Small note: HOLY CRAP! It's (technically) the story's 50th chapter! Hooray!

45 - She's With Me

Warm hands firmly locked onto the back of Shadow's, and pressed along side him to rip the force field asunder. Immediately, Shadow felt that red corrupted electricity's energy falter a little. It wasn't hurting as much as it should have, but why? Not only that, but he suddenly felt as if he had more strength. Like his energy was coming back to him. He didn't waste this chance, and he gritted his teeth. He made a war cry, hollering to the heavens as he and that second pair of hands joined together to tear it apart. "...!" He couldn't give up, he had to keep going.

He would get inside and save Sonic, no matter what!

Another voice from behind grunted alongside of him. "Ngh..!"

...

...

...

...The force field was destroyed.

Shadow collapsed onto his knees, out of breath as he tried to regain his composure. Holy fucking shit. He never wanted to do something like that again. He coughed and wheezed, holding his chest as some of his own saliva spat onto the cracked up cobblestone ground. He looked beside him and saw his deserted inhibitor rings, and weakly reached his arm out to seize them. He brought them to his wrists one by one, and clipped them back on. He used way too much damn energy, all in less than five minutes. He needed something to replenish his energy. Food, something. He got up in a wobbly stance, his hand clutching onto the door to keep himself up from falling back down.

After taking a few seconds to regain some oxygen back in his lungs, he swallowed hard and placed both palms back onto one of the doors. He then hauled his body forward to push it open, his teeth clenching at the weight of the humungous door. He pushed and pushed, pushing until his feet gave out once again. He stumbled forward, falling onto his side while gasping. His body trembled against the now cold carpet floor, coughing out more spit as he struggled to get back up. While trying to push himself up, he slowly craned his head upwards to see that he managed to push the door open. He was literally one foot inside of the castle, now. He sighed heavily in relief, before falling back down onto his face.

His eyelids started lower on their own, and he could no longer stay conscious.

To whomever helped him destroy the force field, he smiled in gratitude before seeing black.

Knuckles was knelt down in front of the gigantic grand gemstone that was the Master Emerald. He could feel it's energy struggle to stay radiant through the toxic air of that red energy. His eyes were closed, his head lowered in respect and in deep concentration. His gloved hands were cupped against his knees, squeezing his legs tightly as he could feel M.E's power drift towards his body. All he had to do was connect, block his mind of any other thoughts and connect. Focus, breathe. Focus, breathe. Focus, breathe...Focus...Breathe...

Focus...

Breathe...

"Tikal," He whispered to one of the spirits living inside of the gemstone. "I know you can hear me. I beg that you hear my plea." His voice became a little desperate, but he still kept his volume low. "I know you can see us, and I know you can see the world's state. It's in shambles, and it's dying. The only person that can fix all this isn't here, and could be in grave danger." His hands tightened even harder. "Tikal please, give me guidance. Tell me what to do to help Sonic-"

"So this is where you were hiding."

His concentration was instantly broken.

Knuckles growled and whipped his head to the right, seeing an ivory female bat standing nearby with her arms crossed beneath her breasts. "Hey, Red."

The echidna just turned away from her and glared back at the Master Emerald with irritation. She would interrupt him now at a crucial time, damn that woman. "Rouge, now isn't the time." He warned her to back off, he was in no mood to play her games.

The bat blinked at his tone, and scowled in response. "Well, sorry for catching you at a bad time while you worship your rock." She spat while pursing her lips. "All I wanted was to check up on you since you came out here alone."

He stood up and dusted the grass blades off of his legs. "Yeah, this is why I came out here alone. Not to worship the Master Emerald, but to get answers out of it." He tightened his fists. "And you interrupted my concentration!"

"Concentrations of what?" She retorted loudly. "It's a big ass gemstone!"

"It's our only chance to help Sonic, you idiot!"

"..!?" Her eyes flew up, and her brows furrowed. "Who the hell are you calling an idiot!? I'm not the moron who got his ass kicked by a Sonic look-alike!"

A vein grew on his head as he marched forward towards her. "Oh yeah?" He started off slowly while tilting his head. "And I'm not the imbecile who conspired with said Sonic look-alike to steal the Master Emerald, so he could get a fucking power boost from it! Thanks for the disadvantage, bat-girl!" He shouted.

