Mine
He pushed. He pushed like he hadn't before, skaters flaring behind him, leaving a trail of amber and red to reflect along the hall of endless mirrors.
"Forever… forever… forever~!"
His panting reverberated, hoarse and breathless.
No matter how far he ran, she would only remain.
He turned a corner, or what seemed to be a corner, eyes restlessly glancing about the reflected images as the hedgehog tried to place where the voice was coming from. Alas, even with perked ears and the highest of attention, the sound echoed everywhere, like a thousand orchestras at once.
"Mine, mine, mine~!"
His heart pounded, as dread formed in the back of his mind.
He had ventured here… purely by accident… But her intentions for him… they weren't so accidental.
"Shall be those glittering eyes~!"
He tensed up at that notion, skidding to a stop as he gritted his fangs. His fists were clenched, and he growled with frustration, his fist itching to smash one of the mirrors before him.
This reminded him of that childish attraction at amusement parks… She had taken him there before, yet she was never like this… never had this creepy obsession with similarities of emeralds and eyes.
…
"…Your eyes…" she had begun, her own glimmering with lust. "…They are rather… brilliant, aren't they?"
At first, he had scoffed. Scoffed with the impression she was hitting on him. Scoffed in this eternal hall of mirrors, not noticing the odd way she curved her smirk. Not noticing her suddenly demonic eyes.
She leapt on him, suddenly having strength he'd never thought possible. Her tongue lapped out like an eager dog, as her eyes were soon lost in his. And, during those moments, she snapped.
"…Mine…"
She wanted them...
His stiff posture was stuck to the floor for a few moments, until he saw the concentrated gaze in his "partner's" eyes.
Despite all, she didn't once think of drifting away from his crimson orbs…
She wanted those beautiful gems…
"W-what…?" he'd struggled about, but the female had yet to notice.
There they were, ready for the taking.
"…So… so ready…"
He had blinked, misunderstanding her wording.
Those beautiful, beautiful eyes… were all hers.
"Rouge…?!"
At once, her gaze had fallen back onto the black hedgehog, her expression blank for a few seconds.
Then, a craving for irises kicked in, and she grinned eerily, her fangs protruding from her mouth.
All…
One could wonder… if she wanted his very eyes, then she could easily get a knife… yet… the only weapon she had, were her teeth themselves.
…hers.
"Stay still, handsome…" she had murmured, nearing his face with those long canines…
SLAP!
He snapped himself out of it; he shook his head, trying to void off the thought.
"Shadow, Shadow, Shadow~…" sang her voice, still thickening with that old, seductive tone he knew so well. But he knew by heart the owner of that voice was lost beyond all repair.
He bolted, red eyes shifting about the room of reflections
I need to get back to that damned entrance…
. . .
"Heh. This place don't seem spooky…"
The darkly-lit hedgehog walked down the famous Hall of Mirrors, his eyes darting about the strangely structured reflections. The way his body wibbled and wobbled constantly as he jogged along was unnerving enough, but it wasn't to be called that scary. He'd seen worse things to fear a shoddy, ol' set of mirrors. Much worse.
He traversed across the land of copies, his pace slowing, his red, white-striped shoes pitter-pattering along the charcoal, marble floor. The ceiling seemed to untimely bend with flexibility, but the blue blur assumed someone had thought it best to place a mirror up top, too.
"Man, this place is freaky…" he mumbled, noting the deathly silent atmosphere. This almost reminded him vaguely of those horror movies, where something would jump out at you unexpectedly. "…Why'd Tails have to have his tracker point me here? …The emerald could've at least been near a chilidog stand…"
He froze as soft laughter echoed through the corridor, setting his fur on end.
"Hee, hee, hee…"
It reverberated along the mirrors' walls, maximizing the sinister tone to unbelievable levels.
Sonic's fists clenched, and his head swerved left and right. "…Who's there?"
The light of a dark silhouette sifted through the gloom and refracted despair, wings surging inside the mirrors themselves. It was a long tunnel, and, unknowing to the blue hedgehog, and alternate one.
Shaking his head, he yelped, "H-hey!"
