Chapter 21: The Main Event {Part 1}

Soon, Shadow was back on his feet but it was late and we needed rest. I offered to take first watch, but Sonic said he would. I couldn't sleep well that night, knowing that those horrible creatures were still out there. I worried about everyone, including Shadow. How that viper was able to subdue Shadow like that was very unnerving. Shadow seemed alright now, but he did say he still felt a little sick.

Silver and I slept leaning against a tree. Sonic built the fire to keep us warm and to ward off the menacing shadows. We ate a small meal of some fruits to satisfy our hunger.

Silver leaned against me on one side and Tails slept on the other, curling his tails over his body like a blanket. I leaned my head against the tree and closed my eyes, knowing that I needed some sleep. Silver was sleeping fitfully that night. His eyes were shut tight and he twitched. Poor guy, I wondered what he was dreaming about.

"I would think you'd be asleep by now,"

I look up and see Sonic. He had his usual smile on and it comforted me. "Kinda hard to sleep when your back is acting up."

"True," Sonic whispered.

We sank into an acquired silence fore a while before I asked what was on my mind. "Do you think Shadow will be okay?"

Sonic looked over at the slumbering Shadow. Rouge slept on his chest and held his hand like he would vanish if she let go. "He seems to be alright." Sonic said at last. "But I worry about him too. I'm praying that the vipress didn't do much damage."

"You're very different from when I first met you." I commented.

Sonic smiled. "Everyone has noticed that. I've been playing with the idea of starting a prayer group in Knothole."

"That's wonderful Sonic," I whispered so not to wake Silver and Tails. "Whose all in it?"

"Tails for sure," Sonic said. "He suggested the idea. Shadow said yes, surprisingly. Sally liked the idea, so did Antoine and Bunny. Knuckles said he'd think about it. He hasn't accepted Christ yet and wasn't as sure about the prayer group."

I look over at the slumbering Knuckles. He would be a strong Christian. I wondered why he wasn't sure about the idea of being a Christian.

"Well, try to get some sleep," Sonic said. "I'm sure we'll find Mephilis sometime tomorrow."

"Don't remind me," I said.

Sonic grinned at me and went back to his post. I watch him for a moment, my eyes drooping slightly from weariness. Sonic was so different from when Sonic X took place. He seemed stronger, able to do anything, and (if this was even possible for someone like Sonic) more patient about things.

I lean back and close my eyes, feeling Tails' and Silver's bodies rise and fall with their breathing. As sleep came over me, I wondered how my family was. I remember how my dad was about me fighting Eggman. I could only wonder what their reaction was when Silver carried me in with a bullet wound in my side. I drift off to sleep moments later.

I was shaken awake by Shadow what felt like moments after I fell asleep, his scarlet eyes gleaming through the darkness. I sit up and realize that Silver and Tails were already up. I stretch and yawn. "What time is it?" I asked.

"About seven in the morning," Shadow answered.

"It doesn't feel like it," I said, rubbing my eyes to wake myself up more.

"That's because it's always dark in this cursed Valley," Shadow said, clearly not enjoying his time here.

Shadow helps me up and I walk over to the fire, its warmth was welcoming against my cold fingers. Knuckles was looking through the food bag for some breakfast. He growled and pulled out a few biscuits and salted pork. "We had the last of the hot dogs last night. This is all we've got."

"I just thank God we have something," I said, taking a biscuit and a slice of the pork.

We ate in silence, feeling uneasy about what still lurked in the shadows. As we got going again, I suggested to Silver that he wear his helmet to light the way. He looked at me with wide eyes. "That's what this helmet is for!" He said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Remember the inscription?" Silver asked. "'A lantern on your feet and a light onto your path,' My helmet is supposed to light the way to Mephilis' lair."

"In that case," Knuckles said. "You come up front with us. The more light we have the better in this place."

Silver nodded and put his helmet on, again the helmet ignited with and inner light, eliminating the shadowy valley for several yards. Silver walked between Knuckles and Sonic in the front and the rest of us grouped behind them. As we walked, I kept my hand on my swords hilt. My back had finally relaxed, showing that no enemies where close by, but having my hand on my sword felt good.

We walked on and on, the trail feeling like it went on forever. Soon my back tightened again. I grip my sword hilt and look around. "Be on your toes guys," I said.

Sonic and Shadow immediately understood and got on their guard while I drew my sword, but we all kept walking. Silver was also on his guard, listening to every little sound his ears could trace. He was so focused his eyes fixed themselves on the trail and glazed slightly. His ears did pick up something, it was like a tapping on wood.

