SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES
Chapter Twenty-Five: A Demon's Heart
In the Sonic Heroes base, Tail was messing around in the workshop. Tails was standing under the hood of the tornado III, trying to improve on Tornado's aerodynamics. On the wall, Tails hung designs plans for a new plane called the X-Tornado. But because of the lack of funds from G.U.N., Tails had to put as much of the design into the Tornado III as possible. But while he was under the hood, he did not notice a shadow sneaking up behind him.
"Hi, Tails." Tails bumped his head and looked back towards Cream. "Whatcha doing?"
"I'm just modifying the turbo engine." Tails said scientifically. "I'm also rerouting the polarity of the..."
"Oh, my head hurts." Cream dizzily as she held her head. "Can we talk about something else?"
"Sure. Why did you come in here anyway?" Tails asked as he went back to work.
"Do you know what day it is?" Cream asked sly and sweet.
"No, what?" Tails asked.
Cream whispered something into his ear. Tails face faulted in fear. Back in the living room, Silver was lazy sitting on the couch with his feet on the table. Silver was surfing channels until he noticed a familiar white mouse scurrying across the table. Silver quickly lifted his legs as Blaze flew by. The white mouse quickly ran into his hole, causing Blaze to run into the wall. Blaze pried herself from the wall and heard the squeaky laughter of her arch-enemy: Gary the Mouse.
"I am getting sick of this rodent!" Blaze flared. Blaze activated her powers around her hands. "Time to fry this sucker!"
Blaze was ready to burn the hole when Silver quickly grabbed her.
"Whoa! Calm down!" Silver exclaimed. "Remember what happened last time!"
---Flashback---
The G.U.N. fire department was dousing the recently burned down base. All the Heroes and Gary were covered in ash and all glaring at Blaze. Blaze decided to disappear until they forgot this incident. No one saw her for a month.
---End Flashback---
"Right. Bad idea." Blaze said nervously.
Blaze extinguished her flames and Silver released her. Just then, Tails came flying in frantically with Cream giddily following behind. Silver grabbed Blaze and ducked down as the two children flew over. Up in the air vents, Gary threw down a rotten tomato meant for Blaze, but instead landed on Tails. The two-tailed flew out of control and crashed into the wall. This gave Cream the chance to catch him and wrap him in her own bone-breaking hug.
"Aww, why won't you spend the day with me?" Cream pouted.
"I have a lot of work today. I can't afford to fall behind." Tails tried to come up with his best excuse.
"But this day only comes once a year!" Cream cried.
"What's this all about?" Blaze asked as they stood up.
"Cream wants me to spend Valentines Day with her." Tails explained.
"Valentines Day? What's that?" Silver asked.
Since Silver and Blaze lived in a time period with Iblis, they never had a chance to experience the holidays.
"Valentines is a very special day." Cream explained. "It's a day where people express their love for one another."
"That would explain why Sonic's missing." Silver chuckled.
"But why celebrate your love one day when you could celebrate it everyday?" Blaze asked. The violet cat wrapped her arms around Silver and laid her head on his shoulder. "We do."
"They say it's on this day that people find new love." Cream said dreamily. "Isn't that right, Tails?" There was no reply. "He ran away again, didn't he?"
"Yep." The two answered.
Cream's eyes flared in rage and quickly shot out of the room. The next moment, a series of sounds and screams of pain filled the base. Today was going to be a strange one.
Meanwhile, at the Dark Rulers castle. Nazo was sitting at his throne with the blue emerald floating in his hand. Nazo thought back to the locations of the chaos emeralds. The Sonic Heroes have two, Metal has two, ABIS has one, and Nazo has one. That was six in total, which meant there was one emerald left. Just then, Mephiles appeared before his master.
"Why have you called me, my Lord?" Mephiles questioned.
"We are at a disadvantage." Nazo explained. "Sonic and Metal both have two emeralds, while we only have one."
"What do you want me to do?" Mephiles asked.
"I have discovered the location of the last emerald." Nazo said. "I want you to go undercover and retrieve it."
"I have the perfect disguise." Mephiles said. the ooze of Mephiles body shifted to give him a new form. Mephiles now looked like Shadow, only his fur was purple, his highlights were grey, and he now had mouth. "This should do quiet well."
"Don't screw this up." Nazo warned.
In Station Square, crowds were rushing up and down the streets for the big Valentines celebration. Silver and Blaze were walking hand in hand through the crowd. Cream dragging Tails on a leash behind them. But in one of the alleys, the newly transformed Mephiles jumped down to the ground from energy orb.
"Lord Nazo said the emerald was around here somewhere." Mephiles whispered. "So...where is it."
Suddenly, Mephiles heard a female scream. As he looked down the alley, he saw a young girl being chased by thugs. The girl was a 19 year-old purple hedgehog that wore blue slacks, white and red shoes, white gloves with crystal ring cuffs, and a blue sleeveless shirt. As the girl passed by, Mephiles noticed the light-blue emerald hanging around her neck.