Rouge's expression instantly fell, and her arms fell at her side. For a second, she lowered her gaze at the ground. Her eyelids lowered, and she felt the full brunt of that insult. Then she scowled and crossed her arms again while turning away from Knuckles. "...Screw you. You can talk to that stupid thing until the world burns to ashes. I'll disappear, just like you wanted." She turned the other cheek and sped walked herself back to the ground doors of the bunker.

After realizing what he just said, Knuckles said nothing as he heard her open and shut the bunker back. He closed his eyes and sighed, falling back onto his butt in front of the large gem. He raised a glove up to his head, and rubbed the back of it. Now he really wouldn't be able to concentrate, great. He punched his fist into the ground, before laying his arms into his lap. Just, God damn it.

...

"I-I'm sorry, is this a bad time?"

Knuckles just scoffed and shook his head. "Oh no, 'course not." He replied sarcastically to the abrupt disembodied voice. "Everything's completely fine..." He grumbled to himself. And then, his eyes popped open and missile-locked immediately at M.E. "T-Tikal?" He whispered. "Is that you?"

"Yes, it is me."

He made a long exhale, sighing in relief as he chuckled to himself. "Thank goodness. I thought even your power was cut off thanks to this red mist. Actually," He grimaced. "Are you alright in there? M.E's energy isn't as powerful as it should be."

"You are right, it is not. For one, all of the seven emeralds are gone to another world. And you are right, that red energy scorching the planet is straining our power."

Knuckles didn't like the sound of her tone, she sounded very worried. "Is there anything you can do? Anything we can do?"

"I am afraid not, but not for the reasons you think."

A blink. "Wait, huh?"

"As of now, I can feel that Sonic does not require the assistance of Super Emeralds. He can transform into the light one all on his own without our help."

Another blink. "Hold on, seriously? Are you kidding me right now?"

"No. Sonic has achieved a power that granted him the ability to freely use the light one's power whenever he wishes, so long as he has one thing in particular."

"What?"

"True love." It was like he could hear her smile in that answer.

Knuckles was taken aback by that. Pfft. True love? That was cute and all, and that even proved his point that the Hyper Sonic form was actually a good spirit. But, why true love? And how? According to Tikal, Sonic must have already achieved this feat if he no longer needs the Super Emeralds to activate the super form. That meant that, that Sonic was in love with someone. But who? And when? "Tikal, what do you mean? Who's he in love with?"

"Ahaha." She chuckled at the question. "I am sorry, but I cannot answer that question. It is not my place, but I also do not have permission to reveal such outrageous information."

Woah, outrageous information? That must have meant it was someone Knuckles would have never imagined in his wildest dreams. Oh boy, he hoped Sonic wasn't dating some skank. Maybe Tails knew something about that. The kid knew Sonic better than anybody in the world, so he'd definitely ask him later. "What do you mean you don't have 'permission'?" He asked. "What, is Chaos telling you to keep quiet in there?"

He heard her sigh. "No. Sadly it is not that simple. Neither Chaos nor I are allowed to speak any further about that." She said. "Do you remember what the anti-Omega told you about Sonic's super forms? And the relationship between Chaos Born and our ancient clan?"

He nodded his head. "Yeah?" That's when he clicked the pieces together. "No way, they're the ones keeping your mouths shut?" He growled. "The bastards..."

"Yes, this is true." She replied in a somber voice. "They are the ultimate owners of the Master Emerald, and are simply allowing our existence to stay within it to keep their Champion happy. This is not our home, Knuckles. We do not belong here. And thanks to that, we must obey everything those deities tell us. That includes silencing ourselves when asked certain questions about their host."

Knuckles snarled at that answer. "This is bullshit!" He yelled. "We're the ones who guarded the Master Emerald and the seven chaos emeralds with our very lives for centuries, and they have the audacity to threaten to kick you out like they're some kind of landlords!? What kind of crap is that!?" The Echidna Clan were practically the owners of the Master Emerald, and yet those deities waltzed all over his heritage as if it was scum. Maybe Tails was right, maybe all of Sonic's forms truly were nothing but assholes.

"..." She didn't respond back, Knuckles was basically right. That's when she tried saying something else to lighten his mood. "Well, the good news is that Sonic can now utilize that power whenever he wishes. I can only hope he will be able to use it to his advantage when the opportunity calls for it."

