Dragon Ball GX, Rise of Mephelis The Dark Saga
Chapter 25: The Plan, Operation Shadow Strike
Son Adam/Psyagon
"Me-how am I the solution?" Shadow asks, for once, sporting a genuine look of confusion and uncertainty. "Shadow, don't you see? You're a true immortal-an Ultimate Immortal; you don't have to worry about dying!" I say as I place my hand on his shoulder. "What are you talking about; How can I of all people stop Mephelis?" Shadow asks bewilderedly. "Don't you see Shadow? Mephelis can't kill you, because you are immortal right down to your soul. Since souls can't be destroyed, neither can you; that means you can get through to Mephelis and rescue our friends!" I explain. "But he can still affect my body and mind, he can warp reality; how can I do anything to him or avoid being affected by him?" Shadow argues.
"That's where we come in my friend" Unlimited says as he walks over to him as well. "We shall combine our reality warping powers, to cast a mystic barrier wrap over you, made of several interwoven layers" I begin. "Each layer will counter a specific aspect of Mephelis's primary tactics he is likely to use against you" Unlimited continues. "And with your inherent total immortality, its virtually guaranteed that you can pull this off" I finish. "But what about Mephelis's sheer power; won't he be able to tear apart these barriers with ease?" Ellen remarks. "Not if we all help make them, by adding variety to the energies these layers will be made of, the barrier will hold plenty long enough for Shadow to rescue our friends" I reply cheerfully. "If you guys think this will work, then we'd better get going. The faster we can save the others, the better," Sonic put in, and there was agreement around.
So, we circled around Shadow, all of us authors, and I said to Katie, who was standing next to me, "Alright, let's try this. Katie, you start us off." "Right," Katie responded, concentrating on Shadow and then raising and snapping her fingers. A bright light emanated from her hand and then enshrouded Shadow. After a moment, the light settled over him, resembling a thin screen. Katie said, "I hope that holds, that should protect you from Ki." Shadow nodded, and then I said, "Alright, let's keep going in a circle away from me." Next was Corey, who said, "I'll add to that layer." Corey then snapped his fingers and the same light increased the intensity of Shadow's shield. "I will as well, considering how good Mephelis's Ki powers will be," Daniel added, adding a third layer to the Ki shield.
"My turn, and I'll protect you from any damage from light you could take," Chelsey said next, snapping her fingers and causing multi-colored light from her hands to cover the initial shield, protecting Shadow from the light spectrums. Then, Kaitlyn said, "Chelsey was light, so I'll be sound." Kaitlyn snapped her fingers and Shadow's shield rippled, showing he now had a shield to block out dangerous wavelengths from harming him. Then, Areiko stepped forward next and said, "Alright, then here's manipulating matter." Areiko snapped her fingers and Shadow's shield became a little more opaque. Next, Ellen stepped up and said, "I'll take care of elemental energies then." Snapping her fingers, another layer, this time kind of an earthen color, covered over the existing shields. Then, Talos stepped up next to her, smiling at Ellen, and said, "I'll second that." With his snap, the earthen colored shield deepened slightly.
Dawn stepped forward after that and said, "Here's to protect from illusions." Dawn snapped her fingers and the shields, which had begun to hide Shadow from view, now became much clearer. "I'll help you with that one," Meegan said, snapping her own fingers and making the shields nearly unseen. "Here's another. Protection from psionics," Sikyomaru said next, snapping his fingers and making the shield now waver. "I've got mental attacks down," Cloud said, snapping his fingers and causing the head of Shadow's shield to shine brightly for a moment, after which Sakuya said, "I'll strengthen that." Her extra effort made the head now shine brighter than the rest of the shield. Then, it came to Saania, who raised her hands and said simply, "Dark energy." She snapped her fingers, which caused Shadow's entire shield to turn dim for a moment, before returning to a slightly darker tone than before. Then, Unlimited looked at Shadow, and raised his hand, saying, "From all darkness." Knowing the tall request to stop Mephelis from using darkness to hurt Shadow, Unlimited concentrated intently, his hand still for a moment, before suddenly, a massive ripple went through the air as Shadow was hidden from view as his entire shield went pitch black. After a moment, the darkness finally subsided, and Shadow's shield returned to the way it was before.
Finally, I said, "That was great of all of you. I have faith this will work." Suddenly-Katie asked, "But what about you?" I then laughed and said, "Oh yes, of course. Well, what I'll do is give you the ability to transport most of that protection to the others you'll be rescuing, so they'll be able to get away should you have to hold Mephelis and others off." I reply to my small pal. With that, I willed my power forth, and waved my hand over Shadow, giving him this ability. And now, he was ready.
