Getting to Eggman's base was a lot harder than last time. Shadow and Espio took care of the robots, while Vector and Charmy stuck close to me and Milo. If any of the smaller ones got to close, Vector and Charmy would strike with fire and stinger.
"Ya know, I'd question how a crocodile could breathe fire, but then I'd have to question how hedgehogs can run fast or how there could be seven emeralds with magical capabilities." I remarked.
Charmy and Vector snickered, and we pressed on. When we finally got there, we found that I was right. Silver and Sonic once again were duking it out, well, sort of. Sonic was trapped in a telekinetic field, while Elise was once again whisked away by Eggman.
"You'd think Sonic would do better at keeping an eye on her." Charmy stated.
"Well, that's kinda hard when you're trapped in a force field." I said.
"I think it's time we stepped in." Shadow stated, before jumping down from the ledge we were on. He landed between them, and Sonic was released from his hold.
"What? Mephiles, why are you getting in my way?" Silver demanded.
Shadow stood, while the Chaotix and I jumped down to join them.
"Dude, are you color blind or something?" Charmy asked.
"I'm Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog." Shadow growled.
He glanced behind him at Sonic, who nodded, giving a thumbs up, and raced after Eggman and Elise. Silver glanced at me, and took a step back.
"Relax, I'm not gonna jump on you again." I retorted.
Silver returned his glare to Shadow, and the duo tensed up for a battle.
"Go Shadow!" Charmy cheered excitedly.
Shadow flung a Chaos Spear at Silver, who ducked out of the way. He threw a couple of crates at Shadow with his telekinesis, and Shadow zipped out of the way. It went on like this for a while, and I quickly grew bored.
"Does anybody have anything exciting to do?" I asked.
"Maybe we should help." Charmy replied.
"Nah, five against one wouldn't be fair."
"I don't think we have to." Espio remarked, pointing.
While we had been talking, Shadow had apparently dealt a good blow to Silver. Both panted as they glared at each other, before Silver let out a battle cry and charged at Shadow. Shadow pulled out the green emerald he held onto.
"Chaos Control!"
Time slowed for a minute, as did Silver. Shadow jumped and kicked Silver in the back of the head. The silvery white hedgehog hit the ground, and glowered at Shadow as he struggled into a kneeling position.
"Face it, with a Chaos emerald, you can't win." Shadow stated.
Silver growled at him.
"Won't give up…all depends on me…can't lose…not when I'm so close…"
"Why are…you talking in…short bursts of dialogue?" I asked, pausing every few seconds like Silver. Said hedgehog glared at me in annoyance, before getting to his feet as he pulled out an emerald.
Letting out another cry, he charged at Shadow again.
"Chaos…"
"CONTROL!"
Shadow and Silver both shouted it at the same time, and they were both holding Chaos emeralds, so I'm sure you know what happened next. As they got ready to spring at each other again, a time portal burst into being.
"You…induced Chaos Control." Shadow stated in surprise.
"I'm not giving up! I'm going to fix the future and save the world!" Silver yelled.
I had to giggle a little; he sounded like a 7 year old when he said that.
"Mephiles isn't trying to help you make a better future, he's trying to eliminate the past." Shadow stated.
"What?...What're you talking about?" Silver asked.
"I told you, Mephiles is lying to you. He's just using you to further his own plans!" I replied.
Silver didn't say anything, but he looked torn.
"To know what happened, we must see what took place ten years ago. Follow me if you want the truth." Shadow stated, before jumping through the portal.
Silver stared after him, then slowly nodded, before jumping through.
"Hey wait!" I yelled.
"Here, watch him for me." I handed Milo to Espio, and jumped into the portal.
"I'm coming too!" I yelled.
Hey, it wasn't every day you had a chance to time travel, and I really wanted to see Shadow and Silver in action.
"Hey Kassie wait!" Vector yelled.
The portal closed, and the Chaotix stared at where it had been.
"We just let the girl we're protecting jump through portal and travel back in time. We're the worst baby sitters in history." Charmy stated. Milo hissed at Espio, who hastily dropped him.
"So, now what?" Vector asked.
"I think we should go back to Soleanna and investigate ourselves." Espio replied.
::::::::::::
The portal opened in a long metal hall, and we all landed on the floor.
"Wow, this looks straight out of a science fiction movie." I remarked.
"What're you doing here?" Shadow sighed.
"Like I'm gonna let you have all the time travel fun."
Suddenly there was a loud explosion from down the hall. We glanced at each other, before racing towards it. We came to a large lab, and jumped down through a broken window. All around us, lying on the floor, were people.
Most of them weren't moving…or breathing for that matter.
