Note: Hello! Bit of a lengthy read up ahead, but I wanted to get this out before Hurricane Florence comes our way! Granted, me and my family live in a more inland, mountainous region of North Carolina, but we're still at risk of flash floods. So, with that said, here's the conclusion of the battle with Black Doom! I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 10:Catalyst of Convergence Part 10
Sonic and co. © of Sega/Sonic Team
"Get near the walls." Espio commanded the children, neither Charmy nor Tails having any objections to that, though they needed some guidance, the chameleon providing such as the moved towards the most southern part of the small, dome-like space.
What sounded to be claws being dragged down the surface of metal could be heard, multiple 'scritch-scratch' noises making the journey to the room's end all the more hurried. And just as before, they steadily began to become more aggressive when it was found that the tactic wasn't working.
"It'll hold." Espio told the two adolescents, his voice not entirely certain itself, yet still he went on. "That door's solid as a rock. It can't get through there."
At first, the chameleon's words seemed to indeed be the truth. Yes, the creature outside scratched, fiddled, then punched, kicked, and threw its entire body into the door's surface, but all that came of it were the resulting noise its attempts created. Though they weren't exactly much of a determent either. The reverberating vibrations of its fists and feet traveled down the lengthy halls of the ship, allowing each of the small control panel's occupants to know of just how much strength this one creature was managing to exert.
It didn't even seem to even register that but a few moments ago, the entire ship was flung around like mad, it not even taking the precaution to go to somewhere safer and ideally away from any windows. It went right back to what it had initially set out to do before with no regard for the possibility of whatever happened before occurring again.
Still, Espio thought, despite that, for the time being, they should be alright. Just one of them couldn't break its way through. It'd take far more than just one.
"Look!" Charmy whispered harshly, pointing to the door, or rather, the small amounts of light that crept in from underneath.
Said light soon being overtaken by a mass of darkened shadows from the outside.
Outside the Ark
"SONIC! NOW!"
The impact was swift.
As was the resulting pain that assaulted both his optic and vision.
Not but a second, perhaps even shorter than that, after his spawn had called upon the blue rat, said vermin had appeared right in front of his golden eye, the flash of blue being in such close proximity nearly blinding the massive, transformed shape of Black Doom before he found the surface of his surprisingly soft, vulnerable optic being thrust into, the golden hedgehog slamming his body into the tissue before he bounced right off. The surface had gone back to its original form, yet the impact of Sonic's homing attack had lingered, the sheer amount of energy and force that had been exerted onto the one, vulnerable area left Doom with little option but to instinctively cup one misshapen hand over the singular eye that continued to throb inside one of his two heads.
As Doom was left to his own devices momentarily, obviously too overcome to do anything at the moment, Sonic turned to Shadow, of whom only watched as the Black Arms leader continued to writhe and released agonized screeches.
"Not a bad plan." The Fastest Thing Alive chuckled, the other hedgehog still keeping his stony features. "Course you know that I was planning on giving the big guy here a piece of my mind as it is."
"All the more reason to make sure you'd do something useful while you were at it." Shadow answered back, though his gaze did not leave Doom.
"Yeah, yeah. You're welcome."
Thankfully, for now, any sort of animosity between the two was put to the side, it now clear (especially to Shadow, begrudgingly) that both of their efforts would be needed. Besides, ultimately, they shared the same goal, it still nestled in the confines of the alien's numerous appendages.
Speaking of which, neither hedgehog found it particularly comforting that Black Doom had suddenly gone quiet. True, he still held one hand over his eye, yet it appeared that he had managed to mostly work through the pain that followed Sonic's blow. It wasn't long before he removed his hand, though the eye did not appear before them. A blank, featureless surface of darkened grey had seemingly taken its place, the thick lids of the eye closing on it soon, giving the appearance that Doom wasn't even looking directly at them.
"Clever…" the behemoth snarled, voice caught in a limbo between amused and furious. "I imagine that's what you're thinking right now, isn't it?" the head before them tilted a bit. "No wait, don't tell me. I already know."
Neither of the two Supers answered, though Shadow's lips tightened uncomfortably.
'Oh really?' the red streaked hedgehog thought, allowing this string of thoughts to be heard freely. 'Then how about this?'
If it hadn't been for the lingering sting in his eye, Doom would've let himself be humored by the string of foul insults and obscenities that his spawn had just shared with him.
'My, my! Such language!' he shared, surprised that Shadow wasn't trying to block him out too hard. He had wanted him to respond. 'I don't know where you learned that from, but it certainly wasn't any of us.'
Shadow was about to retort, yet any sort of formulated thinking was interrupted by the sight of a familiar red hue beginning to envelop the oversized being's body.
'No dinner for you tonight then. Too bad. For we're about to have a grand feast.' Doom communicated, the glow having nearly consumed his entire form, as well as the ship entangled below him. Sonic and Shadow immediately dove forward, flashes of contrasting blue overtaking their bodies as Chaos Control amplified their speed, bringing them closer and closer to the now transporting Doom.
The body of the Black Arms leader, instead of simply disappearing in a blur of vibrant, deep red, his very body seemed to almost look as if it were a steady flow of surging energy that traveled down the length of his entire form. From the upper portion of his body and then working its way down, winding through each and every tentacle that held the Ark in its grasp.
And whilst Sonic and Shadow were successful in reaching the captured ship, as they held onto some outer railing in anticipation for what was to come, there was one particular detail that the latter of the two had taken notice of as they made their journey to the ship.
The red energy, in its travels throughout Black Doom's enlarged form, began from behind the head bearing two horns. And while the exact area was speculation at best, its position seemed to be around where, on the other head, its lone eye would've been located.
Then, they had begun moving.
In a strikingly similar manner of Chaos Control, Doom, along with the Ark, had begun traversing through the starlit void at a velocity that broke the boundaries of what was possible, the once stationary, luminous balls of gas and light becoming stretched and warped before the hedgehogs' very eyes, the planet Earth and its lone moon appearing in a similar manner as the massive alien flew over the two.
Though, as Sonic and Shadow soon realized, to their collective horror, they were moving away from the planet. The Ark was being taken outside of not only its natural place in the skies, yet out of its set position above the Earth.
He was taking it away from the planet.
This immediately spurred both Supers to try and get a better hold on the rapidly traveling space colony, yet the speed at which they were traveling proved to make things quite difficult, even in their current states of elevated power. Not to mention exhausting, the strain of the travel, despite it only having been no more than a few seconds, each of those seconds were tumultuous and agonizing to the two smaller beings.
And like it or not, Doom's earlier statement was more than true.
Neither of them quite liked like, if not outright despised it, yet if they went and depleted themselves now, they'd be of no use at all.
Sonic and Shadow's decisions were unanimously made, each, albeit with a last moment's lingering hesitation, allowing their fingers to release their hold on the ship, the two hurling backward and spinning wildly as the Ark, along with Doom himself, vanished from sight.
"Where's he going?" Sonic questioned, Shadow in turn focusing his efforts on finding the overlord.
'Just this once.' "He's…" the Ultimate Lifeform began, not entirely certain at first, yet with just a bit more concentration, he felt something. "He's just ahead. More towards the northwest." He answered.
"But?" Sonic pressed further. Despite having gotten an answer, the manner in which Shadow delivered it didn't exactly entail that everything was fine.
The other hedgehog inwardly cringed. The pest was sharp, he'd give him that. "I don't know, but it…" there was no way that he'd acknowledge it anymore than he had to. Let alone address it as anything other than that. "It feels strained. As if it's growing more difficult to track him the further away he gets."
Sonic's eyes narrowed at this bit of news, his gaze set in the direction mentioned before. "Little strategy of yours seemed to work out fine. Mind doing a little more of that?"
