CHAPTER FOUR– TRADEGY STRIKES

Meanwhile, Jill was engrossed in another dream of hers, and she clutched the covers nervously.

I wasn't sure where I was. I knew I was in the sky, and the clouds were really dark above me. Something ominous was about, but what it was I didn't know. I gripped my bow tightly, looking around.

I didn't expect to turn and see someone behind me. A golden being emitting a great power around himself, and he looked at me with sharp red eyes. The more I looked at him, the more I recognized his face. It was Sonic; Super Sonic to be exact.

"You're not too bad," he said with a grin.

"Really?" I asked back.

"Yeah, you'll be prepared for what's coming." Then he pointed out behind me.

I turned, and saw something very disturbing. It was too dark to tell what it was, but all the clouds seemed to gather around this dark figure. There was some thunder too, but it was very subtle. "Don't be discouraged," Sonic said. "You've got what it takes, no matter what everyone else says. You just got to do that old-fashioned thing called 'believing in yourself.'"

"But…what if I don't know what to do?" I asked.

"You'll be okay, don't worry," Sonic assured. "If you come to making a choice and you think it's the right choice, go with it."

"Trust my instincts huh?" I murmured, looking back at that bad omen that was in the distance.

Her eyes opened that instant, feeling wide awake. She sat up in her bed, thinking curiously about that dream, but her thoughts were interrupted by something she heard. Sneaking off to the door, she caught Grandma Cream leaving down the stairs and after checking to make sure she didn't wake anyone else up; Jill left the room and followed Cream down the stairs.

"What's that noise outside?" Jill asked, which startled Cream.

"My goodness," Cream breathed. "Don't jump me like that…I'm old."

"Sorry," Jill said.

"As for the noise, I'm not sure," she replied, as she and Jill headed for the door. "It doesn't sound very comforting…"

There was an eerie silence in the air, as Metal and Shadow stood perfectly still, the rain being the only thing around them causing noise. A sudden bolt of lightning cast a gleam from the blades Metal had replaced his hands with, and the Chaos Energy stored within Shadow's arms was literally making the hedgehog's arms pulsate.

Then, two metallic objects suddenly fell to the ground, making a heavy noise when they hit the concrete. At that moment, an aura of Chaos Energy burst forth from Shadow's body, his wrist rings gone. Metal, observing this, scoffed. "...all or nothing, huh?" the machine mused, as Chaos Energy amassed around his blades.

"Indeed." Shadow replied, just as the two rushed at each other, both of them ready to slash their arms at their opposers. Then, in an instant, both of them slashed at each other, grinding to a stop some feet away from each other. Metal's arms were uncrossed, and Shadow had slashed his arms downward. However, from the looks of it, the clash didn't seem to have any effect on any of them... for the moment.

That's when the door of the Chao Care opened, and the minute the two of them saw Shadow and Metal outside, they shared a gasp.

"Shadow?!" Jill blurted in surprise, and then she realized that wasn't a good idea as she clamped her hands over her mouth; despite it was already too late.

Thankfully, Metal didn't seem to notice the call, and neither did Shadow, for that matter, as the two stood silently and perfectly in place. Eventually, however, Metal sank to his knees, looking down at the concrete, as one could see a large wound over his body. "...lucky shot..." he muttered, as the Chaos Energy around his blades began fading. "...but not lucky enough."

At that moment, Shadow collapsed, his aura fading, as he held his chest in pain; a large, gaping wound now ran across it, and as Jill and Cream would see, Metal's blades were soaked in blood; the Chaos Energy had hidden it from view at first. "Kkh... how did you..." Shadow uttered, just as he coughed blood up; the attack had gone deeper than he had imagined.

"Tsch... Shadow, Shadow, Shadow..." Metal sighed, as he got back on his feet, the wound slowly repairing. "...just because you fight at your full potential, and just because you're almost fully powered by Chaos Energy..." he said, before he began walking towards Shadow. "...doesn't mean that you would win. Your age is likely a contributing factor to your loss."

