limiterrings | (no subject)

[ don't worry, they fully understand the position they're in. forcing him out of hiding is quite the option, quickly, the glitching grows louder until a body appears a polite distance away from the void created to swallow him whole. what appears is a young gentleman, a confident chuckle as he bows forward — a familiar mask, a glaring red eye, white hair draped branched out onto his back.

"ha ha, how brave you are, little one."

the jackal's tail sways from behind, amused by how much quick progress has been made thanks to his own interference.

"i've only come to talk, surely you have time."

that's all anyone has here in this place, besides, playing with them endlessly was the plan until someone started to break his things, those illusions. the phantom ruby pulsates in the creeping darkness around them, but the prophet stands in wait. ]

[Shadow follows their movement. Now that they've shown themselves, the dimensional pocket he had created starts to shrink and disappates. There is no recognition of the masked figure before him, but he continues to glare at them. They are the reason he and his other are here. The cause of those memories returning. Be it intentional or not. That much he understands.

He notes the ruby on their chest. He feels like he should recognize it, an old document about an artifact filed away in his data. Searching.] The only thing you'll be doing is meeting the end of my spear. [Talking means prolonging their time here. The target has decided to show themselves to him, so he'll eliminate them. Although as he lunges at them, spear at the ready to skewer them, he expects this to fail. Fighting means gathering intel for him though. He needs to know what he's dealing with.]

[ "how unfortunate, have you forgotten how to talk?"

it's like looking at a replica play the same games over and over, this one is younger, but not as naive as he was at the start. if infinite played his cards differently, he should have appeared way earlier. infinite moves to the side, an afterimage of himself appearing and disappearing right after like a trail — it tricks the eyes, makes it difficult to tell which one is which, and given his abilities are illusions and the ruby working in overtime... his own body glitches just like the fakes, an attempt to fool where the other strikes.

it's a long line of glitches out infinite's, them all bowing sans for the one that shadow has hit which fizzles out with a crackle.

"if you kill me, you'll never get out! then you'll be trapped with someone who hates you forever. do you really want that?"

the strange chuckles, the sound of laughter coming from each glitched out version as they mimic the original. "unless unless

unless

u n l e s s...

you are that selfish." ]

[As he thought, it would have been too simple. Not letting them talk was the call. Now they're trying to get into his head, but it's already too late. As he turns to face the replicas, he summons a flurry of chaos spears around him. It's clear none of the jackel's words reached him, his focus even harder to break now. Why should he be concern when he can break their illusion at a swing of his spear? Even then, his other is the ultimate lifeform. They will find a way.

Calling their bluff, he fires the spears into every replica. He watches and waits as his attack rains down upon them, spear at the ready to pounce onto the real one.]

[ spears rain down to mutilate every illusion, the only saving grace is the stranger's shield used to block the chaotic energy that strikes himself. pushing against it in hopes that it fizzles out, if not, infinite jumps back as the spear digs into the ground where he once was.

how childish.

"beating me won't save you from your fate, child."

newfound resolve is annoying, the fact that his kind heart is replaced with something more dangerous means he won't let infinite get into his head. it's funny, seems like the younger hedgehog will do anything to ignore the truth, or maybe because the truth is so evident that this is why nothing gets underneath his skin?

"think about it, i can fix everything if you trust me."

it's simple, don't kill him and he can do something more.

"i can make it so you aren't alone... turn back the clock to the beginning. killing me seals your fate, haha."

but death isn't something infinite is looking towards to. he plays with this shadow, humored by his actions because it's not like he know, but oh, he will make him suffer soon just for carrying the name of the hedgehog he despises. ]

[Their words do not give him comfort. They just piss him off. If they could have done that, they would have done it sooner. They're a rat trying to weasel themselves out of a situation they brought onto themselves, to appease him. Toying with his pain. He's sick of it. Trust? Promises? He's been through that song and dance. There's no such thing.]

Save it for someone who cares. [He throws his spear at the jackel, then disappears himself. It wasn't through the usual means one would expect of a Shadow. If the jackel manages to catch it, there was a dark portal that had appeared behind him that he went through instead. Where will he appear?]

