32 - Wrath Of Dark

Colonel Zector and Colonel Zespio stood over the unconscious or dead bodies of their enemies with darkened faces. The few aircrafts that were repaired flew over the green field to monitor the war, and they had previously dropped missiles at their enemies to help thin out the numbers even more. The chameleon just dropped off from his own jet, standing alongside his comrade of the seas. The crocodile figured that perhaps things were finally wrapping up. Nurses and doctors already dragged away the dead or unconscious bodies of their fallen soldiers. Bomb squads already inspected and disarmed any bombs that were still left in their equipment. Surviving and able-bodied soldiers were left resting or waiting in the battlefield, anticipating another attack.

All of Scourge's men, were neutralized. His army had dwindled down to nearly nothing, as they knew some of them were still hiding from them. It wouldn't be long before they got them too. It was all in such a short amount of time too, or at least, that's what it felt like. Once Zector returned, and once Zespio woke up from his dirt nap, everything rose to a climax. But it was truly thanks to everyone's efforts, that they managed to knock them all down. They both were just, angry that the king himself didn't decide to show up. It had been what felt like hours since he captured their commander. Why didn't he return? Didn't he realize his men were down? Didn't he realize he basically just lost this war? Wasn't it over? Weren't they done? Why were they still here? They wanted this to be done, they didn't want to fight anymore They had already lost so much, losing so many people.

Sonic and Shadow Prime just vanished, going after their commander towards the sea. They were worried, they were willing to run back over there to fight. But they knew Zonic wouldn't want that. They knew he ordered them not to, and to stay on the battlefield for support. They couldn't keep standing here idling by, they had to either leave, or do something. They hated this waiting game! They hated that they had to stand over dead bodies, soldiers or not. They didn't want this, they didn't want to end anyone's lives. If killing wasn't necessary, they'd do so as a last resort, but killing wasn't what they were about. That's the number one thing Zonic tried to enforce for years even before he became Lieutenant General.

They tried using their transmitters, but no one ever answered. They even prepared for the worst, asking themselves if they were ready to see Zonic's dead body among the list of casualties, or his head in Scourge's hands. They couldn't see that, they'd never be able to stomach his death. Not him.

Just...Please, not him-

-What was that?

Their eyes had a strange light emanating off of them. The purple chameleon and green crocodile turned their heads and glanced up to the sky. Others did the same, as they saw a strange light reflect off their helmets. Odd, was the sky growing darker? It should have only been noon. And even if it was evening by now, it was summer time in this world. Days were longer, it shouldn't have gotten dark that quickly, as if it was ten at night. Actually, was that the moon?! Why was the moon up? It was a full one too, but how? It couldn't have been night time yet! Zector placed his new helmet back on his head, and pressed his finger on the side to activate the digital clock programmed in the visor. It was only four at noon! No reason why they should be seeing a moon in the sky. Was this another one of Scourge's tricks?

"Atten-" Static through their helmets. "-Attention! Can anyone-" Static. "-Anyone hear me?!" A worrisome voice said in the transmitters. That was Zonic's voice! "Please, if anyone can hear me-" More static. They could barely hear him. "Anti-Sonic is on the move, you all need to-" Even more static. "-Get out of there! Sonic Prime has fallen victim to his brainwash-" Damn it, he was barely making clear sentences. "Brainwashing. He is not himself, please stay clear of them! Shadow prime and I will handle this, but until then-" His voice was fading out. "Retreat immediately!"

"What?" They both exclaimed. Retreat? Retreat?! They won, so why were they retreating? Then again, Zonic drilled into their heads several times that Scourge was not to be underestimated. And if he managed to take advantage of Sonic Prime, that could be bad. Still, they had a great chance of winning this thing, why did he sound so worried? The transmission abruptly ended with a lot of static, shutting off completely. Zector and Zespio shared a look, before turning to their officers and demanding them to clear out this instant. They then ordered for them to be stealthy so no one could be seen, should they need to make a surprise attack.

Zespio then went to his jet to radio in orders to the others in the skies. "Get out of the area! Either return to HQ or land nearby so you can hide!" Zector then made communications with HQ, alerting everyone, especially the Warden, to have the building ready to shoot another gigantic missile if needed. He began running along with other officers who were sprinting to the outskirts of the green field. Some ran to base, while others escaped to HQ with bodies of Scourge's men or their own. They used vehicles, or ran on foot. Jets zoomed by or struggled to land, before the pilots hopped out and sprinted away.

Sudennly, there was an earthquake.

