Note: 3rd of the three chapter after another spurt.

Chapter 11: Firestarter

Sonic © of Sega/Sonic Team

The red and green-eyed creature had the black hedgehog in its sights, lunging at him, he and the other hedgehog leaping to the side whilst the two humans just barely avoided being trampled. Sonic bounced off the nearby walls, Shadow, Octavia, and Jake forced to fall to the floor to avoid the blue blur's rapidly moving, curled up form. The creature swiped and sliced through the air in an attempt to catch him whenever he drew close enough, yet when it moved forward to make a grab when he was right in front of it, the blue ball leapt upward, out of its reach. Still in this form, Sonic trailed up the wall and broken monitor until he reached the ceiling tiles above. Hurling downward once he reached this height, the Arms spawn felt a splitting pain on its back, torrents of green fluid pouring from the several growths on its back, bits and pieces of broken gemstone littering the floor and mixing with the shards of glass.

The Emerald covered being stumbled over, Sonic seizing the opportunity and making another dash at it. Unfortunately, it seemed that he pressed his luck just a bit too much, as a clawed hand reached out and took him by the head, the smaller body of the blue hedgehog being hurled back, crashing into the already broken monitor, its screen shattering even more, the impact forcing it to cave in and streams of electricity released from the now open spaces created, it clearly damaged beyond repair.

Shadow lifted himself up and took over where Sonic left off, slamming into the creature's stomach with a homing attack, Sonic rolling out of the way when it was sent flying back against the screen, trails of green fluid staining the wall and monitor. Though it didn't stay down for long, it rising and rushing forward at the hedgehog, claws drawn back as it sent a charged Chaos Spear in his direction. The two humans on the ground felt the stinging heat as Shadow sent a barrage of energy of his own in the Arms spawn's direction, Octavia letting out a yelp of pain as one of the blasts met the corner of her arm, it tearing through her sleeve and leaving a reddened mark on her skin that resembled a burned cut.

A charged Chaos Lance missed the Ultimate Lifeform that had taken to standing atop of the heavily damaged control panel, the concentration of energy tore through the center of it, the collection of broken technology promptly exploding, sending Shadow flying right in the creature's direction, he then finding his head seized in its grasp, its body then gaining a blue glow to it.

"NO!" to everyone's surprise, the human woman pounced forward and wrapped her arms around the calve of the larger creature, it looking down in shock and puzzlement.

Though before this strange and ultimately foolish action could be fully comprehended, all three of them vanished from sight, Jake and Sonic left in the destroyed communications center, silence allowed to reign over the entire area in what had once been a dwelling of blows and shattering equipment.

From what his red eyes could see, they appeared to be in some sort of storage area of sorts. Though, upon feeling the hood of a vehicle serve as his break for his 'fall', Shadow then gauged that a garage was more likely. Lifting his head up, he witnessed, to his shock, that there was a third individual in this space with them, said individual being kicked off from his current assailant's leg and slamming into the wall, the echo of her impact filling the area, along with her cry as she met the shelf she was tossed into. Said shelf fell due to the sudden force, several items such as boxes of wrenches and bolts having fallen atop of her, she yelping in response as the barrage seemed to have no end.

The creature didn't allow Shadow register exactly what had happened, as it lunged forward once again, its claws digging through the hood of the vehicle he once laid atop of. Though this seemed to unintentionally allow the hedgehog to gain a temporary advantage, as it seemed that the larger being's claws had become stuck in what it had just pierced. Shadow used this opportunity to charge and deliver a Chaos Lance in its direction, the blast piercing the creature's side and leaving a spot of burnt flesh in its wake. It struggled to free itself, yet several Chaos Spears suddenly barraged it, they coming in repeated bursts, giving it no reprieve from the continuous onslaught, Shadow not planning on letting up anytime soon.

Though it was then that he noticed his body was beginning to heat up. Ever since he had been using his seeming endless gifted Chaos Energy, he had noticed that the temperature around him was steadily beginning to increase. True, there would be cool down once there was a period of not having to make use of them, yet now, as he sent wave after wave of Spears in the Arms spawn's direction, he felt things heating up.

As well as something within undergoing some sense of 'change'.

It needed some sort of protection, it realized, the barrage forcing it down to its knees, yet it only had one arm to lift and protect itself. Wait a moment…that was it! Forcing itself to lift its other arm, the creature grabbed the hood and, albeit with a short bit, ripped it off from the vehicle and make itself a makeshift shield against the continuous barrage of Chaos Energy being sent its way. It then barreled forward, catching Shadow off guard by this surprising display of ingenuity that he hadn't witnessed before in the species, allowing it to smash into the hedgehog and send him flying up against the hood of another vehicle a few yards away, the hood forced to bend under the force of the impact, Shadow then bouncing off and landing on the other side.

Stirring, Octavia looked from her place, the weight of the shelf and fallen objects doing little for the already present aches and pains she already had. Her eyesight was heavily compromised due to the overwhelming darkness surrounding her, yet from what she could gauge, she could at least move forward. Beginning her trek, she crawled slowly due to the weight on her, though it was then that her hand met something in front of her. Some sort of plastic container, she thought it to be. When she had managed to get halfway out from underneath the toppled shelf, she managed to find the handle and lifted the object to her face, trying to read what was on the bottle. A liquid of some sorts was running down the side of the bottle, trailing over her fingers, feeling slick and oily.

Oily…she looked to the creature making its way to the other side of one of the vehicles stationed in the garage like area, then to the bottle she had in her hand. As well as noting the still remaining burn on her arm. Maybe she was hoping for too much, much less taking a bigger gamble than even she would be prepared for.