Jill was horrified. "Shadow!!! NO!"

And to her surprise, a crowd of figures suddenly shot out from behind her. It took a minute to realize that it was a crowd of Chao, all of them charging after Metal Sonic. Even if they weren't experienced at all in fighting, the numbers would probably be a bit overwhelming for the Metallix; all of them angrily trying to fight Metal.

Surprisingly, however, Metal didn't seem to mind the Chao attacking him, as he kept advancing towards Shadow. "...pests... begone." he said coldly, as while he walked, tendrils shot out from his body, whipping away the Chao. "Now, Shadow... let me relieve you of your emeralds." he said, before he began searching the hedgehog's body.

Shadow gritted his teeth, as he was unable to stop Metal from picking the Chaos Emeralds from his body; as much as he wanted to, the pain from the attack was overwhelming him. "Gnh..."

Once Metal stepped away from Shadow with the emeralds, Jill ran over and knelt by Shadow. He was gravely hurt...

"Kkh..." Weakly, Shadow looked up at Jill. "...what are you doing? I can take care of myself..." he spat, as he attempted to get up on his feet, but to no avail; the stress of releasing so much Chaos Energy, along with the injury, prevented him from getting up further than to his knees.

"A fine show, Shadow." Metal mused with a chuckle, as he was busy observing the Chaos Emeralds, just as the gray one emerged from his chest. "Now... as a reward for letting me have these, I'll show you all one last glimpse of my power... and then, you will never have to worry about the fate of the world, ever again."

Jill looked at Metal without a hint of intimidation, and then she shook her head. "Yeah, you did a good job taking care of yourself, Shadow," she said to the black hedgehog on the ground. "Don't move…" Shadow wouldn't expect this, but Jill set her hands right on his wound. Can I be able to do this? She wondered, as she tried to concentrate hard. Soon enough, a faint glow came from her hands, and to this, she smiled.

Shadow blinked, as he looked down at the glowing hand. "What... what are you-"

"Now, let us begin." Metal said, as he didn't even seem to notice Jill. Then, the seven Chaos Emeralds began rotating around his body, and as they did, he began chuckling, before breaking out into a full-blown laughter. "Yes! The new rule of Metal Sonic officially begins... today!!!" Then, as he laughed, the glow from the emeralds intensified, and before long, beams of energy shot right out from them, up into the sky, before they suddenly descended, combining into one massive beam, which collided head-on with Metal, causing a massive explosion where he stood, engulfing him entirely in smoke.

The door of the Chao Care burst open, with Brick, Jack, Ani, Milo, Striker, Buddy, and Tails barging out. "What's going on?!" screamed Ani.

Jill didn't respond to them, or Metal. She had to use all of her concentration on Shadow's wound, which was slowly beginning to diminish away thanks to her powers. Finally, Shadow's cut was completely gone, as well as some of his weariness which he could feel, and in exchange, Jill felt a bit exhausted as she took her hands back; covered in some of Shadow's blood.

"...hn?" Shadow uttered, as he looked down at his chest, before looking at Jill. "...just how did you..." he began, when he noticed the smoke, and came to realize that Metal was within the smokescreen. "Damn... don't tell me that..." he muttered, but as the smoke cleared away, he got a surprised look on his face. "...huh?"

As it turned out, when the smoke cleared away, Metal looked completely different; his quills now resembled Shadow's, instead of Sonic's, his hands and feet had a bulkier design to them, rather than the rounded variety his Neo form had shown, and all in all, he seemed more menacing than ever before. Also, the Chaos Emeralds were nowhere in sight.

Seeing this, Tails had a surprised and terrified look on his face. "...what in the... when did he obtain that form?" he uttered.

"Uh-uh-uh-oh!" Milo stuttered, hiding behind Striker. "That d-doesn't look good."

Seeing Metal's new form, Jill stood up. Miraculously enough, she smiled. "You clean up pretty good Metal," she said.

"Brownie?!" Brick said in utter disbelief.