The entire world shook, making large tremors. The ground of the once beautiful greenfield, was cracked with the ground lifting up and breaking apart. Trees fell, stranded vehicles or aircrafts stumbled over. Zector almost tripped over his own feet, and Zespio just barely made it to the outskirts along with him. He panted from how fast he ran, but that wasn't his concern. Black clouds looked over the field, covering their world entirely. The sun was gone, thunder rumbled throughout the skies. That moon was glowing a lot brighter than it should have, acting as if it was a replacement for their forgotten sun. Lightning tore across the atmosphere, a few bolts striking down onto the earth below. It was like a natural disaster was occurring, but why? And why did the moon look like it was really close? As if trying to hypnotize them, it glowed brighter.

Through that dark illuminated sky, they could see a silhouette in the distance. They were in the sky, floating. It kind of looked like a hedgehog, but their quills were raised. It couldn't have been their leader, and it couldn't have been Scourge. Slowly, the clouds parted, the moon's light dimmed almost instantly as its entire form just dispersed into pieces along the sky. It was as if it was shattered by something, or someone.

A navy blue furred hedgehog drifted in the air, hovering down as the clouds swirled from his presence. Their eyes were glowing white, their pupils gone. They floated down to land. A negative energy followed them the entire time, spreading and infecting their environment.

Then, a black, red and blue streak zoomed and sped in their direction. Shadow Prime, with their commander on his back, skidded to a stop in on his hi-tech skates. The two were right in the middle of the battleground. They turned their heads, noticing all of the soldiers and enemies were no where to be seen. They could see that Zonic let out a breath of air, probably a sigh of relief. He was glad everyone did as he ordered and either hid, or escaped. But from what? That person in the sky? The lieutenant general jumped from Shadow's back and readjusted his footwear. He didn't use it to run here himself as he was still slightly recovering from his drowning experience, but he was alright now. He glanced over at the striped hedgehog. "As I recall, the last time you encountered Sonic prime's dark form, things didn't go well for you."

"Your recollection is correct." Shadow replied with a grim tone. "Damn him, I thought he balanced his negative energy. Now I can't even sense his positive energy, everything's just shrouded!" He growled, both with anger and disappointment. He thought Sonic knew better than to fall victim to his darkness. The first time he turned, though it was forced, Sonic already had plenty of negative emotions increase the chance of transformation. The fact that he was kidnapped by one of his most hated enemies, the fact that was tortured by the bastard, and the fact that he pretty much felt helpless and pathetic at the time. What could have triggered him this time?

Sure the war might have turned his mood down but-

Now more of Scourge's men were alive, currently trying to kill the surviving No Zone forces. They used guns, rocks, anything they could get their hands on in the environment. Zonic swore to himself that he'd never lose a soldier, and now look what's happened. So many people were dead. Blood was caking the now shriveled up and dead blades of grass.

He failed his friend.

Shadow has witnessed these kinds of atrocities before, but he was sure Sonic didn't. Speaking of which-!

He turned to his partner, only to see his face darkened. He could feel that darkness from before growing inside of him. No, he couldn't lose him right now, he had to wake up and get his act together. No wasn't the time to feel sorry or grieve for anyone. Shadow gripped his shoulder and turned him around forcefully. "Wake up!" He yelled. "Stop worrying about them!"

"Excuse you..!? Don't worry!? They're all dead, Shadow!"

"It's war, faker. That's what happens in a war, people die!"

"No shit, but don't tell me not to worry! I don't want to see anyone die! I'm supposed to help and save them!"

"Then why did you even join this fight!? No matter how much you think you can, you need to grow the hell up so you can fully comprehend the concept of loss and death. The more you give into that goody-two-shoes side of yours, the more you'll be disappointed with reality."

Fight him? With that power? He could try to hold him off until Shadow got back but, this was Scourge we were talking about. He could pull something crazy at any second. N-Not to mention...He silently gulped as he saw the long drop down into the abyss of a slow, lengthy and painful watery grave. Chaos, why did they have to fight here? Why? Why? What if he tripped and fell in? What if Scourge pushed him in?

"See, look. They just kissed, and even agreed to hide it right behind your back! How gutless." He instigated. "Are you gonna let Stripes get away with that? Even after you made sweet looooove~?"

...Fuck.

Chaos, God fucking damn it all!

It would be his fault that he's like this. It would be his fault that Sonic turned into this, it would be his fault that he drove him right into that bastard's hands! He covered the side of his face with frustration. Why did he say all of that stuff? Why? Why did he yell at him? Why did he call him those things? Why did he belittle him for trying to be optimistic? Why did he snap on him like that? Not only that, but he kissed his No Zone counterpart, someone who he considered a brother. He kissed his twin, he snapped on him, and worst of all, he let him fight that green stain of shit by himself in one of the worst situations he could have been trapped in. He made him fight his most hated enemy in the center of his biggest fear, the ocean. For the past hour or so, he treated Sonic like garbage.

