-GUN Under Water HQ-
Shadow's gears in his head turned like a complex machine trying to rule out any possible places Mephiles would turn up.
"There's no saying what his ultimate goal is now that he's just escaped, I haven't the slightest clue where to look." Shadow growled pacing the floor, Omega tracked him with his sensory cameras.
"Shadow, phone call from Soleana kingdom." A member of the medical team brought a phone to the hedgehog.
"Shadow speaking." He put it to his ear.
"Dad! It's me Silver!"
"Hey."
"Listen the guards in the castle just found the Queen and King dead in their bed room, looked to be suffocated."
Mephiles....
"Where are you now?" Shadow asked.
"I'm outside the gates of the castle they won't let anybody in." Silver answered.
"Stay right where you are, don't move! Omega and I am on the way got it!" Shadow ordered.
"Okay." Silver answered while giving a nod. They both hung up the phone, Shadow explained their destination to Omega and promptly left for the Soleana kingdom.
-Mephiles pov-
I've left my trail behind through my victims. The poison in the air vents at GUN was just a wake up call, like poking at a hornets nest with a stick, or stirring up an ant hill. I know the pathetic Commander already has his 'guard dog' on my trail, and that's exactly what I want.
Silver has already confirmed Elise's death, follow the bread crumb trail Shadow... Follow it to your death! Ahaha!! Your next piece of bread might be a little...'soggy'. He he he.
-Sea Side Hill-
The majestic ruins of the ancient sea palace stood still tall and firm poking out from the water that had covered most of it's structure. The night still young after the horrible tragedy of the Queen and her family dying.
"Sonic." Tails yawned, "Shouldn't we get some rest?"
"I told you to stay at home." Sonic grumbled jumping in the air and bouncing on a mech-crab.
"Well, I don't want to be alone! G.U.N down and switching head quarters, the royal family of Soleana murdered. What's going on??" Tails followed after his blue companion.
"I don't know, that's why I'm out here, to think about it. You know G.U.N doesn't tell the public EVERYTHING. They don't want to start a world wide panic." Sonic explained.
"You think they're hiding something?" Tails asked flying by his side as they reached a peak over looking the water surrounding down below. The crescent moon lit the dark waves surface but kept the deep waters dark and a mystery.
"Most definitely." Sonic said coming to a stop taking a breath and gaze at the scenery. Tails landed on his feet looking up at the moon and all the stars in the sky twinkling and shining.
"You look real tired buddy." Sonic glanced down at Tails' eyes looking up at the sky starting to get heavy.
"Why don't we sleep here tonight?" Sonic smiled turning to face the kid fox.
"Here!?" Tails' eyes jumped open.
"Yeah sure! It'll be like old times remember? Just you and me in the 'wild' and where ever we kicked off our shoes was home. Like camping." Sonic lowered himself and sat on the ground patting the thick grassy spot next to him.
Tails smiled remembering the days where Sonic had still been a kid himself and always moving from place to place not owning a house himself. Even then, as long as Sonic was by his side squatting under a bush for the night felt just as good as being in a real home. Tails took the spot next to the hedgehog and rested on his shoulder with another yawn, "Sonic..." He mumbled.
"Yeah Tails?" Sonic answered in a soft purr.
"You'll take watch while I'm sleeping... Right?" He asked almost half asleep already.
"Sure." He nodded watching as Tails curl up in a tight ball by his side his two full tails wrapped around him like a blanket.
The time slowly trickled by the little fox's snores mixed in with the sound of the ocean waves and whales calling. Something dark and smoky caught Sonic's eye. It moved among the stillness and crept it's way onto the grass, as the wind blew in a light breeze the dark smoke seemed to dance and swirl on the ground. Sonic stood up his curiosity peeked and he had to investigate. He got closer inches away and his quills began to spike. Every inch of his body was telling him what ever this cloud of gray was, it wasn't good at all, and he should run. But it captured his eyes the smoke like a fine mist swirled around the ground coming closer and began to pool at his feet. The grass the smoke had moved upon had dried and become brown and yellow wilting almost to dust. After seeing the grass dried and dead Sonic was certain that not only himself but Tails needed to get as far away as possible.
