AN: Oh boy, I'm back to the school grind once again but thankfully this summer I was able to write a bunch of chapters to upload on a more consistent basis while I teach for this school year. It was very hard for me to update last year because of grading and whatnot, but I should have this story completely finished by December. Thank you to the few that continue to leave me reviews. I appreciate it.
•~•
That evening, Shadow and Mighty walked side by side as they entered the witch cemetery in Station Square. It had been pretty much silent their entire walk there and Shadow was growing tired of it. "Well, go on now, your silence is deafening."
Mighty shot him a baffled look by his comment. "Say what exactly?"
"That my impending execution pleases you," he responded with a shrug. "You know, there's no shame in taking pleasure in finally defeating a long-standing foe. Now you'll be known as the guy who killed The Hybrid," he smirked while nudging him.
Mighty stopped in his tracks as he reflected on his observation. "The truth is, I never thought I'd live to see this day," he spoke honestly. "Growing up in Station Square as kids, we'd hear stories about Shadow the Hedgehog, or the Hybrid," he specified with a chuckle in reminiscence.
Shadow grinned in thought. "Yes, yes, and now I'll finally reap my just desserts," he chuckled.
"No," Mighty shook his head, turning serious. "I was gonna say, here you are, finally living up to the potential that Amy told me she saw in you. I'm proud to have worked with you for these past years."
Shadow stared at the armadillo, shocked by his compliment. It shocked him so much that he didn't quite know how to respond. He hadn't expected to hear such kind words from the witch.
"Speaking of Amy," Mighty segued. "How did she handle this decision you made?"
Shadow grimaced at the question. "Well, she didn't quite take it well, nor did she consent to this idea. I had to knock her out for her to let me go through with it…"
Mighty looked surprised by his admittance. "Not the brightest move you did there, man. I don't know what females see in your family, but they tend to be madly in love with you guys. Amy may never forgive you for this you know," he theorized.
He bowed his head in contemplation at the thought. "Then she can hate me all she wants if this is what it's going to take to keep her and Faith safe."
"You use to be insanely selfish," Mighty reminisced. "Look at you now."
Shadow chuckled lowly. "Well, that's what happens when you fall in love. It makes you do crazy things."
•~•
On Angel Island, Caleb stood outside his abandoned hideout with another stake, coiled with a poisonous vine. He waited there with expectations to see Mighty hand over the last remnants of his remains. Strangely enough though, it wasn't the armadillo that had arrived, but instead a close friend. Squinting to see through the darkness, a cerulean hedgehog walked out from the darkness and into the light of the large bonfire before Caleb.
"Sonic the hedgehog, the other hybrid," the red dingo commented, spotting his figure appear. He crossed his arms over his chest suspiciously. "Did you come here to witness my rebirth or die trying to stop it?"
"Whoa, hey, hey," Sonic exclaimed holding out both hands in front of him. "I didn't come here to fight ya, the truth is, I'm a little jealous. You went to Mighty to make a deal, but what about me?" he questioned, cautiously walking towards him.
Caleb arched a brow. "And what type of deal did you come here to make?" he questioned suspiciously. "Are you here to bow and swear your undying loyalty?"
Once he was only a few feet away from him, he dropped his arms to the side. "Yeah, well, we'll get to that, but first let's talk about my terms."
The dingo smirked, amused by his boldness. "I'm listening…"
"First, I want Caleb back," he listed.
"A reasonable request," he concurred. "After all, this body will soon be of no use to me," he spoke, glancing down at his current body. His eyes looked back up to Sonic with intrigue. "But what do you have to offer to me in return?"
Sonic reached into the backpack on his back and pulled out the skull with the missing jawbone, and held it up for him to see. "I picked this up from Shadow and his family. He doesn't know I snagged it from him." Caleb's eyes widened in satisfaction at the sight of his last remains, finally, it was all coming together. Seeing his approval, Sonic continued. "I'm willing to give it to you as an offering in exchange for my friend's body."
Using immense supernatural speed, Caleb whisked over to Sonic in an instant, appearing before him. Sonic blinked in surprised by how close he had gotten to him in a matter of seconds. He hadn't even seen him leave his spot before he was instantly before him. Caleb reached out and took the skull from his hands gently, admiring his remains. "Then you have a deal," the dingo smirked. "You're wise," he commended. "Perhaps when this is over, I will let you live," he contemplated aloud.
"Gee, thanks," Sonic mumbled rubbing the back of his head with his right hand.
