Chapter Text
In the dead timeline, only Mephiles and Iblis remained “alive.” Sonic, Shadow, Silver, and all their loathesome friends were gone. Only the citizens of Soleanna were left behind. But even these humans seemed to be fake, cheap copies of whoever they actually were. They were paler, like ghosts, and could only say a few words over and over again. Mephiles, Iblis, and these spirits were all stuck inside of Soleanna. Not because there was an invisible barrier around the kingdom, no, the rest of the world simply didn't exist. There was only Soleanna, where everything had happened.
Actually, considering the two halves of Solaris to be alive was a bit generous. They were living, yes, but couldn't reform into Solaris. This strange pocket dimension denied everything Solaris could control: time and reality. No time passed here. The sun always remained at high noon. In this world, Solaris could not exist.
They were also weakened after having just been defeated by the three super hedgehogs. Despite being unable to reform Solaris, the ghosts of the humans were upset that Solaris’ halves still existed in some way. They did everything they could to extinguish the remains for good.
Mephiles and Iblis had been trying to run, but that only worked for so long. They couldn't fight back against these people either, as they seemed to regenerate immediately.
Once the humans finally caught up to them, it was over.
Iblis had originally taken the form of one of his minions, the canine-like Iblis Biter. But the townspeople beat him with everything they could find, weakening him so much that he had now become just a tiny flame. His purest and most vulnerable form.
Mephiles held his Shadow lookalike appearance, though the beatings had left him seriously deformed. He was a half-melted mess, with a drooping hole in his head and barely enough strength to keep from completely slipping into muck.
The humans gathered in crowds around the two in the street. Mephiles lay on the ground, grunting with every plank of wood or foot that pounded on him. He tried to shield himself from the blows, but they came from everywhere.
His attention, though, was stuck on Iblis. Mephiles watched with wide eyes as the little flame tried to slip between the legs of people, only to be kicked at, blown on, and doused with water. Every hit shrank him down.
Mephiles cried out and reached for him, but the humans ensured they were kept separate. Every time Iblis was hit, Mephiles winced too. “I-Iblis… here…” he squeezed out with a wet cough.
Somebody slammed their foot down right on his head, and Mephiles groaned in pain. He sank a bit further into the ground, progressively becoming more like the puddle everyone was trying to reduce him to. Still, Mephiles kept reaching for Iblis. And Iblis never gave up trying to get to him.
A bottle of water splashed over Iblis, and a small roar of pain came from him.
Mephiles clawed at the ground, trying to drag his melted body across the road. “N-No! No, no, don't…! That's my… my light, my love!”
More water hit Iblis. For a split second, it looked like he had almost disappeared completely. He was so close to being put out for good. Mephiles’ heart sank as he watched. He was going to see Iblis die. Not just get sealed away; Iblis would be gone forever. He'd be alone for the rest of his short life. Forever incomplete.
All because he was too weak to save him. Iblis was right there, no more than five feet away. The humans probably did that on purpose to taunt them.
They were so close. Nothing but the standing humans separated them. It should've been easy.
He had to move, do something, anything! But the agony that came with lifting his hand was unbearable. His arms had taken the brunt of many brutal attacks. And Mephiles didn't have the strength to reform himself… it would take too much energy…
Suddenly, Mephiles screamed. “NO!” To hell with the pain, nothing would hurt more than failing his dear other half! Whatever came next didn’t matter! He pushed himself out of the puddle of his own goop and made a lunge for Iblis. “WE'RE GOING TO BE TOGETHER FOREVER!”
His claws clasped shut around Iblis’ flickering flame. Iblis immediately wrapped his fiery tendrils around Mephiles’ hands and cowered within, narrowly dodging a stomp that would've ended him.
Mephiles didn't know what he did. His mind was so focused on saving Iblis that he wasn't even aware of the power he unleashed in that moment. Below him, a white portal opened up. And Mephiles, holding with all his strength onto Iblis, fell right through it.
