Tribute to the Shadow Legion

*************************Through the Shadows*************************
   A Tribute to the Shadow Legion



A young fox lay unconscious in a hospital bed, connected to numerous machines keeping him alive. An I.V. in his arm, a tube down his throat, and an oxygen mask covering his muzzle, breathing for him.

This fox's name was Shadz, but he wasn't alone. He was surrounded by countless friends of all different species, waiting for him to wake up.

His friends consisted of eight foxes of all different colors. Their names were Tutis, Dennis, Tyler, Beam, Curtis, Jake, Raven, and Shadz' oldest friend, the Chaotic Sage.

Next, three hedgehogs. Their names are Junior, Blade, and Ceryl. Also, an elf-girl named Becky, Sith the wolf, Faust the bat and his love, Halee the Hedge-chidna, and the oldest of the group, TK the tiger-girl were among those present.

"When is he gonna wake up?" The red furred Tutis asked the orange kitsune named Tyler. "I don't know, Tutis. I just don't know." Tutis started to shed a tear, but then he remembered a promise he made to his big brother: never blame yourself, and never give up.

"(sigh)...it's never gonna end, is it?" sighed Dennis. Junior walked up to the brown fox and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, Shadz is a lot tougher than that! He'll make it, just you wait." The sky blue hedgehog said, giving Dennis a smile.

Ceryl and Raven were standing off to the side of Shadz' bed, tears in their eyes. "Do you think our big bro will wake up?" The grey and purple fox asked the dark pink hedgehog. "Course he will! He won't leave us, not ever!"

Meanwhile, Blade, Beam, Curtis, and the Chaotic Sage were sat on the floor, thinking about what had happened to one of their closest friends.

"How are you guys holding up?" Asked the Chaotic Sage. Beam just stayed silent as Blade looked over at the light purple fox next to him and said, "What do you think, Curtis?"

Curtis gave the group a huge grin and said, "I'm not worried. He'll be up and moving in no time."

Faust, along with Halee in arm, walked to the side Shadz' bed, and looked at his unconscious form. "I wish I could've done more to help you, bro." Halee quickly turned Faust's face to her own and reassured him, "Listen. You did everything you could, sweetheart. These things happen, and it's no one's fault."

The black bat embraced the hedge-chidna in a hug and softly spoke. "Thanks, sweetheart. You always know what to say." The two were still embracing one another as Sith came up and spoke to the unconscious Shadz.

"C'mon, bro. Wake up. I know you won't let this shit beat you, never have, never will. Just wake up, man." As The wolf made his way back to the others, TK approached the comatose kit and frowned.

"Poor Shadz. You've been through so much in your life. We both have. But I have no doubts you're gonna beat this and be up again soon. I'm here for you, brother." The young elf named Becky was the last to approach the fox's bed.

"Shadz... I know you must hate me right now. I really don't know what to say in these situations. Just please wake up, Shadz. I just want everything to go back to the way they were."

Tutis walked over to TK and tugged at the bottom of her shirt. "Umm, TK?" The tiger girl smiled at the little kit and softly said, "Hmm? What's wrong, Tutis?" Tutis began to tear up again as he asked his question.

"When is he gonna wake up? When will my big bro wake up!?" The young fox was now crying, scared that he would never get to talk to his big brother again.

"Hey, it'll be ok, Tutis. Just wait, he'll wake up any se..." The tigress was cut off when Junior interrupted, catching the whole room's attention.

"Uhh, guys!? Can people cough when they're in a coma?" The blue hedgehog asked.

"Not that I'm aware of..." The Chaotic Sage replied as everyone rushed to Shadz' bedside. Sure enough, the black fox was indeed coughing. "Do you think..." Tyler and Beam said at the same time. Tutis remained silent, but his thoughts were screaming, 'Come on, big bro! I know you can do it!'

Faust also had his thoughts focused on positive results. 'Shadz, you can do it, bro!' But as quickly as it had come, Shadz had ceased coughing and was still once again.

"No..." Dennis whispered. TK stared in disbelief.

"Shadz..."

But suddenly, and to everyone's great amazement, Shadz slowly opened his eyes. The fox tried to speak, but the tube in his throat prevented it.

"Bro!?" Everyone shouted in unison. Tutis suddenly jumped in the air and landed on Shadz' bed, scrambling up his chest and grasping his brother in a tight but gentle hug.

"BIG BRO! YOU DID IT!" The kit cried with joy. Everyone smiled as they heard a familiar voice inside their heads. Though he was only speaking with his mind, Shadz' voice was still very weak.

'Thank you.... all of you. You never gave up on me, even when I gave up on myself. I owe you all my life.'

TK gave Shadz a cocky smile and said, "Peh. Ya don't owe us a thing. You survived and came back to us, that's all we needed."

Shadz looked at everyone around the room, smiles and thumbs up coming from everybody. He then turned to the happy, crying fox sitting on his chest, hugging him tightly.

'Bro, I promise I'll never leave you. Promise you'll never leave me, either. Okay?' Tutis smiled at his big brother, tears running down his muzzle, and said, "I promise. I'll never leave, no matter what. I love you, big bro."

'I love you, too little br...' Suddenly, Shadz fell silent. "Bro? C'mon, bro! Wake up!" Tutis shouted, shaking his brother. Becky noticed Shadz' chest rising and falling and smiled.

"It's okay, Tutis. He's just asleep. He could use a good rest after everything he's been through lately." The elf girl smiled.

Tutis slowly hopped off of Shadz' bed, and smiled. "Yeah. Guess he earned it. But at least he's ok." Everyone nodded, then took a seat on the floor, everyone of them surrounding the black fox's bed, never to leave his side again.

"Looks like the Shadow Legion is back, huh guys?" Beam asked, speaking for the first time.

"Yeah," Sith cheered. "...and stronger than ever!"

....The End