"I knew you wouldn't stay put. You practically did all the work for me." Shadow in turn responded. "Though Doom's taste of defeat is going to come from me and ONLY me."
"Well, what are you waiting for? We know now that Big Boss' got a bit of an eye problem, so let's go 'cure' it!" he then flew off, Shadow in turn doing the same, the two soon coming to be around neck and neck as they traversed through the endless void at high speed.
Though the sight of an incoming wall of flares heading in their direction made them momentarily halt in their journey. At least they could confirm they found who they were searching for.
Power Plant
He found himself rendered speechless.
Whether it be from the sudden force that overcame the entire area or simply due to the fact said force had quite literally thrown him up against the wall, it ultimately didn't matter. Vector was mainly wishing and praying that it'd stop.
Thankfully, it had, albeit that in itself held its own brand of dangers.
Upon the sudden influx of pressure coming to an end, the croc found himself falling flat onto the walkway to the four data storages.
"Oooohhh…" he moaned, the scratches on his back were nothing compared to that. "My back…"
He about to hoist himself up until his foot slipped over the edge, the reptile stopping himself with his hands on the flooring and maneuvering his dangling limb back on solid ground.
He was aware of the fact there was a bit of a fall down below the walkway and lone platform in the chamber, yet it was only now that he had taken to noticing just how long of a drop it was. The walls of green, scrolling binary code continued on and on until the glow of the numerous sets of '0's and '1's grew difficult to see (what little of it there was, as a few portions of the walls had gone dead entirely). Down, down, down, it went, a sea of black seemingly at the bottom, the abundant green light all around him not even able to brighten whatever lay down below.
Well, whatever. He knew better than to go anywhere near that. 'I'd hate to be the guy that'd have to take a tumble like that.'
Indeed, which was something of which the beings he previously battled with had suffered. Though evidence of it was somewhat difficult from his current position to see, he could somewhat catch the deep indents and markings of what must've been nails or claws dragging themselves along the flooring or on the sides of the single pillar that remained standing.
Wait a minute. Single? Last time he checked, there were two-
SCREECH!
'Oh-'
He turned his head, his eyes catching the approaching form of the one black creature that hadn't been sent tumbling down into the pit edging its way at the base of the platform, right where the walkway met. And above its head, held aloft and ready to be thrown right in his direction, was one of the very objects he was assigned to protect.
'Great.'
Outside the Ark
The wall of flares were coming in fast, it only being mere seconds before it'd make contact with the two heading straight for it.
Though said individuals approaching it were more than prepared.
With a flash of blue, the two had seemingly disappeared from view, only to appear right on the other side of the wall. Wide as it was, it was clear to see that the same couldn't have been said for height.
And lo and behold, the monstrous cause of said wall lay just behind it.
Black Doom wasted no time in immediately engaging with the two hedgehogs, his duel-horned head releasing a flurry of lasers from its gapping maw, the journey towards the behemoth somewhat slowed by the fact they had to couple moving forward with dodging the burning hot projectiles seemingly rushing on by at nearly every angle.
All the same, Chaos Control certainly made things easier.
'Okay, Shads.' Sonic thought, seeing the other Super going on ahead, right towards the sole optic ahead of them. 'Ready anytime.'
'Ah, he comes.'
Whilst said musing wasn't shared openly with his spawn, Black Doom had acknowledged he was here, his golden-silvery form reflecting in the moist surface of his ever present, ever watching eye. There, Shadow simply floated, determined and pushing himself to not break eye contact with the larger being before him.
'Well?' said being asked, this thought shared with his disobedient, unruly child. 'Plan on delivering anymore spiel on my supposedly inevitable demise?'
'Funny.' The hedgehog answered back, his lips tightening as the invasive pressure was quickly felt again. 'Then again, hypocrisy would mean little to the likes of you.'
There was a twinge of anger that came following his remark, yet to Shadow's surprise and befuddlement, it was little more than a mere sliver of what he had come to see from Doom. If anything, he disregarded it as little more than the backtalk of a juvenile delinquent. Of course, such a thing slighted the Ultimate Lifeform, yet he dared not allow Doom to have such satisfaction, thus he simply brushed it off. Little more than the complaints of a disgruntled insults of a dying old man, he thought.
'I think the beings on that planet have a saying for that too.' Doom answered. 'Some sort of utensils they use in preparation for meals calling some other utensil a certain color, when in reality, it fails to realize it shares the exact same features as the one it's chastising?'
'Whether they do or not, I don't care.' Shadow responded, readying himself for the alert. 'Besides, you've done a terrible job even alluding to what it is.' At the very least, he knew what a pot and kettle were compared to him.
The horned devil didn't retort back. He said, nor shared anything. And despite himself, the smaller hedgehog found that the silence concerned him more than whenever the alien was communicating.
Well, that in itself wasn't exactly correct, but it still a method that he was far from accustomed to, let alone comfortable with.
He was delivering something to him, even with Shadow's best efforts to keep him from delving in any further past the upper layers of his consciousness. Nothing constructed with words, yet of sensations and signals. What he had told Black Doom had ignited something within him, he in turn sharing it with Shadow, which in turn had a similar effect for himself as well.
'Hypocrisy would mean little to the likes of you.' The hedgehog's mind suddenly found intruding upon it, the voice not being the one of the monstrous lifeform before him, yet his very own. In fact, it was little more than a part of an earlier jab he delivered to Doom just now. 'Hypocrisy…' it was far from a time to muse, yet the repeating of that phrase held more to it than a simple mock back to him. A considerable amount of weight accompanied the word according to the waves being transmitted to him via the being before him. And whilst Shadow was left flabbergasted and befuddled as to why, the signals and sharing of Doom's emotional state told him that the being knew. He knew EXACTLY why. But it was no longer for him, he had squandered his chances.
'That reminds me.' Black Doom began, his voice something of a surprise after the small bit of silence. 'There's something else that those beings on Earth that fits. In fact, it fits perfectly right now more than ever.'
Shadow gathered himself and got into a fighting position. Now all he needed was for his current comrade to see his cue and come forward.
'Very scarcely do others manage to fool me once.'
His stance began to falter. No. No, he knew it. He KNEW what he was trying to do!
'And those that do never get the chance to do it again.'
Yet by the time Shadow realized it, there was nothing that could be done. Sonic warped in front of him, ready to dive forward and slam into the alien's eye.
"WAIT, STOP-"
Though what met the other hedgehog's golden form was a far cry from the soft tissue of an eyeball. In fact, from what he could tell, the surface was far tougher and densely packed. An arm? The impact sent Sonic flying back until he stopped himself, coming to see that his assumption had been somewhat off.
An arm was what was coming right towards him. The left wing still remained over the lone eye, the other still moving as if it were keeping the form it was attached to afloat in this weightless space.
Power Plant
It bounced, surprisingly enough. Vector hadn't even suspected such a thing as that could bounce. And yet here it was: landing on the uppermost tip and cartwheeling in the air, heading straight towards him.
Seizing the chance the moment he spotted a space he could potentially squeeze through, the Chaotix detective immediately dove forward, sliding on his scaled stomach as the storage unit flew on over him, crashing straight into the door and then bouncing off to the side, plummeting downward into the blackened, fathomless pit below.
Though it became clear that Vector hadn't exactly dove forward to safety, his journey stopped by the bridge of his elongated snout meeting the two toed, clawed foot of the creature standing above him.
Brandishing its claws, the Arms spawn slashed downward, the crocodile rolling out of the way to try and maneuver himself out of the way of the sharpened instruments, yet found he was left with very little room to roll to.
"Wh-WHOOOAA!"
