limiterrings | (no subject)

[ 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. ]

[The double's voice snaps him to attention. They're going to make their move. They have to fight. Gritting his teeth, his eyes look franctically for them, catching a golden blur leaving the field. He moves slightly, just enough for the shocks to end. Finally. He's not given time to figure out how they're doing it. He tracks the double going up along the shield, coming at them with that spin attack.

He blips out of existence once more to avoid the strike. Appearing above the double now, left hand charged with energy as he aims a chaos spear at the other spinning hedgehog.]

[ he misses, why wouldn't shadow when his mind is six moves head and ignoring the initial threat. why is he here, for what purpose, what is this fight meant to justify, and why is it only him? this isn't something constructed by eggman, he's too focused on sonic the hedgehog, and black doom wouldn't do something like this, he's much more creative in how he wants to stretch shadow's capabilities.

it's only for a brief moment, but he doesn't move when the sensation of chaos comes down against his body and the attack connects causes shadows body to dive right into the ground underneath — it's a loud crash, dust picking up around the arena obscuring everyone's field of vision.

a force spreads through his body as he pushes himself up, and his surroundings covered by the dust. that's good, it works for him, but as he walks to the side and the land curves up... he has a feeling that a crater was left in the ground's place upon impact. where the chaos spear landed is right at shadow's shoulder, a visible mark noticeable where his fur has burned from the speed of his dash and the weapon landed.

when he glances up, figuring that the other is still taking the high ground that calculations run through his head. to have that ability means that there's something completely wrong here. ]

[Shadow isn't thinking about anything other than to survive. His double more hellbent on coming after him that he has to keep his attention on them. They both don't have a choice, he knows, but the double didn't exactly give a warm first impression. He wish it wasn't this way. He really wanted to know what he was looking at. Is there actually a race of dark hedgehogs, or...is this something else?

He stays above the dust cloud. It be a mistake to go down and try to find them under such low visibility. It doesn't feel like the battle has ended though. And if they wait any longer...] You can't hide forever! [His hand twitch with small sparks of energy, waiting. Any chance he thinks he sees them, another spear comes firing down at the spot. He is intentially keeping his distance until he can figure out how what this double can do and then approach. Definitely doesn't want to get kicked or tossed around again.]

[ a voice filters through the tornado of dust within the shield, a groan follows right after, but it gives him time to think. initially, he would have killed without a second thought, buried his hands in more and more copies until they stopped moving. there's an issue above, that doesn't seem like a copy, with as much data as metal sonic has taken throughout their history, eggman wouldn't make a cheap imitation — hell, he's dealt with black doom so there shouldn't be anymore of him.

a spear cuts through the diversion, digging right into the ground but nowhere near shadow. is that his plan, throw wildly at the dark spots and hopes he hits the mark?

childish.

there's another, and as shadow moves from his position to force the copy's hand, another spear rains down.

good. this works in his favor, his own hands picking up the controlled energy of chaos from where they're embedded in the ground only to dash along the width of the dome, throwing one, then another up back towards shadow — he expects him to dodge them, either he goes forward or backwards because he won't go near the shield that has them trapped in here.

the third one? he sends it flying right to a direction that he tried to trick them into hovering towards. now, he doesn't expect it to work, but using their chaos energy and not his initially means he doesn't use up energy, but the third one is bigger, more concentrated, and mixing his with what the copy has been using? perhaps it'll lock on target. ]

[He expects retaliation, he just doesn't know in what form. He gets his answer when a spear is fired backed at him. He avoids it as another comes flying that he dodges as well. Well if they're like him, it's no surprise that can do the same. But he notices with the third one, as the dust starts to settle. They're...taking his own spears and sending them back?! He can do that?

That one in the double's hand is noticeably more juiced up. As they send it flying, he tries to dodge, but it's following him?!] -!! [He doesn't have time, minimize the damage. He's uncertain trying to grabbing this one like his double is a good idea, so his immediate reaction is to respond with his own spear. It doesn't have to destroy it, just redirect it. He feels the spear scrape his fur as he just barely avoids it. The spear continues on into the shields. They flicker, but remain intact. That was a crowd pleaser as there was a roar of cheers and applause.

