[cynda1]

heirtothemonado , PacAttack

In a dark wooded area, a figure dashed at blinding speeds, cloaked beneath the shadows of the trees. The only thing giving his location away were the gleams of the stones that surrounded him. Red eyes peered around the area, suspiciously gazing at every grain of dust, and particles of wood that he could find. Intent on ensuring that no one was watching him, the figure dashed beneath the shadowy woods, seemingly dissatisfied with the particular location he was in. No, he thought to himself. No, not here either. I can’t have anyone seeing me…

Finally, he stopped his running, and the green Chaos Emerald gleamed over his face to reveal that of a hedgehog. Shadow the Hedgehog, in fact. The striped hedgehog was on edge. Everything in him was screaming for him to work fast. What does it matter if anyone sees you? He hears someone tell him… but there’s no one there. It’s just Shadow… talking to himself. Trying to reason with himself, but there was no reasoning with him now…

No, they’re watching! He insists. You saw Knuckles, he must be coming after me even as we speak!

Shadow shook his head, forcing himself to quit being distracted. Don’t be foolish! Shadow scolded himself. You know what you have to do! All you’ve been doing is making excuses! Are you going to do this or not?

Yes!

Then stop second guessing yourself, and do it!

Shadow heaved out a sigh, and set up the emeralds in front of him. He sat at the center of them and tried to take in deep breaths to calm himself. There was a large enough gap between the group of trees he was near for him to start focusing. The amount of energy he needed to channel was enormous, and he couldn’t afford even the slightest of distraction. After all, he’d failed many times before because of this. Shadow closed his eyes, taking the energy of the stones around him, as well as his resolve, in. All of the dangers, calamities, and chaos that was this planet couldn’t harm anyone in their own worlds…

That is what would inevitably bring him to his feet, and open his eyes. He was ready. Shadow glared directly at a healthy looking tree as if it were the greatest foe he’d ever faced, one he was determined to destroy completely and totally. The hedgehog held his hands out in front of him, willing the emeralds to all rise up around him to about the same level as his eyes. The hedgehog scowled as he clenched his teeth, trying to focus his energy directly on the tree he was staring down.

The center of the tree’s trunk started to spark slightly more and more as the emeralds spun around the hedgehog. Shadow made a gripping motion as if he was trying to rip something apart, and a small light began to form ever so slightly on the tree. “Got it… got it…” Shadow said that, but even he couldn’t deny that this alone was taking every bit of power he had. The light barely reached a centimeter in length before Shadow let out an exhausted breath, causing the emeralds to fall all around him. Shadow, too, had collapsed onto a sitting position, the hedgehog struggling to take in every breath.

This attempt ended like all the others… but he would try again! He just needed to refuel his energy. He needed more power… Shadow placed a hand on one of his inhibitor rings, as if there was a numbness there. It would take a bit of time for Shadow to recharge…
---

“This is the direction he went!” Outside the entrance of the Evershade Forest was a red echidna pointing out the path for our heroes to follow. “Shadow took the Chaos Emerald and ran in. And without so much as a warning.” Knuckles growled. “He’s always up to something crazy… You can never tell what’s gonna happen when Shadow’s around.” Knuckles scanned around to see the two people who had accompanied him. One was Krystal, the blue vixen that Shadow seemed to actually be talking with a lot.

Knuckles didn’t really know, nor did he really care, what it was that made Shadow so inclined to interact with people here. All that mattered to him was to ensure that the Emeralds were returned to their rightful place, and that Shadow didn’t put anyone in real danger.

The other person taking on this challenge was a yellow ball… person. Pac Man is what he called himself. Honestly, he didn’t know which one to be concerned about more, Pac Man or Krystal. Neither of them exactly inspired confidence just by looking at them, but he supposed he was full of creatures that inspired just as much, and still proved to be rather powerful. For this reason, he said nothing on the matter.

“Anyway,” he continued. “I know you might’ve seen Shadow before, but don’t take any chances! Believe me, I’ve battled with him a few times, and Shadow doesn’t make fighting him easy. You guys could get seriously hurt if you get on his bad side.” Knuckles scratched the back of his head rather… sheepishly. “I’d help you guys out, but… unfortunately, I’ve got duties of my own to attend to.

“Now,” he continued. “Are you sure you guys will be able to handle this? Shadow is ruthless. He’s willing to even kill anyone who tries to get in his way.” Knuckles’s expression was incredibly serious. It seemed like he wasn’t the type to mess around too often, but the echidna seemed to take it up to eleven when it came to Shadow. Knuckles awaited their response. He wasn’t going to just leave them to it if they weren’t ready for a big challenge, one that only Shadow could provide.

Welcome to the Overcharge mission! Sorry this post is so long, but from now until you brave heroes inevitably find Shadow, I’ll be giving the readers a glimpse on what’s going on in Shadow’s end. I’ll try not to make all of the posts this long, but obviously the only portion you have to reply to is the lower half. Let’s start off this mission with introductions! This mission’s going to get pretty hectic, so try to take this bit of peace to your advantage before we get started.

