Disclaimer: Now it's time to recite the disclaimer! I do not own Sega's characters but I do own Melody.
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Melody said nothing, advancing on him, eyes still hard and holding no recognition of him. The panther angel glanced upwards, discovering that the branches of the tree behind him were an easy height to jump. He leapt up right as she stuck. Her sword became wedged in the tree and he used the time in which she tried wrenching it out to climb higher. "Melody…" He murmured to himself, "How can I help you?"
Melody finally freed her sword and snarled at him, "Why don't you fight instead of run away like a coward! Or is it because you know you're doomed? Why try to stop the inevitable?"
He gritted his teeth and leapt down, striking at her shoulder with lightning speed, drawing blood. She returned the blow, nearly hitting his neck but barely cutting the tip of his ear as he ducked. He yelled, "Melody! Don't make me have to do this!" He began fighting as if his life depended on it (his life DOES depend on it!), blocking her sword strokes with natural speed and skillfully attacking back. Their footwork as they fought became more and more elaborate as the swords hummed through the air during their deadly dance. Fierce determined eyes locked onto each other, the two sped up even more, each showing equal skill and neither winning nor losing. Minutes slowly ticked by as they turned into hours and neither angel showed any sign of stopping.
Lizzey watched; fear slowly vanishing and awe taking its place. As the strange angel began to flag, Lizzey realized the danger. Melody didn't seem tired at all as she kept her sword moving, sensing her adversaries increasing weariness. Lizzey grabbed a really heavy rock and tried throwing it at Melody to distract her but found that she did not have quite the amount of strength to budge it. She sighed and grabbed the next best thing—Amy's hammer that she had dropped as Shadow carried her off. Wielding it confidently, Lizzey swung it at Melody from behind, catching her off guard. Melody gradually turned with surprise, falling to the ground unconscious, blood seeping from the wound in her shoulder and a fresh wound on her head.
The panther angel collapsed with exhaustion, breathing heavily has his lungs screamed for air. He could barely lift his sword anymore and his eyesight was diminishing. He managed to gasp, "Thanks…"
Lizzey dropped the hammer and ran to his side, eyes filled with worry as her heart slowly began to stop beating so quickly. "Are you okay?" she asked. She noticed that he only had half an ear on the right side of his head where Melody had cut him. Blood flowed freely from the wound.
The panther nodded, coughing and holding his stomach tightly, eyes shut. He overcame a wave of dizziness and wheezed, "My…name…is…Key…" He fainted from the overwhelming exhaustion.
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Amy paced with impatience, still really annoyed with Shadow's obstinate attitude. "Shadow, it's been several hours…can we please at least see what happened? It's too late for Lizzey by now…thanks to you…" Then the full truth of that statement hit her and she fell to her knees crying and yelling at Shadow, "LIZZEY COULD BE DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!" She hid her face in her hand and shook uncontrollably.
Shadow backed away, feeling sorry for Amy's grief but not concerned about anything or one else. He chose not to answer but sat alone thinking to himself, "Why is she like this?" An image flashed before his eyes as his memories took over:
"Maria!" Shadow shouted, grabbing her hand, "We have to run! GUN is after us!" He led her down twisting passageways, losing sense of all direction in his panic. They ended up in a room somewhere on the west wing of the ARK. Space capsules lined the walls, dusty from under-use. Maria shoved him into one, closing it and placing her hand on the glass as she whispered, "Shadow…" He kicked against the glass, desperately trying to escape as he shouted, "MARIA! NO!" She ran towards the lever, hands grasping it right as the GUN soldiers gained entry. The leader aimed his gun and shot, hitting Maria, fatally wounded her. She fell to the ground, still holding the lever as she whispered to Shadow,(not exact words) "Shadow…bring happiness to humans…Sayonara…Shadow the hedgehog…" Using the last bit of her strength, she pulled the lever down, sending Shadow plummeting towards Earth.
Shadow blinked several times, breathing heavily and sweating as he thought to himself, "Amy doesn't deserve the kind of grief I went through…" He turned back to the pink hedgehog and said gently, "Amy, I'm sorry…We can go back…"
Amy looked up at him with a tear-stained face. "It's too late…" She sobbed, "I just know it is…" She fell into his arms, crying her heart out onto his shoulder.
Shadow murmured quietly, "Maybe it is…maybe it isn't…we'll return in the morning…when you're feeling better…"
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Well…that probably is one of my longer chapters…(I think). Hopefully it was okay…I wrote it on short notice b/c I'm moving in about 4 days and my days have been filled with packing and cleaning and all that fun jazz. I probably won't update until next weekend once my family and I are settled in and the internet is up. I'll write the next chapter in the car. Come to think of it…I'll be in that darn car for two days straight…--sigh-- Oh well…ttyl!