BATTLE NETWORK CYBERSYSTEM: The Manic Saga

Volume 1: The Darkness of Our Pasts

Chapter 9: The Battle for the Net

I ran with all I could to ONBA, I had to look up anything possible about Shadow and where he might have been. I was still feeling a bit weary from the hospital treatments and drugs, but I kept myself running down the street. I felt something bad was about to happen. Something I didn't want to happen.

As I was running down the street, I swerved out of the way of a woman on the sidewalk quickly, but she grabbed me just before I could run past.

"Manic?" she asked me in a familiar voice. It was Shinzuka. I made eye contact with her as she did the same with her own eyes of disbelief.

"Hey," I said with a slight smile. That was all it took for her to throw herself onto me, sobbing silently. I held her for a second after overcoming my startledness.

"I thought..." Shinzuka said in my chest, "I thought you would never... never wake up..."

For some reason, I didn't feel uneasy at all. I felt better, seeing how much she cared for me. For all I knew, she was the one who cleaned my clothes from the blood. Thinking that made me feel even more grateful for her. I gently moved my head next to hers and whispered to her, "I wouldn't even dare leave you... I wouldn't dare leaving everyone..."

I then took my head up and broke off the hug. I could tell from the dampness of my shirt that she had been crying. I felt bad about breaking off the hug, I wanted to hold her close forever.

But I had things to do.

"I have to go, I'm sorry," I said to Shinzuka. I resumed my run down the street towards ONBA, hoping I could find out about anyone named Shadow Grave before they found out that I was alive again. I didn't want anyone else to suffer what I had. I didn't even know why they were after me in the first place...

I finally made it to the front doors of ONBA, but I had arrived too late. Three of the Officials were on the floor, beaten. *Not good...* I said to myself as I ran through the doors. I followed the trail of destruction to the Official's conference room, where I heard yelling from many people. I burst through the doors and looked around the room quickly. It was a mess. The main table had papers strewn about because someone was spread across it, unconscious and bleeding, while others were either on the ground nursing wounds or ready to attack the single intruder. I also saw Kin, Ryuu and Joseph there, fighting a losing fight against the intruder. However, when I slammed the doors open, they all stopped fighting to look at me. The intruder was none other than Shadow. Apparently, he was doing a good enough time holding his own against the ONBA, then I looked up at the main screen, where something was typed up for the rest of the room to see:

BRING ME SONIC GRAVE OR ALL WILL PERISH.

"Manic!" Kinzoku yelled just as he was sent to the floor with one of Shadow's kicks to his stomach. He stopped the onslaught as he saw who I was. He didn't look much different than what I saw in my memories, but he had a black shirt with one long left sleeve, covered in wiring, and baggy shorts covered in metal and chains. We both exchanged glares from across the room.

"Sonic," Shadow said to me.

"Wrong. Sonic is dead," I said to him with a menacing tone, "You killed him long ago."

Both Ryuu and Joseph had confused looks on their faces as they looked at us.

"My name is Manic, now," I growled at Shadow, "And you'll pay for all you've done..."

And so the fight began. Shadow quickly hopped onto the table and ran towards me before I could even react. He leaped off the table into a flying kick at me, but I quickly rolled to the side and out of the way. However, Shadow's speed was immense. He quickly bounded off the doors and landed on top of me, forcing me to the ground, face first. I struggled to get up, but I couldn't.

"I will kill you in the internet," Shadow said coldly as he forcefully took my cyberband from my pocket and forced it onto the back of my neck, sending me into the internet.

I looked around myself and quickly got up from the ground. I tried to take off my cyberband, but I couldn't. He probably set a lock on the surrounding area, so I wouldn't be able to leave unless I could take the access code out of here myself. There was no way he could have been that strong or fast in the real world, it was near impossible. I got ready for the fight about to ensue by uploading a few datasilver. I wasn't going to die here.

Suddenly, I saw Kin, Ryuu and Joseph enter the net, following Shadow. He looked the same as he did in the real world.

"If you are all feeling confident," Shadow said in a cold, emotionless tone, "Then feel free to attack me all at once." Shadow stood where he appeared from, looking as if he wasn't ready to defend against anything. I ran at him with a fire sword while Joseph and Kinzoku ran at him with a dark sword and holy sword, respectively. Ryuu followed behind with an earth sword. I cut at Shadow, but he was able to dodge and elbowed me to the ground. The force behind his attack was great, I could feel pain surging through my entire body from that single blow, as I was sure they all could after he countered all of their attacks. I quickly got back up and threw fists of my own at him, but he quickly grabbed my arm and threw me to the ground, kicking me in the ribs once I was there. The fight went on for a long time until I felt like I couldn't even move any more, and neither could the other three. Shadow, however, showed no signs of slowing down his assault, though.

"Pathetic," Shadow said, lifelessly, as he easily dodged a punch of mine and sent me to the ground once again.

"Manic!" I heard a woman's voice yell at me. I didn't want to believe it.