[PacAttack]

Glunk-glunk-glunk.

A green pipe raised itself out of the ground not too far from the dark woods.  A set of orange mitts grasped the lip of the pipe before heaving the rest of itself out.  It took him a minute to catch his footing.  Warp pipe traveling was a first for him and had him a little off.  He mainly laughed at the dizziness though.  He could see why the Mushroom Kingdom folks used it.  It was quite a fast trip although he had walked here a few times before.

With a little time saved, he had managed to do a little reading on what exactly was at stake.  Chaos Emeralds, seven jewels of power.  Each powerful in there own right but with all seven, well, apparently grant unlimited power.  Yeah... Not really something he would forward to.  It would be best to get all those back before they fell into the wrong hands.  Whether or not Shadow was the right hands or not, he couldn't really tell.  He hadn't spoken to him any aside from a few interactions.  Always seemed to be in a mood of some sort.

Pac pressed his hands up against the side of the pipe to level himself for a minute.  He wasn't really sure if he could handle something like this but he couldn't back down now.  All this new stuff sounded way more than what a simple power pellet could do.  Questions of his own ability began to bubble up but was interrupted when the pipe retreated back into the ground, causing the yellow hero to drop his jaw into the soil.  Now with no literal way back, he picked himself up and carried on.

Knuckles' words didn't help with Pac's own reassurance of the situation.  He gaze drifted towards the ground for a moment.  Searching for the rights words it seemed.  A bit of his past flew through his head of where he had had his own adventures.  Maybe not as extreme as others but he had always pulled out through on top.  Robots, ancient spirits, an evil scientist, and not to mention the countless number of ghosts.  Maybe he still had it in him.  He had gotten older but he still knew a few tricks. 

Pac-Man looked back up and beamed a smile to Knuckles and giving a thumbs up.

"Waka waka!"

[heirtothemonado]

Krystal followed Knuckles into the city, gripping her staff in her hand as they closed in on Evergreen Valley. She knew it was going to come to this, but she hadn't realized it'd be this soon. Shadow had been acting kinda weird for a good while now, and every time she tried confronting him about it, it always ended with the two of them fighting. And now.....well, Krystal didn't have the slightest clue as to what Shadow as doing, but her instincts told her it wasn't anything good. She needed to get to him, quickly, before he did something drastic.

She was only sort of listening to Knuckles' speech, her mind focused more on finding and restraining Shadow. She was familiar with how he fought, but that didn't mean that he wasn't dangerous. Everything that Knuckles had just said. But then a sentence jumped out at her. Shadow? Ruthless? Maybe Knuckles knew Shadow a little better then she did, but Shadow wasn't ruthless. "Shadow? Kill? Clearly you don't know him as well as you think you do. Shadow wouldn't kill anyone, not purposely. And definitely not here. Shadow promised to protect this planet....right?" Krystal didn't sound too sure of herself on that last bit, but it was clear she was starting to get annoyed with the echidna. "I...I think we'll be fine." As she said that, she looked to her comrade for this mission, a yellow circle with eyes. Krystal didn't know much about this person, but if he could handle himself, then it was good enough for her.

---

Krystal

Health: 140/140

Shield: 45/45

Status: Worried

[cynda1]

Knuckles got some… weird vibes coming from the little yellow guy, but weird didn’t necessarily mean bad. The echidna didn’t really know how to talk to this guy since… well, it didn’t really seem like he could talk. He didn’t even seem to have the ability to articulate his own name. It surprised him when he made that strange sounding noise, because he was outright convinced that the little guy couldn’t talk at all. Maybe that was all the guy could say, but Knuckles wasn’t one to really get into, nor care, about other people’s business.

Besides, what mattered to him was getting the emeralds back from Shadow.

Knuckles glared in Krystal’s direction, however. The fox didn’t say anything particularly antagonistic, or at least not out right, but Knuckles was a bit… quick to the punch. “You trying to say I’m a liar or something, kid?” Knuckles said before giving a bit of an annoyed huff. “Tch. Believe what you like. You haven’t tried to get in Shadow’s way much, have you? You’ll see what I mean when you actually try to stop him.” It was true that Shadow wasn’t much for starting trouble, not intentionally. Knuckles was aware that Shadow probably only meant well, but…

...Well, Shadow had never exactly been someone who was easy to read. Aside from that, Knuckles and Shadow always butted heads a bit, so perhaps the echidna had a bit of a bias. But Knuckles had fought the Ultimate Life Form when he was out for blood before. He was just trying to help them be prepared. Once Knuckles’s temper died down a bit, the echidna was able to think a bit more critically. Had… Shadow actually been talking to this fox? That… didn’t seem like Shadow. But then why did she think she knew him so well?

“...Look, I don’t know what kind of history you have with Shadow,” Knuckles said, calmer in his tone. “But don’t be surprised when reasoning with him suddenly turns into a fight for your life.” Did Knuckles insinuate that Shadow might actually try to hurt Krystal? But he wouldn’t do that, would he? This was Shadow they were talking about. Sure, he was a jerk, and he liked to push Krystal’s buttons, but… he wouldn’t actually try to harm her… would he?

