Ch. 21
Shadow vs. Scourge
Light and explosions filled the sky like a thunder storm. When there's a battle between two super Mobians, one would likely not to want to be anywhere close to it. However, Fiona Fox wasn't intimidated as she watched Scourge and Shadow duke it out delivering blow after blow. Wind began to speed up, and the ground was shaking more intensely every minute this fight raged on.
Scourge charged at Shadow as the Ultimate Life Form shot countless chaos spears at him. The Sonic wannabe grinned as he shrugged off his attacks. When he got close enough Scourge tried to hit Shadow with a right hook, but right before he could make contact, Shadow vanished.
The evil hedgehog growled, angrily. "Ahhh! I'm getting sick of that cheap parlor trick!", He yelled.
Shadow reappeared above him. "If it's so cheap, how come you keep you falling for it?", He asked.
"Very funny, but you won't be taunting me once I get my hands on you!", Scourge said.
"I wouldn't count on it. Sonic at least gives me a challenge, but you . . . well, you are his opposite after all.", Shadow said, grinning.
"No, idiot, you forget, I'm stronger than Sonic in this form! You on the other hand, could never beat that blue fool! I'm superior to you in every way!", Scourge yelled.
Scourge was then, engulfed by a stronger chaos spear. He lost sight of Shadow for a moment when the smoke blinded him, and when it cleared, the black hedgehog was gone.
"Damn it! Where is he!? You can't hide forever!", Scourge yelled.
Shadow snuck up on him from behind, and dropkicked him in the face, launching him into the ground.
"Who's hiding?", Shadow said with a grin.
Hope and Dimitri continued to work on their end until they were surprised by the arrival of Gust.
"What? . . .You're alright!", Hope said.
"Of course, we are. Did we ever give you a reason to doubt us?", Gust asked.
"I admit I was scared when you actually charged at that over sized bull.", Hope said.
"It was nothing. He looked like he was under some sort of mind control, so he had no will of his own.", Gust said, smiling.
"How did you find this place!? I don't remember telling you the location of this facility.
"I have my ways. That's not important right now, though. Shadow and Scourge are locked in a fierce battle that could tear this whole island apart. We need to figure out a way to stop Scourge as soon as possible.", Gust said.
"Hmm . . . yes. What about the others that were with him?", Dimitri said.
"They're all dead except for the Lynx. He decided to high tail it. We need to focus our attention on Scourge anyway. Is there any kind of Echidna tech we could use to neutralize him?", Gust asked.
"If Shadow can't beat him, then how could any of us do any better?", Hope asked.
"Let's not give up just yet. There . . . is a way we could defeat Scourge. However, I'm not exactly sure it will work.", Dimitri said.
"If there's any way other than charging to our deaths, then tell us.", Gust said.
"Very well . . . It's a long shot, but you could use the Chaos Syphon I recently developed in case of emergencies. I haven't tested it yet, though. Come with me, I'll show you.", Dimitri said as he activated a door to open to his left.
"Nice trick.", Gust said.
"Well, when you're nothing, but a floating head, one can find great ways to improvise.", Dimitri said.
Gust followed him into the small room. It was dark at first, then the lights came on automatically to reveal an interesting device just meters in front of him.
"This is the Chaos Syphon. The first model was originally developed by me during my younger days, but that's a long story. In short, it can absorb chaos energy, draining the subject of power. It's not really that effective, mainly because a single chaos emerald is said to hold a limitless supply of power. The master emerald itself is comprised of at least a dozen chaos emeralds, so only one can imagine how powerful Scourge has become.", Dimitri said.
"Shadow is using that same power, right, so if what you've said about the Master Emerald's power is true, wouldn't they just cancel each other out?", Gust asked.
"Our people have conducted several research procedures on chaos emeralds. However, there was no reliable way to truly determine how much power a single emerald contains. All that we know is that each one has enough energy to power an entire city like Station Square for example.", Dimitri said.
"I see, Is there anything else we should know about this device?", Gust asked.
"There is one flaw: The Chaos Syphon can hold only so much energy. Like every other storage device it has a limit, and if that limit is exceeded, the pressure will destroy it, like putting too much air in a balloon.", Dimitri said.
"Okay . . . so we have less than a 50/50 shot at this, but we have a good habit of performing miracles.", Gust said.
"Let's hope for everyone's sake that you're successful, young Overlander.", Dimitri said.
Dimitri, then gave Gust the run-down on how to operate the Chaos Syphon. Gust made sure to listen to every last detail.
