Mauling Mammoth

General Stryker's gauntlet formed a shaggy elephant like creature encased in a green aura, which concealed his brownish red fur with sand brown stripes going down onto of his head. Above the being glowing eyes were extremely bushy the mysterious mammoth was also wearing clothing similar an ancient Knuckle Tribe Chieftain.

"So what is this guy," Jules remarked, "Some sort of Jade Elephant or thing?"

"I felt this power before," reported Locke.

Even though the boys haven't met him, Maria did. Although it was a different animal, the spunky space girl identified the being as Tikal's father, Pachachamac.

Hyper Shadow step up to the presumed Pachachamac, "Who are you?" Shadow glanced at the gauntlet that was on his chubby right hand. "And how did you gain that kind of power from the Master Emerald."

The green aura faded when the beast began to chuckle, "From with in, of course."

Locke began to grind his teeth, "How could a negative entity like you dare even speak of being an entity within the Master Emerald!"

The mega mammoth replied with, "The Master Emerald is the stronger version of the Chaos Emeralds, which were created out of the Light and Dark Energies that spawned out since the dawn of time. But the Master Emerald does more than that, oh yes. The Master Emerald is made of the very factors of this universe itself, so it tends to absorb living things that are either truly pure or wicked. And by the way, WE have the right to do anything that involves OUR treasure."

Locke grinded his tooth smooth, "YOUR treasure?"

Jules sighed, "GREAT! A villain who refer himself in first personal plural."

"We were not gloating that much, you blue bushpig," growled the hairy giant

Now Jules was ticked off, "Why is it that everyone here refers to me as a BUSHPIG?"

Pachachamac continued what he was saying, "We were once separate beings that each perform dark deeds to get the power of the Chaos Emerald. One of us was from an ancient past of prehistoric times. We were once a mammoth called Mammoth Mogul. Mogul stepped on any creature he found unfit to pay tribute to lay eyes on his massive greatness."

Jules butted in, "SOMEONE- I mean- Someone's is-NO- was- AHHUG! This is a grammar nightmare!"

The mammoth showed signs of minor announced when he continued, "And he once tried to show off his greatness by embedded the seven Chaos Emeralds onto his chest-"

"EEEEWWWW!" Shuttered Jules.

A blood vain appeared on the side of the mammoth/echidna's head, "To so off his greatness to all who can pay tribute and tell. But Mogul was stopped short when a Chao defied him of his right. The conflict of good and evil between the two caused the very power to form the Master Emerald and the mighty gem trap the two inside. That Chao had the ability to exist the Emerald, but still bounded to it in the form of water.

"Our other half was once a great echidna chieftain that once ruled the great Knuckle Tribe-"

This time, Locke interrupted, "Straight into oblivion. My father told me stories of the Knuckle Tribe and how Echidnapolios was destroyed by its power hungry leader, Pachachamac. Even his own daughter was disgusted by his actions. I even went back in time and actually visited Echidnapolios under his world, and from MY point of view, the warriors there were dumb, thickheaded, arrogant, smelly, fat heads."

Jules gave the radical redman a thumbs up, "Nice," he then turned to the fused friend(s), "And that means a lot from that bozo."

The dingoes spectators, who wanted a fight of fist no words, began booing "Fight already!" and "Less yakking and more whacking!" This was the straw that broke the mammoth's back.

"You dare give US orders? US? THE GREAT AND INVINCIBLE PACHACH MOGUL!" The behemoth bellowed and his raised his gauntlet to the wild dogs and fired a dark green pulse wave that instantly vaporized everyone of the wild dogs with the exception of General Stryker, who unconscious.

The eerie silence after that was broken by Jules when he muttered in fear," He wiped them out in one blast."

"They were no threat to you, your almighty fearfulness," Lara-Le lowly growled.

"They were an annoyance,"

"So it takes a booing from a platoon of wild dogs to get under your superior skin?" smirk Jules.

