Metropolis Zone
This was it; the whole shebang. The curtain call. The finale. The last lap. The last inning. The last quarter. The final zone.
So much blood sweat and tears led him through this entire adventure, from the first zone to the last. He had been all over South Island, all by himself. From the sunny hills of Green Hill Zone, to the ancient ruins of Marble Zone, to sparkling city of Spring Yard Zone, to the underground maze of Labyrinth Zone, and lastly to the grand city that was Star Light Zone. This all led him here, to the torturous hell that's Scrap Brain Zone. Dr. Robotnik's capital on South Island.
The young hedgehog felt a burning power resonate deep within his body, as he stood on the very edge of the zone. The doctor had lights glaring into the sky, a sky that was turned blood red by the deadly gasses hovering around. Deep inside, there were so many robots walking left and right, performing various tasks and duties. They walked with incredibly dangerous materials; saw-blades on the walls, lighting rods that surged with electricity, pipes that spewed fire, and so many conveyor belts.
From sight alone, he knew it would be unlike any zone he fought his way through before. The number of Badniks in this zone easily outnumbered the number of Badniks in every other zone added together. The many traps laid and other hazardous machines didn't make the zone look any less daunting either.
Any sane mobian would've turned back at this very moment. He had a good run, after all. But this Zone was clearly out of his league. However, he didn't give up. He was capable of fighting his way through every zone so far by himself, why would he start now? He could see the look on that stupid doctors face right now, fuming with rage. Despite his great army, he was incapable of killing one simple mobian. A mobian who now held all six Chaos Emeralds.
Shadow the hedgehog glared down into the zone with eyes of hatred and rage. The doctor thought he could take over his home with his robots and machines, and think no one was going to fight back against him? He thought wrong. He made a powerful enemy when he subjugated his family and his friends to all of this. And now he was going to suffer.
They gave him a name, thanks to his valiant efforts. The Black Wind. All of it because of his speed. And he was going to show the doctor just how fast he could be!
Shadow the hedgehog has entered Metropolis Zone.
He skated faster than he ever had before, roaring into the zone like a bullet. After watching that monstrosity fly into the heavens like it did, he felt every muscle in his body twitch with fear. The idea of Dr. Robotnik having a floating death station in space, unable to be reached by anything, was a thought he didn't want in his head. He was going to bring that so called 'Death Egg' down to the ground with his bare hands if he had to!
He propelled himself through a metal ball, sending metal shards flying in all directions. Landing inside, he could already feel an increased level of heat resonating throughout these halls. All around him, the hedgehog could hear machines endlessly churning away. Walking to the edge of the platform he stood upon, his ruby eyes glared down to the buildings far below him. And down bellow, there were so many Badniks. They filled the halls like blood in one's veins, working over and over again with no end in sight.
Gazing down upon it, he immediately had flash backs to Scrap Brain Zone. His hands curled into fists while he glared down upon it all, and he squeezed them tightly. Scoffing at the sight, the hedgehog immediately leaped down into the zone beneath him. The Black Wind landed upon another platform; a long strip hovering in the center of molten steel. The flowing lava constantly popped like bubbles, but Shadow ignored it. Instead, his invasion was met with action by the Badniks approaching him. He just ignored them.
A sudden burst of speed, and Shadow was enveloped in a yellow aura. He easily skated through the Badniks like they were paper, his body steamrolling through them like a train. They were crushed and thrown aside upon meeting him, being destroyed one by one. He rolled through a door, one that slid shut as soon as he passed it. Not paying attention, the hedgehog instead rushed through a hallway with the ceiling falling upon him. Upon realizing this, he leaped clear of the hall, landing instead on his chest.
POW!
If he were still in there, he'd be crushed; no doubt in that. Getting back to his feet, he found himself staring down a Badnik. It was crablike, with one small arm, and a large, over-sized one. The machine aimed said small arm at Shadow and fired.
