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| - Knuckles was still recovering when Zyx returned. First the Master Emerald reappeared on Angel Island, meaning Sonic had returned it when he was done with it. Then the Chaos Emeralds started to glow again, meaning that Sonic was using their power again - though for what, he didn't know. Then a golden Sonic showed up, visibly straining yet worried about something. "Knuckles!" he shouted. "Watch out! Zyx..." Then a flurry of darkness rushed towards the island from a long ways off, which could only mean one thing; Zyx was returning. Knuckles got into a battle stance, but Sonic shook his head. "No! You've got to get away! Zyx has new power! He's going to kill you!" Knuckles shook his head, then grabbed one of the Chaos Emeralds briefly, becoming a bright cobalt. "Sorry, Sonic," he said. "Zyx caught me off-guard last time, but now he's going down." Sonic shouted at him. "No! You don't understand! He killed Tails like it was nothing!" Knuckles turned to Sonic in a shock. "He did WHAT?" Then Zyx appeared, and Sonic - who would normally never back down from a fight - started to move backwards. Colours corrupted, quills frayed, eyes Xed; he looked like something from beyond the grave. Knuckles immediately moved in for a high-speed high-power punch to the face that could have - should have - shattered the Black Chaos hedgehog's cranium apart - or at least knocked it off. Instead, one of the spiked knuckles that gave the Echidna his name shattered. Zyx grabbed him and threw him into a pillar, then formed his reaper's scythe. "I could end your life instantly right now, Echidna, coat your mind in darkness that would work its way down to your heart in a nanosecond and shrivel it up." He twirled the scythe, then pointed it towards Knuckles. "But no, I believe I will enjoy much more tearing your so-called Super form apart and watching the blood flow from your unpowering body." Knuckles pulled himself out of a pillar, the cobalt shining, his eyes burning angrily. He shouted, "I'll floss my teeth with your spine and use your ribcage as a set of toothpicks!" Zyx shook his head, then shot forward with unfound power. Knuckles sent another punch towards Zyx, but the reaper slashed with the scythe, cutting off two more spikes, then twirled to the otherside before slashing straight through the Echidna's heart. "Knuckles!" Sonic shouted in pain as Knuckles gave a feral howl. With his dying power, he delivered a punch to Zyx's eye that the hedgehog didn't even bother to block, just took before bringing the slashing fury to the Echidna's body. Cobalt faded to red as Knuckles fell to the ground in pieces. The Black Chaos hedgehog slashed the last of the spiked knuckles off the echidna's body, then turned to Sonic, thinking that the hedgehog would be running again. But instead there was a blast of pure Chaos energy flying towards Zyx at impossible speeds. A nanosecond before the attack connected - which still left a gap of about five metres - a golden blur at the speed of light broke through it, delivered a punch to Zyx's face, and raced around the Master Emerald shrine, surrounding it in a golden tornado while he waited for it to shrink. The energy blast struck Zyx, and he turned to the golden tornado that was Super Sonic. He attempted to reach into the attack, but time slowed as the angered hedgehog appeared in front of him and delivered and uppercut kick to his scythe, then another one to his face. At that time the Master Emerald reached its shrunken stage, and Sonic grabbed it and dashed off, leaving Zyx staring in his direction for three seconds. Then his scythe was sent flying into the air. The Dark Master raged temporarily, then said, "Alright. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I will be waiting in the cave of darkness. Kill everyone on Mobius. Weaken the hedgehog to the point where he is willing to give up the Master Emerald." The Dark Master faded out of Zyx's body, then turned to him. "Then kill him." On the Space Colony ARK, Shadow was rifling through a few papers, looking at some failed expirements that had been attempted on the ARK. Rouge the Bat was at his side, somehow interested in these. Both of them were disturbed by the sound of an eerie wind, and turned to see a hedgehog with frayed quills and Xed eyes, holding a scythe. Shadow was the first to realize what was going on - Zyx had sworn that he would never take on Reaper form, lest it dampen his powers permanently - but he covered it up. "Zyx? What are you doing here, in your Reaper