PROJECT: Nightmare
Chapter Ten: The Final Fight
It all lay in Shadow now. The will to succeed, the strength to overcome, the power to win the Final Fight.
Still, as the two hedgehogs battled, something still tugged in Rouge's mind. She felt as if she had seen this before, even thought she had not known Shadow was alive until about five minutes ago. She took a headcount; seven present, not including the Chao. Where was the eighth person...?
"Why is this so familiar? Why am I thinking there should be another person?
//A soul and a soul, this 1-8 | Must once again unite | To pool together Chaos stregth | To win the final fight//
"That's it!" She cried. She turned to Amy. "Amy, where are your books?"
"My books? They're at my apartment."
"Damn. I was hoping you had them with you."
"Oh. Why do you want them?"
Rouge gripped Amy's hand. "I think I know what it all means. Hurry, climb on."
"But... the Chao..."
"They'll be fine. Now c'mon! There isn't much time!"
Amy obeyed and gripped onto the white bat's back. Rouge made her way up the top of the support beam and flew across the vast highway towards Amy's place. (Please be careful, Shadow. I promise I'll be back soon.)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The battle was rough. Strike after strike after strike. Yet neither Shadow nor Nightmare were ready to admit defeat. Far from it. Both were raging, ready to fight for their own cause, even if it meant to the death.
"Give it up, Shadow!" Nightmare called into the night. "I'm stronger then you, and you know it!"
"Perhaps you outrank me in strength, but you lack in experience. CHAOS SPEAR!" Shadow summoned three yellow lightning bolts to plummet down on Nightmare's head.
They connected, and Nightmare went flying. "...What? How did you do that?"
Shadow grinned as Nightmare hopped to his feet. "I told you, I am the ultimate."
"In your dreams, you imposter!"
"ME the imposter? HA! Now that's a good one, since I was born well over fifty years ago, and you... well, your development began a mere eight months ago."
Nightmare stopped. "H-how did you know?"
Shadow cracked his knuckles. "It's like I told you before: I know things you don't." He dashed up and grabbed Nightmare by his tuft again. "And I repeat: you lack my experience. CHAOS SPEAR!"
Another dead-on hit, yet Nightmare was still very strong. This upset Shadow. His Hyper form wouldn't last forever, while Nightmare's powers were infinate, since it was his regular state. He needed to get more strentgh! But from where?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Turn on the light!"
"Hang on; I'm getting there!"
"Well, you're not getting there fast enough!"
"OW! Watch it, Rouge!" Amy rubbed her head. "What do you want here, anyway?"
Rouge practically dove onto the livingroom table where the five books sat. She grabbed "Universe of Life" and opened the first page. "After a joyous summer sun..." she read to herself. "This is it!" She slammed the book shut and ran out the door. "Okay Amy; let's roll."
"Already?" Amy stood in the doorway.
"Well, yeah! All I needed was the book!"
"Oh."
"C'mon! We have to get back there!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Shadow grunted. This was not going to be an easy fight. While he was slowly weakening Nightmare, he himself was losing power as the minutes ticked away. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before the Chaos energy ran out, leaving himself open to Nightmare's power.
Until then, however, he was still at equal rank with Nightmare, and was surely going to take advantage of that. The strikes, the bolts, they kept charging at each other, with no real definate winner as of yet.
Rouge and Amy flew in. "Sonic, come here!" the white bat cried.
Sonic jogged over, reluctant to leave Shadow's side. "What is it?"
"Here." She handed him the book. "I've figured it out."
"Well, don't leave us in suspense!" Knuckles joined them. "Spit it out."
"Well, look at it!" Rouge shoved the book into Knuckles' face. " 'Two of the 8, they will first meet/By thinking "He is me!"/They will be indenticle only/As far as eyes can see'. Don't you get it? That's Shadow and Nightmare!"
"Yeah..." Sonic nodded, catching on to what Rouge was saying. "Go on."
" '3 and 4 will form a love/Of one Expected pair./Their faith for one another will teach/Another one to care.' "
Sonic frowned. "Form a love? Expected? Who do they mean?"
Knuckles and Rouge glanced at each other and blushed.
