A/N: I'll be introducing some odd elements/abilities to the Sonic canon to make things a bit more interesting, as already indicated by the opening paragraph in my last chapter. I merely did this because I found the original abilities kind of basic/boring in a sense. I mean I'll still incorporate them in the story but I wanted something new for the characters to face and learn from.
Non-recipients of the Mask may still use any of her gifts by enabling something called a blood contract. Once this contract is sealed, the user must allow themselves to bleed out until a timer is complete and the ability is rendered inactive. The more powerful the ability, the more blood-loss is required. Those who have attuned their abilities may suffer less blood loss in the future. Recipients don't suffer from this of course but are still limited to one ability per blessing.
{Mark of Approximation} is one of the Radiant Blood Mask's many gifts. It closes the gap between a user and his/her enemy's strength by ninety-nine percent.
BUNNY PLUS BLACK
"She's perfect," Jebediah said under his breath. The prospect was drumming up some inner excitement. Securing the bride would be the exhilarating solution they so desperately desired.
"Lemme see," Verkas requested.
He passed his pair of binoculars to the curious feline, allowing her to peer upon the bride-to-be.
"Didn't I tell you, I'd find the perfect woman in no time?" Jebediah whispered.
"She is quite tall," Verkas noted.
"And meaty under that lovely dress," Jebediah said.
The two kept a steady gaze from the highest floor of a nearby parking tower, watching the three characters share their welcomes and goodbyes, their target, her daughter, and some black hedgehog who hinted towards future trouble.
"That crimson-stroked fiend is quite worrisome," Jebediah noted, "he's a mammal speedster."
"Speedsters always trade for brainpower for physical prowess, we'd be done before he knew something was wrong," Verkas said.
"Well, we don't want to take any chances."
Without looking back, Verkas chucked the binoculars through the top window of their convertible, whipped a small blade from her pocket, and pulled it towards her right thumb.
"A blood contract!" Jebediah remarked.
"Have anything to say against it?"
"No Verkas."
"Do not question my motives, this is just my way of cutting the risk."
Earlier non-recipients had a habit of using their wrists to seal the contract or a patch on their chest. Verkas could manage just fine with a slight prick on her right thumb. While this reduced the effect of the Radiant Mask gift, it expanded its running time, allowing for more advantages in combat.
"So begins the rectification of our sins," she declared before pressing the blade against her skin and slicing it open.
JUSTICE AND SIN
A multitude of neatly arranged tombstones, roses, and iron fences encircled the Lutheran embassy. Its affixed golden cross reflected the dazzling rays that burst forth from the clouds and blessed the graveyard with a glorifying glow. The Lord's rays showed no impartiality over the dead and their mourners.
Shadow had resided himself to an elevated hillside just North-West of the main building's location. Soft oak wood from a nearby picnic table kept him comfortable as he awaited the arrival of his 'friends'. The canopy he sat under shielded his eyes from the burning sun. Few appreciated the eery tranquility of the departed. Shadow found comfort in their silence and embraced their isolation. They had nothing to suffer from, nor anything to prove. The hedgehog had learned through his many years of mourning to appreciate such unorthodox beauty.
A young voice blasted through his solace, "Shadow!"
The bunny was here. Shadow rubbed his face, whistled his frustration away, and turned to 'embrace' Cream as she made her way up the hill-side. She was a frolicking mess, with grass embedded fur, heavy panting, and a buzzing Chao. Shadow's red eyes went from an apathetic roll to a sudden state of shock as soon as his suitcase came in view.
"I brought your suitcase for you- eeek!" she could only make it a few steps more before fumbling over by the staircase side.
Shadow lunged forward and caught Cream by her waist. The suitcase, however, spiraled downwards until it struck a deep puddle with a heavy splash, submerging its contents in filthy rainwater.
"Dammit!" Shadow yelled, taking care as to not strangle Cream out of anger.
Cream was horrified, "oh no!"
"I'm so sorry Uncle Shadow," Cream uttered under a bitter well of tears, "I just wanted to help."
Shadow ignored her. He'd already arranged his items against a white flat plastic sheet and had begun disassembling the entourage of weapons he had at his disposal.
"Please don't tell Mom," Cream begged.
"I'm inclined to," Shadow said, "I'm inclined to leave both of you here so you can revel in your tears and filth."
Cream dropped to a cross-legged sitting position in her agony and rubbed her eyes. Her blue Chao friend tried to console her.
"You know how much this cost?" Shadow asked, angrily waving a broken metal barrel in her face, "you think hedgehogs have a premium on these things?" He chucked it to the side and grunted with agony. "I have to pay for imports, customs, license renewal, oh Gaia, Cream why?"
