Fate's Shadow
Chapter 1 – A Not So Sweet Farewell
"A pity. Here I thought you would at least provide me with some… entertainment."
The black wind rushed by the icicle-like pedestal, never veering away its movement from the figure atop the demonic version of a long-since-dead Christmas tree. Bright lights slashed in random directions, never actually hitting anything but the ceiling itself. As those few, deathly seconds passed, rubble rained from the sky, eventually evolving into large pieces of dangerous debris. It dripped and dripped, losing its sturdy structure to the roof as it began trying to cave in on the twosome.
The lava bubbled like a sizzling version of orangeade, sometimes prompting small domes of ember to pop and spread the liquid further. The falling rocks swiftly sifted through the air, and into that of the red-hot lake. Its likely burning nature steered the creature, dashing to and thro, away, yet not intimidating the half-god still present in the room.
The ebony aura that had been speeding about the room dodged the descending pieces of stone and coal, soon regretting its action as the opponent had more advantage over the matter than itself.
A light, purple sphere of energy suddenly illuminated the room, allowing the distant light to travel to the speedster's curious, yet anxious, eyes. Those seeing inceptors felt repugnance for the orb as soon as it increased in size, and swallowed every rock available in the area whole. Thoughts knew that couldn't be good as a small, suspicious hole formed in the sphere's center, bearing a huge, unholy, reptilian eye.
Realisation shot through its tone as fast as a bullet. "Blast it!"
"Oh… yes. Blast it, indeed…"
Despite its persistent speed, shock overcame those once calm features, and the black blur resumed its run in a more frantic manner, adrenalin alight and running through those strong muscles.
The quicker being shifted zig-zag-wise, as the massive, threatening ball protruded a sharp, malevolent rock, which resembled a needle in such a way. Moments passed, and the said weapon had multiplied, deliberately sharpening its edge with an invisible sharpener as it did so. Knife-like rocks began surging from the insanely huge ball and through the remaining oxygen in the room, crashing into the trail of the once present black wind.
That breezy airstream was gone in a second.
The foe stood, tense, on the thin platform, tilting his head, bright lime eyes glittering malevolently as they spotted a tip of a red streak disappear behind the archway's many rocks.
"Avoiding fate, now, are we, Shadow?" the darker entity asked, raising a hand to make his light, brief point.
Yet, that wasn't the only reason he lifted it. The awkward, creepy sound of tapping echoed throughout the grim area, as a finger's glove began to vanish, being overlapped by a gloomy, rough finger, which held a sharper touch. Several more fingers followed, soon forming a more spine-chilling, claw-like hand.
It flexed at the doorway's direction, and, if its owner had a mouth, he would have given a delighted, sadistic smirk. "Oh, I do love a good game of Hide and Seek…"
On the other side of the rocky wall, a hedgehog stood, his arms pinned to the wall as a breathless gasp escaped his muzzle. Crimson eyes were daring to peek a glance around the corner, but the disturbed mind wouldn't let them. Red streaks flicked side to side, as the creature shook his head, and then swallowed.
A brow lowered as sweat gave way from the side of his head. 'This is what I get for lending Faker that emerald!'
The battle had been ragged, and, could've gone on for what one could call hours… though, neither one had decided to count. Energy was lacking with the Ultimate Lifeform… but with the smarter side of Solaris, however…
"Why try to hide? I'll find you, either way…" came that smug, velvety voice, which rapidly evolved into sing-song, "…Come out, come out, wherever you are~!"
The charcoal being clenched his fists, grinding his teeth as he silently side-stepped along the wall.
His shadow counterpart heard the tapping of the technologic jet shoes, and gave a depressed sigh of mockery. "Leaving so soon? …My. Could it be the great Shadow the Hedgehog is nothing but a coward? A hedgehog without a spine?"
Shadow squeezed his eyes shut, allowing red eyes to blindly scowl at his eyelids.
…
"…I'm not a coward."
