"Sonic, don't!" Tails pleaded.
"I don't like it either, Sonic, but Tails is right. We should back out," Knuckles said.
"No, that witch wants us here. If we retreat back into the city, we'd be putting other people in danger. That Infinite guy is up to something, and I don't really care what. I just want his soul,"
Tails glanced at Shadow nervously. "Maybe you should take Knuckles with you?"
"I can't generate enough power with Knuckles to beat this thing, let alone a witch. I'm a scythe meister,"
Shadow couldn't help but feel the last sentence was pointed at him. His suspicion was confirmed when he saw Sonic hold out his hand without taking his eyes from the hogwolf. Shadow reluctantly shifted into his scythe form. The weapon fell into Sonic's hands, and a hissing came from the scythe's handle alongside a burning cold. It felt like he was gripping dry ice.
"Sonic…"
"This pain isn't bad. I barely feel a thing,"
The meister ran down the bridge leaving footprints in the shallow snow. Knuckles and Tails were far away from him by the time he was nearing the hogwolf. The monster stretched one arm into a forward strike. Sonic moved and drug his scythe's blade along the lengthened arm. The hogwolf used its other arm to unleash a heavy blow at close range. Sonic blocked the hit with his weapon, bracing his burning hands against the impact.
"It doesn't hurt. It doesn't hurt!"
Sonic pushed away the monster's arm, then used the opening to cut at the monster's face. The hogwolf recoiled and jumped away. It couldn't see for now, but it would regenerate quickly. Memories from his fight with the darkling entered Sonic's mind. Shadow bleeding. That fear was returning.
"I'm not weak! I won't fail Shadow again!"
Sonic's wavelength moved into Shadow more forcefully now. He was trying to initiate a soul resonance. Shadow was mortified at the thought. They were barely resonating, and the inefficiency was taking its toll on Sonic. If they were going to pull off a soul resonance, most of the power would have to come from Shadow. He knew he didn't have that kind of strength in him.
"Shadow…"
Shadow felt his mind drift away from the battle. The cold snowy night was replaced by a different, more familiar darkness. He was in that room now; the one from his nightmares. The suit he was wearing, the cold tiles, the darkness, it was all so familiar. Except, he wasn't asleep now. Sonic's wavelength was still connected to him, too. The battle was still going on, but the outside world felt like it was slowing. Shadow stood at the center of the room in disbelief. No sooner had the initial shock worn off than he saw Mephiles skulking around the edge of the carpet.
"Come now, Shadow. You know you can't go on like this. Let me show you the proper way,"
Shadow glared at the demon. "You want to kill him,"
"That's nonsense. I'm here because Sonic is out there right now, struggling to stay alive. You're the only one who can protect him, Shadow. You know it's true,"
Shadow couldn't look at Mephiles. His expression was a grimace wracked with conflict.
"I'm a monster,"
Mephiles continued pacing the perimeter of the carpet with deliberate and forceful movements. "You nearly died protecting Sonic and what was your reward? Being scolded and lied to! Being called a monster! And by who? The rotten grim reaper? That wretched princess?" He swiped his right hand through the air to accompany his hateful tone. "Being a monster in the eyes of scum like that isn't a bad thing. They think they're running the show. They're wrong!"
The room became dead quiet. The battle going on outside seemed to freeze completely. Mephiles calmly stood at the boundary, directly in front of Shadow, who only looked sad now.
"You think any other weapon deserves him?"
"I don't deserve him,"
"You do, Shadow. You do! Sonic is such a wonderful meister. He needs a powerful weapon. If you're so worried about letting him down…" The demon brought one hand forward. "Become stronger,"
Shadow calmly looked at the hand before him. He wasn't afraid or angry anymore. Grasping Mephiles's hand was an effortless task.
"Whatever your path to power is, I'll follow it on my own terms,"
"Yes, yes of course. You know what's best for Sonic after all,"
Mephiles led the way, walking in a gleeful stride with Shadow stepping smoothly behind. Together, they went out into the darkness.