"But that's the problem, I don't know if he can or not." Knuckles said. "What if he's hurt? What if he doesn't have the strength to do that? Tikal," He asked with a softer voice. "I'm begging you. Can you please tell me where Sonic is? Or at least if he's okay? And what about Shadow? Can you sense him?"

She hesitated at first, almost reluctant in answering. "...I cannot feel their energies very well, as they are no longer in this world. However, thanks to the Divine Spirits' connection to this world, I can sense that Sonic is still very much alive. I can also faintly sense the ultimate life form's energy, he is alive as well."

Knuckles nodded in satisfaction. Good, at least they were okay. "Alright, good." He still couldn't help but feel useless, though. "Still, isn't there something we can do?"

"I am sorry, Knuckles. But I do not think there is anything you can do to help them."

"Are they in danger?" He asked quickly.

"I do not know, but I can sense that one of the divine deities is in an extreme state of distress as of now. Though I cannot tell which one."

That didn't sound good. Hopefully it wasn't Hyper that was in distress. That was Sonic's only hope of winning against that green freak. And really? There was nothing they could do? So they could just sit here like sitting ducks and just hope Sonic and Shadow will make it out okay all on their own? Yeah, what a great plan. Knuckles pounded his fist into the ground once again. He hated being so useless, this was ridiculous.

No, he refused to give up. He had to do something.

As if sensing his troubled mind, Tikal said one more thing. "Knuckles, if you truly wish to find an alternative way to help Sonic, I highly recommend that you speak with the anti-Omega robot."

To that, Knuckles' eyes widened. "W...What? Tikal-"

"I must be going, before they realize I've been speaking with you. Good luck, Knuckles. Farewell."

Knuckles stood up. "Tikal, wait-!" He could feel that their connection was severed. He could no longer hear her voice, or feel her presence. He sucked his teeth and turned to the side. Shit, she sounded as if she was in a panic. Like she didn't want to be caught. Chaos must have warned her to stop talking before they were found out. Those deities, they had both her and Chaos on a tight leash. That wasn't fair, none of this was fair. But, there were at least two things he could do now. One, ask Tails who Sonic could be in love with. And two, talk to that ant-Omega robot and see what else it knew about Sonic so he could figure out a way to help him from a distance. It was late, and no doubt Tails was probably asleep. He'd ask them both tomorrow.

For now, he'd go back inside the bunker and see if there was a spot for him to rest.

His eyes slowly opened, and scanned the area before him.

Shadow was slumped against a wall, his feet laying sprawled on old, tattered noble red carpet. Oh right, he was inside the castle. He looked in front of him to see that the doors to the castle were firmly shut. They must have closed back when he collapsed here. Speaking of which, he didn't faint on a wall. He didn't remember dragging himself over here, did someone put him here? Ugh, his head hurt. His entire body hurt. But he couldn't just sit here, he had to get up and keep moving. He had to find something that could replenish his chaos energy levels. He struggled to stand up, but he quickly managed to do so. He put one foot in front of the other, and began to walk. The biohog limped forward, managing to make his way into the grand foyer of the castle.

Once he took a step, the world as he knew it changed.

Things were twisted, out of place, in disarray, discombobulated, in utter shambles. Whimsical, warped, turned inside out and upside down. Shadow couldn't believe what he was looking at, the entire inside of the castle became some kind of nightmarish maze. The twin imperial staircases that pointed to the left and right wing of the castle were flipped. The left wing stair case was upside down, while the right wing stair case was going up horizontally. When Shadow looked upwards to try and see any upper floors from below, he realize that the stairs weren't the only things out of place. Doors were on ceilings, empty rooms were on the floors, corridors led in and out of narrow walls. He didn't know where anything ended, or where anything began.

Where was the throne room? Was it upside down in the basement? Where was the king's chambers? Outside on the edge of one of the castle's balcony's? Where was a damn bathroom? In fucking outer space?! How the hell was Shadow supposed to navigate through this? And he could feel-No, he could see Fleetway's power slowly warping and twisting the entire matrix of the castle's insides even more. He could see a doorway twitch every so often, as if the very walls were alive. Yes, that had to be it. Since Fleetway was a demonic entity, he must have given this castle life and contorted it in ways no normal mortal could understand. Scourge probably told him to do that just in case someone managed to get inside, like Shadow.

