Darkness and Light Prt 2 Ch 31

Chapter Thirty-One: His Dark Legacy

Angel, angel, what have I done?
I’ve faced the quakes, the winds, the fire…
I’ve conquered country, crown and throne…
Why can’t I cross this river?
“Pay no mind to the battles you’ve won…
“It’ll take a lot more than rage and muscle…
“Open your heart and hands my son,
“Or you’ll never make it over the river…
“It’ll take a lot more than words and guns
“A whole lot more than riches and muscle…
“The hands of the many must join as one,
“And together we’ll cross the river.”

Angel Island was erupting with volatile energy now.

A little less than ten minutes, eleven at the most, until the whole island would erupt. Nothing flesh-and-blood could be on the island and survive the blast. Haste was of the utmost importance for everyone now.

Yet Shade just laid there, eyes fixed on Shadow, wide with horror and disbelief.

“No… that can’t… no!” Shade breathed, not daring to move, as if doing so would drive what he was seeing home. “Shadow… please, get up!”

The ebony hedgehog didn’t respond. He didn’t even move, save for the wind gently brushing Shadow’s fur and quills around a bit.

Shade finally pushed himself up, and ran over to Shadow. Thanks to his genetic design by Professor Gerald, Shade’s muscles recovered much more quickly from strain than other beings, but it still wasn’t enough to totally shake off his utter exhaustion.

Shade fell by Shadow’s side, and was about to shake him, try anything to get him up, when he caught sight of Shadow’s eyes. Shade gasped involuntarily, and his throat tightened.

Shadow’s ruby eyes were wide open, staring ahead endlessly and blankly. They didn’t blink at all, just staring forward forever at nothing. A small bit of moisture in the dirt, and the clean trails on Shadow’s dirty face from his eyes indicated two solitary tears that had fallen just a moment ago.

Out of everyone, Shade had least expected Shadow of all people to die in this war. Somehow, he had imagined everything working out, with Shadow and Rouge living together as a family, to see the world that they had saved recover and prosper. But now, all those images burnt like cinders and stung Shade’s eyes with their smoke.

There was no doubt about it. Shadow the Hedgehog was dead.

“I’ll grant you a boon, if you wish it, Shade,” Mephiles said softly. “Take his body, and the Chaos Emerald he has with him. Leave this island, recuperate and rest. If you wish to fight out the rest of this war, so be it, but it will be short. You’ve earned some respite though, and I will give you time to escape and make your peace before I finish you and your allies off. I’m giving you all a chance. What do you say?”

Shade said nothing. He only continued to kneel by Shadow’s side, utterly struck in disbelief, only distantly having comprehended what Mephiles had said. Eyes dark with despair, he slowly reached over and shut Shadow’s eyelids. Shade shakily stood up and turned to face Mephiles.

“No… this is my last chance to stop you…” he said softly. “If I leave, you’ll just rebuild your forces and keep attacking us until there’s nothing left. Right now, you don’t have Hades or the Lost Ones or any of your soldiers protecting you.” Shade’s eyes narrowed in sharp hatred, and his body shimmered a thin layer of red energy.

“This ends now Mephiles!” Shade shouted. “If I die here, then so be it, but I’m not leaving this island until it’s over! I would be a coward to run away now, when Shadow…” The ebony echidna’s eyes rimmed with tears but he harshly rubbed them away. “When Shadow gave everything to try and stop you! I’ll see his battle through to the end for him!”

“So be it,” Mephiles said with a shrug. “If you had escaped, you could’ve gathered the Chaos Emeralds, barricaded yourselves within Guardkaku and made a stand. But this will make my task easier, and quicker.”

“You’ll have to get through me, first!” Shade cried, and lashed out at Mephiles with a blazing-blue claw of energy. But Mephiles had vanished. All of his energy speeding his reflexes, Shade twisted his body around just in time to block the Sword of Chaos. With a quick, desperate move, Shade blasted the ground beneath him with a Chaos Lance, shooting him in the air and surrounding Mephiles in dust and smoke.

“Chaos LANCE!!” Shade screamed, firing dozens of blasts at the spot Mephiles still stood. Without even looking, Mephiles used his tail and deflected every single one.

Need to try something else… Shade thought darkly. Even if I can’t defeat him… there’s a small chance that when Angel Island explodes, it’ll take all of us with it. I need to stay alive and keep him here until it does. There’s always the chance he’s overestimated himself. After all, he’s underestimated Shadow and- Shade abruptly stopped his train of thought, the weight of Shadow’s death still crushing his heart. He pushed the thought out of his head, and tried to think of something else.

But Mephiles had materialized in the air next to Shade, and casually smashed him aside with his left arm. Shade crashed to the ground, his energy wavering from pain and exhaustion, but all he had to do was hold Mephiles here a few more minutes…

Above, Mephiles carefully observed Shade, marveling that a being of flesh and blood- even an Ultimate Life-Form- could take all this punishment and exhaustion and still try to fight. Still, it was a moot point; the Prince of Traitors was on his last legs.

