Chapter 17

Shadow kicked off the ground at incredible speed and charged for Sonic. The fiery red hedgehog managed to block a tackle from the dark one just in time by rolling out of the way. Sonic retaliated with a strong snap kick to Shadow's side. The dark hedgehog grimaced in pain slightly but recovered with a punch to the head of the hero.

Sonic was momentarily paralyzed and Shadow used the opportunity to deliver a round house kick to his face. Sonic skidded on the ground before cart-wheeling and regaining his footing. Shadow charged again, with his fist outstretched towards the blue speedster.

Sonic blocked the fist with his hand and charged up a red ball of energy in his other hand, pointing it right at Shadow's exposed arm. "Hyper Blast!" The hero bellowed as the attack was released and hit Shadow's arm dead-on.

The dark hedgehog grimaced in pain as the attack created a huge black and red flesh wound on his shoulder, also burning the fur. Sonic took the opportunity at hand and rammed into the already injured shoulder, earning a yell of pain from Shadow and sending him into a metallic wall.

The wall crumbled under the pressure and buried the Chaos hedgehog. Sonic landed in front of the pile of metal and drew his right hand over his chest in a "/" position, as if he was about to use his hand as a sword and cut someone in half.

The pile of metal suddenly exploded as Shadow darted out of it and towards the Ultra hedgehog. Sonic was prepared however, and released his attack. "Chaos Wave!"

A bright red wave of energy shot from his hand and hit Shadow right in the face, knocking him to the ground in a loud crash. Sonic lowered his hand and charged for the cloud of dust. Suddenly, and too fast for Sonic to catch, a ball of black Chaos energy was shot from the cloud, hitting him head on and sending him crashing into a metal dome, burying him.

Shadow stepped out of the cloud wearing a smirk on his face. With a bend of the knees, he shot up into the sky and stopped, aiming both his hands at the dome Sonic was under. A bright black energy began to come to life within his curled hands.

The dome suddenly burst to flame as Sonic darted out and towards Shadow. He realized too late that it was a trap…

"Dark Chaos Barrage!" Shadow shouted as hundreds of black energy blasts were sent hurtling at Sonic.

The blue hedgehog did not have time to stop or dodge and was hit head-on, pushing him back into the ground below. Shadow laughed maniacally as he continued the assault. By now, the red hedgehog was buried beneath the boulders and rocks with the blasts still pushing him down further.

Finally, the onslaught ceased as Shadow drew both of his hands back and summoned two abnormally large balls of energy within them. With a horrific laughter for the lust of the kill, Shadow launched both orbs at the fallen Sonic, pushing him beneath the rocks below, completely out of sight.

Shadow smirked confidently as he softly landed on the ground. With an "Hmph" the hedgehog turned his back to the giant crater and walked in the direction of the others.

With the Others

Rouge, Amy, and Knuckles were still unconscious but Amber was up again and spotted the Chaos creature that was drawing near. Frantically, she ran over to Knuckles and began shaking him. "Knuckles, Knuckles, please wake up!"

The echidna did not respond, but only continued to breathe softly. "Knuckles, Knuckles, wake u"- Amber cut herself off when she heard footsteps behind her.

The female jumped up and turned around only to stare into the hateful eyes of Shadow. Amber backed up slightly as Shadow smirked.

"What's the matter?" He asked mockingly. "Aren't you glad to see your brother?"

Amber stopped backing up as her eyes ignited in anger. "You," She said venomously. "Are NOT my brother!"

Shadow looked down, examining his body, and looked back up. "From what I can tell, I am!"

Amber shook her head. "No, my brother would never harm the innocent!"

Shadow shook his head playfully. "Too bad."

Amber growled and charged at her brother, drawing her right fist back when suddenly, a dirty gloved hand on her arm stopped her. Shadow and Amber both looked to the side to the see the bloody and beat-up Sonic standing there with one eye open, breathing heavily.

The fiery hedgehog smiled at Amber and released her arm. "Sorry Amber, but this is my fight!"

Amber nodded and backed up as Sonic turned to Shadow. "I'm not defeated yet!"

Shadow smiled darkly. "You might as well be, your energy decreases with every blow."

Sonic smirked. "Well then, why don't you finish it?"

Shadow curled his hands into fists. "I intend to." He whispered.

Shadow and Sonic both charged at the exact same second, both planting their fists right in each other's faces. Then, in perfect unison, they both jumped back and fired a small energy blast, negating each other out.

Shadow darted upward into the sky with Sonic in close pursuit. Before Shadow could stop or look down, Sonic planted his elbow right against his cheek. A sickening crack echoed though the air as Shadow's head fell back along with his body.

