limiterrings | (no subject)

[ shadow doesn't offer much in this situation, at times he doesn't want to, as far as he's concerned it's acquiring the chaos emeralds that will return to him his memory. the outcome of the world isn't any of his business, humans can burn along with this wasted potential of land that they walk on. humans never done him any favors so he responds in the way they respond to him — anger and bloodshed.

black doom always reminds him that shadow should kill the humans along the way, extinguish their futile lives because if they live then they'll get in the way. shadow agrees with that, they'll get in the way of what he has to do, therefore to make sure of that then each one has to go. the less they move, the better. g.u.n. has already sent out a warning across the nation, through the radio and on the news if anyone follows: stay away from the red and black hedgehog, do not initiate contact unless he's under control.

some people are unlucky, much like the young girl in his memories, this "maria" he recalls. every time he thinks of her, something inside of him shifts, and that rising anger shows itself as he glares at the human before him whose scooting away as quickly as they can. they're begging, they want him to rethink the situation, shadow used to be a hero, he used to help those he came across even if reluctant. as of now, those feelings aren't part of shadow's desire as a red glow pulsates at the tip of his fur, and then dies down once he realizes that he doesn't have to take his irritation out on this person.

no, all he has to do is ...

there's a gunshot, a red splatter and whatever waste shoots out from behind against the large window. without a care, shadow kicks the body forward, using it as a projectile to break the glass, and while beams tend to shoot down, destroying the city every so often, this time there's one body that hits the ground with a loud thump. taking a step forward, shadow walks to the edge of the window, looking out in his decision of where he needs to go to next considering the emerald is in this city somewhere. ]

[At first, Sonic didn't want to interfere with what felt like Shadow trying to find himself. He teased him during their meeting when they were all split in teams (How lovely he befriended Omega and Rouge.), challenged him and even when things started to go south... Sonic's efforts focused mostly on rescuing people and helping the military against the aliens, not... checking in one of the few people he knew could handle things by themselves.

Did he enjoy crossing his path with the other Hedgehog? Absolutely. It was weird to admit that, even if just to himself, but it wasn't like Sonic could often find people as fast as he was and every race had been breath taking on its own. Their... shared history made him a bit softer toward the Hedgehog as well, after all he had seen how much good Shadow could do and there was some trust there.

Now, though? Not only he was receiving alarming news after alarming news from his friends, but 'rescuing civilians' or working too closed to armed soldiers was being... problematic.

Why?]

Found... tracks.

[His werehog transformation had gone... crazy. Since the invasion started, something shifted around them and the more creatures invaded and filled up the sky the more difficult it was for Sonic to keep an anthropomorphic form. His size? Almost three times his usual one. His shape? He was more similar to an elongated, natural hedgehog mixed with a wolf than a person. He was almost obligated on moving on all fours, struggled to talk with a mouth full of sharp teeth (the true tragedy) and it took Sonic quite some time to get used to much sharper senses.

Right now? He was sitting on the ground, his nuzzle close to the communicator that allowed him to speak with Tails (at least for now) and he was moving between blood and corpses following a familiar scent. The hedgehog's tongue slid out and he tasted the red liquid on the floor... still human. All human. He didn't want to know how his senses allowed him to tell as much and he didn't want to think too much about it. Shadow was still not hurt, Sonic didn't know if that was a good thing or not because it merely meant the rampage was not going to end anytime soon.

Long, fur covered ears tilt to the side when a window is broken nearby and the quills covered creature lifts his head, eyes finally spotting a familiar figure.]

F-found.

[Taking advantage of his sharp claws and how his long tail allowed him to climb anything with ease, Sonic started moving upward, abandoning the safety of shadows and starting to climb toward the top of the building right in front of the one here he spotted his target. He heard plenty of soldiers over the radio talk about 'killing' him, but Sonic's hope was more to incapacitate him and find out why Shadow decided to act like... this.

Green eyes shining of their own light in the dark of the falling city, he wrapped his long tail around a pole, used his hinder legs to support the rest of his body and let out a loud screech, trying to get the other's attention. Come at him, bro.]