[ because he doesn't know to trust. isn't it the younger hedgehog who is making this difficult for himself?

the jackal is agile, enough to roll onto the floor to dodge the spear that crashes into the ground. touchy, he can tell that the other doesn't want to hear anything. his anger towards him is justified, but shouldn't he be glad for all that infinite gave? their ears twitch, the void is silent so he doesn't notice it by that means, only because he needs to be wary of his surroundings.

another clone, and another as the phantom ruby pulsates causing the additions and the one controlling it to glitch in this space. place the doubles by whatever portal appears, keep himself safe for the time-being. it's a waiting game, he has to give up soon enough... or maybe because of what he is that giving up isn't an option.

"but you do, you do care. why else would you fight me if you didn't? you care, and you fear." ]

[There's silence, then there was a moment of laughter. It was neither happy or sad, unsettling amusement over what the jackal says.] I don't fear. [They still think he's a child, when they've unleashed the perfect soldier back into the world. He does not fear, he does not care. He hunts and kills for his master. The spear that had remain sitting without it's owner in the ground, there was a carving where the blade met the staff. It starts to shift, like it was alive. It opens to reveal to be an eye. The eye's pupil starts to move, looking toward the replicas, searching.

Why waste his time when he can just pinpoint the real one? A dark portal forms behind the jackal. No hedgehog comes out of it, only a large claw-like arm will appear. It's coloration was that of the Black Arms, jet black, turning into crimson skin, ending in yellow claws. Slender in build, with tufts of crimson protruding near the wrist, hinting to what purpose this unit might have been created to do. It swipes at the real jackal.]

I bring fear. [They certainly gave him something. More tools to toy with his prey.]

Edited 2025-03-26 13:24 (UTC)

[ "you are a child! you don't know how to bring fear! the only one scared of you is yourself. that's why you're hiding!"

same could be said of the previous measures of the jackal, but hey, it's fun, entertaining and he didn't need to show himself then. besides, he has to get to his feet, keep his surroundings clear, force the jewel to make another copy — sloppier and sluggish, this one moves slower, but that doesn't matter. if he bends reality just a bit, it can be a solid matter, it can brace the attacks.

this may not be his virtual reality that he has complete control over, the younger hedgehog senses might have dulled over the experiences it has seen, but that doesn't mean the jackal has lost. no, because he won't allow himself to lose again. a mighty foe, dangerous too, he sees that, he's witness to how these newfound abilities come with ease, and how infinite must move quickly or suffer consequence.

the phantom ruby does its job by protecting its wearer, it glows and pulsates as soon as the hand comes through the portal, a wide shield brought into existence in order to tank the hit. while the shield does crack in the center, shattering due to the pressure applied, the large arm is in position to grab or slash at him, the body in place in hopes to cushion the attack.

either way, in this void, there's sparks that come from the phantom ruby trying to alter reality and an outside force that zips right into the battle area, a line of light yellow crashes right into the arm, a black and red ball picking up speed to push the arm back, if not into the hole that it dwells from to prevent it from hitting the jackal.

the knockback sends him back onto the ground, feet first as he stands with a furrowed brow. looks like someone changed their mind about playing captive. the jackal however is amazed then annoyed, disgusted upon realization of who it is. ]

[It's call the element of surprise, cause he's certain this jackal isn't aware of what they've brought to the surface from this child. Using that to his advantage to catch his prey. Hiding? From what he's seen so far from this rat. They don't deserve his full might. Their words only driving him further to prove his point. Their pitiful shield barely holds against his strength, breaking through to crush them.

Until his hand was suddenly forced back by an unforeseen strike. No, he felt their arrival. For them to go after him though, was unexpected. The hand disappears back into the void, Shadow left confused by their actions. He nearly had that jackal, they were about to be free of this prison of illusions. Was their hate for the Black Arms so much as to ignore the real target?

He makes an irritated sound as he traverses through the void. Another portal forms where he had left his spear. What exits isn't that large creature that hand belonged to. An armored hand comes through to grab hold of the spear. The rest of the hedgehog follows through, clad in armor that was bestowed onto him as Black Doom's commander of his army. His helmet obscures his eyes, but he's glaring down onto his other. There's no hesitance or uncertainty of his intentions like before.] Why did you stop me? [Is there a reason he couldn't finish the job? Was what the jackal said before about what happens if he dies true? Or is it really "because Black Arms".]

Hmph.

