someone actually knew what they were doing
It all happened so fast. The paw of the lizard swept downward, bringing with it a gust of wind and heat. However, the foot never made it to its destination. An obscured figure, moving far too fast for Sonic to see in his current state, shot in front of him. A beam of pure… fire?… electricity?… something swept through the air, arcing upwards as its wielder guided it at the massive paw above them; completely interrupting the killing blow.
The screeching roar of the beast echoed through the air, rippling Sonic's damaged fur and shaking his broken bones. Growling menacingly, the figure above him crouched down, spreading its limbs in front of him like an angel extending its protective, glowing wings. Enraged, the beast howled, opening its jaws wide and letting its roar ripple the water and shake the foundations of everything in the room. The figure did not back down, hands glowing and quills shining as it challenged the beast in front of it.
"You will not touch him." The figure spat in a familiar voice, letting itself bristle in aggression.
"...Shadow?" Sonic coughed, trying to make sense of the recognizable form and voice in front of him…. defending him….
"Get out of here! I'll stop the Biolizard!" Shadow commanded, confirming the young hedgehog's suspicions about his identity.
"What are you doing?" Sonic asked, thoroughly confused.
"Helping you out - now go!"
Sonic limped up the stairs of the shrine, Tails running down and helping him as the two Projects stared each other down.
"Sonic! Are you okay?" The young fox cried, trying with all his might not to hug his broken brother. Knuckles ran over to help Miles with the young hero.
The blue blur said nothing. He only allowed his trusted friends to lay him down on the top of the stairway and look him over. Knuckles began tending to the wounded hedgehog while Tails began working again, looking at diagrams and running through the colony diagnostics.
"Shadow…" Sonic coughed, turning to look at the ring below them. What was that traitor doing? He had the nerve to show up in front of him after all that happened? A gloved hand prodded his side, making the not so blue blur hiss with pain.
"Your ribs are broken." Knuckles observed, trying to figure out a way to set the poor child's bones. "Your arm has several fractures too."
"You… you don't say…" Sonic wheezed, trying to remain calm in this horrid situation. Rumbling shook the core again as the Biolizard charged at the ebony hedgehog, screeching in blind rage. Sonic groaned as the vibrations racked his body, sending waves of pain rippling throughout his systems.
"Sonic!" Tails cried, looking up from his handheld. "I have wonderful news!"
"What… is it?" Sonic moaned, tuning his head to face his young friend.
"The power lines to the engines have been cut!" The fox squeaked. "The ARK's descent will stop before anything bad happens!"
"Wow! That's good!" Knuckles cheered, pumping his spiked fists. "How did that happen?"
Another ugly roar emerged from the angry beast as it swatted at the adult mobian. Unlike Sonic's luck, Shadow dodged the attack, using the distraction to spin towards the head. Sonic's emerald eyes went wide as the elder uncurled, letting his metal shoes grind against the tubes that ran from the head to the machinery on its back.
The lizard roared in pain as Shadow spun into the life support systems, doing extreme damage and causing tiny explosions to rock the beast's body. Rearing its head up, the Biolizard gasped for air, trying to gather strength for the fight. That had to hurt.
"...Shadow?" Sonic gasped, trying to connect the dots as the fight continued, this time on fair terms. Had the adult known what to do in case the beast escaped? Where had he been while the kids raced towards the core? Was he responsible for the ARK's engine failure?
Shadow spun again, this time gaining height as momentum pushed him upwards. The beast hissed, spitting those horrible dark energy balls at the adult in an attempt to throw him off course. The black mobian was unfazed, merely weaving through the spheres before striking the core again, this time with a spear of Chaos Energy. The roars and cries made the colony air seem thick and heavy. Tails and Knuckles covered their sensitive ears to avoid the painfully loud screeches.
"What are you children doing?" Shadow shouted, dodging another attack from the beast. "Get the Emeralds and get out of her-"
The large tail slammed against the adult's body, throwing him against the pavement. Shadow, using the momentum, screeched a halt on his hands and feet before redirecting himself at the beast's head.
Strong hands wrapped around Sonic's body as Knuckles lifted him off the pavement. The blue blur protested, trying to convince the echidna he could walk on his own. Tails, however, stood statue-still where he was, staring at the battle before them.
"We…" The fox mumbled, white as a sheet. "We'll never make it through…"
Sonic took incentive.
"Shadow!" He cried, catching the adult's attention. "We're trapped!"
Without saying a word, Shadow launched himself at the beast's head, catching its horrible snout and pulling its head backwards. The Biolizard stumbled back, trying to regain its bearings and leaving a small opening for the trio to pass through.
"Hurry up!" Shadow shouted, pounding his way into the machinery once again. The screeches and roars filled the air again as the children bolted across the pathway. However, this screech was different than the others. Before Tails could even say "wrench", a cluster of orbs rose out of the fluid, hovering in midair as they floated their way through the room. The metallic clamp of metal shoes hitting rock sounded next them as Shadow landed.
"Stop gawking and go!" Shadow commanded, pushing on the echidna in an attempt to goad him onwards. "I can't hold it off forever!"
"Shadow…" Sonic groaned, reaching his soaked paws out towards him. "... no…"
"Get out of here!" Shadow shouted. He curled tight, crackling with energy as he spun, and shot towards the floating orbs.
As the trio ran, the Biolizard noticed them in their escape, howling with fury. The orbs, glowing brighter, began to shoot towards them. Ducking and dodging, Tails made a beeline for the exit doors, Knuckles not far behind. Echoes of more pain shook the room as Shadow obviously landed another hit. Knuckles turned back to look, getting hit square in the head with what looked like… an egg.
"Shadow...!" Sonic weakly cried, pointing towards the beast. Tails turned to look as well.
Shadow was in the mouth of the beast, prying its jaws open with his entire body like a stick in the maw of an alligator. The black spheres of energy tinged at the back of its throat, but Shadow countered with energy of his own, causing small explosions to ignite in the beast's throat. With a mighty roar, the Biolizard spit Shadow out, throwing him a mere pace away from the trio with more eggs following after.
"Only one more hit…" Shadow growled, crouching low to begin again. However, this is when Knuckles noticed someone important had slipped from his grasp.
"Sonic!" The echidna shouted, noticing the blue hedgehog near the monstrous beast.
"Shadow do something!" Tails begged, tugging on the adult's cuffs. "He's going to get himself killed!"
The ebony hedgehog raced towards the blue blur, Chaos Energy pouring through his system in an attempt to travel faster than the young hero. Sonic bounced off egg after egg, hissing and wincing in pain as each blow worsened his condition. Ruby eyes grew small as the blue blur rose above the weak point, spinning tight as he readied for the attack.
"Sonic no!" All three mobians cried, watching in what seemed like slow motion as Sonic barreled towards the machine. His blunt, splintered quills broke through the tough metal, sending jets of fluid and vapors of scalding heat bursting through the air. Burned, partially unconscious, and even more injured than before, Sonic was thrown backwards. His eyes fluttered shut as he headed face first towards the hard pavement in mere seconds, awaiting the head trauma that could leave him dead or severely injured for life. The cries and pleads of his friends echoed around him as he drifted towards the stone floor.
Without any hesitation, Shadow channeled Chaos Energy, wrapping it around himself in beams of light.
"CHAOS CONTROL!"