“IT’S ALL OVER, SHADE!!” Mephiles laughed, diving down and lashing the Sword of Chaos right at Shade's heart. It took all of Shade’s strength to meet the attack and deflect it aside. Now Mephiles was driving all his strength at the echidna, who desperately deflected and dodged his attacks, not even getting the chance to counterattack.

“You were always determined to see your objectives to the end, Shade!” Mephiles growled, lashing his blade and tail at the same time, forcing Shade to warp away. “You were always willing to give your life for causes you believed in… but so much so you were oblivious to everything around you! That I lied to you… that fighting me is pointless!”

Mephiles struck Shade across the face with the hilt of the Sword of Chaos, causing him to stumble backwards. The dark being then kicked at Shade, who dodged it by using the momentum from Mephiles’ first attack to backflip away from the dark being’s kick. But Mephiles was attacking too fast now for Shade to keep up.

“I. Will. Rejoin. With. SOLARIS!!” Mephiles snarled, locking blades with Shade once again, and then he grabbed Shade’s wrist, and drove the Sword of Chaos past Shade’s blades and down his hand…

Two of Shade’s fingers, and a chunk of his left hand, fell away. The ebony echidna screamed in utter agony as the burning Havoc Blade burned through him.

Mephiles seized Shade by his back dreadlocks, and drove the echidna’s face into the dirt, dragging him a ways, and then he threw him to the ground. “It’s over,” the dark being said to drive the point home.

“Please… just stop… you can’t destroy… everything…” Shade said meekly, at an utter loss in all his despair. “Nobody… should have that right…”

“Only by your standards!” Mephiles spat, and firmly planted his foot on Shade’s torso. “You have not suffered countless centuries as I have. I am the judge of this universe now, and I say it shall burn into nothingness until not even time flows through it anymore… starting with this pathetic island!” Mephiles raised the Sword of Chaos to drive through Shade’s body, who prepared for the worst kind of agony…

But it never came. With a loud noise that sounded like a cross between a firework and a whistle, Mephiles’ weight was forced off, and the dark being stumbled back. Shade twisted his body to look up, and his eyes widened at the sight.

Metal Sonic was soaring down, a huge cannon attached to his arm, firing blast after blast of energy at Mephiles, striking the dark being multiple times.

The metal doppelganger of Sonic had obviously been upgraded; he was a foot taller, and his overall design was bulkier, like a layer of dark-blue plate armor had been added on. Metal Sonic’s legs were longer, hi feet bigger, and the quill-design on his head was longer and spikier.

“What…?!” Mephiles growled, but was met in the face by Metal Sonic’s fist, knocking the dark being into a spiral. Metal Sonic followed up by kneeing Mephiles in the stomach, and then roundhouse-kicking him across the dirt. His mechanical eyes flashed red with malice, and a two-foot-long blade shimmering gold with artificial Chaos Energy unsheathed itself from Metal Sonic’s left arm.

“This is my world!” Metal Sonic growled with a mechanical undertone, and flew at Mephiles with sound-breaking jets. “It is mine to take, and you will not destroy it!”

“Enough of this!” Mephiles shouted, and met Metal Sonic’s blade easily. “You all die here, one way or another!” He shoved the mech back a ways, and fired a blast of energy right at Metal Sonic.

Metal Sonic’s upgrades has nearly doubled all of his previous abilities. From when he had escaped Dr. Eggman’s sinking flagship, the metal doppelganger had sought to upgrade himself in order to survive any other attacks from Mephiles. Not to mention, with Eggman gone, Metal Sonic would be free to make his own efforts to defeat Sonic and rule the Earth.

So Sonic’s “evil” doppelganger set to work, salvaging tech and parts from Dr. Eggman’s destroyed fleet and armies, adding parts that would only aid his abilities, not hinder them, while adding on a few layers of armor that wouldn’t impede him. After a few days, Metal Sonic had taken the form he had now, and had begun drawing up plans to rebuild Dr. Eggman’s army and make them loyal only to him, Metal Sonic.

Even so, his abilities still didn’t match any of Mephiles’. Metal Sonic barely registered Mephiles’ attack before it had been fired, and rocketed up to dodge it. But Mephiles was waiting for him in the sky.

“Last time we met, I made you, a machine, feel fear…” Mephiles hissed. “Let’s see if you’ve gained any more courage since then?”

Metal Sonic blocked Mephiles’ blade, but the dark being’s fist crashed into his metal torso, crunching and denting it before the impact sent Metal Sonic crashing into the ground.

“Is there no way to end this?” Shade whispered from where he kneeled. “Was this doomed from the start, to die fighting?” He smiled sardonically. “Well, nobody better say we didn’t… didn’t try…”


*???*
--

Shadow…

A voice… a sweet, calming voice… speaking from… where? Close? Far… no, closer…

Shadow… get up, please…

No… I’m dead… It’s too late for that…

Death is not your destiny… not now, Shadow…

Cold… snow…?!

