I Am...All of Me

Not My Reflection

    Everyone felt it, but for him, it was enough to knock the wind out of him. Not an easy feat. Mephiles staggered as Iblis's fiery glow began to disappear, taking his strength and power with him.

    "No! NO!" the dark hedgehog roared as his other half was ripped away from him by force. The crystalline being knelt on one knee. The process was painful and tremendously slow. How could someone erase Iblis? The only way to do that was to...

   Where is that blue rat? Mephiles growled in his thoughts, seeing only two of the three hedgehogs that had been instrumental in his demise. The princess was also missing. How dare they take Iblis away. His literal other half. One could not exist without the other. 

   The two remaining hedgehogs gently hovered to the ground in all of their golden glory, and Mephiles easily recognized them. The fool that once trusted him and the one foolish enough to release him from the scepter. Silver and Shadow. They watched stoicly as Mephiles faded. The blue and black hedgehog stretched out a clawed hand and watched in horror as ebony ink began to drip off the tips of his fingers. The slick substance could be felt sliding down his crystallized body, and Silver turned away.

    "Dude, that is so gross," the gold hedgehog moaned while Shadow continued to watch in grim silence. 

   Mephiles scowled up at the one who had released him, envying his power as he felt it steal his. The fading creature closed his eyes, feeling his life ebb away the longer he stayed. If he ever wanted to avenge his "brother," he needed to live to fight another day.

   Emerald eyes slid down to the bands of gold glistening around his enemy's wrists. Oh how they pulsed with power. Taunting him. No...tempting him. 

    Shadow stared as his latest foe sank into a large puddle of putrid ink. It had been a disturbing process, but he couldn't look away. Sonic returned with Elise, sending the chaos emeralds off to be collected once more, and the band of heroes began to walk away from the scene. All except him. 

   The ink rippled of its own accord before it became a liquid ribbon. It snaked around his charcoal form, freezing the hybrid in place, his mouth agape in muted shock. Without his consent, Shadow felt his left arm rise, and the ink swirled around it before forcing its way into the gold, doing the same to his other inhibitors. The agent grit his teeth as the darkness surrounded him, to the point it clouded his mind and vision. 

    As suddenly as it began, the burst of agony ended, and Shadow slumped to the ground, barely supporting his quivering body with his arms. 

    "What...in chaos?" he panted before his eyelids drooped, and he sank into unconsciousness.

    Oh, yes...This will do nicely, Mephiles purred within the confines to his new home. The steady thrum of chaotic energy restoring him was intoxicating. So much power. So much raw potential. He could get used to the feeling.

   Shadow released a barely audible groan as he woke up, his mind a foggy blur as his vision slowly came into focus long enough to get his bearings. He was in Club Rouge, in his bed. Wait. Bed?

    "When did I? Where? How did I get back? The last thing I remember is--"

    "Morning, sleeping beauty," Rouge unintentionally interrupted as she waltzed into his bedroom, once again without permission. Living at Club Rouge definitely came with its pros and cons, one of the latter being a nosy roommate with no respect to privacy. That greeting threw Shadow off though. She had greeted him the same way before they parted ways to their solo missions. Right before the Scepter of Darkness was recovered and Mephiles released. 

    "Guess what, handsome," Rouge continued, "Our missions got canceled today. Apparantly some hacker-wanna-be tried to cause a big commotion at headquarters. G.U.N. is bringing him in now, so we have the day off! Isn't that great?" 

    "Yeah, wonderful," he replied flatly and attempted to sit up, only to be met with a sudden wave of nausea. His pearly white friend noticed immediately and gently nudged him to lay back down. 

    "Easy there, honey. I guess it's a good thing we got to stay home afterall. You're in no shape to be out on a mission."

     "I'm fine," he retorted sharply. Rouge gave him an eye roll in response.

    "Like I haven't heard that before. Come on, hun. You are obviously sick, so I am going to stay right by your side until you feel better again." 

Even if the whole world turns against you, I will remain right by your side. Remember that.

I will...

   Shadow rubbed his head as the memory surfaced without warning. Talk about deja vu.

    "What's today's date?" he asked. He had to confirm it. Rouge knit her eyebrows together in slight worry.

               "Tuesday, the fifth."

   He knew it. Somehow, time had been reset back to the day before the Solaris fiasco. But was he the only one that remembered the fight against Mephiles and Iblis? Rouge acted as though nothing had happened. Was it possible it had all been a bad dream? No, that was asking for far too much.

    "Handsome?" Rouge asked slowly, "Everything okay? You kinda spaced out on me."

           "I told you, I'm fine."

   "Well, you're looking a little pale to me, so no leaving this bed. It's a good thing I had that TV installed in here," and she continued to ramble about possible movies they could watch. In all honesty, Shadow truly felt too sick to care.

    "Let me at least wash my face first," he interrupted, "You can pick something and put it in. I don't care." 

    Despite her protests or attempts at helping him, the crimson-striped hedgehog sat up and half-walked, half-stumbled out of the room and down the hall to the bathroom. His eyes locked on to the sink as he entered and closed the door behind him. He turned the water on and splashed it on to his face, washing out any sense of tiredness. Once he was satisfied, he grabbed a towel and patted his face and the countertop dry.

   Looking up, he was expecting to see his reflection in the mirror, but a pair of slitted, green eyes stared back. Where his stripes should have been red, they were a cold grayish-blue. His rings were a rusty copper color instead of pristine gold. His tan muzzle was white and mouthless. Even his fur was closer to a dark navy rather than a solid black. His reflection did not belong to him. It belonged to Mephiles the Dark.

    Shadow titled his head to the side, and the image in the mirror followed exactly. He winked one eye, the reflection copied. Every movement he made, the shape in the mirror executed as if it truly were his own body. 

What in the name of Maria, he thought. This couldn't be happening. It wasn't physically or even remotely possible. He racked his mind for any indication as to how and why the face in the mirror didn't match his, and all thoughts led back to one moment. Mephiles had done something to him just before time reset, but he had no idea what. 

  And that was the scary part...