"I just thought," she sniffled, "I just thought it'll make you happy if I brought your stuff for you."
"Why!" Shadow yelled, "is there anything you need to prove Cream? Are you that hungry for attention?"
Cream backed away from the hedgehog's harsh words and hid her face beneath her long ears. Her muffled crying continued. The pose, the soft tone of guilt, it reminded Shadow of someone else.
He shook his head in dismay, ceased his weapon organization, and just let the suitcase sit awkwardly by his side. He fell back into a sitting position and looked upwards to the gathering masses of clouds above.
"It's going to rain soon," he muttered, "we better get under that canopy."
Shadow resumed his work atop the picnic table; Cream sat opposite him, watching with a curious wide-eyed expression. She didn't dare say a word or ask her uncle what he was doing with all these weirdly shaped pieces of metal and plastic. His determined gaze was all she needed to stay entertained. The black hedgehog could tell she was itching to speak but provided no outlet for her to do so. She could watch if she wanted, but the mere act of intervening would be punished.
"Where's your Mom anyway?" Shadow asked.
"Oh, eh," Cream pulled herself up a bit, "she's hanging out with her friend."
"Her friend works in a graveyard?"
"Mom didn't tell me, she just said she's a friend is all."
"Whatever."
Some silence followed before Cream broke their pact.
"Urm, Uncle Shadow?" she whispered quietly.
Shadow had just clicked in another component, "what?" he asked without budging an inch from his routine.
"I, I need to go number two."
"So go."
"Yeah but I don't know where the loo is."
The hedgehog dropped his work, got up, and grabbed Cream's right hand. "Oh, ow?" she grunted.
Shadow pulled her to the edge of their location and pointed at a seemingly arbitrary point in the distance.
"Can you see that?" he asked.
"Y-yes?"
"Know what that is?"
"A building?"
The hedgehog corrected her, "that's a prayer room, go there and ask if they've got any toilets you can use."
"Y-You're not going to follow me?" Cream asked.
"With seven thousand dollars worth of equipment lying in the open?" Shadow asked mockingly.
Cream gripped her uncle's hands and shoved her small face into his chest, pleading desperately that he follow her.
"Oh, please no, you can't leave me in the rain Shadow, what kind of uncle does that?"
She was right, what kind of uncle left his niece out to suffer out in the rain? A cruel shell of a man that's who, but Cream seemed to forget one vital detail in her argument.
"Stop calling me your uncle," Shadow said, "I'm not your uncle, I was fine with the Mister, but the uncle thing is repulsive."
The rabbit kept her pleading, rubbing even harder into Shadow's waist.
"Okay, I'm sorry, but please don't leave me out in the rain Mr. Shadow, I don't want to get wet, I'm sorry I'll never carry your suitcase again and I'll leave you alone forever, okay?"
"Promise?" Shadow asked.
"I promise."
After some digging and asking around, the two had managed to find a rusty shed south of the main building. Shadow arrived quickly in a blur, carrying Cream's body in the clutches of his arms. He dropped her off and demanded that she finish up quickly, "if you want a ride back, you better hurry it up in there."
The shed housing the washroom was buried in a lush ensemble of thorns and thistles. It lacked the proper gardening care, and Cream feared the same for its sanitation.
"It's dirty," she wanted to say, but fearful of pulling Shadow's patience, she simply wandered into its dark abyss and began looking for the appropriate place to do her business.
Shadow meanwhile, found a wooden stump nearby he could wait upon. He closed his eyes and thought of better things. The most recent memory to cross his mind was Rogue's earlier comment about his violent antics; the next that followed was his accusation of her shallow attitude. In retrospect, it was a bad idea, and he kicked himself for it. He rubbed his temples again and peered towards the waning sun. The rain had trickled into a slow drizzle, barely strong enough to bother him. No doubt it'll pick up again soon. To the right side of the shed was a worn statue of the Virgin Mary and a ceramic bowl beneath her feet. The pattering rain rummaged its content, producing an uncomfortable rhythm.
"Gratifying isn't it?" a voice asked. The hedgehog snapped his eyes opened, turned to his right and witnessed a tall figure dressed in nun clothing. He hadn't even noticed her approaching, "the unison of beliefs under divinity."
The hedgehog was utterly dumbfounded, "What?"
"Didn't you know?," she asked, pointing to the statue, Shadow noticed the red fur beneath her dress and the whiskers protruding from her muzzle but her face remained quite obscure. "In the past century or so the mere act of portraying such an image in the presence of Lutherists would have gained great ire."