Of course, that fucker thought of everything. Always one step ahead. How the fuck could he find Sonic like this? Even with a map, he'd be screwed. The structure of the castle was constantly changing, it would never be accurate. Not to mention he needed to eat some food, but he wouldn't be able to find a kitchen in these conditions. God damn it. The ebony hedgehog just sat back down onto the floor, his head in his hands as he tried to think. What could he do, what could he do?

Suddenly, he felt that strange warmth from earlier. He narrowed his eyes and took his hands from his face.

What was that?

He turned around behind himself, and saw something truly extraordinary.

Bright, voluminous blonde hair gently blew in a breeze he couldn't feel. Fair skin with that warm heat he felt from before adorned soft, small, feminine hands and arms. A long blue dress fitted her, with her legs only slightly revealed underneath. Big ocean blue eyes adorned her face, pink tinted lips and rosy cheeks. Her facial frame was heart shaped, her figure delicate, frail and thin. Her lashes were long, her nose small. Her human ears were hidden beneath her gold hair, a sorrowful expression stained on her beautiful face. She moved to place her hand onto Shadow's shoulder, before looking into his eyes.

Then, she flinched.

Shadow was staring right at her, his eyes wide and pupils small from utter shock and disbelief. His mouth kept moving and twitching, like he was about to say something, but his voice was too caught up in his own throat to speak proper words. The blonde girl looked behind her to see if there was something there Shadow noticed, only to see nothing was there. She then looked back at Shadow, her eyes dilating as well as she realized exactly what he realized.

He could see her.

She gasped, her voice resonated against him. She snatched her hand away from Shadow and put her hands up to her mouth while furrowing her brows. She instantly stood up, backing away a few steps as she eyed Shadow carefully. Thinking death was nearly upon him, Shadow stumbled to get back up. After doing so, he hit himself in the head to see if this was a dream that he had to wake up from. When he looked in front of him, he saw that the girl was still there. Okay, he wasn't dreaming. Now he had to test and see if he was dead. He slowly walked towards the girl, and held out a hand. "Ma...Maria?" He whispered as his fingers tried to graze the bottom of her top.

Much to both his disappointment and relief, his hand phased right through her. Once he took his arm back, he soon realized that the girl looked a little transparent. He could see through her, too. He didn't understand, what was happening right now?

"...Maria? Is that you?" He asked again, his voice so soft and weak.

Hesitantly, the girl nodded her head. She took her hands from her mouth, and whispered something back to him. Her lips moved, she was speaking to him. She was really doing it. He could actually her her voice again.

"Oh God." He said with a frown. She tilted her head.

Quietly, she whispered. "You can see me?" Shadow nodded with an unsure expression.

"Yes, I can." He then asked her a question. "Am I, dead?"

The girl shook her head, and replied. "I don't think so. Otherwise, we both would be together with grandfather."

Shadow's eyes began to moisten. No, it couldn't be her. There's no rhyme or reason for her to be here. How was she even here at all? "I-I..." He stammered. "I don't understand, how are you here? Why are you here? Are you a spirit?"

She nodded to his last question. "I was always with you, Shadow. The moment you first became Super, I was there with you." So she really was his super form. She was the power Shadow had within him all along. In a way, she was his divine spirit. "I was, asleep for a very long time. And then, I suddenly woke up alongside you when you turned yellow. I didn't understand it at first, until I watched you fight that big monster grandfather had built all those years ago. You were fighting with Sonic, weren't you?" She knew all of that. She knew when he fought the Biolizard. She was truly there the whole time, she even remembered Sonic. "Actually, didn't he help you transform? That was how I woke up in the first place."

This had to be Maria. If she was really his super form, of course she'd know all of these things and explain it in specific detail. Shadow rose his arm to his face, fighting off any tears that threatened to leave from his eyes. "It..." His body shivered. "I-It...It really is..." He couldn't even finish. She could see that he was trying his hardest not to cry in front of her, and he didn't even know he could do that. She smiled sadly as he clenched his teeth, wanting so much to embrace him in her arms one last time.

"I thought you knew that all along, you big dummy." She lightly scolded.

"N-No..." He grunted out. "I thought you were gone forever."

Maria shook her head, her long golden her swishing from side to side. "I could never leave you by yourself. You still need me, even now."