“It’s up to you,” Knuckles stated, finishing up his briefing. “I’m heading back to the Master Emerald. Be careful out there, alright?” With that, Knuckles ran in the opposite direction, feeling extremely tense about leaving the emerald on its own.

Alright, gang! It’s time to solve this mystery! Krystal! Can you get a sense of Shadow’s thoughts? Roll a 12 in WIS or INT and you’ll get a hint on where he might be. If one roll doesn’t cut it, try it again with the other. Pac Man, meanwhile, will roll an INT roll in order to try and look for clues. Your threshold will also be a 12. If the first roll fails, try again. You both will have a maximum of two attempts this round. Ready? Go!

Disclaimer: Just because your threshold’s the same now, doesn’t mean it will be the entire mission. Just keep that in mind. I’ll try to mix up rolls as I see fit, but I’ll also try to be fair! :3

[PacAttack]

Pac's gaze shifted between the gloved red guy then back to the blue fox lady. He wasn't sure if that was the right thing it call it. He blinked a few times as if that would get the ol' noggin jogging but it didn't kick up anything. Sure didn't have anything like these two back home. The spiked gloves on the red guy though did look kind of nice. Maybe a pair would be nice if it ever got to that point. He took a glance over his own mitts, imagining spikes popping out the ends.

Still not too late to turn back was it? The still lingering threat of his life made him a little uneasy although he had already steeled himself. Maybe he should've took a few combat classes before heading out or brought a couple protein bars or something. It sounded like he was going to need some muscle and his own noodle limbs weren't much to show. He continued to listen to Knuckles until he had to leave where the ball would wave good-bye before turning back to the blue lady. He smiled and threw a thumb over his shoulder.  Time to get a move on.

21YqiZDYp_1d20+2=5 (Pac's INT)

p_1d20+2=3 (Pac's INT)

He had been through this stretch of land a few times now so he had a good feeling of finding the shadow somewhere.  He walked around the ghostly trees looking for anything off.  Maybe a gleam of a stone or something would catch his eye.  The dull ones along the ground weren't anything noticeable.  He flipped one over with the end of his boot and sighed.  Lady luck wasn't being the kindest to him as of lately.

1d20·1d20

[heirtothemonado]

Krystal glared at Knuckles as he started to talk down to her, but just as quickly she felt her temper backing off. They didn't have time for this, and Knuckles seemed to be just as worried about Shadow as she was. She knew what Shadow was capable of, but even so, she didn't like that Knuckles would slander Shadow like that. Despite that she would have done the same thing so long ago. When Knuckles announced that he was leaving, Krystal gave him a halfhearted wave. She appreciated the concern, but they knew how to handle themselves.

Krystal nodded as Pac Man gestured over his shoulder. He was right, the sooner they got to looking for Shadow, the faster they'd be able to stop him from what he's doing to himself. Pulling out her staff and looking around, Krystal scanned the area, attempting to find some sort of clue towards the hedgehog's whereabouts

CITlILLfp_1d20+2 (Krystal's INT check: Failure)

No luck. Not that Krystal was expecting much. If Shadow didn't want to be found, then of course there wasn't going to be any evidence left behind. But still, Shadow was acting a bit careless, so maybe she should search a bit more.

p_1d20+2 (Krystal's WIS Check: Success!)

.....There! Krystal could hear faint mental voices echoing in her head. It certainly sounded like Shadow, although it was so muffled that she couldn't make out what he was saying. At least they had some kind of reference to where he was. "I think I can hear him! Come on, this way!" Krystal gestured to Pac-man, following the voice

---

Krystal

Health: 140/140

Shield: 45/45

Status: Normal

1d20+2·1d20+2

[cynda1]

It took Shadow several moments, but the hedgehog was eventually able to get a hold of himself enough to stand back up on his feet. The Ultimate Life Form glanced around as his mind became quiet again outside of his own thoughts. As Krystal got closer, the fox might be able to get hints on what he was thinking about, though she might’ve still been too far away to get a good picture. The black hedgehog let out a frustrated sigh. What am I doing? Shadow thought to himself. This is insane. Even if I could do this… should I? Shadow’s thoughts were silent for a moment as he closed his eyes, trying to get a hold of his priorities.

Was this gonna help anyone? Anyone at all? Even if it worked?

Maybe… But would this help everyone?

….Shadow opened his eyes a little, starting to seriously consider going back and giving Knuckles the emeralds back, but it seemed like another voice would get in the way of that, and this one might have stood out to Krystal… cause it wasn’t Shadow. Not even a little.