Shadow lifted himself from his wooden stump, and faced this roaming enigma, lost at her words, "what are you talking about?" he asked.
The figure reached into her robes, revealed a glass of some sharp crimson liquid and drew it to her lips. Her fingers quivered greatly as the brim touched her mouth, its contents nearly spilling over her shadowy dress.
"This power," she muttered, "how do you live with it? Such speed, such agility," she remarked.
The hedgehog was at a loss for words. His heart raced, his pupils constricted. The fur around his body stiffened as he awkwardly staggered away from the individual.
"I'm sorry," she apologized through wet lips, "I just like to have a little drink before meetings." She whipped her hood back, allowing Shadow to get a better look at her face. Her eyes were of a bright purple pitch, and her pupils were narrow black. There was nothing underneath them, not a care in the world for anything. The hedgehog also took short note of a thin blood streak, which poured from the tip of her thumb to the innards of her dress.
"Hello Shadow," she whispered seductively.
Cream departed from the washroom with a look of disgust. It wasn't as bad as she'd expected, someone was still keeping tabs on the place, but the lack of proper lighting left something to be desired.
"I'm done Mr. Shadow," she grunted, before noticing the daunting state of her hedgehog friend, "Mr. Shadow?"
Shadow's body was frozen in fear. He stood leftward, petrified and hollow, eyes absorbing the nothingness of the foggy distance before him.
His state worried the rabbit and so she inquired again, "Mr. Shadow?"
The hedgehog quickly collected himself, and charged at Cream, causing her to yelp in panic. He held her wrists and pulled her closer, so she could understand the horror in his eyes.
"Where's Vanilla?" he sputtered, "where did your Mom go?"
"Hall, she said she went to the hall," Cream replied with a frightened stammer.
Shadow buried his fingers softly into the side of her head and warned her sternly, "get to the car, now."
"Why?" she asked.
"I said get to the car!" he yelled, causing her to scream into another bout of tears. He let her go and sent her off. "Get to the car! and don't look back!" he screamed. Cream did as she was told without question, rushing towards the nearest pathway to the gate.
Shadow pointed himself towards the direction of the Hall, steadied himself, and set forth in a devilish crimson blur, leaving a burning black path in his wake. He'll be damned before he let another woman suffer by his lack of effort.
The Lutherans valued valiant artistic merits. A subsection of the Pope's Hall was dedicated to the finest of arts from all walks of the Christian experience. An expensive collection of the greatest works financed by the richest of holy men. Anything here that wasn't an originally known work was either duplicated or deemed unworthy to belong in this collection. Vanilla found the spiraling ornaments of gold and oil paintings to be quite intimidating. Her cute brown robe and middle-class appearance gave off this sharp contrast of desolation. It was fortunate then that the only people occupying the Hall were her and Vanessa, a cherished human friend of hers. The two engaged in conversation on two cheap plastic seats at the beginning of the hallway.
"Did you get here by train?" Vanessa asked, twirling her blonde ponytail.
"No, I actually got myself a vehicle," Vanilla said.
"Oh, nice!" Vanessa exclaimed, "you always wanted that, didn't you, your daughter must be proud."
"She prefers the old style of running, but not me, I'm too old for that."
"Of course, bad enough we furless douchebags can't keep up," Vanessa giggled.
"Oh don't say that," Vanilla said.
Their conversation was cut short by the invading sounds of two wooden doors being slammed forth by a crimson stroked hedgehog.
"Shadow?" Vanilla asked, getting up from her seat.
"I'm sorry sir, but we're not open at the moment," Vanessa declared, "you'll have to return tomorrow."
The hedgehog stepped forward, bearing a look of great concern on his face. "Vanilla," he murmured, "we need to leave."
A slow clapping sound began to bellow behind his body. Shadow turned in a panic and dashed away from the door. He squeezed his fists and steadied himself in anticipation, ready to charge forth with killing intent if need be.
Verkas emerged from the drizzling backdrop with a lustful leer, clapping widely against the rhythm of the pattering raindrops. Her nun clothing was covered with a crimson mixture of blood and wine.
"Vanilla," she rejoiced with outstretched arms, "I'm here to take your hand!"
Cream struck the side of the car with brute unintended force, steadied herself, and began searching desperately through for an entrance. Her mom had the keys, and none of the doorknobs were functional. In a rush of panicky tears, she began furiously banging the front window, begging for a way in.
"Chao?" Cheese asked.
"It's hopeless Cheese," Cream responded. She plastered her back against the car's matted frame and slid down its body, defeated and alone. "I thought Shadow was cool, but he's just a grumpy old meanie."
