Hello again, everybody! Panther is finally back to bring you another small project for the Sonic fandom (don't worry, my other fandom; your time is coming soon).

Now, this story is something...dare I say, special to me. Why? Because it's the first story in which I have an OC. So I would really appreciate some feedback with him. With that said, I will not be taking any OC requests, so don't bother, please and thanks for understanding!

Also, it's the only story that I've done that's actually completed before I decided to upload it! That's right, there won't be any real delays within the story (thank goodness!). Expect updates every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.

This story is a short one (longer than Under One's Control, shorter than Revision - just to give you a heads up). This is also a sort-of AU IMO, since I'm kind of winging some things off of Shadow the Hedgehog (or at least from what I've seen and read from the game...never played it; you'll see as the story progresses...hopefully).

One last note; I won't be doing any AN's throughout this story except for the last chapter sign off or if I need to answer any important quesitons in regards to this fic. Please review and/or PM me if you're slightly confused with anything.

With all of that out of the way, please enjoy! :)

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SONIC THE HEDGEHOG IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM!
DISCLAIMER: I OWN MY OC! DO NOT STEAL!

"He's coming."

One small phrase was all Black Doom could mutter at the moment. Shadow had already made his way onto the Black Comet, and was heading straight for him.

He had nowhere to hide.

He already succeeded in harnessing all the Chaos Emeralds, had the comet land upon the city of Westopolis, and entrapped Sonic and his friends for an unbearable feast.

All but one…

Only a couple minutes stood between Black Doom and his meeting with the black hedgehog. Looking around at his current surroundings, he had to accept his fate, and take on the Ultimate Lifeform.

"Guess like I showed up late to the party, huh?"

Black Doom turned around, taken by surprise at the guest. Standing a few inches taller than Shadow, the creature – which appeared to be a small, anthropomorphic dragon – appeared orange, with thin, black markings spotted upon the top half of his body. His neck and tail supported small, jagged, white spikes. His short, white hair was all ruffled up, and his yellow sclera, black eyes shot daggers at the taller being.

"How did you get in here?"

"Eh, I have my ways," the guest responded, now playing with his ragged, white belt. Attached to the belt was the creature's sharp dagger, currently within its holder.

A few seconds passed before the dragon continued.

"Name's Gernot…and I heard that you have someone here that I want."

It took Black Doom a few seconds to register the spoken statement.

"Good luck. You aren't dealing with Shadow–"

"Who said that I wanted Shadow?"

Gernot's question raised some concerns for the speechless leader.

"If…if you don't want Shadow, then who do you want?"

Scuffling his bare feet on the surface, Gernot replied, "That's for me to know, and for you to ponder for all eternity…or what's left of it."

Before Black Doom could respond, the small, reptilian animal bolted towards the entrance of the arena. He would have succeeded to escape if not for the two Black Warriors that vanished right in front of him.

A sinister laugh left through the leader's mouth, as Gernot turned to face Black Doom.

"You think that was going to be an easy escape?"

Gernot was no longer confronted with the two previous enemies, as within a few seconds, he was surrounded by a few Black Oaks and a few Black Hawks.

"Troops, annihilate him!"

The members of the Black Arms slowly approach the intruder, eager to kill.

Gernot reacted fast, pulling out his sharp dagger and, jumping on the Black Warrior in front of him, stabbed the enemy in the chest. Unfortunately, that particular Warrior was carrying a club, and with a good swing, he was able to send Gernot flying halfway across the arena.

The dragon got up and brushed off the pain. Turning around to face Black Doom, the leader let out a small cackle.

"See what you get when you invade the Black Arms? You're nothing more than a pathetic puppet."

"Ooh, I'm shaking," Gernot said, sneering at the enemy. Before he could retaliate, he spotted blue energy waves coming at him from both sides. With quick reaction, he flipped backwards, narrowly escaping another blow.

"Give up," Black Doom said. "There's no way you'll be able to destroy my army."

Regaining his composure, Gernot held his dagger firmly, and jumped towards the nearest Black Hawk. Striking it with his trusty weapon, the enemy let out a cry, feeling weak by the first blow; with that, the dragon was able to position himself onto the hawk's back.

The hawk tried to get Gernot off, but a couple more stab wounds left the enemy weak. Grinning at his success, the dragon grabbed the Hawk's ears and, pushing downward, steered his way towards the Oaks and Warriors.

