The title is a combination of two songs that fit the story. First song is Under the Rose by H.I.M and represents Mephiles' changes throughout the story. The second is Can't Stay Away by the Veronicas, showing the growing relationship between them.
I can't believe I still exist. With Solaris' destruction, I should have been completely erased. Now, I am left with only my orb attacks, dark chaos lance and form change. But that's not all that has changed....I feel an....emptiness where Iblis used to be, his flames a part of me like my hands or my eyes.
I wandered the streets of an unknown city for a long time that night. I am still in shock of being alive without Iblis. If anything, we were more than just two parts to Solaris. We were like brothers, we had a little of each other inside the other. Now, without him, I feel empty. I don't even desire revenge over Shadow.
As I wandered, I became aware of several gazes upon me. They probably mistake me for Shadow or even Sonic. Distracting myself from my current thoughts, I looked around, guessing that I was in a bad part of the town. Most people seemed to back off when my poisonous green eyes fell upon them.
Before I could turn my gaze to a glare, a scream reached my ears. I didn't know why, but that scream made my heart clench, like it meant something. Unsure of what I was feeling, I ran to the source of it, glad I had been blessed with Shadow's speed when I took his form.
The source of the scream was a dark alley, a strange mist enveloping it at knee height. Looking down the alley, I saw a group of both humans and mobians, all of them surrounding something. I heard the scream, a girl's scream, only it was weaker, strained and barely audible.
"Get away from her, now!" I said, making my tone as deathly and threatening as I could. They all looked at me, one of them having a knife in hand.
"Listen pal, stay outta this, or we'll kill you," one of them said. I merely laughed, slowly taking a step closer to them.
"You? Kill me? What a joke. You're nothing but dust to me," I said, my laugh still evident as I spoke. The mist around me started to swirl, turning from grey to black, circling my feet. It moved slowly up my body, changing me into my crystalline from. My hands were now white claws of crystal, as were the tips of my quills. I looked down as purple flames burned at my feet.
"Whatever you are, stay away!" the knife wielder ordered with a shaky, nervous voice. I would have laughed again, but he quickly grabbed the girl, forcing her to stand and holding the knife to her throat. My heart clenched again, as did my fists as I backed away silently. The second I was out of sight, my body melted into black mist, moving back into the alley towards the gang.
"What was that thing? I looked like some kind of demon!" one of the gang members said, obviously unnerved from my presence. I moved closer to him, my misty form beneath his feet. As my laugh echoed silently around the alley, I pulled the boy, a large mobian bear, into my mist. When I threw him out again, he looked like he was about to break down crying.
"Bruno, what in Chaos happened to you?!" the knife wielder asked, obviously terrified now. Taking advantage of his fear, I moved behind him, my clawed hand rising from the ground and grabbing his ankle. I smirked evilly when he screamed, slowly dragging him down into my mist.
When I had him completely under, the other gang members were looking around, terrified that their leader had disappeared. I slowly rose from the ground, in front of the girl's limp body, holding the knife wielder, a green iguana, by the neck. The gang members started to back away, yelling and screaming when I threw their leader towards them.
Once they had left the alley, the black mist enshrouded my body, transforming me back to my normal form. I knelt beside the girl, a black cat with long raven black hair with light grey streaks, a black gothic dress and black heeled knee high boots. She had a few bruises, but my biggest worry was the cuts she had sustained. A growl involuntarily rose in my throat as I thought to the gang who'd done this.
"Keep....away....please...." the girl said hoarsely, her eyes opening to narrow slits.
"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you," I said sincerely, my heart clenching at the weakness in her voice. "My name is....Mephiles. I took care of those thugs who attacked you," I said, my green eyes meeting her light grey eyes. "I need to get you home in case they come back. Can you tell me your name?" I said, picking her up bridal style.
"My name....is Lilith. My house is at the end of the street, but my parents are out of town for their anniversary," she answered. She placed her arms around my neck, my heart beating faster as she did so. I don't know what I'm going through, but as long as it keeps the emptiness away, I'll think about it later.
"Just keep calm. Once your home I'll tend to your wounds," I said, leaving the cold grey mists of the alley. As we walked, I looked up at the sky, seeing the full moon in glowing radiance, the stars like diamonds in the sky.