And soon, it became even less than that. First it started with his tail and legs, then as gravity began to take hold, Vector found that he was nearly entirely off the walkway, his gloved hands grabbing hold of the edge just in time to keep from plummeting down.
Then he took notice of something sharp being applied to said hands, the owner of those sharpened things looking down at him with blank, paleish-yellow eyes.
Outside the Ark
The beginnings of Chaos Control were rendered as little more than wisps of blue dissipating into the space above, the digits of the massive hand that managed to seize the Fastest Thing Alive wrapping around his smaller, golden form, and tightening them to where even the most basic of struggling and wriggling was near impossible.
Shadow flew forward, delivering a hard, solid kick to the horned being's forearm, yet then brought himself closer to the wing shielding the eye when this proved to have no effect.
'Spear won't do you much good here.'
'No. That's why I have something 'bigger' in mind.'
The Ultimate Lifeform's silvery-golden hue began to take on a faint twinge of red, rivaling that of his streaks and eyes, said hue growing stronger and stronger in but a second or two, thanks to the currently present amount of combined Chaos Energy. In its build up, he drew ever closer, Doom's wing beginning to shudder somewhat from the influx of power coming to the smaller hedgehog.
"CHAOS BLA- "
"SHADOW, LOOK OUT!"
Sonic's words ultimately were for naught, for as soon as he saw it shooting up from Black Doom's lower half, a part of him knew well that it was already too late.
In the midst of beginning to release the energy he had been building up, the other hedgehog found his middle grasped and trapped in the hold of a writhing tentacle, said appendage wrenching him from his perch atop of Doom's arm and slinging him downward. The suddenness of the descent was then interrupted by the sensation of being thrown forward, Shadow managing to catch his own reflection in the glass of the window he was about to head right into.
And with no time to stop the maneuver he was about to perform on the alien overlord.
Control Panel
"What was that?!" Tails shouted, beating Charmy to his own exclamation of the sudden 'BOOM' that rattled the area near them. It certainly didn't feel strong enough to be from…whatever had ahold of them, yet it was close. In fact, from his estimations, it sounded like it had come from where they all had seen the monstrosity outside the Ark gazing down upon them with that massive eye. 'Oh no, oh God, please, tell me it didn't break through…'
"Didn't they feel that?!" Charmy then spoke, finally finding his words. Given Tails' own shouting, it was obvious that there was no longer an issue about them having to conceal themselves. The beings outside had known for some time they were in here. "They just got right back up and started all over again!"
Espio remained silent, still keeping the two children close to him, yet his eyes watched the door, his ears filled with the worried cries of the fox and bee trying to drown out the continuous assaults on the only available barrier between them and the drove that surely held unsavory things for them in mind.
"It'll hold." He found himself saying, despite his faltering confidence in such a statement. "It'll hold." He repeated, as if that would do anything to somehow strengthen it.
"No, it won't!" Charmy cried out, his eyes growing moist, said moisture beginning to collect in his ducts. "It didn't hold for Vector, so it won't hold for us-"
"It'll hold!" Espio bellowed, the little bee cowering under his looming form. A pang of guilt assaulted the chameleon upon seeing the little insect, tears now flowing freely from his usually chipper, vibrant eyes. "It will." He told him, albeit more gently, the bee wrapping his arms tightly around the older detective's waist, shaking as the noises continued on and on, the door seemingly beginning to bend inward, particularly near the manual lock. 'It'll hold.' He thought to himself, a far grimmer prospect entering his mind that he dared not share with either Charmy or Tails. 'It's got to.'
Nearby
He didn't even get the chance to process the fact that he had just gone through the looking glass until his head had made impact with the floor, bits and fragments of what had once been an intact window scattered all around him. Though the damage he had just caused was just going to be seen as a mere glimpse as Shadow found his waist being crushed by a powerful amount of pressure, the tentacle applying said pressure then winding itself around his arms, essentially binding them to his sides. Before he could utter anything resembling a protest, the appendage yanked itself back, pulling the hedgehog out of the ship and then hurling him upward, the spiky form flying higher and higher until he was seized by what felt like a hand, the digits of said hand going to work in encaging their catch so he'd not escape.
"Two for the price of one," Black Doom began, the eye on both heads alternating back and forth to observe the captured Supers. "Is ultimately unfitting. Yet two and whatever number of those below for the millions and their home…I think that is fine." The eye on the single horned head opened, the hand clutching Shadow bringing the trapped hedgehog closer until he was mere inches away. His intentions for Sonic were practically broadcasted down to his smaller spawn. "No, don't worry." The behemoth chuckled. "Such a fate would be too kind, especially for you. I have to think hard on that one." The eye then switched back to the other, gazing upon the other form captured in his clutches. "It's been so long, the exact flavor of you non-human earth-dwellers has escaped me." He began to lift his hand upward, holding Sonic at a somewhat downward angle. "But no matter. After all, no time like the present, yes?"
And with that, he brought his captured prey forward, right towards his gapping, ever present maw.
Despite the fact that it appeared he was moving very little, Sonic had been struggling to escape from the alien's grasp the very second he managed to be seized by his hand. Heck, one of the first tactics had begun to go through with was Chaos Control! And he would've very well succeeded too, if not for Doom immediately making the effort to squeeze and wrap his fingers around the smaller hedgehog's form as tight as possible. With each attempt in him trying to focus his energy on escaping, even as the energy of blue had begun building to the point where he could properly execute it, Sonic found his entire midsection being assaulted by pressure that, when he had experienced it the first time, he could've sworn his eyeballs were going to pop right out of their sockets. Suffice to say, it was more than a little difficult to keep one's concentration in such a situation. This pattern had gone and repeated itself in the small span of time between his and now, his and Shadow's capture, Sonic far from one to simply admit defeat, especially to guys like Doom, yet even with the vast amounts of power flowing through him at that moment, he couldn't deny that, unfortunately, 'Super' didn't exactly translate to 'invincible'.
And whilst he couldn't exactly be sure, the currently golden blur suspected that from the light 'pop' he heard on the last squeeze given to him, there had to be something broken somewhere, if not bruised at the very least. Though now, he saw that was the least of his problems.
As if it wasn't big enough already, Sonic's eyes widened in awe and horror as the 'mouth' of Black Doom's transformed shape began to widen, his grip tightening ever more around the hedgehog as his struggles had started to grow desperate, the hue of blue associated with Chaos Control barely able to form amidst the unbearable crushing force robbing Sonic of breath. Paleish, grey flesh with a hint of violet presented itself before him, its surface appearing far softer and much more tender compared to the skin coating the rest of the extraterrestrial's body. It also bore something of a moist look to it as well, though this was far from comforting. Sonic had known and seen that the maw had teeth. Lots of teeth. It was just now though that he realized just how many. Sharpened, yellowish spikes protruded from various places, rows upon rows of them arranged in something of rings, lining the surface and seemingly continuing on and on, down and down even in the vast blackness that concealed anything else from view.
And then the smell…oh God, the smell. The smell hit Sonic like a tidal wave, he able to keep whatever had wished to come up his throat down, though he wasn't sure of how long such a resolve would last. 'Wet, hot, and dead' were the first words that came to his mind, a sickening, pungent concoction of maggot-riddled flesh and waste that had been left out to fester for weeks in the hot sun, with just a dash of some unfitting, bizarrely sour tanginess assaulting his senses and bringing stinging tears to his eyes. Yet amidst the wretched odor, Sonic detected something else. It was deep, far deeper than the more powerful smell, yet still, it was present, igniting a horrid taste in the back of his throat. Almost coppery in taste. Acidic. And while he wasn't entirely sure, what his mind believed it to be only served to make his attempts to escape even more frenzied and desperate.
