The story was over in chapter 5, but xiXlToxiclXix mentioned possession in their review so I thought 'Why not?'
Rouge's ears flicked when she heard the back door to Club Rouge knock downstairs. She there was only ever two people who knocked on that door… drunken idiots who couldn't find their way to the front… or Shadow. She put her fancy cocktail down on her kitchen counter and rushed downstairs to see who it was. Looking through the small window, she realised that it was the best of the possibilities; it was Shadow. The bat flung the door open excitedly to let her companion in. It was a Monday, so her club didn't open that night, thus, she would have the time to spend with Shadow. Whatever he wanted.
"Rouge… can I come in?" Shadow asked reluctantly.
"Of course! Let's go upstairs, I'll pour you a drink," Rouge said happily. She led the hedgehog inside the shut the door. They went up the steep set of stairs that led to the apartment above the night club. Rouge immediately got a second cocktail glass and began to pour Shadow a drink.
"No thanks, Rouge. I'd prefer not to get intoxicated right now," Shadow said and sat down on the sofa on the other side of the large room. Rouge's apartment held one large room with a kitchen and living room area, and at the back of it was the single bedroom and bathroom. "I've had a rough day…"
"What happened?" Rouge asked, quickly going to her kitchen cupboard to get out a large bar of chocolate. Shadow saw this and sighed, he was getting treated like a female friend that had just gone through a breakup. Drinks and chocolate… it was only a matter of time before she got out the ice cream and tissues.
"That's just for you, right? I don't feel like eating sickeningly sweet foods right now," Shadow said while Rouge sat down by the hedgehog.
"Aww, you're no fun, Shadow," Rouge said playfully. Her smile left her face when Shadow wasn't in his usual sulk, it looked as though he actually had a problem to talk about. "Shadow… is it serious? What happened?"
"It's a long story… and it involves a lot confusion…" Shadow began. "You see, there's this alternate timeline where….
… and that's what brought me here," Shadow finished. It took a couple of hours to tell his story and explain everything in full. Rouge was the only person Shadow felt he could open up to, so he decided to tell her absolutely everything. Rouge nearly had to reach for the tissues after all.
"So, feel like something to eat now?" Rouge asked. Shadow shook his head and refused again. "You must be hungry… you've not eaten all day."
"I felt so famished during my fight with Mephiles… and strangely enough… after my fight I felt fine," Shadow said. "My thirst is gone too."
"Shadow… what if your merge with Mephiles has taken away your need to eat?" Rouge asked.
"That would make my life a lot easier. No more hunger pains when I'm unable to find food," Shadow said.
"But, wouldn't that make life boring?" Rouge asked. "If you don't eat or drink, then you don't take in water technically wouldn't need to sweat either, which means less showers. So, if you don't need to eat drink or wash, then all you have to do is sleep… and you hardly do any of that anyway. Shadow, what will you do to pass the time?" Rouge asked.
"Life isn't all about indulging yourself, Rouge," Shadow said calmly. "There are better things I could be doing."
"What do you actually do when you're gone? I doubt you have to fight people like Mephiles every day," Rouge said, sounding sceptical. Shadow folded his arms and retracted his head between his shoulders. "Don't tell me you just sulk all day." There was no answer from Shadow. "So… that is what you do."
"Hmph, I'm not like you mortals. I don't waste my whole life by working to satisfy my needs," Shadow said defensively.
"And now you don't even have any needs," Rouge said.
"I still have to breathe," Shadow said. "Furthermore, I doubt my digestive system's just packed up and left my body. I can still eat and drink if I want to."
"Then, you can taste this chocolate I bought. Come on Shadow, it's good. I bought it to share with you," Rouge pleaded. Shadow rolled his eyes as Rouge held out a couple of squares she had broken off of the bar. The hedgehog cautiously sniffed it then put it in his mouth.
Rouge watched in shock as Shadow shot up out of his seat and ran into the bathroom. Sounds of vomiting echoed through the apartment. Rouge tried a piece herself, it was just fine, thus, something was wrong with Shadow. When he came out of the bathroom, there were dark circles under his eyes and the skin on his muzzle was pale a shining in a cold sweat.