His voice wouldn't have trembled if the odd being hadn't outright laughed at him and flew past him faster than his own pace. Whatever this thing was, he assumed it had the Chaos Emerald. And if they didn't, it possibly knew its location. Or, perhaps, an eerie addition to the trip…
He bolted, speeding down the hallway at an incredible speed, but as soon as he reached a corner, the abnormal creature seemed to have vanished, and its laughter was briskly brought to silence, cut off from the world within moments.
The lights flickered ominously, blinding the hedgehog's vision for only a moment: his eyes shuttered, feeling the sudden flashing hurting his eyes.
It was an equivalent of a seizure; Sonic couldn't even comprehend what was going on, nor could he see the dark shadow in front of him. By the time his jade eyes were brought back to reality, the cold presence was gone.
All that remained was an ivory creature in its place.
Realization passed over his face.
"…Rouge!"
The woman turned, her features pressed and worried. There wasn't a seductive smirk on her lips, only a concerned frown. Her wings seemed to droop slightly, and her hands were twitching… as if she were anticipating something to happen.
She jumped out of surprise, and her blue eyes were wide when she noticed the fastest thing alive. "…Blue…! Thank God!"
Sonic tilted his head at her, blinking as he tried to discern why she seemed so jumpy.
"H-hey, Rouge."
She looked to a mirror beside her, not acknowledging his small greeting.
The hedgehog took a step closer, noticing her nervous stance. "What's up?"
…
She didn't answer; her gaze was strict to her own reflection.
"…Rouge…"
She pursed her lips, and then turned back to him, brow abruptly furrowing as she quickly muttered with a trembling voice, "It's S-Shadow… H-h-he…!"
"What about Faker? Did he trip over his jet shoes again?"
Rouge's ears fell, indicating that statement seemed somewhat true. One of the many mirrors before her made her shudder, leaving her eyes nothing but voids of restlessness.
"He… he…" she shut her eyes tight, her fists clenching, obviously hesitant.
"…Yeah?" Sonic pressed, his own face forming that of misunderstanding.
"He… he…" she swallowed. "…He vanished, B-Blue…"
Sonic blinked in a blank manner. "Huh?"
"He… just… disappeared… I was there one second, going on about how he shouldn't be such a grouchy-pants all the time, and then… I heard him, and it… it was t-too late…"
The blue blur shook his head in attempt to snap himself out of his bafflement. "…W-well… Well, we gotta' find him, then!"
She stared at the floor, then at the mirror, which looked back at her. For a moment, it seemed like she was smirking demonically, but the real Rouge was frowning. And by the time she'd seen that flash across her muzzle, that exact reflection had left, and her frown worsened into a slight, growing fear.
…Where was he?
Sonic glanced at the mirror she was looking at, bearing puzzlement but idle curiosity. "Huh. I used to think these places were so lame…"
The batgirl paused, looking at him with a sense of hidden dread. "…Used to?"
"Been getting the heebie jeebies. You get it?"
"…" Her eyes were solemnly to her white, heart-encrusted boots, and she nodded slowly. "This place has got bad mojo, sorta too much for a lady like myself."
"…I think it's got something to do with these things…" his gloved hand knocked against the replicas of himself, yet not so much as to crack the surface itself.
"That's a bit far-fetched, Blue…" Rouge trailed, although some of her considered that idea.
"Really? In Mobius, nothing's far-fetched, batgirl. Not even the lengths you go to get your emeralds."
"I suppose…" she grinned slightly for a moment, but any reassurance Sonic could have given at the point was unlikely to work.
A gloved hand fell on his muzzle as he pondered. "Some pretty weird stuff in here, Rouge. Pretty weird."
The female rolled her eyes. "I had no idea…"
"Where was Shads before he went to play Hide & Seek?"
"Leaning against…" her eyes widened again, "…a mirror!"
"Now, we're gettin' somewhere!" he smiled meekly, before observing said items. "Maybe it's one of those switcher-thingies?"
Rouge knocked on the mirror, blinking at it slightly before she mused silently, "Shads fell through here, huh? …Guess his handsome mirror-self would get jealous of him some day… Whatever happened, something's telling me this ain't part of the ride…" she mumbled, eye ridges lowering. He was there one second, and then gone the next…
Silence.
"…Uh… Which one?"
Suddenly, the memory of the mirror smirking back at her came to mind, and her head bolted to that location.
Her eyes narrowed, and she pointed. "…This one."
