A/N: After what I said a few chapters ago about this story being longer than Messiah, well I retract that previous statement, because this is the final chapter. After I finish this story, I think I might write a spin off story about Shadow or Silver…or I can write the third story in this series, tell me in the reviews what you want me to do next. Anyway, this chapter features NinjaKiwi96's OC who featured in Messiah, Anyhow, on with the final chapter.
"He's coming round"
"His brain activity is increasing, the hallucination is disintegrating. But goodness knows what effect that will have on his mind"
"We can only hope the bastard isn't too badly damaged"
Indiscernible voices swan round Theos mind, like the static between radio stations. His mind yelled at him for him to awake from the crux of implacableness in which he found himself and eventually, his body obeyed. His body went into spasm as he awoke, taking a wild gasp as he did so as though he was on the edge of drowning, but he found he could not. For a second he thought something was wrong with his respiratory system, but as his mind trailed back to him, he realised that he had a feeding tube that went down his throat to his stomach, an oxygen tube was also attached around his nose. He was being held up by thick chains from his wrists, he was standing up but the chains were so tight, it held him up. The room around him was large and labyrinthine; the lights were dying and flickering, casing fleeting shadows from the large computer banks that lined the walls.
Theo finally noticed that three people were in the room with him, and over the sea of confusion, he managed to recognise them, Tails was over by one of the computer banks, tapping away furiously at the keys, whilst Shadow was looking around the room, arms crossed, a displeased look on his stony face. However closest to him was Blaze, she was looking at Theo with a look of shock in her face. Theo tried to speak, but the feeding tube got in the way causing him to choke, in response to his muffled chokes, she quickly grabbed both the oxygen tube and the feeding tube and pulled them out. As the pipes were removed from him, his gag reflex initiated, causing him to violently vomit out all of the contents of his stomach. After a vile choking fit, expelling the last putrid remains of vomit from his throat, he looked up at Blaze, and smiled, causing some bile to run down his chin.
"Hey" Theo croaked, his throat dry and numb from the mass expulsion of bile from his stomach. Blaze didn't reply, her face was white as though she had seen a ghost. Theo's bloodshot eyes scanned the room, "Where am I? Where's Elias?".
Blaze finally talked, still keeping eye contact with Theo but instead addressing Shadow,
"His mind seems scrambled, he still thinks that the hallucination was real".
"Hmm" Shadow said, stroking his chin absentmindedly, he then glanced at Blaze then nodded, "Get him down".
"What do you mean; hallucination?" Theo said, "This is Dimitris fault, he's making me…see things…this isn't real". Blaze fired two fire bolts at each chain, causing them to snap, causing Theo to collapse to the floor, into the pool of his own vomit. His legs felt numb from lack of use, and his entire body felt unbearably weak. But his mind was like a raging sea, overflowing with information, but it had consequences, he felt nervous, bordering on the edge of extreme paranoia, as if everyone around him was going to stab him in the back when he wasn't looking. He felt a hand gently clasp his arm and fast as lightning, he pulled it away and scrambled to his feet, using a metal railing to steady himself. He looked feverishly between Blaze and the approaching Shadow, just daring one of them to say something.
"It's Ok Theo" Shadow said, raising his arms in mock surrender, "This is real world, What Dimitri showed you was a dream, designed so that you would believe something else about this so-called 'Leviathan Project'"
Theo's eyes flicked to him when he said the last two words,
"He's changing my timeline, that's what it is; he's destroying my world slowly, that's why I keep seeing those…things".
"Exactly" Shadow said "Dimitri's put that in your head, so you will believe it and won't be swayed otherwise, but since you're out of that dream, I can try and convince you." Shadow took a deep breath then started to explain, slowly and clearly "This what we know. You were dug up by The Dark Legion about two months after you died and your corpse was brought to Dimitri. He did something to you, knowing Dimitri it's something involving cybernetics, but he changed something in your body which made you go into that sleep. We think the dream was meant to last until he had extracted something from your mind, which judging by the fact your awake, I'd say he'd accomplished".