I watch Silver, not liking the look on his face. Then I saw his ears swiveling and realized he was listening. His ears swiveled back suddenly, he blinked his eyes and looked behind him. I look with him and see something what would have crawled out of my nightmares. A giant black spider. It looked like a camel spider, but was black and had multiple eyes. It's long hairy legs tapped ahead of it as it opened its claw-like jaws in a high-pitched screech, getting everyone's attention.

I froze. I absolutely hated spiders. I once had a spider crawl on my chest while I was sleeping and I've feared them since. Sonic whistled at the sight. "I think I need a bigger fly swatter."

"Is this REALLY a time to joke around Sonic?" Knuckles growled.

"That's just how I get warmed up, Knux." Sonic replied, eyeing the spider and stretching his legs. "What do we know about these things?"

Shadow looked at the beast. "It looks like a Sun or Camel Spider. They're fast and usually not aggressive."

Suddenly, the monster leaped at us in nearly blinding speed, scattering us in different directions. Sonic was on his feet first next to Shadow. "Looks like this guy doesn't know about that!" He said.

Sonic curled into a ball and used a Spin Dash attack, bouncing off the top of the spider. The creature hissed sharply and smacked Sonic into a tree.

"Sonic!" Tails shouted, running over and helping Sonic up.

"That thing has armor on it's back," Sonic said. "We have to find a weakness or something." Sonic charged again, this time with Shadow. The spider hissed in anger and swiped at them, but missed. This gave the rest of us time to come up with a plan.

Silver Looks at the spider and weighs his options. "His eyes might be the most sensitive."

"And by the look of his underbelly," Knuckles said. "Looks like he's a real softy."

"If I can get it to show that underbelly," I mused. "Knuckles might be able to take it out with Sonic and Shadow."

"Worth a shot," Silver said.

"I'll take you up, hon." Rouge said.

"Silver here," I said, giving Silver my pistol. "So you can lend a hand. Aim for the abdomen, that's where it's heart is."

Silver nodded as Rouge carried me up. I had to focus in order to do this; every fiber in my body was telling me to escape and flee. Once we were above the head, Rouge let go and Silver used his telekinetic powers to guide me to the target. I landed safely on the back of the beast and raced up to the head.

Meanwhile, Sonic and Shadow attacked again to keep the beast occupied. The spider lashed out at Sonic and caught the blue blur with its jagged jaws. Sonic squirmed and kicked, but the monster bit down harder, making Sonic scream in agony.

"SONIC!" Sally cried, but she was unable to do anything.

I finally made it to the head of the beast and sunk my sword into its eyes. The beast screeched again and dropped Sonic with a pronounced thud. As we predicted, the monstrous spider reared, nearly throwing me off if I didn't have a death grip on my sword. Knuckles, Silver and Shadow wasted no time and charged. Silver fired a couple of shots at the abdomen where he inflicted minor damage, but Knuckles and Shadow finished the job and punched through, sending the spider backwards. I screamed as the spider began to fall, watching the ground rushing toward me.

"Got you!" Knuckles shouted, literally coming out of nowhere and grabbed me, carrying me to safety. I hid my face in his neck as I listened to the spider crash into a tree. Knuckles could feel me trembling and felt warm tears on his neck.

"Em!" Silver said rushing forward to see if I was okay. "That was amazing! Are you alright?"

"I… really… hate… spiders…" I whispered, struggling to regain control of myself.

"It's alright, kid," Knuckles said. "You got it. It's gone."

I breathed slowly and soon calmed down. I let go of Knuckles and look around. I saw the dead spider where it landed, half hidden by the trees it crashed into. As the dust cleared, I saw another form close to where the spider lay.

"SONIC!" I screamed and rushed over to him with everyone else close behind.

Sonic lay unconscious and bleeding in several places from being caught in those jaws. Silver checked his vital signs. His heart rate was high from the excitement and his right arm was broken.

"He'll be alright, but we have to stop this bleeding." Silver said. "And he'll need a splint for that arm. Shadow, can you find two branches that are about the same size around?"

Shadow nodded and went to where the spider lay. Silver and I tended to Sonic's other wounds while Sally held his head in her lap. I wrapped the wounds while Silver cleaned them. Shadow soon returned with two rather strait branches about the same size. Silver took then and inspected Sonic's arm. He grimaced and looked at me. "The bone's out of place. I'll have to reset it,"

"Uh… wha?" Sonic mumbled as he slowly came back to consciousness. "What happened?"

"Sonic! Thank God!" Sally said, embracing Sonic, but being careful of his wounds.

"You broke your arm when that bug caught you." Silver said. "The bone is out of place and I need to reset it so it can heal properly. It'll hurt,"

Sonic looked around and grabbed a nearby stick that was as big around as his wrist. He placed it in his mouth and nodded to Silver to go ahead. Silver bit his lower lip moved the bone back into place. Sonic squeezed his eyes shut and bit down on the branch. Silver quickly splinted the bone and put it in a sling using my veil. Sonic took the branch out of his mouth and took a breath.