[ the younger may speak to him, but shadow ignores him in favor of turning his attention to the jackal. this is pathetic, it should have been obvious, but those who matter very little to him rarely find themselves on his mind. the slack doll in infinite's hands glitches away into particles, and the jackal grins. well, who knew he'd gain the attention of two hedgehogs.

a green sparks appear in one hand, his chaos spear manifesting as he points it at the jackal. ]

I will finish the job.

[ but it's not like his intentions are solely for infinite, even as shadow glares at him, he turns back towards his other, and points the weapon at him too. ]

Both of you.

[ two against one.

is it intimidating to hear that he's willing to fight them both? no, on the contrary, infinite chuckles with some sort of amusement again. is that the plan here. after all that shadow has went through, the damages, the mental trauma, he thinks that he could handle both of them? infinite is sure if the younger hedgehog attacks at him that shadow will block it because that hedgehog wants to kill infinite himself. it's like having a guard dog that acts on its own biting any hand, even the owner, but he's fully aware that he's unable to control him unless.

infinite stands there, head only shifting to look at the two every so often. however, he can't show favoritism or sides at this moment. because the moment he's about to speak, that chaos spear is thrown towards his double, the only difference is that a quick dodge won't do. it's actually following after him as though locked on, and so is another, and another, and another that he throws out. a quick turn on his heel, he dashes towards infinite with a fist raised back, and the jackal jumps back to avoid the first strike. when shadow punches the ground, he leaves an indent on impact before jumping forward with his focus on infinite for now. ]

[...Foolish. He traced his other's capabilities when they were connected, observed what they can do enough times already. They can't possibly be a match against him as he is. But perhaps that arrogance comes from being the Ultimate Lifeform. He doesn't flinch when the chaos spears starts raining down on him, striking his armor as he knocks a few away. This is energy he can utilize. Which leaves him to ponder the other's decision to strike him in this manner. Hm.

Doesn't matter now, and he's probably imagining it. He catches one of the spears, raising it up to gather all the chaos energy around him. To replenish himself, and to utilize it back against them. The collection of energy turns into an orb, sparking in his hand. Looking for his targets, he flicks it in their direction, hoping to land it inbetween them. Upon reaching it's target, planting itself like a seed, it'll burst into a bloom of chaos energy. Vein-like streams of light grows from it's center, spreading and striking into whatever it gets caught in it's path, causing the land to split where it digs into the ground.

While that keeps them occupied, Shadow takes the opportunity to reappear beside the jackal, thrusting his spear forward with the intent to skewer them.]

[ don't piss him off, this individual has nothing to do with him, he's sure that the younger hedgehog doesn't even know his name. the spread of chaos energy expands, tendrils outstretching to hook and grab at the same source — chaos energy. who else has that energy that can feed it, the hedgehog who wants to fight two against one. he disappears before reappearing a short distance forward to dodge the tips of the vines, and it's over that hurdle that shadow's quick to send a swift kick at his other's waist, knocking him away from the jackal before he can skewer him.

infinite understands that this is in his favor, but the ground underneath him crumbling is a problem as well as the tendrils reach out digging into whatever it can touch. one does manage to stab through his right leg, but the phantom ruby pulsates, sending a flash of light from the jewel to cut at the energy so that infinite can jump away.

blood drips onto the ground. ]

Back. Off.

[ he snarls, his frustration towards his copy. ]

[His head turn ever so slightly, as if he anticipated his other would try something. Even if he chooses to ignore them, he doesn't expect the same from his other. A slight move with his free hand and he grabs hold of his other by the ankle as they came in. Using their momentum against them, he redirects them straight towards the ground.

He missed his chance to get the killing blow though, so their little distraction was effective enough. Continuing to ignore his other, his attention returns to rat as he blips in right before them. Round two in attempting to skewer them as his spear is raised.]

[ that's the issue here, the fact that while infinite moves around away from shadow, he has to close the distance to make sure that his enemy doesn't die. infinite hasn't been embarrassed by the younger one, it only wants to kill him in order to "go home" or something like that. lofty dreams for an idiot.

that's why infinite laughs at the attempt, and why the phantom ruby glows to bring up a shield that'll deflect the attack. all he has to do is buy time, and...

yeah, shadow will appear again, dirt in his quills and irritation visible on his face as one hand grabs at the spear tightly. ]

[He doesn't want to go home, he just wants it all to end. Open a path for his other to get home after this rat and himself are dead. The only thing he doesn't understand, is why his other is so persistent on stopping him. Makes it all the whole "send them home" counterproductive to his plans. It's irritating.

