The melody of dancing blades had become as common as the flutter of leaves in the wind.
Dark blue ears twitched as their owner hunched over in front of a tree, sharp eyes scanning the sculpted trunk. Dryagan tried hard to focus on his work, shaking hands quickly painting a quick array of runes on the bark of a young oak tree, all while trying to ignore the sounds of fighting coming from the clearing below. He could feel Uwak's presence nearby, the sound of the crow's ink-stained talons scrapping against wood now a constant reminder of the situation he was caught in.
Why were they doing this in the first place? Mephiles had never mentioned until now using a sealing array as part of his plan against the Prince. It felt too much of a last ditch effort for his taste. Was the Gaia spawn really that powerful? For a moment Dryagan opened his mouth to ask the bird Mage standing nearby, but he quickly shut up as he reminded himself of his own, precarious condition.
His left hand unconsciously rose up to his throat, a gulp leaving the hybrid as he traced the edges of the red circle glowing dully through dark blue fur.
Dryagan had never completed his studies as a mage -the only teacher he'd ever had had been eaten by a large Daimoni two decades ago. As such, he had very little to base himself, but even then there was no mistaking the primary intent behind the array etched into his skin.
Should he get on Uwak's bad side, the crow would only need to flick his hand to make the seal detonate.
The thought of having a bomb on his throat made his insides twist with dread. Why him? Why did he had to get dragged into this mess? At first, he'd felt pride for being chosen by Mephiles; after all, he was contributing to saving his kin, he was getting out of the barren wasteland that was everything he knew...but was it a good thing anymore? Dryagan felt more in danger on Mobius than he'd ever felt in his home world. This time it wasn't a Daimoni trying to steal his food, den or eat him; this was something else entirely, something that he wasn't used to, and this lack of knowledge left him scrambling for answers.
And now he had a bomb on his chest.
Dryagan had never felt this weary.
Sighing, the young male's wings fluttered against his back as he kneeled down at the base of a tree, a sharp carving knife held loosely in his hands as he surveyed the nearly finished setup with attentive eyes. Noting a small set of runes at the lower corner of the trunk that wasn't supposed to be there, the young creature moved forwards to destroy it -only to spot several more sets that definitively were not part of the seal array they had agreed on.
Blinking, the winged Daimoni peered closer at their work, noticing with a frown that the rune work were different than the one he has been ordered to make. Entire sections seemed to have been rewritten, or were flat out missing. Eyes widening, he looked around, spotting Uwak nearby, the bird carving out more runes on another trunk -runes that were in a complete different order than the one they needed.
"Wait, that's not the right sequence!" Dryagan exclaimed, bristling when his feathered companion continued working as if nothing was wrong. "The matrix isn't set to hone on one target, it will catch catch everyone in it!" He blabbered, keeping his voice down for fear of being heard by their opponent, but still loud enough to voice his indignation and disbelief. "This is the opposite of what Mephiles asked of us!"
"I know."
So simple, those words. So carelessly thrown his way, uncaring of what they meant.
Dryagan's mouth clicked shut, eyes darting back to the array they were working on. He suddenly saw the runes -a work of art he had been proud of creating- in a new, sinister light. The seal was set to catch anyone caught in it for the first few seconds of it being triggered; anyone who entered the circle afterwards would be unaffected.
The more he looked around, the more runes Dryagan noticed that weren't there before -that weren't supposed to be there. His head spun and his heart beat quickly in his small chest as he struggled to decipher what the carvings meant. Despite his passable knowledge of the sealing arts, Dryagan found himself unable to identify even half of the runes.
It rubbed him the wrong way. What was Uwak planning?
Once again his companion was doing something that he wasn't supposed to. First he didn't stall Shadow like he was ordered to, and now he was was deliberately changing the runic array they were supposed to be carving into the trees, rocks and dirt around the clearing while Mephiles kept the Gaia child busy.
The Naga had died the first time Uwak had challenged Mephiles' orders.
Who was going to die now? The seal would catch everyone in the crossfire.
(Everyone.)
"But that sealing sequence..." Dryagan paused for a moment, hesitating as he remembered that the raven didn't have the same agenda as their leader. "...wouldn't that target Mephiles as well?"