•~•
Back in the cemetery, Shadow laid supine on one of the altars waiting to be sacrificed. He rested his hand intertwined on top of his stomach. "How much longer now?" Shadow asked growing impatient.
"We're almost there," Mighty assured standing by his side. "All that's left is your death. Once I stake you in the heart with the dagger it'll be done," he explained.
"Sounds good," Shadow mumbled.
Mighty walked over to his workstation, which were the steps to the altar. He picked up the dagger, encrusted with the poisonous thorns. "The Ancestors are gonna help me with everything else," he smiled.
"—You might want to reconsider, Mighty," another male voice announced from behind him. Mighty spun around only to spot four members of his coven, holding Hendrix hostage. Two other coven members restrained Hendrix, while a blade was pressed up against his throat. "Or else, he dies," the blade wielder warned.
Shadow sat up from his lying position and swung his legs off the side of his makeshift deathbed. What a rather annoying inconvenience. "Oh, you've got to be joking," he bemoaned in annoyance. His eyes looked over to Mighty who looked apprehensive. "Don't hesitate, kill me now!" Shadow demanded.
•~•
At that same time, on Angel Island, Caleb was getting ready to sacrifice Silver himself. He looked down at his skull in his hands. "Such small, frail things, these bones… They eluded me for so long," he sighed as he placed them down on a wooden stump outside with the remainder of his bones. "Yet, now they will serve as the seeds for everything that is to come."
Sonic watched as he placed a cloth over them delicately. "Sounds like you got big plans."
He glanced up at the male hedgehog. "For your city, in fact, I do." His eyes drifted back down towards his last actions. "And why not? I was of this land long before you existed."
•~•
Meanwhile, back in the cemetery, things were brewing between Hendrix, his capturers, and Mighty and Shadow. "If you're so eager to die, be patient," the knife-wielder spat. "Once Infinite rises, he'll kill you himself."
Mighty held out his hand with desperation. "Man, you don't have to do this! I mean, we're all Station Square witches here, right?"
The leader of the rogue witches shook his head. "You talk of witches as you make deals with vampires… It's because of them," he spat, gesturing towards Shadow. "That we need Infinite."
"Please, man, he is never going to save you," Mighty tried to plead. "He's just going to damn you to hell."
•~•
On Angel Island, Caleb stood in front of the tree with the large carving of the infinite square. Putting his hand out against the bark, a hole appeared in the side of it, allowing room to store things. Slowly, he began to place his remains inside the tree, giving Sonic the perfect opportunity to strike. Whipping out the dagger from the sheath attached to his hip, he used his vamp speed to race over and grab Caleb from behind. With one arm around his neck, Sonic used the hand wielding the knife to stab it directly into his heart.
Caleb grunted from the blade entering his chest and struggled in Sonic's hold.
"Caleb, fight it!" Sonic encouraged, hearing him wheeze.
Caleb gripped onto the arm holding him around his neck. "I will kill you!" he shouted in a wheeze. Hearing enough, Sonic pinched Caleb's pressure points, making him go unconscious.
•~•
In the cemetery, Shadow was growing impatient with the stalling going on. He moved Mighty to the side, preparing to interfere. "Okay, enough talk!" His eyes glowed bright yellow as he tapped into his werewolf form before charging towards them. Shadow used his quick speed to rip into the witches in the blink of an eye. One of them he used his fangs to rip out their throat, the other he punched through the chest to rip out their heart. It all happened so fast, but thankfully, Hendrix was freed of their capture.
"Hendrix, are you alright?" Mighty bellowed running towards the shaken black cat.
"Mighty, the dagger!" he pointed.
Both Mighty and Shadow turned only to spot one of the witches they had missed. He chucked the stake into a fire pit before they could stop him. Although the dagger stayed in tack, the thorn that held the poison able to take down an Original vampire burned away with the flames.
"Nooo!" Mighty screamed sending out a surge of magic in the witches' direction. The magic snapped the followers' necks in unison, killing him instantaneously.
Shadow rushed back to Mighty's side, holding him steady. "What now?"
He placed a hand on his forehead, feeling anxious. "It's too late, it's gone now. I can't complete the spell…"
•~•
Meanwhile, back with Silver, the grey hedgehog was still trapped within the cabin in the spell circle. He glanced up and thought he was hallucinating when he spotted Blaze standing before his spell circle. "Blaze? What are you doing here?"
