Chapter 11-The Loss of the Blade

Shadow woke up. He saw a starry night sky, some trees, and a dim orange glow to his right. He got up, looked around, and saw Espio standing in front of a fire, polishing his shruikens on a remote island.

Shadow asked, "Why did you save me?

Espio, disregarding his question, simply said, "You're awake, I see. Been fighting robots all night, I presume? I didn't even beat that thing."

Shadow, remembering what happened, started to panic. Before he even went on, he got up and said, "Where is she?"

Espio said, "She tried to fight that thing, too? I didn't even see her when I got there. Sorry, but I can't answer that question."

Shadow lowered his head, and angrily punched the floor. He wanted to stab his sword right through the ground, but his sword didn't appear.

"Looking for these?" Espio held in his hand the three Chaos Emeralds that Shadow had obtained.

Shadow said, "Give them back!"

"You'll get them back, but first I'm going to need you to do something for me. That blade you were wielding was cursed. It takes the evil out of one it slashed, and transmits it to whoever used it. Hence, you are not to use it again."

"I understand."

"But wait. There's more."

"You're starting to sound like a telemarketer."

Espio pulled out a remote, and pushed a button.

The ground started to shake, and the middle of the clearing opened up to reveal stairs.

At the end of what must have been thirty flights, they came to an oriental-looking place. There were all kinds of karate materials there, like nunchaku, swords, lances, and gear, and the rack for storing shruikens was empty. The ground was a mat, covered in light-reflecting material, designed to look like the original training arenas used by ancient Japanese warlords.

Espio said, "This is my secret training area. I've never let anyone else even see it, let alone enter its domain. I will allow you to train here."

Shadow saw what looked like another of himself.

Shadow said, "Is that a mirror?"

Espio replied, "No. That is a prototype of a clone of you. They tried to get it right, but as long as it was a robot, it was always flawed, as it was too heavy. I stole one from your father's industry, and it voluntarily has become my sparring partner. Easily repairable, rechargeable, and easy to control, it is a very good sparring partner. Use it to train."

Shadow was there for hours, learning how to use his powers to the fullest, and using a new technique, learned to duplicate himself in a way, using one Shadow clone to call all of the others to his aid. If they all used a Chaos technique at the same time, the result could be deadly.

Shadow, with the help of Espio, made his way back to the area where he nearly died before, and had unfinished business with the monster. Espio provided a distraction by using his shruikens to set off the mines, hit the cameras, and otherwise disturb the base, while Shadow made his way to the room.

Shadow walked in, and clenched his fists. "You are an imbecile. You dare mess with me, and you go down, no matter what. Now, your pathetic robot life will come to an end. Now die!"

Shadow shot up into the air, and the other Shadows came. Shadow threw the Chaos Emerald into the air and said, "Infinite Shadow Attack!" What must have been a thousand beams of light came flying out of the Emerald, and into the other Shadows.

At the same time, the other Shadows said, "Chaos Spear!"

The entire place was filled with beams of light, and they all struck the same place. The robot froze, and an explosion followed. The explosion blew open a door behind the robot, and it also blew up the other Shadows. A piece of wreckage fell to the floor, with Eggman's insignia and the title EX-3.

The door led into a row of jail cells, and Amy was in one, her head lying on the floor. She was asleep. As Shadow walked in, he saw Amy in one cell, and a few criminals in the other ones. Shadow took out the security card he got from Rouge a while ago, and used it to open the door.

Amy immediately woke up, looked around, and saw Shadow in the doorway, where he was when he opened the door. She got up, ran over to him, and gave him a hug.

Shadow didn't realize what was going on, and took a few seconds to respond before hugging her back. When she finished, Shadow asked, "What happened last night?"

She said, "After you passed out, Espio came, launched a few attacks, and silenced that thing for a while, but he didn't see me, and I was in pain so bad, I couldn't talk. So, I was captured, and he rescued you."

"Have you seen the article?"

"Yeah. While I was being thrown in, I grabbed it. I think I still have it."