Chapter Ten: The Final Conflict
Shadow smashed Shade down onto the floor, but the echidna quickly kicked Shadow aside. The black and crimson echidna slashed rapidly at Shadow, who used all his speed to dodge them.
Shadow could tell Shade hadn't grown any weaker since their last battle...
Shade kicked Shadow down, and tried to finish him there by stabbing Shadow right in the eye, but Shadow grabbed Shade's wrist and flung the echidna over. Shade moved with the blow, clung to a wall, and then shot himself back at Shadow, his claws nicking Shadow's chest.
Shadow grunted, and was about to counter-attack, when Shade soared at him again and slammed Shadow into a wall (much like how Knuckles can soar).
Shadow leapt up and attempted a Homing Attack, but Shade countered with his own Homing Attack.
Shadow landed again, and Shade attempted a wide-slash, but Shadow finally was able to kick Shade in the arm, roll into a ball and blast Shade at full-speed. Shade quickly regained his feet, and the two glared at each other.
"Why do you strive for destruction, Shade?" Shadow asked. "You and I were created to protect humanity, not to dominate and destroy it!"
Shade shook his head. "No. I was created for that purpose, perhaps, but Mephiles enlisted me for the my true purpose in the galaxy; to cleanse life of those who would stand in his way! I am honor-bound to serve and protect him. And now that you've killed him, I must avenge him!"
Shadow gritted his teeth. "Mephiles never wanted to 'cleanse' life" he said. "Mephiles only wanted to cause more and more havoc with Iblis as an ultimate, super-dimensional being. His only goal is to destroy all of time and life, and then rule that Chaos at his own will. Once he had been reunited with Iblis, he would've disposed of you and all the others who served him! Trust me, Mephiles was only trying to manipulate you into thinking you were fighting alongside him for a noble cause. He almost did the same with me, and his words sound right, I know, but you have to know that he's not!"
Shade just scoffed. "This coming from the one who has fought him at every turn, and destroyed any that served under or alongside Mephiles!" he growled.
Shadow's glare became darker. "If you won't listen to reason, then I must destroy you before you cause more havoc!" he said, and removed one bracelet, then the other.
Shade chuckled, and slid the steel off of his spikes to reveal copper-colored, glowing spikes underneath that raised a small fog of warm (yet tainted) energy around each hand.
The energy surged around both of them, and they clashed so hard it send vibrations of a level 5 earthquake around the room.
All other combatants fell on their back sides and the walls crumbled, the weaker ones that were already damaged, collapsed.
Shadow and Shade's attacks and defensive endurance were each multiplied by about ten, and they collided with Homing Attacks, charges, anything they could to try and overwhelm the other. The battle tore holes through the structure, collapsing some more walls. One wall almost fell on Sonic and Amy, but Kaynyx hurried forward, and held it up long enough for Amy and Sonic to get out. Then Kaynyx slowly eased himself out.
Then they returned to fighting the gangsters.
Finally, Shade smashed Shadow down onto the floor, and pinned him.
Shade put his steel covers back on, and chuckled.
"This is for Mephiles" Shade said, and readied to finish Shadow...
The hedgehog chuckled.
"This one's for Maria!" he shouted, and punched Shade in the face so hard the echidna went flying, smashed into a weakened wall, and it collapsed on him.
Shadow breathed heavily, and managed to put his ring-bracelets back on before his power completely drained.
Rouge roundhouse kicked a circle of gangsters down, and went over to help Shadow up.
"You okay?" she asked.
"Yeah... yeah, I'm fine" Shadow insisted, his energy slowly rebuilding.
Then, Shadow breathed deeply, and smirked at her. "Let's finish this" he told her.
Rouge nodded, and they re-entered the fray.
The gangsters were numerous beyond belief, and hundreds more poured in for reinforcements, some even mounting large laser-turrets with the firepower of a G.U.N. tank. Then thousands more arrived, and started to wear them down.
But then, G.U.N. arrived.
They surrounded the building, and dropped hundreds of troops and several vehicles inside to assist Shadow and the others. Then G.U.N. agents armed with close-range weapons arrived, and their skills helped greatly as they covered the Mobians and allowed them all breathers.
Soon, the gangsters were either destroyed, had somehow escaped, or were apprehended.
About Ten minutes Later
While G.U.N. was readying an escort for their departure, Shadow, Rouge and a few other G.U.N. agents were still in the main chamber, searching for enemy survivors.
Shadow and Rouge were in a far corner of the room, and no one paid them much heed.
"Awesome fighting, Shad" Rouge complimented, giving a Black Arm Great soldier's corpse a kick to make sure it was dead.
"Not bad yourself, Rouge" Shadow admitted, checking the pulse of a gangster.
"No, I mean when you took down Shade" Rouge told him. "You really proved that YOU'RE the Ultimate Life Form, didn't you?"
Shadow's face got a little hot. "Well... er, yeah, I guess..." he replied.
Rouge approached him with a devious smirk. "Of course, you've already proved that to me... in more than one way..." she whispered seductively.