"Hey, wait a second-" Goku begins. "I know that most of them will be protected against Reality Warping, but what if the others are attacked hand to hand?" Goku continues. "Oooh, yeah…" Katie realized, as did a lot of us. It had crossed my mind, but I had faith that Shadow could get them out of there without having to fight too much. But it still weighed heavily on my mind, and the last thing I wanted to think about was whether one of the ones we were trying to rescue was killed. But then, I heard Unlimited speak up, "If any of the others are threatened, I will stop their attackers." "Wait, you can't go up there-you'd be killed!" I protest. But then he then said, "Should it save the lives of one of the others…I'll make that decision…"
I looked at Unlimited in reverence, knowing now that he would give his life for another, just to see the others happy, but then, for some reason, Saania then asked, a slight note of irritation in her otherwise listless voice, "Are you just trying to make yourself look noble? You're more conceited of your own powers than noble." I was shocked at Saania, but Unlimited then replied, "You're right. Perhaps I am conceited." I was surprised to hear this, and I looked at Saania, who wasn't fazed, but seemed deflated, and then Unlimited finished, "If my conceit, however, can save the lives of compassionate, loving people who will bring happiness to others, is it conceit, Saania?" Saania just stared at Unlimited, not answering him. I decided to take the moment of silence that ensued to say, "Alright, I think we should put this plan into action!" I turned to Shadow, who nodded, and simply said, "I'll bring them back."
Shadow The Hedgehog
As all my friends gave their best wishes, Sonic came over to me with a serious look. "Shadow, bring them all back safe-especially Elise and Amy" Sonic states solemnly. "I won't let any harm come to them Sonic, I'll get them back here safe and sound" I reply. Suddenly, Rouge came over and kissed me on the cheek and said "Go get em Tiger" After nodding, I used Chaos Control and warped away.
Mephelis The Dark
"So, Shadow is coming here eh? Well I might not have seen their plan-curse that barrier that blinded me! But I shall not be beaten all the same" I smirk, as I press a button on my throne. As a loud harsh scraping buzz filled the air, immediately, Frieza and King Cold raced to my presence and kneeled before me at the foot of my throne. "What is thy will? Command and we shall obey Lord Mephelis" King Cold says submissively. "Father, can't we retain at least a shred of our once glorious dignity-please?" Frieza asks his father pleadingly. "Do you want to be vaporized you ignorant fool! Have some brains my son, you're outclassed here, and Mephelis is our master from now on" King Cold rebukes. "Sorry father, sorry Lord Mephelis" Frieza replies submissively.
As I stood up, the good doctor stepped forth. "Should I man the Anti-Intruder Anti-Matter Cannons Lord Mephelis?" Robotnik asks with reverence. "Yes, activate all security systems, and General Slade-alert all minions, Shadow the Hedgehog must be stopped!" I order. "I'm on it already sire" Slade says coolly. "ATTENTION ALL PERSONNEL! YOU'VE GOT 1 MINUTE TO GET YOUR SORRY CARCASSES TO MEPHELIS'S THRONE ROOM OR I WILL PERSONALLY KILL YOU MYSELF!" Slade roars angrily. Most got there instantly, a few took about 10 seconds, but they all virtually got here long before the minute was up. "We're here sire" Zarbon says humbly. "Listen up, those who can fight in space, prepare to do so, those who cannot survive without a suit, stay here, we are to man the weapon systems" Slade says authoritatively. "What about the brats?" Orochimaru asks eagerly. "You're an expert on torture-do what you see fit" I reply with a crooked smirk. "Thank you-Lord Mephelis" Orochimaru hisses reverently. "But I really wanted to fight and kill for you Lord Mephelis" Orochimaru states, a hint of yearning in his voice. I was delighted by his enthusiasm. "How could I possibly deny that?" I reply with a smile.
Frieza
As I prepared to teleport outside, I heard my father whisper something. "Frieza, listen, you've always been my favorite son, I just thought Cooler was stronger so I placed more in him with the family business-I'm sorry I didn't support you more; maybe if I'd had more faith in you, you'd have been stronger and beaten that accursed Saiyan Goku" Cold says to me. "Thank you, I will do my best to prove my worth over my traitor brother soon enough" I reply. After our quick talk, we instead walked through the trans-matter wall and entered outer space.
Shadow the Hedgehog
As I approached the moon, I saw that there was nothing there, until, I noticed the power levels inside. Then, I focused my spatial senses (Derived from more practice with my Chaos Control in the Time Chamber) and saw the hidden fortress. It was nuts, its size alone dwarfed that of an entire city, or even 3 of Eggman's Egg Carriers, and its defense array…I almost screamed-though in space it wouldn't have made a sound. "(Thinking) So that's Mephelis's fortress, hard to imagine that humans couldn't detect it" I say to myself. "(Thought speech) Well well, if it isn't one of the little hedgehogs Eggman brags about so often" a cold and now familiar voice states arrogantly. "(Thought speech) YOU! Frieza-outta my way you pathetic lizard!" I order, not wanting to waste my time with this joker. "(Thought speech) Lizard? I'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S A LIZARD YOU TINY, IMPUDENT MAMMAL SLIME! (Roar)" Frieza screams, firing a large spear like beam of purple Ki at my back.
