Hai, guys~!
Been a while since I updated, hasn't it?
Well, guess it has…
Sorry; been real busy, and my laptop resulted in being stashed away and ignored after broken-ness during a horrible scene involving an angry parent and a laptop… -_-'
So, I went extreme with typing when my laptop returned, now lovely fixed! Expect more chapters sometime, because I'm back~! And have a sure-er plot!
Enjoy this chapter, and hopefully, it'll rid of that earlier cliffhanger… possibly giving another one. ^^'
Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog, or Shadow the Hedgehog; all rights go to SEGA, respectively.
s-S-s
Silence dawned for a seconds, as the infuriating noise of weight cracking stone reached their highly pricked ears.
Shadow mumbled two words silently, hissing at the blue blur in front of him, "Damn it."
Sonic turned, giving a poker face in return, as his head fell through the edge, his body following as the ebony hedgehog tried to wrench himself away. Yet, there was a problem with that.
Sonic wouldn't let him.
"Buddy, if I'm going down, then I'm afraid you're gonna' go down with me!"
The other growled, then narrowed thickly loathing eyes, "Have it your way, Sonic."
Deliberately, the said creature forcefully pushed his clenched fist into the other's face, causing a yelp of agony, thus, he began leaning in on the helpless critter's face as he pushed himself forward, dragging them both down the cliff.
The blue body thrashed as it rolled down the steep hill that happened to be the face of the crag, its quills becoming a somewhat sickening azure, likewise for the darker furred one, despite how hard it was to see it. One look at Sonic was all one needed to declare he required a doctor, not a wrestling match, though lesser for Shadow.
All the Ultimate Lifeform wanted to do… was shove that Hell-bent pride down his rival's throat. And now seemed like the perfect time to do so.
Barrel-rolling was quite common in the violent debate as they stumbled about down the steep exterior, as was the kicking, punching and agonized grunting parts.
Sharp rocks were belittling them ahead, their dangerous edges taunting them to come closer, and ultimately, bringing them closer to their untimely doom:
Death.
Shadow flicked his head up, dodging unsystematic punches as he did so, eyes scanning the road ahead.
He saw nothing but protruding needles, rock-like needles.
It was then, that it was the blue blur's time to look at what his foe was pondering over, and it was then, that his own eyes naturally widened. He turned back to his enemy, suddenly intimidated by a startling stare.
A smirk, determined-looking blood red eyes, and a tightened, raised fist.
"Play dead, Faker."
Sonic's head swerved as the mammal launched a powerful blow, barely dodging the accurate attack as the head dove.
The speedster smirked. "Do I look like a dog to you, Shads? Go to the pet shop if you're THAT desperate for one."
"You little…" Furious growls erupted from the adversary's muzzle, his chest fur blowing in the wind as he neared his opponent's snarky face, trying to keep his calm. The last thing he wanted was to lose his proper mentality in a fight. "Not Shads… Shadow, Faker. Shadow."
A chuckle. "Heh, you sure are, Shadow! One of the best fakers around."
Shadow snarled angrily, as his patience came crumbling into a thin layer within his mind.
He didn't want to hold it.
He wanted to give this Faker everything he'd deserved thus far. And even if that amounted to death itself.
Seeing the distraction of anger present on the other's face, the blue blur kicked his foe in the shin, causing a disgruntled cry of pain to echo along the cliff.
"Good. Now we're even," Sonic stated, eyes abruptly glued to his own leg, which was bloody, and on the boundary of being torn apart.
At least one leg still worked.
The charcoal animal hefted another fist at his attacker, his irises burning with frustration and annoyance, who grinned in return.
"Sonic the Hedgehog… I promise you, from this moment, that your death will be certain!" He grimly smiled. "And you know I keep those."
Sonic pulled, bringing himself on top of the hedgehog, causing jade eyes to clash with crimson. He glared, continuing his resistance to the deadly point that it might fail. Bruising was suddenly present on the creature's face, despite his strong build, and the cobalt being smiled with jokeless eyes.
"Tired yet, Faker?"
Shadow's spines hit the horrible sharp rocks, the most, as the azure hero had made sure his back quills skidded down the edge, instead of allowing the barrel-roll to take charge.
"Y-you…! I am not the faker, here, you PITIFUL excuse for a hedgehog!"
"Hah! When you say it like that, you make me sound like a god, or something, compared to you. Not nice, is it, Shadow?"
Shadow's anger had subsided a moment ago, but now… he was a thousand times enraged.
"Your biggest mistake was underestimating me, hedgehog… You only have your inferior self to blame," he sneered, his right, gloved hand unclenching, revealing a dangerous dagger of light.
The hero of Mobius allowed his surprised face to present shocked, dilated pupils. "Wait… That's a—!"
" CHAOS… SPEAR!"
The spear shot by Sonic's face as fast as he could gather, slashing the side of his muzzle, and causing an unholy scream of agony to reverberate in his mouth. Sickeningly red liquid grazed his facial features, as he rubbed it, allowing Shadow to take charge as he clambered on top of the hapless hedgehog, bending his hands in an unnatural way.
