Chapter 1

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        White passed by in a blur. An endless blur. More white billowed from my mouth with each passing breath, falling into a trail behind me and blending in with the snow constantly kicked up by my paws. The scents around me were muffled, as if being distinguished through a mask, but the cold air was sharp when it collided with my lungs. It told me I was still alive, that this was real. That all that had happened wasn't some nightmare I was trying to get away from. I would never get away from it, reality. No matter what happened it would always follow me and make itself present, especially in the hardest of times.

        But I still ran. I was not sure where to, I just knew I had to get away from my friends, from anyone innocent, and hide from Mephiles. The name gave me shivers. He had been with me this whole time, guiding my journey to find the Chaos Emeralds and to find myself, and I hadn't even known it. He had been in my dreams and in my body. He had gained my trust and used that to his advantage to manipulate my decisions in his favor, assuring me that whatever resulted would aid my mission. Of course, it was all a lie, and I was too naïve to see it.

        The future Silver had described was one of darkness and despair. Humans and anthropomorphic animals being captured, mutilated, and tossed to the side like worthless trash. The environment itself being drained of its vibrant color and life and turned into a wasteland surrounded by a dreary purple and black aura that gave the feeling of your soul being sucked right out of your chest. That wasn't the future I strived for. I wanted always to feel the soft, natural elements underneath my paws as I raced through a land filled with birdsong and the buzzing of insects. I wanted life to go on, not for it to end.

        Snow tipped mountains climbed into view, rising over the distant shapes of pine trees. I must have reached Holoska, despite thinking I had been traveling in the opposite direction. What was I thinking? Holoska was its own continent! I was trapped, surrounded by ocean, with no way out. The only way would be by plane or boat, and I didn't have either of those. However, Holoska was a pretty big place—at least from what it looked like on maps. If I hid well enough, maybe nobody would find me. I'd go to the most unexpected place possible, somewhere dangerous and nearly impossible to get to. Somewhere...like those mountains. I could see the clouds streaking down over the steep white slopes, no doubt filled with an endless supply of snow. My tracks would be covered. Hopefully, my aura too, as the obvious blizzard should be a major deterrent from anybody approaching.

        I steered myself in the direction of the mountains, steadying my pace so I would not run out of breath before I was able to reach my destination. As I entered a valley surrounded by towering rocks thousands of feet high, I sought out the tallest. It was deeper inland, almost lost among all the other mountains. But what captured my attention was its peak. Its peak punctured the clouds and continued to rise until it was entirely out of sight from the ground. That was where I'd go. Nobody would find me there.

        To get to the tallest mountain I first had to travel up the others that were around it, gradually climbing higher and higher until finally making contact with its grand surface. The air grew colder the further I went, but with my thick (color) fur I was able to suffer through it without any damaging effects. Who knew how long that would hold up, though? If I didn't find a place to stay warm for the night, I would eventually fall victim to the elements just as any other creature would. My body shivered, already doing what it could to keep me going for as long as possible.

        After punching holes into a windswept snowbank for about an hour while flurries of snow smacked my face, I reached the point of where I could not see the valley from above. I was in the clouds. All around me was cold and dark and grey. My (eye color) eyes opened in wonder as I witnessed the formation of tiny and pure water droplets accumulating into a single snowflake. It drifted down through the clouds, joined by hundreds of thousands more, swept away in the wind to feed the endless snowstorm.

        I wished I was that snowflake—beautiful and innocent. I'd have only one purpose, and that purpose was to fall. To touch the ground and grow with the others until something new was made, and eventually disappear when the weather grew too warm. It almost sounded morbid, the lifecycle of a snowflake, but at least I wouldn't be alone. Right now I was alone. It had to be that way. I had completely destroyed my own purpose and put lives in danger, resulting in the death of my own cousin.