From his current position, Shadow couldn't exactly see what Doom's other head was doing, yet given how Sonic was more than anxious to get free of his grasp, he could only imagine that it was nothing that bode well for him. He needed something. Something to at least get the attention of the other head…yet he couldn't exactly do anything if he could barely move!
'Ultimate Lifeform…' he heard echo in his mind. 'Hm. Ultimate Lifeform indeed.'
If he could maybe just get his hands…or just one hand free. It didn't even have to be that! Just a few fingers perhaps! Yet the only available space was one he could barely maneuver around, and it was unlikely his captor would spread his fingers just a little bit more.
Still, he had to try. He had to!
He was being brought closer. The arm's movements not exactly slow, but just at a steady enough pace to allow his catch to fully take in what awaited him at the end of this journey. And the alien's breathtaking grip wouldn't compare to the sensation of the hundreds or so teeth piercing his flesh. Perhaps there was the possibility of him being able to warp in the few seconds between when he'd surely enter that fleshy chasm, though it'd have to be quick. Even for him.
He had to do something. Anything!
And then…it hit him.
He was almost there! Two fingers had begun to push their way from in between Black Doom's own, yet two wouldn't be enough. Well, maybe. Honestly, he had never tried with just two. But still, just in case, he wanted to get all five out. Then he could maybe, just maybe, go from there.
Assuming Doom didn't catch him first.
"You know, it was probably best that you didn't stick around for long when all that 'Project Shadow' stuff was going down!"
Project...Shadow? Project…he was a…yes. Yes, that would make sense. A project…'For the very thing mankind has wondered and pined for. Immortality. To become an Ultimate Lifeform.'
Yet…why would Sonic know that? Better yet, where was he even going with this? So many questions flooded his brain all at once, yet this was far from an appropriate time to even go over the first few that popped in his head!
"Even if I didn't know her at all, he was way better off with that Maria kid than he'd ever be with you!"
It hit him.
It hit him HARD.
True, Shadow wasn't entirely comfortable with her name being mentioned so lightly, yet what had come to him next held nothing to the discomfort mentioning her brought. But that was nothing compared to what he felt coming from his captor.
Hate. Unbridled, unfiltered, and from the massive weight it was placing on the hedgehog, just now released from any sort of confines it had previously keeping it in. Doom didn't even seem to be aware of the fact he was even projecting it at such a powerful level, his focus having been directed on the one that had spoken 'her' name.
Focus…his focus, albeit intense, was now completely on Sonic. Any sort of distraction would have to be something of equal magnitude. And while perhaps what Shadow was initially wishing to do would be that very thing, it'd at least confirm why the alien had gone through the trouble of throwing him throw a window instead of allowing his wing to be touched by his developing blast.
"How dare you…" the horned being snarled, his single optic lit afire with a rage that the energy-charged hedgehog had honestly been taken aback by.
What in the world? The seizing the Chaos Emeralds from him and using said Emeralds to blow up his comet, yes, Sonic could understand him being absolutely irate at that.. If anything, the years with Eggman had made him expect such a reaction, whether it be in a tussle with the doctor or some other loon obsessed with world domination. And true, he had intended for his comment to get his attention (and hopefully off of him being thrown down the alien's throat), yet this was far from what he was initially expecting.
"HOW DARE YOU!" the overlord bellowed, his ignited fury only increasing as the hedgehog was trying to process why he was seemingly so worked up over what should've been rather trivial compared to everything else.
And here he thought that perhaps Sonic's maneuver would make it a tad easier for him.
No such luck, the finger that encased Shadow still were tightly wound around his smaller form. Still though, Shadow had begun to thankfully make some progress. He had up and nearly worked his entire hand through the other side. Even if it was just to the tips of his gloved fingers, it was still progress.
And as many questions this near maddening fury Doom was exhibiting brought, he knew he couldn't allow himself to dwell on it. Not now anyway.
"How DARE you compare me to her!"
Sonic had more than good deal that he wished to say (mainly dealing with how, let alone why he was so outrageously angry about some kid), yet the hand holding him had seemingly grown to be even tighter in its grip. He was brought away from the being's mouth, yet it seemed to gain him only temporary reprieve.
"How dare you even THINK to mention ME in the same breath as HER, rat!" Black Doom bellowed, his entire form practically trembling with fury. "Me, who had brought forth generations upon generations of my kind and expanded our rule over hundreds, thousands of worlds! Whilst she had done nothing! She had earned nothing! Little more than a parasitic, diseased lump of flesh and blood that Gerald was disillusioned into keeping alive for just a little bit longer…"
'Diseased?'
He was just nearly there.
'A lump of flesh and blood?'
Finally, he had it out! And with enough room to flick his wrist if need be.
'He…he has the gall to address her as that?'
Good thing too, as the Ultimate Lifeform suspected that he'd need much more than a simple Chaos Spear to test out his theory.
'He has the gall to call her such things?! Her?!'
And Doom had just gone and supplied him with an extra helping of motivation to do it.
"Which reminds me…" the horned creature growled, tone growing quite calm compared to the slew of curses he had just released before. Sonic was held up right at the single eye, the golden scalera and the reddened iris it surrounded all that he could see. "I've held a similar opinion on you since our brief meeting in that human city." It wasn't the mouth, yet the hedgehog didn't exactly prefer for the enlarged optic to be so close to him, surveying and analyzing each and every aspect of him. As if he had gone from something to chew on to something the alien didn't even view as worthy of that. It'd be too 'merciful' in his eyes. "You may not look it, but in many aspects, you're a splitting ima- "
"CHAOS LANCE!"
The transition was quick and jarring, even for him. One moment, he was still caught in the larger overlord's grip, and the next, he found himself having to hold himself up, remembering that he no longer had a hand supporting him.
"YOU!"
Another blur of gold had just barely avoided being swiped at by Black Doom's claws, he coming to join the newly freed hedgehog as the two watched the larger alien having to momentarily abandon his goal in dealing with them, the freshly bleeding wound present on his left wing needing to be tended to.
'Green blood…'
"Your chest hurting too?" Shadow heard Sonic question, a pained laugh exiting from him. "I'm NOT looking forward to feeling that tomorrow."
'Assuming there will be a tomorrow.'
Shadow had kept any sort of talk to himself, eyes situated on the damaged skin on the alien's wing. His features remained as they were, but he was nonetheless relieved to see that unlike the tentacles, the wing seemed to not be repairing itself after just a few moments. Also, thankfully, it seemed that Sonic too took notice of this rather useful discovery.
"Looks like we've got ourselves the break we needed." The lighter colored hedgehog simply nodded, eyes still fixated on the streams of liquid pooling out from the area he had struck. "So," Sonic began again. "You want to take the left, or the right?"
"…does it matter?" he finally answered, though he had already 'picked' one to begin wailing on. "Ideally, breaking them or tearing them off would do us a world of good, but just as long as he can't use them to protect himself!" with that, the Ultimate Lifeform warped away, undoubtably back to where Doom was still tending to his most recent wound.
"Fine. Guess I get the right." Sonic responded to no one, finishing his comment before following suit. "But I'll get it first!"
Power Plant
Lean over, shimmy, dodge. Lean over, shimmy, dodge. And occasionally try to get in a bite or two.
This had basically been the improvised routine of sorts Vector came up with in dealing with the bipedal alien above him. His fingers gripping tightly to the edge of the walkway, the large crocodile had to make sure each and every one of his movements had been carefully thought out. What would've sounded like a simple task on paper proved to be anything but, and that wasn't including the long Arms spawn still at trying to loosen his hold.
It wasn't as if his weight was an enormous problem. No matter what Espio had told him, he was at a PEREFECT and PROPER BMI for his species! Heck, he bet that guy hadn't even SEEN a croc before him! So what if he liked just an extra rib or two? Hadn't he heard protein was essential part of every diet?!