Using the spikes on his tail, Gernot slashed away at the enemies as best as he could before making his way towards the other Black Hawk. Deeming his current one useless, Gernot stabbed his dagger into the Hawk before jumping off and landing on the other one, striking it with his tail and weakening that one for his control.

Using the same tactic as before, Gernot circled around and was able to slash up the enemies again.

"Had enough of me yet?" The dragon asked Black Doom.

Silence was not the answer that he was looking for. Seeing his dagger lying on the floor – fallen out from the one dead Black Hawk – Gernot sneered as he used his tail to effectively kill off his current ride. Jumping off before it disintegrated, the dragon sprinted to his dagger, and picking it up off the floor, he ran back to the weakened Oaks and Warriors, who stood no chance. After a couple stabs, the enemies were destroyed.

Putting his dagger away and approaching Black Doom, the dragon couldn't help but to feel self-satisfied, taking out his enemies.

"Aww, did I upset the big, bad guy for beating up on his toys?"

"Silence!"

Black Doom's bellowing statement wasn't the only thing that was heard. Off ways away, within the black comet, a faint statement could be heard.

"Behold the Ultimate Power!"

Gernot looked up at Black Doom, still wearing his grin. "He's getting closer–"

"Then I think your time here is done."

"Suit yourself."

With that, Gernot summoned a warp point directly below himself.

"We'll see who comes out as the superior being," was the last statement that Black Doom made, as the dragon was warped out onto the streets of Westopolis directly under the Black Comet.

Without any hesitation, Gernot sprinted far away from the comet and hid into an alleyway.

"Foolish for not knowing what the Ultimate's strength lies; I'll give it some time before I unleash."

Looking down the alleyway, he spotted a random G.U.N. trooper, seemingly armed and ready for battle.

"Sir, we ask that you find shelter immediately!"

Giving his snare, Gernot dashed towards the trooper. Not wasting time, the trooper fired a warning shot at the dragon, hoping that it would slow down his progress.

It did no such thing.

Instead, the trooper found himself being tackled by the dragon, and being held by a dagger near his neck.

"Let's keep this between you and me."

That was the last statement that the trooper heard before Gernot took his dagger and pressed it closer to his skin. Closing his eyes, he waited for his inevitable death.

With his eyes rapidly opening, Shadow glanced around his surroundings. Still feeling his tight grip against the covers cocooning his body, he loosened up after realizing that everything was just an illusion. Keeping his calm demeanor, the black hedgehog rose out of bed and swiftly made his way out of his room, down the hall, and into the bathroom, in which he splashed cold water onto his face.

'A little bit more gruesome than all the other dreams that I had before…but why the same recurring event?'

"Another rough night for the ultimate bad boy, huh?"

Shadow was snapped out of his thoughts when he spotted Rogue near the bathroom door. Leaning against the frame, she gave a weary smirk.

The hedgehog let out a long sigh before speaking. "Frankly, it's starting to annoy me. It's the same setting, around the Black Comet one month ago. And it always ends the same, with the troop getting killed."

"So I guess you're use to the ending?"

Shadow gave the batgirl a stern look before shaking his head. "Every time, it's been getting worse…it's almost like I'm the one that's getting killed."

With another splash of water hitting his face, he rubbed his eyes before turning off the sink. Now, fully awake, he retreated to his room in silence, with Rogue following behind.

Sitting on his bed, he read the alarm clock that sat on a nearby nightstand.

"5:30; just my luck."

"Good thing it's Sunday; unlike some of us, you don't have to work."

Hearing Rogue's small complain left Shadow with a bit of relief. Ever since the incident with Black Doom a month back, the hedgehog was able to let go of his past and focus on more mundane tasks, such as work. With the batgirl's help, she was able to land Shadow a job at G.U.N., assisting the agents in whatever way he can…without actually assisting them.

"Hmph, one day off doesn't do me any good with the crap I deal with."

"Okay, so you aren't shooting criminals; at least you have a job that pays."

"I can't argue with you there."

Rogue gave a small peace to Shadow before leaving his bedroom, closing the door for him in thought that he would head back to sleep.

'Maybe a few more hours won't do me more harm…but still, why?'

Shadow decided to let that question linger for the time being. Seeing that he was fully alert, he allowed his mind to drift off for a long while before finally heading back to sleep.