        I wondered if he could see me, if he was watching as I ran from my fears. He'd be so disappointed. I had always been the one who plunged headfirst into danger while he would hesitate and cower back. Because of me, we had had exciting adventures to reminisce over while keeping them secret from our families. But now I wasn't heading toward something new, something thrilling, something I'd be proud of looking back on memories. I was escaping my responsibilities and denying my fate. (Cousin) must've been turning over in his watery grave while he watched this happen. At least, he would have been if he was somehow able to see past the thick and heavy clouds that had swallowed me whole.

        A strong gust of wind battled against me as I slowly traveled up the steep and jagged side of the mountain. My vision was limited by grey smoke and the darkness of night. Despite my night vision, I could hardly distinguish between the ground and what could possibly be a one-way ticket to the bottom of the mountain. This made me move extra cautiously. I tested each step before putting my entire weight down on a paw, just in case the rock I was standing on decided to roll out from under me. A long, long time must have passed before I finally broke through the cloud cover and sucked in a breath of clear, dry air.

        The stars glistened overhead, welcoming me into their sight. A few flashed brighter than the rest, forming the Big Dipper, part of the Ursa Major constellation. But none of those stars could compare to the blinding luminosity of the full moon. It shone down with a brightness that bleached anything it touched. I was sure I was a glowing white (animal), standing proudly at the tallest mountain's peak.

        Washed in the rays of the moon, I felt all my strength and confidence return. I felt empowered, just like Black—Mephiles—had said I would feel. There were no restrictions on me as there had been when I first left home a confused and inexperienced were-creature. I was free to do as I pleased, free to utilize the special power that had been trapped within me along with the dark entity that had helped me to discover it. What if I could use this power to fight against criminals? Against those who want to cause the earth harm? Against Mephiles? Surely I must have grown much stronger over my journey; I had been the one to release him, after all. Maybe I'd be able to make things right by defeating him.

        How did he get trapped inside me in the first place? I wondered. I didn't know enough about Mephiles' history to even make a guess. Back in Spagonia, Tails, Amy, and Blaze had searched through the public library to find what they could on evil entities, but they had come up short. He and "Absence" seemed to exist in neither the past nor present. There wasn't a way to find out the truth, not unless Mephiles himself told me. I guess I'll never know.

        "We became connected through the moon."

        A snarl flew to my lips and my ears flattened against my skull as I swung around, searching for the source of the voice. I knew it was Mephiles. How had he snuck up without me noticing? And so soon after I had left? My eyes glowed vibrantly under the blazing moonlight, displaying my intense anger and fear at the presence of the enemy. No one was around, though. Only the dark and rolling clouds of a snowstorm. Lashing my tail, I bared my teeth at the air, somehow hoping to spot something.

        "Where are you? How did you find me? Why can't I see you?" I heard a deep chuckle, resonating within the boundaries of my mind. He was in my head again. How was he in my head again? I had set him free! I had witnessed him escape before Dr. Eggman's laboratory collapsed into the ocean!

        "I can speak to you from anywhere in the world, no matter what distance may be between us. We are connected, you and I, and no force in existence will be able to separate us for good." I could almost imagine him with the face of my once-trusted (animal) guardian, wearing a smug smile full of razor-sharp teeth glinting with a threat. Then I remembered what he really looked like—a mouthless, black and grey-striped hedgehog with the cold eyes of a snake—and the image gave off the same terrorizing feeling. I had been so stupid to believe I was the only were(animal) with a spirit inside me, following me around and guiding my every move for the better. What good-hearted entity would want to help a girl like me find her destiny after being trapped in the first place?

        How were Mephiles and I connected?

        The raised hackles on my back had lowered as I thought, my ears kinked in different directions while I listened half-alert to the world moving around me. The feeling that Mephiles was here never left as if he was listening in on the muddled, confused conversation I was having with myself. That idea was proven correct when a low and thoughtful hum echoed between my eardrums, sounding almost amused.