Without even turning my head, I made the attack begin to spiral around me like a corkscrew, in an upward path around my body, till it reached the space above my head. Once there, I made it twist a few times and fire right back at Frieza, straight through his chest. "AAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGHHHH!" Frieza bellows in pain, gripping his purple blood stained bleeding chest. But the odd thing was, I heard his scream in my ear. But we were in space. Suddenly, I saw another familiar face out here as well. "Surprising isn't it? To hear one speak in the vacuum of space" Orochimaru states. "You? How are we talking in space?" I ask, rather shocked. "How else? Lord Mephelis changed reality around the moon, so more of his minions could get out here to stop you (Laughs maniacally)" he cackles. "(Groan) And you're so dead now you spiky haired brat; YOU ALMOST HIT MY HEART!" Frieza groans. "HEH! I highly doubt that" I retort. Suddenly, a burst of black Ki hit me in the face. "That had to hurt I'm sure" King Cold says in the distance. "Really? Don't be so sure you freaks" I remark with a laugh. "(Growls with rage) YOU WILL INSULT ME NO MORE!" Frieza bellows angrily.
With a grunt of effort, he bulked up to his 100% Full Power Form. "OROCHIMARU! HEAL ME SO I CAN SUSTAIN THE POWER!" Frieza commands. "As you wish Frieza" Orochimaru replies dryly, not impressed with Frieza's attitude. With a burst of pink energy from his palm, Orochimaru fixed Frieza's wound. "(Sigh) Much better, NOW YOU DIE!" Frieza screams, rushing at me. "STOP!" I yell angrily. Frieza, surprisingly froze in place. "Don't make me turn into what you fear most" I warn. "And what might that be Shadow-A Pin Cushion? (Laughing maniacally)" Frieza says as he forms a Super Nova attack at his fingertip. "Ok, you asked for is Whitey" I state flatly, ready to end this pathetic standoff. (Growl) AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" I roar, ascending to my Super Form.
Frieza
I was about to fire my attack, until…I saw what Shadow had become. "N-n-n-no" I stutter with shock. I saw his piercing red eyes staring at me, angrily. "No, you can't be a Super Saiyan-YOU'RE NOT EVEN A SAIYAN!" I bellow, trying to hide my fear. "No, I'm not Frieza" he states emotionlessly. Then he vanished from view. The next thing I knew, his fist was buried in my stomach. "!" I spit, barely able to make a sound. "I'm SUPER SHADOW" he replies in a monotone. The next instant, I felt his hand chop my neck so hard it nearly came off. "(Weak moan)" I wheeze, losing consciousness fast. "Good night, Frieza" Shadow states, just before I black out.
King Cold
As I saw Shadow take out my son with just two hits, I realized I was next. As though on cue, Shadow appeared before me. "(Yelps) N-n-now wait a minute Shadow, we can talk about this-right?" I plead. "TALK THIS! (Roar)" Shadow roars, blasting my head with his fist, causing my skull plate to crack and fragment almost to the breaking point. The pain was so intense I couldn't even scream. "Here's a little something to CHEW THE FAT WITH!" Shadow bellows, gutting me harshly, causing my intestines to explode. "GACK!" I groan, vomiting quarts of my own purple blood.
"(Groaning) You…you're not giving me a chance, please" I beg, hoping it would lower his guard. "Sorry, I dealt with more betrayal than you can imagine, I won't fall for it Cold" Shadow states, unflinching. "(Snarl) FINE! OROCHIMARU-BOOST!" I bark. "No" he replies, smirking wickedly. "WHAT! (Moan)" I yell back, suddenly gutted by Shadow, and losing all my ability to talk. "Goodbye…Cold" Shadow says as he reels his fist back. With a single knock to my already cracked skull, he smashed my brains out, purple blood and grey matter floating into the void of space. "Forevermore" was the last comment I heard him say before I died, for the second time.
Shadow The Hedgehog
As I finished killing that monster known as King Cold, I switched my gaze to Orochimaru. "You're next (Roar)" I scream, jumping to Super Form 5, my fur turning a deep purple. "(Stammers) Later!" Orochimaru says, flying back to the moon base. But seconds later, he returned, a dark look in his eyes. "NO! I REFUSE TO TURN TAIL AND RUN! I'LL PULVERIZE YOU! (Hiss)" Orochimaru bellows. With a fierce snarl, he fired off a large black burst of Ki. I simply let it hit to show how protected I was. "You're wasting my time, move aside snake boy" I demand, tired of jokers trying to stop me. With another snarl, he shot a black energy tendril at me, in an attempt to trap me. "ENOUGH! RAH!" I thunder, charging my energy, emitting a purple shock wave that breaks the tendril. Then with a simple poise I aimed my hand at him and yelled, "CHAOS CONTROL!" With that, he was trapped in a super spatial bind and pinned there well. "(Grunting) THIS ISN'T OVER YET!" Orochimaru screams. "(Chuckle) It is for now serpent for brains" I laugh to myself. In moments, I was upon the entrance to Mephelis's castle. "KNOCK KNOCK!" I yell, kicking down the door with ease.