'Get more of that than that disgusting bean and rice combo he has.'
Still, at the moment, Vector found Espio's lecturing and reminders of his food intake flooding his mind as gravity seemed to be growing more and more persistent in pulling him downward. Simply put, even if the chameleon was full of it, he was still a big guy. And 'big' plus anything involving a long drop usually resulted in something pretty bad happening. Not to mention rather messy, even if no one would be around to see it.
The lifting of his tail had somewhat relieved him of the stress his arms were going through (perhaps Espio's quips on him at least working out was something to consider) and maintain balance, yet the appendage could only do so much. The lone spawn above clearly had the advantage in this situation.
"Grrrrah!"
Something of which it made clear whenever the opportunity presented itself.
A claw had slashed at one of the hands gripping the edge, the fabric covering the fingers tearing open to reveal green, scaled digits underneath. Vector was fortunate enough that the skin that covered his hands bore the same thickness as almost everywhere else on him (save for his stomach), yet thick skin or not, there were still nerves packed throughout. Nerves that were already under a good amount of strain as it was. The last of the Black Arms that had invaded in the Power Plant had continued its tactic of clawing and scratching at the clinging hands, though when the crocodile had decided to make use of his teeth, it was forced to momentarily pull back. He was in no position to do so, yet should he wish to, once he got back on solid ground, Vector could give his current tormenter more than a little compensation.
Assuming he could even make it that far.
Control Panel
It did nothing.
BANG!
He had suspected it wouldn't have, yet still, then, it was only one.
BANG!
Not however many were here now.
BANG!
"We've got to go!" Charmy suddenly cried out, not even caring to try and keep his voice down. What point was there? They already knew they were here. "We've got to get out of here!"
"Where?" Tails responded, not exactly in the best of states either, yet still, the little bee wasn't doing anything to help matters. "There's nowhere to go to! The door's the only way in or out of here!"
"Then what are we supposed to do?!" the insect barked back, tears pricking at his wide, terrified eyes.
He was half tempted to yell back at the two children, if not just to stop at least two sources of ongoing, ever present noise, yet Espio found himself unable to garner up anything. Besides, whether he liked it or not, both of them stated the truth.
The black creatures outside were doing everything in their power to either bust open the door or damage the lock enough to allow entry inside. And aside from said door, there was no other visible exit they could use. At the same time, they'd all be fools to try and make a break for it through the crowd of however many of them were out there. If anything, they'd simply hand themselves over if they were to attempt something like that!
They had to get out. They had to escape, yet where to?
It was then that Espio's eyes turned back to the two panicked children, both going back and forth on the issue, albeit it was far more chaotic and frenzied then a simple exchange as that.
"What do you think we SHOULD do then?" Tails questioned Charmy, of whom was now letting tears flow freely down his cheeks. "Burst open the ceiling and…" the fox gestured towards the surface above them, pausing for a moment as the bee's insistence on finding an escape route proved to be more helpful than he initially thought. "…climb our way out…"
Charmy's state hadn't really undergone any drastic changes with Tails' suggestion, yet looking up at the ceiling himself got him thinking as well. And then to the purple chameleon next to him. Espio had one of his weapons at the ready should the door's protection fail, yet from how things were looking now, it seemed that the sharpened instrument had found itself a different purpose.
BANG!
One that'd have to be implemented as soon as possible.
Outside the Ark
From his mouth, lasers flew, beams of light that rained down on his two smaller aggressors that were giving it their all in attempting to avoid his onslaught. A select few of them had managed to make contact, yet Black Doom found that even the briefest satisfaction from such a thing did him no good.
Perhaps it would've been inevitable that they would've discovered it, as well as how, like it or not, he couldn't conceal it forever. Still, the discovery of his wings' vulnerability compared to other portions of himself brought him a small degree of concern. Concern that gnawed and was fighting to grow in the pit of his enlarged stomach, yet the horned devil refused to allow such a thing to occur (even if said thing seemed to be gaining more and more traction as time went on).
Not to say that his flapping appendages were no more than simple twigs one could break over their knee, yet they weren't completely invulnerable. Nowhere near as fragile as his eye, but still. And unlike the collection of tentacles that composed of his lower half, two wings were all that he had.
But what use was it for him to ponder any of this? What use was it for him to actually believe for a moment that Black Death perhaps had been wise in wishing for him to not continue this?
'You do not understand, Death.' Doom thought to himself, awaiting the arrival of the two energy charged hedgehogs. 'This deals with far more than what you could ever hope to understand. This is an offense to me. An offense that 'she' perpetrated and made sure to create!' any moment now they would materialize before him. The lasers had all gone, traveling to reaches unknown before they'd surely burn out. 'And it is an offense that MUST be dealt with. One way, or another.'
A flash of blue was soon coupled with a flash of gold, the sole of the hedgehog's trademark, red shoe planting itself onto the joint of one of the massive wings (the right, of course), the downward strike forcing the large appendage to bend downward lest it damage itself in resisting. This sudden bout of pain on his right side immediately garnered Black Doom's attention, his other head turning to see Sonic striking where the wing met his back.
Unfortunately, as he soon found out, this had been little more than yet another distraction.
He had sensed his presence, yes, yet the strike to his wing made the alien reflexively direct his focus to whomever was causing it, allowing a small, yet sizable opportunity to go in and do damage to the other. Though the type of pain that met Doom was not that of pressured limbs, but punctured, torn flesh.
Quickly turning his head to the left, Shadow was in the midst of working a newly formed Chaos Lance through the skin of where the wing and his back met, the Ultimate Lifeform having a tad bit of difficulty working the concentrated form of Chaos Energy through the toughened flesh. Still, tough as it was, he had seen that it was possible. And if not, he'd simply make it such, the determination to pierce the base of the wing etched into his features.
"WATCH IT, SHADS!" Sonic's called out, Shadow momentarily taken from his task and coming to sense that he was about to be swatted away by an incoming hand.
A flash of blue and a moment later, the streaked hedgehog was further away, Doom's hand swiping away at nothing, though the miss was far from an invitation to go on back.
Sonic narrowly avoided a swiping hand as well, though this sent him flying right into the leathery surface of the other wing, , the being it belonged to immediately making a reach for him before he warped out of sight, materializing next to Shadow.
"This is going a little slower than I would've hoped for." The younger of the two confessed. "Guy's got pretty broad shoulders."
'And rather thick skin.' Shadow thought, glancing down at his gloved hand, debating whether or not to begin forming another Lance or some other projectile of Chaos Energy.
"Hey," Sonic began, tone bearing a slight, yet still noticeable twinge of worry. "How much longer do you think you've got?"
Shadow raised his brow at that. "For…as long as I need." He answered. What sort of question was that, let alone what sort of reason was there for even asking? "Why? Getting a little winded?"
Sonic in turn scoffed. "As if!" he retorted, back to delivering his usually witty, chipper banter. "I'm surprised you're not!" Shadow heard him whisper something else under his breath, something along the lines of 'you've got fifty-some years on me, so I have the natural advantage, old geezer' or whatnot. He'd have to make sure to check up on it later, if not to rightfully gain compensation for being called such. "I'm just saying," the other hedgehog began again. "Not that it's anything I have to worry about, but I'd imagine Big Boss here's going to get a little bored too if we just keep going for the same place and might want to 'relocate'."
Darn it, he had a point. Initially, their plan was to disable his wings via attacking them at their base, yet seeing as they were more durable than initially suspected, it seemed that course of action would potentially allow the devil to concoct a plan of action of his own. Particularly one that involved teleporting the Ark even further away from the Earth.
