A/N: This takes place shortly before Slayers Try. However, the brunt of the story will take place during the Try episodes. Expect spoilers and chaos insanity.
Originally, I considered putting in Metal Sonic instead of Shadow and Omega, but I changed my mind, since Shadow's Chaos powers could rival Lina Inverse's, and Omega... well... He's a walking weapon of mass destruction. Collateral damage is part of Omega's game, much like... the sorceress'. Besides, Rouge is a better motivator than finding worlds to place under control of the Eggman Empire.
Well, I hope you enjoy this... unholy insane plot twisting that I have created.
Yes, there will be various Lina/Gourry, Zelgadis/Amelia pairings and fluff, but don't expect any Shadow/Omega. I always saw the two as having a mutual respect, and best friends. I mean, Omega explicitly trusts Shadow, and I'm pretty sure the Ultimate life form has faith in the gun-toting machine. But, Shadow doesn't need any love. He's immortal. And Omega, as a machine, has little to no emotion. I might make Shadow/Rouge hints, but I don't think that Shadow has that kind of interest in the bat. That, and, well, I'm a Rouge/Knuckles kind of person. Watching those two is almost laughable.
Also, expect Shadow to make notes about how Lina and a certain... hedgehog have many similarities. I'll just say that it's rather interesting that Lisa Ortiz voiced both Lina Inverse and Amy Rose.
Lina laid on her knapsack, the red-eyed sorceress staring up at the starry sky. Lately, she had trouble sleeping, like something big was going to happen soon. Something that could endanger the world... again. Like always, it would fall on her shoulders to save it.
The sorceress sighed as she turned over. All she wanted to do was kill bandits, claim their treasure, and live wealthy. She never wanted to get involved with a blind priest, his copy, and monsters intent on destroying the world.
Not too far away, she heard a loud snore. That was Gourry, her dimwitted companion. He was still in his blue armor, the sword in his hands like a plush toy. Granted, his mind was as dull as mud, but he more than made up for it with his sword skills.
His sleeping form looked so peaceful, like he wasn't thinking of anything.
Then again, when does he?
Lina closed her eyes once again.
That was when the shockwave hit, followed by a bright flash of light.
Shadow stood, arms crossed, looking at a holographic map. The black hedgehog with red streaks silently traced the path bisecting the map with his red eyes.
Beside him, his partner, E-123 Omega displayed the map, the machine's chest cavity opened to show a small projector. The machine was huge, about seven feet high, with crimson paint over its sturdy metal frame. It clicked its claws in slight impatience, as the GUN coordinating officer explained the situation.
"We have detected a massive output of energy, Shadow, originating near here," the CO said, pointing to a small island with his metal rod. "We have already sent Agent Rouge. However, we have lost contact with her."
Shadow nodded, then replied, "I take it that you need me to search for her."
"That is correct, Agent Shadow. However, just in case there is involvement by Dr. Eggman, we are sending Omega with you, at his insistence." the CO answered.
"Affirmative," the machine spoke with a neutral voice.
"Be careful, Shadow. You, Rouge, and Omega are the best agents we have." The CO gave a salute, before leaving.
Omega powered off his projector, and closed his chest cavity once again. "Shadow, there is something bothering you."
The hedgehog shook his head. "There's something wrong with all this. Rouge is too smart to be captured. Even if she was, she would still have gotten some kind of message out..."
The machine shrugged as it wheeled around.
When the duo reached the last known contact point, they split up, Shadow looking up in the trees of the jungle, while Omega searched under boulders, burnt through foliage, and scanned the ground.
Despite all the greenery everywhere, neither found any trace of the missing agent.
The both of them met back up next to a mossy ruin. Shadow shook his head. "It doesn't make sense, it's almost like she simply vanished. Rouge typically leaves some kind of sign, like when she lost her glove that one time during our infiltration of the Neo Egg Carrier."
The machine nodded. Suddenly, he whirled around. "Spatial anomaly detected! Shadow, perhaps this rift might provide a lead on Rouge's whereabouts."
The hedgehog nodded, and followed Omega towards the rift.
Without warning, the portal, which was initially a tiny white crack, barely hovering in midair, erupted into a maelstrom of blue energy. Omega was pulled off of his feet, towards the hole.
"Omega!" Shadow shouted, and latched onto the machine, vainly trying to keep his companion anchored to the ground.