Edited 2025-03-24 15:33 (UTC)

[ in shadow's life, things never seem to go as right as he wants them to. a monster's eye circles around him, chuckling deeply with rotten intentions, goading shadow to continue his slaughter. the more he kills, the better things will be for him — remind these humans what they have done wrong, what they have took from him. he's killed many, their blood stain his fur, it blends into the crimson streaks as well as he looks up to the eye with an annoyed look.

shadow does everything on his own terms.

the voice carries explaining the situation of the city, once shadow has finished, he can meet him at the waiting spot. forget the chaos emerald and wipe out what humans still march this old stomping ground of theirs. the creature floats away, tendrils dangling as shadow looks through the smog in search of his next prey until a sharp screech cuts through.

he groans, ears twitching at the sound.

it's an unknown organism, something he's not familiar with, and he would believe it's one of black doom's familiars, but no. the way it calls out seems more like a threat, as if he's supposed to be the hero to these lumps of flesh that shadow has already disposed of along the way. he takes one step back with a glare, gun in his hand that he tosses to the side considering the bullets have already been used up. ]

Hmph. If you want to live, stay out of my way.

[ never has he seen anything like it though it has... some likeness to something, but what? that could be his memory playing tricks on him, it's probably meaningless as far as he's concerned.

however, he's given a warning. ]

[As if Sonic had another real choice, there. Either he tried his best or even more people would get hurt- and he was never going to turn a blind eye to others in need. He did stood there, balanced on the top of his current 'perch', studying his once rival. Shadow had been an enemy to Sonic, at least initially, then an ally, Sonic then mourned his death and celebrated his return (with snarkiness and... 'being Sonic'), but this hedgehog? If he had to answer the question 'friend or foe' he knew what the answer was

With one of the army's creatures daring to fly closer to him, Sonic snapped to the side, his arm stretching like it always did when he was in werehog form, grabbing the creature and bringing it to its fangs. He had no time for those... things. Not when the most dangerous creature in that army was in front of him, barely across a street.

Sharp teeth closed around the Black Hawk, skin breaking under the sharp blades in the 'hedgehog monster's mouth, and the invader's tail didn't even manage to hit Sonic before the other ripped its wings away, tossing it to the side.

One of them was covered in human blood, Sonic was now bathing in the blood of one of Shadow's kin.

Out of his way... he tried to. Sonic and Shadow weren't really close and, being the free spirit the Hedgehog had always been, he let the people he knew mostly figure out life by themselves. Tails (and somehow Knuckles) were the weird exception to his nomadic and untethered lifestyle, not the norm- but the time of being 'out of the way' was over. No more mindless murder, unless it was those monsters being torn apart- and he was going to stop Shadow.]

...

[His nuzzle is pointed up toward the sky and he lets out a loud, wild scream- it's no more than a screech, but hopefully wild enough to intimidate some of the smaller creatures away. After that? He jumped down, covering the distance between the two building with a single leap and, landing a bit below Shadow, immediately starting to climb toward the other. It was time to fight and he was not going to back off.]

[ whatever this thing is, there's something wrong with it, and shadow doesn't care to follow up. if doom's eye was still here, he'd request for shadow to handle it, but instead he turns his attention away from it.

he has to kill the humans here, fill himself with rage and follow through with their suffering for what they did to him. it's because of those humans that his happiness is gone, black doom has said it many times, all his memories will return as soon as they complete the ritual.

it'll take some time, but shadow makes progress pretty quickly and that's why he's trusted with this mission. unfortunately, the odd beast that's climbing around is a problem, an issue within itself and shadow had been kind enough to let it flee. it doesn't choose that path, instead it attemos to provoke him and closes the distance between them.

what the hell is that? nothing scares him anymore, but shadow takes a few steps back from the large window knowing it'll be coming this way. there's not much he has in terms of weapons, but there were various people here, units from g.u.n. that will work considering they all carried their own weapons. it's as soon as the beast comes to the top, the moon illuminating its presence that shadow scoffs at the sight, the blood that sticks to its fur doesn't bother him in the slightest.

some monster. ]

What, think I'm your next meal?

[ he asks, standing right by the door that enters into the hall of the building. the werehog-dog hybrid should know better given shadow's speed that one slight movement and the hedgehog will make a quick escape.

shadow isn't afraid, rather, his works is being postponed as long as he humors this monster before him. ]

Go away. You're not my prey.

[ below them though on a floor or two, there's the sound of a woman screaming. she hiccups asking if anyone is around to help her, that she's unable to move. that sparks interest in shadow, his eyes glancing down at the floor. ]

I missed one? I should get back to work.

