An epic battle, a mysterious villain, and the best Team Rocket motto ever! Read away!

Oh, btw, I have nothing against glitchxcity.

Chapter 4: An Omega Faceoff

Shadow looked around the dark cavern nervously. The strange being called Mephiles disappeared after he decided to pursue him. He gripped his fists in anger. I will find him...and the truth.

"Ah, there you are. I was getting lonely."

He cringed on hearing the voice, slowly turning to face its owner. "I wouldn't just let you run off like that," he growled. "I still have questions that need answers."

"Of course you do," Mephiles gritted his teeth. "And I know exactly what you want to know."

"Then answer me," he snapped. "Did you destroy this world?"

Mephiles chuckled slightly. "To an extent, yes, I was responsible. But at the same time, no, I did not directly cause any of this."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Hmhmhmhmhmhm," Mephiles sneered. "This world was destroyed by the three titans of the air: Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres."

"Moltres," Shadow repeated to himself. "We just defeated him."

"Yet he will rise again," Mephiles smirked. "The birds cannot be defeated as any Pokemon can be. There is only one who can stop them, but he is long dead by now."

"Who was he?"

Mephiles chuckled. "The Chosen One."

"Don't play games with me, Mephiles!" Shadow snarled, getting in his face. "Tell me who you're talking about!"

Mephiles' expression didn't change. "You know who he is, Shadow. Search your heart."

"You make it sound so simple," he growled.

Mephiles didn't hear him, as he looked out the window of the room they stood in, reflecting. "Though the water's great guardian shall arise to quell the fighting, alone its song will fail, and thus the earth shall turn to ash." He turned towards a small object, a sneer growing on his face. "O Chosen One, into thine hands bring together all three. Their treasures combined tame the Beast of the Sea."

Shadow looked confused. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"See for yourself," Mephiles sneered, handing the object to him. Shadow looked into it, puzzled, but his eyes widened in shock when he saw what was inside.

"I-Is that -?!"

"Yes, Shadow," Mephiles chuckles malevolently. "That's you."

"But how did I get in there?!"

"The world was destroyed when the harmony of nature was disturbed. Nobody knew who was responsible, but that's no surprise. After all, the one who was truly responsible was killed when he did it. Regardless, everyone was intent on pinning the blame on someone. Since people are naturally inclined to hate what they fear, they chose to blame you."

"Why would they fear me?" he growled. "I may have tried to bring destruction once before, but ever since I realized the truth about who I am, I've always fought to protect the world. They know this, and they recognize me as a hero."

"Yes, they do. But their recognition will only go so far. What happens when something like this comes up? Someone has to be responsible. Do you really think your heroism will save you then? Or will they remember your past and chain you up?"

"I put the past behind me long ago," Shadow growled, his temper beginning to flare. "That's not going to work."
"Oh, but did they? Do they remember what you tried to do to them? How you tried to destroy the world? I know there are at least two who do, and they are the ones who imprisoned you."

"How could anyone be able to imprison me?! None can withstand the ultimate power!"

Mephiles merely chuckled. "There are some who can: some who share the same power. But even then, that is not enough. They must know how to wield it. Tell me, who do you know who can wield this power like you can?"

Shadow's eyes widened in horror. "No," he whispered. "You don't mean -"

"Yes, Shadow," Mephiles nodded, his sinister grin growing. "He is the one who will be your undoing."

Shadow clenched his fists. "You're lying!"

"Oh, am I?" the sinister being sneered. "Are you really willing to take that chance? Let me help you, Shadow. Let me save you."

Shadow was confused. "What do you mean?"

"He will be your undoing unless you do something to stop him: namely, take away his power. I can do this. If you help me, I will ensure that you will be spared this gruesome fate."

"What?!" Shadow exclaimed. "No! You're insane!"

"If you let him go on as he is, you will regret it. Don't be a fool."

Shadow clenched his fists. I can't betray them like this he thought. They've always believed in me: believed that I was good at heart. His eyes softened with new resolve. Now it's time I believed it myself.

"I won't betray him," he shook his head. "He always believed in me, and so I believe in myself."

Mephiles looked angered. "You choose to side with those who will ultimately defeat you?"

"I side with no one," Shadow snapped back. "I determine my own destiny."