He grits his teeth as they grab hold of his spear. His other hand swipes at them. Sparks fly and a dark aura forms over that hand, extending into claws as he strikes at them.]

[ normally, this is something shadow could dodge with ease, but when sparks fly and claws strike down at his shoulder, he allows for it to happen. it burns through as blood flies, and some drip onto the ground as the other leaves a gash behind. shadow feels numb at the contact, but that doesn't stop him from using his good hand to pull at the spear.

infinite is taking another step back as he watches the two, that's fine, it works, but the older one needs to avoid getting hit. how else will infinite prolong his life to prepare his own attacks if shadow fails halfway through?

the phantom ruby glows again, the world around them glitching, and it's the fuzziness nearby that shadow's eyes widen, and he pushes the other back with the spear still in hand. the other seems unwilling to let it go, so it's fine, he'll continue to hold while pushing the younger back. ]

[There is no sign of remorse from his action, only annoyance that they're still holding on. What does it take, to get his other off of him?! He readies to strike them again, until they start to roughly push him backwards. Unaware of the reasoning, not paying attention to the world shifting. Focused on wanting his other out of his sight. He can pay attention afterwards.

He grips the spear with both hands now, as black vein-like wings start protuding from his back. He turns, trying to force his other to swap positions with him. He then takes aim towards the ground, intending to smash his other into the floor.]

[ this is his enemy, they both are, and if anyone is going to kill the one masked one then it'll be him. even if his body shivers from the wound, the smell of blood wafting in the air, and thst familiar black substance trying to pull the chunks of flesh together, but failing.

shadow doesn't care as their positions change, the wings obscure hod sight so he's unable to see where infinite is. shadow growls once more, his annoyance growing more as his own hands remain locked around the spear.

infinite doesn't miss this chance though, a spear glitches behind his copy that shadow can see above the wings. it's a petty attack from what he can see, but rather than suffer being slammed against the floor, shadow with the tip of the spear in hand steels himself and pushes the spear through his abdomen. how far it goes depends on the force from the other, but he's sliding against the length of it, pushing his copy back so that the glitchy blade that hangs above like damocles' blade drops and digs right into older hedgehog.

his shoulder has already suffered enough damage, what's more as he can feel the weapon shifting under his skin, and his memories violated with his reason for being here vanishing with as long as it's wedged in him. shaking his head, shadow glares at the other before taking one hand to pull out the blade that fades in and out in reality, breaking down then fixing itself every other moments, and it's this strike right to the boy's helmet, using the weapons unique trait of breaking reality to see if he can get past the eye cover and stab one of his eyes since they're close enough.

he's only testing what he's able to utilize, he's not expecting much at the moment. ]

[Their actions continue to confuse and frustrate him. The spear remains stabbed into his other, but he neither pulls it out, or pushes further in. They're already doing the job of hurting themselves without him doing anything besides hold the spear steady. The eyes on his weapon looking toward them. Pathetic.] How do you intend to defeat me like this?

[Stop it. Why are you doing this to yourself? A small voice among the storm of self loathing and hate. He blocks it from his mind, just as his other pushes him to take another hit meant for him. His helmet hiding the moment of surprise in his eyes. Do they not think he can handle this? Is he being insulted? He growls as he pulls his spear back, just as they strike with the jackal's own weapon. There's a clink as it breaks through his helmet's armor and into his right eye. The spear is fully removed from his other as he staggers backwards from the strike, his other hand pressed against his face. The pain is nothing, but what he sees when that attack struck gives him pause. A jumble of memories mixed together, home, here, theirs. Pulling. Tearing. What is even real?

Growling between gritted teeth, he manages to remove the piece of the spear, tossing it aside as it disappates. The last image that flashes before him, being on the moon....with another hedgehog.

Who was that? A different one? Himself?]

...Pointless. [There are yellow sparks around his injured eye. Flesh and organs mending on their own beneath the spilled blood. A healed crimson eye, glaring down at his other in the next moment.] Back off. [He takes flight, intending to return to the hunt and leaving his othere where he lays. They will live, he can deal with their wounds later.]