"Look Theo" Blaze said, consolidation in her eyes "What we're trying to say is that nothing in your dream actually happened, all the people that you met were either based on existing ones or who were completely imaginary." Theo slowly stood from his slumped position, swaying slightly from the blood rush.
"None of that was real?" Theo said
"No" Blaze stated,
"But if Shadows right" Theo said, his senses coming back to him "Then why can't I use my powers?"
"What?" Shadow said, his tone darkening, Theo raised his fist and concentrated, will in himself to spawn electricity, but nothing occurred "What the hell?" Shadow wondered. Suddenly, Tails gasped, he scrambled away from the computer and raised towards the three of them, as if his two tails were on fire,
"Guys! Guy!" Tails yelled, even though they were mere metres apart "I think-I think I know what Dimitri did to him"
"What?" Theo said, through gritted teeth,
"Well" Tails said, "Dimitri put an implant inside your brain, he's controlling the impulses in the neurones which would basically make you similar his personal drone. The implant also seems to be attached to the Parietal, Occipital and Temporal lobes of the brain, which when put together all control the senses."
"So that's how he made the hallucination seem so real" Shadow finished, Tails nodded.
"I think all the dream was, was a simple concoction of electrical and chemical signals that were either amplified or reduced by the implant, it seems so easy, but it had devastating effects."
"Can't we just get it out of me?" Theo asked, his mind struggling to compute the information, he could just imagine it now, a cold heart of steel, suffocated by his brain matter, slowly ticking and whirring away, as it controlled its host thought whilst sifting through its memories, finding one moment that it could then relay to its master.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple, the implant is fused to your flesh, if we tried to remove it, then who knows what damage we could do."
Theo screwed up his fists and kicked a box in frustration,
"Well oh fucking great, I'm a walking science fair project".
Blaze placed her hand on his shoulder,
"Don't say that" Theo brushed her hand away,
"Well it's true, isn't it?" Theo said "I' m a danger to everyone, with this…thing inside me". Suddenly the door slammed open and a black bat rushed in, carrying several large bags on her back whist carrying a long thin package in her hands. As soon as she entered, she kicked the door shut behind her with a loud bang and dumped the packages on the floor,
"Ah Cynder" Shadow said "Nice of you to join us", Theo looked at the bat a bit more but not enough to seem like a pervert and indeed Shadow was telling the truth, it was Cynder. She seemed virtually unchanged from the last time they met, an unknown amount of time earlier, she still wore the same spiked black armour that looked like it had come from the stories of legend, but she had two long swords strapped to her back, squinting a little, Theo was able to see that those swords were his, he had used them when fighting of the demons in New Mobotropolis, he guessed that she had taken them and continued to use them in his memory, Theo grinned sheepishly and staggered towards her, holding onto the railing to support himself.
"Hey Theo" Cynder said, her expression soft and gentle.
"Hello Cynder" Theo uttered, supporting himself with both hands and the railing as he descended the stairs from the raised platform that he had been on "Long time, no see…how longs it been anyway?" He turned to look at Shadow, as if he was the centre of knowledge in this room, but it was Blaze who answered,
"2 Years, 3 Months and 15 Days" she said, arms folded around her chest as though she was imitating Shadow, Tails cocked his head slightly at Blazes remark and she noticed,
"What? I counted" There was an awkward silence, until Theo smirked and continued to descend the stairs, however in his disorientation he tripped over his bare feet and fell, but Cynder caught him around the armpits,
"Whoa, easy there, big guy. You've been unconscious for quite some time, you're still not stable on your feet." Theo grabbed her shoulder and pulled himself up,
"I'll be fine" he said, quietly. Suddenly there was a loud beeping from one of the control consoles, Tails rushed over it and scanned the plethora of information spewing on to the screen,
"Oh…Crap" He said, running his hand through his orange bangs "We've got several squadron of the legion heading right for us" He turned to Shadow and nodded "Whatever you need to do, do it fast". I suddenly dawned on Theo that even though he and Tails were about the same age, he behaved much more logically and without hesitation, something Theo was still finding hard to master, he wasn't a young cub anymore, he was independent and ready to fight on his own two feet, the old stories of the frightful young boy didn't apply to him anymore. This made Theo feel, outdated, at the time he had been admired by all, other Freedom Fighters were just coming to terms with no conflict or battle that they could throw themselves blindly into, but after a mere two years, his light had faded and the light of independence now shone upon the Freedom Fighters, Tails was evidence of that. He wondered what had happened to the others, whether they were married, or if they had a reputable business at their disposal, or, like Theo had been, they were dead and cold in the frozen earth, waiting for bacteria and parasites to break them down into dust. He remembered something Shadow had said to him years earlier,
The most deadly sin isn't Greed or Lust. Its Pride, because unlike the others, Pride never leaves you, it will still clamp like a vice on your heart.