Edited 2025-03-26 18:03 (UTC)

[ to some, shadow is a blemish on their past, a stain that appears over and over in their career, and the only thing that serves as a horrible reminder of their complete breakdown. it's unfair, it's irritating, and because that sole individual's existence is the downfall of many much more is why an idea came to mind.

get rid of him, get rid of all of them, make sure not one is left that way in all worlds, in all verses, he will never be an issue anymore. which leaves the world to be cut open, the people will watch their happiness crushed before them — the death of their loved ones, the the destruction of their will. that means the eternal reign of pain and fear will be never-ending.

simply infinite.

that's the situation at hand, it comes in the form of a headache, it feels as though they can't breathe, like their life is slowly being drained from their body. it's this one time that's different from the others, as though the world is being fragmented, breaking down the individuals affected within their very core. the world slows, sound completely stops until it picks up all at once enough to destroy a human's eardrums, or any common animal.

and then everything goes black, until color paints the very world they fall in— it's jarring, almost like water colors spreading onto a canvas, it's an arena first, and then people are slowly filled in one by one. it's difficult to call them people, they appear to be creatures of various sizes, but they all have one thing in common. they're like phantoms, incorporeal entities that have no unique shape. sometimes they glitch, when they blink, their body parts form somewhere else, and their organs slip outside their body and sometimes pull back inside (thanks to another entity behind with their arm phasing through to help). it's meant to be a living nightmare to onlookers, but the beings looking in: they're excited, awed by what they see.

it's like seeing the copy of a wild animal, why is there two, they don't know. however, the individual who rules over the proceedings of the fight is just as thrilled at the prospect of it. their language is hard to parse, but it slurs and sounds wet, and they say how the winner will be able to go free from their amusement. as disheartened as they are if true, they must follow the rules of the prophet that showed them the way.

that's why they're centered in the middle, in a sort of wide shield that keeps them confined and unable to leave out of it. besides, if they're smart, they'd know not to touch it. in shadow's case, it's not an unfamiliar circumstance to him when the whole world is like a cage to him — but his eyes land on what's before him, a hand resting against his forehead wondering if he's seeing things. if he's ill.

to him, he can only scoff in amusement, he's done this song and dance before. he doesn't know the technicalities of what's before him, but if they're like any other that he's seen then when he dashes forward without even speaking of his confusion of where he is, he's already swinging his foot right into the chest of the "clone", or "android" or whatever it is to send it flying back into the shield.

...

he's a little squishier than shadow would have expected. ]

[Barely the end of one journey to suddenly being tossed into another. Not that he was searching for it, or expected to go anywhere. He had accepted his fate. End it to protect the Earth that Maria once lived on and cherished. Payment for his transgressions. It should have ended there, but he continued to live. Why...? There's no where for him to go. No one to come back to.

What even is he, to be able to survive an event like that? Yes, he's always known he was more durable than most, but after getting a face full explosion and a fall from space, even he's aware it's impossible for anyone to live through that. Why him, and not her who should have kept living? So many questions muddled his mind the weeks after as he wander the planet in secrecy. Until one day, the land he walked on was no longer Earth's, but someplace foreign and otherworldly.

The lights blind him for a moment, ears turning here and there at the sound of cheers. An arena. What was this? Did he subconsciously teleport himself elsewhere without realizing? No, this was someone else's doing. There are things out in the crowd that did not appear human at all. A voice goes over the speaker, answering some his questions, but also giving him more. That's when his eyes locked onto his "opponent" on the other side. This is not like seeing Sonic, this is actually seeing another exactly like him.]

What...? [He's not alone? A flutter of hope, quickly snuffed out with wary caution. This has to be a trick. His moment of confusion proves to be a serious mistake as the other immediately goes on the assault without saying a word. This was not some messed up nightmare, he felt that kick to his chest. Fighting. Seems like that's all he does now since he woke up. Fine. All thoughts tossed aside, he suddenly blips out of existence before hitting the shield. The crowd oohs at the little trick. He'll reappear once more behind the other, using the momentum for a backhand strike.]