[ he cannot use his own chaos energy because the other will feed, amplify and use them back. it's pointless when he's limited to his own body and taking advantage of what infinite has. he's able to warp reality to some extent, and if that can be used to fight against the younger hedgehog then so be it. as long as he can be damaged, that's fine, all shadow has to do is keep going.

shadow doesn't even respond to the words said to him, he finds himself focused on the issue at hand. keeping his prey alive, handling the issue, then killing his prey — it's a linear path, but when he moves, his body aches and pain courses through. wounds won't heal possibly because of who damaged him, but the other that came from infinite slowly tries to close itself albeit slowly.

he jumps up, air shoes activating to follow after the other, it's not as fast but enough to keep him afloat. there's nothing he has that can damage him, so he curls, using his own body as a weapon to dash right into the other while he's flying in order to knock him off course into one of the nearby walls. as long as the other hunts down infinite, shadow will be close behind. it's that unwavering determination that won't let him give up no matter the challenge, he won't allow himself to fall because of a couple of wounds that'll heal soon enough (or not at all). blood stains black fur, it sticks together and gives it a more thicker, matted appearance.

infinite takes this as his advantage, limping until using the phantom ruby to float away from the impact of the two shadows. it's quite amusing really, watching them fight head to head, and knowing that one isn't even using their full power to keep up with a monster such as the younger one.

"ha ha ha! shadow, is this all you're capable of!?"

is it to mock him or encourage him? he sounds almost amused and disappointed at the sight of the older one. there's a small part of him impressed that the younger one is unable to get rid of the other one. it might be because shadow has always been persistent in a way that it's rare to see him give up, so the other one must be the same.

that's why he makes another glitched sword, throwing it in the direction of both shadow's hoping to strike two birds with one stone. ]

[When one is more reluctant to fight against the other, you get this result. He has only struck back when his other made any attempts to stop him. With their persistence though, it's getting harder to keep to that.

And it looks like he'll need to deal with them again. He doesn't understand how, he doesn't know why, he just knew the other would never quit. Fighting until their last breath. So he can never keep his guard down as long as he can sense their presence. He turns, swinging his spear into the incoming spindash to knock him away, either that or stop their forward momentum. His other hand opens towards sword that was coming at them. A dark portal opens, swallowing it.

He blips out of existence, leaving his other to strike at nothing. He reappears above Inifinite staring down at him, a chaos spear formed in his hand.] Disappear. [Like a master preparing to exact punishment on their underling, a portal opens in front of Infinite, firing the sword back at them. His chaos spear being sent down at the same time.]

[ that sword could have been useful, something shadow regrets not aiming for as his reflected spindash sends him into a wall nearby. he pulls himself together, shaking his body as he looks over to where that version of him has fled to now. the phantom ruby pulsates, their surroundings starting to glitch due to overuse, and shadow takes this as a quick way to close the distance. the wall near him fades in and out, he's quick to slip inside thinking it'll take him right to where the weapons are being targeted towards infinite.

however, it doesn't. it leads shadow to appearing behind his other, and knowing that he cannot use chaos energy against him makes this angle useless.

or does it?

he seems pretty focused on infinite so shadow curls in for another spindash, this time aiming right at the center of the younger version's back, right between the wings to push him forward right into the direction of infinite and the aimed weapons. if lucky, he hopes to skewer his double with either the glitched sword or his own spear in the impact. ]

...I told you it's pointless! [He is the perfect soldier. He's always at the ready for anything. He has to be. Failure was never an option. He has to learn and adjust on the fly, avoid making the same mistakes. It all has to come naturally to him. And as long as the Black Arm's blood flows inside his other, he will always have knowledge of their presence.

Sparks fly in his free hand as he turns to meet them head-on, punching right into their spindash with incredible force behind it.]

[ the punch connects, shadow's thrown back into the walls behind leaving a huge impact as debris falls onto him. it's his interruption that's given infinite time to hide behind the various glitches nearby, shifting from one place to another but remains hidden. infinite knows that this isn't good with shadow down and the other out and about, but he remembers what the other hedgehog used that did affect the other.

hm.

in this world, the younger hedgehog will see the random glitches in the sky, along the walls and the ground. infinite is somewhere behind them, but he doesn't seem willing to come out just yet.

his voice echoes from above to throw off his whereabouts so that the younger hedgehog cannot find him.

"are you ready? to go home?"

by those words, is that saying that shadow might be dead? ]