He dodged it just in time; the fist flew into the floor, where it created a sizable dent. It then flew itself back to the Badnik via a wire, which reconnected it to its arm socket. Annoyed, Shadow quickly leaped upon the Badnik, destroying it with a mighty press. He had very little time to act however, as an elevator suddenly slid down. Inside said elevator, a group of these 'Shellcracker' Badnik types. Shadow grunted, then flung an enhanced Chaos Spear their way.
The red lance triggered an explosion, one which sent their red and white shells flying in all directions. He then ran into the elevator, only to discover it wasn't an elevator, but instead a high-speed transport tube. The device sucked him inside, forced him into a ball, and then sent him hurtling somewhere else in the zone.
When Shadow landed on the other side, it was face first. He groaned a bit and rubbed his face, only to gaze up. Standing before him was yet another Badnik. This one, though, was different. Green, it stood tall on silver legs. A praying mantis like being, it had two scythes that it held up high with deadly intentions.
Shadow got to his feet, fists at the ready. The Badnik glared at him, eyes flaring yellow. It ran at the Black Wind and slashed with its blade, who dodged it with ease. He countered with a chop to its neck, sending it stepping back. The Badnik wasn't finished though, as it quickly returned to strike him. Its blades slashed at Shadow's body in varying degrees, making him dodge left, right, up, and down. He quickly countered with a powerful punch to its chest, a punch which tore through its entire body. Not pleased with simply impaling the Badnik on his fist, the Black Wind clenched his fists and ground the dimensions with his palm. This triggered a distortion which destroyed the Badnik, sending its pieces flying in many directions.
Shadow pulled back, eyes on his work, before turning around. And directly behind this Badnik – whose name is 'Slicer' by the way – there was another group of the same Badniks. They quickly rose their blades and threw them at the hedgehog, who dashed through them with a burst of speed. Their blades bounced off his body thanks to the sonic boost he performed, while he destroyed their bodies.
A few seconds of boosting, and Shadow found himself skidding to a halt. The platform he ran upon suddenly ended, over looking a large body of lava. Buckets were dipping into the lava below, scooping them up and lifting them high to bring them to other buckets. These other buckets would bring them to Chaos knows where. Shadow knew wherever it was going, he had to go. Besides, Badniks were rushing behind him.
Shadow leaped onto the buckets holding lava, being sure to dodge the lava itself. However, a certain kind of Badnik wasn't going to make this easy. Shadow stared up, just in time to see starfish coming his way. They were orange, with their tips silver spikes, and a glowing red eye in the middle. These Badniks flew through the sky with ease, and aimed their spikes at Shadow.
One began spinning, before launching itself at the hedgehog. He grabbed the Badnik with skill, then threw it at another like a throwing star. The two Badniks collided, causing an explosion. However, there were still more of these 'Asteron' Badniks to contend with.
They stopped flying right before the hedgehog, making him glare at them with confusion. And then they began flashing a bright color; Shadow immediately knew that wasn't a good sign. One by one, each Badnik exploded. The spikes on their tips were launched from the detonation, and all of them flew his way.
Shadow leaped between the buckets, landing on some with no lava, and landing on others with lava. All the while, the spikes the Asterons sent his way ricocheted off the buckets, missing him just barely. A few however, flew across his legs, slashing him and drawing blood. Feeling that, Shadow slipped. He began falling toward the lava below, but quickly grabbed the chains which held the buckets in place and let them move. Now sliding back up toward the ceiling, Shadow stared into the distance of the large factory. And, of course, there was another school of Asterons flying his way.
Shadow's arm glowed yellow, and he threw Chaos Spears that streamed toward his targets. One by one, the Asterons were destroyed by his blasts, though some flew through the blasts. Shadow began leaping higher between buckets as fast as he could. He eventually landed upon a conveyor belt, one with Badnik armor sitting upon it. Glaring at the pieces of armor, he could see them cast the reflection of a school of Asteron heading his way. Shadow quickly glared at them, watching as they performed their suicidal attacks once more.