        "You are such a troubled girl, (Name), always doubting yourself. Everything seems to be going wrong to you when, in fact, it has gone right. It just takes a little encouragement for you to see that." Mephiles sighed, probably tapping at his chin as he pondered over what he'd say next. "I believe," he said, a tone of approval in his voice, "it's time you knew how exactly we had become connected so many months ago, on the night both our lives changed forever."

        I swallowed, listening. Finally, all my questions would be answered. I would be left in the dark no more, with the knowledge of how all this had come to be, how Mephiles had been trapped within my own body and had taken shape of a shadowy (animal), why he had done so to gain my trust and free him, and maybe even what he was planning to do now.

        Freezing wind bit at my toes, and I had to leave the very peak of the mountain to keep them from getting numb. It had been many hours since I had last seen Sonic, or Shadow, or Tails, or anyone else. If it wasn't the start of winter, and if Holoska wasn't so near the North Pole of the earth, then daylight would just begin to peer over the horizon. But because it was winter, and Holoska was far north, it would be dark as night and bitter cold for the most of the season. I needed a place to stay during this time, otherwise, I'd soon be lying in a ditch, stiff and unmoving for the rest of eternity.

        As I retreated down the mountain and through the storm clouds, in search of a crook in the rock to keep warm inside, the voice in my head began to tell his tale.

        "It was nearly seven months ago when my brother entity, Iblis, and I were separated for the final time. Together we had been strong, impenetrable from all attack—a god combined from darkness and light—yet somehow, we were defeated. Iblis was vanquished from all existence while I tried to flee, to keep our memory alive. But I was too weak. I could not outrun my enemies." Mephiles' voice grew quiet and melancholy, pulling at my heart and making me want to sympathize with him.

        "Shadow the Hedgehog..." he hissed. "He was the one who cornered me in my weakened state and brought out the Scepter of Darkness. He was going to use it against me, to seal me away forever. But, in that same moment the moonlight was shining down on us, and across the sea, it was shining down on you."

        "This was the same night you first transformed into a (animal) and discovered you were not at all the same as the children and adults that surrounded you on a daily basis. You were different, a beast. Cursed. And because you felt so fiercely the need to fit in and be normal, the extreme hate for what you had become, I was able to reflect a small part of my Dark Chaos energy through the moon and send it to you before my remaining energy was sealed away. I filled in the gaps of your transformation, which was not fully developed yet as it was your first time. I am how you have become so strong and fast. I bettered you, and as repayment, I was freed. For that, I thank you. None of this would be possible without you, dear (Name)."

        I was entirely speechless. My legs stopped moving and I stood still in snow that reached my chest. Even before this adventure happened, I was to blame for the terrible fate of the world. I had hated what I had become so much that a spot had opened inside me, allowing for the darkness that Mephiles had sent to crawl in and fill the hole. I hadn't known that could happen, it's not like I knew a lot about magic and the supernatural. But it did happen, and it was all my fault.

        Through the flurry of endless falling snow, my eyes were able to discern a dark crevice among the jagged speckled-white rocks of the mountain. Slowly I stepped toward it, my mind numb just as much as my paws. Cold, wet snowflakes battered my face and forced my eyelids shut. When I finally was able to open them, my muzzle was inches away from slamming into a rock wall. Below that wall was the crevice, a tiny cave, like that of a den a wild (animal) would live.

        I may as well have been wild. There was nothing civilized about a cursed were(animal) aiding in the demolition of the future. This was what I deserved; a life of solitary and seclusion, where no one else would suffer directly from my existence.

        The edge of the rock cut at my flanks as I squeezed inside, barely able to make it. Pitch black met my gaze. Not even the moonlight could be seen from in here—it was far away, blocked by the grey clouds that trapped me in infinite darkness. Whimpering, I imagined the hateful screeches of my family calling out for my blood, scolding me and spitting out a stream of spiteful words in the hopes that my heart would break into pieces and I would die along with it. My whimpers turned to cries, and those cries escalated into howls of agony and loss.

        There was nothing I could do but to huddle into myself and wait for Mephiles to come find me.

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