The Return of Mephiles: P8

“He took the Chaos Emerald?!” Sonic asked. “Knuckles why didn’t you stop him?!”

“Don’t blame me!” Knuckles replied. “I turned my back for half a second and he was gone!!” Sonic groaned and sat down on the couch.

“Ah, forget it,” he said. “I just wish Shadow had let me go with him. Emra’s my sister after all.”

“He might’ve felt it was safer for him to go alone Sonic,” said Amy, sitting down next to Sonic on the couch. “After all, Shadow is pretty good when it comes to sneaking into places, and this thing between him ‘n Mephiles is pretty personal.”

“Yeah, but he’s been gone too long now! And what about Emra? She could be hurt! I mean, who knows what Mephiles will do to either one of them!” Sonic sighed in agitation and buried his face in his hands. “I kinda wish now I had gone with him right then and there to rescue Emra,” he said. “Now we don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“Yeah,” said Tails. “All we can do… is wait.”

“And I hate waiting…” Sonic muttered. There was a long pause of silence, except for the tapping of Sonic’s foot against the carpet. Everyone was so nervous that they were almost scared to speak, except Espio was simply meditating in the corner, which is what he usually did in a situation like this. Sonic let his head hang, almost touching his knees, then he looked up again, glancing around the room. He sighed and stood up. The doorbell rang, and it caused Knuckles to jump, but then he relaxed.

“That must be Rouge, late as usual,” he muttered.

“I’ll get it!” Cream and Charmy squealed at the same time. They both leapt up to get the door, but Cheese the Chao was already there, turning the handle with his tiny paws and pulling the door open with as much strength as he could.

“Chao!” he squeaked as the door swung the rest of the way open. Cheese floated there for a minute, and then he did a jump in midair. “Chao, chao, chao, chao!!” came the happy squeals.

“Good to see you too, Cheese.” Emra said as she and Shadow walked in.

“Emra, Shadow!!!” everyone shouted in unison. They all rushed over, overjoyed to see Emra and Shadow were all right. Sonic pushed past everyone to get to Emra, and he threw his arms around her, a big brother happy to see his little sister. Emra smiled and hugged him back, as Shadow moved to the back of the room to the couch, but a serious looking Knuckles stopped him.

“The Emerald?” Knuckles asked. Shadow flattened his ears and frowned.

“I… I had to use it as bait to draw Mephiles away so I could rescue Emra. I’m sorry Knuckles.” Shadow moved past Knuckles to stand at the back of the room, staring out the window at the dark night outside. Knuckles sighed and walked over to Shadow. He placed his hand on Shadow’s shoulder.

“It’s okay Shadow,” he said. “I know Emra means a whole lot more to you than the Emerald. She means a lot to me too as a friend, so I probably would’ve done the same thing you did.”

“… Thanks Knux.” Shadow said. “But now it’s impossible to know how many Emeralds Mephiles has. He wants all seven, but what for?”

“We’ll find that out and we’ll stop him.” Knuckles said, making a spirited fist. He patted Shadow’s shoulder and walked back over to the others, starting to tell them about what eh and Shadow just talked about. Shadow sighed and walked out the back door and stood on the porch, crossing his arms and staring at the sky. His thoughts were so mixed, part of him felt angry that Mephiles had gotten half the spoils, but the other half felt content and happy because he had Emra back. Shadow closed his eyes and sighed again, letting silent thoughts fill his mind.

He was walking through a dark forest, mist swirling around his ankles and an icy wind stinging his ears. Shadow looked around at the forest around him, and up to the treetops as an owl screeched and flew by. Shadow felt his head throbbing, swimming with thoughts that disturbed him… and a voice that was all too familiar whispering in his ear.

“Welcome Shadow… to the forests of your mind… OUR mind. We are more alike than you know… we are mere shadows of each other… I am your shadow… and you are MY shadow. So beware, Shadow the Hedgehog… and hold tight to what you have… for now, anyway.”

Shadow snarled and began to run through the trees, hoping to escape Mephiles’ haunting voice, and the gaze he felt was watching him… piercing through his very soul.

“Soon we will be more alike than you can ever imagine! The barriers of our differences will crumble, and we will no longer be one another’s shadow… we will become one another’s REFLECTION!! So why run? Why bother to flee? This fate is inevitable Shadow; it has been since the day your form became mine as well! So run all you wish… BUT… it’s only a matter of time…”

Shadow ran faster, leaving a path in the mist behind him, and the trees whizzing past him as blurs of grey. Shadow felt though as if Mephiles were keeping up with him, staring at him, waiting for an answer. Shadow bared his teeth and almost shut his eyes, running blind. Suddenly he slipped on something that wasn’t solid ground, but wet, and he fell to his knees. Shadow opened his eyes and looked down, to find that he had stumbled into a lake and was now kneeling in the cold waters, and sending ripples through the water and scattering mist away from the black hedgehog. Shadow glanced around nervously, and Mephiles suddenly appeared over the middle of the lake, gesturing a hand towards Shadow.

“Shadow… Come with me, Shadow. Join with me and we will be UNSTOPPABLE!! It has already begun…” Mephiles motioned at the surface of the water, and Shadow looked down.

He saw his reflection in the water, but suddenly his image changed into Mephiles. Shadow gasped and slapped at the water, but the image just came back, staring at him. Mephiles laughed mockingly, and Shadow clasped his hands over his ears to drown out the laugh.

“No… No!! NO, I’m not like you!!!” Shadow screamed.

“Shadow!” a voice called, splitting the night. Shadow’s eyes shot open and he looked behind him, instantly recognizing the figure.

“Maria!” he exclaimed. Maria smiled at him and knelt next to him in the water, touching his cheek with her hand.

“Look deeper Shadow the Hedgehog…” she said. “You are yourself, and nothing more.” Maria took his hand and touched it with hers to the surface of the water, and Shadow’s image changed back to his own… except Maria was sitting next to him. Shadow smiled, feeling tears well in his eyes, and he looked at Maria.

“Always remember your REAL destiny Shadow,” she said. “And you will never truly be like Mephiles. You are the Ultimate Lifeform, Shadow. And there are those who love you.”

And then Maria hugged Shadow.

Shadow opened his eyes as he heard someone walking up behind him, and then he felt someone touch his shoulder. Shadow closed his eyes and smiled. The touch was warm and gentle like a summer breeze, and sent electrifying shocks through his body from head to toe. Shadow felt his spine tingle and his fur rise for a moment, feeling the touch move down his arm to hold his hand. The touch was Emra’s.