Sonic didn't stop there though and reeled back his leg, snapping it across Shadow's jaw and receiving another loud crack. Sonic warped back slightly and charged again, ramming into the injured shoulder and earning a gasp of pain out of Shadow.

Before Sonic could retreat however, Shadow grabbed him by the arm. With a smirk, the hedgehog pulled Sonic towards himself and punched him straight in the stomach. Sonic gasped in pain before Shadow jumped back and delivered a tremendous snap kick to the hero's head, sending him spiraling down to the ground.

Shadow disappeared in a flash of black light as he charged after Sonic. When he was within distance, Shadow extended his hand towards the hero. A black light was summoned as Shadow bellowed the name of the attack.

"Dark Chaos Spear!"

A black blast of energy was sent flying from Shadow's hand and hit Sonic directly in the back, sending him flying down faster than before. Shadow smirked as he disappeared again, reappearing below the quickly dropping hedgehog.

Reeling back his left leg, Shadow charged up power in it and when Sonic was close enough, the dark hedgehog delivered the attack with lethal precision. Sonic's blue eyes basically shrank to the size of peas as he fell over to the ground, completely motionless.

Shadow smiled darkly as he raised his right arm and pointed it at the back of Sonic's head, attempting to finish the fight. A faint black glow turned into a blinding one as Shadow's face was light up, making him seem even more sinister.

"Sayonara, Sonic the Hedgehog."

Shadow suddenly hesitated as those words triggered something deep within his memory.

Flashback

Time seemed to freeze for Shadow as a single bullet was fired from the gun. Maria didn't even have time to scream as the bullet pierced her fragile chest.

Time sped up again as Maria fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Shadow's eyes widened in anger and frustration.

"MAAARIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

With her last bit of strength and will power, Maria raised her head up to face Shadow. "Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog.

And with those final words, her head fell lifelessly to the ground.

End Flashback

The blast in Shadow's hand slowly withered away as the memory took its effect on the dark hedgehog. "Maria." He whispered, remembering his dead friend's last words.

What are you waiting for?

Kill him!

Shadow completely ignored the voice inside his head as his mind continued to race with thoughts. Should he kill the hedgehog? It was within his power, so why was he stopping?

By then, Sonic had regained consciousness and began getting up. He rose to his full height to see the struggling Shadow in front of him. What was happening? Was Shadow coming back to his senses?

Sonic slowly approached the dark hedgehog, taking cautious steps as not to startle him. "Shadow?" He asked, his voice filled with concern.

Suddenly, Shadow's eyes snapped up as he stared at the approaching Sonic, his black irises gleaming with hate. Sonic backed up slightly before Shadow charged forward and planted his fist right into Sonic's stomach.

The cobalt hedgehog wheezed in pain as Shadow retreated his fist. With a dark smile, Shadow summoned upon a Dark Chaos Spear, firing it at Sonic. The red hedgehog caught the sight of the attack just in time and warped away, reappearing at least fifty feet above Shadow.

The dark one didn't even look up as he shot off the ground and towards the hero. Sonic put his arms in a "X" formation as Shadow impacted with his elbow, scooting Sonic back a little. Shadow retreated his arm and tried delivering a punch to Sonic's gut.

The hero was too fast however, and caught Shadow's closed fist. Then, with one swift motion, Sonic turned around and twisted Shadow's arm behind his back. Shadow grimaced in pain slightly as Sonic continued adding pressure to the arm, putting it on the point of breaking.

Shadow's black aura suddenly appeared again as he began to glow a devilish black. Sonic's eyes widened as Shadow released his attack. "Dark Chaos Blast!" He yelled as Sonic was sent flying down to the ground, impacting with a loud crash.

The black sphere of light cleared as Shadow directed his pitch black eyes down towards Sonic. He was still in his Ultra form! Shadow had to admit that he was pretty tough withstanding all those attacks, but he had one more ace up his sleeve, and he would use it when the time was right.

With a burst of air, Shadow darted downward towards the fallen Sonic, drawing his hand back for a Dark Chaos Spear. His hand began to glow black as Shadow drew nearer and nearer. Then, with a loud explosion, Shadow fired the blast at Sonic's chest millimeters away from him.

A huge black dome of light illuminated the area as Sonic's pain-filled scream echoed through the air. It cleared revealing a huge crater. It wasn't deep, maybe ten feet but the radius was at least fifty feet.

Shadow retreated his hand and looked down upon the injured hero. Multiple gashes and wounds dotted his body, his eyes were sealed shut, and his red fur blinked to pink every now and then.

"Hmph."

With a bright black light, Shadow summoned a Dark Chaos Nightmare in his right hand. The evil Chaos hedgehog smirked as he pointed the hand carrying the attack at Sonic.

"Farewell, my admirable adversary."

And with those words, Shadow launched the attack at Sonic's face.