Shadow’s eyes snapped open, and he slowly looked around him. The surroundings were familiar, yet alien. Shadow was on a cool mountain, a gentle breeze carrying snowflakes like a curtain swaying by an open window. The ebony hedgehog sighed; he’d been here before… at least, he had memories of it.

“Shadow…” the voice spoke again. Turning to face it, Shadow was greeted by a face that made him smile despite himself.

Maria Robotnik stood there, no longer wearing armor like in Shadow’s previous visions. Now she wore only the blue dress Shadow recognized from their time together on the ARK.

“Maria… what’s going on?” Shadow asked faintly, though he had a vague idea. “Where… is this… heaven, or something?”

“I’m sorry Shadow… I’m so, so sorry I couldn’t reach you sooner…” Maria said, her eyes deep with sadness. “I could only contact you when your mind went dark… had I tried any earlier than that, you’d have fallen unconscious or at least been distracted enough for Mephiles to strike you down… you can’t be conscious when I contact you; you’re not close enough to this world otherwise…”

Shadow remembered the sharp, burning pain lashing out through his body from Mephiles’ blade… the burning energy melting through his skin and setting his blood on fire. He winced involuntarily.

“So I am dead…” Shadow said darkly, his head lowering in shame and guilt. “I’ve failed then… Rouge, you, everyone… The world, everything, it’ll… it’ll be…!” Tears of despair welled in the ebony hedgehog’s eyes.

“No, Shadow… there’s one last chance to stop Mephiles…” Maria said. “I wish I could’ve contacted you sooner; Kaynyx told you, last time we met, Iblis’ impending return and Mephiles’ growing power made it nearly impossible to reach you. But you and Shade defeated Solaris, and Iblis is gone again. The darkness between my world and yours has been lifted a great deal.”

“Great timing...” Shadow scoffed, and then shook his head. “I’m sorry, it’s just… what difference does it make? Did you and Kaynyx just recently find a way to stop Mephiles?”

“No… though we have an idea…” Maria said, smiling a little, yet her eyes remained deeply sad. “Killing Mephiles isn’t an option; we know that now. We figured the only solution would be to seal him, or banish him away somehow, so he’d never trouble us again.”

“That doesn’t get me anywhere… I don’t have anything to seal him with!” Shadow snapped. “A fat lot of good that does me after so many other people have died! Any information you have would better before we all put our necks on the line!”

“We know, Shadow. Don’t forget, Kaynyx was in the same position,” Maria replied evenly. “There’s only so much we can do in this world, only so much we can see and tell you. We don’t have all the answers Shadow, or I’d give them to you. All we can do is think and try as hard and fast as we can, same as you.”

“That still doesn’t help… as I said, I don’t have anything to seal Mephiles with!” Shadow repeated.

“You have your Chaos Emerald, and your abilities to use them as you will,” Maria said.
Shadow was about to respond, but his eyes widened. Slowly, ideas came rushing to him. Understanding began to drip into his mind…

Battling Mephiles had ultimately never worked out. No, the solution to stopping the dark being didn’t involve war or bloodshed… somehow, it would take order and control to put an end to Mephiles’ slaughter…

Control… Chaos Control…!

“My grandfather didn’t want you to be a weapon the way Black Doom and Mephiles did…” Maria explained. “He wanted you to be a shield for humans and the Earth, not a weapon. That’s why you have Chaos Control; it’s an ability you’ve used to save the Earth before, and it’s aptly named… you just have to figure out how to use it now. Only you can get the answer.”

“I think I have it…!” Shadow exclaimed, excitement rushing through him. “Alright, Maria, I have to go now to help them. Please, I need to go quickly!”

Maria’s small smile vanished, and the sadness in her blue eyes grew even deeper. She looked away from Shadow, and sighed deeply.

“There’s a problem, Shadow…” she said. “In this realm, as I said, you can only be here while you’ve left the other world behind. When Kaynyx and I died… it was like falling asleep, and hours later, you awake here, feeling refreshed. I don’t know if this is heaven; it’s a world beyond life, and the gateway is only passible by the dead and unconscious… even for the unconscious, only shortly.”

Maria finally met Shadow’s eyes, a tear rolling down her cheek. “You’re dead, Shadow… that’s for certain…” she whispered. “There’s only one way to bring you back to the world of the living to finish this fight with Mephiles…”

“Then tell me!” Shadow demanded, though he half-dreaded the answer, judging from Maria’s expression.

“You’re in this world now… to get you back there, even temporarily, would require energy… that which sustains us in this world after death…” Maria replied quietly. “I would need to give you a great deal of mine, as well as a great deal of Kaynyx’s. It would only work with us who know you and the world you came from. But… it would only work temporarily…”

Shadow’s expression blanked as realization hit him. He could save the world, those he loved…

But Shadow would never see them again… not his friends, not his house…

Rouge the Bat, his wife… Luna, his daughter…

“The only way to keep you in that world, bring you back as you were, would be to sacrifice all of my energy…” Maria said. “But… it would mean whatever was left of me would be gone here. Both of my lives would be spent… so I leave the decision to you, Shadow; it wouldn’t be fair for me to make it for you.”