Amusement tipped the other's tone. "What was that? I don't quite believe I heard…"
The black blur straightened and turned his head, opening his eyes to glare. "I'm not a—!"
Weight suddenly rushed against the hedgehog, causing him to wheeze and bend over with agony until he realized what was going on.
Mephiles was stood in front of him, his body possessing inwardly placed violet and white crystals. He was already in front of him, claw-like fist already withdrawn after a quick punch had been launched at Shadow's gut.
"You… little…"
"What, Shadow? Was that little tweaking of the score too much for you?" The crystallized organism leered, deliberately allowing the iris in his left eye to roll to the side of his red sclera. He whispered, sporting the worst malice tone one could ever imagine, "I apologize… Allow me to return it to its rightful mark."
Immediately, those hostile claws gripped the hedgehog's neck, pushing forward until Shadow slapped against another wall and shut his eyes tight.
Winding slightly as the grip increased, the Ultimate Lifeform gave a cough before straining one weak eye open, seeing the shadow demon give a light-hearted crease along his muzzle. Although, it seemed light-hearted, Shadow knew the sadistic smirk was as obvious as the light of day, whether or not Mephiles had a mouth.
"You shouldn't have come here… A pity; I could have taken you by surprise…" the abomination uttered. "You know, Shadow…" his sentence was suddenly unfinished and trailing.
"W-w-what…?"
The other neared his face, not leaving a single distance between them, and almost pressing against the black blur's nose. "I would have thought the great, Ultimate Lifeform would've given me a fruitful challenge… Alas, it seems my prediction was lacking something… And that's whether or not I should finish this forever…"
Shadow growled, winding due to the lack of precious oxygen, but less than frightened. "What's… w-what's stopping… y-you? Are… are you…?"
The creature raised his crystallized brow, eye ridges not far from a mock of surprise. "What? Am I too much of a coward to kill you? Oh… I don't know. It just seems… like such a waste…"
Project: SHADOW gave a perplexed look, perking an ear.
"…Since I could just as easily torture you for an eternity."
Shock overtook the victim's features, as he paled, regarding Mephiles with a hint of fear. Yet, he held it back, kept his pride with a bemused frown.
Almost distinctly, Mephiles' ear twitched, as if he'd heard something that he'd rather not be bothered by. Much to his surprise, the victim in front of him gave a pained smirk.
"Pity… you'll h-have to… wait one."
Another blur crashed into the confused abomination, forcing the grip around Shadow's windpipe to give way.
"GAH!"
A red shoe leaned forward, over the murderer, sporting a familiar white stripe. "Hey there, pal. Thought you could start the party without me?"
The downed enemy looked up, to see a blue hedgehog holding jade eyes, white gloves, sharp, spiny quills, and a green, luminous emerald in his hands. "You…!"
The speedy creature looked to his buddy, foot still on the other's stomach, and sporting a cocky smile. "You okay, Shads?"
Shadow grumbled to himself, something about how he could've got out of that himself.
The fastest thing alive gave a little snigger at that, chucking the emerald about in one hand as he did so. "Yeah, you're fine."
"…Unfortunately, you are not."
"WHOA!"
A gloomy shade of purple abruptly slipped from under the hedgehog's foot, revealing itself to be murky form of the demon of darkness. It entwined around the blue blur's foot, lifting it in the air and causing owner to dangle helplessly upside down.
"Uh… He-hey! Lemme' g-go!"
Shadow stepped back, only just recovered from his breathing fit before his gaze shot to the legendary Chaos Emerald in his rival's grasp.
The liquid suddenly wrapped around said being's wrist, tightly; the blue blur whimpered as it tightened, his grip only being loose on the gem.
"FAKER!"
Dizzy, olive orbs glanced at the black and red creature, which were suddenly hidden from view as eyelids shut tight, a suffering smile still remaining across the owner's muzzle.