Shadow is forced back onto the ground, near the far wall after that attack. His right side stung after the spear near skewered him. He can't think about it right now. Where is his double?]

...

[ shadow doesn't look in the direction of the spear, but hearing the way the shield sizzles and snaps at it there covered up by the cheering, his ears twitch slowly as he glares at the audience.

he has to keep moving.

quickly, his legs start to move in direction of where the other generally was, the dust slowly starts to clear out, and just in time that his double can see the outlined shadowed portrait of where he's coming from.

usually, shadow would account for it to clear, but he's suspicious of what's going on. the chaos spear, the ability to blip in and out of existence, his entire skill set is rusty, but shadow remembers those hiccups. they could be refined, but that takes years and years of pain, destruction and death —

who is this hedgehog supposed to be? that's why he baits him to give him the first move, now it's whether shadow will regret giving his double that luxury before he jumps out the obscuring whirlwind of sand. ]

[His ears perk up at the sound of the approaching double, eyes locked on. He braces for another strike that never comes. Instead his double is just...circling him? The action confuses him when they've been so forward up to this point. They're kicking up a whirlwind of sand though, trying to trap him instead?

He eyes their movement, seeing no indication of them approaching. Were they waiting for him to do something...? He cannot keep standing still for much longer. He just, has to go and hope this will work. Golden sparks come off his fur and quills as he starts to skate. Remembering how Sonic and the double could turn their own bodies into a weapon and...he starts to roll. Spinning even faster until he was able to climb out of the whirlwind of sand and escapes. He isn't finished, unfurling to take aim. Just as his double did, he comes spindashing down towards them. Is this what they want? He's at least anticipating for them to counter like before.]

[ not much has been done, why? shadow has been trying to understand the nature of this place, figure out who wears the mantle of prophet, why there's a look-alike here, as well as why are his moves not as fluid as they should be. it's like watching a very of him at stage one still learning the uses of his body, and making due with the little that he knows.

even those spears from before looked easy enough to snap in half, but the speed of how they formed tells shadow there's more to him. he has to keep his gaurd up, or one mistake might be an issue in the long term, and a small one does exist with the pain still in his shoulder from the previous attack. moving it even a bit sends a tremor of pain through the area.

the form of a spin dash is finally being utilized, and shadow isn't surprised when he finally does it, but how he does it. knowing that the sand and whatever debris between the dash when he exited out the tornado is possibly within his quills, shadow glares at the double coming to strike down and rather than knock away — he stands still before skating out of the way to ensure that his copy goes flying into the direction of the shield.

truth be told, a homing attack could make this easier and turn his body towards his target, but if he's finally using this skill, does he even know that? ]

[Once again, his double does the unexpected. Or maybe he was too hyperfocus on one scenario to consider a change of tactics. Judging by how he does not turn to continue chasing after his double when they dodge, he has not figured out the next part of spindashing. Rather than panic, he unfurls and stops himself short from hitting the shields with his air shoes. Looking as if done intentionally.

Now he's glaring at the double. Irritated. What were they playing at? Feels like he's being toyed with and he hates that.

Golden sparks come off him again, jets pushed further as he boosts off the shields. They flicker by the sudden force. He's speeding at his double in a golden blur. There's no murderous intent, he just wanted to hit this guy.]

[ shadow may not understand the entirety of this scenario, but he understands that the arena wants a show. his existence isn't meant to be for entertainment, that passes him off more. he brings one hand to his shoulder, briefly touching the mark that's been left. every time he recalls it, he has to decide if he's disappointed in himself or only something like him could leave a mark.

either way, he knows that the other when in spin dash cannot turn fluidly like he can. that doesn't mean letting the other get close because when he is, it's trouble, as if he were made for close combat (ha!). the look in his eyes is another tell, does he not understand the gravity of the situation, or does he simply not want to kill? what encourages him to keep fighting: his confidence or...? his copy's forward dash with the boost compliments him well enough, taking away a nice gap of distance between them.

it's quick, he swipes one hand forward in front of him. ]

Disappear.