"Wait," He paused. "S-So, you were the one who helped me destroy the force field outside?" He watched her nod without a word. And that more than likely wasn't the only time she intervened. She was helping him this entire time, and he didn't even notice. He thought only metaphorically, she gave him strength. But no, she literally was here all along, giving him extra pushes and shoves to be strong and do the right thing. "Maria..." Shadow murmured. "Why didn't I realize sooner...?" He whispered with a frail tone. "You were with me..." He crumbled down onto the floor, his face hidden in his arms. "This entire time...And I never..." His tears fell to the floor below him. "I never...I never...Damn it,"

"Hey now," She knelt to his side and leaned down to meet his gaze. "You can't keep falling on your knees like this. Sonic needs you now more than ever. Shadow," She said while phasing her hand onto his head. Yes, she couldn't touch him, but he could still feel her warmth. "Get up, stand up. We can find him." She made a bigger smile and made a fist with her small hand. Pumping it up with a confident expression. "I know we can!" Her eyes, they still sparkled as if she was still alive. Weren't ghosts supposed to be soulless? Than how did this girl carry on as if she was still walking amongst the living? God, that attitude is exactly the strength he clung to for more than fifty years. That's what helped him carry on.

But, that's also another reason why he fell in love with Sonic.

That smile, that confidence, that optimism, that radiance of life and energy even in her own death. That's exactly how Sonic acted. That's why he loved Maria, but that's why he was in love with Sonic. They truly were so much alike. But regardless of anything, she was right. Shadow wiped his eyes with a harsh sniff, more steadily getting up from his submissive position. Feeling more energy than before, Shadow stood tall and nodded. He couldn't wallow like this while his mate was being tormented by that green abomination. He came to save him, and that's what he would do.

Maria saw the look in his eyes, and smirked. That was the Shadow she knew and loved. She got up and walked beside him, towering over him with pride. "We can do this." She repeated with more ambition. "All we have to do now is find a kitchen so you can feel better."

"Right." He agreed. It might take him forever, but it wouldn't matter. He had to find food to get energy, and find Sonic. He'd search this whole damn castle for that kitchen, and nothing would stop-

Maria suddenly made a yelp and immediately crouched down to hide behind Shadow. Which...Was odd considering as a human, she was several feet taller than him. She whimpered while pointing to the right. Shadow blinked and turned in that direction. He saw what she was talking about, and instantly got on his guard. He didn't have the strength to fight now, but he'd have to so he could survive. A figure began moving towards them, but they couldn't quiet see them clearly with all the corrupted chaos energy warping and manipulating the area around them.

Soon, they came close enough into full view. They were only a few feet away from Shadow at this point. They stopped for a moment, before moving forward and walking...

...Right passed him.

Another blink.

Shadow watched the person move, and his mouth became agape. Walking passed him, was a blue hedgehog. This blue hedgehog looked exactly like Sonic, with very small differences. For once, they were wearing a light blue hoodie, similar to the one Sonic bought back in No Zone. They were also wearing black converse shoes, his laces not even tied. Their hands were in his hoodie pockets, their sensitive ears flicking as they probably heard other noises around the castle. On his muzzle were a few small faded scars, but there were more heavy looking scars on his arms and legs. Most of them being dangerous vertical lines, the right way to cut. Those were obviously self harm wounds, and this obviously wasn't Sonic.

As they walked away, Shadow frowned and yelled for them to stop. "Hey!" He shouted. "You!" They only kept walking, but their ears did flick in Shadow's direction. That meant he heard him. "Damn it, you with the blue hoodie!"

That made the person pause, and turn towards Shadow.

And his eyes, were completely white and empty.

A rhythmic knock awoken Sonic from his slumber. The hero flinched, his eyes snapping open. He sat up quickly and looked around the room, only to realize he was still in this damn bedroom. He sighed and ran his hand through his quills. He scooted himself off of the bed, at the very least grateful that he had energy to move. He was still without his shoes, as Scourge still had them hidden. He looked to the side of the spacious room, eyeing the single door leading to the bathroom. He had to pee, might as well use it. He walked forward and grasped the knob, twisting and pulling the door open. He stepped inside, noticing how clean the room was.

Sonic wasted no more time going to the toilet and pulling off his gloves. He leaned over to place them onto the sink, then turned back to the toilet and lowered his hands below his stomach. He closed his eyes and relaxed his body so he could relieve himself, his shoulders going down as he felt a small sense of bliss. Since he'd be here a while, might as well think while he did his business. Alright, what could he do? There was a strong barrier on the entire room, and he couldn't get out. Only Scourge could get in, there was no other way around that. Maybe if he could sprint out when he opened the doors, he could make his escape then. That would hurt his feet, but it'd be a small price to pay for freedom. He could always find his shoes later.