“So I either lose Rouge… or what little left of you there is…” Shadow croaked, an uneasy feeling of emptiness and conflict clenching and burning his inside.

“Let me give myself, Shadow,” Maria said, some sadness in her eyes leaving, as if sparked with hope. “Please. I can get you back there, back to Rouge, back to your life…”

Shadow stood there, cool yet not freezing in the snow, turning the impossible decision in his head over and over again. It was an evil choice, yet Maria was at least kind enough to not force a decision on him…

“Oh, okay, fine!” Shadow snapped, lip trembling and a look of utter, vicious sadness distorting his features. “Go ahead, sacrifice yourself for me… again!”

“It’s alright, Shadow,” Maria said sweetly, looking as though a weight of guilt had been removed from her. “I’ve already lived my life and helped you. I can give my life again. My time’s passed already, it’s okay…”

“Exactly!” Shadow just snapped. “I mean, look at you! You’re just a girl, a dead girl. Not even remotely important!” Maria was taken aback by this, utterly stunned by these words.

“But me… oh, me…” Shadow went on, walking around aimlessly. “Shadow the Hedgehog, saddled with protecting the world! I lose you, my best friend, everything and everyone else, and I save the world! Time and again, I save it and protect the world, never mind how hard it is going on living, with only a promise to keep you going!”

“Then I find someone…” Shadow’s eyes glazed over with crystal tears. “Rouge… Rouge the Bat… we become friends, someone I can trust finally. Then I had to go and fall in love with her… I had to start a family, and finally know true happiness and acceptance again! I thought maybe, after all I had done, fate was giving me my due for protecting the world!”

Shadow leaned against the side of the mountain, staring angrily at the snow beneath him. “But this is it…” he said softly, tears running down his face. “This is what I get. My reward for saving the planet so many times… either I never see my new family, or kill my old one… well, it’s not fair…”

He crashed his fist into the mountain, splintering the rocks like a spider web… like his heart.

“IT’S NOT FAIR!!” Shadow screamed, smashing the rock a second time. Tears ran openly down his face, his breathing was shallow and harsh. He slowly looked up to see Maria’s sad, pleading face. After one last, conflicted flurry of thoughts, Shadow slowly walked towards her half-forcing every step.

“Shadow, please… don’t…” Maria pleaded. “It’s okay, I…”

“No Maria… I watched you die once…” Shadow breathed. “I won’t do it again. All that matters… is keeping you, Rouge and everyone else safe. My fate… was never to be happy… I’ve made my decision… just make it quick…”

Maria stared at Shadow awhile, then nodded slowly. A second later, Kaynyx appeared through the flurry of snow, and rested his hand on Shadow’s shoulder.

“We’re all with you, Shadow…” the tall wolf encouraged softly. “You’re the bravest being out there… now, it’s time to end this…”


*Angel Island: Six Minutes until explosion*

By now, the sky was thick with smoke from all the fire splitting the ground of Angel Island apart. The whole island shook violently every few moments, and it felt like the apocalypse had fallen from Solaris after all, but only affected Angel Island.

Metal Sonic was missing his right arm, his whole chassis dented and scarred. He and Shade barely managed to stay on their feet at this point. Yet Mephiles carried on without breaking so much as a sweat.

“I wonder how good of a fight you’d both put up in your prime…” Mephiles wondered aloud. “Not as good as you and Shadow, Shade, but it’d make a nice distraction. Perhaps I should trap you two here and leave; it’d be interesting to see if you survived.”

“Just… finish it, you coward…!” Shade challenged. Metal Sonic made a whirring, beeping noise that sounded more like a malfunction than anything.

“Very well-” Mephiles began, but was interrupted by a blue explosion from about thirty meters behind him. Shade’s eyes widened at the sight…

It was impossible, but there it was, plain as day.

Mephiles slowly turned around, and his eyes widened too. Standing before him was, who had been dead not a moment ago, was Shadow the Hedgehog, shimmering with a light-blue light, glowing with it so strongly it rivaled the golden energy of being Super.

Shadow felt just as he had before Mephiles stabbed him, save for his mind. While his body still ached, his mind was clear and strong, focused on the task at hand. Shadow wasn’t sure exactly what had happened, but he had hope again. If he was quick, he could reach the others, get patched up, and maybe pull through this after all.

“Impossible…” Mephiles growled. “Yet, once again, you seem to have cheated death. I continue to underestimate you mortals, don’t I?”

“You have no idea…” Shadow hissed. He once again held Dark Burner and his red Chaos Emerald in both hands. Yet, he sheathed Dark Burner, and reached down to retrieve his golden ring-bracelets, and snapped them back onto his wrists. Shadow looked over at Shade and Metal Sonic. His expression didn’t seem remotely interested.

“Metal Sonic, Shade, get out of here!” Shadow shouted. “This could… get messy.”

“Affirmative… I must w-w-withdraw to m-make repairs,” Metal Sonic stuttered through his damaged systems. He activated his jets, hovering a few feet, and faced Shade.

