Im alive. And swamped with work. But alive. Updating everything.

Well, this is quite the surprise.

If any part of Sonic's baked brain was still in working order, he would have agreed with his companion. Who could have expected this?

Trapped as he was, the pale hedgehog could only watch the demon bird with astonished confusion, the ever-present discomfort he was feeling since the breaking of the second bind momentarily forgotten. Shadow sat at his side with a painstakingly crafted blank expression, the Ultimate Lifeform just as taken off guard as the two other males who knew much more of what was going on than himself, yet he chose to remain quiet and collected.

"What." It was finally Mephiles who broke the silence, his voice blunt as a rock, his comical expression of shock slipping into a blank mask as he watched the bird carefully now, likely knowing that their lives were at stake. Their captor shrugged nonchalantly, seemingly not caring about the horrid death his prisoners wished to inflict upon him. Then again, it was clear that he held all the cards. They were at his mercy.

"It thought I made myself quite clear." Uwak retorted bluntly, not even glancing at the trapped immortal. No, his eyes were fixed on Sonic, scrutinizing him intensely despite his passive demeanor. The blue hedgehog barely resisted the urge to bar his teeth at the raven, silently wishing he could reach out and snap the miserable beast's neck. "Every one of us hate the Gaias."

It would be wiser to hear him out. The Manacle murmured complacently in his ears, tendrils of numbing energy stretching out to wrap around his mind, easing away his anger. If what he's saying is true, then we might not need to do this alone. It pondered, wicked Chaos swirling beneath Sonic's skin, interested.

We might be able to stop this early. Sonic replied within his mind, thoughts racing at the prospect. Nobody has to die. The artifact embedded in his veins shifted within him, apprehension coursing through their bond.

Uwak is a seal master. Just maybe...

Sonic forced down the warmth of hope bursting forth from his heart. Let's hear him out first.

They had to be careful with this.

"I don't despise my masters." Mephiles responded, his expression guarded. The words seemed forced, as if he'd repeated them to himself each and every day in front of a mirror, and while unlikely, it was a humorous mental image for Sonic.

"Funny. I never saw you being someone else's servant." Shadow suddenly interjected, earning a bristle from Mephiles.

"It's not like I have a choice!" The former deity let out with a snarl, eyes dark and vengeful as his temper snapped. Even Sonic could only watch with wide eyes, tormenting thoughts of the future pushed aside at the sight of the deity acting so vicious. "They're not someone I can brush off, one too many mistakes and I'll be eaten!" Mephiles accused, contempt in his voice. Suddenly realizing just how erratic he was being, the injured male looked at the ground, face carefully blank.

Despite this, his quills rattled in a disturbingly humane manner, betraying his troubled state.

Shadow tilted his head to the side, eyes narrowing pensively. "So you are being forced into this." He guessed, correctly so.

Mephiles recoiled as if the Ultimate Lifeform poured burning oil on his face. His expression demanded murder. "I'm not -!"

"I wonder..." Uwak murmured pensively, silencing the duo before the hybrid could continue on the defensive. "...what would you have done first after being reunited with your sibling?"

Is he referring to Iblis? Sonic turned his head to the crystalline monster. Mephiles was silent, his head bowed low, obscuring his expression. Wait, sibling? He'd once thought that the shadowy creature was a creation of Soleanna during their frenzied research for the power to control time. It seemed as if there was more than he'd previously thought to what happened a few years ago.

After everything that had happened in the past week, Sonic understood there was more to the being than he'd originally thought. He hadn't expected family ties to exist among immortals. Even then, it did not excuse what Mephiles had done. Nothing ever would. The only reason the former deity wasn't dead where he stood was because of the trap Uwak had sprung on them.

A thick silence echoed through the clearing after Uwak's question was uttered. It pressed down on them, heavier than the seal they were trapped in ever could.

Uwak sighed, stretching ancient, shrunken wings softly before peering at Mephiles closer. "Are you going to answer, halfbreed?" He wondered, tone neither soothing or mocking, filled with a muted curiosity.

Mephiles took a deep breath before sliding his eyes shut. "I would have killed them." The creature muttered begrudgingly, looking as if it was physically painful for him to admit it. "I would have flattened both worlds, and started from zero." He opened his eyes and looked up at the darkening skies. "I don't want to serve or rule anyone. I'm past that." He locked gazes with Sonic as he said that, toxic green eyes dark and sullen. "I am a selfish creature. Even if it means destroying this world, I would do so if it means freedom."

Sonic flinched. The image of a mobian child danced in the young Gaia's mind, sinking wicked claws into his conscious and dragging down, igniting a flame of torment in his soul. Angered, he couldn't help but meet Mephiles' state with one of his own, speckled eyes darkening to a molten red as he bared his teeth at the hybrid.