"Speak of the devil…" Sonic spoke, voice once again unbefitting his usual nature. Though when Shadow saw it too, he shared in the same sense of dread and urgency, both wasting no time in warping their way right back to where they had been.
They could only pray that Chaos Control would be able to get them there in time.
He was nowhere as close as he wished to be.
True, while his disappearing and subsequent reappearing would've probably resulted in the ship ensnared in his tentacles moving further and further away from the Earth, Black Doom had hoped that those two wouldn't recognize the pattern so soon.
He couldn't even see the fourth planet from the sun yet, but the Earth was growing more and more distant. That was the only bit of assurance he could rely on for now.
It wasn't as if he were actually heeding Black Death's advice, by the ancients, no. It simply served him in making sure those two fools wasted however amount of energy they had been blessed with by the Emeralds. And with the only viable haven being the very thing he had hold of…well, though he had no intention of allowing them such a quick end, he would make sure that both of them would wish they had such a luxury.
Especially his renegade spawn.
Now that…that would be something special.
And even more, the child would have a front row seat to the plan he had already concocted in his mind regarding that revolving rock! 'Oh yes…' Doom mused, his mandibles spreading into a crude, misshapen representation of a 'smile'. 'Oh yes indeed! And it will all be thanks to YOU!'
First though, he would have to create more distance between himself and that planet. Yet when he had begun to channel his own energy to incite another quick teleportation, he had suddenly been struck by a pair of small, yet easily identified objects that made contact with his wings.
Again, and again, and again, and again.
Though it had proved that striking the base of the wings didn't do much, it at least broke through the alien's concentration.
Then they dove into the portion above the base, what would've been the humerus of the wing (assuming that Doom's appendages were constructed with more familiar anatomy), the red hue that had once been working up the owner of said wings seeming to stop the moment both hedgehogs struck that particular area.
They didn't dare stop in their assault, however, immediately going onto the next part they could get to. As soon as they had homed in on the (assumed) humerus', they directed their collective attention onto the radius. And after that, the metacarpals, followed by the phalanges on the ends. Then they began again.
From the neutral observer, it would've appeared that the two-headed devil had rings of golden light revolving around his wings, the reddened light he once bore steadily, albeit slowly, decreasing more and more the longer these 'rings' continued to revolve in frenzied, wild patterns around him.
Sonic and Shadow didn't dare stop, determined to carry on their onslaught until the tiniest speck of that red glow was dissipated. Each and every spot they had previously paid a visit to was attacked in one way or another: homing attacks, Chaos Spears, Lances, kicks, punches, anything and everything the two could think of, all with the intention of hopefully finding something of a weak point that could be exploited.
Doom's concentration was greatly decreasing, just barely able to keep the glow of red around his lower body, the continuous assaults and beatings his extra appendages were receiving steadily wearing them down. Even more, the cursed creatures were moving too fast for him to catch up! His hands couldn't hope to be quick enough to even lay a hand on this like this!
Yet he had to focus! He had to at least get just a little further! Just a little more before they'd surely wear themselves out! They couldn't keep going on forever! Their power would leave them eventually-
CRACK!
Control Panel
BANG!
Finally.
BANG!
At long last.
BOOM!
Their one obstacle had been rendered useless, the barricade keeping them from entering being flung across the small enclosure and smashing into the large computer monitor, nearly knocking it off of its platform.
The space was small, the incoming group of Arms came to see, it not having enough room for even half of them to fit in here. Curious that Breeder would be so adamant in making sure they come here specifically. Yet Breeder's command was clear, and thus, it fell upon them to obey it.
Upon entering, however, the few creatures that were able to enter found that they were the only occupants in the room. There was not one sign or evidence of any other living thing having ever been here at one point.
At least that was the conclusion drawn before one amongst them took notice of a strange, empty space that clashed with the rest of the intact ceiling.
Above
"They're in!"
"SHHH!"
"But-mph!" the last bits of Charmy's remark was drowned out by Tails' covering his mouth, the fox in turn surveying around the tight, compact space they now found themselves in.
True, none of them were expecting much when they had been forced to take this route, yet neither had quite anticipated of just how much of a literal 'tight squeeze' the small space would provide. Crawling on hands and knees was nearly impossible as it was, they outright having to wriggle their way into the small section above the control panel. There was even little room to allow one to be on either side of the other. It was possible, yet such a tactic left the individual quite cramped and with the other person they were beside no room at all. Which was why Tails, despite his desperation to shut Charmy up, didn't stay up beside him for too long, worming his way back to behind the bee (and subsequently his rather potent and sharpened stinger). 'Got to make sure to avoid that.' he thought.
At the helm of the small line, Espio tried to find some sort of route they could travel in this tightly packed darkness, a bevy of wires and circuits seemingly greeting him in every direction. He wasn't exactly surprised, given the fact this place was a space station of all things, yet the way these cables and cords spiderwebbed and weaved throughout the area, there was little 'empty space' to be seen. Not to mention that, as he began to crawl a few inches more, they didn't exactly help in anything relating to stillness or calm.
And from his own experience with one, children were no masters of those things either.
"C'mon." the chameleon commanded. "We have to tread lightly." The two behind him began to follow. "And," Espio began again. "If you can, TRY not to make any noise."
Below
It's head swished around, the rest of its siblings following suit as a small, yet still audible set of thumps were heard from above. The empty space that had been created in the ceiling and the disregarded tile had been only been small clues. If not for the lingering scents still prevalent in the small space, the Arms would've assumed that they had simply arrived too late. Yet now, they could see that their prey hadn't left at all, they only just begun.
Above
"It's a little dusty up here…"
"Shh!"
A little was quite the understatement, Tails thought. For as old as this place was, the interior of the place was relatively clean. Aged and worn down in some places, but still in decent enough condition. But here, he doubted if anything from a little dusting to someone running their finger down the surface had ever been done. Everything seemed to be coated in a thick, greyish layer of dirt and grime, his fur and namesake appendages unintentionally catching some of the muck in their fibers.
"Seriously Espio," Charmy sniffled, barely having enough room to rub his nose. "I think I'm gonna- "
"Don't." the ninja hissed. "Don't you dare!"
"I can't help it! I feel it coming!"
"Just a little further, and we'll be out of the room!" Espio answered. 'I think.'
"Sorry, I…ah…I can't- "
"Charmy, don't- "
"Ah- "
BOOM!
The sound of the little bee's sneeze was completely dwarfed by the resounding impact from below, the force responsible bringing down several of the tiles above that served as the three's temporary flooring. The small amount of natural light came through from the openings created, fists covered in pebbled, red flesh coming through not long after, clawing at the air.
"Go, go, go!" Espio ordered, Charmy and Tails not protesting in the slightest, increasing the speed at which they wriggled through the small space.
Of course, due to the confines of the area, they couldn't have hoped to get far.
"AHHH!"
The chameleon turned, yet saw that it was not Charmy that had screamed, but the young fox behind him, an open space before and behind him trapping the kit from moving either forwards or backwards. Instinctively, he tried pressing on forward, grasping onto Charmy's ankle to pull himself across, he just as he had gotten over the gap…
Outside
He felt it. The right wing, right by where the humerus and radius met. A splintering, shattering crack of bones being forced to submit to the continuously applied pressure being delivered to them. Sonic didn't need to hear it to see he had done such damage: the once rounded, arching appendage was forced to bend and contort itself in such a way that it was surely never meant to, the hedgehog pulling back for a moment to fully observe what he had done.
The being, as if by sheer reflux, attempted to move the wing, yet he didn't even get to half a flap before his massive form stiffened and trembled, low growls and hisses exiting from his gaping maw as he tried to then steady the wing, the limb unsure as to whether or not it should stay in its current position or try and lower itself down to the side.