“You will hear from me again!” Metal Sonic warned, and rocketed away towards the island. Shade didn’t leave, but he warped a few hundred meters back to give Shadow and Mephiles some distance. But neither paid him any heed.

“How did you come back?” Mephiles inquired. “I’m curious. I know I killed you, I saw the lifelessness I know so well in your eyes. How did you cheat death this time?”

“I had some help…” Shadow replied with a smirk. “We’re not as easy to kill as you think.”

“You’re not, at least,” Mephiles agreed, and chuckled. “It seems we have more in common than I thought. We both have unusual knacks for survival, and we’re both fueled by hate to defeat the other.”

“You’re only half-right,” Shadow said. “I won’t deny I hate you, but that’s not what’s truly fueling me. Yes, part of me craves revenge, but what fuels me is something you’ll never understand… and that’s why I’m going to win now.”

“Is that so?!” Mephiles snarled, his whole body suddenly immersing itself in black and green energy, flowing about him like Shadow’s blue energy did. “What is that, then?”

“I told you when Shade and I went Super…” Shadow went on. “It’s the desire, the need to protect those close to you. We’re fighting for a much bigger cause than ourselves, unlike you. I have all the people of this world fueling me, Mephiles. I could never lose to someone like you who fights all alone with nobody he cares for; I’m infinitely stronger than you.”

“What nonsense!” Mephiles crowed. “I have honed myself into the perfect killing machine; putting priorities on others only slows your path to your goals, especially when those others willingly die for you. You have the strength of a god, Shadow, but the mind of a weakling! It’s too clouded with love; had you honed yourself with hate, you’d be even stronger than you were before! But in the end, you’re weak… and weaklings are doomed to fail!”

“I think I finally agree; weaklings are doomed to fail…” Shadow shouted back, smiling widely. “So let’s see which one of us is truly weak… and end this!”

The energy both of them were gathering was immense. It clashed and flared over the island, blocking out the fire and smoke from the dying island. Shadow and Mephiles stared each other down, both knowing, somehow, this was the end.

“Even your power will be infinitesimal compared to Solaris’ reign as the ruler of his own universe!” Mephiles growled. “There’s nobody left to help you now!”

Shadow could feel his life waning slowly but surely, his body’s weariness and pain returning along with it. Whatever he was going to do, he had to do it quick. Any chance of him actually surviving was waning fast. Shadow looked at his Chaos Emerald as it glowed, and smiled sadly.

When he looked up, he saw himself surrounded by others… Shadow peered at them. Kaynyx? Knuckles? Silver? Blaze? Maria… even Cream the Rabbit?

Hallucinations? Mirages? Maybe, but it was a welcome sight nonetheless. Shadow laughed loudly, catching Mephiles off guard.

“You are a fool!” Shadow laughed. “I may have been alone once… but never again!” The ebony hedgehog charged forward, holding only the Chaos Emerald, clutching the wound on his stomach with his other hand. Mephiles charged too.

Everyone… Silver, Blaze, Knuckles, Kaynyx, Maria... those still living... this is for you… Shadow thought to himself as the distance between Mephiles and he closed. Especially for you, Rouge…

Using all of his strength, Mephiles slashed the Sword of Chaos, trying to decapitate the Ultimate Life-Form, but he was gone. Mephiles’ green eyes widened, and he looked down.

Shadow had used every muscle to dodge Mephiles’ attack, and taking the pointed end of his Chaos Emerald, he stabbed the gem right into Mephiles’ torso. They stood still for a moment, the only noise was the shimmering of the Chaos Emerald.

“Go back to hell…” Shadow seethed, and focused his energy on the Chaos Emerald. “Chaos… CONTROL!!” And he shoved the Emerald back with it still stuck inside Mephiles.

Only then did the dark being realize what Shadow had done. It was too late to even cry out defiantly.

The Chaos Control was still focused around the Chaos Emerald, causing a time-rift right in Mephiles’ body. Yet it clashed violently with the Chaos Energy from the shattered fragments of the Sword of Chaos’ original blade still stuck inside Mephiles. In the end, it amplified the strength of the rift, and ripped a portal right where Mephiles was standing. The Sword of Chaos’ energy blade died out, and the empty hilt shattered as it hit the ground.

The dark being screamed in agony, as he fell to the ground and the time-rift slowly started eating away at him, scattering him in fragments across time and space. Mephiles screamed endlessly, the pain was absolutely unbearable. First his legs crumbled and fell into the void, slowly dragging him in and erasing him.

Far away, where Hades was still battling Sonic, Amy and Rouge, the Lost One looked up in horror. The battle came to an abrupt halt as all of Mephiles’ soldiers froze where they were. Many G.U.N., Mobians and Black Arms that had been about to die were suddenly saved.

“No… it can’t be…!” Hades whispered in horror, and turned to run. Hades ran as fast as his legs could carry him and launched off into the air, but the damage had been done.
Mephiles was defeated. His energy that sustained the Lost Ones and all of his soldiers was failing. All around Angel Island, Mephiles soldiers began to fall apart like ashes, roaring in agony and dying all around them.

