This is a fanfiction, and as such, most of the characters in the story are not mine. Most characters are © Sega, and are not used with permission.

Chapter 2: Disaster in Red

Shadow looked over the echidna standing before him. He certainly acted tough, and frankly he looked like a thug.

"Look, I don't have time to deal with the likes of you. I'm on a mission, so if you'll kindly wait here, I'll get back to you in an hour or so."

"Is that so? I take it that your 'mission' has something to do with these… toys?"

"They're not toys. And I have to take one back home."

"Really, which one, this one?" Knuckles looked down at the robot closest to his feet, and with a raised fist, slammed down on the metal creature, destroying it.

"Hey! What was that for?!"

"I don't like it when people tell me that I have to wait. Besides, what so special about these tin cans anyway? You sure did a number on them already."

Knuckles turned and destroyed another of the disabled robots. Shadow ran up and pushed Knuckles back.

"Those aren't normal machines, they are… they were living beings! We're trying to help them."

"And how do you know that they want to return? And if being a machine is so bad, then I'm just putting them out of their misery."

Shadow's eyes burned with fury. "You insensitive jackass! I ought to rip you apart like you did to them!"

"That was your fault. I'm not a very patient man, so I don't like being told to wait. I came here on a mission of my own, and it takes precedence."

"And who decided that?!"

"Me, of course."

Shadow was really ticked off, and wanted so desperately to simply kill the murderer. But instead, he held off; he wasn't sure why, but perhaps he could get rid of him more easily if he just heard him out.

"So, just what are you looking for?"

"To most the name escapes them, but I'm looking for something called a 'Chaos Emerald'."

"You're right on one point, I haven't heard the name before. And what makes you think I have this 'Chaos Emerald' of yours. Come to think of it, I don't recall ever stealing anything, so why would it be yours?"

"I never said that I owned it, I just want it. And it's clear that you have it, I can feel it."

Shadow thought for a moment. "Wait a minute. Would this 'Chaos Emerald' be a bright green and about yeah big?" He opened his right hand to give Knuckles a general idea of the size of the object he was describing.

"Now you're catching on."

Shadow chuckled. "Well, I've got some depressing news for you, Red. I don't have it anymore."

Knuckles was a little upset at Shadow's declaration. "Don't try to lie to me, I know you have it, and that you have it on you now."

"You don't seem to listen very well. That gem is long gone, it has been for months."

"I see. You only think it's gone, but if it was, then you couldn't perform that nifty little feat of yours. You still have it, weither you know it or not."

Shadow looked at the stranger with a questioning glare.

"I've seen this before, the power of a Chaos Emerald being absorbed into a person. Sometimes they just absorb some of the energy from the gem while they hold it, but others have absorbed the gem itself, granting them permanent use of it's capabilities, provided they can find someway to power it."

Shadow stood in awe, for the first time, he had some real understanding as to where the Chaos Control came from. He knew the Chaos Emerald had triggered it, but he couldn't determine the connection between it and the Power Rings. When the Emerald shattered, the pieces fused with him, and ever since they drew energy from Power Rings to power the Chaos Control.

"Well, it looks like you came all this way for nothing."

"On the contrary, I still want that gem, even if I have to take it from your hide."

"What?!"

"I've been searching for those gems because of how dangerous they are, which I'm sure you already know fully well. Now, we could do this the easy way; if you come with me, I might be able to extract the shards from you and you get to live."

"And the alternative?"

"The hard way involves me beating you into a bloody mess and taking the pieces from your mangled carcass."

"You come here, interrupt my mission, kill two people, and then expect me to do things the 'easy way'? Well I've got news for you! I need this power, and I'm not letting you take it from me! Besides, I love doing things the 'hard way'!"

"Good, those extractions are really tough, but it's so much easier when you don't care if the subject lives or dies. And it's just so much more fun ripping idiots apart."

Shadow's green aura returned and flared.

He charged at the echidna, and from inside the green world of the Chaos Control, he threw a punch at Knuckles' face. Just as his fist reached the target, a bright yellow flash appeared before his eyes, and from his right, a blinding glare came to his face and struck him square on the chin.

The black hedgehog rolled towards the trees and stopped just before hitting one. Kneeling on the ground, he rubbed his jaw as he looked forward. Knuckles was enveloped in a bright red fire, much like the green aura that Shadow had.

"I should have known you'd have it too."

Knuckles laughed. "Hardly, my 'Master Control' is far more powerful than your pitiful Chaos Control. Now, since you've realized your blatant error, I'll give you an opportunity to change your mind you moronic insectivore. But if you want to get yourself killed, then by all means."