[ there's a groan, a furrow of his brows when the other "him" disappears with ease. how funny, is this what he's dealing with today? to shadow, this is just a cage that needs to be destroyed along with everything in it. he is desensitized to the idea of seeing his dead body, how many times has he crushed the pipes of his throat over and over and over again. the final "breath" when air sputters from the exhaust, or the oil that links that's so black reminds him of his dark beginnings. however, he doesn't hesitate, as far as he knows, he'll crush them all if he needs to.

his ears twitch, wary of his surroundings enough that staying in place is always a bad idea. the curiosity of the crowd annoys him, he's able to detect a change in the nearby current of the air as he curls forward, spinning backwards to narrowly avoid the attack. he's quick to uncurl, standing at full height as he reaches for the ankle of the hedgehog, for a brief moment, shadow's reaction is very subtle as though he's noticed something in the way he looks at his opponent before spinning on his heels to toss the other far from him.

whether he goes towards the shield or skids against the ground, it's none of shadow's concern. instead, he looks at the palm of his hand, thumb brushing along the surface of each digit. it wasn't his imagination. ]

...

[ the announcer has a necklace around it's neck, the item blinking every so often has caught shadow's attention.

even so, he can't ignore the other him within the arena. ]

Hm.

[Up to this point, he would always gain the upperhand against whomever he went against. Even Sonic had to work extra hard to finally get him down. So what happens when he's confronted with something that looks like him, and can immediately tell is just as formidable as him. No...it's more than just that. As they cross, he saw their face for just a moment before being sent away again.

It was a face that's been harden with time. Focused, like nothing else matter, but ensuring the other's defeat. The jets in his air shoes come to life, slowing his flight and he stablizes once more. His quills bristles, a feeling of uneasiness he hadn't felt before. Was it actually dread? No. He'll fall if he lets them get to him. But if this doppleganger can make him even feel that way...

He straightens his stance, watching. He saw the other do that same trick he's seen Sonic do. Must be something all hedgehogs can do apparently. He should recall and memorize. There's a few disgruntle members in the audience when nothing happens. Shadow doesn't care how they feel. He's not going to just jump in like he did before. He can tell his usual tricks won't work after only two exchanges. So what does he do now? He didn't even want to fight to begin with. A double of him or not.

Of course, this doesn't please the host of this tournament. Money isn't being made from watching combatants stand around. So they'll give them both, just a little push. A little shock to the system for not performing. Ah. This was familiar. Being back in that military base, a little "conditioning" when he didn't perform correctly. He can't stay down, get caught in those memories. That double is still in here with him.]

[ it's difficult to hold back a snarl at the sensation of electricity running through his body, fangs visible as he bites down on his tongue in irritation. it causes his quills to raise up, a sort of glow in crimson eyes as he tries to keep his anger down. he shouldn't let them get underneath his skin, but the disruption that courses through his veins and bones are a reminder that they're encouraging his violent behavior.

shadow isn't afraid to be violent, actually, there's so much he could do to try and rid himself of the weight off his shoulder. who does he blame? his eyes glare at the other version of him, his body double, a living, breathing creature he has found. kicking him first revealed that he's squishy, made of flesh, but grabbing his ankle and throwing him in any direction has indicated a pulse runs through his body. like a living organism, but that can't be, when all other copies are just lifeless machines.

the longer he doesn't move, the more electricity is sent through him, and one hand comes to his neck scratching at the area as though he wants to break through the fur and skin. he doesn't manage, but he takes a step forward and the sensation starts weakens, showing that the shock to his system is no longer used as an advantage to make him act.

the longer he stays still, the worse it'll be. ]

You.

[ for someone with his face, he isn't entirely disappointed as he's done his best in surviving. most robots that wear his skin are busted in one shot, but this one isn't a robot — where did this organism come from. is this some sort of ploy created by the creatures here, but they thank the prophet for allowing this to happen.

who the hell is that?

shadow starts with a sprint, his air shoes activating as he skates along the ground towards the shield — he skates up the side, avoiding the dangerous field with just a few inches between the bottom of his shoes and it. he climbs up pretty high so that he has the advantage to kick himself off the field, and spin dash downward to try and knock the other out of the air and into the ground.

the thing is he has to keep going, he has to keep fighting because shadow is used to this, he feels confident in this while his own thoughts are preparing for the near future. ]

@bluebolt

TW: Gore, blood, monster transformation stuff (Unleashed levels)

no subject

TW: Gore, blood, monster transformation stuff

tw: blood, monster transformation

@thelightshines

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject