The four siblings huddled close together as they surveyed the clearing. The cannon took up most of the space in the center and was almost as large as Sleet and Dingo's old airship. It was surrounded by swatbots, buzzbombers, and various other robots as guards. But speaking of the two bumbling bounty hunters...
"A perfect hit!" Sleet cheered to himself devilishly, "Now all we have to do is find the remains of those meddlesome hedgehogs."
After not hearing a response, the half-roboticized wolf turned around to find Dingo cuddling with a motobug struggling to rev away. Sleet placed his hands on his hips and sneered at the ladybug-themed contraption.
"Dingo!" he barked, startling the orange mutt. "Put that down. We have a job to do."
Dingo pouted and hugged the machine closer. "Can I take her with me? She'll be good. I promise!"
Sleet rolled his eyes and facepalmed. "Don't tell me you're actually attached to that thing?"
"Her name is Valentina Sophia Montego III, and she is my new best friend. I promise I'll take good care of her, Sleet! I'll feed her, and wash her, and take her out for long walks."
Sleet sighed deeply in exasperation, pinching his nose in a rare effort to curb his temper while his partner rambled on and on about his new "pet." The hedgehogs spying on them struggled to hide their amusement.
The only one of the four to remain focused on their task was Shadow. He simply rolled his eyes at the two bounty hunters, feeling the slightest bit embarrassed that they got shot down by these two, of all people.
As he surveyed the clearing, he noted that there was a larger number of robots than the first time Eggman had attacked. This wasn't exactly a problem for the Ultimate Lifeform, neither did it pose much of a threat to Sonic, but he had a limited knowledge of Sonia and Manic's fighting abilities, and he couldn't afford to both take down the hoard of robots and look over his shoulder to check on them at the same time. Their best bet to finishing this quickly would be to work together.
Hear the voice inside your heart.
Sing the song you've known so long.
Shadow tilted his head as an idea formed. Maybe their best bet would be to sing together. Crazy as it sounded, it felt plausible.
"I can't believe I'm actually thinking this," he whispered, turning his attention to the now-curious triplets, "but, I have an idea."
Sonic smirked, and Sonia and Manic shared an excited glance before the four huddled together. As he shared his idea, the three nodded in agreement. Sonic gave one last thumbs up.
"Let's do it to it."
Dingo looked over his shoulder, clutching the newly dubbed Valentina close to his chest.
"Uh, did you hear that, Sleet?"
The cybernetic wolf groaned loudly in exasperation. They hadn't even left the clearing yet, and the bulky brute was already jumping at strange noises.
"What is it now, you insufferable oaf?"
One of the buzzbombers exploded, startling the two bounty hunters. Sleet slowly unclipped the gun in his hilt. His claws hand hovered over the weapon as his eyes scanned the tree line.
"Who's there?! Show yourself!" he commanded. There was a flash of light, and Valentina the motobug blew up in Dingo's hands.
The bounty hunters pressed themselves back to back. Dingo held his fists up, angry and distraught over the sudden destruction of his new "pet." Sleet had his laser gun drawn and aimed in front of him.
Then the drums began to sound. And the all too familiar sound of an electric guitar quickly followed. A thunderous clapping joined in with the rhythm.
Sleet felt the fur on his neck stand up, and he fought the urge to let his hackles raise at the threat. Instead, he held his gun tighter and focused on the dark forest ahead. As an electric keyboard began to join the beat of the drums and strumming of the guitar, the wolf could feel his partner stiffen.
"Sleet, I got a bad feeling about this."
The gray wolf used his free hand to press a button on the controller attached to his other wrist, and all of the robots in the clearing activated and formed a perimeter around the clearing, the two mobians, and the cannon. All they could do now was wait.
But to Sleet and Dingo's shock, all of the mechanical wasps were shot out of the air by a wave of brilliant red light. The broken bots rained down on them like a blanket of shrapnel and sparks, causing the two canines to wince when it hit their exposed fur. Sleet growled and tried to scan the clearing for their attackers, and he felt a cold sliver of fear as he saw a single figure kneeling in the center of the mechanical storm.
"What are you?"
It had fur black as the smoke surrounding them with red highlights lining his quills like streaks of blood. Even from his distance across the field, Sleet could see two crimson eyes staring straight at them. He swallowed the bile trying to rise up in his throat and trained his weapon on the apparition with trembling hands. Then, the charcoal creature began to sing.
At first I was afraid, I was afraid.
Shadow closed his eyes as memories from his past surfaced, his past away from his family, away from his own kind.
Down in the darkness I was crawling through the human race.
I heard the voices through the dark,
Shadow stood to his full height, and behind him, Sonic, Sonia, and Manic emerged from the trees to stand beside him.
(Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh)
So I beat my fist against my chest, against my heart.
And Shadow did just that, slamming his fists against his chest as he challenged the two bounty hunters gawking at them.
Let's show them who we are...
The four siblings lifted their voices to cry out against the army before them.
Hey-ho!
Hear the sound
We are the underground
Shadow couldn't help the smirk as he brushed his hand over his medallion, producing a black and red microphone.