"Rouge…" he groaned as he leant against the door frame weakly. The bat got up ready to help him. Suddenly, Shadow's stance shifted from slouched and weak, to straight and strong. Rouge stopped on the spot as Shadow's beautiful pure ruby eyes flashed to a terrifying fragmented green. With his hands slightly in front of him and his head tilted to the side to a small extent, Shadow walked forward slowly. His steps were irregular and off-balance, as though he'd only started to learn to walk.
"Shadow! What's happened to you!?" the bat screamed and stepped back a few steps, this brought her to the sofa again.
"Greetings… Rouge the Bat. I'm afraid I can't reach Shadow right now," Shadow said. His voice was his own but… the tone wasn't like him. It was sinister… and slow. A smirk crept upon his muzzle, still paled, but no longer damp.
"Are you…?" Rouge started.
"Mephiles… Mephiles the Dark," the demon said. He stumbled forward slightly. "My apologies, this body is a lot heavier than the form I took, thus harder to manoeuvre, so I may stumble until I get used to it."
"Get used to it? You're not staying inside of Shadow!" Rouge yelled.
"Well, I cannot escape as he trapped me inside of his body, so I decided to take over. I'm staying for good, and Shadow…. is nothing but my puppet," Mephiles boasted. The demon noticed Rouge's shocked expression. "Don't worry, I'm not hurting him. Shadow is completely unaware of what's happening. He's as good as dead."
"What!? No! Shadow is my friend, and I won't let you do that to him!" Rouge yelled and jumped towards Mephiles to kick him. Using Shadow's strong body, Mephiles grabbed Rouge by this foot and dropped her to the floor.
"Now now, you wouldn't hurt Shadow's precious body, would you?" Mephiles teased while looking down upon her. Rouge rolled back and jumped to her feet.
"Shadow can forgive me if I explain what happened," Rouge said angrily and tried again. The same happened, except Mephiles managed to throw Rouge this time. The bat hit the front door which was on the other side of the room. Mephiles walked to the injured one stood over her.
"Out of my way before I blast this precious living quarters of yours into oblivion. I have no need to exterminate you, so I shan't waste my energy."
After hearing that, Rouge got an idea.
"Speaking of energy, you can release a lot more in a shorter space of time if you take off those inhibitor rings," Rouge explained.
"And, why would you want to tell me that, mortal?" Mephiles said whilst twisting the large yellow rings off of his wrists. Suddenly, Mephiles felt a surge of Chaos Energy blast through Shadow's body.
Since Shadow's body filled itself with Chaos Energy again, Mephiles' energy was no longer needed. Purple mist sprayed out of Shadow's chest; the black hedgehog jerked slightly while it happened, then collapsed onto the floor. Still at her knees, Rouge caught him, then reached out for the inhibitor rings to put them back onto Shadow's wrists. Ruby eyes shot open and looked to Mephiles, who was standing in his hedgehog form looking very irritated.
"What happened!?" Shadow exclaimed quickly and jumped to his feet. "I remember feeling sick, running to the bathroom- and all of a sudden I'm here!"
"I possessed your body," Mephiles explained.
"But I outsmarted him-" Rouge began.
"But you didn't. I knew that by removing those rings I could escape if there was a larger flow of energy in Shadow's body. Are you forgetting that I wanted to escape?" Mephiles said, boastfully.
"No! This means I have to defeat you all over again!" Shadow exclaimed.
"Yes… and I will be here to take my revenge when you least expect it," Mephiles threatened and disappeared.
The two shocked creatures rose to their feet.
"Rouge," Shadow said, in a monotone voice.
"Yes, Shadow?" she replied.
"I could really do with that drink now," he said miserably while putting his right hand on his forehead in pain and looked to the floor. He went to sit down on a stool by the kitchen counter.
Whilst Rouge poured herself and Shadow a drink, she glanced at the clock on the wall to notice it was past midnight.
"It's getting late, but I doubt we'll get to sleep after what's just happened," Rouge said. "Why don't I put a pizza in the oven and we share it?"
Shadow nodded slowly. His face expression didn't change; he just looked to the side to avoid contact. Rouge could tell that Shadow felt shaken, but didn't want to admit it. The dark one rested his elbow on the table and kept his fingers on his forehead, as though he was trying to hide his face. The hedgehog had a massive headache, and weak muscles from the possession. He couldn't wait to drink his pain away for the night.
Lucy Labrador