They exploded, but Shadow quickly pulled up Badnik armor pieces to defend himself. The spikes were deflected, being sent in various directions and saving him a painful stabbing. Shadow stared back after the attack was finished, only to slide into a dark hall. The doors closed in around him, making Shadow realize he had fallen into an assembly line. Looking around, the Black Wind searched for a way to escape, only to for his eyes to fall on a window. On the other side of the window was yet another conveyor belt, but instead of holding Badniks or pieces of metal, it held animals.
Other mobians, and some woodland creatures, lay on the belt, too weak to move. Suddenly, both conveyor belts stopped in unison. Claws attached to wires dropped on the spot right in front of Shadow, picking where they picked up pieces of metal. On the other side of the window, the conveyor belt showed the mobian being showered in a bright light. That light flared red, then flared bright, and when it died out, that mobian was gone.
Instead, the animal was replaced by a cold, unthinking machine. One of Robotniks grunt Badniks; a simple Shadowbot. Still, seeing the machine sit behind that glass angered Shadow. It also confused him greatly; the roboticizer. A great and powerful machine created by Robotnik to turned humanoid creatures into cold, unthinking machines. Ones mercilessly loyal to Robotnik himself.
It was on South Island the first time they fought, where it served the same purpose. But the original Roboticizer never worked that fast. It took time and massive amounts of energy to do what this machine did in a flash. How could Robotnik amass such power to change roboticize individuals so fast?
Easy; the Chaos Emeralds. With one Chaos Emerald, Robotnik was able to power Metropolis Zone for as long as forever. And now he had six Chaos Emeralds, meaning he had more than enough power.
The claws which grasped at Badnik armor suddenly began clawing at Shadow himself. Growling with rage, he let them grab a hold of him, but only for a few seconds. It only took a few seconds for Shadow to perform a Chaos Blast.
The hall was decimated, while a black blur leaped from the burning smog. He landed upon a platform and began skating immediately after, rushing deeper into the zone.
Shadow has passed Act 1.
He skated on a platform that hung far above bodies of lava, while various other machines churn. Shadow didn't even pay attention when a shadow loomed over his entire body. He could hear it dropping however, and instinctively rolled to dodge whatever was thrown at him in a split second. He curled and uncurled, before turning to face his new opponent.
It was large, that machine that fell to crush him. It's heavy body easily created a dent on the green floor. They were humanoid, large, black, and with single gleaming red eyes. These 'eyes' sat on visors, and constantly scanned the horizon. This machine stood tall as it faced Shadow, before being joined by two others of its kind.
"SWATbots..." the Black Wind grunted as he faced the Badniks down.
SWATbots are the very backbone of Robotniks army. Not extremely stylized as some other Badniks, but they don't have too. While many Badniks are powered by small woodland creatures – of course there being exceptions – SWATbots are almost always forged out of mobians themselves. This makes them stronger, and more powerful than the usual Badnik. Though, not as powerful as fully roboticized mobians.
Shadow rose his fists whilst glaring at the machines, while they mimicked his fighting stance. One suddenly leaped at him, causing him to flip back. He dodged the press, only to be punched by another SWATbot. He grabbed his fist, and clenched it tightly. With his titanic grip, he was capable of crushing the machines hand with his arm. He twisted the arm next, then pulled, tearing it free of its socket.
Shadow tossed the arm away, then rushed to face another SWATbot sent to deal with him. He performed a homing attack, one so strong he ripped straight through the Badnik and came out its back. He landed safely upon the ground, forgetting there was one more Badnik to contend with. The SWATbot aimed its arm and him, then fired.
The rocket propelled punch slammed into Shadow's back, sending him flying over the edge. Now on a deadly free fall with lava, he withdrew his green Chaos Emerald, focused on its energies, then shouted out,
"CHAOS CONTROL!" and in a bright flash he was gone.