Metal, however, didn't reply, as he instead looked calmly towards Jill and Shadow, glaring at them with a cold gaze. "..."

"Tsch..." Shadow spat, just as he got on his feet, glaring right back at Metal. "It doesn't matter what form you've taken; I'm going to destroy you!"

Then, Metal suddenly scoffed. "Hmph... come and try."

"Alright," Jill said.

"Count us in too!" exclaimed Ani, as she jumped right in beside Jill. Already, telekinetic energy was oozing from her body.

"You sure?" Jill asked, turning to her. "Might be dangerous."

"We don't leave anyone behind," Brick said, as he stepped up too.

"Yeah, we're gonna show him!" Jack shot in, as he took out his harmonica, glaring at Metal. "He's gonna pay for being so mean!"

"...very well."
Metal scoffed, and in an instant, he vanished, without a single trace.

Upon seeing this, Shadow's eyes widened in surprise. "Wha-" he began, when all of a sudden, he felt someone grab the back of his head. Then, he was suddenly slammed face-first into the concrete, and for a brief moment, everyone could see that Metal had slammed Shadow into the ground like that.

Then, before anyone could even react, Metal vanished, and reappeared almost instantly in the same spot he had previously stood on. "Go on; hit me." he said coldly.

"Ungh..." Shadow groaned, as he quickly got back on his feet, looking at Metal. "How did he move like that? He didn't use Chaos Control, and yet..."

"Now that's just being a bully," Jill said, folding her arms.

"My turn!!!" Ani shouted, as she raised her arms. Many different objects rose up from the road around them, such as a mail box and a car, glowing with her energy. Then, she threw them upon Metal.

"Geez Ani," Striker said. "You think that's enough?!"

"Intriguing ability..." Metal mused, as he calmly glanced at Ani, before he suddenly vanished once again, leaving the objects Ani hurled towards him to crash into the ground, without striking home.

"He's fast..." Tails uttered, just as Metal returned to the same spot once again. "...I haven't seen speed like that since-"

"My turn!!!" Jack suddenly called, just as he began playing his harmonica, and with the microphone turned on, he created a powerful sonic boom that shot straight at the robotic hedgehog.

However, just as it seemed that it would collide with him, a black barrier suddenly popped up around Metal, blocking the sound waves from reaching him. "...fascinating."

"Let me give it a shot," said Brick. His nose ring began to glow, and a red mass of energy started to come off of him. Then he ran his foot into the ground, and started to charge for Metal, horn-first. All the energy around him transformed him into a gigantic red bull of energy, heading for the robot.

With a scoff, Metal simply raised his hand as the red bull rushed towards him. "...futile." he said, and just as it seemed like the bull would collide with him, it would instead collide with a barrier erupting from Metal's hand, making it seem like he was literally keeping the bull from reaching him with just one hand. "Hmph!" Then, with a mighty push, the two would be separated, though Metal still stood just where he had stayed for the majority of this battle.

And that was enough to send Brick hurling back, turning back into his normal self and landing on his back, hard. "God almighty!" he roared, rubbing his back to ease the pain.

Striker spit into his hands. "I'm up to bat!" he said, and from out of nowhere, he pulled out an aluminum bat that he twirled around in his hands, before he gripped the handle firmly. "Ani!"

"Right!" the husky used her telekinesis, picking up smaller blunt objects that were fist sized, and held it at Striker's convenience. Then, Striker began to bat with extreme force and speed, sending those objects at Metal.

However, as the objects flew towards him, they suddenly stopped when they got close enough to him. "Truly an intriguing ability..." Metal mused, and as they would notice, his eyes were glowing the same color as the telekinetic energy. Then, all of the objects suddenly dropped straight into the ground, being forced to burrow themselves beneath the concrete.

Seeing this, Shadow gritted his teeth. "What is going on? He's just playing with us... unless..." Then, his eyes widened. "No way... that's your-"

"It seems that you finally got it, Shadow." Metal shot in, as he raised his hands, looking at them. "Yes... with the seven Chaos Emeralds, I achieved this Super Form; the last thing my creator perfected before his demise."

