CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

10 YEARS IN THE PAST

Shadow, Silver, and Jasmine came out of the portal, landing with a loud thud, in some kind of laboratory. They look around the place, but nothing seems to be out of the ordinary. But they were wrong they heard yelling, screaming, and another noise.

Shadow looks at Silver and Jasmine to make sure they were all ok.

Jasmine walks in front of them until they hear a faint scream. They turned around. It was coming from somewhere upstairs or near them. "Father?!" it belonged to a little girl, but where is she?

At the same time, they heard a man's voice coming from where they were and somewhere talking of what was happening.

They all moved to where the voices were coming from. A bright light was in a glass case, with a purple light on top of the bright orange light. And they watched what happened, ten years in the past.

"An electromagnetic pulse has just been generated! Injecting decompression agent! No, the levels not dropping! A spatial meltdown is inevitable!" said a man, trying to bring down the levels of the bright light. The other man was doing the same thing, but nothing seems to be working.

They turned to the Emperor. "My lord, it's too late! We've got to take shelter!" the Emperor turned to them and he looked mad. They didn't know what to do, they ran out of the laboratory, but one man stayed with the Emperor and saw him talk to Solaris.

"Why, Solaris? Why do you refuse to listen to my voice?"

He didn't know what to do. He turned to the man in the lab suit and nodding his head to leave. The man nodded, and ran into the emergency door and left, leaving the Emperor standing looking at Solaris and went to leave.

Shadow, Jasmine, and Silver watch in horror as they saw a little girl, with red hair, grayish blue eyes, in her pj's run into the room, looking scared and worried. "Father!"

Jasmine widen her eyes when she knew who is was. "Elise..." She whispered, but was loud enough for Shadow and Silver to hear.

Shadow and Silver turned their heads to meet Jasmine's wide eyes and looking at Elise. They turned to look what would happen next but all they heard was screaming and an explosion.

Elise had her hand covering her eyes because of the bright light shining in her eyes. She was about to turn around, but a pair of hands, clamped onto her shoulders, making Elise scream in terror. Then the figure came closer and it showed her father's face. Elise stopped screaming, she almost cried but a noise came from behind them and they saw the bright light coming their way. Her father looked at where the noise came from until he noticed that Solaris is about to explode, he came behind his daughter and then darkness hit him and her.

Jasmine, Shadow, and Silver had to cover their eyes because of how bright the explosion was. They didn't hear anything after that, they reopened their eyes and found the laboratory destroyed. All walls covered in black, the ground covered in ashes and glass.

Silver and Shadow look at where the bright light was forming from, but it wasn't just a bright light, it's a flame.

"Is that... That flame... It's Iblis!"

"And the black shadow is the original Mephiles."

"That's Mephiles?!"

Shadow and Silver look at the black smoke and the flame staying where they were. They turned to see Jasmine. They found her next to the Emperor and his daughter.

What really caught Jasmine's attention was Elise. She ran up to Elise's father, where he was still covering his daughter from the explosion. She heard Shadow and Silver catching up to her. She was about to move, she was startled with the Emperor's voice. "Seal Mephiles in this..." he showed what looked like the Scepter of Darkness.

Shadow walked up to him and picked it up from his shaky hands and looked at it. Silver was staring at Iblis and Mephiles, now that he knew the truth, he knew who he had to kill, Mephiles and Solaris.

Silver was still looking them and saw them moving away out of the lab.

"Their escaping!"

"We'll have to split up. I'll pursue Mephiles."

"OK. Then leave Iblis to me!" Silver said.

Jasmine looked at them and back to Elise, she closed her eyes. "I'll stay here..." Shadow and Silver looks at her and nodding in agreement. Silver left them, to catch up with Iblis.

Shadow looks at Jasmine still, hoping she will be ok. Jasmine looks at Shadow, smiling and moved her head to catch up with Mephiles. He ran to the direction where Silver just ran, and stopped himself. He shakes his head and runs back to Jasmine. Jasmine looks up where shoes were clicking, were coming her way and she saw Shadow. "Shadow, what are you doing? You have to stop Mephiles before he doe-" she was stopped, by Shadows lips pressing onto hers.

She closed her eyes and gave in, sometimes Shadow would do this when they are about spilt up on missions, and sometimes just for luck.

The kiss was about to go on, but Jasmine was pushing out of the kiss and was smiling at Shadow. "Shadow..." she was shaking her head, but she can't pretend she didn't enjoy it.

"As much as I would love to go to step two... But we need to defeat Mephiles... And don't pretend that Mephiles will slip my mind, it won't..." Jasmine pointed her finger at Shadow, giving him her best serious face.

Shadow nodded to her, he knew he couldn't keep secrets from her but he needed to let her know what was happening when she was captured from Eggman.

He ran to catch up with Mephiles, with the Specter of Darkness in his hands, he can seal Mephiles.

Jasmine closed her eyes, hoping Silver and Shadow will be ok. She heard a groan coming from the Emperor and saw he was standing up with his daughter in his arms. "Wait!" she ran up to him and blocked where he was about to go. "Please move... And let me save Elise... She doesn't die in this time... " he closed his eyes and opened them, looking down at her daughter.

Jasmine knew she was about to do the wrong thing, but something in her body made her move away from the entrance, where the Emperor was about to go with his daughter. But what did he mean, that Elise doesn't die in this time?

She walked up to his side, to make sure he didn't fall and Elise.

Jasmine felt really sad for Elise. She couldn't believe that this is happening to her father in the past ten years.