Shadow was simply too enraged to even consider backing off, and instead charged again. This time he was weary of Knuckles and tried to avoid a counter attack. He ran forward and tried to punch again; this time he connected, but Knuckles succeeded in blocking the attempt. Shadow pulled back to avoid the counter attack and also succeeded in his defence.

Running in a wide arc, Shadow tried to attack again, with the same result: a blocked attack followed by an evasion of the counter. The pattern continued for a few more assaults. Outside, it looked like a green light was drawing a flower pattern around a red center. Each time the two met came a yellow flash.

The two were at a virtual stalemate, but Shadow knew one thing: he couldn't keep this up forever. His power was fuelled by Power Rings, and he knew he would run out in a few minutes. If he couldn't stop Knuckles soon, he'd have little ability to fight him.

Shadow charged the echidna and unleashed a fury of punches, but everyone was blocked as expertly as the last. After the barrage, Shadow scooted away, but Knuckles didn't throw the counter that he was expecting. Shadow pulled away a bit, ready to try another assault when Knuckles did make his move. With the few seconds he had to prepare, Knuckles summoned a bolt of energy and threw it at the unsuspecting hedgehog.

"Thunder Arrow!"

Shadow didn't have a chance once he saw it. The bolt of lightning hit him full on and tossed him backwards into a tree.

"You certainly didn't put up much of a fight, more like a fly buzzing around my head, just waiting to be swatted."

Shadow was having trouble standing up, that last blow had almost knocked him out. He was barely able to pick out the form of the red devil before him, readying another blast. He had lost the Chaos Control and had little option but to try and phase away.

Shadow disappeared just as the bolt tore through the tree he was resting on.

"What the Hell?! Where are you?"

Shadow was resting behind another tree, just within sight of Knuckles. He looked back, trying to regain his strength, watching the hunter as he paced around. The echidna in question was a bit flustered; Shadow had slipped away, and he couldn't find any trace of him. Feeling around, he could sense the Chaos Emerald, it was close, but he couldn't track it. With the Chaos Control turned off, Knuckles couldn't pinpoint Shadow's location.

Shadow stood as quietly as possible while Knuckles searched around, when he came too close, Shadow phased again to another tree. After a few minutes of this, Shadow was feeling a bit rested, but still very weak from the beating he took. He could hear Knuckles searching around the area behind him. Turning his head, he ventured a look, which would prove to be a mistake. Knuckles saw Shadow's head peeking around the tree and fired another Thunder Arrow. The blast obliterated the tree, but Shadow was able to evade.

He was totally out powered and almost defenceless, with no other option; Shadow engaged the Chaos Control and simply ran for it. Knuckles' red aura flared and he gave chase.

* * *

The green and red comets raced through the woods, dodging trees and leaping over rocks.

Every move that Shadow made, Knuckles could match; Shadow had speed, but Knuckles' Master Control gave him the edge over the Chaos Control. The only thing Shadow seemed to have going for him was that Knuckles couldn't use his Thunder Arrow while racing through the woods; he'd probably have to stop and charge it, giving Shadow enough of an opening to escape.

{Damn, if only I had an attack like that lightning bolt of his, I might have a chance against him. I wonder if the Chaos Control comes with something like that, too bad I don't have time to find it now.}

The prey took a quick glance back to see that Knuckles was still behind him, but to him the red warrior appeared as a blazing yellow flame, like the sun itself was chasing him.

{Then again, if I don't get away from him, I won't get that opportunity.}

Before him Shadow noticed some hint of help, a line of Power Rings. Shifting his direction a bit, he managed to snag all four rings. With the four rings in his possession, he could already see the Chaos Control feeding off the power in them. Reaching in behind, Shadow pulled forward a small pouch; inside, the Power Rings he already had were all but gone.

{Oh no.}

Shadow was running out of time; his Power Ring supply was almost gone, and he was no further away from his pursuer than when he started. He took a quick look back and saw the bright yellow flare following him, matching his every move. He took a desperate second to consider his escape route, and the brightness of the sun behind him.

{If he looks like that to me, then I must stick out like a sore thumb as well. He couldn't find me earlier, except with a bit of luck. Alright, time to break out.}

Shadow pulled a hard 180 and came back at Knuckles, missing him by a metre and continuing to run. Before Knuckles could do an about face, Shadow dropped out of the Chaos Control, releasing the energy in a giant splash that spread green light like a tidal wave in every direction, and then launched into his phase run, pulling a quick right turn.

By the time Knuckles had doubled back to where Shadow pulled the switch, he was long gone. With the Chaos Control off, and the large amount of background radiation left behind when Shadow released the Chaos energy, Knuckles had no way to determine which direction Shadow had run in.

"It seems you have some skill after all, at running away. Next time, hedgehog."

To be continued