Yes Shadow, the feminine voice spoke clearly in Shadow’s head. A voice that was once soothing to him now only seemed to fill the hedgehog with dread. Give the emeralds back. Keep everything as it is so we can shred this worthless plain of existence to ribbons. Let’s rule Li with our iron thumb. Let’s-

“Leave me ALONE!!!” Shadow yelled out loud, the voice echoing through the forest, and letting out a wave of blue energy, grunting as he fell to his knees. Shadow blinked his eyes a bit as it had turned an eerie blue, but the hedgehog screwed his eyes shut and rammed himself back first into a tree. The hedgehog panted frantically as his eyes returned to their normal red color. The hedgehog found himself looking down at his inhibitor rings, looking directly into his reflection, unsettled by the amount of fear he was portraying. “...No,” Shadow whispered to himself and shook his head. “No, no… I… can’t let that happen…”

...But it wouldn’t happen, would it?

Shadow-!

I tried, okay?! It’s not working!

But that’s why you have to keep trying, okay? If you don’t do this, everything’s just going to keep spiraling out of control.

But… But the only one who’s spiraling is…

Shadow glared at his reflection on his inhibitor rings, ignoring whatever it was he was trying to say. The hedgehog closed his eyes, closing everything out of his mind before aiming his fists toward the ground on either side of him, causing his inhibitor rings to shoot to the ground. This was it… if he couldn’t do it now, he wouldn’t be able to do it at all. Shadow raised his palms in the air causing the emeralds to rise from the ground again, glowing with an extreme intensity, even more so than last time. Shadow’s eyes opened as a strong blue energy surrounded him and the emeralds.

The hedgehog reached forward and just like before, seemed to try to grab something to rip it apart. It seemed like there was actual progress being made in his attempt this time, causing a smirk to form on his face. This one action almost caused what little progress he made to crumble, but the hedgehog caught it. The hedgehog’s eyes squinted as he pulled the gap he’d made with the emerald’s power a little bigger than he had when he lost focus.

Despite this, the gap wasn’t even as big as Shadow’s head if he had no quills much less the side of the entire planet. Shadow grunted… One step at a time. He was just trying this out, right? Maybe I should just… urgh… try making it as big as me… Shadow screwed his eyes shut and grunted out, though perhaps much louder than he even realized, struggling to make it even the tiniest bit bigger. No, no… I can’t… Shadow fell on one knee, already feeling his energy drain as it had whenever he took off his inhibitor rings.

I… Can’t… stop! Shadow stood up to his feet again, though the gap refused to get any bigger than he’d already made it. Shadow growled. “Come on…!” It became smaller just the tiniest bit. “Just…” Smaller. “A little…” Bit smaller. “Longer!” Smaller still. Shadow was starting to sweat bullets, and his muscles were starting to grow numb. Even the voice in his head that had told him to do this now seemed to scream at him to stop…

...But Shadow wouldn’t listen. Not anymore… Shadow couldn’t hear that voice anymore. Shadow grunted as his eyes seemed to blink into a sort of crazed yellow color, much different from his normal state of Inner Madness. Shadow didn’t seem to even try to shake it off… it was almost as if he didn’t even realize it was happening. All he knew was that he needed to make this… gap…

Shadow lost his grip on the gap he was trying to form, and a wave of energy, mixed in red, blue, and yellow, forced Shadow back, and caused the emeralds to slowly land back on the ground. The emeralds were shaking as a dark energy seemed to spark and crackle from them. Shadow seemed to black out… but it wouldn’t last for long.

Alright you two! It’s time for the final stretch of the search, but be careful now! Thanks to Krystal, finding Shadow has become a sured thing. What isn’t? What will happen when you get there. Keep your guard up! Even the emeralds seem to be on the attack! Roll an 8 in DEX to avoid the dark sparks from the emeralds. You get three tries! If you’re hit, you’ll get inflicted by Slow for two turns. This is simply a taste of the Emeralds' power. Next round is when the fight will really begin...

[PacAttack]

Pac looked up from the ground over to Krystal and perked up. She found something apparently.  He wasn't sure what she noticed but he wasn't questioning it. 

nxDefWaDp_1d20 +1=15 (Dodged the tasty dark spark.)

Not really sure where he was headed, he continued to follow Krystal, hopping over the small root and stone every now and again.  Over the sound of them making their way through the woods he thought he could've heard something.  The sound of someone yelling.  It was loud.  That was for sure.  Pac looked up towards his partner while keeping pace to see if she noticed it as well.

The black specs about in the air halted him as he jumped back onto the heel of his boots and skidded to a stop.  He carefully took the time to walk around the floating darkness that was about in the air.  They were getting closer to something. 

1d20

[Deleted]

Zera had been lagging far behind due to a second thought or two, unable to fully rationalize the fact that not only had Shadow hurt someone on their side, but had gone so far away. Her heart ached at the idea, and it nearly made her sick. Sticking it out, however, she managed to catch up late, following their paths through the city to see him. Her eyes welling with tears as she blindly ran in, only to nearly be zapped by those emeralds..!


wsISRDSKp_1d20+2
(She's quick!)