Uwak chose to not respond, merely continuing his work on the runic array. His companion still caught the hint of a smirk tugging at the edge of the creature's beak.
xxxxxxxxx
The sound of a reinforced door slowly opening echoed within the vast, metal room, making gold eyelids flutter open, revealing twin swirling orbs of scarlet. Fleetway slowly stood up, patting away dust from his fur as he rose to meet his captors. The Inhibitor rings he'd decided to wear -he was curious, nothing else!- felt heavy on his wrists and ankles, but it was a comforting weight.
With them, Fleetway felt...centred. In balance.
It was strange, but he wasn't complaining.
His reaction to his unexpected company however was something else. He watched the newcomers stroll in with a slight sneer. A black hedgehog, a echidna and the bastard fox. He watched with dull amusement as their noses wrinkled at the stench permeating the room, the thick smell of sulphur having yet to leave the vault due to it's lack of proper air circulation.
"What happened here?" Tails called out in disbelief, a frown growing on his features as he stared at the bored Aimoni's cage. The sapphire eyes trailed up to the camera he'd installed -only to see a wrinkled, melted pile fused to the wall, still smoking faintly.
"The blue kid came to say hi." Fleetway muttered nonchalantly, enjoying the slight widening of their eyes. "He wasn't very happy. Looked like hell, too."
The golden immortal watched with a sneer as the dark hedgehog stepped forwards, burning red eyes commanding him to listen. "Where is he now? Tell me." Fleetway snorted at the intimidating demand, learning back against the farthest wall of his cell and crossing his arms nonchalantly.
"Now where's the fun in that? The brat is on a mission. If he can get rid of them like he said he could, I'm not going to jeopardize that." Smacking his lips together loudly, the Aimoni offered his visitors a dangerous smirk. "Those fuckers have it coming after all they've done." He hummed softly. "Who eats their own people anyways? I get that we are starving, but they don't even need to eat with all the Chaos energy they have..."
"Who are you taking about?" The red echidna asked, genuinely curious. The black creature at his side was silently fuming, furious about the interruption. Fleetway would be a liar if he said he didn't enjoy the hybrid's anger.
"The Gaias, who else? They're coming to take over your planet, with their army of minions raining down upon your pathetic ball of dirt. If you think your water nymph is scary, oh boy, you haven't seen anything yet." Fleetway almost crackled at their expression of bewilderment and apprehension. His grin grew wider; he was going to die anyways if the Gaias won, so why not make it enjoyable? "Though it would be ironic if the blue boy managed to defeat them. Killed by their own child." He shrugged, picturesquely uncaring of his own words. "How poetic."
"Child? You're saying that Sonic is descendant of your leaders?"
"It's a new development, actually." Fleetway said with a perky voice, revelling in their confusion and sorrow. "Kinda brilliant too. The ultimate plan to get rid of the Twilight Manacle -create a child with the blood of the greatest Chaos users in existence, and hatch it within the womb of a mortal woman; unseal the beast to kill it, once and for all." He didn't miss the widening of eyes at the word create. Would it hurt to twist the knife a little deeper? No for him, at least. "Mephiles was pretty surprised to learn that. He didn't think the Gaias would swoop so low as to ally themselves with humans. Those creatures are greedy bastards."
"G.U.N."
The black hedgehog's voice made the mortals go still. Fleetway didn't think his smirk could be any bigger. There was no need to speak up with such a ferocious smile.
The small group in the other side of the glass cage quickly dissolved into chaos.
"Goddamn it!"
"Shadow, where are you going?!"
"To find the stupid brat!"
Are mortals always this noisy? The Aimoni wondered as he leaned back, resting his spine against the metal wall. He paid no mind to the mobians fighting on the other side as the black hedgehog tried to leave the room only to be physically held back by the echidna, fixating instead on the dull ache in his chest.
The lack of Chaos energy was starting to really bother him. He had some left, plenty to function normally despite the fact he was pretty sure the cage he was in was designed to drain him of it completely. He wasn't used to this little amount however, and it threw him off balance. It felt as if some part of him was missing...yet at the same time he felt lighter. More balanced.
Stupid fox.
"But we don't even know where he is-!"
Swirling eyes snapped open.
