~Chapter 4: Growing Power~

Floating in the emptiness of space. That's where Mephiles found himself. He stared downwards at the endless drop beneath him before looking behind and around himself silently.

"Greetings, Mephiles," came a familiar voice. Mephiles looked ahead of himself, seeing an intimidating alien-like creature staring down at him. The hedgehog was tempted to ask this being who he was, but instead he decided to keep silent.

"I will not be surprised if you do not know who I am or who you are," the alien spoke. Mephiles narrowed his eyes as best as he could.

"I'm no fool," he hissed. "I know exactly who I am. As for you, I don't think you're important."

The alien creature seemed to chuckle lowly. "You really do not know anything, do you?" he asked the dark hedgehog. "If you knew yourself you would be bowing your head in a humble manner right now."

"I bow to nobody," Mephiles growled.

"That will soon change," the alien assured. "I am the leader of the Black Arms: Black Doom."

"And what does that mean to me?" Mephiles questioned cautiously.

"You are part of my army," the alien, Black Doom, revealed. Mephiles was silent for a moment, staring darkly at him.

"...You're incorrect," he replied after his pause. "I was artificially created by the humans."

"Do you know what they used?" Black Doom asked him. Again, Mephiles paused. He had no idea what he was made from, leading Black Doom to explain for him.

"A black substance was discovered by the humans twenty years ago when the Black Comet passed by the planet Earth," he began. "The substance had come from the Black Comet and was known as "Mephiles", a thick black liquid which we use to forge our weapons with. However, the properties of the substance seemed to have proven good enough to provide you with life. They code-named you after the substance's name. Little did they know how much power you now possess with the combination of the Mephiles liquid and the abilities of your predecessor."

"I've heard you mention this predecessor before," Mephiles stated. "Do explain."

Black Doom would have smirked. "You'll find out about him in your own time," he confirmed. "But what you must know is this: Your power will grow and you will notice your connection with the Black Arms. But when you do... The humans will destroy you!"

...

Mephiles tore off his eye-mask as he awakened, sitting up quickly. He panted from the stress before calming himself down and looking around. It was still dark and everyone was still asleep. The dark hedgehog shook his head and stood up, walking out of the ward.

Agent Tower had pretended to be asleep when Mephiles awakened, sitting up as soon as the hedgehog left the room. He stared at the exit which the hedgehog had left through, a suspicious look on his face.

...

Morning was quick to arrive the next day. Cynthia awakened slowly, stirring and rubbing her eyes as she scrunched up her face. She was feeling a little better due to having a good rest. The young girl sat up and opened her eyes, stretching. She scanned the room with her eyes, noticing that everyone else was awake. However, she caught no sight of Mephiles. Cynthia did not feel too concerned, assuming that Mephiles had probably gone off to train or talk to her father.

After a few minutes of letting her body wake up, Cynthia hopped out of bed. She was still injured from her recent incident, though this did not stop her from hobbling out of the ward. The red-headed girl would sometimes support herself against the wall or any other object which she came across in order to balance herself.

Cynthia managed to drag herself to her father's office, seeing him look over at her with a surprised expression.

"Cynthia, I didn't expect you to be up and walking so soon," he said to her. His daughter smiled.

"I'm feeling much better!" she replied happily. Commander West smiled.

"That's good to hear," he responded with relief. "But you should still rest."

"But father, I'm up now!" Cynthia whined. Her father sighed.

"Alright, but take it easy, okay?" he negotiated. "You don't need to add anymore injuries to yourself."

"Don't worry, father, I'll be careful!" Cynthia assured with a bright smile on her face. She then made her leave by staggering out of the office, heading to her own bedroom.

...

Mephiles was sat outside on a rock by himself. This GUN base was located within a snowy mountain range, isolated from civilization. The dark hedgehog did not mind the cold weather at all despite not wearing any form of clothing besides his shoes. In fact, the area outside the base was his favourite place to be. The howling wind was all that could be heard as it rustled the distant spruce trees. If he could Mephiles would have close his eyes and absorbed the soothing sounds as he thought, not wanting to be disturbed. Unfortunately, Mephiles' peace was indeed disturbed.

"Mephiles," came the voice of a soldier. "What are you doing out here? Agent Tower said he saw you leave the ward hours ago and nobody saw you since then. You raised much concern."

"My apologies," Mephiles apologized, standing up. "I will return inside to assure everyone that there is nothing to worry about." The hedgehog walked back through the doors which led into the base. The soldier entered seconds after Mephiles did, walking off in a different direction and leaving the hedgehog to it.

As Mephiles strolled through the base, he found himself in deep thought. He wasn't focusing on the nightmare he had, he was mainly thinking about his power. He could feel the power in his blood as it flowed around his body, waiting to be unleashed. The dark hedgehog held up his hands and stared at them as he walked, clenching them into tight fists. He could sense that the power within him was just going to grow stronger and stronger, and if he bottled it up for too long then it would all come out at once with a deadly and destructive result.