Sonic's face broke into a grin. "Ohhh... I get it." He nudged Knuckles with his elbow. "Do I hear wedding bells in the future?"
Knuckles tried to stop his face from going even redder. "Not now, Sonic! Shadow is still in danger!"
Sonic nodded. "Right, right. Rouge, next line?"
" 'This 'other one' makes number 5/Who eats and drinks his speed./No matter how he runs from six,/He'll always want their need.' "
"Speed, eh?" Sonic grinned. "I think that's me. But who is six? Who do I run from... oh."
" ' The 6th of 8 is pure of heart/And never takes a fall./They'll be the first - and the last/To know about it all.' " Rouge read the next part out. "Pure of heart... first to know, because she found the books, and last to know because she didn't realize everything until now... yeah, that's Amy all right."
Sonic sweatdropped. "Oh God..."
Knuckles nudged Sonic. "C'mon, True Blue, you know you like her."
"Well, a little, but it's nothing serious."
"Nothing serious *yet*."
Sonic twitched. "Next line, Rouge!!"
Rouge giggled. "Oh, if I must. That was getting pretty entertaining." She cleared her throat. " 'Now 7 and 8 see much alike/But they are enemies./They might be friends, if only they/Could see what the other sees.' Well, the only people left to fit that category are Eggman and Tails, but... what do they have in common?"
"Robots."
All eyes turned to Tails. "We have robots in common. I like to build and repair; he likes to build and repair. Our lives revolve around mechanics."
"That makes eight..." Rouge tallied.
Sonic nodded. "The last part... what did the last part say?!"
"Uhh... 'A soul and a soul, this 1-8/Must once again unite/To pool together Chaos stregth/To win the final fight.' "
Sonic frowned. "All eight must unite... that means no victory will come unless Eggman is present to watch us kick his fat ass!"
"Chaos strength..." Knuckles murmured thoughtfully. "Unless... it's not 'kay-os', but 'chows'?
Amy looked thoughtful. "The Chao? You think the Chao hold the key?"
"It's worth a shot." Sonic led the group to the tiny children. "We've got to get them to sing!"
"Great idea, Sonic," Rouge commented. "But how?"
"Uhh..." (Think, damnit!) "Which one of you is Sunny?"
The chao with the yellow ball squealed at hearing her name.
"Okay..." he bent down to her level. "Listen, you and the others have to help Shadow. He needs you!"
Sunny blinked.
"You don't understand me, do you?"
She said nothing. She just stared at Sonic with blue eyes.
(Waitaminute. Since when did normal Chao have blue eyes?) Sonic peered closer. Sunny's eyes were not a true blue, but they suddenly became blue-tinted, and much shinier, as if they were filling with lights. She nodded, and turned towards the others.
All seven Children of the Emeralds lines up in a row and joined hands. They began to sing, but it was a different song. It sounded almost like a chant, as if they were summoning something.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Finally..."
Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik had at last finished his part in his joined effort with Nightmare. Unthinkingly, he veered to the left and hovered to a stretch of road. He ran up the highway and used his boosters to land above where Nightmare and Shadow were fighting.
(Eh? How in the world did I end up here? No matter!) "Nightmare! Don't get discouraged! You can get him!"
Such encouragement. It was not much to most ears, but for Nightmare, it gave him the strength to carry on. He stuck Shadow more and more, with more force each time. Before long, Shadow strayed off to the side near his allies, catching his breath.
Sonic grew ever more worried. "Chao or not, it does say we have to pool together. Shadow!" He called. "Let me help you!"
Shadow, with his back turned towards Sonic, shook his head. "No, I can't do that." He glanced over his shoulder. "This is my fight... and besides, I've put you through enough trouble."
"But you can't do it alone!"
Shadow hung his head. Sonic was right. He couldn't do it alone. He turned, outstretching his left hand towards his blue counterpart. "Sonic..." He could almost reach him... closer...
And then, suddenly, further. And faster.
Nightmare had taken advantage of Shadow being offguard, and knocked him clear across the platform, where his head hung off the side, threatening to drag him down far, far below.
