Chapter 3 – Enter the Shadow

"Shadow, why are we here? You know very well that you destroyed everything in here." Blaze the cat asked the dark hedgehog. They had been traveling for years, ever since Shadow devastated the world after the whole Eggman Nega thing. The bigger mystery was why did he choose to come and get her before he went crazy?

"Blaze, I've been meaning to tell you something…" Shadow began.

"Yes? What is it, Shadow?" Blaze hoped that he was saying what she thought he was saying… that he loved her. Blaze almost prayed…

"I have been sensing a great power here for quite some time." Well, a girl can dream, can't she? "It seems to be greater than my own… I don't want you to get hurt. Go wait over there."

"I most certainly will not. I have just as much of a right to be here as you do. If you want me to leave, you'll have to kill me."

"I'd be happy to." Shadow said coldly. Blaze couldn't tell if he was joking or not. She HATED when he did that. "However, this is more important." Shadow began to shift some rubble around, as if he was searching for something. Blaze supposed that made sense. After all, he DID sense something. "I've found something…"

"What?" Blaze asked.

"A… container. AAH!"

"WHAT IS IT?"

"It's a monster. A monster I wish I could forget. Chimera the Beast. He was created shortly before I was, and thus, he is far more powerful." Shadow explained. Blaze looked at the capsule. There was a monster in there, that much was certain. It looked like a bat, a hedgehog, and a bear all rolled into one. To Blaze, it looked like the creepiest thing she'd ever seen. And she'd seen Shadow kill Knuckles…

It was a long time ago. Almost immediately after Shadow went crazy, in fact.

"Shadow, I can't let you do this! Stop this INSTANT!" Knuckles shouted. Blaze had never seen him so… intelligent. In retrospect, that was kind of sad.

"Hehe… don't make me laugh, echidna. You know very well that I cannot be stopped. HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN? DID YOU FORGET THE FACT THAT I'M THE ULTIMATE LIFE FORM?"

"I still cannot let you do this. First you break my emerald, then you destroy Tikal's spirit. If you continue, then I, Knuckles the Guardian of the Master Emerald, will be forced TO DESTROY YOU!" Knuckles was really trying to stop Shadow. Blaze almost couldn't stand to watch him do this.

"Hehe… 'Forced to destroy me?' Pathetic. Get out of my way." Shadow was almost giggling at this point. Knuckles charged with his fists out in front of him. "Still trying, eh? Fine. I'll kill you quickly." Shadow grabbed Knuckles' hands and twisted them up and back, causing the echidna intense pain.

"AAAH!" Knuckles writhed in pain. He was almost having seizures due to the pain. Blaze looked away at the sight of it. She almost threw up due to his shrieks of pain.

"Oh, I haven't even STARTED yet." Shadow lifted Knuckles up over his head, moved one of his hands to the echidna's left leg, and began to throw Knuckles downward, towards the ground. However, the Master Emerald's guardian didn't hit the ground alive. Shadow used Chaos Control to accelerate his knee into Knuckles' spine. This time, Blaze did vomit. The echidna shrieked one last time, all while blood was gushing out of his mouth. When he fell limp, the Ultimate Lifeform dropped the now dead Guardian. Blaze never forgot that moment, the peak of Shadow's insanity.

"Blaze? Blaze, look over here. I asked you a question." Shadow was poking her shoulder.

"Sorry. I was remembering something unimportant. What did you ask me?"

"Do you think I should open the capsule? More importantly, do you think I am strong enough to defeat Chimera if I were to release him?" Shadow asked. Blaze had to think for a minute about that one. Even Shadow had said that Chimera was more powerful than him. However, the black hedgehog WAS the Ultimate Lifeform…

"You have me for backup, so go ahead." Blaze answered a bit unconfidently.

"I'm not going to rely on you, but I'm going to open it." Shadow remarked. Blaze had a feeling that he would have done it even if she had said not to. The hedgehog pushed a small button on the front of the capsule, and a large amount of gas poured out of a slowly opening glass panel. It didn't get a chance to open fully. Chimera awoke as soon as Shadow pushed the button, and broke the panel into a ton of pieces with just one punch.

"HAHAHAHA! AT LAST, I AM FREE!" Chimera shouted, almost as if he had been sealed for thousands of years. When he stood, he looked even more menacing. He had the head of a bear, the body of a hedgehog, and the wings of a bat. It was all sized to fit his slender body, of course. "Aaaah, Shadow. It's good to see you again after all these years," he said. He looked at Blaze. "I see you have a girlfriend. A cat. Mee-ow." He walked up to her, and put a single finger under her chin and began to scratch. Blaze raised her head, and unfortunately for her, began to purr. "Has she ever purred for you, Shadow? I just can't imagine her ever doing that. Quite frankly, I can't imagine her doing ANYTHING for you." It was just at this moment that he began to look at his surroundings, the rubble that was once Station Square. "Hmm… nice place you have here, my old friend. (He stepped away from Blaze.) Did you decorate it yourself? If you didn't, you MUST tell me who did this for you. Maybe he can decorate my place."

"You despicable bastard! How dare you insult not only Blaze's integrity, but my own? I'll kill you, you fiend!" Shadow shouted.

"Temper, temper, Shadow. I haven't done anything to harm you or your kitty cat here. By the way, do you keep her on a leash, or do you just let her run about as she pleases?" Chimera said while pointing back toward Blaze with his thumb.

"OH, NOW YOU'VE GONE AND MADE ME MAD!" Blaze was, needless to say, very angry at this statement. Flames began to rise up around her. "DON'T EVER IMPLY THAT I'M JUST A HOUSE CAT! FREAK! THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE! YOU ARE JUST A FREAK, AND YOU NEED TO BE DESTROYED BEFORE YOU DO ANY REAL DAMAGE!" At this, she ran directly at Chimera, who had just been smiling slyly this whole time. He raised his arm, and backhanded Blaze so hard that she flew across the ruined street.

"BLAZE!" Shadow shouted, and tried to run to her. Chimera tripped the hedgehog as he ran past him.

"Naughty, naughty kitty. You need to be taught a lesson in humility. I'll deal with you later, Shadow. As for 'Blaze,' as you call her, I'll have to punish her severely for attacking me. I think some water ought to do it…" Chimera looked at the sewer system, which was broken beyond repair. The Beast raised his hand, and gallons of water rushed up to meet it. He pointed at Blaze's unconscious body, and all of the water shot directly at her. She was washed down into the sewer system, where Chimera was sure she'd die. "Now, where were we – hmm? I sense a strange flux of power…" Just then, a burst of purple-ish energy rose up from out in the desert. Shadow recognized it as where one of Eggman's bases stood. "We'll have to postpone our little play date, Shadow. I have bigger fish to fry." Chimera took off, his wings carrying him up into the air, and in the general direction of the burst. Shadow was only concerned with one thing at the moment, however.

"BLAZE!" The hedgehog ran over to the opening that lead into the sewers and yelled out her name again. "BLAZE! I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU! YOU'RE THE LAST THING I'VE GOT!" He began to cry a little. "Please, Blaze, hold on…"

"You're sweet for saying that." Blaze was hovering behind Shadow. She landed, and kissed him. "I'll take that as an 'I love you.'"

"Blaze… we have to go after Chimera. Are you ready?"

"Shadow, I was born ready."

"Then let's go." And they were off.