Doctor Robotnik AKA Eggman
I had just gotten to my turret, when I heard that all too familiar voice yelling angrily. "KNOCK KNOCK!" Shadow yells. With a thunderous kick and a metallic reverb, the giant Ivory/Adamantium door came crashing down. "EGGMAN, GET OUT HERE YOU COWARD!" Shadow bellows, causing the whole fortress to rumble. "I think it might be a good idea to do as he says, he reminds me of Vegeta!" Zarbon says, almost whimpering. "Not to worry, I've dealt with Shadow, he isn't the same kind of killer that Vegeta is, plus I woke him up from eternal stasis" I reply, not worrying. "RETHINK THAT MR. ARROGANT! HE JUST KILLED KING COLD!" Orochimaru's voice says from the portable quantum COM link systems I'd developed for all our troops. Then I got a snapshot of what Shadow had done to Cold. "(Gibbers and sputters hysterically, then manages to calm down) BE PREPARED FOR ANYTHING! SHADOW HAS BECOME A COLD BLOODED KILLER!" I scream into the COM system, almost at full-blown panic.
Immediately, Dodoria came rushing in. "Is Lord Frieza ok?" he asks eagerly. "No, but he is alive; according to Orochimaru-Frieza is just unconscious. There is no need to worry about that" I reply. "YOU'VE GOT 10 SECONDS TO REVEAL YOURSELF BEFORE I SEND A PRESSURE WAVE THROUGH THIS CASTLE AND POP YOUR HEAD LIKE A GRAPE EGGMAN!" Shadow roars. "EEEEEEEEEE! BUT I HAVE THAT TO WORRY ABOUT!" I shout, just barely avoiding a panic attack. As I scrambled into the cockpit of my redesigned Egg Wyvern, I activated the Ki Shielding. "That should keep me safe from even his biggest Final Flash or whatever he uses (Chuckles deviously)" I say to myself convincingly. "We'll see, now don't you mess this up Dr. Robotnik" Slade warns. "Yeah yeah, I'm so scared of you Slade, you hurt me you'll be talking to Mephelis, I only fear him" I retort. "We'll see about that, because I do believe that Shadow is here" Slade says, suddenly gone before I turn my head. "Guess whooooo?" Shadow mocks in a singsong voice. "(Gulp) Calm down there man, you're Professor Robotnik, you're a genius-your Egg Wyvern is much more advanced this time" I think to myself.
"Ready for a serious kick in the pants Eggman?" Shadow asks derogatorily. "How dare you talk to High Commander Robotnik that way you lousy son of a-(Gags)" Dodoria starts, then finding a fist in his mouth. "BITCH! AAAAGGGH! (Low rumble accompanied by a flash and boom)" Shadow roars, firing a moderately powerful Ki blast down Dodoria's throat, knocking him into the wall with a sickening hole in his gut, spewing stomach juices and purple blood like a fountain. "(Groaning and spitting blood) P-please…h-have m-mercy" Dodoria pleads. "Did you ever once give it to the countless millions you've killed in ages past for Frieza? Did you ever feel any remorse?" Shadow says, his purple eyes flaring brightly with anger. Dodoria remained dead silent, being unable to reply. "I didn't think so, now its time for you to enter the otherworld you monster!" Shadow roars.
Shadow then raised his hand, and immediately, there was a horrid low rumbling; it was so low, that even from inside my protective cockpit, it rattled my bones like maracas. "(Groaning) Unngghhhhhh…AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH-MAKE IT STOP!" Dodoria screams and pleads. Dodoria quickly stopped bleeding, and his head started vibrating visibly. "THHHEEEE PAAAIIIINNNNN!" Dodoria sobs, his face wet with tears of sheer torture. "Don't worry, the pain will be over soon" Shadow smirks, the smile of a sadist adorning his face. As Dodoria continued to sob, the skin under his face began to bubble slightly. Then, after several seconds…-
SPLAT! Dodoria's head popped, as though a gourd had been smashed. Brains, mucosal membranes, bones, muscles, teeth, and flesh flew everywhere in a gory explosion of pure horror, like popping a meat filled balloon. "(Gag) That's just sick, appalling, Sadist-(Gags again, then vomits)" I say through the speakers, cutting myself short as I take time to puke.