She pressed the palms of her hands gently against the barrier spell keeping her from making physical contact. "You didn't think we were just going to let you die, did you?"
He winced as he tried to move closer. "Blaze, don't do this," he begged. "Just forget about me…"
She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm not leaving you!"
"Where is Shadow?" Silver breathed tiredly.
"He's uh, nearby," she lied. "Just hold on." She held her hands out in front of the invisible barrier separating them and began to chant an incantation.
•~•
In that same moment outside where Sonic and Caleb remained, the blue hedgehog felt his quills bristle as he felt a dark presence near. He craned his neck to look at the tree with the infinite square carved into it, only to notice a bright red light. An entity in a dark cloud with a red hue emerged from the tree in the form of a jackal. His piercing eyes shot directly at him. "Foolish boy," Infinite bellowed swiping his arm to his side.
Sonic was flung backward and dropped Caleb's unconscious body on the ground. Sonic's back skidded across the gravel and dirt and halted directly under a tree. "Had you given me your loyalty I might have let you live. Instead, I will build my kingdom atop your ashes." Infinite's eyes looked over towards the cabin where Silver was held. Feeling a strange sensation, his focus shifted to getting inside and exploring. Sonic felt a strange pressure in the air around him and felt his eyes growing heavy before he could utter a word, he passed out.
•~•
However, back with Blaze and Silver, things weren't looking too good for them either. "Haz en, haz en, haz en." Blaze stopped uttering her incantation as she felt a chill in the air. Hearing her stop, Silver looked at his wife weakly. "What's wrong?"
Blaze's eyes looked over towards the doorway where she saw a strong red light coming up under the door cracks. The doors suddenly flew open and Infinite's disembodied spirit stood in the doorway still in a dark, cloudy, red glow. A strong gust of wind emerged into the abandoned home, whipping around the two violently showcasing the emotions the jackal was feeling.
Blaze shielded her eyes both from the bright light and the howling wind throwing debris around her. "Get out of here," Silver yelled over the roaring winds. "You're not strong enough to take him on!"
Suddenly, Blaze felt a pair of arms wrap around her just as a wooden chair came hurling in her direction from the kitchen area. Thankfully, the entity swooped her out of harm's way just as it crashed into the spot she had been kneeling at. Splinters of wood went in every direction, hitting Silver in the face. Silver grimaced and tried to shield his face with one of his arms.
Realizing she was in someone's arms, Blaze looked up only to see Shadow had come to her rescue. "Shadow? What are you-"
He gently lowered her to her feet. "He knew we were coming," he replied to the question of his presence looming in her mind.
The two watched as Infinite stood before Silver with his hands outstretched, muttering his own incantation. The jackal closed his eyes to focus his magic. "Mesa la fez, mesa la fez, mesa la fez!"
Shadow looked at Blaze anxiously, seeing their time was running out. "Shit, we have no choice. We need to get Silver into the pendant!" he shouted, holding out the necklace.
Blaze looked at her dying husband and grabbed the pendant from Shadow's hand. She held the chain in her hands and allowed the gem to dangle freely. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she closed her eyes and blocked out Infinite's own incantation to concentrate and perform her own. "Kaku mein ba, Kaku mein ba, Kaku mein ba…"
Shadow watched on in desperation, seeing his brother suffer under Infinite's power. Silver clawed his hands at the wooden floor beneath him, holding back cries of pain. "Hurry!" the ebony one shouted.
Blaze stopped her incantation momentarily, smiling with confidence. The pendant began to glow a bright blue. "I can feel him!"
Suddenly, Silver began to writhe on the floor uncontrollably. Shadow felt his gut sink by the sight. "Blaze!"
Her expression grimaced. "His magic is blocking mine," she shouted. The pendant in her hand glow began to dissipate slowly showing her losing battle. Her countenance dropped further in defeat. "He's too strong!"
Silver glanced over to his wife one last time, feeling his vision begin to fade. His eyes grew heavy. "Blaze, I…"
Blaze shut her eyes tight, growing overwrought of her losing battle. She was about to lose her husband forever. Infinite continued his own incantation across from her confidently and calmly. "Mesa la fez, mesa la fez, mesa la fez!"
Taking a deep breath, Blaze continued her efforts. "Kaku mein ba, Kaku mein ba, Kaku mein ba…"
Suddenly, Mighty appeared by Blaze's side. "Hold on, you son of a bitch," he declared looking at the silver hedgehog. His hands encompassed Blaze's own causing her to open her eyes in surprise.