"That was easy." Mephiles commented.
The girl turned the corner in hopes to escape, but unfortunately found herself at a dead end. When she looked back, she quickly dropped to the ground as the thugs closed in on her.
"Don't worry, girly. This won't hurt...much." the thug laughed.
The girl began to cry and covered her eyes in her hands. As she waited for their blows, she suddenly heard the blows of their own direction. When the girl removed her hands, she noticed the thugs were scattered across the pavement and a new hedgehog was standing before her. The hedgehog offered his hand to the girl, which she accepted.
"That was simple enough." Mephiles said as he grabbed her hand to pull her up. "Now, hand me the..."
Mephiles stopped in mid-sentence when he caught full sight of her. Her eyes seemed to sparkle upon meeting him. Mephiles felt something in his chest was beginning feel warm and started beating. Mephiles felt his chest and couldn't believe what was happening.
"What is this strange sensation?" Mephiles mentally questioned. "This beating. Is this...my heart?"
"Oh, thank you. That was so brave of you." The girl grabbed Mephiles and hugged him, increasing the pulse in his chest. The girl pulled away. "I'm sorry. I got so excited I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Shira."
"I'm...uh...wait, Mephiles!" Mephiles said unusually nervous. "My name is Mephiles."
"I am so grateful, Mephiles." Shira smiled, making Mephiles even more nervous. "Is there anyway I could repay you?"
Mephiles stared at the chaos emerald around her neck. Now he knew that he supposed to recover it and bring it to Nazo. But something was preventing from saying those specific words. Instead, something else escaped from his mouth.
"Maybe...you would like to spend the day together?" Mephiles asked, surprising himself.
"You mean like a date?" Shira asked. Mephiles only stood there like an idiot. "All right, let's go."
Shira grasped Mephiles' arm and started to drag him down the street. Mephiles began to worry if he had made a mistake. As he was dragged down the street, Mephiles and Silver passed by each other. Though they did see each other, but the mental connection seemed to send off a signal. Silver looked back for a moment, but Mephiles was already gone. A couple yards later, Shira and Mephiles stopped in front of a store.
"What are we doing here?" Mephiles asked.
"Isn't it obvious? We're going shopping!" Shira cheered.
"You must be joking?" Mephiles sweat dropped.
"Please?" She asked with the invincible puppy dog eyes.
"Can all females do that?" Mephiles thought. "All right, fine. I mean, how bad can it be?"
---One hour Later---
Mephiles dragged himself out of the door with a horrified expression. His jaw was hanging and his eyes were bugging out.
"That was the most horrifying experience of my immortal life." Mephiles said.
"That was the best experience of my entire life." Shira said with an arm full of shopping bags. "Here, hold these." Shira tossed the bags to Mephiles, who skillfully caught them. "Nice catch. You know, I'm really glad I met you, Mephiles."
"You are?" Mephiles asked.
"Even though I have only just met you, I feel like I've known you forever." Shira said honestly, increasing the pulse in Mephiles chest. "Mephiles, I think I like you...a lot"
"Uh...I...I really like you too, Shira." Mephiles replied.
Shira sent a sweet smile to Mephiles. And to his surprise, Mephiles retuned with his own smile. Shira turned down the street and Mephiles followed behind. His mission was long forgotten. For the first time in his life, Mephiles was happy. The time demon continually stared at the girl with soft eyes. Finally, Mephiles could understand the feeling in his chest.
"This girl...so kind...so pure." Mephiles admired. "Sharing my mind with Silver has opened my eyes. Shira...I think I lo..."
Mephiles thoughts were cut short when he bumped into someone and fell to the ground. The contents of the bags were scattered everywhere. Shira ran back to help him up.
"Are you ok?" Shira asked as she helped him up. "Hey! Watch where you're going!"
Mephiles rubbed his head before he looked up. And right now, he really wished he didn't. Standing before him was his master, Nazo. Nazo didn't seem too pleased with Mephiles. Nazo sneered at him before he held his hand out to the demon. An orb of massive blue chaos started to form in the evil hedgehog's hand.
"Uh oh." Mephiles muttered.
On the other side of town, Silver and Blaze were sitting across from Cream and Tails at an outdoor restaurant. While Blaze and Cream were chatting, Tails was using every tool he had to break the leash. By now, he had already ruined six screwdrivers, four wrenches, and a high powered laser. Surprisingly, the leash didn't even have a scratch.
"What is with this thing?!" Tails exclaimed.
"Maybe Amy should consider doing that." Silver chuckled.
Tails then reached in to his namesakes and pulled out a chainsaw. Tails was ready to cut when an explosion appeared from the other side of town. Silver quickly jumped at this and suddenly felt a surge in his mind. It was Mephiles and he seemed to be in pain.