"What's the matter doc-Don't like the new and improved Shadow? (Laughs maniacally)" he replies, casually striding towards my still grounded Egg Wyvern. "YIIHH! (Pressing buttons madly) I GOTTA GET AIRBORNE AND ACTIVATE THE WEAPONS!" I scream, now very terrified. "Too late doc" he smirks. I then realized, he was already in the cockpit. "(High pitched girly scream) AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" I shriek, pure fear filling me, making my blood run ice cold. "(Mouth curls into a wicked smirk) Surprised to see me?" he mocks, making me break into a cold sweat. "Just get it over with quickly, I refuse to beg" I say staunchly.
Shadow The Hedgehog
As I saw Eggman admit defeat, I remembered all the doctor had done for me in the past. So I decided-"Alright, you're free to go" As I warped out of the cockpit, I saw with my spatial sense his contorted "WHAT THE (BLEEP)" face. "SAY WHAT!" he screams. "You heard me Robotnik, you're not gonna die today doc" I reply. With that, I warped to another part of the castle. "Alright, I've been from the entrance, to the main western defense cannon, now lets check farther into the base" I say to myself. As I waltzed down the corridor, I noticed that there was a dark aura in the air. "(Snarl) Mephelis, his essence is so foul It pollutes the very air we breathe" I mutter to myself.
I then began to run through the castle, sensing down the huge, winding corridors to detect the others. The place seemed to go on forever, and I kept feeling signals moving. The inside of the fortress was messing with my sensory capabilities quite thoroughly, but I was still able to sense a steady signal, to which I rapidly proceeded.
But just as I stopped to turn another corner, going deeper towards the center of the fortress, I then spotted a taller, ominous person standing in my path. "Naraku. I'll give you to the count of three to get out of the way. Otherwise, I'll be giving this corridor a paint job with your blood." But Naraku simply cackled at me, saying, "What makes you think I would even need three seconds to KILL YOU?"
Naraku
As soon as I screamed, I then thrust my arms forward and unleashed a tidal wave of my miasma, a horrible concoction of toxic sludge. It was sure to tear through the animal standing before me and dissolve him into nothing. To my surprise, but nonetheless delight, the hedgehog didn't move at all! "HAA HAA!" I gloated as the huge wave of miasma washed over Shadow, covering him head to toe in my destructive goop!
"So much for your heroism!" I cackled down the corridor. But as I continued to chortle at my dead opponent, I learned suddenly that…he wasn't dead.
When I caught sight of something still standing in the sludge, I felt my throat close up, just as I sputtered, "Y-you're…ali-"
He then yelled back at me, as the miasma began to slide away, "Of course I'm alive, you fool! Don't you think I would be prepared for this kind of situation?" Before I could say anything, I then felt my stomach erupt into sheer pain, as I looked down and saw a fist in my gut.
"AAAACACCK!" The pain was unbelievable, but I wouldn't let Shadow toss me aside so easily. I then clenched my fist and swung at the hedgehog, only to have my hand caught. "Well, you have some fight in you. Better get rid of that," The maniacal animal said, suddenly squeezing and crushing my hand. "AHHH OWWWW!" I yelled, slicing, fiery pain flying up my arm as my knuckles and fingers were snapped into pieces. I tried to pull my hand back, but Shadow kept squeezing, tighter and tighter. I then felt horror as I saw blood coming from my hand. Finally, I then tried to punch him with my other hand, but just as I had reeled back my arm, I then felt it suddenly break in half at the forearm.
"WAHHHHHHHHHHH!" I bellowed, not able to comprehend what happened. I then looked and saw that Shadow had moved and snapped my arm like a toothpick. "I have more important things to worry about than you." Then, without warning, I felt my face shatter from a sudden and massive kick to the jaw. I felt blood pour from all over my face, as my jaw, in two pieces and dislocated, brought the most horrible pain I'd ever felt to me. The last thing I heard before I went unconscious was, "Be thankful your head is still on your shoulders."
Shadow The Hedgehog
With that pathetic weakling aside, I then raced down the rest of the corridor and turned. I continued going towards the signal I was still feeling consistently. After a few more moments of blazing through the castle, I then came upon a huge, high tech looking door. I then used the spatial abilities to rip the door to both sides. I looked in and saw that it was a laboratory. I was still feeling the signal here, so I entered, only to hear a cold voice say, "Well, I never would have suspected that Lord Mephelis's other defenses would have been breached, but your trek ends with me, Shadow."
And from behind a large computer console walked Dr. Gero. "You? You're alive? Sonic knocked your block off, literally!" I said in amazement. "Indeed, your ally Sonic did quite a number on me, but I already went through that, shall we say, headache, once before. And now, this time, I've been rebuilt to withstand far more than ever before!"
I looked at the scientist and saw he was right. His head was no longer a transparent dome, and his body wasn't that of a frail old man anymore. Instead, it was of a much younger human, much sturdier, with armor. I just chuckled though, saying, "You must have suffered more brain damage than I thought if you think that will save you from me. But I have no time to deal with you. I'm here to free the others."