How dare he try to excuse himself. The hybrid thundered within his own mind, red clouding his sight. Rage boiled under his flesh, threatening to erupt in a deadly explosion, yet it did not. He was left hanging on the edge, fury held back by the chains of Uwak's trickery. Nothing seemed to be able to quell the hatred and indignation growing in his heart. How dare he.

He's not. A older mind pressed against his own, soothing him. He's just telling the truth. Yet within that soft murmur, steel hid in the shadows. Just as complacent as that voice had been, it quickly became twisted and wicked. We'll run him through with a blade regardless of what he says. The Manacle spoke vengefully, the cruelty in its promise reminding Sonic once more of just how vengeful his companion was.

"Tcht. As I expected." Uwak's grunt was harsh and full of disdain as he regarded Mephiles through hooded eyes. "We're all the same, aren't we? Pitiful little puppets, dancing on strings." His eyes flicked to the bound white hedgehog. "Some more than others." The bird continued in a slightly softer tone.

Sonic offered silence in return. His eyes however told a different story.

At his side Shadow sat still, dark red eyes constantly switching between the multiple immortals. There was no refuting the fact he was out of his depth here, swept into a mess not his own. And yet, he couldn't keep away. The Ultimate Lifeform was far from ready to give up; sharp scarlet eyes tracking the others intensely, searching for weaknesses. Patiently waiting for that one slip up that could offer him escape.

From the piercing gaze Uwak gave him the bird had recognized the danger he posed, yet his demeanour did not change despite this. His trust in his own work seemed unwavering.

"I'm sure we are all eager to move on from here, so I'll spare you the rethorics." His purple eye scanned them carefully. "We all want the Gaias dead. I just so happen to have a way to get rid of them. Permanently." The bird glanced at Mephiles pointedly. "We each have our reasons to see them gone, so why not join forces instead?"

"Like hell I would." Mephiles instantly hissed, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Ah, that's the thing, isn't it?" Uwak said with a knowing smirk. "I don't need you willing, halfbreed. I have my ways to make you do what I want." He turned back to the two hedgehogs, eye landing on the shivering hero. "There is much anger here, a lot of potential, but if you keep going down this path it's going to be wasted."

Sonic bristled. "I was doing fine-"

"Throwing a temper tantrum is far from the definition of productivity." Uwak said with a soft crackle, his expression shifting to brief amusement at Sonic's furious expression. "You have little time left, Sonic. You might need to start counting the hours until the Gaias arrive with their army." The pale hedgehog lost what little color on his cheeks he possessed in this form.

Sonic's heart skipped a beat. Fleetway hadn't been lying that it would happen soon.

Hours.

Gods, was he even ready?

"Which is why it won't do for the Seal to still bound when that happens." Uwak commented, drawing the hero out of his terrified thoughts. He suddenly stood up, startling Sonic with the swift movement. The single purple eye met his pair of freckled emeralds, the amethyst orb full of silent promises as Uwak began walking towards him.

There was no way out, Sonic realized as the strange weight pin him to the ground. There, on his knees, he was helpless. And yet, the armoured hybrid didn't dare to show weakness. Instead, the hero kept a solemn expression as his captor approached, a dark wrath that promised him a unknown but unwelcoming fate.

Realizing that the creature was coming for the blue hedgehog, Shadow tried to push him back, to shield him with his own body as golden Chaos crackled uselessly around his arms. It was a heartfelt gesture in Sonic's eyes, but he knew it would be a useless one. They were at the being's mercy.

Even Uwak's measly strength was enough to send the trapped Ultimate Lifeform to the side, the creature roughly grabbing him by the shoulders with his wicked talons and tossing Shadow out of the way.

There was no getting away, Sonic thought, strained as he heard Twilight hiss audibly in his ears, just as helpless as a newborn. Sonic couldn't help but feel his stomach drop as Uwak knelled down in front of him, eye connecting with his own intensely. There was no anger in the bird's gaze, no disgust or triumph, nothing he expected to see in that demanding stare, instead, Uwak was calm, his gaze full of sharp intensity as he met the Gaia's glare head on.

Then suddenly, too fast for Sonic's tired mind to react, the immortal sunk his claws into his belly with a wet squelch, Chaos crackling around his fingertips as fire pulsed in the hero's veins. Panic flared in Sonic's heart, sending a sharp burn through his body. His eyes widened, nearly bulging out as he felt something rise within him, a wildfire that demanded a out.

"Unwind."

Snap.

Sonic collapsed to the ground with a broken keen of agony, his body twitching and spasming as red lights crackled over his quivering frame. Deep within his mind, the blue hedgehog could hear a metallic shriek coming from his tenant, the creature likely not having expected the next coil to break so soon. Had Uwak caused this?!