"So essentially, we might be screwed?" Brick supposed. "Great...just great."

"Not entirely," Jill said.

Hearing this, Metal turned his head towards Jill. "Hmph... you're certainly optimistic. Perhaps the adrenaline of battle is getting to you... very well. Let's knock you out of that stupor." Then, before anyone could react, Metal suddenly vanished and reappeared in front of Jill, delivering a fierce kick aimed at the ewe.

Jill knelt over, letting the kick fly over her head, manageably; she didn't expect Metal to vanish and reappear like that. "It's been awhile since I fought, so I'm warning you; I might be a little rusty," she said. "In which case, I think a warm up is in order."

"Hmph... you're quite the case." Metal mused; he hadn't expected Jill to be able to dodge his attack. "But I do not have time for warm-ups. When I'm done with you, I'm out of here." Then, before Jill could get in an upright position, he threw a punch right at her.

Sure, she wasn't able to evade it, but she was able to cushion the blow by using her arms as a shield. "Define 'being done with me.'" She said. "Are you intending to just beat me in a fair match, or actually kill me?"

Just what are you doing Brownie? Brick wondered in thought, watching her in amazement.

"Do I even need to answer that question?" Metal quipped back, just as he began hurling projectiles made out of Chaos Energy at Jill, intending to completely overwhelm her. "Unless you have no idea of who I am, of course."

It was a bit much. She couldn't avoid them all as some of them struck her down, but she planted her foot firmly on the ground, avoiding falling down no matter what the cost, and a small smile was on her face. "Well then, it might take awhile," she said, "because I have a lot of endurance." With a snap of her fingers, a white flash summoned forth her bow, which was previously next to her bed. Then, something strange started to occur. Her clothes began to ride on a delicate air as if she were in the gravity-defying vacuum of outer space, and Jill's long hair suspended out as well. It wasn't something over the top compared to Super Metal, but it definitely made some of the kids look at her with a gaping mouth.

"Cool!" Striker said.

Jill herself wasn't sure just how much of her abilities have returned, but if she accomplished this stage while regaining them, then she might be lucky. Even Metal's sensors would detect that her energy was increasing by the second.

Indeed he did, as Metal folded his arms whilst observing this phenomenon. "...you're not the average run-of-the-mill Mobian, after all..." Then, he scoffed. "Very well. I'll be a good sport; try hitting me."

I don't know how long I'll last against a Super, Jill thought, as she brought up her bow. In her hands, an arrow of energy appeared and she put it in place to shoot. However at the last minute, instead of shooting it directly at Metal, she aimed up at the sky and let it go. The arrow of energy flew high, but suddenly, it wasn't just one arrow anymore. It split into two, and then those split to make four, and those split to make sixteen, and before they knew it, it was a whole shower of arrows. Jill knew better than to leave it at that though, as she began to circle around Metal very quickly; her feet were just barely touching the ground, as her "delicate air" allowed her to move swiftly and smoothly. Then she shot even MORE arrows, but directly at him this time.

I know he might be able to avoid those, she thought, but I have to see how much of my power is coming back.

However, in spite of Jill firing arrows at him, Metal remained where he was, as the arrows aimed at him quickly met an untimely end via a black barrier, and with seven Emeralds powering it instead of just one, it remained perfectly solid, despite. His gaze was directed up at the arrows in the sky. "...cute." he said, before suddenly, he began hurling Chaos Energy projectiles up at the arrows, aiming at them with pin-point precision, just so he could cancel out this attack.

"Hm," he's got seven emeralds, she thought. I have to figure out a way to get them away from him. Jill peered over at the others. It truly wasn't safe having to fight Metal with them around; they could get caught in the line of fire.

So she looked over at Metal. "Can I request that we take the fight away from here?" she said.

