So Much for the Ultimate Life Form

Shadow stared at the being in front of him. He refused to take his strong glare away from it. Sweat fell from Shadow's brow and he grit his teeth. The fur on the back of his neck raised and the spikes on his back stiffened. The fists at his sides tightened and he held them out in front of them and spread his legs, easing his stance, ready to pounce.

Snake green eyes with a thin, lifeless pupils stared back at him. Where's Shadow's eyes were widened and pointed in concentration, this creature's expression was relaxed and his gaze nonchalant. It was as though he didn't feel threatened.

Shadow did.

The look of this creature told him that something was wrong. This creature, looked just like him. An exact copy, apart from the colours. Dark grey where Shadow was a strong jet black, and a faded turquoise grey markings on his quills where Shadow was red.

He'd introduced himself as Mephiles, to which Shadow's survival instincts set in. It was as if his very being told him to fight or run like his life depended on it. But Shadow had never met nor heard of this 'Mephiles' creature before. He didn't know why he felt this way… he just did. And the feeling was so strong, like his very soul, if he had one, cried out to him.

Those two options, though. Run or fight? There was no choice. Shadow knew that his only option was to fight. The environment that surrounded him was his metal prison. The Space Colony ARK. Every step that he took made a metallic clink, which reminded him of his duty and where he was bound.

"That Eclipse Cannon, Shadow," Mephiles spoke and tilted his head. "An accident waiting to happen, surely."

"It would be no accident," Shadow said through gritted teeth. Shadow felt his blood boil inside of him. That's why he couldn't run. It was his duty to protect the earth below, so to run from this threat would to risk the safety of all of those below. Shadow couldn't risk it.

"Of course, I understand that the Eclipse Cannon needs all seven Chaos Emeralds to destroy the planet below." Mephiles' eyes lit up in amusement at the prospect. The more Shadow was bothered, the more Mephiles' face showed satisfaction.

"Which you don't have." Shadow lifted his head up confidently.

"Yet."

Shadow forced a smirk and shook his head.

Mephiles raised an eye ridge back at him.

"Confident."

"I am The Ultimate Lifeform," Shadow boasted.

"Yes, so 'ultimate' that you hide away from humanity. You won't even reside on the same planet as them."

"I'm protecting them," Shadow spat.

"From a distance."

Shadow grit his teeth again. He scoffed and narrowed his eyes at Mephiles.

"Who are you?"

"I told you. I am Mephiles-"

"No. WHO ARE YOU to think that you can antagonise me? My sole purpose is to protect that planet." Shadow pointed behind him with his left arm.

Mephiles leapt forward and grabbed Shadow by the throat with his right hand. Shadow snarled and snatched at Mephiles with his left hand. Mephiles' grip tightened around Shadow's throat. Shadow struck Mephiles again, this time, hard. The creature flew to the side of the room and hit the wall.

As Mephiles pushed himself to the floor, Shadow turned around to look out of the wide observatory window at the large blue planet below. It gave him strength and courage to fight. He swung around to face Mephiles, and stepped back to see that the creature was right in front of him. In the split second Shadow turned around, Mephiles had reached him.

"Be careful, hedgehog. One small mistake and you'll pay for it dearly," Mephiles said and reached out to grab him. Shadow caught Mephiles' hand, and then the other. The two of them were locked, staring at each other.

"How long can you keep this up?" Mephiles taunted. Shadow narrowed his eyes. "I can go on forever. Can you?"

Mephiles yanked his hand away from Shadow's and punched him in the stomach. Shadow grunted and stumbled back. Mephiles reached out to hit Shadow again, but Shadow swung his hand and threw a chaos spear. It struck Mephiles and pushed him back.

"Don't try me, Mephiles." Shadow's position become defensive again.

Mephiles chuckled darkly. He thrusted his arm forward.

Shadow grunted. His eyes widened. He stiffened all over. It hurt to move. He looked down. A beam of light ended at his abdomen. Shadow coughed. Blood splattered onto his white furry chest and onto the floor. It was thick and neon green. A reminder of his Black Arms heritage.

Mephiles pulled his arm back. Shadow stumbled forward as the light vanished. He grasped his abdomen and gasped a shallow breath. He glanced down at his torso. Unharmed on the outside.

"I missed the heart," Mephiles said.