"Mighty…" she breathed breathlessly.
He gave her a simple nod, showing he was on her side. With no other words exchanged, they continued the incantation in unison. "Mesa la fez, mesa la fez, mesa la fez!" The pendant began to glow even brighter now and Silver's body began to decay into an ash grey.
Infinite outstretched his arms and exploded into a bright red light disappearing before all of them.
Shadow was knocked backward from the explosion along with Mighty and Blaze. When the winds settled down, the three groaned as they sat upright to see the room quiet and Silver dead on the floor.
"Silver," Shadow screamed as he got up and ran into the spell circle. He grabbed ahold of the stake embedded in his back and ripped it out. He frantically looked around the room. "Well, did it work? Where's the pendant?"
Blaze rolled over onto her side and opened her palm, where she had been grasping the necklace. She gasped in horror by the sight. Her opened hand revealed her palm covered in blood and the pendant in shatters. Her eyes began to water and she broke down into sobs. Sitting upright, Mighty placed a comforting hand on the cat's shoulder, trying his best to console her. Silver was gone.
•~•
At Shadow's estate, Sally and Amy stood at the front entrance of the house as the group arrived back home. The gang got out of Shadow's SUV, dispersing in different directions. Blaze looked beyond devastated as she got out of the middle seat and was looking at the palm of her right hand. In the meantime, Mighty got out of the other middle part of the car and popped the back hatch of the car. He stared at Silver's body laid out in the back and Sonic and Shadow got out of the driver's and passenger's seat shortly after. However, once Sally spotted Sonic, she went running down the stairs and leaped into Sonic's arms. She embraced him around his neck and he returned the gesture wrapping his arms around her waist. "Oh, thank god you're okay!" she beamed.
He smiled sheepishly by her affectionate display. "Heh, Sal, you know I always come back alive and kicking," he cracked lightly.
However, things weren't as lovey-dovey for the black and red hedgehog. Amy stormed down the stairs towards her husband with tears streaking down her face. Her hands were at her sides, clutched into tight fists and her brows were furrowed downwards, showing great anger. "You…" she growled, making Shadow stop in his tracks.
He placed his hands up in defense. "Rose, I can explain. I-"
WHACK.
Using all of her vampire strength, Amy performed a powerful right hook punch, successfully making contact with Shadow's left cheek. Shadow's body lurched to the right and went flying off to the side. His body skidded across the driveway before halting to a complete stop.
Sonic, Sally, Mighty, and Blaze looked on in surprise by the pink hedgehog's actions. Sonic blinked in surprise as he held Sally by his side. "Ames, what was that all about?"
Amy ignored Sonic's question and stomped over towards the ebony and crimson hedgehog. Shadow was stunned momentarily by his wife's assault. He lifted himself with his right arm and wiped his bloodied mouth with his left hand. Amy had packed quite a punch with her throw, but before he could say anything else she was standing before him. He looked up at her pissed expression and watched as she reached down and yanked him to his feet by the collar of his leather jacket. "You idiot!" she barked. "Don't you ever do something so stupid like that again!" she berated angrily while tears escaped her eyes.
He allowed her to manhandle him and looked deep into her hurt jade eyes seeing how upset she truly was. The only times he knew Amy ever got angry was when she cried. She had always been self-conscious about it, believing it made her look weak, but if anything, it really emphasized her frustrations—and right now she was PISSED. "Rose-"
"—No, shut up and let me finish!" she demanded, keeping her iron grip on his collar. "You listen to me," she swallowed. The rest of the crew stood there awkwardly watching the uncomfortable scene unfold. She tilted her head to the side, keeping her eye contact with him maintained. "I didn't think I was ever going to see you again and you were okay with that?" she questioned him with surprise laced in her voice.
"Of course not," he rebutted simply. "I love you!"
Her hand holding him in her grip began to shake. "But you couldn't be man enough to even let me say goodbye?!" he tone began to soften. "You had to knock me out?" she sobbed.
He placed his hands around the arm clutching him. "I knew there was no way you'd let me go. I only did this because I fucking love you and Faith so much, that I was willing to sacrifice myself to protect you," he emphasized passionately.
"You idiot…" She shut her eyes tight, despite the tears continuing to pour out. "You've got a funny way of showing it." Finally, she released her grip and fell into his embrace. Shadow held her close to him as she sobbed; he kissed the top of her head, consoling her.
