limiterrings | (no subject)

[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...? ]

[Sure he knows. A bunch of missiles and an ice laser brought the beast down according to the movie, and he has none of those things. But he'll find a way. He has to. The beast starts splitting strange orbs of energy from it's mouth. Fast, big, but he's still faster than the attack. He skates around them, trying to think. There are tubes all over it's body, powering it? Going to one place? Thinking about it, he thought he spotted something on the way down earlier, on it's back.

He teleports as the beast tries to crush him with it's foot. He's above it again. Some of kind large device was attached to it's back. That must be it. His opportunity to strike is lost though as one of it's metal arms swipes at him. Now he see why those extra arms exist. He raised his arms in time to block the brunt of it, jets pushed harder to regain balance.

With a boost he speeds up towards the arm, rolling up into a ball and slams into it. Those purple orbs of energy burst, revealing the metal beneath as it sparks. Unfurling, he takes aim at the device on it's back and spindashes towards it. Only to be met with more of those annoying purple orbs. He breaks through them easily enough, but they make him miss the mark. So he's back on the ground, looking irritably at weird monster that has made something of a barrier for itself with those weird floating orbs. And apparently can control where they go, as he has to move when one is fired at him.

Definitely has different movesets from it's movie counterpart. But he grasp the back device is it's weakpoint by how aggressive it got when he came too close.]

[ however, he can't remain frozen in time, as often as it happens, he must move. if he stays here, he feels like something horrible will happen, and whether it's to save his clone or himself, there's something about the choice in monster that pisses him off. irritable as ever, shadow manages to skate towards the beast and the double, dodging the purple orbs that float within his way.

with a quick jump, shadow curls into a ball bouncing from purple bubble to bubble popping them along the way in a quick path to knock against the device on it's back, causing the creature to scream in pain as shadow flips away and onto the ground right next to his copy with all the flair that he has to give. his maneuvers are so fluid, it's like he's done this before... again........... he's played these games before.

the creature thrashes, the bubbles all around the field explode into a wet pop that splashes onto their fur. ]

You. [ shadow speaks to his copy who's watching the creature, the look in his eyes seems lost and confused at what's before him. do they not know what it is? are they unable to take advantage of what's before them? ]

Follow me.

[ even with a hurt shoulder and blood at the back of his quills, shadow still has some energy. as the creature begins to turn its body, a massive red tail highlight by the alarm's lights covers the area to show them a bit of a visual on what they're dealing with here. running away from the tail, he's sure that his double is right behind him, or should be, because the game is cat and mouse. they need to bait the creature to start chasing them back and forth to the point it grows so frustrated that it'll shoot a sort of black orb from its mouth at them.

but they need to encourage the beast to do it, and whether this lizard decides to or not, shadow's sure he can force it.

mind the black blood that drips onto the floor every so often as shadow moves. ]

[Dude. I mean that's cool and all. He definitely was taking notes of the flawless manuveuring, but you could barely move just a moment ago! Why are they even still here? Escape already!

It's what he wants to say, but his double is addressing him instead. Being asked to follow. ...Who is he to say no after watching them land a hit when he couldn't? No he's not offended, or jealous. He just needs to do better. So he follows, making quiet observations of what they were doing, what the creature was doing.

...The spotches of blood here and there aren't missed. Whatever his double is expecting him to do, he has to do it correctly, the first time.

It seem like they were just doing the same motions over and over, but Shadow picks up they're tiring out the beast by doing this. It's slower then them, sooner or later, they'll have to change tactics. It stops trying to swipe at them, returning to spitting orbs from it's mouth. The pattern is hardly different from before, easy to dodge. Although, the twist is it's extra arm, now recovered and aiming to slam down on them to disrupt.]

[ because the stress of the situation if he ignores the alarms, if he focuses on the beast at hand, and for his double giving him time to clear his head makes this easy enough. besides, shadow is the ultimate lifeform, if he actually fell due to a creature like that then he'd be everything less than ultimate!

despite that, shadow notes the arm swinging down, but does the other know how to handle it. which is why they have to be quick, turning around so he's on the side of the arm that swipes and giving it a chance to hit at him instead if the lizard can do so. ]

I'll take the arm, you take... the rails when it lights up. Don't miss it.