Shadow repaired his posture, and took a step forward, skaters threatening to flare as those hurrying feet took action. As soon as one of them came within short distance of the liquid, it was swallowed in the ooze, and the being cursed silently before being thrown against a nearby, rocky wall, ache forcing its way through his limbs.
"S-Shadow…!" the mammal known as Sonic called out, wincing one eye open to see his pal sprawled against the wall as the black creature slid down it. He was barely able to roll his eyes upwards, (remembering he's not on the top-side,) to see the shadowy, sinister fluid latching over the Chaos Emerald, ripping it from his hand.
"Ha, ha, ha… HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!"
Maniacal laughter suddenly filled both hedgehogs' ears, allowing their bodies to respond to the situation with a look of pure shock.
Shadow's eyes snapped from half-way open to fully, and he gripped the wall behind for support as he tried to stand. As soon as that was done, the hedgehog limped forwards, fists weakly clenching. He stumbled for a moment, his legs giving way, but utter determination quickly held them upright.
"There… is no way… Mephiles… is getting away with this…!" he painfully muttered.
Sonic blinked at the persistent rival, and gave a warm-hearted smile before he gave a look of malice to liquid.
'Ya' hear that, buddy? Me and Shads ain't giving up!'
As if he heard the statement, Mephiles' flexible body swayed the hapless creature in his hold faster, to the point that the blue blur would've acquired nausea.
"SONNIKU!"
A feminine, rose mortal rushed through the corridor, launching a stray hammer at the liquefied Mephiles with no fear whatsoever.
Spite swung along with her hammer and her swishing, quill-like hair, "Let. Him. Go…. NOW!"
As soon as the weapon hit a second time, emerald eyes widened in shock as it began to sink in, the girl's hands along with it.
The demon laughed quietly, and those shimmering, reptilian eyes stared at her in the midst of the form; he then flung Sonic to another wall, which held more spiky rocks than one could ever imagine.
Before Sonic could crash, however, he grabbed a rock jutting out of the roof, and used it to propel himself round and safely onto the floor, leaving him in a crouch pose. He stood and saw the maiden ahead watch her arm disappear from existence.
Every waking moment, Shadow felt pain fill his muscles as he tensed up, watching the scene unfold with a sense of forbidden dread. 'Why did Faker need to bring along his fan-girl?! At a time like this?!'
The female tugged at her arms, trying to pull away before it was too late. Desperate, the she-male lifted her head, opened her mouth and began to scream indefinitely.
"AMY!"
The blur rushed forward, shooting past the liquid, separating Miss Rose from her hammer and grabbing her hand at a breakneck speed.
Mephiles growled, as if part of his body had just been severed to make the save.
"Foul play, is it? Not very nice, hedgehogs…"
"Speak for yourself," Sonic quipped, holding his self-proclaimed girlfriend close. "If you're gonna' start hurting the ladies, namely Amy…" the hedgehog murmured that part quietly, "…Mephiles, I suggest we skip to the part where I kick your butt!"
"Oh? Hurt that I messed with your little girlfriend, are you? My, if I didn't know better, I would say you care about her a lot…"
"Quit the yammering!" Sonic shouted, holding back a small blush that was threatening to break from his cheeks to the pink hedgehog, who stared at him with a content smile. "You gonna' fight fair, or do I have to make ya'?"
The liquid gave another maniacal chuckle, before dissolving into the ground and shooting out of it; the pair jumped back as it landed in front of them, witnessing the remaining fluid morph into a Shadow-like figure, which held the same, stolen gem.
Sonic shoved Amy behind him, eyes narrowed as he gave a gulp.
The fan-girl wrapped her arms around her hero's, and, concerned, gave a worried whisper whilst watching from over his shoulder, "S-Sonic…"
A nose was pushed against his face, and then the opponent's muzzle awkwardly moved, though held an undertone of malice, "You can't hurt me, mortal… No matter how hard you try."
The shadow slipped to the side, allowing a black and red homing attack to glide through the gap available.
Shadow almost crashed into Sonic, had he not steered to the side. He still panted, but it had halted a bit.
