DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING IN THIS STORY.
"In my years fighting evil... I've learned the truth. That every villain... is the hero of the story."
Shadow the Hedgehog stood firm and tall, and before a council, with his eye patch replaced by a cybernetic eye, indicating a yellow circle with a matching dot for an iris. He stood firm and composed, not wavering a phrase or eating his words. All in front of a light standing and speaking to shadows before him.
"Sonic was no exception. Dr. Eggman drugged him. Tricked him into killing his pregnant wife, Sally. And made him trigger the bomb that nuked Knothole. So when Sonic killed Dr. Eggman, I understood why. We all did, but once that line was crossed, there can be no going back. He gave himself and the Freedom Fighters a new mandate. Stop all crime before it happened, by all means necessary. But he couldn't see his good intentions were leading him down a path of tyranny and evil. And that's how our greatest hero became our greatest threat..."
SEVERAL YEARS LATER...
In the darkened streets of Mobotropolis, a sleek and smoothly designed jet plane with a G.U.N logo on the right plate was flying around the scene, patrolling the streets not for crime and corruption but for one person. One hero. One friend. A brother.
Shadow apparently piloted the plane, given his control over its control knobs, while a recently rebuilt E-103 Omega stood behind him.
"What does it matter if Sonic is rounding up the criminals? They are the worst of the scum in the streets."
"He's going to kill them, Gamma."
"That is veritable of justice, in my data account."
"Killing people isn't justice." Shadow objected and continued "Sonic needs to see that. He's grieving. He needs time to heal."
"Yes, but what if had been me? What if Dr. Eggman destroyed me instead? Your very friend?"
Shadow ignored him, leading Gamma to stand back in his seat.
"I had thought you would say that."
Once they had arrived at their destination, something happens to their plane.
Shadow found out that the plane is going autopilot without his command, so Gamma tries to check on the systems.
"It is not responding! We are being taken back to headquarters!"
"Prepare to eject!" barked Shadow.
With a push of the red button, both Shadow and Gamma jumped out of the malfunctioning plane, both clad in jetpacks and fly through the streets. But an oddly familiar cybernetic Mobian rabbit just happens to show up and fired a laser blast, that broke off the coordinated flight pattern, of which Gamma was knocked out of flight and Shadow landed with ease, confronting the perpetrator.
He knew all out of the familiarity with who that rabbit was.
"A warning shot, Bunnie? You could have tried to kill us."
But the cybernetic Southern bunny replied in a surprisingly hostile tone...
"I ain't gonna hurt ya 'less I have ta."
Shadow replied, "You're gonna have to."
Bunnie steadfastly replied, hoping Shadow would listen to her reason "My folks were in Knothole, Shadow. My uncle, Antoine... gone! We gotta do this, an' it ain't ever gonna happen again."
Shadow spoke in a sympathetic tone, "You're right to be angry, but it's not a excuse why you should do this. And the Freedom Fighters are not murderers."
With no choice, Bunnie stood her ground against the Ultimate Life Form.
BATTLE 1: SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG VS BUNNIE D'COOLETTE!
Bunnie fired her laser cannon, which Shadow dodges by a slide kick to her shins and a rising kip-up kick to the stomach. Bunnie growled and launched for a wild haymaker, overhead punch, and a hook kick, all deflected by Shadow, although he took a hook to the face by Bunnie, countering with an elbow to the stomach, an uppercut, and a rising Spin Dash, knocking Bunnie to a pile of trash. She stood up and exchanged blow by blow with Shadow, sometimes connecting to the other, but the black hedgehog grabs her fist and judo throws her to the pavement, of which she kicks Shadow's face before he could connect it with grounding blows. This had suddenly gone into a clash, only instead of preparing for a strong blow, they just suddenly struggle with each other on no ground.
"C'mon, black sugar hog!"
"Don't get too full of it!" Shadow spoke in subtle intimidation.
But since Shadow had a better defense over Bunnie's offense, he pushed her back with a headbutt and dropkicked her face, ensuring a successful defense and earning a small health bonus in return.
This had gone on of which Shadow pushes away a kneeling Bunnie's laser cannon, and kicked her in the face, only to get pulled to the ground and avoid her ax stomp to his head. She blocked a jumping roundhouse and a gut slug and countered the latter with a high knee and a roundhouse, which was caught by Shadow and taken for a spin and thrown to the ground. But she wouldn't have time to reprieve, as Shadow prepared his Super Move, of which he went Super Shadow, flew with Bunnie all the way up to the sky, and drop her, leaving her falling helplessly to the ground. Super Shadow then fires Chaos Spears at her like machine guns then tackles her to the ground to execute Chaos Blast, then tosses her three feet away.
"You don't see it yet, but Sonic's wrong."