Unrelenting, the hand on his belly dug deeper, searching, claws gleaming red pressing into specific points as his skin pulsed with energy. Chaos boiled under his skin, furious and untamed, lashing out at the foreign presence. The energy unfurling like a blooming flower in his chest, threatening to burn him from the inside out as it reached out for Uwak, vicious in its uncaring fury. It was agony beyond anything Sonic suffered so far.

Snap.

Like a spring breaking free, more heat flooded his body, burning him from the inside out. The scream that escaped him threatened to break the skies, and along his own cry of agony he could hear Twilight screaming, wordless and raw. It took him a moment to realize that it was through his throat, the inhuman sound breaking his vocal cords with the intensity. Sonic forgot his own name as this wave of utter pain washed over him, a burning weight hanging over his body, slowly crushing it. At that moment, he truly felt like his heart was going to give out from the strain, and the merest thread of stubbornness kept him from wishing it did.

Red clouded his vision, rendering him blind. He trashed around on the forest floor, trying to escape in any way the ungodly agony his body has been plunged into; broken, incoherent pleas for mercy tumbling out of parched lips as sharp claws dug into dead grass. Sonic's back arched to the point he thought his spine would break before his mind did.

Yet despite his mindless convulsions and attempts to escape, he could not move -his chest was fixed in its place, speared through by a invisible nail that pinned his body where it was. Sonic fought tears as he cried to be released from this hell, the smallest part of him that still retain his sanity wondering what would break first, his body or his mind.

He couldn't handle this.

It's too much. The hero thought shamelessly, his body throbbing in agony. Twilight, I'm gonna lose it.

I've got you. A wavering voice whispered into his ear, his passenger just as shaken as him. Carmine claws sunk into his conscious and dragged him down. I won't let you go. You're safe.

Sonic promptly blacked out, welcoming the darkness with spread arms and blissful relief.

xxxxxxxxx

"What did you do?!" Shadow all but roared has he forced himself to crawl towards the still twitching body of his rival, sheer panic and adrenaline powering him through despite the indescribable weight on his shoulders. "What the fuck did you do to him?!"

Uwak said nothing for the longest of times. He merely watched the trembling form stretched out in front of him silently, the slender body of his victim twitching every now and then as red crackled across blue and tan fur. Sonic's red armor was gone, as was the white fur, leaving the sapphire hero in all of his exhausted, battered glory.

At any other time Shadow would have been glad to see the armor gone, to see Sonic in his entirety again, but this? This wasn't worth it.

He snarled as Uwak reached down for the prone hero once more, claws digging into Sonic's quills and looking for something. His growl deepened as one by one the bird pulled the cyan, blue and yellow Emeralds from Sonic's body. Why would he need them?

(Could he sense the Emerald Shadow possessed?)

Satisfied by his newfound treasure, Uwak produced a withered-looking red bag and stuffed the mystical jewels in it. The raven, it's task done, shifted its focus to Shadow, regarding him pensively. "Do you want to help him?" The bird finally stated as it glanced at him, eye pinning the black hedgehog where he was. Knowing. If the bird sensed Sonic's Emeralds, he most likely knew he had the red one. Yet why wasn't he taking it?

"Yes."

"Then shut up." Uwak grumbled as he stood up. Shadow didn't react at the command, watching the bird demon through hooded eyes. "He's just asleep."

Lies. The Ultimate Lifeform thought with fury in his eyes, his attention shifting back to Sonic. Desperation gripped at his entrails at the somber sight.

The blue hedgehog laid stretched out on the ground, arms against his disarmingly thin sides. His eyes were blown wide, red pupils were shrunk to dots as he stared up at the sky emptily, breathing hoarse and ragged. Gathering as much strength as he possessed, the obsidian male managed to crawl to his mate and lay a hand on his left shoulder, a helpless attempt at comforting someone who probably couldn't even feel it.

Shadow noticed with some consternation how Sonic's skin was warm.

Burning from the inside out.

His chest felt tight as Shadow gently wrapped his arms around his rival and cradled him against his own body, ignoring the uncomfortable heat beneath the other's skin. His mate twitched at being moved, glazed eyes momentarily gaining a light of recognition as they crossed with Shadow's. At this sign of life the dark hedgehog opened his mouth to speak, but frowned as Sonic let out a breathy wheeze and closed his eyes, a shiver travelling his body. The hero turned in his grasp, feebly pressing his face against Shadow's chest.

The later disregarded the heat coming from the body in his grasp, choosing instead to focus on their captor. If anyone noticed the way his eyes briefly trailed over the wicked purple scales running down the length of Sonic's right arm, they kept it to themselves.

The dark hybrid held his counterpart carefully, fingers threading through sweaty blue and peach fur in a familiar gesture. A gentle groan escaped the blue hedgehog in Shadow's arms, alerting him to his return to the living world. Relief surged through the Ultimate Lifeform, momentarily lifting the weight in his chest.