Zera's swift acrobatics manage to make a dance of the avoidance of the sparks, before skidding her feet to spread into that combative stance before the hedgehog and in front of the others. The desperation of a worried mother, a friend, and most importantly - someone who shared that burden he bore. Zeraora had a kindred spirit to Shadow in some regards, and with their interactions beforehand, in passing comments to an eventual understanding, let her know that this wasn't him..! It couldn't be..!

"Shadow..! It's okay, I'm here! Shadow..?!"

She looks around, taking quick stock of her surroundings. Yeah, it wasn't a good idea to get him just yet. She needed to see the others first, see if they were going to make it before trying to retrieve her black-quilled baby boy. Zera looks back to Krystal and Pac-Man... Good, they're both fine. 

"W-What happened while I was behind..?"


ZERAORA
HP: 130/130
Shield: 40/40
Cooldowns: None
Static: 0/50

1d20+2

[heirtothemonado]

Krystal ran through the pine woods, trying to follow the voice as much as she could. She had to hurry. There's no telling what Shadow would be trying if he found any more of those gems, cause from what Knuckles had told them, Shadow gathering them all together meant nothing good. As she closed in on Shadow's inner voices, however, another sounds came from the way they had came. Pulling her staff out and turning around, Krystal was ready for anything that might come at them...

...except that wasn't at all what it was. Krystal did...not expect Zera to show up, although in hindsight she definitely should have. Her and Shadow were almost like mother and son. Before she could even greet the Thunderclap Pokemon, however, a loud spark noise sounded from the clearing up ahead. It sounded like something was trying to zap them!

qWCwfsV2p_1d20+2 (Krystal's Chaos Zap Dodge: Success!)

Krystal threw herself to the ground as the spark sailed over her head. Looking to where it came from, she finally laid eyes on the hedgehog she was looking for. And....he didn't look good at all. Krystal knew Shadow had been starting to lose it but....she didn't know it had gotten this bad! Looking to Zeraora with a sad look on her face, Krystal attempted to answer her, though before now she hadn't seen Shadow in a long time...

"I....I don't know what's happened to him, Zera. I...haven't talked to him at all for a long time, and....I don't know, his thoughts sounds like chaos. I can't figure it out!" Okay, so that wasn't exactly a coherent explanation, but cut her some slack, Krystal's been through a lot for the past while. "I think....I think we have to try and talk sense into him. Even though I don't think it's gonna work at all...."

---

Krystal

Health: 140/140

Shield: 45/45

Status: Worried as heck

1d20+2

[cynda1]

Slowly, as Shadow started to open his eyes, the black hedgehog was… sitting against a building? In… broad daylight? Shadow glanced around his surroundings trying to slowly take in what he was seeing. This… place it… looked so familiar… wait. The city seemed busy right now, but if he focused… he could almost see a destroyed mech… one that he stood on once, looking down at a blue hedgehog. Shadow straightened himself up as realization hit him.

Could it be? Was it even possible? Had he… had he really done it?

Shadow had to cover his eyes a bit as the sun blazed through the sky, a sensation he didn’t even realize he missed. The hedgehog placed a hand on the wall and pushed himself upward, still not totally believing what he was seeing and yet… he didn’t dare to question it. This was what he wanted from the moment he first set foot into Li… he wanted to get to this planet, his hope had finally become a reality.

Yet… something didn’t feel right. As much as he wanted to brush any of his doubts to the side, the reality of the situation was the fact that a handful of factors caused the black hedgehog to become suspicious. For one, where was Sonic and the others? Sure the odds that they would be warped to the same location would be strange, but the odds that he just so happened to end up in the location where he met Sonic, and Sonic hadn’t rounded up all of his friends yet was something that the hedgehog couldn’t get out of his mind.

Another thing was that the people there didn’t even seem to notice him. Sure, after the warping was done people tended to keep on with their lives, but if Shadow was unconscious, he doubted that the people there would just leave him like that. They didn’t even seem to see him at all. The hedgehog didn’t really care about that at first, but then, as he looked across the street from himself, he saw the one person he’d been desperately trying to escape for almost a year now.

Across the street, in the same eerie blue aura, was Maria Robotnik. Shadow stared at her, completely horrified to see her here of all places. He’d been trying to escape all of his problems, but this one most of all, and yet here she was showing her beautiful yet unsettling face.

And just as Shadow was able to sigh in relief at seeing the Earth he was meant to protect, with the wave of her hand, fire started to form around him. Shadow started panicking again as he backed up before falling on the ground and then picking himself up. Everything was dark again, the people and buildings were all gone, and the only thing Shadow could see was fire, darkness, and her. Shadow slowly looked up at Maria, eyes filled with conflicting emotions as they alone pleaded with her to stop. “Maria… I don’t understand…” Shadow was so tired of this. “Why are you doing this? Wasn’t I supposed to protect them? H-haven’t I been doing what you wanted?”

Maria’s eyes weren’t visible to Shadow anymore. Only that unsettling smile was on her face as she slowly started to approach him, one step at a time. She moved toward him silently as the hedgehog kept moving away from her until feeling the same pressure as before. This time, however, the girl placed her hands on his face before images started flashing into his mind.