He reappeared above safe ground, where he fell face first into it. It dazed him to fall on the hard metal ground, but he didn't waste any time. He got to his feet and glared around, where to his horror he found more Asterons flying his way. He didn't have time to recoil; he just skated out of there.
They detonated, sending their spikes his way, and he dodged them accordingly. Shadow continued skating, before slamming into an abandoned elevator shaft. He looked up it, noticing a large nut still screwed upon a spiral. He leaped on the nut and ran on it, causing it to scroll up the screw to a higher floor. And so that's what he did, he skated up and up and up, leaping off once he reached the highest point of the shaft. Then he skated some more, rushing into a hall with glass windows. A hall suspended over the majority of Metropolis Zone.
It was so much like Chemical Plant Zone, Shadow as having flashbacks to that zone as well. Dr. Robotnik really liked demented factories.
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
The glass of the hallway was suddenly shattered into pieces, causing Shadow to retreat by performing black flips. The Badniks responsible for the assault were the same Badniks he fought back in Emerald Hill Zone.
Coconuts. And, no, not the weapon one of them wielded. They were called Coconuts. Monkey like Badniks that were faster and more resilient than the original kind. And just like the ones he fought before, they all held specific weapons. One, fists, the other, a pole, and the last, coconuts. Exploding coconuts.
The Black Wind growled as he now had monkeys to face off with. The last time he fought them, it was with Rouge at his side. Three against two was hardly a fair fight, but they pulled out a victory. Now it was just him, and what appeared to be upgraded Coconuts.
He slammed his foot down, causing the hall to quake while he activated Chaos Boost. Now clad in a red aura, he charged for the three Coconuts while they ran back. He blocked a pole swipe, he dodged a punch, and he pulled back from an explosion. The two physical monkeys circled him, throwing punches and kicks and pole swipes all together. Shadow walked back whilst dodged and blocking the blows, while the last Coconut readied its coconuts. It threw one at them, but Shadow saw it coming. He kicked his opponents away, then threw a spear at the fake coconut with precise aim. His blast struck the bomb, triggering an explosion which pushed them all away.
But the Coconuts weren't finished. They continued jumping on the walls and everything, all the while approaching the hedgehog. He rushed for them again. Curling up in a ball, he performed the homing attack with deadly precision. His body penetrated one Coconut – the one with a pole – destroying it with ease. When he landed on the other end, he caught its discarded pole and swung it around at the next too. He rushed for them, where he was immediately clashed with the Coconut who brandished only its fists.
They clashed in the center of the bridge, poles striking fists with ease. He swatted some punches away, but couldn't do it to others. The hedgehog took some strikes, but sent back just as many. All the while, the third Coconut readied its bombs.
"OOKEEE! OOOKEEE!" the Coconut roared before throwing them all.
Shadow struck the Badnik he faced so hard by the jaw, it went flying through the window with a large 'CRASH!' He immediately turned around with his pole like a back, and smacked the three coconuts back to the Coconut. They slammed into its body, exploding and destroying it with ease. Shadow stood there for a few moments, breathing heavily, feeling exhausted and tired. He fell to his knees soon after, panting, wishing he had taken that offer of rest given to him before.
"Ugh..." he grunted, before standing up and running to the end of the hall, dropping the pole in doing so, "Gotta keep going... gotta keep going... gotta keep going..."
…
She stared down at the screen long and hard. On it, there was the image of a black and red hedgehog. He was rushing through the zone, his chance of survival dropping and rising at random intervals. But this wasn't a game of survival, she could care less about that. She was too busy focusing on the hedgehog, watching him closely.
How dare he desecrate these halls? It was like Scrap Brain Zone all over again; rushing in and ruining everything. She wanted him dead. So she could stop obsessing over him. So she could stop wondering who the Black Wind was, and why he haunted her so. She couldn't wait for his death.
She'd end him herself. Finger rose, she descended down to press a button.
"Maria, what are you doing?" Robotnik's voice rang, making her shiver.
She turned to face him, seeing the doctor stand in the room with his arms behind his back. She shivered upon seeing him, while he glared down upon her. These moments of rebelling were increasing with Maria; that wasn't a good thing. Every counter-measure he creates in her newer programming would be overcome somehow. Maybe it was wrong of him to create an AI based around his cousin. He only wanted to immortalize her, after all. But if this continues, he may have to do something about it.
"Nothing, Ivo," Maria said, before turning to face the screen again, "Shadow the hedgehog... his distance away from us is measured in only a few sure kilometers... he's approaching quickly. He'll be here soon."
"Unfortunately, we won't be here," Robotnik claimed as he sat back down in his throne, "Maria. Ready the Wing Fortress. And ready the Egg Mobile-F. I don't want Shadow running through here without a goodbye present. From this moment on, our operations on West Side Island is over. Prepare for transportation to the Death Egg."
"Yes, Doctor!"
She vanished soon after, while the doctor faced the screen himself. Shadow had just finished and entire room of Badniks, and exhaustion was clearly getting to him. He couldn't keep this up, not for much longer, anyway. Of course, it brought a smile to the doctor's face. He said nothing, for he didn't feel the need to gloat. He simply turned around and walked back to his Egg Mobile, sitting upon it with that same smile on his face. Pressing a button, he caused the seat to fly into a slot in the ceiling of this confined chamber.
Shadow has passed Act 2.
…
He fell to his knees, feeling completely drained. Sweat came from his forehead, blood from the cut on his leg, and the wound on his arm was still bleeding. But all around him laid the fallen pieces of Badniks. Shellcrackers, Slicers, Asterons, and various other Badniks from throughout his venture. They were all collected here, being put together piece by piece. And after a harrowing fight, Shadow destroyed them all. Of course, he needed to rely on a good Chaos Blast to properly deal with them all.
And now he was exhausted. Still, he pressed on. The Chaos Emerald sat tightly clenched to his chest, resonating with power while he walked forward. He was so tired, he wanted to just fall asleep and get some rest. But he pressed on, he needed to press on. Regardless of what happened; he couldn't give in.
Robotnik was somewhere around here. He could sense the doctor's existence, and that angered him. If there was one thing that kept Shadow super charged, it was his hatred for Robotnik. Just the imagine of that dictator laying dead in his hands was better than a thousand cups of coffee! Eight creams eight sugars; his favorite kind.
He skated out of the area, passing the downed Badniks he crushed beneath his feet. There was an automated platform that hung on wires, and glided into a deeper part of the factory. He pressed a button on the machine, making it glide forward, while he crossed his arms indifferently. Breathing hard, the hedgehog worried mainly about the mission he was embarking on.
This time, he spent his time standing and regenerating; he really needed this. It was getting harder and harder to remain conscious with all the fighting he was going through, and the fact that he went through this zone and the past two zones without resting in between wasn't making things better. He really wanted to lay down, to sleep, to get that energy back. But the simple idea of that Death Egg in the sky filled him with so many nightmares, he didn't want to sleep. Not until it was all over. Then he'd get the rest he deserved.
The platform finally stopped, meaning his moment of relaxation was over. He walked further into the zone, before the sound of a very recognizable jet engine echoed above him. Shadow gazed up, as a silver machine descended right in front of him. And standing in the cockpit of this machine was a very recognizable CEO.
"ROBOTNIK!" Shadow shouted at the man, finger pointed while the dictator chuckled to himself.
"Hello, Shadow," Robotnik said as he stood in his chair, gazing down upon the hedgehog with a smile on his face, "I'm so pleased to see you here in my humble abode," he looked around for a bit, smile on his face, "Looks familiar? Kinda like the good old Scrap Brain Zone, right? Or what do you all call it now? Iron Ruin Zone, right?" he glared down upon the hedgehog, eyes glowing red, "You mobians are a resourceful group of rats, aren't you?"
"Shut up!" Shadow shouted before leaping at Robotnik, "Just shut up!"
He spun around in the air and shot at the doctor like a rocket. But as soon as his body met the doctor's machine, it exploded.
BOOM!
Shadow was thrown back by the detonation, while his ears rang painfully. He fell onto the floor, back first, then bounced up a few feet only to land again. Pain was running through his entire body now, and he didn't even want to get up.
"What...? The...? Hell!?" Shadow commented as he looked up, eyes wide with confusion.
"Wha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Robotnik laughed, feeling triumphant as he descended into the area again, "Care to try that again, Shadow?"
The Black Wind growled, turning red with rage. However, he didn't have enough energy to charge up a Chaos Boost. He instead crouched to the ground and started charging a spend charge. When he felt it was enough, he rocketed toward Robotnik at high-speeds, all the while the doctor laughed.
BOOM!
Shadow was thrown back by the second explosion much like the first time. This time he rolled upon the ground, coughing with pain, struggling to make sense of what just happened. He looked up to the doctor, gazing into that smog, only to see the doctor hover toward him from within the destruction.
"What devilry is this!?" Shadow shouted at the doctor, who stopped laughing to sit down in his Egg Mobile.
"The Egg Mobile-F," Ivo claimed, staring down upon Shadow with a smile on his face, "'F' stands for 'Flying'. Though, my secretary says it should be 'C' for clone. But I already used 'C' for 'Catcher'. And I can't use 'D' for 'doppelganger' because I already used that for 'Drill'. Okay, now I'm just ranting... the point is..." the doctor looked down, "How can you even tell that I'm the real Robotnik? For ever failure you take, you'll suffer another explosion like the ones before. So, I suppose, you either guess right and hit the real me, or guess wrong and die," his eyes slid into a devilish squint, "I can't wait to see what you do!"
"I'll do this!" Shadow said as he threw a blast at the doctor, "CHAOS SPEAR!"
His blast struck the doctor, only to be reflected like every Egg Mobile he had faced up until this point in time. The doctor watched this happen, eyes rolling, before he leaned up to gain control of his device.
"Continue to flail like a fish out of water, Shadow," Robotnik said as he floated back, "I'll simply watch."
A ring of large, egg-shaped machines suddenly descended around the doctor, and they all started spinning rapidly. Shadow growled at the doctor and punched the ground, then launched himself at the dictator once more. The rapidly spinning eggs struck his face, but he didn't care. He slammed into the Egg Mobile-F, sending it back. The collision sent him flying back as well, but he landed safely. Robotnik's laughter echoed into his ears; when Shadow stared up, there were two Egg Mobile-Fs, both looking extremely similar, and both with a laughing Robotnik.
"Dammit!" Shadow growled as he punched the ground.
As he stood and took his battle stance, he couldn't tell which Robotnik was which. He knew falsely attacking one would only result in an explosion that could kill him. But if he didn't attack, then surely the fake Robotnik would ram him anyway, killing him with an explosion.
So Shadow felt quite cornered. Until he got an idea.
"Chaos Spear!" he shouted, throwing a blast at both Robotniks.
To his surprise – and horror – both Robotniks deflected the blasts. They flew back at Shadow, who reflected his own shots back into the ceiling. He looked up then looked back, watching as both Robotniks laughed at him.
"As you can see, Shadow," they said in perfect unison, "I have gone the extra mile of making my clones reflective as well. I'm not about to let you use your powers to bail you out of another glorious defeat!" Shadow growled at him before falling on one knee, all the while the clone doctors laughed, "What's wrong Shadow? Running out of energy? Need a charge?"
Shadow answered Robotnik's call, though not in the way the doctor intended. He lifted the green Chaos Emerald in his hand and started to use its power to charge his body. Robotnik had no idea what he was doing, until he looked down upon his screen. Shadow was doing something with his Chaos Powers, it just wasn't obvious at first.
