limiterrings | (no subject)

[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.]

[ from one spot to another, where he was on the lizard that's starting to implode on itself within the flashing red lights leaves much to be desired. it's body collapsing down onto the ground, sliding right into the crater that shadow had made not too long ago within the fight. it's tail and head smacks against the ground to leave indents of its body, wind and smoke blowing throughout the shield which causes it to shatter only some.

his gaze falls down to the double that's right next to him, watching as he catches his breath, but they can't stay here. reaching for him, shadow scoops the the hedgehog underneath one arm as he quickly kicks his air shoes into gear. ]

Tired already?

[ laughable, it is, but shadow doesn't laugh at these situations, instead he kicks himself up as he skates out of one broken area of the dome. the sun, or whatever it is above, shines down to expose him and his double to the audience. a loud gasp from the crowd, the overseer of the battle commanding that they be captured, and even some sort of guns are pointed in their direction that shoots out a sort of web to try and catch them in the air.

quickly, he's able to dodge the net in the air as smoke filters from the cracks of the dome and he uses that as cover. racing to go into one as he weighs their options, he has to find somewhere to go.

it's time to go into the den of monsters, he supposes, realizing that the lizard had to come from somewhere, and so he thinks that location to start skating off to. ]

[He just let's the gesture happen. His body tensing for a moment, not knowing what his double was going to do. That's when they pose the question, getting a scowl out of him.]

Hardly. [He wants to lay down so bad. He's also not the one bleeding. Eyes squint as he raises a hand to shield from the sudden light as they escape the dome. He feels his double weaving through the air to avoid getting captured. He's normally compliant, but this doesn't sit right with him. He can handle himself. Jets come to life as he frees himself from his double. He should follow, but he stops, looking for something. Someone. And quickly.

He will get out of his double's sight for a moment, heading for a particular elegant looking covered platform, protruding out from the stands. Some important looking officials were scrambling about to find something. The voice of the familiar host screeching at them to find the device to shock them out of the sky. Thinking, recalling what his double did to his spears. He summons three, then combines them into one larger spear. The people on that platform panic, rushing to get out of there when they realize he was going fire it at them. He doesn't have time to get a precise shot on that device, but he hopes destroying that platform will be enough to crush it, or bury it. The spear hits it's mark, bringing the platform down, along with a section of the stand.

Task complete, he returns to where he left his double, searching. If they even bothered to stay or took this opportunity to escape on their own. He won't linger if he can't find them fast enough.]

[ he doesn't stay to watch what his copy has to do, once he left from out shadow's grasp then he no longer became his responsibility. instead, he's hovering to the ground where he believes that monster came from. he hangs there for a bit, eyeing the surrounding stage that starts to collapse on top of each other, and the weird spectators all glitching at the destruction of the area.

there's a faint voice that echoes in their heads: i will teach you fear, then pain.

shadow's eyes glare at his surroundings, turning around in search of where the voice came from, but there's nothing aside from the screams and yells of those who watch. he doesn't linger on it though, if there's anything to teach him fear and then pain, they should try harder.

the path behind him is a large cave, stalagmites and stalactites act like teeth at the mouth of it, but he wastes no time walking inside. his steps are wet, his reflection visible against the mirror-like walls, and what light filters inside helps reveal whatever path is before him.

he's sure that the copy will catch up, but now, what does shadow do about him. if he plays his cards right, a quick movement and he could snap its neck. it's not like he knows who that double really is, or if it's a tactic to be used against him. truth be told, shadow's used to working alone. ]

[...What the hell was that? Hearing voices in his head is strictly in nightmares. It's enough to tell him to get moving before whomever that voice belongs to shows up. He fails to locate his double though, which...he'll probably never know who they are now. A feeling of disappointment, missing a chance to get some answers. He dives into the smoke cloud for cover until he figures out his next movement. Where does he go from here? An escape route?

He eventually comes across the same makeshift entrance his double found. Despite the uncertainty he feels, he has no choice but to keep going. Anywhere to take him as far away from this cursed arena. He jumps down below, taking a moment to check his surroundings. An underground passage, where all their imprisoned monsters are kept? That be great, a sarcastic thought.

His ears twitch, picking up footsteps in a direction. Looking, thinking. Does he follow it...? Glancing down, the light shining in certain spots on the ground. Blood. Looking further down the path where the steps were coming from, he sees the trail of blood continuing the same way. He chooses to follow, walking at a steady pace, in case something decides to jump him.]