A flash caught our eyes. A ball of fire was floating above a destroyed chamber; below it was a shifting ooze of black.
"That flame…is that…?" Silver murmured.
"That's Iblis." Shadow stated.
"And the wriggling black thing is Mephiles, ya know, before he stole Shadow's…shadow." I added.
"THAT'S Mephiles?" Silver asked in surprise. "You mean he's…"
"Part of Solaris, along with Iblis. You see? He's lying to you, because he wants to join with Iblis, which would destroy the world, thus, leading to exactly where you started."
"…Mephiles…and Iblis…make Solaris…"
I rolled my eyes with a sigh, and noticed Mephiles and Iblis moving.
"Hey, guys, they're getting away."
"I'll pursue Mephiles." Shadow stated.
"Me too."
"Then leave Iblis to me." Silver said.
We nodded and started off, but a voice stopped us.
"Wait…"
We turned to see an old man, pushing himself to his knees.
"Seal it with this…" he said weakly, holding out a scepter to Shadow.
"The Scepter of Darkness…" I murmured.
"Hurry." Silver said.
Shadow took the scepter, and we all set off in pursuit of our quarries.
:::::::::::::::
Chasing Mephiles had to be THE HARDEST THING I HAD EVER DONE!
In his mist form, it was hard to keep up with him, and sometimes we'd lose him altogether, before we spotted him sliding along the wall.
"Geez, what's it take to catch this guy?" I panted.
Once again we'd lost sight of him.
"I'll go check over this way." I announced.
"Exactly what do you plan to do if you find him?" Shadow asked.
"Well that depends on how Mephiles reacts. If he attacks me, I run and scream."
Shadow rolled his eyes, and I turned and started down one hall. A few minutes later, I came into a large empty room. Or at least I thought it was empty.
I jumped when I heard a hiss, and glanced around. My eyes landed on a mass of black and purple ooze.
"Mephiles…"
At first I was gonna call Shadow, but something stopped me. Instead, I started towards Mephiles. A small voice shouted that this was a stupid idea, but I ignored it. I knelt down next to the mass.
I don't know what, but something made me reach a hand towards the mass. Hesitantly, I touched it.
Immediately, I was overcome by various emotions.
Fear.
Confusion.
Shock.
Anger.
FEAR!
I jerked my hand back, and fell backwards with a yelp. After regaining my senses, I stared at Mephiles. All these emotions coming from Mephiles? I wouldn't expect Mephiles of all people to exhibit them, well, minus anger.
As I was getting up, I heard Shadow.
"Kassie?"
He appeared next to me, looking down at Mephiles.
"Er…found him?" I said.
Shadow snickered, pulling out his Chaos emerald.
"Chaos Control!"
A greenish glow surrounded Mephiles, immobilizing him.
"…What…stop…" a soft voice murmured.
Shadow activated the scepter, and Mephiles started getting sucked in.
"Who…who are…you?" Mephiles asked.
"I'm Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog." Shadow replied in his usual prideful manner.
"Your face…your form…I will remember…"
We both clearly heard the hatred in his voice as he was pulled into the scepter.
"Your death…certain…you…will DIE…"
With that parting shot, Mephiles vanished into the scepter, which fell to the floor. Shadow and I walked over to it, and Shadow picked it up, before looking up in deep thought.
"That's what he meant…" he murmured.
"He knew you, and you knew him, you just didn't know it yet." I stated.
Shadow glanced at me curiously.
"Hey, I knew about it, and this paradox STILL confuses me."
Shadow chuckled a little.
"Let's find Silver and get out of here." He announced.
"Oh yeah, he must've figured out the whole Iblis seal by now."
"Seal?"
"Yeah, Iblis is sealed inside Elise, and the seal can only be broken if she cries, which is why Mephiles wants to kill Sonic, since he and Elise are friends and all."
Shadow nodded, and we headed for the exit.
:::::::::
We exited the lab, and we found Silver waiting for us, the young Elise sleeping in his arms.
"Did you do it?" he asked, turning to us.
"Yes, and you?" Shadow asked.
"…Yes, the flames are properly sealed."
He walked over to a tree, and set Elise under it.
"It's time to return." Shadow stated.
They did Chaos Control again, opening another portal. Shadow placed the scepter next to Elise.
"You're leaving it here?" Silver asked.
"I already know what becomes of it in the present." Shadow replied.
He grabbed my arm, and we jumped through the portal. I glanced back at Silver, and saw him place the blue emerald next to Elise as well. I gave a small smile.
Then everything became blurry as we traversed through time yet again.
::::::::::::::::::
So, we find out a little more about Mephiles' first and final moments before being sealed away. Could this be leading somewhere? ;-)