Instead, the both of them were sucked into the hole in a bright flash of blue light.
And, just as suddenly as they were sucked in, both agents were thrown violently onto the ground. Shadow let go of Omega, and looked around. It was night, with a full moon shining in the sky. The forest seemed undisturbed. No bright lights polluted the skies. And the stars... they were different.
"Omega, I don't think we're on Mobius anymore," the hedgehog stated, looking to his metal companion.
The machine used the thrusters in its back to properly situate itself. "Unable to detect any transmissions on a planetwide scale. World appears to be primitive and free of Eggman influence."
Shadow nodded, looking around again.
The hedgehog froze when he heard a voice.
"Keep it down, will ya? A sorceress needs her beauty sleep!"
The Ultimate life form sighed. "Looks like that crabby 'sorceress' is our only hope on finding out where we are.
The machine nodded. "Affirmative. Locking spare magazines in case of hostile intent."
With that, both hedgehog and robot approached the source of the voice.
Lina rolled over yet again. Whatever that explosion was, it could wait until morning.
She gritted her teeth as she heard a very loud, clunking noise, almost like a suit of armor walking towards her location.
"Gourry, you really need to do something about your snoring," she grumbled, as she opened her bloodshot eyes, only to see a strange, anthropomorphic hedgehog looking at her.
For several minutes, neither spoke. Finally, the sorceress growled, "What the Hell do you want, beastman?"
The hedgehog tilted his head, his scowl becoming deeper. "I apologize for waking you, but my companion and I are lost. Where exactly am I?"
Lina merely rolled over away from the hedgehog. "Ask me the same question in the morning."
The hedgehog's eyes twitched slightly. "I know it's late, but this is a matter of importance. I do not wish to become violent, but, if that's the only way, then so be it," he threatened.
Now, the sorceress jumped up, eyes burning. "Nobody makes a threat to Lina Inverse and gets away with it!" With that, she shouted, "Fireball!" and launched the sphere of flames towards the hedgehog.
In a split-second, the hedgehog vanished, reappearing at the top of a nearby tree. He looked down upon Lina, and replied, "Very well, then. You leave me no choice." He pulled back his hand. "Chaos Spear!" When the hedgehog threw his fist, an arc of yellow lightning followed, forming an arrow shape, headed straight towards the sorceress.
Lina barely avoided the attack, and was hit by the powerful shockwave produced by the spear's impact, leaving a good two-foot crater in the ground.
The sorceress grunted. "You're strong, but I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve," she chuckled, as she held her hands together. "Flare arrow!" she shouted, pulling her hands apart as a bow of energy formed in her hands. When she let go of the 'string', a flurry of small, yellow spheres of energy shot towards the hedgehog.
Then, that strange hedgehog vanished again, reappearing behind the sorceress. He smirked slightly. "You are truly strong, Lina Inverse. A worthy opponent for the Ultimate Life Form." Lina turned around. "Ultimate Life Form? Wha-"
Wham! The hedgehog swung around, kicking the sorceress full force in the gut, sending her flying into a nearby tree.
The hedgehog then walked up to the injured Lina. "I'll ask you one last time: Where am I?" he demanded, his voice calm, yet extremely cold.
The sorceress muttered something under her breath, as the Ultimate Life Form drew closer. "What did you say?" it asked, the calm still in its voice, almost like the eye of a hurricane.
"-Crimson beyond blood that flows, Buried in the stream of time is where your power grows."
Shadow snickered slightly. "Really, an old incantation? Is that the best you can pull."
The sorceress continued, "I pledge myself to conquer the foes who stand before the gift bestowed in my unworthy hand.
The hedgehog shuddered slightly. "This energy... is strong. Possibly as powerful as my Chaos Blast." If she fires that at point-blank range, she'll obliterate much of the area.
"Let the fools who oppose me be destroyed, by the power you and I possess."
The sorceress launched the red sphere that was building up between her hands. "Dragon Slave!"
At the same time, Shadow pulled out a green emerald. "Chaos Control!"
Lina didn't understand it. One moment, she was firing off a Dragon Slave, the next, she was miles away from it, watching the crimson explosion.
Surprisingly, Gourry slept through the whole thing.
She turned, seeing the hedgehog facing away from her.