Shadow looked at him with wide, horrified eyes. Mephiles pulled his arm back again. Shadow winced and dodged to the side. He stumbled and fell to the floor. He struck the floor. It hurt his stomach. It hurt everything. The white hot pain burned through him. It burned through his soul.

"Keep still. I'm not finished." Mephiles walked toward Shadow slowly. Shadow kept one hand on his abdomen, squeezing it tight to suppress the pain, and crawled across the floor with his free arm. Mephiles stopped behind Shadow and stepped onto his ankle. Shadow gasped. Mephiles pressed down, hard. Shadow bit back a yelp. Mephiles twisted his foot, grinding it into the skin and bone of Shadow's leg.

Shadow winced. A small whine escaped from his throat.

"How long can you last, hedgehog?" Mephiles asked. "Just say the word and I'll end your suffering." He pushed down harder and Shadow's ankle cracked at the force.

Shadow shook his head whilst he bit back a scream of pain.

Mephiles stared down at Shadow. The creature's eyes glowed with lust. A lust for suffering.

"Do you know who I am? What I am?" Mephiles boasted. Shadow stared at the floor and stayed silent. Mephiles glowered down at him.

"I came into the terrible existence through human experiments," Mephiles said. "They tried to meddle with power that they could not control."

Shadow felt weak. His arms shook and he collapsed under his own weight. His face rested on the floor. He felt tired. His body wanted to give up. Shadow didn't, though.

"That's what you're doing right now, Mephiles. You're trying to keep down a power you can't control!" Shadow growled.

"Wrong. I was split from my counterpart. We can never reunite." Mephiles lifted his arm, a spear formed in it. "I was robbed of my unity. Of my divinity!" Mephiles threw the spear down at Shadow's crushed leg.

Shadow screamed in agony. His lower leg was torn from the knee. Hot tears stained his cheeks.

Mephiles stomped on Shadow's other ankle.

"It was your fault!" Mephiles said and slashed Shadow's other leg with a spear. Shadow was too drained to scream. He was disoriented. It was hard for him to make sense of anything.

"I'm sorry."

"You don't even know what happened!" Mephiles said. He stomped on Shadow's back. Shadow spluttered a mouthful of blood onto the floor. His vision become blurry.

"Your counterpart, from MY timeline, tried to erase me from existence. But here I am!" Mephiles yelled. "I will torment EVERY one of his counterparts until HE feels it. The pain will reach him! It will!"

Shadow let in a short gasp of breath. He remembered how he felt when Mephiles showed up. The fear he felt, was the fear from his other counterparts. All of their experiences fed onto him and told him to fled.

"How many…?" Shadow rasped. "... how many will you have to kill before you stop?"

"I will not stop until I am satisfied," Mephiles said. "You are one of millions." Mephiles pressed down on Shadow's back, hard. Shadow choked, the pressure of his chest crushed his lungs, so he couldn't breathe. A sharp pain shot through his ribs. He heard a crack inside of him.

"I am the closest thing to a god that you will ever have the fortune to meet!" Mephiles boasted. "You were so confident to stand up to me. Your mission to protect the planet, Shadow. You have failed."

Shadow laid and listened to Mephiles' words.

"No."

Shadow spoke. Mephiles tilted his head.

"I'm not dead yet."

Mephiles narrowed his eyes at down at Shadow. He pulled his foot off of Shadow's back and stepped back. Shadow's voice was clear, determined. Not weak and quiet like before. Shadow shakily held his arms forward and grasped at his right wrist with his left hand. He pulled the inhibitor ring off.

Mephiles scoffed.

Shadow twisted the other ring off. His last one.

Mephiles looked down at the ankles which were torn from Shadow's body. Shadow's body glowed a bright red.

"Release that energy now…" Mephiles warned, pointing down at him. He walked around Shadow and to stand in front of him. "... release it now and you could destroy this whole ARK."

"And take you with it."

"And risk your planet."

"And destroy the risk to the planet. The Eclipse Cannon, you. Everything."

Mephiles threw a large sphere to his side, it opened a portal.

"Don't run. You coward," Shadow growled from the floor, his body began glowing a deeper, brighter red. The power was consuming him from the inside.

"All of this power… and it's just going to kill you," Mephiles said as he walked towards the portal.

"NO!" Shadow yelled as Mephiles jumped through it.

Mephiles appeared on the surface of Earth on a large stretch of empty land. He looked up to see a bright flash in the sky.

"So much for the Ultimate Life Form."