"S-s-stop!" he yelled, pathetically, "Or… or… you'll go, too, Shads!"
Sonic yelped again, eyes squishing shut as he winced widely, feeling the horrible force of torture along his body.
"All talk and no brawn," Shadow coldly stated, his free hand brightening as it carried another spear of blinding white colliding into gold. "Should I end your misery? Or leave you to suffer?"
"S-s-show off," Sonic coughed, "I don't answer jerks…"
"A pity…" The ruthless anthro shoved a glare, "Because…you just did, Sonic."
Realization caused the foe to make his green orbs wide, sifting his mistake into the unforgiveable light. And, those eyes, they watched and expected helplessly as the spear was brought down to his neck, slashing his flesh and forcing blood to spill horribly onto the cliff, and a horrible scream…
Except… that didn't happen.
Up to that direct point, even Shadow had something he didn't intend on doing.
The edge. There was finally an impending edge, one that led all the way to the ground below, consisting of brutal rocks, sharp rocks, and even blunt ones.
The two gave a stunned expression as they both rolled off the end, pupils meeting each other as they glared with the same intent, 'This is all your fault, Faker.'
Soaring through the air, Shadow braced himself for an inevitable impact, which tormented him, calling him weak, unable, and a pitiable waste of life.
He growled at that.
Flowing through Sonic's head, was nothing but pure hope, let alone possible insanity, for what hazardous things had lied below had already vanished from his sights, into something that he feared the most.
This is all he thought:
'Water, water, water, water, water… NO WATER… WATER… I hate water… For Chaos' sakes, don't put me in the water!'
Honestly, if Shadow hadn't opened his eyes and noticed his rival's petrified features, he wouldn't have realized that there was a lake below him, a deep one at that.
Each being fell through the air, both in their respective states: Sonic screaming and flailing, and Shadow cool and calm.
SPLASH!
They both plunged into the sea-like lake within with one swift action, no matter how much one wished they didn't want to go in.
The black hedgehog looked up, mouth clamped shut as he tried to hold his breath. The light shone through the tip of the lake, to which he faintly frowned and kicked his legs, spreading his arms out as he performed a breast-stroke to surface.
Red eyes only caught a glint of the outside world for so long.
CRUMBLE… RUMBLE…
They looked up for only a smidge of a second, witnessing a rock-slide descending from the recently battered cliff edge.
He scowled, and then kicked his legs faster to emerge out of the other end of the pool, aiming on nothing but safety.
"ARGH!"
Not fast enough.
His legs were subject to the harsh, physical contact of the heavy stones, disabling their swimming use, and leaving a profound creature to howl out of anguish and aggravation.
Opposite this scene, Sonic was struggling to stay up, arms paddling about like a desperate dog trying to swim, and trying to reach a safe rock for grip.
Yep. One of the reasons he hated water, was because he couldn't swim. He knew he had others, but he couldn't remember what they were. Possibly, the temperature could be a result of it. Or the fact of how easy it was to drown.
His head shot to the edge of the cliff, searching for the obviously about rival, who always pulled through despite situations.
"That Shadow's gonna' pay for this…" he mumbled, spluttering shortly after he spoke those words. And then, he choked.
He saw the rocks still crumbling from above, and them falling into the anti-hero's side, who had supposedly gone that direction, earlier.
The water.
He stared.
Bubbles.
He blinked.
Faint bubbles.
He looked confused.
Bubbles flowing from beneath rocks.
He thought.
Was that a sign… that someone was breathing underwater?
Pupils dilated.
Maybe he—?
"SHADOW!"
s-S-s
All the poor hedgehog could see, was the blackness of the water, and he didn't see it for long, because he shut them to stop them from being completely sore.
What was in this stuff?
Shadow didn't want to know.
All he knew, was that he should've got out of the lake faster.
…
But could he have? His speed was pretty natural, on the ground, but it wasn't many times that he actually swam; his missions didn't tend to hold things like that, only rarely.
He really needed practice for neglected stuff like this.
'Humph,' he thought, trying to think clear despite his inner panic. 'Maybe in the next life, perhaps.'
He glared at the surface, eyelids lifting to see a figure retreating out of the water.
'And, obviously, Faker finds it amusing to just leave me here,' he mused. 'Have a nice day in the afterlife, Sonic… Because it won't be in heaven,' he promised silently, hand opening and revealing another bolt of whiteness.
"CHAOS… SPEAR!"
The yell came out, compelling the water to rush into the hedgehog's mouth, and his tiny, holding-its-breath nose.
He spluttered, yet calmed himself and watched as the spear surged through the liquid, aiming directly for the silhouette.
…And watched, distraught, as it missed.
His eyes blinked weakly, as his legs thrashed under the rocks, before slowly coming to a standstill.
They slowly shut, graceful in the way they did it, yet, they didn't notice a familiar shadow coming towards them.
Despite it all, Shadow knew death wasn't all bad as it was meant to be.
'I'm coming, Maria…'