"We better hurry." Blaze told him.
"Right." Silver nodded.
Silver used his psychic powers to levitate across town and Blaze jumped across the roof tops. Tails saw this as a chance to escape.
"Well, better go help them." Tails said as he tried to run away.
Oh no, you don't!" Cream exclaimed. Cream pulled back on the leash and wrapped Tails in her arms. "You're not going anywhere."
"Why me?!" Tails whined.
Back across town, the entire street that Nazo attacked was destroyed. All items and shops were burned to a crisp and people were injured all around. All but the exception of two. Mephiles had his hand held out and somehow prevented the attack from harming him or Shira.
"Are you all right?" Mephiles asked Shira.
"I-I think so." Shira replied, clearly shaken.
"It would be better if you leave, Shira." Mephiles advised.
"Shira? So your referring to her by name. That won't do, Mephiles." Nazo said.
"You know him, Mephiles?" Shira asked.
"Uh...yeah. Mephiles said nervously. "You see..."
"I'm the one who sent him." Nazo interrupted. "I sent him to steal the gem around your neck." Nazo pointed to the chaos emerald. "But clearly I was wrong in doing so."
"That's because Mephiles is the kindest person in the world." Shira defended him. "He would never do something like that."
"He's not even a person." Nazo smirked, confusing Shira. Nazo held his hand out to Mephiles. "Allow me to show you."
Nazo released a pulse from his palm aimed at Mephiles. The pulse shattered Mephiles' shell and revealed to them his true face. Shira stepped and fell to the ground in shock. Mephiles' wandered to the ground, not will to see the horrified expression on her face. But it was in his mind. Her looks of horror and disgust. To her, he was nothing but a monster. And to make matters worse, Silver and Blaze jumped down close to the group.
"Mephiles! I knew something was rotten around here." Silver stated.
"What are you up to now?" Blaze questioned.
"Here is your chance to redeem yourself." Nazo said. "Kill Silver and all will be forgiven."
Mephiles was unsure of what to do. But from one glance at Shira's scared stated, he knew what had to be done. Mephiles charged forward and extended his claw towards the grey hedgehog. Silver jumped back and Blaze ignited her body to create a flaming tornado towards the demon. Mephiles, fueled by anger, merely swatted her away and crashed into one of the burned down shops.
"Blaze!" Silver called.
"You should be worried about yourself!"
Silver looked back and Mephiles grabbed him by the neck. Mephiles forced Silver to the ground and swung his claw down towards his head. Silver barely moved his head to dodge and placed his hand on Mephiles' chest. Silver released a pulse that sent Mephiles flew down the street. But Mephiles was prepared to give up that easily. Mephiles and Silver jumped back to their and charged at one another. All the while, Shira could only watch as the fight continued to unfold.
"I can't believe this." Shira said in disbelief. "Why is Mephiles doing this?"
"Because that is who he is." Nazo said; who suddenly appeared next to her. "That was what he was created to do. To destroy everything in his path."
"You're wrong!" Shira shouted. "Mephiles is the most kind-hearted person I have every met. He really cares about me."
"Please." Nazo rolled his eyes. "Mephiles is a heartless demon. He doesn't care about anyone. Now, about that emerald." Nazo quickly swiped the emerald around her neck before she could even respond. Nazo turned to Mephiles. "Mephiles! End this quickly! I will be waiting for you back at that castle!"
And with that, Nazo was gone. Back to the fight. Mephiles swung his claw downward, but Silver jumped back to dodge. Silver used his psychic power to lift several creates of items into the air and threw them forward. Mephiles easily sliced them in half, but was not expecting Silver to throw himself at him. Mephiles headbutted Mephiles in the head. Mephiles appeared in a daze before Silver kicked him in the chest. Mephiles landed on his back and then sat up with flames of rage in his eyes.
"That's it! I've had enough!" Mephiles yelled. Mephiles gather a tremendous amount of chaos energy into his left hand and held it out to Silver. "CHAOS LANCE!"
Mephiles released the devastating blast. Thinking quickly, Silver formed a barrier around himself to stop the attack. It had initially worked, But Silver felt himself growing weaker by the second. Using whatever energy he had left, Silver destroyed the barrier, sending shards of psychic energy flying. Mephiles attack reflected off the shards and wound up destroying one of the buildings. The building started to crumble and a large of rubble was falling...straight towards Shira. Mephiles saw this and reacted.
"Shira!"
Shira looked up and screamed for her life. Mephiles swiftly forgot the fight and ran to protect Shira. Mephiles knew he was not strong enough to stop it, so that left him with one alternative. As he reached Shira, Mephiles released one of his dark orbs. The dark orb surrounded the two and they both disappeared before the rubble hit. Silver was now more confused then he normally was. And that's saying something. Blaze joined by his side.