“They did it… Shadow did it!” Rouge exclaimed, a genuine grin spreading across her face for the first time that whole day. The darkness around them was abating, and they finally managed to break away. Sonic and Rouge grabbed Omega, they made it to the evacuation zone, and all of them made it aboard a chopper. Soon after, every other survivor had been taken off the island safely.

“What… have you… done…?!” Mephiles hissed weakly, clawing at the ground desperately. “All the power from the Havoc Blade… it’s not working!”

“The power of that Chaos Control is granting you your proper fate,” Shadow answered. “The agony you feel now will be felt by every fiber and cell of your being for all eternity, stretched across time and space, the feeling of being ripped apart. Every single one of your cells will be scattered apart, never to rejoin.”

The ebony hedgehog smirked down at the dark being. “I hope you’re truly as impossible to kill as you say,” Shadow told his nemesis. “Because if you can’t, the pain every single part of you will be feeling for eternity will be unbearable.”

Mephiles just growled in utter hatred, unable to think of anything to say. Rage and bewilderment held his tongue back. He had never in his long, long life dreamt of all his plans and ambitions crumbling to a halt like this.

Shadow was right; this was the only way to defeat Mephiles, and no matter how hard the dark being thought, no way to escape this came to mind.

“I almost feel sorry for you, Mephiles,” Shadow went on. “You’re the only being in the whole universe that probably deserves this kind of fate. But I’ve had enough. I’m tired of fighting you… I’m going home now.” The ebony hedgehog turned his back, and started to walk away.

“I’m afraid this whole island… is about to explode…” Mephiles hissed. “You don’t have time to escape here; less than five minutes now at the very most.”

Shadow stopped where he was, but didn’t turn to face the dark being.

“All of your friends have fled… and the Chaos Emeralds have all scattered, save for the one you had… but you destroyed it to defeat me!” Mephiles mocked, and chuckled weakly. “You cannot run from here in time, and you cannot Chaos Control yourself to safety. In fact, the blast radius of the island will probably kill those you love as well, when they come back for you!”

Shadow turned to face his arch-nemesis again, the hedgehog’s face completely unreadable, as he watched Mephiles slowly being dissolved by the portal behind him.

“How tragic…” Mephiles laughed. “Even after all your effort, you and those you love are still going to die!” His green eyes narrowed maliciously. “So much for the almighty power of the Ultimate Life-Forms. Can’t even beat a dying island!”

“Maybe not…” Shadow said just loud enough for Mephiles to hear. “But it was enough to defeat you, Mephiles. Goodbye.” Then, Shadow took off running.

Mephiles snarled angrily, pawing helplessly at the ground. “A hedgehog…” he hissed to himself. “He was just… a hedgehog…”

But then Mephiles saw a glimmer of hope in the dirt before him. Digging at it, he pulled up a small shard of golden metal; a piece of the Sword of Chaos! Whether it was part of the blade or the hilt, it didn’t matter; the small fragment was still full of Chaos Energy.

Chuckling uncontrollably in excitement, Mephiles dug the metal deep into his palm, and felt a fresh reserve of energy and power wash through him. Now the dark being had time; first he would finish off Shadow, and use this power to free himself from the vortex. It would take awhile, but he would mend himself.

“You little, stupid fool!” Mephiles laughed. “You honestly think you’ve won, Shadow?! Your mortal mind never could comprehend; I am Lord Mephiles the Dark! I am forever, the immortal death of universe!” His green eyes flashed heatedly. “AND YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A FOOL MADE OF FLESH AND BLOOD! YOU ARE FRAGILE!!”

“Don’t you see, Shadow?! You never could win! I am forever, I am darkness! You… are nothing!” Mephiles trembled manically with excitement, looking up to see Shadow still fleeing the scene, heading to where Shade was.

“Now learn…” Mephiles whispered. “LEARN WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU CHALLENGE THE MOST POWERFUL FORCE IN THE UNIVERSE!!” And he lashed out a blast just as strong as he could when in his prime, a force Shadow’s ultimate hate-fueled power could barely match.

Shadow felt a prickling on the back of his neck, and turned to see the blast of black energy rocketing towards him. His eyes narrowed, and he gritted his teeth in anger.

“YOU FOOL!!” Shadow screamed, and all his might blasted right through his right arm, shattering the bracelet that held it back. The energy collided head-on with Mephiles’… and began quickly pushing it back.

Mephiles’ eyes widened; he’d just used his full available strength, and now it was coming back to crash into him, along with Shadow’s.

“No… no, NO, NO, NONONONONONO!!!” Mephiles screamed. “I… I AM FOREVER……!!!” Then the energy collided into him, blasting Mephiles back into the vortex and shattering him. The explosion sealed the vortex shut and reverberated throughout the island.

Shadow stood there, panting, with no available strength now. He looked around himself, taking in the silence, not daring to believe what had just happened.

But in his heart, Shadow knew; he had finally done it once and for all.
Mephiles the Dark had been defeated, forever.