Sonic felt Shadow's wavelength change. A growing power was welling up from his weapon. Sonic prepared himself to amplify that power and send it back to officially start their soul resonance. Once his weapon's soul waves made contact, he knew something was wrong. Heaviness filled his body as if he were being pulled downward. The waves were wrapping around his soul, digging into his very being. He couldn't breathe.
Shadow was devouring him.
The weapon could feel his meister's soul so clearly. It was right in front of him. He was in some dark place now, beyond his own body. His shape began distorting and expanding. The energy was so familiar. An appetite grew inside him. His teeth became sharp fangs. He could have Sonic all to himself. His ethereal arms reached out, gaining elongated claws.
"No!"
Shadow pulled back and bit down on his hand. The motion wasn't physical, but the pain felt real in his mind and soul. His ethereal form became more normal as the pain snapped him back to reality.
Sonic gasped. His resonance with Shadow stabilized out of nowhere. Their soul waves fired back and forth, growing more intense than ever before. A surge of energy poured into the air around them, pushing away the snow on the ground to reveal the bridge below. Shadow's scythe form began to glow and Sonic held the weapon back. The blade expanded into a black crescent moon lined with red markings.
"Witch hunter!"
The regenerated hogwolf roared upon seeing the meister charge at him. The monster's arms stretched out through the air to slow Sonic's approach while attacking at the same time.
Sonic leapt through the air and responded with an attack of his own. One that he'd developed with Shadow a while back without having an opportunity to use. Until now. He spun his powered up scythe to release a series of energy slashes from the glowing blade. The red energy from his scythe hung in the air, taking on the shape of a figure eight that covered his legs when he hit the ground. The final, heaviest slash hit the hogwolf's body dead on.
"Figure-eight hunt!"
The hogwolf's arms and torso were shredded all at once. Clean lines tore apart the beings' form and the monster groaned. Roaring continued until the hogwolf faded back into ripples of flickering red energy.
With his weapon still glowing intensely, Sonic glared up at Infinite. The witch was still watching carefully from his perch. Immortal or not, Sonic wasn't going to back down. He'd make Shadow a death scythe. Infinite looked down at the meister challenging him. The aura pouring out of the witch hunter filled him with disgust. And fear, though he would never admit it.
"Satisfied, Tikal?" The jackal muttered.
Her voice came into his mind. "Satisfied,"
Infinite walked over to the edge of his perch, turning so that his back was to the water below. "Until next time, Shadow," He whispered, then held his arms out slightly away from his sides then dropped over the edge.
Sonic ran to the side of the bridge, but saw nothing in the dark water far below him. He could sense Infinite's soul moving along the river's current before fading. It was over for now. Sonic felt his weapon power down, then shift back to being a hedgehog. All the strength left his body suddenly. He collapsed into a seated position on the ground.
"Guess I overdid it,"
Shadow remembered how he'd almost lost control and felt a pang of guilt. "Sorry about your hands,"
Sonic looked at his gloves. Their fabric looked worn and had begun to split. His palms ached, as if they'd been burned. "I guess you'll have to do all the cooking this week,"
"Nothing new there. I'm almost relieved you eat so much fast food,"
The two hedgehogs exchanged tired smiles. Snow continued to fall on the bridge around them. Everything was finally calm.
"I guess we better go check on Tails and Knuckles," Sonic proposed.
"Okay," Shadow hesitated for a moment. "You were right, yesterday. I was just being stubborn. I guess I wasn't handling the whole Black Arms thing as well as I thought. If you want to get stronger, I will too,"
"Say that first part again?"
"You were right,"
"One more time?"
Shadow groaned and gave his meister a soft glare. Sonic replied with a cheesy smile, then watched his weapon walk away without helping him up. Sonic chuckled before moving to stand. Pain in his right hand almost kept him from noticing that his glove was clinging to his palm. Was he bleeding? Maybe the resonance had damaged his hands more than he thought. He removed his glove and let out a shocked breath. There was blood, but that wasn't the surprising part.
His blood was black.
