Warning, small lemon.

33 - 1,000 Knives

Around Fifty Years Ago

It was story time. A hobby of hers she liked to do to pass the time. She used to do it by herself, but now that she had a friend with her, she could finally read to someone else for a change. They were at the final chapter, nearing the final paragraphs of the story. It was almost over, but she'd end it with Shadow. He found story time with her interesting and even fun. The bracelet her grandfather made him wear was glowing green. He was always content with her around, and that in turn made her happy.

The girl with long blonde hair flipped to the last page of the old thick book, her frail fingers finding the very last paragraph. she pointed towards it, helping herself by guiding her gorgeous cerulean blue eyes to the very word she left off at. The black hedgehog beside her glanced at the book's words, before looking back up at her. She pushed some of her hair from out of her eyes, and cleared her throat to begin reading. "Ahem," She smiled at Shadow briefly before speaking. "The gracious knight in silver, struck down the large beast with his Spear of Might. The spear tore through the beast's throat, completely ripping it apart. The monster made one last swipe at his chest, destroying his armor. But the knight completely decapitated it, and tore open it's flesh. It's purple, nasty evil heart fell to the ground. It's murky blood infesting the earth below, turning grass into thorns and flowers into weeds. Darkness seeped from it's corpse, and the knight had won." She could feel Shadow growing impatient to the ending. With a small chuckle, she continued. "He called out to the princess, begging for her to jump from the deteriorating tower. With a brave yelp, she hopped off the ledge of the ruined castle tower window pane, descending down quickly to her knight. The brave older man held out his arms, and she landed in his hold with a soft impact. He placed her down on her feet with the last of his strength, before whispering, 'You will live, milady, and you will rule with a powerful kindness. My lovely daughter, farewell.' And with his final breath, he fell on his face. Blood pooled from his abdomen, and spread onto the grass. The great knight, was dead. His daughter, the fateful princess soon to be crowned queen, knelt by his side and cried against his body. She vowed to rule in his name, to make him proud of her even from afar in the heavens above." The girl closed the book and placed it in her lap. "The End."

Shadow seemed, unsatisfied with that. He just furrowed his brows and shook his head. "No, that doesn't make any sense."

The teenager shrugged with a sheepish grin. "E-Err, well, that's fairytales for you. The original ones aren't very child-friendly, and almost none of them have a true happy ending."

"I know that," Shadow said. "I mean, why did the knight risk everything just to save her? He ended up dying in the end, making her mourn her father's death indefinitely." He crossed his arms. "Maria, please explain this to me."

Maria poked her fingers together. "Um," She looked around the room surrounded by large windows to look for the answer. Then, as she stared out into the glass, she saw the stars surrounding the ark. Space was so beautiful, but also very wise in a strange way. Billions and trillions of planets, stars and warp holes just begging to be researched for it's individual history. It was like she could find all the answers, just by looking at the burning embers of the red giants that were light years away. "Shadow, when you love something, truly, truly love something," She slowly turned back to him. "You do crazy and, really stupid things just to protect it. You won't care what you risk, even if it's your own life, or the end of the world. You just want that thing or person to be happy, to be safe, and it won't matter if it kills you. So long as they get to live, nothing ever matters." She grasped the hand that wore her grandfather's bracelet, and placed it in her own. "That goes for family, for mothers and fathers, for lovers...Even best friends." She smiled warmly at him.

The ultimate life form still seemed lost. "I, don't understand."

"That's okay," She replied softly. "Grandfather says he didn't mean to give you emotions, but he also said it was a good thing that you do. One day, I think you'll fall in love. Then you'll understand everything perfectly."

"Fall in love? Are you sure?"

"Mmhm!" She booped his nose with her pinky. "Positive."

"Maria..!"

"I'm sorry Shadow, but you have to live," She shoved him in the pod, without her. "You just have to!" Even as she was shot in the heart, even as blood splattered on the glass of the pod right over Shadow's face, she still smiled at him. Even as tears spilled out of her eyes just as much as crimson spilled from her chest, she slid down the dashboard with that emotion in her hazy ocean eyes. "...Sayonara..." She could barely speak, her oxygen was depleting. Shadow's bracelet was red, but it malfunctioned and sparked as his emotions rose to an unstable level. He watched his best friend die right in front of him. "..Shadow..." She fell down, and she was gone.

The pod shot off into space.

Shadow was gone.

Current Time

She did something stupid, and she risked her own life and lost it in the end, just to ensure the safety of someone else. The safety of someone she loved. She never gave up until she died. And this, this was why Sonic reminded him of her so God damn much.

It was like the two were the same entity, or reincarnated into different bodies.

But no, Maria's influence, her essence resided within the ultimate life form. She was still here, literally inside of his soul. The light Sonic used to awaken him from his dark dream, would be the very thing that would help him wake up Sonic. Their Super forms were still gone, but he could still feel her call out to him. Super forms weren't just transformations, they were actual living things that helped them fight. He finally, truly understood what their purposes were now, after all this time. Maria was his super form, and he needed her now more than ever.

That strange voice from before that healed his body, it complained about becoming even weaker by helping them during the war. He didn't like taking orders from random people, but this was his only chance.

This wouldn't last long, so Shadow had to do as he was told and make it count!