They made love, and Sonic gave him his maidenhood. This was how he paid him back? All of this?

Transforming probably didn't even take that much of a struggle. He was probably so fed up with Shadow, so angry...He was a terrible excuse for a mate. If he were in Sonic's shoes, he'd be willing to transform into a monster, too. After witnessing everything that's transpired here today, anyone would. This was his fault, and it was a horrible mistake. No, it was more than just one mistake. There were plenty he had to make up for, but this was nothing he couldn't fix. Though it was Tails who broke Sonic out of that transformation the first time, Shadow was positive he could do it again himself. They were closer now, the had a much stronger bond with the great connection of a loving and powerful wavelength. There was no doubt in his mind that he could get him back. After all, they loved each other. He had to revert back to normal, he just had to.

"Aaahahahahahaaa!" A mocking voice cackled.

The green hedgehog twirled around with his hands in the air, dancing with the swirling negative aura drifting around the air. He even paused to take a nice big whiff of the chaotic polluted atmosphere, before giggling and dancing away with grace and balance. He hummed a song, his favorite song, the oh so classical Claire De Lune. You just couldn't go wrong with that song, it was just so beautiful. He dipped and bowed, even standing on the tip of his toes as if he was a ballerina. He then bent down to grip some dead grass blades in his hand, before throwing them up like confetti into the air. He cheered for joy, hopping up and down before continuing his delusional dance of madness. He didn't even trip over the dead bodies of No Zone cops, or his own men. He was just so happy that he finally got back his beloved Dark Sonic, his not-so-guilty pleasure. He was going to love him forever this time! He'd make sure of it.

As the maniac danced over the corpses of his own dead gang, Dark Sonic began to descend down from the skies. The only thing the cursed angel was missing, were a pair of black feathered wings. To both Shadow and Scourge, something like that would fit him rather well. The dark being with nearly black fur stepped down beside Scourge and finally landed on his feet. That horrid black and dark blue energy followed him, along with the red power from earlier. It sparked around his body like small doses of scarlet static. Scourge made a few more twirls towards the fellow hedgehog, before getting down on his knees and hugging his legs. He squealed like a girl, rubbing his face against his fur. "Dark Sonic, Dark Sonic, Dark Sonic yaaaasss queen!" After hearing no response from him, Scourge pouted and looked up at his muzzle. "Notice me senpai." He stood up and grasped both of his hands. "Come ooonn, notice me! I brought you out here, I freed you. I even made that golden yellow prick in your head disappear!" He frowned as he saw absolutely no emotion from the hedgehog.

"..." Dark Sonic didn't even blink.

Scourge lowered his eyes and scowled, his humorous persona gone just as fast. "What's up with you? Last time, I had you in the palm of my hands. You were just begging for me to give you attention." He looked to the side for a second, thinking to himself. Did he screw up when he brainwashed him? "I could have sworn I did it right, and it felt like I took control. So what gives?" He shook Dark Sonic's shoulders violently and even yanked him closer. "Why aren't you responding!? Why aren't you getting flustered or...or trying to kiss me or something? You love me, don't you? That's what I ordered you to do!" He moved his grip from his shoulders to his wrists, painfully tight. "Kiss me! I'm ordering you to kiss me!"

"..."

With a snarl growing in his throat, Scourge's eyes began to shrink. He was starting to piss him off. "You better do what I say right now, or-"

Dark Sonic obeyed, leaned forward, and instantly connected his lips with the other. Then, Scourge became trapped. Dark Sonic was the one gripping his arms, pulling him even closer as his hold became bone breaking. The green one couldn't move, and he made muffled sounds of panic with twitching eyes as his lip was deeply bitten. He then felt something foul enter his mouth. It wasn't his tongue, it was something else. Something that felt like a gas, but tasted like rotten flesh. Navy blue energy entered his mouth, and traveled down his throat. Scourge's muffled screams echoed across the battlefield, as Shadow and Zonic watched with shock. Scourge struggled to get out of his hold, trying to pull himself away from him. He even tried to kick, but it was no use. Suddenly, he was thrown down onto the grass as Dark Sonic licked his lips of his blood, that seemed to be an unhealthy dark red color. The dark being dusted himself off, as if Scourge as a whole was mere dirt. "...So you noticed it this time." His voice, was deeper than it should have been. Raspy like Scourge, but a lot more malicious, if that were even possible. "Breath of Death. An ability a mortal like you wouldn't be able to comprehend, unless under my influence." He adjusted his gloves before crossing his arms over his chest. "I used it on you before, when you consummated our mouths earlier. You of course didn't notice, as you were too enthralled with your own demented lust to do so."