He could now see where Shadow was coming from with this view, he craved to be the centre of attention, he wanted the people spotlight and respect on him rather than the Freedom Fighters, he needed his glory to be restored, like a drug addict needs their chosen poison. That what it was, a poison, palpable venom that he knew could consume him easily, his pride had damaged him more than the demon blood that coursed through his veins. Theo wondered if his pride had also leaded him to his death, after all, a heroic sacrifice would have easily made him the centre of attention and could have restored his already damaged legacy. His biggest enemy wasn't a demon or a scientist. It was himself.
He was snapped out of his out-of-place epiphany, by Shadow dragging him by the arm towards the table where the numerous parcels lay; the black hedgehog then pushed his grey counterpart in front of him, Theo turned in confusion, but Shadow simply nodded towards the packages,
"I found these in one of the storerooms" Cynder piped up "Figured you'd need them". Theo grabbed one of the packages and, looping his fingers around the brown paper tore it open feverishly, inside were some new clothes, a dark blue shirt and black trousers along with a brown waistcoat. After he pulled them out, he noticed a new black trench coat with white swirling patterns coating it, as he pulled it on; he felt the polyester lining slip around his arms, embracing him like an old friend. After opening the second package, he found that it contained large leather boots, which were a perfect fit as he tried them on. He looked in the grimy and cracked mirror on the wall, his matted quills hung down past his shoulders and his red eyes had faded into a dull grey, his skin looked yellow and sunken, which only emphasised the look of death that hung about him; his muzzle was covered in stubble of various shades of grey, which made him look much older than he actually was.
Theo turned to Cynder, she nodded towards the long crate that lay across the table, he walked over to it and ran his fingers over the bolts that held it together, Cynder pulled a screwdriver out of her belt and began to undo the bolts on the other end, Theo sighed and punched through the wodden lid and tore the boards away in one swift movement.
Cynder whistled,
"Nice".
Inside the crate lay the scythe that Theo had seen in his dream, down to the finest details, the symbols, the etchings on the blade even the shape and feel of the handle.
"This was in my dream" Theo said, clasping his hand around the long handle and lifting it up, like in his dream, the runes glowed blue and the scythe came out of the box as if it weighed the same as a blade of grass, "Its demon-made, only responds to a demons hold." He turned to Cynder, noticing Tails out of the corner of his eye, franticly tapping at keys, he presumed that the fox was overriding the security in order to keep the legion off their backs, "Where did you find all this stuff anyway?"
"Dimitri's storerooms" Cynder said, brushing one of her black bangs out of her face "They were all in a locker with your name on it, figured that stuff would be important".
"So that raises the question" Theo said, strapping the scythe to his back in order to keep it secure "Why did Dimitri keep that stuff". Over by the computer, Tails and Shadow were talking in low whispers occasionally glancing at Theo before resuming the conversation in their secretive tone. Theo frowned,
"Hey guys!" he called to them "Mind sharing the joke?"
Tails looked at Shadow,
"Shall I tell him, or shall you?"
"I'll tell him" Shadow replied, he stepped towards Theo and sighed,
"We've found more schematics of your anatomy" Shadow said, his arms folded "And it says that your powers aren't gone, they've evolved."