'You let him get away.' Yet…she was here now. If anything, she could at least do this, if nothing else.

The creature felt its back slammed by a force that came from behind, it sent into the wall and whirling its head around to see the hedgehog, wisps of blue trailing behind him as he pounced forward. The larger being did likewise, disappearing. Though its location didn't remain hidden for too long, a car hood being tossed in the hedgehog's direction, then an entire vehicle being turned over and rolling in his direction.

He felt himself growing hot…

Again and again, the creature sent obstacles his way: either the hoods, tires, doors, or inner components of the vehicles, or swipes and slashes with its claws, Chaos Spears and Lances thrown in for good measure. The hedgehog responded in turn with leaping atop of the machinery the creature had just destroyed and delivered everything from the standard kicks and punches to Chaos Spears and Lances.

Hot. Growing hot…

On and on the two went, exchanging blows with each other and avoiding/dealing opposing force against the other.

"A-Ah!" Shadow suddenly cried out, suddenly overcome with a gripping pressure in his chest. "What the…" he coughed out, gloved hand clenching as the pressure increased more and more.

Then, it seemed that the entire world faded away from his eyes, images and sights foreign to him, at yet not, going by so fast to where he had little comprehension as to what he was even seeing, and yet, a small, hidden part of him recognized them, as if he had known of them his whole existence. Then, after the barrage of images, he found himself back in the garage, his entire form burning as if he had been lit aflame, and yet, he felt a chill run up his spine.

'…hel…'

What? What was…

'…hello…'

Shadow now felt ice cold, the heat still seemingly coursing through his veins not even registering to him. "H-How…" the hedgehog choked out, barely able to speak. "How…how are you…" It was him. It was Doom. Or rather, his voice, he unable to be seen anywhere, and yet, it felt as if he were right next to Shadow. "Where…" his eyes began darting around. "Where are you?" he coughed out, receiving no answer. "Where are you?!" he demanded, again receiving nothing.

It was only then, as he looked only to see no sight of the reborn being did he become aware of a developing, red glow that began to fill the garage.

Octavia was just barely out from the clutches of the shelf's weight, though as her eyes caught sight of a growing, red light, she knew not what it meant, but it was clear that it couldn't mean anything good for her. From what she could see, the light emitted from…no. No, it wasn't Shadow. The source was far bigger.

BOOM!

A shockwave of red energy expelled from the larger creature, Octavia feeling the pushback, swearing that it felt as if the skin on her body was rippling from the sheer force of it. The vehicles stationed in the area with her were rocketed from their places and tossed against the walls, the impacts rattling the area and sending everything from other shelves all around to the very unlit lights above to the ground, glass splintering and raining down upon her, the human woman ducking to protect her facial region from the incoming barrage above.

Though, that was not the only reason she shielded herself.

To her horror, one of the vehicles, the one that had its hood previously removed by the alien being, was sent hurling right towards her, inching closer and closer and surely on its path to rendering her into little more than a flattened mass of meat and bones.

Though it never came. For, as she discovered upon lifting her head, a certain hedgehog stopped it.

Clearly straining against keeping the vehicle from going and closer, Octavia crawled as quickly as she could from underneath the shelf, rolling to the side and out of the way, Shadow seeing this, and thus, allowed himself to rest, hopping atop of the downed machinery, though it was clear that something was wrong with him. Appearing tired was expected, even if the human woman herself had witnessed Shadow accomplish feats far out of her league. Still, there was something else behind it all, he seemed to be quite…unnerved. She attempted to stand, though she stumbled and nearly hit her head on the side of the downed vehicle before she saved herself by putting up her arms. Though after a moment or two, she found her footing, going over to the hedgehog. "Hey, you ok- "she got no more out before she felt a clawed hand seize her throat and slam her against the wall, a pair of complementary colored eyes of glittering stone looking into her widened hazel orbs. Shadow looked on, ready to make a move, though what the young woman did next made him stop.

As well as provide him with some thought. And from the look she gave to him as well, it seemed that she had caught on as well, the container of the oily substance in her hand. She only hoped she had enough.

Raising her hand, she swung the container in the alien's direction, splashing it with the remaining liquid in the container, thickened trails traveling down its face and shoulders. It stepped back and released its prey out of surprise, it feeling the substance that had just been poured on it, though in the corner of its eye, it saw the flash of something sparkling and felt the heat on its face.

Then, everything was heat. Everything.

The moment the flares from Shadow's jet shoes met the creature's skin, said creature was immediately engulfed in flames, fire spreading to everywhere the liquid Octavia had poured onto it had managed to travel, mainly sticking to the upper half of its body, its head nearly invisible due to the collection of burning, dancing fire. Sickeningly loud and garbled shrieks of agony rang through both the hedgehog and woman's ears, the source of said shrieks twisting and turning its body wildly, either unable to see where it was even going or it was just that distracted by the ever increasing, ever present burning that it was simply unable to control itself. The being slammed itself against whatever it passed, throwing itself against anything and everything from downed vehicles and walls, all the while rolling on the whatever flat surface it could find to try and cease the continuous assault on its darkened skin. It continued to howl and screech a horrid song of pain as it tried fruitlessly to put out the fire that had consumed part of its form, nothing seemingly able to extinguish the flames.

There was only one option for it. And yet…it pained it to do it. He…Breeder would perhaps be disappointed. Yet it burned. It burned so bad!

With little else to do, with little else it could do, the human and hedgehog watched as the creature disappeared in a mix of flaming heat and cool, blue light, its screams echoing throughout the area before all went silent.

Note: Anyone who's read the last version should perhaps know who this guy is, let alone a bit of what he's going to go through later on.