"Oh, and is that why you came here, then? Well, I have some bad news for you, Shadow. Your friends aren't here. We just set up a signal to make you believe that they were, just to get you to me." I growled with frustration, and I yelled at Gero, "You'd better tell me where they are, or I'll melt you into a pile of used parts!"
"Hmph, you have sure become like Vegeta. But no matter. In a few moments, you won't be like anyone or anything, when you cease to exist!"
At that moment, Gero darted at me, jumping into the air and coming down at me with his leg extended. I smirked, however, and said, "Wrong move." I then jumped into the air and moved fast enough to his extended leg from both sides at, for all intents and purposes, the same time, causing Gero's leg to buckle in the middle. "AHH!" Gero cried out from the hit, only to scream in even more pain as he hit the ground with his kick and snapped off his leg. "OWWWWWW!"
After that, I then ran up behind Gero and plunged my hands into him, ripping out pieces of his body. "AARGHGGHHG!" Gero yelled as electricity from the shorting circuits caused him to convulse. I then jumped up into the air after throwing down another fistful of wires and circuits and brought a knee drop down on Gero's leg, crushing it at the knee.
"AHHHHHHHH!" Gero screamed yet again as his eyes bugged out of his head, the pain apparent in his face. "It's too bad that Mephelis never took pain out of your system," I told him, enjoying his pain. I then stomped on where I had knee dropped and ripped his useless limb from his body. But just as I had done that, he suddenly gripped my throat with his remaining hand and cackled suddenly, "AHHA! That was a stupid move of you Shadow! Now you'll give me all your power and I'll-"
I decided to save him the trouble of giving a speech and shoved my fingers into his throat, pulling up and wrenching the head right off of Gero's body. The head rolled to the ground as I reached up and wrapped my hand around his arm, which still gripped my neck, and crushed it at the wrist, making it let go.
"D-don't think this is over, you. You'll die before you save your friends," Gero still spoke, even though his head was detached. But as I walked out of the lab, and then turned and pointed my hand at the lab, I answered, "I don't die…"
With a flash of light, I sent a Big Bang Attack into the lab, causing the entire lab to explode brightly and ferociously. I saw Gero's head get engulfed by the explosion, as his face and metal skull were dissolved by the blast. I smirked and then turned, heading back down the other corridor to continue my search.
Mephelis The Dark
Damn this hedgehog! How was he able to defeat several of my men with no effort at all? I drummed my fingers, thinking of what I could throw at Shadow to stop him, when Zarbon came up and bowed, saying, "Lord Mephelis, shall I fight that insolent animal for you?" I decided I might as well use Zarbon, even if he wouldn't do much, went I thought of something. "Why yes, Zarbon, that would please me very much, but first…"
With a wave of my hand, I created several shadows, which soon morphed into humanoid servants. I then turned to Zarbon and said, "You will be aided." Before Zarbon could ask me what I meant, the shadow grunts leapt onto him, causing him to yell in panic. "LORD MEPHELIS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" But I didn't answer, instead watching the shadows take over Zarbon's body. Within seconds, Zarbon was a mass of blackness. And then, I waved my hand, the Zarbon became visible again. Now, instead of blue, his skin was a dark violet. His eyes had become narrower, and his hair was black. "Now, you are Zarbonese of the Shade (A/N: Pronounced Zar-bon-ease). You will find this new power much to your liking." The new Zarbonese looked at himself and replied, "My, master Mephelis, this is incredible. I shall tear apart our little friend with this."
"Wait, Zarbonese, you shall not go alone," I tell him, at which he waited and I turned to one of the windows that looked out upon earth. With a wave of my hand, I summoned something I had found earlier, much to my amusement. Immediately, in front of Zarbonese, a form he found very familiar appeared.
"T-that's! That's Captain Ginyu!" Zarbonese stammered, seeing the familiar purple horned fighter, who still possessed the mind of a frog. "Well, he's of no use to me like that. I would get the actual Ginyu, who resides in the body of a frog, but that fool has no more will to fight. So instead, I shall give this body to a demon."
With that, I summoned another mass of shadow, although this time, its form became that of a reverse jointed bipedal monster, which looked at me with exaltation. I then pointed to the body of Ginyu, and it hissed, jumping into the air and osmosing into Ginyu. The purple body on the ground convulsed from the sudden alteration of its being, as its skin grew darker and its horns grew longer and bent, like Cold's used to be.
Then, Ginyu's body looked up at me with a hideous smile on my face and I smirked. I silently commanded it to fight with Zarbonese against Shadow, and it turned to Zarbonese, who bowed to me and said, "We shall rid your domain of this little gremlin, my lord."
"Good," I answered, and the two immediately took off for Shadow. Though I still had doubt they would win, I figured I might as well get some amusement from watching them fight.
