Chapter One: Blood Stained Messages

Silence was widespread around the cell with the exception of each water drop that whimsically made its way to the darkness of the sink. A mirror placed above it, cracks forming from the bottom left corner of the glass though the sun still managed to shed some light upon it in a radiance of an aurora. Cryptic messages scarred the walls that caved the prisoner inside, messages of violence, criminal reputation and agony making anyone that entered this cell afraid of what might come.

An audible groan came from one part of the room as a mysterious person rose from the bed that placed in the farthest corner of the room, no light able to reveal their face. The prisoner walked over to the sink and turned the faucet on, the rushing tap water landing into his cupped hands. They allowed themselves to splash the liquid onto their face, drips dropping on the floor resembling tears. A yawn escaped their lips and the sound of footsteps echoed through their ears, a visitor it seemed.

Right on time as usual. Always punctual that guy is.

The prisoner sat down on their bed and looked down the hall to the person walking up. Swinging in the newcomer's hand was a kunai, the blade rotating along their index finger and from the man's facial expression, he didn't seem to notice that a weapon was in his hand. Finally, the paced steps came to a halt and the knocking against the bars that caged this character in started.

"I'm guessing you're awake now. If you're not, I'll come back in an hour." the kunai wielder stated.

"I'm awake already. My eyes apparently have an internal clock that tells me when you come and visit." the prisoner explained, a male voice answering back.

"Always so comedic," the visitor spoke with a mild chuckle. "Well, are you going to get up and walk with me or should I just leave you here? I could ask someone to bring you breakfast, they got oatmeal and bananas with a glass of milk today."

The character gulped and rose to their feet, the visitor opening the bars to reveal the first man.

"No thanks, the oatmeal stinks, the bananas are brown and the milk is usually expired." the prisoner said, sticking his tongue in disgust.

The prisoner was a golden dog with dirty blonde chest fur, his chest fur taking the shape of a heart. He had spiky medium blonde hair that peaked up, the hair being mostly covered due to the red and white Christmas hat he wore on the top of his head, the puffball on the top being a jet black color. He had a massive bang in his hair the shape of a boomerang. His eyes were a dark black, resembling a onyx mineral.

Around his neck was an orange bead necklace which has a green and orange jack-o'-lantern in the middle of it. He wore a sleeveless snow white hoodie which was partially open revealing his chest fur. On the back of the hoodie was an ebony cross with a skeleton chained to it, a rose between its teeth. His shorts were a light black and grey, a black bandana wrapped around his left knee. In his back pockets were two white, black and blue scarves that hang down. The final touch were a pair of white and black sneakers.

From his hoodie pocket, he withdrew a pair of jet black sunglasses that he quickly put on his face as the kunai wielder deposited the weapon back into his pocket.

"Prisoners always get the scraps so I expected you would say that Damien." the G.U.N agent said.

"Guess you're right on that one Tempus!" the dog agreed, his visitor cocking his right eye.

"I told you not to call me that. Just stick with Mario." the character declared.

Mario was a yellow hedgehog with dark blue eyes, his quills having black highlights in them. His quill style is similar to that of Shadow the Hedgehog's own and he had black stripes running along his arms and back. His muzzle was tan and on his right cheek, he had an X-shaped scar that was a deep red color. Running down his left arm were neon green tribal markings that reached all the way to the back of his hand.

As for attire, Mario had a pair of red and white bug eye shades on his head and a silver and white necklace with a wolf head in the middle. He wore a pair of simple black fingerless gloves which were equipped for strong grip. He also wore a pair of grey and black cargo shorts that held his signature dual Uzi Submachine guns and his many different kunai. Attached to his right ankle was one half of a pair of handcuffs and the final touch was a pair of white, red and green high-tops.

In his other hand was the mandatory G.U.N that he had to wear on duty however, seeing it off just said that he had a day off. Without much words, the duo began to walk through the corridors leading outside the facility.

"So how you feeling?" Mario asked.