"It should be alright," Silver said, helping Sonic to his feet. "At least until this adventure is over. Until then, I'm afraid you're out of the action."

"You've got to be kidding me." Sonic said. What if we meet up with another thing like that?" Sonic thumbed toward the heap of dead spider.

"We'll take care of it Sonic." Knuckles said.

"What about when we face Mephilis?" Sonic asked.

"That job is for Silver, Emily and me, Sonic." Knuckles said, trying to keep calm. "Besides, we need someone to watch over Sally, Tails and Rouge."

"I can take care of myself." Rouge said, crossing her arms.

"I don't doubt that Rouge," Shadow said. "But with things like that spider and those creatures yesterday, I'd rather you stay with Sally, Tails and Sonic when we go and face Mephilis."

The seriousness in Shadows voice made Rouge agree. I never heard Shadow talk that way before. It was almost like he cared about Rouge or something. I looked at Shadow and tried to read him, but like always, he kept a strait face and therefore impossible to read clearly.

"How's your back Em?" Shadow asked quite suddenly.

"It's fine now." I replied. "But I have a bad feeling about the trail ahead."

"We may be getting close to Mephilis' lair then," Shadow said. "Are you alright to travel, Sonic?"

"I'm fine," Sonic replied. "Knuckles how long until the Solstice?"

Knuckles was quiet for a moment then he looked up the trail with wide eyes and started marching. "Tonight!"

We picked up the pace and were nearly racing down the trail with Silver's helmet blazing ahead. It was already in the afternoon when we fought that spider and I wasn't sure how much time we had left.

Silver's heart was pounding in his chest. He knew what would happen after tonight. They had to get to that lair and stop Mephilis! The only question was how.

Finally, we found the cave. It was dark and cold inside, and the stalactites made the cave look more like mouth with large teeth. I step closer to the cave and immediately stepped back again from the tenseness in my back. "He's in there alright." I whispered.

"Silver are you sure you don't want me in there too?" Sonic asked.

"Positive," Silver replied. "The last thing we need is you getting more hurt than you already are. You think you and the others will be alright out here?"

"We'll be fine," Sally said. "You take care of Mephilis."

I nod, not quite sure myself, but not wanting to worry Sally. Knuckles touched my arm and nodded toward the cave. I smile at him and follow.

Shadow, Knuckles, Silver and I walked into the foreboding cave. My spine tightened with every spine I took. I knew that Mephilis was inside waiting for us.

Silver, his eyes gleaming out from under his helmet, looked up at me and saw my tenseness. He took my hand and allowed his calming aura to touch my back. I look down at him and smile.

"He's still with us," Silver whispered. "He's so close, he can hear your heartbeat."

"Thanks, Silver," I whispered back, my back feeling better.

I look back down the path ahead again and slowly take steadying breath. We continue down into the cave, Silver in the lead, Shadow and Knuckles on either side of him and me next to Knuckles.

Silver's helmet glowed brightly as we traveled into the mountain. My back continued to grow tighter and tighter the further we got, but I knew this had to be done, or else this world would never be safe.

I listen to the footsteps of my companions; Shadow's was almost silent against the stone, Knuckles sounded like someone marching with his heavy shoes, and Silver was equal to mine so they sounded like the echoes of my steps. Knowing they were beside me comforted me in a way and kept my mind off of how uncomfortable my back was becoming.

Soon, we came to a large cavern with darkly lit torches along the walls, offering little light besides Silver's Helmet. In the exact middle of the cavern was a pedestal with the Dark Emerald placed on top. Silver shuddered at the sight of that gem, remembering the last time he held it he was facing Mephilis and locking him in that very jewel.

Suddenly, my 'danger' alert flared, but from being in the Valley I had learned how to steady myself. I drew my sword and looked over my shoulder. The guys follow my gaze and spotted a black hedgehog with grey markings, silver bracelets and poisonous green eyes. Mephilis himself.

He stepped forward out of the shadows, his eyes following our every move. We all avoided those eyes, remembering what happened to Shadow yesterday.

"Well, isn't this a surprise," Mephilis said in his dark voice. "I didn't expect to see you again, Silver."

"Can't keep me out of they for long," Silver replied, keeping his voice even.

"And I see you two have your weapons," Mephilis continued, looking at me. "May I ask, why are you two in such a dangerous place as the Valley of Shadow?"

"We come in the name of the Lord," I said. "That emerald over there doesn't belong to you!"

"Oh, but what that emerald contains, dose." Mephilis replied. "And now that you are here, Emily, I can finally come to my full power."