"That was a foolish gamble, using such a powerful attack at close range." he commented, still not looking towards her.
Lina looked around, confused. This was a different part of the forest. "What happened?" she asked.
The hedgehog now turned towards her, his arms still crossed. "I used my powers of Chaos Control to stop time and pull you, your companion, and my associate out of that attack's blast radius.
Lina stroked her chin. "I see, so you can stop time?"
The hedgehog nodded. "Indeed. I am Shadow the Hedgehog, the world's one and only Ultimate Life form." He held out his hand in a gesture of goodwill. "I apologize for my attack earlier. However, as you will find out, I don't like deviating from my task."
As Lina took Shadow's outstretched hand, and shook it, replied, "Well, I'm pleased to meet you, Shadow the hedgehog. I'm Lina Inverse," she roughly kicked her snoring companion. "And this bag of flesh is my partner, Gourry Gabriev. He's an idiot, but the best swordsman in the world."
The ultimate life form nodded at the still snoring figure. "I have my own companion, as well." He snapped his fingers.
Out of the nearby bushes marched a massive, six foot tall walking mound of metal, with a roughly human build, possibly some type of golem, the sorceress concluded. Its hands were deadly-looking, while its eyes glowed a menacing red.
The machine droned on in a monotonous voice, "Greetings, Lina Inverse. I am E-123 Codenamed Omega." It then put out one of its claws in a sign of goodwill.
The redheaded sorceress nervously shook the hand. One false swipe, and those fingers could easily gut her. "I'm pleased to meet you, Omega."
"Likewise." the machine replied, before opening its chest to reveal a small hologram. "We are searching for missing GUN agent Rouge the Bat. Have you seen her?" The hologram changed into a picture of an anthropomorphic white bat, in skintight black wear, a heart-shaped breastplate, and white boots.
Lina cocked her head slightly. This... thing was just too weird. "Uh, no I haven't. But, someone might have seen her in Seyruun. We're headed that way right now, actually." She leaned back on a nearby rock. "I happen to know the royal family personally, so we should be able to help you find your missing agent or whatever." Lina stifled a small yawn. "But, I can't do anything when I'm tired, so good night, Shadow and Omega."
Shadow grunted in return and began to walk a few feet off, the robot following close behind.
After a few minutes of looking at the stars, Shadow said, "This Lina person seems oddly trusting. Either she's foolish, or her power is incredible." He indicated the gaping crater where her Dragon Slave cut through the forest. "More than likely the latter. That easily rivals my Chaos Blast." The ultimate life form shuddered, "What's worse is that she didn't even use a Chaos Emerald. There's something about her, Omega."
The machine nodded, "Understood, Shadow. I will maintain a close watch upon her and her companion. If they show any aggression towards you." Omega switched his left hand out for his machine gun, the weapon finishing his sentence.
Shadow let out a small laugh. "Easy, Omega. I can tell that she doesn't wish harm to us. Besides, she knows this place better than either of us, so we should play along with her, at least, until we find Rouge."
"Understood." Omega looked at the night sky.
The next morning, when Lina woke up, the sorceress found herself looking at Shadow's back yet again, while Omega was silently moving through the area, on a patrol of sorts. She was surprised that such a large, clunky mountain of metal could move so stealthily. As she stood up, Shadow spoke.
"Good morning. I trust you slept well?" he asked, not turning in her direction.
Lina stretched. "Alright I suppose. How about you?"
The hedgehog let out a slight chuckle. "I'm the ultimate life form. I don't require sleep, and neither does my associate. So, we kept watch during the night," he explained, now turning around. "If you're well rested, then please wake up your companion so we can get moving."
Lina yawned. "Alright already. We're only half of a day's walk away. Geeze, there's no rush."
In response, Shadow glared at the sorceress as she woke up Gourry.
When he finally awakened, all the sorceress said to him was "I'll explain on the road."
"So, let me see if I have this straight," the blonde swordsman said. "You're Shadow the hedgehog." He pointed to Omega. "He's your friend Omega." The swordsman scratched his head. "And you two are from another world?"
The hedgehog nodded. "Yes, and we're looking for our associate, Rouge the Bat, who went missing about a week ago."
Gourry thought for a moment, then asked. "Who's Rouge, again?"