[ shadow doesn't stop his movements at all, making his way down, deeper into the belly of the cave. nothing has shown itself, all there is are reflections of himself and nothing else.

what is fear to him nowadays, it's something specific, so simple that even he's unable to cast away his past. his every waking nightmare is a fear, but he never speaks of it, all he does in response is wake up in destruction. be it with or without a chaos emerald. the drips of water shift to footsteps mixed along, they're not in the same pace as his own which he stops. he confirms that there's another outside of his own, but with how wary and steady they are, it makes sense that the owner of the sound is cautious themselves.

he already knows who it is, hence why he stops to look at the wall next to him that shows his reflection. the cuts along his cheek, where fur has been singed from the shield and where his copy had aimed at his shoulder. there's much more about his body that's taken various marks from the battle, but it's nothing that his body can't heal away. ]

[These reflections are...unwanted. Faces looking back, reminding him he was different. Having no where to belong, just a specimen to be used. He keeps his eyes forward the best he can, less the question of why he continues forward starts to dance in his mind again.

To find the other that looked almost like him, who had the same powers as him. Feelings that he may finally get answers rising like butterflies in his gut. That is the only thing he clings to now.

As he turns the corner, he sees them. The double staring at their own reflection up ahead. He takes one more step, but then stops. Instinct and past experience have trained him to keep his distance. Eventhough they were just working together. He's not in the best of shape if they decide to come at him again. His chest hurts, and he could feel the burns he sustained from the spears on his right side, and on one of his head quills. There's definitely some brusing on his back after getting hit a few times by those orbs.

He lets out a sigh, the silence deafening. Now that they're not forced to fight and in a space where nothing is happening at this moment, what does he even say? The answers may be right in front of him, and he's gone tight lip now?]

[ they are reflections that it seems like their expression changes when you look away, but that's simply a trick of the light. shadow remains in place as he notices that copy in the reflection, but he doesn't acknowledge them in the mirror, instead he only speaks while his eyes remain onto himself. ]

Keep moving.

[ that's all the copy can do anyway, keep moving and push ahead. the reason why shadow stops is to confirm his suspicions, not only that, he has energy to spend even if he's caught up in something again. the other one, however, seems to learn but also exhuast fuel as it comes, yes his show of destroying what they just left would have earned applause from certain individuals, but shadow doesn't know if that copy's tired.

resting here doesn't seem like a smart choice either, too out in the open, but isn't it strange they haven't seen any other monsters despite this place big enough to hold that one? ]

...

[ but he moves himself, away from the wall that reminds him of glass to start walking down the only path that they have for now. ]

[Shadow had boundless amounts of energy coursing through him, but his body has not been trained to endure the stress that longer fights would demand of it. When fights back home ended relatively quick, he never thought about conserving certain attacks over others. So that whole battle back there, did take a lot out of him, but he's keeping this fact hidden from his double the best he can. He still doesn't know if he can fully trust them just yet.

Being told to keep moving, doesn't get any complaints from him. They can't stay here or go back, they can only move forward now. He follows behind his double, still keeping some space between them. Interesting. From here, he noticed the double was short one head quill from the back. Big difference to tell them apart, besides their differing experience in combat. What else was there? He really wish he could ask, but he feels that might set them off. They seem...well, grumpier? Is that the word?

The passage gradually starts to change, smoothing out into pavement. Old dried blood from various scuffles that occured down here in the past can be seen, splattered on various parts of the floor and walls. Blood.] Your head. [He still occasionally sees fresh spots of blood on the floor coming from his double.]

[ he keeps quiet, his thoughts running a marathon on what he needs to do — find out why he's here, figure out what to do what's behind him, understand why the monsters have some relation to him, but not the other. not having an answer to most of what he's dealing with does cause him to growl under his breath, but it's not directed to his copy behind him.

footsteps brush against dried blood, the smell of the area fills his nose, but doesn't bother him at all. whatever has been down here has probably fought, died, and was eaten by another, bigger threat. luckily, shadow doesn't need to eat, it's just a luxury that he can do without so no matter how long this path goes... at least he won't grow famished. ]

...

[ initially he ignores him to see how far this cave carries their voices, there isn't much of an echo. ]

That's what happens during a battle, you aim and draw blood.