Shadow and Scourge we're still fighting, leaving behind destruction everywhere they went across Angel Island. Fiona just stood by speechless as she witnessed the incredible speed they were moving at. They were moving so fast, her eyes couldn't keep up with them. She then, began to realize that perhaps following Shadow wasn't the best idea. It was like being in the middle of a warzone where tragedy struck around every corner.
At first, Fiona thought about just high tailing it, and let the two kill each other, until she was startled.
"Fiona!", Someone yelled from behind, making her jump. Fiona backed away on all fours noticing it was Gust.
Fiona sighed in relief. "You idiot! Are you trying to give me a heart attack!?", She yelled.
"Oh, sorry about that, I'm just glad we found you in one piece.", Gust said.
"What is that?", Fiona asked pointing to the device in Gust's hands.
"It's a Chaos Syphon, given to us by Dimitri. It's used to absorb and drain chaos energy. All we need to do is get within 10 meters of Scourge, and press this button here to drain the energy inside of him. It could weaken him to the point he reverts back to his normal self.", Gust said.
"Really? You're absolutely sure?", Fiona asked.
"Not absolutely, but it's our only chance.", Gust said.
They both paused as watched the battle taking place.
"Man, look at them, if we don't put a stop to those two, there won't be an island left to defend. They're moving too fast though. We may have to rely on Shadow to carry out this task.", Gust said.
As Shadow was dodging more of Scourge's attacks, he noticed Gust and Fiona watching as if they were waiting for something. He led the malevolent hedgehog away from the two to the inside of a cave within a mountain.
"Get back here and fight me like a man!", Scourge yelled.
Shadow led him as far as he could within the confines of the cave. He then launched another chaos spear at Scourge, causing an explosion, which caused a cave in.
The black hedgehog used chaos control to teleport out, leaving Scourge in the falling debris.
He appeared before Gust and Fiona. "What are you two doing here!? Get away before you get yourselves killed!", Shadow yelled.
"Listen, I'll make this quick. I need you to use this machine to drain Scourge of his power. Get within 10 meters, aim it at him, and press this button here. At least, that's what Dimitri said.", Gust explained.
"Alright, fine! Now clear the area, hurry!", Shadow said.
Scourge then came bursting out of the pile of rock with a livid look on his face. "You . . . you're dead!", He yelled as he charged at Shadow.
"Let's scram, Fiona!", Gust said.
"No, you go ahead if you want to! I'm staying.", Fiona said.
"Don't be foolish! We'll be sitting ducks out here!", Gust yelled.
"I want to see this!", Fiona said.
Gust paused, realizing there was no point in arguing with her. " . . . Okay, fine. Don't anything stupid, though!", Gust said as he ran.
Fiona continued to watch the action.
As Gust was running back to his teammates, he heard something up ahead. He heard some laser fire, and explosions. Gust knew he was needed, and he had to get there fast. He continued to increase his pace.
The Ultimate Life Form tried aiming the Chaos Syphon at Scourge, but he changed his pattern of movement. The dastardly hedgehog moved in different directions at high speed, and encircled Shadow.
Shadow couldn't get a clean shot at him, and was unable to keep up with his movements. Scourge then, pounded Shadow with a left hook from his side, causing him to drop the Chaos Syphon. It landed just a few feet from Fiona. Shadow was dazed by the pain shooting through his head. Scourge then, grabbed him, and gave him a knee to the gut, followed by a head butt. He swung Shadow by the arm and tossed him into a small lake.
It was then Fiona began to regret not going with Gust, because now it was just her and Scourge.
Gust arrived back to find his comrades and the Chaotix fighting off an army of eggbots.
"What the hell!? Where did they come from!?", Gust yelled.
"They all swarmed in from that ship above us!", Espio yelled.
Bunnie took down a small group of eggbots with her arm cannon. "There's too darn many of them!", She yelled.
Rouge tossed some of her homemade bombs, taking out more of the egg shaped droids. "They may have strength in numbers, but . . . uh . . .", She paused.
"We've got heart, and we'll triumph!", Hope yelled as she took out one eggbot with a laser gun.
"You heard the lady, keep fighting until the last eggbot drops!", Gust yelled.
"Don't forget, we're still here, too!", Mighty yelled as he tossed an eggbot with his bare hands.
"Man, deez guys just keep on coming, but the Chaotix will keep on bringin the pain!", Vector said.