"What?! Brownie! You can't fight this guy by yourself!!!" Brick bellowed, and he was going to run to her, but Ani stopped him by snaring him in a web of telekinetic power. Nonetheless, Brick tried to struggle, even though it was futile.

Metal glanced at her for a moment, before he chuckled. "You honestly believe that you have even the faintest chance against me in one-on-one combat..." he mused, before he looked away. "How amusing. Though, I would love to see the anguished looks your comrades have when they see you die..."

"Stop!" Shadow called, as he suddenly warped right between Metal and Jill. "I'm not going to simply stand by and allow this... I won't let anyone die over something I should have settled! Not again! We're going to fini-" However, before he could finish his sentence, he felt something pierce through his body.

"Funny. I don't recall speaking with you." Metal said coldly, as he was pointing his finger at Shadow; however, a tendril had emerged from his finger, and it had gone straight through the black hedgehog, all the way over to Jill, where it had stopped right in front of her face, letting her see the bloody tendril up-close. Then, before anyone could react, the tendril lashed upwards, taking Shadow along with it, before Metal suddenly whipped the tendril in such a way that Shadow was hurled right next to the others.

Before Jill could even get time to react to this, however, Metal suddenly vanished and reappeared right in front of her. "Have it your way." he said, before suddenly grabbing her wrist, and in that instant, both of them vanished.

"SHADOW!!!" screamed Milo, as the lion was the first to run to the gravely wounded hedgehog. Then Striker and Buddy came over, and once Ani released Brick from her telekinetic hold, they came to Shadow as well.

"Oh no, Shadow..." Cream gasped, as she was on the brink of tears.

"Uncle Shadow!" Quickly, Jack rushed to Shadow's side, shaking his body. "Uncle Shadow... please, don't be..."

At that moment, however, Shadow coughed up some blood, and began breathing heavily. "Kkh... where did they..." he uttered, as he tried standing up, but found himself collapsing on his back instead; even though Jill had healed his previous injury, he was feeling the extra loss of blood already.

"Tsch... children, don't waste any time! Get whatever medical supplies you can find, and quick!" Tails said, as he knelt besides Shadow. Quickly, Jack had grabbed hold of Milo and Striker, running into the house to find anything they could use to aid Shadow. Cream and Ani accompanied the three of them to help.

Leaving Brick and Tails the only ones with Shadow as the bull knelt down beside the hedgehog as well, looking at him solemnly. "Not again?" he said. "What did you mean by that?"

"...I guess Tails never told you about that, did he?" Shadow eventually uttered, as Tails looked away. "Hmph... can't blame him... it's not something anyone would want to dwell on..."

Then, the hedgehog looked at Brick. "The very last time we faced Eggman in battle... I failed to protect someone very close to me. While we may have won that fight... I always felt like an idiot for allowing that to happen..." Then, he began coughing.

"Shadow, please..." Tails said, as he took hold of Shadow's hand. "...don't strain yourself. Try to relax..."

"Someone close to you?" Brick said, looking concerned. "Who was that?"

Blinking, Shadow looked weakly away from Brick, as he closed his eyes. "...it was..." he began, but for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.

"...Rouge." Tails eventually said, letting out a sigh. "She was caught by Eggman, and to set an example... he had her shot. In front of us all, no less."

"That government agent?" Brick said, recalling the stories. "Your partner…"

The kids finally came out of the house, carrying a variety of things such as bandages, ointments, iodine, and whatnot. "Shadow! Please be okay!" Ani said, rushing to Shadow.


Metal and Jill then reappeared in the middle of a plain, grassy field, with no other distinguishable features whatsoever but the full night sky covered with a blanket of stars, and the midnight breeze blew over the grass gently.

Jill was utterly shocked, so much that she had frozen in her shock at what she had just seen. The only reaction she had to offer was tears that began to trickle down her cheeks as she quivered.

"There; we've relocated." Metal said coldly, as he released his grip on Jill's wrist, before moving away from her. "I hope you're ready for this; otherwise, you're just going to end up like Shadow."