Shadow sighed, then replied, "That doesn't matter. All you need to know is that Omega and I will be traveling with you and Lina, at least, until we reach this Seyruun." Besides, he didn't want to have to go through the whole explanation yet again.
Lina shrugged. "That's about as much as his jellyfish brain can hold, anyway.
"Perhaps you could have explained that earlier, Lina." Omega commented, looking at the sorceress.
The sorceress was about to reply, when a group of bandits emerged, surrounding the quartet.
"Give us all your valuables, and we'll let you go in one piece," the apparent head bandit demanded, an immense man covered in a bear's hide and a thick brown beard. In his hand, he held a wicked-looking sword.
He chuckled. "Don't even bother trying to fight, Lina Inverse. We have two wizards trained on you, ready to stop you in your tracks.
"Oi, boss, take a look at this strange beastman." another man, a redhead wearing a fox's pelt said. "He's funny looking. Maybe we can sell him to a zoo."
"Get a load of this walking armor." a black-haired man wearing a garb similar to a raven said. "The metal on this thing's body alone would be worth quite a bit of gold."
The leader smiled darkly. "Take everything of value from them. But leave Inverse unharmed. I wish to deal with her personally."
"If you please, sir," Shadow spoke. "Leave us alone, and go about your business. If you continue your assault," the hedgehog's eyes flashed in warning. "I cannot assure your survival."
Another small laugh. "You're a fine one to talk, beastman. You look pretty weak. Fox, kill him first."
As the redhead approached, the hedgehog made no motion, even as the one called Fox drew a dagger. "What? Not going to make any move to defend yourself? Are you trying the whole martyr approach, beastman?"
The hedgehog shook his head. "No need to fight back. I already have a strategy to wipe out everyone here, including those three 'wizards' hidden in the bushes."
Fox growled, then dove forward. "Die, beastman!"
BANG!
Fox flew several feet back, propelled by a small rocket. Everyone turned to the source, only to see Omega standing there, his right hand changed out to a wicked-looking barrel. "Nobody harms Shadow the hedgehog. I, E-123 shall make sure of that!" the machine stated.
The boss growled. "Men, Take down that... thing!" he shouted. "Wizards, freeze it!"
Shadow suddenly jumped into the air. "Omega, Battle plan 12, variant three!" The hedgehog then began to spin rapidly, shrouding himself in a yellow barrier.
Omega jumped up as well, propelled by his jets. His right hand, now back to normal, grabbed the hedgehog. The machine turned towards the group, hovering in midair, and launched the yellow spinning sphere at them, knocking them all down in one hit.
When Shadow landed, he crouched, to minimize impact damage. He looked around, as rustling was heard.
"Shadow, three organics are fleeing. Shall I pursue?" Omega queried.
The hedgehog shook his head. "No, they've seen enough. They won't be messing with us for quite some time." He turned towards Lina. "I take it you're fairly popular around here."
Gourry nodded. "She's Lina Inverse, the Bandit Killer."
"Yeah, yeah," the sorceress said, brushing everything off. "But now, you're going to be hogging my spotlight as Shadow the beastman, Bandit destroyer, or some other clever title."
Shadow growled. "Why is everyone calling me a beastman? I'm not a monster, nor am I a true beast. I'm merely a hedgehog."
Lina shrugged, "I'm sorry, Shadow, but a beastman is a humanlike animal, which is what you appear to be."
The hedgehog sighed. "Alright then, human." he replied. "Don't call me a beastman again. Its derogatory, like calling you a meatbag."
Lina nodded. "Point taken." She looked at the unconscious Fox. "So, what exactly was that? It's not like any magic I've ever seen."
Shadow smiled. "That wasn't any magic. It was one of Omega's rockets, a powerful explosive propelled by a small burst of energy."
"Shadow." Omega interrupted. "Strong energy reading detected on the bearded one. Analysis indicates a Chaos-grade energy signature."
The hedgehog turned, his eyes widening. "You don't mean..." he began as he pulled out his green emerald.
Lina's eyes shone slightly at the jewel. "Say, Shadow, where did you get that..."
The gem began to pulsate slightly, emitting a green light. Shadow walked closer to the head bandit, the pulsating starting to increase.
The hedgehog turned over the man, and opened the brown satchel on his chest.
"It can't be possible..." he muttered, as he pulled out a gem exactly like the one he had, except it was red instead of green.
"A Chaos emerald, here."