"Move like a butterfly and sting . . . like a bee!", Charmy said as he baited some eggbots, causing them to crash into each other.
Knuckles glided and went right through two eggbots before they bit the dust. "You metal heads caught me in a bad mood, so it sucks to be you.", He said.
"Come on, Shadow! Finish Scourge off already, and help us!", Gust thought to himself.
After Shadow was spiked into the lake by Scourge, there was no movement in the water. From Fiona's point of view it looked like Shadow was done for.
Scourge smiled. "Don't think I don't see you down there, Fiona.", He said, sending a chill down her spine.
He landed near Fiona's location, and began walking towards her as she stood frozen. "What . . . what do I do? There's nowhere for me to run! I'm no match for him!", She thought to herself.
"Ready to go one last round, baby?", Scourge asked.
Fiona just glared at him, still stumped on how to escape.
Scourge started charging up his fist. "Don't worry. I'll make it quick and painless for you.", He said chuckling.
"Why?", Fiona muttered.
Scourge stopped in his tracks for a moment.
"Why? . . . Why did you betray me? Before I met Gust, you were the only person who actually accepted me. Where ever you went, I was always by your side. I did everything you told me to do, not just because I was your subordinate, but because . . . I respected you, I loved you!", Fiona said.
Scourge stood silent for a moment. Then, he smiled. "Don't be stupid, girl. I let you tag along, because I wanted someone to play with whenever I was bored.", He said.
Fiona felt anger and rage burning inside of her.
"You we're just a toy to me. I just used you to get whatever I wanted. You were just a friend with benefits to me, but . . . slowly for a while after having you around for so long, I slowly began to actually develop feelings for you.", Scourge said.
The vixen was surprised to hear the maniacal hedgehog say something like that.
" . . . I didn't like it! Things like love and compassion are only for the weak like that idiot, Sonic! Hearing you say that you love me just proves that you aren't the same bad girlfriend I once knew. My toy was now broken, which is why I had no choice, but to toss you aside.", Scourge said.
Fiona was distraught at first, but at the same time not surprised. She indeed had changed, and knew deep down that she deserved better.
"Are we done talking now? I'd like to end this while we're still young.", Scourge said.
The evil hedgehog then, felt the stinging pain of a chaos spear to his back. Scourge turned to see Shadow, wet from recently crawling out of the water.
"You back fighting coward! I'll see to it that you stay dead!", Scourge yelled as he charged at Shadow.
Scourge suddenly fell to his knees as if his strength was being drained from his own body. He noticed Fiona holding a strange machine in her hands, the Chaos Syphon.
Shadow just watched as Fiona continued to drain Scourge's chaos energy.
Scourge tried fighting it at first, but eventually he fell flat on his stomach.
The Chaos Syphon had consumed so much energy, that it began to overheat and short circuit.
"Come on, don't give out on me, now!", Fiona uttered.
The machine then gave in and blew into pieces. The force pushed Fiona back on her rear end.
At the same time, Scourge reverted back from his super form.
"Fiona are you alright!?", Shadow asked.
"Other than my butt, I'm just peachy.", Fiona said as she struggled to her feet.
Shadow saw explosions coming from where his friends were.
"Oh no! Hope and the others are in trouble!", Shadow said.
"You go on ahead, already. I'll catch up. I need to be alone with him.", Fiona said.
"Are you sure?", Shadow asked.
"When Scourge changes back from his Super Form, his body becomes exhausted to the point that he can't even move. Don't worry, I won't be long.", Fiona said.
". . . I understand. Chaos Control!", Shadow said before he warped away from the area.
Scourge tried to crawl away, but his body was too weak.
Fiona took out the gun strapped to her side and approached the defenseless green hedgehog. Scourge stopped as he noticed her pointing her weapon at him, ready to pull the trigger.
He slowly turned his body around to face her. "What are you waiting for?", Scourge asked.
The vixen paused for a moment. "Tell me . . . if you really didn't want me around you anymore, why didn't you just kill me? You knew I could've just tracked you down after you left me behind like that. Did your feelings for me hold you back? Do you have any regret at all for letting it end this way?", She asked.
Scourge struggled to speak until he regained what little composure he had. " . . . Does it really matter?", He asked.
The sound of gun fire then echoed. Fiona had shot Scourge in the head, after giving his last words.
"You're right. It doesn't matter. I wouldn't have forgiven you anyway. Go to hell.", Fiona said before walking away from the dead corpse that was Scourge the Hedgehog.