Get a hold of yourself Jill, she thought, as she wiped her tears away with her arm. That shook her up a lot; she definitely wasn't Ms. Optimistic anymore. She felt something growing inside her. Her sorrow was building up, even with the fact that she tried to set it aside. Don't act on feelings, she tried to remind herself, but it wasn't working. As her emotion was becoming more unsteady by the second, something else was increasing inside of her.

The gentle breeze suddenly became very violent. Dark clouds began to gather in the sky, darkening the field even more.

All the memories of those dark times against him...they were popping up very vividly in her mind now, and it only provoked her to become even more unstable. Not again, she thought desperately.

...and Metal's sensors could detect this unnaturally rapid increase of power.

Metal blinked, as he observed Jill with some interest. My... I haven't seen power like that since... he thought, as he waited to see what would happen. ...this might be more interesting than I initially thought.

Jill couldn't control herself anymore, and her body was carried up into the air as the winds began to circle around her. The dark clouds above parted barely enough to allow a moon beam to shine down upon her. "Okay Metal," she said. "You've convinced me how serious you are. Now I'm going to show you how serious I am."

Her eyes sharpened, despite the tears that fell from them. As they fell, they were suspended in the air and began to circle around her, like the winds.

Metal folded his arms, before scoffing. "How serious I am? Are you talking about what I did to Shadow?" Then, activating his jet boosters, he began hovering up into the air as well, his eyes locked on Jill. "That was an act hardly worth my time. I haven't even begun showing my true prowess, Jill."

Jill took up a godly white glow, and the winds grew more violent yet. "Neither have I, Metal," she said. "Let me entertain you then, if that's what you want." She was consumed completely in light, and the light began growing brighter, and brighter, until it was blinding.

A powerful force shot out with a devastating impact that sent grass blades flying everywhere as a blinding flash took place. White energies swirled around that vortex of light like a demonic storm.

While he didn't show it, the immense force of this power surge surprised even Metal, as he looked at what was happening. ...now, this seems somewhat familiar... let's see what she can do, he thought.

The winds sure didn't calm down at all, but some of the light died down. Once it did, Metal would see an even stranger sight. A white being was in his presence, with the energies swirling around her. The violent winds tossed and turned her long, wavy white hair, revealing something on her back.

Sticking out of her back were long feathered wings, with quite an impressive wingspan for her. They were made of a transparent, green energy.

And as for her eyes, not only had they turned a brighter green, but her sclera was green, as if they belonged to an alien. They still bore tears, but they also looked at Metal piercingly.

"...hm." Metal uttered, as he folded his arms. "An excessive amount of Chaos Energy seeps through you... this is quite the latent ability you have." he mused. "Now... let's see what you can do."

"I assure you," she spoke, with a godly echo, "it isn't Chaos Energy." Once she brought up her bow and pulled the string, another arrow of energy appeared in place. However mediocre it seemed as before, however, once she released the arrow, it turned out to be an overwhelming, monstrous beam that parted the ground with its mighty impact as it flew towards Metal; seeming more like it came from a giant cannon rather than just a bow.

Fast! Realizing that simply blocking this attack was out of the question, Metal quickly flew away from the path of this beam before it could strike him. "It isn't Chaos Energy... but it feels like it." Then, energy began charging up in his chest. "But if it isn't Chaos Energy, what would you call it?" Then, a massive, red beam shot out from his chest, and like Jill's attack, this beam was powerful enough to split the ground it traveled along open, and the wind pressure was powerful enough to send the parts of the ground that weren't disintegrated flying away.

SLASH! The attack was simply bounced away by a vague object that Jill possessed in her hands, allowing the beam to leave a crater in the field elsewhere. Then she whirled it in her hands before Metal could see what it was in her hands. It was no longer her bow, but now it was a large blade. Its hilt looked like a pale rose with arms like feathered wings, as well as the green jewel that had been on her bow as well.