"But that's impossible" Theo said "When I try to use my powers, nothing happens"
"Well try to activate them differently, if they've evolved, it's likely that the trigger would have evolved too". Theo thought, trying to sift through his mind to find this mythical trigger, the elicit of his new apparent power; then something sparked metaphorically in his mind, he felt a great rush of power, course through his veins, he felt as if his blood was evaporating and burning inside him, this sudden surge began to flow towards his back where he felt it burst out of him, he screwed his eyes up tight due to the unpleasant sensation. Curling, black tendrils spiralled out of his back, with a texture like smoke and shadow, almost like new and obscene arms that were willing to do his bidding. He opened his eyes and looked around him and saw the smoky limbs that had formed out of his back, he moved them around a little and was surprised to find that there were no limitations to the movement of these new demonic arms, he could even loop them round on themselves if he so wished.
"What the?" Shadow muttered to himself. Theo turned and looked at a old filing cabinet that stood, rusty and broken in the corner, without knowing what he was doing, Theo held out his arm with his flat palm pointing at the desired location, in a flash, one of the demonic tendrils flew outwards, stretching to inhuman proportions and latching onto the filing cabinet having spit into multiple strands and fastening onto it like a claw.
Theo retracted his hand sharply, causing the arm to pull the filing cabinet toward him as if it weighed nothing, as it shored through the air towards him, Theo instinctively raised his arm to protect himself, as he did so one two other demonic tendrils shot out and caught the cabinet before it hit Theo, before tearing it apart with a scream of ripping metal.
"Aw hell yeah!" Theo said, grinning like a five year old before Christmas,
"I do have to admit that was...unexpected" Blaze breathed, still staring at the demonic limbs with a mixture of admiration and worry. Tails didn't look too shocked though, he still stood at the computer with one hand on the keyboard, a neutral expression on his face. Shadow merely smirked,
"You call that evolution, I could do better"
"No way in hell" Cynder said, playfully punching Shadow on the arm
"Easy" Shadow said, still with a cocky smile on his face "Power's my forte". Theo clicked his fingers and the tendrils disappeared back into him, giving Theo the unpleasant sensation that someone was forcing something down his veins. Theo turned to the others with a manic grin on his face,
"God, that felt good" he noticed that Shadow was looking even more dark and brooding than usual "Yo, Shads" Theo said, causing Shadow to cringe at the informal shortening of his name "What's got your knickers in a knot?"
"I don't think you should use that power" Shadow said darkly "That power was given to you by Dimitri and as the old saying goes 'Beware the traitors that benefit their side'". Theo smirked, but deep down he remember the issue that had bothered him mere minutes ago; his pride, if he used this power, his own arrogance could completely alter him for the worse, this power could make him more successful, therefore increasing his confidence to the point of cockiness, which could bring his pride up to danger levels, but then again, he knew what was right for him, who was he to listen to others telling him how he should live his life? He could do what he wanted, the power felt good, he had never felt so…alive.
"Relax, I'm not going to become the stereotypical villain just by getting a new power" Theo snorted, taking his latter thoughts and projecting them verbally.
"Power corrupts Theo, you of all people should know that"
Theo turned on him, his mood suddenly reversing, his mind singing with a unexpected fury,
"You know full well that I was under Mephelis's influence, I didn't mean to kill those people"
Shadow held his ground staring back at Theo,
"Still didn't stop you from killing though, didn't it?"
"You didn't know what it was like" Theo uttered through gritted teeth, Shadow glowered and squared up to Theo,
"You think I don't? There was a point, a long time ago when I was killing anyone in my way; but you can resist it, but you didn't! You were just too weak".
At this remark, Theo growled, and raised his fist as though to punch Shadow in the face, but, fast as lightning, Blaze intervened, pushing the two hedgehogs apart,
"That's enough" Blaze growled, Theo muttered some curses under his breath and walked away from them, knowing better than to risk fight with both Blaze and Shadow, he'd have his arse handed to him on a silver platter. He heard Blaze talking in angry whispers to Shadow,
"We've just got him back, don't go forcing us apart"
Shadow grunted in response and turned away and joined Tails at the computer console, still shooting daggers at Shadow, Blaze went over and joined Cynder, who was busy studying Theo from a distance, a worried expression on her face. Theo simply stood, arms folded, glaring at the wall, as if wishing it to crumble to dust before him, at first he was glad that he had been brought back, and by some of his closest friends, but now he wished that they would just burn before him, and have their souls cast into the deepest reaches of the abyss. He knew now, friendship was a mere illusion, like the trance he had been consumed in just mere hours ago. The only person he could rely on was himself, he made the best decisions, he knew what was best for him, and he was the most intelligent. He turned to look at Blaze over his shoulder; she had her back to him and was busy talking to Cynder, Theo's inner rage burned more brightly.