Sonic woke to a aching body and warmth. The later unexpected given the circumstance behind him passing out, the hero let out a slurred noise of confusion as he cracked bleary eyes open.

The speckled orbs blew wide as he noticed the person cradling him.

"...what happened?" He croaked softly as he looked around, feeling a strange sense of humiliation at having been unconscious.

"I loosened the binding system." Uwak finally revealed without batting a eye at the resentful tone. "By accelerating the rate of the Chaos cycling through your body, I've helped speed up the movement." The bird paused. "The pain you felt was two more gates of the Seal opening due to the coils loosening. This will ensure that you will be ready to unleash the Manacle within the hour the Gaias arrive." He peered at the hero intensely. "You will have ten minutes, give or take, after the portals open before it breaks completely, in about eleven hours. The rest will be up to the Manacle."

Sonic's face fell as his body sagged in defeat. "Oh."

So Uwak was planning to let him die. The Blue Blur wondered dazedly. In a way, it was ironic to him. He'd spent the last few hours certain of his death, but after relieving the smallest glimmer of hope and seeing fail, he felt distraught, even more so than before.

He thought back at the pain he'd felt when the bird had messed with the Seal. If that was how it felt like two have two coils unlocked, how much pain would he be in when the Manacle was unleashed? Would the agony consume his mind before the overflow of Chaos energy broke his body?

Guess I'll find out soon enough.

A soft, wordless croon of comfort echoed from the back of his mind, but did little to lift his morale.

"Speaking of seals..." Uwak muttered as he stepped away from the exhausted hero, feathers ruffling as he turned towards Mephiles, who flinched but held his gaze, weary yet helpless to change his situation. The raven examined the apprehensive former deity carefully, pointedly ignoring the hedgehog duo glaring daggers at his back. "Dryagan!" He angled his head up and whistled, sharp and loudly, making his captives jump.

A flutter of wings echoed across the clearing as a third immortal joined them, dropping low behind the bound former deity. Mephiles snarled as his captor approached, murder in his eyes as both winged fiends circled him. Shadow's eyes narrowed in recognition of the blue immortal, his expression darkening even further as it grabbed the struggling demon by his shoulders and forced him on the ground on his back despite his indignant roars.

Sonic watched the newcomer wearily. How many of these creatures were rebelling?

Can't say. Twilight softly spoke, curling carefully in his mind in a way that reminded him of a great feral bird trying to fit in a damaged nest. The Gaias are too powerful to fight against, but it's likely that most immortals don't like their rule.

Mephiles let out a grunt as his former underling forced him to the ground, stifling a cry of rage in order to preserve the last shreds of dignity he held in this restrained position. As he was held down, Uwak smoothly walked over to him, redirecting his attention away from the halfbreed manhandling him to the feathered monster. The Seal Master's right hand crackling red as he leaned over him, poising the limb in front of the former deity's chest.

The crystalline creature's eyes widened, alarmed as he noticed the scarlet sparks, a impossibility that made his mask break into panic.

"Wait -urgh!"

A red seal glowed faintly on the creature's chest, it's deep carmine shine reflecting among the crystals that made up Mephiles' body. The hybrid gasped, back arching in a silent scream as he trashed helplessly in the blue demon's grasp, movements slow and sluggish. The massive seal covering the clearing had drained his strength away, leaving him vulnerable and open to whatever the bird beast was doing.

When they finally let go of the writhing male, Mephiles collapsed to the ground with as much grace as he could muster, the wheezed breaths he let out being music to the ears of the two other bound males. The creature shakily, rolled onto his knees, fighting the pull of the seal as he reached down at his injured chest.

A array of lines spread across his flesh like a spider web, glinting a soft red glow under the daylight.

What is that? Sonic wondered as Mephiles audibly gulped, looking uncharacteristically vulnerable.

That's a extremely complex seal. Twilight admitted begrudgely in his mind. He somehow overlaid several seals over each other. There are communication, detonation and summoning arrays, and those are the ones I can see at a glance. It hissed. Smart bastard.

Mephiles seemed hopelessly lost as he clutched his chest, eyes wide and wild. For a moment Sonic thought the male was going to claw at his own flesh to get rid of the array but instead of mutilating himself, Mephiles pinned Uwak with a frigid glare, his teeth bared in a aggressive display.

"Explain."

"For now, we will focus on the Gaias, not each other." Uwak stated, ignoring the fuming creature at his side. "That is a grudge we will deal with later."

Sonic bit his lower lip to stop himself from screaming.

I don't have a later. He wanted to shriek, but he held it in. It was too childish. He needed to restrain himself, no matter how much he wanted to scream and shout at the injustice of it all.

"As for you..." The purple eye shifted towards him, maybe knowing of his inner turmoil. "You will rest. We must have you at your best if there is any chance of this going smoothly. Make no mistake, you will die." Shadow stiffened at the finality. Sonic held Uwak's gaze, refusing to bow down to the overwhelming urge to look away. "-but not before your duty is done. If we want to bring back the Manacle at its full strength, we need the unsealing to go according to my plan."