"He called it…Purity," she said. "A type of rare energy that is sometimes intertwined with Chaos and something almost absolutely no one knew about; not even I know what it really is or how it came to be, but that's what that vampire called it."

Then she came, gripping her sword firmly as the blade emitted an aura of white "Purity" energy around it. Once she was close enough, she swiped her sword numerous times, shooting out long slash-like waves of Purity energy at the metallix.

However, these waves of Purity were suddenly struck away from the Metallix, and Jill would immediately see why. Protruding from Metal's hands were two blades, both of them covered in red Chaos Energy, and both of them used to repel the massive slashing waves. "Purity... versus Chaos..." he mused, before scoffing, just as four tendrils with blade-like appendages emerged from his body, all four of those covered in Chaos Energy as well. "Let us see which is stronger." Then, suddenly vanishing and reappearing, the Metallix began slashing his blades at Jill, the Chaos Energy leaving trails in the air he slashed across.

Jill crossed her arms and concentrated. A barrier of green energy appeared in front of her, blocking all of the attacks that Metal dished out. "But just because I don't know much about it, doesn't mean I don't know what it can do," she said, for once the attacks stopped, her barrier remained attached to one of her arms, acting like a shield. Then her sword started to take a godly glow, and she pointed it at Metal. "Like what it can do to a Super," she said, and afterwards, she shot out a small beam from the tip of her sword. It was much too quick for Metal to avoid, and it hit him square in the chest. It didn't hurt a single bit, however, something strange started to occur to Metal.

If he looked at himself, he would realize he was slowly reverting out of his new form, and back to his regular Neo Form.

"Wha... WHAT?!" Metal blurted out, as he backed away from Jill. "How... how did you do that?" he uttered, as he glared at the ewe. In spite of his super-form being canceled out, the Chaos Emeralds were still within his body, rather than being spread out in all directions. The power of Purity... he thought, as he scanned Jill from where he stood. ...quite fascinating.

The first beam did that much, but she had to get the emeralds away from him. "That's my secret," she said, replying to his question.

Metal nodded, as he folded his arms. "Though I am impressed that you can nullify my Super form so easily..." he began, before his eyes very briefly flashed green. "...what makes you think that I can't just revert into the Super form once more?"

"Because I can do this," and the minute that she lurched her hand forward, Metal would feel something very disturbing occurring to him. "Now that I've gotten you out of your Super form," she said, "you won't have a need for these anymore."

And strangely enough, he would see one emerald trailing out and coming to her. Then a second, and a third, and soon enough, all seven had left Metal's grasp and come to her, circling around her instead. Throughout all this, Metal couldn't move, as if somehow he had been frozen.

Jill glanced at all of the emeralds, and then closed her eyes. "You can depart," she said, as if talking to the emeralds. "You are all free now…"

Miraculously, the emeralds all ascended up into the sky as they continued to revolve in a circle, faster and faster as they rose higher and higher into the air. Then the minute that they ceased their motion, they were gone in a blink, taking off in blurs directions and disappearing off into the horizon in seven different directions.

Then she looked at Metal. "Looks like its back to square one for you," she said.

"..." Metal was silent, as he closed his eyes. "...now you've made me very curious..." he began, just as his eyes flashed blue. "...but at the same time... you've made me very mad. Furious, even." Then, all of a sudden, the ground itself gave out a blue glow, just as large chunks of earth were lifted up into the sky, as a result of Metal having copied Ani's data, attaining her telekinesis. "And I can assure you... it's a long, LONG way for me to get back to square one, Jill." Then, mercilessly, the chunks of ground rocketed towards the ewe, without delay, and seemingly endlessly.

Jill held up her shield, increasing in size accordingly to the chunks of earth that Metal flung at her. "You're such a sore loser," she said, rather apathetically. "Get used to your disappointments."

The clouds parted above, as the moon shined down upon her like a spotlight. She raised her sword up, and from the sky above, small sparkles began to swirl around her blade, giving it a godly glow again.

"I'll see you later, Metal," she said.

