"Where am I?" he wondered aloud.
"Shadow..." a voice called faintly.
Shadow gritted his teeth. That voice belonged to Mephiles.
"Mephiles, where are you?" he replied.
"Just follow my voice..."
"Yeah, that's gonna happen." Shadow turned and started walking. He didn't know where he was going, but he wasn't going to follow Mephiles' voice into a trap.
"You don't have a choice."
Shadow felt a searing pain in his chest, and he fell to one knee.
"Now come here..." Mephiles ordered. Shadow growled, then got to his feet and started towards where the demon's voice was coming from.
He traversed through a series of hallways, and came upon a hallway with only one door at the end of the dead end corridor. A sinister aura was eminating from it.
"Now open the door and come on in..." Mephiles' voice snickered from behind the door. Shadow clenched his hands into fists. Maybe he shouldn't have followed him...
"I said, come IN."
Shadow felt some force yank him towards the door, and he found himself standing directly in front of it.
He put a hand on the doorknob, took a deep breath, and turned the handle and entered the room.
He saw Mephiles standing next to a cage, his green eyes full of amuzment.
"Welcome Shadow."
"What do you want?" Shadow snapped.
Mephiles motioned for him to come over next to him. Shadow looked at him for a minute, then crossed his arms. Anyone who knew him would know that body language meant 'Yeah right, Jack.'
"Difficult as always." Mephiles muttered, then motioned again. This time, Shadow felt that force yank him again, bringing to stand next to Mephiles, facing the cage.
"This is a very special room." Mephiles murmered.
"What do you mean?"
"It holds something powerful...and dangerous."
"What're you talking about?"
"It's something you fight everyday."
"You're beating around the bush, just spit it out!" Shadow's patience, which had already been cut short, finally snapped.
A low growl reverberated from the cage. It was dark inside, making it impossible to see into the depths. Shadow shot a curious glance before glaring back at Mephiles.
"You could say it holds...the other you. The one you try to keep hidden from others." Mephiles chuckled. Shadow's eyes widened slightly, before looking back into the cage.
"Did you really think keeping it locked up would prevent it from escaping?" Mephiles laughed.
"K-Kinda more of a hope than a thought..." Shadow murmered, still eyeing the cage. Mephiles laughed again.
He walked over to the door of the barred prison, and eyed the lock.
"That doesn't look like a very durable lock."
Shadow growled, though fear still showed in his eyes.
"I wonder what would happen if I let this part of you out..."
Shadow lunged at Mephiles, but the demon stepped to the side, dodging, and Shadow flew by him. Mephiles grabbed his wrist, twisted his arm behind his back, and pressed him against the bars, pinning him there. Shadow growled as he struggled to break free.
"You know, the other you was alot more powerful. It defeated the Black Arms, Iblis, even me on occasion. It was worth fighting. This you, right now, heh, you're not even worth killing." Mephiles taunted as he held Shadow still.
Something stirred in the cage, and approached them, though the darkness still hid it from sight. He couldn't see it, but Shadow could feel it close to his face, which was pressed against the bars. It growled, and he felt its breath ghost across his face.
"You can't let him out..." Shadow whispered, slightly trembling.
"What're you gonna do if I do?"
"Please, DON'T let him out..."
"I don't know, things might get exciting with the darkness in you set free."
"I'm telling you, you can't, if you do, there's no telling what'll happen-"
"Oh I know what'll happen, you see, the other you and I have been having a nice little chat. We struck a little deal. I set him free, and he does me a few favors. Namely, stop your friends and gather the emeralds. The other, he keeps you locked in your mind so I can have some fun with you. It's a win-win situation for both of us."
"The day I let you let this thing free is the day I die!"
"Tempting as that is, that won't get me the emeralds. So, while I work on this lock, why don't you go have a seat in that nice little office of yours." Mephiles opened a portal and shoved Shadow into it. He turned to the lock.
"Alright, let's see how tough this thing really is." he created an orb in one hand, taking the lock in the other.
xoxoxoxoxoxo
Shadow fell into the office of his mind, the portal disappearing as he stood.
He looked to where the door usually was, only to find, to his dismay, it was gone. Nothing but bare wall.
"Mephiles!" he shouted. He flung a Chaos Spear at the wall where the door had been, hoping to blast his way through, but it barely left a smudge on the wall. Despite that, he kept sending a barrage of Chaos Spears at the wall, desperate to get out, to stop Mephiles from carrying out this plan.
xoxoxoxoxxoxo
Mephiles let out a laugh as the destroyed lock fell to the floor with a clang. The cage door opened, and a shadowy figure moved within. It let out a roar, and darkness pulsated from it in waves. Mephiles, if he'd had mouth, would've been smirking.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Shadow stopped and noticed the dark waves. He began pounding on the wall.
"Don't let him out!" he shouted as he pounded on the wall.
He heard laughter, but he knew it wasn't from Mephiles, for once.
He put his forehead on the wall, whimpering in defeat.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Shadow slowly opened his eyes. Well, actually, it wasn't exactly Shadow, but the darker him.
He sat up, then slowly grinned, his fangs showing.
This was going to be fun...
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Sorry it's been a while, hope you like! R&R!