"Your plan? You still haven't told us anything."

"You will understand once everything is said and done." Uwak waved him off, ignoring the murderous expression the young hero offered him as he turned to a hesitant Shadow. "Do you have a place for him to stay? He needs to prepare himself. Rest." The creature stated as if asking for the weather, causing the Ultimate Lifeform to look at him warily.

"Yes."

Uwak nodded softly. "Good. In seven hours, I need you to come back here. I will have things to go over with you two."

"But what about the citizens of Acropolis?" Sonic suddenly stated, the dark thoughts swimming in his head at the confirmation of his approaching death vanishing when he remembered that the portals would be opening over a city full of people.

Uwak smirked knowingly. "You'll just have to leave that to me." He reached up to his chest with his left hand, talons pressing into a feathered ribcage.

Bright red sparks spurted from dull feathers, startling the trio of hedgehogs.

Moments later as if they've been waiting at the treeline all along, several creatures suddenly emerged from the woods, apprehensive eyes sweeping through the five sapients. Immortals of all shapes, sizes and age, and several were rubbing their chest uneasily and grimacing, their expressions betraying their anxious state. Even from his spot on the ground, Sonic could see a faint red light being emitted from beneath their fingers, the same glow that manifested itself over Uwak's own heart.

It was then that they understood.

Right under the Gaias' noses, Uwak amassed a small army.

"Do you actually think, Ogilvie, that I haven't planned everything out?" Uwak exclaimed as he swept his arms wide open in a grandiose gesture. The bird was small compared to the creatures standing behind him, almost insignificant in front of the beings he'd enslaved, and yet, he radiated power. If they thought his only eye gleamed, it now all but shone. "I've had decades to prepare for this."

And it was then, looking at this gathered army, Sonic understood that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't the only threat the Gaias had to watch out for.

xxxxxxx

Mephiles watched Sonic and Shadow leave in silence, the black hedgehog helping the younger male stand as Uwak was wary to see him unrestrained. He couldn't blame him. Clearly the bird understood he wouldn't be able to face the Gaia directly, and thus kept him purposely weak as the Ultimate Lifeform led him away. Uwak wasn't stupid enough to risk dying to a enraged hybrid.

With the two gone, it left the former deity sitting on the grass contemplating the past half hour in silence. Mephiles could hear Uwak speaking in hushed tones to his apparent troops, yet he did not try to pry in. The seal on his chest itched greatly, adding to his shame.

Why hadn't he acted sooner? The Seal Master's actions had been suspicious, maybe if -no. Mephiles had to acknowledge he'd been beat by his senior.

He wouldn't have expected in a million years what just happened. That Uwak was suicidal enough to face two of the strongest Chaos users, and most of all that he would try and use the Manacle against them. Not to mention the small army of enslaved immortals he had somehow amassed without drawing attention.

It was absurd to think it could work...yet it could plausible. Uwak had shown to be calculative, cunning and secretive; there was no reasons he would have told them the whole truth. He literally had all the power in this case, considering the four Chaos Emeralds plus the Master Emerald shard boldly laying in the middle of the clearing on top of a ugly scale cloth, momentarily ignored by their owner.

Mephiles eyed the package with restrained interest, dismissing the idea of trying to steal it. Certainly not possible with the bomb in his chest. Why would Uwak need them?

The sound of ruffled grass dragged him out of his thoughts, toxic eyes shifting from the bundle of cloth made from a familiar material to the elderly bird sitting down next to him. For someone who had just rebelled against his supervisor and threatened them with death, Uwak was remarkably unbothered.

"Confused by this turn of events, halfbreed?" The winged immortal broke the ice, watching idly as being's of all shapes and sizes busied themselves across the clearing, preparing for war.

"You didn't tell us everything." Mephiles muttered, ignoring the jab.

"Indeed." The raven said with a sigh. "Will you push the subject?"

"You haven't known me for long, have you." Mephiles pointed out, knowing how he could get when he had a good mystery to solve. He hated not knowing everything. It felt like he wasn't in control -like now, dependent on the will of another, a literal bomb strapped to his heart. It had been a long time since he'd felt this powerless.

The strange glint inside the amethyst eye was maddening.

"It seems as if we have come to a stalemate."

Mephiles raised a eyebrow elegantly.

"How so...?"

"It is rather simple, little one." The crow grin's widened slowly at the other's bristle. "I can't lay all the cards on the table when there is still much to be done to reach the end."

"The end?" Mephiles' posture shifted, from demanding to defensive. "I hope you explain what do you mean by that."