"Rouge!!" Shadow hissed, turning bright red, but still smiling.
Rouge giggled a little. "Alright, I'll save it" she said.
Knuckles suddenly went past them, grinning widely as he hoisted the Master Emerald out of there.
Rouge snickered. "Find your long-lost love, Knucky?" she laughed.
Knuckles glared at them, but walked right on past.
Shadow shook his head, and went over to where Rouge had beaten Mauve; the bat still lay there, motionless.
Shadow checked his pulse...
Before being punched right in the face.
Mauve snickered, and leapt back up, trying to make a break for the exit.
Rouge managed to tackle him down though, and smash Mauve next to a pile of rubble.
...Which shifted slightly.
Then, the rubble was thrown aside to reveal a bruised and battered Shade.
"We'll meet again, Shadow!!" he snarled. "This isn't over yet!!" The echidna raised a purple Chaos Emerald in his hand. "CHAOS CONTROL!!"
"Stop him!!" Shadow shouted, but they were too late.
Shade and Mauve vanished in a flash of light.
Shadow growled, and slammed his fist on the wall.
"Ah, don't worry, Shad!" Rouge said. "We've defeated their army, haven't we?"
"Yeah... but for all we know, Shade is gathering more forces to do his bidding!" Shadow pointed out.
Rouge sighed and put a hand on his shoulder. "Shadow, we've won, whether you know it or not" she said. "C'mon... let's enjoy this. You need to loosen up a bit..."
Shadow smiled at her. "Yeah... I guess you're right" he said.
Rouge smiled back, and nodded.
Then, they left the building, mounted a helicopter, and left their troubles behind.
For now.
Four Days Later
Today, as it happened, was Rouge's 22nd birthday.
And Shadow had luckily remembered, and he had a very special plan for it.
That night, Rouge was just arriving back at her place, a little depressed about nothing happening for her birthday. She'd gotten a few well-wishes from everyone, but no party, gifts or anything...
She tried not to let it bother her, Rouge tried to tell herself it wasn't important, but still felt disappointed that her big day... wasn't her big day.
Rouge opened the door, and flipped on the light.
Suddenly, about fifty people appeared out of seemingly nowhere and yelled "SURPRISE!!"
And Rouge WAS surprised. So surprised, in fact, she fell back and Shadow had to catch her.
Rouge giggled a little. "Thanks, everyone!"
And everyone WAS there; Sonic, Amy, Tails, Knuckles, Silver, Blaze, Kaynyx, the Chaotix Agency, Rouge's agent-friends from G.U.N., and even the G.U.N. commander himself.
Shadow smiled at her. "You didn't think I'd forget, did you?" he asked.
Rouge smirked at him. "Well, you DID forget your whole freakin' past at one point, remember?"
Shadow just chuckled, and they started the party.
It was very enjoyable. Everyone was talking, telling jokes and whatnot, and Sonic talked Silver and Blaze into playing "Truth or Dare" with him and Amy.
Rouge used to play this when she was in her teens, but now just watched it.
It was quite amusing...
Sonic dared Silver to pants a G.U.N. soldier, Blaze had to tell them she didn't wear frilly underclothing (and she blushed furiously and glared at them. During that game, Amy dared Sonic to mack with her in front of everyone...
And Sonic complied without hesitation, getting a bunch of "Ooooohs!!" all around.
Rouge chuckled, and joined Shadow.
For the rest of the night, everyone just talked, drank (Knuckles got the most heavily drunk), and had a good time overall.
Sonic and Amy were the first to leave, their arms entwined.
Shortly after, the G.U.N. commander left with his escort, and bid Rouge a happy birthday.
Then Knuckles stumbled out, having Silver and Blaze support him, and they said goodbye as well.
Kaynyx then left (he still seemed really un-intoxicated for someone who'd had a whole bottle of scotch), bidding Rouge a healthy life with a gentle smile and bow.
Then, Rouge's friends left (at about 2:00 in the morning), and she was left alone with Shadow.
"Have a good birthday?" Shadow asked her, wrapping an arm around Rouge's stomach.
Rouge smiled at him and kissed Shadow on the cheek. "Yeah, real nice" she said sweetly. "Thanks."
Shadow smiled back and nodded. "Anything for you..." he said, and nuzzled Rouge's neck.
Rouge smiled, and she looked at the presents she'd received; two whole new, very exquisite outfits from her friends, a bonus of 700 from G.U.N., some diamond earrings from Silver and Blaze, and a pair of new, sturdy boots from Sonic (looked exactly like the ones she had now, only the new ones would last longer and had a hidden 50 in there from Amy).
Rouge looked at Shadow. "Where's your present?" she asked.
Shadow smirked at her, and put his arms around Rouge's waist.
"I haven't given it to you yet..." he whispered into her ear, and slowly licked her cheek.
Rouge giggled. "Shadow!" she said, putting her hands on his shoulders. She kissed him on the lips, and Shadow returned it passionately.
Rouge closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation, and the taste.
As they kissed, Shadow slowly led them to their bedroom.
