Late chapter is late X.x
Chapter Seventy-Nine
Touza was paralyzed from the fear as she stared into the red eyes of the hedgehog. Having lost her concentration and control of her body, he easily freed his arms as his wounds rapidly healed. Sonic’s claws glowed black before he lashed at her stomach with Night Slash, drawing more blood and causing her to stumble backwards which released his legs. He jumped forward, smashing his skull into hers and knocking the Floatzel down before he raised his hand to deliver the final blow.
It never came as the Water Type was engulfed by a red light, her Trainer having recalled her to her Poké Ball after getting over her initial shock. As such, Sonic’s hand smashed down into the concrete, leaving a nicely-sized crater where he had intended to attack.
Attention drawn to the cat, he darted forward to hit Shira, closing the gap within seconds. Before he could succeed, the mottled hedgehog was suddenly slammed by something, sending him flipping backwards as a low growl erupted from his mouth. The area around him inverted color and time slowed to a crawl while the black hedgehog, heavily favouring one leg over the other, glanced back at Shira.
“Are you...Are you all right?” His Chaos Control would last for a minute, although by now Flaym and Kabops stood beside him to aid in combat. “I woke up when I sensed a dark presence nearby.” He glanced back at her. “The energy signature is familiar, but heavily twisted by darkness. Given what the creature looks like...That’s Sonic, isn’t it?”
She gave a nod. “I doubt he’s still there anymore; he nearly killed Touza, and would’ve done so if I hadn’t recalled her.”
...Granted, I have to wonder what she said to him to make him act like that to begin with, but now is not the time for that.
At this, Shadow shook his head. “Sonic is too strong for that. Have you not used your Aura Sight? I can still sense his normal, untainted energy within the darkness that has consumed him. If he was gone, none of it would be left.” He stated easily, wincing as he felt his ribs. “We have to wear him down enough for him to regain control. It is the only option.” He glanced at the two beside him. “Stay out of it. I’ll handle this fight.” Kabops protested, but a stern look from his Trainer silenced him as they backed off. “We must have faith in his will and good heart, Shira. Sonic will prevail over the darkness, but we must help him to do it!”
Shira paused before agreeing. “I don’t have many offensive skills though; the only attack I could use to wear him down is Aura Sphere. My forte is healing, not battle.” She remarked as her pupils took on a teal glow; evidence that the aforementioned Aura Sight was being used.
And yet I still feel like crap despite her healing... “It may be better if you stay out of it then. I am not in the best of condition, however. That is why these two will stay out of it, in case I am defeated.” He placed weight on his splinted leg, hissing as energy gathered around his other foot which he had raised. “I hope to end this quickly. Neither I nor Sonic can afford to waste time on this matter.”
The Chaos Control abruptly wore off, the corrupted hedgehog returning to normal speed. Before he could act, Shadow slammed his foot down on the ground, sending a spiking energy wave that snaked along the ground towards Sonic. The red energy smacked him square in the chest, knocking him backward and into the ground. Shadow limped out of the building to better draw his attention away, and when Sonic quickly attacked after the Chaos Quake, it became evident it had worked when he completely ignored the others to focus on the Ultimate Life Form.
The white feline observed the situation for a moment, knowing that the biggest issue would be Sonic’s speed thanks to the fact that Shadow had been so heavily injured. Taking a different Poké Ball out of her jacket pocket, she released her shiny Absol; upon quickly explaining the situation to Tensai, the Dark Type agreed to use what few long-distance attacks she knew, and so launched a Thunder Wave at the corrupted blue hedgehog.
Having been caught at the beginning of a run, the hedgehog’s legs seized up and forced him to topple over. Shadow took the opportunity to attack, focusing as energy formed around his hands as the familiar shape of Chaos Claw appeared, although this time blue as he used Positive Chaos Energy; it would be better defensively and also would be less likely to outright destroy his opponent, the perfect move to wear the enemy down. The black hedgehog did seem moderately surprised he had even been able to form the attack outside of his Biodragon Form, however.
Launching forward, he brought one claw down first on Sonic’s head and then raked the other up his stomach, earning a shrill hiss from the person in question. Sonic lashed out with a Night Slash which the hedgehog blocked, retaliating by smashing his skull into his opponent’s. Clasping his hands together, electricity formed before he shot the Electro Ball at Sonic, striking him into a building.