"Hm." The crow spread his shredded, grotesque wings, flexing them lightly. If Mephiles wasn't wary of the creature and fully alert, ready to come to blows he would have flinched at the sight of the lack of feathers on the small limbs, the ghastly scars and other deformities running up and down the immortal's ancient body. "What do you see here, young one?" The bird asked, motioning towards his horribly mangled body.

Mephiles wisely chose to stay silent.

"No need to curb your tongue, I know how monstrous I look." The rune master said slowly, chuckling. "This is how bad things have become. We are ignoring what their foolish quest for conquest and revenge is doing to us. Tell me, when was the last time our kind has done any kind of advancement?"

"I...I rarely see one." Mephiles whispered, slowly realizing what the creature was getting to.

"We aren't living, just surviving. On the ashes of a broken world." Uwak breathed softly, eye looking up at the blue skies. He seemed almost thoughtful, remembering a time long past. "The Gaias want vengeance on a living embodiment of the Chaos Field. Victory will never be in their grasp, yet they are so devoted to it, I believe they will destroy everything in the process. " The bird laughed softly, a sound devoid of amusement. It was a sad laugh. "There is no end to it."

"Then what, you are doing this for us? For our kind?"

Uwak chuckled, low and empty. Mephiles had never heard such a strange sound.

"I'd be a imbecile to think there could be a way to return what we once had." The bird said with a shrug of his bony shoulders. "No, I'm too gone to care about that."

Gone? Mephiles mused, confused by the choice of words. He peered at his captor closer. Noted the thin, emaciated frame, twisted legs and dull, dry feathers. Suddenly the choice of words didn't seem so far off. In his state, Uwak seemed to be living off purpose alone. The Chaos rotted him from the inside out. "Then why?"

"This cannot continue." Uwak said simply, the finality in his tone clear. "The Gaias have nothing to stand for besides themselves. They have nothing to lose...this world does."

Silence. The once mighty god and the old bird were left to the tender mercy of their own thoughts.

Mephiles suddenly pinched the arch between his eyes, a heavy sigh of defeat leaving him. "I should have stayed clear of this." He muttered, deflated. "I had a reasonable arrangement before this mess began." Could have waited for the invasion and snuck away in the chaos.

The bird at his side laughed softly, purple eye glinting. "Oh really?" He chimed, tilting his head towards the former divinity. There was no mocking in his voice; Mephiles took it as a good sign.

"It was better than whatever this is." He continued, sounding miffed. "Hell is going to break lose, literally, when the Gaias arrive." Mephiles grimaced. "At least the brat will die." It was sad to think about such potential being wasted, but it did bring him some sense of satisfaction. Mephiles had always been a vindictive bastard.

Uwak offered no comment.

For a few minutes they watched in silence as the immortals walked around the clearing, busying themselves in various tasks. The Emeralds were still forgotten on the floor. Anyone could have grabbed them, yet nobody didn't. They didn't even glance as the mystical power sources laying abandoned in a bloody bag -a bag that now Mephiles recognized as being made from Naga skin.

It was almost comical to watch. They could grab the jewels, they wanted to; the hunger in their eyes, the stiffness in their movement as they passed by them said it all. Mephiles had the pleasure to drain Chaos from the stones on multiple occasions -for beings dependant on Chaos, it was more filling than any other meal could provide. And yet, none of Uwak's army even dared to look at them. Fear, Mephiles guessed.

It would only take a thought for the seal master to kill them. It was impressive, to say the least. That someone could exert such control over someone else. Truly something Mephiles wished he could do. He'd himself been too reliant on trickery when he'd sought to find Iblis, and it showed how insufficient it was.

"Halfbreed?" Uwak's voice snapped out of his thought, soft and neutral. Mephiles tilted his head at the bird, curious. The avian was watching him from the corner of his sole eye.

"Yes?"

"Use your Chaos sense." Uwak continued, pointing with a wave of his right wing at somewhere beyond the tree line.

Brows furrowing at the unexpected and vague request, the former deity nevertheless reached out into the Chaos Field. He looked around, surprised to see soft, almost invisible red waves pulsating from Uwak. The seal on his chest flowed in rhythm with this phenomenon.

...but as he looked further into it, he sensed that the pulses received several responses coming from around him, just at the edge of his senses. It took only a bit more pressing from Mephiles to locate them, sitting just at the edge of the city of stone and glass the humans built.

Green orbs snapped open, scanning the tree line with unusual intensity. It was a useless effort, for he wouldn't be able to find those strange echo with his normal sight. Frowning, he looked down at the ground, the earth under his feet still scorched a lifeless brown from the fight that had taken place.

Mephiles' eyes flicked to the surrounding vegetation. The trees at the edge of the clearing were still scarred over with runes.

It clicked.

"...are those...?"

"Seven has always been the best number to work with. The Emeralds will help boost their power." Uwak replied idly as he deactivated the seals by lifting his fingers off the tiny one engraved on his wrist. "The only thing left to do is for me to modify the seal I used on you three. It absorbed some of Ogilvie's Chaos, so now I only need to extract and contain in the main one, thus I would be set."

