The Final Race
Written by WayneSteed
The dark void of space seemed to heighten the feeling of dread and death emnating from the almost lifeless space station. Dark whispers of pain seemed to echo and spread through the sterile, dank halls, though their speakers had perished long ago. All who were aboard the abandoned Space Colony ARK felt a little ill at ease, and with good reason; they had no idea what sorts of untouched wonders and horrors lay inside it. They knew, though, that death had taken place here.
"It sure is spooky around here," Sonic the Hedgehog observed, for the benefit of anyone who would listen, such as himself. After all, there was no one else around. He had just run to the long hallway leading out to a catwalk, which led, in turn, to the control room of the Eclipse Cannon. It had been a tiring mission, especially with all of the ARK's defenses, not to mention the thoughts of his friends trapped aboard this dark station, thinking him dead. But he was mere minutes away from the Eclipse Cannon, which he had to prevent from firing. It would be a simple, easy job.
Or so he thought.
"Yes," a familiar voice sounded behind him. "It almost feels like the dead are still present here, doesn't it?"
Sonic whirled around to face the hedgehog he knew would be there; Shadow was coolly leaning back against the wall. His raven-black body offset the blood-red stripes on his quills and in his eyes. His mouth was set back in an all-too-cool grimace, as though sickened at the sight of his fellow adversary.
"I used to live here, blue hedgehog," Shadow continued, his malevolent eyes turning almost misty. Almost. "I lived with and loved all the people aboard this station. I saw them slaughtered before my eyes by the human military who confused me for you."
Shadow directed his eyes, originally focused on his memories, onto Sonic. "This is why the cannon must fire, and the human race must pay."
"Sorry, but there are innocent people I've gotta save from your vengeance and all that," Sonic said, with a sarcastic air of apology. Shadow's deep red eyes turned even more fiery than before.
"You seem awfully cocky for someone who was about to die mere minutes ago," he intoned fiercely. "I have to say, blue hedgehog, you never cease to surprise me. I thought that the capsule the doctor trapped you in exploded in space." He began to walk forward, towards the end of the tunnel and the beginning of the catwalk.
Sonic started to move, meeting Shadow's eyes. "You know, what can I say? I die hard!" He revealed the fake Chaos Emerald that he had used to narrowly avert a nasty fate aboard the capsule bound for destruction. Shadow's eyebrows raised as he took the sight in; Sonic grinned at his surprised expression.
"You actually saved me, you know," Sonic explained curtly.
"It was a Chaos Emerald, wasn't it?" Shadow inquired. He began to walk a little faster. "But there's no way you could've activated the Chaos Control using an Emerald that's fake!"
Sonic picked up the pace a little, starting into a jog. "Well, I did. What are you gonna do about it?"
Shadow began to jog as well. "So, there's more to you than just looking like me. What are you, anyway?"
"What you see is what you get! Just a guy who loves adventure. I'm Sonic the Hedgehog!" He punctuated his statement by starting into his usual sprint.
"I see. But, you know--" Here, Shadow's sneakers, enabling him to hover above the ground as though he was skating, kicked in. He was up to speed. "--I can't let you live. Your adventuring days are coming to an end!"
Almost simultaneously, they blasted out of the mouth of the tunnel, each willing themselves to outrun the other. It was an all-out race for the fate of the planet, and both knew that one would have to fall for the other to triumph.
"Before this is over," Shadow warned Sonic, "I'll show you the true power of Chaos Control!"
"Well, alright, then, Shadow. Sorry, but it's time for me to finish this!"
"I doubt you'll get so far as to do that, Sonic the Hedgehog."
Faster than the blink of a human eye, Shadow attacked. Sonic had to do a somewhat awkward somersault to avoid being hit by the fist that hurtled at him with the force of a bullet. His bank-roll crashed into Shadow, who crashed to the ground with a thump. Sonic, already down, stayed where he was.
They leapt up. With an exchange of glances and nods, they were off again. For a little, the two were equal in speed. Then, Sonic pulled ahead and launched into a major boost of speed. Shadow responded by taking out his Chaos Emerald and roaring "CHAOS... CONTROL!!"
A green flash appeared ahead of Sonic, who nearly tripped with surprise. He halted as Shadow materialized in front of him. Shadow screamed "CHAOS SPEAR!" as several energy bolts struck the spot where the blue hedgehog had been standing. Shadow looked around frantically for his rival.