That was his only ticket out of here, but Scourge was too smart for that. Not only that, but he was faster than Sonic thanks to his mutation. There was no way he'd let him get too far. Besides, Scourge knew the castle better than he did. Even if Sonic did manage to run away, Scourge could find him easily. He was in his territory, his world. He had total control over everything that happened here, which was a huge disadvantage. Sonic truly didn't know what to do, everything was a trap. Well, he could try to sweet talk him, but he'd probably try to make him touch him or something. And even then, Scourge wasn't stupid, he would see through a ruse like that.

Sonic sighed.

He finished up and grabbed some tissue from the roll beside the toilet. He cleaned himself up and dumped the tainted tissues into the bowl. He then flushed and walked to the sink, turning on the faucet and placing his hands underneath warm water. He was surprised Scourge managed to keep the electricity and heat running in this place. Did he have any soap in-Ah there it was. Okay, just get under the nails and...Done. He placed the soap down, snatched his gloves from the sink and turned to walk out of the bathroom. Once he stepped out while tugging his gloves back on, his mind went one hundred miles per second. Thinking once again: How the hell do I get out of here!? Shit, was Scourge right? Was there really nothing he could do?

He grimaced. The only choice he had was to sweet talk him. Yes, there was a high chance that would fail, but that was all he had to go on. He couldn't just sit here and do nothing, he had to try something! Now if only he could make him come up here so he could-

"Yo Blue."

Speak of the devil and he shall come marching.

Chaos, give him strength.

Sonic inhaled deeply, before exhaling softly. He couldn't be daunted now, he had to do this. He moved to return back to the canopy bed, only to see Scourge leaning against one of the bed posts with his arms crossed. He made a small wave with an eerie smile. "Hey, baby."

The hero bit the bottom of his lip. Don't get intimidated. As long as he didn't piss him off, he wouldn't hurt him. "Uhh, hey." He repeated in a standoffish way. "No games. What do you want?" Sonic retorted.

Scourge made a hurt expression. "Aww, you don't mean that."

"Let me guess, you want me to do something to you? Or, you wanna do something to me?" The blue hedgehog furrowed his brows. "Whatever it is, I'm not doing it. I'm never doing something like that again."

His anti-self rolled his eyes. "Tell me something I don't know." He mumbled. "It's because you're already in love with someone, durr. I get it already, Blue." He stood off the bed post and started walking in the direction of the double doors. "That's why you're able to use Hyper without Super Emeralds, 'cause ya found true love. You got Stripes now, so there's no way in hell you could ever fall for me. And that sucks and all, but right now," He turned around, his face void of any humor, nor his normally mischievous attitude. "I don't give a damn about that."

...Eh? Sonic blinked. "Wait, seriously?"

Scourge shook his head. "I don't have a one-track mind, Blue. And, well," He hesitated as he looked off to the side. He seemed uncomfortable about something. "There's something you gotta know. This," He gestured to himself by tugging his own clothing. "None of this is me. The clothes, the leather, this personality...None of this is me."

"Wha-" He was definitely stumped after hearing that. "What? What are you talking about?"

"Once again, I'm trying to tell you something important, and you need to listen. Okay?" He asked with a sincere voice. "But I don't wanna tell ya here, so follow me." He walked closer in front of Sonic and placed his hand onto his wrist. Sonic flinched, but realized Scourge's grip was very gentle. He didn't squeeze, he wasn't hurting him. Red chaotic energy appeared and concentrated on their limbs, until red transparent chained-handcuffs appeared on both their wrists. Sonic was now bound to him, just like he did to Zonic back in the war. Sonic scowled at Scourge. Scourge noticed his dissatisfaction of this. "Sorry Blue, I don't trust you. Just follow me, alright?"

Sonic sucked his teeth and huffed out some air. "Whatever, s'not like I got a choice."