---

“Do you know if there’s any way to help you?”

“...Kill me.”

“Oh… Well, I don’t wanna do that…”
---

“Shadow…”

“Amy, it’s going to be okay, alright? I’m not going anywhere, so just hang on, okay?”

---

“Shadow, you wouldn’t lie to me right? It would really hurt me if you lied to me…”

“What? Noooo! I’d never lie to you, Zera, I promise!”

---

“...I’ve been here for an entire year… There's no telling what’s happening to my Earth.”

---

“Shadow, if you keep pushing help away, there will be no one else willing to help.” Krystal tried to warn him...

“Well, that’s fine, because I don’t need anyone’s help!”

---

“I’m an insubordinate pest who needs to be reprogrammed immediately…”

“Claus, wait, let me help you!”

---

“...Shadow… it’s been a long time. It’s about time I kept my promise… Time to give you a one way ticket to oblivion!”

---

Shadow saw an image of Krystal slamming the door on Shadow’s face.

---

“I’m the Ultimate Life Form! I don’t need help. I help other people, and I can do it on my own! Just watch me!”

---

“...I’m starting to lose control...control… controooooooool...”

---

Back in reality, the moment Krystal had said what she believed they needed to do, Shadow’s eyes instantly flashed open in an eerie yellow. Shadow placed a hand on the tree and pulled himself up to his feet, staring forward lifelessly. He still stood up straight, but aside from that, Shadow was unrecognizable. The hedgehog’s quills that pointed upward were almost pointing straight back, and the blank expression on Shadow’s face, one that normally held some kind of annoyance, was completely lifeless.

It was almost like Shadow wasn’t even there anymore, but if Krystal was still listening to Shadow’s thoughts, she’d know that wasn’t true…

The woods that they were all in were somehow even more eerie in Shadow’s perspective than it was before, and in the place of Zera, Krystal, and Pac Man, instead stood Maria, Solaris, and Dharkon, all in that order. Every once in a while, the evil images of all of these people would phaze back to the people they actually were, but it was only for a blur of a second. Zera might be able to tell just by looking at his eyes that he was about to attack.

And attack he would… And the one he attacked first might surprise them. “Leave me ALONE!!!” Shadow cried out, causing a wave of energy to blow out from him and an ear piercing echo to bellow out from his yell, as he formed a Chaos Spear in his hand and shot it at Zeraora, whom he thought was Maria. “Get away from me!!!”

Zeraora! Shadow threw a Chaos Spear at you, but even though it seemed like Shadow was holding back some, roll a 14 in DEX or receive 40% of damage with a 20% chance of getting paralyzed! You may roll a second time if your first roll doesn’t cut it.

Shadow then brought his attention to Krystal, whom he thought was Mephiles, and disappeared in a blue light before reappearing and tried to throw a few punches and kicks at her.

Krystal! Shadow is using melee attacks! You must dodge three of them! In this case, you get six tries total, so make em count! You have to roll a 12 three times, or get 10% one to three times.

Shadow then then turned to Pac Man, whom he thought was Dharkon for a moment, before a red energy flared up around the black hedgehog and he launched himself at full speed intending to punch the yellow man in the eye… when his vision flashed and Pac Man was in his view for a second. This was enough to stop Shadow as his blank expression turned to confusion for a moment. Shadow lowered his arms for a second and Dharkon and Pac Man seemed to continuously take each other’s place… what was happening?

Shadow
Health: ??
Status: None

n1VEmNTvp_1d20

Everyone! Now’s your chance! The roll I made before this bit of dialogue is the roll you have to beat in order to try and reason with Shadow this round. It’s recommended that at least two attempts are made, but don’t forget this is a fight as well. Keep in mind that even if the INT check is made, that only means that Shadow heard what you said. If it’s not a good enough roll, he may not recognize your voice, and he may choose not to listen as he’s in a crazed state that’s completely out of control. Krystal and Zera! You two have a better chance to reach Shadow than Pac Man does, naturally because he knows you two very well. Keep this in mind. And with that said, let the fight begin!

Zera and Krystal: Reach the above roll and you have a 50% chance to avoid being attacked by Shadow. Reach 3 points higher and he's guaranteed not to attack you.

Pac Man: Reach 3 points above the above number for a 50% chance of not being attacked, and crit in INT for it to be guaranteed.

Remember, this is still a fight. Attacking Shadow will help in slowing Shadow down, and will also help in calming him down, so don't just do the INT roll.

1d20

[PacAttack]

PAC-MAN stumbled back a bit at the sudden entrance of the electric pokemon. He wasn't expecting someone to suddenly rush in but they didn't seem to be hostile. Well, that was a relief. Here to help with Shadow, he assumed.

Shadow looked different. He looked sort of ghostly in the eyes, a lifelessness that made him a bit hesitant to approach. Maybe he was just tired? He couldn't entirely tell. When he began shouting though, he got the cue. Something was definitely wrong.