Suddenly, he tripped and fell with very little grace as Sonic's kick to the backs of his legs took effect. As he hopped upward, Sonic warped in front of him again. "That warping trick's gettin' a little old," the Blue Blur taunted. "Maybe you should use something else, yeah?"
"Happy to oblige," the Black Blur responded, with a fierce grab and toss that forced Sonic out of his way. Shadow dashed by, but with a yell of "SONIC WIND!" from behind him, he was swept off his feet by a sudden gust of air, forming a blue tornado. Sonic charged him and beat him down with a somewhat rough punch.
Still in midair, Sonic dived at Shadow, the former's feet poised to strike the spot where the latter had landed-- but his stamp struck empty ground. Sonic turned around, expecting to see the black hedgehog behind him.
Suddenly, he gave a yell as an arm grabbed him from behind-- by his leg-- and swung him through the air. Shadow held fast as he whirled Sonic around, launching him off the catwalk with incredible speed. The blue hedgehog, regaining his sense, realized that he was going to fall into Earth's atmosphere and burn up in orbit if he didn't act fast.
"Oh, shoot-- CHAOS CONTROL!"
He appeared beside Shadow, and the two broke into a run.
"Sonic Wind, eh? That's a trick I haven't seen," Shadow said. "For a fake, you can pull off moves well."
"Likewise," Sonic replied cockily. "That Chaos Spear of yours would've hurt... if it'd touched me!"
Their punches came at the exact same time, their respective impacts sending their respective targets reeling. The two hedgehogs leapt up and began to grapple, each willing themselves to shove the other off the long walkway.
Oh, man, Sonic panicked. Can't... hold him... much... longer...
Shadow was also shocked. He's... too... strong! Must... resist...
Suddenly, a computerized voice cut through the silence of the eerie space. "Eclipse Cannon locked in firing position. Time of firing: one minute."
The two hedgehogs let go of each other and ran for it. As they dashed toward the now-looming control room of the cannon, their grips tightened on their Chaos Emeralds, both fake and real.
"CHAOS CONTROL!!" Sonic and Shadow screamed simultaneously.
They rocketed forward, like two corks popped out of wine bottles. The two hedgehogs were flying forward, faster than they could ever run.
Still, as Shadow pulled ahead, he realized, with a jolt, that the door to the control room was closing, and fast. He zoomed forward with a laugh, knowing that it was he who would be victorious in this war of attrition.
Suddenly, he felt something grab his leg. With utter rage, he knew all too well who had done so.
"We all go home... or NO ONE GOES HOME!!" Sonic roared, in a manner quite unlike himself. He swung Shadow behind him, and rocketed ahead. He was about to slip through the crack of the closing door, but thought better of it. He rocketed to the side, heading to the underside of the ARK, where the Eclipse Cannon was.
Shadow wasn't so lucky; he crashed headlong into the steel door, which had closed completely. He made a good dent in it, but not even the true power of Chaos Control could penetrate it. Sonic, barely registering the scream of Shadow's incredible pain, pressed forward, towards the Eclipse Cannon, which was charging rapidly.
He grabbed onto a long pole hanging from the ARK's underside, suddenly feeling sad. The Eclipse Cannon was going to destroy the planet he loved, and there was nothing he could do except watch it happen before his eyes.
Suddenly, he remembered his fake Chaos Emerald, and when Tails had explained how it worked...
"It has the same wavelength and properties, but is less powerful than the real one."
And then, the plan was clear as day. He wound up and, with all his might, threw the fake Chaos Emerald towards the Eclipse Cannon. The fake jewel embedded itself into the base of the cannon with a CRUNCH, sending fragments of it floating into space. Flashing red lights began to appear as blaring alarms went off. Sonic breathed a sigh of relief. He had done it.
The fake Emerald's power was less than the real one's, but it was still enough. The energy successfully negated the blast, which reversed direction and destroyed the cannon. None of it went towards Earth, although a large piece of debris very nearly struck Sonic upside the head.
Sonic looked down at his beloved Earth, with immense relief that it would still be around. He had defeated his enemies, and the planet was saved. For once, all seemed right with the world. There was only one problem remaining.
How the heck am I supposed to get down from here?