"What happened?" Blaze asked.
"I'm not sure why, but I think Mephiles just saved somebody." Silver said unusually.
"Do you think it had something to do with the chaos emerald?" Blaze questioned.
"No. Nazo took that a long time ago. But I think I have a vague idea." Silver said.
"Do explain." Blaze said.
"The minds of Mephiles and I are connected, right?" Silver asked. Blaze nodded. "Earlier, I felt Mephiles' feelings and I knew he felt something totally new to him."
"What was it?" Blaze asked.
"It's the same feeling I get when I'm with you." Silver said lovingly.
Blaze smiled sweetly at Silver. Silver and Blaze moved their heads closer and closed their eyes to kiss. But as their luck would have it, something interrupted them. Tails flew right between them, finally free from the leash. But unfortunately, Cream was following right behind him.
"But Tails, All I want is to be your valentines!" Cream shouted, sounding like her big sis, Amy.
"No way! Not in a millions years!" Tails yelled, also sounding like his older sibling, Sonic.
Silver and Blaze laughed at the antics of the children. They knew Valentines was a strange holiday. In more ways than one.
Meanwhile, at a faraway field. And orb of dark energy appeared over the grass and Mephiles and Shira fell down from it. Mephiles rolled over on his back and groan. Using chaos lance and dark travel can take a lot out of a person. Even if that person is and immortal demon. Mephiles sat up and looked to Shira who was also looking back at him. Mephiles stood up and offered his hand to her.
"Are you ok?" Mephiles asked. Shira made no reply; nor did she accept Mephiles' hand. Mephiles looked sad at this gesture. "Listen, I'm sorry that I lied to you about me identity. But everything I did was not a complete lie." Mephiles turned away from her. "I can understand if you hate me, but listen first. I may have lied, my feelings were not. I never meant to hurt you."
Shira looked up to him with eyes full of tears. But Mephiles couldn't see this with his back turned to her. Shira could never hate Mephiles, even if he was an evil demon. Shira stood back up and reached out to touch Mephiles. But before she could do that, and black hole formed next to them and Nazo appeared from it. Mephiles quickly stood in front of Shira to defend her.
"I thought I told you to kill him?" Nazo growled. "And what do I find? You defending something pathetic creature!"
"She is not some pathetic creature!" Mephiles defended, surprising Nazo with his rebellion.
"Why would defend her?" Nazo questioned curiously.
"I know that it not sound illogical and maybe even impossible." Mephiles began. "But...when I'm around Shira it feels like...I actually have a heart. I think...this feeling it my heart. I...I think...I love her."
Shira appeared touched by Mephiles proclamation. The tears in her eyes had escaped and started trickling down her face. Nazo on the other hand could only laugh.
"Love?! What a laugh!" Nazo roared with laughter. "What kind of person would love someone like you?!"
"I would!"
Nazo and Mephiles gazed on in sudden shock. Everyone, especially Shira, was surprised to find that it was her who had said those words. But Shira knew this was right. She took Mephiles' hands and placed them in her own.
"Shira?" Mephiles whispered.
"Mephiles, It doesn't matter to me what you are." Shira said with her heart. "You could be a human, anthro, or demon and it still wouldn't matter to me. The truth is...I think I'm starting to fall in love with you, Mephiles."
Mephiles could not be more happy than he was now. Thanks to their mental connection, Mephiles could always feel how Silver loved Blaze, but never having a chance to experience himself. Shira moved in closer and kissed him on his cheek since he didn't have a mouth. Nazo seemed in a bored stated. Though he wouldn't admit it, he was actually proud at how far Mephiles had come. Nazo walked towards the two as they embraced each other.
"So this is the path you've chosen?" Nazo asked.
It is what my heart has chosen. But I'm afraid I cannot follow it." Mephiles said sadly.
"Why not?" Shira asked.
"I made a vow to serve Lord Nazo for eternity." Mephiles explained. "I cannot break my vow. I am afraid this is goodbye."
"Says who!" Nazo yelled, catching the two off guard. "Mephiles, if you truly care for her, then you should stay with her."
"But what about my vow?" Mephiles asked.
"You will still honor that vow and remain with her." Nazo explained with a smirk. "After all, we do need more followers." Nazo moved closer to Shira. "Mephiles is my most loyal servant. If he can trust you, then so can I. From this point forward, you will be known as a member of the Dark Rulers."
Shira cheered happily and hugged Mephiles in joy. Mephiles would smile if he had a mouth, but the pleased look in his eye seemed to be sufficient. Nazo looked towards the sky and started to drift away in his own little world.
"Mephiles. Despite your history, she has accepted you." Nazo thought. "You have found love. Just as I once did. Isn't that right...Lightra?"
When given the chance, even demons can find love. Happy Valentines Day everyone.