[ a piece of advice or a path to his death? the don't miss it should answer all questions that this is an important matter. because don't be confused when the monster drops it's bubble-like arm down to try and crush both shadow and his double, but shadow's quicker... smoother, and it's not his legs that are hurt.

he kicks his double forward, a ways away from the arm before being crushed by it.

just like that.

...

... ]

[Rails...? The tubes? He's going to assume they mean the tubes, because this creature isn't going to give him a chance to process it. His attention moves away from his double, he can't concern himself with them until he completes the required task. Sure enough, the creatures will come to halt with it's attacks, breathing heavily from using too much energy apparently. The tubes nearest to it's mouth start to light up.

Rails. All right, that's what they are. His double must want him to get onto them and use them to get to the device on it's back. He jumps onto them, but instead of running, something clicks in his mind. A slight turn of his shoes and he's riding up along the rails, picking up speed so he gets some air at the end. He then spindashes right on into the device without anything stopping him this time. The beast roars as the device breaks even further, unable to properly replenish their energy.

How did...his double know all this? Have they fought this thing before? He comes back onto the ground, skidding slightly on his shoes. He looks for his double, uncertain of their current status after they took care of that arm.]

[ the monster's cry rocks the stadium, the shield beginning to crack in some areas, especially those where the chaos spears had dug into it. the monster's movements become more erratic, the stomping, and it's mouth attempting to lunge at shadow after grinding the tubes and attacking its weak spot. the inside of its dark maw comes closer until a swift wind shoots up from behind him, and as long as shadow doesn't blink, he won't miss it.

he'll catch his copy unfurling from his spin attack to manifesting a chaos speak to drive right through it's upper jaw. the energy splits right through, causing the monster to roar right in his face rather than try to eat him whole and begins to shake itself to try and get the double off from its body. it's a distraction at best, one where he has to hold onto his spear and not be thrown off by any means.

in pain, the beast allows those purple bubbles to manifest once again, they flying everywhere — hitting the wall, exploding on the ground, and even targeting wherever it needs to try and get shadow off. he doesn't believe he needs to call out to his copy when the bubbles are around, some flying in his direction too, but he can take as many tries as he needs to reach the top.

as for shadow tagging along on the jaw, he glares right into the eyes of the beast, his fangs bared as he pushes deeper into the flesh. ]

You're still as misbehaved as always.

[ this ride has always been the same: within the ark, within the white space... and now here. whoever has the information to manifest this creature knows shadow too well. the difference is that if this monster is familiar to him, what is familiar to his copy that needs to follow the specific pattern to achieve victory.

it almost feels like there's more than this out there if they don't manage to escape. ]

[Shadow keeps moving out of harm's way as the beast goes beserk. One more hit, he can feel that's all they need. A glance as he sees his double jump onto the beast's head, skewering their jaw with a spear. Their words, confirms they know this creature. He isn't allowed to ponder. With them keeping the head distracted, he realizes that he has to be the one to take this opportunity to strike.

In a last bit of desperation, the beast has brough back those orbs to defend it's back. There's no riding rails, or getting a safe teleport in this time. He stares at the orbs, frowning. He saw his double bounce amongst them. He has to do the same. He jets upwards to avoid an incoming orb, using the fall to get speed and start spinning into an orb. He lingers for a moment, unable to redirect to the next. A few times he had to unfurl just to keep going, but each time he hits an orb, even when one smacks him, he gets a better idea of what he's doing. What needs to be changed and adjusted. One. Two. Again. It's still unweildy to fight like this, but he needs to graspthe trick just enough, to bounce among the orbs and finally, lands a hard kick into the device. He was spinning around so much, he just said fuck it once he manages to get an opening. It's outer shell shatters, sparks flying as it threatens to explode. The orbs start to dissappate into thin air, the beast roar, sounding more like it was crying in agony.

Shadow teleports to where his double is, grabs them by the waist and they teleport a distance away from the beast, to avoid any possible explosions. He doesn't hold onto them once they reappear, dropping to one knee as he catches his breath. That was, a lot he had to make work in such a short window. He doesn't think even his fight with Sonic demanded this much from him.]