Shadow narrowed his eyes. "The hell? Why is he talking like that?"

Zonic noticed his suspicion. "This isn't normal?"

"No," The ultimate life form shook his head. "Faker didn't sound like himself, but he didn't talk like some kind of...imperious inbred." Shadow then felt a very dangerous spark of fear thread it's way through his chest. "And his voice, it sounds like him, but it doesn't at the same time. It sounds, warped. As if he's no longer a Mobian."

The commander understood what this meant. "...He isn't."

"What..?" The red striped hedgehog immediately whipped his head at him. "What are you talking about?"

Zonic swallowed hard. He took a step forward, and darted his eyes towards the once famed blue hero. He noticed how his eyes were still glowing white. If his studies were correct, and if what the past Overseers wrote was indeed true, then this was Dark Sonic's fullest potential. "Tell me, did he look exactly like this the first time you saw his transformation?" Zonic asked quickly.

Shadow was going to say yes, until he remembered something.

His once bright lime green eye, was now a dim, dark swampy-like color. And one of them even seemed to be faded away, like his eye was almost completely glowing white.

That's right, one of Sonic's eyes were white but the other wasn't for some reason. As if the transformation wasn't complete. How did he never notice that before? That's when he began to piece together what was happening, and why Scourge was tossed away like a rag doll. "...No. One of his eyes were white, but one of them wasn't."

Zonic nodded, feeling confident in his conclusions. He continued to speak. "This is a stronger form of Dark Sonic. You see Shadow prime," Zonic glanced at Shadow. "I already told you Sonic prime isn't just some normal Mobian, if that wasn't already obvious. Not just anyone can use chaotic abilities, you must be blessed. Sonic is ultimately a Chaos Born." He pointed towards the dark being. "Chaos Born are blessed with chaotic powers, and if they're lucky, given super forms such as this. These forms as Divine beings, are so powerful that they can even change the very weather or day of night, which is why the moon is out even though it's only four at noon. Anti-Sonic is a Chaos Born as well, and that's why he possesses such powers. However, as the Champion of Realities, Sonic prime is blessed with the powers of all original four super forms, the very deities that were responsible for creating his race. Remember when I told you about them?" Zonic could see Shadow's face become more and more lost with the explanation. Shadow wasn't slow or stupid, he was just put off by such information being told to him out of the blue. "Well, if Sonic prime were to transform into one of his negative forms, their influence is more than likely to take over. However, this influence can become instant and overpowering if the form becomes stronger. The Dark Sonic you saw before was weak compared to this one, and that's why you were able to break him out of Scourge's control." Zonic briefly looked towards Scourge, who was still laying against the ground. He wondered if he was knocked out.

"So," Shadow began to deduce. "The form I encountered before, it wasn't anywhere near it's fullest potential. Probably so Scourge could have better control over it. Not only that, but because this form's stronger, it completely took over Sonic's personality. So it's not even him talking right now, at all." That made him wonder. Whenever Sonic turned Super, was that form at his fullest? When they were taking turns fighting the Biohazard, was Super Sonic at his strongest back then? Hell, what about Shadow's own? That would explain why he didn't combust on the way down from the ark, and why Sonic still had the strength to get back to safety before he did. Their fights, him losing to his enemies, was Sonic just holding back this whole time? Or, was he not aware of his own full potential? Just how strong was the kid? And for that matter, how powerful was Scourge? If the whole opposite shtick held up to be true, then Scourge should be weaker, and yet he was still a huge problem.

Plus, this meant it'd be tougher to break Sonic out from this funk. That dark entity's influence was stronger than ever, meaning it'd be a battle just to attempt at reaching out to his lover. But he had to try, he couldn't just let this go on. "Faker!" Shadow suddenly yelled. He gained Dark Sonic's attention, who merely rose his head, then lowered his eyes. "Are you really going to put us through this again? Don't you remember what happened last time?" He hoped bringing up the past incident would trigger some memories to touch upon his emotions. "Remember how you destroyed the forest? Remember how frightened Tails was? Remember how you nearly killed Knuckles? How you hurt me? How you let that psychopath use you? How he touched you!?" He hollered. "Are you really going to let him put you through that again? Are you?"

The other just continued to stare back at Shadow from afar, not bothering to move an inch or give any indication that he was actually listening to him.