"Actually," Fleetway chirped, finding sadistic pleasure in pouring salt into their wounds. "Mephiles had a backup plan in case his first attempt at capturing the kid didn't work. They should be in the forest near that big human base. If the kid is using the Manacle, it won't be hard to find him. That thing is a beacon of Chaos energy." The Aimoni revealed carelessly, standing up, walking over to the front of the cage and sitting on the metal edge of the reinforced window. His grin grew wider at the displeased expressions of the hedgehog and echidna, but the fox did not react to him, too lost in his thoughts. "Chop chop, kiddies. Time's a luxury these days."
His smirk dropped at their lack of reaction to his last quip. If their expressions were anything to go by, they looked as if they were at a funeral. It took all he could for Fleetway to not snarl in frustration. He wanted to riddle them up, not turn them into sad, whimpering wretches!
"I'm leaving." The dark hedgehog -Shadow- exclaimed, spinning around and hurriedly making his way to the door. He looked rattled, obsidian spines rugged and eyes wild. Fleetway idly wondered if he had some form of attachment to the Gaia child. "I can cover more ground with my speed. I'll keep my communication line open."
"The Tornado's destroyed, we won't be able to use it." The red echidna exclaimed, frowning as he stopped the older mobian by grabbing his left shoulder. "I'll see if I can call to Rouge. If this is a invasion, we need to start evacuating the city. G.U.N. could help."
"The same humans that probably started this whole mess? Sure." Shadow's words were bitter, speaking of past experiences.
The yellow kitsune hesitated.
"Don't say it like that. We don't know the whole story-"
Fleetway chortled from within his cell. "Yeah, well, the clusterfuck you are stuck with is due to those humans. They've always wanted the Twilight Manacle as a weapon. Can't be more truthful than that, fox." The obsidian hedgehog seemed to stare at him for the longest of times, and for a moment the Aimoni thought the hybrid would try to get into his cell to strangle him.
But to his surprise -and to everyone else's, the immortal shoved a hand into his quills, pulled out a familiar, glowing red stone and held it tightly, the beginning of a scarlet halo dribbling out of the mysterious jewel. The red mobian moved forwards to stop him, face twisting with panic as the fox let out a gasp, but the Ultimate Lifeform was faster.
"Chaos Control!"
And just like that, there were only two people left in front of his cage. The explosion of light made Fleetway go blind for a moment, and if it wasn't for the mortals' expressions he would have made his displeasure known.
The two tailed brat turned to him, angry. "Look at what you've done! Don't jump into the conversation!" The kit exclaimed, hackles raised and eyes burning with indignation. Despite the frightening expression, Fleetway remained unfazed by the display. He'd seen much worse during his long lifespan, a growling fluff ball wasn't exactly in the list of things he should be worried about.
He did get you to electrocute yourself... It was embarrassing, it was certainly something a kitsune would do. He should have been more careful.
The golden hedgehog's lips twitched at the thought, trying to twist into a grimace, but he managed to hide it by looking amused. "What else do you want me to do? You're all so pathetic." The immortal hissed, tail flicking in frustration. He noticed that the fox's eyes followed his wildly swaying tail, as if he had seen that kind of expression of anger before. "You sit here doing nothing but talk and whine." Fleetway leaned back haughtily, crossing his arms. "At least that guy is trying to do something while your friend is having a merry reunion with Mephiles."
"How dare you-" Tails stood tall, fur bristling as he stepped forwards, hurt shinning in those bright blue eyes. Wether he was going to mess with the machine restraining him or punch the glass uselessly Fleetway never got to witness as the echidna pulled the fox away.
Swirling red met with furious purple. Amused by the mortal's attempts at restrain, the Aimoni bared his teeth in a sardonic grin. Fleetway stayed silent, however. He'd done enough. On the other side of the glass, Tail breathed heavily once, twice, before he sighed loudly and straightened up, fur settling and namesakes twirling lazily behind him. All evidence of his brief lapse of anger were gone.
"You're right." The vulpine muttered after a long stretch of silence. "We can't track Sonic, but we have to do something." He turned to the awaiting echidna, sapphire eyes sharp and focused. "Think we can contact Rouge? While Shadow looks for Sonic, we should get on G.U.N.'s case."