Then she lurched forward and slashed through Metal with such blinding speed that he couldn't possibly have evaded it.

"!" When Jill slashed through him, a massive cut appeared on his chassis. "...that was..." he uttered, as his body fell to the ground, completely motionless where it crashed.

Jill watched as Metal fell, but she knew she couldn't stay. She had to get back and make sure the others were okay; when it occurred to her what had happened before Metal took her away. "Shadow!" she gasped, turning and flying off in the direction where the city was…

------------------

"Shadow, hang in there," Striker said. "Jill will come back…and then she'll heal you like she did before!"

"If I ever see Metal again, I'll crush him and turn him into a tin can!" Ani growled.

As he was being treated, however, Shadow remained silent, memories from long ago flashing through his mind. ...she'll heal me... but... he thought, just as he briefly winced in pain.

"Just hang in there, Uncle Shadow!" Jack said reassuringly. "Everything's gonna be fine..."

Cream was very much worried about Shadow, watching them tend to his wound, but she also noticed Brick sitting by a window and staring out it silently. Seeing as the kids were handling Shadow just fine, she came over to Brick. "Is something wrong dear?" she asked him.

"I'm worried about Brownie," he said, without looking away from the window. "What if…she doesn't get here in time?"

"D-don't say that, Brick!" Jack said, as he looked at the bull with teary eyes. "Jill's gonna come back... a-and she can help Uncle Shadow! Right?"

Tails sighed, as he watched Shadow remain immobile where he was being treated. Shadow... he thought solemnly.

"Shadow, please hang on…" Milo pleaded, as he was already crying. "We need you."

"Chao," Buddy added sadly.

The others would then hear the door open slowly. It took a while for everyone to turn to where the noise of the door came from, and they heard dragged steps up until it came around the hall.

Jill was no longer in her form, but her normal sheep self by now; so they never knew. She looked pretty weary, and it was understood. She also saw everybody's sad looks. "Is Shadow...?" she tried to ask, but weakly trailed off.

With a groan and a cough, Shadow looked towards Jill. "...you're... alright..." he uttered, before closing his eyes. "...then... you beat Metal?"

"Uncle Shadow's still here, Jill..." Jack said, as he scratched the back of his head. "...but if you can't help him..."

"…I can help him," she muttered, as she trudged to the black hedgehog on the couch. Then she knelt down beside him. "Yes, I beat him," she said, "and the emeralds scattered." Then she was going to set a glowing hand on his wound.

However, before she could place it on his chest, Shadow quickly grabbed her wrist, keeping her hand away from him. "That's good... to know..." he said weakly.

"U-Uncle Shadow?" Jack uttered, as he watched Shadow keep Jill's hand away from him. "What are you..."

"Don't worry about me..." Shadow said, as he looked up at Jill. "I've... lived long enough."

Jill looked at Shadow that moment, and after awhile, she let the glow around her hand die out. Then she placed her hand on his forehead. "I understand," she said. "I guess you've lived a long, hard life…"

Milo was already weeping in Cream's lap, as the old rabbit stroked the little guy comfortingly, even as she, herself, was in tears.

"H-hang on... so, you're not going to..." Jack uttered in sheer disbelief, tears swelling up in his eyes. "But... that means that-"

"I'm afraid so..." Tails said with a sigh, before looking at the black hedgehog. "...you're sure about this?"

"Hmph... when have I not been sure about anything... aside from the invasion?" Shadow replied with a smirk, before he closed his eyes. "...but it has been a good life..."

Brick stood up from where he sat by the window and joined the others. Like Tails, he had a serious expression on his face, and it was hard on him too, even if the bull didn't show it. I guess he'll be where he wants to be now, he thought. With his partner…and that Maria girl from the stories.

Jill gave Shadow a kiss on his forehead. "Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog," she muttered.

It didn't take long. Eventually, the warmth faded away from him, and his body fell limp, though a smile remained on his lips. Thus, Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Lifeform, after about 150 years since his creation, passed away.