Chapter 7: A Fight Against Mephiles

Mephiles looked around and saw Sonic. He gasped in surprise and clenched his fist in anger.

"Why have you released me, Sonic? Do you realize that I am you sworn enemy?"

Sonic chuckled. "I figured you'd say that, Mephiles. That may have been true once, but no longer. Years ago, Eggman made me evil. Now I only crave death and destruction."

Mephiles was silent for a minute, and then started to chuckle. The chuckle steady grew louder, and then turned into a full blown maniacal laugh.

"Finally, Sonic has become evil! Excellent; this will work out perfectly," he said to himself. Mephiles scanned the room and saw Shadow, Chris, Amy and Blaze standing across the room, their eyes wide. He smirked evilly and walked towards them, standing in front of Shadow. "It's been some time, hasn't it?" he asked Shadow.

"You monster," Shadow growled. "What are you up to this time?"

"Ask Sonic; he's the one who released me. I too am curious as to why he freed me from the Scepter. I can tell it is all part of his plan, though."

Sonic grinned. "Mephiles is going to help me destroy this pathetic world," he told Shadow. "That is why I released him."

"You won't get away with this!" Shadow growled, and then launched himself towards Sonic and Mephiles to attack them. However, Mephiles teleported out of the way and reappeared behind Shadow's back, kicking him and forcing him to slam against the wall. Shadow got up and charged, trying to kick and punch Mephiles. Sonic just stood there, watching the fight in amusement. Mephiles then stuck his hand out, causing abeam of light to shoot itself at Shadow. Shadow, however, saw this coming and used his speed to dodge the blast. Mephiles looked around for Shadow before he doubled over in pain. Shadow had punched his fist into Mephiles's stomach and then delivered a roundhouse kick, sending Mephiles flying into the wall.

Shadow stood silently, waiting for Mephiles to get up. When he did, he eyed Shadow's friends. Chris, Amy, and Blaze were still standing across the room, and Rouge had woken up from unconsciousness. He grinned evilly and formed energy balls in his hands, sending them toward Blaze, who countered the attack with her pyrokinesis. Flames shot out of her hands and hit the dark energy ball. The energy ball and stream of fire collided, struggling against each other. It looked like the two attacks were even for a minute until Mephiles's dark energy ball overpowered Blaze's flames.

Blaze's eyes widened. "Get out of the way!" she shouted.

Everyone dodged the energy ball as it collided with the castle wall. A massive explosion rang out, blasting out the wall of the castle. The castle had started to crumble and bricks fell to the ground, filling the room with dust. When the dust settled, the walls of the castle had fallen to the ground. Mephiles surveyed the damage and saw that Shadow, Chris, Amy and Blaze had survived the blast. Rouge, on the other hand, had been trapped under a pile of bricks and was instantly crushed to death.

"Rouge!" Shadow cried out, and rushed over to the bat's side. He checked her pulse, but found that there was none. He got up and looked at Mephiles with hatred in his eyes. "You'll pay for this! Both of you will, I swear it!"

Sonic laughed. "You'll have to try harder next time, Shadow. Mephiles and I must get going. The next time we meet, you won't be so lucky."

And with that, they Chaos Controlled away. Shadow blinked in surprise and then turned to Blaze. "Since when could Sonic use Chaos Control without a Chaos Emerald?"

Blaze shrugged. "Sonic's powers are increasing. He already has his werewolf transformation, but I soon fear he may be able to take new forms."

Shadow sighed. "Great; just great. Well, there's not much we can do now. We must get some more help. Fortunately, I know someone who can help us."

"Who?"

"The Chaotix."