"Are you sure it would be wise?" The Guardian at his side responded while Fleetway blinked several times, feeling very confused by how his captor has treated his insults so disguisedly. In either of the immortal planes, his comments would have earned him a attempt on his life. "This is G.U.N. we are talking about."
Tails gritted his teeth at his friend's wise words. The memory of the ARK massacre, the event that had nearly caused Shadow to destroy the planet, was still fresh in their minds. What if they tried to do something to Sonic -what if they had done so already? They didn't know. He didn't know. And it was killing the young genius inside.
"I have more than enough dirt on them to get them to agree." The kitsune began slowly. "Besides, if this is a invasion, I'm sure the President would love to know that." His eyes darkened. "...as would every other Zone on the planet. If we say there will be a invasion, they won't ignore it. Our words have a lot of weight."
"Not a moment to waste, then. How do we get there?"
The young genius frowned. "I think I have our Extreme Gear. They should be stored in the basement, so they haven't been damaged by the Tornado's explosion."
On the other side of the glass, Fleetway watched them talk in silence, feeling mildly miffed by their dismissal. Refuting the sudden urge to bristle his quills, the Aimoni turned around and sat with his back towards the glass, red eyes all but melting the metal wall in front of him.
"Good." Knuckles responded dully as he spun around towards the door. "Gather whatever you think is useful, I'll go get the Gears. I'll meet you at the front door, alright?"
"Sure!" Tails exclaimed, his mind already running ahead on what he could salvage from the workshop.
Fleetway sighed as he overheard them talk back and forth about what weapons and gadgets they should bring along, feeling mildly tired with himself. There really wasn't much to do in such a small, cramped space. The bed had already been destroyed in his bout of rage after waking up, so there was nothing left for him to break.
He fiddled with the heavy rings around his wrists, resisting the faint urge to bite on them as a distraction -the Aimoni wasn't used to not dealing with some form of headache or pain, so he'd developed ways to take his mind off the fallout of the Neutral Chaos' introduction to his system. Most of the times it was by fighting, fucking or exercising his vast reserves of energy, but his most common of all was by chewing on things, often enough the bones of his prey.
Mephiles had often remarked his behaviour akin to a dog for doing so, but Fleetway wasn't one to care for the former god's scalding comments, much to the other's annoyance. The crystal hedgehog wasn't one to discard soldiers if he disliked them however, so he never tried anything against Fleetway. He was just too useful.
Hmph. Useful. Swirling eyes closed hallway lazily. That was the only compliment he'd ever received.
"Hey."
A single golden ear twitched.
Go away.
"I'm talking to you."
Sneering, Fleetway turned his upper body around to look at the fox. "What?" He barked, enjoying the small flinch the fox made at his poisonous tone.
"I wanted you to know that the cage will lose power soon. My broth -Sonic removed-" More like stole, but Fleetway was too confused by the mortal's words to voice out that little detail. "-the Chaos Emerald from the generator, so things will start shutting down, and according to protocol containment cells will be the last to fall. You'll just have to bear staying in that cage for a bit longer." Tails said as he glanced at the melted camera, his namesakes dropping low at the sight as he probably thought about the Gaia spawn.
Swirling eyes blinked, their owner's expression of annoying becoming perplexed and lost.
"...what."
The rambling fox didn't seem to understand what he meant, much to his annoyance. "It won't take too long, this thing burns through energy fast. It would take about six hours or so-"
"I meant-" The loud, growling tone was enough to shut the kit up. "...why are you telling me this?"
"I've seen the aftermath of the Black Arm invasion." The fox replied flatly. "If this is going to be anything like that hell, chances are most of Station Square is going to be flattened. Won't be the first time it happens." The mobian seemed to add the last part in as a afterthought. "The thing is, as much as I hate what you did, I can't hold a grudge. Sonic didn't raise me that way." He faltered for a moment, but then sighed and straightened his back. "Hating you won't bring back Cream, nor all those people have or will die."
His captive however only heard half of what he said.
"...can't hold a grudge?!" Fleetway parroted, thrown off guard. He suddenly snarled, standing up. Gold crackled around him briefly, the excess energy quickly being sucked up by the machine over his head. "Wait, you don't hate me?! The fuck?! Where's your sense of self preservation?!"