Hey-ho!
Rising up
We're not afraid of fighting
I've finally found my place
I put the war paint on my face
And I'm ready to give (Hey!)
Whatever it takes
Sleet snapped out of his surprise and commanded the remaining robots to attack the four hedgehogs. Sonic played a bass line on his triple-necked guitar, causing a blue light to slash through the Swatbots marching towards them.
Manic slammed his drumsticks against his drums and sent a shockwave to destabilize their enemies footing, while Sonia followed Sonic's idea of cutting through them with her own pink laser beams.
Standing at the edge of the fire
Fighting for the will to survive
Shadow felt his chaos powers surge as he sang. He splayed out his fingers and allowed the energy to surge out and into the battle field.
I feel it burning under my skin
And I'm back on my feet again
The triplets quickly joined in the chorus, and the clearing was filled with flashes of powerful light and energy slashing through the rapidly thinning robot lines.
This is the feeling
I can't believe it
My heart is bleeding out
Now I'm dangerous
Feeding the fire
Higher and higher
Rising up, rising up
Now I'm dangerous
Shadow took the lead again as he sang the next verse, mildly surprised by the red sound waves pulsing from the microphone in his hands.
Silence the voices in my head
I picked my poison now, I'll drink it to the bitter end
Hey-ho! Hear me now!
I take on the darkness by myself
'Cause I'm ready to give (Hey!)
Whatever it takes
As Sonic played his guitar solo, Shadow pressed the button on the bottom of his mic and extended his sword. Vanishing in a onyx blur, he decided to skate into the fight and take it to the next level.
Standing at the edge of the fire
I don't know how I ever survived
I feel it burning under my skin
And now I'm back on my feet again
The triplets jumped back in on the chorus.
This is the feeling
I can't believe it
My heart is bleeding out
Now I'm dangerous
The flames of the dismantled machines grew higher and stronger, yet they remained within the clearing. Shadow and Sonic both used their mastery over the chaos energy it produced to contain and utilize it.
Feeding the fire
Higher and higher
Rising up, rise up
Now I'm dangerous
The triplets took command of the instrumental solo, allowing their older brother to fully focus on the fight. There were only a few robots left, and he easily sliced through them with his blade.
A shot rang out as the last Swatbot fell, and Shadow snapped his gaze to the smoking gun in Sleet's grip. The dark hedgehog rose an eyebrow at the obvious miss before marching proudly up to the two, his steps easily keeping pace with the music. It was time to finish this.
This is the feeling
I can't believe it
My heart is bleeding out
Now I'm dangerous
He swiped his sword in front of him, narrowly missing the wolf's eye as Sleet fell backwards to dodge. Unfortunately, he landed on Dingo and caused both to lose their balance.
Feeding the fire
Higher and higher
Rising up, rising up
Now I'm dangerous
The triplets stood on either side of Shadow, surrounding the two unlucky canines with a gleam of victory. But the eldest hedgehog's crimson gaze held an almost sinister shine to it.
You asked me what I am, he thought.
I'm dangerous!
Rising up, rising up
Shadow held his blade at the cyber-wolf's throat. Sleet swallowed thickly.
Now I'm dangerous.
The instruments and sword faded back into their respective amulets. Sleet and Dingo's eyes widened as they saw the small crystal microphone dangling from the dark stranger's neck. There were only supposed to be three hedgehog pests, not four, and he wasn't supposed to be able to sing with them.
Even with his priority one targets standing over them and a field full of shrapnel, Sleet couldn't help but note the crown-like posture of the stranger's quills and the air of authority emanating from him, and he couldn't help but be reminded of a certain royal that had vanished several years ago.
But that's impossible!
"King Terios?"
"Close, but no. Do send the good doctor my regards though, and tell him that his grandfather could make a cannon of much higher quality."
Sonic grinned and took that as his cue. The blue blur raced over to the massive cannon that had shot down his little buddy's plane. Without breaking pace, he jumped and curled into a spindash, slicing through the metal like it was water. He strode away and dusted his hands, not even bothering to look back as it combusted.
Shadow hoisted Sleet up by his collar, keeping one heavy boot planted on Dingo's chest. The gray wolf sneered.
"You have just made yourself an enemy of the Robotnik Empire. You will pay for your crimes."
"And you've just made yourself an enemy of me," Shadow hissed.
"It will take more than flashing lights and music to scare me," Sleet growled, though his shaking fists hinted at the exact opposite.
"And it takes a lot less for me to eliminate threats to my family, so I'd watch you tongue."
"Shadow," Sonic warned, placing a firm hand on the other's shoulder.
Dingo audibly gulped. Shadow threw the wolf to the ground and took a few steps back. He would humor his brother and let the bumbling pair go, if only so they could embarrass themselves in front of their superior.
So instead, he curled his lip in a sneer that melted into a knowing, fanged smirk. And he uttered a single word.
"Run."
…
A/N: And that's a wrap for this chap! It took forever to find this song, so I hope it fit. Thank you for reading! Don't forget to leave a comment to let me know what you think!!