"SHADOW!"
Nightmare ignored Sonic's cries. He watched instead as Shadow lay helpless, and delivered a swift kick to his side.
Shadow went flying, but used his skates to push him back towards the platform, which he was able to grab with his right hand.
Nightmare growled. "Why won't you just die already?!" His hand glowed yellow. "CHAOS SP---- ahhhhhhhhhh!"
Where Nightmare once stood, Sonic planted his feet. A fast homing attack had dissolved the Ultimate LifeForm's current threat, at least for a few seconds. Sonic reached down to Shadow. "Please, Shadow..."
Shadow disregarded Sonic's outstretched hand. "I can't... Sonic, don't. I don't want you to get involved!!"
"But I AM involved. I was involved in this from day one. Please...."
Shadow felt his grip sliding loose. "Sonic, I..." he trailed off. Shadow started deeply into the emerald orbs gazing at him, and noticed they looked wet. A single drop of liquid fell onto Shadow's cheek. (...Crying? Is Sonic crying... for me?)
"Please, Shadow. I lost you once. I won't lose you again."
A thousand things flew around in Shadow's head, but one thing stood out over them all. It was a voice, the voice of an angel. She spoke, over and over, "Shadow, I know you can do it!"
//Shadow, I know you can do it... Shadow, I know you can do it... Shadow, I know you can do it... //
"I can do it..." he whispered. "I can do it! SONIC!!!" He reached up and firmly grabbed the cobalt hedgehog's outstretched hand.
Smiling, Sonic pulled his friend up with one strong arm. He placed his other hand over the one already in his grip. "Great to have you back, pal."
"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Shadow grinned. "Let's do it."
Their faces turned Furious. Fearless. Focused. Shadow ran towards Nightmare, full speed. The Chao began to sing again.... but not just any song....
(Our song... the one I shared with Maria...)
The tune filled Shadow's mind. All he could feel was power, and hope. He could do this. Maria believed he could. Sonic believed he could. No... not believed, KNEW. They KNEW he would do it. And he would.
For them...
"In the name of Maria Robotnik..."
He would win.
Chapter Ten: The Final Fight
It all lay in Shadow now. The will to succeed, the strength to overcome, the power to win the Final Fight.
Still, as the two hedgehogs battled, something still tugged in Rouge's mind. She felt as if she had seen this before, even thought she had not known Shadow was alive until about five minutes ago. She took a headcount; seven present, not including the Chao. Where was the eighth person...?
"Why is this so familiar? Why am I thinking there should be another person?
//A soul and a soul, this 1-8 | Must once again unite | To pool together Chaos stregth | To win the final fight//
"That's it!" She cried. She turned to Amy. "Amy, where are your books?"
"My books? They're at my apartment."
"Damn. I was hoping you had them with you."
"Oh. Why do you want them?"
Rouge gripped Amy's hand. "I think I know what it all means. Hurry, climb on."
"But... the Chao..."
"They'll be fine. Now c'mon! There isn't much time!"
Amy obeyed and gripped onto the white bat's back. Rouge made her way up the top of the support beam and flew across the vast highway towards Amy's place. (Please be careful, Shadow. I promise I'll be back soon.)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The battle was rough. Strike after strike after strike. Yet neither Shadow nor Nightmare were ready to admit defeat. Far from it. Both were raging, ready to fight for their own cause, even if it meant to the death.
"Give it up, Shadow!" Nightmare called into the night. "I'm stronger then you, and you know it!"
"Perhaps you outrank me in strength, but you lack in experience. CHAOS SPEAR!" Shadow summoned three yellow lightning bolts to plummet down on Nightmare's head.
They connected, and Nightmare went flying. "...What? How did you do that?"
Shadow grinned as Nightmare hopped to his feet. "I told you, I am the ultimate."
"In your dreams, you imposter!"
"ME the imposter? HA! Now that's a good one, since I was born well over fifty years ago, and you... well, your development began a mere eight months ago."
Nightmare stopped. "H-how did you know?"
Shadow cracked his knuckles. "It's like I told you before: I know things you don't." He dashed up and grabbed Nightmare by his tuft again. "And I repeat: you lack my experience. CHAOS SPEAR!"