As it was, the memories of the same move that Raikou used had come flooding back, sending Sonic into an even more berserk state than he was before. A red Aura appeared around him as Rage took effect, and lunging forward surprisingly fast despite the paralysis, he scraped his claws against the ground to sharpen them. He vanished in an instant, reappearing behind Shadow as his hands turned purple.
The Cross Poison, plus the Faint Attack, Rage, and Hone Claws behind it, sliced down Shadow’s back with far more ease than should be possible. With more blood spilled, it seemed to send the hedgehog further into the frenzy he was currently in as he began to hack away at whatever part of Shadow he could, going so far as to pin him with his fangs buried deeply in his shoulder; the dark energy around his jaws signified that unfortunately for Shadow, he had opted for the more powerful Crunch technique over a mere Bite.
Several small blue flames enveloped parts of Sonic’s body before he was forced to let go, the Will-o-Wisp attack from Tensai having caused a burn. As such, he wouldn’t be able to attack at full power. Enraged at this, he turned his attention to Tensai, attacking her while Shadow struggled to get up. He focused on the blue hedgehog despite his injuries and blood loss, and as Tensai dodged a Poison Jab, the sky suddenly lit up as a massive bolt of lightning struck the Shadow User, causing him to wail in pain.
“I’m glad...I don’t know how I used Thunder, but I did.” Shadow huffed. Placing his hands together, the Chaos Claws changed shape, appearing more reminiscent of a sword with the same blue hue. “I grow tired of this game!” Sonic was glaring at him with hateful eyes, the black hedgehog’s blood coating his mouth. He appeared to have grown cautious despite the agony his body and soul were in, and Shadow knew he needed to send him into a rage to get more hits. “Come and get me,” a small grin exposed his own set of fangs as he recalled something that had enraged Sonic in the past, “faker!”
Roaring out in fury, Sonic lunged forward, clashing his claws against the weapon Shadow now wielded. Each time he did so he received a shock of Chaos Energy, but he was beyond feeling the pain as he tried to break the weapon. Shadow blocked each blow easily, well aware of a Shadow Sneak wrapping around his leg.
He’s going to try that trick, huh? Well then...
Sonic ducked away just as the attack strengthened, pulling Shadow’s leg out from beneath him. As he hit the ground, he grabbed the tendril that had felled him, discharging electricity through the use of Thundershock which shot straight through the solid shadows and into the hedgehog, causing him to not only release his grip but lose concentration altogether. This allowed Shadow’s thrown weapon – which was quickly dissipating from loss of contact – to collide with his body and burst into sparks of more energy, causing him to stumble.
It was then that the black hedgehog received a telepathic warning from Shira to cover his ears, having noticed that she had done the same. After this, Tensai’s jaws opened yet again, but instead of an Ice Beam or Thunderbolt, a horrid screeching noise flew forth from her maw in the form of Perish Song. While those who had their sense of hearing blocked off enough to avoid hearing it escaped the consequences of the technique, to Sonic it seemed like everything around him had inverted colour, the energy draining steadily from his body as the Normal Type move did its damage.
However, the shiny Absol wasn’t able to keep it up for more than a minute – which was, fortunately, all they needed – before she was forced to stop and was recalled to her Poké Ball, the move having done its damage to her as well.
Snarling, Sonic struggled to right himself, his body sluggish from the damage it had sustained and the energy loss. Shadow launched a volley of Chaos Spears, the red arrows smashing into the hedgehog and sending him reeling while, to the Ultimate Life Form’s surprise, leaving large dents in the ground where each had missed.
Before any could act, Flaym suddenly darted forward – having avoided Perish Song by focusing inwardly so intensely the outside world became muted to him – his horn spinning. Sonic had no chance as his own Pokémon came upon him, the horn smacking into his forehead to rend flesh and pierce bone before entering into the brain itself. Flaym had enough sense to stop the Horn Drill before scrambling the valuable organ, but now stood staring straight into his Trainer’s eyes.
Sonic had tried to lift his arms to claw at the Rapidash, but found he was unable to do so from both weakness and the fact his brain was damaged. The unicorn’s eyes lit up with a soft purple hue that the hedgehog’s own eyes imitated, straying to the swaying mane of dancing fire that flowed behind Flaym’s head before a final snarl escaped his mouth as he succumbed to the Hypnosis. Flaym gingerly lowered his head to free his horn and to not knock Sonic around too much, although in the induced sleep he would not wake up for a good half-hour or so if not attacked.
