Shadow Saves Them All

Chapter 17

John stood there, his dark black hair flowing in the cold wind. His red eyes focused on his target miles away, Dylan and friends.

"They know we know," he said back to Eggman. Aside from being crushed by a fifteen ton machine, Eggman was in pretty good shape. His head was bandaged and his glasses were a little cracked, but he was okay. Thanks to John anyway.

"Oh! Hohohohoho!" Eggman laughed maniacally.

"Soon that blasted hedgehog and his friends will cease to exist! And then we will destroy the surface of the planet, allowing for the creation of the glorious Eggman Empire!" he pounded his fist on the control board and laughed some more. Hundreds of thousands of Eggman robots gathered behind him.

John stood there with his own creations in tow. Hundreds of Robots and robot dogs, all of which looked oh too familiar. Shadow would've been able to recognize them in an instant after all. They were the ones from his nightmare. John was surprised for an instant when he saw his old nemesis approach. Dylan had run up to them so quickly it seemed as though he had no time to notice. Dylan stared at john with intensity, inside him was the kind of fury that is not human.

"Go," he said to Eggman.

"I'll take care of him," Eggman smiled and flew off ahead of John.

"Heh heh heh! Best of luck!" His Eggman robots flying after him. Dylan and John both looked off in the distance, watching Eggman get smaller and smaller until out of sight. They both turned back and looked at each other with great intensity. John merely held up his watch and pointed to it.

"12:00 A.M. Christmas Day, you're time is up," he said with a condescending smirk. Dylan looked down at the ground, not a single emotion showed on his face. John continued to speak.

"A shame! You could've done so much more if you had just been more useful! You could never help anyone avoid death! Not here, and especially not back home! That's why she died Dylan! She died because you couldn't protect her!" Tears welled up in his eyes and he began to choke. Dylan was being put through hell.

"You were a failure then and you're a failure NOW!" he snapped.

Dylan started to smile, then laugh a little. Something was gone, forever. Dylan lifted his head and his eyes were not focused on anything. He was purely deranged, nothing left in his body but an empty soul. A shell of a human, nothing but a tragedy waiting to be told through a million deaths. He was no more, only his power remained in a shell with the desire for revenge. He was gone.

John stopped a little. Dylan saw no one, just a living being, something he wanted to crush down. He had an inhuman look on his face, and he loved it. He loved looking at John as if he was the psycho, Dylan was done with time limits, he was done with everything involving limits. He was ready for destruction. Pure. Unadulterated. Destruction.

"Heh heh heh, do you think I give a crap about what time it is?" John stepped back for a second. What did he mean, was he going to defy the order of the U.S.B.? It wasn't done, ever. Dylan lifted his hand loosely, as if he was just a puppet being lifted by a string. He summoned his Caneblade and pointed it at John.

"I'm gonna tear you to shreds pretty boy!" he said with craziness in his mind. John was frightened, but ready to stop him. He pointed at Dylan and shouted;

"Kill him!" The robots all ran forward, but before it could even start, something happened, John looked around and they weren't moving, they stood there.

"what are you doing you nimrods? Get him!"

"…"

Nothing. Before John could speak he was interrupted by a cold and chilling voice, it spoke slowly and eerily.

"They can't hear you," he turned around to see Dylan floating there with his head tilted slightly to the side, with a horrifying smile on his face, and eyes wide as could be. John went pale with fear, what had he done. Had he pushed Dylan too far this time? What did he do? Dylan threw his Caneblade at John and John jumped to dodge, but he was slowed in mid jump. He was moving, just very slowly. As he slowly descended, Dylan slithered over next to him and said;

"I'm gonna make you pay John," with his crazy look. John panicked and started to flail around everywhere, trying to stop himself from landing where he knew he would land, right into the clutches of his insane enemy. Finally the inevitable occurred he landed and Dylan snatched him by the collar and looked him dead in the eyes.

"I'm gonna break you,"

John felt everything sear up in pain after that. Nothing felt normal, everything felt bent and broken. Nothing was peaceful anymore, he felt only pain, just like Dylan. He fell to the ground and everything was normal again. Dylan stood there, looking down at his enemy on the ground. The robots were inactive, as if they had been hit by and E.M.P. Dylan collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooo

He woke up in a world made of pure white. He looked around and at himself, he wore his normal clothes, except there were entirely white. He also saw something incredible. Walking towards him in a flowing white dress was his beauty, Becca. Blonde hair, green eyes and all. He was at a loss for words for how overjoyed he was.

"Becca… you're,"

"No," she spoke like an angel.

"You're not dead, and I'm not alive. We're in between. This merely your subconscious,"

"So then you're just my memory of you?" she nodded.

"Yup," she was still gone, and it was his fault.

"No it isn't, it was never you're fault," she said.

"Yes it is! I'm the reason why you're dead!" she walked up to him and put her hand up to his face.

"John let me die, you did everything you could to protect me always," he clutched his head in sorrow and confusion.

"Why do I…" She put her finger to his lips and shushed him.

"I know what you know, everything you know. So I understand," he looked at her desperately. He held her hand to his face and closed his eyes, he never wanted to leave. He wanted to stay there with her, and live the life they had always dreamed of living, but he couldn't. Deep down he knew that, he knew he would never be able to and it tore him apart, especially since it was all his fault and she knew it. She stepped back and started to slowly, fade.

"NO! Don't leave!" he begged her. He tried to grab her but she was intangible, he passed right through her. He looked her in the eyes as she continued to fade.

"Never forget who you are, and what you stand for. For me," she faded, gone once again. He stood there in confusion and fear. Desperate to understand how she could forgive him for what he had done, for letting her perish. Why? Why did she still love him? Why did she care so much for a man who had betrayed her and cost her, her life. He shouted to the sky in confusion and rage;

"WHY?!"

Everything faded out again, he was back in his body once again, she had helped restore his sanity and somehow, John had managed to escape despite his various mortal wounds. He looked around and closed his eyes, the confusion went away, he felt clarity. She was his clarity, she was his everything, and he had to learn to live without her, or live as an insane killer. He would suffer the same fate as John, he would suffer the same fate as himself.

"Sonic, Shadow, Silver," he said to himself.

"Best of Luck,"