Howdy folks, Theos and Pyro back once again with the next installment of Shadow vs Shadow. Sorry once again about the slow updates, but thank you to everyone who's posted reviews. Seems the last chapter went down a storm.
I should think so. Shadow's back from the dead, ready to haul some metal ass!!
You said it, pal. OK then, on with the show!!
Chapter 9: Behold, The Ultimate Power!
Had Mecha been a real Mobian, his jaw would have dropped and his eyes would have popped out of their sockets. To stand before Super Shadow, enveloped in the famous yellow aura, was breathtaking. But to do so, knowing that Super Shadow has you as his target would be the most frightening thing in the world. Even for a robot.
"You…you…you died!" shouted Mecha, shakily pointing his metal finger at Shadow, the disbelief and underlying fear quite clear in the robotic voice. "No-one comes back. NO-ONE!" In answer, Super Shadow disappeared….
…and reappeared with his shoulder embedded in Mecha Shadow's gut. The force of the super charged shoulder barge sent the robot clone hurtling through the air, smashing through crates and barrels, eventually crashing to the ground in a tangled heap. Before Mecha could pick himself up, he found himself being thrown up, towards the roof, courtesy of Shadow. The ceiling rushed down to meet him, only to be replaced at the last second by a red and white hover-shoe, which crashed into the side of Mecha's skull.
Using Chaos Control to its maximum potential, Super Shadow kicked, punched and threw his clone back and forth across the warehouse. Crates of ammunition disintegrated, barrels of oil were upturned, but Mecha never once hit the floor. It was like Shadow was playing keepy-uppy with the robot, only battering him into non-existence in the process.
Rouge, who had managed to roughly bandage her wounds, could only sit and stare at the golden hedgehog flashing in the air above her. His movements were far too quick to follow, but the sound of metal being dented and crushed told her that Mecha was on the back foot. Her keen hearing picked something up, and she quickly rolled to her left, a split second before the floor where she had been erupted, as Mecha was thrown headfirst into the concrete. A second after that, a golden flash from the new crater told Rouge Shadow had followed his adversary. Mecha was tossed out of the hole, into the air. Everything seemed to slow down for a moment, Mecha hanging in mid-air. Then…
"CHAOS SPEAR!"
The super charged energy blast screamed out of the hole, slamming into Mecha with all the power of a cruise missile. Mecha was thrown skywards, through the roof, before arching in the sky and crashing back through, landing 10 feet away from the crater. Shadow climbed out, the furious expression never once leaving his face. Rouge had never seen Shadow this angry before, and it scared her. It scared her that this power lay deep inside her friend, waiting for a chance to be released.
Shadow walked over to the fallen robot. Dents and cracks now covered the once shining metal surface. The black paint was rubbed and chipped from the relentless attack. Mecha didn't move. Shadow sensed that something was amiss, but couldn't figure what. Just as he got within three feet of Mecha, the tingling feeling at the back of Shadow's head screamed out.
Mecha jumped up, shoulder barging Shadow. The ebony hedgehog, having the wind knocked out of him, found metal arms locked around his waist. Unable to struggle free, he was smashed through piles of crates, each crashing into his back as Mecha strove to disable his opponent. Glancing behind him, Shadow's eyes widened. Mecha was heading straight for the closed metal fire door between the main warehouse and the smaller storage room. If he slammed into that, Shadow would be snapped in half.
"I've always wanted to know if hedgehogs make good wrecking balls!" chuckled Mecha manically, his grip on Shadow tightening. Feeling the air been squeezed out of him, Shadow stopped struggling and placed his palm against Mecha's head.
"Eat…dirt…you…metal…bd!" The palm glowed, and before Mecha could react...
"CHAOS SPEAR!"
…his head snapped backwards. The vice grip on Shadow loosened, and the black hedgehog kicked in his hover-sneakers, slowing himself inches from the fire-door. Mecha, who had crash landed on the ground, began to pick himself up.
"Yo, tin-can!" Mecha looked skywards at the golden hedgehog. "Catch!" Two palms raised up, aimed at Mecha. "CHAOS BARRAGE!"
Hundreds of energy blasts crashed into the metallic body, literally shearing the armoured plating away from the electronics inside. The whole warehouse lit up as the blasts piled up, enveloping Mecha in a white dome. Shadow ceased the attack, and waited for the smoke and lights to fade. When they did, he couldn't help but smirk.
Mecha's titanium-alloy exoskeleton was smashed to pieces. His chest plate had been obliterated; the armour on his arms and legs was cracked and charred. In fact, miraculously, the only part of the robot that was relatively undamaged was the head. Mecha seemed to stare up at Shadow, as if daring him to make his next move.