Another dead-on hit, yet Nightmare was still very strong. This upset Shadow. His Hyper form wouldn't last forever, while Nightmare's powers were infinate, since it was his regular state. He needed to get more strentgh! But from where?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Turn on the light!"
"Hang on; I'm getting there!"
"Well, you're not getting there fast enough!"
"OW! Watch it, Rouge!" Amy rubbed her head. "What do you want here, anyway?"
Rouge practically dove onto the livingroom table where the five books sat. She grabbed "Universe of Life" and opened the first page. "After a joyous summer sun..." she read to herself. "This is it!" She slammed the book shut and ran out the door. "Okay Amy; let's roll."
"Already?" Amy stood in the doorway.
"Well, yeah! All I needed was the book!"
"Oh."
"C'mon! We have to get back there!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Shadow grunted. This was not going to be an easy fight. While he was slowly weakening Nightmare, he himself was losing power as the minutes ticked away. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before the Chaos energy ran out, leaving himself open to Nightmare's power.
Until then, however, he was still at equal rank with Nightmare, and was surely going to take advantage of that. The strikes, the bolts, they kept charging at each other, with no real definate winner as of yet.
Rouge and Amy flew in. "Sonic, come here!" the white bat cried.
Sonic jogged over, reluctant to leave Shadow's side. "What is it?"
"Here." She handed him the book. "I've figured it out."
"Well, don't leave us in suspense!" Knuckles joined them. "Spit it out."
"Well, look at it!" Rouge shoved the book into Knuckles' face. " 'Two of the 8, they will first meet/By thinking "He is me!"/They will be indenticle only/As far as eyes can see'. Don't you get it? That's Shadow and Nightmare!"
"Yeah..." Sonic nodded, catching on to what Rouge was saying. "Go on."
" '3 and 4 will form a love/Of one Expected pair./Their faith for one another will teach/Another one to care.' "
Sonic frowned. "Form a love? Expected? Who do they mean?"
Knuckles and Rouge glanced at each other and blushed.
Sonic's face broke into a grin. "Ohhh... I get it." He nudged Knuckles with his elbow. "Do I hear wedding bells in the future?"
Knuckles tried to stop his face from going even redder. "Not now, Sonic! Shadow is still in danger!"
Sonic nodded. "Right, right. Rouge, next line?"
" 'This 'other one' makes number 5/Who eats and drinks his speed./No matter how he runs from six,/He'll always want their need.' "
"Speed, eh?" Sonic grinned. "I think that's me. But who is six? Who do I run from... oh."
" ' The 6th of 8 is pure of heart/And never takes a fall./They'll be the first - and the last/To know about it all.' " Rouge read the next part out. "Pure of heart... first to know, because she found the books, and last to know because she didn't realize everything until now... yeah, that's Amy all right."
Sonic sweatdropped. "Oh God..."
Knuckles nudged Sonic. "C'mon, True Blue, you know you like her."
"Well, a little, but it's nothing serious."
"Nothing serious *yet*."
Sonic twitched. "Next line, Rouge!!"
Rouge giggled. "Oh, if I must. That was getting pretty entertaining." She cleared her throat. " 'Now 7 and 8 see much alike/But they are enemies./They might be friends, if only they/Could see what the other sees.' Well, the only people left to fit that category are Eggman and Tails, but... what do they have in common?"
"Robots."
All eyes turned to Tails. "We have robots in common. I like to build and repair; he likes to build and repair. Our lives revolve around mechanics."
"That makes eight..." Rouge tallied.
Sonic nodded. "The last part... what did the last part say?!"
"Uhh... 'A soul and a soul, this 1-8/Must once again unite/To pool together Chaos stregth/To win the final fight.' "
Sonic frowned. "All eight must unite... that means no victory will come unless Eggman is present to watch us kick his fat ass!"
"Chaos strength..." Knuckles murmured thoughtfully. "Unless... it's not 'kay-os', but 'chows'?
Amy looked thoughtful. "The Chao? You think the Chao hold the key?"