Defeated, Bunnie passed out, ending the battle.
Gamma soon regrouped with Shadow, asking Shadow what did he miss, but Shadow replied that he still needs work on jetpack training.
"Yes, I am alright. Thank you for asking." Gamma replied in a sarcastic tone.
They jumped up to the rooftops of the buildings to reach their destination.
Upon noticing that there are guards, Shadow and Gamma quickly made short work of them and split up. Gamma jumped up and headbutted another guard to unconsciousness, while Shadow disarms the guard and knocks him down by a drag to the head. He saw another guard, took away his rifle, and continued knocking him unconscious.
"So you will not kill, but you will apply excessive brain trauma."
"Secure the loading docks."
Gamma complied and moved out, leaving Shadow alone.
Though not entirely alone. He saw a familiar face.
That so far was Amy Rose, wearing an armored version of her red dress.
"Here to help, Shadow?"
Upon looking at Shadow fiercely in the eye, Amy smashed open a pair of gates in front of her with her newly remodeled Piko-Piko Hammer.
But Shadow was not backing down and replied...
"Yes, to keep you and Sonic from making a terrible mistake."
Amy replied once more...
"None of us wanted this, but Eggman forced our hand. Knothole changed Mobius. And we have to change with it."
"Not like this, Amy."
"Of all people, I thought that you'd understand!"
Amy cracked her neck and prepped up for battle against Shadow.
BATTLE 2: SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG vs. AMY ROSE
Amy charged head-on and attempted to smash Shadow overhead, but he teleported right at Amy's handle and kicked her in the face. She spun around and made a sharp but predictable swing, but Shadow gets out of range, then gets close enough to hit Amy twice in the stomach and face. She swung again and caught Shadow's fist then headbutts him, then made a home run swing but Shadow dodges and gives Amy a sharp kick to the leg. She eventually broke out of Shadow's continuous assault on her and performs a clash with him, of which she strugges with the handles against Shadow's grappling.
"You're slowing down, Shadow!"
"Funny you should say that." Shadow retorted.
But again, Shadow's offensive proves greater than Amy's defense, so he broke off the clash by headbutting and dropkicks her in the face, earning a small amount of reprieve before Amy stood up again
Amy proved quite resilient, in which she interrupted Shadow's charge by ramming her hammerhead at Shadow's stomach and smacked him in the face, sending him a few feet away, then charges to smash him again, but this time, he teleported behind her, and launched a Homing Attack at her back, knocking her out, ending the battle.
With a weakened Amy at her side, Shadow picks her up by the throat and demands.
"I need you alive because I won't kill you. Where is Sonic?!"
"AAAUGK! He's in Cell Block C! But you've can't turn your back on him! He needs you!"
Shadow drops her by the throat, leaving her alone to catch her breath and replies...
"That's why I came." and then proceeds inside the prison.
But in the cell block, came in a loud blare, prompting the prisoners to line up and proceed to the next row. Surrounded by guards and a doctor, the inmates were lined up like sheep, cattle about to be slaughtered. But they have no idea what was coming, nor would they ever know, and so, a large Wolf Mobian smacked away the doc's writing pad and asks...
"Hey, doc, what are they gonna do to us? Where are we going?"
When he did not receive an answer, he grabbed the doctor and took him hostage, causing discord amongst the line of inmates and prompting the guards to raise their guns at the inmate holding the doctor up.
"I ain't going nowhere till you tell me what's going on!"
This lasted for a few seconds, until a certain blue hedgehog, arrives. And he was not in the happiest mood ever. In fact, his face screamed angry murder.
"GET BACK IN LINE!"
Sonic demanded, prompting the inmate so much fear that he let the doctor go... until Shadow arrives by crashing through the glass roof. Luckily, no one was hurt.
Knowing exactly what Shadow was here for, Sonic spoke...
"Get outta here."
And so, everyone, the doctor, the inmates, and the guards left the scene in a hurry, leaving Sonic and Shadow alone.
"You're better than this, Sonic."
But he wouldn't have it and began to reply...
"These criminals are irredeemable. They're thieves! Rapists! Murderers! Like Eggman! That's the problem with truth and justice, the battle NEVER ends!"
"And executing them will end it? First Eggman, now this? When will it all stop?"
"When there's no more crime when people can live without fear! We wanted the same thing, Shadow."
But Shadow knew that Sonic was still in pain even after Sally's death and tried to reason with his friend...
"I wanted to kill Maria's murderer, I could have! But it was never what she wanted for me. And it's never what Sally would want for you."
Sonic was furious and replied...
"Don't you put THAT on me..."
Increasingly livid, Sonic pumped up with power and tightens his fists... but he feels his powers diminishing...
He looked down and saw a strangely colored glass-case shaped like a grenade on Shadow's hand.