[ it's the manifestation of what looks like chaos spears that form close by around his double, quickly aiming in his direction to try and penetrate him mid dash. ]

[He's fighting because he feels has no choice. Never felt like he ever did, everyone dictating his actions the moment he landed on Earth. Even now it seems. You do have a choice. That blue hedgehog's words has since crept into those long accepted thoughts. Even Maria said something similar, didn't she...? What does that even mean though? What does it matter for someone like him?

...No. There is one other choice he could make. It's been knocking at his mental door since he awoke back on earth, after the eclipse cannon exploded. But everytime he considers it, something keeps him from just ending it. What is it?

He sees those spears forming, unconcern. Let them come. Waiting until the last possible moment, he disappears once more, those spears just missing their mark. He'll feel a sting on one his quills later though, with how close they almost skewered him. He quickly reappears not from behind, but in front of his double, swinging his leg toward their face.]

[ it's not enough time to move away, but he can cross his arms in front of his face to block the swing. shadow isn't the type of hedgehog who's concerned with his looks, but places like that are vulnerable, and if anything happens to his sight then that's an issue which will be his downfall. he stays in place, the force of the swing connects, and it pushes shadow backwards along the ground — not within the crater, but a good ways near it.

he has a lot of energy, sometimes shadow feels as though the direction of it could go anywhere. not fully mastered, but it's doing what the copy wants so it must be fine to them. the pain in his shoulder reminds him that it's there, but there's no way he can remove his arms from the blocking stance that he has when knowing his clone can move within a blink of an eye.

his ears twitch to listen to his surroundings, but the sound of the cheering and applause at his clone's hit causes the audience to scream in delight. it comes in waves, words they couldn't understand seems to filter through the barrier to make some sense to them.

KILL HIM OR HE WILL KILL YOU

MY BETS IS ON THE FLUFFIER ONE

IF — — DIES, I WANT TO MAKE HIS FUR A COAT ]

[He makes contact, finally. But he doesn't stop there. Stopping there means the double will take advantage of the opening to retaliate. He chases, disappearing and reappearing from behind to try and punch them upwards as they slide into him. He'd keep the momentum going, but then the voices of the crowd reaches him as well.

Ears fall flat at what he was hearing. Kill. A moment of hesistation and he's quick to blip away to put some space between him and the double. Maybe he already knew this fight was more than just a battle to see who wins, but to hear it so clearly now...no. After everything, he can't. Be it human or someone that looks like him, he doesn't want to be the cause of more pain.

But then what? They won't let them out until one of them dies? And they'll get shock if they do nothing. He grits his teeth, unable to find a solution. Trapped. What was his double even thinking? They may look similiar, but he feels their mind works differently by how they've been conducting themselves. Seemingly more experienced, he has to quietly admit.

It's then he feels himself breathing more heavily, the pain of that first initial kick to the chest. He's starting to feel it. All the adrenaline has likely kept him from noticing.]

[ shadow has known from the start the sort of situation he was in, because in the face of a copy, he can kill them. he's done it many times, so this wouldn't be an issue to him at all. that's why he doesn't hesitate, it's why he's able to plan what he wants to do next, and why there are some hits he needs to take if he wants to win. the fact of the matter, he's unable to die, now whether this copy has that same luxury or not isn't something he knows, but there's no way he does.

the copy is an unknown variable, something he hasn't accounted for to live this long, and with the abilities he has and his body transitioning into new ones. what is shadow to think with those assaults against him as the other doesn't let up at all.

he isn't quick enough to avoid the hit from behind that sends him up, directly into the center of the arena where the crowd oohs and aahs! at the sight!

NICE NICE

YOU CAN DO IT FINISH HIM

KILL HIM

shadow curls into a ball, spinning in thin air to recalibrate himself before unfurling and his air shoes kick into overdrive to keep him floating in the air. the back of his head, sensitive enough, isn't spared from one hand touching there and it's the wet substance that stains white gloves which gives him an idea of what damage he's suffered.

he groans in annoyance, shaking his head as blood drips down onto the ground underneath. ]

Where...

