Chapter 16

Shadow kicked off the ground in a burst of black light as Sonic followed suite, leaving a fiery red trail of energy behind. Both clashed with their elbows in a huge explosion, intertwining both black and red energy. Immediately after, they both warped at the exact same time, reappearing twenty feet in the air.

Shadow reeled back from Sonic and went for a snap kick with his left leg. The Ultra hedgehog blocked it with the back of his arm and delivered a hard right fist right to Shadow's stomach. The dark hedgehog lurched forward a little but regained his composure, throwing a fist of his own at Sonic.

The hero managed to warp to safety, reappearing behind Shadow. Reeling his left fist back, Sonic attempted to deliver another blow to Shadow's back. The dark hedgehog caught onto his plan however, and warped out of the way, reappearing above Sonic, with a dark ball of energy in hand.

"Dark Chaos Spear!" Shadow bellowed as he launched the attack at the hero. Sonic's eyes widened slightly as the attack impacted, knocking the hedgehog back to the ground and creating a small crater.

Shadow smirked and charged downward for the hedgehog, reeling his right fist back. Before impact however, Sonic managed to barely roll out of the way. Shadow continued on and punched the ground, his fist becoming stuck in the solid rock.

Sonic took the opportunity and put his right arm to the ground, performing a horizontal 180 and kicking Shadow right in the face. Shadow's fist was freed as he hurtled to the ground. The dark hedgehog was back up in a flash and charged for Sonic again.

Sonic got into a defensive stance when suddenly, Shadow disappeared. Sonic looked around slightly before Shadow reappeared behind him and delivered a swift open hand chop to the back of his neck.

Sonic's blue eyes widened as he took a knee from the attack. Shadow smirked as he grabbed Sonic by the neck and threw him into the air. Then, warping away in a black flash of light, Shadow reappeared ten feet away from the still airborne Sonic.

He clenched his fists as he became nothing more than what looked like a black flame. Then, he charged for Sonic. The flame seemed to go straight through the hero as he yelled out in pain. The flame reeled around and charged again, doing the same.

The flame Shadow occupied kept on the onslaught, continuingly darted against Sonic, making multiple gashes appear on his body. After five charges, the flame finally stopped and withered away, Shadow taking its place.

A second passed before Sonic began falling to the ground. With an evil smile, Shadow darted upward before charging downwards to the already falling Sonic. With a loud crash, the hedgehog made impact with his elbow, sending Sonic into the rocky ground at incredible speed.

Rocks seemed to be pushed aside like mere butter as Sonic landed, creating a huge rocky crater. Shadow landed on the ground beside the rocky hole and smiled darkly down at Sonic.

With a wave of his gloved hand, the Chaos hedgehog summoned a Dark Chaos Spear, launching it at Sonic. The fiery red hedgehog still did not show any signs of movement as the attack made impact with a bright flash of light.

It cleared to reveal the battered Ultra Sonic even deeper in the crater. His body seemed fused with the rocks since part of his body was under them and part was over them. With a half hearted jump, Shadow gracefully landed in the crater, hovering over the fallen hero.

"Hmph, I thought you'd be a challenge." He said with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

Sonic opened his right eye half way and wearily stared at the hedgehog. "You think it's over, don't you?"

Shadow chuckled. "No, I know it's over!"

Sonic smiled as he opened his other eye. "Well, then you're not as smart as I thought!"

Shadow's eyes widened slightly as a fiery red glow came from Sonic's hands. In a flash, the hero pointed them at Shadow and released his attack. "Chaos Wave!"

A bright red wave of Chaos energy was summoned from the hero's hands and hit Shadow directly in the stomach, sending him flying out of the crater. Shadow grimaced as the heat of the attack began to singe his recovered fur.

With a growl, the hedgehog warped away, letting the attack pass over him as he reappeared in the same spot. Suddenly, a loud crash echoed through the air. Shadow directed his ebony eyes down to see Sonic burst out of the rock and charge at him.

The red hedgehog impacted with Shadow, driving his elbow into the dark hedgehog's stomach. Shadow wheezed in pain as Sonic jumped back and delivered a round house kick right to Shadow's face, sending him flying off.

With a burst of air, Sonic charged forward towards Shadow. The dark one barely managed to look up when Sonic planted a full body kick in his face. Shadow was sent flying off faster than before but recovered by flipping his body over.

With a growl of aggravation, Shadow summoned his signature move. "Chaos Control!"

The dark hedgehog disappeared in a black flash of light. Sonic clenched his fists and also summoned upon the mystical Chaos powers he had. "Chaos Control!"

The world seemed a strange violet as everything seemed to bend unnaturally, like clay. Both bodies of the hedgehogs also looked a strange violet, but they moved fast and more fluently than the world around them.