Until a purple ring appeared under his feet and began shaking. Upon that, the doctor realized Shadow was charging himself with the powers of Chaos Control. There was only one problem; it was incredibly slow.
Still, Shadow was healing himself. Seeing this, Robotnik sent his clone to attack him. The fake doctor flew at Shadow and self-destructed, all the while the Black Wind charged. The sizable explosion shook the room, while Dr. Robotnik stroked his mustache. However, from the smog of destruction, the hero in question leaped out.
DONG! Echoed the impact, as Shadow's fist met with the Egg Mobile-F's windshield.
The doctor was thrown back with a scowl on his face, while his immortal enemy landed upon the ground. Shadow wasn't finished however; with Robotnik on the retreat, he quickly followed up with a flying kick. He leaped up, spun around, then performed a dive kick strong enough to slam Robotnik into the earth. The doctor bounced, but then one of the metallic eggs around him opened up. On the other end was a Robotnik clone. A clone which immediately detonated right in Shadow's face.
BOOM!
"Augh!?"
Shadow was launched from the explosion, but recoiled fairly quickly. All the while Robotnik's cocky laughter echoed in the hedgehog's ears. He growled as he got angry, but this didn't form as a red aura around his body. As much as he wanted to launch a destructive Chaos Blast, he couldn't manage one. This fight was going to be between him – in a weakened state – and Robotnik with all the cards. Not too good odds.
For the doctor that is.
"Ee-yaah!" Shadow shouted, as he jumped at the doctor.
He struck Robotnik with a homing attack, pushing the doctor back and causing another clone to appear. This time however, he kept his eye trained on the real dictator. He dodged the clone who tried to ram him, then slammed into the real Robotnik with his entire body. The strike – as before – unleashed another clone Robotnik, which floated toward Shadow. The Black Wind was too fast however, and quickly leaped in the air. However, a thought came to his mind.
Instead of dodging the clone and striking the Eggman himself, he slammed down upon the clone instead. His action had the desired effect. Slamming upon the fake Robotnik caused an explosion so strong, it propelled Shadow toward the doctor himself. He immediately curled himself up into a ball as he flew toward the doctor with enough force to penetrate anything.
And penetrate he did.
"YOU ANNOYING LITTLE- ARRUUUURRRGGHHH!?"
Shadow flew straight through Robotnik's body, sending shards of metal and glass everywhere. He landing was anything but smooth however, as he slammed into the wall then fell first first onto the floor. But behind him, Robotnik and his Egg Mobile-F crashed, bursting into flames seconds later. The sound alone was enough to bring a smile to Shadow's face.
"Take that, Ivo," he laughed, feeling as if victory had been achieved. It was so horribly short-lived, however.
"Ha-ha-ha!" Robotnik's laughter echoed, sounding like a broken tape recorder.
Shadow stared into the burning heap of the Egg Mobile-F, coming to the horrific realization that the Robotnik he just fought against wasn't the real Robotnik. Instead, it was a robotic doppelganger, just not as explosive as the others.
As if on cue, Shadow felt all of Metropolis Zone shake. Something was shaking, but it wasn't anywhere near him. He turned around toward the exit hall, and skated forward with a sudden burst of speed. All the while, the clone of the doctor laughed and laughed and laughed.
Metropolis Zone completed.
Now entering Genocide City Zone.
…
He couldn't keep going. He didn't have the energy to. He skated and skated, then ran and ran, then jogged and jogged, then walked and walked, and now he was struggling to move. In this zone, it rained endlessly; Shadow couldn't even tell why. Lightning surged across the sky, and the heavy rainfall felt like rocks to his skin. The heavens – if you could call it that – was pitch black thanks to the dark and stormy clouds. If there was one thing good to say about this zone so far, it wasn't windy. No threat of tornadoes here.
Metropolis Zone was nothing more than a factory; a metropolis in name only. But this Zone was a true city, owning up to its name. Unfortunately, the city was a horrible one. The streets were empty, the lights in buildings flickered ominously, and everything felt as dead as a cemetery. There wasn't one creature in this zone with him; mobian, robot, or otherwise. It was just him, Shadow the hedgehog, struggling through the streets alone.
EERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! EEEEERRRRRRRRRRRR!
A deafening roar echoed overhead as something began rising from the ground. In an instant, wind and rain was wiped up in every direction, causing Shadow to lose his footing. He stared to where the sound was coming from and walked toward it, being pushed back for every step he took forward. The winds of the Zone fought against him however, as a machine took to the skies.
Whatever it was, he could barely tell. He was so tired and the zone was so dark, this machine was almost invisible to him. He could only tell how large it was, and that it was flying. Whatever it was, it caused the winds to whip about so ferociously. It's launch meant only one thing; Robotnik was on board. Which meant he had to get on board.
Shadow skated after the flying machine as fast he could, ignoring the pain in his body. But as he skated, he nearly slipped and fell into a large, circular launch pad that was half in the earth. He stared down inside to the various amounts of machines inside, then glided up to the plane flying into the sky. The large beast separated the clouds, revealing endless blue skies on the other end. Too bad he was stuck down here.
"No! I won't let you!" he shouted against the storm as he readied his Chaos Emerald, "I don't care what you do, Ivo! You can put an orbital death station in space! You can roboticize this entire island! You can take every Chaos Emerald in existence! I will not let you win! Even if I die in the process! I will fight you until the ends of the earth if I have too! CHAOS! CON-HUH!?"
VVVRRRRROOOOM!
The roar came from behind, then howled above him. Shadow stared up, watching as a red biplane flew high above. With the clouds parted to see the blue skies and sun on the other end, Shadow could see the plane in all its entirety. It was his plane, the Tornado. And the one driving it was...
"Rouge...?"
The plane full up high then performed a loop-de-loop, pulling back to glide on the city streets with ease. It drove right up to Shadow and turned to a stop with expert skill, before the engines died down. Shadow walked to the cockpit, where he found teal eyes gazing back at him.
"Mm... hello Shadow," Rouge said as she leaned over the cockpits edge, gazing down to the exhausted hedgehog, "Aren't you up past your bedtime?"
Genocide City Zone completed.
Next stop, Sky Chase Zone.
Maverick Talks!
Oh man, I can feel that final battle coming. To me, the last few zones of Sonic 2 are among the best. Really; Metropolis Zone just holds this nostalgic power over me. I can remember looking over my brother's shoulder as he played Sonic 2, and him getting to Metropolis Zone for the first time. At least I think it was his first time; it sure was my first time seeing it!
I wanted to capture the feeling of Metropolis Zone being a large factory that endlessly toils and creates Badniks like no one's business. That's - at least - the feeling I get from everything. Just loves it...
Also, Genocide City Zone pops up in this chapter. Genocide City Zone is a beta zone in the original Sonic 2. It was first known as Genocide City Zone, then became Cyber City Zone to sound less evil. Doesn't matter, because the zone was scrapped anyway. I went with the name 'Genocide City Zone' because it sounds waaaaaaay more threatening than Cyber City Zone. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see much of Genocide City Zone in this story. I have used it in other Sonic fanfics of my however, like Shadows of Hope, and Howls from the Past. I always use it as Robotnik's main base. There's just something about Genocide City Zone that's really mysterious. It's like Hidden Palace Zone, in a way. But now I digress.
Before I leave off, I wanted to ask you guys what you all would think of for a sequel story. Or something along those lines. I'm in mind to create one based on Sonic 3 & Knuckles (which is a duh), Sonic CD (I have in mind who to replace Amy with), and the Sonic SatAM. But I don't know what to choose. I'm in mind to write them all if I could!
But I think I'm getting ahead of myself. Thanks for sticking with this story for so long, I really love ya. Makes me feel like this story stands out, even if it's concept isn't that original.
Sure as hell feels like it though.
Maverick Kay Prime