"Yes, we also take great offence from those who can not tribute for being our presence, and frankly-" the massive mammoth pointed his fat filled finger to Hyper Shadow, "-he seems to be the only one worthy enough to be in my shadow." The spliced mammoth finally noticed Stryker, still out cold from the major drain of power. "And we have a descent test subject right here." Pachach Mogul lifted his thick foot and released it with a powerful stomp that shook the entire island, right on Stryker chest. An expression of pain was all that was on the dingo's face. Maria's heart skipped a beat when she saw the brutal act.

The malevolent mammoth turned to the color shifting hedgehog, "You used your powers to set a force field around this pest's body to lessen the magnitude of our blow. Why?"

Shadow finally spoke, "Because after getting empowered by the Master Emerald, I became fully aware of important events of all those who were on the island experienced. The general over there only fight us so his people can forget their anger and move on with their lives."

Pachach chuckled, "That doesn't explain a thing,"

"It did so," replied Shadow, "His hope for a better world for his people makes him worthy to live. Even though he detested the fact that death is to be the answer to solve the problem, he would pray for the echidnas' souls to tell them he had no real ill against them and that they would also find peace and joy in their paradise; that and he would also live by the echidna way of honor."

Lara-Le and Locke made solemn looks and began to approach to the fallen General. Pachach Mogul was peeved off when the two echidnas approach him with out his permission and was took in a deep breath to fire a giant gush of noxious air through his trunk. But Hyper Shadow, in a blink of an eye, jumped in front of the evil elephant and clenched his enemy's trunk by hand and swung him into an ancient, and possibly priceless, wall of marble.

Locke carried Stryker from the legs while Lara-Le took the shoulders. Lara-le looked at the dingo and said to him, "I thought all you dingoes wanted to prove that you were better then everyone else, even those who are superior to you. But I would never have guessed that there would be a good one."

"Just because I respect your people and culture doesn't make me better than my people." Grunted the dingo. He suddenly remembered his quest back at HQ. He got up on his own and said, "There is a girl in our base's brig. And I don't want her to be near that son of a witch, who knows of what sick things he would do to her."

Shadow eyes turned back to normal when he heard what the General said, "Maria?" His eyes sharpened again as he turned to his hedgehog father, "Pops, can you think you escort this dog to his base?"

"Can I leave a twin trail of flame on an off day?" was his cocky reply. He then grab the giant General, who use very confused of what Jules was going to do, and the two then broke the sound barrier, following General Stryker's directions to his base.

Locke and Lara-Le look at their hyper charged test-tube son. "You want us to follow Jules and the dingo?" asked Locke.

"To fight that thing without concern?" asked Lara-Le. Shadow nodded. "Well I'm afraid to disappoint you-"Shadow was amaze by Lara-Le's concern for him. She barely knows him and is willing to face a possible along side with him. "-This place has great value in echidnaian history, so don't blow it up." Some concern. Shadow watch as the last of his love ones left him to fight.

Pachach Mogul got up and punched Shadow at the back of his head, "Don't you turn your back at US!"

Shadow snared at his opponent(s). THEY were the ones not worthy of being in Maria's presence, a true angel in this world. Shadow fired an energy blast right at the brutal boss, who's right arm was glowing with an eerie aurora. The blast hit head on, it poured around his body like a rush of water. When Shadow finished firing, Pachach was still standing, unaffected by Shadow's attack.

Realizing his enemy has a shield too, Shadow teleported right behind him and fired a furious storm of small energy blast at Pachach's flabby back. The echidna-mammoth chuckled as he tilted his head to get Shadow in his eyesight, "Aw that was a great massage. Do you have anymore?"

"Unless it stops you from doing evil to everyone I care about, then no!"

"Shame, maybe you'll reconsider when we give you a taste of our power," Pachach fired yellow beams from his glowing eyes, sending Shadow flying deeper into the craven.

A blue and brown blur past the open door of the testing lab, Jules quickly dashed back while dragging Stryker when he notice Maria was watching the security monitors.