"This ends now, Mecha" roared Shadow. The golden aura burst into life, growing in intensity second by second. Rouge, who had watched everything from a safe distance, climbed into the large crater from which Super Shadow had emerged earlier. Something told her it would be safer than hiding behind any of the remaining crates.
Shadow silently unhooked his two golden power rings from his wrists, dropping them to the ground as he floated in the air. With a roar of fury, the Chaos energy inside him began to surge forth, free of the rings restraints. The golden aura turned a deep shade of scarlet, as did Shadow's eyes. The entire building began to shake as the chaos energy built up. Mecha was unable to move, the aura pinning his metal limbs to the ground like a 12-tonne boulder.
Shadow clenched his fists, glaring at the fallen robot. "Behold! The Ultimate Power! CHAOS…!" Shadow suddenly disappeared, before slamming his fist into the circuits of Mecha's exposed chest. "…BLAST!"
The result was instantaneous.
The front half of the warehouse exploded like a nuclear bomb. The walls were ripped from their foundations, before disintegrating into dust. The roof was thrown thirty feet in the air, raining back down as bits of brick, plaster and metal. Mecha's body was ripped apart, wires and circuit boards bubbling under the immense heat and pressure.
It was over in twenty seconds. Where there had once been a sturdy warehouse, there was now a charred circle of debris. In the centre stood Shadow. He breathed out a forced breath, as he re-attached his power-rings. The red glow turned back to gold, before fading. His fur and spines changed back to their usual ebony, and he collapsed to one knee. Taking a second to compose himself, Shadow pushed himself back to both feet, and then looked at the carnage around him. Suddenly a thought struck him.
Where was Rouge? Had she been caught up in the blast? He span round at the sound of someone coughing. Rushing over to a pile of rubble and splintered crates, Shadow spotted a familiar arm poking out of the rubble, waving for attention.
"Rouge! You okay?" asked Shadow anxiously bas he began shifting the rubble. In a few seconds, a bruised and dusty Rouge emerged from her makeshift bunker.
"I…I think so…" Rouge's response was cut off as Shadow's lips locked with hers. Her eyes went as wise as saucers in surprise then closed as the feel and taste of Shadow's lips took over her senses. Shadow suddenly pulled back, seemingly shocked with himself.
"Sorry…I didn't mean…I just…" A hint of crimson appeared on the black hedgehogs cheeks, a sight which made Rouge chuckle. Without saying another word, she linked arms with Shadow, and the pair began to make their way towards the open end of the structure. They were halfway out when Rouge stopped.
"What's wrong?" asked Shadow, straining to listen for any unfamiliar sounds.
"I heard something" said Rouge, her ears twitching at every sound. Then they both heard it.
Thump. Screech. Thump. Screech. Thump. Screech.
A familiar maniacal laugh erupted from the rubble behind them. Spinning round, both Shadow and Rouge gasped. The legless, one-armed torso of Mecha was slowly dragging itself towards them. His head was attached, but half of the external features had been blown off by the Chaos Blast, making him look very much like a hedgehog version of the Terminator. Mecha continued to laugh like a madman, continued to crawl closer. Shadow stepped forward, putting himself between the homicidal robot and Rouge.
When Mecha got within five feet of the Shadow, the ebony hedgehog's faced dropped, and fresh fear filled his eyes. The one eye remaining in Mecha's head no longer showed a pupil, but a number. 7. As Shadow stared, the number changed. 6. It was a countdown.
"Self destruct sequence initiated" said Mecha in his monotone robotic voice. "Have a nice day!"
5…Shadow span round and ran…
4…Grabbing Rouge by the arm…
3…He raised his hand to his forehead
2…Felt the chaos energy build up
1…"Chaos Contr…"
If the Chaos Blast had been a nuclear tipped ICBM, this was like a small asteroid striking the earth. The explosion shattered the remains of the warehouse into a billion pieces. A crater two miles wide formed, the ground being thrown up in the blast. The only debris to rain back down was fine bits of plaster and brick, everything else dissolving into ash which was blown away by the breeze.
A few seconds later, green light appeared, followed by the forms of Shadow and Rouge. Both took a step forward. Rouge collapsed first, simply crumpling up into the foetal position. Shadow fell to his knees, his vision slowly going blurry. Before he passed out, he could have sworn he saw a familiar blue shape, and someone call him 'Dude'. Then everything went black, and Shadow the Hedgehog collapsed to the ground.
WOW! WHAT A BATTLE!
I'm shattered just reading it!! And who's the strange blue dude?
Ah, now thats a question to be answered next time. Speaking of which, better get on with the next (and final) chapter. Hope you enjoyed this one, and hopefully we'll see you all soon. Ciao for now. Theos & Pyro