"For what?" Mephiles questioned, wary. He'd witnessed the effectiveness of his captor's work once today, he knew better to underestimate him.

Uwak's smile was secretive.

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Emerald eyes looked down at the gigantic mass of water and earth with wonder, once again unable to believe how utterly small he was compared with the planet he'd swore to protect.

Sonic gently ran his fingers on the ice cold window, tracing the edges of continents thousands of miles below his feet. It was a strangely humbling experience, once he went through every time he jumped on the Tornado; being on the Ark however brought this feeling to a whole new level. It was disarming to see how utterly small and worthless he really was in the grand scheme of things.

Stop it.

Hmm?

You've never been this thoughtful before. The creature muttered childishly. Where is the kid that spent most of his life running around, laughing at the face of danger? I don't like this. You're not yourself.

I always had a chance at avoiding the danger then. Sonic reminded it softly. Now...I don't think so.

The parasite grumbled, but did not grace him with a proper response.

The soft click of a metal door opening behind him drew the cobalt hybrid out of his conversation with the Manacle. Turning around, he found a familiar obsidian hedgehog entering the room carrying a small platter filled with fruit, all clear cut with the perfection that could be expected from the Ultimate Lifeform.

"Eat."

He sat down slowly on a nearby bench, grabbing the offered fork and looking at shielded red eyes speculatively. Sonic didn't try to refute his mate on this one. Shadow looked as if he was silently fuming, and the fruits would help him in the long run...yet he couldn't ignore the strange pressure crushing him under its weight; the tension in the room was thick enough to be cut with the dullest of knifes.

At least he's no trying to beat me bloody for my own stupidity.

(Though when facing this silence, Sonic wished his companion would blow up and attack him. Anything to break the thick wall the other had seemingly erected around himself.)

It took him just a few silent minutes to clear the plate, his hunger and high metabolism winning over his apprehension. With Shadow's thousand yard made it hard for him to focus on the food, but he'd managed. It had been a while since he'd had a full meal. Coffee and occasionally getting snacks when Twilight remembered that he couldn't leave on Chaos energy alone wasn't enough to sustain someone with a extremely fast metabolism.

With the food gone, there was nothing to do -well, besides avoiding eye contact with the likely silently fuming and contemplating his murder Shadow and trying to find out if he could see Green Hills Zone from ARK. Sonic had never enjoyed skidding around a subject, much less avoiding confrontation that would happen at some point, but this was different.

And yet, he couldn't escape this, and the thick silence was slowly driving him insane. His patience quickly wore thin, winning over his apprehension.

Finally, he dared to speak. "Shadow-"

"Why didn't you tell me?" The obsidian warrior suddenly hissed, making the hybrid flinch. Wrong move. It seemed as if Shadow had been waiting for him to break the ice before chewing him out on his stupidity. To be fair, he agreed he deserved it too. "How did your tiny mind ever think leaving was alright?" Sonic opened his mouth to defend himself, but Shadow pinned him with a deadly glare. "A letter? Did you seriously think a letter would solve anything?"

Sonic looked down, ears falling. Disappointment wasn't a tone he ever expected to be on a receiving end from Shadow, of all people. Guess things changed.

"You're right." His rival twitched as the soft sound, but didn't speak. Sonic took it as a sign to continue. "I'm sorry, I...I wasn't thinking clearly."

"And?"

Sonic flinched again at the scalding tone. The Ultimate Lifeform certainly wasn't pulling any punches. Not that he expected him to. Shadow had a tendency of going straight for the jugular.

A certain parasite hummed in his head. Play the pity card. Maybe that will get him to cool down.

Never.

It huffed, but did not reply.

"I...was being stupid?" Shadow hummed approvingly at this, which he took as a victory. In any case, it was better than the previous scalding replies.

"Have you found any way around it?"

Sonic blinked. "No."

"Any ideas on a possible solution?"

Sonic shook his head negatively.

"No. You heard him. Uwak." He stumbles out the last word, his mind suddenly remembering just how out of the loop Shadow was. There was a fair chance he didn't even know the creature's name. Such thought made his stomach curl. "And the Manacle told me he was part of the group who made the seal restricting it in the first place." He looks down at the empty bowl, feeling as if he shouldn't have eaten at all. For all his bravery, talking about his rapidly approaching death did wonders for his stomach. Especially if it had been outline that it was going to be anything but painless. "If anyone knows a way to stop this, it's him."

Shadow didn't speak, so the sapphire hedgehog continued; "-it's not like I can avoid this either. The Manacle -Twilight told me it fought the Gaias before. Two of the most powerful Chaos users in existence versus a literal personification of the Chaos Field. Yet it still lost."