[ a common fact about fighting, but what does he want, a little more explanation on where he should have struck to kill him faster? he's not getting that, but shadow glances at the wall beside them where blood makes it hard to see their reflections. ]

It'll heal soon enough. [ the only worry they need is that nothing is attracted to the scent, but it's not like shadow's blood is normal so the chances of something appearing isn't zero. he's mindful, his eyes always shifting left then right as though waiting for something to move.

hm. ]

Do you bleed?

[ to be fair, shadow didn't do much, but that's because he was focused on something entirely different than the opponent he had. it's a question though, and if his copy wanted, it could go question for question. ]

[Well, that much he figured. He was more wondering if they were going to do something about it. If they were all right? Well if they can still walk, yes, he suppose. Just as he was about to clarify, they answered anyway. Sort of. He feels he should just leave it at that.Now a question is being returned to him. It puzzled him for a moment, mostly cause they had him thinking they were going to do something with a question like that.]

...Yes. [His ears twitch, thinking he heard something, distant. After a moment, it doesn't occur again. Picking up his pace again, he stares at some claw marks on the wall. The question comes now that they've started talking.] ...That creature back there, you fought it before? [They knew what to do, which begs to question, is the monster from the movie actually a real alien? And also, why did...whomever runs this place, specifically send that creature when one of them knew how to deal with it?]

Hmmn...

[ it's not a wrong question to ask, but isn't he too curious? though, gaining information isn't a bad thing at all, but what is obvious and what is new? it'd waste both their times if he have to speak on what they should both know, but shadow is starting to realize the hedgehog behind him doesn't run off proper data.

he continues forward, vivid memories flashing through his mind about the creation of that monster, and what it was meant to be. that monster, then another monster, and then his own creation... just a string of monsters built for a specific purpose, it's just he managed to find his before that creature could fulfill its own. ]

I have.

[ every time he comes across it, there's always something new, different, but it didn't manage to obtain that second phase it tries to do.

...at least there's no impending doom weighing on his shoulders from seeing any eggs around in the case, so it's not like the creature bonded to this cave or anything. ]

It is not familiar to you?

We- [He stops what he was going to say. Because it would bring up her into his thoughts. He doesn't want to think or talk about her right now.]

...It sort of looked like a monster in a movie I watched. Not real. [It was literally a man in a suit. But even so, that movie hit a little too close to home. About himself.] Did it mean something to you? [Remembering his double had said something to it.]

[ "we" he starts, but whoever that could entail leads to something unexpected. a movie, huh? it's the first time he's heard it described like that. to hear that monster to be called "not real" makes him click his tongue. almost like his life is both a joke and a spectacle, but he doesn't know where to place this copy of his on a scale of if he's telling the truth or lying. ]

Real as they come.

[ he pauses, it's not information he gives often. ]

My past has a way of appearing in odd places, that's all.

[ what shadow won't do is say that parts of his past haunts him, no, he won't let it be known that he can even be disturbed by it. his copy doesn't need that information. ]

[An eyebrow raise at that. It's connected to their past, how? He has a feeling he won't get an answer if asked. He can live with that for now, not particularly wanting to get into his own himself. What little that has been spoken between them at least gave him some insight about his previous thoughts. He thought before, maybe there were a group of hedgehogs that shared similiar abilities like him. That doesn't feel like the case with the one walking in front of him. They recognized same monster, yet both interpreted it differently.]

Who are you? [The inside voice ended up becoming the outside voice. Maybe he just wanted to hear how they will answer, to give himself something. Will he get the answer is another question. There were distant muffled voices. Sounded like they were in a panic. In the next, the underground shook slightly. That can't be good.]

[ this is said matter of factly, condfident in his answer. ]

I am the Ultimate Lifeform.

[ he is also a monster, he is also if said by others... a friend, even a hero, but initially he should have been a cure.

shadow has a feeling when this copy responds that he — his thoughts quickly shift to the sounds nearby, he holds his composure to prevent himself from falling from the shake.

the cave's ceiling drops a few pieces of rock around them as it breaks apart, but not enough to call for danger. they should be wary due to those panic noises being selfish concern or they're troubled that two hedgehogs are getting away and they're preparing something to find them again. ]

How annoying....

[...Ah. That's what the scientists said he was too. A title given to him that felt more like a curse placed onto him. What did a title mean, when all he ever was to everyone was a tool, a freak. His double....his other seem to hold that title differently. Like he was proud of it. Why? How?

He glances around the passage walls, frowning. The underground shakes again, more violently. He takes a few steps forward, more in line with his other.] Are they trying to bury us? [That might explain the lack of seeing any other life down here.]