Maybe together, at their lowest, Mephiles and Iblis’ desperation allowed them to use a fraction of Solaris’ power. Whether time or space had been affected, though, neither could tell. But something warped around them. That much was certain.
The humans tried to grab him before they could escape, but Mephiles fell faster than they could bend over. And then the portal closed, leaving Mephiles tumbling from the sky. As he spun through the air, he managed to catch the blur of a distant town grid whizzing by.
This fall… was going to hurt.
The pavement came out of nowhere. He didn’t even have time to scream in pain. Mephiles went from falling at full speed to being splattered against a sidewalk in the blink of an eye. His body fell apart, quickly shifting into muck. Only his head and part of his torso were able to be distinguished from the puddle. His legs turned to slush. One arm remained, which he kept wrapped around Iblis.
His head was spinning. He could see and hear things around himself, but it took a while for those things to fade into focus. There were… brick buildings to his left and right. And the sound of a few cars occasionally passing nearby. He appeared to be in an alleyway. It was wide yet felt cramped due to all the… what was this?
There was white powder on the ground for as far as he could see. Mephiles knew what this was, he swore he did… His mind was just so clouded-
Snow.
It was snow. Surrounding him but not under him. Since he was under a small cover, a cloth tarp hanging far above, the snow around him was scarce. Where there was no tarp, the rest of the alley had piles upon piles of snow.
Mephiles managed to roll his one eye back and look up. The tarp above had a gaping hole in it. He'd fallen right through and hadn't even noticed. Now the next time it snowed, it would fall right onto him… So much for being sheltered.
The sky was overcast now, shrouded in gray clouds without the sun in sight. It could snow or rain at any moment, and Mephiles simply didn't have the strength to move. He didn't have the strength to do anything. It'd all been used up.
The consequences of that stunt he'd pulled weighed heavily on him. He had pushed himself too far, and now every fiber of his being paid the price.
He'd never felt agony like this. At least when he would get injured in battle, he could clutch his wound and mend it. This time, there was nothing physical to grab. The pain was sprawling, in every inch of him from the inside out. Mephiles wanted to writhe but couldn't lift a finger. Even voicing his pain was hopeless; he let out a strained groan so quiet not even Iblis noticed.
At least Iblis wasn’t feeling the same.
Iblis snuck out from underneath Mephiles’ dripping arm and looked around for himself. Mephiles made a small sound, a wordless plea for him to come back. This time, he was heard. Iblis obeyed and slipped right back under Mephiles’ body.
It was cold.
So cold.
That was truly all Mephiles could think about. The frigid temperatures overwhelmed any other meek thought he might’ve had. Though the fear still lingered, of course. His ears automatically swiveled to the slightest of sounds. Footsteps passed by every so often, but no one saw them. The quivering hedgehog-shaped puddle of tar was hard to see behind the mounds of snow.
Iblis remained huddled underneath Mephiles’ body. Mephiles radiated no warmth at all, but it was still better than the crisp air biting his tiny form. At least his other half could provide shelter.
Iblis pushed himself against the chest of Mephiles, trying to warm him with his flames. He was saddened by the way his other half was trembling uncontrollably. After all that Mephiles had done for him, he could hardly return the gesture…
Mephiles could faintly feel Iblis warming up his chest. Good… at least if Iblis could do that, he wouldn’t be extinguished anytime soon. He’d withstand the harsh air.
Cold air…
Mephiles’ eye was heavy with exhaustion.
He didn’t want to be awake anymore. Everything ached and he was tired of feeling pain. The frost was already chewing away at his joints.
Slowly, his eyelid drooped. Iblis noticed him start to nod off and frantically darted in front of his face. He tried warming his muzzle, but he was too late.
Mephiles had passed out. His eye remained partially open, but it was distant and dull. Iblis had never seen Mephiles sleep before, so he assumed this was normal.
…He was just sleeping, right?
Yeah. Of course. Mephiles wouldn’t… leave him.
Iblis brushed against Mephiles’ face before slinking into the crook of his neck for shelter.
Mephiles remained as cold as ever.
