehicle.

A pang of realization shot through Shadow as he felt exactly what she was going to do.

Leaning forward, he reached out to grab her, calling her name, but he was too late.

The second before his fingers could barely even graze her skin, she had disappeared within a sharp photon of light.

 

 

-

Points to sum up:

-Apallagi is Greek for `Exemption' `Liberation' or, `Deliverance'

 

-Rouge's body is reacting negatively to Shadow's genes and especially to the emeralds' power. When she absorbed a good amount of his energy, she also sapped some power from the emeralds within Shadow's body. And without much of their power, Shadow is pretty much extremely limited.

 

-Without Maria's death effecting Shadow so strongly and guiltily, Apallagi nor the other spirits would not exist. Something to think about.

 

-Mel