Shadow flapped his wings, trying to catch the zigzagging scientist. Whenever he almost had him, Finitevus slipped through his fingers like sand. He couldn't follow the albino echidna blindly as he could jump right into a trap.

The last time it ended up with flooding the laboratory with lava, and that wasn't even on his list of things he didn't want to happen. A certain precaution had to be taken to assure everybody's safety. The underground complex turned into a maze, and he was a mouse chasing elusive cheese that bit back.

The moment he pondered, gray smoke gushed into his face, starting a coughing fit. Slashing his claws around, he tried to keep any enemy at bay. Once the cloud dissipated, he could see nobody approached him, but Finitevus was gone too.

'Dang it!' He inhaled, determining his next step.

The scent trail thinned as if rain washed it for weeks, yet it couldn't be more than a few seconds before Finitevus concealed himself.

'Figures that he would know how to erase his smell. Must be why he used the smokescreen.'

Looking around, he saw no difference among the openings. With his wings stretched, he was sure Finitevus didn't slip back.

'Yet what tunnel he took?'

He kept in the center of the stone hall, using his ears to catch any suspicious sound. Every second counted. He worried about Amy, but leaving Finitevus to his own devices could lead to serious consequences. Shaking his head, he shooed the unwanted thoughts and combined the strength of his ears and nose, following a red thread of hope.

Painfully long minutes later, the priest entered an enormous cave. He refrained from landing, keeping a safe distance from all walls. There could be a trap under every stone. Its interior didn't differ from any he had seen. Rough walls and stalactites and stalagmites with occasional columns in the mix.

Arms-like drapery hung from the ceiling with straws around them. It was both eerie and calming. If only he could enjoy this scenery in a less hectic time.

"Bravo!" Finitevus shouted, and Shadow spun, perking his ears. "Fascinating!" The madman clapped. "I thought I've erased my scent completely."

'Clapping?' Shadow's head jerk. 'I ripped his arm! Did he regrow it?' He balled his fists. That would be a major pain under his tail.

"You aren't talkative, I see."

Shadow moved his ears, but he couldn't determine from where the voice came. It seemed it could be from anywhere. The voice echoed from all sides, and who knew what seals played a role in it too.

"Well, I'm sure I can fix that with my toolies."

'If I can't find where he is, I have to drag him out!' Shadow dived.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure to not leave a scratch on your ski-i-i-i-n-n-n-n!" Finitevus bit his tongue as Shadow crashed the floor, causing a minor earthquake.

Centuries-old stones and cave wonders rained down, crashing with a piercing cry. The cracks climbed the walls, disrupting the inscriptions that hid Finitevus' position. He staggered on a small cliff, almost falling down, but Shadow was a gentleman and pinned him to the wall. His red eyes darted to his left shoulder.

'He really can regrow his limbs!'

Finitevus coughed. "Ever heard of Villainy 101? Rule 69 states–Every villain needs their gloating time."

Shadow tightened his grasp over the scientist's neck. "My apologizes, I must have slept through that lesson."

Finitevus rolled his eyes. "Heroes, no respect for their senpai's evil plans," he rasped as the shortage of oxygen affected him.

Finitevus' eyes glinted, and Shadow ripped his other arm on an impulse. At the same moment, Shadow's body flung away as a barrier repelled him. He landed among the debris and cracks he created. The lifted dust irritated his nose, and he sneezed and coughed to get it out of his throat.

Standing up, he twitched with his left wing, realizing it suffered a few rips. Knowing he healed fast, he could fly in about half of an hour. But he didn't have the luxury of waiting. Especially if Finitevus' healing factor worked ten times faster, as it seemed.

"No worries! I'll patch you!" Finitevus' eyes filled with tears. Those had nothing to do with the cracking bones and reconnecting muscles as his arm grew in front of Shadow's eyes. "After I break you." His face darkened, and a sinister grin spread across his face.

Muffled sounds of his latest creations resonated from all sides as the villagers crawled, slouched, or rolled toward the priest in their hideous forms. Shadow stepped back, his senses overloading with the despair.