Shadow looked down at his right hand. The glove had been largely burnt away by the power of his last attack, and the bracelet on his right wrist had shattered, leaving only the left. Shadow chuckled wearily.

“Well… I guess that settles it…” he whispered. “I…” The ebony hedgehog fell to his knees, and slowly toppled over.

“No you don’t!” Shade muttered, catching Shadow with his uninjured arm. “Don’t you dare die on me, Shadow! I’m getting us out of here. We still have over three minutes, we can do it!” He lifted Shadow over his shoulder and held his arm with his good hand, leaving the bleeding one limply lying by his side.

“Shade…” Shadow mumbled softly, but Shade had already taken off running. He accessed Shadow’s communicator.

“Any choppers or air-support, this is Shade the Echidna!” he spoke into it. “Shadow and I need an extract to our location; we’re going to keep moving so home in on us!”

“Copy that,” came the voice of Colonel Jackson. “Well done by the way, you two... what you’ve done is beyond words. Sending a chopper for you now; it’s the very least we can do.”

“Roger that, we’re heading to the south end of the island! Shade out!” Shade finished, and continued running with all his energy, dodging all the quakes of rock and fire coming out of the ground. Shade prayed against all chance that they’d make it off Angel Island in time.

“Come on, Shadow…” Shade muttered. “We didn’t make it all this way just to die after we finally defeated Mephiles! He won’t get us now, not after we’ve won!”

Barely two minutes remained now, quickly counting down. Shade arm was going numb from holding Shadow, and his head felt light from all the blood his ravaged hand had lost. They ran past Space Colony ARK, caught up in all the destruction of the island.

“Sorry we couldn’t save our birthplace…” Shade muttered, leaping over a massive split of rocks just before him. A moment later, a geyser of fire erupted from it, searing their backs with heat. “But this will be Mephiles’ last act of destruction. We’ll prosper after… we’ll prosper…”

Shade heard the puttering of a chopper, looking up to his left, he saw one flying down towards them. He smiled a little when he saw who was on it.

“Come on Shade, jump!” Rouge the Bat called, holding onto the chopper with one hand and extending the other to Shade. He moved a little closer to it, but a quake of the island forced the chopper to move higher, just out of Shade’s reach.

“Damn it, come on!” Rouge shouted to the pilot. “Move lower!”

Shade looked ahead; there wasn’t much ground now left to run on. At the speed he was going, they’d run and fall off Angel Island and into the water below. There was always the chance for a pickup, but with the island about to explode, they couldn’t afford any more delays.

The chopper swerved to dodge an explosion of rocks and fire, and swerved back over, going as low as he dared alongside Shade and Shadow. They were all dangerously close to the edge of the island now.

“It’s now or never Shade!!” Rouge called. Shade swallowed hard, leapt as high as he could and extended his wounded hand out for Rouge to grab. He felt Angel Island disappear from beneath his feet, and closed his eyes…
And felt a hand firmly grasp his wrist.

“Hold… on!” Rouge said through gritted teeth. “You and Shadow… could stand to travel a little lighter…”

Shade wrapped the two fingers and thumb that remained on his left hand around Rouge’s forearm, trying to ignore the slipperiness of his own blood. The Ultimate Life-Forms dangled from the chopper a ways, firmly gripping Rouge’s one free hand.

After a moment, Sonic and Amy showed up as well. Sonic grabbed Shade’s hand as well, and Amy pulled both him and Rouge back, finally hefting Shadow and Shade onto the chopper. With a triumphant smile, Sonic shut the doors of the helicopter on either side.

“We did it!” Rouge exclaimed. “Shadow… you and Shade…!” Her smile waned as Shade lowered Shadow to the floor of the chopper. The ebony hedgehog was clutching a bleeding wound on his stomach. Shade sat down and collapsed against the wall of the chopper, having no energy to move anymore.

“Shadow…?” Rouge whispered uneasily, kneeling down beside her husband. “Shadow, it’s me, Rouge. Wake up!”

Shadow’s eyes wearily blinked open, and he focused them on the ivory bat before him. He smiled sleepily. “Rouge…” he whispered, and coughed a little.

“Hey, take a break…” Rouge said softly, smiling shakily. “You’ve… taken a beating. I think you deserve a rest. Just wait until we get back to Guardkaku, we’ll patch you up.”

“I am tired…” Shadow agreed, and chuckled weakly.

Suddenly, the chopper lurched forward violently. A deafening explosion ripped through the air like a bomb had gone off in everyone’s heads. Everyone clutched onto something save Rouge, who only clutched onto her husband. The chopper rocketed forward again, spinning around uncontrollably.

“The island has finally exploded!” the pilot shouted from the front. “The shockwave and debris is sending our trajectory off, I can’t control it!”

“Then let me handle it!” a voice over the helicopter’s communicator spoke.

“Tails!” Sonic exclaimed. They heard a thud from above, and suddenly the chopper stopped spinning. A moment later, they felt the chopper regaining altitude as Tails’ ship, having latched itself to the top of the chopper, had pulled the ship higher off the ground and re-stabilized its trajectory. “Thanks buddy!”