"I don't hate you."
That did it. It felt like someone had punched him in the face. The Aimoni roared, aggravated by the comment as he turned fully to the glass panel separating him from his freedom -and keeping him from gutting the idiotic child.
"How many brain cells are you missing, you daft thing?!" Fleetway bristled, hands balling into fists. "My boss killed your little friend and nearly the Gaia brat, and I almost killed you! There is nothing that can be forgiven!"
The fox had the gall to smirk sadly at him. "I did some research on the effects Chaos energy has on a sapient's brain." The other began, smile sliding off as his expression grew much more serious.
It was as if someone had dumped a bucket of cold water on him. Inside the cell, the immortal resisted the urge to flinch. He had a feeling he knew where this was going, and he didn't like it one bit.
"The studies I found might not apply as well with your kind's biology, but your case resembles that of many of the patients in those studies." The blue eyes Fleetway wanted to rip out so badly narrowed. "Excessive amounts of Chaos energy trigger chemical imbalances in the brain, and can even deform a person's psyche in the long term. That's what you have, right?" Tails hummed softly, sapphire orbs lowering to the Aimoni's wrists. Fleetway immediately pulled his hands behind his back with a hiss, but the glow of the Inhibitor Rings was unmistakable on his arms. "Those should help you regain your bearings, but it's a band aid solution at best. There isn't a lot of cases of Chaos energy overload, so there isn't a clear treatment."
The fox paused, a slow realization darkening his small face. Fleetway shifted where he stood, a strange feeling of dread curling up in his chest.
"...are most of your kind like this?" The mortal's voice was soft, saddened.
He hated it.
"Shut up." Fleetway hissed weakly, turning his back to the fox. "Don't dare. You know nothing." Against his will memories flew by, of twisted forms and broken bodies piled up for his brethren to eat, his caretakers unaware or uncaring of the toxic amounts of Chaos within the corpses -a detail that would seal the fate of many more of the nursery's inhabitants, their already weakened form found themselves unable to absorb the unstable Chaos.
He had been one of the lucky ones.
The fox called out for him again but the Aimoni forced himself to ignore him. Hatred, anger and desperation welled up inside of him as he stood there, body shivering and clawed hands twitching with the intent to lash out. Normally his destructive Chaos would have responded to his call, bringing ruin to his surroundings, but locked away as it was it could do nothing to drown the pain he felt in its burning, hideous embrace, burn it away until but a seed remained, a tumor that would eventually grow once more, and in a cycle perish in front of his rage.
For once in the young immortal's life, there was nothing he could do but face what he felt.
He did not know when the mortal finally gave up and left, but a part of him shrivelled up at the thought of the other leaving him to his fate. Fleetway idly traced the golden rings binding his wrists, ruby eyes sliding shut as he sat down cross legged on the floor, his very being in turmoil. His Chaos bound he could only face what he felt, emotion unclouded by the curse his kind's mistake had left on his soul.
...when many, many hours later the earth shook as it gave birth to a new era and the air grew heavy and toxic, reminiscent of a time he longed to forget, Fleetway opened his eyes and stared at the silent machine suspended in the ceiling of the darkened cell, wondering if he should even bother to get up as the world crumbled around him.
xxxxxxxxx
The shriek of hardened Chaos colliding with crystal sounded almost like a melody to Sonic's ears as he weaved, lunged, punched and cleaved through through spires of crystal that had sprung up between their creator and the young Gaia.
Mephiles' incredible skill was enough to counteract Sonic's brute power. When the armored male got to close, the hybrid turned itself into a shadow, appeared in another corner of the clearing and unleashed another barrage of clones and sharp crystal spears. The fight seemed endless, decimating the land around the duo as they kept on battling, fully expecting for the fight to end when one of them was on the verge of dead -because there was no way either of them would stop for anything.
It wasn't as if the battle wasn't taking a toll of them, however. Mephiles had the skill to survive, but his Chaos reserves and his stamina had a lot left to be desired -the only thing keeping him in control was the small, gleaming green shard tucked in his quills, providing him with a slice of the Master Emerald's overwhelming power.
His opponent wasn't fairing any better.