"I'm mostly good, still trying to get back in shape after that brutal attack Darius laid out on me in that battle we had a year ago." Damien replied.

Flashback

The dog choked out, trying to free himself from the grasp, fidgeting his body and moving his arms and legs.

"It seems that we've hit the end of the road Damien, time to go night-night." the dog whispered.

"That's what you think!"

The melee fighter kicked his brother in the chest and moved away from him, checking to see if he access his powers now. His feet sparked with electricity as the friction beneath his feet felt non-existent and in his hands were dual Dark Repulsions. It was time to end, madly dashing towards his brother and leaping into the air with hand extended forward. His eyes widened at what would happen next. Darius changed back into Moonlight form in an instant and with precise slices, he eradicated Damien's offense like a paper shredder did to its mortal enemy.

"Game over." Darius whispered, suddenly right in front of his brother.

He stabbed his swords into the dog's stomach though Damien changed into Nightshade to give himself a chance. Two lights illuminated under the hero and he looked down to see that Darius was charging his signature technique. Without further ado, the Posinegi Burst erupted throughout the half demon's body and he fell to the floor, normal, bloody and limp. There was no one in the world that could have survived such a deadly attack as that.

End Flashback

"Ah yes, we barely were able to keep you alive after that attack. It was surprising how your organs managed to keep themselves in tact though."

Mario and Damien walked outside and looked at the other G.U.N agents that passed by the two. The goldenrod hound was more fond at looking at an ivory bat with interesting features. The amber hedgehog snapped his fingers in front of his friend's face to snap him back to reality.

"Seems you've taken a liking to Rouge and her assets." the emphasis placed upon the word assets.

"Hell yeah! Mind hooking me up?" the hero asked, his tongue sticking out like the dog he was.

"Nah, I rather watch you get shot down or smacked in the face for gazing at her breasts. Maybe she'll place a restraining order on you or sexual harassment charges. Keep you locked in here longer than you already are." the G.U.N agent said jokingly, earning a sarcastic chuckle from his friend.

Damien closed his eyes and remembered all the girls he met before and only stood out in his mind.

"What happened to Lia?" the dog asked.

Mario turned to the hero and thought about his question, shrugging his shoulders slowly.

"Honestly, I don't know. After Darius defeated you, I sent out my agents to find her and the raven. By the time they were able to track were they once were, the entire place was empty. It's safe to say that she's gone into hiding with the raven. After all, she's just as much of a criminal as you are." the soldier explained.

"Oh…"

Flashback

"So are you ready to team up and fight your brother?" the female said with determination, stretching her arms in preparation for the upcoming battle against Darius.

The hero looked at his comrade, looking back at all the obstacles they faced to get to this point ranging from Carnage's invasion of the Redclaw village to their encounter with Phoenix in the rainforest to their adventures within the city. They had stuck with one another so much but this was something Damien had to do alone. There were answers Damien had to learn from his brother and things he had to say to him as well.

"I'm ready to face Darius but I'm going to do this by myself. We have a score to finally settle. It's time for me to return the favor for all that happened in the last eight years of my life." the younger Angels sibling spoke.

Donatello nodded to his godson and they respectfully bowed down to one another as teacher and student. The raven took two steps back and smiled at his pupil. Lia walked over and playfully punched the hound's shoulder as they looked at each other, crimson hitting their faces. The dog walked over and embraced his dear friend for a brief moment, releasing her as amber met ebony.

"You better not lose to him or I'll kill you!" the jackal exclaimed, the male getting the message of confidence.

"Don't worry, I won't. I've trained too hard to lose at this point." the dog whispered before turning his back and dashing off towards his destiny.

Damien sighed as he slid down the pathway, a solemn expression on his face. As much as he would have loved Lia and Donatello to back him in this battle, it just didn't feel right for them to interfere.