Shadow The Hedgehog
As I neared the far west corner, I felt a familiar energy. "Zarbon! I should take care of that thing now, and I will!" I say out loud, as I perform a snap vanishing warp to his location. "ALRIGHT ZARBON PREPARE TO…-" I start, then abruptly stop as I notice the changes. "Surprised Shadow? I've embraced their dark grip! (Laughs maniacally)" Zarbon replies haughtily. I was disgusted at how sickening his features were now. " Speechless of the beauty? My new looks aren't all this transformation has brought me" Zarbon continues. I stared with shock as I couldn't help but gaze at this new, darkness stained version of Frieza's old right hand man. "Oh, and by the way, I'm not Zarbon anymore" he adds. Then with a burst of speed and power I wasn't expecting-he knocked me right in the mouth, and onto the floor.
"I have become Zarbonese of the Shade!" he states proudly. As I scrambled to my feet, a very dark and sinister figure-similar in appearance to the now late King Cold, walked up and stood beside Zarbon. "Oh, and meet my associate, Demon Ginyu" he continues. Then with a raspy voice, the body of Ginyu replied, "My real name is Zanairathu, but you can call me Zanyu-in homage to this dark fighter's original name" I was appalled, what was this creature's true form? "You're not Ginyu…what are you?" I ask as I look at the wicked smirk on Zanyu's face. "My kind is known by many names; children of darkness, fallen ones, servants of evil. But you know us as…(Smirks wickedly) demons" Zanyu explains.
I suddenly realized what had happened to Ginyu. "Mephelis…he gave you Ginyu's body-didn't he?" I ask, still rather confused. "More like let me know it was available, when Mephelis showed it to me-it had vacancy written all over it; all that was in there was the mind of a frog, so It had no soul to be in conflict with (Chuckles maliciously)" Zanyu explains. I was appalled by what this demon had done to Ginyu's already gruesome body (I remember what he used to be like thanks to episodes of Dragon Ball Z I had seen back at Capsule Corp). "Enough chatter Zanyu-let us annihilate Shadow for good so the Dark Lord doesn't have to bother with him" Zarbon adds.
At this, I realized how serious they were-and broke out into deep laughter. "Ha ha! Ah ha, AH HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAA!" I rumble, causing the moon to quake quite visibly. "WHATS SO FUNNY!" Zarbon demands, his face light pink from anger. "You single minded fools, its time I reveal to you the true nature of my existence" I say, attempting to start my story. Having been taught by Adam, Silver, and Chiaotzu, I had learned many a deal of telepathic techniques. As I opened my left palm, a mental holo-projection of my father Black Doom appeared. "This is Black Doom, leader of an Alien Race known from my universe as the Black Arms. He is essentially my father, for from his blood came the source of my ultimate asset; true, ultimate, unalterable immortality" I begin, catching their interest with the mention of me being truly immortal.
"Black Doom is a unique life form, he is immortal down to his core. Even after I defeated him in pitched combat and destroyed his body-he still lives on somewhere-because I could sense him, and by now his body has reformed, however-he is no threat without the chaos emeralds, so I can rest easy" I continue. They both stared at me with awe. "You cannot kill me you fools, do you really want to fight me…(Dark purple aura bursts to twice my size) KNOWING I CAN END YOU BOTH!" I scream, causing the ground to crack and crumble from my power.
Immediately, they both tensed and prepared to fight to defend themselves-knowing they had no way to harm me, it was all they could do. As I cracked my knuckles, they winced slightly-knowing what lay in store for them. "TAKE THIS!" Zarbon growls, twin beams of purple Ki suddenly bursting from his eyes and hitting me dead on. The beams collided with my shield and immediately exploding, creating a thick violet fog-similar to Naraku's pitiful miasma. "GOT HIM!" Zarbon shouts with a growl, thinking he had won. "Wanna bet?" I chuckle. Then with a flash, I advanced on both of them.
Cyborg
As I used my Ki Sense (Which still baffled me) to detect Shadow and his battle power, I was amazed at his power. "Wow…and to think he's barely three feet tall; no being that small I've ever met has that kinda power" I remark. "No kidding, he kicks my butt in Hedgehog form any day" Beast Boy comments. "Power means nothing against Mephelis, its only his immortality that makes it safe to fight against the demon" Broly adds. "Yeah, no kidding; after seeing what Reality Warping can really do, I'm not planning on going up against Mephelis anytime soon" Control Freak comments. "Well what I want to understand is…how come Shadow hasn't gotten back with our friends yet if he is so capable?" Robin asks, breaking the cycle. "Obviously you haven't bothered to look at Mephelis's fortress; use a telescope" Saania says, seemingly annoyed by all this.
"Here, how about this then?" Adam then said, snapping his fingers and creating a large telescope with a monitor attached, which turned on to show me the biggest castle I've ever seen. It was easily more than 1000 times the combined size of both Brother Blood's schools.