form? Sure, these expirements are interesting, and all, but you're not the type." Zyx's head was dropped. "You'll find out sooner than you would ever think possible, Shadow the Hedgehog." Rouge was confused. "You're Zyx?" she asked naively. "I thought your quills were supposed to be either cocky, calm or mad." She would have said something else, but at that moment there was a blur of corrupted grey and she was pressed against the wall, Zyx with a hand over her windpipe and the blade of his scythe pressed against her neck. Blood was dripping from a cut on her neck, and shadows were circulating on his arm. "Do you know Sonic the Hedgehog?" Rouge managed to cough, "What... the... Chaos... are... you... doing?" Zyx pressed harder, drawing more blood. "Answer me!" A black blur appeared from his side, knocking him to the side. Shadow caught her from the wall, lying a finger over her neck. He put her down gently, then spun, a blade of Chaos energy forming in his hand. Zyx simply laughed, then dropped his head and asked, "Do you really think that will stop me?" Shadow muttered, "I'm sure as hell going to try." Zyx laughed again, then rushed forward. Blood splattered onto Rouge's legs as the scythe's blade stabbed through his heart. Rather than wasting his time, Zyx pulled the scythe straight out, letting Shadow fall to the ground. "Shadow!" Rouge shouted, weakly rising. Zyx seemed to warp, grabbing Rouge by the neck again and ramming her into another wall, damaging her windpipe. "No!" she choked out, gasping for breath. "Let... me... go... you... freak! Fight... me... like... the... bastard... you... are!" Zyx flung her to the side, weakening her as she slammed into the floor. "I'm not a bastard," Zyx snarled, twirling his scythe. "I'M A REAPER!" He reared back, then shot forward at an impossible speed, his scythe outstretched. "NOW DIE!" he shouted, moving in for the kill. But again his kill was intercepted by a black hedgehog rising before him, the scythe stabbing through a hole that had already been there. Again Shadow took the fatal blow for Rouge, yet why his fate had not already been met was unknown. Zyx shouted in his face, "Why won't you die, Chaos hedgehog?" "I told you," Shadow replied in disgust, "I'm immortal." With immense effort, he tore the scythe out of his chest, and the hole seemed to mend itself as he shouted, "Not some Doomforsaken two-year-old!" Zyx laughed. "I though it was the pyrokinetic Darkspine who was your girlfriend. Not some bat who can't even fight for her life." The reaper hedgehog slashed him out of the way across the room, then advanced on Rouge. Shadow rose weakly and let the red Chaos Emerald materialize in his hand, then, shooting forward with his hovershoes, attempted to grab Rouge as he coated in blue energy. At the same time, Zyx shot forward, holding his scythe outstretched. "LEAVE HER ALONE!" he shouted, angered. "CHAOS CONTROL!" In Silent Canyon, Infera was training her pyrokinesis. She turned to a large boulder, but before she could do anything, there was an explosion of blue and rock as Shadow appeared where the boulder once was, the red Chaos Emerald flying out of his hand into hers. He was holding Rouge, but she was paling quickly. "Shadow..." Infera whispered, shocked. Rouge looked down. There was a sharp hole through her chest. "No," Shadow managed to choke out. "No, Rouge, stay with me." Rouge looked up into his eyes. "Shadow..." she said weakly. "No," he choked, his eyes starting to tear up. "Rouge, don't leave me. Please." Rouge smiled weakly. "You never told me you had a real girlfriend," she muttered, then attempted a laugh. Should the situation have been any less dangerous, Infera would have blushed. Shadow shook his head. "No! Rouge! Don't die! Please! Don't leave me! Please!" "I'm sorry," she said with an immense effort. "Sayanora... Shadow... the... Hedgehog." Then she closed her eyes, falling into a sleep she would never awaken from. Infera respectfully closed her eyes as Shadow screamed. Amy was walking through Station Square, wandering around aimlessly. She hadn't seen Cream or Big lately, and she was looking at reconnoitering with Team Rose for a little while. As though the gods were listening to her, Cream came running towards her. But something was wrong. She was running as though for her life. Her Chao, Cheese, was following her, wide-eyed. And Cream's expression, puffy-eyed, was as though she had seen murder. "Cream," Amy asked, "What's wrong?" Cream came to a skidding stop before Amy. "Amy!" she screamed. "You've got to help me! A friend