"Maria," Shadow said in a quiet voice, just barely above a whisper. "You see him too, right?" He saw the girl beside him nod, cupping her hands to her mouth. "Okay, so it's not just me." He concluded with a suspicious tone. "Is he, is he also a spirit?" He asked her as the being before them just continued to stare at them with his hands in his hoodie pockets. He saw that Maria shrugged her shoulders. She was not sure if he was much of a spirit as she was, or not. Shadow wanted to grasp her small hand, to let her know not to be afraid. But then he remembered that if it wasn't for her, he wouldn't be standing here right now. Maria was incredibly brave enough on her own, he didn't need to coddle her. She was fine, she was just alarmed.

As for this person before them, he didn't know what to make of him. At first he ignored them, until he specifically called him out by dress code. Why? His ears flinched when he called him the first couple of times, so he heard him call him out. Why turn around now? Was he being rude, or was something else going on? And another thing-

-Why was this person a blue hedgehog as well?

How many Sonics would he meet in one lifetime? For God's sake. Shadow lowered his eye lids with squinted irises and called out to the person again. "You, with the blue hoodie!" He said again while pointing out to him. The being looked Shadow directly in the eyes and tilted his head. This person eyes, they were white and entirely blank. Just like Dark Sonic's but, definitely not as sinister. No, this couldn't have been a super form. He looked too, weak to be one. His figure was skinny, he looked like he needed a steak, his wrists looked like someone shoved him down a wood chipper, he looked younger than both Scourge and Sonic, and he looked cowardly.

Just when Shadow called out to him again, the being winced at his loud tone and his ears flattened.

What gives? Shadow paid this no mind however, and went on. "Who are you? Are you another Sonic from another reality?" After a few seconds of silence, Shadow growled. He didn't have time for him to hesitate, he needed answers. "Answer me!" He demanded.

The being cringed again and nodded his head. His lips began to move, and he could hear his ghostly voice. "Yes, I am of this reality."

What? Of this reality? But Scourge was the Sonic of this reality. Were there two? Okay, so perhaps this was another spirit as well since Maria was going through the same thing, but why? Who was this? "No, Scourge, the anti-Sonic, is the Sonic of this reality. So I'll ask again," Shadow said in a more threatening growl. "Who. Are. You?"

The blue stranger shook his head. "No, I promise that I am the Sonic of this reality. I'm anti-Sonic, the real anti-Sonic." He responded desperately. He was probably intimidated by him. As for his answer, none of this made sense. Scourge was an arrogant, ingenious, fearless tyrant who had no care in the world for what anyone had to say to him. This couldn't have been the true anti-Sonic, because Scourge wouldn't act like this. And even if it was, how were there two anti-Sonics in one reality?

"Impossible. There can't be two anti-Sonics!" Shadow exclaimed.

The one calling himself the true anti-Sonic hugged his arms together and nervously rubbed them. "No, I am telling the truth. I am not Scourge yes, but I am still a part of him. He's still half me, and I'm half him."

Half...Him?

Shadow's eyes widened. He looked up at Maria, who stood by him while shaking her head. She had no idea what was going on right now, and neither did he.

The biohog then turned back to their new acquaintance and returned his glare.

"You've got some explaining to do, kid."

END - 45

Alright, listen.

From here on out, things are gonna get a bit confusing. Like, no, seriously. Ya gotta really pay attention so you can truly understand the gravity of the situation.

Also, I wanna address something.

Traumatic events do not shape a good character. Please understand that I did not write that rape scene to show that Scourge was some misunderstood bab. This is why he and Sonic argued. This was not for sympathy, nor for character building. This was to show you one thing, and one thing only: The Divine Spirits are...Well, I'm sure you can figure it out.

Anyway, so yeah. Maria's in the story. A long ass time ago, I asked you all who the Light One was in chapter 17. Obviously, you all know that it's Hyper and a lot of you easily guessed that it was him. However, there was one person who went above and beyond. A loyal reviewer named Tolkam said this: "Lastly, as for your question, rather than guessing Hyper Sonic like the others have, I'm going to throw a shot in the dark and guess Maria. It would be a less predictable and more interesting development."

...Well I'm sorry for being predictable, BUT! That's not the point. Point is, they were kinda on the right track. Maria is not the Light One, but she IS a spirit. She is, in a way, Shadow's Divine Spirit.

By the way, the reviewer Tolkam also suggested (also a long ass time ago) that I should start a discord for this story, so that all you readers could chat with me about it. I have created an account, and I'm wondering if anyone would be interested in that.

Hope you all enjoyed this one.