Shadow's rapid dash caused Pac to jump slightly and had him raising his arms up in front of his face. He closed his eyes and prepared for the strike. A few seconds pasted before he cracked an eye open to look. Shadow, for whatever reason, had stopped. This might be an opening to get through to him.

tQjR3pPIp_1d20+2=18 (Pac's INT)

PAC-MAN lowered his arms and let them loosely hand at his sides and opened his palms making an effort to show that he meant no harm.

"Waka?  Waka waka wakka waka."

_{Yeah, like he will understand me, ya round pac-clown.}

He tried to soften his tone while speaking to him as fruitless as that effort may be.  It was worth a shot at the very least as he wasn't wanting to hurt Shadow.  He pushed his hands towards the ground a few times in front of him in a 'calm down' gesture.

1d20

[Deleted]

G91N|wShp_1d20+2
p_1d20+2
(Oh dear. Hey, at least it's free static.)
p_1d100
(No paralysis though.)

"Gaaah! Stop! Please..! I-I beg you..!"
Zeraora was too slow to dodge, almost ready to open her mouth and say something more before being blasted by that spear of lightning, tumbling down onto her face. Poor girl was hurt already, huffing and panting as she realized this wasn't going to be easy. She begins to shakily rise up, trying to regain her composure after being hit like that directly to the face. Her ears were still ringing a little.

p_1d20+1
(Zeraora's convincing roll.)

"Nnh..! Shadow, please..! I-It's me..! Zera!"
The catmom cries out, watching as her own 'punkin' as she knew him acted this way. Why..? Why could he not hear her cries? She just wanted to stop him from doing this, bring him home again. Tears well in her eyes as she tried to reason with her baby boy. Her... her son. At least, so she viewed him as. Poor girl was delusional like him in that regard, believing she could parent Shadow. She puts those fluffy paws up in a symbol of combative surrender. She was trying to reason with him. A few tears fall from her eyes as she speaks.
"...This isn't you..! You're not like this. Th-The Shadow I know for real is... H-he's kind, gentle to the right people, tough on the one's who deserve it. You may act otherwise, b-but I know you care about others. Deep down. Th... That's why I always believed in you, punkin. What... Wh-What would Purple think? What would... What would Sonic think? Just... stop. Think - is this you? Are you really like this?"


ZERAORA
HP: 90/130
Shield: 40/40
Cooldowns: None
Static: 1/50

1d20+2·1d20+2·1d100·1d20+1

[heirtothemonado]

As soon as those words left Krystal's mouth, Shadow looked up to the group, and Krystal immediately knew that something was wrong. For one, Shadow...didn't look like he saw them, despite staring straight at them. His eyes, usually a bright red, now shone gold. And his expression, usually having some kind of annoyed look, was completely blank. But that wasn't even the worse of it. Shadow's thoughts, already needling at the back of her mind, exploded into a cacophony racket that Krystal could only barely block out enough to function. What....what was happening to him?

Giving her head a shake, Krystal slowly made her way closer to Shadow. "Sh-Shadow..? Are you alright? You...You don't look like yourself.." Krystal started, but before she could even finish that sentence, Shadow dashed toward her at full speed and started throwing punches!.

9aQvaZlsp_1d20+2 (Krystal Melee Strike dodge 1: Success!)

p_1d20+2 (Krystal's Melee Strike dodge 2: Success!)

p_1d20+2 (Krystal's Melee Strike Dodge 3 Attempt 1: Failure)

p_1d20+2 (Krystal's Melee Strike Dodge 3 Attempt 2: Success!)

Moving quickly, Krystal ducked and dodged around Shadow's thrown punches, the edge of his fist grazing against her cheek before she just managed to pull away. Leaping back out of range, Krystal called out to Shadow. "Shadow, come on! This isn't like you! You wouldn't attack anyone with no warning like that! Especially not us! Shadow, please, snap out of it! It's me! It's me, Krystal!"

p_1d20+2 (Krystal's INT check: Failure)

Krystal's words didn't seem like they were getting through to Shadow, but that wasn't enough to deter her. Placing a hand on the collapsed staff on her hip, Krystal tried warning Shadow one more time. "Don't make me hurt you, Shadow. I don't want to, but if you're not gonna listen then you're going to leave me no choice!"

---

Krystal

Health: 140/140

Shield: 45/45

Status: Trying to bargain

1d20+2·1d20+2·1d20+2·1d20+2·1d20+2

[cynda1]

Shadow didn’t expect to actually hit Zera, who looked like Maria to him, and a chill ran up his spine as he realized what he did. However, just as that happened, he saw Maria giving the strange grin he’d been seeing on her face in the illusions he’d been receiving. This instantly convinced him that he did the right thing, and the hedgehog backed up, glaring at the cat he thought was a human aggressively before turning to Pac Man, thought to be Dharkon.