of Mr. Sonic's, Zyx! He..." That was as far as she got before an eerie voice said from behind her, "So you know what I've done, do you, child?" Amy and Cream looked up to see what would appear to be Zyx standing a bit away, his quills frayed, his colours distorted from his Super form. He formed darkness in his hand, which took the form of a scythe. Cream screamed and ran behind Amy, her Chao following her. Amy held her Piko-Piko Hammer ready, shielding Cream from him. Cream whimpered in a tense, scared voice in Amy's ear, "He... he... he killed..." Zyx twirled his scythe and pointed it at the two of them. "So I killed the useless bundle of weight. Your point? He mistook me for the Chaos artist before I took this form." Amy reeled back, then shouted, slamming her hammer into the ground. "You killed Big?" she screamed, flaring with anger. "You monster!" Cream bravely came up beside her, Cheese hovering next to her shoulder. Zyx shook his head. There was a flurry of darkness that shot from his hand, entering Cheese's head. The Chao fell to the ground, bounced once, and never moved again. Zyx gave a menacing laugh. There was another flurry of darkness that flew towards Amy. She was paralyzed, defenseless until Cream, in a sheer act of bravery, leapt in front of her, using herself as a shield to protect her. "Amy! Run!" she shouted as the darkness hit her. In an instant, the rabbit's eyes became glossy orbs before she fell to the ground, dead. But still Amy could not move, even as Zyx charged more darkness on his arm. "Now it's your turn! Die!" The shadows flew towards a helpless Amy, whose eyes could only stare at the darkness flying towards her head. There was a blinding flash of light from behind her that nullified the darkness as a voice shouted, "Hands off, reaper!" Amy turned, only to see Sonic rushing towards her at the speed of light, straining immensely as his fur and a large gem in his hand flashed in seven colours. The blue crystal around his neck dangled as he shot forward, grabbed Amy, shot past the reaper that was Zyx (succeeding in landing a kick on his head), and sped off into the distance. Zyx turned towards him angrily, then vanished in another blur of shadows. Shadow was still holding Rouge's dead body when the reaper returned. It came first as an all-too-familiar eerie wind, like the siren of an ambulance. He quickly set down Rouge and knocked Infera out of the way as darkness flew through where she once had been. Shadow turned to see Zyx forming from the darkness, and immediately took a combative stance. "Back off, reaper!" he shouted. Zyx twirled his scythe. "How pitiful. First the bat. Now the Darkspine. Before long you're going to have a blade through your chest for the Sonic chaser. Why do you attempt to shield her when it is in vain?" "I said back off!" Zyx laughed. "What say do you have in that?" Shadow dropped his hands to his sides, and Zyx watched as he brought them up, crossed them, and flicked open the rings around his wrists, then pulled them off and handed to Infera before turning back, taking a battle stance. Zyx made a face of false fear. "Oh no! You took off your jewelry! Now I can't cut off the circulation to your hands!" He gave a menacing laugh before he rushed towards Shadow. But that proved to be a mistake. As though in slow motion, Shadow leapt up, knocked him back with a kick, and spun, forming a dark energy shield around him and Infera that repelled the darkness that Zyx attempted to kill him with. "Hm? Ah, inhibitor rings. Limiting your power and keeping at minimal exertion, but removeable at any time for maximum strength. How did I forget?" Shadow snarled. "Shut your mouth and maybe I'll let you keep it in hell!" Zyx laughed, and Shadow snapped. He crossed his arms, then screamed and threw them to his sides, unleashing a huge shockwave that sent the reaper flying and levelled half of Silent Canyon. The Black Chaos hedgehog shot forward, vanishing and appearing on the the opposite side before shouting, "DIE, DARKSPINE!" Infera turned and screamed. But time had to freeze to show the speed Shadow was moving at as he sped around, kicked Zyx across the face, and took a shielding stance in front of Infera. Zyx, miraculously, was sent flying to the side, but he rose quickly and flung his scythe in a boomerang arc. Yet again Shadow moved at an impossible speed, shielding Infera with his body as the scythe stabbed through his heart for the third time. That was as far as the battle got before light intervened.
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