[ unfortunately for him, he's unable to stop, not because they control him and force him to fight. no, he fights on his own terms, and survival benefits him the most, desperation to keep going, and what can he expose himself to if he's dead. shadow has always traversed within the darkness, doing what he can to make it to the next day, and no matter the means; he'll do what he has to.

sometimes, it means moving through the darkness again as well as his intentions. ]

Keep fighting.

[ it's like a command, another set of chaos spears to manifest around where the other. how they're placed is to fly forward to pierce his copy into the shield, but if he manages to get out of the way...

I WANT THE SMALLER ONE AS A PET ]

[There seems to be some favortism going on with the crowd. They're also not happy Shadow just, stopped in the middle of that attack. Oh well. His eyes are on his double, even while his mind is elsewhere. This guy seem more determined to get out, get somewhere. He doesn't have that same desire. There's nothing waiting for him if he manages to get out of this place. So...

He blinks, ears twitching as the double says something. It wasn't a taunt, it sounded like an order. He looks around, seeing those chaos spears. His brows furrow. Why did they feel the need to tell him the obvious? ...Where was he standing? Something, starts to come together in his head, eyes lighting up. The few times the shields reacted to their attacks didn't get lost to him. He was just more focused on the target in front, who has not been as aggressive as they were at the start.

Jets come on as he flys upwards, waiting for the spears to get close before disappearing. They hit the shields once more, flickering, but nothing more. When he reappears again, it's near the same spot, a spear prepped in his hand. He doesn't fire, he's waiting, expecting something from his double. If his hunch is correct, they should response in kind. He's just giving the appearance of a fight.]

[ it doesn't matter what they're saying, as long as they cheer and continue on then he can figure something out. survival, desperation, these sort of things stand out, and it's easy to tell that his double doesn't want to do this. a copy with his face that wont fight is new, but something that stands out. kicking back on his air shoes, shadow hovers towards the top of the dome as he glares down at his copy.

there's a genuine look of irritation, but where he's directing the feelings is hard to tell if he's truly upset with the hedgehog below him or the people.

the barrier flickers once, not coming down, but it goes black very briefly which cuts the outside from looking inside and the inside from looking out. even the sound dies down tossing them in complete silent but they will only notice this if they're paying attention to their surroundings.

with everyone so thrilled and enjoying the right, shadow doubts they caught it. ]

What are you waiting for?

[ shadow groans, hovering in place as he stares at the weapon in the double's hand. personally, he thinks he can dodge it easily which is what matters. ]

[Someone glaring at him reciprocates the same response back out of habit. With the way they're looking at him, he's still not absolutely sure he read his double right, or just grasping for another way out of this. But he's already committed. If he doesn't need to be forced to kill, he'll take the alternative that might exist.

Chaos spears are still a new trick to him. He picked it up while under the power of the emeralds, when he felt it was needed. So he can't summon as many as his double, but he's gotten familiar enough with the feeling as the fight continued. He summons three more spears at his side and proceeds to fire them toward his double. To the crowd, they look locked in to strike a fatal blow, but they should be an easy dodge for the double.]

[ it's true, he should be able to dodge them all, and he does so with the first two that comes in direction to him to hit at the shield around them. the third however, he grabs it with ease, forcing his own chaos energy into the weapon to build its power and drive it right into the shield on his own.

once it connects, there's the sound of something crackling as the shield tries to work against him — sparks fly, they cut and zap against shadow's body as he closes his eyes to avoid any damage to his eyes. lines of electricity cuts at his skin around his mouth, against his arm, but he continues to push the spear right into the barrier as it flickers on and off. every moment, he adds more energy into his copy's spear thinking that if its both of them and the barrier is to keep then in then maybe he can use that to his advantage to get out.

the one thing he won't do is remove his rings for the sake that if it's a final push, then that's what he'll use.

...

the sound of the outside world gasps at the action, some wondering if he's cheating, but it doesn't take long for the lights to go out within the dome to cover them in complete darkness, but the emerald light of the chaos spear illuminates the dome from the inside until... it disappears, and the sound of something hitting the ground with an audible thump is heard.

silence comes after. ]

[Somewhere among the audience discourse, the host of the show comes up on speaker. "Stop- Stop them! Shut it down, shut-"

What is the point of inserting a device to cause electricution if one does not properly use it?! Shadow is left aghast at what his double does. Are they going to make it through that? Meanwhile, he's just hovering in one spot, stunned by the action. He should be helping them break the shield as well. As he starts flying towards them, the lights suddenly go out. The light of the spear being his only guide, as he sees it fall and start to peter out.