His arm was no longer broken, that health depleting darkness was no longer infecting him. The shocking energy was gone, and he could move again. He needed to find Sonic, and fast. He had an idea, but he had to work quickly. He looked at Zector while moving his previously broken arm carefully. "You, get your comrades and evacuate immediately. This still isn't over!" Shadow sonic boomed away, leaving dust to blow in the crocodile's face. He coughed and hacked, rubbing the dust from his eyes as he stood up with a battered body. Evacuate everyone out of the city? Sure, he'd do that. He looked over at Zespio and his unconscious soldiers. He had another idea in mind, though. And they'd need HQ to go through with it, if he himself didn't pass out first.

Shadow ran full speed towards Dark Sonic's overwhelmingly devastating energy, with powers charging in his hands. He'd do what he did before, but he had to be clever. This wasn't Sonic he was fighting, this was a completely different entity. An ancient being from thousands of years beyond Shadow's own existence. They were probably just as old as Solaris, older than Black Doom. They were intelligent, nimble-minded, powerful in both body and mind. Shadow had to be careful with this one. This would be his one and only chance to get Sonic back, he couldn't screw this up. He finally made it back inside of the city, where Dark Sonic previously ran to.

Just as he skid to a halt on his skates, he cautiously looked around for his former partner. His senses were high, he needed to be alert. He then heard a whistle, and got in a fighting stance while looking in the sound's direction. Ahead of him, was Scourge sitting at a cafe shop in it's outdoor dining sets, whistling a song while kicking his legs and picking his nails. He glanced at Shadow and made a small wave. "Hey." He said with a bland tone. "Ya know, people forget the classics. Psycho was okay, sure, but Twisted Nerve was a thousand times better in my opinion."

What was he even talking about-

He didn't care. He needed to find Sonic. "Where is Dark Sonic?"

"Over there.." Scourge pointed without looking behind him. But there was nothing there. Shadow looked from behind, but he wasn't there trying to make a sneak attack. Lightning struck from afar, which surprisingly startled Scourge. He whimpered and instantly hid underneath the table. Strange, was he afraid of lightning and thunder like Tails? Huh, they truly were opposites. But this meant only one thing, that Dark was nearby. Shadow's nerves were increasingly higher, he couldn't calm himself down. Where the hell was that damn hedgehog? The sound of loud, quick stomping footsteps trampling the ground caught his attention. A whir of dark blue sped right passed him, instantly making Shadow run after him as well.

Dark Sonic was on the move, but to where? Where the hell was he running to? Shadow didn't care, he just needed to grab him! From behind, Chaos Spears shot down but missed their target since it moved too quickly. Shadow tried once more, aiming for his legs this time. He held his hand up, chaos energy surrounding him. "Chaos Spear!" He threw them down once more, several shards of chaos shooting down upon the dark one. Dark Sonic teleported side to side to dodge. More shot down, this time aiming for his more vital areas. The entity dodged once more, and covered the back of it's neck as a spear nearly grazed it. Shadow caught this, finding this interesting. Why did he cover his neck? Another spear came down upon him, flying right for his head. This caused the dark hedgehog to move his cranium and turn around to skid to a stop, by bending forward and planting one hand on the ground.

Shadow knew that this would be his chance. "Increase," He commanded the spears to change shape and multiply. Now, dozens upon dozens of Chaos Spears clouded the dark eerie skies above. Like bacteria, they doubled over and over, until all one could see was a plethora of chaos formed spears. "Chaos Rain!" He brought them all down with a flick of his wrist. Dark Sonic watched with amusement at this attack, sitting completely still even as the spears came down upon the planet like meteors. But just before any of them could touch him, Dark Sonic flipped into the air and levitated. He opened his sharp fanged mouth, and a ghastly dark blue inferno of flames invaded the air. His spears were all burnt with navy aura, and they soon disintegrated towards the dark being's body. He was absorbing the power of all of his spears in the palm of his hand. In just an instant, they were all gone. Their power, Shadow's power, was now his. Dark Sonic then aimed for Shadow, and began flying at full speed towards him.

Shit, Shadow didn't expect him to do that. He figured he'd pull something else, but he couldn't dwell on that for long, he had to move. He dodged the flying hedgehog, and managed to barely block a flying ax kick from above. Now it was his turn. Shadow could run down town, get some distance. He huffed and put one leg behind the other. In a green flash, he chaos controlled away deeper into the city. He ran as fast as he could, as he knew Dark Sonic would gain up on him soon. He was nearing some tall buildings, making it so that flying would be an issue. He could lose Shadow if he flew too high and missed him thanks to having to dodge a sky scrapper or two. He'd get him quicker on foot. Just as he predicted, Dark Sonic made a hard landing from behind him in a dark blue flash of chaos. He sprinted alongside him, getting closer and closer. Shadow thought fast and shot his hand towards him with an open palm.

"Chaos Blast!" A large energy beam shot through and blasted at the dark hedgehog, who merely canceled the attack by seemingly swatting the blast away. It dispersed into nothing, leaving Shadow vulnerable. Dark Sonic swung his hand and struck the ultimate life form across the face, knocking him into the very spa that they first encountered Scourge in. His head collided with the building structure, bricks and glass shards falling beside him as blood, scratched and bruises formed over his entire body. He sucked in a deep breath, not daring to make any noises of pain. Before he ruined everything, they had a date here once. It was nice, relaxing, even fun.

Being with that Blue idiot, was fun. And if he wanted to spend time like that with him again, he'd have to snap him out of this first. He wasn't going to give up just yet.

Shadow shakily held up his hand, and shot another Chaos Blast and a Chaos Lance after. Dark Sonic dipped his body to dodge the blast, and swung his arm down to catch the lance. It cut his hand, but it healed instantaneously. He tossed it directly at Shadow, that just barely missed his shoulder and struck inside of the window of the spa. Shadow tried once more, gaining a little more energy to spawn more spears. After he threw it at his former lover, he tried standing up. Dark Sonic teleported and dodged them all easily once more, before eyeing the last spear coming towards him. He grasped it and tore it in half as chaos energy disappeared into the air. He continued to run and charge after Shadow, sprinting like a track runner as energy engulfed his entire body. Shadow's eyes widened. He was going to do that.

Thinking fast, Shadow chaos controlled away just as Dark Sonic made an impact with the spa. A large explosion erupted in the city, destroying the building completely and damaging others. Appearing before the destruction, Shadow panted heavily, while holding his stomach. Using this much power, was tiring. Not to mention that voice's power from before was wearing off, Shadow's regeneration was no longer spiked up. Old wounds were starting to appear along with the new ones. He was going to pass out from this much blood loss at this rate. He grabbed at his wrists, where his inhibitor rings were. Damn, he lost Sonic again. Where was he this time? Shadow held his head up, looking in front of him. Just as if his wishes were answered, his former lover chaos controlled right above him. Floating in the air with not a scratch on him.

He drifted down and landed softly on the ground in front of Shadow. Thunder ruptured in the sky, the false moon brightly illuminating Shadow's eyes. Soon, he'd be his next victim. Shadow laughed with a scoff, guess this was it. He didn't have a choice anymore. Dark Sonic raised a brow with an unimpressed expression. "...How strange. Are you laughing at your own demise, mortal?"

The experiment gone wrong just laughed once again as he gazed into his lost lover's cold empty eyes. "No." He said. "I'm angry," He confessed. "Angry that you're forcing me to hurt you," His fists clenched, his knuckles cracking. "But I'll be damned if I let you hurt innocent people, and beat me again. I'm not gonna let this end like last time. So if I have to wake you up by using violent measures," His inhibitor rings fell to the ground, it's clanging sounds of golden metal echoing far and wide. "I have no problem doing that, even if I have to shed your blood."

Slowly, Dark Sonic made a terrifyingly cruel grin. "How disgusting. Killing your own so-called lover just to put me down? Hahahahaaa..!" He cackled loudly as he rose both of his hands at Shadow. "You miserable creature disguised in Mobian skin," The darkness of his own negative chaos energy was making the world around them pitch black. Now it seemed as if they were the only ones here. "You will rue the day you ever met this Chaos Born!" Preparing to make a Chaos Blast of his own, it charged, targeting Shadow immediately.

"No," Shadow retorted triumphantly. "I don't think so." He smirked as he held up his hands to reveal his ring-free wrists to the dark entity.

Dark Sonic seemed confused at first, until he stifled another giggle. "So you discarded your puny rings, what of it?" The blast was becoming bigger and stronger, and he would release it soon. "Quit stalling for time, and just accept your death!" He cried as he shot his Dark Chaos Blast.

"Chaos Sheet!" Shadow yelled as a large pillar of red energy appeared in front of him. Just like a blanket, it shielded him from the dark power blasting his way. However, this wasn't for defense. The wall-like structure of the chaos ability began absorbing the blast, taking back all the energy Dark Sonic stole, and then some. This alarmed the entity, staring agape as all of his power in that attack just disappeared. Even if he was to absorb his power, no normal mortal could withstand the power of an entity. Those rings, they were sealing off the mortal's true abilities. Shadow moved his hand towards him, directing his chaotic powers to aim for him next. "Bind," He commanded. The thin wall of chaos swirled and instantly bolted towards Dark Sonic, wrapping him in it's essence just like a comforter. "Drain!" That is, until it strangled him like a boa constrictor, wringing him out of all of his power like a dish cloth. It was painful, and he couldn't move. This sheet was disrupting his flow of power, putting everything out of order. Him absorbing his power rendered him vulnerable and powerless for only a few minutes, but it was enough time to get him down. The darkness from before was gone, and Shadow could see their environment once more. Dark fell to the ground, growling and hissing in pain. Choking and hacking as his oxygen was nearly stolen from him completely.

Just as the Chaos Sheet dispersed, Dark Sonic stumbled backwards into a nearby building behind him. He ended up falling on his butt, leaning his head against the wall while panting. He was dizzy, in extreme pain, was having a hard time breathing, and his energy was gravely low. He rose his hand to his neck, covering it once more. Shadow, though weakened, still wasn't finished. He just walked in his direction, his eyes lowered and dead set on seeing his downfall. The entity was beyond angry. How dare this mortal treat him like some joke? How was a simple, phony mortal able to effect a deity to this extent? He wasn't through with him yet. All he had to do was regain some energy back, and- What the..? He couldn't form any chaos in his hand. God damn it! His host was holding him back again, he wouldn't let him use it! One more hit and Shadow would be dead, he was so close to killing him!

And his body-Why wasn't he healing faster? He was trying to slow his own regeneration, why was he ruining this?! Dark Sonic winced when he felt a looming shadow tower over his form.

Speaking of which, Shadow the hedgehog stood right above him. While clenching his teeth, Dark Sonic stood up on shaky feet. Shadow took one step back carefully. Dark tried to throw a punch, but Shadow just chaos controlled from his sight and appeared right behind him to kick him directly in the back. Absorbing Dark Sonic's energy thankfully gave him some strength back. Enough strength to end this once and for all. Just as Dark began to recover from the kick, Shadow just teleported in front of him and sucker punched his former lover directly in the face. Blood flew from his nose as a small cry of pain was heard from the dark form. It almost sounded exactly like Sonic. Chaos, he was in pain. His real Sonic, he was hurting the real Sonic. But those glowing eyes clenching shut through the pain, it still wasn't him. Sonic still wasn't all there. Still holding his neck securely, Dark Sonic continued to taunt him. "Y-You...You'll..never get him back...Y-You don't...deserve him..!" He spat viciously.