He turned to run back to Tails but had only stayed in the same spot. His legs heavy and unable to pick up his feet. The smoke seemed to make small waves at his feet and it became darker and cold.
"Sonic!" Tails' scream made his ears tingle but he'd been only a few feet from him, why had his call seem so far away and muffled as if he heard it like he was under water.
His socks were wet. They sloshed and was soaked from the souls of his shoes. He looked down now with panic trying with all his might to lift his feet. The world around him went black with only a luminescent light above in the shape of a crescent moon its view broken by waves, bubbles streamed up and brushed against his fur.
Somehow he'd ended up under the water! Deep under the sea he began to get even more panicked and felt the pressuring water begin to press against his body. He took one last deep breath and held it trying to get his body to move and look for an air bubble coming up from the ocean floor. But the bubbling smoke at his feet kept him still and began to stretch in a shadow like form.
"SONIC!!!" Tails screamed from above the surface only to be drowned out by a squeal of an orca whale. Sonic froze his quills soaked and floating in the water but still raised and spiky. His eyes searched for the whale while his lungs started to ache for air.
The chirping of the whale came closer, however a family of whales were seen fleeing at top speed. Something spooking all the whales away, while the sound of a particular whale came closer. The smoke now stretched out and began to form it's shadow into a whale, one of which was Soleana's prized whale measuring to be the largest Orca in the sea. But something was different about the whale, the traditional black color was shaded a gray and purple, it's eyes glowed a lizard green with slit irises. It came diving right for Sonic as he struggled to get even a little traction with the water and at most doggy paddle out of the way, but was a sitting duck doomed to be whale lunch. The orca's mouth opened letting out a defining squeal baring sharp jagged calcified like teeth.
Sonic only curled himself in a defensive ball, now feeling every cell in his body deprived of oxygen, he shut his eyes tightly aching and bracing himself to be in the whale's stomach feeling himself slip unconscious.
Just as the whale came close its lumpy tongue practically licking him a hand grip the back of his neck and he was held against a warm body and the pressure of the water lifted as his head was brought from out of the water. He was tossed on a patch of thick grass the wind on his wet fur making it freezing but now unconscious still didn't stir.
"Sonic!!" Tails cried at his side the tears streaming down his face.
Shadow had been there as well, now working on getting Sonic to breath. Shadow dripped with salt water the wind chilling his skin under his fur but he refused to shiver feeling the breeze was actually quite needed due to his state of hot panic.
Sonic awoke in utter pain so strong that before he got to sit up he gurgled and vomited yellow stomach bile and salty water. Shadow backed away giving a sigh of relief that he'd got him back. Groaning and coughing out the last droplets of water Sonic gasped in the cold air still having the taste of vomit and salt in his mouth.
"I don't know what happened," tails explained in tears, "I-I just woke up, I don't know why... I did, and you were gone, you was walking to the edge of the cliff. I tried calling you back but you just stepped off and went into the water!!!" Tails broke down crying hugging the still wet blue hedgehog.
"Sleep walking??" Shadow asked now trying to empty his ears of the water.
"No." Sonic finally answered hugging Tails back as he cried in his chest, "I wasn't asleep, I know I wasn't." He shivered.
Silver came down from the platform Sonic and Tails had settled out before all of the events happened.
"I interviewed a few people in Soleana, describing seeing a mist of black or gray smoke leaving the castle and settled on the surface of the water where the orca tank is. Did you see anything?" He asked kneeling at Sonic's side.
Sonic nodded, "did you see the trail of dead grass up there?"
Silver nodded, "Yeah."
"There was a smoky mist the grass it touched died and it came by my feet an I couldn't move. Next thing I knew I'm under water and this huge whale was coming right at me!" Sonic held Tails a little closer being warmed by his dry fur.
"An orca whale?" Silver asked.
"Duh what else?" Sonic grumbled shivering as a gust of wind blew against him.