To the left, Shadow had momentarily ceased his own assault to view this as well, directing his eyes towards the very same spot on the left wing. While it didn't bear the same form as its twin, it had grown rather still, as if it were trying to keep itself from moving too much. A clear sign he was about to render it in the same state as the other. Of course, unlike the other hedgehog alongside him, he planned on breaking it in more than just one place.
Control Panel
"AHHH! HELP!"
A clawed hand reached upward and snagged one of the fox's namesake tails, yanking him downward, Charmy being pulled along with him. Espio quickly shot his own leg out for the bee to seize, he then taking out one of his weapons and driving it down into the surface below, not getting far, yet it managed to bring their journey backwards to a halt.
Tails' features contorted and stretched in agony as the alien's course skin and tight grip sent waves of pain up the seized limbs and up his back, wincing as he felt tuffs of his golden fur being pulled. If he didn't know any better, he could've sworn that it felt as if handfuls of it were being pulled out to better dislodge his grip on Charmy's ankle.
Espio's efforts to stop the children and himself from being pulled out were, unfortunately, not enough, he realizing this as, despite the edge of the blade being lodged into the 'flooring', they still continued to move back, the blade in turn being drug through the surface with them. A tangled collection of wires was nearby, wound together and thick. Not wasting any time, the chameleon reached for it, yet found that he was just an inch or two away from being able to snag it.
Another yank brought him further away, the panicked cries of the two children under his care making his attempts to grab at a potentially better anchor all the more desperate. He was so close. So close that his fingertips were just about to brush against the rubber covering of the wires. So close, and yet so far…
Outside
He was still going! His wing was already broken, and that insufferable blue rat was still going!
Sonic continued to fly around Doom's battered right wing, homing in on the one spot he managed to do some real damage and had nearly gotten several other areas to be in the same state, the bones and muscles straining themselves in resisting the continuous barrage of hits.
Doom's 'child' was following in the same pattern as well, only he seemed to be adding his own little flair to his efforts to cripple the wing he took on. The main difference was that instead of just one, two particular places had been broken: the radius felt as if it had been twisted in half whilst the humerus was snapped just a little bit away from the base. And on top of that, the flesh had been torn and cut in various areas as well, Chaos Spears and Lances taking their toll on the roughened, but not invulnerable hide.
They wouldn't stop, Doom knew that much. The two would continue on until either his wings were crippled beyond the point where they could possibly never be used again, or the hedgehogs had somehow managed to up and rip them off his body! Absurd as it was, they had managed to do this to him, so such a thing was steadily becoming more plausible.
'How? How can this be?!'
He needed to get them off! He had to send them away, at least if not for just a few moments!
Throwing his doubled-horned head forward, Black Doom released a flurry of lasers from his maw, each homing in on the two pests, yet it was only when the lasers went for them did Doom realize his error. The lasers had momentarily forced both of his aggressors to cease their attacks and focus on dodging the incoming projectiles, yet said projectiles had taken their place in causing damage to his already vulnerable wings! The lasers tore into and through the flesh and bone to get at the two hedgehogs flying around him, he swinging his arms around wildly to try and get them away, only to cumbersomely strike at his damaged limbs, unintentionally creating even more agony for himself! Green fluid coated the vast amount of injures covering the once spotless, shapely wings, and some areas on the alien's chest, torso, and back were left in quite the similar state.
'No, no, this cannot be! This cannot be happening!'
Control Panel
He shuddered at the sensation that came to his left thigh. Wet and warm, not to mention sticky. Tails didn't dare look down, though he soon might not have a choice in the matter soon, for instead of one hand pulling him down, more had joined in. Charmy's feet soon to follow with the fox's upper half.
Espio's hand grappled for the wires, all the while keeping the other on his weapon. With each passing second, it seemed that they all were being dragged back further and further. Just one of them wasn't enough to satiate them. ALL of them were to be pulled out like mice out of a hiding hole.
Yet…should it be like this…should it be that this day, they perish…it would not start until he was the first to be taken out!
Outside
His eyes.
All he had left were his eyes.
His vulnerable, unprotected eyes.
The crippling of his wings had left him with little other means to defend the optics, his hands coming to cusp themselves over his shut eyelids as the two hedgehogs came in full force to finish what they had set out to do.
Yet as they approached, Sonic and Shadow found themselves stopping themselves, their eyes drawn to the slew of tentacles holding the Ark. "Look!" Sonic whispered, gesturing to the multiple, wriggling appendages that composed of Doom's lower half. It was barely noticeable at first, yet as those in eyeshot followed suit with the others, the two could see that the tentacles were growing more…lax?
Yes, neither of them quite believed it, but there it was, right in front of them. The tentacles were releasing their hold on the Ark. They were actually letting it go. They simply draped themselves over the ship's exterior, slowly easing themselves off as the one they were attached to had begun to steadily move away.
'What's he doing now?' Sonic questioned, Shadow locking eyes with Doom's eye, the larger creature in turn seeming to almost flinch under his gaze. As if he were fearful. Fearful of the two of them. Of him.
At first, that was what he believed to be Doom's reason for turning away from them. A foolish reason that left him vulnerable, yet still, it was a reason. It was only when the all too familiar hue of red begun to consume his wounded, broken body, did both Shadow and Sonic realize what he was doing.
And before either could get out a word of protest or demand to stay where he was, the horned devil was gone.
Deimos
Something was wrong. His Breeder hadn't contacted him for minutes, nearly a whole hour. And the fact he had been engaged in combat of all things since last they spoke certainly didn't help things either.
It wasn't as if he hadn't tried to keep in touch. In fact, all Black Death had been doing since their latest exchange was try and get something from his superior. Anything from a simple confirmation on his condition to even a demand to be silent and not speak to him again. Anything that would at least alert him that he was all right!
He, no, they ALL needed him to be all right.
'What was he thinking?! Going off and facing the ones who destroyed the comet?!' he couldn't stop the thoughts coming to him, his three fingers beginning to curl, hand clenching into a trembling fist. 'That…that reckless fool! Doesn't he even realize what's at stake?! If he dies, then- '
'Then what?'
Death's blood ran cold, his own musing shattered by the interference of another, familiar presence. 'M-My Breeder! You are-'Alive was what he was about to saw, yet he paused. His signal, whilst present, he couldn't ignore the fact that it felt weaker than before. And yet from what he was sensing, Doom was drawing closer and closer towards him and the small moon. 'Breeder, what's happened?'
'I…I was ill prepared.' Doom confessed, albeit with a good degree of reluctance. 'I didn't…anticipate that they'd be this strong!'
Death was about to inquire what he meant, yet he soon found himself unable to speak. Doom had taken the liberty in briefly sharing with him the agony his body had been put through via their link, the hooded Arms member unable to catch his breath for a few moments from the shock his entire body had been assaulted with for just a second or two. 'You…you're dying.' He croaked out. 'You're dying! Quickly! You must come back! Come to the ship, then we must- '
'What do you think I'm trying to do?!' Black Doom barked back. 'We must recoup our losses first. I have a plan…'
He ceased communicating with Death, the subordinate Arms member's worry skyrocketing. 'Breeder? Breeder?!'
'Curse it! They're here!'
Soon. Very soon now.
They didn't have much time left.
The burning, golden light that radiated off of each of them was still strong, yet both felt the beginnings of the same force that gave them their super charged forms 'flowing' from them. In any other instance, this would've been the very thing that would deter them from even traveling this far, let alone in a place such as this. Yet they couldn't leave it up to chance. The Black Comet's destruction didn't end this, so what other option was there than to take this matter out at the source?
Sonic and Shadow couldn't even believe they were traveling such a distance, let alone where the latter had sensed Doom going. After all, Mars? What business did he have on Mars? Whatever the case may be, whether it be some extra troops or an entirely other entity working under him, it mattered not. What concerned both hedgehogs was getting to Doom before he could make it to the red planet.