She and the Emperor were walking side by side into a chamber. Jasmine saw Silver, he had Iblis trapped in his telekinesis power but just what was the Emperor going to do?

Silver, had Iblis right where he wanted him. But then he saw movement, at the side of his eye and saw Jasmine, with the Emperor on her side with his daughter in his hands. "Hey! What are you doing? You've got to leave!" Silver looked at Jasmine and she closed her eyes, she didn't know what she was doing, but somehow it felt the right thing to do.

The Emperor spoke. "I have my duty. This Living Flame has been entrusted to the royal family. The Flames of Disaster will awaken if nothing is done! That must not happen." He walked up to the stoned rock that was about his height. Silver was about to walk up to him, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder, he turned around and saw it was Jasmine's hand, she shakes her head.

Silver still had Iblis stuck in his telekinesis power, but he couldn't hold on for long. He and Jasmine saw the Emperor lay down Elise. He backed away and saw him go through his pockets and he held out his Chaos Emerald, it floated up in the air right next to Iblis. Jasmine and Silver, heard the Emperor talk and seeing what will happen next.

The Emperor backed away from Elise and Iblis, and spoke. "Eternal Sun! The Living Flame that has been entrusted to the royal family! Fall into slumber with a royal soul!" as the flame has grew small as it went into the Chaos Emerald, and it drew out a bright red, as Iblis was sealed inside Elise.

Silver and Jasmine had wide eyes, they stared as Iblis was sealed into Elise.

Silver went back to normal, no telekinesis using to trap Iblis. He starred as the Emperor fell and was caught on the stone rock and looked at his daughter. He picked her up in his arms and walked up to Silver, and fell to his knees with a hard thud. Silver looked at him. The Emperor handed Elise to him. "I'm sorry, but... Can you take her to a safe place?" Silver took her into his arms and one arm dangling.

The Emperor took her arm and pulled it up to her chest.

'Now she looked like a real Princess,' thought the Emperor.

He used his hand to comb her hair. "That's a good girl, Elise. Remember be brave. Don't cry, no matter what happens. Otherwise your tears will call forth the flames inside you... Become a strong queen who doesn't cry no matter what happens. And... Live... Happily..." he said his final words to Elise. He clutched his stomach, feeling the pain inside him, and fell to the ground on his side, and taking his last breathe to see his daughter, than fell into darkness.

Jasmine couldn't help but let a tear slip from her eye. She knew everything to the past, now she has to warn everyone and keep the world safe from Mephiles, Iblis, and Eggman. She had to tell Sonic.

Silver saw the Emperor die in front of him. He was shaking his head, not believing that he put Iblis inside his own daughter. He looked up at the sky, seeing everything was clear blue, until a voice came.

"Come on, let's get Elise in a safe place." Sliver looked at Jasmine, she was still crying, shaking her head, she walked of of the room. Silver walked with the Princess in his arms, and carried her out of the castle. He found Jasmine by a tree, sitting there waiting for Shadow to return. He kept the Princess in his arm and waited as well, Shadow to return.

They both stayed in complete silence.

Shadow found Mephiles, in another room, what looked like the computer room. Shadow stayed by the doors while Mephiles was still in black trying to get out, but Shadow had him cornered.

"Chaos Control!" Shadow held out his Chaos Emerald, making Mephiles stop in place.

"What?... Stop!..." Mephiles yelled to the unknown hedgehog. He tried getting out but the hedgehog's power was to strong. He watched as the black hedgehog brought up the Scepter of Darkness. It glowed white, "Who... Who are... You?"

"I'm Shadow. Shadow The Hedgehog." he used the Chaos Emeralds power to bring the Scepter of Darkness in the air and used it to put Mephiles inside.

"Shadow... Your face... Your form... I will remember... Your death... Certain... You... Will die!" Mephiles said his last words, when he was being sucked into the Scepter of Darkness.

Once, he was fully into the Specter of Darkness, Shadow kneels down and picks it up. He stands back up and looks at the Scepter of Darkness and he finally knew how Mephiles knew him, back at Kingdom Valley. And know he needed answers from one person.

Eggman.

Shadow walks outside the castle, finding Silver holding the Princess in his arms and Jasmine sitting on the root of the tree.

"Did you do it?" at that Jasmine lifts her head from looking down and turns her head, to look at Shadow.

"Yes. And you?" Shadow spasmed concerned.

He nodded back. "Yes. The 'Flames' are properly sealed. It's done." Silver lied. Silver walked to the tree where Jasmine was just sitting on and brought her down out of Silver's arms and let her rest on the tree.

Shadow looked at her and the Scepter of Darkness, then walked up to her kneeled down and put the Scepter of Darkness, next to her. "You're going to leave it behind?" Silver questioned Shadow.

Jasmine was looking at him, she knew if he changed the past, it would change the present and the future.

"Yes, I already know what becomes of it in the future..." Shadow walks away from the Princess, bring out his Chaos Emerald. "It's time to return."

Silver and Jasmine look at Elise, than Silver brings out his Chaos Emerald. "Yes... Of course."

"Chaos Control!" at the same time, the spark flew out of the gems and created a portal. Shadow went in first, then Jasmine but Silver didn't go in just yet. He watched the Princess move, while her eyes were still closed.

"Father..." Elise said in her sleep.

He stopped himself.

He looked at the sapphire gem in his hand and walked up to the Princess, kneeling down. "It's a lucky charm..." Silver opened Elise's hand and put the gem in her hand and moved her arm to rest on her lap. Silver stood up looking at her for one last time, and ran to the portal.

He finally knows the truth of the Iblis trigger, it isn't Sonic.

It's Elise.