“Where’s Kabops?” Shadow asked, having limped over to the Rapidash, carefully watching Sonic. His own wounds were bleeding heavily, forcing him to using one of Flaym’s legs to brace himself so he wouldn’t fall over. He followed the Pokémon’s eyes over to where the Kabutops lay on his back sprawled out, one foot twitching in the air and the disoriented thought of “yummy yummy fishies” floating into the minds of those around him. “...Well that answers one question...” He stated, rolling his eyes.
Shira raised an eyebrow at his statement as she walked forward before speaking up, though she stayed a good distance away from the unconscious hedgehog. “You’ll need to get bandaged up as quickly as possible. Since the injuries were dealt by someone who was contaminated with negative energy, I won’t be able to do anything to heal them. Not unless you want them to cause the same pain as they are now for the rest of your life, anyways.”
Shadow nodded slightly, the motion itself enough to make him dizzy. “Flaym, get him out of the rain. It won’t help him in his internal struggle.” The Rapidash dipped his head in acknowledgement, the x-shaped scar on his chest warping from the light of his mane. While he did that, Shadow limped over to where the cat was, accepting her aid as he leaned on her shoulder to get to shelter. His eyes, slightly clouded from the severe blood loss, looked at Shira. “Were you scared?”
“...Yeah. I mean, who wouldn’t be?” She questioned before continuing. “Although, Sonic was mentioning something about Touza insulting him earlier, while you were still out. I’ll have to talk to her about that.”
“Mmm. Mitsumae mentioned we would see the personality change when Sonic showed up. I am guessing it was quite drastic, based on what I heard before I got knocked out.” He stated, sighing. “I asked you, Shira, because I was curious if you were afraid for others. I would like you to name those you were scared for.”
“He definitely had a shorter temper; that much is for sure.” She remarked before answering his earlier question after a bit of thought. “...I suppose I was most afraid for you, before Sonic and I had managed to get you out of that building after dressing your injuries, and then Touza when she was fighting Sonic.”
Shadow nodded slowly. “What about Sonic? Aren’t you afraid for him?”
Shira shook her head. “I was. At least, until he willingly bit Touza when letting the darkness take over.”
The hedgehog sighed softly. “If he bit her, he had a reason for doing so. You honestly think he would let darkness consume him? From what I’ve learned from my friend and observations, the poison is very painful. It is nothing compared to any pain you have ever been through. Now that I have pieced together how Sonic got the poison...He shouldn’t be sane anymore.” Shadow stated, sitting down inside the ruined building. “He is still in there, but his body has become a prison. Imagine being unable to control what you do, turning into a creature you hate. Sonic saw Suicune become that and saved her...But in doing so, doomed himself to the same fate. If you think you were terrified seeing Sonic, imagine how he feels, Shira.”
The cat was silent for several moments, thinking about what Shadow had said before an idea came to her. “...Well if he really has no control over his body anymore, we’ll need to immobilize him so he doesn’t attack when he wakes up. Even if he’s snapped out of it by that time, he may still attack on reflex.”
Shadow glanced at Flaym who had dragged Sonic into the building, although he was a notable distance away. “Flaym...Find steel cables or wiring. I’m sure you can understand why we need them.” The Rapidash nodded slowly, trotting off to search the building and those around it. “Shira, believe me when I say he has no control. When I flew into a rage with Ron, I lost control. The negativity took a good intention and twisted it into a terrible one. I am rather low in terms of corruption – imagine how powerful it must be for Sonic. He needs all the support he can get in this time.” He winced as, in the process of bandaging his back, Shira had to wrap the tissue around his chest and had unwittingly touched where a broken rib was. It was only now he realized just how much pain he was in and how difficult it was to breathe.
“I suppose. Although I think that, when he returns to his right mind, he’ll be mortified with what’s happened since he apparently had to watch it happen, according to what you’re saying.” However, having noticed the black hedgehog’s motion when she was bandaging his back, she made an effort to be slightly more careful, though the effectiveness would remain to be seen considering how many bones he had broken.
“Undoubtedly he will, although I am unsure how his memory will be impacted by the change.” He closed his eyes as a wave of dizziness swept over him. “What a rotten time for him to lose it. If I was in better condition I would have done far better in combat.” He stated, sighing.
Making no comment, Shira continued to disinfect and bandage the injury on Shadow’s back; though when she noticed that the last attack Sonic had used on him had cut down to his spine – even damaging it slightly – she was surprised the black hedgehog was still conscious.