"WHOA! THAT'S his fortress?" Daniel exclaimed, astounded by the huge size of this bastion of evil.
"Man, no wonder it's taking him some time. With a place like that, he first has to find them," Areiko said, Koga adding, "Yeah, it would probably take me days to get through that place!"
"Well, at least Shadow's up there. He could probably get through that entire castle in under half an hour," Dawn said, who was staring with wide eyes at the screen.
Sakuya then put in, "Yeah, that is, if there aren't any traps or enemies he has to face."
"Oh yeah... There were some villains left from the invasion, weren't there?" Katie said, and I realized she was right. Several of the villains had escaped from us.
"Well, it's not like they're all that strong," Sikyomaru said, "We could have beat them earlier, without Adam or Unlimited, so it's not like Shadow will have that much trouble with them."
"Yeah, especially since I can sense he's found out how to activate the fifth level of power in the Chaos Emeralds," Cloud said, at which Sonic spoke up, "He's reached Super Form 5 now?"
Silver also looked interested, and Cloud nodded, at which Talos then said, "Yeah, those other villains will be no match for him right now."
"I hope so, but even so, Shadow is unbeatable, being immortal and all," Corey pointed out.
Meegan then said, "I was hoping I could have some kind of power like that, but I guess being only half-vampire doesn't afford me the same powers."
"Is there some way we can zoom in and see into Mephelis's base, now that it's not protected as much?" Kaitlyn asked, "I want to see how Shadow's doing."
Adam then answered, "Oh yeah, I guess we could give that a try."
Adam then went up to the console and fiddled with some buttons and the screen changed. Within a couple of moments, a fuzzy screen appeared, but soon cleared up to show Shadow on screen.
"Whoa! He's violet!" Ellen exclaimed, and Chelsey added, "That's a cute color for him."
But before anyone else could comment on Shadow, Vegeta suddenly yelled, "ZARBON!"
We looked quickly to another part of the screen, and sure enough, that guy named Zarbon from this universe was standing in front of Shadow!
"What happened to him?" Daniel asked the question we were all thinking.
"And speaking of that, what's Ginyu doing there?" Goku then piped up, and the screen panned to show that Ginyu was standing next to Zarbon.
But then, Unlimited broke his silence and said, "They've been granted extra power. Looks like Mephelis retrieved Ginyu's body without anyone knowing."
"Man, this makes me worried about what else Shadow might have to fight," Katie then said, but Adam cheerfully said, "As long as he can stay clear of Mephelis for as long as he can, he'll be alright."
Shadow the Hedgehog
I decided it was time to push these weaklings aside and move on. I immediately blasted forward and landed a kick straight into Zarbonese's stomach, making him choke up purple blood. However, just as I had done so, Zanyu suddenly rushed forward and struck me with a punch of his own. I fell back from Zarbonese, but bolted up quickly and went for Zanyu, unleashing a fury of punches and kicks all over the body thief.
"ARGH!" Zanyu screamed as I smacked him once more in the face, making him fall to the ground and clutch his face. However, my arm was suddenly grabbed, and I turned to look at Zarbonese, who said, "Now I've got you, you filthy rodent!"
I was suddenly pulled through the air and smashed into the ground. But without a pause, I then grabbed Zarbonese's arm and said, "Going down."
I then heaved Zarbon over my head and plunged him into the stone floor, making him bust right through it. But before I had a chance to turn my attention to Zanyu, I was suddenly grabbed by said demon.
"HA! NOW I'VE GOT YOU, FOOLISH HEDGEHOG!" Zanyu said triumphantly, as Zarbonese pulled himself up from the ground and looked to me, smirking evilly.
"Well, look what we have here! Our very own living punching bag!" Zarbonese yelled, quickly striking my face with a punch. I growled with anger, but was hit with another punch. But as Zarbonese was bringing forth the third punch, I smirked.
When Zarbonese struck at me again, I yelled, "CHAOS CONTROL!"
Time immediately stopped, and I worked my way out of Zanyu's grip. I then moved away from the two to watch the outcome of this.
I then let down Chaos Control and watched, amused, as Zarbonese punched Zanyu right in the gut as hard as he could.
"OOF!" Zanyu grunted, falling to his knees in shock.
"What?" Zarbonese yelled in frustration, which I answered with a swift kick to the back of the head, leaving a bloody gash that knocked out Zarbonese.
Then, Zanyu, still clutching his stomach, tried to get up, but was in too much pain from his ally's friendly fire. I turned to him and said, "I would kill you, but I have friends to get out of here."
With one last swift kick, I left a dent in Zanyu's forehead, which bled and made him fall backwards, unconscious as well.
I then turned and blasted down the corridor, knowing that there wasn't much time. I needed to find the others and get them out of here.
I felt in my bones, though, that I wasn't going to get out of here without a fight with someone I really didn't want to fight. My first instinct was Mephelis, but I felt a deep dread that it could be someone else.