Rouge (while still locked in the kiss) reached over and slammed the door shut, and fumbled to lock it (even though they're alone).
The kiss intensified, and they removed each other's gloves.
Rouge moaned slightly, and licked Shadow's nose before putting it back in his mouth.
Shadow gently lowered him and Rouge onto the bed, still in the kiss.
Shadow came up for breath, breathing heavily in passion on Rouge's neck.
"I love you, so much..." Shadow whispered, and kissed Rouge's neck, making her moan a little more.
Rouge replied by going on top of Shadow, squeezed his arm muscles, and played with his tongue.
Shadow chuckled, and went back on top. "Nah, you just enjoy this..." he whispered deviously. "It's YOUR birthday..."
Rouge giggled, and closed her eyes.
"Too bad it's only once a year" she teased.
Shadow removed Rouge's boots, and massaged her feet.
"Mmm..." Rouge said, smiling in a kinda goofy way as she relaxed even further.
Shadow continued it awhile, then crawled back on top of Rouge and kissed her again.
Rouge giggled as Shadow's tongue danced in her mouth, exciting her and pleasuring her...
Shadow broke the kiss after awhile, kissed Rouge's neck, and then licked her cleavage, making Rouge tremble a little and giggle.
Shadow smirked, and then lowered Rouge's top.
Rouge moaned softly, and Shadow adorned her large, firm breasts with gentle kisses and slow licks. Rouge moaned a little louder at this.
Shadow slowly ran his tongue over Rouge's erect nipple, and then he began to suckle on it.
Rouge moaned louder, and started stroking Shadow's head. "Oh Shadow..." she gasped.
Shadow snickered. "You enjoying this, birthday girl?" he whispered seductively.
Rouge smiled slightly and nodded.
Shadow massaged her breasts, and kissed them, and continued pleasuring Rouge.
Two Hours Later
The two were now exhausted from love-making, and all clothes lay on the floor next to the bed.
Shadow embraced Rouge, and hugged her tight.
"I love you, Shadow..." Rouge whispered dreamily.
Shadow smiled. "I love you too, Rouge" he replied. "But I haven't given you your whole birthday present yet..."
"Hmm?" Rouge asked. "Shadow, I'm too tired for more of that..."
But Shadow just chuckled, reached over the bed, and showed Rouge a small, velvet-covered box.
"I wanted to ask you this sooner, but now is good too" Shadow told her, and opened it.
Rouge's eyes widened, and she put a hand to her mouth when she saw the ring with a pure diamond band with beautiful jewels glittering.
"Rouge... will you marry me?" Shadow asked sincerely.
Rouge was speechless. She looked at the ring, then at Shadow, then back at the ring...
A tear ran down her eye and she smiled.
"Yes... oh yes, of course I will, Shadow!" Rouge answered, and tightly embraced Shadow, tears of happiness flowing onto his chest fur.
Shadow smiled, and tightly embraced Rouge in turn, and kissed her forehead.
Rouge put the ring on, and admired it.
"Thank you..." she whispered.
Shadow kissed her once more, and they fell asleep.
Finally, they were ultimately committed to each other.
Meanwhile...
At the flying air-fortress Shade had designed, over 3,600 Black Arm soldiers and 4,800 Metarex guarded it, and operated the dozens of powerful turrets onboard.
Shade had a small, simple throne, but planned to make it more elegant.
Shade sat there, and Dr. Ovator entered (if you recall, he spoke to Shade earlier of his weapon developments). Ovator had proved to be just as good as his relative – Eggman – by being the one who helped the most in building this flying fortress.
"How are the weapons coming along?" Shade asked.
"My calculations are proving correct so far, sir" Ovator said, adjusting his glasses. "We're making good progress. One of the machines is done now."
"Very good" Shade said with a smile. "And Mauve?"
"Recovering quickly" Ovator answered. "He'll be up and about by tomorrow."
"Excellent" Shade said, and nodded. "You may leave now."
Ovator bowed, and left the room.
When he was out of sight, and the door locked behind the scientist, Shade snickered and hit a hidden button on his arm-rest.
A secret, small room revealed itself behind him after opening two, complicated horizontal doors and three armored vertical ones.
Shade entered the dark room, lit only by one good light, glowing red energy from the tube inside, and the glowing buttons on the controls.
A being stirred inside the tube in a dark, ooze form.
Shade bowed before it. "All is proceeding well..." he told it.
"Master."
The dark ooze opened two, bright-green eyes full of havoc. "Ahh... good" it spoke.
The eyes glanced over at a captured image of a dark, deformed hedgehog's shadow on a 3-D image from a nearby console, from which the ooze would use to take it's previous form.
"My body is prepared..." the dark being said. "And this Black Arms substance has almost finished healing me... soon, I, Mephiles the Dark, shall be myself again!" the ooze spoke. "Soon, we shall destroy Shadow the Hedgehog, and soon, all those who oppose me shall perish!!" it finished while narrowing it's green eyes.
Then, Mephiles laughed dramatically.
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