"Huh. Well, stand back then!"
"Wait, what're you—?!"
The hedgehog was suddenly a few meters away from the mirror; his feet prepped and ready to run. He was suddenly a blur, his blue fur contrasting brilliantly in the dark corridor. Before he could collide with the mirror, however, the batgirl stood in front of it, her arms spread out with a scowl. Sonic veered left to avoid bumping into her, crashing into a mirror-free wall as he did so.
"Oww…" he moaned, rubbing his back as he stood, suddenly moving his shocked stare to Rouge. "What was that for?! I was gonna' get Shads out!"
"You were going to kill him, more like," the bat growled, folding her arms before pouting and giving a look of annoyance. "If this is more than a trap door, then Shadow would… aw, forget it… You're pretty moronic, huh?"
"Yeah, right… You're thinkin' too much, batgirl. It would work!"
"No, blue boy, it wouldn't. You smash into that mirror, and then you destroy all chances of Shadow getting back," she pointed out as a matter-of-factly, noting that this place seemed too supernatural for doors to be only ways into dark rooms; Shadow would've got out by now if that was the case. She sighed, and this left the other to frown.
"Look, Rouge… We're gonna' get him back, right?" His eyes swayed swiftly to hers. "Promise ya'!"
"Empty promises aren't good for some women, Sonic," she mumbled, shivering as a draft sifted through the hallway. "It might work for Pinky, but it won't for me."
Sonic lowered his eyes to the floor. "If you're that negative, at least lemme' say something useful."
"Yeah? What's useful in your term?"
"…Whatever we're up against… it can't be that bad…"
As if tempting fate, an unearthly screech echoed violently across the corridor, shattering mirrors further down the hall as if sound were nothing but bullets from machine guns.
The two Mobians jumped, and Rouge's head whirled around like she hadn't a neck-related worry in the world. "What was…?"
"SSSSHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAADDDDDDDDDDOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!"
Both of their respectively colored coats stood on end at the high-pitched, demonic screech.
"Well done, genius," the bat quipped irritably.
It sounded again, and chills crawled down their very spines.
The voice seemed familiar to the bat… she recalled her own voice, how it could scream that name almost the same… She had, though. She screamed indefinitely… now that she remembered… she saw him fall through the mirror… from the corner of her eye. She knew it now better than anyone. Her screech sounded like that, just less distorted… and less high-pitched.
Grunts and panting sounded, indistinct in a word, and the pair whirled their heads around back to the mirror.
…
"…R-Rouge…"
Bright, blue eyes watched as the front half of Shadow the Hedgehog clawed at the marble floor, trying to drag himself out of the mirror, it seemed.
Sonic's mouth opened, but he didn't speak. Shadow?!
"Shads?!"
The bat suddenly jerked a step towards him without hesitation, aiming to help him u—
THWACK!
She screamed as a shadowy figure slapped her away, and she surged towards the cold ground with a, 'THUD!' She winced, a graze covering the side of her muzzle, bleeding slightly as she felt the shards of mirrors slice at her flesh.
Shadow's hands began to slip, as there were no alcoves, or holes in the ground for him to cling to. His eyes narrowed when he witnessed the batgirl up ahead, pulling herself up with moans of pain. His fingers tried ever so hard to grip the smoother, grayscale floor, but they never could quite grasp it.
Something tugged at his legs… from the other side.
It refused to let go, and snarls sounded, hostile ones. They weren't coherent, but that's all the Ultimate Lifeform needed to know he should move.
Alas…
It had such strength that he found it shocking that it was so easy push him around; he was like a ragdoll, very much like his hands were stuck together, arms merely caught on a doorknob. The thing at the other side was like the child trying to tug her teddy with joint-hands free.
Nonetheless, he would never let go… but despite this determination, his hands slipped.
Time seemed to slow down as one end of the Tug of War pulled him back.
"Shadow!"
His rival, suddenly finding himself able to move, leapt forward, grabbing his hands before he could slip away forever.
"…No… No…
NO!
YOU CAN'T TAKE HIM AWAY FROM ME…
…Never…
He's MINE!
HIS.
EYES.
ARE.
MINE!
GET OFF, GET OFF-GETOFFGETOFF!"