Mephiles nodded a moment, seemingly taking this in. Then, with a flare, his body blazed with a menacingly blue aura. "I gave you a chance, Shadow: an offer of salvation. If you reject it, you will pay a heavy price."

"What? Will you take away everything I have? Will you break all that I am? All of me?"

"Oh, you petty fool," Mephiles sneered. "My power is so much greater than that."

"Then show me!" Shadow shouted. "Bring it on! Go ahead! Just try to destroy me! Even if this is my fate, it won't end that way, because in the end, I will always rise again...just like a skyscraper."

Mephiles just chuckled. "Such foolishness," he sneered as he pulled out a Pokeball. "Very well. Let's see if you can entertain me." With that, he threw the ball into the air, unleashing a fully evolved Venusaur.

"Hmph," Shadow rolled his eyes. "A Venusaur, hm?"

"Hardly seems like a fair fight," Mephiles taunted.

"Yeah, you're right. Maybe I should fight with my eyes closed."

Mephiles' smirk faded at that remark. "You'll pay for such insolence, you arrogant fool! Venusaur! Razor Leaf!"

"Saur!" Venusaur shouted, unleashing a large barrage of sharp, piercing leaves. Shadow generated a force field around himself and deflected them, then proceeded to unleash his own barrage of Chaos Spears. Venusaur was struck but hardly fazed.

"Watch this," Mephiles grinned. "Venusaur! Use Frenzy Plant!"

Frenzy Plant?! Shadow thought in alarm. Oh no!

"Veeeeenuuuuu...SAUR!" Venusaur shouted, unleashing massive vines from the ground that swooped Shadow up and began to strangle him.

"Ungh!" Shadow grunted in pain, struggling.

"Worthless fool," Mephiles sneered. "You're no match for - wait, what?!"

Shadow was nowhere to be seen! Venusaur, exhausted from the Frenzy Plant, started recharging itself. Shadow chose this moment to strike, slamming it over the head with his fists and knocking it out.

"Nice try, Mephiles."

"Ugh! You insolent fool! Let's see you get out of this!" With that, he threw another ball out, this time unleashing a Blastoise.

"No big," Shadow smirked. "I'll take this weakling out, no problem."

"Try this on for size! Blastoise! Use Hydro Cannon!"

No! Not again! Shadow thought in alarm. Blastoise charged up his jets before unleashing a powerful jet of water that slammed right into Shadow's location. But when the dust cleared, the ultimate lifeform was nowhere to be seen.

"Curses!" Mephiles snarled as Blastoise recharged. "Blastoise! Use Rapid Spin to weed him out!"

Blastoise obeyed, spinning around the whole chamber inside of its shell until it could go no more and panted in exhaustion. Shadow leapt out of his namesake and knocked it out.

"I've been going a bit too easy on you, Shadow," Mephiles sneered as he pulled out another Pokeball. "Maybe this will change your mind. Charizard! Fire it up!"

With that, the iconic fire starter leapt out, roaring in pride.

"Nothing I haven't dealt with before," Shadow taunted. "Maybe I should just shut my eyes for the rest of the fight."

"Your arrogance is your weakness," Mephiles snarled.

"As yours is yours."

"Very well, then. You asked for it. Charizard! Use Fire Blast!"

Charizard reared its head back, then fired a massive blast of fire that Shadow barely managed to dodge. Even then, however, he got slightly burned by the impact. He leapt forward and slammed his balled fists into Charizard's gut, incapacitating him a moment. Charizard retaliated with a headbutt, which Shadow took, then countered with a Chaos Spear.

"Use Flamethrower!" Mephiles commanded. Charizard unleashed a jet of flames that caught Shadow off-guard, effectively scarring his arm. Brushing it off, he rushed at Charizard again with energy surrounding his fist. He scored a direct hit, but Charizard was still raring to go.

"How's this for keeping your eyes closed, Shadow? Use Overheat!"

Shadow's eyes widened. Oh no. He braced himself for the attack. When Charizard unleashed it, Shadow barely evaded it by using Chaos Control. When he reappeared, Charizard was kneeling and panting.

"End of the road, Mephiles," he smirked. "You can't win."