Sonic's left shoulder had a gaping hole on it that had yet to heal from a crystal spear he'd missed until the last moment, and with his rapidly increasing power his health was deteriorating even quicker. His sight was filled with black spots, fading with the lack of enough blood going into his eyes, but he kept going, guided by his companion towards their common goal. The heaviness in his limbs did not affect his speed or reaction time, but Sonic was not blind to its effects.
What he'd missed during the last few days was quickly catching up to him, and the more time trickled by, the more tired he felt. It was strange, for someone so young, to know what dying felt like.
...it's hard to understand that it's only been a couple of days.
Molten eyes speckled with green blazed brightly as their owner dodged another hail of sharpened crystal, the glowing orbs shinning with a determination seen in a seldom few.
Clawed feet that had once been humanoid landed nimbly on the ground without a sound, their owner falling to a crouch as their quills lengthened; the sharp ends of the tendrils tore through blackened crystal, Mephiles narrowly avoiding them by creating more clones.
Despite the detached calm he felt, Sonic shared his body with something that wasn't feeling as collected as himself. This battle was taking too long, they had yet to warn Station Square of its impending doom. The scuffle they had gone through with Mephiles' minions probably shook the mortals, but it wouldn't be enough for them to evacuate. Sonic needed to return and ask them to leave the city. With force, if needed; thousands would die if they didn't hurry.
The hero's back hunched, wings growing wide for stability as his pale lips twisted into a snarl. He stretched both of his arms forwards, golden metal unfolding like the petals of a sunflower as ruby energy gathered within the newly formed barrels, preparing to fire. Upon seeing them Mephiles gritted his teeth and swiftly pulled his hands up, a wall of black crystal bursting out of the ground in front of him, effectively shielding him from the attack.
Sonic paused, noting that the barrier seemed a little bit too thick for his guns to pierce. Switching tactics, he reformed his arms and planted his clawed hands solidly onto the ground as he took a deep breath before going still, molten eyes rived on the wall. A few clones dared to try and attack him, but a slash of tendrils melted them back into shadowy goop.
Toxic green eyes peered through the mineral wall, narrowing as they locked onto their target. The demon frowned as he took in his enemy's stiff posture. Taking this short reprieve, he focused on the Master Emerald shard he possessed and quickly summoned a large swarm of clones hidden behind the wall he'd created. His task done, he glanced back the Gaia spawn, confused to see him still in the same position as before.
...and what was that sound coming from the brat? It was strange, akin to a ticking clock, but deeper...
Mephiles made a keen, strangled sound and had barely the time to dive into his own shadow before Sonic opened his mouth with a roar mighty enough to shake the earth, engulfing part of the forest in toxic, ruby fire. The crystal wall was all but atomized in the aftermath of the blast, as did most of the clearing -and clones- behind it. Nothing could stand against such a pure blast of Chaos energy.
As the clearing was plunged into silence, broken only by the cracking of flames, Sonic breathed in and out as he felt his throat return to its normal temperature, the burns in his throat caused by the Dragon Fire quickly healing with the help of his tenant. A sudden cough caught him by surprise however, and he spat out the saliva in his mouth -only to see thick, black blood stain the ashen ground.
He froze for a second at the unexpected -long enough for a dark shape to emerge in front of him and catch him with a sharp crystal in the shoulder again, blasting off part of his armor and narrowly missing his heart. A shriek of rage echoed in Sonic's mind as he leaped back, fingers stretching into claws and striking Mephiles across the left arm, ripping through the crystal hide and making black blood ooze.
The former God backed off as he clutched his almost torn limb, bright eyes shinning with something fierce, no doubt promising revenge.
His opponent eyed him just as intensity, hardened Chaos swirled around his damaged limb as the golden not-metal stitching itself back together over the injury. Mephiles wasn't fairing any better, his upper back blackened by burns, likely from not having enough time to escape the full power of the hero's last attack.
Of the two, it was the crystal being who was most injured, but as Sonic felt another round of coughing force him to bend his back forwards and almost hack out a lung he realized he was the one with the disadvantage here.
He heard the air shift in front of him, the sound of footsteps going his way informing him of Mephiles or one of his clones charging. Gritting his teeth, he looked up at the cyan-striped beast and sliced its torso in half with a flick of his arm blade, only for another clone behind it to tackle him, landing a punch on his face. In his state, the pain was barely registered by the hero as much as his annoyance at being hit. Still, he tore the creature off him and proceeded to stab it several times with needled-tipped tendrils, reducing it to fine black goop.