The voice shrieked, as the creature at the other side snapped forth from the mirror, slashing at the blue hedgehog's tanned, vulnerable arms. Said hedgehog yelped as a sharp object slit flesh, and his hands mistakably flew back to smother the fresh, bloody wound, leaving his dear adversary to lose his hope once more.
"FAKER!"
The black hedgehog scowled with closed eyes, trying to avoid witnessing the horror that would soon come to him…
"Yarou!"
THWACK!
…But the dreaded inevitable of being dragged into the mirror never came to reality.
The grip on his feet soon vanished as a white, clothed boot swerved forward, striking the ghostly, yet physical being backwards into the mirror.
Rouge stood there, the scuffs and red liquid staining her face. Her eyes shot to Shadow, and she panted, "G-get… u-up…" The tone in her voice wasn't demanding; it was worried, worried like there was no tomorrow. "…Q-quick…"
Gaining his bearings, said hedgehog obliged, raggedly breathing as he attempted to pull himself up and out of the mirror. His biological heart was thumping a mile a minute, eventually slowing down as he recovered from the attack.
The bat held a hand out during this activity, aiming to help him up, but he simply turned his head away stubbornly; in all truth, he was ashamed of himself.
She straightened, frowning.
Silence passed over the room as both heart rates were once more at ease.
Sonic was still rubbing his arm, but his ears drooped at the fact he gave up his rival for a simple cut. "…Hey, Shadow?" his brow furrowed. "…Sorry about—"
"Shut it, Faker," the anti-hero snapped, narrowing his eyes as he glared at his counterpart. "I don't want to hear it. Any of it."
He dusted himself off, and then took a few steps away, planning to leave this supernatural place in the dust. "Let's get mo—"
An ear-piercing scream reverberated through their hearing systems, and abruptly cut his sentence off, robbing it of all meaning.
"YYYYYOOOOOOOUUUUUUU…."
His head shot to the source of the noise in one full swing.
"…Rouge!"
There she was, on the floor, her eyes wincing in pain as a dark presence pinned her down, thrashing and shrieking incoherently.
For a moment, she was still, letting the hits strike her, but as soon as Shadow's voice came to her ears, she veered a fist forward into the other's face.
As soon as it was supposed to hit, the odd being's head dodged the blow, snarling like a feral animal. These sounds continued as sharp claws shot out from the silhouette, attempting to strike the bat with them. Alas, she dodged too, as if it was somewhat anticipated.
Shadow watched with frustration as the two were locked in a barrel roll. The pair suddenly parted, a fair distance from each other; their breaths were strong yet sharp, hearts beating at the same rate.
"You… you didn't think you could get the jump on ol' Rougey… didja?" she smirked weakly, her fists tightening.
There was another hostile shout. Whether it was profanity, or cursing, Rouge didn't know.
The other surged forward, dark aura shifting about its being as stretched, sharp-edged claws were once again brought into the light.
As soon as it neared, she leapt upwards, thrusting her long, dainty boot outwards.
THWACK!
It met with the creature's head, and it cried out in agony as it skidded across the floor, arms out and trying to shield its face. The shards of the many mirrors seemed to heighten this pain, overall making it worse. There were whimpers for a while, until it evolved into aggravated, livid, and threatening growls. The figure struggled to pull itself up, body twitching endlessly.
And, as it stood, its features broadened into a clearer image, having white fur, fangs, wings, and…
Rouge's blood ran cold.
…blue eyes.
She was once again looking at her reflection, she assumed, but her body was moving differently to the other, expressions and actions alike.
"…Wait, wait, wait a mmmiiinuuute…" she blinked. "…You're… … you're… you're m—?!"
It gave a battle cry, and the doppelganger charged forward, claws visibly retracting through gloves.
Every time it launched itself at Rouge, she dodged, and each and every mirror shattered as sharp, surprisingly strong hits struck solids.
The shards flittered about the room like deadly hailstone, causing three Mobians to duck or cover their heads as the debris fell.
Shadow growled irritably as the odd manifestation… physical thing… whatever it was, continued to strike his partner's being. It angered him how he was just stood there… letting all of this happen… He was the Ultimate Life Form for God' sakes! He shouldn't be a bystander of all things! He was—
"SHADOW!"
His head whirled. "What NOW, Fa—?!"