She didn't love him or even care about him, the slut was probably bust chasing some other poor man that would be forever lashed to her side until her stranglehold on his life would drive him insane, that all love was in the end, a way of destroying another's life though compaction and consideration, people would focus on love rather than other things that they should care about. He wondered how many Mobian lives had been devastated because love effected a certain persons decision. He remembered what Dimitri had told him in his hallucination, about one person's decision affecting the lives of every person on the planet, he claimed this was Leviathan Theory. But that was just a mere mind trick in order to get him to believe it. He realised now, Dimtri had been telling the truth, but it was love that changed peoples decisions thus affecting every living thing. The various kingdoms and empires all had love for their people, well almost all of them; this love could cause them to make outlandish decisions that will make some lives, but obliterate others. Love was meaningless, when one thought about it.
Then a massive pain shot though his head, he grunted and collapsed to his knees, the symbol that had plagued his mind, flashing before his eyes, he heard a rushing sound behind him, he turned to see that the world around him had stopped, Shadow and the others were still there, but they were frozen in position, unmoving, like mannequins in a dress shop window. The swirl and cross symbol was emblazoned everywhere, it coated the walls and ceiling like some form of surreal wallpaper, everyone around him had tiny versions of the symbols covering them, coating their skin, fur and clothes as if they were symptoms of some horrifying disease.
"So, you're out" a mysterious voice echoed through the room, then out of the shadows, the robotic echidna that Theo had been expecting, stepped forward. Dimitri's robotic joints humming and clanking as he walked towards him.
"Yeah, I'm out of your freak show" Theo grunted, he unsheathed the scythe from his back and held it in his hands, his knuckles white from gripping it so hard, "What do you want?"
"Ah, I see you got my gifts then" Dimitri said, studying the scythe closely with his robotic red eyes.
"Gifts?" Theo questioned "What the fuck do you mean?"
"Language, dear Theo. I gave you both the scythe and that new demonic power, so…" He thought a while, rolling his wrist for emphasis his point "…You could achieve your true potential".
"So what I'm like your weapon. I thought you had all you wanted from me?"
Dimitri frowned then chuckled,
"So, Shadow worked the system out, clever. And yes I have got what I required from your memories, but that isn't important now, what is important is the new paths that have opened up to you". Theo lowered the scythe slightly,
"So you don't want to kill me?" At this Dimitri roared with laughter, harsh electronic laughter that seemed to reverberate around the room,
"I don't want to kill you, heck, what would I do without you? You made the Leviathan project possible, the last true demon to walk the earth. And now I've built you a weapon and evolved your powers into something new and grand"
"I'll still kill you for what you did to me" Theo growled raising the scythe once more
"Oh you will Theo, give it five years then you'll get what you want. But the question is, when those five years are up, will you kill me? Or thank me?" Dimitri said, a scientific glint in his eye,
"What do you mean?" Theo grunted "I could tear you apart right now"
"But you won't" Dimtir said "Because you're curious". Theo sighed and lowered the scythe,
"Fine, first question; why five years?"
Dimitri smiled "I've made calculations on what you might do after this meeting, imagine what you could do in all that time, you know that this world needs to be taught a lesson , that it needs a fair and just way of dealing with its people, and most of all, you want redemption for what you've seen the government do and how little the Freedom Fighters have done to help the poor and the homeless, there busy living fancy lives whilst we clean up their mess in the dirt."