With speed rivaling that of light, Shadow charged forward and engaged in combat with the blue opponent, throwing lighting fast punches and kicks. Sonic blocked and dodged some, but also got hit by some as he followed suite, their bodies looking like mere lines.

The lighting fast combat went on for a few minutes before Sonic retreated, sending a Hyper Blast at Shadow. The dark hedgehog managed to dart out of the way of the attack and retaliated with a Dark Chaos Nightmare.

The attack hit Sonic straight on and sent him flying out of the Chaos Control realm. Shadow followed suite, also coming out of Chaos Control and delivered a swift kick to Sonic's right arm, bending it slightly.

Sonic grimaced in pain but retaliated with a fist of his own right to Shadow's head. Shadow growled as his hands began to glow a dark hellish black. "Dark Chaos Fury!" Shadow shouted as he began pummeling away at Sonic, beating him to a bloody pulp.

Shadow retreated and fired the two orbs at Sonic, creating a cloud of smoke. It cleared as Shadow charged again, elbowing Sonic in the stomach, and causing him to grimace in pain.

Shadow retreated slightly and charged up an attack in his hand. "Dark Chaos Nightmare!" He shouted as he released the attack.

The weary Sonic barely dodged the attack, grazing his fur a little. Shadow took advantage of the moment and charged for Sonic, delivering a powerful punch to his gut. Sonic doubled over in pain as Shadow raised his right foot and smashed it against Sonic's chin, sending him flying upwards.

With a smirk, Shadow followed until he came above the hedgehog. Putting both of his hands together, Shadow raised them above his head and waited for Sonic to draw near. When the hedgehog was within range, Shadow brought his combined fists down upon Sonic's back.

Blue irises shrunk as Sonic let out a silent scream of pain. Then, with a burst of air, he was sent rocketing down at incredible speeds. Mimicking a set of lines on paper, Shadow also disappeared, reappearing right beside the falling Sonic.

Shadow smirked as he grabbed Sonic's wrist and started whirling him around and around, turning the two into a black and red tornado. Then, with a loud battle cry, Shadow released Sonic, throwing him down to the earth below.

The hedgehog made impact, bringing forth a huge cloud of smoke. The wind washed the particles of smoke away to reveal a huge crater, with the motionless Sonic at the bottom of it.

Shadow's smirk grew as Sonic began to stir. The hedgehog wearily pushed himself up using his elbows and stared at Shadow. In a flash of red light, Sonic disappeared, reappearing in front of Shadow.

"So," Shadow said. "Back for more?"

Sonic grinned. "Amber was right; you really do sound like Eclipse!"

Shadow's eyes burst to flames at that last statement. "How dare you! I am ten times stronger and faster than him!"

"Oh yeah," Sonic said, wearing a smirk. "Then why don't you prove it?"

Shadow got into a fighting stance. "Gladly."

Kicking off the ground, Shadow charged for Sonic, who took a defensive stance. Shadow came at Sonic with a punch, one which Sonic easily dodged by moving his head. Sonic retaliated with an attempted knee to the gut. Shadow was too fast however, as he caught it with his hands.

Sonic growled and used his right arm as a pivot to kick Shadow in the face with his free leg. The dark hedgehog stumbled back slightly but soon retaliated, firing a Dark Chaos Spear at Sonic.

Sonic was prepared however, and shot an attack of his own to counter it. "Super Sonic Wind!"

A bright red gust of energy was released form Sonic's hand and negated the attack. A cloud of smoke rose, one which the hedgehogs both charged through. Shadow came at Sonic with a snap kick, one which the hero easily blocked by catching his foot.

Shadow's eyes widened as Sonic smirked. Tossing the dark hedgehog into the air, Sonic delivered a devastating kick to his back. Shadow's eyes widened out of pain as he flew high into the sky, with Sonic following him.

When Shadow reached the farthest point his body would go by itself, the hedgehog slowly began to plummet back down to the ground. That is, if Sonic wouldn't have been there. With Shadow's body horizontal and his vertical, Sonic back flipped and came down upon Shadow's chest with his foot, sending Shadow flying into the ground at incredible velocity.

The dark hedgehog now lay in a large crater, with his ebony eyes sealed shut. Sonic landed next to the crater with a thud and looked upon the hedgehog.

The very next second, Shadow's eyes snapped open as he disappeared in a flash of black light. Sonic turned around to see his counter part standing there with his arms crossed and a huge smirk on his face.

"Well," He began. "It seems I have to step it up a notch."

Sonic smirked, getting into a battle stance. "Whatever you got, bring it on!"

Shadow's smirk disappeared as a black flame of energy surrounded him. "As you wish."