"Look! Up there!"
The blue one pointed at small indentation above the mirror Shadow had escaped moments ago, and in this small, detailed indentation…
"That's…"
"…A Chaos Emerald!"
And, true to his word, an emerald sat there, above the mirror, shining a brilliant, radiant blue, rays stretching across the room. In reality, it was flashing slightly.
Shadow stared at it, blinking for a second before his face screwed up and he concentrated on his shoes. His gaze abruptly flew back to it, and then the mirror. His ruby, red eyes widened in sudden realization. "That… that must be what's keeping it open!"
"But if it was there… if it was in there earlier…" Sonic trailed, scratching his ear in bafflement, "…How come we couldn't get through?"
"It's flashing… maybe there was the odd chance you hit it when it lit up?"
"Are you kidding me? Then how did you get through, huh? That thing coulda' separated ya'!"
"I don't know… perhaps it's temporary?" he questioned, before shaking his head incredulously, bearing teeth. "We don't have time for this!"
"You think I don't know that?" his counterpart asked, frowning irritably. "You're the one just STOOD THERE!"
"So are YOU," Shadow snapped, his teeth grinding.
"Less bickering!" the blue blur cut in, lowering his brow as he turned to the emerald. "What happens if we take this out?"
The ebony hedgehog bared teeth for a moment, before thoughtfully staring at his rival and then the said gem. "Well, if the mirror opens with it in, then…"
Sonic was still for a moment, puzzlement plastered across his face, until it lit up with realization. He grinned and nodded. "Then we just have to shove that… thing in there, grab the emerald, and it's bye-bye, Miss Creepy!"
Shadow stared at him with a deadpan expression. "I really wish you wouldn't blurt out plans like that, Sonic."
"Pfft. No worries, Shads."
"Yes, worries, you stupid, blue hedgehog," Shadow snarled, folding his arms. "If you haven't noticed, the "thing" now has ears!"
"Really? Sounded to me like all it had was a mouth…"
Shadow rolled his eyes, his fangs gritted once more. "Just make sure you grab that emerald when I say."
"Why?" the fastest thing alive asked, tilting his head. "What're you gonna' do?"
"Don't ask, just do it, Faker," his voice shot as it faded away, body along with it.
"Shads! Don't leave me hangin'!" Sonic frowned, tapping his foot impatiently.
. . .
Rouge throttled against her insane doppelganger, who screamed like it was no tomorrow, trying to slash at her; the two were caught in a brawl, and somehow, the other's claws were inexplicably managing to scathe her facial features. Either it had multiple arms, or Rouge didn't want to know.
It pinned her against the wall, arms keeping her stable and still as she snarled with the sharpest fangs the bat had ever laid eyes on. And as they neared, she felt that sinister feeling of utter dread and panic.
"Cannibal!" she snarled, as she thrust a foot forwards, kicking her enemy in the shin abruptly.
It stumbled back, incomprehensibly cursing as its hands shot towards said body part, whimpering for a mere moment.
That small moment was all Rouge needed.
THWACK!
Once again, her foot had shifted forward as she leapt into the air, bringing it down on the foe's head, her fists balled and her eyes narrowed. Its suddenly-brittle body skidded across the floor, scuffs surrounding every inch of it, blood staining every source of skin, bruises forming under fur. Despite the severity of its condition, in some words, Rouge had this worse.
She stood over it, scowling defiantly, her panting more severe than before.
"You… you got some nerve… throwing my reputation… a-away like that…" she breathed, her shoulders drooping. "…You don't… wanna' make it worse… trust me…"
The other growled once again, attempting to slip its limp foot under hers, to trip her up, but this failed, as she jump-skipped said hurdle.
The treasure hunter stepped closer to her duplicate, watching its every move, its every twitch, its every groan, intently with azure, annoyed eyes. She looked like she was going to murder the being, although, in all reality, she herself was unsure of what to do with it. In spite of her true aggravation of having just being attacked, she felt no need to pass her morality any further by executing the abnormal individual where it stood.
Now, that she looked harder…
There seemed to be…
…Fear?
That frightened face suddenly appeared, but she blinked, assuming she was hallucinating.
This thing… it was almost insane. It tried to kill her. It mumbled incoherently… For God' sakes, it wanted Shadow's eyes! And if she assumed rightly, in literal sense!
