In The Streets Of Downtown Westopolis...

Shadow was walking down the streets of Westopolis, where the invasion of the Black Aliens began. He absorbed the area around him at what's left: destroyed cars, a torn-up baby doll, and nothing but ashes and scraps of metal on the asphalt ground.

The ground abruptly went darker.
Sparkling traffic lights, street light poles and the remaining neon signs that hung from the entrance of small stores died out to leave Shadow in this emptier atmosphere.

"I can only imagine the costs of all thesw damages. Oh well, that's solely a human problem; I have no concern for any of that."

He looked at the burnt ground beneath him, and noticed something strange. His shadow was unmistakably visible, as if it were daytime. Stranger, there weren't any working lights to help create the shadow and there wasn't enough moonlight to cast upon Shadow's body either.

Shadow stopped walking, to examine this shadow. He waved his hand left and right, but the shadow didn't follow accordingly. The shadow's hand then broke from it's two-dimensional form, becoming three-dimensional, shooting out to the sky. The shadow then detached at Shadow's feet, hovering in the air, becoming entirely three-dimensional. Shadow stepped backwards, and fell down, tripping over some object.

He looked to see what was in his way, a large silver artifact with a long, dark violet, glassy handle. Picking it up, he remembers it. It belonged to a psychic who was being attacked by a Black Alien, and she dropped it while running away. Shadow didn't find it of any importance, but evidently, it now may have been. There was a difference with this object compared to when the psychic dropped it. Then, it had a purple and smoky aura surrounding it. Now there wasn't even so much as a glow.

Shadow returned his attention to what used to be his shadow, but now it physically resembled Shadow himself. It mirrored Shadow in every way imaginable, except where Shadow's crimson markings are supposed to be, are now a murky-aqua color. Along with Shadow's red shoe markings, was now this murky-aqua.
One significant difference with this creature was that it did not have a mouth. In addition, its eyes were green with reptilian pupils.

At first, Shadow thought it was another Black Alien of a different species, but something was very odd about this creature.

Despite this, he rhetorically greeted the creature, "What are you?"

"Nobody that you know, or have ever known. But I now know you. I am Mephiles, Mephiles the Dark, and I thank you for this body, Shadow the Hedgehog." said the creature.

Shocked, Shadow couldn't believe the creature spoke, let alone in perfect English- without a mouth. His was not as deep, but was indeed just as threatening as Shadow's. It was a cold, deep, and heart-stopping voice, with a cutting resonance that could echo in one's mind.

Mephiles raised his hand, and a dark blue and black ball of energy formed. He tossed it towards Shadow, blasting him far back, about a half-block away, sending him to crash face-first into a tour bus.

Shadow tried to stand after the attack, coughing out, "Who is this guy? I've never felt so much pain in my life."

A black smoke cloud appeared in front of Shadow, which then arose and shapened into Mephiles, becoming him.

"Boo!" whispers Mephiles.

He threw a punch at Shadow, but Shadow caught his fist. Grinning, Shadow swung Mephiles into the bus behind him, back-flat. He then jump-kicked his enemy through the bus, splitting it clean in half.

Shadow then lifted up one of the halves above his head and heaved it towards Mephiles. Before Mephiles could land from the first kick, the bus smashed him down into the street.

"You're weak. You have no practice of self-defense, and you make your attacks too slow. Pathetic waste! You're not even good enough to be my shadow!" said Shadow.

"Look at you, Shadow! Tell me, you think you know it all?" said a familiar voice from just above.

Shadow looks up to find an unscratched Mephiles, standing on top of the bus.

"W-What?" gasps Shadow.

From behind him, was another voice, sounding oddly alike, saying,

"Shocking isn't it? You have no idea what you've unleashed Shadow the Hedgehog!"

Shadow looks behind him, and then at the bus, then behind him, and back to the bus. Mephiles wasn't teleporting this time- instead, he duplicated himself.