"Oh, you poor, defenseless fools…" Mephiles spoke with a sort of sick humor. "You still hold hope for this despicable world, despite what the humans have put you through… I would gladly end your misery, but I'd rather know you'd be dying with anxiety and be elsewhere."
Shadow pulled himself up, glaring with newfound irritation. "And, where is elsewhere?"
"Oh, haven't quite decided yet, Shadow. Since you won't allow me to bring massacres to this world, the unfortunate one that I come across will suffer... dearly." He turned his attention to the blue blur and bowed, spitefully yet deliberately adding with a sense of mockery, "Thank you for the emerald, Iblis Trigger… It will aid me greatly."
Mephiles gave another laugh, and spread his arms wide, causing a large sphere of green light to shoot upwards. The orb's area expanded, and the manipulative monster was suddenly floating in mid-air, emerald in his right hand as he uttered a few, silent words under his breath. Suddenly, two emeralds, (one red and one blue, respectively,) appeared in his left and created even more chaos among the trio's minds' imaginations.
"He won't get anywhere, will he?" Amy asked innocently, watching the event with a misshapen look of horror on her face.
Shadow gritted his fangs. "Mephiles could get anywhere… He's obviously discovered a way to jump planets, or something along that line… He could simply teleport and time travel with no emeralds at all… With two emeralds, he could easily demonstrate his power… but even though three isn't the same as seven emeralds, they still give him more power than actually required…"
"Darn demons gettin' all the super-cool-awesome powers…"
Amy and Shadow looked at Sonic, as if to say to the fastest thing alive, 'really?'
"Just sayin'."
The mental half of Solaris watched them bicker with faint amusement, seeming as if he'd miss the insignificant quarrels they'd have.
He rose higher into the air, his body flitting and blending into the horizontally distorted sphere.
"Farewell, fools. May you be murdered brutally five minutes after my deliberate banishment."
"What about me?" Shadow asked, quirking a smirk as the two mammals beside him gave an annoyed look.
The demon creased a sadistic grin. "The next time I see you, Shadow… If I do, that is… I promise to make that torturing for an eternity, a reality…"
"Humph! Will you, now?"
"Yes…" His body faded to a more transparent palette.
"Amy, you stay here…" Sonic murmured, housing a cocky smile.
"W-what…?" The little woman gave a small, confused tilt of her head, and watched as the two adversaries exchanged glances.
"You ready?"
Shadow sneered in reply. "Is that a trick question, Sonic? I'm more ready than you'll ever be."
A shrug, and they both nodded.
"Now!"
The black and blue winds sped forward without hesitation, determination and adrenalin flowing through their veins as they did so.
Green eyes flickered in the portal, still scarcely see-able. They widened in shock, the holder growling, "NO!"
The two vanished from sight, and the sphere flickered a few moments more.
The female, still shock-stricken from the parting of her, 'boyfriend,' furrowed her brow, shook her head, and made another hammer materialize in her outstretched hand.
She gave a fierce smirk, planning to ignore Sonic's order anyway. "You're CRAZY if you think you can leave ME behind, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!"
Within moments, Amy Rose charged forward, a glint of her stalker nature following as she jumped in just before the portal clamped shut and vanished.
All was silent.
Whew… This took a while.
Anyways… I decided to do a cross over, since, well, I haven't found any stories with Mephiles as the villain, or so… (Well, through character filter anyway…) so I decided to write one.
Chapters will be done quicker, I hope… Depends if I have my writing mojo! Though, imagination mojo is plenty…
Hope you liked it. The next chapter should base around everyone's favorite heroes… (A certain hot-tempered girl with orange hair, hint, hint, ;) ) And I hope I can get through this story!
Any reviews would be greatly appreciated… or I'll have Mephiles execute you viciously for not reviewing… Nah! I'm joking. Heh, heh… 'X) ANYWAYS!
See y'all next chappie!
Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog. All rights go to SEGA.