And, then, for a moment, its bipolar attitude kicked in, and it smirked darkly, yet this was shadowed, and thus, was unseen by anyone else other than Rouge herself.
It bolted forward, and the two were suddenly locked in another barrel roll, snarls emitting from the most obvious bat.
Taken by surprise, Rouge let out a yelp as those claws once again slashed at her arms.
"Rouge!"
Shadow shot forward, his hand reaching out and grabbing a white pelt.
The snarling that had sounded about the corridor came to a brisk silence, yet neither being took notice of it.
The ebony hedgehog's fist clamped around the fluffy, white fur as he held the creature out at arm's length in his hands, stopping it from trying to attack him any further. Yet, strangely, it didn't. Its eyes seemed intent on his. Confused, even.
Nonetheless, he glanced at slightly battered Rouge on the ground, before closing his eyes and nodding. Within moments, the black wind had surged over to the mirror, and he inspected the bat before chucking it in it. Its body seemed to stretch out of certain dimensions, but it soon followed through, its over-knee-high boots vanishing in a mere instant.
"Faker, NOW!"
"Wuh-what?!" Sonic jumped, his ears high on alert, before he realized his job. "Oh, right!" He leapt upwards, and then quickly began to pry the emerald out of its indentation.
The mirror began to ripple again, and the Ultimate Life Form felt a desperate sense of fear and dread. His gloved hand was thrust outwards, sending a bolt of light to the emerald.
Sonic yelped and jumped down as it hit the brightly glimmering gem, before rubbing his behind as he sat on the floor. His eyes fell to the emerald, which now sat limply on the floor; it flickered no more.
The mirror rippled for a moment, and there was a high-pitched scream:
"Shhhaaaaddooooww…!"
Its solid structure wrinkled no more.
Both hedgehogs breathed a sigh of relief, sweatdropping as they did so.
"Phew…" Sonic wiped his brow.
"Don't look so tired, Faker. You didn't even do anything."
"Like you can talk!"
"I'm the Ultimate Life form, I have reason."
"That totally contradicts what you just said, Faker."
Shadow waved his hand dismissively, glaring. "I'll decide what contradicts what, Sonic."
The blue blur shook his head in distaste, before glancing at the ivory bat on the floor.
Shadow was there within moments. "Rouge? Are you all right?"
He pulled her suddenly limp body up, and she looked to him with a weak, grateful smile.
She nodded, her eyes glittering. "All thanks to you, handsome."
He mused silently for a moment, before letting her go, turning heel and setting off down the corridor.
Sonic watched him as he walked along.
The black being stopped, his head straining to look at the mirror that caused all this trouble.
He didn't know why, but even now, he felt that horrible pit of dread. Dread, like he'd forgotten something. Got something wrong.
"…Let's go."
Despite these thoughts, he dismissed it, and carried on down the hall, Sonic soon following.
The battered bat was about to follow them, until she stopped at the emerald-based mirror. Her eyes glanced at it, and she immediately saw her reflection.
It was worried, unlike her facial features. Its hands were clenched into fists, and it was banging on the opposite side of the mirror.
She knew it was shouting. And she knew what name it was shouting.
"Shadow! Let me out! Shadow! Please! Shadow…! SHADOW!"
But that could no longer be heard... just muffled, to her sharp senses.
She smirked at it darkly, the thin line on her muzzle becoming more demonic.
"I told you he was mine~."
. . .
Hai, peoples! :D
This was written for a contest by TheSilentNeko, which had the prompt: Mirrors, (starting from 1/11/13 to 30/11/13). And this was what I came up with.
Over 4K words… Geez, it was originally supposed to be so short, but then I got carried away… Heh. ^^' I can't help myself, can I?
Anyway… I will be polishing this up every now and then, (I don't know why… but it seems to be lacking something… meh. I'll let you peoples judge that; maybe it's just me being self-conscious about it…).
Judges and readers alike, I hope you enjoyed this. Any reviews would be simply beyond wonderful, (This did take me half a month, since I had to practically FORCE motivation into myself for the deadline. (:' Self-motivation sucks sometimes… but YAY for finishing this!).
Thank you for reading, and good night… er, day… er, whatever! X)