No one could forget the true beginnings of Firon's past. Troubled, confused, and lost in his own mind brought him to be the creator of his worst enemy. It was never his fault. But its basic mobian nature that others put the blame on someone. Firon was the victim of this blame, being framed by the darker half of himself who eventually manifested into the creature known as Shadow Shade, the imitation of a God. Speedix, Violet, and the others who had eventually sided alongside the silver hedgehog were the first ones to lighten their ordeals with the isolated victim. Firon, imprisoned within a world of discrimination was forced to put aside the true silver hedgehog within him, to become something just like his darker half to eliminate the insults and terminate the insulters. He would obtain their respect, even if it meant killing them intentionally. This was the beginning of a new era for the Freedom Fighters, and he was about to show them just how wrong everyone was about him.

This era began with the simple determination, one that he held onto strongly. He had just realized the potential of his Chaos powers. His hands and feet were scarred with blood from his practices, and the anger he held onto for so long was cooling off. Lying down before him was an injured opponent. The hedgehog was female with a body that proved to be matured to the point of near-adulthood. Firon was only eight years old, yet he had the improvised mind of a tactical genius. His calculating and cold behavior left the female hedgehog in a paralyzed daze, his eyes unwavering and burning with a fierce red color. Firon was mortally wounded across his chest where his opponent had cut deeply into the chest cabinet, but lifelessly, he still stood with no sign of weakening. He took a few steps forward to get a closer look at the hedgehog who's breathing was fading uncontrollably. A monstrous grin occupied his blood-sticky muzzle.

"Don't worry, Aelita. Suffering does not last forever...even if it should," he spat at her weak form, disgusted by how she stared at him with fear rather than vengeance. He turned his back to her and spoke again "Beaten by a little kid; how disgraceful. To think you'd drown the grass in that raw blood of yours is sickening. You should have died from that attack...fallen apart more...my little dummy,"

The real Firon would have never said such a hurtful opinion, but yet, this little eight year old was corrupted beyond comprehensible means. He saw nothing but disgust for his once-good companion. He hated her with a passion for selfish reasons. Yet, there was no one around to stop him from what he was going to do to her.

He returned to her side, crouching onto his knees with one hand's fingers wrapped around her arm. Seconds passed without anything occurring, until a sizzling began its work. The smell of burning fur and flesh produced itself from the decaying of the arm, and Aelita groaned in terrible pain. Firon smiled widely, deeply enjoying his torture as the burning continued to intensify. The fur rotted away, the flesh melted into bits of black charcoal, with the muscle and bone following soon after. Aelita's stuffed groan grew to a panicked, muffled scream. Firon's smile continued to grow, ripping past his own skin to spread abnormally, his teeth bared.

"Don't you just want to die, Aelita? All I wanted was a friend...someone to hear out my troubles. Oh, how I lust for revenge for being isolated like a little rat! To imagine, a girl with such a prestine beauty..." he bent his head down and dragged his tongue along her exposed, scarred belly with satisfaction at the taste of her blood "Involving herself in the act of hurting me for the fun of it, taught by her parents to hate the disgraceful Firon the Hedgehog. Oh, how you must have loved hurting me with the attempts of keeping me away as if I were a monster. Truth is, my little beautiful dummy, we're all monsters on the inside. Even you."

Seconds passed with the flames of scorching muscle before Firon finally backed off, examining his work. All her skin and fur was removed cleanly from the spot where her muscle once was, revealing a clean white bone structure. He chuckled in a playful mood, walking a step back. He then charged in and smashed a foot into the bone, breaking it into shattered fragments. Aelita had no choice but to scream at the top of her diseased lungs. Firon laughed manically as his ears picked up the scream.

"I haven't had fun like this in a long time, Aelita. You're...so...weak!" Firon yelled out in sudden anger. He repeatedly smashed his fast into her body, kicking the hardest he could with his energy proving to be Aelita's worst nightmare. Her ribs cracked, her legs began to burn from the energy scorching, and her left cheek was skinned away to the bone. Firon did not pause, nor did he feel like trying. He slowly lost his mind and form as a dark monstrosity slowly returned to temporarily take part in this enjoyment. The monster covered Firon's silver fur in a dark aura, his eyes slowly starting to bleed at the torture he was now receiving from within. The night would go on with tortured screams of agony and of sick amusement.

Blood spilled and flowed like a small stream down from the grassy hill in which the burning carcass of Aelita lied. The rain poured in like a flood to wash it away, and to cover the scene completely. Firon stood nearby, motionless and expressionless. Despite having the mind of an adult, his control over his emotions was unsteady. He stared at the murder he had committed, haunted by the deed his darker half had pressured him into. His eyes swelled up a bit, tears flowing from his eyes across the fur of his shaking body. He was horrified and hated himself eternally for taking the life of an innocent. His energy pulsed to life and allowed him to fuel his fear into a boiling hatred at his own self-esteem. He felt a burning sensation within his head. Suddenly, he was forced to recoil and fell down the hill as he held onto his head with clenched fingers. His body landed against a rock at the bottom, the back of his head impacting the rock's surface the quickest, bringing him to fall into a coma.

This was the beginning of a new era for Firon. But where he would take this lesson could only be discovered later on in the future. As long as Shadow Shade continued to exist, Firon was at risk of falling apart. However, he is changing and that is a good sign. But can he challenge his darker half and finally regain his own sanity?

Short Story provided by FironX2 (aka FironandAelita)

FironX2 - The reason I wrote this was because I wanted readers to get a good idea on why Firon is like what he is now. He obviously holds regret for something he committed, but what? This short story is meant to show one example of how that regret formed, and what Shadow Shade really is.