"Yes, I know. But the quality was so low even I couldn't do anything with it." Finitevus sighed, slouching his shoulders. "But don't worry. I'll give you my top-rated care."

Shadow snapped his way, almost jumping forward, but a bulge of slime and sticking out bones rolled over him. The dripping poison burned his skin, and the vapors dulled his nose. He yelped as the substance got under his skin, dulling his senses. A drop could kill a person, but it dropped his fighting capacity.

"My, my, could I possibly over-hyped myself?"

'Must hold it... together!' Shadow stood up, avoiding another round of prickly bones, landing in open arms of a rock-like bear hug. The priest's bones shrieked and his muscles protested. With a push, he freed himself, pushing the unfortunate villager away.

Yet more kept coming, and he couldn't avoid them forever. Blinking, the monsters were gone in a crimson flash, and the ground hid beneath hills of bodies. Yelp escaped his throat, and his eyes darted under his feet. Blood dripped off his hands.

He had massacred everybody!

That poisonous blob dug its bones into his leg, waking up Shadow from his haze. Whatever he had seen wasn't reality. The monsters piled up upon him as the hedgehog had fallen on all fours. Some bit him, others dug their claws into his flesh, and the rest tried to rip his wings into shreds.

With a roar, the pile burst, half of the monsters losing their guts before landing. Crimson haze danced around the priest like hungry tongues.

Finitevus leaned over the edge, gluing his eyes on the massacre. Shadow's claws danced through the air, ripping even the sturdy monsters into pieces. A mixture of bellows and gurgling screams echoed from all sides.

The vision turned into reality.

"Marvelous!" Dr. Finitevus tightened his fists as the excitement surged in his body.

With a snap of his fingers, the rings from his ripped hand, that turned half-way into a liquid mess, shone and appeared around his new wrist. He massaged it, trying his fingers one by one and testing his new arm's capacity.

"Perfect." He opened his pocket-hole, taking out a bag of prickle plums, munching on them. "What an elegant savage."

A dying specimen tripped Shadow, who got briefly blinded by the acidic blood. Aside from burning his skin, it had a numbing effect, slowing down his movements. The air burned in his lungs, his visions blurred, and his body refused to listen.

The surviving monsters covered his body, pinning him down.

"Was this all?" Finitevus put down the plum he wanted to chew on next. "No fireworks? No new crimson plaster on the walls?"

If he would have pointy ears, they would flop. He nibbled on his plum.

At Amy's side, the fight was as equally hopeless.

"Eclipse! Listen to my voice!" Tears slid down her cheeks.

>Ignore her.<

She stood up on her shaky legs, backing down inch by inch. Eclipse growled, hissed, and circled left and right. Her leg touched Silver's back.

"Silver! Wake up!" she whispered, her tone jumping up and down as fear settled down in her stomach.

>Don't let her!<

Eclipse darted, diving under her swing. He slapped her away from the psychic. The mace battered across the floor far from her.

>Yes!< If Ashyss had legs, he would jump into the air, clapping them.

Amy rolled onto her back in the nick of time. Eclipse's fangs dug into her crossed arms, trapping them. For a second, everything stopped before it started with Amy's shriek.

The fresh blood flooded Eclipse's mouth, bathing his taste buds in bliss. Streams of tears spurted out of Amy's eyes, drenching her fur. Her body shook, filling with fear. Not even during their first encounter, she was so scared.

Eclipse's hands pinned her shoulders, drawing out fresh streams of blood. One of his feet found a footing in her thigh. His teeth dug deeper, and he gulped the sweet blood as he grazed her bones.

"Ec... lipse..." she whispered with a shaking voice.

The tears refused to stop watering her vision.

>That's how it's done!< Ashyss crowed. >Drain her slowly. Let her enjoy her end till the last moment.<

Their eyes locked.

>Push harder!<

Yet, Eclipse couldn't move. His collar shone, preventing him from closing the distance. The same light came from Amy's bracelet, but the self-defense couldn't last for too long. Without her direct order, Eclipse could kill her.

A single tear slid down Eclipse's cheek.