"Soleana's largest orca was found belly up after the mist took its form and swam away in it's shadow."
"So it was like... A zombie whale?" Sonic raised a brow.
"No." Shadow shook his head, "It was more like a Mephiles Whale."
"Mephiles? ...hmm Mephiles, why does that name sound familiar?" Sonic tapped his chin thinking hard and snapped his fingers, "Oh that Shadow look a like right? Wait but I thought G.U.N had him sealed away for good!"
"Well... shit happens." Shadow shrugged not allowed to give any details on what actually happened. The demon whale leapt from the water letting out a screech and collapsed in the misty smoke at the shore where the three hedgehogs and little fox stood together.
"Tails, you should get out of here!" Sonic pushed Tails away from him jumping to a fighting stance. With out giving protest (although much wanting to) Tails ran opposite of the group and took to the sky. The large cloud collected and began to solidify into another form. This time it was the familiar form the jagged crystallized hedgehog Mephiles.
"Well, If it isn't the three that locked me away 'forever'." He laughed.
"You'll be sorry you pulled a dirty trick like that one on me!" Sonic growled grinding his teeth with anger.
"Ah, only sorry I didn't get to finish it." He sighed shaking his head, "I'd love to stay and chat but now that I'm back, I've come with a vengeance and no three mortal hedgehogs are going to stop me this time." He rose his hand shooting out a chaos beam at Sonic, only to have it blocked by a telekinetic shield from Silver.
Silver blocked the attack and fired one back only having time slow and Mephiles simply glided out of the way.
"You haven't the power even combined to defeat me, and with out the seven chaos emeralds your as good as already dead." Mephiles chuckled. "As much as I'd like to give you all your personal deaths, I'll have to cut our visit short.... For you two anyway." Mephiles waved his hand creating a black portal hurling towards Silver and Sonic. However Shadow jumped and grabbed the two just in time chaos controlling out of the way and shot a chaos spear at a Mephiles.
"This is as far as you get." Shadow growled copying the chaos beam that Mephiles had thrown earlier and hurled it back at him shortly after his first attack. It was enough to make Mephiles stumbled back and tick him off.
"Impressive, the ability to adapt and copy a move seen only once." Mephiles hummed with interest.
Shadow struck out another chaos spear but had it blocked by a wall of darkness and counter attacked with a shock wave of chaos energy. Silver had grabbed Sonic bringing another shelled around them and was pushed back by the wave. Shadow unleashed the same wave using a chaos blast blowing rubble and even some land mass itself from the ground and toppled at Mephiles. Growing weary of the little stand off Shadow was giving him Mephiles began to sink into his misty form and took the shape of the black hedgehog's shadow.
"You will be mine." Mephiles hissed while emitting a powerful vibe somehow locking the soft shade of his shadow that was cast by the moon to be one with the gray cloud as it was ripped from his person and was taken away as Mephiles dissipated as if a wind blew him away.
"Shadow," Sonic ran to his side gripping the hedgehog by his shoulder and looked down at the ground, "He- he stole your shadow!!"
"It wouldn't be the first." Shadow's eyes floated to the ground where Silver's and Sonic's shadow followed their every movement but his empty, as if Sonic's shadow; copying his every gesture was reaching out and was touching a ghost or air.
"Are you okay dad?" Silver looked at his father with concern.
He nodded, "His original plans were to sentence everyone that was responsible for his fall in the beginning, to death. That way no one should stand in his way. All but me, in which he still has the same intention of having me join his force against the world. We've stopped half of his plan, but he thinks quick, don't let your guard down."
Silver nodded, "He headed off in that direction; where the portal to Blaze's kingdom is kept. She had a hand in concealing the flames of disaster with in her..." It was clear that he would run off and come to her aid.
"Be careful." Shadow warned as his son ran in the direction of the portal.
"I will." He nodded before leaving.
"I have to get to Tails." Sonic said next to Shadow, "Hey, how's Amy?"
Shadow stood quiet at the question and bowed his head with a sigh as he began to walk away from the blue hedgehog.