And getting said task done as quickly as possible.
Chaos Control had made the journey faster, yes, yet upon their arrival, the two of them found themselves caught off guard by another wall of fire coming towards them. Doom was getting somewhat sloppy, whether from the physical strain they put him through or the stress, it would perhaps make their task easier.
Wasting no time (as there was really little of it to waste now), Sonic and Shadow warped past the flares and right up towards Doom's heads, their targets just straight ahead.
Deimos
'Plan'. That single word echoed in Death's mind. Plan, what plan? What in the world was his Breeder thinking?! The frenzied, echoing cries of the small bit of brood he had with him made it difficult for Death to concentrate, yet in time, he found that he could indeed sense it.
Black Doom…in his efforts to keep his two opponents from striking, was focusing his energy on something else. Not too distant, in fact, it was right aboard the ship.
'Wait. No, no, he can't be mad enough to…' Death shook his head. It couldn't be. Impossible! And even if he was successful, it couldn't be a perfect transferring! 'They…they are meant to be extensions of the Breeders' will, not the other way around!'
He had to go see this for himself. He didn't believe it. He COULDN'T believe it! None of their race, not one, had ever even THOUGHT of attempting something as risky as this! And yet Doom was actually going to try.
As one, last effort in self-preservation.
Outside of Mars
The blue rat had struck first, the sting of the sole of his shoe exerting his force against the fragile cornea surging throughout his entire body, forcing him to switch to the other head. Right where his spawn was waiting for him.
Doom dare not open his eye, either of them. Even against the efforts of both hedgehogs, he kept them shut.
'Just a little more….' He thought. 'Just a little more…and then I will be able to leave. This body will be nothing more than a husk…and then I shall make good on my…'promise'…'
Suddenly, he felt something underneath his eyelid. Finger. Tiny, gloved fingers trying, with all their remaining might, to lift up the flap of skin concealing the coveted tissue that lay beneath. And he hadn't intended to allow such a thing. He truly hadn't, yet a blow to one of his broken wings had caught him by surprise, his focus on keeping his eye shut was shattered, allowing his spawn to force it open and reveal a blank, clear surface, the flaring, green energy of the Chaos Lance formed reflecting upon it.
Then, Shadow thrust it forward.
The reaction was immediate.
A roar, deafening and riddled with nothing short of immeasurable agony spread throughout the entire vicinity, to the hidden few listening, it had been heard in more ways than one. The energy surging through the Lance had allowed it to travel far, its path unable to be stopped by whatever lay in its way. Any sort of nerves or viscera that lay behind the layer of that blank space stood no chance, it traveling on further and further, slicing through fragile tissue until, finally, it had managed to make contact with something else.
This brought on an even more ear-shattering bellow than the one before. Shadow moved out of the way as the large hand came to cup over the gravely injured, and quite useless 'eye', waterfalls of bright, green fluid flowing down the being's fingers to the very tips of his tentacles. From where the Ultimate Lifeform was, it appeared as if this entire side of Black Doom had been splashed in a fresh coat of green liquid, and judging from the look of it, it wasn't stopping anytime soon.
He didn't welcome it at first, yet Shadow found he couldn't stop it. A strange, uncomfortable tightness gripped his chest, it soon growing into something of a painful cramp. What it was, exactly, he couldn't accurately tell. All he knew was that, somehow, in some way, it had to do with Doom's current condition. As if something was being torn or broken off. As if this he could sense that this creature was amid his last moments of life.
'Finally.'
'…yes.' Shadow winced, the voice weak and frail, yet still, somehow, among the living. 'It is the end…for both of us.'
Shadow had begun to try and warp away, yet given the waning effects of the Emeralds' power, he found that his mind wasn't as protected as it had been before. Doom's remaining consciousness intruded in onto the smaller hedgehog's, his body, even if just for a moment and not to as great a scale, set afire with each and every amount of pain he had inflicted on the one before him: bones felt as if they were broken, skin stung from being torn open, and from the way his eyes bulged and widened in their sockets, he could've sworn that some sharp object had gone and sliced its way right into them!
He couldn't even release a proper cry of agony before he found himself seized by the behemoth's hand, this moment of distraction rendering him vulnerable. Even without the opened eye, Shadow could feel Doom leering down at him.
'I told you.' He croaked, voice weak and with not much more to give. Yet still, he had some life left in him, and he was going to spend it as he saw fit. 'I told you at the temple…you will be mine. However this ends…you will be mine. Your life, even now, is MINE to take, should I see fit!'
"SHADOW!" Sonic cried out, diving forward only to stop halfway, realizing that, to his horror, his fur had begun to gain back a small twinge of blue.
'And speaking of what was said back then…' Doom the felt as if he was being pulled, this alerting the trapped Ultimate Lifeform that, to his shock, they had been dangerously close to the planet below. Even more, his own fur beginning to darken, losing its golden-silvery hue. 'You said that you wished to know of what happened before? Why you were left in a state where nothing, but your name was known to you?' Shadow struggled, he wriggled and writhed, kicking and twisting in his captor's grip, all the while realizing that his lungs were beginning to become deprived of a reasonable amount of air. 'I shall show you now. We shall both experience it…together.' Black Doom told him, his voice something of a mocking coo, as if he were a young child needing to be comforted. 'Sayonara…Shadow the Hedgehog…'
Then they fell.
Slowly, at first. Steady, and not at all at a fast pace, yet Shadow knew, he knew that would change soon. He looked at the red planet below, his attempts to dislodge himself from the still form of Black Doom growing more and more desperate.
'Sayonara…' that…that had been said to him before. Not by him, and…and not like this. And…he had been through something like this before. He…he had fallen. He had fallen, he had been pulled down, he was low on energy, the powers bestowed upon him were waning, he had done this before, but not like this!
He had wanted it last time. Last time, there was nothing else for him to do. He knew not why, but there was no mistaking it. He had wanted to fall. He had wanted to be destroyed.
Yet now…it was nothing like that now! It was different than before! It wasn't by his hand, but by another! It was different! Why though?! Why did he desire it then and not now?! Why was he struggling to get free?!
'My promise to you…'
And the red planet…the red planet had turned blue. Blue…with swirling clouds, and bits of green scattered all over its surface. Was…was he back here? Back then? It…it looked like it! It looked EXACTLY like it! But something was different! He was different!
There…there was the sensation of another hand, grasping at him.
Yes. He remembered.
He…pushed it away, he believed. Yet, unlike before…it stayed. The hand that grabbed him stayed. The fingers that held him began to loosen, but not before Shadow felt it again.
The heat.
The beginnings of entering the atmosphere of the planet. The blue planet. The rush of heat that came to him, his skin and fur unable to withstand its superior force. His entire body engulfed with the sensation of being set ablaze the more gravity pulled him downward.
And yet…in that…he thought he had recalled something else.
A voice of sorts. Yes. A voice…telling him something. Something important.
'Hurry…'
Something like…
'Hurry, now! Before it's too late!'
Or maybe not. He wasn't sure. Whatever the case, it certainly didn't say…
"CHAOS CONTROL!"
Note: Done. The battle with Black Doom (Devil Doom) is done. And in time before Florence decides to give us a little bit of her lovely little showers! A quick note here: while I don't want to give anything away as of yet, the little flashback Shadow was having at the end WILL come into play later. Much later. And while there isn't really an official explanation to it, from what I'm planning on putting in later, you might be able to deduce what may be revealed. Once again, thank you all for your continued support, please leave a review as it really helps motivate me to pump these out, and let me know of any errors you caught that I missed!
Thank you all, and be safe!