"It's....a beautiful night," I said, not understanding why I found beauty in something that's seen every day.
"Yeah, it is," Lilith said, placing her head on my chest and falling asleep as I carried her. For some reason, my heart beat quicker from this. Before I could think on it further, I arrived at the house that I presumed Lilith lived in. I gently shook her awake, trying not to cause her any further pain.
Once she was awake, I let her go, letting her lean on my shoulder as she opened the door. Still leaning on me with my arm around her waist, we slowly entered, moving into her living room. I left for the bathroom while she sat down on the couch.
In the bathroom, I found the cabinet where the first aid supplies were kept. How I knew the kit was commonly found in the bathroom must be something I picked up from Shadow when I took his shape.
As I walked down the stairs, I glanced at the door, looking through the small window that one of those gang members was lurking around. It was that green iguana, and he looked through the door, an angry look darkening his face when he saw me. He charged for the door, but I beat him to it, locking it as he grabbed the handle.
He shot me an angry glare, then raced around the side of the house. My eyes widened before I shot through the hallway, making it to the back door as he opened it. In two swift moves, I landed a kick to his chest which knocked him out the door, then pulled the door shut, locking it.
"What in Chaos' name is going on?!" Lilith asked, panic evident in her voice. She looked outside and saw the iguana storming off, answering her questions. She seemed to be feeling better, the cuts already starting to heal.
"I think it's best if I stayed here with you until your parents return," I said, out of breath from the encounter with the iguana. Possibly lost for words, Lilith nodded.
"I guess you could share my room, but I need to get changed," she said, heading upstairs and leaving me in the living room. I sat down on the couch, my mind racing with questions. What had made me help her? Why did being near her keep the emptiness away? And why am I finding her so....beautiful?
My eyes widened at that thought. I mean, I was half of a time destroying monster, I had even killed that blue hedgehog to do it. Besides that, who could ever love a monster like me? The only one who had showed me feelings was my friend, my brother Iblis.
My thoughts were interrupted when Lilith returned, sitting down next to me. She had changed into a sleeveless black top and black shorts, wearing dark grey socks with a skull on them. Around her neck was a necklace with a small rose on it. I couldn't believe I was having these thoughts, but in a gothic way, she was the hottest girl I'd ever seen.
She got up and turned on the TV, the news being on the screen. The main story was something to do with Shadow and some G.U.N operation.
"You look a lot like Shadow, just with grey stripes and green eyes," Lilith said, trying to make conversation.
"I....I get that a lot," I said.
"Do you have any family? I bet your parents might be wondering where you are," she said, her question sending waves of pain over my heart.
"I...I don't....have any family. I used to have a brother, but he...died," I said, feeling a tear come to my eye.
"I'm sorry. I have a friend who's gone through the same thing. Of course, she lost her mother, and now her father blames her for it," Lilith said, her voice showing her uncertainty at revealing this.
"It's getting late. You need to rest after that attack," I said, helping her to her feet. We walked up the stairs, then into her room. The first thing I noticed was the goth style decor, something that would have possibly creeped out other individuals.
"Sorry if my room kinda scares you. I'm just really into gothic styles," Lilith said, looking at me nervously.
"No, I kinda like it," I said, walking over to a couch just large enough for me to sleep on. I grabbed a blanket and a cushion and lay down, watching as Lilith lay down in her bed and started to fall asleep. I noticed her shivering, getting up and gently touching her arm. It felt freezing, and my heat must have woken her.
"You're freezing cold," I said, taking note of her nervous eyes.
"When I close my eyes, images of the attack come are all I see. I can't take my mind off them," she said. Her tone was like she expected me to say something like "get over it" or something.
"Well, maybe if...I slept next to you, it might help keep those thoughts at bay," I said, half expecting her to yell at me. Instead she simply nodded, lifting the covers to let me lie down.
"Goodnight Mephiles," she said, falling asleep slowly.
"Goodnight Lilith," I said, placing a reassuring hand on her side. She grabbed it, and slowly we drifted into unconsciousness, our minds drifting to dreams.