Chapter 2

As Val ran through the now brightly lit streets, he could sense his brother high up at the top of the tower which loomed over the city. As he neared the base of the tower he saw a large wooden door with steel hinges and a large lock. Val drew his sword, which burst into flames, and slashed the lock. As the fire on Val's sword died away, the broken lock fell to the ground. Val then pushed the heavy door open and entered.

As Val entered the giant structure, he saw a spiral staircase, he looked up and saw the staircase went so far up that it disappeared into the darkness above. Val sighed, "It's never easy is it?" he then started trudging up the stairs. By the time Val made it to the top, he was tired and his time was almost up. Just above him was a solid stone ceiling and a small trapdoor. Val opened the trapdoor and climbed out. The top of the tower was simply a large stone disc, the only thing there was a strange altar with two pillars either side of it, the pillars seemed to be made of an unknown material.

As Val looked around, he heard a voice say, "Hello Val."

Val spun round and saw a white hedgehog wearing blue camouflage pants and a long blue coat, "Hello Gabe." Said Val coldly

"Aw, come now, aren't you happy to see your brother?" asked Gabe mockingly

"Not in the slightest. Now what do you want?"

"What I want…I thought I could never have…until my master aided me by erecting this tower…now, my brother, I shall take you're greatest power; your demonic essence!" Gabe leapt into the air and landed in front of the altar, he held his hands in the air, as he did, electricity flowed from the tops of the two poles to his hands. A bolt of lightning shot from Gabe's hands and struck Val, who cried out in pain.

"Yes, now, join with me…Venom!" shouted Gabe. Val's shadow then slithered across the ground and melted into Gabe's own shadow.

Val fell down onto his hands and knees as Gabe suddenly began to writhe and cry out. The white hedgehog's shadow had started crawling up his legs, encasing his body in darkness. Val looked on as Gabe began to scream, "What's happening? Get this off of me!" he was soon completely covered in shadow, nothing more then a pure black reflection of himself. Val stood up and watched as Shadow Gabe then started to grow larger and more muscular, his hands turned into claws, his teeth became fangs and his eyes turned pure white. Shadow Gabe snarled and roared as he continued to grow until he was twice as tall as he once was. Val backed up slightly, his eyes locked on this beast that was once his brother, how could this have happened? Even when Val had succumbed to Venom's power in the past, he never mutated like this…of course, Venom was Val's demon, not Gabe's, Gabe couldn't possibly be able to control the awesome power Venom possesses.

Val drew his sword and charged at his demonic sibling, but Gabe back-handed him, launching him over the side of the tower and sending him plummeting towards the ground far below.

As Val fell, he saw Gabe leap down towards the street miles below, seemingly unharmed by the fall, Val however had to think of a way to slow his descent. Val quickly took his sword and jammed the blade into the tower's wall, it sliced through the stone, leaving a large gash down the side of the tower, but it did slow him down enough. Val then kicked off the wall and launched himself towards a skyscraper nearby. Val smashed through a window and rolled across the floor, he then collapsed on the glass covered carpet, panting.

When Val came to, he slowly sat up, rubbing his neck, "Damn…that fall really took it out of me….oh crap, Gabe!" remembering about Shadow Gabe, Val jumped up and ran down to the front door of the building and out into the now darkening streets.

Val ran through the city for several minutes, looking for any sign of his brother, after a while he heard a scream. Following the cries for help, Val made his way across the rooftops, until eventually he found the source of the screams; a young Mobian woman was in an alleyway fighting for her life against a giant black demon, "Gabe!" shouted Val, Gabe stopped and looked up, his long tongue flicking as he growled. Val jumped into the air and started spinning, as he did, he burst into flames and charged, full force, at Gabe who couldn't move fast enough and was sent crashing into a wall behind him. Val landed next to the woman, who was cowering in the corner, Val walked over and held out his hand, "It's alright, he's gone now."

The woman cried as she covered her face with her hands, "No..i've seen demons before…but none that powerful…there's no way he's gone."

"Trust me..if he does come back, I'll stop him."

The woman slowly moved her hands from her face, Val gasped and his eyes widened as he recognized her; she was a white wolf with long black hair, she was Devina the Wolf. She surely would've recognized Val if he hadn't been wearing his cowl.

Devina took Val's hand and he helped her to her feet, "Th..thank you." She said

"No problem." Replied Val, still amazed by her appearance, 'What is she doing here?' he thought

"Hey…do i…know you?" asked Devina

Val's heart beat quickened, 'Oh no, she recognizes me' he thought quickly, "Uh..no, I don't think so, still my cowl covers my face so I kinda look like everyone."

"Well then let me see your face."

"No..i can't."

"Oh come on, I'm not even allowed to see the face of my hero?"

"Well I uh…I mean..i'm a mercenary here, if I take my cowl off, someone might see me and then I'll get arrested."

"Please…who's gonna see us?"

"Uh…well…what about you? I don't even know your name." said Val, changing the subject

"Me? I'm Devina the Wolf."

"…the famous vampire?"

Devina's smile faded, "Yes.." she hung her head, "If you're a mercenary you'll probably want to kill me, right?"

Val remained silent, Devina spoke again, "Fine…it doesn't matter anyway…my life is over."

"Wh…what do you mean?"

"I'm not from here, I came to Mobotropolis from Tech City, in the hope of finding someone; Val the Hedgehog…the man I love..but I'll never find him, and even if I do, he won't want to be with me." Devina started to cry as she spoke, Val just stood silent, staring at her, 'She…she loves me?'

Val coughed, "Well I'm sure you will find him..i mean you're a world famous vampire, I've heard about your skills."

"Well I can't find him if you're going to kill me?"

"Who said I was gonna kill you?"

Devina looked up, Val reached out and wiped her tears, "I'm not gonna kill you, and if you ever want any help finding this guy you're looking for, this 'Val' just give me a call." Val handed Devina a card with his address and phone number on it.

Devina smiled, "Thank you…for everything…Mr..?"

"Call me…Smoke…and don't worry, I'm glad to help…but just out of curiosity, if you're such a powerful vampire, how come you couldn't defend yourself against that demon?"

"Well…I guess I've just lost the will to fight…without Val…I'm lost."

Val stood silent for a moment, he then placed his hand on Devina's shoulder, "You'll find him." He then jumped up onto the rooftop and ran off, leaving Devina alone in the alley.

Later, Val sat on a rooftop ledge thinking about what happened, 'So…in one day, my brother steals my demonic power and turns into a monster…and I find out Devina's in the city looking for me…and she…loves me' he sighed, "What the Hell do I do?"