"You're right." Shadow replied gently.

"...?"

"I don't deserve him, I know that." He looked down at his own hand, the very hand that used to wear that bracelet, and the hand that helped take Sonic's innocence just last night. "After everything I've ever done, I know I don't deserve to be happy, and I definitely don't deserve to be loved by someone like him. But, I didn't deserve Maria either. I didn't deserve Gerald, Rouge, the people of Earth, the people of No Zone...I don't even deserve to live right now. But, even as selfish as I may seem," He got down on one knee with a solemn, but determined look in his eyes. "Sonic wants me to be happy, and I want him to be happy. And I want him standing in front of me right now, not some cold, angry teenager with a God complex." Chaotic energy surrounded his entire body. "So you will give me what I want, and I want Sonic! Now give him back!" Dust flew from the ground as lights of chaos drifted in the air, glowing brightly around them. The energy that dispersed whenever Dark Sonic destroyed the chaos spears, never faded away. They were all still here. Every failed attempt, was still lying around them the entire time. Shadow had purposely wasted all of those attacks from before, just to wait for the right moment to revive them all again and use them on Sonic.

At least over a hundred spears used up from the left over energy that stayed drifting in the air, along with Shadow's and some of Dark Sonic's, was now formed into spears and lances. They were all aiming directly at Dark Sonic. With a shameful gaze, Shadow looked away as he sent the weapons of chaotic energy down upon his love. Steadily, Dark Sonic looked up at his imminent demise. He only stared with an unreadable expression. He didn't say anything, he didn't even sigh or make a sound of panic. It was like, he was ready for this. He then closed his eyes, and he let it happen.

He wouldn't even fight against it, why give up now? Why was he allowing this to happen?

Unless, that was just another trait to Dark Sonic.

Acceptance.

Spears and swords left and right, blades made from painfully powerful chaotic energy swiped and slashed at him. Stabbing him, shanking him, tearing open skin and fur, blood splattering all over. His shoulders, his arms, his legs, his feet. His stomach, his chest, his quills, one of his ears, This was just like he did to him earlier, only a hundred times worse. He needed to stop him, this was the only way. He was too strong, too powerful to fight against. Dark Sonic would just heal and get up again, that's why Shadow needed to overpower him. To overload his body so it could burn out and no longer use his abilities to heal. He wished he didn't have to do it this way but, it was his only chance. Dark Sonic screamed, hollered, yelling in torment as he continued being stabbed over and over without end. It wasn't until he was finally stabbed in the hand, the very one covering his neck, that the attacks finally seemed to stop. Dark Sonic slowly let go of his neck, as his hand could no longer hide it from Shadow's eyes. He fell limp, and slouched against the wall. "A-Ah-" He exhaled as his head slightly tilted to the side, he began losing consciousness.

Slightly gulping, Shadow stood up to walk towards him. He could see all of his blood pooling around him, splattered on the concrete and debris. He looked horrible, he looked like he was in so much pain. And he did this, he hurt him. He, decimated him, mutilated him. Shadow refused to look away, he had to see what he did to him. A small punishment for hurting Sonic even further. He knelt down to him, raising his hands up to his bloody muzzle. He made him face Shadow, but his eyes were still closed. It didn't matter though-Wait, he was opening them. He was still miraculously conscious, but they were still glowing white. He weakly growled at Shadow, trying to form something in his hand, but he was too weak, and his host wouldn't let him use anymore power. Shadow caressed his face, and placed his thumb on his bottom lip.

Even cut up and scarred like this, he was still so beautiful to look at.

"It's over." Shadow whispered.

He placed one of his hands near Sonic's throat, energy forming on his fingers.

"So please," He leaned closer, parting his own mouth. His hand then closed around Dark Sonic's throat gently, the tips of his chaos filled fingers grazing his weak spot. This caused him to flinch against Shadow's hold. "Wake up, Sonic." Shadow pressed his lips against his lover's, the red glint that shined through his eyes once before disappearing. Quickly, his white empty eyes faded back to their lime green. The navy, almost black fur began to brighten. The dark aura surrounding his body imploded in on itself inside of him, and spread out into the world. It shot up into the air, dissolving into a brighter light that soon expanded and beamed across the globe. The darkness that loomed over No Zone began to vanish, and the bright false moon that glowed in the sky was soon gone. The lightning, the thunder, the dark clouds, all gone. Shadow let go of his throat, and used his hands to embrace his partner by the waist, pulling him in his lap as they both sat against the ground. The pure light that seemed to have cleansed the sky, dived back to it's originator, surrounding both hedgehogs in it's holiness.

"I love you."

Scourge's control was destroyed, and interrupted Sonic's connection with his dark form.

...

...At least, that's what Shadow thought would happen.

