live 'n learn!

With only two short words, Shadow teleported them outside the ARK, revealing to them the horrid situation everyone was faced with. The Biolizard hadn't simply attached itself to the cannon. Things were never that simple - especially for Sonic. The horrible beast had fuzed itself with the colony, turning it into a horrid, hideous mass of flesh and metal that swelled and pulsated in the low pressure environment. Its metal tubes that once ran from various places, hung broken and severed, swinging and floating as the lizard clawed its way towards the planet below.

"What in the actual name of Chaos!" Sonic exclaimed in thorough, absolute disgust.

A roar of fury echoed through the low oxygen environment as it noticed the two hedgehogs. Eggs seeped from the torn skin, creating a slight barrier around it. Sonic gagged. This miserable mass of bone, flesh, and organs was going to his first real fight away from Eggman? Just his luck.

"I'll head to the other side." Shadow announced, floating in front of his younger companion. "Make sure to hit the pulsating spots on those wounds - those are its organs."

"Excuse me, what?" Sonic coughed, but it was too late. Shadow had already taken off to the other side of the huge beast. Mumbling and grumbling to himself, Sonic began to plot his attacks. There weren't many open wounds on the Biolizard, but the young hedgehog was sure it wouldn't be that way for long. It didn't have a Super Form to protect it against the dangers of open space, so the longer it strained itself: the more wounded it would get.

Loud cries of agony screeched into Sonic's ears as the lizard, if you could call it that anymore, raised its head in a roar. Shadow must have landed a hit already. Inhaling sharply, Sonic prepared himself for his attack.

"Sonic! Can you hear me?" Tails cried over the communicator, sounding extremely panicked and concerned. "You have to hurry it up! The ARK will reach the atmosphere in four minutes!"

"Four minutes!" Sonic exclaimed. "I'll try my best..."

Although he was in a Super State, Sonic still felt the strain of his last battle burning at his body. He was already on a time limit… but would he actually survive this battle? He was hurting and had several broken bones, which is several more than his last encounter in a super state - which had none at all. At least the power of the Emeralds dulled the pain a bit. But was this going to affect him afterwards? Would there even be an afterwards? Oh if only he had more experience and knowledge in life - perhaps things could have gone differently...

An obvious opening appeared in the egg patrol around the Biolizard, prompting Sonic to charge through the defense. The hedgehog curled himself tight and spun, ramming himself into one of the many bulges that littered the body of the mutilated beast. Ugh. That was disgusting.

With a mighty roar, the lizard recoiled, hissing and spitting - but still dragging itself towards the planet. An egg flew out from somewhere and collided against Sonic, pushing him out and away from the huge body. Dang it! That kinda burned! The roars and screeches of more pain rippled his glowing golden fur, truly standing as a testament to how huge the beast actually was. A glimpse of Shadow appeared as the long neck of the Biolizard craned around, searching for Sonic with poor eyesight.

Lazers swept the area, almost catching Sonic off guard and nearly hitting him. It was sheer luck that saved the hedgehog from being struck by the purple beams. With a quick dodge, Sonic spotted another opening. Charging full speed yet again, Sonic managed to get through the mass of eggs and strike the pulsating organ, nearly vomiting as he came away with bits of fluid clinging to his fur. Luckily, it burned away before he had too much time to dwell on it.

More lazers swept the area, leading Sonic to question where the beams were actually coming from. Were they a result of the Chaos Energy currently spilling from the two hedgehogs' bodies? Were they an ability previously available to the beast? Were they even controlled by the beast? Sonic just didn't know. And the horrible nature of the situation did not give the glowing golden hedgehog time to think. All he could focus on was defeating this thing.

A flash of light erupted on the far side of the lizard, breaking off bits of flesh and machinery. The screams and cries of the beast were muted by its damaged throat and lungs. Shadow must have done a lot of damage already. Another opening shone through the massive defense, letting Sonic barrel through and strike another open wound.

The Biolizard didn't even seem to care that the two mobians were slowly killing it. In fact, the longer the battle carried on, the less and less it retaliated. It was almost as if it was devoting all of its power to dragging the ARK into the planet. Sonic began to panic. If the beast wasn't fighting back, then how was he supposed to stop the colony's collision course?

"Sonic? What are you doing?" Tails' voice echoed. "You can't just stand still - do something! We will die if this fails!"

"Tails, something is off." Sonic muttered, noticing Shadow was still on the offence. "It isn't fighting back really."

"No duh!" Knuckles responded. "It needs that energy to get to the planet."

"Yes - I know." Sonic hissed. "But what should I do about it? It seems wrong to fight an enemy that doesn't fight back..."

"Sonic…" Amy sighed. "We need you to kill it."

"If you don't," Rouge chimed in. "We'll all die…"

With a heavy sigh, Sonic began again; systematically flying around and checking for wounds to attack. Opening after opening appeared in it's weak defense, allowing the two hedgehogs to cause more and more damage. It's once orange scales had become muddled with dust, blood, and debris, making it look more like a mass of screaming, angry flash rather than a lizard. Shadow could be seen over the Biolizard now. Its broken, battered, weak body allowed Sonic to see the adult's precise attacks and calculated blows.

Sonic found himself no longer dodging eggs, as they had all been used up and burned away by the approaching atmosphere. The planet was closer now, the young mobian noticed. It was alarming how fast it had taken for the beast to drag it so far. He had to do something. There wasn't much time left at all….

Then it happened, a small wound in the perfect spot appeared in the rough hide of the monstrous lizard. Right where all the important organs were. Without much hesitation, Sonic charged, throwing himself against the side only to be partially blocked by the beast's ribcage. Darn. He attacked again, curling tight and ramming himself against the hard bones, striking again and again and again as the reinforced structures grew weaker and weaker,

Finally, with one last blow, Sonic found himself flying clean through the beast's heart, severing all of its life functions and leaving it with seconds to live. With a last agonizing cry, the Biolizard raised its head, coughing out blood and spheres of dark matter. Its mutilated body fell limp, marking the end of a grueling three-minute battle.

Sonic cheered. He danced and twirled, celebrating the end of the miserable battle with the miserable foe. Joy poured into his system as he laughed and sang. This was glorious! Take that you ugly monster! Sonic spun and twisted, happy to have finally ended this adventure. Shadow flew up behind him, stabilizing the young hedgehog as he wiggled with glee. But the adult wasn't celebrating.

"Sonic.." Shadow stated urgently. "It's not over yet."

"What? Why?"

"The ARK is caught in the planet's gravitational pull."

And Shadow was right. The ARK was still hurtling towards the planet.