"I seem to have underestimated your power," Mephiles nodded in agreement. "Even if Charizard put up a good fight, he still couldn't defeat you as it was." He chuckled knowingly as he held his wrist. "But now the balance of power will tip in our favor. You know nothing of our true power!" With that, he unveiled his wrist and tapped his fingers to a metal bracelet on it. A glowing sphere of energy surrounded Charizard's weakened form, pulsating rapidly.

"What?!" Shadow exclaimed in shock. "What is this?!"

After a moment, the sphere blasted open, forcing Shadow to cover his eyes. When he opened them again, the sight was one he would never forget.

"Shadow the Hedgehog, meet Mega Charizard X!" Mephiles roared in triumph, his newly Mega-evolved Pokemon doing likewise.

"How -?!" Shadow breathed in shock.

"Now you shall feel the true wrath of darkness! Charizard! Blast Burn!"

The black dragon Pokemon rapidly unleashed its powerful Fire-type equivalent of Hyper Beam. Shadow barely had time to dodge, and he decided now would be a good time to strike. To his dismay, however, Charizard recharged much more quickly than he anticipated, and slashed him with a powerful claw, knocking him to the ground. Seriously fazed but not undone, Shadow leapt back up and tried to punch the Pokemon, but a mighty flap of the wings threw him back. Before he could recover, Charizard swooped down, picked him up, and took him into the air.

"Now, Charizard!" Mephiles ordered. "Finish him off with Seismic Toss!"

Shadow felt his world spin around at a rapid pace as the ground came ever nearer. Then the pain of being slammed down erupted as Charizard finished the attack, leaving the ultimate lifeform battered and beaten to the point where he could no longer fight.

"I warned you that you would pay for your insolence," Mephiles sneered as he walked around Shadow's limp body. "Did you really think you had any chance against the power of a Mega-evolution?"

"You," Shadow grunted. "You…"

"It's over, Shadow. I have won. Charizard! Finish him off with another Blast Burn!"

Charizard obeyed, charging up a powerful blast of fire that would surely kill Shadow. The black hedgehog closed his eyes, waiting for the searing pain to come.

What he heard instead was the sound of metal slamming something to the ground. Confused, he looked up and saw Charizard knocked over, apparently in shock.

"W-What?"

"What's this?!" Mephiles snarled angrily.

"Did you really think it would be that easy to take down the ultimate lifeform!"

Mephiles whirled around. "Who said that?!" That was when a large mech dropped behind him, shocking him so he fell on his face. "What the devil?!"

"What...what is that?" Shadow moaned weakly. Though the answer he got wasn't what he would have preferred, it was still a welcome surprise.

"Prepare for glitchy trouble!"

"And make it glitchy double! Fwahahaha!"

"To protect the world from glitchxcity!"

"To unite all peoples within our vicinity!"

"To denounce the evils of Sonic 06!"

"To extend our reach with a bag full of tricks!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket's saving this fanfic at the speed of light!"

"So glitch off now, or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"

"Wobbbbbbufet!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

There was silence a moment. "Um," James hummed. "I'm not sure that came out right."

"Another glitch?" Meowth suggested.

"Probably," Jessie rolled her eyes.

Shadow was in disbelief. "Team...Rocket?"

"Where the devil did you come from?!" Mephiles snarled.

"We've come from the past to save the future!" Jessie sneered.

"To ensure that Shadow gets back safe and sound," James added.

"Hey, Shadow!" Meowth called. "Take this!" With that, something launched out of the mech and right next to Shadow. His eyes widened.

"A Chaos Emerald," he whispered, slowly reaching for it and taking it.

"Give me that emerald!" Mephiles launched himself at him, but Team Rocket pushed him to the side.

"We've got to buy him time!" James exclaimed.

"But we're all out of money!" Meowth replied.

"Just engage the enemy!" Jessie snapped.

With that, they took to distracting Mephiles while Shadow slowly regained his energy from the Chaos Emerald. When he was once again able to stand, he charged a large red ball of energy in his hands slowly and prepared to finish the job.

"Chaos...LANCE!" he roared, unleashing a red streak of energy at Mephiles. He scored a direct hit, knocking Mephiles to the ground. The weakened villain slowly looked up at his adversaries, anger in his slit eyes, and opened a portal for himself which he slowly faded into.

"MEPHILES!" Shadow shouted, rushing after him, followed by Team Rocket.