Sonic let out a gasp-he hadn't been expecting that. Dark Sonic (Henceforth referred to as Dark) took another step, letting the trio take in his full appearance. The black glow had gotten darker, and was thicker. He was a bit leaner, and his eyes were black, with maroon pupils. His gloves and shoes were also black, with one maroon smear on each, looking like blood.

"How ironic, that in freeing yourself you also freed me. Now, I will have no interference from my…'conscience'" Sonic tried to growl at his evil counterpart, but only succeeded in moaning. I look pathetic…but I have no energy left after the separation. If only…the emeralds! Sonic knew they were still on top of the Master, but also knew that his twin was twice as fast as he was. No way to outrun him…or outsmart him, because we share the same mind…the only way I'd even survive for more than 10 seconds is if I team up with the others, but even 'normal' I could beat them. With this enhanced version, they don't stand a chance. Sonic tried to push himself up, but fell again. He was completely exhausted-both physically, from the transformation, and running off little sleep and no food, and mentally, from fighting Dark. Both ways, Sonic was spent. He gave it 2 minutes, not even fighting, before he collapsed. Sonic leaned on Tails, pushing himself up for the third time.

"W-what are you g-going to d-do?" Sonic sounded weak, even in his own ears. Dark let out a quiet chuckle, the sound a low warning siren for what was to come.

"Look at you…barely able to stand, needing the support of friends for everything. You're pathetic…I'm going to make you watch your friends go down before I kill you. It's much more satisfying to see you crying before you die…" Sonic whispered discreetly out of the edge his mouth to Shadow,

"Emeralds. Now." Shadow, instantly grasping the plan, used his rocket shoes to fly up to the top of the Master as quietly as he could, trying not to attract the attention of Dark. He gathered all 7 and dropped them behind Sonic. Sonic curled his palms around the emeralds, before taking a deep breath. He slowly started rising into the air. The emeralds began swirling around him, much to the amusement of Dark.

"Do you really think you can beat me by going super? I saw Shadow stealing the emeralds…Super form runs out…I'm forever." Sonic tried to block out the voice. He felt a sudden power up, and knew it had worked when he opened his eyes. He'd lifted his hands in front of him, palms out, and his arms were a pure golden yellow.

"This is it…Sonic versus Sonic…even with Metal it wasn't quite so literally me fighting myself. Some people-" here he turned to look pointedly at Shadow, "-fight inner darkness, but now I actually am…funny, when you think about it." With every word, Sonic was mocking his counterpart, and Dark was getting more ticked with every passing second.

"You're no tough guy Sonic. I'm the one who gave you the guts to do what had to be done. Now, you're a pathetic weakling, not able to bring yourself to hurt even me. It's sad, really, but I think I'll still let you watch your friends…die." He hissed out the last word, and turned to face Knuckles. The guardian held up his fists, having pulled shovel claw from somewhere.

"I'm not going without a fight." Dark let out a smug smile.

"I know." He slowly folded himself up, curling into a ball. His head was tucked into his knees, and his arms were holding his legs. Suddenly, Dark sprung open, entire body on fire with pure black chaos energy. Knuckles let out a small gasp, shocked that anything could use so much chaos at his small size. He fell to his knees, particularly sensitive to the negative energy because of having just been recharged by the Master. The echidna clutched his stomach, just below his white marking, before turning to the ground to throw up loudly. Shadow looked at Dark, furious that he would take down Knuckles down so easily without a second thought. He skated over to under Sonic, then concentrated. Sonic, understanding what Shadow was trying to do, reached down and grabbed the black hedgehogs' hand, pulling him into the air. Both boys closed their eyes, and Shadow quivered for a moment, still only held up by only Sonic's hand. Shadow transformed slower then Sonic had, the emeralds still being inside Sonic. The golden glow started at the tip of his quills, spreading slowly down his head before moving along his chest, lingering on the chest hair. After 10 seconds, Shadow was as super as Sonic. Dark had seen the whole thing, a smug grin on his face.

"Really, Shadow? Going soft enough to help Sonic when I said he would face me alone?" Shadow sighed.

"You never said that-besides, now at least now it's a fair fight."

"Oh, I don't think it is. Even as with you 2 as super, I have the power of Dark Sonic, the Werehog, even Darkspine Every time Sonic got mad, I grew all the more powerful. All together, I'm practically immortal." Shadow growled, baring his small fangs, fists balling up at his sides.

"No one kills Sonic except me." Sonic turned to look at Shadow.

"Nice to know you're thinking of me." He said, sarcasm biting his undertone. Suddenly, Sonic had a spark of an idea-but Shadow would never agree. Would he? Sonic leaned over to his older counterpart, and whispered his plan into Shadow's ear.

"No way." Shadow hissed back.

"What other choice do we have? If we don't, we're toast. Besides, it's not permanent." Shadow gave a dejected sigh.

"All right, but you realize it's only because of the situation." Sonic nodded, pleased Shadow had agreed so easily-saving precious time that they didn't have. Both floated backwards, until they were on top of the Master. Sonic set down, then, grabbing hands with Shadow, pulled him down next to him. They closed their red eyes again, and squeezed hands tighter, both, although not willing to admit it, a bit nervous it wouldn't work. Sonic's thoughts were mirroring Shadows'-Will it work? Will it hurt? Could I use this to beat Dark? They Master suddenly glowed brighter, a large amount of energy flowing into the two hedgehogs standing on top of it. They both rose into the air, concentrating with every fiber of their beings. Sonic and Shadow's quills floated freely, unrestricted by the laws of gravity. Sonic visibly shivered for a moment, before the two shouted in unison-

"CHAOS CONTROL!" When they spoke the words, suddenly both bodies started rising even higher, tremors racking hedgehog bodies as they drifted closer to each other. A white light enveloped them both, and a single scream sounded from the center before the light ebbed away. Tails eyes widened-Sonic and Shadow were gone. Instead, there was one golden being, looking like Shadow, but with a red stripe on the rocket shoes. His quills were flying everywhere, looking vaguely like Manic's', only much thicker. His eyes were still closed, and the emeralds lifted into the air, glowing even brighter than usual. They began floating gently around, circling the hedgehog. After another moment of suspense, his eyes slowly cracked open…

"So, this is how it ends. Me against you." He sounded like an echo of Sonics and Shadows' voices, as if they were saying the same thing at the same time. Dark floated backwards, a bit shocked. The new hedgehog grinned.

"Dark, meet Super Shadic…"