"Me and my son, along with the last of a nearly extinct race, having been racing around all over this place and you've been watching TV?" said Jules as he got near Maria.

Maria looked at the blue rodent and said to him, "I have been through a lot more than that, Mr. Dad of triplets."

"What?" ask the confuse father-to-be.

"Oh, nothing." Chirped the little 'angel'

Locke and Lara-Le came walking in, join the others around the television. Jules tried to be funny,"We need pop-corn, and I say it's the guy who knows this place best, I vote dog boy here."

Then everyone said, "You go, Jules."

"Yes, I total agree- Hey wait! Why me?" ask the blue dude.

"Because you're the one who can find the popcorn in this place 20 seconds flat," Maria pointed out.

"And find the microwave in 10," added Locke.

"And get back here in 5 after the popcorn's done," said the blonde and red echidna in perfect taunting harmony, "So GO!" Jules then speeded off with his hanging in the shame of defeat.

Meanwhile, Pachach Mogul was trying to DE-FEET Shadow by pulling him like a balloon-animal. The chaotic colored hedgehog started to overheat his body by using a large burst of Chaos Energy. Mogul sent out an equal portion of energy through his hands to counteract Shadow, but old tuck and fur was no match for Shadow's powers being amplified by his will to protect.

As the massive mammoth tended to his right arm, Shadow did a series of kicks to Mogul's back. The being of evil did not flinched, he just panted from Shadow's last move.

Losing his patience and control, Shadow fire a massive blast that caused Pachach's left arm to be totally vaporized. But Shadow's triumph was short as he gazed at seeing vapors of energy coming out of Mogul's wound and formed into his arm.

Everyone at the base gasp at horror to they saw, General Stryker rushed over to a wastebasket. "To think his a light weight to stuff that on almost all the good anime shows," Maria noted.

Lara-Le's eyes bulged, "You're saying that they're shows that show that kind of stuff all the time?"

Maria nodded, "Pretty much."

"THAT'S SICK!" exclaimed the female red echidna, "By the way, I'm Lara-Le."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Maria," said the blonde girl as she gave the echidna a gesture of a handshake.

As the two female shake hands, Jules came rushing in with a bowl of popcorn and said the phrase on his mind since he left: "I'm back! Whatta I missed," The blue hedgehog glanced over where Stryker was leaning over a wastebasket, "Something good, no doubt."

"I need more evasive ground," said the hyper charged hedgehog to himself, "I can't take that thing down without bringing this place down along with it." Shadow then floated near the malevolent mammoth and shouted "CHAOS CONTROL!" and with a blinding flash, Mogul and Shadow disappeared and then reappeared atop of Angel Island.

"What kind of magic is this manner?" ask the ego-filled evil elephant.

"This isn't magic," said Shadow as he fired a pulse beam right at Pachach's belly which sent him flying, "It's science."

Mogul regain his air-control and fired a yellow beam from his trunk, but Shadow put up a deflector shield and the beam bounce right back at the mammoth's head, which was vaporized straight off. Shadow thought if Pachach Mogul lost head, he wouldn't be able to regenerate. But Shadow was proven wrong as he saw the sweeping energy steam coming out of bloodless wound and formed into the villain's stilled ego-inflated head.

Shadow was scared pant-less, if he had any, "But how could you- without a head-"

Pachach snickered evilly, "We're not like most mortals, for WE are gods!"

Shadow was loosing it, how can he beat any enemy who can regenerate any part of his body when they are simply blown off? Maybe it is hopeless thought Shadow. But then his muse hit him when he remembered what Maria said about him back in the past. Ark is in deep trouble; all it needs is a spark to completely ruin it. And that is Shadow not living up the military's goals. So Shadow can't give up, if he failed in this battle, the world will be ruled by Pachach Mogul and Ark, his birthplace, would be shut down and Maria would live on a planet ruled by an evil ruler. Shadow can't let that happen, no matter what.