"You didn't answer my question" Theo growled, Dimitri smiled
"Probability is a great tool, Theo; there isn't a definite time for when you might come for me, it could be three years, seven years, maybe none at all. But the average states that it is five years, until you complete your task and finally come after me".
"Question two" Theo said "Why go after me? Why give me that power?"
"You're the last born demon that walks the earth, any ordinary person couldn't handle that power, however a demon, easily could. But since you were six feet under, I had to think, radically. When I received your body, I implanted a motorised cortex into your brain, which allowed me to rekindle your life signs and for me to manipulate your mind so you would cook up that dream, where I could delve even deeper into your mind and get what I wanted whist, altering your powers to make you stronger." Dimitri said "To make you ready for your task"
"Where should I start?" Theo asked
"Go to Soleanna, the Duke there is corrupt and cares for the pleasures of women rather than caring for his people. There you'll find people who want to take him down, if you mention me, it will get you places. If you use the strategies that you were taught in GUN in order to take down an enemy and implement them here, you'll have your perfect plan" Dimitri turned to look at the others, still frozen in time "But these people will try and stop you, even getting away from here, so, run, run as fast as you can, I've ordered the legion not to attack you, there's legion motorbikes by the front gates, if you steal one of them, you'll be off and heading towards your destiny."
Dimitri turned to walk back into the shadows but Theo called him back,
"Wait, one final question"
Dimitri looked over his shoulder and spoke patiently "What is it?"
"What is Leviathan? Truly?"
Dimitri laughed and kept on walking, "It's you. It was an experiment to make you even stronger so you could carry out what you thought was right"
"But"
Dimitri held up his hand to silence him
"See you in five years Theo" And with that, the scientist faded away into the shadows and disappeared. The symbols disappeared and time began to flow back to normal. Without hesitation, Theo ran out of the room before his companions had any idea what was happening, he darted down the corridor, he could hear the others realising that he was gone but by that time he was away, he turned sharply around another corner and ran down it, on his left, the corridor was lined with French windows, each looking over the right side of the vast courtyard that followed the front gates, he could see that what Dimitri said had been true, there were lines of futuristic looking motorbikes lined up neatly to the sides. With a deep breath, Theo kicked outwards, smashing one of the windows and propelled himself outwards into the storm that brewed outside. The rain lashed at him as he fell, and the wind roared through his ears and in no time at all, he landed and rolled in order to prevent him from getting serious injured, caking his coat in mud as he did so. He scrambled up, slipping slightly in the mud that seek to engulf his boots. He ran over to the nearest motorbike and straddled it, he pressed an inviting silver button and the engine roared into life, at the same time, a little screen lit up with words emblazoned on it,
Destination:_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Theo reached down and typed Soleanna into it. The machine bleeped then a final message of 'Thank you' appeared on screen before it showed him details about the length of the route and the time it would take to reach Soleanna. Theo stared out into the horizon, at the storm clouds swirling and dancing upon the knife edge of the world. He knew what he had to do, and he was the only one who could do it. And with that Theos bike accelerated out into the storm with a roar.
Meanwhile…
Dimitri was sat on a chair in a darkened room, watching the surveillance that was being streamed to him now, Showing Theo making do his escape. Behind him a darkened figure watched to, out of reach of the light of the screen as if light burned the figure,
"Tell me Dimitri" The figure said , "Why did you lie to him about the five year thing?"
Dimitri smirked "If I had told him that you showed me, then I think he wouldn't even accept that. His mind is still damaged, it needs to repair"
"And the plan" The figure asked,
Dimitri sighed, "I've convinced him to go off-the-rails and to rebel, we need him to be isolated,
"I" the figured said "I need him to be isolated from his companions; you forget this was my part of the plan, yours is now complete".
"Then what will you do?" Dimitri asked "When he's isolated I mean"
"He will fall, to his own madness" The figure said, his eyes glinting slightly "And I can tell you, that is already in motion"…
A/N: And there we are, Leviathan is over and done with, remember to review you're overall thoughts on the story, also say what you would like to see next, the third story in this series or a sin off about either Shadow or Silver. I would like to thank everyone who helped with this story. And I will see you guys soon. Bye.