•~•
Later on, Shadow stood in the cellar of his home with Silver's body laid to rest in a casket. He sighed solemnly and headed upstairs where Mighty sat at the kitchen table, trying to put the pieces together of the pendant. Blaze paced in front of him, feeling fearful about the results. "Please, tell me he's in there…"
Mighty kept his eyes fixated on the jewel and continued to diligently work. "I can't tell you that yet," he replied calmly.
Shadow made his presence known as he strutted into the kitchen. "We've wasted enough time. My brother's soul is in that pendant, we need to find him and bring him back."
"Give me a moment to breathe, man," Mighty shot back, growing irked by their demands.
"Try again," Shadow commanded.
Obeying his orders, Mighty outstretched his hands over the pendant and called out to it, waiting to feel any signal of Silver's soul, but felt nothing. He kept his eyes closed as he focused, but after a few moments of nothing, he opened his eyes again. "…I'm sorry."
Shadow ran his hands through his quills. "This can't be happening," he said in disbelief. "Death has come for my brother and me countless times, and we've always been able to escape it."
"He's gone Shadow," Mighty confirmed. "Just accept it." Blaze continued to cry and even Shadow felt shed a few frustrated tears down his muzzle from his brother's death. He never believed this day would come. Amy hugged Blaze knowing the pain she was going through right now.
"—What's that?" a young voice asked from behind the group. Everyone turned only to spot Faith standing in the kitchen doorway, looking on curiously at the group.
Blaze, Amy, and Shadow quickly wiped their tears away, trying to make themselves look presentable. "Faith, sweetheart, go back to bed. I'll be there in a second to tuck you back in," Shadow dismissed, trying to shoo her off politely.
Faith ignored her father's commands and made her way towards Mighty who continued to try to reach out to Silver's spirit. "Faith, didn't you hear what your father said?" Amy repeated. Shadow, Amy, and Blaze watched as Faith placed a hand on Mighty's shoulder, suddenly showcasing a vision to both of them.
In the vision, they could hear Silver cry out in agony, and a flash of a bright red door appeared in a stark white hallway. Mighty blinked in astonishment and looked at the young witch to his left. "Did-did you just see that?" he stammered in alarm.
Faith nodded slowly. "Yeah, it was Uncle Silver, but he sounded far away."
Blaze smiled happily and rushed over to the kitchen table looking down at the pendant. "Then he's in there. You heard him right?" she asked, looking down at her niece.
"We both did," Mighty affirmed. "He's somewhere inside there, but-"
Shadow tilted his head, concerned by Mighty's undecided tone. "—But what?"
"His voice sounds distorted, broken, like radio static. All I could hear were his screams."
•~•
Later that night at the werewolf camp, Mighty visited Sonic and Sally to see how Caleb was managing. Inside their home, Caleb slept soundly on the sofa as he recovered from his traumatic event. "It may take some time for him to wake up, so just be patient," Mighty assured.
"You just stopped by to see how Caleb was doing," Sally questioned suspiciously. "You've had a busy night, huh?"
"Not quite, actually…I came to get my journal back," he admitted.
Sonic raised a brow by his confession. "Wait a second, didn't you make me promise to kill you if you came back asking for that?" he reminded suspiciously.
"True, but we weren't where we are now. Infinite has us outnumbered. He's stronger than we are and has more followers. I know he's been reborn in the flesh, and we have no idea what we're up against," he argued.
"Okay, so who's to say this thing isn't going to tempt you?" Sally countered. "Are you sure you can resist it?" she challenged, placing her hands on her hips.
Mighty looked her dead in the eye and shrugged. "Honestly, no I'm not but I have to do something at this point."
Sighing in defeat, Sonic walked into his bedroom and a few minutes later came out with the book in hand. He slowly extended his arms out handing over the book. Mighty accepted it graciously. "Okay, if this thing gets ahold of you-" he forewarned.
"—Yeah, I know," he said, his voice trailing off momentarily. "…Make it quick."
•~•
Back on Angel Island, the tree with the Infinite carving began to glow a bright red. Suddenly a fist shot through the tree bark making a large hole. It punched several more holes away allowing a newly reborn Infinite to emerge covered in a goopy green slime. Naked, he climbed out of the hole in the tree and looked up at the night sky. His eyes glowed ominously and he let his head fall back as he licked the slime from around his mouth and smirked sinisterly. It was time to wreak havoc on this new world.