End Flashback

Dashing down the walkway was a bulky crimson and ebony robot with jade LED sensors and the Greek symbol for Omega on its shoulders. Its grey claws were long and slender and the tips were extremely sharp. Its body was like a top shape and its legs were somewhat bulky as well. The robot stopped directly in front of the duo.

"Mario Toki, I've been trying to locate you for the last five minutes. The Commander has told me to deliver this message to you personally." the robot said, handing a white crisp envelope with the G.U.N insignia holding the parchment together.

"Thank you Omega, I can take it from here. Send my regards to the Commander."

Omega walked away after that, leaving the two to their business as Mario began to open the letter, his dark blue eyes skimming the page slowly and carefully. The agent made sure he got every word and shook his head. Damien looked at his friend's facial expression, it was one of confusion and disbelief.

"What did the letter say Mario buddy?" the dog asked.

"Well the Commander has taken a leave of absence for some reason but I'm not really worried about that. It's the second part of the letter. Tomorrow noon, you'll be executed at the hands of the guillotine. Apparently, due to certain circumstances, your sentence has been rushed faster than we thought." the hedgehog explained.

The golden hound raised his hands in the air, shaking his head in anger and sadness. No, he wouldn't let this happen like this. It seemed that Mario, his best friend that he knew for very long didn't even want to help defend his case.

"So you're going to let them execute me?"

Dark blue eyes met jet black ones, a worried expression versus a angered one.

"What can I do? I'm only an agent and I can't change the minds of the government. Your fate's been decided." the anti-hero spat.

He began to walk back towards the holding facility, motioning for Damien to follow him. The Angel growled and began shaping a sphere of dark energy within his right hand. The Dark Repulsion rippled around his fingers and in a mad dash, the dog extended his arm forward to hit the hedgehog. Suddenly, Mario's neon green tribal markings glowed and the time flow around the two stopped.

What the hell?

Time began to flow correctly once more and Damien's attack hit nothing however, a kunai was placed against his throat as the gleaming metal shined under the sun. He let his Dark Repulsion vanquish into nothing as the hedgehog kept the blade right where it was.

"If it was up to me, that sneak attack would have been your end and your throat would have been slit. But it's not my call." the hedgehog said, walking Damien back to his cell.

"Well it's not everyday where you know you have twenty four hours to live." the dog murmured.

The time manipulator threw the dog back into his cell but this time around, he placed a pair of special handcuffs that restricted his hands together in what looked like two steel oven mitts braced together. The half demon rushed over to the bars and smashed his handcuffs onto it, the weapon doing nothing to the bars.

"I thought we were friends! You said we'd stick by each other through thick and thin, no matter what happened. You've changed Mario and not for the better either. I mean, come on. You're seriously going to let these guys kill me off?" the dog roared.

"It's not my choice to say whether they kill you or not. Honestly, I would help you but that would be going against everything my father and I believed in. He taught me everything I know and we were great friends…but this time, I can't be there to save you." Mario replied.

"That's weak dude! You're Mario Toki, one of the best G.U.N agents here and you're my best friend. You don't believe that you have the power emotionally and mentally to do the right thing and save a person who was there for you in your time of need?"

"Well I'll ask you this and maybe you'll understand the position I'm in. Remember the night you turned into Nightshade in Central City and almost tore the whole place down? What if she was there? Would you have spared her life?"

Silence filled the room as the prisoner looked to the ground and the agent looked at the inmate.

"I knew you couldn't answer. I'm sorry but this is justice and even though I don't want you to die like this, it has to be done. Goodbye Damien, may we meet in an afterlife." With that, his friend walked away.

It was at that point where Damien truly knew that he was on his own.

To be continued…

A/N: Well the end of Chapter One and it really wasn't much. However it does set us up for the next chapter and wow it's going to be a good one. Execution time for Damien and his best friend isn't even willing to help him. What will happen next? Only I know! Ha-Ha!

Eclipsing Shade will help us bridge Shades of Night I and Shades of Night II together so I hope you enjoy this little side story. Anyway, review! Thanks! Bye.