Once he broke the kiss, he saw that the hedgehog below him seemed more at ease, but he was still in the same state. While his fur a bit lighter, it was still on the navy side. Even though his irises came back, they were still too dark to be considered a lime green. The dark energy surrounding him was gone for the most part, but Shadow could still feel it's essence. No, that entity from before was still here. It was still active, still very much alive. Shadow didn't understand, why didn't it bring him back to normal? The sky looked like it was back to normal but, things still weren't right. "How...?" Shadow didn't even finish his sentence. "Sonic, are you still there?" He asked with fear. Did he fail? Another kiss connected the two together once more, but by Dark Sonic's own volition. Shadow was put off by this. Was this the deity kissing him, or was this Sonic? Since he wasn't sure, he was almost glad the kiss quickly ended. The dark form caressed his bloody hand on the side of Shadow's face warmly, his eyes dreamily staring back at him. "Are you, Sonic?" The ultimate life form asked once more.

Once he was asked this, it seemed as if the being wasn't realizing what he was doing. He took his hand away from Shadow's face, looking down. "Yes, and no." He replied. "For now, we are both in control simultaneously." He touched his own lips tenderly. "I could feel it all. You put everything you had into that kiss, didn't you?"

Shadow let the entity go and narrowed his eyes. "...It was for Sonic."

"I understand." Dark Sonic winced as he tried to stand. Shadow helped him back up on his feet, and noticed Sonic's blood stained his gloves and shoes. He felt guilt rise in his chest. "I also understand that unfortunately, this was the only way for you to stop me. He fought against me as well."

Ah, so that's why he let himself get stabbed like that, and why he kept hesitating at instantly killing Shadow. Sonic was forcing his control. If it wasn't for him, Shadow would probably be dead right now. Once again, in a way, Sonic saved his life.

His wounds began to heal on their own again, closing up all the cuts Shadow wrought onto him in that single onslaught. The blood on his blue body started to fade away, and he could feel his energy return to him. Now that he and his host were maintaining control together in harmony, there were no longer any restrictions on power. Shadow looked as if he was ready to pass out, and that wasn't good. After using all of that power, he ended up burning himself out. He looked as if he was one inch away from his own grave. They still had Scourge to deal with, he couldn't lose him now. "Unfortunately, I do not possess the power to heal others. You'll die at this rate, and I even if I chaos controlled you over to the Overseer's medical ward back at his head quarters, you'd still end up perishing moments after I did so. Instead-"

Speaking of which, they saw from a distance that Scourge was still nearby. Did he follow them here the whole time? And, it looked like he was still frightened from that thunder and lightning. He was covering his head, whispering curses and prayers as he stumbled down the destroyed roads of No Zone's city. "Please let it be over, let it be over..." He slowly rose his head up at the sky, and saw that it was no longer cloudy. He would have sighed in relief if he hadn't made a grave realization.

If the skies were clear, that meant that Dark Sonic was no longer on his side. Shit!

Scourge looked straight ahead of himself to see his favorite dark hedgehog staring back at him with a sharp glare. "H-Hey!" He waved his hand at him while jogging over. Dark Sonic protectively stood in front of Shadow. "What gives, baby? Why'd you stop the light show? I hope it wasn't 'cause of me, I can handle it! I promise, I-" He gasped sharply, covering his head again and wobbling over to the side. He almost lost his balance, ending up stumbling onto the wall of the nearby ruins of a grocery store. "N..No..." He groaned. "Make it stop..!" He cried before ramming his own head into the stone wall. Shadow cringed at the impact. Blood already formed from where he hit his head, that's how hard he struck himself. "Get it," He slammed his head into the wall again. "Out, of my head...!" He did it again, and Shadow swore he heard a crack that time. "Dad, stop..Stop it! I've been good...Don't get the bat-!" He fell over on his back and rolled over to curl up.

"...The fuck?" Shadow glanced at Dark Sonic. "What the hell's wrong with him now?"

"It's the demon, he's corrupting him. He's grown impatient."

"H-Hey," Scourge suddenly growled as he barely managed to sit up. "I can feel it, you're no longer in my control. Not that I had much to begin with, but I still had you!" He began to snarl angrily. "Let me guess, the power of love or some other bullshit broke you out of it, right? I'm so sick and fucking tired of that corny shit ruining what I planned! And it's all your fuckin' fault Stripes!" He pointed at Shadow, to whom Dark Sonic stepped right in front of with a threatening expression. Scourge clenched his teeth furiously. "I knew it. You've got him putty in your fuckin' hands! No matter what I do, even if I mind-fuck you, you still go back to him! God fucking DAMN IT!" He hollered, punching his fists into the ground. The impact blew anything nearby away besides Dark and Shadow. Traffic lights, plants, trees, they all flew away from his power. "It isn't fair. You were supposed to be mine. Mine, damn it!" He stood up with a trembling stance, holding up his hand as his spiked baseball bat teleported into his palm. "I barely had control over you before since the real Dark Sonic came out, and I can't mind fuck deities in their true form. I can't control Stripes over there, his mind isn't vulnerable enough for some reason."

No, that wasn't it. Shadow felt like Dark Sonic was protecting his head as well from Scourge's power.

"But right now," Scourge grinned evilly as he stood up. "I'm stronger than both of you, so I could just kill Stripes right here and kidnap you, Blue!"

No, he couldn't fight him. Not now. He was no match for him. And from what it sounded like, he was some how stronger than Dark Sonic as well. Stronger than a super form at it's strongest? Him? Soon, a black murky aura surrounded Scourge's figure, and his quills raised a little as a strong wind began to pick up around him. He wasn't even transforming, that was just his power. That disturbing evil energy, that was all his doing just now. Feelings of dread, misery, anger, and even sadism, all compiled into one being. Dark Sonic clenched his teeth, then looked to Shadow.

"There's no more time. Shadow," He said, in a voice that sounded more like his lover.