"Sonic, please," Shadow clenched his fists and tried slowly walking forward. "Just break out of it. This isn't you," If he could just let him grab him, perhaps he could get to his neck again to dissolved some of that acidic negativity away. Just like last time. He held out one hand, trying to show him a sense of compassion as he walked amongst the dead grass. He meant no harm. "Please-"

"...Could you stop talking, please?"

...

...What?

"Huh..?" Shadow blinked as his legs came to a halt.

With a little more hesitation to his voice, the being spoke again. "You are wasting your time, mortal. I've no interest in phony excuses for organic life." With that, he turned his attention elsewhere. Just, so carelessly. He looked down at Scourge, who was starting to struggle to push himself off of the ground. He could barely stand as he wobbled on his feet, and he craned his head to see Dark Sonic looking down upon him. He began to smile, even has his own dried blood continued to cake on his bottom lip.

"Amazing," He whispered. He carefully stepped a little closer towards the dark being. With an enchanted dream-like glare in his eyes, he swooned. "You treat me almost as bad as I treat Fiona. Awesome."

Dark Sonic just frowned in disgust. "You are beyond broken. Nothing, will ever fix you." He replied in a quiet voice. He began to levitate from the ground, but when he tried to fly upwards into the sky. He was suddenly stopped by the same green annoyance. He was grinning up at him, holding up his arm. A red chain formed of immoral chaos energy was shackled against his wrist. The chain was linked to Dark's, another red chain appearing on his own gloved hand, until it faded away. He scowled with great fury, his animosity alone was enough to rumble the ground again. "Of course. I cannot be freed until I've served him again. Very well." Dark Sonic dropped back down onto the ground with seething white eyes.

"Don't worry baby, all you gotta do is help me kill anyone who's still breathing." Despite his warning from earlier, Scourge once again got closer to the entity and placed his hand on his muzzle. "I'll free you no problem. Just give me a hand and you can do whateeeever you want." He tilted his head. "Deal?" After hearing once again no response from the super form, Scourge then turned around and pointed behind Shadow and Zonic. He was directing his attention towards anyone behind them who were still hiding. "They're all waaay in the back. Just remember everything that's pissed you off today and use that to kill 'em." Then, a thought occurred to him. "Hold on a sec, you're not really Blue, are you? So what makes you mad?"

Shadow was already using this chance to back away while being on guard. He was going to tell Zonic to run, until the commander was pulled and seemingly dragged by nothing. He was dragged through dirt and grass, yelping as he hit the ground and thrown towards Sonic's anti-double. A red chain appeared on his wrist as well, and one appeared on Scourge's other hand. Shadow nearly forgot about that, he had trapped the commander with him a while ago, too. That meant he was still under his capture. Scourge bent down and pulled Zonic by the back of his spines, not caring if he was stabbed by them, and yanked him up on his feet. He put a firm grip on his neck, holding him closely with a sneer.

"Did you forget, Stripes? I got both Zonic and Blue on my side. Well," He glanced over at Dark with an unsure frown. "Not really, but kinda," He then looked back at Shadow. "So you're all alone-"

The dark form began to whisper. "...What makes me angry...?" He asked to no one. "The fact that I'm still enslaved by one of you..." He hissed. "You...!" He screamed to the heavens. "I'll destroy ALL OF YOU!"

"No, Sonic prime, don't-!" Zonic tried to say.

Dark Sonic turned his head towards the lieutenant general, and his white glowing eyes only illuminated his figure even more, ominously. "I will start with you first." He declared darkly, snatching him from Scourge's hold. He shoved the blue hedgehog onto the ground, flat on his back. He stepped over him, before beginning to kneel down. Zonic's eyes widened, fearing his own twin was going to kill him right here and now. He could hear Shadow yell for Sonic to stop, but he wasn't listening. The super form raised a hand in the air, and Zonic looked away from his impending doom. Feeling no pain soon after, he steadily opened his eyes back at his twin above. It was only to see that Dark Sonic, was making a melancholy expression. Why was he looking at him like that? "You poor, sad mortal," He whispered as he caressed the side of Zonic's muzzle with one hand. "You wish to be reunited with your love, don't you?"

"...S...Sonic-"

"Two thousand and twentieth generation, Grand Overseer Zonic," The dark being addressed formerly. "I will grant you what you desire most." He then slowly placed his gloved finger tips over his eyes, gently closing Zonic's eyelids. He even tucked his arms above his chest, as if he was lying dead for a funeral. "I will give you what you want."

Zonic's dark green eyes opened once more, and they became a solid, soulless black. As if he was no longer present in the world, he laid silent.