"It's worth a shot." Sonic led the group to the tiny children. "We've got to get them to sing!"
"Great idea, Sonic," Rouge commented. "But how?"
"Uhh..." (Think, damnit!) "Which one of you is Sunny?"
The chao with the yellow ball squealed at hearing her name.
"Okay..." he bent down to her level. "Listen, you and the others have to help Shadow. He needs you!"
Sunny blinked.
"You don't understand me, do you?"
She said nothing. She just stared at Sonic with blue eyes.
(Waitaminute. Since when did normal Chao have blue eyes?) Sonic peered closer. Sunny's eyes were not a true blue, but they suddenly became blue-tinted, and much shinier, as if they were filling with lights. She nodded, and turned towards the others.
All seven Children of the Emeralds lines up in a row and joined hands. They began to sing, but it was a different song. It sounded almost like a chant, as if they were summoning something.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Finally..."
Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik had at last finished his part in his joined effort with Nightmare. Unthinkingly, he veered to the left and hovered to a stretch of road. He ran up the highway and used his boosters to land above where Nightmare and Shadow were fighting.
(Eh? How in the world did I end up here? No matter!) "Nightmare! Don't get discouraged! You can get him!"
Such encouragement. It was not much to most ears, but for Nightmare, it gave him the strength to carry on. He stuck Shadow more and more, with more force each time. Before long, Shadow strayed off to the side near his allies, catching his breath.
Sonic grew ever more worried. "Chao or not, it does say we have to pool together. Shadow!" He called. "Let me help you!"
Shadow, with his back turned towards Sonic, shook his head. "No, I can't do that." He glanced over his shoulder. "This is my fight... and besides, I've put you through enough trouble."
"But you can't do it alone!"
Shadow hung his head. Sonic was right. He couldn't do it alone. He turned, outstretching his left hand towards his blue counterpart. "Sonic..." He could almost reach him... closer...
And then, suddenly, further. And faster.
Nightmare had taken advantage of Shadow being offguard, and knocked him clear across the platform, where his head hung off the side, threatening to drag him down far, far below.
"SHADOW!"
Nightmare ignored Sonic's cries. He watched instead as Shadow lay helpless, and delivered a swift kick to his side.
Shadow went flying, but used his skates to push him back towards the platform, which he was able to grab with his right hand.
Nightmare growled. "Why won't you just die already?!" His hand glowed yellow. "CHAOS SP---- ahhhhhhhhhh!"
Where Nightmare once stood, Sonic planted his feet. A fast homing attack had dissolved the Ultimate LifeForm's current threat, at least for a few seconds. Sonic reached down to Shadow. "Please, Shadow..."
Shadow disregarded Sonic's outstretched hand. "I can't... Sonic, don't. I don't want you to get involved!!"
"But I AM involved. I was involved in this from day one. Please...."
Shadow felt his grip sliding loose. "Sonic, I..." he trailed off. Shadow started deeply into the emerald orbs gazing at him, and noticed they looked wet. A single drop of liquid fell onto Shadow's cheek. (...Crying? Is Sonic crying... for me?)
"Please, Shadow. I lost you once. I won't lose you again."
A thousand things flew around in Shadow's head, but one thing stood out over them all. It was a voice, the voice of an angel. She spoke, over and over, "Shadow, I know you can do it!"
//Shadow, I know you can do it... Shadow, I know you can do it... Shadow, I know you can do it... //
"I can do it..." he whispered. "I can do it! SONIC!!!" He reached up and firmly grabbed the cobalt hedgehog's outstretched hand.
Smiling, Sonic pulled his friend up with one strong arm. He placed his other hand over the one already in his grip. "Great to have you back, pal."
"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Shadow grinned. "Let's do it."
Their faces turned Furious. Fearless. Focused. Shadow ran towards Nightmare, full speed. The Chao began to sing again.... but not just any song....
(Our song... the one I shared with Maria...)
The tune filled Shadow's mind. All he could feel was power, and hope. He could do this. Maria believed he could. Sonic believed he could. No... not believed, KNEW. They KNEW he would do it. And he would.
For them...
"In the name of Maria Robotnik..."
He would win.