Knowing that clones would be useless outside a distraction, his enemy switched tactics. Mephiles' eyes narrowed as he summoned power from the Master Emerald shard hidden in his quills, a thick black orb tinted with red forming in front of his open hand. His opponent growled as he figured out what was happening, the armored being dropping into a crouch as he held his own arms in front of him. The golden metal unfurled, turning into cannons charging up a glowing scarlet mist...
"Chaos Lance!" Mephiles' fierce expression of glee quickly shifted into one of pain and surprise as a crimson spear materialized out of the woods from behind him and struck the creature's side as he failed to dodge it fully, tearing off a large chunk of his flesh.
A warbled shriek left the former deity as his attack flew off to the side, exploding to Sonic's left and leaving a massive crater in it's wake. The armored hero paused in astonishment at the sight of the unmistakable attack, his racing thoughts coming to a sharp stop as one name echoed in his head. Shadow.
Following the trajectory of the attack, he looked over at the treeline and found a familiar pair of red eyes staring back with rage and barely restrained anguish. The Ultimate Lifeform stepped out of the darkness, his eyes fixed on Sonic's, who's confidence suddenly plummeted.
He's here... After having spent so much time in the other's company, that expression was unmistakable. He's hurt. Cold suddenly washed over him, waking up his numb body in its icy grip. He knew what this feeling was. Shame. The letter. He'd had to have read it. He didn't know what to do with that knowledge; Sonic hadn't counted on meeting his mate again.
The letter was his goodbye.
(Why did it have to come to this?! Why did he have to say goodbye?)
A surge of anger and hopelessness overtook Sonic, making him let out a primal roar as he levelled his cannons at Mephiles, who was pulling a ruby shard from his quills and using it to heal himself. Molten eyes flared to life, the Chaos around him growing hot with his rage. The hero wasn't going to let the creature get away. Him. The Gaias. Uwak.
He was going to make them suffer.
The twin blasts tore through the landscape, cleaving through the earth as they zeroed on their target. Mephiles' eyes widened as he was forced to create a thick crystal wall with the gathered energy from the Master Emerald shard, effectively stopping him from healing. The orange-red energy beams washed over the hastily constructed defence, quickly cracking it and causing the wall to explode, sending the hybrid hiding behind the structure tumbling to the ground with a pained hiss.
Sonic stood up as he turned his limbs back to hands, eyes glued to the sprawled form on the ground. Something shifted to his left, and he looked over to the source -only to see Shadow enter the devastated clearing. Their eyes connected again, and once more Sonic faltered, the plan of staying away, don't hurt them anymore crumbling to pieces the longer the scarlet gaze held.
Shadow stepped forwards, causing the hero to stiffen and his stomach to jump up his throat. Don't. He silently conveyed with his speckled eyes, unable to move as the other walked over to him, stopping mere inches from his own body, ruby eyes suddenly showing more emotion than he'd ever seen before.
In this form, with grotesquely reptilian feet, they met in the same eye level...Sonic never felt this small. He opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again, hesitant. Still Shadow stayed quiet, gazing at him with restrain, as if this was a little game they both knew he would lose. Finally, the tired Gaia took a deep breath.
"Shads..."
"Seal."
So quiet, his enhanced hearing strained to pick up the soft mutter.
Sonic gave out a choked cry as a enormous weight fell upon his shoulders, sending him sprawling. Regardless of the enhanced form he was in, the young hero found himself dropping to the scorched earth, barely holding himself up with hands suddenly felt as if they weighted a ton.
What's going on?! He thought dazedly as he clawed the floor, trying to find some form of stability to stand back up. His swimming vision still managed to convey a familiar black and red form crumbled in front of him, straining to move as well. Shadow! Goddamn it, Twilight what do I do?!
The hybrid's spine curled and a faint snarl left him as he stubbornly struggled up, but the weight somehow doubled and he was on the floor again, panting as if he was about to die. Distressed, Sonic let out a faint keen, a instinctive reaction that was answered by a solid form pressing close to his own, familiar hands helping him keep his face from hitting the ground. The pale hedgehog looked up, surprised to find himself in Shadow's protective grasp.