“Anytime guys, see you back at base!” Tails said over the communicator again, and a rocketing noise announced his departure.

“See Shadow? We made it…” Rouge said. “Sonic, Amy! Get me some bandages, get Shade patched up, I’ll take care of Shadow!”

“Rouge…” Shadow said hoarsely, but Rouge silenced him with a finger to his lips. Sonic and Amy opened a compartment, and got some disinfectant and bandages out. They sprayed some on Shade’s wound, making the echidna wince slightly, and then wrapped his hand up to stop the bleeding. Rouge wrapped Shadow’s torso up as well after disinfecting the wound.

“Come on, hang in there Shadow,” Rouge assured her husband. “Another couple hours at the most, and we’ll have you at Guardkaku!”

“Rouge… please…” Shadow whispered, and grabbed Rouge’s hand. The ivory bat’s aqua eyes glared at her husband’s ruby-red eyes.

“Don’t you dare say anything like I think you’re trying to say,” Rouge snapped. “You’re Shadow the Hedgehog, you’ve been through worse! I know it… looks bad, but-”

“Rouge… I’m sorry…” Shadow whispered. “But the damage to my insides is too great… I might’ve been able to hold on… but it took every last bit of energy to finish Mephiles off…”

“What’re you saying?! Of course you can still hold on!” Rouge whispered. Sonic and Amy stood off to the side, uncomfortably shifting their gaze between Rouge and Shade, who didn’t move. The echidna only stared darkly at the floor, blinking slowly. “Shadow please… don’t you dare do this to me… it’s supposed to end happily, not like this!”

“Rouge… don’t worry…” Shadow said softly. “It was only thanks to Maria and my love for you that I came back at all… I didn’t expect to survive at that point, not really… Mephiles may have stabbed me… but now I know… I won’t be left alone…”

“What about me?!” Rouge snapped, tears welling unnoticed in her eyes. “What about Luna, your daughter?! What are we supposed to do without you?! Shadow… we’ve barely been married, not even two full years have passed since we’re married! We still have… so much to do, damn it!!”

“Rouge… one day, you’ll see me again… all of us again…” Shadow replied softly. “Maria said… it’s just like falling asleep… you can finally rest peacefully, find clarity, and be with those that you love…”

“But I don’t want that… I want a life with you, here on Earth!” Rouge whispered, tears falling from her face, leaving clean streaks on her battle-weary face, and dripping onto Shadow’s own weary face. “Please, just hold on! Please, please Shadow, don’t you dare leave me!”

Shadow’s eyes were filled with sadness, not saying anything. He reached over to his left hand, and removed the ring bracelet. He offered it to Rouge, whose eyes widened.

“It’s time… you had the other one…” Shadow whispered. “Please… keep it…”

“NO!!” Rouge screamed. “Shadow… remember everything we’ve done?! When you saved me from Prison Island! And Soleanna, remember White Acropolis? Or Dr. Eggman’s fleet, when we first met Omega! We raced the Rogue Babylons, Sonic and the others! We saved the Earth, fought Black Doom, when G.U.N. made us partners! Shadow… our wedding night…” Tears ran freely from the ivory bat’s face.

“We still have so much left to do…” Rouge cried. “I need you here, now… Luna needs her daddy! Please… Shadow, I love you more than life itself! I’ll die without you, please… JUST HANG IN THERE, SHADOW I BEG YOU!!”

“I love you too, Rouge… but I promise… I will see you again, someday…” Shadow whispered. “Luna needs her mommy… too… please try to be strong… I fought to make the Earth safe… now it finally is… please, don’t squander it. If you want to remember me Rouge, do just one thing…” The ebony hedgehog smiled faintly. “Have a good life, and help others have a good life… do that for me Rouge the Bat, my love… be happy and continue to teach happiness… as you did to me… have a great, great life… I’ll see you…” Shadow’s ruby eyes closed, and his head gently rocked to the side.

“Shadow…?!” Rouge mumbled weakly. There was no response. “Shadow!!”

Sonic and Amy held each other, sadly beholding the sight before them. Disbelief silenced the whole helicopter for a minute. Shadow the Hedgehog had finally passed on.

“SHADOW, COME BACK!!” Rouge sobbed, slamming her fist into the floor of the chopper in despair. “COME BACK, PLEASE COME BACK!!” She collapsed on Shadow’s body, utter emptiness and sorrow clenching her insides. Rouge felt as if her whole soul had been ripped from her, like all her organs had died, like anything and everything happy in the world had died. Desperately, she grasped Shadow’s right hand, squeezing it firmly. “Please, Shadow…”

Rouge’s eyes lit up, as two of Shadow’s finger gently squeezed Rouge’s hand back. She rested her head against Shadow’s chest, listening for anything, desperate for some spark of hope to be found…

But there was none. Shadow was truly gone.

The whole trip back to Guardkaku, nobody moved or said another word. Rouge never took her hand or head away from Shadow’s body. She felt like she’d already died.

Mephiles had been defeated… but for Rouge, the universe had died anyway.