It caught his attention. "Sonic..?"

Dark Sonic reached his hand out for him to take. "Grab my hand, concentrate on only me!"

"Please, it's me. Take my hand, I promise." What? He heard Sonic for sure this time, but Dark's lips didn't move. Was he hearing his lover's voice in his head? "Shadow, you've got to trust us! Take my hand and concentrate on only me." Concentrate on Sonic, just Sonic. Not Dark, not Scourge, but Sonic. That wasn't that hard to do right? Just thinking about his face, his muzzle, his gorgeous blue fur, those meadow green eyes...His feelings for him, his love for him, his pride, his sense of justice. Yes, he focused on all of those things as he stared at Dark's hand. Perhaps he was growing hysterical because of his blood loss, but, he didn't mind. If he would pass out right here and now, he'd be glad that Sonic would be the last thing he thought of. He closed his eyes, and grasped Dark's glove with a weak hold.

Dark Sonic's eyes made a peculiar glint, and his own navy colored energy appeared around his arms and hands. Soon, his entire body was engulfed in this negative aura.

Scourge watched in astonishment. He was so shocked, he found himself smiling a little. "...No fucking way," He whispered while shaking his head. "I've done my research, so I know better." The anti said. "You and Blue already fused. That's what happens when a super form and a Chaos born work simultaneously, they work at full power. But, you can't fuse two people with a super form, especially not a fake bio-hog like him! That's unheard of!" He started grinning wider. "But if it can be done-" He held his bat straight up into the air, before swinging it back down with extreme force. Swinging down into the air alone caused harsh winds to blow in all directions. "-I"m all for it!" He exclaimed while getting in a batting position. "Come on Stripes, show me what you got!"

Dark Sonic's body, almost like a pile of a dust, just disintegrated. As his body fell into pieces, it flowed and was absorbed into the black furred hedgehog's body. All of that dark aura, it was now surrounding his body from head to toe. Like a giant centipede, it crawled around his ankles and legs, wrapping around his torso and abdomen. His arms, constricted from it's overwhelming power. It wrapped around his neck, around his fingers, between his thighs. It invaded his entire body mass, covering him up entirely until Shadow became practically nothing but a silhouette. A surge of power flowed from within his stomach, traveling internally inside of his body.

It felt wrong.

It felt sad, it felt vengeful, it felt angry.

But it also felt honest.

Dark Sonic wasn't just an entity of dark power, it was a being that respected everything the hero fought so hard to hide. Shadow could feel it all. His vulnerability, his weaknesses, his emotional turmoils, his fear, his hatred, his guilt...Everything that Sonic would mask, that he would lie about to shield the world from his own fragile state of mind, it was all here. It felt honest, it felt true. Nothing was hidden, nothing was a lie. No doubts, no discrepancies. And most of all, no judgement. Just acceptance.

This was Sonic's true face underneath that mask of confident smiles.

This, was the heart of a hero.

As if he was asleep for thousands of years, Shadow opened his heavy eyelids slowly. Sweet Chaos, his body felt like it was freezing. That he was so frigidly cold, that it almost felt like it was burning. However, it didn't hurt. He wasn't in pain or even uncomfortable, no, he was enlightened. He felt, a sense of truth. Of wisdom. Like he could see the world for what it truly was. When Shadow was in his own super form, he only felt powerful and more, for lack of a better term, responsible. But this? He could feel so many negative yet realistic emotions, that he just felt confident. This must have been the essence of Dark Sonic's power.

He looked down at his hands, seeing that his gloves were still there. Okay, these were his arms, and his rings were still gone. His legs, shoes, yup, he looked pretty much the same. Except, his fur seemed to be even darker than before, if that was even possible. His red stripes were almost gone, the bright redness in them fading into a harsh wine. The aura he was giving off wasn't only navy and murky looking, he saw a deep, almost brownish red colliding with it. And his eyes, they were no longer red rubies, they were a deep glassy crimson. His wounds were gone, and he no longer felt weakened.

His black ear flicked at the sound of a loud and drawn out whistle. "Well hot damn!" Scourge smirked. "You really did it, Stripes. You merged with a real Chaos Born, and a Divine Spirit." He got up from his batting stance and leaned the weapon onto his shoulder. He put his other hand on his hip, making a condescending smile. "Good for you, you managed to win over my future wife and one of the bastards I'm trying to murder." He gave a round of applause with a few more whistles. "Too bad for you though, I'm still gonna kill all three of ya in one go."

He's bluffing, Shadow said to himself. As if Sonic and that dark deity were right there with him, he could feel a sense of agreement. Were they communicating with him in his own head? He felt another wave of satisfaction flow through his mind. That must have been a 'yes' from the both of them. Anyway, Scourge wouldn't kill Sonic, he was in love with him. However, Shadow knew this would still be a hard fight even with his new power. He was ready though. With his lover beside him in literal spirit, he had no doubt in his mind that he could win.

Scourge made a few practice swings with his bat, before taking a step forward while holding it with both hands, and charging directly at the Ultimate Life form.

Dark Coffin

That was the last thing he heard before Dark Sonic had put him in an unconscious state. Once he laid down and fell asleep, all he saw was Zhadow. They were in his apartment, in his bedroom laying on his bed together. His superior was on top of him, entering in and out of him. Zonic had his legs squeezed against his waist, his face covered by the back of one of his hands in sheer embarrassment. His face was red, flustered from the amount of force his lover was giving him with each thrust. Right now, they were not soldiers or comrades. They were not partners or allies of intergalactic militia. They were lovers, partners bonded forever. Zhadow huffed as he strengthen his power, moving even harder to make a rougher impact into Zonic's body.

