Believed to be gone

Chapter 2

Mud squelched under his boots as he made his way towards the egg man base. He shook his head trying to rid himself of the water soaking through his fur, though to no avail. He continued trudging his way through the rain-soaked terrain. He was careful not to be spotted, although he highly doubted anyone could spot him in this downpour.

Despite the frigid weather, Shadow had been trekking in his combat gear for almost an hour, leaving him overheated. Regardless of the fact that he was accustomed to wearing clothes, he was aching to get out of his current attire, which- to nobody's surprise, was drenching wet. The scent of wet earth mingling with his own sweat made it difficult to distinguish any other scents around him, so he abandoned his attempt to sniff out his opponents, instead opting for spotting his enemies though his attempt was not going well so far.

His ears perked up in attention. He halted, trying to trace the source of the peculiar noise. It came from behind him- a soft whirring sound. Listening more intently, he realised that the sound was not organic.

A loud creak disrupts Shadows chain of thoughts, a massive mechanical tail crashes down toward him. He narrowly dodges out of the way, landing on the cold, muddy ground. Great now his fur was muddy. He quickly rolled out of the way, readying himself for another oncoming attack, he springs to his feet.

A sleek gigantic metal snake faced him, its scales glinted menacingly in the dim light of the storm, water cascading off its metallic body in rivulets. Its eyes glow a sinister red as it locks eyes on the ebony hedgehog. It lets out a mechanical hiss as it slithers slowly towards its prey. They circle each other slowly, [smth smth] who will make the first move.

Abruptly the snake lunges at him, Shadow leaps to the side before the snake's jaws snap shut form where he stood just a moment ago. The snake coils back, preparing for another strike. Shadow uses this brief respite to strategize, his mind racing. He needs to find a weak spot, something he can exploit.

Shadow ducks as its tail whips around his head, and retaliates with a swift spin kick to the snake's side. The impact reverberates through his leg, but the snake seems unfazed, its metal body absorbing the blow. Shadow grits his teeth, displeasure clear on his face.

The snake lunges, fangs aimed at Shadow's throat. He drops to the ground, rolling under the snake's body and coming up on the other side. In one smooth motion, he charges up a Chaos Spear and hurls it at the snake. The bolt strikes true, hitting the snake's side and causing a shower of sparks. The snake recoils, hissing aggressively and violently lashes out with its tail.

Shadow barely has time to react. The tail catches him in the side, sending him sprawling across the ground. Pain flares through his ribs, but he forces himself to his feet, refusing to give in. The snake bears down on him, and he dodges to the side, narrowly avoiding another deadly strike. He counters with a rapid series of punches and kicks, each blow aimed at the snake's head, trying to disorient it.

For a moment, it seems to work. The snake rears back, shaking its head as if trying to clear it. Shadow takes the opportunity to leap onto its back, running along its length and delivering a powerful kick to the base of its skull. The snake thrashes wildly, and Shadow is thrown off, landing heavily on the muddy ground. Before he can get up, the snake's tail whips around and strikes him in the head.

Shadow's vision blurs as pain explodes through his skull. His head throbs violently as he tries to get on his feet. Blood trickles down this forehead, diluted by the constant pour of the rain. He staggers, struggling to maintain his balance. He still manages to stand though albeit unsteady, glaring daggers at the badnik.

The snake loomed over him, leisurely taking its time to face the hedgehog. It stalked over and slowly circled the shadow. Knowing he was out of options, he braced himself, trying to ignore the constant pain stabbing in his forehead.

Suddenly, with a speed Shadow had not anticipated, the snake wrapped its thick powerful coils around Shadow's body. Shadow realised too late that the snake was trying to cut off his blood flow, effectively strangling him and presumably killing him.

He sighed, abandoning his attempts to escape the snake. He would heal; even if it was a painful process, he could withstand it—he was immortal, after all, he added as an afterthought. He rejected everything his body was screaming at him and slowly let his mind drift off, trying not to focus on the sound of his bones cracking, (that was probably a rib) and the pain enveloping his body.

But before Shadow slipped into unconsciousness, something slammed into the snake from the side, causing both of them to fall to the ground. The snake begrudgingly released its grip on Shadow, hissing spontaneously towards its new attacker. Shadow tried lifting his head up to look at the stranger, but found it increasingly difficult. So instead he turned his head to the side. He tried to make out who- or what- had bashed so unceremoniously at the snake, he squinted through the rain, vision swimming, but he could just barely make out a cloaked figure standing a short distance away.

The strangers cloak billowed violently in the rain battered wind. There was a strange aura around them, a sudden calm that seemed to envelop Shadow despite the burning pain coursing through his body. The last thing he saw was the cloaked figure moving towards the snake, rain hammering down around them.

Slowly his mind drifted off, and he let himself get swallowed into the darkness.