Mephiles shook his head and dropped his arms back to their sides. He didn't need to focus on the future right now; perhaps there was a way for him to prevent such a dark fate. If there was a possibility then he had to find it as soon as he could before it was too late, otherwise he would be seen as the enemy.

A short while passed as Mephiles dragged himself through the base with his head hung before he caught sight of Agent Tower. The young agent was staring at him while standing in one of base's passageways. As soon as Mephiles turned to face him Tower just walked off down the passageway, pretending that he wasn't staring at the hedgehog at all. Mephiles had a slight scowl, knowing that something was wrong with the agent. He wondered if the agent knew about his growing power or knew something about him that the other agents didn't.

What if Tower knew about the 'original' which Black Doom was talking about?

The possibilities seemed slim, so Mephiles discarded the thought and continued to walk. Once more he was disturbed when he heard yet another voice, this one being more familiar to him.

"Mephiles!" chirped the young voice which belonged to Cynthia. Mephiles stopped walking and grunted quietly yet lowly, his ears drooping in frustration as the girl limped over to him from behind. The dark hedgehog turned around to face her.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" he questioned.

"I'm feeling a lot better now," Cynthia told him. "But father says I need to be careful in case I hurt myself even more."

"Go to bed," Mephiles instructed instantly. "I'm not babysitting you again."

Cynthia pouted. "But Mephiles, I'm getting bored by myself," she explained. "Father is busy working and I can't have the fun I usually have while I'm hurt."

Mephiles sighed, sounding incredibly irritated. "Very well. I will keep you company," he agreed apprehensively.

"Yay!" Cynthia cheered. Mephiles looked really unhappy as he proceeded with his slow walk, Cynthia now waddling by his side. He wasn't certain where exactly he was going, deciding to stop by the cafeteria. The hedgehog took a seat at the furthest empty table, Cynthia sitting on the seat opposite him.

"...Do you need some nutrients?" Mephiles asked her. "The other humans seem to be... eating."

Cynthia giggled. "You're funny," she pointed out before standing up slowly. "I'm gonna get myself some buttered toast and some milk. You wait right there!" The girl then walked off, careful not to bump into anyone or any of the tables and benches. Mephiles watched her leave, seeing this moment as an oppurtunity to think deeply to himself. He tapped the table with his four fingers as he thought, resting his head in his other hand as it was propped up on his elbow. The artificial hedgehog then looked around discreetly, observing the other soldiers who were sat eating their food. Some were actually staring at him and giving him odd looks while others seemed to be glancing over at him and talking about him. Mephiles frowned as much as he could before looking away, continuing to lose himself in his thoughts.

Minutes later Cynthia returned to the table and sat down with her tray. She instantly began to savagely tear into her toast and drink from her milk carton. Mephiles just watched as she did this, secretly jealous since he could not eat at all due to his lack of a mouth. Cynthia picked up on his jealousy upon seeing his expression and could only chuckle.

"I'm sorry," she apologized to him. "I guess you must get really hungry since you have no mouth."

"I do not feel hunger," Mephiles corrected. "Though I wish I did. Humans all seem to enjoy eating."

"That's true," Cynthia smiled as she took another bite out of her toast. "We do love to eat!"

Mephiles fell silent, no longer wanting to discuss the topic of food. it almost managed to make him hungry as he thought about it more and more.

After eating her toast and finishing off her milk, Cynthia went to dump all of her waste into the bin and return her tray before walking back over to Mephiles carefully.

"Where do you wanna go now?" she asked him.

Before Mephiles could answer, the intercom kicked in. Through the speaks came the voice of Commander West.

"Mephiles, come to my office ASAP," he instructed. "I wish to speak with you privately."

The dark hedgehog grunted and stood up, facing Cynthia. "You may go where you wish," he told her. "I need to speak with your father." And with that, the hedgehog ambled out of the cafeteria. Cynthia watched him leave, curious as to what her father could possibly be discussing with him.

...

Mephiles entered the office quietly once he had reached it. "You asked for me?" he said upon entering.

The Commander turned around. "Mephiles! There you are," he responded. "Come in and close the door; I need to speak to you about some tests."

"Tests?" Mephiles queried, his head tilting slightly.

"Yes," the Commander confirmed. "I discussed the tests with the researchers earlier. You see, none of us are able to clarify just how much power you have. By conducting a few tests involving your participation we may be able to learn more about your capabilities."

Mephiles was silent for a moment as he processed what the Commander said. "...What kind of tests are you speaking of?" he asked.

"Scans, blood tests, DNA analysis and demonstrations," the Commander specified.

The hedgehog had to think for a moment before nodding to him. "Very well. I will agree to take part in these tests," he announced.

The Commander smiled. "Good to hear," he responded. "Come to the research lab at eight A.M. tomorrow."

"I will do," Mephiles agreed before leaving the room.

~End of Chapter~