He felt so good inside of him, he was so good at doing this to him. It felt good every single time, never once was he ever dissatisfied from his sex, even if it was directly after an argument. Hell, sometimes that made it feel even better. He gripped his black furred hands onto his hips, never breaking from his constant motions of humping him. They were both sweating, out of breath as they shook the bed violently against the wall. Zonic was so wet inside, and he was leaking precum from his member. Zhadow leaned down to kiss his lover on his neck, licking and biting at it. He nipped directly at the side of it, making a hickie on both his fur and his skin.

Zonic gasped as he felt something within him rise. He was so ready for this, so ready for him to finish inside of him. He rose his peach arms and wrapped them around his torso. He squeezed his gloveless fingers at his back, his bare legs spreading apart further instinctively. He moaned and panted, whispering for his superior to just do it. "Y-Yes...Yes...Right there..." He inhaled sharply as he hit his sweet spot. Zhadow moved closer to kiss him, moving his hips quicker as he felt his own climax coming. "Chaos...!" Zonic cried. Zhadow had lowered his hand beneath his stomach, grasping and rubbing his length. "Z-Zhadow-" He gasped. "Shit..." He whispered again. "Zhadow please..!" He begged. He would be the only person who would ever see him this vulnerable.

"Begging now?" The superior grunted as he shoved himself deeper inside of him. "You can do better than that, rookie. Scream my name." He jerked his member faster, earning a loud moan from the hedgehog beneath him. "Do it."

"I-I can't-" Zonic's cheeks were so red, he was beyond embarrassed. "I-Aah!" He arched his back instantly from the surge of pleasure. "Zhadow..!" He hollered his name. He didn't give a damn who heard them next door, he screamed his lover's name as if his life depended on it. Once he did, he could no longer stop himself from losing control. He came all over his hand and knuckles, while his superior thrusted one last time. He released his essence inside of his body with a groan, making a low hiss as he felt his walls tighten on his member. "A-Aaah...Haaa...ah..." Zonic's body froze up, before dropping against the bed as if he was under paralysis. His chest heaved in and out, fighting for air after a workout of an intense love session.

Zhadow slowly pulled out, white dripping from both himself and Zonic's bottom. His hand was coated in his rookie's bodily fluids. He rubbed his peach arm affectionately, before moving and laying down beside him. He hugged Zonic closely, laying his head against his back and breathing in his scent. As they caught their breath, he rubbed his chest while Zonic closed his eyes and softly grasped Zhadow's hand. Then, his superior whispered something onto his fur. "I love you, Zonic."

His heart skipped a beat. "...Wh...What did you say?" He murmured back while turning his head.

"I said I love you. Shame I couldn't say it to you before I was shot."

"...Shot?"

Zhadow nodded, pressing a small kiss onto his deltoid before speaking again. "Don't you remember? Anti-Sonic shot me in the head. Well, that's what he made me think. So technically, I put myself in a coma, not him. It's my fault."

"No," Zonic let go of his hand and fully turned his body around to face him. He was still slightly out of breath, but he found the strength to dismiss such a lie. "It was not your fault, nothing was. It was my fault for letting you go without me." He made a solemn expression, furrowing his brows as he looked away from his gaze. "I, I could have done something-"

"Zonic," Zhadow stopped him. "There was nothing you could have done against him. If you had joined me that day, we both would be in a coma."

"Well maybe that's," The lieutenant commander couldn't believe he was saying this, but this was how he truly felt. "Maybe I'd rather that happen instead!" He exclaimed. "I'd rather die alongside you, than watch you rot in a hospital bed while I do nothing." His eyes watered, deep green eyes becoming glassy. "I should have told you, I'm so sorry." He pulled against the sheets to cover his face and wipe his eyes.

Zhadow made a sad smile and gently rubbed his fingers against his face. "You didn't have to say it. You never had to say it, Zonic." He caressed his face. "I already knew. And I know you knew too. You know how much I care about you, and I know how much you care about me. The funny thing is," He wiped away another tear that lingered from his cheek. "You already know this, too. You know we never had to say it, so why are you beating yourself up about this?"

"Because I wish that was the last thing I said to you before you got hurt." Zonic softly responded as he sniffed. "We argued. That was the last conversation we had before you were shot." His voice was shaky and angry. "For something stupid, yelling at you for worrying about me. I was running myself ragged with work and studying, and you tried so hard to make me feel better." He shook his head and sat up in the bed. "Then, you tried to convince me to let you go out into Moebius' city, and I argued with you not to. You said I was worrying too much about you, and not enough for myself. In anger, I told you off. I told you, to go out there by yourself. It's my fault," He whimpered. "All my fault. And the last thing you get to hear from the person you love, is 'go ahead and get yourself killed. See if I care.' That was the very last thing I said to you. Don't you hate me for that?"

His partner shook his head. "Of course not." He placed his hand on his thigh as he sat up as well. "There is literally nothing you can do to make me hate you. Not even if you pulled the trigger yourself."

His chest became tight. He wouldn't have minded, even if he was the one who held the gun? Even if he was the one who directly and deliberately put him in the coma? He would have forgave him, even if he murdered him then and there in cold blood by his own hands? He couldn't stop the tears from falling, he couldn't believe he said that to him.

...No.

He couldn't be forgiven. He didn't deserve to be forgiven-He should never be forgiven!