He flies low to the surface, ears moving about to pick up a certain sound. There, to his left. The smell of singed fur reaches him first, and then he eventually locates the body of the double. Landing beside them, he reaches, hesistant. This is...almost like before. The smell of burning flesh, Maria laying dead on the floor amongst the rubble and fire.

"DON'T LET THEM ESCAPE! YOU HEAR ME?!"

An alarm blares within the darken arena. Emergency lights flashing red. Something was coming. The sound of a beast muffled roar from below.]

[ the shield was the first annoying thing, but his ears twitch at the sound of another voice phasing through. so that still works, hm? he didn't see any speakers around so it must be outside the dome that filters in despite shadow trying to kill off the visual and audio connection.

he doesn't need help up, actually, he doesn't know why this copy is even so close to him now. pushing himself to his knees, the hedgehog looks around in the darkness as the alarms sound out and his body freezes. it's no different than the ark, when intruders broke in and the sound of heavy footsteps filtered through. for the first time, there is a show of vulnerability as shadow's eyes dart left and right however what's lurking in the darkness is rarely seen with how the red flashes on and off.

the events that unfolded right after alarms like this grounds him, snaps him back into reality for a mere moment before he's gone again, no matter how much he hates it, it still hurts. he can't stay like this, though. slowly he comes to his feet, flinching only a little as he takes a step forward before allowing the ground to catch him by kneeling down.

damn, he pushed it. ]

...Damn it.

[ something's coming, but whatever it is, it's not like shadow can move from his spot when his body recalls such sounds during the darkest time of his life. ]

[He blinks, seeing his double come back to their senses. The imagery starting to fade as they move. They are holding on, barely. Through the flashing red lights, he sees they're not focused on him. Even when their eyes meet, they keep looking elsewhere for something.

The creature's roar gets louder as something starts to stomp through the arena. Something big. Shadow's attention turns to the new threat, momentarily surprised as it...looked almost like the creature from that alien film he watched once. There's notable differeneces, looking like an actual monster and not a human in a suit for starters. And it had an extra pair of arms, made out of wires and machinary, covered in some strange purple-like bubbly energy? Doesn't matter how and what. The time provided by his double is short.

He glances to where the other had shut down the shield, to the beast in front of him. That needs to be subdued first. His hand grips the double's shoulder for a moment, and they'll both disappear together. They reappear on the far edge of the arena, furthest away from the threat. He doesn't know if he'll make it out, but one of them has to take this opportunity to escape. A glance and he was gone again. The beast roams the arena in search for it's target. It does not appear to have actual eyes and must be using it's other senses to find them. Shadow will reappear above them, coming down with a powerful well-aimed kicked to the back of their head.

That got their attention. He takes a sharp breath. There's still some fight left in him. Either he knocks this beast down, or keep their attention away from his double long enough for them to do something.]

[ it would probably piss shadow off that there was some need to rescue him, there wasn't, but due to his focus not entirely there with the sound of the alarms— he wouldn't be able to tell. the noise continues to sound out, and while shadow feels locked into position, the animalistic roars that come from the monster assists in snapping him completely out of his memories. his eyes widen for a brief moment until they furrow into a glare, his body feels frozen, that if he focuses his attention on the monster than himself he feels as though he can move.

he turns his head to look at his copy and

and...

and....

they're not there. they're gone? crimson eyes dart left and right in search of where they could have went, and he's able to see a black spot of darkness within the red alarms flash above the monster that he recalls so well. how many times has that memory of the past haunted him, over and over again, the hazard and mayhem it causes due to its existence has a way of leaching onto whatever it takes part of. for the unknown alien race to have it, or a connection to it, he can only imagine what means of information they have on him.

them, rather. there's not something right about that hedgehog.

shadow pushes against the ground with one hand, but his body aches, but if this clone, this... copy... duplicate? whatever it is, it should be aware of how to handle it, right...? ]