The super form then put his hand over his face, covering it completely before muttering, "Dark Coffin." Both Scourge and Shadow watched in alarm as a dark ball of energy appeared, and circled around Zonic. It trapped him inside of it, and began to shrink until his body molded in it's sphere perfectly. Dark Sonic stood up from his work, before glaring back at Shadow. "These Overseers, even now they are all painstakingly ignorant to the powers we possess. He will be living his best nightmare, over and over again. A replay of his most wonderful dream come to life, warped into a despair and rage inducing end result. Repeating, repeating, until his soul falls into a void of misery. And you," He pointed directly to the red striped hedgehog. "You, are next if you continue to stand in my way."

The green hedgehog scratched the side of his head, then shrugged. That worked for him. He chuckled at Shadow's misfortune, and he almost pitied him. "I mean, seriously. Unless something hopelessly unpredictable happens, you're all screwed dude."

Shadow's red eyes trembled.

Sonic and Zonic were both gone.

He was alone.

"Are you positive the commander will be okay, Colonel Zector?" A soldier asked, sitting on the roof next to the turret of the mobile. Zespio sat beside Zector, who was in the driver's seat. All the other pilots were flying away back to HQ, but Zespio decided to stay with Zector for support. Other soldiers were inside the car with them, peering out the windows like sentries. Other army vehicles were behind them or next to them, driving in the same direction into town. Thank goodness the civilians evacuated when they did. Whenever an army or military drove into a city, it meant only one thing: War. Panic would have rose, causing even more havoc. They didn't need anything else distracting them.

The crocodile smirked and nodded as he drove the No Zone vehicle. "That's our Lieutenant General you're talkin' about, of course he'll be fine! He's the boss for a reason, ya know." He said confidently. "But not just him, Sonic and Shadow prime are gonna win for sure. I know it." He said. He glanced beside him to see Zespio smile and nod back towards his partner. Letting him know that he completely agreed. Nothing would stop those two, they were an excellent team. That, on top of their boss helping them, it'd be a sure victory. It probably wouldn't be easy, but they both had a good feeling about this. Zespio held up a fist, silently showing off one of their salutes. The men in the car cheered, and did the same. Soon, every vehicle was cheering, pumping their fists in the air. Their cries echoing throughout the empty town.

They all had hope.

...

"...The hell?" Zector murmured. What was that rumbling?

The ground below them was starting to shake more and more. The vehicles were all shaking as they drove. Soon, Zector failed to keep a steady hold on the wheel. Then, the car made a slight bump and they all felt a lingering vibration surge below their feet. Was that an explosion? One of the soldiers gasped as they looked out the windows. Suddenly, the soldier sitting atop their vehicle from before, fell onto the hood. It startled the crocodile, nearly flying off of the road as his vision was obscured. The soldier's body fell and flung away from the vehicle's speed, making Zector watch in horror. Was he dead? He hoped not but why did he fall like that?

"Sir!" One of the soldier in the car cried. "Floor it!" He yelled.

"What-"

Zespio seized the wheel and stomped his own foot on the gas. "Floor it!" He screamed.

Black and orange smoke drifted into the air, explosions littering the route for the surviving No Zone soldiers. Something was causing the planet to shake every so often, and the quaking felt like it was getting closer. The line of cars following the colonels were flinging and flying away, screams of terror fading as soldiers were tossed away. Something was charging towards them, something bad. Loud stomping was heard, and it sounded like they were the reason why the ground was shaking. Through the dust and smoke, they saw a silhouette of a Mobian. The same silhouette they saw in the sky before escaping from the battle ground. Lightning flashed and thunder roared, and that white moon in the sky was pulsating into their eyes. Zector could feel his eyeballs burning, and he looked away while crying out in pain.

A hedgehog who looked eerily similar to their commander and their champion, sprinted towards them above mach speeds. That navy, almost black fur, along with white glowing eyes was staring directly at them as he came even closer. In under seconds, he kicked and simply smacked away any vehicle that were too close to him, before making his way towards them. A simple touch from his finger, sent the vehicles flying hundreds of yards away. The crocodile's face was riddled with fear, but they couldn't falter now. He looked back at the road and took the wheel from Zespio. He briefly looked at the chameleon before glancing at the rear view mirror. "Zespio, you gotta shoot that thing!" He cried. "That can't be Sonic prime or boss, you gotta get rid of it!"

Without words, Zespio ran from his seat to kick the ceiling hatch open. He hopped out onto the roof of the car where the turret sat, and got behind it to get it ready. He heard it charge up, and it's line of bullets click from the inside. Zespio grabbed hold of it's triggers, and aimed for the dark deity. He began shooting at it, to which it easily dodged. As if it teleported from side to side, it was like he was never there. He then appeared beside the vehicle, looking to the side at the driver's seat. The crocodile flinched at his appearance, but tried paying attention to the road instead. "Sir, look out!" A soldier pointed to the hedgehog outside. "Drive away-!" Dark Sonic struck his elbow into the side of the military car. It stumbled, and it's tires struggled to stay on track. It spiraled around the road, until it eventually flipped over, flinging off road like the others. Zespio was tossed off, falling onto the hard ground from a high distance. Once the vehicle made impact with the ground, black smoke emitted from inside.

Dark Sonic never turned back as he moved.

"Stop right there!"

What, there was more of them? He turned a little to look behind himself. Puny mortals on their No Zone motorcycles, blasting off towards him with aiming weapons. The soldiers were willing to die for their leader that badly? Fine by him. He was going to fully turn around to blast them all with his own power, until he felt something trip underneath his feet. Dark Sonic misstepped, and fell forwards. They used those chaos disrupting lasers on their wrists, right at his legs. However, he was stronger than their half assed excuse for modern technology. He stomped his foot behind the other into the ground to stop himself from falling forward, and swung his arm from behind to turn around while shooting energy from his palm. The chaotic blast nailed the lead driver first, the radius exploding and causing the others to fall from their bikes hundreds of feet away. He was going to continue to run after that, until he saw something move in the distance. That crocodile from before was on the dirt road, blood dripping down his face as he struggled to get up.

He was at least a mile away, but it didn't take Dark Sonic long to reach him. He stood over him and the wreckage of his car. The other soldiers that were with him were unconscious, scattered all over the area. That's when the hedgehog made a sympathetic look in his empty eyes. "You poor mortal," He slowly rose a hand above him. Zector managed to open one eye at him while groaning in pain. Debris fell off of his tattered uniform as he tried to move. He saw the hedgehog above him drift his fingers to his irises. "A Dark Coffin awaits you-" Then he stopped. With a confused look, Dark Sonic looked at his own palm in puzzlement. Something was holding him back. But what? It better had not been his host interfering with his control. "Ugh, damn you..!"

"Sonic!" Shadow hollered angrily in the distance as he skated towards the wreck.

With a scoff, Dark just put his hand down and stood up, but didn't turn his way.

The ultimate life form fused powerful energy into his hand, before charging towards his lover. That's when, in a split nano second, Dark moved to look in Shadow's direction. He smiled before Shadow could strike him, and effortlessly moved to the side from his attack. Realizing his blow hit nothing but air, Shadow attempted to turn around, but he was too slow. Dark Sonic seized him from behind, wrapping both arms around his torso, with one of them reaching to seize his wrist. He was gripping the very hand that was holding that power trapped in his palm. Shadow tried to struggle out of his hold, but Dark was ultimately physically superior in this form. "You are weak, Project Shadow. You're a former monster who tried to plague my host's world with despair, and death. All in the name of a girl who didn't even wish for it, and a pair of creators who were so caught up in their own rage, they used you to accomplish that. You didn't learn your lesson the first time," He squeezed his arm against his chest even more to take the wind out of him, pushing against his rib cage. And then, suddenly, blades of chaotic energy stabbed through Shadow's chest from the front. Was that his own form of Chaos Spears? Shadow couldn't even holler in pain, that's how surprised he was. He didn't think he'd stab him like this, right through his chest and out of his back. At least seven of these things were protruding through his body. Soon, they faded away into dark embers of light, but the pain and wounds soon appeared not a moment later. Shadow was in so much pain, he couldn't even breathe, or else it'd make things worse. "So you went back for more from your second creator, wreaking even more havoc."

Shadow's eyes blinked several times as images began to flash through his mind, involuntarily.

"S-Shadow, why? Why are you siding with them?"

"Siding with them...You're joking, right? I'm just siding with whoever goes up against you." He tilted his head. "And you're next, Sonic."

Sonic's fears turned for the worst. "I didn't wanna have to do this buddy," He said tenderly with a determined expression. "But if that's how it is...Fine, I'll bring you back to the way you were!" Even as his body was battered, bloody and beaten, he'd still fight for him.

He'd fight to keep that good side of him. To keep that small glimmer of light alive.

"You've caused my host so much pain through your own pathetic turmoil. Then you have the audacity to fall in love with him, when all you do is cause even more pain? You took the very thing that created his persona, the essence of freedom and purity...!" The dark form snarled. His own dark chaotic energy acted as poison and electricity all at once, surging through Shadow's body like a cable box. The hedgehog cried out from the pain, shaking in his hold. "And even now, you still treat him as an inferior, even betraying him by lip locking with his own generation's Overseer?" A bone chilling rumble of laughter slipped from the hedgehog's lips. "Your laughable excuse for a relationship is over. My host will mourn you, but he'll be happy to know that we killed you ourselves!"