Then, simultaneously from Shadow's left and right, were the voices once again, "Now, prepare to die!"

Shadow peered to the floor and found a dropped pistol. No other thought, he dove and rolled to it, took to an immediate stand and shot a bullet into the heads of the Mephiles clones in front, left, and right of him. They vanished into thin air, leaving Shadow aiming towards what he concluded to be the real Mephiles.

Like a zombie, Mephiles lurked over towards Shadow, the latter standing his ground. Nonchalantly, Mephiles took hold of the gun's chamber while Shadow still held it and placed it on his own forehead.

"Go ahead Shadow. Pull the trigger. Hahahaha!" laughed Mephiles.

Shadow being the opportunist, he pulled the trigger without blinking. Unexpectedly, the gun exploded in his own hand. Shadow was created to be durable, so the explosion didn't even scathe him.

But, the handle was the only thing left in his hand, and he dropped it in confusion, as he observed Mephiles; there wasn't even a bullet mark where there should have been.

Mephiles then lifted Shadow by his throat, and a dark puff of smoke appeared in Mephiles hand, as it travelled through his arm and into Shadow's mouth in an endless stream. It was choking Shadow to death, he squirming started slowing by the seconds. In what may have been in Shadow's last moments, he lifted his arm beside Mephiles.

Releasing Shadow, Mephiles took a good stride backwards to see Shadow holding the mysterious artifact.

Shadow regained his breath and tried to match up where Mephiles eyes were focused.

"You look scared of this," Shadow smirked, "Looks like a dagger if you ask me."

Mephiles, without another word, levitated and flew away, retreating from Shadow. Shadow's grin fell and he took chase after Mephiles. Whenever he almost caught up to him, Mephiles ascended higher into the air.

"Oh, no you don't!" Shadow exclaims.

Shadow accelerated on ground, parallel to Mephiles in the air, and throws the artifact far passed them both- yet in line with Mephiles. Shadow increased his running speed even more, nearing a sonic boom, and now passed by the artifact, leaving Mephiles way in the back, unaware of Shadow's tactics.

Conveniently, Shadow found something to kick off from- a wall in fact, and took a bounding leap towards it. His feet met the wall, and he kicked off high into the air with the help of the thrusters under his shoes.

Now he was in line with both Mephiles and the artifact. In the air, while slightly soaring towards Mephiles' direction, he muttered, "Looks like a dagger,-"

Shadow sees the object hurtling towards him, and far behind, Mephiles stopped. Shadow, with great precision and timing, kicked the object, making it soar back into the direction of Mephiles. Not quick enough to dodge, the artifact penetrated Mephiles' head at breakneck speed. Stunned and paralyzed, Mephiles broke his elevation and plummeted to the ground with the artifact sticking out of his forehead.

In his descent, Mephiles' body became a puff of dark blue and black smoke and it entered the artifact as would a genie and its lamp. By the time it hit the ground, Mephiles was already contained within it, and the artifact had its violet aura once more.
Shadow ran back towards the artifact to observe it.

Grinning, he finishes his sentence, "-works like a dagger."

Shadow picked it up to examine closely. Just then, his eyes rolled back, the ominous object vividly glowed, and its aura spread up to Shadow's head. In a several seconds, the aura retreated back to where it came from and all seemed normal once more. Shadow's eyes rolled back to normal, and he drops to his knees.

"Where am I?" said he, looking around to see where he even was. "Right, I was going for a walk-...Huh? What's this?" said Shadow.

He picked up this object from the ground and looked at its mesmerizing glow like he's never laid eyes on it before. Then he remembers a short memory, "Right, right...That psychic lady. I better return this to her...wherever she may be."

The sun begins to rise, and seeing this, Shadow frowned. He realized he didn't sleep at all, with absolutely no recollection of what took place after the city lights went dark just moments ago...

THE END

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CAST:

Shadow The Hedgehog

Mephiles The Dark