It was Shinzuka. I cursed to myself as I knew she would eventually follow me, but I never wanted her to follow me to our deaths. I tried with all my remaining strength to look towards her, but it wasn't any use.

"You wish to fight in his honor?" Shadow asked without emotion again as he slowly walked towards Shinzuka. I looked at her and saw the fear in her as she moved away from Shadow. I had never felt so helpless in my life.

(AUTHOR'S NOTE: As some of you may know from one of my past stories, I use music in my fanfiction. This one is no exception, so get out your CD players or MP3 players and listen to 'Sadame'(Destiny) from the X anime soundtrack.)

I felt helpless as I struggled to get up from the ground. I kept watching Shadow's advancement upon Shinzuka and the others' attempts to block Shadow's movements. They weren't working at all, but I had managed to at least pick myself up to a kneel on the ground, but that still wasn't good enough. His attacks hit me hard, and I was already weakened, but I needed to help. This was my last chance before Shinzuka would feel the same pain that we had experienced by the hands of Shadow.

However, I felt something different, also. Sort of like another voice inside my head was talking to me, but I couldn't make out the words. I then felt a sudden hotness from my silver necklace. It started burning up. I could then see flames encircling me, along with a great surge of power running through me. I then felt the necklace somehow absorb into me, making me feel much stronger.

Then, I felt myself being lifted up into the air, causing a reddish light all around me to illuminate the entire area. I could feel my arms flare up in flames, giving me even more power. I then looked towards the sky and saw a red ball of light ahead of me, coming towards me. I then closed my eyes and gently felt the light trace a tribal-like pattern into the left side of my face and neck. I opened my eyes shortly afterwards and looked around myself. I was still in the air, full of power. My clothes had also changed drastically. My black jeans became more loose-fitting and the blue hawaiian shirt I was wearing had turned into a long, blue, open canvas shirt. I finally gently felt the ground below my feet and looked ahead to see the shocked faces of everyone, excepting Shadow, who was still advancing towards Shinzuka, and now ready to strike. I reacted and instantly found myself carrying Shinzuka out of harm's way.

"I told you I'd be there for you," I said in my voice, mixed with another's. Shinzuka looked at me in awe as I set her down. I then turned to face Shadow with a glare. My speed exceeded his, now. Time to check strength.

I quickly ran towards Shadow and threw a right punch at his face before he could even react to it. The punch took him from the ground, and I followed through with a knee to his stomach, bouncing him off the ground, then another kick to send him into the air. My strength improved dramatically, as well. I felt like chasing after him in the air.

I jumped into the air after him, flames surrounding me, and sent Shadow to the ground with another fist. I hovered in the air for a moment, in awe at my own new-found power. I could see Shadow's stamina failing fast, but I wasn't done with him yet. I fell towards the ground and stopped a few inches from the ground, allowing for a safe landing. I landed on my feet and walked towards him. He still wore an emotionless stare as he rushed towards me in retalliation. I easily blocked his blows and sent two of my own punches into him, one into his stomach which he doubled over at, and the other to his chest, sending him back to the ground.

"Shadow Grave," I said in the same mixed voice, "For making my friends suffer, for killing our family..." Shadow was starting to pick himself up from the ground after hearing me. "You will pay for your sins." I somehow knew that even though Shadow's eyes were as cold as ice, I could tell that he was still the same Shadow from my childhood from under them. Something was masking them, but I needed to find a way to get him back. He jumped at me again, and I sent him into the air. I followed after him and send more blows at him, my arms still covered in flames. I sent him back to the ground with a kick and it tore the ground below where he was.

I then saw his eyes from that distance and I quickly fell to the ground. I picked him up into my arms.

He opened up his normal eyes. The ones I had known for a long time.

"...Sonic...?" Shadow said weakly.

"Yes? I'm here..." I said.

"...I'm sorry... they...they implanted something into me to control my mind..." Shadow said weakly.

"I'm just happy you're back... don't worry..." I said, holding him in my arms.

"...but...there's a failsafe devi--AAACCK!!!" I then saw Shadow spit up blood in horrible pain. After a moment, his actions stopped. Shadow was dead.

"Shadow...?" I shook him a bit. "Shadow!?"

I buried my head in his chest for a moment, sobbing, then raised my head and screamed to the cybersystem sky. I had flashbacks of the good times I had with Shadow in my youth. He was a very good brother to me.

My scream stopped and my eyes were shut and running with burning tears. My face was still raised to the sky.

"Shadow... why?..." I said through my tears. I could feel him fading from my arms, his body decomposing into streams of data slowly. There was now no trace of him, but my arms were still outstretched and my face raised to the sky.

I couldn't hold onto my power any more, I felt it slipping away from me, and my consciousness with it. I immediately fell into the rubble of where Shadow hit, unconscious.

(AUTHOR'S NOTE: The song should have ended right there.)

Chapter 9 down. Epiloge of Volume 1 coming soon. Review, please.