Shadow brought his attention to Pac Man, who seemed to be ready to stand up to the plate first. Pac Man, not knowing Shadow very well, didn’t have any kind of past experience with the hedgehog, but it seemed to be a bit of an advantage for the little yellow guy. He didn’t seem to have the same kind of hesitation as the other two did, though he wasn’t interested in fighting the hedgehog either. Seemed like Pac Man was just a good natured little guy who only wished to help.

urCvENgap_1d100 (Pac Man will not be attacked this round... Though Shadow can't understand what he's saying, only that that's not what Dharkon sounded like.)

For whatever reason, whether it be because this effort was genuine or because Dharkon never sounded anything like Pac Man, the hedgehog was clearly caught off guard. The black hedgehog shook his head rigorously as he squinted his eyes at Pac Man, not really able to see who he was anymore, or even who he thought he was. The hedgehog shook his head, and turned to face Zera instead.

One would think that being mistaken for Maria may have given Zeraora an advantage, and if this was happening months earlier, maybe it would have been. In fact, it almost seemed like Shadow almost heard Zera’s voice. Unfortunately, he couldn’t understand what she was saying and as it stood, Shadow’s view of Maria was warped to the point where he didn’t know what to think about her anymore. Had he even been doing what she wanted at all? Did he even care anymore? Well… yes, but if he figured out that she really wanted the planet destroyed after all, could he go ahead and do it?

p_1d100 (Zera will be attacked this round. He seems to be a bit apprehensive...)

...Shadow couldn’t understand a thing Zera was saying. On the contrary, Zera’s words were being drowned out by the voice of the evil Maria. “You can try to fight me all you like…” he heard from the sinister voice he was now starting to associate with Maria. “...But I’m forever! Your attacks can’t hurt me, and that’s all you know how to do, isn’t it?” Now, in most cases this wouldn’t be true… Shadow had tried to reason before. He had even tried to reason with this Maria in the past because he didn’t want to hurt her, but right now… she was right. He couldn’t figure out any other solution other than to fight back.

Shadow started to surround himself in a red aura and started running toward the cat at full before taking off in a Sonic Boom, trying to ram into the cat at full force.

(Zera! Shadow used his Dash attack! Roll a DEX of 15 or up or take 20% of damage. If you fail once, you can try again.)

Shadow finally brought his attention to Mephiles, or rather Krystal. Unlike Zera, who’s voice seemed to be mixed a bit with the evil Maria’s voice, there wasn’t any hint that Krystal was even there as far as Shadow could tell. Shadow clenched his teeth as he formed one red lightning bolt in his hand. Shadow was using Chaos Spear again already? Normally he wouldn’t be able to right away… but then again, this wasn’t a normal circumstance, and even then this wasn’t Chaos Spear. It was a lot worse…

“Chaos… Lance!” This time Shadow only threw one lightning bolt, but it looked powerful. It was a lot bigger, and it seemed like if it so much as grazed Krystal, it could potentially cause a nasty paralysis. Shadow could only hear the cackle of Mephiles before launching the bolt of raw power and danger at the fox.

(Krystal! Shadow used Chaos Lance! Roll a DEX of 14 or up or take 25% of damage plus a whopping 50% chance to be paralyzed. You get two chances to dodge, but if you fail the first roll, you have a 25% chance of being paralyzed.)

Even after that, Shadow’s red aura didn’t seem to dwindle any, and in fact increased in power. Almost as if the energy was going to explode. “Fine!” Shadow shouted out at all three of them. “If you won’t leave me alone, then… then… Raaah!” The red energy started to flare up, now clearer than ever that the energy was just about ready to explode. “Then… then I’ll wipe you all away myself!” Shadow screwed his eyes shut, getting ready to let loose a large amount of energy. “Chaos… Blast!” Shadow unleashed a wave of energy in all directions!

(Everyone! Run! Shadow used Chaos Blast! Roll a 12 on DEX or receive 40% damage with a 20% chance of burning. You have two chances to dodge.)

Note: Oh, thought we were all in the clear Pac Man? Perhaps I should reiterate... Shadow won't attack you specifically, but if he does a wide array attack, such as Chaos Blast, then it will naturally aim at you too. Not bad, though, you only have to make one dodge roll! Good luck! Sorry, I realized I didn't account for attacks that attack all the characters, so there you go!

After letting loose the energy, Shadow let out a deep, aggravated sigh, taking several seconds to get his head on straight. Apparently letting loose that much energy while he was still in his regular form and losing control of himself wasn’t doing Shadow any favors. Still, the hedgehog shook it off and growled at the group, clearly unwilling to stop fighting now.

The emeralds started glowing more intensely… Perhaps a premonition that things were about to get worse...

Health: ??
Status: None

Shadow heard and recognized Pac Man! Shadow also heard Zeraora, but didn't recognize her. Keep it up you guys! Shadow's only going to grow more aggressive. If someone isn't trying to fight Shadow, he could seriously hurt someone.

p_1d20 (Here's the new threshold you have to meet or surpass in the next roll. To remember the rules, I refer to the post I made before this one.)1d100·1d100·1d20