I froze, Eggmans words from after I fist came here echoed in my ears; "Your sarcasm isn't appreciated." Eggman said dryly. "Besides, all I need is that Dark Emerald that you and your friends stole from me last year. With that, you're full power will be unleashed. That's right, my dear, you now hold the key to the Emeralds, and my ticket to my Empire. Now, all I need is the Dark Emerald and use your abilities to make my empire a reality."

I bit my lower lip, I had tried to forget what Eggman had told me, but every now and then those words came back.

"As you would take a flame from a fire and build it into a second," Mephilis explained. "A piece of Iblis resides in you, young human."

"What?" Silver asked, looking at me.

I started to say that I didn't have any idea what he was talking about, Mephilis continued. "When Iblis was contained by Princess Blaze, a piece of it escaped and found rest in a different dimension. Inside a young human girl. And now that you are here, I can become myself again!"

"We'll stop you before you have a chance!" I shouted angrily.

"Then let us begin," Mephilis said, a flash of light enveloping him and changing him into a crystallized hedgehog with bloodshot eyes and diamond-like claws. "It would be easier to reclaim Iblis after you are long gone,"

At the gate to the Valley of Shadow, Bunny and Antoine where playing Quikat to pass the time. The horses grazed nearby peacefully and the sun was setting.

"I wonder how they're all doin' in there," Bunny said, making her next move.

"I am sure zat zey are on zeir way back, right now," Antoine replied planning what move to make next.

"From what I get from Silva," Bunny said. "That ol' Mephilis is a touch cookie. Tougher than anythang we've eva fought."

"Zey have Shadow, Knuckles and Soneec with zem," Antoine said, making his move. "Anyzing zat crosses paths with zem with have a third zing coming."

"That's 'another thing coming' Antoine," Bunny said, laughing lightly at her husbands thick French accent.

Suddenly, Clair and Aladdin lifted their heads, followed by the other horses. They were looking down into the canyon where they had come out of two days ago. Izzy pricked her ears forward and whinnied.

"What has gotten into y'all?" Bunny asked, getting up and stroking Trip. "There's nothin' out there that'll get ch'all."

"Bunny! Antoine!" Someone shouted.

Bunny and Antoine turned to see Eli come running out of the canyon and into their camp. He leaned on his knees to catch his breath. "Thank. Goodness you two. Are still. Here." He panted.

"Eli?" Bunny asked. "What are y'all doin' here?"

"The Lord… Came to me last night…" Eli reported. "The others… need the horses… to get out of that… Valley."

"Why?" Antoine asked. "What will happen?"

"The Lord plans… to destroy that Valley… when Mephilis falls." Eli said.

"Well, what about the horses?" Bunny asked. "Somethin' might spook 'em then we're up a creek."

"The Lord promised that… The horses will be safe."

"What are we waiting for zen?" Antoine asked, taking the reins of two horses and mounting Dike. "If we gallop, zen we should be zere by midnight,"

"Good plan Suga!" Bunny said, also taking a couple of reins and mounting Trip.

Eli did the same and the three of them galloped into inky blackness, Eli leading the way with the night vision scope in his robotic eye.

Shadow dodges another attack from Mephilis. The cystalized hedgehog had barely moved a muscle from where he stood, shooting sword-like crystals from his hands.

I came at him with my sword, but he used a longer crystal as a sword and blocked. Antoine had said that I learned quickly, and that many of my movements were graceful. I pushed the crystal sword away and swung, aiming for his chest. But he dodged easily.

Silver then tried his luck, grabbing at Mephilis with his telekinetic abilities. But Mephilis easily slipped out of his grip and punched Silver, knocking him back a few feet. Knuckles, enraged that this monster hurt Silver, charged Mephilis and punched the hedgehog of darkness in the muzzle. Then Shadow took advantage of this kicked Mephilis in the back, sending Mephilis forward toward the pedestal.

Mephilis looked up, there was a hole in the roof of the cave where he could see the moon. It was already in place. He laughed coldly as he stood and picked up the emerald. "You're effort is amusing, but futile." He said, floating up until he stood on the pedestal. "Because now, you're too late."

We watched in horror as Mephilis lifted the emerald above his head. Knuckles rushed forward to knock Mephilis off the pedestal, but a purple shield surrounded him and knocked Knuckles back. All we could do was watch as Mephilis morphed into a creature that Shadow had seen before, but only on the ARK.

Mephilis grew longer in body and his crystallized fur became crystallized scales. His head grew longer as well did his tail. Soon only his eyes remained the same if not bigger. He had his quills along his head and back and rows of sharp teeth. To me, he looked like a mutated, giant komodo dragon. But to Silver, this was his worst nightmare come true.