"D-damn..." He muttered, his tongue feeling like lead. "Shads, I can't move...I don't feel good..." That wasn't a lie, his body felt as if it was going to be crushed; seeing as he was already in a less than stellar condition, this wasn't helping his overall health.
"Shush." The black hedgehog scolded him lightly, his voice carrying a unmistakable tenderness as his left hand rubbed circles on his back in a attempt to distract him from the pain. His eyes flicked to his mate's shoulder, narrowing at the seriousness of the wound. "We can't do anything, might as well use what time we have to try and figuring how to escape this trap."
With how things had ended going between the two of them, Sonic was surprised to see the other speaking or looking at him. Warmth bloomed in his heart at being held, but it was quickly overridden by panic. Why couldn't he get up?
The semblance of a growl echoed in his mind, low and irate, not unlike the sound a cornered animal made. Remembering the being trapped inside him, Sonic quickly turned to his companion for assistance.
Can you figure out what's happening?
It's a seal. The Manacle muttered in his ears, causing the hero to stiffen. It's a big one too-how the hell I haven't noticed it is beyond me. The crow fucker must have found a way to hide it from our Chaos Sight. A pause. This is bad, no matter how you look at it.
Thanks for the optimism.
Be quiet, brat. I'll figure something out. Just stall them.
A distant snarl made him turn his head towards Mephiles; molten eyes widened when he noticed that the toxic-eyed monster was struggling to stand as well. The crystal creature however was struggling to sit even more than himself; no doubt that his injured arm and side wasn't helping him in the slightest. Sonic did not feel bad about that little detail.
But why would Mephiles be caught in it too? That was unexpected. He wondered silently as he pressed closer to his companion, who tightened his grip around his shoulders. Performance issues?
Not the time, Sonic.
Angered by his inability to stand, Mephiles turned towards the woods and roared. "Uwak, you idiotic bird! Release me!"
Sonic tilted his head to the side. A mistake then?
I don't think he would make such a mistake.
The creak of ancient bones and flutter of ragged feathers alerted them of their jailor's arrival. Sonic, Shadow and Mephiles all turned towards the newcomer, the Ultimate Lifeform's eyes widening in recognition while his companions' narrowed in hatred.
"You." The obsidian hybrid muttered, eyes narrowing as the shock passed over. His arms tightened around Sonic, pulling the trapped hero close as he angled his body to be between the old bird and his mate. Despite this defensive stance, the crow stopped in front of them, tilting his head to the side in curiosity. The Daimoni was strangely quiet -which his employer was far from.
"What the hell are you doing, Uwak! Release me!"
Turning around at the angry reclamation, Uwak bend down besides of the collapsed former god, purple eye staring deep into the creature's pained green ones. The bronze beak slowly opened and Mephiles hissed as he clutched his injured side, prepared to feel the tremendous weight come off his shoulders...
"Shut up."
The crystal demon blinked, recoiling as if he had been slapped.
"What?!" Uwak simply tilted his head to the side, reached out with one hand and patted the retrained beast on the top of his skull, much like a parent would to scold their child. Too injured and weighted down by the seal, Mephiles could only stare with a mixture of confusion and astonishment, which quickly turned into anger.
"I said shut up. Your antics will not be tolerated."
"How dare you!"
The hybrid trashed in his binds in a fury, almost foaming at the mouth as he glared at his former underling. Shadow watched the mutiny unfold with narrowed eyes, not knowing what to think of this unexpected turn of events. The white hedgehog at his side remained silent, molten eyes half-lidded with tiredness.
Assured that his once commander had been put in his place, Uwak spun around and stared at each of the prisoners in calculative silence, the hint of a lopsided grin tugging at the corners of his beak.
"Now..."
All three captives tensed. The bird hummed, plopping down in front of the three captives, his single eye gleamed with both mirth and seriousness as they flicked between the hybrids.
"We can all agree that we want the Gaias dead."
Sorry for the lack of update, I'm organizing the following chapters of all of my stories to be shorter so I can upload them faster, and since we are reaching the conclusion of this story, it's taking longer to create the chapters. I don't like plot holes.