Zector watched with great concern at the striped hedgehog's futile attempts to get away, until he was forced to the ground on one knee. Dark Sonic smirked evilly as he tightened his hold on his arm, until he jerked it backwards. Shadow screamed in pain, doubling over as he tried blocking out the pain of his now broken arm. He let go of his now useless arm, and gripped it against the project's neck. He was going to snap his spinal cord as well, until a certain glint shot through Shadow's ruby eyes. "Chaos Lance!" With an amused expression, Dark Sonic watched as his abdomen was stabbed directly through his chest. He instantly let go of Shadow, backing away a few steps at a time as his wound slowly began to close around the lance of chaos energy stuck in his body. He growled silently. He didn't have time to toy with him right now. He then simply turned his back toward them and sprinting off to the city.

Once he was gone, Shadow dropped down to both knees, holding his arm in agony. He quietly moaned in suffering, clenching his eyes shut.

The blue hedgehog couldn't stop smiling. "I love you."

Shadow found himself smiling again. "I love you."

The hero grinned in return. "Love you too."

He gripped the head of his fur with his good arm, gritting his teeth furiously. He said he loved him. He said he loved him first, so why? Why was he hurting him? Why did he find joy in hurting him? Why did he enjoy hurting innocent people? Shit, was this how Sonic felt when Black Doom brain washed him into thinking that conquering everything, even Mobius itself, was his only purpose? When he beat him to a pulp, until he broke him out of it by saying those key words all those years ago?

"Shadow, please!" He held out his hand to Shadow, his palm open and welcoming. His peach arm had jagged cuts all over, bleeding from the result of chaos spears striking his body. His legs were wobbling, and he could barely stand. "You don't have to do this anymore. I'm here for you! I told you that, and I'm keeping my promise. So please," He shook his head. "Stop this. Be a good person, I know you still have it in you!"

"..."

"Black Doom is gone, he's dead. It's over. You've won, there's nothing more you need to do!"

The comet was destroyed, Black Doom was annihilated. But he had the power to destroy everything else, he could do it right now if he wanted to. He had the emeralds, he had Mobius' demise in the clutches of his hands, and he had their hero bleeding out on the floor in front of him. He could kill him. Kill him and reign supreme over everyone. But why was he hesitating? Why wouldn't he do it? Why was he hearing him out?

"Sha...Dow.." He was losing consciousness quickly. "Please," He begged him. "I..." He was still reaching for him.

This power in his chest, it didn't feel like Black Doom's influence-

...It felt, holy. It was holding him back.

Was that, his super form?

Or was that her?

Sonic was the one who got through to him, and made him stop his onslaught. He helped Sonic get back to Mobius, but he never knew why. Falling from the ark, and then the comet incident, made him open his eyes. Sonic shined a light through him that stopped him from becoming someone who he no longer recognized. He reformed him, he made him a better person before it was too late. He tried to help him, a stranger, so much in very little time. That was why he grew close to him. But he fell in love, because he just made him happy.

And now, all of that seemed like nonsense. It seemed like everything they've gone through together was for naught. That their love was nothing, meant nothing. He knew that Scourge's ability had hypnotized him into turning, but the Dark Sonic they were seeing now had a mind of it's own. Perhaps Scourge was the one who forced him to go into a stronger form but, even he seemed surprised by it. He could barely even control it. Did Sonic let that dark form influence him and take over? Was he that angry with him? Shadow just continued looking down. This was all hopeless.

He was powerless against a super form, and he couldn't fight Scourge at this rate. Zonic was under Dark Sonic's spell, and almost all the No Zone soldiers were once again wiped out from that assault alone. It's not like they could contact anyone else for help, and he couldn't just run away, not that he could. He had a broken arm, and right now, a broken heart. It was over, there was nothing he could do.

Nothing.

Your love for him truly is weak if you're this quick to give up on him. Perhaps I should have chosen a better b...er.

"Huh? You again..?"

You mortals are wearing me thin, but I need him to return to me. I will lend you some of my energy, but do not waste it. This is the only and final time I will help with this battle. I've absolutely no power to spare any longer.

His body was healing tremendously all of a sudden...! "The hell!?"

And please, do not believe the words of the dark one. They only speak out of spite, like most angered spirits do. My host loves you, and you need to be the one to bring out his light, as he did for you. Bring it out.

Break, me out.

And the voice was suddenly gone.

END - 32

Not everything is what it seems.