Never!

Before Zhadow could embrace Zonic, his blue partner threw himself on top of him. He his arms stretched outwards to his neck, and his hands both closed around his throat to strangle him. "S-So," He stammered as his tears continued to fall. "Even if I did this," He squeezed his hands harder. "You wouldn't hate me?" He sobbed. "Would you!?" He screamed.

Zhadow couldn't even reply, he was struggling to gasp for air. He was trying to pull Zonic off, but he couldn't. Though he was physically superior, he didn't dare lift a finger to harm him just to ensure his own safety. This wasn't an evil Zonic, this wasn't an imposter, this was his real lover. And if he wanted to kill Zhadow even in his own right mind without any influence telling him to do so, he'd let him. Even fighting against his own animalistic instincts to survive and push him off, he let his arms fall to his side. He let Zonic strangle him to death. And then, he smiled at him, even as he saw black dots forming in his vision.

Zhadow smiled at him, even as he killed him.

With a sudden crack of his neck, his lover died instantly underneath him. He did this, he killed him by his own volition this time. Now it truly was his fault.

Rightfully, his fault.

Zonic covered his face with both of his hands, the hands used to murder him. He sobbed quietly into his palms, shaking as he realized what he just done.

He's watched this very scene play about thirty times, now.

No, why was he letting this happen. Why did he allow himself to do that? Why was he trying to go this far to prove that he was at fault for his comatosed state? He already accepted that it was his fault, so why was this regret killing him so much? Was he, going insane? Was he actually losing his mind, so much so that he was envisioning himself killing his own lover?

There was something wrong with him, but he didn't want to see this anymore! Zhadow would disprove of this, and he refused to stay stuck watching him do this to him over and over! He'd never do this in reality, this had to be all a huge lie. This was an illusion, a fake memory forged by...

...Dark Sonic.

This, was the reality of the Dark Coffin ability.

The very thing he should have studied more about while Zhadow was still alive. Though he finally learned a little too late, it didn't matter, because now he just had to fight it.

Zonic was determined, the scene before him disappeared as none of it was real to begin with. It was all in his head. But it was okay, because he accepted it. It was indeed his fault for getting Zhadow shot, it was indeed his fault that his Champion was in danger, it was indeed his fault that many of his comrades were dead. It was his responsibility as a commander, as a leader, as a Grand Overseer to shoulder all of the burdens and consequences that came with the job. He accepted it, he had to.

Zonic, though his tears were still falling, ceased his sobbing.

That power he felt before, that felt so similar to chaos energy, he would use it. He would concentrate, and use it to pull himself out of his funk.

It was the only choice he had.

Focus, breathe.

Focus, breathe.

Focus, breathe.

That is what he learned about chaos energy through his studies in Chaos Born abilities. To activate chaos control, you had to already have such powers blessed within you. Then to proceed an attempt to control it, you had to concentrate and make steady breaths. If he was a skilled chaos user, he wouldn't have to do this, but considering he never used it before, he had to do this by the book. Still laying against the cold ground inside of an even colder coffin-like form of chaos power, his eyes stayed shut.

Focus, breathe.

Focus, breathe.

Focus...Focus, keep going.

Keep going-

He felt something warm drive throughout his body. Something was awakening inside of him. That feeling from earlier, about being so angry that he could use chaos energy, it wasn't just an exaggeration. This spark, this power, this seal falling off of a door of unleashed potential, it was erupting. He could feel it! His shoulders, his arms, his fingers, his chest, his stomach, his legs, thighs, feet and toes. It was all over him.

His eyes snapped open, that black darkness that was surrounding him instantly disappeared.

He looked around him, gaining feeling in his nerves once more to move. He sat up, turning his head around to see that the Dark Coffin was falling apart. That black energy that held him down before was going away, vanishing from the air as if it was never here. Did, did he really do it? Zonic held up his hands and stared at them. Did he just use chaos chaos energy? Or was that all a dream? He frowned, that didn't matter now. He had to get back to Sonic and ensure his safety. Shadow prime was going to get himself killed from the hero's hand, and he couldn't let that happen.

As he stood up, he saw that across the battlefield, were destroyed vehicles and bloodied grass. Bodies covered with sheets, metallic debris of iron birds and military cars laid across the field. He couldn't see any of his soldiers, not even the dead ones. He assumed his men went in and took their corpses back to base, leaving no man behind, even in death. He commended his men for that, that was the right thing to do. As for Scourge's men, he also assumed they were the dead ones still on the field, covered in white sheets. Zonic's men had the respect to at least cover them up, even if they were their enemy.

Then, he saw smoke in the distance. No, not smoke. That was chaos. Zonic narrowed his eyes, that was definitely chaos control spreading into the sky. That distance came from town. They must have took the fight there. Silently, the commander looked down below to glance at his boots. They looked like they were damaged but still in working order. He could still run at high speeds, he just couldn't fly. He'd make it there quickly either way.

Except, that's not where he was going to go.

No, he'd just get in the way. Besides, he had a much better idea. He turned around to his right to face the tower of his HQ in the distance, to where his surviving soldiers retreated to. That, is where he'd be running to.

Without another moment to waste, Zonic grunted and steadied his legs, before making a sonic boom off into the direction of No Zone HQ.

END - 33

Accept reality and face the truth.

Only then, will you be able to heal.

But if you obsesses yourself in that truth, then...

Then...

EDIT: Also, thank you for the review, Ayumi Shoko. I'm glad so many people are getting my DanganRonpa references. ;)