"We faced worse odds before." Shadow suddenly interrupted, face stony and closed.

The Blue Blur waved a hand. "That's not the point, is it?" He asked rhetorically. "Even if they only won because of their seal trick, if Twilight had issues facing them, what chance do we have against them?"

"We could use the Chaos Emeralds." His mate said, but it was weak. Tentative. "There is still enough time to collect them."

"The Emeralds were made from the Manacle. Including the Master. Excess energy it shaved off." Sonic snapped back. Shadow seemed to recoil at his words, but before Sonic could let him adjust to this revelation, the speedster went for the throat of the matter. "And even if we had all of the baubles and gadgets at our backs, even if G.U.N. got their shit together and helped us in a coordinated effort, I wont take that risk. I'm all for defying the odds, but it's pretty clear." Sonic's eyes narrowed as he met Shadow's own. "If I want this invasion to fail, if I want my so called parents to die and for everyone to be safe, I have to face the fact I'm gonna die.

At this, something seemed to break in the obsidian hedgehog's facade.

Tired and battered as he was, Sonic didn't have the reflex or awareness to dodge Shadow as the table was thrown aside, smashing against a wall with a resounding crash that made his heart leap in his ribcage.

Suddenly all he could see and feel was Shadow's warm arms cradling him to his chest; it was unforgettably tight, a vice grip that reeked of desperation. The Ultimate Lifeform was shaking, each hold and shudder tearing wicked wounds in Sonic's soul. Because Shadow was strong and unyielding, even when the world was against him. And he won. Sonic had seen it happen with his own eyes.

Bottom line was, Shadow could not break; he was too stubborn for that.

And yet...

"I'm not going to just stand by and let it happen." Shadow growled into his neck with the desperate viciousness of a caged animal, clutching him tighter. Sonic hesitated for a moment, not knowing how to respond, before he gave in and wrapped his arms around his mate, feeling his own body shudder as the hybrid's grip tightened even further. "I won't -I can't let that happen." He said, a familiar fierceness that felt comforting.

Because it was so Shadow to look at the only path ahead, spit on it, then walk off the road entirely with not even a glance back.

For a moment Sonic believed him. This was the person who moved earth and sky to fulfill his promise to a little girl who died decades ago. Hell, he'd nearly died himself to protect a planet he didn't even like, and whose leaders' made it clear that they would take advantage of him if they had the chance.

If anyone kept their promise than Sonic himself, it was Shadow. But how could he change the inevitable?

He didn't know how long they stood there, Sonic sitting on his chair with the black hedgehog half covering him like a blanket, half strangling him with his inhumane strength. No words were exchanged, only absolute silence. The young hero let Shadow have this moment, refusing to give into the urge of fidget or cough. His rival needed that comfort.

Peering from out of Shadow's fur -his face was buried in the older male's neck- Sonic took stock of the chamber as he waited for his companion to calm down. The lights in the room were still low, and the table was abandoned to the side. It have thankfully not hit the glass window, so there was little damage or risk of getting sucked into outer space. Nobody was up to test if furniture thrown by a genetically engineered mobian could shatter reinforced glass keeping the vacuum of space from killing them with its unforgivable cold.

The bowl he'd been eating from earlier laid on the ground, shattered to a million of little pieces, and yet, it's remains were still nicely grouped together in a corner. Looking at the broken mess, Sonic could pick out the larger pieces that made up its base, and briefly mulled about picking it up and gluing it back together. It certainly looked like it would be a long, arduous task, but it was possible, and it brought him a small sense of comfort.

If he had the time, he would probably try to fix it. He'd certainly had enough practice breaking Tails' dishes.

But then again, it went back to the matter of time. The Blue Blur winced at the thought, any war, feelings he'd previously experienced giving way to a familiar, predatory cold.

Sonic was snapped back to reality as he felt Shadow shift above him, the Ultimate Lifeform slowly untangling himself from him. His eyes were like dark wine, unreadable and unwilling to leave Sonic's own green ones. The cobalt mobian refused to look away either, realizing that his mate was scrutinizing him.

"You rest." Shadow finally whispers as he steps away. He looks at the flipped table and winces visibly, as if only then realizing what he's done. The sheepish expression was gone in a instant however, replaced by soft seriousness as he turned back to Sonic. "I have some things to take care of -but once I'm done I'll come back. You rest until then, alright? This is a residential wing, bedrooms are at the end of this hall."

"Alright, Shads?" Sonic replied hesitantly, taken aback by the sudden change. Was the other leaving, he thought with a twinge of disappointment. Better yet, why? Maybe he probably didn't want to deal with this right now. Or needed some time to cool off and think. He felt a sense of calm wash over him. Yeah, it's probably that. "Don't worry about little old me, I'll be fine." He said reassuringly, but it felt hollow.

The small smile Shadow gave him at that was dubious, but Sonic cherished it all the same.