"An Anti-Emerald Grenade?"
"To stop you from going too far. You have to stop. Take time to grieve. Before it's too late."
"You wouldn't... you know that would weaken the both of us."
Somberly, Shadow replied to the man he called brother...
"I know."
and pulls off the pin and drops the grenade. When the grenade glowed so brightly, it blew up in a harmless flash, surprisingly not physically harming either hog, much to Gamma's horror.
"Dammit, Shadow! You're supposed to be my friend!"
"Which is why I have to stop you."
BATTLE 3: SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG VS SONIC THE HEDGEHOG
Sonic rushed in and struck at Shadow with a roundhouse, but he dodged and threw the blue hog over his shoulder, then kicked him twice before being punched in the gut by the latter before he attacked with a missed Spin Dash, then blocked a low and high kick with his own before lowering Shadow's fist and kneeing him in the face, only for the Ultimate Lifeform to teleport behind Sonic and kicked him in the back. On his knees, he blocked Shadow's three punch combo and countered on the third with a lead hook to the face then stands up for a front kick, only for Shadow to counter it with a lariat, knocking the Blue Blur down before rolling up, then continously breaks Shadow's offensive with a clash. The two friends looked at each other.
"I'm sorry it's come to this Shads."
"I'm still alive, faker."
Unfortunately, Sonic managed to break the clash by shoving Shadow off him and blasting him with a homing attack, granting minimal reprieve. Shadow managed to stand up just as Sonic prepared to charge then tackled him in Super Shadow form, then takes him up in the air, high enough where the moonlit sky is apparent, then drops him, and fires a machine gun barrage of Chaos Spears at Sonic then unleashes Chaos Blast to knock him down, leaving the fallen hero on his knees.
With the battle over, a weakened Sonic blurts...
"Get away from me!"
while not even raising his head high or even looking at Shadow as he prepared cuffs...
but before Shadow could apprehend Sonic, he saw Gamma walking towards them, holding a Mobian wolf at his neck.
"What do we have here, then? Drago the Wolf. Terrorist. How many homes have you destroyed, Drago?"
The wolf replied...
"Hundred and twenty one?"
Gamma looked...
"A hundred and twenty one? That is veritably irredeemable."
Shadow interevened...
"Gamma, let him go!"
"You would rather battle the friends you once stood with than the real situation."
"I'm warning you, partner."
"Partner?"
Incensed, Gamma kicked Drago to his knees.
"You never considered me a partner. Not you, or Rouge."
Then snapped the Mobian wolf's neck sideways, killing him. Leaving the weakened Sonic in surprise.
"Justice dispensed. Who else is next?"
"Dammit Gamma! That is not how this is meant to end!"
While Shadow tried to approach the robot, Gamma rushed and punched Shadow in the ribs, sending the Ultimate Lifeform flying 6 feet away.
"Then stay where you are best fit, Shadow! I will do the same with Sonic!"
BATTLE 4: SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG vs E-102 GAMMA
Shadow stood up and rolled in time of Gamma's running shoulder barge at the front, then stood defensively once the robot pulled out and turned to Shadow, dodging Gamma's wild swings and his feral double axe handle, which he replied with a solid haymaker, sending the robot back a peg before being tripped with a leg sweep. He rolled back before Gamma could stomp him. He stood up just in time when Gamma prepared a crazy back hand and tosses him aside just before Gamma could strike, and when the robot turned around, Shadow was out of view. Shadow eventually jumped at Gamma from behind, just as Gamma started flailing wildly as Shadow clutched on his back but the Ultimate Lifeform managed to gain the one-up over the robot then slammed Gamma mid-air and blasted Gamma in the face, knocking him down.
But Gamma was not yet out of the fight just yet, he unleashed his laser cannon and fired at Shadow, but he teleported in front of Gamma and knocked him down with an uppercut.
"Gamma, I'm sorry..."
The robot stood up, chagrined at Shadow.
"You coward. We're at war with these animals! You think you're better than him?!" he said pointing to Sonic.
Shadow turned around, leaving Gamma enraged...
"You let Eggman keep on killing, even those closest to you! You couldn't save Sally, or Maria, or ANYONE!"
But Sonic stopped him with an assuring hand.
"That's enough. Let's go..."
"But the inmates-"
Sonic cuts him off with a "Not today."
He then looked at Shadow and said "Goodbye Shadow." and activated Chaos Control, disappearing him and Gamma out of Shadow's view.
Leaving the poor black hedgehog looking at Drago's corpse, then into the broken window. Looking defeated.
AN: Man, that was pretty long. I took all year because of college, I know, and the battles are short, but I didn't want to have it look game-wise to the game. Don't forget to R&R, ya gitz!